INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA

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This shiur is dedicated in memory of Israel Koschitzky zt"l, whose yahrzeit falls on the 19th of Kislev. 
May the world-wide dissemination of Torah through the VBM be a fitting tribute to a man
whose lifetime achievements exemplified the love of Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

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YOSEF THE ‘TZADDIK’

By Rabbi Yaakov Beasley

A.           INTRODUCTION

Our Tanakh does not lack for interesting characters.  Though the text rarely provides biographical details of the individuals that fill its pages, a situation that the writer Erich Auerbach described as being “fraught with background”[1], we can still create a composite portrait of the characters through their speech and actions.  In this process of characterization, we generally find that while the secondary characters remain flat, almost cartoon-like, main characters, the “heroes” of the story, are complex personalities and fully developed individuals. 

Among the Torah’s most developed and intriguing characters is the “son of Yaakov’s old age”, Yosef.  Not only are more chapters in Sefer Bereishit dedicated to the retelling of his life than any other character, the information that they communicate is so contradictory and complex that it is nearly impossible to decipher.  Yet, tradition speaks with nearly one voice regarding Yosef.  Rabbinic literature almost uniformly calls Yosef one name – “Yosef the Tzaddik” (the righteous one).  Granted, there are vignettes from the Torah where he clearly deserves this definition.  When Potiphar’s wife makes her repeated, unwanted amorous advances in her vain attempt to seduce him, Yosef demonstrates pure courage and unwavering moral fortitude in rejecting her, despite the obvious threat to his safety and freedom, if not life.  However, no event, no matter how dramatic it may be, can fully encapsulate a person’s life.  Only by examining the whole picture will we begin to see the patterns that led to his receiving the exalted appellation of “the righteous one”.

B.           YOSEF IN THE TORAH

As noted above, the Torah’s portrayal of Yosef is contradictory and complex.  There is no question that the young man, “beautiful form, and fair to look upon”, appears to be one of those individuals who is destined from birth to rise to the top no matter the situation and wherever he may be.  Picked for familial leadership by his father, he sees his future in Canaan shredded as violently as the colorful coat that he wore.  Yet he perseveres.   Enslaved in Egypt, he becomes appointed to the head of one of Egypt’s most powerful nobleman.  Imprisoned as the result of Potiphar’s wife’s false accusations, the chief officer selects him to supervise the other prisoners.  When he is abruptly rushed out of prison due to his talents in interpreting dreams, Pharaoh is so impressed with him that he appoints Yosef as viceroy overall of Egypt, and places him in charge of the vital project that will save the empire from starvation. 

However, with regard to his own family, this successful character appears to engage in questionable and foolish behavior.  Acting unaware of his siblings’ hateful feelings towards him, he exaggerates their anger further, first by delivering a negative report about them to his father, and then sharing with them the dreams that he felt predicted his ultimate future superiority over them.  Yaakov makes a belated attempt to repair the damage, but in vain.  Later, when the brothers descend to Egypt to buy grain during the famine, Yosef chooses to deliberately hide his own identity.  Instead, he places a difficult and painful series of experiences before them before he finally reveals his identity.  In addition, rabbinic tradition also hears echoes throughout the text of Yosef being overly concerned with his external appearance[2].  What then are we to make of this multifaceted individual, as colorful as the coat he wore?

C.           HASHEM’S SILENCE

To understand why the rabbis viewed Yosef as the paradigm of righteousness, we have to note another, almost Teutonic shift that occurs during the story of Yosef. From the time that Yosef first begins to dream, until the time that he reveals himself to his brothers, Hashem stops speaking.  At no point in time does the Torah record that Hashem talks to any of the characters – not to Yosef, not to Yaakov.  Only upon Yaakov’s descent to Egypt does Hashem finally reveal His master plan – this is not a short visit to see a long-lost son, but the beginning of an exile as dark as night.  Until then, the characters are left to their own devices and abilities to interpret what Hashem wants.  To the forefathers – Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov – Hashem would appear at the most critical moments and junctures of their lives.  He was there to reassure them, to instruct them, and to demonstrate His constant fidelity to His promise.  The forefathers knew Hashem, and could rely on Him.  With Yosef (and the rest of Yaakov’s children), the relationship has changed.  No longer can they count upon Divine guidance when they face life’s challenges.

This difference is glaringly visible when we examine Yosef’s dreams.  Both Yosef’s own dreams and those that he interprets for others, are substantially different from previous dreams in Sefer Bereishit.  Yaakov’s dream of angels on a ladder was accomplanied by a Divine promise.  When he envisioned sleep while he slept, he heard Hashem tell him to return to Canaan and tarry with Lavan no longer.  With Yosef, Hashem is absent from the text.  We wonder.  Are the dreams of bowing sheaves of wheat and heavenly bodies prophecies, or are the dreams simply the grandiose visions of a young child?  Clearly, his brothers understood them as the latter, while Yaakov preferred to let time be the judge.   Later, when he hears the awesome visions of Pharaoh, Yosef must not only explain their meaning, but also provide the monarch with a plan to circumvent the famine they convey[3].   Throughout his life, Yosef must decipher, through riddles and symbols, the significance of the events that unfold around him. 

With this understanding, we can now examine Yosef’s life and discover the pattern that runs throughout.  Yosef is faced with an apparently implacable Divine silence.  He reacts by bringing Hashem into the picture at every juncture of his life.  When faced by the challenge posed by Potiphar’s wife, he responds, “But behold, my master, having me, knows not what is in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand.  He is not greater in this house than I; nor has he kept back any thing from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against G-d?'  Though he had already impressed that he could not sin, for practical and moral reasons against Potiphar, Yosef insists on adding a moral element.  He would not ‘sin against G-d’.

This insistence on “bringing G-d into the picture”, as it were, repeats itself again in prison, when faced with the butler and the baker.  Given an opportunity for self-advancement, Yosef states, “Do not interpretations belong to G-d?”  At the crucial moment of his life, dragged from prison and preened to appear before Pharaoh, Yosef again refuses to accept any credit for his own talents.  Once again, he declares 'It is not in me; G-d will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.'  When he finishes his explanation, Pharaoh is moved to exclaim, 'Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of G-d is?’  The young Hebrew lad has placed Hashem’s name on the lips of the most powerful ruler on earth. 

Finally, at the grand denouement, when Yosef can restrain himself no longer and reveals himself to his brothers, he faces their fears with the following speech:

And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither; for G-d did send me before you to preserve life.

For these two years has the famine been in the land; and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest.

And G-d sent me before you to give you a remnant on the earth, and to save you alive for a great deliverance.

So now it was not you that sent me hither, but G-d; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (45:5-8)

Yosef’s words do more than reassure his brothers.  They exemplify his ability to understand what occurred not through the limited perspective of human foibles and frailties, but to see Hashem’s guiding hand.  Being sold to Egypt, separated for years from his father, imprisoned on false accusations, all these events served a higher purpose.  As he reflects on the past, he clearly hears that Hashem was not silent, but spoke to him through history, not through words.   It is Yosef’s willingness to abandon his limited perspective for the Divine view that earns him the title of “Tzaddik – the righteous one”.