The question arises as to the intent and purpose of the Torah's description of Yosef's economic policies in Egypt, a section that glaringly disrupts the narrative of Yosef and his brothers. This section does not begin with a new parasha – or paragraph break – in the Torah scroll, perhaps suggesting that it is somehow part of the story of Yaakov and his sons, and does not comprise an independent textual unit. In what way does the narrative of Yosef's management of Egypt form part of the story of Yaakov's family's resettlement in Egypt?
Parashat Vayigash tells of Yaakov's descent with his family to Egypt, where they were fed and sustained by Yosef during the harsh famine that struck the region. After describing Yaakov and his family's arrival in Egypt and their meetings with Pharaoh, the Torah suddenly shifts onto an entirely different topic – Yosef's handling of the Egyptian economy during the famine. The Egyptian citizens spent all their money, and then their animals, in exchange for grain, until all that remained was their land and bodies. Yosef therefore "purchased" the Egyptians' lands and selves, arranging that they would work the land and give a percentage to the government. He made an exception for the Egyptian clergy, exempting them from this produce tax. In addition, Yosef transferred the Egyptian population from one region to another. Chizkuni (47:21) explains that he did this so that nobody could lay claim to his land, which had become the property of the monarchy. Rashi, based on the Midrash, explains that this was done for the sake of Yosef's brothers; by transferring the population, Yosef ensured that the entire citizenry would feel a sense of disorientation, and not merely his brothers. After this section, the Torah, in the beginning of Parashat Vayechi, returns to the story of Yaakov and his sons' experiences in Egypt.
The question arises as to the intent and purpose of the Torah's description of Yosef's economic policies in Egypt, a section that glaringly disrupts the narrative of Yosef and his brothers. What more, this section does not begin with a new parasha – or paragraph break – in the Torah scroll, perhaps suggesting that it is somehow part of the story of Yaakov and his sons, and does not comprise an independent textual unit. In what way does the narrative of Yosef's management of Egypt form part of the story of Yaakov's family's resettlement in Egypt?
Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky discusses this issue in his Emet Le-Ya'akov, and posits a theory that the measures Yosef undertook in governing Egypt were all intended to prevent Benei Yisrael's sense of permanence in their new place of residence. We already mentioned Rashi's view that the transfer of populations from one region to the next was geared towards generating a feeling of disorientation among the entire citizenry, so that his brothers would not be the only foreigners. Nobody in Egypt would feel a sense of being rooted, and thus naturally his brothers would likewise not become too entrenched in Egyptian society. And the tax exemption for the clergy was also intended to help Benei Yisrael, as it ensured that a learned class among the nation would be able to devote itself to Torah study unencumbered by other responsibilities. Indeed, as Rashi writes in his commentary to Sefer Shemot (5:4), the family – and then tribe – of Levi was exempt from the slave labor imposed upon the rest of Benei Yisrael. Rav Yaakov explained this exemption as based on the clerical tax exemption instituted many years earlier by Yosef. In this way, Yosef ensured that at least one group among Benei Yisrael would retain the nation's connection to its roots and spiritual heritage, which would remind the people that they are foreigners in their current country of residence.
Rav Yaakov adds that Yosef felt compelled to enact these measures after his brothers' meeting with Yosef. When his brothers stood before the Egyptian king, they told him, "La-gur ba-aretz banu" – "We have come to live in the land" (47:4). As we know from the Haggadah, this verse is understood as an indication that the brothers had intended to stay in Egypt for only a brief period, until conditions improved in Canaan. After this meeting, however, Pharaoh says to Yosef, "…hosheiv et avikha ve-et achekha" – "settle your father and your brothers" (47:5). Pharaoh ordered that Yosef's family establish permanent residence in Egypt, rather than staying as temporary visitors. The reason, presumably, was that Pharaoh wanted his second-in-command to renounce all and any ties to his previous country. This is best accomplished by having his family establish permanent residence in Egypt.
Yosef naturally feared the consequences of his family's sense of permanence in Egypt, and therefore enacted the aforementioned measures to ensure that they would always remember their origins and continue to aspire to their return to their ancestral homeland.