English translation — וישב ב

A.

In this week's parshah it is told¹

about the time that Joseph was in a state of the opposite of freedom in Egypt — which consisted of two stages

(this below that)

: first he was a slave in the house of Potiphar,

and afterwards — through the confusion of Potiphar's wife — they put him into the "prison":

And in <b>both</b> situations was the Almighty with Joseph and he greatly <b>succeeded</b>,

to such an extent,

that in the first case Potiphar appointed him "over his house and all that he had he gave into his hand..

And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand and he knew nothing about him etc."²,

and after- wards,

in the second case,

the warden of the prison appointed him over "all the prisoners who were in the prison ..

(until that)

the warden of the prison saw nothing at all in his hand because the Lord was with him etc."³.

One finds however,

that in the manner that the Torah brings out the success of Yosef in the prison,

there is a conspicuous change regarding the manner that his success is expressed in the house of Potiphar: Regarding the success of Yosef in the house of Potiphar the language of the verse⁴ is

"And all that he does, Hashem makes successful <b>in his hand</b>",

but regarding the success of Yosef in the prison the Torah says the language⁵

"And what he does, Hashem makes successful" — and does not say,

<b>omits</b> the word "in his hand"⁶.

2.

This will be understandable according to the explanation of the Tzemach Tzedek⁷

on the verse "And Hashem was with Joseph, and he was a successful man" — that "success is a matter of mazal, like one calls a successful person a baal mazal,

luck in foreign languages."

"Mazal" is not a thing that a person achieves through his exertion,

but this is a gift <b>from above</b>⁸

— "And <b>Hashem was with Joseph</b>, and he was a successful man"⁹

; therefore the concept of "mazal" expresses itself in a <b>supernatural</b> success,

which a person cannot achieve with his own powers.

But also in this "success" there are two ways:

One way is,

that the success is seen &lt;b&gt;in&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;through&lt;/b&gt; the work of man's hands.

That is: the success itself is not of a nature that a created being could &lt;b&gt;attain&lt;/b&gt; it,

and from the fact that the man is &lt;b&gt;always&lt;/b&gt; successful,

or that the success

Is in <b>every</b> thing that he does

(and the like)

one sees clearly,

that he is a “bar mazal”¹⁰

— that this is not a coincidental thing and success, but rather because Havayah makes successful,

the Most High gave him <b>a mazal</b> that is successful,

or gave a success

(Divine¹¹)

in the work of his hands.

There is, however, yet a higher manner of success — that the success is entirely supernatural,

not within the category of human,

in a way that one cannot attribute the success at all to an action of human beings,

rather one sees immediately and at once that only <b>the hand of Hashem</b> did this,

this is entirely a doing of <b>the hand of Hashem</b>.

3.

And this is the difference between the two modes of success by Yosef¹²

In the first case,

in the house of Potiphar,

the emphasis is "And Hashem was with Yosef and he was a <b>successful man</b>" — the success had a relation to Yosef,

he is a "<b>man</b> of success"; and therefore the Torah is precise "and all that he did Hashem made successful <b>in his hand</b>" — the success

(Divine)

was given into <b>his</b> "<b>hand</b>"

(and action).

(main)

proof to “his master” that Joseph is a “successful man” is from this, that he has success in “everything that he does” — he is always successful in everything he does,

which convinces everyone that he is a “lucky one”,

a “successful man”].

But in the second case,

in the prison,

there came to Joseph the higher level of success — “and whatever he does &lt;b&gt;the Lord makes successful”&lt;/b&gt;: that whatever Joseph did, one immediately saw in it that &lt;b&gt;“the hand of the Lord did this”&lt;/b&gt;; this is not a thing that Joseph is able to accomplish by his own power,

but this can come only from the Most High Himself — and consequently one does not see in it “his hand”

(and his doing)

of Joseph,

but only — &lt;b&gt;“the Lord makes successful”&lt;/b&gt;.

which is not within human capacity

(and a man),

but "the Lord makes successful"].

D.

The reason for the difference between the two modes of success by Joseph is connected with the difference in Joseph's situation — in the first case he was

(only)

a &lt;b&gt;slave&lt;/b&gt; in the house of &lt;b&gt;Potiphar&lt;/b&gt;

(an officer),

in the second case he was a &lt;b&gt;prisoner&lt;/b&gt; in the &lt;b&gt;prison&lt;/b&gt;.

The explanation in this:

The "vessel" for success &lt;b&gt;G‑dly&lt;/b&gt;

(above nature)

is &lt;b&gt;explicit&lt;/b&gt; in Scripture&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;

"And to this I will look, to the poor and broken of spirit,"

&lt;b&gt;self‑nullification&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;.

The less a person feels his selfhood and existence,

the more is "Hashem is with him"

(openly)

— in his deeds one sees increasingly the power of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And in this consists the difference between the state of a &lt;b&gt;servant&lt;/b&gt;

(and especially in the house of Potiphar — a minister,

and a great minister beyond the ordinary ministers of Egypt)

and the state of a &lt;b&gt;prisoner&lt;/b&gt;

(in the prison)

a servant,

although "what a servant acquires, his master acquires"&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;,

that he is not for himself any existence — but it does not mean that there is no existence at all; there is explicitly an existence that &lt;b&gt;opens up&lt;/b&gt;

(and even — great things)

— this is indeed the purpose of a servant,

to &lt;b&gt;work&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;ac&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;complish&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;

Only that as he is acquired to his master,

therefore his entire work and accomplishment

(a servant)

is not a thing that be­longs to him,

but to his master;

But not so an “asir” — its meaning is —

(not to do and to accomplish,

but)

on the contrary — he is

(“asur”)

<b>bound</b>,

imprisoned and prevented from the ability to work and do something even that for which he is capable and qualified¹⁷

; he is in all his time

and in all his matters not any progress,

all the more so not any ascent from strength to strength etc.¹⁸.

even when one forces a prisoner to do work etc. — the work has no relation to him as the doer of the work.

— By a slave the explanation is that since he is the property of the master,

also his "hand"

(and action)

is acquired to the master — but there is a "hand"

(— as part of the slave's body)

; but not so a prisoner,

whose all actions are only what one <b>forces</b> him to do,

it is from the outset not his action¹⁹.

And in the manner that later authorities²⁰

explain the matter of "one who is forced, the Merciful One exempts him",

that this is because since he did it entirely not of his will,

but coercedly,

it is as if he had not done the deed,

it is not his action but "as if done <b>of itself</b>"].

5.

And likewise is the difference regarding Yosef:

Being in the house of Potiphar,

was Yosef

(as he was "brought down to Egypt")

a <b>slave</b> to Potiphar — this caused in him accordingly that also his service of G-d should be in the manner of <b>slave</b>

(a slave of G-d),

all

His existence is the existence of the Master.

And this is the taste

(inner)

Why the success of Yosef only came to be revealed from the fifth and onward in our parshah²¹,

Because from this self-nullification to the Most High which his <b>servitude</b> brought out in him — is²²

"And Hashem was with Yosef and he was a successful man ..

Hashem was with him and everything that he does Hashem makes successful in his hand."

But since that in this manner also after the self-nullification there still is the existence of the "hand" of the servant — therefore also the Divine success

(only)

is in a manner of "Hashem makes successful in his hand"

The Divine success is clothed in

(and consequently measured according to)

his "hand" and action²³

But when they imprisoned Yosef in the prison,

which revealed to him²⁴

a <b>total</b> <b>nullification</b> to the Supreme One,

he became in his own eyes as nothing and naught literally — therefore also the Divine success came in a manner of "and whatever he does, <b>God makes successful</b>" — a success that is not within the category of "man",

rather one sees from the outset that it is entirely <b>the hand of God</b>

(as above),

(as above)²⁵.

And although even <b>this</b> success is connected with "his hand"

(and his doing)

of Yosef — as the verse emphasizes "and whatever <b>he</b> <b>does</b>, God makes successful"

— but since Yosef stood in a complete nullification to the Supreme One,

which leaves no room at all to feel one's own existence

(like a prisoner in the prison)

— also his "hand"

(and doing)

did not occupy any place at all;

And therefore the Divine success in his doing was not limited and restricted according to the boundaries of the "hand" of the created being,

Rather — a Divine matter entirely above nature,

Until that the "hand" and doing of Yosef is not heard at all,

Rather only the — "&lt;b&gt;Hashem causes success&lt;/b&gt;".

6.

Based on the above it is possible to resolve another difficulty in Rashi's commentary in the continuation of the aforementioned verses:

In the verse "And his master saw

(Foh- Tifer)

that the Lord is with him and whatever he does the Lord makes succeed in his hand" Rashi explains: "that the Lord is with him — the name of Heaven is fluent in his mouth."

Why does Rashi need to dwell on this at all?

And moreover — to emphasize that the words "the Lord is with him" mean

(<b>not</b> in its simple sense,

but rather that)

"the name of Heaven is fluent in his mouth"²⁶?

And furthermore: in this verse <b>before us</b>,

"And the Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man"²⁷,

Rashi does not comment at all,

meaning that he learns the words according to their simple meaning

(and not "the name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth")²⁸

; and likewise in the following verse: "the chief of the prison saw nothing at all in his hand, because the Lord was with him etc.",

Rashi explains "because the Lord was with him — because the Lord was with him",

from which it is understood that also there Rashi learns that "the Lord was with him" means according to its simple meaning,

that the Almighty is with him,

that the Almighty is with him²⁹

and therefore he had success

— from where does Rashi take that "the Lord was with him" in the verse "And his master saw etc." means

(<b>according to the simple meaning</b> of Scripture)

"the name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth"?

Is the explanation in this:

Here it says "&lt;b&gt;And saw&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;his master&lt;/b&gt; that the Lord was with him",

that &lt;b&gt;Potiphar&lt;/b&gt; saw that "the Lord was with him".

Poses itself the question&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

: Let us assume that he saw the supernatural success of Joseph — from where did however Poti- phar know to attribute the success

To Hashem,

to the <b>Most High</b>,

at the time that Potiphar

(like all Egyptians)

was an idol worshipper³¹

and did not know about the existence of the Most High³²?

Therefore Rashi must explain — "the name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth": Yosef constantly, in every matter and event, mentioned the Most High as the Leader of the world³³

"May Hashem your God cause to happen before me",

and as Rashi³⁵

explains on this that Yitzchak said about this "

(not in the way of Esav to be)

<b>the name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth</b>"],

therefore Potiphar knew that the success of Yosef comes from that "Hashem is with him"

(as he constantly heard from the mouth of Yosef)³⁶.

But not so in the verse "And Hashem was with Yosef and he was a successful man",

And likewise in the verse "The warden of the prison saw nothing &lt;b&gt;because&lt;/b&gt;

(&lt;b&gt;Because&lt;/b&gt;)

Hashem was with him" — where it speaks

(Not that Potiphar

(Or the warden of the prison)

Saw "that Hashem was with him",

But)

About the very thing itself,

That the reason

For Yosef's success is ,

That Hashem was with him",

There is here no basis to change the &lt;b&gt;simple meaning&lt;/b&gt; and explain that "the name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth".

7.

But the question remains on the verse itself:

Since even while in the prison, Joseph was certain "the name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth,"

and consequently also the chief jailer could see,

"that the Lord was with him" — why does <b>the</b> <b>verse</b> not say that also the chief jailer saw "that the Lord was with him"

("the name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth")³⁷?

According to the above, but this is understood — because the concept of "the name of Heaven is fluent in his mouth" is a taste and reason

(Not only on <b>"and his master saw"</b> — the seeing of Potiphar "that the Lord is with him" — but also)

on the very thing

(which is stated afterwards)

"and whatever he does, the Lord makes successful in his hand":

Since Joseph was permeated with Godliness in a manner of "the Name of Heaven is <b>fluent</b> in his mouth",

that at every action and event he mentioned the name of Heaven,

therefore he was a vessel for the success from above — "the Lord makes successful in his hand".

This is however only in relation to the first manner of success that he had while being in the house of Potiphar — "And he was a successful man,"

"The Lord made successful in his hand" — that he was a "successful man" because his conduct was in accordance with this,

that in every action of his was emphasized his constant connection with G‑dliness;

Not so in the higher manner in success — "and whatever he does &lt;b&gt;G‑d&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;causes to succeed&lt;/b&gt;" — does not pertain to the emphasis of "the Name of Heaven is fluent &lt;b&gt;in his mouth&lt;/b&gt;".

Because the nullification of "the Name of Heaven is fluent in his mouth" is in the manner of the nullification of a servant

(whose &lt;b&gt;hand&lt;/b&gt; is like the hand of his master)

— there is a &lt;b&gt;"mouth"&lt;/b&gt;,

only the essence of "his mouth" is that through his mouth "the Name of Heaven" is revealed

(the Name of Heaven is fluent in his mouth).

But the operation of &lt;b&gt;that&lt;/b&gt; success

(in the prison)

is in that his existence is not heard at all

(including — not "his mouth")

of Joseph,

rather it is entirely a matter of &lt;b&gt;"G‑d causes to succeed"&lt;/b&gt;.

8.

The holiday of redemption of the old Rebbe,

author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch,

falls in most years in the week of Parsha Vayeishev.

— one finds,

that also regarding his redemption the success was in both manners,

in the manner as it was with Yosef HaTzaddik — both "a successful man" and "and whatever he did, Hashem made successful":

Chassidim relate³⁸,

that when the Alter Rebbe was sitting in imprisonment,

the ministers of the kingdom who investigated and interrogated him

(and also the king himself)

were in great astonishment at the greatness of his wisdom and they recognized that he is a "man of G-d"

(a master of Ruach HaKodesh, etc.)

— which this is analogous to the first manner in the success of Yosef,

"and he was a successful man"

(because of the fact that he is a holy man — "the name of heaven was fluent in his mouth").

But in the redemption itself there was yet a higher type of success,

as the Alter Rebbe writes in his well-known letter³⁹

that the ministers "answered and said..

כי אם &lt;b&gt;מאת ה׳ היתה זאת היא נפלאת בעינינו&lt;/b&gt;": in addition to that they recognized that the Alter Rebbe is a "man of G-d" — his redemption was such a wondrous wonder that was entirely not within the bounds of nature,

so that also in the eyes of the ministers of the kingdom "this was a wonder and a wonder" and they proclaimed "&lt;b&gt;מאת ה׳ היתה זאת&lt;/b&gt;": here the emphasis is not that this is a success of the Alter Rebbe as a "&lt;b&gt;man of G-d&lt;/b&gt;"

(servant of G-d)

— rather they see in this openly &lt;b&gt;the hand of G-d&lt;/b&gt; — analogous to "and whatever he does &lt;b&gt;G-d makes successful&lt;/b&gt;".

For being in imprisonment

(analogous to Joseph the Righteous)

the Alter Rebbe underwent very great sufferings,

And simply,

in addition to the suffering of the soul and the afflictions of the body from the imprisonment,

he was not able during that time to engage in the dissemination of Chassidus and Torah in general

that this is the precise point in the talk of the Rebbe

(the Rebbe Rashab)

of blessed memory⁴¹

that the imprisonment was analogous to the crushing of the olive

("Just as the olive, when it is crushed, it yields its oil"⁴²)

: at the time of the crushing, the olive possesses none of the two virtues⁴³

: neither the later-

the thick quality of <b>oil</b>,

which comes out from it afterwards; and not the earlier thick quality,

when it was a <b>fruit</b>.

And so in the analogy: during his imprisonment the Alter Rebbe could not disseminate the wellsprings of Chassidus,

even not as <b>before</b> the imprisonment,

and certainly not according to the matter of "he brings out his oil" from after the imprisonment]

which is a matter of "smallness" and nullification⁴⁴,

and therefore through this was drawn the success above in a manner that all saw how "from G-d was this":

And this success he then continued to all his connections and followers,

as the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Admor, told several times⁴⁵,

that because of the self-sacrifice of the old Rebbe, it was ruled in the Heavenly Court that "in every lodging of Torah, fear of Heaven and good character traits, the hand

(all)

his connections and followers will be on top".

5745)