Parshas Vayeishev

" Wow !! He must be a great scientist. He was brilliant and got A's in
science in high school."
" Maybe he could have been, but he's been involved in other pursuits
for the past 20 years."

Our sages praise of Yosef for his not giving in to his passions when
the wife of Potiphar tried seducing him. They say that this merit was a
factor in the splitting of the sea when the Jews left Egypt. (Medrash
Tehillim 114 referring to Biraishis 39:7-13)

Everyone has their own set of "trials & tribulations" from G-d. As
difficult as they may seem, G-d only gives us tests that we are capable of
passing.

Have a great Shabbos !!

Rabbi Chaim Flom

Dear Rabbi Flom,
What is the connection between Yosef & the splitting of the sea?
Sincerely,
Mark

Dear Mark,
Thanks for the question.
When Yosef "ran away" from Potiphar's wife, it says "vayonos". (Biraishis 39:13) In Hallel,(Tehillim 114:3) we say "hayam raah vayonos" (with the splitting of the sea, it says the sea... 'ran away'). Chazal (Yalkut Shimoni -Vayeishev 146) make the connection.
Take care.
Rabbi Flom

quote:

Originally posted by Rabbi Flom:
Parshas Vayeishev

G-d only gives us tests that we are capable of
passing.

Dear Rabbi Flom,
How do we know that this is so? (Some tests are in fact unbelievably hard.)
Sincerely,
Mark

Dear Mark,
Even though some tests ARE very hard, unless you are Paraoh, Hashem gives the tests assuming you CAN pass it. We see this by Avraham when Hashem tells him to sacrifice Yitzchok The Medrash says Hashem won't give a test to one who can't pass it.
When you are faced with a difficult test, just remember, that Hashem feels you can manage it.
Thanks.
Rabbi Flom

Rav Flom,
Although the presumption is that we will pass the test, why is it that many actually fail the test?
Avi

Dear Avi,
Thanks for the question.
I am not saying that Hashem is "presuming" we are going to pass the test, rather that we ARE CAPABLE of passing the test.
Take care.
Rabbi Flom

Dear Avi,
I just wanted to add a very important idea (at least I think so). When we are faced with a test, just think about the idea that G-d knows that we can pass it. Even though some tests seem very hard, if we think about the fact that we can win, that helps us win!! (Sometimes we think that it can't be that Hashem expects us to pass the test.)
Take care.
Chaim Flom