“And they came to Goren ha-Atad.” [The text indicates that] it was surrounded by thorns. Now, if it is the nature of every threshing floor to be surrounded by thorns, why was this one specifically called Goren ha-Atad [the threshing floor of thorns] more than other threshing floors? Was there no other threshing floor in the world surrounded by thorns except this one? Furthermore, there is a difficulty with what is written: And when the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning at Goren ha-Atad, they said, “This is a heavy mourning for the Egyptians” — why does it need to specify at Goren ha-Atad? For it implies as if Goren ha-Atad was what caused the mourning. Additionally, why did the Egyptians eulogize [Jacob] — were they his children or relatives that they would eulogize him so wholeheartedly? Or were they such righteous people that their hearts burned within them and they were distressed at the passing of the righteous one? Moreover, the term heavy [kaved] doesn’t properly fit when describing mourning.

From here it appears there is proof for what our Sages said (Tosefta Sotah 13) that in Jacob’s merit the famine ceased, and when Jacob died the famine returned to its place. Therefore, the Egyptians made a heavy mourning because the famine became severe as it was in the beginning. For the Egyptians sensed this matter — that the famine would return to its former state — through this miracle that happened to them on the way: suddenly they encountered a threshing floor that was surrounded by thorns on all sides until there remained no entrance or path to come to the threshing floor. From this they understood that it was the merit of the righteous one [Jacob] that had caused them in his lifetime to have a path to go to the threshing floor and eat from his grain and his wine vat, but in his death the wicked ones — who are compared to thorns — would prevent them from having a path to the threshing floor as they had before, for their protection had departed from them. And in Parshat Shemot, on the verse and they were distressed because of the children of Israel (Exodus 1:12), it will be explained, God willing, that the Egyptians are compared to thorns in relation to God’s vineyard, the House of Israel. Thus it was hinted to them that because of the wickedness of the Egyptians, the famine would return to its former state.

And according to the way they said, our Sages of blessed memory (Bava Kamma 60a): Calamity only comes to the world because of the wicked, but it always begins with the righteous, as it is said (Exodus 22:5), If a fire breaks out and finds thorns — these are the wicked — and consumes a stack of grain that has already been consumed. You see that the thorns and grain stack mentioned here are the same as the threshing floor of Atad, for the threshing floor refers to the grain stack and Atad refers to the thorns. The righteous person is called a “grain stack” because everyone eats by virtue of his merit, as it is said (Taanit 10a), “The whole world is sustained for the sake of My son Chanina,” etc. And as it is written (Leviticus 21:1-2), He shall not defile himself for a dead person except for his relative. This refers to the righteous person, for everyone is like his relative and is called she’ero [his relative/flesh] both because of the closeness and because he sustains them, as “she’er” also means food. This is what is meant by “it begins only with the righteous” — meaning this is the beginning of the calamity that the Holy One, Blessed be He, takes from the sinful generation: the righteous person who had been feeding and sustaining the generation through his merit. The main calamity comes because of the presence of the wicked who are compared to thorns, and they cause the grain stack to already be consumed because they no longer have a mouth to eat from it, and the thorns block the path to the grain stack.

And when the Egyptians saw that this miracle suddenly happened to them — that God had arranged before them a threshing floor surrounded by thorns on all sides, which was not the way of the world — they immediately sensed that God had fenced them in to prevent them from accessing the threshing floor again. Therefore, the Egyptians made a heavy mourning — meaning they mourned about the heaviness of the famine. This explains why they specifically mourned at Goren HaAtad [the threshing floor of thorns] and not before then. And when the Canaanites saw this mourning at Goren HaAtad, it was difficult for them to understand why they hadn’t conducted this mourning before arriving at this place. Rather, it must certainly be that this heavy mourning was for the Egyptians, because the severity of the famine would return to their place. Therefore, it specifically pertained to the Egyptians and not to Jacob’s sons. And this is a correct and precious allusion.

And with this, it appears to me to resolve what is stated And Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead — what did they see? Furthermore, it is difficult [to understand] why they didn’t request from their father to truly command him [Joseph] so. And additionally difficult is what Joseph said I will sustain you — who requested this from him? They only asked that he not harm them. Rather, certainly Joseph was not suspected in their eyes that he would actually do evil to them, but when they saw that Jacob died and with his death the famine returned to its former state, they were afraid that even if Joseph wouldn’t do evil to them, nevertheless there was concern that perhaps he also wouldn’t do good for them and wouldn’t sustain them during the years of famine, and he will return to us the evil that we dealt him — not through active harm but through passive inaction. Therefore, Joseph needed to say to them Now do not fear, I will sustain you and your children — [meaning] you [will be sustained] for the sake of your children, for why should the children face punishment when they did not sin at all.

Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they have done you evil. The verse should have said “please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers” — why did it insert your brothers between the connected words [transgression and sin]? And what reason [for Joseph forgiving them] is given [by his] saying for they have done you evil? It appears that there were both a transgression and a sin here. The transgression was that they wanted to kill him with their own hands, and he was not deserving of death by human hands even according to their claim that they considered him a slanderer. The sin was that they sold him as a slave. They have some defense for this latter action, as they could argue that since he brought evil reports about them, saying that they called the children of the handmaids “slaves,” they therefore repaid him in kind by selling him as a slave. Therefore it says please forgive the transgression of your brothers because regarding the transgression they have no defense, thus they are requesting forgiveness and mercy. However, regarding their sin, it is logical that you should forgive because they repaid you evil — meaning they have some defense in that they repaid you for that evil, namely the evil report [Joseph gave about his brothers]. This also explains why the transgression is mentioned before the sin, for it is not the way of those seeking forgiveness to first ask about the greater matter and then about the lesser one — it should be the opposite. But according to our explanation, it is well understood. [End of the Book of Genesis — with the help of He who made all in six days.]