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Why did the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah betray Yosef, who elevated their status and defended them, joining instead with Leah's sons who denigrated them? Rashi (רש"י)'s reading reveals that the drive to belong to the "in-group" trumps even gratitude and self-respect. This principle explains conversion law's requirement that a convert desire to share Jewish suffering—genuine belonging, not just religious ideals.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a perplexing Rashi (רש"י) in Yevamos 47a regarding the laws of conversion. When a potential convert is told that Jews are suffering, Rashi interprets the proper response as "I know I'm not worthy to join their suffering—if only I could merit sharing in it." This seems strange—why must a convert specifically want to share Jewish suffering rather than simply acknowledge the difficulties? The shiur turns to Parshas Vayeishev to understand this requirement. Rashi explains that Yosef befriended the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (the maidservants) because Leah's sons denigrated them, calling them slaves and sons of servants. Yosef elevated their status—the Torah (תורה) even calls their mothers "nashei aviv" (his father's wives) for the first time, upgrading them from maidservants. Yet when the brothers plotted to kill Yosef, all ten brothers participated—including these four sons whom Yosef had befriended and elevated.
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Bereishis 37:1-2, Rashi
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Why does the Torah separate Avrohom's eulogy for Sarah from his crying for her? The shiur shows that Sarah required a public eulogy focused on the communal loss of a leader, not Avrohom's private grief. This teaches that we must view Jewish tragedies through a national lens first, seeing attacks on Am Yisrael as collective losses that dwarf personal concerns.
