GEN1502 See [[GEN1353]] Genesis 31:42 empty-handed BOROJMV 28-30

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GEN1504 Let us remind ourselves of the episode of Joseph and the wife of Potiphar – that critical moment in the drama of Joseph which bestowed upon him, for eternity, the title of Tzaddik (the righteous one). What was it which turned Joseph into Yoseph HaTzaddik? In his attempt to prevail upon Potiphar’s wife, he sought to impress upon her the fact that he had been entrusted with great responsibility by Potiphar, her husband. To acquiesce to her wishes would therefore be a breach of faith and trust. His appeal, then was one of ethical conduct and behavior. But he added, “How then, can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” [this verse]. Ethical conduct is void of content if it does not stem from the fear of God.   It is this fear of God which is the motivating force of moral and ethical conduct in human affairs.  When this motivation is removed, society becomes permeated with the lusts, the temptations, and the forms of vice prevalent today.   To flee from reality in the hallucinations of LSD becomes part of the cultural milieu of modern society. [Published in 1975 – AJL] The element of “chotosi leilokim” (I have sinned towards God) converts the lust and urge to sin into an insatiable thirst for holiness.   BUILD 5-6

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GEN1505 Never take advantage of anyone who has been good to you.   A person who violates this principle is labeled in Jewish writings as “one who returns evil for good.”   Thus, when Mrs. Potiphar tries to seduce Joseph … [he] demurs … “My master ... has entrusted me with everything he owns…How could I do such a great wickedness? It would be a sin before God.”   In the Bible’s view, ingratitude, like adultery, is also a sin against God.   TELVOL1:107

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GEN1506 While sanctifying God Name is generally thought of as a commandment carried out in public, Jewish law teaches that it can be performed even when only one other person is present.   The Talmud offers as an example Joseph’s restraining himself in the face of Mrs. Potiphar’s attempts to seduce him Sotah 36b … this episode is what caused the Rabbis to refer to Joseph as ha-Tzaddik (the righteous one).  Therefore, any time a Jew acts righteously in the presence of even one other person, he or she is sanctifying God’s name.   TELVOL1:461

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GEN1503 Adultery is one of those sins for which punishment is exacted in this world, with the core remaining for punishment in the world to come, as it is written: “And how can I do this great evil and I will sin to God” Yerushalmi, Peah 1:1 TEMIMAH-GEN 165

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GEN1507 Another key to the moral personality is the character trait of hakkarat hatov (gratitude).  In developing this point, let us examine the biblical narrative of Joseph’s struggle in overcoming the wiles of Lady Potiphar, together with the talmudic account of this incident.  [Citing Genesis 39:8-9, 12).  At that moment, his father’s image appeared to him through the window and said, “Joseph, your brothers will have their names inscribed upon the stones of the ephod [the sash of the high priest’s robe], and yours among theirs.   Is it your wish to have your name expunged from among theirs and be called an associate of harlots?” Immediately his bow abode in strength (Genesis 49:24). Y. Yohanan said in the name of R. Meir: [This means] that his passion was subdued. Sotah 36b   What emerges from the preceding descriptions of Joseph’s struggle against sin is the equation of moral turpitude with betrayal.  Joseph made this equation on several levels.  On one level, proceeding from the biblical narrative itself, Joseph equated succumbing to Lady Potiphar with betraying the trust of her husband who was his master.   Logic does not compel that a test of piety be interpreted as a test of loyalty to Potiphar.   Clearly, it was Joseph’s revulsion at being an ingrate that pushed this equation on him.  In other words, Joseph’s deep sense of hakkarat ha-tov (gratitude) to Potiphar personalized his dilemma, tearing him between lust and loyalty.   By force of the talmudic account, Joseph’s moral dilemma is personalized on a different level as well.   Recall that Joseph invokes his loyalty to God as a means of resisting Lady Potiphar’s wiles Genesis 39:9.   But in the moment of truth, this is apparently not enough to deter him from sin.  What provided the extra push for Joseph was the image of his father both admonishing him against sin and reminding him of his destined greatness. In the final analysis, Joseph is deterred from sin by equating succumbing to sin with betraying both his father’s moral teachings and his high hopes for him.   Now, if Joseph merely gave lip service to Jacob’s teachings, what influence could they have had on him once he was no longer under his father’s control? What influence could these teachings have had at the moment Joseph faced the seductive powers of lust and at the same time was convinced that his father thought he was either dead or hopelessly missing?   Overcoming a sin of passion by conjuring up an image of his father could only be efficacious on the assumption that Joseph cherished his father’s moral teachings and harbored a deep sense of gratitude for them.  Hence, for Joseph, hakarrat ha-tov was the link that transformed moral training into virtuous conduct.   CASE 10-11

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GEN1508 In relation to adultery it is written “this great [(one)] evil,” and in relation to slander Psalms 12:4: “the tongue that speaks great [many)] things.” This teaches us that the slanderer’s transgression exceeds even the adulterer’s.   Erchin 15b   TEMIMAH-GEN 164

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GEN1509 Gratitude should be for everything good that came out from the benefit that you received, and not just for the immediate benefit … a giant in Torah is thankful to others for a good turn. Even a seemingly small favor is judged by the total chain of events that follow it.   … At the other end of the spectrum is the perplexing response of some people to repay goodness with bad. The concept is found in Yosef’s explaining his refusal to succumb to the seductions of Potiphar’s wife [this verse] and explicitly in the words of Yosef when he sent Menashe to demand from the brothers Genesis 44:4: Why did you replay evil for good? [When he accused them of stealing his silver goblet].  As unreasonable as it seems, it is quite common. The Torah writes about Pharaoh, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know of Yosef.” [Exodus 1:8].   Rashi cites the words of Chazal that he was the same king but he acted as if he did not know of Yosef. King David also refers to this trait when he writes Psalms 109:5 “They have imposed upon me evil in place of good …” According to Rashi, he was referring to Edom ad Ishmael, and according to the Radak he was referring to Jews such as Doeg, who had repaid his goodness with evil. King Solomon writes: Proverbs 17:13 “One who responds to goodness with evil, evil will never leave his house.” It stands to reason that he was hinting to the same people that his father, King David, was referring to. Several Torah leaders of the last generation used to jest that the larger the favor, the larger the stones one will likely receive in return for the favor. There is also a common expression in English – “no good deed will go unpunished.” CASTLE 1032-4

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GEN1510 See [[GEN1353]] Genesis 31:42 empty-handed BOROJMV 28-30

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GEN1511 Said R. Joshua b. Levi: Every single day a heavenly echo emanates from Mount Horeb, proclaiming these words: Woe to the people for the Torah’s humiliation!” For whoever does not busy himself with the Torah is called reprehensible… Pirkei Avot VI:2   Some activities are so basic to our existence that they must go on just about every day. For example, earning a living is so essential in human society, and so time consuming, that all but a fortunate few must be busy with it every day. Scripture itself intimates it: When the Israelites in the wilderness were to live on the manna they would find every morning, the Almighty told Moses, “The people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day (yom b’yomo). Exodus 16:4.  There is an element in the human being too which, never at rest, daily renews its demands and pressures: the yetzer ha-ra, the evil inclination that would tempt us to sin. This also is hinted in the Written Torah: When Potiphar’s wife began her determined effort to seduce Joseph, we read that “she spoke to Joseph day after day (yom yom).” [this verse]   As the Sages put it, the Almighty states, “I have created the yetzer ha-ra; I have created the Torah to temper it.” Talmud, Kiddushin 30b (Baba Bathra 16a); Midrash Sifre, Deuteronomy §45 If Torah is the antidote to the evil inclination, we must surely take an adequate does with the same frequency and perseverance as the yetzer ha-ra; otherwise, how can Torah be effective? So, in the words of Solomon the wise, the Torah says, “Happy is the man who hearkens to me, watching at my gates day by day (Yom Yom)”; and the prophet, speaking for the Almighty, envisions how the people Israel “will seek Me day after day (yom yom). Proverbs 8:34; Isaiah 58:2.   Perhaps our text connotes that for anything that must occur every day, b’chol yom vayom, the Heavenly echo from Sinai exhorts us and reminds us that we need a corresponding daily dose of Torah. The business-world is often described as a jungle. We need Torah to teach us how to be more than jungle animals in blue serge suits successfully stalking our monetary preys. Torah gives us a nobler purpose in life, lifting us above the jungle of the “mighty dollar”; And instead of living in order to “make money,” we earn our livelihood for the sake of Torah – that we and our children may learn its immortal wisdom and truth; that we may support the schools where its study thrives, pure and holy. Thus Torah can sanctify every necessity in our daily life, b’chol yom vayom—not only earning a living but eating, sleeping etc. in which, as the Sages note, we are akin to the animal. With Torah at the luminous center of our being, we live every day for its sake, and it hallows and exalts us. Then we can hear Sinai’s plaintive echo every day without anxiety or distress. Our years do not put the Torah to shame, for we live by its radiance. We can affirm with the Psalmist, “Blessed in the Lord: yom yom, day after day He provides for us.” Psalms 68:20; Talmud, Hagigah 16a; Avoth d’R. Nathan A37; Genesis Rabbah viii 11, xiv 3.   SINAI3 293-4

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