Joseph the Tzaddik – Vayyiggash
But only one Biblical figure is called Tzaddik – a righteous man. That Biblical figure is Joseph, whose dramatic life history continues in this week’s Torah reading.
The name Yosef HaTzaddik must have been earned by actions that gave pleasure and inspiration to those who read his story.
Clearly it was not his youthful arrogance and egotism that impressed the rabbis. Nor could it have been his capacity to interpret dreams, or his ability as an organiser. Whatever this denoted, however significant it turned out to be, it did not necessarily constitute righteousness.
Where, then, and at what crucial turning point of his life, did Joseph show he was a Tzaddik?
The answer must be connected with the episode of Potiphar’s wife. Into her house the handsome young Hebrew came every day as manager of her husband’s business affairs.
The Torah states quite clearly that he was “fair of form and fair of appearance”. She found him attractive, and it is likely that he too was attracted by her. But when it came to the point that she sought to entice him to sleep with her, Joseph refused.
The musical note above the Hebrew for “refused” is shalshelet, literally meaning a chain. It is a long, drawn out, repetitive note that suggests hesitation and mental conflict on Joseph’s part. But in the end Joseph knew he must not, could not and would not sin.
The sages say that at that moment he saw in his mind’s eye the face of his father Jacob, and that gave him the strength to resist temptation.
What made Joseph a Tzaddik? The capacity for moral strength.
Rav Soloveitchik makes a distinction between two Hebrew words for strength – ko’ach and g’vurah. The first, he suggests, relates to man as a natural being, whose strength is seen in the use of his energies.
The second denotes man as a spiritual being. Irrespective of physical strength, the person with g’vurah has the moral strength to do what looks absurd, illogical, and even against one’s interests.
By the normal criteria of what appeals to and gives gratification to a human being, Joseph would have enjoyed being seduced by Potiphar’s wife. But he refused!
Whilst Soloveitchik’s distinction between the two types of strength is not directly linked with the concept of righteousness, it helps us in our attempt to define the Tzaddik.
The Ashrei psalm (Psalm 145) says, Tzaddik HaShem b’chol d’rachav, usually translated “The Lord is righteous in all His ways”. I once heard an explanation that said these words might be rendered. “The Tzaddik has the Lord In al his ways” – i.e. wherever Tzaddikim go, wherever they find themselves, the presence of God goes with them (in a sense like the thought of Jacob that was with Joseph at the moment of crisis) and gives them the capacity for moral courage, regardless of whether others would be satisfied with lesser standards at that moment.
To be Yosef HaTzaddik is difficult. But it is possible. Are you a Tzaddik if you have never been tempted to sin? Perhaps. But if you nave cleansed yourself of sin. or been strong enough to refuse to succumb, that is certainly evidence of tzidkut!
