Yosef's Humility: Credit to the Fathers
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Bereishis 37:2
אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף בֶּן־שְׁבַע־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת־אֶחָיו בַּצֹּאן וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת־בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וְאֶת־בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה נְשֵׁי אָבִיו וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת־דִּבָּתָם רָעָה אֶל־אֲבִיהֶם
These are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef, at seventeen years old, was tending the flock with his brothers, and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Yosef brought evil reports of them to their father.
Rashi (on “and he was a lad”): he behaved like a youth, dressing his hair and touching up his eyes so that he would look handsome.
1“And he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah.”1 Rashi explains that Yosef acted like a youth: he dressed his hair and touched up his eyes so that he would look handsome. Rashi says something similar later, when Yosef was in Potiphar's house: “Once he saw himself as a ruler, he began eating and drinking and curling his hair. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘Your father is in mourning, and you curl your hair? I will incite the bear against you.’”2 At first glance this is puzzling. How can such a thing be said of Yosef HaTzaddik, who was perfect in yesod, the trait of holiness and guarding the covenant?
וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת בְּנֵי בִלְהָה (לז, ב). פֵּירֵשׁ רש״י ז״ל, שֶׁהָיָה עוֹשֶׂה מַעֲשֵׂה נַעֲרוּת, מְתַקֵּן בִּשְׂעָרוֹ מְמַשְׁמֵשׁ בְּעֵינָיו כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיֶה נִרְאֶה יָפֶה. וְכֵן לְהַלָּן (לט, ו) בִּהְיוֹתוֹ בְּבֵית פּוֹטִיפַר, כָּתַב רש״י ז״ל, כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה עַצְמוֹ מוֹשֵׁל, הִתְחִיל אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה וּמְסַלְסֵל בִּשְׂעָרוֹ, אָמַר הקב״ה, אָבִיךָ מִתְאַבֵּל וְאַתָּה מְסַלְסֵל בִּשְׂעָרְךָ, אֲנִי מְגָרֶה בְּךָ אֶת הַדּוֹב. וְלִכְאוֹרָה אֵינוֹ מוּבָן, הֵיאַךְ יִתָּכֵן לוֹמַר כֵּן עַל יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁהָיָה שָׁלֵם בְּמִידַּת הַיְּסוֹד.
- Bereishis 37:2. ↩
- Rashi on Bereishis 39:6. The “bear” is the test with Potiphar's wife, as the next verse goes on to say: “and his master's wife lifted up her eyes to Yosef” (Bereishis 39:7). ↩
In shortHow can Rashi say that Yosef HaTzaddik, the model of holiness, dressed his hair and tended his appearance, as a youth and in Potiphar's house?
2Let us first cite the Midrash on the verse “And she caught him by his garment … and he fled and went outside.”3 The Midrash says: “He leapt free in the merit of the Avos, as it says of Avraham, ‘And He brought him outside.’”4 It goes on: “Shimon of Kitron said: In the merit of Yosef's bones the sea was split for Israel, as it is written, ‘The sea saw and fled,’ in the merit of ‘And he left his garment in her hand and fled.’”5 At first glance the Midrash contradicts itself. Its statement that the sea was split in the merit of Yosef's coffin implies that his standing firm in the test is credited to his own merit, to his own righteousness. Yet the Midrash began by saying that he withstood the test in the merit of Avraham.
וְנַקְדִּים, דְּהִנֵּה אִיתָא בְּמִדְרַשׁ רַבָּה (פז, ח) ״וַתִּתְפְּשֵׂהוּ בְּבִגְדוֹ וְגוֹ׳ וַיָּנָס וַיֵּצֵא הַחוּצָה״ (לט, יב), קָפַץ בִּזְכוּת אָבוֹת, הֵיךְ מַה דְּאַתְּ אָמַר (בראשית טו, ה) ״וַיּוֹצֵא אוֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה״. שִׁמְעוֹן אִישׁ קִטְרוֹן אָמַר, בִּזְכוּת עַצְמוֹתָיו שֶׁל יוֹסֵף נִקְרַע הַיָּם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, הָדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב (תהלים קיד, ג) ״הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנוֹס״, בִּזְכוּת ״וַיַּעֲזֹב בִּגְדוֹ בְּיָדָהּ וַיָּנָס״. וְלִכְאוֹרָה דִּבְרֵי הַמִּדְרָשׁ סוֹתְרִים מִינֵּיהּ וּבֵיהּ, דְּמִמָּה שֶׁאָמְרוּ שֶׁבִּזְכוּת אֲרוֹנוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף נִקְרַע הַיָּם, מַשְׁמַע שֶׁעֲמִידַת יוֹסֵף בַּנִּסָּיוֹן נִזְקֶפֶת לִזְכוּת עַצְמוֹ שֶׁעָמַד בְּצִדְקוֹ, וְהוּא סוֹתֵר לְמַה שֶׁאָמְרוּ בְּרֵישׁ דִּבְרֵיהֶם, שֶׁעֲמִידָתוֹ בַּנִּסָּיוֹן הָיְתָה בִּזְכוּת אַבְרָהָם.
In shortThe Midrash says Yosef escaped “in the merit of the Avos,” yet also that the sea split in his own merit for fleeing.
3We may say the following, and the holy sefer Divrei Yechezkel of Shinova says something similar.6 Yosef HaTzaddik held that even when a person dresses differently from our fathers, he can still fight the battle against the yetzer hara. On the contrary, this lets him come close to empty and reckless people and influence them, too, for the good. So Yosef chose a new path for himself. He curled his hair and took care over his clothing, unlike his father Yaakov, who walked in the path of his fathers without changing anything. But afterward Yosef HaTzaddik saw that this path had brought him to the test with Potiphar's wife, and he changed his mind and went back to walking in the ways of his fathers. This is what Rashi means by “the image of his father's face appeared to him.”7 The word “appeared” is used here in the sense of “I see the words of Admon,” meaning “I agree with them.”8 In other words, Yosef understood and accepted his father's way. He had come to see how much more upright and correct it was than his own, and he took it upon himself to conduct himself like his fathers, without change.
וְאֶפְשָׁר לוֹמַר וּכְעֵין זֶה אִיתָא בְּסֵפֶר הַקָּדוֹשׁ דִּבְרֵי יְחֶזְקֵאל (ד״ה ויהי)*, שֶׁיּוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק סָבַר בְּדַעְתּוֹ, שֶׁגַּם כַּאֲשֶׁר מִתְלַבְּשִׁים בִּלְבוּשִׁים שֶׁלֹּא כְּדֶרֶךְ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, גַּם כֵּן אֶפְשָׁר לִלְחוֹם מִלְחֶמֶת הַיֵּצֶר, וְאַדְּרַבָּה עַל יְדֵי זֶה אֶפְשָׁר לְהִתְחַבֵּר עִם אֲנָשִׁים רֵיקִים וּפוֹחֲזִים, וּלְהַשְׁפִּיעַ גַּם עֲלֵיהֶם לְטוֹבָה. וְלָכֵן לָקַח יוֹסֵף לְעַצְמוֹ דֶּרֶךְ חָדָשׁ, וְהָיָה מְסַלְסֵל בִּשְׂעָרוֹ וּמְתַקֵּן לְבוּשׁוֹ, שֶׁלֹּא כְּדֶרֶךְ יַעֲקֹב אָבִיו אֲשֶׁר הָלַךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ אֲבוֹתָיו בְּלִי לְשַׁנּוֹת. אוּלָם לְאַחַר מִכֵּן כַּאֲשֶׁר רָאָה יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁעַל יְדֵי דֶּרֶךְ זוֹ הִגִּיעַ לְנִסָּיוֹן שֶׁל מַעֲשֵׂה פּוֹטִיפַר, חָזַר בּוֹ, וְחָזַר לֵילֵךְ בְּדַרְכֵי אֲבוֹתָיו. וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתַב רש״י ז״ל (לט, יא) שֶׁנִּרְאֵית לוֹ דְּמוּת דְּיוֹקְנוֹ שֶׁל אָבִיו, ׳נִרְאֵית׳ הוּא עַל דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ ׳רוֹאֶה׳ אֲנִי אֶת דִּבְרֵי אַדְמוֹן (כתובות קח, ב), הַיְינוּ שֶׁהֵבִין וְקִיבֵּל אֶת דַּרְכּוֹ שֶׁל אָבִיו, אַחַר שֶׁנּוֹכַח לִרְאוֹת מַה מְאֹד יְשָׁרָה וּנְכוֹנָה דַּרְכּוֹ שֶׁל אָבִיו מִדַּרְכּוֹ, וְקִיבֵּל עַל עַצְמוֹ לִנְהוֹג כְּדֶרֶךְ אֲבוֹתָיו בְּלִי שִׁינּוּי.
- The sefer's note: These are the words of the Divrei Yechezkel there (Vayeishev, s.v. Vayehi). A tzaddik, wherever he finds himself, must see what he has come to repair in that place. When Yosef came to Egypt, he wished to make known that there is a Creator of the world, but he could not connect with the people there, since he went about in Jewish clothing. So it occurred to him that it would be right to dress like the Egyptians and to curl his hair, so that he would find favor in their eyes and could enter into conversation with them. “After these things, his master's wife lifted her eyes … and said, ‘Lie with me’” (Bereishis 39:7): then thoughts of immorality came upon him, “and he refused …” So he went over his record to find out from what sin these thoughts had come to him, for he had never had such thoughts before. He saw that he had no sin except that he had exchanged his clothes for the clothes of the gentiles. “And he left his garment in her hand and fled outside” (39:12): from then on he left their clothes behind and fled from the sitra achra, the side of impurity. ↩
- Rashi on Bereishis 39:11. ↩
- Kesubos 108b. Admon was one of the judges in Jerusalem; where Admon disagreed with the Sages, Rabban Gamliel said, “I see the words of Admon.” ↩
In shortYosef thought new dress and grooming could help him influence others; when it led to his test, he returned to his fathers' unchanged ways.
4[This resolves the Midrash Rabbah we cited, which says on “And he went outside” that he leapt free in the merit of the Avos. When Yosef saw that this test had come his way, he at once took it upon himself to walk in the path of his fathers without any change, and he bound himself to their ways. So the merit was his own, for he withstood the test by himself. When the Midrash says that he leapt free “in the merit of the Avos,” it means that the ways of his fathers “appeared” to him, as we explained: he came to agree with them. The Midrash is resolved, and its end no longer contradicts its beginning.]
[וּבָזֶה יִתְיַישְּׁבוּ דִּבְרֵי הַמִּדְרָשׁ רַבָּה הַנִּזְכָּרִים, וַיֵּצֵא הַחוּצָה, קָפַץ בִּזְכוּת אָבוֹת וְכוּ׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁכַּאֲשֶׁר רָאָה יוֹסֵף שֶׁבָּא נִסָּיוֹן זֶה לְיָדוֹ, מִיָּד קִיבֵּל עַל עַצְמוֹ לֵילֵךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ אֲבוֹתָיו בְּלִי שׁוּם שִׁינּוּי, וְהִתְחַבֵּר לְדַרְכֵי אֲבוֹתָיו. נִמְצָא דְּהַזְּכוּת הָיְתָה שֶׁלּוֹ, שֶׁהוּא עָמַד בַּנִּסָּיוֹן מֵעַצְמוֹ, וּמַה שֶׁאָמְרוּ שֶׁקָּפַץ בִּזְכוּת אָבוֹת, הַיְינוּ שֶׁנִּרְאָה לוֹ דַּרְכֵי אֲבוֹתָיו כְּמוֹ שֶׁבֵּיאַרְנוּ, וּמְיוּשָּׁבִים דִּבְרֵי הַמִּדְרָשׁ שֶׁלֹּא יִסְתְּרוּ מֵרֵישָׁא לְסֵיפָא].
In shortRead this way, “in the merit of the Avos” means Yosef embraced his fathers' ways, the victory was his own, and the Midrash holds together.
5It seems that the Midrash can be explained in another way as well, based on a well-known trait of tzaddikim: in their great humility they credit their good deeds to the merit of their fathers. We may say that this is hinted in the verse “These are the generations of Noach: Noach was a righteous man.”9 Noach's sons talu, “credited,” their good deeds to the merit of their father's righteousness; the word echoes toldos, “generations.” This is what Rashi on that verse explains: “The offspring of tzaddikim are good deeds.” The sons attributed their good deeds to their fathers, saying that only because they were the offspring of righteous fathers had they been privileged to reach those deeds.
בְּדֶרֶךְ אַחֵר נִרְאֶה לְבָאֵר דִּבְרֵי הַמִּדְרָשׁ הַנִּזְכָּרִים, עַל פִּי מַה דְּנוֹדַע דַּרְכָּם שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים, שֶׁבְּגוּדָל מִידַּת שִׁפְלוּתָם תּוֹלִים אֶת מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הַטּוֹבִים בִּזְכוּת אֲבוֹתָם. וְזֶה יֵשׁ לוֹמַר הָרֶמֶז בַּפָּסוּק (בראשית ו, ט) ״אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדוֹת נֹחַ, נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק״, הַיְינוּ שֶׁבָּנָיו שֶׁל נֹחַ תָּלוּ אֶת מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הַטּוֹבִים בִּזְכוּת צִדְקַת אֲבִיהֶם, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁפֵּירֵשׁ רש״י ז״ל ׳תּוֹלְדוֹתֵיהֶם שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁתָּלוּ וְאָמְרוּ, שֶׁמֵּחֲמַת זֶה שֶׁהֵם מִתּוֹלְדוֹת אֲבוֹתָם הַצַּדִּיקִים, זָכוּ וְהִגִּיעוּ לְמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הַטּוֹבִים.
- Bereishis 6:9. ↩
In shortIn their humility tzaddikim credit their good deeds to their fathers, as hinted in “These are the generations of Noach.”
6So it was with Yosef HaTzaddik. Even after he was saved from sin, he remained humble and credited his escape to the merit of the Avos. This is the meaning of “the image of his father's face appeared to him.”
וְכֵן הָיָה עִם יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק, שֶׁגַּם אַחַר שֶׁזָּכָה לִינָּצֵל מֵהַחֵטְא, עָמַד בְּשִׁפְלוּתוֹ וְתָלָה הַדָּבָר בִּזְכוּת אָבוֹת, וְזֶה הַכַּוָּונָה שֶׁנִּרְאֵית לוֹ דְּמוּת דְּיוֹקְנוֹ שֶׁל אָבִיו.
In short“His father's face appeared to him”: in his humility, Yosef credited his escape from sin to his fathers' merit.
7This also resolves the Midrash, “‘And he went outside’: he leapt free in the merit of the Avos.” The Midrash expresses what Yosef HaTzaddik himself believed. In his great humility he imagined that he had overcome and mastered his yetzer hara only in the merit of the Avos. But the truth is that he earned it by his own merit, and in Heaven it was all credited to him. That is why the Midrash says “The sea saw and fled” in the merit of “And he left his garment in her hand and fled.”
וְעַל פִּי זֶה מִתְיַישְּׁבִים דִּבְרֵי הַמִּדְרָשׁ, ״וַיֵּצֵא הַחוּצָה״ קָפַץ בִּזְכוּת אָבוֹת, הַיְינוּ שֶׁכָּךְ הָיָה סָבוּר יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק, שֶׁבְּגוּדָל שִׁפְלוּתוֹ דִּימָּה, שֶׁמַּה שֶׁזָּכָה לְהִתְגַּבֵּר וְלִמְשׁוֹל בְּיִצְרוֹ הוּא רַק בִּזְכוּת אָבוֹת. אָמְנָם אַלִּיבָּא דֶּאֱמֶת, בִּזְכוּת עַצְמוֹ זָכָה לְכָךְ, וּבַשָּׁמַיִם תָּלוּ לוֹ הַכֹּל בִּזְכוּתוֹ, וְעַל כֵּן אָמְרוּ ״הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנֹס״ בִּזְכוּת ״וַיַּעֲזוֹב בִּגְדוֹ בְּיָדָהּ וַיָּנָס״.
In short“In the merit of the Avos” was Yosef's own humble view, while Heaven credited the victory to him, so the sea split in his merit.
8That is why the Men of the Great Assembly, the sages who set the order of our prayers, placed the blessing of the Avos at the beginning of the Shemoneh Esrei. When we stand to pray and ask the Omnipresent for a flow of blessing, who can be righteous before Him? So we begin with the blessing of the Avos, to say that although we are not worthy in our own merit, we ask in the merit of the Avos: “the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzchak and the God of Yaakov,” for we are the children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.
וְעַל כֵּן תִּיקְּנוּ אַנְשֵׁי כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה אֶת ׳בִּרְכַּת אָבוֹת׳ בִּתְחִילַּת תְּפִילַּת שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה, כֵּיוָן שֶׁכַּאֲשֶׁר אָנוּ עוֹמְדִים לְהִתְפַּלֵּל וּלְבַקֵּשׁ מֵאֵת הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה, וַהֲרֵי מִי יִצְדַּק לְפָנָיו, עַל כֵּן אָנוּ מַקְדִּימִים תְּחִילָּה בִּרְכַּת אָבוֹת, לוֹמַר שֶׁאַף שֶׁבִּזְכוּתֵנוּ אֵין אָנוּ רְאוּיִים, אֲבָל אָנוּ מְבַקְּשִׁים בִּזְכוּת אָבוֹת, ׳אֱלוֹקֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱלוֹקֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלוֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב׳, כִּי אָנוּ בְּנֵי אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב.
In shortThe Shemoneh Esrei opens with the blessing of the Avos because, unworthy in our own merit, we ask in the merit of our fathers.
9May Hashem grant that we always be privileged to have humility, and through it a flow of blessing and success in everything, and that we bring the redemption near. Amen, may it be His will.
יִתֵּן ה׳ שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה תָּמִיד לְמִידַּת שִׁפְלוּת, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נִזְכֶּה לְשֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה וְהַצְלָחָה בְּכָל הָעִנְיָנִים, וּלְקָרֵב הַגְּאוּלָּה, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן:
In shortMay Hashem grant us lasting humility, and through it blessing, success and a nearer redemption.
Takeaway
Yosef believed that a new way of dressing and carrying himself would bring others close, but it led him into a severe test, and he returned to the unchanged ways of his fathers. Even after he passed it, he humbly credited the merit of the Avos, while Heaven credited him. We too can hold fast to the ways of those who came before us, and stand before Hashem in every Shemoneh Esrei not on our own merit but as children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
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