The thoughts behind the empty pit
And they took him and cast him...
"And they took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it." Vayeshev 37:24. It is puzzling that the Torah mentions that the pit was empty. Why would I need to know that? If you ask me, they are in the desert, and if there is water in the pit, it would be called a well. Why does the Torah specifically mention the lack of water in the pit?
I think the answer may be hiding in a few places in the Torah. Let's start with the first key. Yosef, וְה֣וּא נַ֗עַר - Ve Hu Naar, Rashi explains, "And He, Being a Lad - His actions were childish: he dressed his hair, he touched up his eyes so that he should appear good-looking."
But I believe there's more to it.
Ve Hu Naar - And He, Being a Lad, can also be interpreted as him having a child-like imagination. It seemed as if he was a dreamer with his head high up in the clouds. Maybe that is why when he saw the dreams, he was able to come up with great explanations for his and other people’s dreams because he thought out of the box.
So, after Yaakov Avinu sent him to check up on his brothers, Yosef, being the dreamer he is, wasn't just walking to his brothers; his mind was thinking. And this time, he was thinking about Kayin and Hevel.
Our job in this world is to fix what was broken before – to make the Tikkunim - and Yosef was a great example of this.
In Parashat Bereshit 4:9, Hashem said to Kayin, "Where is your brother Hevel?" Kayin said, "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?" And this is what bothered Yosef that day. Being the most hated one in the family, he felt that vibe between Kayin and Hevel. And this is where the Tikkun or fixing was being done...given a chance, he thought - he could fix Kayin's error.
