Yosef: Breslov Or Litvok And A Personal Chanukah

The verse says (39:3) וירא אדניו כי ה' אתו.  How did Potiphar know that Hashem was with him?  Rashi says that Yosef was constantly mentioning the name of Hashem.  The source of Rashi is a midrash Tanchuma which says that Potiphar saw Yosef whispering and assumed Yosef was using witchcraft until Yosef explained he was praying to Hashem.  The Ramban challenges the explanation of Rashi (but he doesn’t explain what’s bothering him.)  He interprets that Potiphar realized the success of Yosef must be from G-d.

The midrash Rabba seems to have a different interpretation from that of the Tanchuma.  The two midrashim have the same story line but the Rabba adds that Yosef ended up forgetting (doesn’t say what) and brings a support from the verse (41:51) of why Yosef called his son Menasha because he forgot all his amal.  What does this part of the midrash mean, what did he forget and what does it have to do with how Potiphar knew Hashem was with Yosef?  The meforshim explain based upon a previous midrash in Vayishlach which explains the verse (33:18) ויעקב בא שלם to mean he was complete in his Torah.  The midrash contrasts between Yosef who forgot his learning in Egypt and Yaakov who didn’t forget his learning in the house of Lavan.  The midrash there cites the same verse about Menashe as proof.  It’s apparent in the light of this midrash that the midrash in our parsha understands amal to mean the work of Torah.  Clearly the midrash Rabba understands that Yosef wasn’t praying to Hashem but rather reviewing his learning.  It seems that the two midrashim have a different understanding as to what Yosef did in the house of Potiphar.  According to the Tanchuma, Yosef was praying to Hashem as he was doing his work (see Rav Shimshon Pinkus,) which is the Breslov approach but according to the Rabba he was learning even as he was working like the Nefesh Hachaim delineates, the Litvish approach.

Two questions come to mind when reading the midrash.  1.  Why is it that Yosef forgot his learning, especially if he was reviewing?  How does this fit with Rashi in Vayigash (45:27) that Yosef sent wagons as a sign that he remembered they had been learning eglah arufah?  2.  Why would Yosef name his son after the fact that he forgot his learning?  The Chosom Sofer (Shabbos 21b) explains that because Yosef was subject to such oppression, he forgot the learning that he was taught by his father.  Despite all his hardships, in jail Yosef started to learn again anew.  Yosef named his son after his forgetting to demonstrate that even though he forgot his learning still he was able to rebuild and continue learning.  It’s the Torah that’s learnt under hardship that sticks with the person, not the Torah that one learns when its easy.  The midrash says in the beginning of parshas Mikatz says  קץ שם לחושך Hashem makes an end to the darkness, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  The Pittsburger Rebbe points out thatחשך  has the same letters as שכח .  The midrash is indicating that at the time of Yosef’s exit from prison, not only was he free of his physical bondages, he was free of his spiritual bondages as well.  In jail, Yosef’s time of forgetting stopped and now he received the Torah of difficulty.  The Torah that he acquired in his time of difficulties is the Torah that stuck with him.  (See the Netziv on parshas Mikatz for a different approach.)

Chazal say about the story of creation that חשך corresponds to the golus of Yavan.  Yavan tried to get Klal Yisroel to forget the Torah.  What saved Klal Yisroel was to learn and stand up for Torah with mesiros nefesh.  We learn from Chanukah that even if the Torah of our youth- the Torah learnt in times of ease doesn’t hold up, a person must have his own, individual Chanukah to learn when times are hard.  It is the Torah that’s learnt when times are difficult, and the pressures of life are at their highest that a person will end up remembering.  It is that Torah that proves one is a true עבד השם

The Ramban also brings the end of the Rabba which says that the Shechinah came to prove to Potiphar that Yosef wasn’t using witchcraft, rather Hashem was helping him.  As opposed to the Tanchuma which understands that Potiphar figured it out for himself, the Rabba says that the Shechinah came to prove the righteousness of Yosef.  This seems to be other debate between the Rabba and the Tanchuma will the Shecinah appear to a rasha to prove the righteousness of a tzaddik.  The Tanchuma seems to hold it is not fitting for the Shechinah to appear to a rasha even for the sake of the tzaddik.  Therefore, it concludes that Potiphar understood on his own accord that Hashem was helping Yosef.  Rav Ozban (Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, Riverdale) points out that if even a rasha like Potiphar realized the success of Yosef came from Hashem for sure we should realize that our success comes from Hashem and not from our own endeavors.