Indebted to the Difficult Times

This Dvar Torah is in memory of Gloria.

And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: 'because God has made me forget (nasheh) all my troubles - and even my father's house.'                                               Genesis 41:51

The translation, though rooted in traditional commentaries (including the two thousand year old Aramaic translation of Onkelos), is problematic. It seems strange that Joseph would name his first-born son in celebration of having forgotten his "father's house!"

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch suggests that the verb "nasheh" in our verse is properly translated as "has made me indebted" [as in Exodus 22:24, Deuteronomy 24:11]. Thus, with the birth of his first son, Joseph acknowledged that he was indebted to his difficult experiences. Having survived his brother's jealousy and hatred, their desire to kill him, being sold as a slave and imprisoned in Egypt, Joseph appreciated that each of these experiences, difficult though it was, contributed to his personal development and advancement. Further, (at least thirteen) years after having been forced to leave his father's home, Joseph more fully appreciated the debt he owed his "father's home" in determining the person he had become.

Rabbi Hirsch's translation/commentary (for every translation is also commentary) resonates especially with me now. Three weeks after Gloria's death, I have had time to reflect and more fully appreciate not only Gloria's boundless love, but what she and her love contributed to my development and to the enrichment of my life.

While I have no pretensions of reaching the level of Joseph (known traditionally as "Yoseph haTzadik" - Joseph the righteous), I do believe that even the difficult times which Gloria and I experienced made us better people, and not the least because we shared the troubles and were able to support each other.