Yosef's Humility: Recognizing and Acknowledging Hashem’s Gifts By David London (‘23)

The conversation between Yosef and his brothers that starts in last week's Parashah, Parashat Mikeitz, and continues into this week's Parashah leaves a lot of questions to be answered. Yosef tells his brothers, “ועתה לא־אתם שלחתם אתי הנה כי האלהים וישימני לאב לפרעה ולאדון לכל־ביתו ומשל בכל־ארץ מצריםלְכׇל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּמֹשֵׁ֖ל בְּכׇל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם,” “So, it was not you who sent me here, but God—who has made me a father to Paroh, lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt” (BeReishit 45:8). From this Pasuk, there are two clear, distinct questions. Is Yosef being in charge the most essential thing that Yaakov had to know? Second, asks the Darchei Mussar, would Yaakov really be impressed by Yosef’s high ranking? This comment from Yosef seems uncharacteristic as it comes across as slightly arrogant. 

We can answer that Yosef isn't saying that he is great because of his position but rather that Hashem placed him in that position. Yosef is further reinforcing his belief that everything comes from Hashem after we see him tell Paroh that it is really Hashem who is the great dream interpreter. Yosef wants Yaakov to know that just as his father was in Lavan's house for many years and still kept his belief in Hashem, Yosef could and did the same. 

There was a story about a man starting to become frum, and he wanted to meet Rav Moshe Feinstein. He was told that Rav Moshe was in the Beit Midrash davening. He went into the Beit Midrash searching for Rav Moshe, but without knowing what he looked like. As he walked through the Beit Midrash, he saw all the different people in the Shul, including money collectors. After Shul, the man turned to one of the guests and asked to show him who Rav Moshe was, as he couldn’t find him in the front. The person pointed to Rav Moshe, and the man was shocked. The man didn’t realize that just a few minutes before, Rav Moshe had gone to say hello to this man and stuck out his hand, but the man thought Rav Moshe was collecting, so he gave him some coins. Rav Moshe didn’t want to embarrass the man, so he took it. In his Hakdamah to his Igrot Moshe, Rav Moshe says that he doesn’t know why he is writing this, but since people asked him questions, he felt he should write the Sefer. However, he made it clear that he wasn’t taking any credit for himself. Rav Moshe absorbed the message of Yosef, and although he knew who he was and when he had to give Pesak, he knew that it was Hashem who gave him the ability to do so. Yosef understood that everything he had was from Hashem, and he signified this through his conversation with his brothers. Im Yirtzeh Hashem, let us all have the humility to recognize our talents and responsibilities but still realize and publicize that all we have is from Hashem.


Does This Devar Torah Have Your Blessing? By Rabbi Shaya First

Yosef’s Quizzical Comment By Daniel Kurz (‘26)