Just as Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of the crime she wanted to commit, so too, with our enemies, they accuse us of the crimes they want to commit against us.
In this week’s parashah, we follow the story of Yosef: sold into slavery, rising to prominence in the house of Potiphar, and then falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife after he refuses her advances. When Yosef will not do what she desires, she accuses him of attempting the very sin she intended. As a result, Yosef is thrown into prison.
This pattern should feel disturbingly familiar. We see it repeated in the world today. Hamas openly declares its intention to destroy the Jewish people, committing rape, murder, and brutality—yet afterward accuses Israel of the very crimes it itself commits, despite Israel having neither the intention nor the culture to do such things. This is not accidental; it is projection. People who are willing to commit atrocities assume others will do the same, because that is how their minds work.
I once heard an account from World War II about American intelligence interrogations. Nazis, accustomed to torture, would break quickly—not because Americans tortured them, but because they assumed they would. Their own moral corruption shaped their expectations. As we know, the most powerful torture chamber is the human mind.
This is the lesson of Yosef. Potiphar’s wife accuses him of what she wanted to do. Our enemies accuse us of what they seek to do. The Torah teaches us to be clear-eyed: those who wish to destroy us will lie, manipulate, and accuse us of their own intentions. It is something to think about—and something to remember.
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