Truth and Peace

Joseph dispatches his brothers to Canaan to bring the entire family to Egypt, and offers some parting advice. "And he sent his brothers, and they went, and he said to them: Don't become agitated along the way." (Gen 45:24) "Become agitated" is a translation for " tirgezu " (from rogez ), which in Biblical Hebrew implies emotional volatility, even shaking, in anger or distress. Rashi offers three explanations of the agitation Joseph warns against: 1. "Do not engage in a halakhic discussion, so the road does not agitate against you" (i.e. so that it is not unsafe for you, or alternatively, so you don't lose the way). 2. "Do not take large steps" (i.e. travel inordinately fast), "and enter the city in the sunlight " (i.e. travel during daylight hours). 3. "[Joseph] was worried that they might quarrel along the way about the matter of selling him [into slavery in Egypt], to argue with one another....

Joseph's brothers are asked to dine at his house. The Egyptians in Joseph's house eat separately, and the Torah tells us why: "The Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, because it was abhorrent to the Egyptians." (Gen 43:32) What was abhorrent about it? We find out later that shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians (46:34). Commentators such as Rashi say that this is because the animals being shepherded and eaten by the Hebrews - sheep and bulls - are Egyptian gods. However, we have evidence that at least some subset of Egyptians ate beef and mutton , and the Torah itself speaks about Pharaoh (i.e. the Kingdom of Egypt) possessing livestock (47:6). So there may be more to this issue than meets the eye, and I think I'll leave it to the Egyptologists and other scholars to sort that one out. At any rate, the Torah describes a taboo among Egyptians against co-mingling with Hebrews. The Hebrew experience, at least in Egypt, is decidedly that of the ...