By Rabbi Yisroel
Shusterman
This week’s Parsha
Perspective is dedicated by Mr. Binyomin Philipson
in memory of his late mother
Mrs. Ellen (Elka bas Zisel) Philipson OBM
A number of years
ago, an incident happened, in Argentina, resulting with a Shochet’s (ritual
slaughterer’s) life being saved because of the greeting “¿Cómo estás?” (“How
are you?”)
A group of these Shochetim (ritual slaughterers) were leaving the abattoir late one afternoon, passing the guard’s hut, when all of a sudden one of the guards called out “Isn’t one of you fellows missing?” They looked around and realized that indeed one of their group was not with them. They went back to find him, but only after an extensive exhaustive search did they locate him trapped in the huge walk-in freezer. He had entered the freezer to put away some meat packages at the end of the day only to find that the lock of the freezer door was broken and would not open from the inside. He was trapped inside, but found just in time, thank G-d. Everyone realized that he would have never survived the night in that freezer.
The next day, the
manager asked the guard: “I’m really curious. How did you know that the Rabbi
was still inside the plant?”
“It’s really very
simple,” the guard answered. “Every single morning without fail, I am greeted
with a solitary ‘good morning.’ It’s the rabbi who greets me this way. Every
evening, upon leaving, he wishes me a hearty ‘good night.’ Yesterday morning I
received my usual cheery ‘good morning,’ but I still hadn’t received my usual
‘good night’. . .”
In this week’s
Torah reading Vayeishev (Bereishis 37:1-40:23), we read the
dramatic story of Joseph - the multicolored coat, the sibling rivalry in Jacob’s
family, and Joseph’s descent to Egypt, sold into slavery. After being framed by
his master’s wife, Joseph finds himself incarcerated in an Egyptian jail. There
he meets the Pharaoh’s butler and baker, and correctly interprets their
respective dreams. Later, when Pharaoh himself will be perturbed by his own
dreams, the butler will remember Joseph, and Joseph will be brought from the
dungeon to the royal court. His dream analysis will satisfy the monarch, and
the young Hebrew slave boy will be named viceroy of Egypt. And the rest is
history. How did Joseph’s salvation begin?
It began with the imprisoned Joseph noticing that the butler and baker were looking depressed. “And Joseph came to them in the morning and he saw them, and behold, they were troubled. He asked Pharaoh’s officials. ‘Why do you look so bad today?’” (Bereishis 40:6-7). They tell him about their disturbing dreams, he interprets the dreams correctly, and the rest is history.
But why did Joseph
have to ask them anything at all? Why was it so strange to see people in prison
looking sad? Surely depression is quite the norm in dungeons. Wouldn’t we
expect most people in jail to look miserable?
According to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the answer is that Joseph was exhibiting a higher sense of care and concern for his fellow human beings. Torn away from his father and home life, imprisoned in a foreign land, he could have been forgiven for wallowing in his own miseries. Yet, upon seeing his fellow prisoners looking particularly unsettled, he was sensitive enough to take the time to inquire about their well-being. In the end, not only did he help them, but his own salvation came about through that fateful encounter. Had he thought to himself, “Hey, I’ve got my own problems, why worry about them?” he might have languished in prison indefinitely. Sometimes, says the Rebbe, a simple “how are you today?” can prove historic. In Joseph’s case, it changed Jewish history!
This forthcoming
week begins the beautiful holiday of Chanukah, beginning this Sunday eve
(December 6, 2015). The Chanukah lights lend particular emphasis to this
teaching. Every night of Chanukah a new light must be added, for
one’s Mitzvah observance should always be in ascendancy. What may have been
adequate for yesterday needs additional input and light for today! Preferably
one should not observe the Mitzvah today with the same devotion as yesterday;
he must increase his commitment and involvement.
Let us indeed strive
to improve and enhance our interpersonal relationships. Who knows? It may not
only change other’s lives, but perhaps even our own!
(Excerpts
from Chabad.org)
May you have a meaningful
and uplifting Shabbos
and a joyous and
illuminating holiday of Chanukah!
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