Revelation is the cornerstone of the Jewish faith. There are, however, two kinds of revelations: that of God’s will and of His ways. The Almighty revealed His will and law at Sinai. The revelation of His ways, the divine design, pattern and purpose, is revealed only when man, blessed with hindsight, examines the unfolding of history. There are certain patterns of God’s ways which we find too difficult to grasp even when it would seem that sufficient time has elapsed for us to comprehend the mysteries of the Almighty. This is especially true during a period of hester panim - when God hides his face and removes his concern, as it were, from us. Nonetheless we are assured by our prophets and sages that God will one day make his hidden mysterious purpose known to us in a manner which, at present, we cannot grasp because of our finite minds
There is an interesting - and perhaps apocryphal - story told of the Ramban (Nachmanides) and one of his favorite disciples. This young student was deathly ill and the Ramban came to visit him. The Master requested of his student that upon his arrival in Gan Eden he ask the Almighty why Israel suffers so much. Thirty days after his death the student came to the Ramban in a dream and when asked by his teacher as to the answer given to this monumental question, he said, “When I came to the world of truth, everything became so clear that I was ashamed to ask such a foolish question.” In other words, the limitation of man’s knowledge and grasp is so great that he cannot comprehend what are probably very simple and clear truths regarding the ways of God - truths which he will understand with little difficulty once he is confronted with the light of God’s revelation, once he is freed from the limitations placed upon man in this world.
The authentic and fair question, however, is: how is this truth of God’s wisdom, justice and righteousness to be conveyed so that you and I can dispel some of our doubts and accept God’s ways even during a time of hester panim? Since it is so nebulous, so ephemeral, how can we catch a glimpse of this revelation? The answer is that the Torah in its seemingly simple - deceptively simple- narratives presents to us profound truths which require sensitive ears, perceptive eyes, and understanding hearts to appreciate. Consider the story of Joseph and his brothers and the climax which we read in the parsha of Va-yigash. Picture how self-righteous the brothers feel after the harassment of this man who sits on the throne of Egypt. How sure of themselves, how angry and belligerent at his high handed methods, his false accusations, his miscarriage of justice! Imagine how noble Judah feels when he offers himself in the place of his brother Benjamin, how logical are his arguments, how persuasive his emotional presentation. Certainly any observer would give vindication to the brothers and point an angry finger of accusation at this heartless, cruel ruler of Egypt. Yet, suddenly every thing is dissipated, everything reversed - the accuser becomes the accused and the cruel tyrant is revealed as the righteous, long-lost victim! With but two brief words all is transformed and everything becomes clear - “ani Yosef - I am Joseph!”
Let us but understand this episode as an allegory and learn from it how all this can be transferred, the accusations, the feelings of self-righteousness, of indignation and even of man’s indictment of God - all dissipated and all clarified with but two words “ani HaShem - I am God!” This is the phrase which repeats itself so often in the Torah, but we do not really understand it. When the blindness of man will be cured, when his heart will be open, then these two words will explain as much as the two words did to the brothers of Joseph!
We can, therefore, understand the words of Rabbi Eleazar, who “wept” when he came to the following verse: “But his brothers could not answer him, for they were affrighted at his presence” (Genesis 45:3). Now if the rebuke of flesh and blood be such, how much more so the rebuke of the Holy One, blessed be He! How clear are the words of Abba Kohen, quoted in the Midrash Rabbah (Genesis XCIII 10,7): “Woe to us from the day of judgment, woe to us for the day of rebuke! Joseph was the youngest of the tribal ancestors, yet his bretheren could not withstand his rebuke. How much more than when the Holy One will rebuke each man.” Our Rabbis saw in the story of Joseph and his brothers and in the words ani Yosef the greatest rebuke and admonition - one which must be carried over into the realm of man’s questioning God’s divine design and pattern in this world.
We see but a part, a small segment of man’s experience, and even when we observe, blessed with hindsight, the history of man in this world, we can but perceive a very small part of God’s total pattern. It is interesting that the Midrash applies to the confrontation of Judah and Joseph the verse in Amos (9:13): “Behold the days come, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper.” It is very rare that he who plows - he who is involved at the genesis, the beginning of a divine development - is zokheh (privileged) to be present when the harvest is reaped. Judah and Joseph were present when the story of the sale of Joseph first began - when the soil was plowed, and also when the denouement took place - when the harvest was reaped. We, who are so often either plowman or reaper, live with bewilderment or with illusions. The total picture can only become clear when God will grant us the wisdom to hear and to understand the true meaning of “ani Ha-Shem - I am God!”
Rabbi Ralph Pelcovztz, of Congregation Kennesseth Israel in Far Rockaway, is a past president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America.
There is an interesting - and perhaps apocryphal - story told of the Ramban (Nachmanides) and one of his favorite disciples. This young student was deathly ill and the Ramban came to visit him. The Master requested of his student that upon his arrival in Gan Eden he ask the Almighty why Israel suffers so much. Thirty days after his death the student came to the Ramban in a dream and when asked by his teacher as to the answer given to this monumental question, he said, “When I came to the world of truth, everything became so clear that I was ashamed to ask such a foolish question.” In other words, the limitation of man’s knowledge and grasp is so great that he cannot comprehend what are probably very simple and clear truths regarding the ways of God - truths which he will understand with little difficulty once he is confronted with the light of God’s revelation, once he is freed from the limitations placed upon man in this world.
The authentic and fair question, however, is: how is this truth of God’s wisdom, justice and righteousness to be conveyed so that you and I can dispel some of our doubts and accept God’s ways even during a time of hester panim? Since it is so nebulous, so ephemeral, how can we catch a glimpse of this revelation? The answer is that the Torah in its seemingly simple - deceptively simple- narratives presents to us profound truths which require sensitive ears, perceptive eyes, and understanding hearts to appreciate. Consider the story of Joseph and his brothers and the climax which we read in the parsha of Va-yigash. Picture how self-righteous the brothers feel after the harassment of this man who sits on the throne of Egypt. How sure of themselves, how angry and belligerent at his high handed methods, his false accusations, his miscarriage of justice! Imagine how noble Judah feels when he offers himself in the place of his brother Benjamin, how logical are his arguments, how persuasive his emotional presentation. Certainly any observer would give vindication to the brothers and point an angry finger of accusation at this heartless, cruel ruler of Egypt. Yet, suddenly every thing is dissipated, everything reversed - the accuser becomes the accused and the cruel tyrant is revealed as the righteous, long-lost victim! With but two brief words all is transformed and everything becomes clear - “ani Yosef - I am Joseph!”
Let us but understand this episode as an allegory and learn from it how all this can be transferred, the accusations, the feelings of self-righteousness, of indignation and even of man’s indictment of God - all dissipated and all clarified with but two words “ani HaShem - I am God!” This is the phrase which repeats itself so often in the Torah, but we do not really understand it. When the blindness of man will be cured, when his heart will be open, then these two words will explain as much as the two words did to the brothers of Joseph!
We can, therefore, understand the words of Rabbi Eleazar, who “wept” when he came to the following verse: “But his brothers could not answer him, for they were affrighted at his presence” (Genesis 45:3). Now if the rebuke of flesh and blood be such, how much more so the rebuke of the Holy One, blessed be He! How clear are the words of Abba Kohen, quoted in the Midrash Rabbah (Genesis XCIII 10,7): “Woe to us from the day of judgment, woe to us for the day of rebuke! Joseph was the youngest of the tribal ancestors, yet his bretheren could not withstand his rebuke. How much more than when the Holy One will rebuke each man.” Our Rabbis saw in the story of Joseph and his brothers and in the words ani Yosef the greatest rebuke and admonition - one which must be carried over into the realm of man’s questioning God’s divine design and pattern in this world.
We see but a part, a small segment of man’s experience, and even when we observe, blessed with hindsight, the history of man in this world, we can but perceive a very small part of God’s total pattern. It is interesting that the Midrash applies to the confrontation of Judah and Joseph the verse in Amos (9:13): “Behold the days come, says the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper.” It is very rare that he who plows - he who is involved at the genesis, the beginning of a divine development - is zokheh (privileged) to be present when the harvest is reaped. Judah and Joseph were present when the story of the sale of Joseph first began - when the soil was plowed, and also when the denouement took place - when the harvest was reaped. We, who are so often either plowman or reaper, live with bewilderment or with illusions. The total picture can only become clear when God will grant us the wisdom to hear and to understand the true meaning of “ani Ha-Shem - I am God!”
Rabbi Ralph Pelcovztz, of Congregation Kennesseth Israel in Far Rockaway, is a past president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America.
YAVNEH STUDIES IN PARASHAT HASHAVUA, edited by Joel B. Wolowelsky, was a 1969-72 project of YAVNEH: THE RELIGIOUS JEWISH STUDENTS ASSOCIATION. The bios here are as they were at the time of the original publication. For a history of YAVNEH, see Benny Kraut, The Greening of American Orthodox Judaism: Yavneh in the 1960s (Cincinnti: Hebrew Union College Press, 2011).