Hashem Peeking From Behind the Curtain

Parshas Vayeishev

Posted on December 13, 2022 (5783) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

What a stirring saga! Yosef is betrayed and conspired against by his brothers and then thrown into a dark pit where he is doomed to die. At the last moment, the brothers pull him out.

 

Broken in body and spirit, he endures the additional humiliation of being sold as a common slave to a passing trading caravan. What could possibly be more devastating? How utterly hopeless Yosef’s plight appears to be!

 

In the midst of this hellish scene, the Torah tells us, G-d lightened Yosef’s suffering by arranging for his journey down to Egypt to be in a fragrant, scented environment. The caravan of traders that had purchased him were carrying fine perfumes and spices. A pleasant fragrance wafted through the air around him as he made his way down to Egypt.

 

What are we to make of this information? Here Yosef is being sold into slavery with no prospects of ever being freed. Betrayed by his brothers, he is at the mercy of lawless people who could abuse and exploit him at will. At such a harrowing time, would he be likely to notice the scent around him? And if he did, what difference would it make to him in his pain and misery?

 

Yet, we must bear in mind that the Torah informs us about the spices in the caravan for a reason. Embedded in this dire and painful event was a secret note from Hashem to Yosef: ‘Don’t worry Yosef, I love you and I will spare you whatever suffering I can. Look, even here, in your miserable and wretched condition I will show you that I am peaking out from behind the curtain by sending you this little ray of positive encouragement. If only you can decipher my message of caring and love!”

 

Our lives are a long chain of challenges and difficulties. Although these hardships may be divinely ordained to tone up our spiritual muscles and help us grow, it is often difficult to recognize them as such.

 

Yet, if we are attuned, we can pinpoint moments in our lives when Hashem demonstrates that he is watching from behind the curtain. All of us can be grateful for the seemingly small but infinitely valuable daily gifts and special messages with which Hashem lets us know that He is taking care of us.

 

Be it with the blessings of good health, our precious children, beloved family and friends or the innumerable other gifts we enjoy, we are constantly graced with Hashem’s loving beneficence.

By training our emotions to always operate in thankful mode, we can weather life’s disappointments. However, if we allow ourselves to fall into the mode of “entitlement,” as if we are owed life’s blessings and luxuries, we will inevitably suffer a spiritual and emotional setback.

 

— Rabbi Naftali Reich

Text Copyright © 2013 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

Rabbi Reich is on the faculty of the Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education Center.

 

 

The Spark that is the Key to Jewish Endurance

Parshas Vayeishev

Chanukah

Posted on November 26, 2021 (5782) By Mordechai Dixler | Series: Lifeline | Level: Beginner

A merchant once entered the marketplace, his camels loaded high with flax to sell. A blacksmith noticed the spectacle of tall, cumbersome loads of flax, and wondered aloud, “Where will all that flax go?!” A clever fellow answered him, “What’s the problem? One blow of your bellow could send a spark onto all that flax, and burn it until nothing is left!” (Midrash BR 84:5)

 

Last week’s Torah portion concluded with a lengthy accounting of Esau’s descendants, consisting of many prominent families and nations. Jacob, with his 12 sons, was just beginning to establish the Jewish nation, and Jacob felt intimidated by the growing dominance of his brother Esau. Like the blacksmith, he wondered, what will happen to this little nation of Jews, when they are threatened by oppressors and influences from mighty kingdoms? Just as a small town would appear too small to consume massive piles of flax, the Jewish people would be no match for the overwhelming pressure they would face among the kingdoms of Esau.

 

The answer, says the Midrash, is “These are the descendants of Jacob, Joseph… (Gen. 37:2)” Joseph, who faithfully kept to the moral values of his father’s house, and overcame tremendous challenges (as recorded in this week’s portion), would be the key to survival through the generations. “The house of Jacob will be the fire, the house of Joseph the flame, and the house of Esau the straw (Ovadiah 1).” A spark will come from Joseph that will burn up any threat. (See Rashi Gen. 37:1)

 

Chanukah marks the Jewish victory over the Greeks. The threat from Greece was not so much a threat to Jewish lives, but a threat to the lifeblood of the Jewish nation: G-d’s Torah. All the decrees against the Jewish people were designed to erase Torah study and Mitzvah observance.

 

If successful, the Jews would assimilate and lose all identity. How could this little Jewish nation possibly face the world power of Greece and Greek culture? Inspired by the steadfast strength of Joseph, Judah Maccabee, his brothers, and all those who would stand for G-d’s Torah and service, bravely dared to oppose the Greeks. G-d was impressed by their intense faith, and gave them a miraculous victory over the Greek armies, restoring their liberty to practice and study G-d’s Torah. The light of the Torah, that spark of their ancestors, burned up the threat of the most dominant culture.

 

This Chanukah, let’s remember the sacrifice of our faithful ancestors, and G-d’s hand that guided us to victory. The miracle of the oil made it clear for all generations that G-d defends those faithful to Torah, and its eternal flames will always give us the strength to continue in our devoted service of the Al-mighty.