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Parshat Vayeshev relates the tragic and complex story of Yosef and his brothers. After witnessing their father blatantly bestow favoritism upon Yosef by presenting him with an ornate tunic, and after being forced to listen to Yosef’s dreams of grandeur, the brothers conspire to get rid of this “dreamer” once and for all. However, just as the brothers rise up to dispatch the young seventeen-year-old who was sent to check on their welfare while shepherding their father’s flocks, the eldest brother, Reuven, steps up and cries, “‘Do not shed blood! Cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’…And they took him, and they cast him into the pit, and the pit was empty, it contained no water” (Bereshit 37:22,24).
Why does the Torah need to tell us that the pit Yosef was thrown into “contained no water?” According to the Talmud, this comes to teach us, “there was no water, but there were snakes and scorpions in it” (B. Talmud, Shabbat 22a). Obviously, there is great symbolism contained within these words. What are Chazal trying to teach us? According to the Vilna Gaon, these words are meant to teach us something profound about the human ability to endure adversity. Says the Gra, “It is well known that water is a symbol of Torah…This is what it means when the Torah says, ‘there was no water.’ That is to say, a person without Torah has snakes and scorpions in him.” In other words, when Torah is absent in one’s life, “snakes and scorpions,” that is, the darker elements of human nature, the more nefarious tendencies of people, abound. The pit, therefore, symbolizes the trials and obstacles every person must face, or in this case, fall into. However, our ability to persevere and rise above those pits depends upon the makeup of our character. Do we bring water, do we bring the life-giving hope of the Torah with us as we encounter adversity? Or, do we bring snakes and scorpions – those behaviors and attitudes which keep us bogged down and prevent us from making progress?
Our ability to succeed during times of strife and travail depends upon the fortitude of our character. Everyone has pits they will inevitably fall into, everyone has struggles and challenges they will inevitably be forced to face. However, our ability to succeed during those times of uncertainty and hardship all depends on our perspective, on our attitude and our commitment to remaining true to the eternal values and virtues of the Torah, for in so doing, one can only find life, meaning and hope.
This Shabbat, may we commit ourselves to being bearers of the “water of life,” in everything we do, and in every place and situation we happen to find ourselves. May we never succumb to the “snakes and scorpions” which surround us, and may we constantly strive to share the life-giving, life-affirming, life-sustaining waters of Torah with others as they go through their challenges, giving each other strength, faith and courage to meet the challenges of today in order to create a better and brighter tomorrow.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Urim Sameach!
-Rabbi Dan
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