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Why do the brothers offer themselves as slaves when Yosef demands only Binyamin? The shiur develops the concept that slavery for theft serves two distinct functions in Jewish law: as punishment (forcing the thief into dependency) and as compensation (working off the debt). The brothers propose collective slavery to accelerate payment, while Yosef insists on slavery as pure punishment—explaining both the strange negotiation and Yehuda's subsequent anger.
The shiur analyzes the perplexing negotiations in Parshas Mikeitz surrounding the discovery of the goblet in Binyamin's sack. Initially, the brothers declare that whoever stole the goblet should die and the rest should become slaves to Yosef. Yosef's representative counters that only the thief will become a slave while the others go free. When the goblet is found, the brothers again offer that all of them should become slaves "and also he who has the goblet," to which Yosef responds that only the one in whose possession the goblet was found will be enslaved. This pattern of negotiation seems bizarre—why would defendants in a criminal case offer more than what the prosecution demands? Rabbi Zweig addresses Rashi (רש"י)'s interpretation and then presents his own understanding based on two distinct functions of slavery in Jewish law as it relates to theft. When a Jewish thief (ganav) cannot repay what he stole, the Torah (תורה) prescribes slavery. This institution serves two separate purposes. First, slavery functions as a form of therapy or punishment for the thief. A ganav is fundamentally someone who refuses to take responsibility for himself, so the Torah forces him into a situation of complete dependency and no responsibility—slavery becomes the appropriate corrective measure. This is slavery as punishment.
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Parshas Mikeitz - negotiations over the goblet found in Binyamin's sack
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