by Rav Moshe Tzuriel ZT"L, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.
The story
of Yosef HaTzaddik in Egypt – the imprisoned servant-boy who became
second-to-the-king in an instant – is inspiring in many ways. Let us see how he
overcame, among many other trials and tribulations, the scorn of the Minister
of Drinks; how he took pride in his Hebrew background even though this
increased the Egyptians' contempt for him; and how his love for the Land of
Israel shone through in all that he did.
The Torah
portion of Miketz (B'reshit 41,1-44,17) begins with King Pharaoh's confusion at
having dreamt a double dream of skinny cows swallowing fat cows and withered
wheat stalks devouring strong ones. The Minister of Drinks remembered Yosef –
who had interpreted the minister's own dream for life and prosperity – and
recommended him to Pharaoh, in less than glowing terms: "There with
us [in prison] was a Hebrew youth, a slave to Potiphar" (41,12).
Rashi
explains, in the name of Chazal (our holy Sages): "Accursed are the evil
ones, whose goodness towards others is incomplete. He mentioned Yosef in
mocking terms, saying he was a foolish youth unworthy of greatness; a Hebrew,
who doesn't even know our language; and a slave, about whom Egyptian culture
says cannot become a ruler." That is, even when the evil ones try to do a
favor, they do so in a miserly way; their heart does not allow them to do so
whole-heartedly without casting aspersions upon him.
Let us understand these points that
Chazal saw fit to mention in the butler's words. For one thing, why should he
call him a youth, given that Yosef was already 30 years old (41,46)? The
explanation given by the Matnot Kehunah commentary is that the reference is to
Proverbs 22,15, which speaks of the "foolishness of youth;" the
butler wished to denigrate not his age, but his character.
Next: Did Yosef truly not speak the
local language? The answer is mostly yes, as the Zohar says (Part III, 213b).
Yosef purposely made sure not to learn the language, in order to save himself
from assimilating into the local culture. He did know a few dozen words that he
needed to run Potiphar's household, but not all the nuances of the words.
Why did Chazal tell us that the
butler called Yosef a "Hebrew?" It is well-known that the Egyptians
worshiped sheep, and therefore viewed all shepherding and shepherds, as the
Israelites were, as nothing less than an abomination (46,34). They couldn't
even bring themselves to eat at the same table with the Hebrews (43,32)! It was
therefore with evil intentions that the Minister of Drinks referred to Yosef as
a Hebrew, in order to pre-empt any thought by the king to promote Yosef to
greatness.
The Torah also wishes to tell us here
the maliciousness of the butler's sin of ingratitude, so that we may learn to
recognize it if we detect it in ourselves. Yosef had done him a great favor,
after helping him for years in prison – and even when he then pleaded with him
to remember him and ask the king to pardon him, the butler totally put it out
of his mind. The Torah tells us, "The Minister of Drinks did not
remember Yosef, and he forgot him" (40,23). Why is it emphasized
that not only did he not remember him, but also forgot him? Rashi says: This teaches
that he forgot him the very same day that Yosef asked to be remembered!
Why did Yosef even tell the Minister
of Drinks that he was a Hebrew? In his plea to be remembered, he said, "For
I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and was wrongfully placed in the
pit" (40,15). Wouldn't he have saved himself much grief had he not
mentioned that extra detail?
The answer is that Yosef placed his
pride in his background, and his love for his homeland, ahead of other
considerations. Chazal say that "Yosef acknowledged his Land," and
therefore was buried there and not in Egypt where he lived and ruled. What does
it mean that he "acknowledged" it? It means that he was thankful for
his Land, and took pride in it. [The words for "acknowledged" and for
"thanked" are of the same root.]
We find that Yosef's descendants
similarly loved Eretz Yisrael. The daughters of Tzlofchad, for instance, requested
to receive a share in the Land because of their love for it (Bamidbar 27); they
were of the Tribe of Menashe, son of Yosef. In addition, one of our two future
redeemers – Mashiach ben Yosef, of the tribe of Yosef's son Ephraim – was
chosen for this task because of his love for the Land. Similarly, the Scroll of
Esther emphasizes that Mordechai arrived in Persia from the Holy Land not at
all out of choice, but because he "was exiled from Jerusalem"
(Esther 2,6).
We know that Yosef, when sending his
brothers back to the Holy Land to inform their father Yaakov of the good news
that Yosef was alive and very well in Egypt, told them: "Do not rush
along the way" (45,24). As Chazal explain, this was because "it
could lead to vision problems" (Taanit 10b). Why is it that Yaakov himself
did not earlier give his sons a similar warning when they set off for Egypt?
The answer is that there is a big
difference between one who leaves Eretz Yisrael and one who returns to it. The
former will certainly not rush – for why would he hurry to leave a holy place?
But there is a definite fear that those who return to Eretz Yisrael would do so
with such great happiness and zeal that they might endanger themselves. This is
why Yosef HaTzaddik, who loves and appreciates his Land so much, is the one who
gave this warning.
How much we have to learn from Yosef
HaTzaddik, in his love for the Land of Israel, and more!
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