פירוש על בראשית 40:23

ולא זכר שר המשקים AND THE CHIEF OF THE BUTLERS DID NOT REMEMBER HIM on that day,

ולא זכר שר המשקים את יוסף, as soon as he came out of prison. Joseph had asked him to remember his case as soon as he would come out of prison, but he did not remember.

ולא זכר שר המשקים את יוסף, and the chief butler did not remember Joseph, etc. This means that although he had not yet forgotten him, he did not remember him either. At the beginning he simply did not recall Joseph's name, something that Joseph had asked him to remember.

ולא זכר, he did not remember to do him a favour.

ולא זכר שר המשקים, “but the chief of the cupbearers did not remember.” The repetition means that he neither remembered Joseph by mentioning him, nor even by recalling him in his heart. Some commentators claim that the word וישכחהו is meant to tell the reader that the cupbearer did not fail to remember Joseph because of hatred, but only because he really forgot him.

Afterwards. Because Yoseif depended on him... [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, why is it written here that the butler failed to remember? If to tell us that he did not deal kindly with Yoseif, this is already written: “It was at the end of two full years... the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh...” (41: 1-9). Perforce, it tells us that Hashem caused the butler not to remember Yoseif for two years because Yoseif depended on him. (Kitzur Mizrachi) In Shemos Rabboh ch. 7 it is explained that Yoseif deserved only ten years in prison, corresponding to his bad reports about his ten brothers. But since he said to the butler, “But remember me... and mention me,” two more years were added, because Yoseif mentioned זכירה twice. (Nachalas Yaakov)

שכח, verwandt mit שגח ,שגע ,שגה. Siehe oben 8, 1. שכח heißt ein Vergessen durch Eingenommensein von etwas anderm. Verwandt auch mit שקה: getränkt, voll werden. שכח geistig: so voll von etwas sein, dass für anderes kein Raum ist. Dem Schenkfürsten lag es nicht am Herzen, das Gedächtnis an Josef fortwährend aufzufrischen, er war so von der Gegenwart erfüllt, dass er ihn vergaß.

ולא זכר שר המשקים את יוסף, “but the chief of the cup bearers did not remember Joseph. Since he did not bring Joseph’s plight to Pharaoh’s attention as soon as he had been released, he forgot him totally, erased him from his memory

וישכחהו AND HE FORGOT HIM afterwards. Because Joseph had placed his trust in him that he should remember him he was doomed to remain in prison for two years. So it is said (Psalms 40:5) “Happy is the man who maketh the Lord his trust and turneth not to (רהבים) the arrogant” — i.e. doth not trust in the Egyptians who are called arrogant (Genesis Rabbah 89:3 cf. Isaiah 30:7).

וישכחהו, he kept forgetting him until Pharaoh had his dream which defied satisfactory interpretation. When G’d performed a miracle for the sake of Joseph, he was forced to remember him.

וישכחהו, not to mention him to Pharaoh.

This verse also informs us that the chief butler subsequently forgot Joseph completely, he erased the incident from his heart. The Torah indicates that once one has decided not to remember something or somebody such a memory can be blocked out completely. Unless the chief butler had made a conscious effort to blot Joseph from his mind he would have remembered the incident from time to time. Perhaps the Torah wrote וישכחהו, he forgot him, in order to hint that this was a deliberate act of forgetting. Alternatively, as long as G'd did not remember Joseph's condition there was no point in the chief butler remembering him either. It could also be that the word וישכחהו means that only he forgot Joseph whereas G'd most certainly did not forget him.