english- Vayeshev

   UNDERSTANDING DESTINY AND FREE WILL

The well-known mishnah in Pirkei Avot tells us that “everything is foretold” (3:19).  In a similar vein, the equally well-known piyut, Yigdal, reminds us that G-d “sees to the end of an action from its outset.” Furthermore, we know that the events of the present are pre-ordained on Rosh HaShanah.  This includes each human being’s lot in life – down to the exact timing of his or her last breath. On the other hand, that same mishnah in Pirkei Avot also teaches that “permission is granted .” G-d gives humanity the freedom to choose between good and evil. If so, we seem to be faced with a paradox.

If human beings have free will, can they also harm others or shower kindness on others if that was not the pre-ordained destiny of their victims or beneficiaries? And what about the perpetrator?  For example, Reuven’s murder of Shimon on the first of December, 2011, was foreseen by G-d at a much earlier date. If G-d knew that Reuven will kill Shimon, then where is the free will of Reuven? If Shimon gets killed by Reuven, and he was supposed to die on that date anyway, then how can Reuven be considered a murderer? Indeed, if everything is pre-ordained, why is one’s choosing to do harm not “blocked” by the destiny of the one he intends to harm?

I raise these questions not for the sake of philosophizing. As we shall see, if G-d revealed to us that He knows the future, there is something we can learn from this that is applicable to how we are to live and serve Him.

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The question of “free will versus predestination” was addressed by our great Rabbis throughout the ages. The Rambam’s approach is that G-d’s knowledge of the future is not the same type of knowledge that human beings have (Hilchot Teshuvah 5:5). We must accept that there are things about G-d’s essence and His knowledge that we cannot understand.  As the saying goes:תכלית הידיעה שלא נדע  – the deepest part of knowledge is knowing what we do not or cannot know.

Rabeinu Sadya Gaon and the Rivash take a different approach.  They explain that G-d’s knowledge of the future is the result of our decisions, and does not determine how we will behave.

Much closer to our time, Rav Elchonon Wasserman offered a different approach. Let us take, for example, a Jewish heretic who is forced to eat something forbidden by the Torah. Will Jewish Law hold this person liable for the transgression, or will it exonerate him because he was coerced? The answer is that this person will be viewed as a sinner – even though he was forced on this particular occasion – because he eats these forbidden foods willingly as well. Similarly, a person may be “forced” by his destiny in the direction of evil. But he has free will to choose if he wants and desires this direction, and how much effort he is willing to invest to change it. Although each person does indeed have a pre-ordained destiny, how he plays his role depends on how he uses his free will.

In short, although G-d knows the future, this does not mean that a person loses his free will. In the illustration we gave above, G-d will use His Knowledge of Reuven’s free choice in the future to have Shimon killed by Reuven (if Shimon is supposed to lose his life at that moment).  But Reuven is still liable because he decided to commit murder.

Now, let’s say that Shimon suffers physical or verbal abuse from Reuven.  How should he view his tormenter?  As far as Shimon is concerned, the proper perception would be that Reuven was just a messenger from G-d. We can see this from the example set by King David when he was cursed by Shimi ben Geira. David’s reaction was, “G-d told him to curse me.”  Nevertheless, Shimon is allowed to take Reuven to a beit din (Rabbinical court) and demand compensation because if, according to the law, Reuven can be penalized, then this is the Will of G-d.

Since the lot of each person is pre-ordained, when one individual aids his friend, the perspective of the giver should be that he did not do anything more than serve as a messenger of G-d. The perspective of the receiver, however, should be a sense of gratitude both to G-d and to the giver.  Even though it was pre-ordained that he receive aid from this person, the giver deserves credit for exercising his free will and choosing to be kind and to be G-d’s messenger.

Yosef and his Brothers

Let us see now how the insights above come into play in this week’s Torah portion. I would like to zero in on the exchange between Yosef and his brothers in Egyptafter they were re-united and the brothers realized that they had mistreated Yosef. They were afraid that after their father’s death, Yosef might take revenge against them. Yosef reassured them by saying that if all ten of you tried to do me harm – but could not because of the Divine plan – how then can I, only one person, do harm to all ten of you? (Rashi, Bereishit 50:19). If the free will of ten people could not overcome my destiny, then how can my free will alone overcome the destiny of all ten of you? From this we see clearly that a person’s free will does not allow him to interfere with another’s destiny. But there is a provocative interpretation of another key event in this week’s Torah portion which seems to contradict this principle. It really does not, however, as we will see momentarily.

The episode is Reuven’s “rescue” of Yosef from the plot of the other brothers to kill him. Reuven, the oldest of the brothers, felt he had to take responsibility for Yosef’s fate.  He recommended that they throw Yosef into a pit – with the intention of rescuing him later.  But, asks the Orach Chaim – basing himself on the Zohar – Reuven must have known that the pit contained lethal scorpions and snakes. How would a deathly pit be a way of saving his brother Yosef?

The Zohar explains that a human being has free will to affect another person’s fate negatively even though the latter was destined to live and be well.  An animal, however, cannot affect a person’s destiny. In order to take Yosef out of a position where his destiny could be adversely affected by his brothers and their free will, Reuven had to take Yosef out of their hands and put him in the pit with creatures who lack free will – and therefore could not affect his destiny.

Clearly, the Zohar is saying that human beings can affect the destiny of others.  How does this mesh with the principle we established earlier from the conversation Yosef had with his brothers that G-d blocks human beings from influencing the destiny of others?

Rav Chaim Friedlander zt”l reconciles this seeming contradiction in light of the teachings of Rav Dessler. Although one cannot affect another’s destiny, G-d’s ironclad “guarantee” can develop holes if the individual punctures it with his own hands. For example, let’s say that Yissachar, who is destined for longevity, causes people to be jealous of him or hate him, prompting Zevulun to want to harm him. This can open Yissachar’s destiny to Divine re-evaluation and judgment such that his original positive fate now gives way to a negative fate that he himself brought about. Yissachar will now need much greater merit to escape the fate he caused himself – and return to his original destiny.

And this is precisely what happened with Yosef. Despite his good intentions, he aroused his brothers’ jealousy and hatred by relaying to them his dreams of grandeur and by reporting to his father about their questionable actions.

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How can we apply the events of the parashah and our analysis to our own lives?  I would point to two of the significant lessons: Firstly, we should drive home to ourselves the importance of monitoring our own behavior, trying to get along with the people in our lives, and not arousing their jealousy. Secondly, we should remind ourselves of the power and responsibility of the gift of free will that G-d has given us.

LIVING IN THE PRESENT

 Many of us, at some point in our lives, feel despair and sorry for ourselves over situations in which we find ourselves. We may imagine that if we would have been in so-and-so’s shoes or possessed someone else’s mazal then we would be more successful and content. These feelings may be felt as one struggles in their learning in yeshivah or seminary but rationalizes failure: if only I would have been in a different school or environment before I came here, I would have been much better off. Similar regrets may be harbored by one who watches friends getting married, starting families, as one feels “left behind”. A person may blame business or life partners, relatives, friends, teachers or religious and other authorities for “ruining my life,” “messing me up.”

However, these attitudes and reactions handicap and hamper the fulfillment of one’s potential. They greatly affect the decisions one makes for his/her future, especially if the response is to sit around and wait for the good times to start.

I would like to draw on an observation about the mindset of Yosef in similar circumstances. The Midrash relates how Yosef’s master, Potifar,  noticed how Yosef would constantly whisper to himself while executing household chores. Potifar suspected that the Jewish boy was casting spells on his home and family. The master confronted Yosef about his peculiar behavior. Yosef replied that a request to G-d was always on his lips: My constant prayer is that every action I do will find favor in my master’s eyes.

One may wonder why Yosef cared so much to find favor in his master’s eyes. After all, he did not owe anything to his master, Potifar. Yosef, a mere teenager at age 17, had been kidnapped, messed over and sold as a slave by his own brothers. We would expect him neither to exert himself nor be particularly productive while thinking about his bitter state. Apart from G-d, Yosef was alone in the world. We would not be surprised if Yosef had lost all trust in his family and religion. After all, his older brothers were great and holy men. How could such people treat him so abominably and unjustly? Yet, despite the circumstances, Yosef did not let these thoughts take him away from acting properly and effectively. Yosef lived in the present. If G-d doomed him to be a slave, then he will not only perform his best; he will constantly pray to G-d that he finds favor in the eyes of his master since that is the best thing he can do in his present situation.

Rebbe Simcha Bunim of Peshischa would say: a person who denies that the dirt under his feet was put there by G-d for a purpose is a kofer (non-believer) in regards to hashgacha pratit (divine providence). Where we are is exactly where G-d wants us to prove ourselves to ourselves. So many successful people are not necessarily successful because they had resources of money, good family, emotional support, friends and contacts, high IQ, etc that brought them to success. More often it is because they employ a character trait we may call resourcefulness. They choose from what they can do. They look around, noting how they can achieve the most they can with what they have and where they are – and do it.

It is strange how frequently people blame things upon reasons which they believe cause them to be stuck. This prevents them from moving forward in their lives. There are so many decisions one can make and actions one can perform where free will can be exercised and many of our dreams may be attained. G-d gives everyone a lot of room for this.

On a final note, Rebbe Tzadok HaKohen, in Tzidkat Hatzaddik, deduces that if G-d invests so much in each and every one of us it is because he believes in each and every one of us. It is as important to believe in ourselves as it is to believe in G-d. This is what we mean when we say Ani Maamin (I believe). We first have to believe in the Ani. Only then can we be a Maamin. May we learn from Yosef’s belief in himself. And,  maybe, then we can learn from his belief in G-d.

Shabbat Shalom, Yosef Farhi

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IN LOVING MEMORY OF REUVEN BEN SARA AND CHANA BET HENYA