Miketz
December 27, 1997

We've written in the past about bitachon, "trust in G-d." Our ethical literature reveals to us that it denotes far more than a vague wish for help from a Higher Source. Bitachon means putting all one's hopes--for a livelihood, for a mate, for success in every endeavor--on Hashem alone, and not on any intermediary, perceiving in the dizzying whirl of events in our lives only His constant, if concealed, guidance. Every triumph or setback, every promotion or pink slip, is nothing but the hand of G-d, Who operates through normal, earthly channels to achieve His ends for us. A person who has perfected this trait will enjoy peace of mind throughout all of the ups and downs of his life.

Yosef's sudden and dramatic deliverance at the start of this week's parsha provides us with an opportunity to study his own achievements in bitachon.

Yosef is imprisoned on false charges of molesting the wife of Potiphar, his Egyptian employer. Nine years go by, during which time Yosef finds favor in the eyes of the warden and becomes the virtual administrator the prison. At the end of last week's parsha, he correctly interprets the dreams of two of Pharaoh's servants who had been incarcerated--the Chamberlain of the Cupbearers, and the Chamberlain of the Bakers. He tells the first that he will be restored to his position, and the second that he will be beheaded. After giving the favorable interpretation to the Chamberlain of the Cupbearers, Yosef asks him to intercede with Pharaoh on his behalf:

"If only you would think of me (zichartani) with yourself when he benefits you, and you will do me a kindness, if you please, and mention me (vihizkartani) to Pharaoah, then you would get me out of this building [prison] For indeed I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for them to have put me in the pit." (40, 14-15; Artscroll Chumash, pp. 219, 221)

Commenting a few verses later, Rashi quotes the Midrash that explains that Yosef is punished for this blemish in his bitachon: since he trusted in the Chamberlain of the Cupbearers to help him, G-d adds on two years to his prison stay--one for each of the two expressions of supplication quoted above. "And the Chamberlain of the Cupbearers did not remember Yosef, and he forgot about him."

A harsh penalty, it seems, for a small and sensible effort to get himself freed. But Hashem is exacting in judging his righteous ones: the commentators explain that for Yosef, whose level of trust in the Almighty was so exalted, this attempt to achieve salvation through a human intermediary was a sin. Bear in mind, also, that Hashem's "punishment" is always designed to help a person correct whatever character flaw caused his or her transgression. Consequently, Hashem's decree--that Yosef should sit in his dungeon two more years--is for a good purpose: to strengthen his bitachon.

Does Yosef learn his lesson? Let's see. At the end of those two years--to the day--, G-d causes Pharaoh to have a pair of troubling dreams (see the parsha for more details). Pharaoh is uneasy, and cannot find any wise man or magician in Egypt to give him a satisfactory interpretation. The Chamberlain of the Cupbearers now steps forward, and informs Pharaoh that  he knows of "a Hebrew youth, a servant," who interprets dreams correctly. 

The Torah then relates:

"And Pharaoh sent and summoned Yosef, and they rushed him from  the dungeon. He shaved and changed his clothes, and he came to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Yosef, 'I dreamt a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I heard it said of you that you comprehend a dream to interpret it.' Yosef answered Pharaoh, saying, 'That is beyond me; it is G-d who will respond [interpret the dream], for the welfare of Pharoah.'"(41, 14-16;  Artscroll Chumash, p. 225)

Pharaoh tells Yosef his dreams, and Yosef gives his well-known interpretation: there will be seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt, followed by seven more years of terrible famine. Yosef then advises Pharaoh to appoint an individual to oversee a massive agricultural project to prepare the country for the difficult times ahead:

"Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed and let him appoint overseers  on the land, and he shall prepare the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. And let them gather all the food of those approaching good years...The food will be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine..." (41,33-36; Artscroll Chumash, p. 227)

It is easy to imagine whom Yosef has in mind when he urges Pharaoh to "seek out a discerning and wise man;" clearly, he is thinking of himself (Ramban). Now we arrive at the crux of the matter. Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, zt'l, master of Torah ethics, asks (in Michtav M'eliyahu, Vol. 4, p. 30): How can Yosef say these words to Pharaoh? Isn't he again trying to save himself, to take things into his own hands and twist events to his advantage...exactly what he had done when he asked the Chamberlain of the Cupbearers to remember him? Has he learned nothing during his extra two years in prison? It seems that Yosef is  still placing his trust in factors other than Hashem to achieve salvation.

Notice, though, Rabbi Dessler writes, what Yosef says above, when Pharaoh first tells him he has a dream that needs interpreting: "That is beyond me; it is G-d who will respond for the welfare of Pharaoh." [emphasis mine] Why did Yosef so decisively deny his own ability?  He could have said something like, "Yes, it's true, I know a bit about interpreting dreams...though the true source of the knowledge, of course, is G-d." What a tremendous risk Yosef takes by expressing himself with such absoluteness: "That is beyond me." Pharaoh could easily have assumed, at that moment, that the report he had heard about Yosef was false, that he had, in fact, no ability to interpret dreams at all...and then sent him back to his "pit," to live out his earthly days in an Egyptian prison! It was that close! 

We see that Yosef has learned his lesson: in his first response to Pharaoh, with his whole future at stake, he displays openly his bitachon, his absolute conviction that all earthly forces and causes have their source in the One Absolute Reality--Hashem. 

Yosef passes this nisayon, this test of his bitachon, which had come upon him with such awesome suddenness ( "...and they rushed him from the dungeon.") Once he has acknowledged that G-d is the Source of salvation, Rabbi Dessler explains, then he is free to exert as much effort as he likes to "save himself." He can go ahead and interpret Pharaoh's dream, and even hint to Pharaoah that he himself should be appointed overseer of the land...and it's not any blemish in his bitachon! In fact, it's the sensible thing to do, an opportunity to be grabbed.  For the Torah does not want us to be passive in our life situations at all, but merely to have a constant awareness that G-d is the Source of our powers and abilities, the Architect of our downfalls...and our subsequent deliverances. On his own level, Yosef had failed a test in bitachon when he spoke to the Chamberlain of the Cupbearers. When he addresses Pharaoh, two years later, he does not repeat the mistake: "That is beyond me."

We learn here, according to Rabbi Dessler, the crucial point about bitachon: the action itself--of interpreting a dream, asking someone to put in a good word for us, or taking any other step to further our own interests--is not the issue; it's where we place our hopes, and to what we attribute the power of that action which determine our level of bitachon. I surely must go out and work to earn a living, yet I must realize at the outset (and at every step of the way) that G-d is the One that provides sustenance, and that my efforts are only the means by which G-d channels His bounty to me--"That is beyond me." I must develop my talents and abilities, yet I must see them, ultimately, as gifts, in no way my own--"That is beyond me."

Such an awareness of the truth about ourselves--that everything is "beyond us"--does not make us weak, or self-deprecating: no man or woman has ever been more powerful, or successful, or actively involved in the world as was Yosef--Viceroy of Egypt, the man who provided bread for the whole of civilization during the famine depicted in this parsha. On the contrary, this awareness of our powerlessness actually makes us strong, for it roots us in the Source of all strength: "Behold, He neither slumbers nor sleeps, the Guardian of Israel." (Psalms: 121, 4)

May Hashem help us to grow in true bitachon, and may He lift us out of our long, dark exile as quickly as He lifted Yosef out of his.

Good Shabbos and Happy Chanukah!!

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Rabbi Yosef Edelstein, Savannah Kollel. Phone: 355-0157; fax: 354-9923; e-mail address: Yosef18@aol.com

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