32. "Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon." Rabbi Aba opened the discussion with the verse, "Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope for His mercy" (Tehilim 147:11). How much the Holy One, blessed be He, delights in the righteous, for they make peace above IN ABA AND IMA, they make peace below IN ZEIR ANPIN AND NUKVA, and they bring the bride to her husband. The Holy One, blessed be He, is therefore pleased with those who fear Him and abide by His wish.
33. "Those who hope for His mercy." HE ASKS, Who are "those who hope for His mercy?" HE ANSWERS, They are the ones who study the Torah at night and join the Shechinah. When morning comes, they hope for His mercy. It has already been explained that when a man studies the Torah at night, a thread of grace is drawn upon him during the day, as it is written, "Yet Hashem will command His grace in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me" (Tehilim 42:9). Why is it said that "Hashem will command His grace in the daytime?" Because "in the night His song shall be with me." Hence the verse, "Hashem takes pleasure (in) those who fear Him," uses the particle Et instead of "in," BECAUSE HE IS NOT ONLY PLEASED WITH THEM, BUT ACT as one who pleases another and wishes to be at peace with him. It is therefore written, "Hashem takes pleasure (in) those who fear him" - WHICH MEANS THAT HE PLEASES AND APPEASES THEM, rather than "Hashem takes pleasure in those who fear Him," WHICH WOULD ONLY MEAN HE IS PLEASED WITH THEM.
34. Similarly, Joseph was sad in mind and spirit, BECAUSE he was imprisoned. Once Pharaoh had sent for him, it is written, "And they brought him hastily," which means that he appeased him and addressed him with joyful words that gladden the heart. Why? Because he was dejected FROM SITTING in the dungeon (lit. 'pit'). Come and behold, First he fell into a pit, and from the pit he later rose to greatness.
35. Rabbi Shimon said, Before the incident happened, Joseph was not called righteous. After he guarded the Holy Covenant BY NOT SINNING WITH POTIFAR'S WIFE, he was called Righteous and the grade of the Holy Covenant, YESOD, decorated him. He who was first in the dungeon, THE KLIPAH, rose from it. It is written, "And they brought him hastily out of the dungeon," for he had ascended from THE KLIPAH and was adorned with a well of living water, THE SHECHINAH.
36. "Then Pharaoh sent for and called Joseph." HE SAID, It should have been written "to call Joseph" INSTEAD OF "AND CALLED," WHICH INTERRUPTS THE PHRASE. HE ANSWERS, It was the Holy One, blessed be He, WHO CALLED TO BRING HIM FROM THE PIT, as it is written, "until the time that His word came to pass, the word of Hashem had tested him" (Tehilim 105:19). The verse, "until the time that His word came to pass" is similar to the phrase, "and called Joseph," FOR IT WAS THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, WHO CALLED HIM. It is written here "and called Joseph" and elsewhere "And He called to Moses" (Vayikra 1:1). IN BOTH PASSAGES, IT WAS THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, WHO CALLED HIM. "And he shaved himself, and changed his garments" out of respect for the king, AS HE HAD TO STAND BEFORE PHARAOH.
37. Rabbi Elazar opened the discussion with the verse, "So Yisrael came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham" (Vayikra 1:23). Come and behold, The Holy One, blessed be He, directs events and fulfills vows and oaths in order to fulfill the vow and edict He decreed.
38. We have learned that were it not for the fondness and affection the Holy One, blessed be He, bore for the Patriarchs, Jacob would have had to go down to Egypt in iron chains. In His love for them, He made Joseph, His son, ruler and governor over the whole land. The tribes then went to Egypt honored, and Jacob was as a king.
39. Come and behold, it is written, "So Yisrael came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham." HE ASKS, Because it is written, "So Yisrael came into Egypt," it is understood that Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. Why should he have added that? HE REPLIES, "So Yisrael came into Egypt" refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, NAMELY, ZEIR ANPIN CALLED YISRAEL, AND "and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham" refers to Jacob, because it was for the sake of Jacob, and his sons that the Shechinah came down to Egypt. The Holy One, blessed be He, planned events so that Joseph was brought down first; for, as a result of his merit, the Covenant dwelt with him and made him ruler over the whole land.
40. It is written, "The king sent and let him loose: and the ruler of the people let him go free" (Tehilim 105:20). Rabbi Shimon said, It is written, "Hashem lets loose the prisoners" (Tehilim 146:7), and "The king sent and let him loose." Why DID HE REPEAT THE THOUGHT BY SAYING, "and the ruler of the people let him go free?" HE ANSWERS, "The king" is the Holy One, blessed be He, and the "ruler of the people" is the Holy One, blessed be He. THE MEANING OF THE VERSE IS, "The king" refers to the supernal king, ZEIR ANPIN, who "sent and let him loose." Whom did he send? The redeeming angel, THE NUKVA, who is "ruler of the people" and rules below IN THE LOWER WORLD. All comes from the Holy One, blessed be He.
41. The word, vayritzuhu ("and they brought him hastily") is spelled without the letter Vav TO INDICATE THAT IT IS SINGULAR INSTEAD OF PLURAL. Who BROUGHT HIM HASTILY FROM THE DUNGEON? The Holy One, blessed be He, for there is no one else who imprisons and frees people from prison, as it is written, "He shuts up a man, and there can be no opening" (Iyov 12:14) and "When He gives quietness, who then can condemn? and when He hides His face, who then can behold Him? Whether against a nation, or against a man alike" (Iyov 34:29). For everything depends upon Him, as it is written, "and He does according to His will in the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say to Him, What do you?" (Daniel 4:32). Hence it is written, "And they (he) brought him hastily out of the dungeon," THAT IS, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, BROUGHT HIM HASTILY OUT OF THE DUNGEON.