פרשת ויגש
This week’s Parsha relates the dramatic events which led up to Yosef’s ultimate revelation of his true identity to his brothers. In the verse in which Yosef finally exposes himself, Yosef only says two words – “אני יוסף” – “I am Yosef”! The next verse goes on to say that the brothers were so shocked and embarrassed by this revelation that they were completely tongue tied and could not answer Yosef. There is a Midrash Rabbah on this verse which comments, “Woe to us on the day of reckoning. If Yosef, who was the youngest brother, managed to have such a deep impact on the brothers, one can only imagine what one’s reaction will be after one passes away and Hashem, who is the Master of the Universe will reveal himself by saying, ‘I am God’, how frightful that day will be”.
I believe that this verse requires explanation. Why did Yosef’s words have such a powerful impact on the brothers? Yosef didn’t portray any animosity or anger at what happened, and he didn’t even mention the events which led up to his incarceration in Egypt. We even find that he attempted to comfort them and was very nice to them in the way he said it. Why then should the brothers have reacted with such fear and shock? It must be that the brothers came to the realization on their own of the folly of their ways. They must have realized what a gross error they had made in their judgment of Yosef. They thought he was merely a silly young boy who spoke ill of them and had delusions of grandeur, but he turned out to be quite the opposite. We see from this verse a very interesting point – that when a person feels regret for past actions, the primary generator for that regret is not in what is said to a person, but rather in one’s own recognition that he has been acting foolishly. There is no greater rebuke, then the one given to person by himself!
The Sefas Emes and the Shem Mishmuel offer another interesting possibility. The verse says literally, “They couldn’t answer him (Yosef) because they were afraid from his face”. These holy Rabbis understand this to mean that when the brothers saw Yosef’s face, they were so taken aback and so impressed with what he had become and with all the holiness and purity they saw there, that they were quite simply awestruck! The Shem Mishmuel adds that they were doubly vexed when the realization hit them that they tried to murder or harm such a holy individual.
I would like to explain how one reaches a level in which his good deeds are readily apparent on his very skin. The Midrash Rabbah (Parshas Veyechi) says that in Yosef’s case this happened because of his success in withstanding the temptation of Potiphar’s wife. Through this unique act of self-control Yosef managed to reach a level of spirituality which paralleled that of the forefathers. Parenthetically, this should be very encouraging to us when it comes to controlling our passions when we see what amazing rewards are in store for us. How indeed can one reach the level where he is in such control of himself?
The Midrash says that Yosef told Potiphar’s wife that he wouldn’t be able to acquiesce to her because in his family, there are times when special chosen ones are called upon to be a sacrifice to God, and in case this happens to him, he wouldn’t be a Kosher sacrifice if he has committed such a grave sin. This was Yosef’s reasoning in controlling himself. Upon closer examination, this reasoning seems flawed. Firstly there was only one person in the history of Yosef’s family to be called upon to sacrifice himself and that was Yitzchak his grandfather. Furthermore, even Yitchak didn’t actually have to sacrifice himself, it was merely a trial to see if he would. What then was Yosef expecting?
We learn from Yosef and from this Midrash a very interesting component in one’s success in conquering his inclinations. We see that one’s striving for greatness can be very instrumental in helping one to do the right thing. Yosef’s desires and dreams of grandeur are what saved him from transgressing a grave sin and degrading himself spiritually and morally even though those aspirations that he had were not realistic. We too must always picture the incredible person that we can become, and use this image to always encourage us to do the right thing and never lower ourselves with the impurity of sin and defile that image.
There is a verse in Mishle (9:6) which says, “One must always strive forward, and never fall down to the abyss”. The Vilna Gaon explains this verse to be saying that although every person goes through times of difficulty, and has many challenges which attempt to sway him from his service of God, one must always be moving forward and have a strong desire for growth to prevent this downward pull, and this striving is the only thing that will prevent a person from the strong currents which try to drag him down.
Perhaps this concept is well expressed in the verse in Psalms in which King David says, “I have only asked one thing from God, and that is to dwell in His house all of my days…” We see from this verse two things. Firstly that one’s only desire in life should be to serve God in every way that he can. And secondly, we see that this desire should be a constant desire, never ceasing even for one minute.
It was well known, that in the Mir Yeshiva, R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz used to point out all the boys’ strengths with great admiration, but he would add with a twinkle in his eye that the ones who are going to come out the greatest, are the ones who want it the most. If he would see a boy who learned with great diligence during the course of the day, but at the end of the day, showed no desire to continue studying and just wanted to rest, he was convinced that that boy could never be truly successful in his growth. Whereas a boy who had an unquenchable thirst for growth and success, R’ Chaim felt that this kind of boy had a bright future. Chazal say, that nothing can stand in front of a person’s desire. If a person really wants something, there is no power on this earth strong enough to stop him from getting that thing.
May Hashem help us to truly strive toward Him with all of our hearts!