"And it was at the end of two full years that Pharaoh was dreaming, and behold, he was standing by the Nile." (41:1)
With this event, Yosef Hatzaddik is finally remembered and taken out of prison, then elevated to one of the most powerful positions in the world at that time.
As a springboard off this idea of a high-ranking person (Pharoah) remembering someone forgotten or disregarded by society and the elite (Yosef Hatzaddik), the Kli Yakar mentions the philosophers who look at the vastness and intricacies of the universe and conclude that Hashem cannot possibly be involved in every little detail of the world; they firmly deny the fact that Hashem cares about even the lowliest and smallest people.
And yet, the Kli Yakar points out, Hashem is certainly with the lowliest and most humble people because even His 4-letter Name is written with the smallest letters (like the tiny yud or the broken-up hei, for example) and whose gematria (numeric value) is very low:
Yud = 10 (the very lowest of the double-digit numbers)
Hei = 5
Vav = 6
(Remember, the hei appears twice in the 4-Letter Name.)
Hashem certainly could have spelled His Name with a tav (400) or a kuf (100) or even a lamed (30). But instead, He chose letters of low numerical value.
The Kli Yakar then quotes the Gemara Megillah, which states that "every place you find the Greatness of the Holy One Blessed Be He, you also find His Humility."
Then the Kli Yakar states:
With this event, Yosef Hatzaddik is finally remembered and taken out of prison, then elevated to one of the most powerful positions in the world at that time.
As a springboard off this idea of a high-ranking person (Pharoah) remembering someone forgotten or disregarded by society and the elite (Yosef Hatzaddik), the Kli Yakar mentions the philosophers who look at the vastness and intricacies of the universe and conclude that Hashem cannot possibly be involved in every little detail of the world; they firmly deny the fact that Hashem cares about even the lowliest and smallest people.
And yet, the Kli Yakar points out, Hashem is certainly with the lowliest and most humble people because even His 4-letter Name is written with the smallest letters (like the tiny yud or the broken-up hei, for example) and whose gematria (numeric value) is very low:
Yud = 10 (the very lowest of the double-digit numbers)
Hei = 5
Vav = 6
(Remember, the hei appears twice in the 4-Letter Name.)
Hashem certainly could have spelled His Name with a tav (400) or a kuf (100) or even a lamed (30). But instead, He chose letters of low numerical value.
The Kli Yakar then quotes the Gemara Megillah, which states that "every place you find the Greatness of the Holy One Blessed Be He, you also find His Humility."
Then the Kli Yakar states:
Therefore, this is the essence of the Great Name. It is a sign and a promise to those among the lowly ones that the Holy One Blessed Be He remembers them and watches over them....And Hashem’s nature is not like the nature of a person of flesh and blood, who doesn’t watch over or remember one who is on a lower level than him.
It is mind-boggling to contemplate the universe, from the unseen meteors whizzing around to galaxies farther away than the most powerful telescope can see, and then to contemplate the tiniest aspects of Creation, such as microscopic entities or the not-yet-discovered creatures at the bottom of the ocean, and to realize that Hashem is micro-managing all that and much, much more.
It is beyond our abilities to imagine even one second of all that Hashem does.
And yet, He brings Himself down to us, so to speak, so that we can reach Him.
He even puts up with millions of people slandering Him, misrepresenting Him, hating Him and resenting Him, ignoring Him, or writing books and conducting lectures that weave intricate confusions all for the sake of denying His obvious Existence.
He gives us multiple opportunities to improve, even as we fall repeatedly.
He continually supports us, even when we act as if He doesn't Exist (though we may at the same time proclaim our belief in Him).
Humility is truly one of the hardest traits to acquire. Yet as explained above, it is also one of the most Divine traits.
Only through humility can a person emulate Hashem's Attributes and be truly compassionate and slow to anger and brimming with loving-kindness and more.
Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz (1550-1619) lived in Bohemia (which is today Poland and Czechoslovakia). He served as rabbi and dayan and wrote several books, the most well-known being his commentary on the Chumash known as the Kli Yakar.
This is my own translation and any errors are also mine.
It is beyond our abilities to imagine even one second of all that Hashem does.
And yet, He brings Himself down to us, so to speak, so that we can reach Him.
He even puts up with millions of people slandering Him, misrepresenting Him, hating Him and resenting Him, ignoring Him, or writing books and conducting lectures that weave intricate confusions all for the sake of denying His obvious Existence.
He gives us multiple opportunities to improve, even as we fall repeatedly.
He continually supports us, even when we act as if He doesn't Exist (though we may at the same time proclaim our belief in Him).
Humility is truly one of the hardest traits to acquire. Yet as explained above, it is also one of the most Divine traits.
Only through humility can a person emulate Hashem's Attributes and be truly compassionate and slow to anger and brimming with loving-kindness and more.
Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz (1550-1619) lived in Bohemia (which is today Poland and Czechoslovakia). He served as rabbi and dayan and wrote several books, the most well-known being his commentary on the Chumash known as the Kli Yakar.
This is my own translation and any errors are also mine.
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