A Father’s Blessing

Parshas Vayechi

Posted on December 27, 2023 (5784) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

It is an intensely Jewish and awe-inspiring spectacle. The father lifts his hands, and the child bows his head. The father places his hands on the child’s head, closes his eyes and begins to whisper his blessing. It matters not if the father is a great sage or a simple man, the blessing draws its power from the sincerity of the father.

 

Come, let us move a little closer and listen to the words he is saying. “May the Lord establish you like Ephraim and Menashe! May Hashem bless you and protect you . . .” These are the words our Sages, based on Jacob’s instructions, have instituted as the formula for the paternal blessing. But why Ephraim and Menashe? What was so special about Joseph’s sons that they have become the paragons to which all Jewish children aspire?

 

In this week’s parshah, we witness the emotional scene of Jacob blessing his grandsons Ephraim and Menashe from his deathbed. As Jacob reaches out to place his hands on their heads, he sees that Joseph has positioned the older Menashe to receive his grandfather’s right hand, which is considered predominant, and the younger Ephraim to receive the left. But Jacob sees greater things in Ephraim’s future, and he “maneuvers his hands,” crossing over with the right hand to place it on Ephraim’s head and the left on Menashe’s.

 

We would not have been surprised had the elder Menashe resented the preeminence accorded to his younger brother, but there is not the slightest hint of such a reaction in the Torah. Nor do we find any hint of Ephraim feeling suddenly superior. On the contrary, Menashe and Ephraim were both perfectly content with the roles they had been assigned to play in the destiny of the Jewish people. There was absolutely no discord between these two brothers, only a desire to fulfill their own individual destinies to the best of their abilities and a selfless dedication to their common goal of doing what was best for the Jewish people as a whole.

 

This, the commentators explain, is the perfect blessing a father can give his son. The most blessed state a person can achieve is to reach his own full potential while maintaining a sense of equilibrium – or in our contemporary phraseology, to be a “contented overachiever.” This is quite an accomplishment, but we can attain it if we rise above the pettiness of coveting what Heaven has chosen to grant someone else. If we look inward at what we ourselves can be, we can focus on our growth and, at the same time, relate to other people in a positive, giving and compassionate way. If, however, we look outward at what others have been given, we will never find contentment and the growth that it fosters. Ephraim and Menashe found that rare harmony of achievement and contentment, and we bless our children that they should find it as well.

 

A weary traveler was returning home after a long journey. As he trudged along the road, he tried not to think of the blisters on his feet. Instead, he thought only about his younger brother’s wedding, which was to take place the following day. One day’s march more, and he would be home.

 

Suddenly, he heard the clatter of hooves, and he turned and saw a beautiful coach. “My good man,” he called out to the coachman. “Can I catch a ride with you for a ways? I’ll sit beside you on the bench, and I’ll tell you where I have to get off.”

 

“Today’s your lucky day,” said the coachman. “No one’s using the coach. You can ride inside.”

The traveler couldn’t believe his good fortune as he sank into the plush upholstery. Within moments, he was fast asleep.

 

He slept for hours while the coach followed a bewildering course of highways and roads. Finally, the coach pulled to a halt, and the traveler awoke. The sun was sinking in the sky as he rubbed his eyes and looked about him.

 

“Where are we?” he asked.

 

The coachman mentioned the name of a town.

 

“What!” the traveler cried out in anguish. “I’ll never get to my destination in time. We’ve been riding in the opposite direction!”

 

“Well, look at the bright side,” said the coachman. “At least your ride was comfortable.”

 

A comfortable ride is not much consolation when one is going in the wrong direction. And if we devote too much of our energy to comfort and status, we may very well lose sight of the true destination in our journey through life. Especially in our own times, when there is such peer pressure to focus on the accumulation of comforts, we would do better to focus on the activities that help us reach our destination. And when we sit down to define the goals of our lives, we will surely find that we care more about who and what we are than about what we have accumulated. Of one thing we can be sure – we have all been given the tools we need to fulfill our personal destinies.

 

Text Copyright © 2007 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

 

Mixed Blessings

Parshas Vayechi

Posted on December 13, 2021 (5782) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha| Level: Beginner

People usually learn from their mistakes. It seems, albeit on the surface, that our father Yaakov does not.

 

The Talmud in Shabbos 10b explains: “As a rule, one should never differentiate between children. For it was due to Yaakov’s favoring Yoseph that led to our exile in Egypt.”

 

The Talmud, of course, is referring to the tragic chain of events that were spurred by the special display of love shown to Yoseph. Jealousy ensued amongst his brothers. Eventually they sold him to Egypt, and the spiral of events led to a 210-year exile in that land. We would think that Yaakov would have resolved never to favor one child over another. He doesn’t. This week the Torah relates to us that Yaakov blesses Yoseph’s children, Menashe and Ephraim. In addition to singling out those grandchildren for a blessing, he does another provocative act. He switches the order of their blessings, as he blesses Ephraim, Yoseph’s younger child, before Menashe, the older one.

 

There are two points we must analyze. Why did Yaakov, still reeling from the terrible ordeal he endured due to favoring Yoseph, overtly display his preferences towards the next generation?

 

Was he not fearful of evoking jealousy among all his grandchildren who were first cousins of Menashe and Ephraim? Also, why did he switch the first and second child in the same family?

 

Was he not fearful of, once again, evoking jealousy among brothers?

 

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l had one steadfast rule subsequent to delivering his daily lecture at Yeshiva Kol Torah in Jerusalem. After he finished discussing a particular sugya (Talmudic topic), and proceeded to the next sugya, no one was allowed to ask a question about the previous one. This approach would prevent confusion among the many students in attendance. It was therefore to the amazement of all the pupils when Rabbi Auerbach entertained a question from an otherwise very quiet student on a topic he had finished discussing twenty minutes prior. He proceeded to backtrack to the earlier topic and reexamined the entire thought process in intricate detail. All the students were astounded.

 

They had distinctly remembered their Rebbe explaining everything clearly the first time. After the lecture a few of the older students approached the sage to question his favoring the younger student with his departure from an otherwise sacred rule.

 

Suddenly they realized that the student in question had been at the Yeshiva for almost a year without ever asking a question in the middle of a discourse. Today was the first time he mustered the courage to ask. Had the Rosh Yeshiva dispensed with the question as normal procedure would have dictated, he may never had asked again. Rav Auerbach departed from protocol and fear of invoking jealousy to give the young student a new confidence that would help him emerge as a true scholar.”

 

My grandfather zt”l, once explained to me that there are certain actions that must be taken without fear of invoking jealousy. Certain children need more attention, more care, and more encouragement. You must do what is correct in certain circumstances and hope that the other siblings will understand. Yaakov’s grandchildren all lived under his tutelage in the relative security of a traditional society. There were scores of cousins, uncles and aunts whose presence lent an atmosphere of ancestral observance. Yoseph’s children were unfortunately raised in a society wrought with idolatry. Their only link to tradition was the steadfast memories that Yoseph brought with him in his sojourn. Thus, Yoseph’s children needed special blessing.

 

Reb Yaakov continued, “Yaakov Avinu also understood that even in Yoseph’s family there was a difference in the children. Menashe, the first-born was thus named as a grace to Hashem who allowed Yoseph to forget the terrible hardship he endured both in Egypt and in his father’s household. Ephraim, on the other hand, is so named as a recognition of Yoseph’s prosperity in a difficult land.

 

“Menashe represents the memories of the ‘Old World.’ As long as there is an attachment to that world, perhaps there is less need for the blessing of the sage. But if the child represents the prosperity of the ‘New Country,’ it is very likely that he may cast off his heritage and seek a totally new culture and inheritance. That child needs special warmth and blessings — before any other child”

 

There are times when conventional protocol is out-of-place. When dealing with special needs, special conduct must overrule the norm. One must weigh the needs of the individual and the reactions of others. The proper decision will benefit both.

 

Good Shabbos©1996 Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky

Text Copyright © 1996 by Rabbi M. Kamenetzky and Project Genesis, Inc.

The author is the Dean of the Yeshiva of South Shore.

Drasha is the e-mail edition of FaxHomily, a weekly torah facsimile on the weekly portion
which is sponsored by The Henry and Myrtle Hirsch Foundation

 

 

Win the War

Parshas Vayigash

Posted on December 25, 2020 (5781) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah| Level: Beginner

And G-d said to Israel in visions of the night, and He said, “Yaakov, Yaakov!” And he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “I am G-d, the G-d of your father. Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up, and Joseph will place his hand on your eyes.(Breishis 46:3-5)

 

Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘So said your son, Yosef: “G-d has made me a lord over all the Egyptians. Come down to me, do not delay. (Breishis 45:9)

 

And he said, “Behold I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; get down there, and buy us from there, that we may live and not die. (Breishis 42:2)

 

Now Yosef had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chamberlain, chief of the slaughterers, an Egyptian man, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. (Breishis 40:1)

 

This may sound like a hyper technical point, but this is a large part of the task of the Talmud, to test and define boundaries. If some someone accidentally kills another person then he is sent to a city of refuge. Which action is considered accidental is a matter of great discussion. One dimension is that the person should have been aware and more cautious when making a downward movement. Here the Talmud in Makos wants to make a distinction between a motion, of let’s say swinging an ax, that is just going downward, and a motion that is first going down but only in order to go up, “Yerida L’Tzorech Aliya”.

 

This phrase, “Yerida L’Tzorech Aliya”, has standalone value. Yosef is described as going down to Egypt. He instructs his brother to bring his father down to Egypt. HASHEM tells Yaakov not to be afraid because HASHEM is going down with him to Egypt and will also bring him up. This is not just a Yerida- a move downward, it’s a Yerida L’Tzorech Aliya – a move downward in order to go up!

 

There are even greater implications for this phrase. The Meor Einayim describes Yosef’s entire descent to Egypt as a representing the journey of the soul which is sent into this world to complete a mission. The soul is made to descend from its close proximity to the Creator of Souls to this dizzying and distracting physical world. There is no real food here for the soul. It cannot find true satisfaction. However, there are diamonds of Torah and Mitzvos and qualities of generosity that the soul can relate to, develop, and acquire only here.

 

Like Yosef who went down deep into the pit of Egypt alone and rose to become the Viceroy in meteoric fashion, the Nashama (soul) of the Yid seeks to rise to the top, like oil separates itself from water and floats to the top. Eventually the soul weans itself form the charm of this world as it longs only for and cleaves exclusively to its ultimate destination.

 

Perhaps that’s what the Mishna in Avos intends when it writes, “Very – very humble because the hope of man is worms.” How is that a hope? At some point the soul happily relieves itself of the burden of a physical body.

 

During our journey in this world we experience many movements downward on our way up. It’s never a straight line. One of my teachers told us “Life is like a cardiograph, with peaks and valleys. If it’s straight, then it’s over.” King Solomon said, “The Tzadik falls seven times and gets up.” The fall is in order to get back up.

 

My wife had an uncle who went through seven concentration camps and I heard him speak at his great grandson’s Bar Mitzvah. He said about the Jewish People during WWII, “We lost all the battles but we won the war!” Yosef lost many battles in his lifetime. The Neshama (soul) faces many and constant challenges throughout its journey in this world.

 

It helps to know that we have come here from a higher station, and that even if we lose some battles along the way, like Yosef HaTzadik and the Nation of Israel, that HASHEM is with us, and yes we must win the war.

 

 

With a Little Bit of Light

Parshas Miketz

Posted on December 17, 2020 (5781) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah| Level: Beginner

A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness. – Sefer Tzeda L’Derech

 

The power of a light bit of light is really remarkable. One can curse the darkness endlessly and attempt to chase it with the biggest and most effective broom and the room will remain as dark as ever. Light a small light and watch the darkness retreat at the speed of 186,000 miles per second. Wow!

 

Here is a small “Chanukah” story, I do believe, because it’s a miraculous tale about the impact of a little light. Thinking that miracles only happened in the deep past, “B’Yamim HaHeim”, is somewhat akin to searching for signals of intelligent life in outer space. Miracles are happening all the time, “B’Zman HaZeh”, and we are surrounded by evidence of intelligent life.

 

There was a fellow named Anthony Flew. He was an Englishman and a world renowned scholar.

 

The subject matter  he specialized in was atheism. He was for all practical purposes, he was the Gadol HaDor in denying HASHEM. He was already in his later years, past eighty and something remarkable happened. He received a visit from Dr. Gerald Schroeder, a Jewish Orthodox scientist with a degree from MIT, and another scientist, a religious gentile. They unpacked for Anthony Flew the intricacies, the depth, and the stunning profundities of the mechanical dynamics of DNA.

 

Anthony Flew became convinced that this could not have happened by accident and must be the product of an intelligent designer. Already in his eighties, he reversed course and became a believer in HASHEM. I have a book by him on my shelf entitled, “There is (the word “NO” is crossed out and replace with the letter “A”) A G-d” It’s one of most stunning reversals in intellectual history.

 

This bold admission puts a highlight on something that is well known but sits quietly in our conscious like the paint on our walls at home.   Not only are we surrounded by intelligent life but we are made up of and built from superior intelligence. DNA is the stuff that spells out who we are.

 

The Beis Yosef asked a famous question and offered many answers. Why is Chanukah celebrated for 8 days when there was sufficient oil for one day? Even if that oil burned miraculously for 8 days, still it was on a net miracle of 7 days. The Alter from Kelm, Simcha Zissel Ziv explained that oil burning, that seemingly natural event is also miraculous. The definition of nature is repeating miracles. If it happens often enough and predictably so then we relegate to nature. If it happens only once in history we call it a miracle. It’s no mistake that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for natural world, “HaTeva” (86) equals the name for HASHEM as He is manifest in the material world, ELOCHIM, (also 86).

 

So we have discovered intelligent- beyond genius life in our midst and perhaps most miraculous is that a human being has been furnished with the free will to deny and defy his creator.  However, if he is armed with enough intellectual honesty then even
the darkest of darknesses can be chased away with a little bit of light.

 

Pawns in Divine Hands

Parshas Miketz

Posted on December 5, 2018 (5779) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

In this week’s Torah reading, we read of the dreams of the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Torah does not identify who this Pharaoh was. We know nothing about him, we know nothing as to how he became the Pharaoh. He is a complete mystery, yet he is the catalyst for everything that will happen. He will be the one who has Joseph released from prison. He is the one that will make Joseph the viceroy of Egypt. In that regard, and because of the dreams that he had, the famine comes to the entire area of the middle east and Joseph and his brothers enact the final drama of their relationship and of the building of the people of Israel.

 

It is interesting to note that throughout the Bible there are characters who are central to the story but who are basically anonymous. We do not know who they are and why they act as they do. We do not know if they are aware of the central role that they are playing in the history of civilization and of the Jewish people. From everything that we can read and understand, it seems that they are oblivious as to their role. They are behaving as ordinary human beings in what they think are ordinary circumstances and are unaware that somehow cosmic events are occurring because of them.

 

The Pharaoh simply wants to have a bad dream interpreted. He is not interested and may not even know, regarding the house of Jacob in the land of Israel, nor of the fact that there is a young Hebrew that is a prisoner in one of his dungeons. All he wants is to have his anxieties relieved by having some sort of interpretation of his frightening dream. Here we have a glimpse into how Heaven, so to speak, interferes and guides – without notice – the events of human beings and of civilization.

 

This is the nature of human life. We always concentrate on the trees and most of the time we’re not even aware that there is a forest. What looks to us to be small and insignificant choices are really magnified because of their effect upon others and upon history.

 

The Pharaoh of Egypt does not realize that he is the center of a drama that will remain cogent and important for thirty-seven hundred years. He is not aware as to what his true role in the matter is. So, he just acts as a normal human being. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy to see how quickly he raises Joseph. He could just have said, “Well, thank you for the interpretation of the dream.” He could have just, if he wanted to be magnanimous, freed Joseph from jail.

 

But here, he elevates him. He makes him second in command of the Egyptian empire. He believes that Joseph is so talented and that the dream is so real that he must act in order to implement it. This, already, is the hand of Heaven. This points out to us how the divine will, so to speak, pushes human beings into behavior that is not quite logical, but that, in retrospect, is important, eventful, and meaningful. And that is really an important lesson that all of us should take to heart because there are no inconsequential actions of human beings. Everything that we do, everything that we say, counts and is recorded for good or for better.

 

Shabbat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein

 

A Change of Heart

Parshas Miketz

Posted on December 12, 2017 (5778) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

There was no convincing the Egyptian viceroy. Jacob’s sons kept protesting that they had come to Egypt in all innocence to buy grain for their starving families, but the hostile viceroy would have none of it. They were evil spies, he insisted, and he had them arrested and thrown into the dungeon. Only one would be allowed to return home to bring evidence of their innocence, while the others would languish in prison.

 

Three days later, however, the viceroy apparently has a change of heart. As we read in this week’s Torah portion, he has the brothers brought before him, and he tells them that, because he fears the Lord, he will modify his earlier decree. Instead of keeping them all incarcerated until their innocence is established, he will keep only one and allow the rest to return home with food for their hungry families.

 

After the viceroy makes his announcement, the Torah adds, “And so they did.” But what was it that they did? The Torah does not specify. Instead, the Torah goes on to record their words of self-recrimination for having sold their brother Joseph into slavery. “We are indeed guilty of mistreating our brother,” they say. “We saw his extreme distress when he pleaded with us, but we did not listen to him. That is why we are being subjected to this misfortune.” But the mystery remains. What was it that they did as soon as the viceroy had spoken?

 

Let us consider for a moment. Twenty-two years have gone by since that fateful day when the brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Why do they finally acknowledge their guilt at this particular moment?

 

The commentators explain that the unexpected actions of the viceroy prompted them to reevaluate their own deeds so many years before. The viceroy ruled Egypt with the iron hand of an autocratic despot. He answered to no one except for Pharaoh, who gave him virtual carte blanche to do as he pleased. When he decrees that all the brothers would be locked up until they proved their innocence, it is inconceivable that he would suddenly have a change of heart.

 

Why should he? Clearly, their fate is sealed.

 

And yet, wonder of wonders, the viceroy does indeed have a change of heart. What could this mean?

 

The brothers see in this a clear message from Heaven. A person must always keep an open mind and not feel locked into his original positions. No matter what, he must always maintain an objective perspective. If he thinks he may have made an error, he should correct it, though his ego may suffer somewhat. If even the arrogant and haughty viceroy had changed his mind of his own accord, surely Jacob’s sons could do no less.

 

Originally, they had agreed among themselves that Joseph deserved to die, or at least be sold into slavery, for his supposed transgressions. Once they had arrived at this decision, they had been immovable, and all Joseph’s pleas for mercy had fallen on deaf ears. But now they took their example from the viceroy who had shown the courage to reexamine his earlier decision.

 

“And so they did.” They, too, reexamined their earlier actions and found them wanting.

 

A married couple sought the help of a great sage.

 

“My husband is insufferable,” the wife complained.

 

“I’m only reacting to her nastiness,” he retorted.

 

“Think carefully,” said the sage. “When did this all begin?”

 

“About a week ago,” said the wife, “I baked a very fancy cake, and he forgot to take it out of the oven. All that work for nothing!” “I didn’t forget,” protested her husband. “The message wasn’t clear.”

 

“Now wait a minute, young man,” said the sage. “She did leave you a message, didn’t she? But you couldn’t admit that you made a mistake, so you defended yourself with all your might.”

 

The husband nodded sheepishly.

 

“Well then,” said the sage, “I think we can resolve all your problems. Just admit you were at fault and apologize. I’m sure she will forgive you.”

 

In our own lives, we are constantly presented with situations that demand of us that we take a stand one way or the other. And once we have taken this stand, it sometimes takes on a life of its own. Once we have invested our honor and credibility in a particular position, we sometimes find ourselves going to great lengths to defend the indefensible.

 

However, if we keep an open mind, if we are honest with ourselves and consider the possibility that we may have erred, we will discover that the ultimate honor always lies in embracing the truth and doing what is right.

Twists and Turns

Parshas Miketz

Posted on December 18, 2020 (5781) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

The dreams of Joseph are actualized in this week’s Torah reading. Miracles, though hidden, are somewhat natural events, and in this instance occur to facilitate this realization of the dreams of Joseph.

 

We all dream, but not all dreams are miraculous per se. The great Pharaoh of Egypt also had dreams. The fact that he dreamt of fat cows and lean cows is also understandable, for that was the nature of the society that he governed at that time. It was, in the main, a purely agricultural society, dependent upon animal power to produce food and sustenance. It is also not surprising that he dreamt of sheaves of grain, both full and empty.

 

But Pharaoh is disturbed by the fact that these dreams repeat themselves, and as Midrash teaches us, these dreams have an unusual and perplexing conclusion to them. In effect, the little destroyed the big, the weak destroy the mighty and the few triumph over the many. These conclusions were in direct opposition to the beliefs and experiences of Pharaoh.

 

When he awoke in the morning and remembered his dreams. he was sorely troubled that they did not conform to any of his previous experiences.

 

It is this part of the story, the fact that the dreams were the opposite of what they had experienced previously, that sets the stage for the miraculous deliverance of Joseph and his unbelievable rise to power and fame. Thus, we see how miracles are formed by seemingly natural events, with just a little twist to those events that facilitate and hasten the arrival of the miracle.

 

One of the more amazing insights into this dramatic turn of events is that it seems that Joseph is not at all surprised by his being taken out of the dungeon and placed upon one of the thrones of the ancient Egyptian Empire. Simply being released from prison after having the aristocracy of Egypt against him, one would think this would have been a sufficient miracle for this lonely, defenseless Jew accused of a serious crime, Yet, from the way that Joseph immediately gets to work to store food before the famine, it seems that he knew that he was destined to be part of history. It was as if he almost expected to be appointed as the ruler of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh.

 

In the house of Jacob, as in the houses of Isaac and Abraham, miracles were part of everyday life. They were expected to happen because our ancestors lived in a world of the spirit, where the presence of Heaven always felt real. Joseph had no doubt that he would be saved, and that his dreams of greatness and accomplishment were not made of imaginary straw. He only did not know how this would come about and how the dreams would be actualized. He had intended to be helped by the butler of Pharaoh, but that was not the track that the Lord had ordained for Joseph. In this week’s Torah reading, the real story unfolds with all the necessary twists and turns that make up human life.

 

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

To See the Good

Parshas Vayeishev

Posted on December 19, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah| Level: Beginner

Now it came to pass when Yosef came to his brothers, that they stripped Yosef of his shirt, of the fine woolen coat which was upon him. And they took him and cast him into the pit; now the pit was empty there was no water in it. (Breishis 37:23-24)

 

…now the pit was empty-there was no water in it: Since it says: “now the pit was empty,” do I not know that there was no water in it? For what purpose did the Torah write, “…there was no water in it”? To inform us that there was no water in it, but there were snakes and scorpions in it. – Rashi

 

So Yosef’s master took him and put him into prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were imprisoned, and he was there in the prison. (Breishis 39:20)

 

It baffles my imagination! How in the world was Yosef HaTzadik able to endure the suffering that he was subjected to and not only rise to the heights of political power he would later attain but to remain a Tzadik!? How did not just crawl up into a ball and withdraw after being thrown into a pit by his brothers, and sold to Egypt, only to be cast into prison, in a foreign country, on totally made-up charges!? How did he do it? What was his secret? How does one remain so ferociously resilient!?

 

Years ago my wife and I went to visit Rabbi Mordechai Schwab ztl, the Tzadik of Monsey, with a concern that we had. After listening carefully he declared multiple times with great enthusiasm, “Reish Lamed – Shulchan Aruch! Reish Lamed – Shulchan Aruch!” Then he opened up a Mishne Breurah – Shulachan Aruch to Reish Lamed – Chapter 230 and he showed me inside the words, Ragel Adam Lomer – ‘Kol Ma D’Avid Rachmana L’Tav Avid!’” A person should accustom himself to say, ‘Everything that the Merciful One does, He does for the good!’”

 

Two footnotes are required here! 1) The requirement is to be in the habit of saying the words even if at the time one does not feel it is so. 2) One should say these words for himself, affirming that truth for himself. One should not say it to another who is currently suffering!

 

Then he told me a very big secret that I don’t mind sharing. He said, “There is a promise that if one says this, he will live to see the good that comes out of that situation!” It was deeply soothing and calming for me to hear his words. I only regret not having the presence of mind at the time to ask him at that moment what is the source of this promise. Years later and whenever I shared this encounter, I would find myself wondering where that promise is recorded.

 

Now it occurs to me that we might have the primary source right here with Yosef HaTzadik. I don’t have any real evidence of what he was reciting at the bottom of the pit when his brothers threw him into a mix of scorpions and snakes, but the Prophet Habbakuk declares, “Tzadik B’Emunaso Yichyah!” – The Tzadik lives by his Emunah- his loyalty to and trust in HASHEM! Even if he was not reciting these exact words, , “Ragel Adam Lomer – ‘Kol Ma D’Avid Rachmana L’Tav Avid!’” A person should accustom himself to say, ‘Everything that the Merciful One does, He does for the good!’” He must have been saying something like that!

 

Then when he was sold into slavery and taken to a foreign land, on the way down he must have been cogitating on just such a concept. When he was hauled off to prison in Egypt on false charges, he must have been soothing is emotions with words that can be summarized by, “Everything the Merciful One does, He does for the good!” Well, Yosef HaTzadik remained a Tzadik through it all, and ultimately, miraculously, in the end, he did live to see the good!