own land, in comfort and secu-
rity. The Jewish people needed
to be born in a state of natural
upheaval, into miracles, amid
“signs and wonders.
” And,
so, Joseph’s personal story, all
the suffering he endured, all
the great challenges he faced,
ended up being nothing less
than the vehicle for the unfold-
ing of Jewish destiny. In fact, it
was the reverse of what Joseph
thought: he thought he had
been ‘sent’ to Egypt because of
the famine to prevent and save
his family and the region from
starvation — but God sent the
famine as a catalyst to bring the
family of Jacob down to Egypt.
So Joseph went ahead, to be
able to save them all, and to
bring them all down to Egypt.
And that was the plan.
This plan unfolded not over
years, but over centuries. And,
ultimately, it was a plan that
came full circle. Joseph’s dying
wish was that he not be buried
in Egypt, but rather be taken
with the Jewish people, when
they later left Egypt, and bur-
ied in the land of Israel. His
wish was fulfilled, and he was
eventually buried by Joshua in
a place called Shechem. Rashi
notes this was the very place
where Joseph was captured by
his brothers and sold into slav-
ery. And so Joseph’s journey —
and along with it, God’s grand
plan for the Jewish people —
comes full circle.
This helps us to understand
what faith in God means — to
trust that whatever befalls us,
it’s all for the best. The famous
Talmudic sage Rabbi Akiva
says our response to anything
that befalls us should be: “Gam
zu letova — this too is for the
good.
” But, this doesn’t mean
everything will turn out the
way that we wish it to, or even
the way we expect it to. Things
happen that are extremely
painful and often tragic — but
faith in God means to trust
that there’s a plan, no matter
how confusing and chaotic
things seem, and no matter
how hard it is to see what that
plan is.
The truth is, as mere
mortals, how can we see God’s
plan? How can we understand
a plan that spans not just
centuries and millennia, but
planes of reality — this world
and the World to Come. How
can we fathom the mind of
God? These are some of the
deepest secrets and mysteries
of the world that even Moses
— the greatest prophet
who ever lived — could not
understand. According to
the Talmud, when he was on
Mount Sinai, he asked God
why it is that some righteous
people suffer and some wicked
people prosper. And God
answered: “No man can see
me and live.
” In other words,
to understand the answer
to such a question would be
going to the depths of the
very essence of creation; it
would be like gaining the
deepest knowledge of Hashem,
Himself, who is beyond human
comprehension. How this
world actually functions —
how Hashem governs it — is
not something that as mortals
of flesh and blood we can
properly understand. And if
Moses didn’t know and God
refused to tell him, who are we
to be able to claim insight into
these things?
This is the message of
Joseph’s life. We never quite
know what’s going on beneath
the surface; the mysterious
inner workings of the universe
are beyond our understanding.
But our calling is to trust that
God is in control and have
faith that He loves us and
wants the best for us.
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, who
has a PhD. in Human Rights Law, is
the chief rabbi of South Africa. This
article first appeared on aish.com.
SPIRIT
Defeating Haman
Through Joy
T
he most famous verse in
the Megillah (8:16) tells
that after Haman’s sud-
den downfall, the Jews experi-
enced “light, joy, jubilation and
honor.”
The Gemara
(Megillah 16b) inter-
prets these terms
as alluding to four
fundamental features
of Jewish life: Torah
study, yom tov cele-
bration, circumcision
and tefillin. It seems
that following the great
Purim miracle, these
religious observances
were reinstated after
having been banned.
Why did Haman
seek to bar the Jews
from specifically these four
observances?
Rabbi Yitzchak Menachem
Weinberg, the current Tolna
Rebbe, explains that these
four mitzvot are all associated
with joy. Torah study brings
happiness (Tehillim 19:9),
and is thus forbidden during
mourning. Yom tov, of course,
requires joy and festivity. The
Gemara (Shabbos 130a) tells
that our nation accepted the
command of circumcision with
special joy; one of the sages is
described as having been espe-
cially jovial after putting on
tefillin (Berachos 30b).
Haman wanted to deny the
Jews any special joy because
he understood that the Jews’
most effective line of defense is
joy. When we remain upbeat,
optimistic and happy, we can
overcome even the harshest and
most trying conditions. Haman
banned the observance of these
mitzvot in order to sow wide-
spread depression and despair
so his sinister plot of extermi-
nation would succeed.
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 96b)
states that Haman had offspring
that converted to Judaism and
taught Torah. According to
one version of the text, this
descendant was a school-
teacher, Rav Shmuel bar
Sheilat. Several writers
noted that Rav Shmuel
taught, Mishenichnas Adar
marbin besimcha — “When
Adar enters, we increase our
joy.” Haman sought to elim-
inate our joy and plunge us
into despair; but each year,
we are taught by his descen-
dant’s directive to be joyful
and spirited.
We oppose Haman’s
scheme by remaining
cheerful and upbeat under all
circumstances. We defy Haman
not only through our continued
survival, but also by experienc-
ing the joy which he wanted to
deny us.
This means taking a moment
before entering the home after
a long, aggravating day in the
office to collect ourselves so we
come in smiling and cheerful. It
means that a boss should smile
and compliment his employees
even when he is under stress.
It means that a teacher should
enter the classroom with enthu-
siasm and positive energy. It
means reminding ourselves
of how much we have to be
thankful for even when we face
hardship and difficult challeng-
es. We should generate genuine,
deep-seated simchah that will
stay with us throughout the
entire year.
Rabbi Dov Loketch is Rabbi of
Congregation Agudas Yisrael Mogen
Avraham in Southfield.
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi Dov
Loketch
Parshat
Vayikra:
Leviticus
1:1-5:26;
Isaiah
43:21-44:23.
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