Parshas Vayeshev
This week’s parsha relates the tremendous nisayon Yosef had with the wife of Potiphar, his Egyptian master. In Yoma 35b Chazal make clear that this was not a one-time test but rather an ongoing ordeal, in which she alternately tried seducing, threatening, bribing, jailing and ultimately forcing Yosef physically to commit a sin with her. Yosef, we know, succeeded in resisting, and Chazal relate that all resha’im will be asked in their final judgment: were you more tempted than Yosef Hatzaddik? With these words, every rashawill be judged guilty for giving in to sin.
There is a major question here: Chazal state (Sota 36b) that Yosef was in fact ready to commit a sin, only at the last moment the image of his father appeared before his eyes. That vision is what enabled Yosef to come to his senses and run away, thus rescuing him from sin. In light of this, how can Yosef’s overcoming his yetzer hara be an indictment against the resha’im? They can simply reply that “had Yaakov appeared to me I also would have resisted!”
Rav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi and others explain that Yosef in fact did not receive any special revelation. This was Yosef’s own strategy in dealing with his nisayon; when he felt himself weakening and close to sin, he conjured up the image of his revered father and rebbe, Yaakov Avinu, so that it would enable him to resist. Once his rebbe was right before his eyes, Yosef could not simply go ahead and do the opposite of all he had learned from him.
From here we learn an important principle that can help us enormously: the kesher(connection) a talmid has with his rebbe can be decisive in enabling him to overcome hisyetzer hara!
Rav Gifter teaches that the yiras Shamayim we need to overcome sin is acquired by having a connection with a rebbe. A rebbe gives his talmid guidance and also serves as a living example of yiras Shamayim. It’s very hard to achieve yiras Shamayim directly, but a rebbe can make the critical link. (Rav Gifter sees this yesod in what Chazal say in Kiddushin 57a, that the pasuk, “es Hashem Elokecha tira” comes to include talmidei chachamim.)
In Sanhedrin 101a a talmid chacham is referred to as the galgal hachama, the “orb of the sun.” Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz explains, just as the sun sheds light on our path and keeps us from falling, protects us from wild animals and thieves; so too the rebbe illuminates our life for us, showing us what is right and wrong, and keeping us from stumbling into sin. He also serves as a guide, pointing out the proper derech. Sometimes, when alternativederachim seem perfectly good to us, it is the rebbe who shows us their shortcomings and gets us back on track.
Of course, this can only be achieved if the kesher with one’s rebbe is very strong. Therefore, a talmid has to make special efforts to achieve such a kesher. Perhaps this is why Chazal (Brachos 47b) tell us not only to hear shiurim from a rebbe but to seek opportunities to speak with him in learning, and about other matters of life, to bemeshameish (serve) him and in short, to be with him as much as possible. This can serve to strengthen the kesher.
A talmid should aspire to forge a kesher that will continue in the years to come, even when circumstances may bring him far away from the yeshiva. Yosef Hatzaddik teaches us this. Yaakov Avinu only believed that Yosef had survived spiritually in Egypt when he saw the wagons that Yosef sent, as these indicated that Yosef had remained connected to what he had taught him (see Rashi on Vayigash 46:27 as to how the wagons demonstrated this). Constant review of a rebbe’s teachings is one way of keeping a strong kesher with him. Another way is by going back to visit him. Before the Holocaust, “going back to Kelm for Elul” was a given for many former talmidim, and in our yeshiva as well there are inspiring examples of talmidim who are moser nefesh to come back for substantial blocks of time to learn directly from their rebbe. In short, an active kesher with one’s rebbe keeps a Jew on the derech, saving him from sin and illuminating his path in life.
Harav Avraham Chaim Brim used to say that the kesher he merited to have with his rebbe, the Chazon Ish, changed his life. He would say that to see the Chazon Ish was to behold a man of flesh and blood who lived every moment like a malach Elokim, fulfilling every detail of each mitzva with palpable yiras Shamayim.
“When we were in the presence of the Chazon Ish we had no bechira between tov and ra, it was so clear what it was we had to do!” This is what a rebbe can do for a talmid!
May we be zoche to make a strong kesher with a rebbe and maintain it all of our lives!