And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Could we find another like him – a man with whom is the spirit of G-d?” (Bereishis 41:38)

When someone returns a lost object, the mainstream media will often put that person on a pedestal, giving him great honor for fulfilling this “civic duty” of caring for others. But from a Torah perspective, Rabbeinu Yona in Shaarei Teshuva, writes that one is obligated to help his friend whenever he could prevent his friend from a financial loss. For example, if you see a parked car with the headlights on – which could potentially drain the battery and cause a financial loss – it is not just a good thing to tell the owner, but it is a Torah obligation to do so. This is the type of situation where the obligation should be obvious to us.

There are other instances where it is not so obvious that one should do something. For example, if you know a store has a special discount when purchasing three items, and you see someone on the checkout line with just two of those items, should you alert this person or not?

In this week’s parsha, Yosef is called to Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. After interpreting the dreams, he boldly gives advice on how to implement this new information to protect the Egyptians from the upcoming famine. Many of the mefarshim wonder why Yosef felt that he should advise Pharaoh. Rav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi ZT”L points out that after hearing Yosef’s advice, Pharaoh exclaims “This person is unique for it is clear the spirit of G-d is within him!” Here too, the mefarshim ask, “We see brilliance. We see intuition. We see imagination. But where do we see the ‘spirit of G-d’!” Rav Ezrachi explains that a person who has the fear of G-d will jump on any opportunity to help others. Therefore, when Yosef, in addition to interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams also offered good advice, Pharaoh realized that this was a person with the spirit of G-d.

I would like to give another answer based on an idea from the Imrei Emes. He explains: When you have a thought to help out in a certain situation, it is obviously a sign from Hashem that this is your mitzvah. For example, if you see money falling out of someone’s pocket, it should be obvious that this is your mitzvah, and you don’t have a right to look the other way.

So too, when Yosef found himself in jail with many criminals, he nevertheless initiated a conversation with the Sar Hamashkim and Sar HaOfim, and asked them, “Why are you so down?”

If you are walking down the street and see people who are trying to get people for a minyan, is it your obligation to join them? Similarly, when you see a poor person collecting charity, does he have to ask you specifically for money for it to be your obligation to give him?

To one who has the “spirit of G-d” in him, the answers should be obvious.