I am very excited for the opportunity to share words of Torah with you. Each week, in this spot, I look to share an idea I've found that speaks to me and that I think will resonate with you as well. This week, I share with you an excerpt from an article by Rabbi Avraham Kovel entitled "Hiding in Plain Sight" which gives an intriguing answer as to why the brothers could not recognize Yosef.
[...] The brothers grew up with Yosef and sold him into slavery at age 17, yet in all their interactions with him in Egypt they never recognize him. Not his facial features, not his mannerisms, not even his skin color! Why didn't they recognize him? [...] Here’s the clincher: Rashi tells us that the brothers came to Egypt IN ORDER TO SEARCH FOR YOSEF! Imagine you’re searching for a lost diamond. Every rock that you find that looks anything like a diamond you’ll pick up and examine four times. Yet they don’t even think twice about this mysterious Viceroy... who looks exactly like their father... and knows their ages...
[...] The answer is both simple and profound: God didn't WANT them to recognize Yosef! God needed their blindness to carry out His divine plan. God needed Yosef to test them, to challenge them, to see if they’d really atoned for their sin of selling Yosef. No matter how obvious, if God didn't open their eyes to the truth staring them right in the face, they couldn't see it.
There's a deep lesson for us within this story, one that shows up in the very first blessing we say each morning: “Blessed are You, Hashem, Master of the Universe, who gives understanding to the heart to discern between day and night." At first glance, this blessing seems almost absurd: why thank God for something so basic? Sure, we can thank God when we gain insight into a difficult Talmudic excerpt or scientific theory, but day and night? Any animal can tell light from dark!
But that's exactly the point. Just like the brothers couldn't see what was right in front of them, so too we must learn to appreciate that even our most fundamental abilities are divine gifts, not givens.
And that’s the point of our daily morning blessings. Each day, we start by thanking God for our ability to tell day from night, our sight, our clothing, and so on. Why? Because when you appreciate the simple gifts in life, you don't need to chase the extravagant. When you're grateful for what you have, you live a fulfilled life.
This week, take some time, ideally while saying this first morning blessing, to appreciate the gift of your thinking, perceiving, and discerning mind. Recognize how much of your life depends on this basic ability. [...] When we can see the miracle – the gift – in even the most basic of our human functions, we gain a deep sense of satisfaction with the life we’ve been given, no matter what circumstances we may find ourselves in.
Hoping and praying for a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Davies
Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org
