From the moment Joseph’s brothers set foot in Egypt, they were bewildered by the inexplicable events that were occurring to them. Why is this viceroy accusing us of being spies? Where in the world did he get that absurd notion? Why is he insisting that we bring in our younger brother? Why did he take our brother Shimon hostage? How did the money we paid for the grain get into our sacks? How does the viceroy know our birth order precisely? Why is there a plot to accuse Benjamin of thievery? In their anguish, the brothers cried, “what is this that G-d has done to us?”
When Joseph finally uttered a few simple words, “I am Joseph!” all of their questions were suddenly answered. Everything became crystal clear, everything made sense and not even the smallest item remained unexplained. No elaborate explanations were needed and indeed not a single explanatory word was said. “I am Joseph” accounted for everything.
We too are, oftentimes, bewildered. At times, we also have many troubling questions, but in the end, they will all be answered as were Joseph’s brothers’ questions.
We all live our lives going into the future, which is unknown, however, we make sense of our experiences only when we look back.
~Rabbi Shaul
