Page 633 - BERESHIT

any sign of strength or say anything about their expertise in combat and
warfare.

Did Yosef think that he could fool Pharaoh? Wasn’t it well known that
they had unusual strength? Also, Yosef told his brothers to say to Pharaoh,

. What can we learn from the double use of the word
?

Yosef wanted Pharaoh to hear how his brothers’ whole essence was
Torah. It wasn’t physical strength which characterized their family; it was
their prowess in Torah. This wasn’t a new vocation for them, as not only
did they and their forefathers strive in Torah, even before their neshamot
descended into this world, they enjoyed learning Torah, and it was the sole
justification for their descent into this world.

The words also refer to the acquisition ( ) of Torah. At the

forefront of all their endeavors lay the drive to acquire more and more

Torah. They told Pharaoh , we are already ‘bought

out’ as servants of Hashem.

The pasuk says . The word has the same

letters as the Four-Letter Name of Hashem. The name Pharaoh alludes to

the Yetzer Hara. When the Yetzer Hara calls for us to do his ‘work’, we

should remember Hashem and decline. We do this by learning Torah, as

it is a repository of the Names of Hashem. This is what gives us the

strength to fight the Yetzer Hara.