"Hi, everyone. I'm home," announced Pini as he came through the door.

"Hello, Pini," his mother greeted him. "I hope you had a good day. You're a bit late - everything okay?"

"Yeah, Mommy," he replied. "As I was walking home I met Mrs. B"H. She was carrying a bunch of bags, so I helped her. She walks pretty slowly you know, so it took some time."

"Pini, I'm glad you did a mitzvah. But why do you call her Mrs. B"H? Every person has a name, and that's what he or she should be called."

"Oops, I'm sorry," said Pini sheepishly. "It's just that all the kids call our neighbor, Mrs. Green, Mrs. B"H, because she is always saying Baruch HaShem this, Baruch HaShem that."

"You know, that's nothing to scoff at," Pini's mother reprimanded him gently. "It's just what a Jew should say, like Yosef HaTzaddik did in Mitzrayim."

"Yosef?" asked Pini.

"Yes. You see, in this week's parshah, we read about the difficult time Yosef had. He was sold as a slave and taken to Mitzrayim. There he worked for his master, Potiphar. Potiphar was very impressed with him. The passuk tells us: 'And his master saw that HaShem was with him. HaShem made him successful in everything he did.' Now Pini, check to see what Rashi says about this verse."

Pini opened the Chumash and read: " 'That HaShem was with him.' Rashi says, 'The name of HaShem was constantly on his lips.'"

"But Mommy, how does Rashi know this? And besides, why does Rashi even explain these words? It's not so hard to simply understand the passuk 'that HaShem was with him.' And, wait a minute! The previous passuk says, 'And HaShem was with Yosef and he was successful.' Why doesn't Rashi give an explanation there?"

"Read the beginning of the passuk once again, Pini," suggested his mother.

" 'And his master saw,'" read Pini.

"Now think: Potiphar was an idol-worshipping Egyptian. He had never heard of HaShem before. How could he know that Yosef's success came from HaShem? The answer is very simple: Yosef's conduct showed him. As we know from Rashi, 'The name of HaShem was constantly on his lips.' Yosef was always saying Baruch HaShem this... Please, HaShem that...

"And Pini," his mother continued. "We've just celebrated Yud-Tes Kislev. Chassidim relate that when the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned, the Russian government officials who questioned him were very impressed with his personality and wisdom. They saw him as a G-dly person. Now how could Russian officials, whose aim was to stamp out Yiddishkeit, know about anything G-dly?

"Because like Yosef, it was so clear to them from the Alter Rebbe's conduct that he was a G-dly person." "You see, in part, Yosef's story repeated itself when the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned. The Alter Rebbe's entire conduct made it very clear to the Russian officials that he was a G-dly person. In fact, it was his speech and behavior that actually helped him to be miraculously freed from jail!"

(Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXV, pgs. 216-218)