Hashem Peeking From Behind the Curtain
What a stirring saga!
Yosef is betrayed and conspired against by his brothers and then thrown into a
dark pit where he is doomed to die. At the last moment, the brothers pull him
out. Broken in body and spirit, he endures the additional humiliation of being
sold as a common slave to a passing trading caravan. What could possibly be
more devastating? How utterly hopeless Yosef’s plight appears to be!
In the midst of this
hellish scene, the Torah tells us, G-d lightened Yosef’s suffering by arranging
for his journey down to Egypt to be in a fragrant, scented environment. The
caravan of traders that had purchased him were carrying fine perfumes and
spices. A pleasant fragrance wafted through the air around him as he made his
way down to Egypt.
What are we to make of
this information? Here Yosef is being sold into slavery with no prospects of
ever being freed. Betrayed by his brothers, he is at the mercy of lawless
people who could abuse and exploit him at will. At such a harrowing time, would
he be likely to notice the scent around him? And if he did, what difference
would it make to him in his pain and misery?
Yet, we must bear in mind that the Torah informs us about the
spices in the caravan for a reason. Embedded in this dire and painful event was
a secret note from Hashem to Yosef: ‘Don’t worry Yosef, I love you and I will
spare you whatever suffering I can. Look, even here, in your miserable and
wretched condition I will show you that I am peaking out from behind the
curtain by sending you this little ray of positive encouragement. If only you
can decipher my message of caring and love!”
Our lives are a long chain of challenges and difficulties.
Although these hardships may be divinely ordained to tone up our spiritual
muscles and help us grow, it is often difficult to recognize them as such.
Yet, if we are attuned, we can pinpoint moments in our lives
when Hashem demonstrates that he is watching from behind the curtain. All of us
can be grateful for the seemingly small but infinitely valuable daily gifts and
special messages with which Hashem lets us know that He is taking care of us.
Be it with the blessings of good health, our precious
children, beloved family and friends or the innumerable other gifts we enjoy,
we are constantly graced with Hashem’s loving beneficence.
By training our emotions to always operate in thankful mode,
we can weather life’s disappointments. However, if we allow ourselves to fall
into the mode of “entitlement,” as if we are owed life’s blessings and
luxuries, we will inevitably suffer a spiritual and emotional setback.
— Rabbi Naftali Reich
Wisdom in Action
Now it came about
when she spoke to Yosef day in and day out, that he did not obey her… to be
with her. And it came about on a certain day, that he came to the house to do
his work, and none of the people of the house were there in the house. So she
grabbed him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in
her hand and fled and went outside. (Breishis 39:10-12)
Opportunity may knock
only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell. (Anonymous) his father’s image
appeared, Yosef HaTzadik earns his wings with this display of heroism. He is
titled a Tzadik! The sea splits for the Nation of Israel in his honor, for this
single act of resistance. However, when we read Rashi a troubling question
jumps out. There is an opinion that he actually came to be with her but his
father’s image appeared to him. It looks like he was ready to cave in until he
was magically saved, bailed out by a sudden appearance of the image of his holy
father. What was his input to merit such honor?
There was a
psychological study done in 1970 at Stanford University known as the
“Marshmallow Study”. The purpose of the original study was to understand when
the control of deferred gratification, the ability to wait to obtain something
that one wants, develops in children. The experiment took place at a Nursery
School with children age 4 to 6 as subjects.
The children were led into
a room, empty of distractions, where a treat of their choice (Oreo cookie,
marshmallow, or pretzel stick) was placed on a table, by a chair. The children
could eat the marshmallow, the researchers said, but if they waited for fifteen
minutes without giving in to the temptation, they would be rewarded with a
second marshmallow. Some would “cover their eyes with their hands or turn
around so that they can’t see the tray, others start kicking the desk, or tug
on their pigtails, or stroke the marshmallow as if it were a tiny stuffed
animal”, while others would simply eat the marshmallow as soon as the
researchers left.
In over 600 children
who took part in the experiment, a minority ate the marshmallow immediately. Of
those who attempted to delay, one third deferred gratification long enough to
get the second marshmallow. Age was a major determinant of deferred
gratification. As the children who participated in life were followed into
adulthood, surprise- surprise, it was discovered that the ones who had shown
resistance to temptation, had actually achieved more and gone on to live more
successful lives.
The results of the
study should not come as any surprise to us. The experiment actually tested
exactly whether the child’s animal soul, which can only grasp and be grasped by
present tangible stimuli is going to be the dominant force or whether the G-dly
soul, the intellect, is able to override the sirens of temptation. Now we can
wonder, from where did Yosef summon the spiritual strength for his test of extreme
temptation!?
The story is told that
the Sanzer Rav asked a Chassid that was passing by his window what he would do
if he found a wallet with some money inside and the wallet had a clear sign
indicating the owner. The fellow responded dutifully, “I would return it!”
“Fool!” exclaimed the Rebbe. The next fellow when questioned answered, “Why I
would keep it!” “Thief!” cried the Rebbe. A third gentleman said, “I don’t know
what I would do, Rebbe, but I hope and pray I would have the moral resolve and
strength to do the right thing and return it.” “That man” the Rebbe agreed, “is
truly wise.”
Yosef was not visited,
magically or mysteriously with some Macbethian ghost like visage of his holy
father, in the nick of time. He had prepared his whole life, installing this
image in his mind. All the while he was away from home he labored to keep that
picture front and center, as his screen saver, so as not to disappointment
himself by doing that which his father would never agree to. Not only is that
authentic honoring of one’s father but it’s also wisdom in action.
No comments:
Post a Comment