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Thought for the Day: Preparation for Greatness and a Message Learned as a Child in the Holocaust

R' Biderman tells over a vort from R' Shmuel Berenbaum, z"tzl, regarding the mission of Yosef HaTzadik. When revealing his identity to the brothers in Mitzrayim, Yosef tells them not to be troubled that they sold him into slavery to Mitzrayim, because HaShem had a plan for him to be there to provide food for his entire family. R' Berenbaum asked: If that was his mission, then why did he have to go through the trials with Potiphar's wife, and then prison before Paroh had his dreams? Why couldn't Paroh have his dreams right away and Potiphar could tell him about his amazing slave and just get to his mission?

R' Berenbaum explained: one who has never experienced real hardship himself cannot help others. He can't really feel their pain, he can't understand their distress. All that Yosef went through for all those years was not "and he also had to suffer this and that"; it was training for his job of taking care of his family

There are obvious lessons for all of us from that, but I saw a beautiful and powerful message from a 94 year old holocaust who now lives in Israel. She relates that she remembers once everyone sheltering from a bombing run in Belgium in the basement of a church. 100s of people, each person was davening and saying t'hillim by heart. She was a little girl and didn't know t'hillim by heart. She could only remember one thing: the bracha for bread -- המוציא לחם מן הארץ. It was all that she could remember, so she just said it over and over again, with the sincerity and intensity that only a child can muster. Her whole family was saved.

She ended up by giving a message to the soldiers: say this bracha with a small change -- ask HaShem to be מוציא us from this terrible לחימה/battle. Say it over and over.

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