Vayeishev 5781

Question: Why do the brothers send the bloodied כתונת פסים ahead of them? Why not bring it home themselves?


Approach: We could suggest that the brothers feared that their demeanour would give them away, and that יעקב would see that their body language wouldn't show the shock that he would have expected.

Alternatively, we could suggest that the brothers were somewhat ashamed of what they were doing, and needed time to try to hide their shame.

Either way, the time difference allowed for the initial shock to wear off יעקב, who would be less likely to notice the unexpected ways of the brothers.

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