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Why does Yaakov credit Yehuda with saving Yosef when it appears Reuven was the one who prevented his murder? The shiur develops that Yehuda's proposal to sell Yosef—though seemingly mercenary—was actually an act of rehabilitation: by breaking Yosef's arrogance and sense of kingship, Yehuda saved him from a death sentence the brothers had justly decreed, while also addressing Yosef's fundamental character flaw that threatened Klal Yisrael.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a fundamental question on Rashi (רש"י) in Parshas Vayeishev (33): Why didn't Yitzchok inform Yaakov that Yosef was alive? Rashi explains that the brothers placed Yosef in cherem, cursing anyone who would reveal the truth, and Hashem (ה׳) joined their cherem. Yitzchok reasoned that if Hashem doesn't want to tell Yaakov, he shouldn't either. But this logic seems flawed—if someone is drowning or suffering, we don't say "if Hashem wants to save him, let Hashem do it." The Torah (תורה) obligates us to save people from danger and pain. What makes this case different? The answer, Rabbi Zweig explains, lies in understanding what truly happened to Yosef. The Midrash Rabba on Shir HaShirim states that because Reuven saved Yosef, we merit lighting the menorah on Chanukah (חנוכה). Yet the pesukim in Vayechi clearly credit Yehuda with saving Yosef, calling him "gur aryeh Yehuda, miteref beni alita"—you saved my son from being torn apart. This creates a fundamental contradiction: who actually saved Yosef?
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Bereishis 37 (Parshas Vayeishev) and Bereishis 49 (Parshas Vayechi)
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What is the primary purpose of the cities of refuge - protecting the accidental killer or something else? The shiur argues that creating respect for law takes precedence over providing sanctuary. True deterrence comes from recognizing the gravity of murder itself, not fear of punishment.
