Garments Of Exile

Yosef gives the brothers garments.  Why, did they come without clothes? He gives Binyomin 5 garments and the Gemorah  says he was hinting to the 5 garments of royalty that Mordechai would wear at the conclusion of the Megillah story.  Why does Yosef hint to this event right now in Egypt?  And why is it 5 garments, true Mrdechai wore 5 garments, but דברים גדולים אינם במקרה בלשון מהר"ל?  The stories of Berashis aren't just stories that were one time events but they are part of building the world.  When Yaakov and Co. descend into Egypt it is is the paradigm of every future golus.  The golus of Egypt is a map as to how to navigate through all the future exiles.

The Midrash Rabbah (91:10) says ויאמר ישראל למה הרעותם לי וגו' רבי לוי בשם רבי חמא בר חנינא מעולם לא אמר יעקב אבינו דבר של בטלה אלא כך אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא אני עוסק להמליך את בנו במצרים והוא אומר למה הרעותם לי היא דהוא אמר (ישעיהו מ) נסתרה דרכי מה' ומאלהי וגו'.  How could Yaakov complain to Hashem, he is Mr. Emunah?  This was the beginning of the descent into he golus.  Golus isn't a destination,  its a state of mind.  Yaakov's clarity at this moment become fogged up and hence he couldn't understand the hahgachas Hashem.

The brothers were just coming off being tricked by clothes.  The garb of Yosef concealed his true identity.  Yosef gave the brothers clothes so that they wouldn't be confused by God's clothes.  the לבוש concealing Hashem in the golus shouldn't fool the brothers into think that they are being abandoned.  Just as Hashem helped Yosef in his foreign clothes, so too Hashem would be helping behind the scenes survive the golus.  That is why Yosef alluded at this time to Mordechai for the holiday of הסתר פנים is Purim.  The prime episode of Hashem guiding us from behind the garments of golus is during the Purim story (see Likutay Emunas Etecha Purim and Sfas Emes 5657.)

There are 5 terminologies of גאולה corresponding to the 5 cups drunken on Pesach.  Wait, there only 4?  No, there are 5, the fifth (והבאתי) is connected with the ultimate גאולה so therefore we don't drink that cup, we put it aside.  There are four exiles that we go through and the fifth step is גאולה.  That is why Yosef gave 5 garments to Binyamin for he wanted to hint that there will be a גאולה from the גלות.