The remarkable story of Yosef being sold into slavery is replete with many nuances and distinctions that require a great deal of studying and comprehension. On a basic level, when the brothers saw Yosef coming to them near Shechem, they convened a Beis Din and judged him on the spot. They decided to kill him as a “Rodef.” However, Reuven, the oldest brother, stepped in and rescued him. He literally gave Yosef back his life by suggesting that they sell him instead of kill him.
R’ Sholom Schwadron zt”l, the renowned Maggid of Jerusalem, was once asked a question: When a person kills another human being, he removes his soul from his body. Is there any way for a person to inject a soul into another human being? R’ Sholom smiled at the question and replied, “Of course there is. In fact, I once did it myself!”
The questioner looked stunned and R’ Sholom explained. “I was once spending a beautiful and peaceful Shabbos at my daughter’s home in Kiryat Gat. Suddenly, in the middle of the Friday night seudah, we heard a knock on the door and the gabbai from the local shul was standing there. He walked in and said, ‘Rebbi, we just heard that the Maggid is in town and it would be our honor if he could come and deliver a derashah in shul tonight after the seudah.’”
R’ Sholom said, “Well, he was quite insistent and I couldn’t say no, so I agreed to come after the meal. I hadn’t prepared anything specific to speak about, but I realized the moment I came into the shul that this derashah did not require pilpul or lomdus. Maybe a cute vort, a story, a mashal, and the people would appreciate it very much. So that is what I did!”
The shul was packed when R’ Sholom arrived as everyone wanted to hear a good vort. He said over something nice on the parsha and then he turned to someone sitting next to him and asked a question. “Why is it that lately it has become popular to make a big lavish Bat Mitzvah party? Throughout the years, it was the custom to make a festive seudah for a Bar Mitzvah, when a boy turned thirteen years old. But when did this start that people go out and make huge Bat Mitzvah parties too?”
He looked around in his well-known style and said, “I will tell you. You see, for all the years, a Bar Mitzvah boy was celebrated since he was now entering a stage of life where he was commanded to perform special mitzvos. He now puts on tefilin, learns Torah, etc. A girl, however, is not commanded to do these mitzvos, so people would make a boy a party but not a girl. Unfortunately, today, even the boys are not fulfilling mitzvos. Nebach, so many young boys do not follow in the ways of our forefathers and do not keep the mitzvos the way they should. When the girls saw that the boys are not doing mitzvos, they figured, ‘Well, they are no different than us. So why should they get a big fancy Bar Mitzvah party when they don’t do mitzvos — we should also get a big fancy Bat Mitzvah party! Why should we be any different than them!’”
The Maggid paused as he retold the story. Then he continued. “A number of years later, I was once again in Kiryat Gat and a man came over to me. ‘You don’t know me,’ he said, ‘but I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You see, I was there on that Friday night when the Maggid spoke in shul. My family and I were not religious at the time. But when I heard you say that girls are demanding a Bat Mitzvah party just like boys, since they feel that just as the boys don’t do mitzvos and get a party, they should too, it struck a chord within me. My son had recently turned thirteen and we did indeed make him a grand Bar Mitzvah party. But for what? Did he do anything to be celebrated? Does he keep any mitzvos, does he put on tefillin, does he learn Torah, to make him deserving of being called a ‘Bar Mitzvah’? I had never thought of it that way before and I decided that my son should start wearing tefilin. I bought him a pair of tefilin and I insisted that he put them on every day. My son complied, and after a while, he began doing more and more mitzvos. Soon, he wanted to switch to the religious school and we switched him. He eventually became fully observant, and he ‘shlepped’ us all along with him. Today, I am happy to say that my entire family is scrupulously religious and we fulfill all the mitzvos!’”
R’ Sholom now turned to the original questioner and said, “You know how one can take another person’s soul and remove it from his body. But now you know how you can take a ‘soulless’ person and inject him with true, pure ruchniyos!”
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
