Parashat Miketz – Shabbat Chanukah 5786, 2025: "Yosef HaTzaddik?"

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Who was Yosef? While some reinterpret the direct meaning of the text and teach us that Yosef was always Yosef HaTzaddik (Yosef the Righteous), a straightforward analysis of the beginning of Parashat Vayashev simply does not support this interpretation. Rashi (1040-1105) quotes the Midrash Bereishit Rabbah (84:7) on Bereishit 37:2 on the words: “v’hu na’ar—and he was a young boy” and says: “that he [Yosef] practiced babyish actions such as primping his hair and using eye shadow in order to beautify himself.” As the Midrash notes, these certainly were not the actions of a 17-year-old young man. Instead, they were the behaviors of a vain and self-indulgent individual. Clearly, at this point in the Torah’s narrative, Yosef is someone other than a tzaddik.
 
Subsequently, our parasha reveals Yosef’s authentic self, and the basis for his descriptive name, Yosef HaTzaddik. Pharaoh had two very disturbing dreams that defied interpretation. He was beside himself with anxiety and mental anguish. Out of abject desperation, Pharaoh retold his dreams to his confidants and magicians whose analyses failed to comfort him. In a moment of high drama, his cupbearer declared that he remembered a dream interpreter who had been in prison with him who accurately explained dreams. He described him as a “na’ar,” an “ivri,” and an “eved”— a mere youth, a stranger and a slave. In short, Yosef was on the lowest rung of Egyptian society and hardly worth mentioning. Yet, as Hippocrates (460-370 BCE) said so long ago: “desperate times call for desperate measures,” and the cupbearer nonetheless shared this information. His goal, of course, was to curry favor in Pharaoh’s eyes. Little did he know, however, that he would begin the great chain of events that would eventuate in Ya’akov and his sons coming to Egypt, Yetziat Mitzraim, Kabbalat HaTorah, and, ultimately, the fulfillment of Judaism’s messianic vision.
 
Yosef was summoned from his pit and prison of despair. He shaved, changed his clothes and came before Pharaoh, the most powerful man on the planet. Pharaoh told Yosef that he had heard he was capable of accurate dream analysis. Let us think for a moment as to how most of us would have responded to the all-powerful ruler at this time. We probably would have said: “Yes, I can interpret dreams very well. In fact, your majesty, I haven’t been wrong yet. I have a gift that is at your service. What did Pharaoh dream? Allow me to interpret its meaning.” Instead, in perhaps his finest moment, Yosef was transformed into “Yosef HaTzaddik” and declared to Pharaoh: “Bil’adai, Elokim ya’aneh et shalom Pharaoh—it is not through my wisdom [Onkelos] that I shall interpret your dreams; God will provide an answer that will bring peace to Pharaoh.” In one fell swoop, Yosef was transformed into one of the greatest figures in Jewish history. Instead of responding to Pharaoh in an arrogant and self-serving manner, he presented himself as the humble servant of the Ribono shel Olam and the mere conduit through whom Hashem’s dream interpretations flowed. Yosef’s humility proved him to be a true son of Ya’akov Avinu, and one who was worthy of the mantle of leadership that would soon be placed upon his shoulders.
 
I believe that Yosef’s behavior informs us how we can best serve Hashem. Moreover, and much later on in Jewish history, the ethical underpinning of these actions was given powerful voice by the Michah the Prophet when he famously declared: “He has told you, O’ man, what is good, and what Hashem demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Sefer Michah 6:8, translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) With the Almighty’s help, may we ever strive to emulate Yosef’s humility and declare as one, “Bil’adai!”
 
Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach.
 
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