B"H
Wednesday, Tevet 8, 5781 / December 23, 2020
In this week’s Parsha, Vayigash, Joseph finally reveals his true identity to his brothers. He exclaims, "I am Joseph your brother whom you have sold to Egypt. And now do not be saddened nor shall you be angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for G-d sent me before you to preserve life." He then repeats, "It was not you that sent me here, but G-d."
On one hand, Joseph reminds the brothers that they sold him into slavery. At the same time, he tells them, "Do not be saddened for it was G-d's will, for the purpose of saving lives during the famine years."
According to the teachings of Kaballah (mysticism) and Chassidus, sadness and dejection interfere with our connection to G-d and at the same time, distorts one's view on life.
According to Rabbi Yitzchak Lurie (Ari Hakadosh), Joseph tells his brothers, "do not be saddened," so that they can realize and understand that, "It was G-d who sent him to Egypt."
Being sad and dejected gets in the way of appreciating everything which G-d does for us, be it good or what seems to us as bad. One who is happy, and everyone can find so much to be happy and thankful about, can accept and deal with life in a much better and easier way than one who is not.
The Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic movement, stated, "Although sadness and dejection may not be listed among the sins of the Torah, yet, sadness and dejection can weigh a person down to the lowest levels. On the other hand, being joyous and happy may not be listed among the mitzvot of the Torah, yet, it can lead a person to the greatest spiritual heights!"
King David says in Psalm 100, "Let all the earth sing in jubilation to G-d. Serve G-d with joy; come before Him with exultation." To come before G-d one needs to be joyous. Happiness is a result of positive thinking which in turn causes positive results.
In Psalms (121) King David says, "Hashem tzilcha" (G-d is your protective shade). Our sages explain that "tzilcha" can be translated as, "your shadow."
Just as a person's shadow is an exact copy of the way the person moves, so too, G-d is our shadow – He acts with us as we do. Thus, when a person is happy and thinks positive, he causes happiness in the heavenly spheres, which in turn, cause joy, goodness and blessings to flow down from above.
The Talmudic sages say, "Who is rich? One who is happy with his lot." When one is happy with their lot in life, it causes the heavens above to smile upon him, which in turn bring blessings.
The Baal Shem Tov said, "Sadness closes the gates of heaven. Prayer opens the gates of heaven. The power of "simcha" - "joy" is so great that it can breach through any barriers in the heavenly walls!"
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY