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Miketz

Indeed, compounding Joseph’s error, Moses also seized the
opportunity of attempting to elevate more souls by taking them out
of Egypt; but his good intentions also backfired because he misread
the situation. In retrospect he came to see that when God warned
him that these souls were not yet ready to leave Egypt, He was of
course correct, as this “mixed multitude” was primarily responsible
for the sin of the Golden Calf.
We learn from Joseph and Moses’s actions that every situation
contains the kernel of positive and negative outcomes; we must
balance the need to assertively take advantage of opportunities that
arise with the need to exercise discernment and caution. On the one
hand, we must assess every opportunity and make sure that our own,
or other people’s baser natures are not skewing the picture presenting
itself, for jumping too hastily can lead to disastrous results. However,
on the other hand, we must not forget that undue procrastination
can also severely impede material and spiritual advancement.

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When the brothers who had come to Egypt to buy grain first
appeared before Joseph they did not recognize him, but he
recognized them (Genesis 42:6-7). He set into motion an intricate
plan to check whether his brothers had truly repented selling him
into slavery. Manipulating them into a certain situation where they
would ultimately have to prevent Benjamin’s entry into bondage,
he planned to check whether their repentance was sincere and in the
process also aid their teshuvah process.
In this portion, he set the first part of his plan into motion. First
he accused his brothers of being spies and then he announced that
he would jail one of them until they returned with their younger
brother, whom they claimed was with their father in Canaan. When
the brothers heard this they said to one another: “Indeed we are

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