Mikeitz – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן אן לאשה

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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וירא יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Mikeitz

Yaakov perceived that there were provisions in Egypt. (42:1)

When the Baal HaTanya, zl, was taken to prison in St. Petersburg, he asked one of his Chassidim to take a kvittel, written petition asking for a blessing, to his mechutan (father of child’s spouse) and close friend, Horav Levi Yitzchak Berdichever, zl. The Berditchever asked the messenger for Rav Shneur Zalman’s mother’s name. The chasid did not know. Rav Levi Yitzchak took out a Chumash and made a goral, lot, a means of turning pages in such a manner that the last page will have a pasuk which reveals the answer to one’s question. Obviously, only a Torah scholar…

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על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Mikeitz

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

Yosef challenged his brothers, declaring that they were spies. They, of course, denied his allegations. As proof to their insistence that they were all brothers, Yosef demanded that they leave one brother in Egypt as “security,” while the rest would return home and come back with Benyamin. The brothers now realized that all was not well. Something was wrong. Hashem was sending them a message. The word eileinu, which is translated “upon us,” really means “to us.” The pasuk should rather have been written with the word aleinu, which means upon/on us. In his Lekutei MoHaran, Horav Nachman Breslover, zl,…

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וקל שקי יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Mikeitz

And many Keil Shakkai grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

The Midrash Tanchuma questions why Yaakov Avinu blessed his sons using the Name Keil Shakkai. They explain that our Patriarch endured much adversity in his life. While yet in the womb, he fought with his twin brother, Eisav. It was not easy growing up with such a brother, having to look over his shoulder constantly to see if Eisav was planning a terror attack against him. Finally, when the opportunity materialized, Yaakov escaped home, only to land in the home of his corrupt uncle, Lavan. After twenty years of swindling and deceit, Yaakov once again escaped. Three days later,…

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וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכירם ויתנכר להם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Mikeitz

Yosef saw his brothers and he recognized them, but he acted like a stranger towards them. (42:7)

Yosef apparently wanted to conceal his identity from his brothers. He wanted them to think that he was the Egyptian viceroy, a pagan, not a Jew, and certainly not their long-lost brother, Yosef. Why? A practical, insightful explanation for Yosef’s behavior is rendered by Horav Moshe Yaakov Ribicov, zl, the holy man known as the Der Shuster, HaSandlor, the Shoemaker. Let me first digress from the subject and introduce the reading audience to this holy man. The Sandlor lived in Tel Aviv, and the Chazon Ish considered him to be rosh ha’lamed vov tzaddikim, the head/leader of the thirty-six righteous…

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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)

וירא יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים

Yaakov perceived that there were provisions in Egypt. (42:1)

על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

וקל שקי יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

And many Keil Shakkai grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכירם ויתנכר להם

Yosef saw his brothers and he recognized them, but he acted like a stranger towards them. (42:7)

YEARS

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