Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Chapter five of our parasha presents a narrative fraught with anxiety, crisis and distrust. It tells the story of Moshe and Aharon’s encounter with Pharaoh wherein they asked his permission for the Jewish people to go to the desert to offer sacrifices to Hashem. Their request generated an infamous response from the Egyptian monarch, “And Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the L-rd that I should heed His voice to let Israel out? I do not know the L-rd, neither will I let Israel out.’” (Sefer Shemot 5:2, all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) True to the spirit of this audacious retort, Pharaoh did more than just refuse Moshe and Aharon’s petition; instead, he decreed that the Jewish people must continue to meet their brick-building quota – even though they would no longer be provided with the straw necessary to do so. (5:6-19)
 
At this juncture, Moshe and Aharon were met by the officers of the children of Israel, identified by Talmud Bavli, Nedarim 64b as Datan and Aviram, who proclaimed with utter temerity, “May the L-rd look upon you and judge, for you have brought us into foul odor in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to place a sword into their hand[s] to kill us.” (5:21) It seems that Moshe was overwhelmed and completely disheartened by this direct attack upon his person by members of his own people, to the extent that he cried out to Hashem and questioned the Master of the Universe as to why He had harmed His people, and designated him as His emissary:

So Moses returned to the L-rd and said, “O L-rd! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people.” (5:22-23)
 
Clearly, Moshe needed reassurance that his shlichut (role as messenger) was not in vain. Moreover, he needed to know that there was a future for the nascent nation of Israel, and that the Almighty would not abandon them. Therefore, the final verse of our Torah portion states, “Now you will see what I [Hashem] will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he [Pharaoh] will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.” (6:1, brackets my own) At first glance, this appears to be precisely what Moshe needed to assuage his fear and apprehension. Yet, Chazal (our Sages may they be remembered for a blessing) viewed Hashem’s words to Moshe in a startling different light, namely, as a rebuke:

And for this Moses was punished, as it is said, “Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people.” Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Alas for those [i.e. the Patriarchs] who are gone and no more to be found! For how many times did I reveal Myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name of E-l Sha-dai, and they did not question my character, nor say to Me, What is Your name?” (Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 111a, translation, The Soncino Talmud with my emendations)

The Talmud continues, citing specific Torah texts that incontrovertibly demonstrate the Patriarchs’ unquestioning belief in Hashem – seemingly in stark contrast to Moshe. Indeed, Moshe’s questioning of Hashem in this episode is presented as one of the reasons he was ultimately barred from entering Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel). In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) summarizes the extended Talmudic narrative in this manner:

Now you will see: You have questioned My ways [of running the world, which is] unlike Abraham, to whom I said, “For in Isaac will be called your seed” (Sefer Bereishit 21:12), and afterwards I said to him, “Bring him up there for a burnt offering” (Sefer Bereishit 22:2), yet he did not question Me. Therefore, “Now you will see.” [This means,] what is done to Pharaoh you will see, but not what is done to the kings of the seven nations when I bring them [the children of Israel] into the land [of Israel]. (Some brackets and underlining my own)

Rashi was even more explicit in his gloss on our Talmudic passage regarding G-d’s deep-seated disappointment in Moshe at this point and time: Alas for those [i.e. the Patriarchs] who are gone and no more to be found: “There is a tremendous loss regarding the great ones that have perished – for I [Hashem] am unable to find other righteous ones that are like them. For you [Moshe] are not like Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov who never questioned My character [literally, attributes].” Therefore, according to Rashi’s interpretation of our pasuk (verse) and the Talmud, as great as Moshe surely was, he was second to the Patriarchs when it came to his emunah (faith) in G-d.

This approach of Rashi and the Talmud creates a serious conundrum. Somehow, the thought of G-d chastising Moshe for his advocacy on behalf of klal Yisrael (the Jewish people) instinctively seems amiss. After all, Avraham, the first of the Patriarchs, famously tried to save the people of S’dom and Gomorrah from destruction when he beseeched G-d to save them. It should be noted, moreover, that Avraham challenged the Almighty to act in congruence with the selfsame standards of justice He had previously modeled for him:  

And Abraham approached and said, “Will You even destroy the righteous with the wicked? Perhaps there are fifty righteous men in the midst of the city; will You even destroy and not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty righteous men who are in its midst? Far be it from You to do a thing such as this, to put to death the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be like the wicked. Far be it from You! Will the Judge of the entire earth not perform justice?” (Sefer Bereishit 18:23-25, underlining my own)

My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his students and disciples, addressed our issue in a novel manner that maintains both the internal integrity of the Talmud and Rashi’s explication. The Rav noted that a fundamental difference obtained between the Patriarchs and Moshe regarding the name by which each of them knew G-d. The Patriarchs knew the Master of the Universe by the names E-l Sha-dai and E-lohim, whereas, Moshe knew G-d by the additional name of Hashem:

G-d… told Moses that he had been singled out as the chosen prophet, the father of all future prophets. He was different from everyone else. “And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by the name E-l Sha-dai, but by my name Hashem I was not known to them” (Sefer Shemot 6:3) G-d did not make His explicit name available to them, but it is at Moses’ disposal. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Vision and Leadership: Reflections on Joseph and Moses, editors, David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler, page 86)
 
This difference between the names of G-d that the Almighty shared with the Patriarchs and Moshe helps us to understand the latter’s reaction to the browbeating and denigration he suffered at the hands of Datan and Aviram. The Rav explained that “E-l Sha-dai and E-lohim represent promises and the ability to wait.” In contrast, the name “Hashem” connotes “the fulfiller of promises” and He who “bestows grace upon the people.” (pages 86-87) As such, the Patriarchs and Moshe had very different sets of expectations regarding G-d’s behavior toward the Jewish people:

E-lohim refers to G-d who requires that a Jew have faith, patience, and perseverance. It is very hard to wait. And yet, the Jew waits and waits. Every day he says the Ani Ma’amin – I believe in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may tarry I will wait for him every day. The Jew who communicates with E-lohim, then, is greater than the Jew who communicates with Hashem, the fulfiller of promises. When G-d bestows grace upon the people, it is not difficult to be a Jew. Nevertheless, during the long, lonely night of exile, the Jew did not lose his faith in E-lohim; Hashem did not reveal Himself. The Jew who waits is great indeed. (Page 87)
 
Armed with the Rav’s trenchant analysis, we are now prepared to re-examine Moshe’s questioning of the Master of the Universe. Moshe’s declaration to G-d is introduced by the words, “Vayoshov Moshe el Hashem” (“And Moshe returned to Hashem”). It is only afterward that the Torah states, “O L-rd! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people.” In my estimation, Moshe was singularly focused upon G-d as “Hashem, the fulfiller of promises” to the extent that the personas of “E-l Sha-dai and E-lohim” had become nearly eclipsed in his mind. He wanted an immediate solution to the misery of his beloved people, and the wanton violence perpetrated against them by Pharaoh. He no longer wanted to wait - 210 years of abject servitude at the hands of the Egyptian taskmasters had been enough! Therefore, in my view, Moshe’s statement to G-d was not one that betrayed a lack of faith; instead, it represented his consummate belief in Hashem’s ability to save the Jewish people – now! Our nation had waited long enough. It was time, at last, for the Redemption to unfold, so that our people could finally return to Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) and live the lives of truly free men and women.
​
May the Almighty manifest His Divine Presence to us as “Hashem, the fulfiller of promises,” so that we may we be zocheh (merit) to witness the complete Redemption of our people led by His righteous Mashiach (Messiah), the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple), and the ingathering of our people to our holy land. With Hashem’s endless kindness and mercy, may this take place soon and in our days! V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].
​
*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rav Soloveitchik's English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984.

Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
 [And Jacob said:] “And now, your two sons [Joseph], who were born to you in the land of Egypt, until I came to you, to the land of Egypt they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine like Reuben and Simeon.” (Sefer Bereishit 48:5, all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, brackets my own)
 
A careful reading of our pasuk (verse), when viewed in the context of succeeding biblical narratives, reveals that Jacob’s declaration to Joseph represents a transformative moment in the history of the Jewish people. My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his students and disciples, addressed its profound meaning in a celebrated public discourse subsequently entitled, “The First Jewish Grandfather.” In doing so, he presented an exceptionally powerful textual analysis that has far-reaching implications:

… Jacob was the first patriarch to establish direct communication with his grandchildren. He was the first to make a solemn declaration, an historic pronouncement, which is responsible for the sense of closeness we still have with the past, thereby laying the foundation for the dialogue of the generations. He literally conquered time and space when he said to Joseph, “Now your two sons, who were born to you in Egypt, before I came to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Menashe shall be mine, no less than Reuben and Simeon.” … Though a second generation removed, and nurtured in an Egyptian environment, Jacob equated them with his own sons who had been reared close to him in the Holy Land. (Man of Faith in the Modern World: Reflections of the Rav, adapted from the lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Abraham R. Besdin, editor, volume II, pages 18-19)
 
Allow me to highlight some of the major points of the Rav’s pioneering explication of our verse:

1. “Jacob was the first patriarch to establish direct communication with his grandchildren.”
2. Jacob was the only one of the Avot (Patriarchs) “to make a solemn declaration, an historic pronouncement, which is responsible for the sense of closeness we still have with the past, thereby laying the foundation for the dialogue of the generations.”
3. Even though Ephraim and Menashe were a second generation removed from Jacob, and had not been raised in the holy environment of the Land of Israel, “Jacob equated them with his own sons.” It is in this sense that “he literally conquered time and space.”

 
The Rav expanded upon the uniqueness of Jacob, and the ramifications of his approach regarding the future of our people, in the following manner:

Abraham and Isaac transmitted their spiritual heritage to their sons, not to their grandsons. The latter received it from their fathers, but there was no direct communication between Abraham and Jacob or between Isaac and Reuben and Simeon. The influence of the grandfathers on their grandchildren was indirect. Jacob, however, related directly to his grandchildren; he did not need an intermediary or an interpreter; his was a direct dialogue. He leapt over the gulf of the generations and transmitted the great Mesorah [religious traditions] of Abraham directly to Ephraim and Menashe. Despite the discrepancy of years, the Zaken [Jacob the Elder], the carrier of the old tradition, succeeded… Though the covenant was made initially with Abraham, it was not until Jacob that the secret of perpetuating the Mesorah was discovered. (Page 19, brackets my own)
 
According to Rav Soloveitchik, Jacob’s contribution to the continuation of our people was second to none, for it was he who discovered “the secret of perpetuating the Mesorah.” Therefore, in a very real sense, it was Jacob who laid the foundations for Kenneset Yisrael, the transhistorical entity of the Jewish people, who, with G-d’s boundless mercy, exists and will continue to exist for all time. V’chane yihi ratzon.
Shabbat Shalom,
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

Image courtesy http://tamarmesser.com

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
And they [Joseph’s brothers] told him [Jacob], saying, “Joseph is still alive,” and that he ruled over the entire land of Egypt, and his heart changed, for he did not believe them. And they told him all of Joseph's words that he had said to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, and the spirit of their father Jacob was revived. And Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” (Sefer Bereishit 45:26-28, all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, brackets my own)
 
Our three pasukim (verses) are extraordinarily important in the history of our people. They form a crucial link in the chain of occurrences that eventuated in Jacob going down to Egypt, our nascent nation’s servitude and redemption from there, the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, our receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, and the conquest and settlement of the Land of Israel. Given our passage’s singular importance, let us review its major themes:

1. Jacob’s sons encountered him on their return from Egypt and declared, “Joseph is still alive.”
2. Jacob’s children shared with him what appeared to be amazingly good news, namely, Joseph was the ruler (moshal) over all of Egypt.
3. Jacob’s heart changed, i.e. he simply was unable to accept his sons’ message, “for he did not believe them.”
4. In an effort to convince their father, Jacob’s children shared with him “all of Joseph's words that he had said to them.”
5. At this juncture, Jacob “saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him,” and consequently had visual, “facts on the ground” proof of the veracity of his sons’ statements.
6. It was only at this point that “the spirit of their father Jacob was revived,” (va’te’chi ruach Yaakov avihem), i.e. Hashem’s Divine Presence rested upon Jacob once again (Rashi, 1040-1105), since he now knew that Joseph was alive. Hence the Torah’s next statement, “And Israel said, ‘Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’”

 
In sum, our passage consists of the following order of events: Statements that Joseph was alive and the ruler of Egypt, Jacob’s disbelief, the repetition of Joseph’s words, Jacob’s viewing of the wagons that Joseph had sent him, followed by his recognition that, indeed, Joseph was still alive.
 
At this point in the explication of our passage, we may well ask, “Why did Jacob change his mind when he heard the repetition of Joseph’s words and saw the wagons ‘that Joseph had sent to carry him?’” Fortunately, Rashi provides us with a straightforward, midrashically-based explanation that addresses this question:

He (Joseph) gave them a sign regarding the topic he was engaged in [learning] when he (Joseph) separated from him (Jacob). [That was] the section dealing with the heifer that was to be beheaded (Sefer Devarim 21), and this is what [the Torah] says, “and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent,” and it (the Torah) does not say, “that Pharaoh had sent.” [Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 94:3] (Rashi translation with my emendations)
 
In short, the wagons (agalot; singular, agalah) reminded Jacob of the subject of the heifer that was to be beheaded (eglah arufah), that he and Joseph had been studying prior to his son’s involuntary journey to Egypt. This was not public knowledge; it was information known only to the two of them. Therefore, once Jacob comprehended the full meaning of the agalot, and the play on words they represented in regards to the eglah arufah, he became convinced that Joseph was still alive.
 
We can gain further insight into Jacob’s change of heart and acceptance that Joseph was still alive by looking more closely at the basis of his original incredulity. Let us turn to the masterful analysis of this subject by the great Chasidic sage and second Rebbe of Bobov, HaRav Ben Tzion Halberstam zatzal (1874-1941), as found in his posthumous work of Torah analysis entitled, “Kedushat Tzion.” Rav Halberstam begins his examination of our problem by comparing Joseph’s two dreams as found in Parashat Vayashev:

And he [Joseph] said to them [the brothers], “Listen now to this dream, which I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves encircled [it] and prostrated themselves to my sheaf.” (Sefer Bereishit 37:6-7)
And he again dreamed another dream, and he related it to his brothers, and he said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream, and behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were prostrating themselves to me.” (37:9)

Rav Halberstam notes that in Joseph’s description of his first dream he states, “my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves encircled [it] and prostrated themselves to my sheaf,” whereas regarding the second dream he states, “the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were prostrating themselves to me.” A careful reading of our verses reveal that the first dream contains the element of willful and voluntary acceptance, as suggested by the words, “your sheaves encircled [it]” – an idea that is entirely absent in the second dream. Therefore, according to Rav Halberstam, the Torah’s testimony, “his father [Jacob] awaited the matter [‘when the fulfillment would come,’ Rashi]” (37:11) refers solely to the first dream, in which the metaphoric actions of the brothers appear to be completely volitional. This exposition parallels the Torah’s depiction of Jacob’s reaction to Joseph’s second dream: “… and his father rebuked him and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have dreamt? Will we come, I, your mother, and your brothers to prostrate ourselves to you to the ground?’” (37:10, underlining my own)

At this juncture, Rav Halberstam contrasts Joseph’s charge to his brothers regarding what they were to tell Jacob with what they actually said to him: 

Hasten and go up to my father, and say to him, “So said your son, Joseph”: ‘G-d has made me a lord (adon) over all the Egyptians. Come down to me, do not tarry.’” (45:9)
And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive,” and [they told him] that he ruled (ki hu moshal) over the entire land of Egypt… (45:26, all parentheses and bolding my own)

Rav Halberstam interprets the singular difference between “adon” and “moshal” in the following manner: “[When the Torah employs] ‘adon,’ this refers to a scenario wherein others willingly accept another party’s rule over them. The ‘moshal,’ however, is an individual whose dominion over others is acquired through force…”
 
Armed with these powerful insights, Rav Halberstam elucidates the connection between Joseph’s dreams, the brothers’ words to Jacob, and why the latter initially refused to believe his sons when they proclaimed that Joseph was alive and the moshal over all of Egypt:

Therefore, when our father Jacob heard his sons’ words that he (Joseph) was the moshal, he (Jacob) did not believe them. This was the case, since he was proof positive that based upon his rebuke to Joseph [regarding the content of the second dream], he surely would have accepted and understood [that he could never be the moshal over his father and family. As a result, Joseph would] never rule over them with the staff of those who impose their authority over others – i.e., through violence and force.
 
Why, then, did Jacob suddenly change his mind and accept the validity of his sons’ statements? Rav Halberstam offers the following concise answer:
When his sons, however, spoke all of Joseph’s words to him, [including,] “G-d has made me a lord (adon) over all the Egyptians,” that connoted, “I have been voluntarily accepted [as the adon],” then, and only then, did Jacob believe them “and the spirit of their father Jacob was revived.” (All translations, brackets, parentheses and underlining my own)  
 
Jacob now knew that Joseph acted in consonance with his first dream wherein he gained power through acclamation, rather than force. For Rav Halberstam, this was the moment when Jacob was absolutely convinced that his beloved son was alive and second-in-command of Egypt.
 
In my estimation, we can learn another significant lesson when we contrast the brothers’ announcement concerning Joseph with that of Jacob’s response. The brothers exclaimed, “Joseph is still alive,” whereas Jacob said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive…” I believe that this subtle difference is truly pregnant with meaning. In my view, it was Jacob’s epigrammatic way of stating that not only was Joseph’s physical being intact, but he also continued to manifest those unique characteristics that stamped him unmistakably as an authentic ben Yaakov (son of Jacob). Little wonder, then, that the Midrash teaches us that Jacob’s image appeared in Joseph’s window when the advances of Potiphar’s wife so powerfully challenged him. Joseph’s subsequent flight from his master’s wife teaches us that he decided to remain, forevermore, Yosef ben Yaakov (Joseph the son of Jacob) – not just by birth, but also by choice.
 
With Hashem’s guidance, and our fervent desire, may each of us strive to live up to the Torah’s standards of moral and ethical behavior so that we, too, can be true children of Yaakov. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
So Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they rushed him from the dungeon, and he shaved and changed his clothes, and he [then] came to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter for it, but I have heard it said of you [that] you understand a dream, to interpret it.” And Joseph replied to Pharaoh, saying, “Not I; G-d will give an answer [that will bring] peace to Pharaoh.” (Sefer Bereishit 41:14-16, all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Allow me to expand upon our passage: Joseph was summoned from his dungeon of despair to come before Pharaoh, the most powerful man on the planet. The king then told him that he had heard that Joseph was capable of accurately interpreting dreams. Let us think for a moment how many of us would have responded to an omnipotent ruler. We probably would have said: “Yes, I can interpret dreams very well. In fact, your majesty, I haven’t been wrong yet! I do have a gift that is now at your service. What did Pharaoh dream? Allow me to interpret the dream’s meaning.” Instead, in one of his finest moments, Joseph completed his transformation into Yosef hatzadik (Joseph the Righteous) and declared to the monarch: “Bil’adai, Elokim ya’aneh et shalom Pharaoh” (“It is not through my wisdom [Onkelos] that I shall interpret your dreams, G-d will provide an answer that will bring peace to Pharaoh”). The singular import of these six Hebrew words cannot be overestimated; they established Yosef as the dramatis persona through whom the rest of Jewish history would begin to be realized.
 
Yosef could have responded in an arrogant fashion. Instead, he presented himself as the humble servant of Hakodesh Baruch Hu (the Holy One Blessed be He) and the conduit through whom G-d’s dream interpretations would flow. Yosef’s anivut (humility) proved him to be a true son of Yaakov Avinu (our father Yaakov), worthy in his own right of the mantle of leadership that would imminently be placed upon his shoulders.
 
How does one acquire the crucial middah (ethical characteristic) of anivut that Yosef hatzadik possessed? The Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, Nachmanides, 1194-1270) famously addressed the acquisition of anivut in his Iggeret HaRamban (The Letter of the Ramban):

Therefore, I will now explain to you how to always behave humbly. Speak gently at all times, with your head bowed, your eyes looking down to the ground and your heart focusing on Hashem. Don't look at the face of the person to whom you are speaking. Consider everyone as greater than yourself. If he is wise or rich, you should give him respect. If he is poor and you are richer - or wiser - than he, consider yourself to be more guilty than he, and that he is more worthy than you, since when he sins it is through error, while yours is deliberate and you should know better!

In all your actions, words and thoughts, always regard yourself as standing before Hashem, with His Schechinah [Divine Presence] above you, for His glory fills the whole world. Speak with fear and awe, as a slave standing before his master. Act with restraint in front of everyone. When someone calls you, don't answer loudly, but gently and softly, as one who stands before his master.

Torah should always be learned diligently, so you will be able to fulfill its commands. When you arise from your learning reflect carefully on what you have studied, in order to see what in it that you can be put into practice. Examine your actions every morning and evening, and in this way every one of your days will be spent in teshuvah (repentance).  (Translation, http://www.pirchei.com/specials/ramban/ramban.htm, brackets and italics my own)

Several salient points emerge from this section of the Iggeret that can guide us toward the attainment of this moral virtue. The manner in which we communicate with others speaks volumes about us. Our interactions should reflect humility and respect for the significance of others, based upon the fundamental principle that they, too, are created b’tzelem Elokim (in the image of G-d). In addition, our minds and hearts must be focused upon Hashem, so that we recognize that we are always standing before His Divine Presence. Moreover, Torah should be learned in a diligent fashion, and in a manner that leads to meaningful practice of its precepts. The Ramban urges us to reflect upon this goal when we complete a Torah learning session, so that the Torah we have studied becomes a part of us, rather than remaining apart from us. Finally, we must undertake a twice-daily cheshbon hanefesh (spiritual accounting) of our actions and the words that we have spoken. By doing this, we can raise our self-awareness and identify those areas that require further growth.
 
Yosef’s anivut parallels the actions of another great leader of klal Yisrael, namely, Moshe Rabbeinu (our teacher, Moses), about whom the Torah states: “Now this man Moses was exceedingly humble (anav m’ode) more so than any person on the face of the earth.” (Sefer Bamidbar 12:3) Rashi (1040-1105) notes that Moshe’s humility was particularly manifest in his modest demeanor and the patient manner in which he interacted with others. It seems that the Ramban focused precisely upon these characteristics when he taught us how to become truly humble: “Speak gently at all times … [with] your heart focusing on Hashem. [Moreover,] consider everyone as greater than yourself.” (Brackets my own) In sum, these were two of the behaviors that Yosef hatzadik and Moshe Rabbeinu mastered, and taught us by their sterling example.

May Hashem grant each of us the wisdom and drive to develop the middah of anivut, and thereby emulate Yosef hatzadik and Moshe Rabbeinu. May we then be able to go forth and m’takane ha’olam b’malchut Shakai (improve the world under the kingship of Hashem). With the Almighty’s help, may this time come soon and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom,
 
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*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.