DG's Divrei Torah

In this week’s parsha, we see Yosef encountering a great deal of trouble. Yosef relayed his dreams to his brothers, proclaiming how great he is. This angered his brothers, for they were supposed to be equals. Each shevet should have an equal share in Klal Yisrael, how could Yosef come to them and brag, saying things such as, “You will all bow down to me.”

Afterward, Yosef told his father how he had related his dreams to them. This angered Yaakov tremendously. He attempted to discredit them, for he did not want the rest of the shevatim to feel jealous. He replied to Yosef, “Your mother and I will bow down to you? How is that possible? Your mother is dead.” The Gemara in Brachos gives an interpretation on this instance that took place between Yaakov and Yosef. “ We see from this, that all dreams, no matter how true they may be, have nonsense within them.”

At this point, the shevatim went to Shechem, to shepard their sheep. Shechem is not such a great place to be spending your time in, so Yaakov sent Yosef to check on his brothers. Once the brothers saw Yosef in the distance, they began their plot to kill him. Reuvein, saw what they were plotting, and wanted no part in this fatal plan. He didn’t want to see his youngest brother perish, so he convinced them to throw him in a pit. If he dies, he dies; if he lives, he lives. Anyway, he planned to come back later and save him. When Yosef arrived the brothers then stripped Yosef of his coat and threw him into the pit.

The brothers sat down to eat a meal, for they thought that they were fulfilling Hashem’s will; that every shevet needed to be equal. However, their mistake was their lack of realization on the importance of Yosef. Yes, the shevatim need to work together, for they are like a body. However, Yosef was the brain. A body cannot function without a brain.

At this point, Yosef was sold to a caravan heading towards Egypt; a caravan that was filled with spices. So what? Why mention that the caravan was filled with spices? Just say, “he went down to Egypt in the back of a caravan.” What’s the reason the Torah specifies spices?
It mentioned spices because, 99 out of 100 caravans would be filled with putrid inventory, such as tar. What a miracle it was, that this specific caravan carrying spices was arriving at Yosef’s location at that time.

R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz explains this (paraphrase): At this point in Yosef’s life, he wondered why his life was turning out to be so hard, he felt abandoned by Hashem, being put in this predicament. Just then, he realized his situation was not a predicament at all, after he smelled the pleasing aroma’s of the spices, he was like, “Whoa, that’s you Hashem isn’t it? You still have my back, You’re still watching over me, this is all one big master plan isn’t it?” What do we learn from this? Rav Shmuelevitz continues: Even when a person is having tzuros, and feelings of abandonment in their life, they can take a moment and realize that Hashem is still with them, guiding them with a watchful eye. Hashem is compared to the driver; don’t be a backseat driver and think you are in control. Just do your hishtadlus and let Hashem take the wheel. Don’t forget to buckle up! It may seem like a bumpy ride, but at least you have the best driver in the universe. Good Shabbos!