BackThe Joseph Success Model
By: Rabbi Barak Bar-Chaim
“Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chamberlain, chief of the slaughterers, an Egyptian man, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and whatever he (Joseph) did the Lord made prosper in his hand.” (Genesis 39:1-3)
Our sages (in Midrash Tanchuma) question how Potiphar, a wicked person, saw that God was with Joseph? One can understand that he saw that Joseph was successful, but how did he see that this resulted from God being with Joseph? Our sages answer that Potiphar noticed that God’s name never left Joseph’s mouth. When Joseph went to serve Potiphar, he would whisper: “Master of The Universe, You are my trust, You are my solution, grant me grace, kindness and compassion in Your eyes, and in the eyes of all those who see me, and in the eyes of Potiphar my master.” Potiphar would ask: “What are you whispering? Are you involved in sorcery?” Joseph would answer: “No (I am not involved in sorcery), rather I pray to God that I find favor in your eyes.”
Potiphar witnessed Joseph constantly talking to God and Joseph’s subsequent success, which lead Potiphar to attribute Joseph’s success to his relationship with God. The Torah, therefore, testifies that Potiphar saw that God was with Joseph.
Joseph is the model for how we are to live our lives. We are to work and exert ourselves in earthly endeavors, and we are to simultaneously pray to God with humility for success. Let us do this in our personal lives and let us demonstrate to all we encounter that God is with us!