Date: December 23rd 2022

Parshas Miketz deals with the meteoric rise of Yosef and the beginning of the descent to Mitzrayim by the family of Yaakov Avinu. As foretold by Yosef, the world was experiencing a harsh famine. According to the commentary of the Sforno, Yaakov’s family was not spared from the effects of the famine, and they too were in danger of starvation. However, they did not initially make the trip to Mitzrayim to purchase food as others in the region had done.

The pasuk states (42:1), “And Yaakov saw that there was food in Egypt. and Yaakov said to his sons, why do you look upon each other? And he said, behold I have heard that there is food in Egypt, go down there and purchase for us and we will live and not die”

The Sforno explains that when Yaakov asked his sons ‘why do you look pone each other?’ he was pinpointing a flaw that was preventing them from taking the necessary steps to obtain provisions for the family. Yaakov saw that each one of the sons was looking at the others expecting them to undertake the journey. The Sforno states that this is in keeping with the Talmudic dictum (Eruvin 3a) ‘a pot of partners gets neither hot nor cold’. The Maharsha explains this phrase in the gemara that since there are two people responsible for the pot, each one assumes the other partner is attending to it and as a result, it does not get hot when it is supposed to cook nor cold when it is supposed to cool down.

The Gemara is describing a general principle of group dynamics. In order for a task to be handled efficiently, there has to be a single individual who is ultimately responsible for the task. Human nature is such that when an individual has responsibility for a task that is shared with another, the tendency is often to assume the other person is taking care of things and the task is not done properly. This dynamic is readily understandable and seems like a sound principal of organization. The question is how far does this concept go? Does it apply in critical situations? What if there is a deadline? What if the group is made up of highly motivated and organized individuals?

Based on the commentary of the Sforno, the answer to all of the above questions is a resounding yes. Yaakov and his sons were facing the possibility of starving to death. This would likely mean not only the end of their lives, but the future of monotheism was at stake as well. Their lives, the lives of their wives and children, and their critical mission in the world were all in danger. Death by starvation is a horrible, slow, and painful process. Yaakov’s sons were all great men of tremendous wisdom. They were men of decisive action and highly accomplished wholesome individuals. Food was available in Egypt, yet no one took it upon themselves to venture out and obtain it. Why? As the Sforno states, the general principle of group dynamics and shared responsibility applies to their behavior.

We see from here the great extent to which this principle can impact individual behavior and human endeavor. We can learn a general principle of organization from this Chazal – in order for a task to be done efficiently there needs to be a single individual who takes responsibility for its completion. This applies to all types of people in all circumstances, whether it be in a family, work environment, school, community, or government.


Have a wonderful Shabbos, a gut Chodesh, and a freiluchin Chanukah,



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