After being falsely accused by Potifar's wife, Yosef is thrown into jail. The posuk which details this event appears redundant for it says ויתנהו אל בית הסהר, and he was placed in prison, ויהי שם בבית הסהר, and he was there in prison. Rav Zilberstein asks if the posuk says that he was placed in prison then we know that he's in prison. Why does it have to repeat again that he was in prison?
He answers that there are times when a person is put into a situation that's similar to being put in jail. Everything goes wrong; the person is hit with one thing after another and there doesn't seem to be any way out. The person doesn't want to be there so he'll try anything to get out, to run away from the problems. He may try to fix them, which, of course, is the best way initially to try to get out of a bad situation. However, if a person sees that no matter what he does it seems that Hashem wants him to remain in this situation, it is incumbent upon the person to trust in Hashem's judgment and not to fight it, rather להיות שם, one has to be there. He needs to remain in the tough spot and know that this is Hashem's will; this is what's best for us however unfathomable it may seem to the human mind. We must also understand that the situation that Hashem puts us in is the only way that we can fulfill our role in life.
This is what the Torah is telling us about Yosef. Instead of being depressed and bemoaning all the hardships that had befallen him: being taken away from his beloved father, being sold into slavery, and now being confined to prison, he was בבית הסהר, he was there living life as best he could in the situation he was in, without looking back.
We see a similar concept by Yaakov. Rashi brings the midrash that tells us that Yaakov just wanted to live in peace whereas Hashem said, “isn't it enough for the tzadikim, all that they will get in the next world; they want peace in this world too?” Reb Chaim Shmulevitz asks what was wrong with Yaakov's request? All he asked for was peace so that he could sit and learn and get closer to Hashem. Why was Yaakov faulted for that? Reb Chaim answers that the purpose of a person on this world is not to sit on easy street and then to serve Hashem. Rather, it's to serve Hashem when it's hard and tough. That's when the real service is, as the תנא דבי אליהו says, “greater is one mitzvah done with pain than one hundred mitzvos done without pain.”
The sefer שומר אמונים gives us a different perspective on how to look at hardship. He says there are three reasons why Hashem brings suffering on a person. First, is to cleanse him of his sins. The second is to give him added reward later, and third, to benefit the world, for when a tzadik gets suffering put on him, it saves the world from calamities. If the tzadik accepts the suffering with love, then his reward is unimaginable.
There was a story at the time of the בעל שם טוב where he came to a town of a tzadik who had tremendous suffering. The people came to the בש"ט to ask him to daven that the man get better but he refused. When his students wouldn't stop bothering him, he explained. Surrounding this town was a forest within which are hoodlums that want to come into the city on a rampage and kill and steal all that they can. However, the suffering of this one man is saving the city from the outlaws.
We never know what our hardships are for and what they do on a global scene. We have to believe that whatever Hashem does is best and there is a master plan. All we have to do is follow Yosef's lead and live the situation we’re in to the best of our ability, and with that we will merit the ultimate reward!
He answers that there are times when a person is put into a situation that's similar to being put in jail. Everything goes wrong; the person is hit with one thing after another and there doesn't seem to be any way out. The person doesn't want to be there so he'll try anything to get out, to run away from the problems. He may try to fix them, which, of course, is the best way initially to try to get out of a bad situation. However, if a person sees that no matter what he does it seems that Hashem wants him to remain in this situation, it is incumbent upon the person to trust in Hashem's judgment and not to fight it, rather להיות שם, one has to be there. He needs to remain in the tough spot and know that this is Hashem's will; this is what's best for us however unfathomable it may seem to the human mind. We must also understand that the situation that Hashem puts us in is the only way that we can fulfill our role in life.
This is what the Torah is telling us about Yosef. Instead of being depressed and bemoaning all the hardships that had befallen him: being taken away from his beloved father, being sold into slavery, and now being confined to prison, he was בבית הסהר, he was there living life as best he could in the situation he was in, without looking back.
We see a similar concept by Yaakov. Rashi brings the midrash that tells us that Yaakov just wanted to live in peace whereas Hashem said, “isn't it enough for the tzadikim, all that they will get in the next world; they want peace in this world too?” Reb Chaim Shmulevitz asks what was wrong with Yaakov's request? All he asked for was peace so that he could sit and learn and get closer to Hashem. Why was Yaakov faulted for that? Reb Chaim answers that the purpose of a person on this world is not to sit on easy street and then to serve Hashem. Rather, it's to serve Hashem when it's hard and tough. That's when the real service is, as the תנא דבי אליהו says, “greater is one mitzvah done with pain than one hundred mitzvos done without pain.”
The sefer שומר אמונים gives us a different perspective on how to look at hardship. He says there are three reasons why Hashem brings suffering on a person. First, is to cleanse him of his sins. The second is to give him added reward later, and third, to benefit the world, for when a tzadik gets suffering put on him, it saves the world from calamities. If the tzadik accepts the suffering with love, then his reward is unimaginable.
There was a story at the time of the בעל שם טוב where he came to a town of a tzadik who had tremendous suffering. The people came to the בש"ט to ask him to daven that the man get better but he refused. When his students wouldn't stop bothering him, he explained. Surrounding this town was a forest within which are hoodlums that want to come into the city on a rampage and kill and steal all that they can. However, the suffering of this one man is saving the city from the outlaws.
We never know what our hardships are for and what they do on a global scene. We have to believe that whatever Hashem does is best and there is a master plan. All we have to do is follow Yosef's lead and live the situation we’re in to the best of our ability, and with that we will merit the ultimate reward!
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