Let’s stop here and consider what we have read and all that happened to Yosef ben Yaakov. Yosef is only seventeen years old when he is abducted by his brothers and sold to a traveling band of merchants as they are making their way southeast towards Egypt. The Torah tells us that he is just a ‘youth’ (a na’ar), the apple of his father’s eye. Now he is exposed to a harsh journey, not knowing where it will end. Making due in the house of his master, he thinks he may have carved out a place for himself running Potiphar’s household – when he finds himself accused unjustly and a prisoner in a foreign land. He thinks – how long can my imprisonment last? Certainly not too long; I am not even guilty of a crime! But the imprisonment lasts eleven years – eleven long years to consider all that has happened to him; to contemplate the meaning of life; to try and make sense of all that has occurred.

We really must stop and ask a very obvious question: How is it, after all these years of adversity, triggered by cruel abandonment, Yosef is still Yosef Hatzaddik? We know that he is still ‘righteous’ because the first words out of his mouth – when presented with a pretty good chance of ‘freedom’ – is that G-d is the One Who runs the world! We know that before his incarceration, he was at a certain level of tziddkus (righteousness) because he refuses to give in to ‘relative ethics’ and sleep with his master’s wife:  adultery is wrong under any circumstances [“How can I perpetrate this great evil and sin against G-d?” Genesis 39:9].

The question of Yosef’s tziddkus is not a trivial one and it behooves us to try and understand what makes a youth like Yosef transform into Yosef Hatzaddik – despite the adverse circumstances which we have described? Read an article today about someone who survived similar experiences, and we would not be surprised at all to learn that he/she had adopted/adjusted to their new environment, abandoning old values for new, giving up that ‘old-time’ religion for greater gain in a hedonistic and materialistic society – in other words, assimilating into their new ‘reality’. How was it that Yosef did not do this; just the opposite – he became spiritually greater, always growing in his relationship with G-d, eventually becoming a great and inspirational leader amongst men!

To those who have more than a basic understanding of Judaism and Jewish values, the single word answer to this conundrum is not hard to find; in fact, it is obvious. That word is chinuch. The Hebrew word chinuch has a double meaning (with both meanings in common usage; i.e. no esoteric revelations are needed here) and the two meanings are related to one another. One meaning of the word is education, and the other meaning of the word is dedication. I don’t think one needs to be a Talmudic scholar to understand that without education, there can be no dedication.

Chinuch – especially educating one’s children – is an essential cornerstone for the continuance of meaningful practice and observance amongst Jews who are dedicated to the Torah’s ideals and values. Parents will make tremendous sacrifices in order to ensure that their children receive high-quality Jewish education. A Midrash tells us that before Yaakov and his sons and their families made the final move to Egypt, some of the family members were sent ahead to Goshen to set up schools of Jewish learning in anticipation of the newly transported Jewish community. For most observant families, fancy cars and expensive vacations, as well as fancy accessories in home or fashion, are willingly and happily sacrificed on the altar of Jewish education. The concept of education as a necessity is encapsulated in the phrase for a Talmudic scholar, who is a talmid chacham i.e. a wise student. Education never stops, no matter what your age, your station in life, or your religious status – every Jew has an obligation to provide chinuch to their children, to themselves, and to other members of their community. When wrapped up in genuine love and care, chinuch is the essential ingredient to Jewish continuity.

What chinuch did Yosef Hatzaddik receive growing up in Yaakov’s home? Surely he knew the Shema, that the L-rd is our G-d and that He is One – that no matter what happens in one’s life, whether you understand events or not, whether they seem good or bad … G-d is One and knows what is happening in the world at large and in your own personal world. He must have been taught that everything is for the best, and that kol mah d’avad Rachmana l’tova hee – everything the Merciful One does is for the good. He must have been taught the Torah imperative of v’ahavta l’rei’a’cha ka’mocha – that you should love, and respect, you neighbor as yourself, and what is hateful to you, you should not do to your neighbor. And these key Jewish ideals stuck with him even through adversity, so that he stayed in touch with G-d and treated all his contacts with respect and kindness.
And because of his dedication to G-d, G-d was dedicated to him, protecting and shielding him from lasting harm. Because of his integrity and humility, the verse in ISamuel 2:30 applies to Yosef: “Those that honor Me, I will honor” [Midrash HaGadol].

Without chinuch, there is nothing. Those Jews who give their children a minimum of Jewish education – i.e. just a few hours after public school, and only up until Bar or Bas Mitzvah (and not even that if it conflicts with music lessons or sports events) – middah k’neged middah will get a minimal return for their ‘efforts’ with their very observant (sic) children, who will come to realize that this Jewish ‘stuff’ is of secondary importance and just not worth the effort. How can one be expected to apply the deep Jewish philosophic solutions to life’s most vexing questions armed with only a minimally elementary Jewish education? Of course, it’s simply not possible. 

A true story: Many years ago, I was davening shacharis in my mother-in-law’s house. A close relative’s ten-year-old son saw me putting on tefillin and wanted to know what they were. I explained to him, and asked him if he knew of any Jewish observances. No. Did he know the Shema? No. Did he ever learn anything about being Jewish? No. I asked his father why he didn’t give any Jewish education to his children. He answered that he didn’t want to ‘brainwash’ his children, and wanted them to be able to ‘make their own choice’ in the matter. Knowing that this father was an avid soccer player, I asked if he was teaching his kids how to play soccer. Of course he was! I countered: but wasn’t he adversely influencing his children in favor of soccer over other sports; wasn’t he being unfair, not letting them make their own decision? He refused to concede the point, and to this day his children are ignorant of key Jewish beliefs and concepts and well away on the road to assimilation.

When a new house or building is established, we call that chanukas ha’bayis – dedication of the house. What is implied is that that house or building has a purpose, and we propose to fulfill that stated purpose through our actions. When a couple marries and establishes a new home, the purpose of that newly married couple in that home is to firmly implant traditional Jewish values within its boundaries, taking care that the inhabitants are protected from adverse influences and are conversely exposed to all the best our Torah-based heritage has to offer.

When the Temple in Jerusalem was built, that was also the Chanukas haBayis; of course, its purpose was service of G-d in all its forms and magnificence. The current holiday of Chanukah is about the rededication of the Temple after the Hasmoneans reclaimed control of the holy city of Jerusalem and its environs from the Syrian Greeks. The sacrifices of Judah HaMaccabee and his followers were only possible because they knew what they were fighting for; without education, there is no dedication. In those days and at that time, G-d honored our dedication with the miracle of the oil. I remember hearing a quote from R’ Noach Weinberg, zt”l:  If you don't know what you are willing to die for, you haven't really begun to live.

Chanukas ha’bayis can also mean that education begins at home. Yosef Hatzaddik reached his full potential because of the loving, enthusiastic education he received at home. Showing your kids, your family and your acquaintances that your love of Judaism means you are ready and willing to make sacrifices for it will make it possible for them to carry the torch of Judaism into their own lives and into the lives of their own children. We give our children a blessing on Shabbos and Yom Tov, praying that “G-d will make you like Ephraim and Menasheh” – Yosef’s two sons who were born into royalty in Egyptian society, but nevertheless were educated about their Jewish identity and dedicated their lives to their people. By learning about the life of Yosef Hatzaddik, we can come to a greater understanding of chinuch and redirect our own efforts towards reaching our own true potential.