In this week’s parshah, Pharaoh encounters Yosef Hatzaddik for the first time and, impressed by his interpretation of his dreams, he exclaims to his servants, “Will we find anyone like this, a man in whom there is the spirit of G-d?”
Pharaoh was not merely praising Yosef for his wisdom and understanding, explains the Rebbe R’ Bunim of Peshischa. What amazed him was that someone like Yosef, who came across as what we might call “down-to-earth” (in that he curled his hair and placed some stress on his appearance) could also be so holy. Indeed, this ability to be in the world and yet overcome nisyonos distinguished Yosef from his father Yaakov Avinu, who was a “yosheiv ohalim” and retreated from the world to avoid nisyonos.
Nonetheless, at the time of his nisayon with the wife of Potiphar, Yosef had learned a powerful lesson. It was then that the image of his father appeared before him, giving him the impetus to overcome this challenge. It was also a message for him, that it was time to go in his father’s path and not provoke the yetzer hara into tempting him.
It seems that while there are situations that are best met head-on and dealt with directly, there are also those that call for retreat or avoidance. This doesn’t mean sweeping things under the rug, which is often easier but rarely a good strategy. But retreat (accompanied by a level of acceptance) can be far more appropriate for those problems that perhaps cannot be solved, ones where repetitive confrontations and ongoing attempts to resolve achieve nothing other than hard feelings. At such times, we need to know how to co-exist with what troubles us, if total avoidance is impossible.
Distinguishing between the problems that need to be solved and those that need to be endured isn’t always simple. It starts by knowing that there is a distinction, and that is important in itself.
