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by Moshe Burt
In previous years, this author has written about Yosef’s being thrown in a bor (pit) seething with snakes and scorpions — yet emerging unscathed, his being sold and ensuing journey to Mitzrayim and his slavery, his imprisonment and his liberation and ascendency to the position of Viceroy, second only to Pharoh. And this author wrote a vort based on Jay Shapiro’s book “Almost Midrash.” Shapiro encorporated the story of Yosef into a fictional story entitled “Duaf of Memphis” and this author dealt with the contrast of Yosef in Mitzrayim, the years after Yosef and the other brothers were niftar and the ensuing long period of cruel bondage; and persecution and the dialogue of Page 13 A & B of Gemora Megillah Esther (the dialogue between Achashveirosh and Haman resulting in the evil decree against the Jews). The point of the Torah Vort at that time was that with longevity in Shushan and throughout Achashveirosh’s Empire, as in Mitzrayim, the Jews were disparaged as either useless or too powerful. In both cases, the antagonists conveniently forgot about Yosef and the Jews got comfortable, complacent, sought to own property and saw where they were at the time as home and forgot and lost track of who and what they are. This is a point and lesson which Jews keep having to learn time and again throughout our history, including here and now in our times in Eretz Yisrael in dealing with a cruel, corrupt ruling regime in Medina Yisrael. read more
