In this week’s reading, Joseph relates to his brothers his dreams of greatness, arousing their jealousy. He is consequently sold into slavery to an Egyptian master. After defying his Egyptian master’s wife, Joseph is thrown into jail, where he interprets the dreams of Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker. The story of Judah and Tamar is also related at length.
Please stand with me while I read from the parsha:
Gen 39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.
Gen 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.
Gen 39:3 His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
Gen 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.
…
Due to trumped up charges from Potiphar’s wife, Joseph ends up in prison where it says:
…
Gen 39:20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.
Gen 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Gen 39:22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.
Gen 39:23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.
Commentary is based on an article by Dovi Scheiner
Nowadays, it seems that success comes first, prison only later. But with true success, sometimes it works the other way around.
In the Torah portion we read of Joseph’s exploits. Sold into slavery by his brothers, he winds up enslaved to Potiphar, “a prominent Egyptian”. But Joseph is no ordinary slave; rather, his master quickly realizes “that God is with him, and all that he would do, God would make successful in his hand.” As a result, Potiphar “appointed him over his entire household.”
But trouble is brewing. Joseph, “handsome in form,” attracts the attention of his master’s wife. When Joseph rejects her advances, she sets him up, landing Joseph in prison. But it is not long before the new kid in the cell block has taken charge of the ward. “God was with Joseph, and He endowed him with charm.” As a result, the warden appoints Joseph to run the prison, “and everything that was done there, he would do.”
A close reading of the differences of wording in the Torah’s descriptions of Joseph’s two successes—in Potiphar’s home and in prison—reveals the key to true and ultimate success.
Where God has slated you for success, there are two possible paths along which you can walk. You can assume a mindset and perception that it is the hand of man that attains success, with the apparent support and assistance of God. Or else, you can see the hand of God as the source of your success, with human endeavor serving as a mere vehicle through which the divine blessing is channeled.
In his days as a slave, Joseph’s perception was that his success was achieved by his own hands—with God’s help, of course. “All that he would do, God would make successful in his hand.” As a prisoner, his perception changed—“God was with Joseph, and He endowed him with charm.” There is no mention made of Joseph’s hands: his success is not of his own doing, but stems entirely from God.
The key to success in this world is to make place for God’s blessing in your life. The less full of yourself you are, the more room you leave to be filled by the Godly presence and the bountiful blessings that come with it. Where a bloated ego fills your entire being, there’s no room left for God.
The experience of slavery afforded Joseph a healthy dose of humility. As his own self-regard shrunk, God’s presence in his life only grew, and success came to his hand. Still, “his hand” was a dominant factor, though sufficiently hollowed to allow God’s blessing to fill it.
When Joseph became a prisoner, he was utterly shattered. This further diminishing of self paved the way for a more complete divine occupation of his being. Now his success was no longer limited to his own hands; it arrived from a source completely over his head.
This, then, is the jailhouse route to success. To bring yourself divine blessing and abundant success, a bit of jail time might be required. But perhaps Joseph’s is an extreme case. The rest of us can begin by placing our ego under lock and key.
These audio files are stored (for free) at archive.org. CoM does not control or approve other content on archive.org