Rashi’s 11th-century commentary to the Torah is so central that it has almost merged with the text in our consciousness. Rabbi Shlomo Luria declared in the 16th century that Rashi’s work is the best “translation” of the text, and people should study it weekly alongside the parsha. And “Chumash-Rashi” (with the hyphen barely pronounced) was the first significant text children studied in the Cheder, the religious schools of Eastern Europe. And so it is for so many elementary school children to this very day.
In short, Rashi looms large when reading the Torah; any discussion of the text begins with Rashi’s view.
I have wrestled with one of Rashi’s comments on Parashat Vayeshev for years. And while I am indebted to Rashi for deepening my understanding of this text, I have, with some hesitation, come to the opposite conclusion of Rashi.
After 11 years of slavery and imprisonment, Joseph seems to get his first break. Imprisoned with him is the chief butler, who has a troubling dream. Joseph interprets the dream and informs the chief butler that he will be released. After giving his interpretation, Joseph turns to the chief butler and says: “But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”
This may be Joseph’s first chance for freedom in over a decade. For a moment, things are looking up. But this hope fails. Instead, “The chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
It would be another two years before Joseph could achieve freedom.
Rashi offers a very harsh judgment of Joseph’s request. Quoting the Midrash, he writes: “Because Joseph placed his trust in the chief butler to remember him, he was compelled to remain imprisoned for two more years. As it is said: ‘Happy is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the arrogant’” (Psalms 40:5).
Rashi says that Joseph sinned. Instead of requesting the help of the chief butler to leave jail, he should have had faith that God would save him.
It is difficult to understand this. Was Joseph meant to wait passively for God’s redemption? Does the obligation to trust in God forbid any human initiative?
Other commentaries take the opposite view. Samuel ben Hofni Gaon explains why Joseph was not punished for a lack of faith:
“For if the believer’s trust in his heart is complete, his trust is not diminished by making use of ordinary means. Jacob, peace be upon him, already used a gift in order to save himself from Esau; and Isaac used the statement about Rebecca, ‘She is my sister,’ in order to save himself from Abimelech and his people; and likewise Abraham concerning Sarah; and in none of these cases is there any reproach upon them.”
The Ralbag goes a step further in his commentary, and praises Joseph for taking the initiative:
“A person ought to exert himself with all his strength to escape from any harm he is in, using all the means available to him by which he may obtain help; he should not rely on a miracle, even if he is in a situation in which God’s providence cleaves to him in an exceptional manner.
Behold, you see that Joseph, despite the fact that God’s providence was attached to him in this wondrous way, nevertheless appealed to the chief cupbearer to remember him before Pharaoh, so that he might be taken out of the pit.”
Joseph is simply looking after himself. Unfortunately, the chief butler quickly forgets Joseph; he clearly doesn’t want to talk about the foreigner he met in prison.
The Midrash offers a different interpretation, which is adopted by Samuel ben Hofni Gaon. It was actually divine providence that caused the chief butler to forget, and for Joseph to spend two more years in prison. If Joseph had been released immediately, he might have returned home. He never would have become the Viceroy of Egypt.
Joseph had a much larger destiny than mere freedom; and God needed Joseph to wait two more years for it to arrive. But a larger dimension of the text appears when reading this passage in the context of Joseph’s entire story.
Joseph begins life as a favorite child who had dreams of becoming a king.
Then he is knocked down again and again. Joseph experiences reversal after reversal. His brothers nearly kill him; they eventually sell him into slavery. As a slave, Joseph wins the confidence of his master Potiphar, and becomes the senior servant in his house.
Then, Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce him; spurned, she claims that Joseph attacked her.
Joseph is then sent to prison and held in an underground pit. Here too he achieves the confidence of the warden and becomes his assistant.
Finally, Joseph interprets the dreams of the chief butler, and gets a glimpse of freedom. Yet this too fails. The chief butler ignores him, and Joseph remains a forgotten prisoner from a foreign land.
This third betrayal is the most painful; Joseph had gotten so close to freedom, and then those hopes were dashed.
But Joseph is never defeated by his circumstances. When the guards rushed him from prison to stand before Pharaoh, Joseph was thoughtful and composed, and impressed everyone who listened to him. His attitude and his words are exceptionally confident; he doesn’t sound at all like a man broken by his circumstances.
And this is the lesson of this passage: Joseph never gives up. Being forgotten by the ungrateful chief butler doesn’t discourage him. Joseph refuses to quit, no matter how many times his destiny is snatched away from him.
And this is the lesson of this passage: Joseph never gives up.
Joseph’s resilience is remarkable. Where does he get it from?
One factor that stands out about Joseph is his faith. We are told several times that “The Lord was with Joseph.” Joseph refers to his own faith multiple times. He tells Potiphar’s wife that he must reject her because, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” He tells the chief butler “that God has interpretations.” He makes it clear to Pharaoh that he doesn’t interpret dreams: “I cannot do it … but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” When Joseph forgives his brothers, he says to them: “Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
It is this faith that allows Joseph to cope with his struggles. He is always certain that God is at his side, and from disappointment to disappointment, that consoles Joseph.
Kenneth Pargament’s 1997 book “The Psychology of Religion and Coping” emphasizes the role that positive religious coping plays in building resilience. He discusses the multiple ways prayer, ritual and faith can foster resilience. Pargament urges psychologists not to overlook the importance of faith in helping people cope. And the idea of positive religious coping is critical to understanding Jewish history. How does a people overcome so many challenges? Through a powerful faith and a belief in their own destiny.
How does a people overcome so many challenges? Through a powerful faith and a belief in their own destiny.
Faith has given strength to Joseph and so many who have read his story. In recent months we have read how the hostages leaned on their faith during their ordeal. Eli Sharabi writes about how he and the other hostages with him recited the Shema and other prayers; many other released hostages spoke about how prayer gave them strength as well. Omer Shem Tov made Kiddush on Shabbat with a tiny bottle of grape juice his captors gave him; he stretched that little bottle for what seemed like a miraculously long amount of time. After his release, he began to put on tefillin. Agam Berger kept Shabbat despite threats from her captors, maintained kashrut, and drew strength from a small prayer book given to her. Her quiet resilience became a source of inspiration to the other women held with her, including Liri Elbag, who joined her in observing the holidays.
When Berger was released from Gaza, she was given a whiteboard in the helicopter home. She wrote on it: “I chose the path of faith, and with the path of faith I have returned.”
Berger was reminding us of Joseph’s lesson: Despite failure after failure, with faith, a better future is possible.
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York.
