Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Vayeshev/0/en

Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Vayeshev

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Did the brothers really sell Yosef?

Debate the approaches of Rashi and Rashbam regarding the culpability of the brothers in the sale of Yosef (see Who Sold Yosef?). While Rashi claims that all of the siblings (excepting Reuven and Binyamin) participated in the sale, Rashbam maintains that though the brothers planned to do so, the Midianites beat them to it.

• Do you think that Rashbam is motivated to read the story as he does due to textual reasons or from a desire to exonerate the brothers?  Is someone who plans on committing a crime, and is only prevented from doing do due to technicalities, any better than a person who was able to carry out their initial intentions?
• What difficulties in the text does Rashbam solve through his reading of the story?