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Biography of Yehuda Katz | Archives | This week's Parsha
Vayeshev "and Yosef came in to the deputies of Paroh in the morning and saw that they are depressed. And Yosef asked them...... why are you sad?"(40:6-7) From Yosef we can learn a very valuable lesson in the performance of kindness. Here Yosef was (1) hated by his brothers, (2)living in an immoral society, and(3) in prison, and still Yosef is concerned with the emotional well being of Parohs imprisoned deputies......Yosef was himself impoverished at this point , yet he still found a way to do kindness....... There is a common misconception that many people have about doing kindness , namely that only the wealthy have the opportunity to be gracious. Yosef proved that this is not the case whatsoever...... Rabbenu Yonah,ZECHER LABROCHA, wrote in the "IGARET HATESHUVA" (yom gimmel or 3, paragraph 27) that even if someone is poor, he or she can still do acts of kindness with their mouths...Any kind or gracious word can do a world of good to any downtrodden person. A person should never underestimate the value of a kind word on the emotional state of any person....... Yosef showed us the power of our speech.....Let us all do kindness with our mouths, it doesnt cost anything, yet the rewards are great as CHAZAl had taught(Bava Bathra 9a) that whoever gives a coin to the poor earns 6 blessings, while one who reassures with his speech earns 11 blessings.(refer there).........Let us all be great and gracious philanthropists with our mouths........Have a good Shabbos..... |
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