Page 577 - BERESHIT

bereshit

Why was Yosef’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams accepted over the
interpretations of the Egyptian scholars and sorcerers? Yosef personified
the tzaddik who consistently walks with Hashem. He lived with his beliefs
and did not ascribe the events of his life to happenstance or coincidence.

What was the secret of keeping faith in Hashem? Why did he merit seeing
the countenance of his father, on the day that he almost failed in his trial
with the wife of Potiphar?

We are taught in the Shulchan Aruch to place Hashem at the forefront of
our consciousness. Even when Yosef was in Egypt, he still walked with
Hashem and felt His guiding hand. This is what stood by him when he
was put to the test, and what convinced Pharaoh of the validity of Yosef’s
interpretations.

How did Yochanan the Kohen Gadol turn into a Sadducee after serving
in his office for eighty years? Just as the ashes of the parah adumah purify
19 the impure, it also defiles the one who administers its purification. This is
to prevent the Kohen from feelings of conceit. Similarly, one should
ascribe everything to Hashem and not to his own machinations. Such
feelings of self-worth pervaded the thoughts of Yochanan until he became
a Sadducee.

At first, the brothers of Yosef retrained themselves from acting brazenly
towards Yosef and taking Egypt by force. Only after Yosef faltered in
showing respect for Yaakov Avinu did Yehudah approach Yosef with
harsh words.