Torah

It’s easy to play “Monday morning quarterback” – or is it?

As Sefer B’reishis comes to a close, Yosef is approached by his brothers, who beg for forgiveness and mercy. An understanding Yosef reassures them: “You may have intended to harm me, but Hashem had good intentions; today it is clear that He placed me here to sustain all of the people” (B’reishis 50:20). In other words, Yosef wisely told his brothers that they were examining the events of the story through an overly narrow lens. They were focused on the minute details of their actions, while Yosef was keeping an eye on the big picture. Blessed with the perspective of hindsight, he helped the brothers see that they all were mere pawns in the hands of the Grand Chessmaster of the universe. Everything that had transpired was all for the endgame of sustaining the world during the years of famine.

Sometimes it’s important to mind someone else’s business.

Yosef sat in prison for more than a decade before he was released to become viceroy of Egypt. His path toward redemption began when he interpreted the dreams of his fellow inmates: Pharaoh’s butler and baker. However, Yosef’s great achievement was not his accurate interpretations; as Yosef repeatedly emphasized, that was really the work of Hashem.

For some remarkable people, foresight can be 20/20.

The end of Parshas VaYigash describes how Yosef took complete control of the agricultural and economic aspects of Egypt during the seven years of famine. He rationed out bread in exchange for money, cattle, and land; he relocated all Egyptians to government housing; and he imposed a 20% income tax on all future crops.

What does it really mean to be “shomer Shabbos”?

As Yaakov Avinu prepared for their showdown, he sent Eisav a critical message: “Im Lavan garti–With Lavan I have lived (B’reishis 32:5). Rashi points out that the Hebrew word garti has the numerical value of 613, hinting to “taryag mitzvos shamarti.” In other words, Yaakov was warning Eisav that despite the decades he spent living in the house of the evil Lavan, he had remained observant of all the mitzvos. This merit would protect Yaakov from any attacks Eisav may have been planning.

Who would you expect to win in a battle of good vs. evil?

Based on childhoods of reading fairy tales and watching Disney movies, we would like to believe that the “good guys” are supposed to come out on top. And yet, in Al HaNisim we thank Hashem for all the miracles and wonders – including the victory of the heroes – as if it was unnatural! Certainly, rabim b’yad m’atim (the many in the hands of the few) is miraculous, as the larger army would figure to have a major advantage. But why is r’sha’im b’yad tzadikim (the wicked in the hands of the righteous) so surprising? Would we have expected evil to have the upper hand?

It takes two to fight!

In an image often featured in Parshas VaYeitzei projects, Yaakov Avinu lay down to sleep with twelve small stones surrounding his head, but then awoke to find one big boulder for a pillow. Chazal have a tradition that each stone fought for the honor of supporting the tzadik’s head; when the fighting reached a deadlock, Hashem miraculously combined all the rocks into one (Rashi, B’reishis 28:11).