23 Nov PARASHAT VAYESHEV- YOSEF’S FAITH

The Midrash
(cited by Rashi
to Bereshit
37:3) tells us
that before Yosef was sold as
a slave by his
brothers at the age of 17, he learned
Torah from his father, Yaakob. Specifically, the Midrash writes, Yaakob transmitted to Yosef all the Torah he had
learned during the years he spent in the
yeshivah of Shem and Eber.
The work Bet Aharon raises the question of why Yaakob transmitted to Yosef specifically the Torah knowledge
which he received from Shem and Eber.
After all, Yaakob Aninu learned Torah
for many years at home before going
to learn with Shem and Eber. In fact,
the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) writes that Abraham
Abinu was still alive when Yaakob was
born, and until Abraham’s death when
Yaakob was 15, the three patriarchs –
Abraham, Yishak and Yaakob – learned
Torah together each and every day.
Yaakob thus received Torah not only
from Shem and Eber, but also from his
father and grandfather. Why, then, does
the Midrash teach that Yaakob transmitted to Yosef specifically the Torah
he received at the academy of Shem
and Eber?
The Bet Aharon answers that Yaakob foresaw the suffering and hardship that Yosef would endure, and so
he prepared him during his youth by
teaching him specifically the Torah of
Shem and Eber. Shem lived during the
Flood, witnessing the destruction of
the entire earth, and Eber lived during
Dor Ha’palaga – the generation that
built the Tower and was then dispersed
throughout the world. Both Shem and
Eber witnessed great upheavals and
tragedies, but they retained their faith.
Their spirits were not broken, and they
devoted themselves to Hashem and to
Torah even after experiencing cataclysmic events.
This is the Torah that Yaakob made a
point of transmitting to Yosef, knowing
that Yosef would need this level of faith
to get through the difficult period he
would be forced to suffer.
Sure enough, Yosef went through his
ordeal with his faith fully intact. After
his prophetic dreams which foretold his
leadership over his family, everything
seemed to be headed in the opposite
direction. His brothers despised him,
and they later sold him as a slave to a
foreign country. There could be nothing
further from royalty than being a slave
in Egypt. And then, Yosef was thrown
into an Egyptian prison for a crime
he never committed. At that moment,
when Yosef was sent to jail, it seemed
all but impossible that Yosef’s prophecy of leadership could ever be fulfilled.
There did not appear to be any reason to
imagine that he would ever be released,
let alone become a ruler. And yet, Yosef
retained his faith.
The Bet Aharon notes that after the Torah tells us of Yosef’s master throwing
him into prison, the Torah then emphasizes, “Va’yehi Sham Be’bet Ha’sohar”
– “he was there in the prison” (39:20).
This phrase, at first glance, seems redundant. Once we’ve been told that
Yosef’s master threw him into the dungeon, we quite obviously know that Yosef was there in the dungeon. The Bet
Aharon explains this to mean that once
Yosef was placed in the prison, he was
there willingly. He did not complain or
feel embittered by his situation. Armed
with the lessons of faith taught by
Shem and Eber, which Yosef received
from his father, he accepted his position
as the will of Hashem, and fully trusted
that everything would ultimately turn
out for the best – which, as we know,
it did.
The story of Yosef teaches us the vitally
important lesson of Hashgaha (Providence), reminding us that no matter
how difficult it sometimes is to view
our situation from a positive angle, we
must firmly trust that everything that
happens is for the best. When we live
with this level of faith, then we, like
Yosef, will not be broken by adversity,
and will instead accept every condition
we find ourselves in, and will always be
happy, upbeat and confident, regardless
of the situation.