A Necessary Distress

When the ten brothers who had sold Joseph into Egypt as a slave stood before him, not aware of his identity, and he accused them of being spies who came to see the nakedness of the land, he was not bearing false witness against them. He knew better. He knew exactly who they were and why they came to Egypt. To speak the truth ourselves we cannot say that it was a case of saying the wrong thing because of ignorance. And yet we may not accuse Joseph of breaking the ninth commandment. Nor may we...