JOSEPH AND JACOB
poem
Prologue
You are a stubborn people, but I brought you out
from Egypt, and if it weren’t for Moses, for your transgressions
I would have wiped you off the face of the earth, but I will bring
you into the promised land, flowing with milk
and honey, for the sins of other nations,
and not for your righteousness, Israel.
To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I gave my word, they
will serve as My chariot and your guarantee,
that My predestination will come to pass.
1
What foresight, insight, and faith
must one possess to love a son who is not loved by others
from the hearts of his brothers, tear him away
and send him to his brothers to be sacrificed, having drunk the cup
bitterness with loss, with heavenly gifts! What did
Yosef know about his path, about the stars, about the fate of the prophet,
about Jacob his father, about Benjamin, his younger brother,
about the prophetic dream, about the envy of his haughty brothers,
about the silence that awoke before its time, which is to
burn in the thorn bush and not be consumed by the fire? Yosef
walked the straight path laid out by the Creator
in the desert, he did not know what lay ahead, but
it was of no consequence, for it was God’s will. Angels hovered above him
angels hovered above him, and heaven cared for its glorious son.
Could it be that everything is arranged without us, and we are only given
unplayed roles? Everything is moving towards the finale,
and the brothers rejoiced when they saw him first. “Here
our clever one is coming,” said one of them, “we will deprive
his spirit and his freedom.” And the famine in Canaan and Egypt
were still so far away that there were
not days, not months, but years.
2
Yosef didn’t know who stood up for him, but they didn’t kill him.
so here he is in the pit, trying to understand how it happened,
that his life was worthless. There was no resentment,
but another feeling, unknown, warmed him inside.
he thought of Abraham, who had endured trials,
and Yosef’s soul was filled with faith, he felt
that the dream he had naively told his brothers
would not only come true and materialize, but would change the lives
the lives of his brothers, himself, and his father Jacob. Now all that remained
wait for the Lord to send salvation and for the troubles
would end, and the shadow of earthly fatigue would fall from his
beautiful face. Salvation was near, as a caravan laden with precious goods was traveling to Egypt.
a caravan laden with precious goods was on its way,
and the brothers tacitly decided not to take sin upon their souls
and offered Joseph to the merchants. They did not bargain for long
and shook hands, and together with him
set off on their journey, for the road ahead was long
Yosef and his dreams. Each had his own path: Yosef’s was
to Egypt, and the brothers to their father Jacob to tell him about the misfortune
that, they said, had happened—Joseph had been devoured by wild animals,
and as proof, they would show his shirt stained with the blood of a goat,
and bring this grief upon their father’s head, and the years would circle
will take the living prophet Jacob in a ring,
his sleepless eyes.
3
And Jacob saw dark days in broad daylight, but Jacob
did not complain, but cried out to the Most High. He wanted to believe
that this was a sign, not God’s punishment for sins, but a secret
sign, but time did not heal the wound, he remembered
his beloved Rachel, and a voice from above whispered barely audibly:
“Yosef is alive,” and Jacob, tormented by the night
rustling of the wind, tested the patience of his soul, reproached
himself for his weakness of spirit, for the red shirt
which he had sewn for Joseph, for the sons of the slave women, and Leah
and Rachel, for their unbridled rage, growing day
day by day. It seemed like a dream, the past, when
he decided to serve Laban for Rachel, when he fought
with the angel of Esau and won, and he heeded the request to let him go
him. Jacob understood that without Joseph
there would be a breach in his lineage for future times,
and that this sin was comparable to the sin of Adam, and his
soul could not come to terms with it. Thus he lost
his prophetic gift, his peaceful old age
and sleep, and a shadow enveloped him, disturbing, impenetrable
for the heart. But he had to live, not just live,
but to believe, not just to believe, but to cherish complete faith,
to love the Almighty, to learn not for himself, but for Him,
with childlike purity, inspiration, secret doubts
from his poor heart and serve the Lord.
Jacob took this step, for behind Abraham and Isaac
his soul stood unwaveringly.
4
In the moment of committing a sin, it is not the sin itself that is frightening, but what
what lies ahead is worse than Hell.
And the brothers plunged into Hell, and time, like a tree,
stood still in silence, waiting for the storm, and thunder crashed,
and the shadow of despair cried out, “Yosef, brother, don’t go!”
But it was too late, for that is Hell, where all words burn,
perish in the vicious fire of Hell. And Yosif’s heart fluttered
Yosef’s heart, frightened by the parting,
and the distance seemed like an impassable eternity,
sinking into the dark waters of the Nile, dawn was breaking
with the Egyptian mark of Yoseif’s destiny, and all his efforts
of his soul selflessly directed toward the Creator,
prayer gave him strength. He returned to dreams
devoid of fiction and deadlines,
he understood that the Creator held the keys to unraveling the mystery
of existence, and he was only a worm, a product of earthly dust,
and would return to dust, but his soul was not alone,
and it was destined to cling to the Creator, and to fulfill His will
and close the earthly door behind him.Angels hovered over Jacob’s sorrowful soul, and the news
carried on the wings of the wind, touching his heavy,
sad thoughts, and sowed seeds of doubt,
and faith sprouted and carried him away to cloudless heights,
he saw through the smoke-stained glass of suffering
of Yosef in the heavenly heights.
5
And what about Yosef? In a foreign land, among strangers
people. God was merciful and gave him shelter with Potiphar,
Pharaoh’s bodyguard, and authority over the house as
a test. Is that not enough? It is not for us to decide
it is not in our power to foresee what fate
is in store for him and how his soul will be filled
with sacred thunder. Yosef is young and handsome,
Yosef curls his hair under the watchful eye of faith,
and now Potiphar’s wife, the ruler, is already
like a snake creeping into the coming course of events, and Joseph’s life
now hangs by a thread, and his spirit flies
into the divine spheres, the edges where life, a different life,
lives under the leadership of holy revelations,
for that soul, commanded by the Eternal One to protect
the chosen ones, to keep silent and wait until
the hour comes, the blissful hour, and the mortal world
it will leave, and the sinful earthly flesh. But for now
run, Yoseif, from temptation, from treacherous spells,
arrogant. Who knows if you will be able to avoid
the retribution of uninvited love and the wrath of fate
? Alas, this is not the case in a world where everything
is steeped in treachery and the poison of the serpent
wounds the heart so painfully, and time echoes
for help from the reflection of the blind wind, the minions
its minions, but a mold, the spirit of his father’s voice, grants Yoseif
salvation from pursuit.
6
In the dungeon, time stood still, lurking and waiting
for the Creator to set the time and open the prison gates before
the prison gates to Yosef and lead him out of the dungeon
into the light of God, and lead him to Pharaoh, to his chambers.
The dreams of the ministers, the baker, and the cupbearer had already been interpreted,
for dreams come from God, and the key to their interpretation was given by the Almighty
to his favorite Joseph in fulfillment of his intended
signs. And again, dreams of disaster, this time they
disturb and overwhelm Pharaoh, and there is no interpretation for them,
the priests are powerless, it is pointless to seek an answer
among people until the Creator says in whose power
to calm the spirit of the king, and God said, “Call Joseph,”
said through the cupbearer, who obeyed and remembered
of Joseph, when Jacob’s son served in the dungeon
. And now Joseph was before the ruler of the land
and said, “All dreams are from God, and what the Creator has planned,
He will accomplish at the appointed time, and in dreams
he tells Pharaoh about this. A great famine awaits
Egypt and Canaan.” And Joseph was appointed savior
of Egypt, so that his dreams might come true in the name of future times.
7
Yosef the martyr, savior, Yosef the king,
ruler, he was honored by the Creator with the gift of prophecy,
and received a ring from the hands of the ruler of Egypt,
Pharaoh. From then on, none of the country’s loyal subjects
could take a step without Joseph’s command.
Yosef dreamed of power, and now he was at the height of glory,
so thought his envious rivals, his detractors, and the judges.
And what about Yosef? He knew that his ring was appointed by God
God’s finger, and that his thoughts were read by angels and brought
to the Throne of Glory, and it was pleasing to the Creator.
lived differently; he thought of his father Jacob, of his brothers,
his dreams, which were destined to come true, and that meant
his brothers and Jacob must go down to Galuut, to Egypt,
and from Egypt would begin the salvation not only of the twelve
tribes of Jacob, but also of the Jewish people. But for now
he waited for them to come to him, he did not thirst for revenge,
but their salvation. Oh, how he longed for Jacob his father,
and his younger brother Benjamin! They were motivated by love
and faith in their destiny.
8
What could be more agonizing than waiting?
The obsessive thought of the upcoming meeting,
and doubts overwhelmed Yosef, could he really be
righteous and sinless that the dreams wandering
in his mind like Bedouins in the desert
long nights, would return with his brothers
from Canaan, and, like sheaves, bow down before him
before him, and become reality, the flesh of life, and
behind them will come Jacob—the prophet, the father, the head
tribe, and their lineage would become part of the destiny of the Jewish
people? And those days were full of anxiety and torment,
and then one day Yosef’s soul asked:
“Why don’t you send a message to your father, since
it is only six days’ journey from Egypt to Hebron,
no more than that, what are you waiting for, why are you delaying?”
“I cannot,” Joseph replied in confusion, “otherwise
the dreams sent by God will not come true, and the course of events
will be disrupted, and the Creator will not forgive me for this sin.”
His soul quieted and agreed, but a heavy burden
on the heart of the ruler of Egypt.
9
Power is merciless, and the ring, as a symbol of its
, received by Yosef from the hands of the pampered
treacherous and vengeful Pharaoh, is merely
an echo, a copy, a shadow of past victories, when
His Majesty ascends the throne,
inevitable hunger ascends to the throne. The streets are emptying and closing
the bustling markets and squares close in despair, time goes wild
time, and thoughts of a completely different kind
burst into homes and plunder the jubilant and hopeful
hopes of idle days, and the anticipation of death triumphs
of death, as if seven skinny cows – seven
deprived, irreplaceable years from Pharaonic
heavenly dreams emerge from the Nile and devour the sated,
wicked and permissive life. Two years of famine
have already passed, and five more years of despair
and upheaval. So where are the brothers? Yosef waits for them
day by day, and the guards of all ten gates
leading to Egypt, record everyone who enters
into this terrible city for bread, and bread is distributed by decree
Pharaoh, only one man, at the call of heaven
, and that man is Yosef, the prophet, the seer,
the arbiter of their fates on earth. A premonition
fills Jacob’s son, he knows, he sees
with spiritual vision that his brothers are already on the approaches
to Egypt, for the iron hand of famine has touched
Canaan in full force, and no one can hide,
no escape—salvation lies in the land where
the great martyr and righteous man Joseph.
10
So, what was destined to happen came to pass, and
all ten brothers, as Jacob commanded, entered
into Egypt, each through one of the ten gates, so as
attract attention neither with their beauty nor their strength,
given to them by their father, mother, and God.
Yosef is waiting, he has been informed, he knows that
the hour of the meeting is approaching, the hour of the meeting is inevitable.
He closes all the grain stores, leaving only one
leaving only one for his brothers, so that they would have no
the desire or choice to go another way, but does
Yosef know what motivates his brothers and what
from their father Jacob? It was not only hunger in Canaan
that brought them to Egypt, but also remorse for a terrible sin—
that is the secret they carry within them like a heavy burden
within themselves. For they sold Joseph into a country
which they entered by the will of fate and providence
entered, wishing to atone for their terrible sin
and to redeem Joseph from slavery at any cost.
Yosef only has to find out about this, and bread
daily bread – just bread – can become a lump in his throat
when the soul cannot find a place for itself.
And now Yosef’s palace is buzzing like a beehive, because ten
strangers, rumored to be from Canaan,
came to Joseph, no, they did not come, they were brought,
to satisfy their hunger with the ruler’s permission
and buy the bread of suffering. Joseph recognizes his brothers,
but how can he not give himself away, for tears of bitterness
and happiness are welling up, it is not yet time to give free rein to
? He looks at his embarrassed brothers, they cannot recognize
him, he had no beard at seventeen,
when they sold him into slavery in Egypt, and yet
he was afraid of them, for they were not just brothers,
but leaders, the founders of ten tribes.
11
Yoseif’s face, like a mask, like a crypt of emotions,
in which he buries his raging passions, they, like
waves, carry to the shore of memories the suffering
of years gone by. Yosef is a king, a sage, a seer,
Yoseif is a man, a child of earthly dust,
and it is difficult for his exalted soul to prevail over
the prose of life, poisoned by the betrayal of his brothers.
Everything is in the past, he understands, and the strength to forgive
comes from love, but the flesh, its animal soul, burns
with flame, and blood boils, seethes, and resents,
and thirsts for the justice of heaven, these moments of eternity
are passing, strength is slipping away like sand between his fingers,
but the image of Jacob, his father, through the veil of passions
appears before him, he sees Jacob overcoming
the angel Esau, as if it were not Jacob, but he, Yosef,
is fighting and defeating the evil forces, and returning to his brothers
, repenting of his sinful
thoughts. And his brothers, sensing something bad,
huddle together, form a circle, and wait
for what the king of Egypt will say and what he has in mind.
Shimon and the fierce Levi are ready for battle; this
not for the first time, and Yosef knows that together they have the strength
destroy the city and kill him.
12
Yosef’s silence is broken by the right of the powerful,
for he is the king, and they are his captives, and their fates
in his hands. “You are spies, scouts, and you have come to spy on the nakedness
of the land, and each of you
entered through one of the ten gates, with goods, so people
do not enter, but enter into Hell, and you are in Hell,
for you are blood brothers, so who are you, why
did you come and from where?” “We came from Canaan
to buy food, for a treacherous, terrible famine
has covered the vast expanses of the land, our little ones are dying,
and our old father told us to go down to Egypt
and bring back food. There are twelve of us brothers,
the youngest stayed with our father, and his brother disappeared, and we
came to find him and rescue him from slavery.”
“That’s what I’m saying, you spies, you came with evil
intentions.” Yosef gets into character and abruptly
Shimon: “I don’t believe you. I look into my cup
divination cup and see how two of you Shechem,
the great city.” And the brothers Shimon and Levi
exchanged glances, and fear and horror seized their souls.
retribution for their brother Yosef has come, and their sin
will have to be atoned for with blood. Satan waxes eloquent,
and the brothers stand above the abyss, and the gates of Gehenna
before them, Joseph was not wrong when he told them that they would not
they had descended not into Egypt, but into Hell. All ten brothers
understood that it was too late for them to repent, and, apparently,
the Lord had decided that only death would save them, and it was time
had come to pray and wait for their souls to ascend
to the Throne of Glory, where they would be judged, to
see the light above. Yosef felt that in
a moment—tears would stream down his face, and the mask
from his face, and his brothers would understand that this was their blood brother,
the living flesh of their father, and they would see in his eyes that he had long ago
forgiven their sin, and that it was not they, but our Creator who had decided
to dispose of their fates and made it so that
Yosef, before their exile to Egypt, became king and saved
his brothers, his father Jacob, and all the people who
would face exile for two hundred and ten long years.
13
Suddenly, everything changed overnight, and brothers, both
close, looked at the king as strangers, not understanding
how it happened that the fear was gone, and the king, like a king,
sat in his haughty royal pose, questioning
Shimon about Benjamin, his younger brother, about their righteous
their father, and there was no pity or compassion
in his voice or gestures, but the air, that mystery
of existence touched their faces with its breath, and blew
from nowhere, and unity of hearts,
weary from suffering and separation. Yosef, like no other
of his brothers, was intoxicated by the presence of other principles,
long forgotten by him. He knew that these feelings were known
to him, they had been dormant in his heart while he lived away
his homeland, away from his father’s house, and now they had awakened,
reviving his spirit, and his brothers, not knowing who stood before them,
suddenly realized the greatness not of royal power, but of the power
providence of the Creator. Yosef gathered himself and said:
“I must prove to you that you are not spies
or spies. Let it be as I have said, one
of you, and the choice fell on Shimon.” And immediately, before the eyes
to separate him from Levi, lest
any trouble, servants took him into custody and led him
to the dungeon. Yosef continued as if
nothing had happened: “So, while you are with your younger
brother Benjamin do not return to Egypt,
you will not be able to wash away the shame, and you will not see bread again,
so hurry home, and in the meantime, my
servants will fill your bags with choice bread
with the silver you brought from Canaan.
14
What Yosef had been preparing for so many years and waiting for
the hour of this meeting would come, had come to pass. Shimon
in prison, and his brothers were on their way to their father, their bags full of
grain. The brothers did not yet know that Joseph’s servants
had released Shimon from prison and returned
their silver, which they had brought
to Egypt to pay for the grain. “Why did you do this?
It had to be done,” said Joseph, and he was justified in his
actions. “Joseph!” “Here I am.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to reveal yourself to your brothers and send
wagons for Benjamin and our father?” “Who is speaking
with me, since I am alone?” “You are not alone, you, prophet,
shouldn’t you know that? And what am I? Just a shadow of the Creator.
I am His creation, like all who live under the sky,
I am a tempter, the living embodiment of dark forces,
someone has to do such dirty work.”
“So you are Satan? How could I not recognize you right away!”
“Do not be sad, people are different.
Yes, I am Satan, and I have been honored to stand before
you in pitch darkness and stir up your doubts.”
“I have none.” “Look deeper into your uninvited
thoughts.” “Are you aware of my hidden
worries?” “What did you think? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing
before you now. I live as long as human sins live.
And what is a man? He is weak from birth, and I
feed on his sins and tempt him as best I can—such is
my gift and my destiny, my mission
. Everyone has their own destiny, and I am no exception.
I do not complain or grumble about my fate. The Creator knows best
what roles we are destined to play on the stage of life
and be inspired by them, and receive applause,
and perhaps even the love of the Creator.” “I acknowledge your logic
and reasoning, but you cannot lead me astray.
prophetic dreams are my visions, they contain His plan,
and I must fulfill them, for I, like you, Satan,
am not free to choose when our actions are dictated to us
the Almighty Creator.”
15
Satan disappeared. So was he there or not? But the heaviness,
like thick, impenetrable fog, settled on his heart.
Yosef could not explain to himself his cruelty
towards his brothers; he understood that he could not have acted otherwise,
or perhaps it was not Satan at all, but his conscience in the guise of Satan
tormenting his soul, or perhaps the reason was power,
which changed his nature, albeit briefly,
but still, because faith and the permissiveness of a ruler
are incompatible. It was time to repent, and he prayed
ferociously and passionately, and at that moment his soul
returned to the sources of faith, it seemed to him that he
forgiven, but the hour of prayer is not the hour of everyday life
and so routine that there is no room for spiritual matters
and not only the flesh but also the soul drowns
in the whirlpool of earthly and base concerns. Yosef
knew that salvation lay only in the spiritual world,
but this treasure was not for him, yet was he to blame
for finding himself in sinful Egypt for years and years.
Oh, if only he could turn back time! He remembered his father’s house
and the days when he learned the basics of faith with his father, and, like
a spring, his soul was pure and holy, but God
chose a different fate for him, a sculptor with his own trials,
he molds the soul and lifts it up to the heavenly chambers,
and day after day he walks this path with torment
and torment – the messengers of Hell. He remembered
Shimon and released him from prison,
Shimon did not understand what was happening, he thought
about his father, his brothers, and Benjamin. And what about the brothers?
They walked in silence and did not even look at each other.
Shimon was in prison, in captivity, Yosef had been sold by them
into slavery, and how could they explain to their father that Benjamin
they had been ordered to take him to Egypt, otherwise they would starve to death
they, their households, and their little ones would die of hunger? As the day drew to a close
to sunset, they set up camp and prepared for the night,
and Levi saw the silver in the bag that he was carrying
to Egypt to pay for grain, and horror seized him, and his brothers’ bags
were also filled with silver, which
returned to them as punishment for their sin.
16
Jacob, tormented by anticipation and separation, waited
for his sons to return from Egypt, for the famine
in Canaan spared neither the righteous nor the wicked.
Jacob sought salvation at dawn, to sprinkle his soul with prayer
and call upon the Almighty for help
and enlightenment. He waited for these moments like manna from heaven
his descendants would wait for in the desert, and God’s providence
appeared, he was worthy of it, Jacob saw that he
and his sons were the source, the forerunner, the prototype of future
events. Could it be that for two hundred and ten long years, the people
find refuge in Egypt? Egypt is hell, Egypt is
the peak of spiritual decline, this
secret in a prophetic vision, and it was that gift
of foresight that time brought on the wings of future times
not time brought, what time? Just
the plain truth of separation, but the mystery and mystical
truth opened their doors before him, and he entered
and gained knowledge. And time passed, testing the soul,
and the minutes dripped with raindrops of suffering.
Yaakov had a bad feeling, but he was afraid to
admit the irreparable, he did not know if Yosef was alive
or dead, afraid to scare away the hope that
nestled in the deep recesses of his soul. And if
something bad happened to one of his sons, the news
would send him to his grave. He pushed these thoughts away like the wind pushes away clouds,
but his heart, like a wild, predatory beast with
, hunted him and tormented his soul in his dreams.
He asked himself: was he so sinful
that not only years, but days had ruined him?
“Yaakov!” “Here I am.” “Do not forget, you are righteous,
and your thoughts should not be filled with fear, but
with your soul, think about the Creator, for you
live by faith. Forget your troubles and devote yourself entirely
to the Creator, for I created you, and do I not know
your sufferings? Do you remember how you wrestled with the angel
Esau and how you overcame him? Could you have accomplished
if I had not been with you?”
17
Heavenly days and heavenly miracles, when the soul
of the prophet, its source, hovers not in the lower world, but somewhere
nearby, close to the Creator, then the demands on it are completely different—
other honors and punishments, and heavenly punishment is already
are feared not only by Jacob, but also by his sons. And now
came retribution in silver for the sin committed,
for it was not Satan or angels who sold Joseph into slavery,
but the children not only of Jacob, the father of the prophet, but the forefather
of the entire Jewish people, and they will have to live with this,
and what will they tell their father when they return from Egypt?
And so they crossed the threshold of their native home, and before
they saw Jacob, like a cloud, like thunder, and
eyes, they saw such pain that their lives in those moments
was worse than Hell. Jacob silently scanned their faces
with an indifferent gaze, then saw the sacks full of
grain and silver, and detached, as if he were not
among them, only his voice, like thunder from heaven,
suddenly turned into lightning, into a steel blade,
and struck their souls, and a hail of words fell upon them:
“Where is Shimon, and why do I not see him among you?”
And behind Jacob stood not Benjamin, but his shadow,
which trembled in anticipation of something bad and found
in the prophet’s words other names, other meanings, which
would change the course of everyday life for the rest of their lives.
Levi broke the silence: “Shimon is in Egypt, in prison,
in the governor’s courtyard, and there is silver in our sacks.”
“I see,” Jacob said reproachfully, and continued
Levi: “And we don’t know what to do with it, it has returned
to us in a mysterious way,” and then added in a slightly muffled
voice: “The ruler of Benjamin is waiting
to dispel his suspicions about us and to make sure that we
are not spies and came to Egypt only for grain,
and had no other intention.” He paused and waited
for the earth to open up and swallow him in its
embrace, but a miracle happened, and he remained standing in a daze
as if he had turned into a pillar of salt,
like Lot’s wife.
18
Yaakov was perplexed, because troubles, like from a cornucopia,
had fallen upon his gray head, as if
an army of evil forces from unseen heights
had descended upon the sinful earth to destroy him and his soul
and deprive it and his sons of the days to come
and the eternal world where the holy righteous
and his son Isaac. Life in anticipation froze
silent, and it was as if Jacob’s father
and his sons, and the joyless world found its ultimate
meaning, laid down by the Creator. At times it seemed to Jacob
that time had stopped, evaporated, and was no longer among
living people, only his spirit had found earthly flesh
and filled the void with dreams, that place in Canaan
where he once lived, where joy was endless,
while he raised his sons, twelve future
tribes of the Jewish people. Surely the thread of life-giving life will not be broken
the thread of life-giving life and his lineage dry up like water
in wells? Jacob knows in advance that this will happen,
when Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, dies in the desert,
and a great mystery, incomprehensible as a cloud, enveloped
him, and he wandered in darkness, in the labyrinths of future
events. Could it be that in an instant the Creator deprived him
both his prophetic gift and his earthly joy? Joseph
is no longer with him, Shimon is hidden in captivity, and day by day
and Benjamin, the son of his old age, will be taken to Egypt,
and he would be left alone in this white black world.
“No, I will not give up Benjamin, otherwise I am destined
only one path—to the grave, and I will not be able to fulfill
the Creator’s destiny.” “Who are you talking about?” “About my sons
. Who is speaking to me here? There is no one here
anyone here, so who am I talking to?” “To his
His Majesty and commander of the forces of evil.” “So it is you,
Satan, come to torment my anxieties and doubts?
I will not give you my soul!” “But it is not for you
to decide.” “Take whatever you want.” “I cannot change the course of events
prescribed by the Creator.
I am only His creation, and I am entirely in His power.
unfortunately, I cannot help you. I am called to do evil, and that is why
I am here, and do not judge me harshly.”
19
And Benjamin, Benjamin, could not comfort his father;
he saw how Jacob was suffering, how he was struggling
with anxiety for his sons, for future generations.
He understood that his older brothers would take him to Egypt,
otherwise hunger would overcome their family, wipe out
their lineage from the face of the earth, and Shimon would remain in captivity,
and Yosef would not return to Canaan, where he was destined
by the Creator to serve Him, to keep the statutes and commandments
which Isaac and Abraham had left to their father, and it was only a matter of time
hour, they will have to prepare for exile in Egypt for many
years, as Yaakov told him one day
prophetic days, when in a vision he was revealed
the secret of future events and what awaited them ahead.
He often remembered Yosef, and tears of sadness flowed
down his pale face and soothed his soul. He believed
that Yosef was alive, and this belief was stronger than hope,
and helped him to live. He felt that Jacob also
hoped for a miracle and waited for it to happen,
and Jacob, the keeper of faith, would hold Yosef to his chest
and restore the missing link, and the circle of hope,
faith, and love would be complete. He missed his brother
and his mother Rachel, he grew up an orphan, and Jacob
could not heal with his love. He understood
with his heart and soul, he knew not with knowledge, but with complete
faith, that the God of Abraham and Isaac, their father, would not forget
and would not abandon them in their time of need. And trials, what are trials?
They are sent by the Creator to make
Jacob and his family. And Benjamin held on, while the blows of fate
struck like a hammer on the anvil of his heart.
20
Egypt is far away, Egypt is close, Egypt is in my thoughts
has settled, and devours brothers and father with its imperious,
cunning sorrow, it opened the brothers’ eyes to
the sin they had committed and pointed a finger
at its owners, and the once happy home fell,
slid from the heights of glory and triumph into the deafening
abyss of silence, where only silence passed judgment,
followed them, lay in wait for them, and did not allow them
with a log in their hearts to perform the mysterious
ritual, and the stone, the heavy stone of emptiness, lay
on their hearts, and they had nothing to breathe, and the night,
poisoned by insomnia, tormented their peace,
it seemed it would last forever, and dawn, despairing
to see a new day, would abandon the brothers, and the darkness,
thick darkness, which in its hour, as punishment for
Pharaoh’s sins, would come and settle in their souls.
Could it be that Jacob, the righteous man, the prophet, wanted such an
, but his brothers, his descendants, alas, not only
deprived Jacob of two sons, they also gave him and Benjamin
to the torment of doubts and anxieties.
Neither Jacob nor Benjamin were aware of their terrible
sin. Could it be that the brothers forgot how Joseph, by their will
suffering in the pit, begged, no, cried out for help
and mercy, begging not to be killed and sold into slavery
, but their hearts were deaf, and he was
only seventeen years old. But time
approached the hour of reckoning and the hour of salvation, and Canaan was dying of hunger
was killing Canaan, the grain reserves were running out,
but the brothers were afraid to approach their father because of their transgressions,
he did not want to hear about Benjamin, but the brothers
believed that only with him would they have hope
to save themselves from hunger, their household, and their father, and to rescue
Shimon, and if God would be gracious to them and forgive them,
and have mercy on them, then they would find Joseph and return
to their father with twelve tribes, and calm the tormented
soul of Jacob, heir of Abraham and Isaac, and revive
the hope of the Jewish people, who will come forth from their loins
. And that day came, and the brothers, full of
determination and despair, came to their father and said
said, “Give us Benjamin, or we will all die.”
And Jacob humbled himself and looked at Benjamin, and his heart
sank, and a lump of pain stuck in his throat. He embraced
his son and wept, and Benjamin, with an angel-like
an angel, told his father that he would return, but there was
strength or hope in his words. It seemed to Benjamin
that his brothers were leading him to slaughter, but he was powerless to change the course of events
he was powerless to change, and the brothers, eleven tribes,
set out from Canaan to Egypt for grain.
21
In sorrow, the sky was filled with ominous, heavy clouds, fragments
of Jacob’s blessed farewell words
hung over the desert. The pendulum of the wind swings,
Canaan to Egypt, the road is like a rope over
an abyss of premonitions, or the bowstring of a hunter’s bow
and the arrows of predestined events fly
and strike the brothers, but the brothers continue on their way. Here
a ray of sunlight through a pile of clouds, like a palm grove
grove, on the ever-memorable Sinai of fulfilled
moments, and flies to the sacred land
bird with golden plumage, and gives hope to the brothers,
so eager to see the light of life-giving faith,
and they believe that this is a sign sent by the Creator,
like a fiery cloud that will light the way for the Jews
their way in the desert when the time comes to leave Egypt.
And filled with wonder, they quickened their pace,
and time flew by, as it would many times
in the history of the people, carried them to the palace, and once again
they appeared before the ruler of Egypt, and Judah
on behalf of all ten tribes, said to Simon’s tormentor,
that they did not know how silver had appeared in their sacks
in their sacks. And suddenly they saw that nearby
Shimon standing next to the royal person, albeit a little further away,
as if he had not been in captivity when they
said goodbye to him, but the ruler did not listen to the excuses
and, as if spellbound, looked at Benjamin,
and tears fell like morning dew on his forehead. He looked
like a traveler in the desert, like a lonely Adam
returning to Paradise. He suddenly saw clearly, and, as if
talking to himself, he asked Benjamin:
“How is the old man, our father?” And then he corrected himself:
“Is your father still alive, and is he well now?”
And Benjamin, overcome by an unknown surge of strength,
humbly and breathlessly replied, “Yes.” And it was
not a word, but a heavenly prayer, a blessing in the name
and in the glory of the Creator who had brought them here.
22
Yosef understood, with the prophetic insight of a prophet,
that the time had not come to reveal himself to his brothers, and this thought
pierced his heart with the nightly needles of memories,
calling for help from the echoes of a past life. Through
the veil of silent time, he heard his own voice.
“Do not kill, have mercy,” he begged Levi and Shimon,
but his brothers were indifferent to his desperate pleas.
And again he returned to the palace, calling out to the Creator,
his only support. The Creator waited for
Yosef would decide to carry out His plan, and the word
was already languishing in his soul, tormented by separation.
And his brothers, crushed by the series of events, tormented
not for themselves, but for Benjamin and their father Jacob,
glared fiercely and maliciously at Joseph the king and mentally
asked him to break the silence and waited for
he would announce the king’s decision, like a sentence, to them.
And the brothers’ glances flew like fiery arrows
at Joseph, wounding his tormented soul, and he could barely
stay on his feet, it seemed to him that they were about to
destroy him, and that Jacob the forefather and his brothers would go with him
would disappear into oblivion, and the connecting thread
of time would be severed, and he would deprive himself and his brothers, and the future people
the life to come, prepared by the Creator. Yosef knew
that his hour had come, and so he spoke: “Well,
here is the grain, go with God.” And the brothers left
from the palace, their faces expressing neither joy nor sorrow,
devastated, they did not understand why the ruler
of sinful Egypt had returned Shimon and Benjamin
and let them go. Yet freedom restored their strength,
and once again their path was illuminated by the Creator, and the stars,
like Hanukkah candles, burned and lit the way home.
The brothers did not know one thing: that King Yosef
had ordered the silver to be returned to their bags, and the cup
from which he had drunk, would be placed by the king’s servants
into a bag filled with grain. All that remained
all that remained was to wait for the king’s henchmen to catch up with the brothers on the road
and bring the robbers back to the chambers
ruler of their destinies. And now they stand before
the cunning tempter, and the king, being king, judges
judge, passes a terrible sentence: “All are free
all are free, only Benjamin will remain with me for his transgression
with me.” Then he added with a sly smile
in his eyes: “How could you think that a man like me
like me would not see through your cunning plan?” But these
were only the words of the king, but his heart was bursting,
his blood was boiling, and his face was covered with spots. He
understood that the play was over, all the roles had been played,
and life is not a theater, and he is certainly not an actor.23
How unyielding time is, how unyielding
the vicissitudes of fate, which arise like flashes
in the heavens and reflected in the soul of the prophet as the beginning,
the rebirth of lost hopes, as if
The temple of his star rises from the dust by the will of God,
the ruler of all things earthly, growing in His soul
and acquires exalted flesh, and life in grains
of moments with calligraphic stubbornness
brings to the open space of freedom of spirit the great events
of love, which Yosef and his brothers are about to
experience, and the fear and pain with the anxieties of past years
will fade into oblivion, and the trials bestowed upon them by the Creator
to them in honor of their forefathers, will remain alive in the people,
as an example for generations of future ages. And, standing
before his brothers, Yosef was immersed in prayer,
asking the Creator to give him the strength to tell the whole truth about himself
and to release his brothers, and to wait until they
return with their father Jacob. And suddenly, like thunder in the
a clear sky, he heard the words of the Creator, sounding
like the beating of his heart: “Why are you delaying?” And again
uninvited silence, like the shadow of his doubts, opened
Yosef’s eyes, he looked at his brothers, he did not see them,
and tears hid his brothers from him, but it was
only a pretext, a precursor, the eve of a new life,
which was destined to take place far from Kanaan,
for everything is God’s will. Yosef, pale as dawn,
swallowing his tears, uttered the sacred words: “So, it was not you
sent me here, but God, and He made me the father
of Paro, and lord of his house, and ruler of all
land of Egypt.” And immediately, with excitement and trembling
in his voice, he added: “Is my father Jacob still alive?” And he
heard through the abyss of time, through the distance:
“Our father Jacob is alive.” And Benjamin fell upon his breast,
and embraced his younger brother Joseph, and tears of joy
rolled down their happy faces
24
What terrible and devastating news. Yosef is alive.
There is no joy or happiness on the faces of the brothers,
only silence screams piercingly, as if
an eagle hovers over the desert of their souls, choosing its prey,
and the prey is all ten brothers. On their faces, blacker
black seal of despair, replaced by the red color
of remorse, which, like fog, hides the invisible whirlpool of passions
vortex of passions, for which there is no forgiveness. So who are they
in their own eyes, are they really Cain, is there really no place for them
on earth? Yosef will forgive them, he has already forgiven them, his lofty
soul, will God forgive them, and what will they tell their father when
they return from Egypt? “So who are we?” In their silent
dialogue, a foreign force intrudes: “I will answer you.” –
“I am Levi, and who are you? Before you speak,
tell me, by what right do you touch upon our thoughts
and the anxieties of our souls?” “You speak of rights,
but where were you when Yosef begged you not to kill him?
I will tell you where you were. You, Levi, and your brother
Judah stood by the pit where your brother Joseph died from his suffering
brother Joseph, and the rest of your brothers sat aside
and ate what the Lord had sent them, and the sky did not collapse,
and everything continued on its earthly path. Now
my time has come, you have given me a wonderful reason
to comfort my black soul. Our silent
conversation will vanish like smoke, I will evaporate, and you
will remain in the hell of your invisible sufferings.”
“So it’s you, Satan?” “What a wonderful guess! Yes,
it’s me, Levi. I will breathe down your neck, I will
step on your heels until the All-Seeing Creator
forgives you.” But joy still lived
among them, and it found wings, and its embodiment
was Benjamin.
25
Yosef opened his arms, as if he were not embracing his brother,
but a dove being released into the wild, and Benjamin, like
the spirit of God, like a cloud, remained standing between
Yosef and his brothers, and angels flew above him,
and enchanted by the attention of the higher powers, he himself
unaware of it, illuminated by a blissful spark,
whispered words of prayer and glorified God.
Well, Yosef was concerned about the fate of his brothers,
he understood how difficult it was for them, how their memory tormented
their souls for the sin they had committed. They sought salvation
from the Creator, but repentance brought no comfort,
and the time had come to fight for their future
world. Yosef approached his brothers and embraced each one,
and comforted them as best he could, and the brothers saw in this
a special sign from the Creator, and it instilled hope in their hearts
hope, and they believed that their repentance would be accepted by the Most High
and that they would be forgiven by God. And
all ten brothers were moved and grateful to
Yosef for his spiritual generosity and kind words,
which meant so much to each of them.
Yosef hurried to send the brothers to their father,
instructed them, asked them not to quarrel on the way, and worried
for Benjamin, he feared that jealousy would take hold of
the brothers and that his youngest brother would not suffer.
But his fears were in vain. And he gave his brothers
wagons from the land of Egypt for their wives and little ones,
and gave them provisions for the journey. He gave all his brothers new clothes
new clothes to change into, and to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver
and five changes of clothes, and to Jacob his father he sent
ten donkeys carrying the best of Egypt, and
ten female donkeys carrying grain and bread,
as a sign of what he had done with his father before
parting, for the conversation was about a heifer with a slit
neck, and the carts would remind Jacob of this.
Epilogue
And the brothers came to their father Jacob in Canaan and said,
that their brother Joseph was still alive and was ruler over
the whole land of Egypt. But Jacob did not believe
his sons, and his heart was troubled with memories
of his son, and Jacob saw the wagons in the courtyard that
Joseph had sent him, and they reminded him of the heifer,
and Jacob’s spirit revived, and the Shekinah dwelt upon him again
upon him, and he believed his sons, and said:
“Enough! Joseph, my son, is still alive. I will go and see
him before I die.” And Jacob set out with his family
and came to Beersheba, and he sacrificed to God
sacrificed his father Isaac, and the Creator
and said to him in a vision at night,
“Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” And God said to him,
“Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation
I will make you. And I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring
you out of Egypt, and Joseph will lay his hand on your eyes
.” And they took him to Goshen, which is in the land of Egypt,
and Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up
to meet Israel, his father, and appeared before him,
fell upon his neck, and wept long…