We know that in Parashat Miketz, before Yosef tells Pharaoh about his dreams, Yosef is taken out of jail. The Pasuk refers to the jail as a “Bor,” “a pit” (BeReishit 41:14). Rashi says that “Min HaBor” means that Yosef was taken out of a place of imprisonment, which was some sort of pit. However, in Parashat VaYeishev, when Yosef was initially thrown into jail, the Pasuk says that Yosef was put in the “Beit Sohar.” Rashi then says that “Bor” always signifies a pit or hole. What is the significance of this “pit” or jail? What does a pit symbolize? Lastly, what can we learn from a pit that we can apply to our lives?
In my humble opinion, to answer this question, we have to look at a previous instance when a pit was mentioned. The Pasuk in VaYeishev 37:24 says that the pit Yosef was in was “empty and there was no water in it.” Rashi says that there were snakes and scorpions in the pit, and he cites the Gemara in Shabbat 22a and Chagigah 3b to support his opinion. The creatures mentioned here in the pit play more of a significance which will be elaborated upon later. Ramban says that the snakes were concealed in holes. In addition, Rabbeinu Bachaya says that this pit into which Yosef was thrown is symbolic, further strengthening the question stated above: what is so symbolic about the pit?
To answer this question, we have to focus on the pit in Parashat VaYeishev. Rabbeinu Bachaya presents a beautiful Midrash that emphasizes the lesson I am trying to convey. The Midrash (BeReishit Rabbah 84:16) quotes a few answers. One agrees with the approach that Rashi and the Gemara take (that there were snakes and scorpions in the pit). Another approach of the Midrash is fascinating and provides a major Yesod. The Midrash says that there were two pits in the area, as the Pasuk says “HaBorah” and then says “VeHabor Reik Ve’Ein Bo Mayim.” One pit was filled with fiery snakes and scorpions, and the other was filled with stones. This leads us to more questions: why does it matter that there was another pit, and what does this have to do with the fact that the Bor into which Yosef was thrown was empty?
To answer these questions, we have to dig deeper; we have to investigate the letters themselves and what they symbolize. The Aleph Bet DeRabbi Akiva, a relatively unknown Midrash, defines what these letters represent.
What do the letters that make up the word Bor (Bet Vuv Reish) represent? Says Rabbi Akiva in his Midrash, the letter Bet represents the beginning. As many of us know, the Midrash Bereishit Rabbah states that “BeBet Nivra Ha’Olam,” “the world was created with the letter Bet.” Rabbi Akiva says that when the letter Vav came before HaKadosh Baruch Hu, it asked for the world to be created with it because its prefix has the definition of the word “and.” Hashem responded “no” and said that in the future, he would use the letter Vav to strike Bnei Yisrael because of their Ta’avot. Rabbi Akiva explains that the letter Vav is upright like a rod but has its face turned towards the letter Zayin which indicates a wicked person, as Zayin is the first letter of the word Zenut which means going astray. Lastly, the letter Reish represents a Rosh, the head, the beginning, and, more importantly, the “head” of Hashem.
What does the Bor symbolize? It symbolizes life; it symbolizes the lives of Yosef and many others like him. Yosef had the Bet; he had that beginning. He was raised as Yaakov Avinu’s favorite son. He dreamt dreams and told them to his brothers. Then the Vav, the letter that stands straight, came into action. Just like how the Vav stands up straight, Yosef’s life took a turn for the worse. It started to sink to the bottom of the Vav. He was thrown into the pit and sold as a slave, but when he was taken down to Mitzrayim, the head of the Vav came into action. He was around the Zenut; he was almost led astray. He had to face huge hurdles which seemed impossible to overcome. Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him. It must have felt like ages, but then the Reish came along and created a new beginning for Yosef. Yosef was finally let out of prison, and out of the bor in which he was stuck. The Reish was finally coming into play. After so many years of struggle, work, and loneliness, the Reish came into action. There was a new beginning. Yosef started to prosper and became the second in command to Paroh, and the cycle of Bor was to repeat. Egypt had its years before the famine, and then came the famine, which was unpleasant, but they worked through it. This cycle is typical of our lives. Life is like a Bor. There are ups and downs, but there’s always that Reish, that Rosh, that new beginning. Many of us tend to be stuck in the Vav stage and can’t find a way out. We fail to realize that the keys to climbing to the top of the pit were right before our eyes.
There were snakes and scorpions in the pit. The Mishna (Pirkei Avot 2:10) says that we should warm ourselves before the fire of the Chachamim, but beware of being burned by their coals because their bite is the bite of a fox, their sting is the sting of a scorpion, and their hiss is the hiss of a serpent. These animals represent the Torah. However, the fox wasn’t in the pit, so where does it come into play? To answer this, we must look at the Gemara (Berachot 61b) in which Pappos Ben Yehudah asked Rabbi Akiva why Rabbi Akiva was teaching Torah in public. The Romans had just decreed that the punishments for teaching Torah were very severe, yet Rabbi Akiva didn’t seem to be bothered. Rabbi Akiva responded by giving Pappos a Mashal: a fox was walking along a riverbank and saw some fish going in swarms from one place to another. The fox asked the fish, what are you running away from? The fish replied: from the nets that people throw on us. The fox then asked, why don’t you come on dry land just like our ancestors used to do when they resided with one another? The fish then answered: you think you’re a clever animal? You’re a fool! If we are afraid in our natural habitat, water, which provides us with life, then Kal VeChomer, if we are out of the water, we will be scared as well! This Mashal teaches us something beautiful. Torah is our life, as the Pasuk says, “Ki Hu Chayecha Ve’Orech Yamecha,” “[Torah] is your life and the length of your days” (Devarim 30:20). Teaches Rabbi Akiva, if we already fear the empire to this extent, Kal VeChomer, if we abandon torah, our natural habitat, then we will be fearful regardless. Torah is our natural habitat and the tool to transcend the Vav stage to start afresh. That is what these animals in the Bor and Pirkei Avot represent. There is a way to extract oneself from the Vav stage and it is immediately before you, yet you think it is concealed, as Ramban says about the snakes and scorpions in the pit. Torah is all around us. Rav Acha quotes another opinion in the Midrash: that the other pit was a spiritual pit, and as Yosef was thrown into the Bor, Yaakov Avinu’s spiritual pit became empty. There was no water in his pit; there were no words of Torah in it.
We need to fill our own pits with water (Torah, see Bava Kama 82a). Only then can we mimic a fish in its natural habitat and “swim to the top” of a Vav stage of life and reach a new beginning. The Da’at Zekenim quotes the Gemara (Rosh HaShanah 11a) that Yosef was let out of the bor on Rosh HaShanah. It was on that day that the Reish stage of Yosef’s life began. It was on that day that he acknowledged that everything was from Hashem. Maybe the reason why the Pasuk refers to the jail as a Bor is that that is how we get out of that Vuv stage. We need to fill our own pits with water by finding Hashem in our daily lives. Yosef found Hashem in the darkest of times. The first Rashi in VaYeishev tells a powerful Mashal. The house of Yosef is compared to a fire, and the house of Eisav, which the house of Yosef will eventually burn down, is compared to a pile of flax. All it takes is that one spark to get that fire going. Yosef was able to find that light in the darkness. After getting sold by his brothers, Yosef realized that Hashem was still with him. How so? The merchants, who usually sold petroleum, instead carried sweet smelling spices. He had faith in Hashem that Hashem would help him from then on. Yosef saw Hashem and Yaakov when Potifar’s wife was seducing him, and otherwise he would have sinned. Yosef knew that he was able to interpret the dreams only because of Hashem.
Lastly, an astounding Midrash in Parashat VaYechi says that when Yosef walked by the pit into which he was thrown, he made a Berachah. The Midrash and Gemara in Berachot say that he made a “She’asah Li Neis” because he saw that everything had happened for a reason. Going into this coming Shabbat Chanukahand Parashat Miketz, let us all use the water of Torah to help us achieve this new beginning, and let us all find that spark that will light that everlasting fire.