Yosef resists the instinctive tendency to take full credit for his achievement, announcing to Pharaoh, “It is not me.”  And for this self-effacing humility he is rewarded with power and kingship.

 The concept of “standing at the right” seems entirely incongruous with the presence of the Satan seeking to “accuse” Yehoshua in Zekharya’s vision.  Why does the prophet describe the Satan in these terms, if – whether it refers to the kohen’s sin or his enemies – the Satan clearly seeks his downfall?

Does Yosef have something in common with Potifar's wife?

      We read in Parashat Miketz that when Yosef’s brothers plan to return home from Egypt, Yosef orders his servant to place his silver goblet in Binyamin’s bag, to frame him as a thief.  Shortly after the brothers’ departure, the servant runs after them and opens their bags, discovering the goblet in Binyamin’s luggage.  The brothers immediately rend their garments, realizing that Binyamin would now be either executed or held prisoner in Egypt (44:13).

Was Yosef's plan  really to inspire his brothers to do teshuva? Or was there another moral reason for him to act the way he did?

Yosef  first allowed only one brother to go to Canaan, and then, after keeping the brothers in prison for three days, decided to allow nine brothers to return.  How do we explain this sudden change?

            Parashat Miketz tells of Pharaoh’s unusual dreams, which Yosef interpreted as predicting seven years of agricultural surplus which would be followed by seven years of severe drought.  Yosef urged the Egyptian monarch to appoint an official who would oversee the storage of grain throughout the seven years of surplus, in order to prepare for the subsequent famine.

  Financial hardship is likely to cause people to ignore one another – but it can also have the opposite effect of bringing people together.

Difficult predicaments require coolheaded, rational thinking and strategizing.  The comments made by Reuven and Yaakov were raw expressions of emotions which – though readily understandable in light of the stressful circumstances they confronted – exacerbated the stress and tension, rather than contributing toward the search for a solution.

אומות העולם סבורות שעם ישראל הם אומה ככל האומות, וזה מה שנותן להן את המוטיבציה לצאת ולהילחם בישראל. אך הן מחטיאות את הנקודה העיקרית – גם אם כלפי חוץ הכל נראה אותו דבר, במהות הפנימית מלחמה נגד ישראל היא בעצם מלחמה נגד הקב"ה. ולמלחמה כזו אין סיכוי.