We continue with yesterday's thought, which is that when Hashem wants something to happen, it will happen and people just won't see. They'll be blinded. Another example of this is the story of Moshe Rabbenu in the palace of Paroah. Paroah makes a decree that all Jewish children are to be thrown into the Nile. Why? Because he sees a vision that the savior of the Jewish people will be born. It is unclear if he's a Jew or an Egyptian, because as we know, Paroah raised Moshe palace and therefore he got conflicting signals from the stars, whether it was a Jew or Egyptian, so all boys had to be thrown into the Nile. That's how determined Paroah was to stop this child from becoming the savior. And yet under his nose, his daughter takes a baby out of the Nile, brings him into the house, raises him and even has a Jewish wet nurse nurse him. What’s more, Moshe actually takes the crown off of Paroah’s head and yet Paroah just doesn't see what's going on. Again, our answer is, if Hashem doesn't want you to see, you're not going to see. Hashem makes things happen whether you like it or not.
I would like to share a thought that came to my mind based on a Dvar Torah I’ve said in the past, that the Kli Yakar says that Paroah didn't know Yosef.
What does that mean? Simply it means that either he didn't know who Yosef was, or he forgot about Yosef and didn't have proper gratitude to Yosef. But the Kli Yakar says it means he didn't learn the lesson of Yosef. Based on what we’ve said in the past two lessons, I'd like to offer a novel explanation of this lesson-Paroah didn't know the lesson of Yosef, which is that if God wants to blind you, He will blind you and you won't see the most obvious thing that's right in front of your face. You just won't see it.
If Paroah would've known that, he would've realized that all the decrees in the world would not work.
God will show you that you are going to raise the savior in your own palace, under your nose, and you're just not going to see it.
You didn't learn the lesson of Yosef. You can't work against God's plan. The Kli Yakar’s explanation, which is not a contradiction to what I'm saying now, is that the lesson of Yosef is that when you try to outsmart God, it backfires. The tribes wanted to make Yosef into a slave so that he wouldn't become king, but they made him into King by selling him into a slave. Paroah didn't learn that lesson. You want to stop the savior? Your decree of throwing the babies into the river will create the savior because your daughter's going to take him out and he'll be raised in princely ways in your palace. He'll become a leader because your palace raised him with royal ways. So he won’t have a slave mentality, he'll have a princely mentality. And who created that? Your decree.
Asher Lo Yadaat Yosef. He didn’t know Yosef.
Both lessons are true:
-He didn't realize that if you try to work against God, it backfires.
-He didn't realize that God can blind you and even if things are right in front of your eyes, you won't see them.
This lesson is brought out in a midrash raba ( Bereshit 53,14), which people use as a segula for a lost object. It says about Hagar, “God opened her eyes.” And Rabi Binyamin says, “Everyone is assumed to be blind until God opens up their eyes,’ because here it says, “God opened her eyes,” and she filled up the jug.” That means the well was always there. She was just blinded so she didn't see it.
So, there are two sides to this coin. One side is that God can blind you so that you won't see what you're not supposed to see. And the second side is that He'll open your eyes to see when you are supposed to see.
Sometimes you're supposed to see a problem. Sometimes you're supposed to be aware of something and you become aware of it and no one else knows about it. It’s there to protect you, to stop something from happening that would've otherwise happened. You suddenly get that piece of information that stops the shidduch. Sometimes people almost say, “Why’d I find out? I wish I wouldn't have known.”
When you're supposed to know, you will know. He'll open your eyes. When you're not supposed to know, He will blind you. That is Hashem's power and control over this world.
That is an important lesson in everyday life.