Like a Pauper at the Door
“Pharaoh took his ring off his own hand and placed it on the hand of Joseph” (Genesis 41:42). What a divine revelation! What an open miracle! Mere minutes before, Joseph was a lowly prisoner. Now, in the blink of an eye, he had become Pharaoh’s viceroy by whose command all food would be distributed in Egypt.
This sudden turnabout was a devastating response to Joseph’s lack of trust in G-d when he asked the chief steward to save him. The Midrash states, “Joseph really only deserved ten years in prison…yet because he asked the chief steward, ‘Remember that I was with you…say something about me to Pharaoh’ (Genesis 40:14), two years were added [to his sentence]” (Shemot Rabba 7:1).
A Jew who seeks help from a non-Jew out of despair and fear, lest G-d not help him, commits a grave sin. Had Joseph approached the steward with a demand, because the steward owed him a favor, his act would not have been considered a sin. But instead he approached him with a request, thereby indicating that he needed a favor from a non-Jew and profaning G-d’s Name by implying that he did not trust the Almighty, only flesh and blood.
From here we derive a major principle regarding aid from non-Jews: If the non-Jew offers support as part of a mutual aid agreement, or payment for what he owes the Jew – we may accept it. Otherwise, we must reject it. Approaching a non-Jew or a country with a request for support – like a pauper standing at the door – demonstrates lack of faith in G-d and constitutes the ultimate Chillul Hashem.
The Jewish Idea