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