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I have absolute proof that I would do anything for my wife. Just look at me: I am walking on the streets of New York City in a bright orange coat! Debbie loves it. I am uncomfortable, incredibly warm but embarrassed, and I still wear the coat! Ouch! I just strained some muscles as I was busy patting myself on the back! If anyone can empathize with Joseph’s brothers, it is me! Joseph has just knocked them off their feet with his revelation that he, the viceroy of Egypt, is none other than Joseph, all the dreams they resented have come true, and they are speechless, even overwhelmed. So, what does Joseph present to the brothers who hated his coat, and who stripped him of that coat and dipped it in blood to cruelly fool Jacob? He gave a coat to each of them! I love a sense of irony, but, I imagine that those coats were even more difficult to wear than my orange “thing!” He, who suffered because his father gave him something that he did not give to Joseph’s siblings, then gives Benjamin five sets of clothing, as if to provoke them again. Hey! Keep your orange coat! (Not you, Debbie. I love my coat. You, Joseph!) The Talmud explains that Benjamin’s five sets of clothing were worth the same amount as each one of the sets of clothing that Joseph gave his other brothers – the ones who didn’t appreciate wearing coats of many colors. What was Joseph’s point? Why at this time?
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