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Why was Yosef punished for reporting his brothers' apparent misdeeds to Yaakov? The Maharal explains that Yosef was a chassid whose elevated spiritual level made him view any remote connection to transgression as forbidden. His error was imposing his personal stringencies on his brothers, who were acting within permitted boundaries but below Yosef's self-imposed standards.
Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L analyzes the Torah (תורה)'s account of Yosef reporting his brothers' misdeeds to their father, exploring why Yosef was punished for what appears to be legitimate concern. The shiur begins with Rashi (רש"י)'s list of three accusations Yosef brought against his brothers: eating eiver min hachai (limb from a living animal), treating the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah as servants, and being suspected of inappropriate relations with women. Rashi explains that Yosef was punished measure-for-measure in each area. The fundamental question addressed is why Yosef deserved punishment if he was reporting genuine wrongdoing to correct his brothers' behavior. Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L quotes the Maharal's explanation that while the brothers' actions had some basis, they weren't actually forbidden. They ate from eiver min hachai but it wasn't treif; they treated the sons of the concubines differently but didn't literally call them slaves; they had business dealings with women which was permitted.
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Parshas Vayeishev
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