“And the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him” (Genesis 40:23). “And the chief butler did not remember…” – each day, he would stipulate conditions, and an angel would come and reverse them.16He would stipulate to himself that when something would happen, that would be a reminder to him to mention Joseph to Pharoah. The angel would ensure that it would not happen. He would tie knots17He would tie knots in his garments, as a reminder to tell Pharaoh. and an angel would come and untie them.
The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You forget him, but I will not forget him.’18God did not want Joseph’s salvation to come about through the butler. That is what is written: “And the chief butler did not remember.” Another matter, the chief butler forgot you, but I will not forget you. Who was expecting Abraham and Sarah, who were old, to have a son born to them?
Who was expecting Jacob, who crossed the Jordan with [but] his staff, to expand and become wealthy? Who was expecting Joseph, who experienced all these troubles, to become king? Who was expecting Moses, who was cast into the Nile, to become what he became? Who was expecting Ruth, who was a proselyte, to return to the kingdom of Israel?19She returned with Naomi to the Land of Israel and became the mother of kings of Israel.
Who was expecting David to become king until the end of the generations? Who was expecting Yehoyakhin to leave prison? Who was expecting Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya to emerge from the fire? Who was expecting, in the days of Haman, that the Holy One blessed be He would save Israel?
Who expects the exiles to achieve renown and glory? Who expects the Holy One blessed be He to raise the fallen booth of David, as it is stated: “On that day, I will raise the fallen booth of David” (Amos 9:11). [Who expects] that the whole world will become one group, as it is stated: “For then I will convert all the peoples to a pure language, for all of them to call in the name of the Lord, to serve Him with a common effort” (Zephaniah 3:9).