Mikeitz – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

ויקרא פרעה שם יוסף צפנת פענח ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן און לאשה ויצא יוסף על ארץ מצרים

Pharaoh called Yosef’s name Tzafnas-Paneach and he gave him Osnas bas Potiphera, chief of On, as a wife. Thus, Yosef emerged in charge of the land of Egypt. (41:45)

Pharaoh was confronted with a major policy decision. A brilliant young man stood before him, who had the ability not only to save the country, but also to fill Pharaoh’s coffers with enormous wealth. The problem was that not only was he a slave – he was also a Hebrew. This would not sit well with his pagan populace. While they thought little of their slave population – they reviled Jews! What was Pharaoh to do? How was he to concoct an extreme makeover of Yosef and transform him into an “acceptable” Egyptian? The Torah gives us the answer when…

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אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Mikeitz

You shall be in charge of my palace, and by your command shall all my people be sustained. (41:40)

In Parashas Shemos (1:8), the Torah writes, Vayakam melech chadash al Mitzrayim, “A new king arose over Egypt.” Chazal debate the meaning of “a new king.” Was he actually a new king? Or was he the same Pharaoh that had coroneted Yosef as a viceroy over Egypt? He suffered from “memory loss,” quickly forgetting the benefits he had accrued as a result of Yosef’s wise counsel. Horav David Povarsky, zl, asks that if he was indeed the same Pharaoh who was so impressed with Yosef, why was it that the miracles and wonders of Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen did…

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ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

So begins the salvation of Yosef HaTzaddik, which would have commenced two years earlier had Yosef not shown a deficiency in his bitachon, trust in Hashem. After all has been said and done, Yosef truly suffered as a slave and a prisoner. He spent a good portion of his formative adult life away from family, alone in a pagan, immoral world. How did he do it? How was he able to maintain his extraordinary fidelity to Hashem amidst the multitude of tzaros, troubles, that accompanied him for thirteen years. This was followed by nine more years during which he was…

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יאמר פרעה אל יוסף ראה נתתי אתך על כל ארץ מצרים

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Mikeitz

Then Pharaoh said to Yosef. “See! I have placed you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” (41:41)

Hakoras hatov, recognizing a favor and paying gratitude, is a defining middah, character trait. One who is an ingrate is not a mentch, decent human being. Nonetheless, some individuals who, although not by nature ingrates, find themselves hard-pressed to recognize that (a) they owe something to someone, (b) that they have sufficient reason to show their appreciation. In other words, they seek every excuse to justify their lack of gratitude. They owe no one for anything. We all know people who seek excuses not to show their gratitude. We observe another form of character deficiency. A person helps; he is…

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ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן אן לאשה

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Mikeitz

And he gave him Osnas bas Potifar, chief of On, for a wife. (41:45)

Certain words in the English language are anathema to the Jewish religion. Coincidence, believing that things “happen” without being designated by G-d, is the antithesis of Jewish belief. We could devote books to support the notion of Hashgachah Pratis, Divine Providence, but why look anywhere but in our parsha? This is, of course, true throughout the Torah, but the story of Yosef and his brothers and the need to have him descend to Egypt so that they would eventually follow, is a classic example of Hashgachah. Yosef’s marriage to Osnas is a classic tale of Hashgachah Pratis as stated by…

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ויוסף הוא השליט על הארץ הוא המשביר לכל עם הארץ

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Mikeitz

Now Yosef – he was the viceroy over the land, he was the provider to all the people. (42:6)

Simply translated, the pasuk informs us that Yosef was both ruler and provider to the people. Horav Moshe Cheifetz, zl (cited by Tzeil Ha’Eidah), derives from here that a community/group accepts the guidance/ rulership/governance of a person only after he has shown that he cares/provides for all of them. Thus, he interprets the pasuk as: Yosef was the (accepted) ruler because he was the provider to all the people. When the ruler provides, people listen; when the ruler thinks only of himself or those close to him, he will eventually deal with a mutiny, people rebelling against him. Obviously, one achieves…

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כולנו בני איש אחד נחנו

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Mikeitz

All of us, sons of one man are we. (42:11)

The Egyptian viceroy (Yosef) had a hard time believing that ten brothers, an entire family, were required to come down to Egypt to purchase food. If it was a question of assistance, one or two brothers could have gone with a few servants. Why did all of the brothers leave their individual families if the job could have been carried out by a few brothers? Ramban explains that, being brothers, their father, Yaakov Avinu, wanted them to remain together. It was not a matter of strength in numbers; it was just that Yaakov did not want the members of his…

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ברך עלינו... את השנה הזאת

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Mikeitz

Bareich aleinu… es ha’shanah ha’zos. Bless us…this year

B’zeias apecha tochal lechem, “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread” (Bereishis 3:19). Is this a curse – or a blessing? Horav Yitzchak Kirzner, zl, explains that people would now have to work to earn a living. The idyllic state of living in Paradise had come to a quick end. As a result of their sin, Adam and Chavah had plummeted from their original spiritual perch to a life filled with challenges. Had they remained on their exalted spiritual level, earning a livelihood would have had a negative connotation. Why waste so much precious time? Now, however,…

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וייטב הדבר בעיני פרעה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Mikeitz

The matter appeared good in Pharaoh’s eyes. (41:37)

Pharaoh accepted Yosef’s interpretation of his dreams. It is not as if Pharaoh did not have his own wise men who were quite articulate in interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams. He heard what they had to say, but it was not to his liking. The dreams were not speaking to him personally. After all, he was a king, an individual responsible for an entire country. Instead, Pharaoh was enamored with Yosef’s interpretation. A clever king understands that the vision which he sees is not personal. It must embrace an entire country and must influence the lives of his subjects. Yosef told Pharaoh…

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ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Mikeitz

Yosef called the name of the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” (41:51)

Is forgetting one’s youth, his home, his parents, something to be happy about? Yosef seems to have emphasized “forgetting” to the point that he named his firstborn Menashe. Horav Yosef Nechemiah Kornitzer, zl, Rav of Cracow, explains that educating children is not about rebuke and pointing out what to do and what not to do. Children learn best when they have a positive role model in their parents. Seeing how a father speaks, his choice of words, how he interacts with others, his total demeanor, is probably the most effective manner of teaching a child how to act. Our actions…

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ויקרא פרעה שם יוסף צפנת פענח ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן און לאשה ויצא יוסף על ארץ מצרים

Pharaoh called Yosef’s name Tzafnas-Paneach and he gave him Osnas bas Potiphera, chief of On, as a wife. Thus, Yosef emerged in charge of the land of Egypt. (41:45)

אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

You shall be in charge of my palace, and by your command shall all my people be sustained. (41:40)

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

It happened at the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

יאמר פרעה אל יוסף ראה נתתי אתך על כל ארץ מצרים

Then Pharaoh said to Yosef. “See! I have placed you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” (41:41)

ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן אן לאשה

And he gave him Osnas bas Potifar, chief of On, for a wife. (41:45)

ויוסף הוא השליט על הארץ הוא המשביר לכל עם הארץ

Now Yosef – he was the viceroy over the land, he was the provider to all the people. (42:6)

כולנו בני איש אחד נחנו

All of us, sons of one man are we. (42:11)

ברך עלינו... את השנה הזאת

Bareich aleinu… es ha’shanah ha’zos. Bless us…this year

וייטב הדבר בעיני פרעה

The matter appeared good in Pharaoh’s eyes. (41:37)

ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Yosef called the name of the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” (41:51)

YEARS

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