Vayeishev 39:8 · EXTRA

EXTRA · Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 39:8 · not a Torah Temimah citation on this passuk

The Complete Passuk

וַיְמָאֵ֓ן ׀ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־אֵ֣שֶׁת אֲדֹנָ֔יו הֵ֣ן אֲדֹנִ֔י לֹא־יָדַ֥ע אִתִּ֖י מַה־בַּבָּ֑יִת וְכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־יֶשׁ־ל֖וֹ נָתַ֥ן בְּיָדִֽי׃

But he refused. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master gives no thought to anything in this house, and all that he owns he has placed in my hands.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Classical source (EXTRA side-ring): Midrash Tanchuma Vayeishev 8.

Sefaria — Midrash Tanchuma Vayeishev 8

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וַיְמָאֵן — זֶה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בָּרוּךְ הַגֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר יִבְטַח בַּה׳.

English: “And he refused” — this is what is said: “Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem.”

In context: Yosef’s refusal is held up as the model of trust that resists temptation.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Tanchuma) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Refusal is paired with the verse of trust in Hashem.

What Is Learned

The strength to refuse is the practical form of bitachon — trust in Hashem rather than in circumstance.