why was yosef punished
ליקוטי שמואל | December 13, 2025
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why was yosef punished

ליקוטי שמואל | December 31, 2025

The final rashi in the sedra reveals to us that Yosef was punished by HaShem with a further 2 years of imprisonment. What was his crime?

For he told the sar hamashkim (chief butler)that when you get out of jail, go remind Pharoah of me (Yosef). ie – he relied on an Egyptain and not on HaShem to get him out of jail.

But why is this a crime; isn’t in a basic principle that one does hishtadlus and does not aim to rely on miracles; surely Yosef was just playing his physical part?

One answer is that the exit from prison was (and did eventually occur 2 years later) to be on Rosh HaShanah, and though the rest of the year hishtadlus is important, Rosh HaShanah is the forging of a direct connection between us and HaShem. Therefore, for Yosef to act via a human agent to facilitate his leaving jail was not in keeping with the Rosh HaShanah spirit.

The final rashi in the sedra reveals to us that Yosef was punished by HaShem with a further 2 years of imprisonment. What was his crime?

For he told the sar hamashkim (chief butler)that when you get out of jail, go remind Pharoah of me (Yosef). ie – he relied on an Egyptain and not on HaShem to get him out of jail.

But why is this a crime; isn’t in a basic principle that one does hishtadlus and does not aim to rely on miracles; surely Yosef was just playing his physical part?

One answer is that the exit from prison was (and did eventually occur 2 years later) to be on Rosh HaShanah, and though the rest of the year hishtadlus is important, Rosh HaShanah is the forging of a direct connection between us and HaShem. Therefore, for Yosef to act via a human agent to facilitate his leaving jail was not in keeping with the Rosh HaShanah spirit.

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