Why did Yosef have their money returned to their bags? What purpose did this serve within his overall scheme to bring Binyamin to Egypt?
We discussed Yosef's harsh treatment of his brothers when they come before him, as he serves as Egyptian viceroy and supervises the distribution of the country's grain. Yosef accuses them of coming to spy the country and demands that they bring their youngest brother, Binyamin, to Egypt as proof of their innocence. Over the course of yesterday's discussion, we encountered the two classic approaches taken in understanding Yosef's intent. The Ramban claims that Yosef feels himself obligated to bring to fruition his childhood dreams of leadership, which foresaw that all his brothers - including Binyamin - would bow before him. Others, including Abarbanel and "Akeidat Yitzchak," explain that Yosef wanted to ensure his brothers' repentance for their mistreatment of him. He places them in a situation where they must exert themselves on behalf of their father's favorite son, Binyamin, thus demonstrating their complete teshuva for having jealously sought the elimination of Yosef - their father's previous favorite son.
In any event, according to both approaches, Yosef's primary objective is bringing Binyamin to him in Egypt. While this explains the general contour of Yosef's scheme, one component remains unclear. When Yosef sends his brothers home and orders that they bring Binyamin (keeping Shimon in an Egyptian prison as "collateral" to ensure their return), he has his servant place in their bags the money they had brought and used to purchase grain (42:25). Later, upon discovering that their money was returned, the brothers are terribly frightened, presuming that they will now be accused of theft (see 42:28,35). Why did Yosef have their money returned to their bags? What purpose did this serve within his overall scheme to bring Binyamin to Egypt?
Professor Shulamit Elitzur, in her work, "Shira Shel Parasha," shows how the answer to this question emerges clearly from a poem composed by the poet Shimon Ha-kohen Birebi, in which he describes the final scene of Parashat Miketz. After Binyamin comes to Egypt and the brothers prepare to return home, Yosef orders that his royal goblet be placed in Binyamin's bag, so that he could be accused of stealing from Yosef. Yosef then demands that Binyamin stay in Egypt as a slave, prompting Yehuda's impassioned appeal on Binyamin's behalf in the opening section of Parashat Vayigash. The poem tells that the brothers, upon seeing the goblet in Binyamin's bag, immediately declare, "Just as his mother stole - so has Binyamin stole!" Recall that earlier, in Parashat Vayetze (31:19), Rachel steals the "terafim" (idols, or oracles) of her father, Lavan. Now, as the brothers see the goblet in Binyamin's bag, they assume - initially - that he has inherited his mother's proclivity to theft. Meaning, the brothers accuse Binyamin of having actually stolen the royal goblet from Yosef. The poem adds that the brothers then begin wondering, "This one father protected like the pupil [of his eye]?!" As Binyamin is caught "red-handed" stealing the property of the Egyptian viceroy, the brothers cannot help but ridicule Yaakov's initial, adamant refusal to allow Binyamin to join his brothers in Egypt, his concern "that he might meet with disaster" (42:4). The brothers scoff at Yaakov's almost obsessive protection of Binyamin, who has now been exposed as a crook.
Very quickly, however, the brothers realize their error. As the poem continues, "They muttered: What shall we say about the first money, and what shall we whisper about the second money?" Yosef had instructed his servant not only to place his goblet in Binyamin's bag, but also to once again return the brothers' money, just as he had before their previous departure from Egypt. Thus, as Yosef's servant now rummages through their bags in search of the goblet, he - and the brothers - once again see their money returned to their bags, which obviously reminds them of their money's return when they left Egypt the first time. Now Binyamin, of course, was not with them the first time they came to Egypt. Clearly, then, somebody in Egypt was placing things in their bags when they weren't looking. This made the brothers realize that they cannot accuse Binyamin of actually stealing the goblet. The money that was placed in their bags before their previous departure from Egypt proved that somebody is framing them, and it thus stands to reason, then, that here, too, they are being framed, and Binyamin did not steal anything.
This then explains why Yosef had their money returned before they left Egypt the first time. Already at this stage Yosef knew that he would plant his goblet in Binyamin's bag in order to test his brothers' willingness to come to Binyamin's rescue. But what if they would believe Yosef's accusation, that Binyamin stole the goblet? They would most certainly not feel any obligation to lobby for his release if they felt that he tried stealing the viceroy's goblet! Yosef therefore had to show them that somebody is tampering with their bags in Egypt, in order that they would not accuse Binyamin of theft, and thus he has their money returned to their bags before their departure from Egypt the first time.