The Kotzker may have been drawing upon a well-known teaching of the Rabbis:
"Even in their lifetime, the wicked are called
dead." (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 18) My question is: why would
Jacob think that righteousness and rule over Egypt were contradictory?
In much of his teaching, the Kotzker emphasizes the search for truth, the need
for humility, and constant self-examination and self-criticism - all of which
he might characterize as righteousness. If indeed Joseph is the ruler of
Egypt, with unimaginable power and ostentatious wealth, this could well prevent
him from following the paths of righteousness.
An answer, according to Rabbi Chaim Sofer (d. 1886), is found in the next
verse: "And they told him all that Joseph had spoken to
them". He says that Jacob was revived, and he believed his sons, only
after hearing that Joseph had said, "God has made me lord over all
Egypt." (Gen. 45:9) Jacob knew that, so long as Joseph recognized
that all he had had come from God, he truly could be both powerful and
righteous.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
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