Rabbotai, in this week’s Parsha, the Torah speaks of Yosef’s descent to Egypt. The Chizkuni says, before the first enslavement began, the final redeemer was born. Hakadosh Baruch Hu always provides the antidote before the malady. First, Peretz was born, from whom Melech HaMashiach will come, and then Yosef was brought down to Egypt, which is the first enslavement of Bnei Yisrael. Yosef arrives in Egypt, and who buys him? Potiphar, the שַׂר הַטַּבָּחִים.
And Yosef was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian man, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.
Rabbotai, this שַׂר הַטַּבָּחִים was not cooking any stews – he was cutting heads! He was killing people! Just as Targum Onklos translates the title: רַב קָטוֹלָא – the chief executioner. The Torah then continues speaking about Yosef:
Hashem was with Yosef, and he was successful. He was a servant in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
Why does the word וַיְהִי – and it was, appear three times in one single Pasuk? The Da’at Zekainim quotes a Midrash that says the attributes of Hakadosh Baruch Hu are not like the attributes of man. As long as man finds himself in a position of greatness, G-d is always with him. But, when he falls from his greatness, suddenly he throws G-d behind his back. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not like this, however. He was with Yosef in both his greatness and in his fall within the house of the Egyptian. And when he emerged to become viceroy, He was also with him, just as he was with him in prison. Similarly, the Midrash says, the attribute of Yosef is not like other people. A poor man fears Hakadosh Baruch Hu, but a rich man will often forget Him. Yosef, in the house of his master, always feared G-d.
Potiphar saw that Hakadosh Baruch Hu was with him, and the Midrash (Tanchuma, Vayeishev 8) asks how the evil Potiphar could recognize the presence of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It explains that it was due to Yosef constantly invoking the name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu – before serving Potiphar, he would whisper a Tefillah asking for divine protection and favor. Potiphar, noticing this, questioned whether Yosef was casting a spell, to which Yosef clarified that he was merely praying to find favor in Potiphar's eyes. Additionally, the Midrash describes how Yosef’s service was miraculously successful. When Potiphar requested a specific type of wine, it would miraculously change to meet his exact order. This miraculous adaptability extended to water and other tasks Yosef performed, demonstrating that everything he did was successful due to divine assistance.
So why does the word וַיְהִי appear three times? The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh explains, one does not go from nothing to Chief of Staff with the snap of a finger. There are stages of progression – first, he is a simple soldier, then a young officer, then a lieutenant colonel, a colonel, a general, and finally the Chief of Staff. What did Potiphar see with regards to Yosef’s rise? At first, when he was bought, he was given slave work doing external tasks, because only those who are worthy and successful serve inside the homes. Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded success to be with Yosef, and thus he was brought into the house of his Egyptian master. And the next stage involved Yosef designated to serve his master directly, which raised his importance and allowed him to live a life free of the distresses that lowly slaves endured. The Kli Yakar says, Yosef's success influenced the people around him – at first, it influenced the people who worked directly with him, then it influenced people who were in higher ranks, and ultimately, Potiphar himself achieved success. There are three mentions of וַיְהִי because Yosef ascended three levels one after another, his master gave him three types of authority according to his successes, and those successes spread to three groups.
This being the case, I would like to focus on one word in the continuation of the story, and from there return to Chanukah: Yosef found favor in his eyes, and he served him personally. He appointed him supervisor over his household, and all that he possessed he placed in his hand.
After Potiphar's wife then falsely accused Yosef and spun a tall tale as to what Yosef did to her, they framed him and threw him into prison for ten years. Yet, even in prison, Yosef found success! And here appears our word: Hashem was with Yosef, and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison chief.
Rashi, explaining the words וַיִּתֵּן חִנּוֹ, says Hakadosh Baruch Hu made it so that Yosef should be accepted by all who see him, like a beautiful and graceful bride – כַּלָּה נָאָה וַחֲסוּדָה. But what exactly is this חֵן (favor) the Torah mentions?
The first time חֵן is mentioned in the Torah is at the end of Parshat Bereshit, where it says: וְנֹחַ מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי ה' – And Noach found favor in the eyes of Hashem. The Ibn Ezra and Seforno explain that חֵן is derived from mercy, like charity, and not from what is merited. The Ramban differs, saying that Noach found favor – and חֵן was derived from – deeds that were pleasing in the eyes of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh says, there are three or four mitzvot whose benefit, or reward, is to bring favor upon a person, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not reveal these benefits of the mitzvot for the reason that the whole world would run solely after them. Sefer Minchat Asher identifies four mitzvot that draw favor: עֲנָוָה, תְּמִימוּת, יִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם וְעֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה – humility, integrity, fear of Heaven, and engagement in Torah. He ties each to חֵן through a Pasuk or learning in the Gemara.
We can conclude that we really do not know what חֵן is, and it cannot be accurately explained in simple words – just like joy cannot be explained. One might say joy is when you jump up, but in an earthquake, people also jump, and it’s certainly not from joy. A person can be joyful and sit in one place, with no jumping even entering their mind. The same ambiguity is true for חֵן – we need to know how to define it.
The Gemara (Sotah 47a) says, there are three types of חֵן: that of a place upon its inhabitants, that of a woman upon her husband, and that of a purchase upon its buyer. The latter two can be easily understood, but what exactly is the חֵן of a place upon its inhabitants? Is the favor of Jabotinsky Street in Bnei Brak 24 hours of action a day? Every second an ambulance passes, you have the light rail and heavy rail, and if your circuit breaker trips on Shabbat, you can just go downstairs and find eight Eritreans waiting for you on the street! What is the חֵן of a place on its inhabitants?!
The Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 34:15) recounts: A covenant was granted to all the different climates. Meaning, there are differences in the weather between places – for example, Reish Lakish was sitting and studying Torah in one of the alleys of Tveriah, when two women on their way out of town thanked G-d for allowing them to leave the foul climate. Asked where they were from, they replied, “Mezaga,” to which Reish Lakish pointed out that in Mezaga there was nothing but two pillars. “בָּרוּךְ שֶׁנָּתַן חֵן לַמָּקוֹם עַל יוֹשְׁבָיו – Blessed be He who has implanted the favor of each place in the eyes of its residents.” How can we explain a person living in a dump like Mezaga yet being as happy as if they were living in Switzerland?! The חֵן of a woman upon her husband is pretty straightforward – she is beautiful in her husband's eyes. The חֵן of a purchase upon its buyer is also clear – someone bought something, and they’re over the moon. You might think it was a bad purchase, or that the man’s wife is nothing special, but Chazal say, let them feel good about their wife and about their purchase.
So, what exactly is חֵן? The answer is, there is no real explanation for it, because it doesn't make any sense! It’s like a local resident trying to convince you what's good about Jabotinsky Street! This means that חֵן is something beyond the natural order, and therefore it cannot be explained. It is not something you can touch with your hands, and it has no human understanding.
וְחַנֹּתִי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר אָחֹן וְרִחַמְתִּי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר אֲרַחֵם – I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate. The Gemara says (Berachot 7a), one receives חֵן despite being undeserving and unworthy of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s favor and mercy. The attribute called חַנּוּן is the conduct of finding חֵן in the eyes of Hashem – even if you have no merits!
The Gemara (Shabbat 32a) says, if someone falls ill and is about to die, they are told: “Confess, as all those executed by the courts confess. Even if he is dying of natural causes, it is worthwhile for him to consider his death atonement for his sins. When a person goes out to the marketplace where there are fights and disputes, he should consider himself as someone who has been handed over to an executioner. If his head hurts, he should consider it as if they placed a chain around his neck. If he climbed into bed and fell ill, he should consider himself as if they took him up to the gallows to be judged – if he has great advocates he’ll be spared, and if not, he won’t.” And with regard to divine judgment, the Gemara says, a person’s advocates are repentance and good deeds. Even if there are 999 asserting his guilt and only one asserting his innocence, he is spared: וְחַנֹּתִי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר אָחֹן – Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s mercy will be drawn at the moment, even though he is not deserving.
The Be'er Moshe explains that wherever we find the word חֵן, we tend to also find the root word מָצָא (to find). For example: וְנֹחַ מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי ה' and הִנֵּה נָא מָצָא עַבְדְּךָ חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ. When Yaakov Avinu meets Eisav in our Parsha, he says to his brother: אַל נָא אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ. What sort of find is this? Imagine a person walking down the street and suddenly spotting an envelope. One person kicks it to the curb, so the city's cleaning truck will come in the morning and vacuum it up, while another person picks it up to throw it straight into the trash – but before throwing it away, he opens it up and finds $10,000 inside! Now this is what we call finding a package! There’s no logic as to why one person kicked it aside and another picked it up to find the money. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 97a) says: שְׁלֹשָׁה בָּאִין בְּהֶיסַּח הַדַּעַת אֵלּוּ הֵן מָשִׁיחַ מְצִיאָה וְעַקְרָב – There are three things that come only as a find, by means of diversion of attention from the items, and they are: Mashiach, a lost item, and a scorpion. This means that just as it is impossible to explain what a find is, it is impossible to explain what חֵן is. Where there is an understanding, there’s no need for a find. And where there’s a need for a find, it means there’s no explanation for why it happens – and this is called חֵן.
