Vayeishev – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

והנה ארחת ישמעאלים באה מגלעד וגמליהם נשאים נכאת וצרי ולוט

Behold! – A caravan of Ishamelites was coming from Gilead, their camels bearing spice, balsam and lotus. (37:25)

Rashi’s commentary is well-known. After all, why did the Torah find it necessary to mention the cargo carried by the Ishmaelite caravan? He explains that the Torah is teaching us that Hashem intervened on behalf of Yosef. Ishmaelite caravans usually transported foul-smelling cargo, such as naphtha and tar, but, in order to spare the righteous Yosef the discomfort of smelling the offensive odor, Hashem arranged for this caravan to carry sweet-smelling fragrances. Many lessons can be gleaned from Rashi’s interpretation of the sudden change in Ishmaelite cargo. Indeed, Horav Eliyahu Baruch Finkel, zl, categorizes these lessons, based on individual insights…

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וימאן... ואיך אעשה הרעה הגדלה הזאת וחטאתי לאלקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayeishev

But he adamantly refused… how then can I have perpetrated this great evil and I have sinned against G-d. (39:8,9)

Above the word va’yima’en, “but he adamantly refused,” are two cantillation signs/notes, a shalsheles followed by a p’sik; the shalsheles is a rarely used sign. Together, they underscore the word va’yima’en, indicating that Yosef’s refusal was emphatic and unequivocal. It was a definitive “No!” which offered Potifar’s wife no question about her ability to entice Yosef into committing a sin with her. He asserted that there was no room whatsoever for negotiation. It was only after he emphatically said, “No!” that he explained his reasons to her. From this pasuk, Horav Shlomo Amar, Shlita, derives the Torah’s approach to dealing…

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וישמע ראובן ויצלהו מידם ויאמר לא נכנו נפש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayeishev

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

What is the meaning of “Reuven heard”? Was he not present together with his brothers? He did not “hear” from afar; he was there! The Midrash explains that, indeed, Reuven was there; it is just that he viewed the situation from a different vantage point than his brothers did. It was as if he had heard differently than they did. When Reuven heard Yosef relate his dream, he heard something which the other brothers either did not hear, or to which they did not bother listening: Yosef mentioned that there were eleven stars. This indicates that he still included Reuven…

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ויכר יהודה ויאמר צדקה ממני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayeishev

Yehudah recognized; and he said, “She is right: it is from me.” (38:26)

Tamar could have saved herself and the two fetuses that were growing in her womb – at the expense of Yehudah. She was not prepared, however, to step on someone in order to save herself. Potifar’s wife wanted very badly to be married to Yosef. She wanted to contribute to Klal Yisrael. Yosef was not prepared to take the wife of his master. This was not only immoral; it was also prohibited. Chazal teach that both women had noble intentions. They both wanted a role in building Klal Yisrael. Something was apparently lacking in the l’shem Shomayim, acting for the…

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ויהי ד' את יוסף ויהי איש מצליח... וירא אדניו כי ד' אתו וכל אשר הוא עשה ד' מצליח בידו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayeishev

Hashem was with Yosef, and he became a successful man… His master saw that Hashem is with him, and all that he would do Hashem would make successful in his hand. (39:2,3)

People go through life searching for success. They are seeking that unique elixir that will provide them with favorable achievement in all of their endeavors. Some are fortunate to find it; while, to others, it remains elusive. What is the key to success? Wherein does one find the passport to achievement? Yosef was successful. How did he do it? Rashi explains the phrase, ki Hashem ito, “Hashem was with him,” as Shem Shomayim shagar b’fiv, “The Name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth,” to mean that he would regularly refer to Hashem in conversation. The Midrash Tanchuma elaborates on…

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וימאן... הן אדני לא ידע אתי מה בבית

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayeishev

But he adamantly refused… Look – with me here, my master concerns himself about nothing in the house. (39:8)

The word va’yimaein, “And he (Yosef), adamantly refused,” has above it a shalsheles, which is one of the tamei ha’mikra, cantillation marks, rarely used in the Torah. The few times it is used, it is for the purpose of underscoring something specific. In this case, it notes the degree of refusal manifest by Yosef – adamant. The word shalsheles means chain, which lends itself to an inspirational story that adds commentary to this unique cantillation mark. Our story takes place during the dread Spanish Inquisition, when Jewish life in Spain and Portugal became meaningless, and Jewish blood flowed like water….

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ועשה לו כתנת פסים... וישנאו אתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayeishev

And he made him a fine woolen tunic… so they hated him. (37:3,4)

When we recite the supplication during the Bircas Kohanim service on Yom Tov, Festivals, we say to Hashem, V’sitneinu l’ahavah, “And may You grant that we find love, favor, kindness and mercy, in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who behold us… Just as You granted Yosef, Your righteous one – at the time that his father garbed him in a fine woolen tunic.” It seems strange that we would ask for such favor, when, in fact, the kesones pasim, woolen tunic, triggered Yosef’s brother’s hatred toward him. What favor did he find as a result of this…

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ויאמר יהודה אל אחיו מה בצע כי נהרג את אחינו וכסינו את דמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayeishev

Yehudah said to his brothers, “What gain will there be if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?” (37:26)

Yehudah’s idea for preventing Yosef’s death comes across as preposterous. Once they had convened a bais din, court of law, and adjudicated Yosef’s guilt, they had no more patience for counterclaims, especially one that asserted that no monetary gain would be achieved. Is this a reason to spare someone’s life? Were they killing him for money – or because he was a rodef, pursuer, who was endangering the spiritual lives of each of them? Horav Yerachmiel Chasid, Shlita, quotes an explanation from Horav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zl, that illuminates this query, teaching us a significant principle in avodas Hashem, service to…

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ויכר יהודה ויאמר צדקה ממני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayeishev

Yehudah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I.” (38:26)

With his confession, Yehudah demonstrated his moral integrity, his willingness to stand behind his actions, even if they were later deemed inappropriate. He was wrong; Tamar was right. She was prepared to die, thereby shattering the very goal of becoming the progenitress of the Davidic dynasty and Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Rashi quotes a Midrash which teaches that Yehudah had no culpability whatsoever with regard to the entire incident; “Hashem said, ‘Mimeni, it is from Me.’ Yehudah did not advance toward Tamar by his own volition. Hashem orchestrated the entire scenario. He greatly approved of Tamar’s tznius, modesty, while in her father-in-law’s…

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ויהי אחר הדברים האלא ותשא אשת אדניו את עיניה אל יוסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayeishev

It came to pass, after these events, that his master’s wife cast her eyes on Yosef. (39:7)

Two women who went out on a limb, so to speak, were actually moseir nefesh, willing to sacrifice themselves, for a role in the eternity of the Jewish People: Tamar and the wife of Potifar. They both resorted to methods that were unseemly: Tamar dressed herself as a woman of ill repute in an attempt to entice Yehudah; the wife of Potifar practically forced herself on Yosef in an attempt to convince him to consort with her. Tamar went down in history as a righteous woman who acted l’shem Shomayim, for the sake of Heaven, while Potifar’s wife, although originally…

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והנה ארחת ישמעאלים באה מגלעד וגמליהם נשאים נכאת וצרי ולוט

Behold! – A caravan of Ishamelites was coming from Gilead, their camels bearing spice, balsam and lotus. (37:25)

וימאן... ואיך אעשה הרעה הגדלה הזאת וחטאתי לאלקים

But he adamantly refused… how then can I have perpetrated this great evil and I have sinned against G-d. (39:8,9)

וישמע ראובן ויצלהו מידם ויאמר לא נכנו נפש

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

ויכר יהודה ויאמר צדקה ממני

Yehudah recognized; and he said, “She is right: it is from me.” (38:26)

ויהי ד' את יוסף ויהי איש מצליח... וירא אדניו כי ד' אתו וכל אשר הוא עשה ד' מצליח בידו

Hashem was with Yosef, and he became a successful man… His master saw that Hashem is with him, and all that he would do Hashem would make successful in his hand. (39:2,3)

וימאן... הן אדני לא ידע אתי מה בבית

But he adamantly refused… Look – with me here, my master concerns himself about nothing in the house. (39:8)

ועשה לו כתנת פסים... וישנאו אתו

And he made him a fine woolen tunic… so they hated him. (37:3,4)

ויאמר יהודה אל אחיו מה בצע כי נהרג את אחינו וכסינו את דמו

Yehudah said to his brothers, “What gain will there be if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?” (37:26)

ויכר יהודה ויאמר צדקה ממני

Yehudah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I.” (38:26)

ויהי אחר הדברים האלא ותשא אשת אדניו את עיניה אל יוסף

It came to pass, after these events, that his master’s wife cast her eyes on Yosef. (39:7)

YEARS

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