Parshas Vayeishev

As children we understood the story of Yosef and his dreams, his subsequent sale as a slave, and his rise to the position of viceroy of a super power simplistically.  In truth, these events are prophetic as harbingers of the Jewish nation in exile for centuries and their ultimate long awaited redemption.

Yosef, sold into slavery by his brothers in a sin that our nation suffers from until today, ended up in the home of Potiphar, a member of Pharoh’s court. He is blessed with a “golden touch,” and his success is lauded by his master. Framed by his master’s wife, Yosef is incarcerated. In jail, he meets other members of Pharoh’s cabinet and through a bizarre sequence of events Yosef emerges as the second in command of the most powerful nation in the world. The saga continues when his brothers, those he knows and those he never met, and his elderly father Yaakov, arrive in Egypt. Yaakov has wonderful years there, but in time, his progeny are enslaved and tortured. Yet again, the Jewish people rise and within weeks of their redemption stand proud and resolute at the foot of Sinai, receiving their beloved and cherished Torah!

The profound lesson of these years is that HaShem runs the world. It is He, and only He, that is totally in control! It is He, and only He, who sees the "whole picture" and is not limited to the myopic view of mortal men. Throughout our lives there are times when we mistakenly believe that we control our destiny. When things turn out differently than we planned, often we look back in retrospect, and see glimpses of a Master Plan: profound, complex, and, at times, better! It is our job as humans to do our hishtadlus, putting forth our best effort, but it is HaShem who navigates the course with all of its coordinates. Yosef HaTzadik, a man of tremendous stature, is taken to task for asking the butler to remember him and seemingly not fully trusting his Creator. We must all, on our own level, internalize this lesson.

Jewish History in general, and specifically the last 150 years including the Holocaust and the subsequent proliferation of Torah throughout the entire world is a testimony to Emunah and Bitachon in HaShem, in a global sense. Living through each event as it unfolded who, other than HaShem, could foresee the bright future that is our present. All of us have our own life stories that attest to Emunah and Bitachon on a personal level. Stories that had us yearning in desperation only to develop into a happy ending. We must develop in our hearts and the hearts of our children and talmidim this fundamental belief, by taking every opportunity to recognize it and point it out to others. They must understand that our lives as individuals and as a nation are part of a Divine prophecy, so much of which has already happened, and so much will still yet come to fruition, בביאת גואל במהרה בימינו.

Have a good Shabbos!

Rabbi Katzenstein

Parshas Vayeishev

As children we understood the story of Yosef and his dreams, his subsequent sale as a slave, and his rise to the position of viceroy of a super power simplistically.  In truth, these events are prophetic as harbingers of the Jewish nation in exile for centuries and their ultimate long awaited redemption.

Yosef, sold into slavery by his brothers in a sin that our nation suffers from until today, ended up in the home of Potiphar, a member of Pharoh’s court. He is blessed with a “golden touch,” and his success is lauded by his master. Framed by his master’s wife, Yosef is incarcerated. In jail, he meets other members of Pharoh’s cabinet and through a bizarre sequence of events Yosef emerges as the second in command of the most powerful nation in the world. The saga continues when his brothers, those he knows and those he never met, and his elderly father Yaakov, arrive in Egypt. Yaakov has wonderful years there, but in time, his progeny are enslaved and tortured. Yet again, the Jewish people rise and within weeks of their redemption stand proud and resolute at the foot of Sinai, receiving their beloved and cherished Torah!

The profound lesson of these years is that HaShem runs the world. It is He, and only He, that is totally in control! It is He, and only He, who sees the "whole picture" and is not limited to the myopic view of mortal men. Throughout our lives there are times when we mistakenly believe that we control our destiny. When things turn out differently than we planned, often we look back in retrospect, and see glimpses of a Master Plan: profound, complex, and, at times, better! It is our job as humans to do our hishtadlus, putting forth our best effort, but it is HaShem who navigates the course with all of its coordinates. Yosef HaTzadik, a man of tremendous stature, is taken to task for asking the butler to remember him and seemingly not fully trusting his Creator. We must all, on our own level, internalize this lesson.

Jewish History in general, and specifically the last 150 years including the Holocaust and the subsequent proliferation of Torah throughout the entire world is a testimony to Emunah and Bitachon in HaShem, in a global sense. Living through each event as it unfolded who, other than HaShem, could foresee the bright future that is our present. All of us have our own life stories that attest to Emunah and Bitachon on a personal level. Stories that had us yearning in desperation only to develop into a happy ending. We must develop in our hearts and the hearts of our children and talmidim this fundamental belief, by taking every opportunity to recognize it and point it out to others. They must understand that our lives as individuals and as a nation are part of a Divine prophecy, so much of which has already happened, and so much will still yet come to fruition, בביאת גואל במהרה בימינו.

Have a good Shabbos!

Rabbi Katzenstein