EXTRA · Parashas Mikeitz · Passuk 43:33

EXTRA on Mikeitz 43:33

Complete Passuk

וישא משאת מאת פניו אליהם ותרב משאת בנימן ממשאת כלם חמש ידות וישתו וישכרו עמו

And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men marvelled one with another.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Bereishis Rabbah 92:5.

Sefaria · Bereishis Rabbah 92:5

Chazal

הַבְּכֹר כִּבְכֹרָתוֹ וְהַצָּעִיר כִּצְעִרָתוֹ. יוֹסֵף הוֹשִׁיבָם לְפִי סֵדֶר הַלֵּדָה, וְהֵם תָּמְהוּ מֵהֵיכָן יָדַע.

English: Bereishis Rabbah 92:5 explains Benjamin’s fivefold portion through gifts from Yosef, Asenath, Menasheh, Ephraim, and his portion with his brothers; it also records that the brothers drank wine only with Yosef after the twenty-two years of separation.

On the daf / in context: The midrash emphasizes the brothers’ astonishment at the precise knowledge of their birth order, another quiet signal of Yosef’s true identity that they are not yet ready to decode.

Type of Learning: Derash on the verse (classic midrash) — not a formal named middah of the 13.

What Is Learned: The seating by exact birth order is one more carefully placed clue; the brothers sense that something supernatural is at work, yet still do not recognize their brother.