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How can the same act—Potiphar's wife approaching Yosef—be called both "for the sake of Heaven" and characterized as an "evil wild beast"? The shiur reveals two distinct encounters: the first driven by a prophetic vision (analogous to Tamar's intent), the second by wounded ego and revenge. True l'shem Shamayim benefits God, not merely one's own spiritual ambitions.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a profound contradiction in Parshas Vayeishev. When Yaakov sees Yosef's bloodied tunic, he declares prophetically, "An evil beast devoured him" (Bereishis 37:33). Rashi (רש"י) explains this refers to Potiphar's wife, who would later try to seduce Yosef. Yet the Gemara (גמרא) and Midrash say her act was "for the sake of Heaven"—she had astrological signs that she would bear children with Yosef. The Torah (תורה) juxtaposes her story with Tamar's, who also acted l'shem Shamayim to produce children through Yehuda. How can the same person be both holy and an evil beast? The answer lies in recognizing that the Torah presents two separate encounters, not one. The first incident (Bereishis 39:7) occurs immediately after Yosef arrives: she directly proposes, "Be with me." Yosef responds with an eloquent 33-word refusal, emphasizing the moral betrayal of Potiphar's trust and concluding with just two words about it being a capital sin. The Torah's word ratio teaches that character flaws—betraying trust—are 16.5 times more serious than even capital offenses. At this stage, her motivation was genuinely tied to a prophetic vision of bearing children—parallel to Tamar's intent.
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Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Bereishis 37:33, 39:7-12
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Why does the Torah separate Avrohom's eulogy for Sarah from his crying for her? The shiur shows that Sarah required a public eulogy focused on the communal loss of a leader, not Avrohom's private grief. This teaches that we must view Jewish tragedies through a national lens first, seeing attacks on Am Yisrael as collective losses that dwarf personal concerns.
