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Miketz Pharaoh sent and summoned Joseph, and they rushed him from the dungeon... And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you in charge over all the land of Egypt" (Gen. 41:14-41) The Jewish people is presently in the dungeon of a harsh and bitter exile; for many years we have been bound and fettered by its shackles. But just as Joseph went directly from confinement to rulership, so, too, our whole nation will speedily leave the prison of exile and simultaneously ascend to the status of royalty with the full and Final Redemption. (The Lubavitcher Rebbe Zt"l, 28 Kislev, 5750) And with us there was a young man, a Hebrew...(Gen. 41:12) The chief butler's words attest to the magnitude of Joseph's trial. Even in a foreign land, thrown in prison among murderers and thieves, we see that Joseph maintained his identity and conducted himself as a Jew. "Since G-d has made all this known to you, there is none more discerning nor wise than you." (41:39) Once, there were two rich men who lived next door to each other. A dispute arose between them. They each claimed that a certain harp player had come to play outside his window and in his honour. In view of their wealth, and the seriousness with which they both took themselves, they brought their case before the great rabbi, the Noda B'Yehuda. They both apportioned a large sum to be given to the rabbi for judging the case. The rabbi said to them: "It is clear to me that the harp player came to play in the honour of neither of you; rather it was in my honour he came, seeing as I am receiving such a large sum for judging this case!" Thus it was with Pharaoh. When Pharaoh heard Yosef telling him that he should appoint a wise and discerning man, he remarked that his dream had not been, as he had thought, in his honour; neither was it so that they would not be devastated by famine, as the Egyptians had thought. The purpose of Pharaoh's dream was none other than that Yosef be raised to the pinnacle of power, and "since G-d had made all this known to you, there is none more discerning nor wise than you..." (Shaar Bas Rabim in Iturei Torah) "And they bowed down to him...and he recognised them and disguised himself from them" (42:6-7) The average person feels a great pain when he has been defeated by an opponent, in competitive or social battles. If Yosef's brothers had known when they were bowing down to the ground that this Egyptian minister was Yosef their brother whom they had disgraced because of his dreams that they were one day going to bow down to him, they would have been overwhelmed by shame. Yosef mercifully disguised himself so that they would be spared this agony of defeat. The Torah praises Yosef who behaved unlike normal people who would have relished the sweet flavour of revenge at the very least with an "I told you so" to impress upon the adversary the gravity of his mistakes. Yosef, however, did just the opposite. At the very moment when the brothers would have suffered the most (bowing down to him), he disguised himself to avert the shame they could have felt had he revealed himself at that time. (Kedushas Levi) "When the famine spread over all the face of the earth, Yoseph opened up all the store-houses..." Why did Yosef open up all the store-houses at once, rather than bit by bit, according to need? His intention was to prevent hunger-riots. Just as there are physical hunger-riots, there are spiritual hunger-riots. There are times when a person despairs, losing his hope in being able to serve Hashem. Therefore, at times of special holiness, the gates of heaven are thrown open for him, and, experiencing the brightness of enormous enlightenment, he becomes a new person with a different spirit. This throwing open of the gates of heaven comes entirely to remove despair from the heart of a person; that he should know that he has not lost his faith, and that he is still one of those upon whom Hashem calls. With this, he can begin again to serve Hashem with renewed strength and vigor. (Shem m'Shmuel) |
