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GENESIS — 46:29 presented

GEN1572 A child should strive to give his parents pleasure.   Imagine how anxious Yosef was to see his father after an absence of twenty-two years.  And yet on the momentous occasion of being reunited with his father “Yosef appeared to his father,” that is, his only thought was to give his father the pleasure of seeing him.  Yosef’s own pleasure in seeing his father was secondary to his main concern, that his father should derive pleasure from seeing him. (Rabbi Naftoli Trop, Rosh Hayeshiva of the Chofetz Chayim’s yeshiva in Radin, cited in Chayai Hamussar, vol. 2, p. 189)  How important this lesson is for our generation, in which many children act as if their parents are obligated to give them pleasure.   PLYN 123

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GENESIS — 47:6 best

GEN1574 Try to curb your animosity even when you believe you can find a justification for hating another group or nation.   Thus, the Israelites leaving Egypt—after having endured hundreds of years of slavery and, at one point, the drowning of their newborn male infants – could easily have justified hating Egyptians.   And yet the Bible legislates, “You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land” Deuteronomy 23:8.   In other words, even in an instance as extreme as that of Egypt, the Jews must still remember that they had entered Egypt by invitation at a time of famine and desperation, had been provided with food, and given land on which to live. … The same verse that prohibits hating Egyptians, continues “You shall not abhor an Edomite [a historic enemy of Israel], for he is your brother” [The Edomites were descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother; hence, they were in a sense, the Jews’ cousins].  In this prohibition of hatred, we are reminded that many of those whom we regard as our enemies are also our brothers, fellow creates who, like us, are created in God’s image. TELVOL1:317

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GENESIS — 47:6 cattle

GEN1575 R. Yossi opened with remarks in honor of the host, expounding: “now if Egypt drew Israel close only for its own benefit, as it is written: ‘Now if you know that there are among them any able men, then make them rules over my cattle’ – the Torah still commanded Deuteronomy 23:8: ‘Do not hate an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land’ – then one who hosts a Torah scholar, and feeds him, and gives him to drink, and benefits him with his possessions – how much more so is he to be commended!” Berachot 63b TEMIMAH-GEN 181

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GENESIS — 47:14 gathered

GEN1577 Joseph’s dealing with the inhabitants of Egypt, his endeavors to preserve their lives and his exertions to sustain them, fall in the category of chesed, the worthy relationship of man to his neighbors. What forced Joseph to attempt to acquire the population (as Pharaoh’s slaves) if not these considerations?   AHAVCH 24

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GENESIS — 47:24 four-fifths

GEN1578 “My job is to restructure a bloated company. Should I be trying to fire as many people as possible, or just enough to make the company reasonably profitable?” A manager is hired to work on behalf of the business owners. And it is a basic principle of Jewish law and tradition that an employee or agent should do his utmost for his employer. A worker “Is required to work with all his strength.”  Shulhan Arukh, Hoshpat Mishpat 337:20 A fine example is the biblical figure of Joseph, who demonstrated exemplary devotion to the interests of his higher-ups, whether in the house of Potiphar, in the prison, or in the Royal Palace. We might assume, then, that the manager should do everything in his power to cut costs, including slashing a number of jobs to the bare minimum, in order to increase value for the owners. But a broader look at the Jewish sources shows that a more balanced approach is called for. The owners have certain ethical responsibilities toward their employees, and these ethical responsibilities of ownership are delegated to the manager just as the commercial responsibilities are. Jewish tradition gives the employer a special responsibility to consider the welfare of his employees because of their dependent status. For example, he is required to pay them on time: “Give him his pay on the same day, do not let the sun go down on it; for he is poor and his heart is set on it.” Deuteronomy 24:15 In a famous case in the Talmud, Baba Metzia 83a some movers accidentally broke a cask of wine belonging to a prominent sage. When the sage wanted to sue them for damages, his teacher admonished him that under the circumstances the fair thing to do was to leave the workers alone and even pay them their wages. The workers toil on behalf of the employer and so the employer has a special responsibility two look after their needs to the extent of his ability. The Talmud also teaches us that it’s spiteful for a manager to bargain workers down to the lowest possible wage if the employer is willing to pay more. Baba Metzia 76a This does not mean that an employer has to pay any particular number of workers or pay any particular wage. On the contrary, the norm in Jewish law is that a worker may be fired for reasonable cause. But it does mean that the welfare of the workers should be one of the many factors that go in the making policy; this probably rules out firing “as many people as possible.” … It is true that the manager is the representative of the owners. But just as he should faithfully represent their economic interest, so should he faithfully represent their ethical interest, including their responsibility to treat employees thoughtfully. So while laying off workers to increase the firms earnings is not inherently unethical, you should try and adopt a balanced approach. Remember that Joseph realized that it was ultimately in Pharaoh’s own interest to adopt the humane policy of turning Egypt’s farmers into independent partners instead of subordinate slaves [this verse]. MEIR 149-50

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GENESIS — 47:29 kindness

GEN1580 Acts characterized as gimilut hasadim are considered expressions of loving-kindness because they may be done selflessly, without thoughts of recompense from the recipient.  For example, when Jacob is dying, he asks Joseph to treat him with “kindness (hesed) and with truth (emet)” [this verse]. On this verse, Rashi commented, “The kindness that is sown to the dead is a true kindness (hesed shel emit), for [in such a case] one does not expect the payment of recompense [from the recipient].”  Isaac Aboab wrote that “zedakah given selflessly for the sake of Heaven, graciously and compassionately, is called gemilut Hasidim” Thus, Abaob identified gemilut hasadim as an exalted variety of zedakah. Aboab refused to assign zedakah to one realm and gemilut hasadim to another. Instead, Aboab perceived a certain fluidity between dutiful actions and benevolent actions.  For Aboab, as well as for others, actions that may benefit others embrace a wide spectrum from self-serving or reluctant giving of zedakah to perfectly selfless acts of loving-kindness. SHER20C 136

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