Life and Legacy: Powerful Lessons from Yosef HaTzaddik:

In the Torah portion of Vayeshev, we read the dramatic and inspiring life story of Yosef HaTzaddik, the firstborn son of Rachel Imeinu and the eleventh son of Yaakov Avinu.

Following are 10 facts about Yosef HaTzaddik:

1. Fear of Heaven (Yirat Shamayim)

Yosef was deeply God-fearing. When his brothers came down to Egypt — believing he was the Egyptian ruler, he told them: “I fear God.” 

The Ramban writes about Yosef’s resistance to Potiphar’s wife: “The Torah tells us that he refused her, even though she was his master’s wife and he feared her — because he feared God more.”

2. God’s Name Was Always on His Lips

Rashi comments on the verse “God was with Yosef, and he became a successful man…”: “The name of Heaven was fluent in his mouth.” The Midrash teaches: “He whispered when he entered, and he whispered when he exited.” Meaning that every action Yosef took was accompanied by a whispered prayer:

• To the ministers of Pharaoh: “Do not interpretations belong to God?”

• To Pharaoh: “God will answer the welfare of Pharaoh.”

• To his brothers: “God sent me before you to preserve life.”

• Before his death: “God will surely remember you.”

3. He Believed Everything Was for the Good

Despite his brothers’ harsh actions — plotting to kill him, throwing him in a pit, and selling him, Yosef held no resentment. He told them: “You intended evil against me, but God intended it for good… to preserve a great nation.”

4. Honoring His Father With Mesirut Nefesh

When Yaakov asked Yosef to check on his brothers, Yosef obeyed — even though he knew they hated him. That journey led to his sale to Egypt.

5. Guarding His Tongue

Yosef never told Yaakov that his brothers had sold him. The Midrash even teaches that after reuniting with his father decades later, Yosef never met Yaakov alone — so Yaakov would not ask how he ended up in Egypt.

6. Respect for the Sons of the Maidservants

Yosef ensured his brothers would not feel shame:

• He gave all his brothers clothing so none would feel inferior.

• He relocated all of Egypt “from one end to the other” so Israel would not be embarrassed at having no fixed land.

• When revealing himself, he sent all his attendants out — despite risking that his powerful brothers might harm him — so that they would not be humiliated in front of strangers.

7. Humility

The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah) states: “Even though Yosef became king, he did not become arrogant. Just as he saw himself as small at the beginning — when he was a slave, so he saw himself as small after becoming king.”

8. Moral Strength and Purity

Yosef earned the unique title “HaTzaddik (the righteous one)” because he resisted the temptation of Potiphar’s wife. In Kabbalah, Yosef represents the Sefirah of Yesod, associated with holiness and guarding the covenant. He is compared to a strong ox: “The majesty of his firstborn bull…”

9. Divine Inspiration

Yosef merited Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration) from youth until his final day. The Midrash says: “God was with Yosef in prosperity and in suffering.” Even the prison warden trusted him completely, for “God was with him.”

10. A Segulah Against the Evil Eye

About Yosef it is said: “Ben Porat Yosef, a fruitful son above the eye,” meaning that the evil eye has no power over his descendants.
A known segulah to ward off ayin hara is saying: “I am from the seed of Yosef, over whom the evil eye has no power.”