He argues that their elderly father Jacob would not be able to cope with the loss of his beloved son, especially after losing his other son, Joseph.

Joseph is unable to keep up the charade and, in one of the most dramatic moments in the entire Torah, Joseph reveals his true identity to his dumbstruck brothers.

This was the moment of truth for the brothers. Not only had their efforts (in selling him) not had the desired effect, they had led directly to the very fulfilment of the dreams they had so detested.

Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Mir, quotes the Talmudic rabbis that the brothers were ashamed of their behaviour towards Joseph.

Yet he did not actually admonish them! He merely said “I am Joseph"! The realisation that they had been proved wrong was enough to make them feel ashamed. It is like a football manager who has just lost a game does not need anyone to point out that he (or she) got their tactics badly wrong! Eventually, they make their peace and Joseph sends for his father and family to join him in Egypt — where he can host them in comfort and save them from the ravishes of the famine.

Jacob has to come to terms with the fact that the son he had presumed dead for the past 22 years was alive. Initially refusing to believe his sons’ incredible story, Jacob is eventually persuaded that Joseph is indeed alive and relocates to Egypt with his entire family.

Joseph introduces his father to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh allows Jacob and his family to settle in Goshen, which was suitable for sheep rearing.

Meanwhile, the famine is so entrenched that Egyptians sell all their possessions to Joseph in return for grain. Eventually they even sell themselves as slaves. The fast of the Tenth of Tevet, commemorating the start of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, which culminated in the destruction of the Temple, occurs next Tuesday.

It begins at dawn and ends at nightfall.

To read more on this story, subscribe to our new e-edition. Go to E-edition.jewishtelegraph.com.

E-MAIL: comment@jewishtelegraph.com

If you have a story or an issue you want us to cover, let us know - in complete confidence - by contacting newsdesk@jewishtelegraph.com, 0161-741 2631 or via Facebook / Twitter