These Parshios Represent the Three Holidays of the Month of Tishrei:
Rav Boruch of Mezhibuzh zy”a writes that the three Pashios of Vayeishev, Mikeitz and Vayigash – which we read during the weeks spanning from the middle of Kislev until the beginning of Teves – have the bechinah of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkos. This is hinted to in each Parshah. In the Haftorah of Vayeishev, it is stated (Amos 3:6): “If the shofar is blown in the city”, which is a hint to Rosh Hashanah. In Parshas Mikeitz, it is stated (41:9): “I admit my sin today”, which is a hint to Yom Kippur. In the Haftorah of Vayigash, it is stated (Yechezkel 37:17): “And it will be attached in your hand”, which is a hint to Sukkos, when we take the Arbah Minim in our hands.
Constant Renewal
From the fact that Yosef is called “a lad”, the Bais Aharon of Karlin zy”a discerns an important lesson in avodas Hashem. He explains that Yosef was always “a lad” in the sense that even as he got older, he remained fresh and young in the way he served Hashem. He constantly renewed himself to serve Hashem with vigor and enthusiasm.
This concept is seen in the verse (Tehillim 103:5): “Your youth renews itself like the eagle.” This is also why Klal Yisroel is often compared to the moon, which renews itself every month.
Thus, a person should renew himself every day. One should not despair if he feels that he had a bad day and that he wasted a day of his life, as he can always start anew tomorrow and begin serving Hashem with energy and freshness.
Yosef Was Disconnected From Earthly Matters
The Sefas Emes zy”a writes that it is obvious that Yosef Hatzadik did not speak lashon hara. The pasuk does not mean that he slandered his brothers. Rather, he explains that a true tzadik cannot stand any trace of sin, and he naturally showed disgust by the slightest inkling of wrongdoing.
This was because Yosef was so far removed from earthly matters that he was considered like a nazir (Bereishis 49:26), in the sense that he was disassociated from all worldly frivolities. For this reason, he was referred to as the “ben zekunim” (Bereishis 49:26) of Yaakov, which can be understood to mean that he was born and raised in holiness, to the extent that he had no connection to this world.
His brothers recognized this, and knew that it meant that they couldn’t live in the same house as him. They knew that although they too were tzadikim, Yosef would find minute traces of sin in them, and he would be unable to hold back from letting their father know that he had sensed the presence of transgression in their midst. Therefore, they felt the need to send him down to Egypt, where he would experience what real impurity is, which would allow him to see how holy his brothers were in comparison.
One Who Rules Over Himself Can Rule Over Others
Sefer Mei Hashiloach explains the double lashon of “rule over us” and “govern us” by quoting the Rebbe Rav Zishe zy”a, who explains that every person must first have control over himself and be able to overcome his yeitzer hara before he can tell others what to do.
With this in mind, we can explain that the brothers told Yosef, “You want to rule over us? Are you already a king?” Their intent was to say, “Are you already a ruler over yourself that you want to rule over us?“
In this vein, it is known that the Kotzker Rebbe zy”a said, “If one can see a fig himself, he can show the fig to the entire world.” His intent was that if a person knows himself and is able to rule over himself, he has the power to be unimpressed by the entire world and to be a leader.
It is related that Rav Yossele Tomashover zy”a, a student of the Chozeh of Lublin zy”a, once had a difference of opinion with the residents of his city. Rav Yossele was very firm in his opinion and refused to give in. One of the town’s balhabatim was bothered by what he viewed as Rav Yossele’s stubbornness, and he went to discuss the matter with the Sanzer Rov zy”a. After relating the story, the man said, “Does Rav Yossel think that he is the baalhabos of the entire world? Does he think everything has to be the way he wants?”
The Sanzer Rov replied, “I don’t know if he is the baalhabos of the world or not but I do know that he is the baalhabos of himself. And anyone who is a baalhabos of himself can be baalhabos of the entire world!”
In a similar vein, the Apta Rov zy”a explained the words of davening (recited in the tefillah of Keil Adon that is said on Shabbos morning): “Tovim me’oros shebara Elokeinu... Good are the illuminations that were created by Hashem. They were made with knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Strength and might were put in them to be rulers over the world.” This is a reference to the tzadikim who illuminate the world with their Torah and wisdom. They are given the strength to “be rulers” over themselves, and they can thus rule “over the world.”
Emunah Every Day
The pasuk in Tehillim (37:3) states: “Trust in Hashem and do good; dwell in the land and graze on emunah.” The Bais Avrohom of Slonim zy”a quotes the Lechovitcher Rebbe zy”a as explaining that just like cattle will grow and flourish if they graze on good land every day, so too in order for a Yid to flourish in emunah, he must work on it every day.
With this in mind, he explains the words of the pasuk “to herd the sheep of their father in Shchem.” The word “B’Shchem” can be an acronym for “boruch shem kevod malchuso”. This is a hint that Yaakov’s cattle were all the neshamos of Jews that would be born in the future. By herding them and taking them out to graze, the Shevatim instilled these souls with emunah. Yaakov told Yosef to go and see “the welfare of the sheep”, meaning to see how the neshamos were faring and to make sure that they were taken care for, both in ruchnius and in gashmius.
In this vein, it is related that when the Bais Avrohom visited the city of Kaminetz, Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz zt”l told his talmidim, “The Slonimer Rebbe is in town, and I want all of you to go get a bracha from him!”
When the bochurim came to the Rebbe and asked for his blessing, he said, “What type of bracha do you want?”
They replied that they genuinely wanted to be good Jews and to never sin but the yeitzer hara is very strong and entraps them.
The Bais Avrohom told them, “Do you see this candle burning on the table in front of me? If the yeitzer hara would try to convince you to stick your hand into the fire, would you do it? Of course not! Why not? Because you can see the fire.
“Emunah is a very strong thing. It should be even stronger than something you can see with your eyes. If you work on strengthening your belief in Hashem, your emunah will become so clear that you will be able to see that He is watching you, and you will be unable to disobey Him!”
Seeing Only Good in Others
Sefer Tiferes Shlomo writes that this pasuk is teaching us how careful one must be not to see the negative traits in his friend and, rather, to focus on his good qualities. This is as Dovid Hamelech says (Tehillim 34:13): “Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good” – meaning one who sees only the good in his friend. “Guard your mouth from evil, turn from bad and do good” – meaning that one should never speak negatively about his friend because one who does so causes bad things to occur to himself and evil forces to have sway over him.
This concept is seen in regards to the angels who spoke against the creation of the world and said “who is man that he should be remembered” (Tehillim 8:5). These angels claimed that man did not deserve to be created and, as a result, they were brought down from their lofty position and fell to transgression, as it is stated (Bereishis 6:2) that they sinned with human women.
We also find that Yeravam chastised Shlomo Hamelech, and the Medrash says that he was told: “Shlomo stumbled once, but you will stumble many times.”
The Tiferes Shlomo explains that the yeitzer hara constantly is on the attack. Without Hashem’s help, no one could withstand it. Therefore, if one speaks badly about his friend and believes that he is better than him and he would not sin like him, Hashem allows the yeitzer hara to seduce him in order to see if he will be able to overcome it, and he is apt to fall into its clutches.
This is hinted to with the words of the pasuk that Yaakov told Yosef to go and see the welfare of his brothers. Yaakov was telling him to see the good in them and not to focus on the bad. He also told him to see the good of the “tzon” (sheep), which is a hint to His name of “Havaya Ado-“, which has a gematriah of 91 (represented by the first two letters of the word “tzon”), and the 50 “gates of understanding (represented by the letter nun in the word “tzon”). Finally, he told him to return to him with a report, meaning to come back to him and explain why he spoke badly of his brothers and, from now on, to only speak well of them.
Helped by an Angel
Rashi states that this “ish” (man) was the Malach Gavriel. The Baal Haturim adds that the words “vayishaleihu ha’ish” (and the man asked him” has the same gematriah as “Malach Gavriel sha’alu. (The angel Gavriel asked him.)”
We may ask that in the previous verse that says that an “ish” struggled with Yaakov until the morning. Rashi says that this man was the angel of Esav. How does Rashi knew that the man Yaakov encountered was the Sar of Esav, but the man Yosef met was Malach Gavriel?
The Sanzer Rov zy”a answers that Rashi tells us that when Yaakov asked the man for assistance in carrying his load, the man said that it was his time to say shira and he could not help him because he was busy with that mitzvah. That’s how we know that this was the Sar of Esav – because if a Jew needs help, this should override any other mitzvah. However, the man whom Yosef met, saw that he was wandering in the fields and asked how he could help. This proved that he was Gavriel.
Good Intent is Considered Like an Action
The Sefas Emes (5637) writes that Reuven did this mitzvah with good intentions. He genuinely wanted to save Yosef but when he returned, he found that Yosef was no longer in the pit. This led him to feel bad and to think that his advice to his brothers had caused Yosef’s destruction. Hashem testified about him, however, that he really did save Yosef from death, as if not for his advice Yosef would have been killed.
This teaches us an important lesson. We see that if a person truly desires to do a mitzvah, even if it seems that he was unable to do it, he certainly did a good thing. If one tries his best to do a good deed, even if he isn’t able to complete the action, he should not feel bad because he has accomplished something great in the Upper Realms.
The Gemara says (Brachos 6A) that if one wants to do a mitzvah but, due to circumstances beyond his control, he is unable to do it, it is considered as if he did it. The Magid of Mezheritch zy”a explains that if one actually does a mitzvah, he can never know if he fulfilled it 100% correctly, with all of its details done perfectly and with all of the proper intentions. However, if one is obstructed from doing a mitzvah he wanted to do, he can be certain that it is considered as if he fulfilled the mitzvah perfectly and with all the proper intentions. This is the meaning of the Gemara that says that Hashem considers it as if he did the mitzvah – in the most ideal way!
Twins Were Born to Him
Rashi learns from this story that it is better for one to allow himself to be tossed into a fiery furnace than to embarrass his friend in public.
Sefer Siach Zekeinim (Chelek 5, page 5) relates that in the times of the Bais Aharon of Karlin zy”a, there lived a Rov who was a misnaged, who had not been blessed with children. The man’s wife begged him to travel to Karlin to receive a bracha from the Rebbe but he did not want to go because he didn’t believe in Rebbes. Furthermore, he didn’t want to travel so far, as he felt that it would be bittul Torah.
After much pressure from his wife, he finally agreed to go. He was advised that the best time to go would on Lag B’Omer, as this would not cause so much bittul Torah. He took the advice and arrived in time for the Rebbe’s Lag B’Omer tish.
The custom in Karlin was that the Rebbe would honor everyone sitting around the table with a turn to read a passage from the Zohar Hakadosh. The sefer was passed from one man to the next, with each individual reciting one verse. After each turn, the Rebbe would say, “Nu nu”, to indicate that the sefer should be passed on to the next person at the table. However, when it was the Rov’s turn to read, the Rebbe motioned to skip him and pass the sefer on to the next person. This upset the Rov very much as he didn’t understand why he hadn’t been given a turn.
After everyone at the table had a turn to read from the Zohar, the Rebbe asked the Rov to say a statement from Rav Shimon bar Yochai. The Rov immediately quoted, “It is better for a person to allow himself to be thrown into a fiery furnace than to embarrass his friend in public.” His intent was to hint to the Rebbe that he had publicly embarrassed him.
The Rebbe responded, “Where do we learn this from?”
The Rov answered, “From the story of Tamar.”
The Rov then asked, “And what happened to Tamar? She gave birth to twins!”
And so it was. The Rov and his wife were soon blessed with the birth of twins.
Helping Others Improves the Power of One’s Prayers
In the city of Gustinin, there lived a very wealthy man who used to lend money to poor people on interest. He would then pressure them to pay and make their lives miserable. On the other hand, this same man was extremely careful to daven three times a day with a minyan.
Rav Yechiel Meir of Gustinin zy”a once met this man and chastised him for what he was doing. He told him, “In Parshas Vayeishev, it says: ‘What will we gain (betza) if we kill our brother?’ The word ‘betza’ is an acronym for ‘boker tzaharayim erev’ (morning, afternoon, and night). I ask you: What betza does Hashem have from your morning, afternoon and evening prayers if you also are killing your brothers by making their lives so difficult?”
The Difference Between the Advice of the Yeitzer Hatov and Yeitzer Hara
Chazal say that the wife of Potiphar thought she was doing a good thing. She had seen in the stars that she would have offspring through Yosef and, therefore, she thought that she was acting l’sheim shomayim and was fulfilling Hashem’s will. The Chiddushei Harim zy”a quotes Rav Boruch of Mezhibuzh zy”a as stating that Yosef certainly knew about this as well, and he too could have convinced himself that this was the right thing to do. This was part of his nisayon. He could have thought that it was his yeitzer tov that was trying to convince him to do this act.
This is why the pasuk says that she spoke to him “every day.” From the fact that she would not let up and tried to pressure him every day, he understood that it was the yeitzer hara that was behind this seduction, and he did not listen to her. He knew that the way of the yeitzer tov is to try one time to convince a person to do the right thing, and it then allows him to make his decision, but the yeitzer hara does not let up and constantly tries to persuade a person to sin.
One Can Only See the External Aspects of a Tzadik
Sefer Reshimos Devarim (Chelek 3, page 300) relates that a talmid of the Magid of Mezheritzh zy”a once proudly told Rav Aharon of Karlin zy”a that he had known Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchov zy”a. Rav Aharon told him, “You are mistaken. You grabbed onto his bekitche but not to his penimius.” He was saying that this chasid only knew the external aspects of Rav Levi Yitzchok but he could not fathom his internal qualities.
With this idea in mind, we can explain the pasuk to mean that it is possible to “grab onto the garment of tzadik” but not his inner self.
Standing Strong Against the Seduction of the Yeitzer Hara
Rav Moshe of Kobrin zy”a (quoted in Sefer Imros Moshe) says that this pasuk hints to the...
