Vayechalkel Yosef: Why Steady Parnassah Is a Greater Gift Than Sudden Wealth

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. I'd like, b'ezras Hashem yisbarach, speak about an inyan, it's very practical, something that's nogea, pertains to everyone, hashkafah that's kedai to understand and to learn. It's based on understanding our going down to Mitzrayim, and the Yosef, what his role, what his job was in the yeridah of Yaakov to Mitzrayim. The pasuk tells us clearly that Yosef, Yosef HaTzadik, was sent ki l'michyah shelachani Hashem aleichem, that the Eibishter, where Yosef tells the message home to his father and his brothers, it's l'michyah shelachani Hashem lifneichem. Yosef's job was to shpayzen, in Yiddish, zogt men to shpayzen, which means to give sustenance, to support the family when they come down to Mitzrayim. If you notice in the pasuk, it states in perek mem-zayin, pasuk yud-beis, mamash at the end of parshas Vayigash, Vayechalkel Yosef es aviv. Yoisef, ves gegeben, shpais, sustenance. Es aviv, ves echav, ves kol beis aviv, lechem lefi hataf. Right, according to the children. L'choira, the pasuk is very much b'arichus. The pasuk is marech a lot. There's arich. Vayechalkel Yosef es aviv, ves echav, ves kol beis aviv. It geben esn the mishpacha, the tattem, the brothers, the beis aviv. And again, lechem lefi hataf. What is the pasuk stressing so much? Vayechalkel Yosef es mishpachto; Yosef gegeben esn, he supported the family. And the kasha, which might even be stronger of a kasha: he wants the chiddush, a greise chiddush. Yosef melech Mitzrayim hot alles; he has everything. The tatte קומט invited to Mitzrayim. He's not going to give him to eat. The pasuk has to go out of its way to stress and to teach, Vayechalkel Yosef es echav, es aviv, es echav, es kol beis aviv. What would we think if the pasuk wouldn't tell it us, that the pasuk has to stress it and bemarech on it? My rabosai. Mir darf zogn that this pasuk is a very important pasuk, and farkert, it's not just agavurcha, bizol visen that we should know that he supported the family. There's a limud, as soon we'll see from Chazal and Rishonim, the pasuk lehnt ois epes. Vos lehnt ois? What is the pasuk teaching us? Vos vil der pasuk? So it's important to begin with an interesting Chazal. Chazal say, it's a Medrash Tanchuma, Nara yisi vegam zakanti, v'lo raisi tzaddik nezov v'zaro mevakesh lachem. We say it in benching. Says the Medrash, Ein HaKadosh Baruch Hu ozev es hatzadikim b'shaas haraav. When there's hunger, the Ribono Shel Olam takes care of the tzaddikim. Not only them, lo lahem, there's no hunger not for them, v'lo livneihem, and not to their children, that's v'zaro, even the children are all taken care of. How? B'shaah sheb'tzorech ba...

When there's hunger that comes to the world, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, mesakel them, meheichan yichyu. The Ribono Shel Olam pre-plans. He pre-plans a mahalach, v'imazol haben parnassah, the way they should be able to get their food. Mesaken. He sets up for them a matzav. That's how they talk today, set up for them a matzav. V'chein Yaakov, says the Medrash, this is what we see by Yaakov: כשברח, הסכים הקדוש ברוך הוא ליוסף שיחלקנו ממצרים, שנאמר, this pasuk, ויחלק ליוסף. So the Medrash is telling us that this pasuk, ויחלק, is not stam a gevaldche girsa; you should know that he was mefarnes his family. ויחלק ליוסף is the plan of the Eibishter to be mechalkel. This was predestined. ויחלק ליוסף, this pasuk, ויחלק ליוסף, is the pshat that the Ribono Shel Olam plans, He sets up, as the tzaddikim, their kinderlach. If you look at the Acharonim, Rabbi Sol Salant speaks about the Chasam Sofer, Chiddushei Sefarim are very much mareich, that Yosef was the tzinor, or the shliach, no matter how you want to phrase it, but Yosef was the tzinor, was the pipe, so to speak, that the Ribono Shel Olam set up, mezon umefarnes Yaakov and his mishpachah. He was the shliach. So we have to understand the pasuk. But this is not stam that Yosef, this is what he did in Mitzrayim. This is a mahalach in parnassah. When you read the pasuk, it gives us to understand: vos is parnassah, daltzinoir? How does the Ribono Shel Olam shik parnassah to Klal Yisrael? Uplen in the pasuk. This will give us a tremendous hashkafah, rabosai. As you'll soon see, there's important to understand: vos is parnassah by Yid? How does one look at parnassah? How does one understand the way the Ribono Shel Olam is mefarnes people? So I want to begin, rabosai, that the arichus in the pasuk is bedavka. That's why the pasuk goes out of its way, Vayechalkel Yosef. But l'choirah, rabosai, daf in fregen, we find in Benching, in all places, three different leshonos for parnassah: zon, umefarnes, umechalkel. Yeah? No? Did anyone ever think, what's the difference between zon, mefarnes, umechalkel? Benched. Mention the different nuschaos. What's the difference between zon, mefarnes, umechalkel? Yeah, rabosai, you get lernen the sugya from parnassah. What is parnassah? What? Oh, really? Didn't know that. Zon umefarnes is begadim. In Benching we mention begadim. Mi'pegadim? Who קומט בפגדים and benching? The Chassa taire eid, I have a hard time arguing with you. Aval l'maaseh, rabosai, what does it mean, zon u'mefarnes u'mechalkel? What are the three different nuschaos? Rabosai, you'll come out of the shiur enlightened, because we need to understand vos mein zon, vos mein mefarnes, and vos mein mechalkel. ... minut, fun yeder tog, fun yeder mensh. Rabosai, there's a machlokes what the word mechalkel means. We're going to leave the word zon u'mefarnes maybe for a different shiur, but we're going to talk about mechalkel. Why are we going to talk about mechalkel? Because that's Vayechalkel Yosef, and we're learning that it's not just grada Yosef gave to eat. Yosef, this is the tzinor. This is how the Ribono Shel Olam is mefarnes. He prepared the parnassah through Yosef. Rav Yisroel Salanter speaks so beautifully. Rav Yisroel Salanter explains that usually the mekabel has to come...

To the naysin. The mekabel needs to come to the... Says the, and the Ribono Shel Olam is mefaneles, ... and shickt der naysin. Vayechalkel Yosef, that Yosef was the one to give. Yosef is the one that was sent to Mitzrayim in advance, as eina mefaneles. Says Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, and he says, brings from a pasuk, it's like geshem, geshem, the Ribono Shel Olam sends geshem to the earth. We could speak a lot about this point, but I'm trying to bring out that this is not just ... It happens to be that Yosef gave to eat his family. No. It's a mahalach. It's a mahalach on how parnassah works. One is mechalkel, so there's a machlokes. The goyim in the siddur, in the machzorim, whenever it says mechalkel chayim b'chesed, so we find the same lashon, mechalkel, chayim, mechalkel chayim b'chesed. What's meant mechalkel? Says the goyim, Ki kilkul ne'emar al tzimtzum haparnassah. Kilkul is said about the tzimtzum, a little bit. ... tzimtzum, small amount, tzimtzum haparnassah. Kemoi, Vayechalkel lahem Yosef lechem l'fi hataf. Tell me, lechem l'fi hataf, what does the pasuk want? What does the pasuk mean, l'fi hataf, according to the Kindelach? And the tzedakah is kind of, essen sehr venzig, small amounts. Vayechalkel, seems so. So Yosef is not giving them big amounts. Sometimes you have a father, he's very rich, and he gives the kids tons of money. Then you have a father who's like, Nay, nay, nay. Every week you'll come, you'll get what you need. Mit a cheshbon. Der goyim land mechalkel meit b'tzimtzum, little bit, as needed, tzimtzum. Bari, in the siddur, Shaar HaSuchos, kuf samech aleph, Bari learns that it means fakelt, mechalkel, with a lot, with shefa. Punkt fakelt fun goyim. The goyim land mechalkel meit b'tzimtzum. Bari is a land. Mechalkel means lots, with great shefa. I read you the lashon of the Arizal: Vayechalkel, shehu melashon mechalkel chayim b'chesed. The same thing like the goyim, the pasuk, mechalkel chayim b'chesed, that we say in the davening, same pasuk. Shehu kli b'soch kli. Mechalkel, two kelim. Mechalkel, kli kli, a kli b'soch kli, b'chinas hashpaah b'ribui. The hashpaah is lots, al yedei keilim mikeilim shonim, from different... Different pshat. You never know in the... ...the panosah. Keilim, keilim shonim. ...Keilim is different. ...The panosah. Keilim, keilim shonim. Michalkel two keilim. Shonim is different, huh? It's megaleh, he's using the quote of Michalkel, keilim mikeilim shonim, and that's Michalkel, kli, kli, two keilim, kli b'soch kli, which means different keilim. Michalkel, kli, kli. Shonim means different, huh? No, shonim means different. It's a derash Chazal, it's a derash Chazal, but the pashut pshat means different, shonim. You know, l'achi, ... shein arizal, shein vigol, machlokes. So we have an argument between the Gaon and the Arizal. Now, let's understand, vos iz der taich lefi ha-tof? What does it mean, lechem? It's like...

Listen, versus lechem, bread, lefi ha-taf. So Rashi says, lefi ha-taf. This is an interesting chiddush. Lefi ha-tzarich lechol bnei beisam. It means a lot. Interesting, huh? It doesn't mean a little. It means a lot. Lefi ha-taf, according to Rashi, means, fregt a hoys, fregt a shtup. Fragt the Sifsei Chachamim, which is really a Mizrachi, that I don't understand. If it means lechol bnei beisam, so why does it say lefi ha-taf? Taf is doch the kinderlach. So then why is it chol bnei beisam? Ader beis, ader taf. ... zogt a chiddush nifla. And anyone who has children will identify with this. Zogt er, because derech ha-taf hu lifarer lechem shelo l'tzorech. You ever sit at the table, after a Shabbos table, the challah, vos di kinder? Me ken afilu nisht orumram. You can't even clean the table. They tzubrekel, they make everything crumbs. Yeah, they tzubrekel, they make crumbs from everything. Shelo l'tzorech, for no reason. They play with the challah, no? Shelo l'tzorech. Azoi zogt dem Mizrachi. Ve'amar, that's what it means, lefi ha-taf, she'af lefi tzorech ha-taf shedarkan lefarer. He gave even enough for the children. ... machn crumbs and un-patchkeven when you don't have enough. You're very careful. Don't waste any food. Don't waste any. Even the crumbs, get carefully eaten. That's al פי הטוב. So he feels it was the kinderlach. ... That's pshat, לכל בני ביתו. Yeah? However, the sipur ... ניט אזוי. לפי הטוב meant fakert, very little. Why? Zogt the sipur, לפי הטוב, אף על פי שהיה בידו להרבות להם מזה. He had a lot, zogt the sipur. He could have given a lot. He could have given ... כיד המלך, ... He could have given everything. במידה מספקת. Still, נתן להם במידה מספקת. So he gave them just what they needed. Why? So he says a reason: בזמן שהציבור שרוי בצער. למעשה, they were hungry in Mitzrayim. And just because he was privileged, Yosef, and the family was privileged, doesn't mean ... luxes. Luxuries. Not everyone has the luxury. Not every ... It's a big lesson in life, I think. Like Nishtallem mention of the lack, hobn the luxus. Maybe a person should try to minimize a little bit. אז זאָגט די סיפור. So we have here a basic machlokes: ויחלקו יוסף ... Was it a lot or a little? Machlokes. לחם לפי הטף, that's what the hemshech is. לא התרעשי, lots, ... לא ... but with a reason. What was the reason? Mentions itzim betzar. Shh. Mentions itzim betzar. The shlah, a fun pasuk, sagt an andere deher. The Shlah says, no. The reason why he gave, like the Sifurno's mahalach, just a little bit, dos is azoi daf mit leben. Daf nish leben mit krigen a sach, fazamlen a sach. Tacheshben what you need and not more. Sifurno learns, v'al si deshecheinim, the people, the people around, they're hungry. The Shlah learns, dos is der yesod fun vaychalka. Der Ribono Shel Olam is mechalkel pshat, tacheshben, tacheshben. It's not going to be, because gissach, it's valdige sach gelt, but in cash, it doesn't work that way. A mahalach. Okay. Now, let me tell you over a peledike zach. And I think there's a Chasam Sofer that says this yesod, that parnassah, der Ribono Shel Olam shickt azoi mereden that we speak mit a cheshbon. It has to come what you need.

When you need it, how you need it. We're talking later, people, whatever. חזם לסאך קעלטעדיינו. You're going to learn. It's not my words, it's a sefer, but that's nisht the mahalach. That's not how it works. Let me read you a peledigech sefer. Not just a pele, a... I see this smack, smack. So so far, what did we cover? Birchas hamazon, not bislah. זון, מפרנס, מחלק. למה לא ... נשמה, yeah? ברב זן תנו, ובשובע כלכלתנו. So ברב זן תנו, I understand: mit hunger, when it was hunger, He gave us to eat. What's בשובע, ממזגוון זאת כלכלתנו? אז מזאת, what's ... בשובע כלכלתנו? So the pashut pshat means, דאס איז גווען דער מחלקל. אז ער האט אונז מחלקל. That's how He gave us to eat, He was mechalkel us בשובע. Says the Chasam Sofer a pele. Zogt the Chasam Sofer, לכאורה מה שבח הוא לכלכל בשובע? What does it mean that Rabbeinu Shlolem is mechalkel us with שובע? Says the Chasam Sofer, the Gemara says that yisurim is everybody. Everybody has to have yisurim. It's a Gemara, Maseches Zevachim, tezayin amud beis, על היכן תכלית יסורין. Kitzur zogt er, למעשה, what's the reason? Because if you don't have yisurim, you will mekabel olamoi. It's because of yisurim davka, has to be kragen dein olam haba. You're just eating up your olam haba. He brings the Ramban, that the Ramban says, Shehu neged hateva sheyezakeh l'adam hakol kefi retzono. It's impossible, al pi teva, that everybody should get what they want. It can't be. There's no such thing. HaKadosh Baruch Hu, what the cheshbon? U'matzinu, and this is the point, u'matzinu shemilas mechalkel. What does mechalkel mean? Hainu shelo b'shefa. It doesn't mean like we spoke, nit mit shefa, fakert, with the goyim. Rak k'dei tzorko, and he brings our pasuk, Vayechalkel Yosef, lechem l'fi hataf. V'al ze anu meshabchim, fakert, that's why we give a shevach to the Eibishter, b'sova. Kilkaltanu, kilkaltanu, eh? The rav zon. Zon u'mefarnes u'mechalkel. Yes, what's the three leshonos? When the Torah, it says zon, could be when it's rav, dafka nasach merev shefa. B'sova, kilkaltanu. That's mechalkel, mitacher, a little bit, drops at a time, enough b'sova. Az mezalzelin zat, nishneh. Mezalzelin zat. Why? Because if not, it's mekabel olamoi, mekabel olamoi. Tzofer says that's the Vayichad Yisro. Yisro saw that they got a lot of money in Kriyas Yam Suf, the meiregehat. So much money. The kids said they heard, Al kol hatlo'ah shematzasam, all the terrible things. ... They didn't go through, they didn't get Olam Haba of death. That's ... Olam Haba of death. They learned some. So we have a tremendous yesod over here, rabosai, that how does parnassah work? Parnassah works that the Ribono Shel Olam wants bedavka. It shouldn't come mita... mita shpritz, mita flow. It has to come drop by drop, as we soon will see, mita mahalach. I want to show you over another beautiful Chasam Sofer. You know, in benching we say something interesting: Hazan es ha'olam kulo b'tuvo. Das is b'tuvo. So, zan is b'tuvo. Then we continue: ... u'vetuvo hagadol ... Tamid lo yechsar lanu v'al yechsar lanu mazon, u'vetuvo hagadol. Tamid lo yechsar lanu v'al yechsar lanu mazon. Zan b'tuvo, v'al yechsar lanu is b'tuvo hagadol. What does it mean? We start off by saying, Hazan es ... HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Eibishter is zan b'tuvo. Then, v'al yechsar b'tuvo hagadol.

Yechsel lanu. What's the difference? Why are we starting with this lashon and that lashon? Zogt der Chasam Sofer, meiredike zach. The Ribono Shel Olam is mazin everybody parnassah. But then there's something called daigah. They're worried. They're worried. So hazanas ha'olam kula b'tuvoi, hainu sheHaKadosh Baruch Hu b'tuvo meizin l'chol olam, when they need it. That's b'zon, like he says over there, zon b'rov. Az mezungen, the Ribono Shel Olam shickt. But then there's b'sova kilkaltanu, which means when we're sat, He gives us a little bit. Not just I'm hungry. Sustains us consistently. Das is b'tuvo hagadol. Ravosai, listen, it's beautiful. Hear, ravosai, hear. Hear, avot. People want to make it rich quick. That's zon. They want a quick b'rov when they don't have. That's just b'tuvo. The maila really is b'sova kilkaltanu. We should have and every day get sustenance, michalkel. And that's u'vetuvo hagadol. That's with His big toiv, with the goodnesskeit, the Ribono Shel Olam's gevaldige goodnesskeit. A big deal once a year. Or a steady job every day. No? Everybody would jump on the big deal, no? Ich bin doch nisht kein businessman. Cheshbonos, but what do I know? Help me out here. The choices. What would you, what would you? That's what you would think. Jump on the one, the big deal, yeah? He hit the jackpot, the lottery, cheshbonos. Yedalach, nisht meine reid. This is not the way we look at the Ribono Shel Olam. It's a mahalach. It's b'tuvo, it could happen. Rov zantonu, hefesed out of mishuga, ... The greater chesed of the Eibishter is b'sova kilkalton. Sustained. Steady. And like an intravenous, steady drip. Now let me tell you why I'm saying this, okay? Haveisai, lomer eden, vos meintlich lechem lefi hataf? Vos is lechem lefi hataf? Huh? A child is fed. He's fed talef alef, what he needs and when he needs it. I want to tell you something. I don't know if because of my upbringing... Or is it because this is the way I think? Aber ich versteh, vi a malke Yidn hobn gelebt. How did they live? And they lived that everything was talking to the Ribono Shel Olam, azoi vi a tatte. And I've mentioned this to you. I think someone here is even sitting here once asked, Where is the mekor of it? I'd rather have it. It's in the Reb Chatzkel Abramsky's book. It's there, that Reb Chatzkel Abramsky used to talk to the Ribono Shel Olam, Tate, ayzun Chatzkel is hungerik. Ayzun Chatzkel is kalt. Chatzkel is hungry. Chatzkel is hungry. Then, dos az a kind redt to a tatte. Tell me, when a child, does he have to store the food, or he's able to go whenever he wants to the father, and the father gives him exactly, and the mama gives him exactly the battele, the food, whatever it is. Okay, not the strained bananas, shein. Okay, good, the batteles, zol zayn azoi. Yeah, nu. Vos der kind darf.

Vayechalkel Yosef lechem l'fi hataf. Who is he talking to? It's l'chol Bnei Beisoi. Rashi says clearly it was l'chol Bnei Beisoi. So what does it mean, lechem l'fi hataf? The Teretz is, even, not that it was for the children; it was l'chol Bnei Beisoi. Oh, but this is how he gave it to them: l'fi hataf. Azoi vi a kind, azoi vi a kind bet. Tatich, daf yatzt, daf dos, daf bin hungerig. Und dos is b'tzimtzum. Und dos is vayechalkel Yosef, the tzinor, how the Ribono Shel Olam taveggestellt a mahalach fun parnassah special for Klal Yisrael. You like it? Very good. So I'll tell you, maybe it's my pshat, but I think it's true anyway. I've seen many people busy, storing away and thinking with cheshbonos, and I don't want to get into the halachah of it; it's probably mutar. I'm not discussing the halachah, but I'm discussing the hashkafah. The hashkafah is, vayechalkel Yosef, it was lechem l'fi hataf. I want to tell you over something that I saw in a Sfas Emes, but not the Sfas Emes from Ger. There's another famous Sfas Emes, the Barzhaner Rav wrote a sefer called Sfas Emes. Unfortunately, he had the misfortune of giving a name that— It's already copyrighted, so to speak, that the whole world that says the word sfasem is right away means. As a matter of fact, the first time I saw it, I thought it was talking of sfasems, and I was looking for it. I looked, I couldn't finish it, and then I chapped that it's a different sfasems. It's the Baal HaTanya Rav, an einikel for Rav Shlitzin. He brings a peledike Medrash HaNeelam in the Zohar HaKadosh. The Medrash HaNeelam writes, Memches tipin hanitafin b'chol yom miGan Eden. There's 48 droplets that fall from Gan Eden every day. Where does it fall? So the Medrash over there says it falls from the Gan Eden haElyon to the Gan Eden haTachton, but then where does it wind up? Here in this world. Zogt Baal HaTanya Rav, what are these tipin? These are the tipin of shefa, tzinoros of parnassah, droplets, yeah? Zogt, that does it up pshat, lechem lefi hatof. Tof is droplets. Lechem lefi hatof, tipa, droplets. You know, rabosai, everything in the briah needs to be studied to understand hashgachah in teva. The Rambam tells it to us. The Rambam tells us that if a person looks at the briah, he'll understand the ganze, the Ribono Shel Olam, the hashgachah, mitaltel. It's all from the briah. Isn't it interesting that when it rains, even though there's a nusach, when it rains it pours, ... when it rains it pours, yeah? But even when it pours, did you ever notice that no two drops come together? Zei zogen, al ha-mechkere, the science, it's always drop by drop by drop, טיפין. A person has to know that the Ribono Shel Olam, and don't forget tal and geshem, all these things is shefa of parnassah. We all know that, all the Rishonim, that's the whole tefilas geshem, the chaltzte inyan for the Ribono Shel Olam. How does the Ribono Shel Olam send parnassah? V'cheshbon, every drop. There's a drop, that's not what it is, that's a mabul. It's gitzach, that's a mabul. Aber normal a regen is a drop by a drop. So let's end now. What's the reason for this? Mensch darf farshtein, the Chasam Sofer is telling us, because if a person gets all in one shot, it's going to be kibel olamo.

They told me that out different Slabodka, a fleg zogn, that there's another reason: ayin hara. A mensh krigt a bisl geise, he gets a tremendous... because ayin hara. People look around. You heard, keep a kuk. Look, look, look at what he won. Won this, he got that. Der Ribono Shel Olam hot gemacht az der emes'e parnassah. So kumen tipa b'tipa. Nisht af ein mol, and he shtelt on this sippur to Reb Yisroel. The sippur says that what was the reason? B'midas hishtatkus, because nobody else had. Because nobody else had. Az eiz zogt the sippur, that's why Yosef was mechalkel b'hishtatkus. So the pashut pshat is because you can't have when nobody else has. Zei deflektiber zogn that the pshat is a little different. It's for your benefit. It's for the person's benefit that he should get, because if he gets it in one shot, divas hoben nisht. Hoben kiner, it's sinah. Der Ribono Shel Olam shickt of an oyfen. It's not so. I think it's a tremendous hashkafah, Reb Yisroel. A person wants to, you know, chapt a chaperain, something, a break. You're better off... to be happy with what you have every day. Val dos iz takke di hatzloche, un dos iz takke der derech fun der hashpa'ah, fun parnassah vayechalkel Yosef es achecha. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.