"My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or brother?' " (44:19)
Question: Binyamin was accused of stealing a magical silver goblet. How did Judah hope to defend him with this statement?
Answer: Judah said to Joseph, "Even if your allegations about Binyamin are correct - which they are not - I don't understand why you are making such an issue over an ordinary goblet." Joseph responded, "This is a priceless magical goblet; through it I can see the past and future. Therefore, Binyamin committed a major crime and deserves slavery."
Judah said to Joseph, "This is not true! The goblet is an ordinary one with no special value." He proved this by reminding Joseph, "You asked us if we have a father or a brother. If you have a magical goblet, why did you have to ask us questions? Could you not have known all about us by looking into your magical goblet?!"
"Hurry - go up to my father and say to him, 'So said your son Joseph: G-d has made me master of all Egypt.' " (45:9)
Question: Joseph was in very a high position and free to do whatever he wanted. Why didn't he contact his father and tell him his whereabouts earlier?
Answer: Joseph's brothers committed a heinous crime against him. Due to jealousy they caused their half-brother to be sold as a slave to Egyptians. Joseph, however, did not bear any hatred against his brothers. On the contrary, he felt very bad for them and feared that they might be punished by G-d if they did not do feel remorse. Therefore, he took upon himself to help his brothers repent.
The highest level of remorse occurs when the one who transgressed is faced with an identical situation and is able to resist (Rambam, Teshuvah 2:1). Joseph, therefore, waited till the entire scenario would be repeated.
When the brothers came to Egypt, he insisted that they bring down their half-brother Binyamin. At the meal he showed favoritism to Binyamin by giving him a bigger gift, hoping to arouse jealousy in their hearts. Afterwards, he plotted that Binyamin be accused of stealing the magical goblet. Binyamin was found guilty and sentenced to remain in Egypt as a slave.
The brothers did not agree that Binyamin should be punished for the alleged crime and fought vehemently for his release.
When Joseph saw his brothers' refined character, he was convinced that they did remorse whole-heartedly. Consequently, he revealed himself to them and asked that they inform Jacob of his whereabouts.
"Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How many are the days of the years of your life?' Jacob answered Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojourns have been a hundred and thirty years. Few and bad have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the life spans of my forefathers in the days of their sojourns.' " (47:8-9)
Question: Why was Pharaoh so impolite as to ask Jacob his age?
Answer: In Egypt there was very little rain, and they relied heavily on the Nile river which would overflow and irrigate the fields. During the years of famine, the Nile river did not overflow and, thus, the fields did not produce. When Jacob arrived, the Nile began to overflow and the famine ended. Pharaoh was, therefore, thrilled with Jacob's arrival. At the same time he was also was concerned, because Jacob looked very old, and he feared that the blessing would not last long. Thus, out of anxiety, he asked Jacob his age.
Jacob understood Pharaoh's thoughts and therefore told him, "Do not worry: though I look very old, in reality I am quite young and have many more years ahead of me before reaching the life span of my parents."
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