Transcript
Okay, good morning. I want to thank our sponsors this morning, Irving and Bunny Turson in commemoration of the יארצייט yahrzeit of her beloved brother, יצחק בן פנחס Yitzchak ben Pinchas, and Maurice and Eva Kaufman in commemoration of the יארצייט yahrzeit of their beloved mothers, גיטל בת חיים אליעזר Gittel bas Chaim Eliezer and הדסה בת דוד Hadassah bas David. The נשמה neshamah should all have an עליה aliyah. I also want to take a moment, there are flyers around the room to encourage you to sign up because we're at almost 300 signed up. We're going to run out of space for the incredible workshop with Dr. John Gottman. Dr. John Gottman is really considered a, the world's expert on healthy marriages. His research, his best-selling books. I don't want to take time, look him up and you will see undeniably that he is an authority in this area. He is coming in the flesh. And that's at 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Sunday night, January 28th. You don't want to miss the seminar, this workshop. As I said, space is filling up rapidly and it'll be hard to get in. So sign up quickly before it's too late. פרשת וישב Parshas Vayeishev.This week we have the privilege of studying together this phenomenal פרשה parsha of וישב Vayeishev. For the record, we're not going to get into it. No, we're going to get into the פרשה parsha. We're not going to get into the series of questions. פרשת וישב Parshas Vayeishev on the surface is a פרשה parsha we're all familiar with. We know the פרשה parsha. I was lying in my son's bed last night, we were doing the פרשה parsha together. He has this great app, Shazak, that goes through the פרשה parsha. And actually I got a little bit nervous because I was concerned he'd see himself in the פרשה parsha, as we were learning about this youngest son born to an older father, the father loved him because they studied תורה Torah together, the siblings had a rivalry with him. So we I tried to anyway, I got a little bit nervous. But the point is that we read this as a five-year-old and that's the image of the פרשה parsha that sticks with us even into our adult years. And so it's a cute story and it has a nice ending because we know how it's going to conclude and we wrap it up with a neat bow, the reconciliation that takes place and they make their way to Egypt and spoiler alert, but everybody talks to each other once again and יוסף Yosef survives and יעקב Yaakov is reunited. But if you stop and you look at this פרשה parsha, it's incredibly troubling. It's arguably the most difficult פרשה parsha in the entire תורה Torah. I mean how could it be that the sibling rivalry was so bad that they wanted to kill their brother, they tried to kill their brother. We know horrible, horrible, horrible people who are absolutely alienated and estranged from their siblings, but they don't try to murder them. And here you're talking about the שבטי קה Shivtei Kah. These are the great fathers of the tribes of the Jewish people, raised in the home of יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, raised in the lap of their grandfather יצחק Yitzchak. Exposed to the teachings of רבקה Rifka, to רחל Rachel and לאה Leah. And they reduced themselves to attempted murder? And even though they held back from murder, but to sell their brother into slavery? And true חז\"ל Chazal look at our פרשה parsha, I'm not going in order in our overview here, but you all know this פרשה parsha. True חז\"ל Chazal look at the story of how יעקב Yaakov favors יוסף Yosef and they're critical and they remind us that we have to be so careful, so vigilant not to favor any child over another. But let me ask you, every parent knows that. Every child-rearing textbook doesn't even include that because it's so obvious, it doesn't even need to tell you. And yet, יעקב Yaakov didn't know that? יעקב Yaakov didn't know that it would result in enmity, it would result in in rivalry, to favor one child over another? יעקב Yaakov didn't realize that on his own? And יוסף Yosef, יוסף Yosef who has the appellation, is known to us as יוסף הצדיק Yosef HaTzaddik, didn't realize that not every thought and not every dream do you have to share? How exactly did he think they'd react when he says, \"Huh, this is an interesting dream I had last night. I was in the middle and you were surrounding me and you're all bowing down. What's the matter? You don't find that interesting? Isn't that fascinating?\" He didn't realize? He's a צדיק Tzaddik. יוסף Yosef the צדיק Tzaddik, so smart, so bright, so precocious. And he doesn't know and can't anticipate that you're already favored by dad, you got that colored coat. And you don't realize maybe you shouldn't share these dreams. And if you're sharing your dreams, you don't realize that maybe you shouldn't be running to fill your father in on everything your brothers do. That nobody likes a snitch. He doesn't realize that? So the פרשה parsha is unbelievably challenging. We can stick with our five-year-old version of the פרשה parsha. It's cute, and we know, and it's arriving ring, and it's a great precedent, and we know, and teaches us a lesson, don't favor a child, and. Or you could ask these really difficult questions. יעקב Yaakov, יוסף Yosef, the שבטים Shvatim. And we didn't even talk about יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar. Right? יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar, I mean, what in the world is going on there? That you don't carry the five-year-old memory because they don't teach it to you when you're five, when you're 10, when you're 15. תמר Tamar was an innkeeper. I don't know how they translate, but they don't even teach that to you as a kid. So you read it as an adult and you go, \"Oh, yeah, interesting story, יהודה Yehuda.\" יהודה Yehuda the the monarchy of Israel, יהודה Yehuda, one of the righteous fathers of the Jewish people. Yeah, it makes sense, he slept with a prostitute. He didn't know it was his daughter-in-law, he just thought it was a prostitute. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, that makes sense. Oh, it makes sense that תמר Tamar herself, a mother of the Jewish people who wanted to continue the name, of course she dressed up like a harlot. She knew how to do that, she knew where to sit, she knew how to conduct herself, she knew how to seduce him. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Let's not stop and ask any questions. So the over instead of an overview of the פרשה parsha, I'm actually trying to complicate your life. To realize that if you read the פרשה parsha honestly and without any preconceived notions, all you're left with is utter confusion.Now the שפת אמת Sfas Emes asks all these questions, and the שפת אמת Sfas Emes comes to a conclusion that I'm uncomfortable with, that I find challenging, maybe you'll like it. He says these questions are in fact so compelling, so difficult, that it's impossible to believe that any of these protagonists, any of these characters had free will. That clearly there was a divine master plan. The רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam was trying to make good on the ברית בין הבתרים Bris bein ha'Besarim. God was orchestrating and choreographing the Jewish history to bring us down to Egypt, and he suspended everyone's free will in order to choreograph a story that would result in that conclusion. That's the שפת אמת Sfas Emes. That the שבטי קה Shivtei Kah are beyond reproach. That the שבטים Shvatim, יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu's behavior, יוסף Yosef, יהודה Yehuda, all of the other tribes, they're beyond reproach, beyond criticism, they're not mere mortals. We cannot compare their lives, their temptation, their desire, their struggle to ours. So unusual, so out of character, so impossible to believe, that we have no choice but to accept that השם Hashem interfered with their free will and organized, choreographed these behaviors, these choices, as bizarre as they are, in order to arrive at the conclusion that they did. Okay, that's an approach. It's an approach. It's not the approach of our ראשונים Rishonim, who left and right in our פרשה parsha have no qualms. חז\"ל Chazal themselves, חז\"ל Chazal are critical of יעקב Yaakov for favoring יוסף Yosef. חז\"ל Chazal are critical of יוסף Yosef for talking לשון הרע lashon hara on his brothers. חז\"ל Chazal are critical of יוסף Yosef for being a נער na'ar, for being obsessed with his hair and looking in the mirror and how he appeared and his handsomeness. חז\"ל Chazal are critical for the brothers for not showing the leadership to stop one another when it when it went all the way down to the point that it did. So חז\"ל Chazal weren't afraid to say that there was some human foibles and failures and so, it's a challenging, challenging, challenging פרשה parsha. We're not going to answer all of that, we may not answer any of that. But I want to encourage us to read the פרשה parsha as adults, not as five-year-olds. To ask the critical questions, to try to understand at a deeper level. Maybe the שפת אמת Sfas Emes's approach does it for you, and maybe it doesn't, and that's okay. שבעים פנים לתורה Shivim panim laTorah. We have many perspectives on the תורה Torah, and that is, and that is okay.Let's go back to the very beginning. וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו בארץ כנען Vayeishev Yaakov be'eretz megurei aviv be'eretz Kenaan. The פרשה parsha begins with יעקב Yaakov. What happened at the end of last week's פרשה parsha was the reunion of יעקב Yaakov and עשיו Eisav, they go their separate ways, which the רב rav told us meant that they can't walk together. We, the Jewish people, if the world continues to deny God's role in it, his dominion of it, if the world continues to manufacture its own principles of morals and ethics and not embrace God's design, then we can't walk together arm in arm. There are going to be times that we have to go separately in different directions. And יעקב Yaakov tells עשיו Eisav, we can only walk together when, when משיח Mashiach will come. ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשיו V'alu moshim b'Har Tzion lishpot es Har Eisav. Only when השם Hashem's name will be made great, when you will accept השם Hashem that I have already accepted, then we can walk arm in arm. Until then, we walk in two different directions, we walk two different roads of life. A great instruction to the Jew. And then we have the story of ראובן Ruvein. And the פרשה parsha ended, more or less. And now we have this week's פרשה parsha. Has יעקב Yaakov been through a lot in his life? Would it make sense that יעקב Yaakov is looking to retire, some peace and quiet? יעקב Yaakov had to deceive his own beloved father. And then he was on the run for 20 years in the home of לבן Lavan, 22 years estranged from his father. Finally, he thinks he's marrying רחל Rachel, he switched with לאה Leah. He works very hard, he finally gets רחל Rachel. He struggles with infertility with his beloved, most beloved wife. He then escapes and the father-in-law chases him and challenges him, and he has to maneuver his way out of that episode. And you know, all he wants now, רש\"י Rashi quotes, וישב יעקב Vayeishev Yaakov. ביקש יעקב לישב בשלוה Bikesh Yaakov leisheiv b'shalva. All he wants is to move to Century Village, play shuffleboard, get the early bird special, learn the דף daf five times a day, maybe mix in a little mahjong or golf and call it a day. ביקש יעקב לישב בשלוה Bikesh Yaakov leisheiv b'shalva. He's just, it's enough aggravation, consternation, enough anxiety. Just want some peace and quiet. And what happens? רש\"י Rashi tells us, just as יעקב Yaakov wants ביקש יעקב לישב בשלוה bikesh Yaakov leisheiv b'shalva, קפץ עליו רוגזו של יוסף kafatz alav rogzo shel Yosef. I may be misquoting, I'm not finding it. But רש\"י Rashi quotes the חז\"ל Chazal, that just when he wanted to sit with tranquility and serenity, boom! השם Hashem throws at him this episode, maybe the worst of them all. His son, his youngest is beloved, most beloved son, not youngest בנימין Binyamin, but youngest from from רחל Rachel, and he thinks he's dead. And he's missing for so many years. Why would השם Hashem, what's what's wrong with retirement? What's wrong with sitting בשלוה b'shalva? What's wrong with having some peace and tranquility and quiet and calm? Why must life have its challenges and vicissitudes and why? Why can't we just have peace and quiet? So I'm not going to give you the answer to that, but I want you to think about that question. Because that is the precedent to the whole פרשה parsha. It's almost as if יעקב Yaakov's inappropriate wish to be able to live בשלוה b'shalva was actually the catalyst that instigated the horrific episode he then had to face. Had יעקב Yaakov not asked the inappropriate request, all I want is שלוה shalva, then he wouldn't have had to experience this horrific episode. But יעקב Yaakov asking לישב בשלוה leisheiv b'shalva was so inappropriate, so incorrect, השם Hashem had no choice but to respond in the way that he did. And I leave that for you as a question. But I want you to note the word וישב vayeishev. וישב יעקב Vayeishev Yaakov. Unlike we talked about last week in the beginning of last week's פרשה parsha, when יעקב Yaakov sends emissaries to tell עשיו Eisav, עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti. Right? We focused on this last week. I don't need to rehash the whole thing. What's the root of the word גרתי garti? גר Geir. And the רב rav pointed out already last week that יעקב Yaakov did not tell עשיו Eisav, עם לבן ישבתי Im Lavan yashavti. He specifically by design said עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti. What was he communicating? I may have been there for 20 years, but I never unpacked my suitcase. At least emotionally, spiritually, I never unpacked. I never settled. I unpacked my suitcase, 20 years is a long time to live out of a suitcase. But I never viewed myself as a fully integrated citizen, a resident, a part of לבן Lavan's home. I remained part of and apart from. Right? Last week we talked about אברם Avram buys the field from עפרון Efron. He is גר ותושב אנכי עמכם ger v'toshav anochi imachem. A גר geir and a תושב toshav, and in that way the Jew in diaspora is forever both part of and apart from at the very same time. יעקב Yaakov communicates that too, עשיו Eisav. And now we have in contrast, says Rabbi Soloveitchik. Last week was עם לבן גרתי Im Lavan garti. This week begins with וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו Vayeishev Yaakov be'eretz megurei aviv. Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that the earlier פרשיות parshios from לך לך Lech Lecha through וישלח Vayishlach centered around the relationship of the Jew to the non-Jew. אברם Avram with פרעה Paroh, אברם Avram with the kings at war, אברם Avram and יצחק Yitzchak with אבימלך Avimelech, יעקב Yaakov with עשיו Eisav. From וישב Vayeishev through the end of בראשית Breishis, the emphasis is now on the relationship among Jews themselves. The saga of יוסף Yosef's Sarah presents the idea of חטא chet and תשובה teshuva, sin and repentance. Only God is perfect. The human is by nature a sinner. Not even the greatest of our forebears walked without falling. Not committally, our forefathers had the courage to repent and confess, to plead guilty and to regret what they had done. Very much the opposite of the שפת אמת Sfas Emes. Says the רב rav, let me get you ready, you're about to read a story that if I made it up, you wouldn't believe it. If I presented it to you as a movie or a book, you wouldn't believe it. It's in our חומש Chumash though, we have to believe it. And says the רב rav, why is it there? So unbelievable because it's specifically to communicate that if our forefathers, if they could experience such simple sibling rivalry, if they could have such failure and poor judgment as a parent, if they could have temptation and seduction, then so could we. But just as they repaired the damage, just as they did תשובה teshuva, so too must we. And that's the lesson of וישב Vayeishev through the end of בראשית Breishis, says the רב rav.But back to that word וישב vayeishev. He writes, the word וישב vayeishev has the connotation of settling permanently. This verse strongly emphasizes that it was יעקב Yaakov's intention at this point to attach himself to the land of Israel. In the words of רש\"י Rashi, ביקש יעקב לישב בשלוה bikesh Yaakov leisheiv b'shalva. יעקב Yaakov sought to settle in peace. The words מגורי אביו בארץ כנען megurei aviv be'eretz Kenaan connote not merely a geographical location, but a love for the land that was both his father's and grandfather's home. The stage was set for the covenantal promise of inheriting the land of כנען Kenaan to be realized immediately. עשיו Eisav had left כנען Kenaan for שעיר Se'ir, clearing the way for יעקב Yaakov. Had the quarrel between יוסף Yosef and his brothers not taken place, the exile foretold in the ברית בין הבתרים Bris bein ha'Besarim of oppression in a foreign land for 400 years would have been fulfilled through יעקב Yaakov's sojourn through חרן Charan. God's arithmetic is different from man's. If the Egyptian servitude was in fact reduced from the promised 400 to 210, then God could have further reduced it to 20 years that יעקב Yaakov himself was in exile. Thus obviating the Egyptian exile entirely. The discord among יעקב Yaakov's children thwarted his plan to inherit ארץ מגורי אביו Eretz Megurei Aviv. יעקב Yaakov was done being a גר geir. He was sick and tired of being a stranger, of being a guest, of being the other, which all generates antisemitism and persecution and bias. יעקב Yaakov wanted to be a תושב toshav. He wanted to be a full citizen, he wanted to live in his own country, ארץ מגורי אביו Eretz Megurei Aviv. He wanted to be in his homeland. That's what he wanted. וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו Vayeishev Yaakov be'eretz megurei aviv. And the use of the word וישב vayeishev with מגורי אביו megurei aviv is telling us that he wanted to be done with the גר geir, he was done traveling, journeying the exile experience. He wanted to come home. He wanted to be at home, he wanted to feel at home.And the פרשה parsha continues by telling us אלה תולדות יעקב Eileh toldos Yaakov. יוסף בן שבע עשרה שנה Yosef ben shva esrei shana. So you could read this in one of two ways. You could read this and ask the question, אלה תולדות יעקב Eileh toldos Yaakov, these are the offspring, the progeny of יעקב Yaakov. What's the problem? The Torah doesn't then continue to list ראובן Ruvein, שמעון Shimon, לוי Levi, יהודה Yehuda, יששכר Yissachar, זבולון Zevulun. It didn't list the progeny. What happened? Why don't we complete the sentence? The answer is we did. Who is the ultimate תולדה tolda of יעקב Yaakov? יוסף Yosef. אלה תולדות יעקב Eileh toldos Yaakov? יוסף Yosef. And רש\"י Rashi explains that יוסף Yosef looked exactly like יעקב Yaakov. Not only the physical resemblance, but their mannerisms and their posture and their personality and so much. יעקב Yaakov demonstrated that he could keep what he had learned from his father even in a foreign land, namely among the home of לבן Lavan. And יוסף Yosef was destined to demonstrate that as well when he now would go to Egypt and have to live in exile in a foreign land. The תורה Torah tells us, חז\"ל Chazal interpret that נפשו קשורה בנפשו nafsho keshurah b'nafsho. The two souls were intertwined. יעקב Yaakov and יוסף Yosef were two peas in a pod. We can understand why that would alienate the brothers. יוסף Yosef is 17 years old. He's a בן זקונים ben zekunim to his father. And again, let's just very quickly because we all know the story. יעקב Yaakov makes יוסף Yosef the coat. יוסף Yosef has these dreams, intensifies the hatred of his brothers. יוסף Yosef is sent to visit his brothers. Right? What happens? יעקב Yaakov says, יעקב Yaakov says to יוסף Yosef, \"Go and meet you check on your brothers.\" He heads towards שכם Shechem. And he sees a man, רש\"י Rashi says the מלאך גבריאל malach Gavriel. We talked about the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, just an ordinary man acting as his angel, meaning doing something to help him. And he says, \"Oh, they're over there.\" So יוסף Yosef heads towards them. And when the brothers look up, what do they say? What do they say? First of all, who's he looking for? ויאמר Vayomer, who is he looking for? את Es. I'm on page 202. That's six eight lines down. ויאמר Vayomer, יוסף Yosef says, את אחי אנכי מבקש es achai anochi mevakesh. I'm looking for my brothers. את אחי אנכי מבקש Es achai anochi mevakesh. The שרידי אש Sridei Eish, רב יחיאל יעקב וויינברג Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg has an essay called את אחי אנכי אבקש es achai anochi avakesh. He's talking about a relationship with Reform, Conservative, with fellow streams of Judaism, and he names the essay את אחי אנכי אבקש es achai anochi avakesh. I'm searching, I'm seeking, I'm looking. מבקש Mevakesh. מבקש Mevakesh is an interesting word. It's more than just trying to find their geographical location, but מבקש mevakesh, I'm yearning, I'm desirous of. I seek to connect with. את אחי Es achai. יעקב Yaakov, like his father יעקב Yaakov, specializes in the attitude of אחי achai. יעקב Yaakov called the guys at the באר be'er, אחי achai my brothers. יעקב Yaakov calls his sons, אחי achai, brother. And יוסף Yosef says the brother, אחי achai, a brother is you one has a connection with, more than just a biological obligation towards. In in Hebrew, in the laws of אבלות aveilus, we talk about whether you can resew a shirt that you tore קריעה keriah. The לשון lashon, the language that חז\"ל Chazal, the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch later uses is to be מאחה me'acheh. When you restore, when you tie it, when you try to make it look like new, you're מאחה me'acheh. אחי Achai is a connection, is a bond, is to look like it's integrated together. So he's looking, and what do the brothers say? They see him from a distance, and what do they say? Oh, הנה בעל החלומות הלזה בא hinei ba'al ha'chalomos ha'laze ba. Look who's coming, the dreamer. They don't mean it as a compliment, Martin Luther King Jr. Right? They mean it, look who's coming, that dreamer's head in the clouds, the foolish. Now, some of the commentators point out, you see how low they have sunk already that they can't even use his name. Oh, here comes the dreamer. Here comes that idiot, here comes that loser, here comes that... They can't even call him a name. He's the dreamer. Look, here comes the dreamer. And again, we know they want to kill him. יוסף Yosef ראובן Ruvein intercedes from the plot. יוסף Yosef is then sold as a result. It's told to יעקב Yaakov, they dip the coat in blood and bring it to יעקב Yaakov. יעקב Yaakov refuses to be consoled, he's inconsolable. And then the story is interrupted and we've talked about previously, you could listen online, why the story of יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar comes in the middle of the story of the sale of יוסף Yosef. Chronologically, it likely didn't happen in this order. So why does the story of יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar, we interrupt the story of יוסף Yosef and his brothers to bring you the story of יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar? What is it communicating that it's דוקא davka here? And that's the story we're not going to talk about right now. יהודה Yehuda תמר Tamar, which like all the stories of משיח's Mashiach's יחוס yichus, משיח's Mashiach's יחוס yichus, I gave a שיעור shiur on שבועות Shavuos several years ago. משיח's Mashiach's יחוס yichus is absolutely the worst יחוס yichus a human being could have. יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar, רות Rus and בועז Boaz, דוד David and בת שבע Bat-Sheva, לוט Lot and his daughter, I mean every aspect of If משיח Mashiach had to prepare a resume, no one would let their daughter go out with him. Period. His יחוס yichus is so horrific, and this is part of it. This is part of his story.Good. We then come back to the story. יוסף Yosef is brought down to Egypt. He works in the home of פוטיפר Potifar. This is where we're going to study intensely. פוטיפר Potifar's wife slanders יוסף Yosef. And he's put in jail. In jail he meets the שר האופים Sar Ha'ofim and שר המשקים Sar Ha'mashkim. שר המשקים Sar Ha'mashkim is released from prison and he forgets יוסף Yosef. That's יוסף Yosef's punishment. Okay, that's the overview of the פרשה parsha. Let's get into our פסוקים pesukim. We did that faster than usual, so that we could actually see some of these פסוקים pesukim, although that doesn't say much. Okay. So I want to start from חמישי Chamishi, which is פרק לט פסוק א perek lamed tes, pasuk alef. Chapter 39, verse 1. If you're in the Stone חומש Chumash, it is on page 212, 213. Okay? Everyone see it? Good. Says the Torah, ויוסף הורד מצרימה ויקנהו פוטיפר סריס פרעה שר הטבחים איש מצרי מיד הישמעאלים אשר הורידוהו שמה V'Yosef hurad Mitzraima, v'yikneihu Potifar sris Paroh sar hatabachim, ish Mitzri miyad haYishme'eilim, asher horiduhu shama. Where are we in the story? יוסף Yosef has been sold down to Egypt. He arrives in Egypt, as a slave, he's auctioned in the marketplace, and who purchases him? פוטיפר Potifar. יוסף Yosef is brought down to Egypt. פוטיפר Potifar, who works for פרעה Paroh, the שר הטבחים sar hatabachim, who is an Egyptian, buys יוסף Yosef from the hand of the ישמעאלים Yishmaelim who had brought him down to Egypt. Why do I need all that information? We're reading it in a vacuum. But if you're reading the text straight, you've just come off the interruption of יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar. So you need to be reminded of where the story last left off, that the ישמעאלים Yishmaelim brought him down to Egypt and were selling him. And that's why it's included here even though it seems to be redundant. What does it mean ויוסף הורד v'Yosef hurad? Says רש\"י Rashi, חוזר לענין ראשון Chozer l'inyan rishon. The Torah is now going back to the story that it had left off. אלא שהפסיק בו כדי לסמוך ירידתו של יהודה למכירתו של יוסף Ella she'hifsik bo keday lismoch yeridaso shel Yehuda l'mechiraso shel Yosef. When יהודה Yehuda descends into this not flattering story, it describes יהודה Yehuda as going down. What's the language? וירד יהודה מאת אחיו Vayeired Yehuda mei'eis echav. יהודה Yehuda went down from his brothers. And here it says ויוסף הורד מצרימה v'Yosef hurad Mitzraima. And רש\"י Rashi notes that the play on words, that both describing יהודה Yehuda and יוסף Yosef is הורד hurad, is to descend, is to go down. And telling us that there is a parallel between the two. שבשבילו הורידוהו מגדולתו She'bishvilo horiduhu migdulaso. ועוד V'od. ועוד V'od, כדי לסמוך מעשה אשתו של פוטיפר למעשה תמר לומר לך, מה זה לשם שמים אף זה לשם שמים kedei lismoch ma'asei ishto shel Potifar l'ma'asei Tamar lomar lach, ma zeh l'shem shamayim af zeh l'shem shamayim. שראתה באיצטרילוגן שלו שעתידה לעמוד בנים ממנו ואינה יודעת אם ממנה אם מבתה She'ra'asa b'itztriligan shelo she'asida la'amod bonim mimenu, v'eina yoda'as im mimena im im mibita. Wow. You talk about putting a positive spin. רש\"י Rashi says, just like the episode of יהודה Yehuda and תמר Tamar, you can't view that story simply as תמר Tamar actually was acting as a harlot. No, תמר Tamar had a noble intent. She wanted to continue her husband's name. She had no one else to marry. She understood that משיח Mashiach was to descend from her. She needed the spark of יהודה Yehuda. However you want to cabalistically reinterpret the story, we all know that תמר Tamar had a noble intent. Says רש\"י Rashi, the same was true with the wife of פוטיפר Potifar. Why was she chasing יוסף Yosef so passionately? Not because she had some driver urge, but she knew, based on her astrological sign, that her genealogy was meant, was destined to be intertwined with that of יוסף Yosef. She just didn't know if it was through her or through her daughter. Now, as it turns out, we don't talk about this a lot. Who does יוסף Yosef end up marrying? אסנת בת פוטיפרע Osnas bas Potifeira. יוסף Yosef ends up marrying his accuser's daughter. I've referenced that in the past and I always say, we can imagine what that Thanksgiving dinner was like. Must have been a little uncomfortable, פסח Pesach in that home. He ends up marrying the woman, his mother-in-law tried to seduce him endlessly, relentlessly. He escapes, she falsely accuses him, she sends him to prison, he ends up marrying her daughter. How exactly that works out, not for now. But רש\"י Rashi points out that lest we ascribe some ignoble intent to her, no, that like תמר Tamar, she had a noble intent. She knew their destiny was meant to intertwine. She didn't know if it was through her or through her daughter, and that's why she had such relentless pursuit of יוסף Yosef. Okay, that's רש\"י Rashi's interpretation. It certainly is not the simple meaning of the text. Says this ספורנו Sforno, ויוסף הורד v'Yosef hurad, בזמן אחד בעצמו ירד יהודה מאת אחיו וקרה לו כל מה שכתוב למעלה, ובאותו הזמן בעצמו יוסף הורד bizman echad ba'atzmo yarad Yehuda mei'eis echav v'kara lo kol ma she'koso l'ma'alah, u'v'oso hazman ba'atzmo Yosef hurad. The same language is used not to tell us about the intent of the protagonist in the story, but that it happened at the same time. While יהודה Yehuda was descending to his episode, יוסף Yosef was descending into his episode.Good. Let's keep going. פסוק ב Pasuk beis. We're already now far surpassed last week. ויהי ה' את יוסף ויהי איש מצליח ויהי בבית אדוניו המצרי Va'yhi Hashem es Yosef, va'yhi ish matzliach, va'yhi b'veis adonav ha'Mitzri. And יוסף Yosef finds himself now in a strange land, in a foreign culture, with a strange family. He's put in charge of running that person's home and is he successful? Absolutely, enormously so. Why? Because ויהי ה' את יוסף va'yhi Hashem es Yosef. ה' Hashem's with him. And he becomes an איש מצליח ish matzliach. ויהי בבית אדוניו המצרי Va'yhi b'veis adonav ha'Mitzri. He's in the house of the Egyptian and whatever he does, פסוק ג pasuk gimel, וירא אדוניו כי ה' אתו va'yar adonav ki Hashem ito. Now it's not lost on פוטיפר Potifar that since he put יוסף Yosef in charge, his revenue is doubled, his profit margin has doubled, his his portfolio has doubled. He can't help but notice what's going on. וכל אשר הוא עושה ה' מצליח בידו U'vchol asher hu oseh Hashem matzliach b'yado. And everything יוסף Yosef touches turns to gold. Now what's interesting? On the one hand, when the תורה Torah told us ויהי ה' את יוסף ויהי מצליח va'yhi Hashem es Yosef va'yhi matzliach, why was יוסף Yosef successful? Because God was with him. I understand how the narrator, otherwise known as God, would know that the reason that יוסף Yosef was successful is because of God. I understand that. But how did פוטיפר Potifar know? וירא אדוניו כי ה' אתו Va'yar adonav ki Hashem ito. פוטיפר Potifar saw, not just that wow, what a business mind this guy has. It's like Warren Buffett, it's unbelievable. Everything he tells me to invest in, everything he touches turns to gold. This guy's unbelievable. He doesn't just say, wow, he's a Wharton graduate. Wow, he's a brilliant mind. Wow, he's a genius. He says, wow, God is with this guy. וכל אשר הוא עושה ה' מצליח בידו V'chol asher hu oseh Hashem matzliach b'yado. And everything he does, God makes it successful. וימצא יוסף חן בעיניו Vayimtza Yosef chein b'einav, פסוק ד pasuk daled. וישרת אתו Vayishares oso. So you can imagine that יוסף Yosef finds favor in פוטיפר Potifar's eyes, because of course he does. He helps him, he helps him become wealthy. וישרת אתו ויפקידהו בביתו וכל יש לו נתן בידו Vayishares oso vayafkideihu b'veiso v'chol yesh lo nasan b'yado. So what's the result of it? So פוטיפר Potifar says, you know what? You're a broker, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, uh, I don't know, Merrill Lynch, Bernstein. And you give the guy, you say, let's try out. You know what, I'm gonna give you X amount of money. Let's see how you do. And the guy turns X amount of money into X times 10. He said, \"Here's more.\" So יוסף Yosef did well. So פוטיפר Potifar says, \"Here's the rest of my portfolio. You've now got the whole thing. You're my manager of my estate. You're in charge of everything. Everything.\" So let's go back to my question. How did פוטיפר Potifar know that it was because of God? How did he not think it was just because of יוסף Yosef's genius? So רש\"י Rashi tells us, פסוק ג pasuk gimel. רש\"י's Rashi's, you know, famously, every time רש\"י Rashi makes a comment, he's asking a question. He's answering the question. רש\"י's Rashi's style is not to explicitly ask the question. He gives the
