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GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

When is Failure

a Blessing from G-d?

arashat Vayeishev provides us of wealth and honour. However, once Here we acknowledge that we do not
with details of the height of you achieve wealth and honour, you really know what success is. While we
PYosef’s success. The Torah tells might forget about G-d. Therefore, we might presume that something in our
us, ַ חי ִ ל ְ צ ַ מ ׁשי ִ א י ִ הְי ַ ו ף ֵ סֹוי ת ֶ א 'ה י ִ הְי ַ ו, “G-d was ask Him again for םִי ַ מ ָ ׁש ת ַ א ְ רִי ל ֶ ׁש םיִּי ַ ח – lives constitutes a great achievement,
with Yosef and he was a successful man.” guarantee that we will always be able it might ultimately lead to our down-
Why are both statements necessary? to maintain our faith in You. fall. We therefore place everything in
the hands of G-d and recognize that
If G-d was with him, he must have Yosef was someone who maintained sometimes what is considered to be
been successful, and if he was suc- his fear of Heaven under all circum- a failure might actually be the best
cessful, surely it was because G-d was thing for us.
with him? stances – when he was in desper-
ate trouble and also when he had Yosef understood this profound
Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, one achieved wealth and honour. That is lesson. When he was failing, when
of the great Chassidic masters of the why the Torah tells us G-d was with he was a victim of attempted frat-
late 18th and early 19th centuries, him and he was successful. ricide and when he was thrust into
explains as follows: we have a ten- prison despite being innocent, G-d
dency to reach out to G-d primarily I would like to suggest a different was with him. He felt the presence of
when things are going wrong, yet we explanation. It is possible for G-d to the Almighty just as he did when he
should also naturally reach out to Him be with someone and for that person was riding on the wave of success. He
when we are happy and successful. not to succeed. Because in the midst never lost sight of the light at the end
of our failure or disappointment, the of the tunnel.
In this vein, the Chafetz Chaim com- door closed in front of us can open
mented on our Rosh Chodesh bench- Or as Winston Churchill put it, “Suc-
ing, which we recite on the Shabbat many other doors of opportunity. An cess is going from failure to failure
before Rosh Chodesh. We repeat initial setback may bring unexpected without loss of enthusiasm.”
one request – םִי ַ מ ָ ׁש ת ַ א ְ רִי ל ֶ ׁש םיִּי ַ ח – blessing.
Please, G-d, give us a life of the fear This too is a sentiment we express in
of Heaven. Why do we specifically our Rosh Chodesh benching. We con-
repeat this request?
clude with the request, ‘ה א ֵ ל ַּ מְּי ֶ ׁש םיִּי ַ ח
The Chafetz Chaim explained that ה ָ בֹוט ְ ל ּונ ֵּ ב ִ ל תֹול ֲ א ְ ׁש ִ מ – Please G-d, give Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis is the Chief Rabbi of
after the first םִי ַ מ ָ ׁש ת ַ א ְ רִי, we ask G-d us a life in which the requests of our the United Hebrew Congregations of the
for דֹוב ָ כ ְ ו ר ֶ ׁשע ל ֶ ׁש םיִּי ַ ח – give us a life heart will be answered for the good. Commonwealth.

To thank G-d is to know that I do not have less because my neighbour has more.
I am not less worthwhile because someone else is more successful... | 19
RABBI SACKS