In this week’s Parsha, Yosef reveals his identity to his brothers. He says the two dramatic words – Ani Yosef – I am Yosef!” These two words shocked and shook Yosef’s brothers to the core. The brothers’ accusation, fear, and punitive action against Yosef were all wrong. For years they perceived Yosef as a vain dreamer seeking to sabotage Hashem’s plans, but now they realized that Yosef was a Tzaddik, and that Hashem chose him to safeguard their family during the famine.
I heard from my father, Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlita, that Rav Avrohom Pam zt”l taught that there would come a time when we will all experience a riveting “Ani Yosef” moment. There will come a time when we will also be shocked and shaken. The people that we belittled or disrespected will say, “Ani Yosef” – “You were wrong!” We will see how much we misjudged and misconstrued people. We will see how wrong we were. When we deal with others, we must be so careful. We must treat everyone with warmth, love, and respect.
A few decades ago, my grandfather, Rav Daniel Fingerer shlita, was teaching for an institution, and each day he would always see an older man sweeping the floors and cleaning the building. My grandfather assumed that the man was the custodian. He was very meticulous about his job. One day, my grandfather came in and the custodian wasn’t there. A week passed and the man didn’t return. My grandfather became a little concerned. The custodian wasn’t the type of guy to take a vacation. He was very devoted to his job. My grandfather went to the doorman and asked him about the custodian. He was told that the custodian had a heart attack and that he was recovering in the hospital. My grandfather decided to visit him.
The next day, my grandfather got the custodian’s room number and went to the hospital. As he stepped out of the elevator, he saw something very strange. There was a man was leaving the room of the custodian and as he got closer, my grandfather saw that it was none other than the president of the entire institution! My grandfather was shocked. The wealthy and prominent president was visiting the simple custodian! That’s impressive! After all, how many people care about a custodian – especially the president?
When the president left the room, my grandfather went in and started speaking to him. Before he left, he said, “It’s amazing that the president came to visit you! That was very special of him.” The custodian turned to my grandfather and said, “Don’t you think a son should visit his father?” My grandfather says, “What do you mean? Do you mean to tell me you’re the president’s father?” The custodian said, “Yes, that’s right. I bought my son the building and I want to take care of it and make sure that it shines and sparkles. Every day I clean the building that I bought to take care of it. I’m not the custodian, I’m the president’s father.
This was an “Ani Yosef” moment. The man who my grandfather thought was the custodian, was the father of the president! He was the man who bought the entire institution. He was the man who paid all the bills. We all have people in our lives whom we may not treat respectfully or appropriately. We sometimes look at people and think that they are just something small. We never know how great a person is. Let’s treat others with dignity and love and come to recognize our dear brothers!
