Genesis – 49:33 – And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and indeed, here it is in my sack! ” Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
Gemora: Taanit 9(a): “What is this that God has done to us?” On one occasion Rabbi Yochanan encountered the son of Reish Lakish as he was sitting and reciting the verse (Proverbs 19:3) “The foolish wrong-doing (אולת) of a man perverts his way, but his heart frets against HaShem” (ie. A person blames God for the misfortune brought about by his own wrong-doing.) Rabbi Yochanan asked: “is there anything written in the Writings that is not alluded to in the Pentateuch?” The boy said to Rabbi Yochanan: Is this verse not alluded to in the Pentateuch? See it is written: (Genesis 49:33) they turned to one another, saying “What is this that God has done to us?”
Torah Temimah Colloquial Translation on Note #6:
Look in the Chidushei Aggadot where he explains that foolish wrong-doing (אולת) referred to in the verse is the sale of Joseph; that they are now being punished for. The Chidushei Aggadot’s understanding of the Gemora doesn’t make sense because in the Pentateuch itself it says (in verse 49:21) “but surely we have sinned against our brothers”. Thus we see that the brothers are blaming themselves for their misfortune. This is also shown by their statement to Joseph (44:16) “God has discovered the sin of your servants.” See the Chidushei Aggadot there where he tries to reconcile these issues, but the explanations seem forced, as any reader can see.
See also that even Rashi explains the above Gemora as indicating that the phrase foolish wrong-doing (אולת) mentioned there refers to the selling of Joseph. That is actually the explanation of all the commentaries. But such an explanation doesn’t make sense for the reasons I’ve given above showing that the brothers realized their sin in the selling of Joseph. Also the use of the word “foolish wrong-doing (אולת)” does not apply well to the sin of the selling of Joseph. Rather the phrase, “the sin of man” seems more appropriate.
Therefore, in my opinion, it seems more appropriate and true to follow the words of the Medrash Lekach Tov where it explains that when the brothers cry “What has God done to us?” they were actually referring to the fact that they should have searched their saddle bags even before they left Egypt. They should have checked to see if they had been given wheat or barley (a lower type of grain). That is to say, if they had checked their saddlebags before leaving Egypt, they would have discovered the silver coins that were hidden there and been saved from the troubles that later developed.
This understanding also clarifies another textual difficulty. In verse 34 it states that they discovered the silver when they looked in their saddlebags upon arriving at their father, Jacob’s, house. Yet, when they recount the story after returning to Egypt they say that the discovery occurred when they stopped at an inn on the way out of Egypt. (43:21) No where is this change explained. However, it all makes extreme sense based on our explanation above. The brothers did not say that they had waited until arriving at their father’s home because they were embarrassed to say that they had not checked their saddlebags earlier as they should have done. Nor could they say that they had discovered the silver while they were still in Egypt, because in that case there would be not explanation as to why they had not returned the silver. That is why they explained that they had discovered the silver in an inn on the way to their father’s house.
Translator’s Note: I am hoping that someone can explain this note to me. Clearly the Torah Temimah is not in favor of ascribing the verse in Proverbs to the brothers blaming God for their misfortunes that came to them as being due to their sale of Joseph. They clearly do blame themselves for the sale of Joseph and regret having sold him and hold themselves liable for any misfortune that befalls them because of it. Perhaps the Torah Temimah is saying that the brothers did not feel the same way regarding their oversight in not having checked their saddlebags prior to leaving Egypt. I don’t understand why they should have checked their saddlebags prior to leaving Egypt.