Rabbi Frand on Parshas Vayeishev
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 308, Secular
Studies.
Good Shabbos!
The Test You Face May Be Your Own
Yosef was confronted by the test of Potiphar's wife. Potiphar had taken
Yosef in and appointed him in charge of the entire house. Later, Potiphar's
wife tried to seduce Yosef. She persisted day after day. Yosef told her that
it was simply improper. It would be a terrible crime for Yosef to do anything
with her, in light of all that her husband had done for him. "There is no
one in the house who is greater than me, he did not refuse me anything -
except for you since you are his wife - how then could I do this great act
of wickedness; and I would thereby be sinning against G-d" [Bereshis 39:9].
Rav Gifter (1916-2001) asked an interesting question. Yosef enumerated all
the reasons why it would be inappropriate for him to commit this act.
However, why didn't Yosef tell her why it would be inappropriate for HER to
commit the act? He should have told her that she would be betraying her
husband, who was so kind and good to HER. He should have told her "You are a
married woman - Noachides are prohibited from adultery!" Why did Yosef only
focus on why HE should not perform this sin?
Rav Gifter answered that when Yosef felt the severity of this test, he
sensed that the reason why he was facing this particular situation was due
to a shortcoming in his own personality. He felt that in spite of her
obligations, it was basically his fault and his test. He felt that had he
maintained the level of purity and sanctity that was appropriate for him as
the favorite son of his elderly father, Yaakov, he would have never faced
such a situation.
Yosef thought to himself, "I got into this situation as a result of failing
to do everything properly. I apparently made mistakes." When a person finds
himself in such a situation, it is usually not because 'all of a sudden' the
situation evolved. The situation usually has a history. Apparently he did
not enact all the proper boundaries and separations and fences much earlier
in the developing scenario to preempt such a situation from ever occurring.
These situations do not develop in 5 minutes. They develop over the course
of weeks, months and years. Therefore, ultimately, Yosef felt that it was
his test and his problem. Consequently, he had to convince himself that HE
(not she) was the one who could not proceed, for all the reasons enumerated.
This concept contains a significant lesson. Sometimes people are faced with
situations that test their spirituality. There are all kinds of excuses for
succumbing to these situations. There are many people to blame for these
tempting situations. Perhaps spouses sometimes share some blame for the
temptations that a person confronts when tempted by infidelity. But
ultimately a person must know and realize that it is HIS test and HIS
responsibility.
Yes, maybe it is not completely his fault. Maybe if things had developed
differently or if some people were more understanding and more helpful, he
would not be in this mess. Yes, there may be contributory negligence. But
this is not a lawsuit. This is a test. Ultimately, we have to deal with our
tests ourselves. Ultimately we must not shift the blame. We must ask
ourselves "How can I do this great evil act?" If one succumbs, it will be
his fault alone. He will be held fully accountable and will have to pay the
price.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Vayeishev are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
