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This Jewish Inspiration Podcast is dedicated to learning, understanding and enhancing our relationship with Hashem by working on improving our G-d given soul traits and aspiring to reflect His holy name each and every day. The goal is for each listener to hear something inspirational with each episode that will enhance their life.
00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. This is the Jewish Inspiration Podcast.
00:12 - Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (Host)
All right, welcome back everybody. Good morning. It's so wonderful to be here the last day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It is so incredible to be here with you and to learn together, to hopefully be inspired. I want to share a thought that I overheard from another rabbi two weeks ago who was visiting town. Rabbi Avraham Halperin from Far Rockaway, new York, was here in town and he said such a beautiful idea and I said I have to share this. I have to share this.
00:49
So in the Parsha of Vayeshev, which is two portions ago, we know the story of Yosef. Yosef was the brother that was destined for uniqueness in a very special way. Yaakov recognized this. Yaakov encouraged him to develop his greatness and we'll see later that Yosef indeed was busy with all of the Torah his father taught him. He was busy with all of the ideas that his father imparted to him and directed his entire life. And even though he was a slave, even though he was in a dungeon, in prison, even though he later became the viceroy of Egypt, it didn't make a difference his status, he always had his father right in front of his eyes, like that little advertisement they used to make. Jerry, this is your conscience speaking remember, and it was like he always had a thought what would my father say about this? What would my father do? Now, if you remember, back in Parshas Vayeshev, joseph asks his father where are my brothers? They said, oh, they went to pasture. Where? Okay? He says I think they went over there to Shechem. So Joseph goes, and this is, by the way, the first time that Joseph is ever allowed to be alone.
02:28
Yaakov always protected Yosef in that he knew that there would be danger. But there was a heavenly decree that Joseph now should be sold to Egypt. So Yaakov just sent Joseph alone and he goes and he meets somebody. We don't know who that person is. He met an Ish. He met a person. What is that person telling him? Tells him your brothers are over there, down there.
03:03
Okay, now he goes to see his brothers. His brothers see him from afar, and this is the verse. And they saw him from afar. Before he were drawn near to them. They conspired against him to kill him. How is that possible, that brothers can do such a thing? How is it possible? So he shared a brilliant idea. He said look at the beginning of the verse. They saw him from afar.
03:59
You know what it means to see someone from afar. If you look into the heart of every person, you'll see their goodness. If you look at the person up close, you will always see their greatness. But the brothers saw him from afar. You look from afar. You look at a television screen. You can have many opinions about the people you see. You look at someone who you don't know. You can have many opinions about the people you see. You look at someone who you don't know and you have many opinions. If you keep a person meirachok, you keep seeing people from a distance, you'll never get to love them. How many times have we heard you know, you would like them if you got to know them a little. You just got to know them. No, no, we love our opinions from afar. Get a little closer, see me from up close and you'll see that there's goodness. You'll see that there's goodness, you'll see that there's greatness. But look again, look back at the verse. They saw him from afar and before he would draw near to them, meaning before they got to know him, before they got to spend some quality time with him, before they got a chance to look at his virtues, at his qualities, at his greatness, at his potential. They kept him at arm's length, they kept him in a distance, they saw him from afar.
05:50
We talk a lot about judging people favorably. You know, the Chavetz Chaim says an amazing idea. He says that if someone says something negative to you about another person, you're not allowed to believe them. And in fact the Chavetz Chaim goes further to say that the person who accepts the false claim about another person, the false report about another person. So we talk about Joe and we say Joe is this and that Terrible things. Okay, I'm not supposed to believe it. I'm not supposed to believe it. He told me he was there. He told me he saw it. He told me that he had verified evidence. It's on video. What's not to believe? Havetz Chaim says your obligation as being the listener is not to accept, and sometimes accepting will encourage the person who's saying this negative report about another person, about this Joe. You're encouraging him to say it to more people because now he's getting attention for it. Did you hear what he said? Center of attention. Everybody loves to be the center of attention. Did you hear what he said? Tell him, tell him, tell him about Joe, tell him what you saw. Tell him what you have proof of the. Chavetz Chaim says what's the solution? I mean we are human. So Chavetz Chaim says what's the solution? I mean we are human.
07:44
Chavetz Chaim says imagine that that Joe is your father. Imagine that that Joe is your mother. Imagine that that Joe is your brother or sister. You know what would happen. You would find every way in the world to justify what they did, without even knowing. You know my father, and you'd go on to say he's very honest, he's very truthful, he would never do such a thing. A man of great dignity, a man of great morals, a man of honesty. And we'd all go on to defend our beloved people. Why? Because we know them from up close. And when you know someone from up close, you know the real essence of who they are. Even if they did something wrong, you'll have a way to justify it, because I know the essence of who they are is good. I know them from up close, they're really good. Or the opposite can be true as well. I know them from up close, I know how round they are Not surprised. But we understand that there is a virtue, there is a quality of knowing someone up close, not casting judgment on someone.
09:10
People love to categorize people into groups oh, you're this type, oh you're. Oh, you're this type, oh, you're that type. And people do the same, by the way, with you. Know, you're in this party, you're in that party. Put them into voting blocks. No, I'm an individual. See me for who I am, not as part of a unit of people, a collection of people, a collection, just like put people into boxes.
09:50
It's a very terrible thing to not take the time to look at people on a deeper level, because when you see people from up close, you're able to love them, you're able to have an endearment towards them, you're able to appreciate them, you're able to go along and defend them. But if you don't see the closeness, if you don't get up close and personal with people, then everything is from outside, and this is a very dangerous thing. This is what the Pasuk is telling us here. They saw him from afar. They didn't let him get close Because had they gotten close, they would have seen the greatness of Yosef. And now, two portions later, mikaits. What happens? They finally come to Egypt and they're looking for Yosef. They know they sold him to Egypt Years earlier, almost two decades earlier, and they're looking for their brother.
11:05
Where is he? Where is he? It says that they went each in a different door when they came into the city. Each one used a different door. Why? Maybe we'll see our brother Joseph, maybe we'll be able to find him, bring him back home, our missing brother. There he was sitting in front of them, the viceroy, and he's dropping hint after hint after hint, and the brothers don't pick up on it. Why? Because there's another facet to this. It's not only that they saw him from afar, they didn't either believe in him, because they never got close.
11:57
Our brother be so elevated to be the prince, to be the viceroy, to be the leader of the country, the one in charge of everything. Not our brother. He's the guy who we sold the marketplace. He's probably working one of the booths. They couldn't imagine that. He was so great. So all the hints in the world that he would drop won't make a difference. Because what does it mean when you don't see the person for who they are Like? I could never have told. I look at the person. I'm like no, that's not him, he can't be so elevated. Nah, not the person I'm like no, that's not him, he can't be so elevated. Nah, not the low guy I remember, and that was part of the flaw of not getting close to seeing the greatness.
13:01
The only one who I believe did is Yehuda To some degree, and Yehuda at the beginning of this week's parasha, parasha is Vayigash, vayigash, elav Yehuda. Yehuda approached and got close. He got close so he was able to see the virtue of Yosef. He was able to recognize. Now again he was concerned, didn't know if this was or wasn't the virtue of Yosef. He was able to recognize. Now again he was concerned, didn't know if this was or wasn't. It was still a mystery, but we see that he did now invest in getting closer.
13:40
I think this is an important lesson in our generation, where people are struggling. People are struggling seeing the goodness in others. People are casting judgment on others by who they vote for or by who they think they vote for. You see all over television. What are people going to do Thanksgiving, when they go with their family and they're going to tell them that they voted for so-and-so? Or are they going to be New Year's with their family? Or for all the holidays? Any of the holidays? What are they going to do? Get close, get to know, get to love, get to appreciate. Don't keep them from afar. Don't look at them from a distance and cast judgments, throw blanket statements at them. Oh, you're just one of those. Get close, get to know the people. Let's work on this.
14:43
This is something that takes a lot of work from each and every one of us in our own personal life, the way we handle ourselves. Don't go from afar. How many times have we had that? We cast a judgment, we made assumptions, only to find out later. I wish I would have known you this well sooner, only to find out later. I wish I would have known you this well sooner. It would have been so much better. We could have been friends so many years ago already. Let's not live with regret. Let's live with closeness. Let's go and invest in the people that are around us. Get to know them, invite them into your home, have a drink with them, invite them for coffee, spend time with them, see their qualities, see their beauty. Hopefully, we'll only judge people favorably. We'll only have that closeness and nobody will be distant Before us or before Hashem. Amen. Have a great week, my friends.
15:49 - Intro (Announcement)
You've been listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe on a podcast produced by TORCH, the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston. Please help sponsor an episode so we can continue to produce more quality Jewish content for our listeners around the globe. Please visit torchweb.org to donate and partner with us on this incredible endeavor.