Joseph's Driver Safety Tips - Torah portion Vayigash
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....