Parashat: Vayeshev

Parashat: Vayeshev
Torah Reading: Genesis 37:1–40:23

“And Adonai was with Joseph and he was a successful man…”

— Genesis 39:2

In more observant settings, a quote is often said when we’re hoping to do or make something happen: b’ezrat Hashem. Quite literally translated as “with God’s help,” the idea is that divine assistance aids us in our future plans — or more simply put, while we endeavor to move forward, we’re reminded to stay humble, as our “ultimate success” may depend on God’s willingness to make it so.

In Joseph’s [mis]adventures, luck and success find their way, even when his future seems to be in the pits. Ditched by his brothers, sold to a foreign nation, Joseph finds ways to turn his trials into triumphs time and time again — but in our Torah portion, we find that it is because through all of it, God has Joseph’s success in mind as God never leaves Joseph’s side. This doesn’t mean that Joseph doesn’t work — indeed we find that he takes over the running of a household, and later on, interprets dreams, and inevitably runs an entire country (you know, the normal career path one can expect when starting out). Like President Thomas Jefferson, you might have thought to hear from our avid dreamer “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

And yet, God’s presence with Joseph is a gentle reminder and strong assertion that it is with God and the people willing, that success might come our way. Believing in something outside of ourselves — in the ability to have support and strength that might supplement our internal mindset might help us meet and beat our original expectations.

— Rabbi Amanda K. Weiss