(X:HM TYwARB) „...OYQLAH YK HNH YTWA OTXLw OTA AL HTEW‰
“And now, it was not you who sent me here, but G-d...”” (Beraishis 45:8)
When he revealed himself, Yosef’s brothers were in shock. They could not have imagined that the young tattle-tale they remembered would grow into a respected leader and statesman. When they did not answer, Yosef continued to speak to them, saying they had sold him into slavery, but Hashem had other ideas and resulted in his rise to power.
The Sfas Emes says they were chagrined, thinking how they had ruined his life. If he became this great even in the decadent land of Egypt, then surely, he would have been greater had he remained with his father, Yaakov, and studied Torah. He responded by telling them that it was precisely the challenges of Egypt which enabled his growth. They shouldn’t obsess about what they did, for they did not change the outcome.
This is an important point. Though the brothers had negative intent in selling him to Egypt, their actions were really inconsequential. Hashem has a plan, and no one can thwart it simply by choosing to do so. Yes, the person has free will to take action, but the result of that action is not up to him. If a person wishes to shoot someone, but Hashem decrees otherwise, the person can miss. Maybe the gun will jam. He will be punished for his action, but because of his choice, not the outcome. That was always destined from Hashem.
Though they intended to harm Yosef, it was the catalyst for his growth. It worked just as Hashem intended. Therefore, Yosef told the brothers that they were powerless to harm him. In this message, he was teaching a much deeper lesson, too.
Why did the brothers sell Yosef? Because they hated him for his dreams of grandeur, and his talebearing to his father. They felt he was harming them, so they defended themselves by selling him. But they were wrong.
Had they realized that no one can harm you on his own, and that if someone wrongs you it originated with Hashem, they would not have been so upset with Yosef. They would have asked themselves why Hashem saw fit for Yosef to become great, or what He wanted from them, when stories of their bad behavior being shared.
When Shimi ben Gaira cursed Dovid HaMelech, he didn’t get upset at him. He said, “Hashem commanded, “Curse Dovid.”” He realized that whatever he went through came from Hashem. The fact that someone else was involved and chose to be the messenger is between that person and Hashem. He had no reason to be personally mad at Shimi because he was only carrying out what Hashem had decreed.
This was what Yosef wanted to teach his brothers. “You got mad because I spoke about you. But I couldn’t harm you. The proof is that though you wished to harm me, Hashem’s plan of my coming here to save the country from famine came to fruition. Therefore, don’t be upset for what you did, nor for what I did. We can only regret our choices, but don’t need to beat ourselves up for the result.”
When R’ Leizer Yudel Finkel z”l chose R’ Yeruchem Levovitz z”l as Mashgiach for his Yeshiva, Mir, some tried to dissuade him, afraid that R’ Yeruchem’s dynamic personality would overshadow the Rosh Yeshiva. Despite this, R’ Leizer Yudel put the interests of the Yeshiva first, and hired him.
When these fears proved to be well-founded, a number of trouble-makers tried to cause friction between the two gedolim. They persisted in reporting allegations against the Mashgiach to the Rosh Yeshiva. At every occasion, R’ Leizer Yudel would always react in the same way – taking no interest in anything other than what was best for Kevod Shomayim.
This selflessness, said R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz z”l, Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim, paid off with the supernatural Hashgacha Pratis the Mir would enjoy. When most of the Yeshivos of Europe were decimated, only the Mirrer Yeshiva survived nearly intact.
©2025 – J. Gewirtz
