Shabbat Forshpeis
A Taste of Torah in Honor of Shabbat
PARSHAT MIKETZ
THE COMPASSION IN OTHERS CAN AWAKEN COMPASSION IN US
DECEMBER 7, 2002/ 2 TEVET 5763
In his Hilkhot Deot
(Laws of Personality Development), Maimonides emphasizes
the importance of
the Golden Mean. He insists, however, that there is one
area where the Golden Mean does not apply-the area of anger. One must go to
the extreme to do away with anger. Concerning this emotion, the middle way is
not enough.
A wonderful teenager in our shul, Liron Kranzler once offered a brilliant
Dvar Torah in which she suggested that the story of Yosef (Joseph) teaches
how different people helped Yosef assuage his anger.
Yosef had every reason to be upset-after all, his brothers had sold him into
slavery. Hence, when his brothers came to Egypt, Yosef expresses his anger by
doing to them precisely what they did to him. He accuses them of being spies,
cast them into a dungeon, and takes Shimon-who held the principle role in
Yosef's sale-as a hostage.
In time, however, Yosef's rage is abated.
The Midrash notes that when appearing before Yosef, Binyamin (Benjamin)
reveals that his ten children were named for Yosef-Binyamin's names would
recall his lost brother. This clearly stirred Yosef's compassion. (Rashi,
Genesis 43:30)
Yet another Midrash notes that it was Yosef's son Menasheh who decreed that
the brother who stole the goblet would become a slave, while the others would
be freed. This was a non-aggressive, less angry sentence, as in truth, the
brother who stole the goblet should have been killed and the others taken as
slaves. Here again, this act of softening the penalty on the part of a close
relative must have impressed Yosef. (Rashi, Genesis 42:23)
And, of course, when Binyamin was detained by Yosef for allegedly stealing
the goblet, the same Yehudah who 22 years earlier instigated the sale of
Yosef, comes to the defense of Binyamin. Here Yehudah shows his remorse
which, again, must have impacted upon Yosef.
Through the actions of his brothers Binyamin and Yehudah and of his son,
Menasheh, Yosef's rage was diminished and he was able to learn from them the
importance of embracing compassion.
Only after witnessing these transformative acts is Yosef able to abandon his
anger and channel his passions to the other extreme by revealing himself to
his brothers with caring and forgiveness.
When witnessing the compassionate acts of others, may we be blessed with the
lessons of Yosef and allow our warmth, love and compassion to surface and
spread.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Avi Weiss
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