Rehabilitation or Revenge: A Closer Look at Yosef's Treatment of his Brothers

The Torah describes Yosef's treatment of his brother's, from the time they appear before him to purchase food, in great detail. However, there is no explicit source documenting Yosef's inner motivation. In general, the commentators preferred to promote an altruistic agenda, which can be supported by Yosef's behavior in other contexts. Nonetheless, in an attempt at "pshuto shel mikrah", one cannot totally rule out revenge as a significant, if not dominant factor. During the lecture, we will carefully examine nuances of the story in an attempt to show that via the detailed narrative, the Torah reveals the inner force motivating Yosef's actions.