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why was yosef punished?

Written by D Fine

The final rashi in the sedra reveals to us that Yosef was punished by HaShem with a further 2 years imprisonment. What was his crime?

For he told the sar hamashkim (chief butler)that when you get out of jail, go remind Pharoah of me (Yosef). ie – he relied on an Egyptain and not on HaShem to get him out of jail.

But why is this a crime; isn’t in a basic principle that one does hishtadlus and does not aim to rely on miracles; surely Yosef was just playing his physical part?

One answer is that the exit from prison was (and did eventully occur 2 years later) to be on Rosh HaShanah, and though the rest of the year hishtadlus is important, Rosh HaShanah is the forging of a direct connection between us and HaShem. Therefore, for Yosef to act via a human agent to facilitate his leaving jail was not inkeeping with the Rosh HaShanah spirit.

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