Genesis

בייה

How do we succeed? How do we prosper? Who defines success? Who denotes prosperity? Does anyone feel like no matter what they do, something always prevents them from getting ahead? God’s Mercies are greater than life’s challenges.

A story is told about a Jewish Community with a very wealthy man and a very poor man who were members of the same congregation. They saw each other daily during morning, afternoon, and evening prayer time. Often, they expressed warm greetings and pleasantries. The poor man was known for being righteous, sharing Torah insights, and, on rare occasions, a prophecy. He usually went unnoticed. The wealthy man was known for being excessively frugal. He was influential and powerful but did not enjoy his wealth. He continually looked for opportunities to increase his fortune. He occasionally contributed to a good cause in the community. After community prayers, he stood around conversing about local news, events, etc. The rich man listened astutely to gain an edge about potential investments and other information. One day, he asked the poor man if he had a word from Lord, Blessed be His Name. The poor man responded Yes! Then, he proceeded to share that the wealthiest individual in the area would die overnight. The rich man was shaken by his words. He considered himself the wealthiest individual for miles around. He immediately went home and began preparing to meet his maker. In the morning, when he awoke, he thought to himself, ‘I didn’t die. The poor man got it wrong.’ Later, when he went to the congregation for morning prayers, he learned that the poor man passed away. The rich man was thinking about His great wealth when The prophecy was about one’s spirituality. Again, who defines success? Life can be messy at times. We need God to help us iron out our issues and put our lives in order.

Our dialogue briefly reviews the stark differences between two successful men, Judah and his younger brother, Joseph. Judah chose to go down away from his brothers. No one was pressuring him. It was his choice.

On the other hand, Joseph was forcibly taken down to Egypt. His brothers betrayed Joseph. He was manipulated, abused, held captive in a serpent-infested pit, and then sold into slavery. Joseph did not have a choice.

People who control others use various methods to accomplish what they want. Their tactics include physical and verbal abuse, intimidation, control, blackmail, money, drugs, and more. A vow controlled Joseph that his brothers imposed upon him as a condition of selling him into slavery instead of murdering him. He was sold into slavery and exiled from all of his family. At that time, his brothers were angry and annoyed by him. Joseph fell at their feet and begged for mercy. They prohibited Joseph from any form of contact. His owners laughed at him and beat him when he claimed to be the son of a wealthy nomad.

Like Joseph, we are sometimes forced to go places we would rather not go. We go because we are forced. We go because we are pressured. We don’t care about what is happening but have little choice. We are pressured into doing things we do not want to do.

As a youth, Joseph shared Lashon hora, i.e., evil reports about his brothers, with his father. Joseph also wanted to reveal his prophetic dreams to his father and brothers. Sometimes, revelations are only for us. Judah also made some poor choices. (Genesis 38) informs us that Judah separated from his brothers, moved away, and became estranged from the community. He went down and married a Canaanite woman and had children with her. Ruben moves his father’s bed. Dina goes out. When we are young, we make choices that impact us for the rest of our lives. (Genesis 39.1) says, ‘And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hands of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.’

On the other hand, Judah made a mistake and took some wrong turns. Sometimes, we may do the same thing. When we get off on the wrong path, we may feel like life is hopeless. We may become severely depressed. We may beat ourselves up. Perhaps we feel like we have ruined our lives, and there’s no reason to continue. Judah made a mess of things. Yet, through His gracious mercy and lovingkindness, God brought Judah back onto the path of righteous living. Judah reestablished an excellent relationship with his brothers, as we shall see later in another discussion, God Willing.

Rabbi Akiba taught: A man should continually accustom himself to say, “Whatever the All-Merciful does is for good’, as exemplified in the following incident. Rabbi Akiva was once traveling along the road. He came to a particular town and looked for lodgings but was refused lodging everywhere. He went. He said, ‘Whatever the All-Merciful does is for good.’ Then, he went to spend the night in an open field. Traveling with him was a cock, an ass, and a lamp. A gust of wind came and blew out the lamp, a weasel came and ate the cock, and a lion came and ate the ass. He said: ‘Whatever the All-Merciful does is for good.’ The same night, some brigands carried off the town’s inhabitants. Rabbi Akiva said, Did I not tell you, ‘Whatever the All-Merciful does, He does for good.

Some of us are captive to physical limitations. We may see that our body is going to fail. When it does, our spirit/soul will be released from the captivity of our body. Our spirit/soul will begin living in a different realm. Our spirit, soul, and mind will continue living. We will return to God, who Gave us life initially. We will be given a brand-new body. So, all hope is not gone. Each of us is in a state of transition. Life will improve for us. We will be happy and joyful and bless the Lord God of Israel for His many gifts of life. May Lord Bless and continue keeping each one of us!

Remember, Joseph had issues. He was incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit. He didn’t receive family visits. He could not go and come as he pleased. Still, Lord made everything prosper.

(Genesis 39.2–3) says, ‘And it happened the Lord was entirely with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And Joseph’s master saw that Lord was with him and that Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.’

Joseph, a Prince of Jacob / Israel, Was sold into slavery in Egypt. An officer of Pharaoh’s guard purchased him for his sexual gratification. However, because Lord was with Joseph, the captain of the guard was prohibited from involving Joseph in his lewd acts.Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz and Rabbi Nosson Scherman, The Artscroll Tanach Series – Bereishis Vol. I (b) (Brooklyn, New York: Mesorah Publications, Ltd. 3rd Impression, 1989), pp 1701 – 1703 Mystically, he was stopped! לּא Loh – NO! STOP! The Angel Gabriel castrated the captain of the guard. Why? Because אֵל El – God’s Strength was with Joseph. וַיְהִי Vah Yih Hee – God was with Joseph.

Genesis 39 teaches us that God is with us even in times that are uncomfortable for us. The Gematria for each of these Words is 31.

וַיְהִי Vah Yih Hee

God was with Joseph

ו6 י10 ה5 י10 = 31

אֵל El

God’s Strength

א1 ל30 = 31

לּא Loh

NO! STOP!

ל30 א1 = 31

(Genesis 39.21-23) says, ‘Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the prison keeper. And the prison keeper committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners in jail, and whatever was done there, he was the doer of it. The prison keeper looked not to anything under his hand because Lord was with him, and that which he did, Lord made it to prosper.’

Our choices do not change that we are people of the covenant. God has chosen to use us even though our lives are messy. God’s Will ultimately prevail in the end, regardless of us. Remember, we are the branch of His planting. We are His handiwork. In these instances, things started in the wrong direction and progressively worsened. The point is that even though we get ourselves in pretty nasty situations, Lord can help us iron out every situation and bring beauty to our mess. So even though we may mess things up severely, Lord can work everything out for all good. So hope, beauty, love, and joy exist for each of us.

May Lord Bless us in our daily walk, and may we stay within Torah’s guidelines. May we bring peace and healing to our world. May this coming Sabbath and every Sabbath be a blessed Day.

Good Sabbath!

Dr. Akiva Gamliel Belk

Author