Vayeishev – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

יוסף ... היה רעה את אחיו בצאן

Yosef … was a shepherd with his brothers by the flock. (37:2)

As parents, we have an awesome responsibility to infuse our children with proper middos, character traits, coupled with yiraas Shomayim, fear of Heaven, and an abiding commitment to Torah study and mitzvah performance. As parents, we are our children’s first and primary mentors. The rebbeim and moros that we choose for them are a reflection of our standards. Last, the joy in mitzvah observance that we present will have a lasting impression upon our children as they journey forward in the world. Horav Nissim Yagen, zl, relates the story of two American families who, on the outside, maintained similar lifestyles,…

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וישמע ראובן ויצילהו מידם

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Vayeishev

Reuven heard, and he received him from their hand. (37:21)

Reuven had much to gain if Yosef were to be out of the picture. He was the firstborn. Yosef was a threat to his position, since he, too, was a firstborn. The shevatim rendered a halachic decision, finding Yosef guilty of being a redifah, a pursuer, who was bent on destroying them. Reuven attempted to dissuade them for one purpose: so that he could return later and release Yosef from the pit, thereby saving his life. Horav Zalman Sorotzkin, zl, observes the incredible level of atzilus, nobility, that was manifest by Reuven’s actions. As far as the shevatim were concerned,…

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והבור רק אין בו מים

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Vayeishev

The pit was empty, no water was in it. (37:24)

How sad it is when someone considers himself worthy of the appellation talmid chacham, Torah scholar, but does not really warrant this title. Heaven help the person who has the audacity to point out this person’s deficiency. He will be abused for lacking kavod haTorah, the honor due to the Torah, and its representatives. I wrote the word, “sad,” because this person is in a situation which, of course, he brought upon himself, and which he can survive as long as he does not press the wrong buttons. Otherwise, one day, someone who is far from being a scholar will…

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אין שר בית הסהר ראה את כל מאומה בידו באשר ד' אתו

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Vayeishev

The prison warden did not scrutinize anything that was in his charge inasmuch as Hashem was with him. (39:23)

Prison is not a happy place. It is usually reserved for the dregs of society. Many are there because they were unable to defend themselves against the prevailing circumstantial evidence. Others just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yosef was accused of a crime which he did not commit, but, in Egypt, as in most countries, this does not prevent the ruling class from disposing one into a system where he is lost – often forever. Yosef was admired and revered by the warden, as well as by the prisoners. They saw that something was…

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ברך עלינו ...את השנה הזא

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Vayeishev

Bareich aleinu … es ha’shanah ha’zos.

After Adam and Chavah sinned in Gan Eden, Hashem brought certain curses to the world. One of these curses was B’zeias apecha tochal lechem, “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread.” Toil and labor in the pursuit of a livelihood comprise a curse. Unfortunately, some of us have elevated this “curse” to blessing status, almost as if one looks for every opportunity to work himself to the bone in order to earn a living. Hashem provides one’s “needs.” Some of us “want” more than we “need.” This is where the curse enters into the picture. We work…

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וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו...ויראו אחיו כי אתו אהב אביהם מכל אחיו וישנאו אתו ...ויקנאו בו אחיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayeishev

Now Yisrael loved Yosef more than all of his sons…His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all his brothers so they hated him…So his brothers were jealous of him. (37:3,4,11)

Clearly the story of Yosef and his brothers is one of the most difficult passages in the Torah to understand. One must view everything which occurs in the Torah and the Torah’s description of these events through a spiritual lens, understanding full well that the actions of our ancestors are beyond our understanding, and completely inexplicable from a simplistic, secular perspective. Do we even have an idea concerning the spiritual persona of Yosef HaTzaddik – or his brothers, the Shivtei Kah? In a passage of the Midrash (Midrash Eileh Ezkerah), Chazal say the following: “Rabbi Yishmael said, ‘When I returned…

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כי ראתה כי גדל שלה והיא לא נתנה לו לאשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayeishev

For she saw that Sheilah had grown, and she had not been given to him as a wife. (38:14)

Tamar waited – and waited. Tamar was determined to have children from Yehudah. When she noticed that Sheilah had not been given to her, she decided to take undignified steps to realize her dream. If her children could not emanate from Yehudah’s sons, they would emanate from Yehudah himself. She was going to be the progenitress of the Davidic /Messianic dynasty. The Baal HaTurim adds to the above (Rashi’s) p’shat, explanation. When Tamar saw that she was not being given to Sheilah, she became anxious, filled with pain at the thought that she would not play a role in carrying…

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לאיש אשר אלה לו אנכי הרה ותאמר הכר נא למי החתמת והפתילים והמטה האלה.

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayeishev

“By the man to whom these belong I am with child.” And she said, “Identify, if you please, whose are this signet, this wrap and this staff.” (38:25)

What is the definition of yiraas Shomayim, fear of Heaven? A G-d-fearing Jew is one who is acutely aware of Hashem’s Presence, who understands that he stands before G-d at all times and that all of his actions and designs are under Heavenly scrutiny. A G-d-fearing person never loses his perspective of Hashem. This may sound like a given, almost a simple understatement, but, if one thinks about it, most of us act as if we do not think Hashem is “looking.” If one were to ask the average person how to develop recognition, a profound realization of Hashem, the…

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ולא שמע אליה לשכב אצלה להיות עמה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayeishev

If he would not listen to her to lie beside her, to be with her. (39:10)

Yosef HaTzaddik suffered greatly from the attempt of Potifar’s wife to seduce him. Chazal (Yuma 35b) describe her machinations in order to take Yosef down: “Every day, she would attempt to seduce him with words. The clothes she wore for him in the morning, she would not wear for him in the evening. The clothes she wore for him in the evening, she would not wear for him in the morning. After varying her wardrobe in order to arouse him, she said, ‘Surrender yourself to me.’ He responded, ‘No!’ She threatened to have him put in jail. He responded, ‘Hashem…

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וישמע ראובן ויצלהו מידם ויאמר לא נכנו נפש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayeishev

Reuven heard, and he rescued him from their hand; he said, “We will not strike him mortally.” (37:21)

Two of his brothers attempted to save Yosef from his fate: Reuven and Yehudah. Yet, it is only Reuven who has been recognized as the one who made the attempt, and it is he alone who has received credit for his effort. Why? Chazal (Makkos 10a) explain, She’hu posach b’hatzalah techilah, “He was the first to initiate the rescue of Yosef.” Yehudah made the attempt by convincing them to sell Yosef. Should he not also have received credit for his good intentions? The Ponevezer Rav, Horav Yosef Kahaneman, zl, teaches us a profound lesson concerning the true meaning of “saving…

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יוסף ... היה רעה את אחיו בצאן

Yosef … was a shepherd with his brothers by the flock. (37:2)

וישמע ראובן ויצילהו מידם

Reuven heard, and he received him from their hand. (37:21)

והבור רק אין בו מים

The pit was empty, no water was in it. (37:24)

אין שר בית הסהר ראה את כל מאומה בידו באשר ד' אתו

The prison warden did not scrutinize anything that was in his charge inasmuch as Hashem was with him. (39:23)

ברך עלינו ...את השנה הזא

Bareich aleinu … es ha’shanah ha’zos.

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו...ויראו אחיו כי אתו אהב אביהם מכל אחיו וישנאו אתו ...ויקנאו בו אחיו

Now Yisrael loved Yosef more than all of his sons…His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all his brothers so they hated him…So his brothers were jealous of him. (37:3,4,11)

כי ראתה כי גדל שלה והיא לא נתנה לו לאשה

For she saw that Sheilah had grown, and she had not been given to him as a wife. (38:14)

לאיש אשר אלה לו אנכי הרה ותאמר הכר נא למי החתמת והפתילים והמטה האלה.

“By the man to whom these belong I am with child.” And she said, “Identify, if you please, whose are this signet, this wrap and this staff.” (38:25)

ולא שמע אליה לשכב אצלה להיות עמה

If he would not listen to her to lie beside her, to be with her. (39:10)

וישמע ראובן ויצלהו מידם ויאמר לא נכנו נפש

Reuven heard, and he rescued him from their hand; he said, “We will not strike him mortally.” (37:21)

YEARS

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