Whats Your Problem? What is A Problem?
By Rabbi Yaakov Marks
SAN DIEGO — After decades of unfathomable hardships and a multitude of betrayals, broken dreams, and dashed hopes, Yosef now faces the perpetrators of these acts. Yosef had maneuvered his brothers into a position that would allow him to attain his ultimate revenge. He was a powerful ruler supported with an armed force. The room was filled with spectators watching Yosef interrogate his brothers.
At this moment Yosef behaved in a seemingly perplexing manner. He had the hall cleared of everyone except his brothers in order to avoid any possibility of embarrassing them, aware that this act could put his life in danger. When he revealed his identity, his brothers became despondent. Yosef told them that they caused no harm; only good came from their actions. “G-d,” Yosef stated, “sent me here to set up a food supply system to sustain the world. You did not send me here. G-d did.”
The commentators explain that Yosef did everything in his power to console his brothers. Their actions, regardless of original intent, resulted ultimately in good. Yosef advised his brothers how to inform their father without incriminating themselves. They were told to say that Yosef told them that G-d caused him to go to Egypt. He even thanked them for what happened. It is said that it is good for a leader to have a box of worms following him because if he gets haughty over his people, they can point out his shortcomings, thereby humbling him. What kind of revenge is this?
The Sforno [Rabbi Obadiah Ben Yaakov Sforno, 1470-1550, renown Italian commentator and physician] gives us the answer. Yosef never had a desire to take revenge on anybody. Yosef saw every obstacle in life as a G-d-given opportunity to grow and reach a higher personal level. Anything that his brothers did to him he viewed as G-d-ordained, required for his personal growth. Yosef detached what happened to him from the people who did it to him. He held no bad feelings against his brothers for what they did to him. He did, however, lose trust in his brothers until they proved themselves by fighting for Binyamin. Lack of trust, however, never affected Yosef’s love for people. Through everything Yosef remained a happy and positive person. Never once is Yosef faulted for complaining. Throughout Yosef’s life the Torah says that G-d was with him, and G-d only rests on an individual who is in a state of happiness.
Yosef is a true role model for all of us. We learn from the story of Yosef that we should view every event, every challenge as a G-d- prescribed opportunity, personally and perfectly formulated and timed for the growth of our unique personalities. It is through this positive affect that we will then be able to live our lives with the same joy and fulfillment experienced by Yosef. May G-d grant us the wisdom and strength to see positive opportunities in all we do and let us all reach the full potential which lies within each of us.
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Rabbi Marks is a certified health coach who may be contacted
ahealthyrabbi@gmail.com