Now Yosef could not bear all those standing beside him, and he called out, "Take everyone away from me!" So no one stood with him when Yosef made himself known to his brothers. [Vayigash 45:1]
Yosef could not bear that Egyptians would stand beside him and hear his brothers being embarrassed when he would make himself known to them. [Rashi]
We can learn from the example of Yosef towards his brothers that one should never seek revenge against a person who causes him any form of distress or damage. Rather, one should repay even a guilty offender with kindness. [Tanya ch.12]
Why should we be kind to guilty offenders?
Because whatever that person did to you ultimately stems from G-d. The person was merely an agent from G-d, Who decreed that this thing should happen to you.
Thus, since "everything that G-d does is for the good", you must repay the person - who brought this "good" to you - with kindness.
Source: Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe
Thank you for this reminder... *:-)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like "turn the other cheek". I was always taught this is not Jewish morality. Comments?
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I would say that anything in the Xtian religion originally stemmed from the Torah, although they have corrupted the teachings.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, the Torah also teaches us that if someone comes to kill us, we should kill them first. Definitely not turning the other cheek.
In this instance, the discussion is about general [maybe trivial] events in a person's life.
Not directly related to this topic,
ReplyDeleteJust saw the news of Sholom Rubashkin.. And the joyous dancing of his release now hope Jonathan Pollard will be freed soon.. Amen..
And then makes on thinks how truly Glorious it will be When Mashiach comes..
May it all happden soon Amen.
stella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_TWATI5E38
I see on many website articles about a Rav. Rubashkin. who is Rav. Rubashkin? Why was he put in jail? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteNot a Rav, but his name is [Rabbi] Rubashkin, he owned a meat production plant in Iowa and was unfairly sentenced to 28 years for various reasons which I don't want to go into here. He served just over 8 years and was then released by President Trump on the last day of Chanukah. This is seen as a miraculous event by many people.
ReplyDeleteRe the sicho - Couldn't one also argue that if the original victim did indeed take revenge, by word or deed, then the ultimate revenge suffered by the first sinner, was likewise the will of Hashem?
ReplyDeleteYes that would be true, but don't forget that the person who causes the damage is also punished by Hashem, and if the victim chooses to take matters into his own hand and seek revenge, he will also be punished for that... and/or it would mean that he failed the test and will be given more tzures as a result.
ReplyDelete