Making Sense of the Sedra: Vayeishev

“Joseph said [to the butler]: “In three more days, Pharaoh will restore you to your office, and you will again serve Pharaoh his goblet. If only you will remember me, and you will please do me this favour and mention me to Pharaoh – securing my release from prison… And Pharaoh restored the cupbearer, and he placed the goblet in Pharaoh’s hand… but the cupbearer didn’t remember Joseph, and he forgot him.” (Genesis 40:12-23, abridged).

The commentaries are puzzled by two repetitious phrases in this week’s parsha, . Why does Joseph ask the butler to “remember” and also “mention” him in front of Pharaoh? Later, why the superfluous emphasis on the fact that the butler “forgot” Joseph, when he already “didn’t remember” him?

Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi, d.1105, France) quotes an astounding Talmudic insight:

“This teaches that the cupbearer’s forgetfulness was miraculous, ie he totally forgot Joseph the moment he left the prison. This was a punishment for Joseph, who had placed his fate in the cupbearer’s hands instead of God’s.”

The commentaries elaborate: Joseph suffered two additional years’ imprisonment to atone for the two requests he made of the cupbearer (“remember me” and “mention me”).

In what way was this even remotely inappropriate? I am reminded of the parable of the hapless man stuck on the roof of his house due to a flood. A speedboat arrives but he refuses to jump in, convinced that God will save him. A helicopter hovers overhead but he refuses to climb in, convinced that God will save him. Eventually he drowns. Entering heaven, he demands an explanation: “I had complete faith in you! Why didn’t you save me?!” God replies, exasperated: “Who do you think sent the boat and helicopter?”

The line between bitachon (trusting God’s providence) and hishtadlut (taking independent action) is extremely fine. Joseph’s life story speaks directly to this impossible juggling act. In fact, his hishtadlut in asking the butler for help was totally out of character:

His years in Egypt are a study of faith in the face of adversity. When Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses him of assault and has him thrown in jail, he doesn’t utter a word. Later, when Joseph finds his voice, he accredits nothing to his own skills or prowess. Consider his conversation with the butler and baker:

“He asked Pharaoh’s ministers, ‘Why do you look so sad?’. And they said to him, ‘We dreamed a dream, and no-one can interpret it!’ And Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God?’” (Genesis 40:6-8)

Incredibly, he says this again – to the sovereign of ancient Egypt!

“Pharaoh said: ‘I dreamed a dream, yet none can interpret it. I have heard that you hear the essence of a dream, to interpret it correctly.’ But Joseph answered: ‘It isn’t me – the answer is from God!’” (Genesis 41:15-16)

Constantly and consistently, Joseph takes a very deliberate step out of the limelight, instead thrusting God centre stage. His passivity in the face of challenge therefore becomes much clearer: why resist, when God is pulling the strings? It also becomes clearer why he was taken to task for handing over those strings to the cupbearer.

The Kabbalists refer to Joseph as the ‘righteous foundation of the world’. He exists to be a paradigm of a faith and trust stronger than we can ever imagine. True, to aspire to Joseph’s level of bitachon is a gargantuan task. But then again, he was a dreamer, teaching us to never stop dreaming.