CHIEF RABBI WARREN GOLDSTEIN (Aish.com)
There is a dramatic moment in this week's Torah portion, Vayechi. Yoseph's brothers are distraught and fearful. Many years before, they had turned on Yoseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt because of their fears and concerns at the time. This led to Yoseph being separated from his father for more than 20 years, causing unspeakable anguish to both Yaakov and Yoseph. The brothers had come to truly regret and show deep remorse for what they had done. Now they were all in Egypt, living with Yoseph because of the famine. Together, they buried their father, Yaakov, as described in this week's Torah portion.
After the passing of Yaakov, the brothers feared that with his father no longer around, Yoseph would exact revenge for the pain they had inflicted on him all of those years before. And so they approached him with trepidation to inform him that Yaakov's dying wish was that Yoseph should not take vengeance for what took place all those years before, and that he should instead grant them complete forgiveness for their wrongdoings.
The brothers completely subjugate themselves before Yoseph, offering themselves as his servants. Yoseph dismisses their concerns immediately, and says to them: "Do not fear, for am I in place of G-d? You intended to harm me, [and yet] G-d intended it for good in order to accomplish - it is as clear as this day - in order to give life to a vast people. So now, do not fear, I will sustain you and your young ones." And he comforted them and spoke to their heart. (Bereishit 50:19-21)
In essence, Yoseph was telling his brothers that G-d had a plan. They had to accept responsibility for their actions, but ultimately, what happened turned out for the best. Being thrown into the pit and then sold into slavery set in motion a series of events that would see Yoseph become the viceroy of Egypt, and as Pharaoh's righthand man, guide the country, and in fact the entire region, though the famine, preventing mass starvation. So Yoseph was saying that G-d's plan, although it involved much personal pain for him, was ultimately for the good.
In doing so, Yoseph was articulating a fundamental Jewish belief - that no matter what happens in life, it is ultimately part of G-d's plan; that G-d loves us and that everything that happens to us stems from that love. What we learn from this saga involving Yoseph and his brothers is that it's not always possible to discern G-d's plan while it is unfolding. Yoseph was just a boy of 17 when he was sold by his brothers into slavery, and he could never have foreseen what lay ahead. It took many years for the grand scheme to reveal itself.
But, what is so ironic in this situation is that Yoseph thought he had understood G-d's ultimate plan. Yoseph's understanding was that G-d allowed for him to be sold into slavery so that he would be able to get down to Egypt and save the region - including Yaakov and his family - from the famine. But, there was actually a much bigger plan in play - a plan with more far-reaching consequences, a plan that touched on the very essence of Jewish destiny and the forging of the Jewish people.
G-d had foretold to Abraham how the nation of Israel would be born from suffering and slavery. And Yoseph being sold into slavery was the means through which G-d orchestrated that development. It was the catalyst that would eventually bring Yaakov and his family to Egypt, where they would become a great nation, and then become enslaved, just as was promised to Abraham centuries before.
That was crucial, because G-d wanted the creation of the Jewish people to be through His miracles and His direct intervention so that we would always owe our freedom and very existence as a nation to G-d - a nation born of G-d, so to speak. A supernatural nation, born in supernatural circumstances and worthy of its supernatural mission, brought to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, the Divine document outlining that mission.
None of this could have happened to a self-reliant people living independently in their own land, in comfort and security. The Jewish people needed to be born in a state of natural upheaval, into miracles, amid "signs and wonders". And so
Yoseph's personal story, all the suffering he endured, all the great challenges he faced, ended up being nothing less than the vehicle for the unfolding of Jewish destiny. In fact, it was the reverse of what Yoseph thought: he thought he had been 'sent' to Egypt because of the famine to prevent and save his family and the region from starvation - but G-d sent the famine as a catalyst to bring the family of Yaakov down to Egypt. So Yoseph went ahead, to be able to save them all, and to bring them all down to Egypt. And that was the plan.
This plan unfolded not over years, but over centuries. And, ultimately, it was a plan that came full circle. Yoseph's dying wish was that he not be buried in Egypt, but rather be taken with the Jewish people, when they later left Egypt, and buried in the land of Israel. His wish was fulfilled and he was eventually buried by Joshua in a place called Shechem. Rashi notes this was the very place where Yoseph was captured by his brothers and sold into slavery. And so Yoseph's journey - and along with it, G-d's grand plan for the Jewish people - comes full circle.
This helps us to understand what faith in G-d means - to trust that whatever befalls us, it's all for the best. The famous Talmudic sage Rabbi Akiva says our response to anything that befalls us should be: "Gam zu letova - this too is for the good." But, this doesn't mean everything will turn out the way that we wish it to, or even the way we expect it to. Things happen that are extremely painful and often tragic - but faith in G-d means to trust that there's a plan, no matter how confusing and chaotic things seem, and no matter how hard it is to see what that plan is.
The truth is, as mere mortals, how can we see G-d's plan? How can we understand a plan that spans not just centuries and millennia, but planes of reality - this world and the World to Come. How can we fathom the mind of G-d? These are some of the deepest secrets and mysteries of the world that even Moses - the greatest prophet who ever lived - could not understand. According to the Talmud, when he was on Mount Sinai, he asked G-d why it is that some righteous people suffer and some wicked people prosper. And G-d answered: "No man can see me and live." In other words, to understand the answer to such a question would be going to the depths of the very essence of creation; it would be like gaining the deepest knowledge of Hashem, Himself, who is beyond human comprehension.
How this world actually functions - how Hashem governs it - is not something that as mortals of flesh and blood we can properly understand. And if Moses didn't know and G-d refused to tell him, who are we to be able to claim insight into these things?
This is the message of Yoseph's life. We never quite know what's going on beneath the surface; the mysterious inner workings of the universe are beyond our understanding. But our calling is to trust that G-d is in control, and have faith that He loves us and wants the best for us.
