14 Dec VAYESHEV: MAKING AN IMPRESSION

Parashat Vayeshev tells the story of Yosef, who was sold as a slave by his brothers, and brought down to Egypt. He became the slave of an Egyptian nobleman named Potifar, and within a very short period of time, Potifar entrusted Yosef with his entire estate. It didn’t take long for Potifar to feel he could trust Yosef, and he placed Yosef in charge of everything. He quite literally gave Yosef the keys to his house.

How did that happen? Yosef was a 17-year-old kid from a different country. How did he earn Potifar’s trust so quickly?

The Torah says, – וירא†אדוניו†≠†כי†ה’†אתו

Potifar saw that Hashem was with Yosef. The Ketav Sofer explains this to mean that Potifar saw that Yosef answered to a higher authority, and so he rose above the normal lures and temptations that people generally have.

One of Yosef’s greatest qualities was his poise, his consistency. No matter what happened to him, he was not fazed. Because of his belief in Hashem, he was not fazed or broken by anything. He didn’t lose his composure, and he didn’t lose his integrity. This was the impression that Yosef made. And so Potifar recognized right away that he can fully trust Yosef. He realized that Yosef was going to do the right thing and act the right way under all conditions and all circumstances.

We make an impression on others when we’re consistent, when we’re not rattled or†shaken†by†difficult†situations¨†and†when we remain loyal to our principles even when we’re challenged. We make an impression when we are consistently true to our values everywhere – at home, in†shul¨†in†the†office¨†on†vacation¨†on†the†road, and when we shop.

The story is told of an observant Jewish woman who needed to undergo serious surgery on her scalp. When she arrived at the hospital for the operation, she was reminded that she needed to wash her hair with a special shampoo before the surgery. The surgery could not be performed†without†her†first†washing†with†this shampoo – but the woman had forgotten to wash before coming to the hospital.

The nurse told her that there was a pharmacy nearby where she might be able to buy the shampoo. If she could go and buy it, the nurse said, then they could perform the surgery that day, but if not, she would have to wait another two months, which could be dangerous, given her condition.

The woman raced to the pharmacy – only†to†find†the†staff†closing†the†doorƆShe pleaded with them to let her in so she could buy the shampoo, explaining the gravity of the situation. The cash registers were already closed, but the cashier who was locking up agreed to let the woman take the shampoo.

“If you can, send your husband to pay for it tomorrow,” the employee said. “If not, I’ll take it off my salary.”

The woman thanked her profusely, bought the shampoo, and had the operation.

The next day, her husband came to the pharmacy. He found the cashier he needed to speak to, and explained that he was the husband of the woman who was there the previous night to buy the special shampoo. He said he had come to pay.

The cashier called out to her coworker across the room, “Hey Jack, you owe me $50!”

Jack came and saw what happened. The cashier explained to the husband that Jack had bet $50 that the woman’s husband would not come to pay for the shampoo.

“Wait, it’s not fair,” Jack said, pointing to the visibly Orthodox Jewish man by the counter. “If I had known that this woman was one of these people, I would never have made the bet.”

Just like Yosef earned Potifar’s trust, so do we earn the trust of the people around us when ה’†אתו†, when we make it clear

that we answer to Hashem, that we are guided in every area of life by higher values and ideals.