Yosef's Berachah at the Pit
Returning from Yaakov's burial, Yosef blesses Hashem at the pit where he was saved; his frightened brothers invent a message from their father.
The Midrash says that when Yosef HaTzaddik was on his way back from burying his father in Eretz Yisrael he chanced upon the pit into which he was thrown. The pit contained poisonous scorpions and snakes, yet Yosef remained unharmed. This was a bona fide miracle, so Yosef recited the berachah of “she’asah li neis ba’makom ha’zeh.” Yosef’s brothers witnessed the recital and became frightened. They said, “Yosef hasn’t forgotten what we did to him.” Afraid of revenge, they told Yosef that their father said before he departed, “Please forgive the spiteful deed of your brothers.” The Gemara in Yevamos 65a says that this was a fabrication. Yaakov never suspected that Yosef would harm his brothers and would never have issued such a plea.