Uneasy Questions • Torah.org

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Posted on December 20, 2017 (5778) By Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky | Series: Drasha |

Level: B eginner

 

In most surprising ending in a Biblical saga, 11 men stood before their youngest brother, Yoseph, humiliated and threatened. Yoseph, in his role as viceroy of Egypt, had incarcerated Binyamin and left his siblings fighting him for his release. Otherwise, they would have to answer an aging father who would certainly die if Binyamin would not come home. They pleaded, begged and cajoled — then they threatened to go to war over Binyamin. Yoseph is impressed.

 

Suddenly he reveals himself as the brother they had sold to slavery 22 years ago.

 

“I am Yoseph,” he declares. “Is my father still alive?” The brothers stood in shock and disbelief.

 

Many commentaries ask why Yoseph asked a question when he knew the answer. His brothers spoke all along about their father and the anguish he would sustain lest Binyamin not be returned to him.

 

What message was Yoseph sending?

 

A man walked into the office of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn with tears flowing down his cheeks. “Rebbe,” he pleaded, “I need your help. I have no means of supporting my family, and my wife has gone into severe depression as the doctors suspect one of our children may have leukemia. I am at the verge of bankruptcy and only despair looms on the horizon.”

 

The Rebbe’s sympathy was obvious. Quickly he took all the money that he had in his desk and then summoned his sexton. “Have you any cash on you?” the Rebbe asked. “I need whatever you can spare to help a Jew in trouble.”

 

The gabbai (sexton) responded to his mentor’s request and handed the sum of nearly $2,000 to the Rebbe.

After the indigent man left the house the Gabbai innocently asked the Rebbe, “That was not for the man who just left here — or was it?”

 

“Surely,” exclaimed the Rebbe. He has nine children, including one who may be very ill. His wife is on the verge of a breakdown and he is in a state of despair.”

 

“Despair?” exclaimed the sexton. “Nine children? That man has two kids, a wife who shops nicely on the Avenue and makes a modest living. Things may be a little tight — but he’s not at all desperate!

 

“You mean his wife is not ill?” “No!”

“His child is not ill?” “No!”

He is not even going bankrupt?” “By no means!”

“Wonderful,” the Rebbe smiled, “I could not bear to hear the pain of such terrible news. How good is it to hear that one less Jew is suffering.” The next day the Rebbe called in his Gabbai and returned the $2,000 he had borrowed from him.

 

In revealing himself to his brothers, Yoseph had choice words to tell them. He could have chided them, taunted them and called their misdeeds upon them. He didn’t. All he wanted to know is, “How is father feeling? Is it really true that he survived the tragedy of my sale? Is he still able to come see me?”

 

Often when we are wronged we have opportunities to harp on the conduct of those who harmed us. In his opening revelation Yoseph didn’t. He picked up the pieces. He did not choose to discuss the past deeds that were dead and gone. He just wanted to speak about the future, his father, and his destiny.

 

Good Shabbos ©1996 Rabbi Mordecai Kamenetzky

 

Text Copyright © 1996 by R abbi 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

Lifesavers • Torah.org

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Posted on December 12, 2018 (5779) By Rabbi Shlomo Jarcaig | Series: Kol HaKollel | Level:

B eginner

 

Upon receiving word that Yosef (Joseph) was alive and well in Egypt, Yaakov (Jacob) was initially skeptical. But when “he saw the wagons (“agalos” in Hebrew) that Yosef had sent to transport him, then the spirit of their father Yaakov was revived.” (Beraishis/Genesis 45:27) Rashi explains the significance of the wagons was that as Yosef departed from Yaakov’s home they were learning about the mitzvah of Egla Arufa (see Devarim/Deuteronomy 21:1-9), the heifer that

is decapitated by the Elders of the closest city to a corpse that is found between cities (“egla” and “agalo” share a common spelling). Yosef sent wagons to transmit the message to his father that he had internalized and continued to live by the lessons that he had been taught as a lad.

Twenty two years later, Yosef’s wagons stated: “Dear Father, you escorted me. As per your teaching, I merited divine supervision, and I have survived this ordeal unscathed.” When Yaakov witnessed Yosef’s demonstration of this lesson, his spirit was revived.

 

In our life’s effort to emulate the Divine, we must appreciate that we, too, have the ability to provide others with the gift of life. We know so many who question their value or import in this world, people who feel alone and downtrodden. When we take the time to demonstrate to them that we value them as people, and what they can contribute to the world around us, we do not simply offer them an emotional boost, we literally give them life.

 

Have a Good Shabbos!

Copyright © 2002 by Rabbi Pinchas Avruch and Project Genesis, Inc.

 

Kol HaKollel is a publication of the Milwaukee Kollel Center for Jewish Studies 5007 West Keefe Avenue; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 414-447-7999

Jewish Renewal and Resilience

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Posted on December 20, 2012 (5773) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level:

B eginner

 

The apparent hero and victor in the epic narrative of the saga of Yosef and his brothers that reaches its culmination in this week’s parsha is certainly Yosef. His dreams and ambitions are fulfilled. His brothers and father have bowed down before him as the prophecy of his reams indicated. He takes no further revenge against his brothers. He houses them and Yaakov in security and prosperity in the land of Goshen and is tireless in caring for all of their needs.

 

He certainly emerges from the entire bewildering and tragic events as a heroic and noble figure, still the beloved son of his father and the heir to the double portion birthright of the first-born. Yet, in terms of the long range view of Jewish history, Yosef is not the vehicle of Jewish survival.

 

His kingdom of the northern ten tribes of Israel is relatively short-lived and riddled with wicked kings and widespread idolatrous practice. The kingdom of Yosef is never restored and the remnants of the northern ten tribes are eventually absorbed into the kingdom and tribe of Judah.

 

Yosef’s triumph is seen in Jewish history as being legitimate but essentially temporary. It is  his brother Yehudah who emerges as the ultimate hero and guarantor of Jewish survival and as the true head of Yaakov’s family. The Jewish people are called upon his name and it is through his descendants that legitimate royalty comes to Israel.

 

The future salvation of Israel and the messianic vision of full and complete redemption and a better world for all are assigned to the family and descendants of Yehudah. He is the ultimate and victor in the debate between Yosef and himself that this week’s parsha highlights.

 

The obvious question that presents itself is why this should be. After all it is Yosef who is the righteous one, the one who resisted physical temptation and who persevered in his loyalty to the ideals of the patriarchs of Israel under the most trying and difficult of circumstances.

 

Yehuda on the other hand can be superficially judged and found wanting in his behavior regarding Tamar and in his leadership role in the sale of his brother as a slave. So why, in historical terms, is he the hero and savior of Israel while Yosef is not?

 

Though God’s will, so to speak, in all of these matters remains hidden and inscrutable to us mere mortals, a glimmer of understanding can come to us from the words of Yaakov that will appear in next week’s parsha. Yaakov blesses Yehudah for his ability to rise from error and tragedy and continue forward. It is Yehudah’s resilience that marks his character and behavior.

He redeems himself from the error of his treatment of Yosef by his unconditional and self- sacrificing defense of Binyamin. He admits his error in condemning Tamar and their children become the bearers of Jewish royalty. The secret of Jewish survival lies in Jewish renewal and resilience. It is the one national trait that outweighs all other factors in Jewish history. It certainly is the one most in demand in our current Jewish world today as well.

 

Shabat shalom. Rabbi Berel Wein

 

Rabbi Berel Wein- Jewish historian, author and international lecturer offers a complete selection of CDs,

Crash course in Jewish history

audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, and books on Jewish history at www.rabbiwein.com

 

A Change of Heart • Torah.org

 

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.

 

Text Copyright © 2006 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

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

Pawns in Divine Hands

 

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

 

 

To See the Good • Torah.org

 

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 he 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!

Hashem Peeking From Behind the Curtain

 

Posted on November 21, 2013 (5774) 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.

Drama Director • Torah.org

 

Posted on December 20, 2019 (5780) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

In this great emotional drama that will consume the balance of the sections of this book of the Torah, we are witness to a very difficult family situation and the dynamic consequences that it creates. The Torah itself testifies to the love and favoritism that Jacob shows towards his son Joseph. We can well understand this relationship of Jacob to Joseph, since Joseph strongly resembled his father physically, was extremely talented and precocious, and was the son of Jacob’s

beloved wife, Rachel. However Jewish tradition raised objections to the overt favoritism shown to Joseph by Jacob when he bestowed upon him the special garment that signified their bond and love for one another.

We can also understand why Joseph himself felt so special, and justified in lording it over  his brothers, by telling them of his dreams and ambitions. Again, the traditional commentaries to the Torah found fault in Joseph’s youthful arrogance and lack of   judgment. And, finally, we can also appreciate how hurt the brothers were by the actions of their father and brother.

They were so hurt that they felt that Joseph was an existential threat to their very survival    as a family and future nation. So, we are faced with a situation where all the leading people involved in the story are both right and wrong at the very same time. We can appreciate the feelings of each of the parties to the story, and, yet we are aware of the disaster and trauma that could result.

There is an over-arching drama that is being enacted here in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Jewish tradition teaches us that we are all somehow mere actors in the great  drama of human civilization, presented on the stage of Jewish history. Even though each of the individuals involved in the narrative presented in this week’s Torah reading apparently acts on his own volition, the sum total of their actions will result in the descent of the   Jewish people into Egyptian slavery and the eventual redemption and acceptance of the Torah at Sinai.

We recite in our daily prayers that there are many thoughts and intentions in the hearts of human beings, but that eventually it is the guidance of Heaven that will prevail. Nowhere is this basic understanding of the pattern of Jewish history more evident than it is in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Everyone involved seemingly follows their own individual   course of action, but the result is a historic change in the dynamics of the family and the trajectory of Jewish history. Only if we step back and view the entire chain of events in its totality can we begin to see this emerging pattern as the will of Heaven guiding the family     of Jacob and the Jewish people.

Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein