Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker Tov, welcome back to פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. Great to be together again and I want to thank you. To those who come in person, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, a packed sanctuary, it means the world to me to learn together. The energy, the eye-to-eye contact. For those watching online, if you're not living locally, that's fantastic. It's incredible to be able to learn together virtually, but you can't compare looking at a screen or listening while you drive to being in person. So thank you to those who make the effort to be here. I know it's for me not the slushies, the coffee, the free pastries. So I really appreciate it. Okay, פרשה Parsha Perspectives is generously sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מניש le'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manish. This morning שיעור shiur is sponsored by Dr. Goldie Sadaski in honor of Rabbi Yehuda Leib and Doris Kurtzer, her dear uncle and aunt, our beloved dear members, not been able to make it down yet this year. We wish them well and good health and, please God, hopefully we'll be able to see them sometime soon.פרשת מקץ Parshas Mikeitz, page 222 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. פרשת מקץ Parshas Mikeitz, the drama is building. It's growing. The brothers are going down to Egypt and they're encountering this יוסף Yosef and they're desperate and they need his help. And the drama is just building, as I say each and every week in בראשית Bereishis, we know the way it ends and yet, we're still at the edge of our seat, because every year, every turn, every time we learn the פרשה parsha again, we discover something new about it, which makes the drama come alive all over again.Page 222, פרק מ״א פסוק א׳ Perek Mem-Aleph, Pasuk Aleph, beginning of פרשת מקץ Parshas Mikeitz. ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חלם והנה עמד על היאר Vayehi miketz shnasayim yamim u'Pharaoh cholem v'hinei omed al ha'yeor. It's the end of two years and Pharaoh is dreaming. And here he is standing on the edge, standing over the river. There's so many questions in this opening פסוק pasuk, we're not going to to dive into them right now. I got in trouble last week. I asked you four questions I didn't give answers to, and I was harassed all week by people who were angry, felt entitled to the answers. And how dare I deposit those questions and make people think. So I'm not going to God forbid do that again. But ויהי Vayehi is a language of negativity. Why would we introduce our פרשה parsha? ויהי Vayehi is לשון lashon of a language of something sad. Where's the sadness in יוסף Yosef finally coming out of prison? יוסף Yosef is going to emerge and attain his freedom. יוסף Yosef is going to elevate to the viceroy of Egypt. He's going to sustain his family, he's going to sustain all of Egypt. Why ויהי Vayehi? Where is the sadness in that? And it's at the end of two years. Why did it take two years? It's the end of two years since what? Two years since when? It's the end of two years. What does that mean two years? And רש״י Rashi tells us it's the end of the two years after the the dreams, the prisoners, יוסף Yosef says, מדוע פניכם רעים היום madua pneichem ra'im hayom? We studied last week, where יוסף Yosef says, why are you so sad? Why are you so down and out? He interprets their dreams and he is remembered, but it takes two more years because יוסף Yosef showed excessive initiative. He should have had faith in השם Hashem that השם Hashem had a plan, השם Hashem would take him out in the right time. He showed excessive initiative so he had to wait twice as long, two years. And פרעה חולם Pharaoh cholem. פרעה Pharaoh doesn't say חלם chalam, he dreamed, he dreamt. חולם Cholem means present tense. He's dreaming. He's dreaming. Why does it say he's dreaming? Because he's dreaming over and over and over again. And in fact, חז״ל Chazal, our rabbis tell us for these two years he had this recurring dream. This wasn't one time. It was a recurring dream that was over and over and over again. Why did he need to dream it for two years straight? Why couldn't he dream it just once? Why couldn't he just dream it right when it's time for יוסף Yosef to come out? Why was he having this recurring dream in the present tense, חולם cholem, over and over? So those are the questions I'm not asking because I don't want to get in trouble for not giving you answers. והנה מן היאר עלות שבע פרות יפות מראה ובריאות בשר V'hineh min ha'yeor olos sheva paros yefos mareh u'vrios basar. And from this river that Pharaoh is standing over emerged seven cows of beautiful appearance, they are robust, healthy, ותראנה באחו vatirena ba'achu, and they're grazing in the marsh. והנה שבע פרות אחרות עלות אחריהן מן היאר רעות מראה ודקות בשר V'hineh sheva paros acheros olos achareihen min ha'yeor ra'os mareh v'dakos basar. And then there are seven other cows that elevate that come out of the Nile, רעות מראה ודקות בשר ra'os mareh v'dakos basar, they're ugly and they're gaunt and they're malnourished. ותעמדנה אצל הפרות על שפת היאר Vata'amodna etzel ha'paros al sfas ha'yeor, and they stand next to the cows on the shore of the Nile. ותאכלנה הפרות רעות המראה ודקות הבשר את שבע הפרות יפות המראה והבריאות ויקץ פרעה Vatochalna ha'paros ra'os ha'mareh v'dakos ha'basar es sheva ha'paros yefos ha'mareh v'habrios v'yikatz Pharaoh. And now the the scrawny, gaunt, unhealthy cows consume, imbibe, they ingest the healthy ones, יפות המראה והבריאות ויקץ פרעה yefos mareh v'habrios v'yikatz Pharaoh, and he wakes up. He wakes up. ויישן ויחלם שנית Vayishan vayachalom sheinis. And then what does he do? He falls right back to sleep and he has another dream. And our rabbis note, unlike יעקב Yaakov, that he wakes up from the startling dream of the stairway to heaven, the ladder bridging heaven and earth, and he says, wow, there's God in this place and I didn't know. And יעקב Yaakov is transformed as a result. יעקב Yaakov is changed. יעקב Yaakov is impacted. What does פרעה Pharo do? Turns over, right back to sleep. ויישן ויחלם שנית Vayishan vayachalom sheinis. He turns over, he goes right back to sleep. והנה שבע שבלים עלות V'hineh sheva shibolim olos. Nice for him that he could go back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night. But he wakes up and he turns over, right back to sleep. And now he's got the same dream in taking the case of seven stalks, the thin ones consume the large ones, the healthy ones and and so on. Which brings us to where we're going to begin, פרק מ״א פסוק ט״ז Perek Mem-Aleph, Pasuk Tes-Zayin. It's on the next page, because פרעה Paro is, he's startled by these dreams. They make no sense, they don't add up, and they are recurring over and over and over again. And he can't shake them and he can't understand them. They're not enough to wake him in the middle of the night for the rest of the night. He turns over and he falls right back to sleep, unlike יעקב Yaakov, but they startle him. They startle him. So he calls all of his interpreters, חרטומי מצרים chartumei Mitzrayim and וחכמיה v'chachameha, the wise one, the dream interpreters, the psychic network, he taps it all in מצרים Mitzrayim, and nobody, אין פותר אותם לפרעה ein poser osam l'Pharaoh. They're all no good. They're all unable to provide an answer, a solution. So what does he do? וידבר שר המשקים את פרעה לאמר Vayedaber sar hamashkim es Pharaoh leimor. This שר המשקים Sar Hamashkim tells Pharaoh, את חטאי אני מזכיר היום es chatay ani mazkir hayom. This is dangerous for me to even mention to you that I once failed you, but do you remember? Do you remember? There was once a fly in your drink, my bad, so sorry. פרעה קצף על עבדיו Pharaoh katzaph al avadav. Remember you got really angry at me? ויתן אתי במשמר בית שר הטבחים אותי ואת שר האופים Vayiten osi b'mishmar beis sar hatabachim, osi v'es sar ha'ofim. And you put me in prison together with the baker. ונחלמה חלום Vanachalma chalom. We were in prison, we had these dreams, and there was איש כפתרון חלמו חלמנו ish k'fisron chalamo chalamnu. ושם אתנו נער עברי עבד V'sham itanu naar Ivri eved. And there was with us a נער na'ar, a young man, עברי Ivri, he was מעבר me'Ever, he was another. He spoke a funny language, he dressed funny, wore a funny thing on his head. He was an outsider, but, but, ונספר לו ויפתר לנו את חלמתינו איש כחלמו פתר van'saper lo vayiftor lanu es chalmoseinu, ish k'chalamo pasar. He successfully interpreted. He was accurate, he was dead on. He predicted exactly what was going to happen out of our dream. And that's exactly what happened. So what does פרעה Paro do? The text doesn't even tell us that he responded. The text doesn't even tell us he said anything. וישלח פרעה ויקרא את יוסף Vayishlach Pharaoh vayikra es Yosef. פרעה Pharaoh sends and he calls him, ויריצוהו מן הבור ויגלח ויחלף שמלתיו ויבא אל פרעה vayeritzuhu min habor, vayegalach, vayechalef simlosav, vayavo el Pharaoh. Bring him, נו nu, bring him. Everyone else failed me. He's good at it? Go get him, go get him. It's interesting, רש״י Rashi already points this out, that when the שר המשקים Sar Hamashkim, when the wine pourer is telling פרעה Paro this story and he references יוסף Yosef, he references יוסף Yosef, he doesn't even use his name. Why? He's not interested in helping יוסף Yosef. Even though at the end of last week's פרשה parsha, יוסף Yosef says to him, I helped you, I calmed you, I predicted for you, I helped get you out of this predicament, do me a favor. Do me a favor. When it all works out well, not if, but when, I know it will, when it all works out well, do me a favor, will you remember me? Could you remind פרעה Paro about me? Could you get me out of here? And what does he do? Now that he's got his chance, this שר המשקים Sar Hamashkim, he doesn't do it to pay the debt, he doesn't pay the favor, he doesn't do it to help יוסף Yosef. He doesn't even mention יוסף Yosef's name. Why does he bring this up all together? Who is he helping? Himself. How is he helping himself? By being the solution to פרעה Paro and he thinks he'll somehow be rewarded or elevated as a result. And you see that from the text itself, because the text, he doesn't even use יוסף Yosef's name. And how does he describe יוסף Yosef? In such an insulting, degrading, judgmental way. He's a נער na'ar. And רש״י Rashi picks up on this. He says, נער, ארורים הרשעים שאין טובתם שלמה שמזכיר בלשון בזיון na'ar, arurim ha'resha'im she'ein tovasam shleima shemazkir b'lashon bizayon. Cursed are the wicked because even when the wicked do something nice, they can't do it nice. Even when the wicked do something right, they can't do it in a kind way. And where do you see that here? לשון בזיון Lashon bizayon, נער, שוטה ואינו ראוי לגדולה na'ar, shoteh v'eino ra'ui l'gedulah. There was this kid, immature, unsophisticated kid, unworthy of anything, but I'm trying to help you. So there was this kid, he was a נער na'ar. He was עברי Ivri, says רש״י Rashi, אפילו לשוננו אינו מכיר afilu leshoneinu eino makir. He couldn't speak our language. He doesn't speak Egyptian. עבד Eved, he was a lowly slave, but there was one thing that this immature, unsophisticated, lowly slave, non-Egyptian foreigner, one thing he did well, which was interpret dreams. So really credit me if it works out. I want the promotion. He is just some foreigner, outsider, doesn't speak our language, immature, unsophisticated, slave kid. But of course, it backfires, because they go get יוסף Yosef, and now פרעה Paro tells יוסף Yosef, חלום חלמתי chalom chalamti, I had a dream, ופותר אין אותו u'poser ein oso. ואני שמעתי עליך לאמר תשמע חלום לפתור אותו V'ani shamati alecha leimor tishma chalom liftor oso. But I heard about you, that you're good at this. ויען יוסף Vayaan Yosef, and now יוסף Yosef, and that's the פסוק pasuk I want to begin with. How does יוסף Yosef answer? What does יוסף Yosef answer? This is always incredible. Now, you're יוסף Yosef. You've been rejected by maybe your father who sent you to check on your brothers. When you got to your brothers, they conspired to kill you. They backed off of killing you. Instead they decided with their pity and compassion to throw you in a pit with snakes and scorpions. And then their greater compassion kicked in and ultimately, what did they do? They sell you into slavery. And even in that predicament, even in that circumstance, you rise to greatness. You become the in charge of your master's home. But lo and behold, what happens, you're falsely accused. You act nobly and virtually, with virtue, and you act with with morals and ethics, and and how are you paid for that? Falsely accused, thrown into prison, languishing, suffering there. And now you get out. It's your big shot. It's your big chance. They say, \"Joseph, come with me.\" Shave, change your clothing, you come into Pharaoh. You come into the Oval Office. And in the Oval Office, Pharaoh, the emperor of the world says to you, \"I heard you're good at something. I need your help.\" You're יוסף Yosef, what do you answer? How do you respond? It's true. I'm pretty good. I'm grateful. I've been given a gift. Nu, what's the dream? Tell me the dream. I can help you, and I have a future with you, and I can make a contribution to you, and I can be an ongoing part of the solution. Instead, יוסף Yosef does exactly the opposite of what any of us would have coached him to do. What does he say? פרק מ״א פסוק ט״ז Perek Mem-Aleph, Pasuk Tes-Zayin. ויען יוסף את פרעה לאמר Vayaan Yosef es Paro leimor. יוסף Yosef answers פרעה Paro and he says, בלעדי biladai, it's beyond me. Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't know what you heard about me. It's not me. אלקים יענה את שלום פרעה Elokim ya'aneh es shlom Paro. Oh, little me? No, it's not me. השם Hashem. השם Hashem has the ability. וידבר פרעה אל יוסף Vayedaber Paro el Yosef. And then Paro continues like, okay, whatever kid, here's my dream. And then he tells him his dream. Why in the world does יוסף Yosef say that? On the אמרות טהורות Amros Tehoros that we begin with this morning, לכאורה היה לו לומר מיותר הוא l'chora hayah lo lomar meyutar hu. It says, ויען יוסף את פרעה לאמר vayaan Yosef es Paro leimor. Well, if he answered him, he said something. If he said something, he answered him. Isn't it redundant to tell us וַיַּעַן vayaan and לֵאמֹר leimor? ומבואר שטבת לאמור מורה על מחשבה U'mevo'ar she'teivas leimor moreh al machshava. So the רחמסטריווקא Rachmastrivka quotes the אור החיים Or Hachaim, who says the word לֵאמֹר leimor is not saying what יוסף Yosef said out loud. To indicate the verb that יוסף Yosef spoke, he answered וַיַּעַן vayaan. לֵאמֹר Leimor is not telling us that יוסף Yosef spoke. לֵאמֹר Leimor is giving us insight into what יוסף Yosef thought. As we have later in ספר דברים Sefer Devarim, כי תאמר בלבבך ki somar bilvavecha, when you say in your heart. How do you say something in your heart? To say in your heart is another way of saying to think. Thank you, Rabbi Fox. To think. To say in your heart is another way of saying to think. So the word לֵאמֹר leimor says the אור החיים Or Hachaim is not indicating that יוסף Yosef said out loud, it's giving us a window into what יוסף Yosef thought inside. כי כשקרא פרעה ליוסף שיפתור חלומו, היה בדעתו של פרעה לשמוע חכמתו של יוסף Dinei k'shekara Paro l'Yosef she'yiftor chalamo, haya b'daato shel Paro lishmoa chachmaso shel Yosef. Whom did he hear about? יוסף Yosef. And he intends to encounter a brilliant, charismatic, insightful, analytical dream interpreter, יוסף Yosef. I heard about you, יוסף Yosef. יוסף Yosef, you interpret my dream. ועל זה יפתור לו חלומו V'al zeh yiftor lo chalamo. כמו שאמר ואני שמעתי עליך לאמר תשמע חלום K'mo she'amar v'ani shamati alecha leimor tishma chalom. And פרעה Paro says that. He says, יוסף Yosef, I heard about you, that you, תשמע tishma, you hear dreams and interpret them, לפתור אותו liftor oso. ועל זה סמך פרעה על חכמתו של יוסף V'al zeh samach Paro al chachmaso shel Yosef. And that's what פרעה Paro was relying on. He's relying on יוסף Yosef. ועל זה השיב לו יוסף V'al zeh heishiv lo Yosef. And what does יוסף Yosef, וַיַּעַן vayaan, he answers, לאמר בלעדי leimor biladai. It's not where you put the comma. It's not, ויען יוסף את פרעה לאמר vayaan Yosef es Paro leimor, comma, בלעדי אלקים יענה את שלום פרעה biladai Elokim ya'aneh es shlom Paro. It's not, יוסף Yosef answered פרעה Paro saying, \"It's beyond me, it's not me, it's God.\" No. Put the comma after, ויען יוסף את פרעה vayaan Yosef es Paro, comma. יוסף Yosef answered פרעה Paro. לאמר בלעדי Leimor biladai, שתדע נאמנה דכל מה שאני אומר לך יש לך לדעת ולחשוב אין הדבר נובע מחכמתי כלל she'teida ne'emana d'chol ma she'ani omer lecha, yesh lecha ladaas v'lachshov, ein hadavar novea mei'chachmasi klal. You need to know that whatever I share is not coming from me. I don't own it, I'm not smarter than anyone else. I don't have inherently a gift that is superior to anyone else. רק אלקים יענה את שלום פרעה Rak Elokim ya'aneh es shlom Paro. כל מה שאני אומר לך אינו אלא חכמת אלקים השם הדברים בפי ועל זה אני מדבר אליך Kol ma she'ani omer lecha eino ela chachmas Elokim hasam had'varim b'fi v'al zeh ani medaber eilecha. God puts the words in my mouth, God puts the thoughts in my head, God gives me the solution, the interpretation, and whatever I share, I'm just the mouthpiece. I'm just repeating. לאמר בלעדי Leimor biladai. ואם תרצה לשמוע חכמתי מגרעתא, אז לא תועיל כלום V'im tirtzeh lishmoa chachmasi m'greida, az lo so'il klum. If you want יוסף Yosef, it's a גארנישט gornisht, it's worthless. My interpretations won't get you anywhere. כי אין הפתרון משלי אלא מאלוקים Ki ein hapitaron misheli ela mei'Elokim. אבל אם תהיה מחשבתך לתרץ לשמוע כל מה יענה לך אלוקים אז יודיע לי השם יתברך מה לענות לך למיתת פתרון החלום ועל ידי זה יבוא לך ישועה Aval im tihiyeh machshavtecha l'taretz lishmoa kol ma ya'aneh lecha Elokim, az yodia li Hashem yisbarach ma la'anos lecha l'misas pitaron hachalom, v'al yedei zeh yavo lecha yeshua. So לאמר בלעדי leimor biladai. He said, you need to think in your head, פרעה Paro, you need to think in your head that it's God who's answering and he's doing it through this guy, יוסף Yosef. Then we're going to succeed. יוסף Yosef's giving him the conditions to be able to help him. Which is pretty bold, pretty brazen. One might think pretty foolish for someone trying to make his way out of prison, but that's יוסף Yosef. יוסף Yosef, who we saw in last week's פרשה parsha, שם שמים שגור בפיו shem shamayim shgur b'fiv. יוסף Yosef, living in a foreign land, abandoned by his family, living far away from the influences of his life, שם שמים שגור בפיו shem shamayim shgur b'fiv. He cannot stop talking about השם Hashem. He can't stop talking about God. Please God, thank God, God's will. He can't stop talking about God. So much so that in this moment, when this is his chance to freedom, he tells פרעה Paro, \"I don't know what you heard, but if you think it's me, it's not going to work. The only way this works, לאמר בלעדי leimor biladai, you have to in your heart know it's God. And if you surrender and submit and believe it's God and I am just the agent, then we're going to be good to go. But if you think it's me, we're not going to get anywhere.\" Wow. That's אמונה emunah. That's בטחון bitachon. That's outreach. That's trying to promote God's presence in this world and bring other people to see and to realize and to feel God. So if someone comes to you, you're an accountant, you're a lawyer, you're a surgeon, this is an indication about how to live our lives, how to pursue our professions, or how to even fulfill our hobbies. If somebody says, \"I heard you're an incredible bridge player, I want you on my team. I heard you know how to nail mahjong. You're a golfer? I put you on my team for the tournament. I'm coming to you as a surgeon because they say you are the best.\" And Jews, we only go to the best. We only go to the best. \"I want you as a lawyer because...\" The answer, יוסף Yosef taught us the precedent. The answer is, God has given me, lent me some skills and talents, but need to know they're his. I'll do the best I can, I'll work the hardest I can, I'll take the most initiative that I can, but in the end of the day, if this is going to work, it's only the condition of employment, the condition of this agreement, the condition of this partnership, the condition of my being on your team is that you realize that if it succeeds, he gets the credit. And if it fails, it wasn't meant to be, and I'll do the most I can, but ultimately it's all from him. You still want me? Am I still the one? That's what יוסף Yosef teaches us our attitude and our approach has to be has to be here. So פרעה Paro repeats the dream. And פרעה Paro repeats the dream. And we won't take the time now, but the way פרעה Paro repeats the dream, he does so with some distortions. It's not exactly the way that the Torah testified that the dream happened. But פרק מ״א פסוק כ׳ Perek Mem-Aleph, Pasuk Kaf. Continuing with verse 20. And he's telling him the dream, he tells him, ותאכלנה הפרות הרקות והרעות Vatochalna ha'paros ha'rakos v'ha'ra'os. And the diminished, gaunt, unhealthy cows consume the שבע הפרות הראשונות הבריאות sheva ha'paros ha'rishonos ha'brios, the first seven healthy, זאפטיק zaftig, good cows. ותבאנה אל קרבנה ולא נודע כי באו אל קרבנה ומראיהן רע כאשר בתחילה ואיקץ Vatavona el kirbena v'lo noda ki va'u el kirbena, u'mareihen ra ka'asher bat'chila v'ikatz. And he tells them they came inside them, wasn't apparent, their appearance remained just like at first, and then ואיקץ v'ikatz, and then I awoke. Says Rav Soloveitchik, ותאכלנה הפרות vatochalna ha'paros. And the meager and ugly cows devoured the first seven healthy cows. This aspect of the dream poses an obvious question. Cows, it's obvious if you know it, but cows are not known to be carnivorous. What do cows eat? Grass. Cows are vegans, vegetarians. How do you know? Because they'll tell you. Just joking. That's my joke about vegans. How do you know someone's a vegan? Don't worry, they'll tell you. The solution is based on an earlier Rashi, explaining the appearance of the healthy cows. Earlier Rashi said the healthy cows, it is a signal that during the years of plenty, people would be well disposed toward each other. No one envied the prosperity of his fellow because everyone was prosperous. No one envied the other because everyone was prosperous. I was just talking to somebody not from Boca. We're talking about how South Florida's exploding. And they were saying, well, it's beautiful in the community, the harmony, all the institutions, everyone gets along. And I said, you know why? We get along because we value getting along, and we work hard at it and we believe in it. And ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, we have tremendous unity. But it's also incredibly easy when every school's at record enrollment, every שול shul's at record membership, every restaurant's full, every everything is thriving and succeeding, it's really easy to all get along. That's what Rashi says. In the years of plenty, people were well disposed toward each other. Everyone was prosperous. No one was hoarding for themselves and there was no envy or jealousy. Rashi, writes Rav Soloveitchik, here defines prosperity. How is Rashi defining the prosperity? The years of plenty were not because the stock market went through the roof, because inflation was all the way down, because people were flush with cash. That is not the definition of prosperity according to Rashi. What's the definition of prosperity? A lack of competition and envy. People would be satisfied with what they had, not reaching out for what did not belong to them. That's prosperity. If you live in a prosperous generation, a prosperous society, a prosperous community, whether they have a lot or a little, it's because people are happy with what they have. That's the definition of prosperity. The definition of prosperity is not an external measure, not an external measure. It happens to be tonight's mega millions is closing in on a billion. And I don't want to give myself an עין הרע ayin hara that the winning ticket's in my pocket. But I I'm pretty hopeful. Not for myself, but for the campus. Could finally be done. No global campaign. So now you'll all דאווען daven for my pocket. So, prosperity is not because you got the winning ticket in your pocket. Prosperity is not because of the measure of your bank account, your net worth. Prosperity is when you're happy with what you have. When you're not filled with envy and jealousy, competitiveness, comparing, keeping up. When you could look and say, \"I'm happy with what I have.\" However, if during the years of plenty, the people acted selfishly toward each other, if they practiced hoarding and price gouging, they would figuratively eat each other alive during the years of famine. The normally herbivorous animal would suddenly become solely carnivorous. יוסף Yosef told פרעה Paro to avoid this eventuality by preparing for the years of famine during the years of plenty by taking control of the farmers and their produce. What the signal to יוסף Yosef, what he understood what was going on here, is that the definition of plenty is everyone's happy with what they have. If you could create a society where people are happy with what they have, even in the years of famine, you could give out and everyone can have enough without their devouring one another. But if in the years of plenty they're devouring one another, if in the years of plenty they're comparing and competing and keeping up, if in the years of plenty they're hoarding and price gouging, then in the years of famine you're finished. You've got nothing. You're going to be in the ultimate trouble. But you see from here, the Torah's understanding and definition of what it means, prosperity, what it means to have years of plenty. יוסף Yosef is incredibly ahead of his time. He has a very sophisticated understanding of economics and finance, the idea of the cycles, economic cycles, of when you have to save, for when you have to wait, to be able to tap into what you save, to live within your means, the knowledge that there'll be these cycles. Here we are, thousands of years later, and I can't tell you how many people have failed to learn from it. Sadly, how many people I know that in the years of plenty fashion lives and lifestyles that assume they will always have years of plenty. And when economic cycles turn as they always do, it's a גלגל galgal, the Torah uses the term גלגל galgal when it talks about צדקה tzedakah and economy and finance. Money in the גמרא Gemara is called זוז zuz because it's זז zaz. It's in circulation and it moves, and the cycles move. The the years of plenty will eventually catch up with us. There'll always be downturns before it turns up again. And if you don't heed the lesson of יוסף Yosef, if you don't learn early on from thousands of years ago, from the Torah, from that best-selling book that's back in fashion whose sales are up again, the Bible, that there are economic cycles. You have to save in the years of plenty to take care of yourself in the years of famine. And how many build lifestyles that assume they have one good year and they think that that year, that best year will be their every year. And now all of a sudden their lifestyle is built on that budget that was an outlier year and not the new standard, and they can't afford it and now they're in trouble. And it's a lot harder to give up what you had than to not have it to begin with. Three housekeepers and four vacations and super expensive leases and private memberships are hard to give up, much harder to give up than to not have. But a person has to learn from יוסף Yosef. And Rabbi Nachman says, we don't only learn from יוסף Yosef when it comes to our finances, we learn from him in other ways as well. Pasuk continues in פרק מ״א פסוק ל״ו Perek Mem-Aleph, Pasuk Lamed-Vav. Turn the page 227. פסוק ל״ו Pasuk Lamed-Vav. יוסף Yosef interprets, פרעה Paro's blown away by the interpretation. By the way, יוסף Yosef offers a solution, even though פרעה Paro never asked for the solution. What led יוסף Yosef to do that? What led יוסף Yosef to do that? יוסף Yosef, פרעה Paro dreams this bizarre scene, and not one of פרעה Paro's advisors was able to interpret it. And the butler recalls יוסף Yosef, and יוסף Yosef succeeds. But יוסף Yosef doesn't just interpret the dream. What does he do next? He offers a solution. He doesn't just acknowledge the problem that the dream presents, he provides the solution. And it's impossible not to be amazed by how presumptuous and seemingly brazen it is of יוסף Yosef in this conversation to not only interpret the dream, but to go above and beyond and do something he wasn't asked, which was to actually give a solution. How dare this slave who was released hours ago, who the shaving rash and cuts are still visible on his face, is now giving advice on domestic agricultural policy to the ruler of the world? He didn't just walk out of Harvard Business School. He didn't just, you know, finish serving as a a VC, as a great investor with a great track record. He's just out of prison, and now not only is he interpreting the dream, which is his specialty, now he's offering a solution. And how does פרעה Paro react? He doesn't say, \"How dare you? Who do you think you are? What are you talking to me? I didn't ask you for the solution.\" He he accepts it. פרעה Paro had consulted the interpreters and they failed, and he now hears from יוסף Yosef and he accepts it, and he's blown away by it. And in fact, his response is to say, \"Wow, have you ever seen anyone so smart? יוסף Yosef, you're now not only, not only in my cabinet, יוסף Yosef, you're not only going to be working in my office, יוסף Yosef, you're now number two. You're now number two. You now run the entire economy of the greatest empire on earth at the time of Egypt.\" How'd that happen? How'd that happen? What did יוסף Yosef see? What was יוסף Yosef thinking that made him so brazen to offer the solution, not only interpret the dream to see the problem? And if you look closely, you see that יוסף Yosef does something not another of the interpreters do. He realizes that from the dream itself was the solution, was the solution. And that is the Lubavitcher Rebbe points this out. The lesson of פרעה Paro's dream and interpretation goes deeper. Part of יוסף Yosef's advice is that פרעה Paro appoint someone that's wise, insightful, and discerning. ועתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים V'ata yerei Paro ish navon v'chacham v'yishiseihu al eretz Mitzrayim. פרעה Paro, seek a discerning wise man, put him in charge. The Lubavitcher Rebbe now questions the need to appoint someone who is unusually perceptive. It's an undertaking for an individual who's organized. If you want to save the economy, then be disciplined and organized. You don't necessarily have to be analytical. You're not investing, you're not picking stocks or mutual funds or investment opportunities. You're just being disciplined to save. So why does it need all of that? So, פרשת מקץ Parshas Mikeitz 1973, I don't remember if I shared this before. But the Lubavitcher Rebbe explained the following. The dream experts of Egypt did indeed conceive of יוסף Yosef's interpretation that seven years of hunger would follow seven years of plenty. But they dismissed this interpretation from their mind because it didn't account for one important detail of the dream. You could read פרשת מקץ Parshas Mikeitz a million times and you'll not notice this, and the Rebbe points it out. How did they understand the dream? They said, \"פרעה Paro, thin cows, fat cows? Oh, there's gonna be fat years and they're gonna be followed by years of famine.\" What does that not take into account that happened in פרעה Paro's dream? In פרעה Paro's first dream, he saw the seven ugly and lean cows came after the seven handsome cows. There was a moment during which both sets of cows coexisted simultaneously, and only afterward did the lean cows swallow the fat cows, but they coexisted, they overlapped, they happened simultaneously. And it was this detail of the dream that caused the חרטומי מצרים וחכמיה chartumei Mitzrayim v'chachameha, the wise men, to reject that interpretation, the fat and thin cows couldn't be fat years and thin years in the economy because you can't have prosperity and downturn happening at the same time. And if in the dream they coexist, if the dream they overlap, that can't be what the dream means because then it wouldn't explain how chronologically they could coexist. How could they coexist? You either have fat cows alone or you have lean cows alone. You can't have them both together. And that's where יוסף Yosef's brilliance, said the Rebbe, is dazzling. When יוסף Yosef tells פרעה Paro how to prepare for the coming famine, he wasn't offering him unwelcome advice. The advice was part of the dream's interpretation. יוסף Yosef understood that the coexistence of the two sets of cows was the solution. During the years of plenty, Egypt have to live with the years of famine as if they were already here. During the years of plenty, live with the years of famine as if they were already here. Don't just save for the future because maybe, and what if, and who knows, and it's the right way to be, and it's the right way to live. You got to save for your retirement, you have to never live in debt, you have to put away savings, you have to try to have a surplus, you have to budget for difficult years, you have to budget for the rainy day or for the broken roof or if you're unemployed God forbid, put away enough money. It wasn't just, you're... put in for the future. Yosef understood that the coexistence of the cows simultaneously was an indicator that the only way this works is if during the years of plenty, you're already living to a degree like it's the years of famine.As you're having your best year yet, say to yourself, how would I craft my life and my lifestyle and my budget if this were my worst year? How do you live, how do you live the years of famine even during the years of plenty? That's the only explanation of how the two sets of cows could have exist, coexisted, and that's what Yosef is saying. Yosef's not adding an addendum on his own of an interpretation. Yosef solved the puzzle. The puzzle that made the others fail. He solves the puzzle by offering the solution not as a separate solution, but as part of the entire interpretation, to be able to prepare for the years of famine even during the years of, even the years of plenty. And that's what explains his חוצפה chutzpah.But Rebbe Nachman has another interpretation. Rebbe Nachman says the following. פסוק ל\"ו Pasuk Lamed Vav. והיה האוכל לפקדון לארץ V'haya ha'ochel l'pikadon la'aretz, this is now Yosef's interpretation. The food will be a reserve for the land, לשבע שני הרעב אשר תהיינה בארץ מצרים l'sheva shnei hara'av asher tihyena b'eretz Mitzrayim, against the seven years of famine which befall the land of Egypt. ולא תכרת הארץ ברעב V'lo tikareis ha'aretz ba'ra'av, so the land will not perish in the famine. You know, this connects with the שבת שובה דרשה Shabbos Shuva drasha we gave last year, a couple of years ago, about your future self. I've spoken about it again. I spoke, no, I gave it a couple years ago, and then I spoke about it this past year in our in our four-part שובה Shuva series. You could find it online. To live the present with an eye on our future self. And I shared the research then. The research that judged people. The attitude and relationship we have with our future self is not a sibling or a child, is not a cousin. The attitude we have towards our future self is a complete stranger. And because of that, we don't get enough sleep now, we don't eat right now, we don't act right now, and we make the mistake because we indulge the present at the expense of the future. And if a person were to live as a חכם who's רואה את הנולד chacham who's ro'eh es ha'nolad, true wisdom is to see what will be born tomorrow from that which I conceive today. Why does it say רואה את הנולד ro'eh es ha'nolad? See what will be born. נולד Nolad. See what will be born because to live with righteousness to attain true wisdom is to live today seeing, knowing what will be born tomorrow from what I conceive today, what I conceive today.Imagine how much more regulated and disciplined we'd be in how we speak to one another, in the choices that we make, in the judgment that we issue, in how much we sleep, in what we eat, in if we exercise, and if we're sedentary or we move around. Everything would be different if we lived for our future self. If we could fast forward, if we could fast forward. Fast forward, no matter what age you are, please God you'll have a future self. If you could fast forward, and your future self would talk to you and say, do you know the cane or the walker or the knee replacement or hip replacement or surgery because you sat still and never moved? Do you know what the lab report is because of the way that you ate? Do you know the memory loss that you're suffering because you didn't get enough sleep? If our future self could talk to our present self and tell us and beg us and we would listen, we would change our present to ensure a better future. A lot more to say on this, so much in fact that I spent an hour and a half on it, שבת שובה Shabbos Shuva a couple of years, a couple of years ago. But that's what Yosef is teaching Paro, and that's what the Lubavitcher Rebbe was understanding that's part of Yosef's interpretation, not a secondary solution. The interpretation itself was, Paro, the only way this works is if entire Egypt in the present is living for our future selves. There's going to be a future, after seven years, there's going to be a future where the economy is going to turn. We're going to have a terrible depression. There won't be any food. Listen to our future selves in the present, not saving now for later but saving now as if it is already later. That's the brilliance of what Yosef understood where the others failed because that's the only explanation for why the two sets of cows overlapped. Rebbe Nachman applies this to something else altogether. יוסף יעץ לפרעה לצבור מזון לאגור אותו במשך שבע שנים השבע Yosef ya'atz l'Pharaoh litzbor mazon l'egor oso b'meshech sheva shanim ha'sova. I'm not reading to you from Rebbe Nachman proper, I'm reading to you from this beautiful ספר sefer, משולחן רבי נחמן Mi'Shulchan Rebbe Nachman, a collection, insights on the parsha based on the teachings of the holy Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. So Yosef gives advice to Paro to save. כדי שיהיה לאכול ממנו את הארץ Kedei she'yihiyeh l'echol mimenu es ha'aretz, ממנו את הארץ במהלך שבע שנות הרעב mimenu es ha'aretz b'mahalach sheva shnos ha'ra'av שיבואו אחריהם she'yavo'u achareihem. We need to have a storehouse. We need to have surplus. We need to have savings because there'll be a time we need to tap into it. עצה זו קשורה אומנם למזון הגשמי Eitzah zu kshurah omnam l'mazon gashmi. This is fantastic financial advice. Our society is not living it, just as an aside. Part of your responsibility as parents and grandparents, our responsibility, is to teach it to the next generations that you don't max out your credit cards, and you don't go into debt, and you don't indulge just because you want it. To live responsibly is to save. You got to get life insurance and disability insurance. You have to have a certain amount of savings to be prepared in case you ever went a certain amount of months unemployed. There are certain basic things that nobody teaches anymore. Not parents, not the חתן chassan teacher, not the Rebbe, not the מסדר קדושין mesader kiddushin. When you go to a שול shul, don't forget to pay membership and join. When you eat at the קידוש kiddush, and you go to the שלש סעודות shalosh seudos, and your kids use the youth department, and you ask the rabbi a million questions, don't forget to join membership. It's basic ממנשלכהייט mentshlechkeit. This should be a curriculum of man up. This is what it means to be mature. You're old enough to get married, this is what you need to do. Life insurance, disability, you got to balance a budget, you got to create a savings, you got to think about your retirement. It's basic 101. I don't know, that I'm very blessed. I say this not only because they're sitting here in the front row, these things were taught and ingrained explicitly and implicitly to me. I try my best to live up to them. I don't know if I'm doing as well on teaching it to the next generation, but we're we're fighting the tide in trying to do it. The world is now against us in that way because all of marketing and everything is, you know, just do it, and obey your thirst, and buy anything you want, and go into debt, and max out your credit cards, and keep up with everybody else, and it's a problem. But it's against the פרשה parsha. This is our מסורה mesora. יוסף הצדיק Yosef HaTzaddik. The whole way he got out of prison, and the whole way we got in and out of Egypt and set out on the path of our people, is because Yosef had this insight. We need to listen to it and learn from it. But Rebbe Nachman says what's true financially, and true economically, and true with our money, is also true spiritually. Listen to this beautiful teaching of Rebbe Nachman. This is such a Rebbe Nachman. In Likkutei, excuse me, לקוטי מוהר\"ן Likkutei Moharan, חלק א סימן רפב chelek aleph, siman reish pey beis. צריך להיות תמיד בשמחה ולעבוד את השם בשמחה Tzarich l'hiyos tamid b'simcha v'la'avod es Hashem b'simcha. We know Rebbe Nachman, עבדו את השם בשמחה ivdu es Hashem b'simcha on top of our ארון aron, when chosen, choosing a פסוק pasuk. There's so many. Know before whom you stand. We chose, עבדו את השם בשמחה ivdu es Hashem b'simcha. שמחה Simcha. What has to animate and inform and inspire our lives is joy, joyfulness, happiness, positive energy. אבל מה עושים כשיש נפילות בלבולים וספיקות Aval ma osim k'sheyeish nefilos, bilbulim, u'sfeikos? Even Rebbe Nachman understood there are things that are going to bring us down. What happens when we encounter doubt and uncertainty? What happens when we experience suffering and pain and hardship? What happens when we're going through overwhelming and difficult times? בזמנים כאלה צריך האדם להזכר בימים טובים שהיו לו לפני הנפילה ולהתחזק מכוח האור שהשיג לו באותו הימים B'zmanim ke'eileh tzarich ha'adam l'hizacher b'yamim tovim she'hayu lo lifnei ha'nefilah, u'l'hischazek mi'koach ha'or she'hisig lo b'oso ha'yamim. Said Rebbe Nachman, are you listening carefully? That Yosef HaTzaddik's economic advice when it comes to money is also true when it comes emotionally. When you're happy, when you feel everything's coming together, when life makes sense, when there's clarity and confidence and purpose, when there's a skip in your step and a smile on your face, bank it. Bank some of it. Bank some of it. Bottle it. Take those feelings, take that energy, take that attitude, take that perspective and bank it and bottle it, so that when you need to, you can tap into it. כמו שהעיוור שאינו רואה לאן ללכת סומך על פיקח שיובל אותו בדרך הנכונה K'mo she'ha'iver she'eino ro'eh l'an laleches, somech al pike'ach she'yovil oso b'derech ha'nechonah. Just like a blind person who doesn't know where they're going, they're groping in the dark, relies on someone who can see to get where they need to go. ולפעמים אין לעיוור על מה לסמוך אלא על מקלו U'lifamim ein l'iver al ma lismoch elah al maklo. And sometimes there is no other person, the only one they can rely on is their stick. אף על פי שהמקל כמובן לא רואה דבר Af al pi she'ha'makel k'muvan lo ro'eh davar. The stick doesn't see anything. אם כן בוודאי שיכול אדם לסמוך על עצמו וללכת אחר עצמו כפי שהיה אצל הנפילה Im kein b'vadai she'yachol adam lismoch al atzmo v'laleches achar atzmo k'fi she'hayah eitzel ha'nefilah. We can also count on ourselves, our stick that can guide us. אני של ימי החושך סומך על האני של ימי האור Ani shel yemei ha'choshech somech al ha'ani shel yemei ha'or. The blind person in that moment can't see, relies on the stick that also can't see, but he trusts it to get where he needs to go. The אני ani, the me in a dark period, can rely on the me from the light period that knows where to go and how to get out. ואפשר ללכת על פי ההערה שהיה לו אז V'efshar laleches al pi ha'he'arah she'hayah lo az. We can tap into what we bottled, what we banked. Emotionally, it's not only true financially, there is the ability to bank faith. You can bottle faith and bank faith. When things are going well, when you're positive, when you're happy, when you feel good, bank it, so that when you go through a dark period, you remember, you know, I was once on top of the world and it felt good, there was a skip in my step, and I'm going to get back there, and I want to get back there, and I know that that me is inside of me. So the me right now, I'm exhausted. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, I'm tired. Facing so many issues. How many people in this room, how many people listening wherever they are, are facing impossible challenges, suffering, struggle, waiting to be married, waiting for a child, wondering how they're going to pay the bills, overcoming an illness. There are real challenges out there. But even as we go through those periods of darkness, we know inside us is the light. There is the joy, there is the positivity. We've been there, we know it, we bottle it. Because if we don't, if when we experience the happiness and the joy, it's fleeting, and we move on and we forget it, then we don't believe that we have it inside us. We don't believe we could ever become that again. We don't believe that it's up to us to bring it back. So says Rebbe Nachman, the teaching of Yosef HaTzaddik to Paro and to the and to the economists of Mitzrayim is also true for us spiritually. When you have the wealth in the fat years of שמחה simcha, battle it. Battle it. Battle it. You know, the people who experience that later hardship, the future self, that needs the knee replacement, hip replacement, the future self that's struggling with can't eat anything with sugar or can't go here, can't do that, or needs to sleep and is miserable and and negative, and often wants to say, woe is me and why me, as has been pointed out, you never see the person who woke up, nobody came in here this morning and say, I ran to the parsha shiur and all my joints and all my limbs, they were working wonderfully. And I was able to digest the slushy machine in the lobby, which is essentially a cup full of sugar, and it didn't put me into a a hyperglycemic fit. And nobody says, you know, all my joints and limbs were working and I can enjoy a slushy, why me? Why me? Why am I able to have all these blessings? Nobody ever said that in history. Nobody ever experiences blessings and positivity and good times and says, why me? Why me? So when we hit the wall, when we have the struggle, when we're in the period of darkness, don't say why me, just like you didn't say why me when all those years and decades things went so well. Nobody ever had a blessing and said, why, nobody ever walked their child down the aisle and said, why me? Somebody else should be able to make a wedding, why me? No one had a child at the bris and said, why me? Bless somebody else with the children, why me? Say, me. I deserve it. It's for me. It's for me. So when you get the blessings, bottle them, bank them, says Rebbe Nachman. And in the years of emotional and spiritual famine, tap into them and remember where we come from. לכן צריך כל אחד לנצל את הימים טובים שבהם הוא מרגיש אור וקרבת השם Lachein tzarich kol echad l'natzel es ha'yamim tovim she'ba'hem hu margish or v'kirvas Hashem כדי לאגור ולצבור כמה שיותר לימוד, תפילות ומצוות k'dei l'egor v'litzbor kamah she'yoser limud, tefillos, u'mitzvos. וזה בשנאמר בפסוק U'zeh b'she'ne'emar ba'pasuk, והיה האוכל לפקדון v'haya ha'ochel l'pikadon. In the times of light, in the fat years, צריך להשתדל לקלוט הרבה tzarich l'hishtadel liklot harbei. Hold on to, collect, bank, bottle. לשבע שני הרעב אשר תהיינה בארץ מצרים L'sheva shnei ha'ra'av asher tihyena b'eretz Mitzrayim. So the difficult years when we'll have to come back and we'll have to turn them around. Okay. פרק מב פסוק א Perek Mem Beis Pasuk Aleph. Continue. Yosef becomes viceroy, he implements his plan, he gets married. That's a whole separate subject by the way, who he married. Who did he married? אסנת Asnas. Who is she the daughter of? פוטיפרע Potiphera. Who was Potiphera? Potiphera was that boss. Great. Did great for his boss. Who was the boss's wife? The one who relentlessly pursued and propositioned him and he had to flee and falsely accused him, becomes his שוויגער shvigger, his mother-in-law. What does that פסח Pesach seder look like? What does that חנוכה Chanukah party look like? What does that... It happens to be, again not for now, but על פי קבלה al pi kabbalah, the Kabbalists say that the wife of Potiphar understood that Yosef's children, his future, his descendants would come from Yosef energy with energy from her family. She misunderstood and thought it had to come from her, but really it was her daughter who was destined for him. So our rabbis try to attribute a positive approach to her by suggesting she relentlessly pursued him because she felt it was necessary to create these descendants that had to come from the blending of those two energies. She misunderstood, both because she was married at the time. He said no, and rejected her, and because it was the daughter, not her, but it's fascinating. They have two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, the Torah tells us the names, the etymology of the names itself is also very instructive and very fascinating. The famine devastates Egypt, and now we're up to, change scene, right? The curtain comes down on what's been going on in Egypt, and the curtain comes up and we're back in כנען Kena'an, Yaakov and his sons. It's amazing. It's amazing, the Torah. The drama. Hashem is the greatest theater producer, director, composer, author, incredible, incredible, right? We've been in Egypt, curtain comes down, and now the curtain comes up, we're back up in Kena'an, Yaakov is with his sons. ויאמר יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים Vayomer Yaakov ki yeish shever b'Mitzrayim, Yaakov sees that there is a famine in Egypt. ויאמר לבניו למה תתראו Vayomer l'vanav lama tisra'u. He tells his sons, למה תתראו lama tisra'u? Why do you make yourselves conspicuous? What does that mean conspicuous? Conspicuous? Why are you making yourselves conspicuous? What does that even mean? Conspicuous. Why do you show yourselves? Why are you trying to look like you got plenty? You don't have plenty. We're starving. We're all starving. There's a famine, there's a depression, the bank account's empty and the cupboard's empty, the refrigerator's empty, and if you make yourself conspicuous that you're trying to look like you're prosperous, people are going to be jealous and envious of you and you're going to get us in trouble. You're going to get us in trouble. So, don't travel with food in your hands because you're going to make other people jealous. Don't be conspicuous. Don't be conspicuous. Says the ספר שמואל Sefer Shmuel, Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, you see from here, למדנו כאן שאין הגון למי שיש לו שפע של ברכה ונמצא במקום שערבי אנשים אין להם ברכה, לא להראות עצמו לעשיר lamadnu kan she'ein hagun l'mi she'yesh lo shefa shel bracha v'nimtza b'makom she'arbei anashim ein lahem bracha, lo l'har'os atzmo l'ashir. If you're in a place where you're doing well, you're doing okay, you've managed something, but there are people around you who are suffering, don't be conspicuous. Don't stand out. Don't be ostentatious. Blend in, fit in, don't make others feel bad. אלא יתנהג בפשטות כשאר בני עמו Elah yitnaheg b'pashtus k'sha'ar bnei amo. וזהו מידה טובה מאוד V'zehu middah tovah me'od. Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, you see from this Rashi that a very noble character trait is even when you're doing well and you want to show off and you want to talk about, I predicted, I knew, I shorted the market, I'm doing fantastically, I was able to therefore get the upgrade of the car and build on the addition of the home and be conspicuous. If everyone else around you is in a depression and suffering, don't stand out. You will elicit the ire of our enemies, you'll create envy and עין הרע ayin hara on yourself. Don't stand out. אומנם יש לאדם להיזהר מה ידע שיחיה בפשטות, למה תתראו זה יעכב אותו גם מליתן צדקה מבני עלמא למה תתראו, לא יתן צדקה כפי ברכתו ויכלתו, אולי יש כזה עד שיחיה כעשיר Omnam yesh l'adam l'hizaher mah yeda she'yichyeh b'pashtus, lama tisra'u zeh ya'akev oso gam m'liten tzedakah b'nei alma lama tisra'u, lo yiten tzedakah k'fi birkaso v'yecholto, u'lai yesh kazeh ad she'yichyeh k'ashir. But then Rav Shmuel Berenbaum tags on and he says, but now, the person who's trying not to look conspicuous, in years of famine, is not standing out. So therefore when the rabbi comes over and says, we're running our campaign, we're building our campus, we're we're have our pillar society, it's global time, he says, you know, there's a downturn, the markets, business is not what it used to be, because after all Rav Shmuel Berenbaum told them, don't be conspicuous. Rashi Yaakov told his sons, don't stand out. He doesn't want to stand out to be the top giver. He doesn't want to stand out to be an outlier that he's able to support. Don't go so far. Relax, says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum. When it comes to צדקה tzedakah, be an outlier. When it comes to צדקה tzedakah say, you know what, I'm very blessed. So many others are struggling and suffering, I've done well. I'm not only going to give for myself, I'm going to make up for them. When it comes to צדקה tzedakah, when it comes to צדקה tzedakah, be the outlier. When should you not be the outlier? When you don't want to hurt other people's feelings, other people's feelings. I have a good friend who, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, is very successful. And he was once going for a walk with another, a mutual friend of ours on a Shabbos, and a boardwalk, obviously not in Boca. And they came across someone they hadn't seen in a long time, and the person said, you know, how are you doing? How's everything? I heard you're building a business. What's going on? So, the friend I've known since childhood said, yeah, you know, things are okay, but you know, the economy is down, everybody's hurting, things are okay. They went on. So the friend who was walking with him said to him, you know, you're killing it. You're killing it. Why did you tell him like you're suffering, you're struggling? So, the first friend said, do you think that that's what he wanted to hear? He obviously asked that because it's a hard time. It's a hard time for the economy, it's a hard time people are going through a hard time. He didn't ask it because he wants to hear that I'm killing it. He feels better not if I say I'm doing wonderfully, I just had an exit, I just sold my company, I'm doing fantastically. He feels better when I say it's a hard time for everyone. I'm also having a hard time. We're going to figure it out. We're going to figure it out. And that's what Yaakov is teaching his sons, למה תתראו lama tisra'u? Why are you standing out? Why are you conspicuous? You're only going to create problems that way. פרק מב פסוק ה Perek Mem Beis Pasuk Hey. ויבואו בני ישראל Vayavo'u Bnei Yisrael... Sorry, I skipped. Back to Rav Soloveitchik. What's the pasuk? ויבואו בני ישראל Vayavo'u Bnei Yisrael. The Jewish people come down. Yeah, pasuk hey. ויבואו בני ישראל לשבור בתוך הבאים כי היה הרעב בארץ כנען Vayavo'u Bnei Yisrael lishbor b'soch ha'ba'im ki hayah ha'ra'av b'eretz Kena'an. And now the sons of Israel, Yaakov sent his sons down, they came to purchase among those who came for the famine that was in the land. What do you mean among those who came? ויבואו בני ישראל Vayavo'u Bnei Yisrael. So Rav Soloveitchik says, ויבואו vayavo'u, they came. What does it say ויבואו vayavo'u? It should have said they went. Not they came. So Rav Soloveitchik says, their real mission did not consist of buying food. Their objective was to bring about the great reconciliation between the alienated brother and themselves. Providence looked upon the arrival of the 10 brothers in Egypt as the prologue to Jewish history, the first act of historical realization. The departure for Egypt was to transform 12 brothers into a great union. ויבואו Vayavo'u, they came. It should have said they went. Why does it say they came? Because says the Rav, the pretense of this, the pretext for this was money, a famine. But the real reason is Hashem is moving the chess pieces. Hashem is curating everything from above. Hashem is pulling the strings. Hashem is organizing everything. As we go through our emotions in life, we do the best we can, we take our initiative, we do what seems wise in any moment, but the whole time we need to know ויבואו vayavo'u, Hashem is orchestrating, he's moving, he's organizing. Things are going to turn out to unfold the way that he wants. They come in such a manner, the pasuk says, בתוך הבאים b'soch ha'ba'im, they blend in among those who are coming. What does that mean they blend in among those who are coming? Says Rashi, מדמים עצמם שלא יכירום m'damim atzmam she'lo yakirum. ויציוום שלא יזראו כולם בפתח אחד V'yitzivam she'lo yizra'u kulam b'pesach echad. שלא יכנס, אלא יכנס כל אחד בפתחו She'lo yikanes, elah yikanes kol echad b'pischo. Yaakov had instructed the sons when you get to Egypt, spread out. Blend in. Don't look like one group of of brothers, a band of brothers, because then you'll be conspicuous, then you're going to stand out. Sometimes, particularly in גלות galus, blend in. Blend in. So each one go in a different entrance, don't all go on the same line, don't travel as a group. כדי שלא תשלט בהם עין הרע Kedei she'lo tishlot bahem ayin hara, שכולם היו נאים וכולם גיבורים she'kulam hayu na'im v'kulam giborim. These brothers were all handsome, strapping, good-looking, smart. They walked in a room, they turned heads. If all of you walk in together, you're going to turn heads, said Yaakov, spread out. Don't welcome the עין הרע ayin hara. Be בתוך הבאים b'soch ha'ba'im, be among those who are coming in. Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, he offers three reasons, I thought so, he always was running out of time. Number one, this was a time of famine. It's מידת הדין middas ha'din. In a time of מידת הדין middas ha'din, when Hashem is approaching and judging the world through דין din, through strict justice, אין כדאי להוציא עצמו מן הכלל ein k'dai l'hotzi atzmo min ha'klal. You don't want to stand out. You just want to blend in. You want to be together with everyone else. When the Gaon Rav Elazar Yehuda Finkel was Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir, he refused to get an Aliyah on Rosh Hashana in his own Yeshiva, he's the Rosh Yeshiva. Why wouldn't he get an Aliyah? He said Rosh Hashana is a Yom HaDin. On a Yom HaDin, I don't want kavod. On a Yom HaDin, I don't want to stand out. On a Yom HaDin, I don't need the spotlight on me. Davka, specifically on a Yom HaDin, I just want to blend in. Give the Aliyah to someone else. So number one reason, בתוך הבאים b'soch ha'ba'im, blend in. It's time of din, a time of justice, blend in, don't stand out. Number two, the שבטים shvatim, these tribes were educated by the forefathers to live with הצנע לכת hatznei'a leches. Be בתוך הבאים b'soch ha'ba'im. You don't have to turn heads when you walk in a room. You don't have to scream for attention by what you wear or how you act or how many you come in. Just blend in. Just blend in. Just fall in. And that's a expression of צניעות tznius. One of the ways to be צנועה tzanua, צניעות tznius is not just skirt lengths and sleeve lengths and necklines. צניעות Tznius is, are you conspicuous or do you blend in? Do you want everyone to look at you? Are you screaming for attention? Or are you happy just to fit in? That also is a form of צניעות tznius. And number three he says, Bnei Yaakov understood that in a time of famine, in a time of giving out צדקה tzedakah, what's the hierarchy and order? עניי עירך קודמין Aniyei ircha kodmin. The people of Egypt, the citizens and residents of Egypt, they come first. So if you come in as this mission from Israel, we're on a mission to Egypt to go tap into the resources, they'll say get lost, turn around, you're not from here, you're not locals. And at a time of famine, you take care of locals. So therefore blend in for these three reasons, Yaakov tells his sons, בים ba'im, just blend in. פרק מב פסוק ו Perek Mem Beis Pasuk Vav. ויוסף הוא השליט על הארץ V'Yosef hu ha'shalit al ha'aretz, הוא המשביר לכל עם הארץ hu ha'mashbir l'chol am ha'aretz. Yosef, he was the viceroy over the land, the provider to all the people. ויבואו אחי יוסף וישתחוו לו אפים ארצה Vayavo'u achei Yosef vayishtachavu lo apayim artza. And all the brothers come and they bow down, they defer, they surrender to him because they are relying on, they are relying on him. הוא המשביר Hu ha'mashbir. What does it mean to be the משביר mashbir? The משביר mashbir, broken. משביר Mashbir is a funny word. Rabbi Yidudi came לשבור בר ממצרים lishbor bar mi'Mitzrayim. לשבור Lishbor is like to break bread. לשבור Lishbor is brokenness because the economy was broken and he is the one who's in charge. He is the שליט shalit, the to be שולט sholeit. שלטון Shilton is a ruler. He is the ruler and he is the משביר mashbir, the משביר mashbir. He's in charge of the brokenness. Breaking bread, broken economy. What does this word broken mean over over here? So the, Rav Shmuel Berenbaum quotes the Zohar Kadosh, the Rav Shpitzer, who says the following, based on a medrash. What did Yosef do to merit to deserve attaining and being elevated to this position? How did he deserve to be number two? How did he deserve to be in charge of the economy? So the medrash tells us, in that moment of incredible temptation, the relentless pursuit of the wife of Potiphar, the propositioning, he overcame, he overcame the temptation, the seduction. He broke his יצר הרע yetzer hara. שהיה על ידי ששיבר יצרו זכה להיות השליט והמשביר לכל עם הארץ She'hayah al yedei she'shibar yitzro, zachah l'hiyos ha'shalit v'ha'mashbir l'chol am ha'aretz. The Holy One Blessed be He, He showers with good blessing on the world, but there are many obstacles, God forbid, that cause that the blessing shouldn't reach the world. Says the Zohar Kadosh, the Rav Shpitzer, Hashem has unbelievable שפע ברכה shefa bracha He wants to shower us with blessing. But what happens is the flow of this blessing is coming down from above, it hits a wall. It hits a wall. There's blockage. There's a blockage. So this blessing that's flowing, the wire doesn't go through into our bank account. Something's blocking the wire. How do you break what's blocking the wire so the wire of ברכה bracha can be transferred to us down here? Says the Zohar Kadosh, when we break our יצר הרע yetzer hara, we break through whatever is holding back the שפע ברכה shefa bracha. Just like Yosef broke his יצר הרע yetzer hara. In that moment he was overcome and overwhelmed by temptation, by seduction, by desire. He was about to indulge and give in. He came that day לעשות מלאכתו la'asos melachto, but he didn't. He stopped himself. He persevered, heroically, superhuman, he overcame, supernatural. He broke, he broke that natural tendency, that natural temptation. He was שובר shover, he broke it. When he broke it, he broke the barrier that was holding back the ברכה bracha so the ברכה bracha could flow. ויוסף הוא השליט V'Yosef hu ha'shalit. How did he become the שליט shalit? הוא השליט Hu ha'shalit? How and why? Because הוא המשביר hu ha'mashbir. When you break the יצר הרע yetzer hara, don't keep watching that. Don't say that. Don't hold back giving that צדקה tzedakah. Don't spend on that that you shouldn't. Don't be... when we are משביר mashbir, when we break that יצר הרע yetzer hara, that temptation, we become שולט sholeit, we become a ruler over ourselves, then we allow the ברכה bracha, the שפע ברכה shefa bracha that was meant to flow our way all, all along. I want to sneak in one Chanukah thought. Chapter 42, verse 14. Page 248. We're going all the way to the end. מרגלים אתם Meraglim atem. Sorry. That's the wrong pasuk. מב Mem beis, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. מב יג Mem beis yud gimmel. 234. When Yosef confronts his brothers, right, he doesn't identify himself to them. They don't recognize him, which is a question. I'm not asking questions anymore, I don't want to get in trouble. But if I would, I'd ask that question. You got a lot of brothers. None of them recognized them? I understand the beard, no beard, matured, it's been a little time. Nobody recognized him? Nobody? It's a lot of brothers here. A lot of similarities. A lot of, you know, the way a person talks. Nobody recognized him? Or is something more going on? But anyway, they didn't recognize. ויאמר שנים עשר עבדיך אחים אנחנו Vayomer shneim asar avadecha achim anachnu. They say we're brothers. הנה הקטון את אבינו היום והאחד איננו Hineh ha'katon es avinu hayom v'ha'echad einenu, and one is not with us. And Yosef says, הוא אשר דברתי עליכם לאמור מרגלים אתם hu asher dibarti aleichem leimor meraglim atem. He turns to them and he says, spies, traitors. I know you, and I know why you're here. And don't tell me it's to get food. You're מרגלים meraglim. You have nefarious plans. You're traitors. You're spies. I've caught you. I've caught you. You're foreigners. He challenges them. Says the אם לחיים Im L'Chaim, and then he sets up this whole scenario. We're not going to get to this source, but we would have seen everything that's unfolding in these parshios, not only is it not bizarre, it is perfectly calculated. What happens? Yosef is setting the brothers up for the chance for the opportunity for תשובה שלמה teshuva shleima, complete and utter repentance. They had sold him into slavery, they had abandoned him, nobody rose to his defense. How could he orchestrate things so there would be a brother to test them, would they abandon him again? Would they leave him alone again? Would they fail again to rise to his defense? All of this is being orchestrated in order to achieve and accomplish that goal. Now, he held back Shimon. Why did he hold Shimon back the first time? Because Binyamin wasn't yet there. He needed to create a pretext for them to have to go back, get Binyamin, and bring him down. Who does he hold back? Shimon. Why does he hold back Shimon? What did Shimon... Shimon's the one who threw him in the pit. He was the right one to hold back and throw in a pit, called a prison. Why else did he hold back Shimon Rashi tells us? Who had proven himself to have fearless courage to attack? Shimon and Levi. He says, I got to separate Shimon and Levi. If I have Shimon and Levi and they go together, they might conspire to actually just fight me. So I got to break up Shimon and Levi. And who am I going to throw in the pit? The one who threw me in the pit. Shimon, you're staying with me. He sends them back to get Binyamin. Why Binyamin? The test would always only be complete. What is the closest he can come to what happened to him to test them? There's only one other brother that shares that mother. And that is Binyamin. Everyone else have has other mothers. The only other brother that comes from the same father and mother is Binyamin. So he has to get Binyamin down, he has to isolate Binyamin, and then I'll test the brothers to see, will they rise to the occasion? His dreams, Rashi at the beginning of the parsha tells us, his dreams are already coming true. Because what is the first thing they do when they come down to Egypt and they see him? וישתחוו Vayishtachavu, they bow down to him. Ooh. That's dream number one coming true. Yosef sees, wow, it's happening. It's happening. Not out of arrogance, not out of ego. What is Hashem's master plan for all of us? These dreams, these prophecies, they're happening, they're coming true. If you recall, one of the dreams, the sun and the moon, was his father. I got to get my father down here. How am I going to get my father down here? How am I going to make the rest of these dreams come true? How am I going to test the brothers to see whether they will abandon the closest thing to me, the only brother from the same mother? Will they step up and stand up in his defense? All that's next week. Suspense. But I want to end with this. He says, מרגלים אתם meraglim atem. Meraglim. בזאת תבחנו B'zot tivchanu, with this you'll be tested. אם בבוא אחיכם הקטן Im b'vo achichem ha'katon, will you bring your youngest brother? Says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, says the holy Vizhnitzer Rebbe. אמר להם יוסף צדיק יסוד עולם Omer lahem Yosef tzaddik yesod olam. Yosef said, אם רק אתם בעצמכם באים עם הצדיק, אין זו ראיה שאמנם רצונכם לקלוט כאן משהו im rak atem b'atzmchem ba'im im ha'tzaddik, ein zu ra'aya she'omnam r'tzonchem liklot kan mashu. אלא מרגלים אתם Ella meraglim atem. מרגל מלשון רגילות Meragel mi'lashon regilus. רגילות אתם לבוא עד הנה וחוזרים ושבים ובאים Regilus atem lavo ad heina v'chozrim v'shavim u'vo'im, כמצות אנשים מלומדה k'mitzvas anashim melumada. בזאת תבחנו B'zos tivchanu, אתם באמת מקושרים הדוק היטב לצדיק atem b'emes m'kusharim hadok heitev la'tzaddik, אם בבוא אחיכם הקטן הנה im b'vo achichem ha'katon heina. כשתבואו עם אחיכם הקטן והילדים, אז אדע שנסיעתכם היא אמיתית k'shetavo'u im achichem ha'katan v'ha'yoldim, az eida she'nesi'aschem hi amitis, מחמת התקשרות machmas hiskashrus. He says you're מרגלים meraglim, he doesn't mean you're spies. The root of the word מרגלים meraglim, רגל regel, leg, is the root of the word spies. מרגלים Meraglim means הרגל hergel. What's הרגל hergel? Habit. Habit. Pattern. You're just creatures of habit. You're going back and forth because מצוות אנשים מלומדה mitzvas anashim melumada. רצוא ושוב Ratzo v'shov, you're just creatures of habit, going back and forth, מרגלים meraglim. This is your habit. I need to know and I need to see, can you break out of your habit? Will you break out of your habit? How will I know? בזאת תבחנו B'zot tivchanu, this is your test. Whether you'll bring אחיכם הקטן achichem ha'katon. Do you bring the children? Will you mix it up? Will you mix it up? This is an allusion, says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, to our relationship with Hashem. Hashem says, it's nice that you go to the דף יומי Daf Yomi and דאווענען davening, it's nice that you go through all the motions, but you're just going through motions. You're just a creature of habit. Do you mix it up? Do you keep it fresh? Do you keep it new? Do you keep it new? And that my friends is what חנוכה Chanukah is all is all about. When do we light the Chanukah candles until? The earliest time to light, maybe, פלג המנחה plag ha'mincha, שקיעה shkiah. The preferable time to light is as of שקיעה shkiah, as of sunset. When is the last time you could light Chanukah candles? עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק Ad she'tichleh regel min ha'shuk. You have until the the feet are no longer walking around the marketplace. Which in South Florida in Boca is about 7:30 p.m. We've gotten very far in many ways. Our nightlife. No, we have a 10:00 מעריב maariv at BRS, so we're still, we're still happenin' and happenin'. 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 מעריב maarivs at BRS. You can still get a slushie at 10:00. You can still have your hyperglycemic fit at 10:00 at p.m. So, but עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק ad she'tichleh regel min ha'shuk. So if you fly in late, if you come from a business trip, if you have nobody to see, when is the last time you can light the Chanukah candles? As long as there's activity, as long as people are out and about, as long as the language חכמים Chachamim, our Rabbis used was, עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק ad she'tichleh regel min ha'shuk, when feet are still going about the שוק shuk. Says the דמשק אליעזר Damascus Eliezer of the Vizhnitz. מצוה שתשכח חובה שיש להעלות את אור התורה שנשקע בעוונותינו הרבים, עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק. לחלץ את רגילות של הנהגת אנשי השוק, יש לחנך את בני הבית לא יהיה מושפע מהליכות דשוק Mitzvah she'tishkach chumba, she'yesh l'ha'alos et ohr haTorah she'nishka b'avonoseinu ha'rabim, ad she'tichleh regel min ha'shuk. L'chaleis es regilus she'hasnagas anshei ha'shuk, yesh l'chanches bnei ha'bayis lo yihyeh mushpa mei'halichos d'shuk. We're trying to break out of the habit, the pattern. עד שתכלה Ad she'tichleh, until you break, רגל regel, הרגל מן השוק hergel min ha'shuk. Habit. Chanukah candles, we light those candles, we look at those candles, they illuminate our lives, and they break us out of our habits. Stop being a creature of habit. Stop just going through motions, but break out a new energy, a new enthusiasm, a new vigor, a new rigor. Be excited for Torah and mitzvos again. עד שתכלה Ad she'tichleh not רגל מן השוק regel min ha'shuk, עד שתכלה הרגל מן השוק ad she'tichleh hergel min ha'shuk. You also see this allusion, what Chanukah's supposed to do is, Chanukah, stop going to the mall. Stop practicing retail therapy. Stop thinking your happiness will be in something that you buy and the debt you're going to go into with it. עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק Ad she'tichleh regel min ha'shuk. The candles, what happens? When you light the candles, you look around and you see, look at all this ברכה bracha. Look at what I have. I don't have to go to Town Center Mall to find happiness. I don't have to go to the plastic surgeon to find happiness. I don't have to order from the Amazon to be delivered the same day to find happiness. The happiness is right under my nose. Sometimes you just have to light the candle to see the happiness that's under your nose. So we light the מנורה menorah, we light the חנוכה Chanukah candles, עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק ad she'tichleh regel min ha'shuk. Until we don't have to run to the שוק shuk. We don't have to go to the market or the mall, we don't have to run elsewhere to think that our happiness is there. Our happiness is right under our nose, if we'd only light the candles. Wishing everyone a ליכטיגע חנוכה lichtigeh Chanukah. Should be a lit Chanukah. See the blessing in our lives. We should see the hostages come home, and the soldiers be with their families, and a sweeping victory over our enemies. בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות B'soros tovos yeshuos v'nachamos. Please stay to finish all of Sefer.
