We read in Parashat Miketz of the famine that struck Canaan and forced Yosef's brothers to come to Egypt to purchase grain. Unbeknownst to the brothers, Yosef, whom they had sold into slavery, had risen to the position of Egyptian viceroy and oversaw the collection and distribution of grain during the drought. When the brothers came before Yosef to purchase grain, they did not recognize him, and Yosef – who recognized them – accused them of coming to Egypt to spy. He charges, "You are spies; you have come to see the 'nakedness of the land'" (42:9).
On the straightforward level of interpretation, the term ervat ha-aretz ("nakedness of the land") refers to the secrets of the country's defense systems. Yosef speaks here of the parts or aspects of the country that are not meant for the public eye, such as classified military information, hidden escape routes and secret weapon stashes. Indeed, Rashi explains (42:12) that Yosef here refers here to the brothers' entering Egypt through ten different gates. According to the Midrash, the brothers did this in the hope of finding their long lost brother, whom they had sold as an Egyptian slave. Yosef, however, points to this unusual arrangement as evidence that they were searching for ervat ha-aretz – hidden, classified information about the country.
The Midrash Sekhel Tov (cited in Torah Sheleima) presents a much different – perhaps homiletic – reading of this phrase, claiming that the brothers had been discovered visiting a shuk shel zonot – a brothel (see also Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel). The brothers had gone there thinking – surprisingly enough – that they might find Yosef there. Yosef, in accusing the brothers, used this discovery as a basis on which to accuse them of coming to Egypt to engage in immorality.
A slightly different interpretation of this verse is indicated by the Gaon of Vilna, in his commentary to Sefer Mishlei (7:16). The Gaon there enlists Yosef's remark in this verse as support for his description of ancient Egypt as "a place where all the pleasures of this world were found, where there was the essence of desire and root of all impurities." By citing the expression ervat ha-aretz as a source for this description, the Gaon appears to translate this phrase to mean "the erva of the earth," the world's center of promiscuity, pleasure and indulgence. In response to the brothers' claim that they had come for the innocent purpose of purchasing grain, Yosef charges that they in fact visited Egypt to indulge in the delights and pleasures the country had to offer.
These interpretations – of the Sekhel Tov and Vilna Gaon – were likely intended as homiletic readings, and perhaps seek to convey a subtle lesson concerning the purpose of each individual's stay on earth. Like Yosef's brothers, all people must "purchase grain," invest time and effort to earn a secure livelihood. Possibly, the Sekhel Tov and Vilna Gaon wanted each of us to ask ourselves – as Yosef asked his brothers – to determine the true reason why we have "come to Egypt," why we exert ourselves as we do in our professions. Is our intention to merely "purchase grain," to support ourselves and our families, or perhaps do we seek to overindulge – to visit the ervat ha-aretz? These sources thus perhaps remind us to keep avodat Hashem the focus of our lives and the "purchase of grain" as but the means to achieving that goal, and to avoid the tendency to engage in the endless pursuit of ervat ha-aretz under the pretense of "purchasing grain."