וְיוֹסֵף הוּרַד מִצְרָיְמָה וַיִּקְנֵהוּ פּוֹטִיפַר סְרִיס פַּרְעֹה שַׂר הַטַּבָּחִים אִישׁ מִצְרִי מִיַּד הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִים אֲשֶׁר הוֹרִדֻהוּ שָׁמָּה׃
When Yoseph was taken down to Egypt, a certain Egyptian, Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward, bought him (as a slave) from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. (39:1)
Not long after that Yosef finds himself in trouble. Potiphar’s wife laid her eyes on him and tried to seduce him. After Yosef rebuffs her advances she falsely accuses him of inappropriate behavior towards her and Yosef is thrown into jail.
Rashi at the beginning of Chapter 39 cites a surprising Midrash that states that she had no
immoral intentions. Rather her intentions were לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, for the sake of Heaven. She foresaw by her astrological speculations that she was destined to be the ancestress of Yosef’s children — but she did not know whether these children were to be hers or her daughter’s (Beraisheet Rabbah 85:2). So she set out to fulfill the Heavenly decree. At the end though she maligned him knowing full well what the consequences for him could be. If she was acting for the sake of Heaven how could she stoop so low? Could she think that this is what G-d wants?
Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz, of blessed memory, commented that we see from here that it’s a mistake to assume that once we start an endeavor with pure motives that it will remain that way. It’s possible for a person to embark upon fulfilling Hashem’s mitzvah and then turn it into their Mitzvah. It’s no more about what Hashem wants. It’s now about what I want. For example, people may come together to discuss communal needs. Everyone is coming together, לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, for the sake of Heaven. But sometimes when people begin to disagree, what was meant to be a constructive meeting deteriorates into a destructive conflict. It’s no more about communal needs. It’s about personal preferences and ego. Potifar’s wife started off with pure intentions. But once she hit a roadblock, she turned to acting out of selfishness because she wasn’t getting what she wanted. Once it became personal, everything became fair game when it came to Yosef, the obstacle to her plans. How do we make sure that our Mitzvah stays on track? By reminding ourselves when we hit some bumps in the road that we set out on this path with holy intentions. Not only will this prevent the mitzvah from going wrong. It will be a merit for its fulfillment on a grand scale!
Shabbat Shalom!
Wishing you a Happy Chanukah!
Yitzchak