Joseph and The Pit - A Short But Powerful Torah Message For Overcoming Temptation, Addiction and Harm!

Let me start by asking you the following questions: What is your biggest challenge or problem in life right now? If you could change,  improve or utterly transform just one thing, what would it be? Can you tell when something is spiritually helpful or harmful? 

There are so many negative influences and temptations in our daily lives, in the popular media and on the internet. So few positive role models about building healthy lives and healthy relationships. 

What can we do to protect ourselves and those we love from such spiritually negative choices and the often tragic consequences of allowing these negative influences to impact our lives?

This week’s Torah Portion actually contains one of the most incredible life transforming, yet surprisingly short single sentences that perfectly address this question of overcoming or guarding against harmful choices and influences. It’s a sentence that holds one of the most powerful keys to overcoming life’s most difficult and deadly challenges and temptations!

In this week’s parsha we learn the gripping and heart rendering story of Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery. But first, in an attempt to kill Joseph, his brothers throw him into a pit a deep pit.

The Torah states: "the pit was empty - it had no water".

Rashi, one of the greatest Torah scholars of the last 1000 years brilliantly summarizes when he comments: “If it was empty it obviously had no water- it was empty”.  

So why does the Torah add the phrase "there was no water" after clearly stating “it was empty”?  Why this seemingly double statement with the same basic surface meaning? After all there are no errors in the Torah. 

It turns out, the Torah is hinting at or pre-supposing an important and ancient oral Torah teaching. Not only was there no water in the pit, but there were in fact “Snakes and scorpions" in it instead: (Talmud tractate Shabbat page 22a also tractate Chagiga 3a).

There’s a very deep and life transforming lesson hidden here in this single sentence repetition!

Many people assume that there is always a middle ground, a lifestyle that although not “completely holy” is never-the-less also not completely unholy.  Sadly, so many are unaware of what it means to live a life rooted in Torah in the first place.

Rashi is teaching us that this idea of living only a partially Torah based or worse a Torah-less life, - (giving holiness less than our 100% attention and effort) is in fact very spiritually harmful and dangerous to ourselves and to the world around us.  

To put it simply, there is no middle ground!  Rashi is basically saying that spiritually, when we fail to immerse ourselves in water there are snakes and scorpions instead.

Water here, of course represents the life giving wisdom of the Torah. Snakes and scorpions the opposite or alternative to a Torah based life style mindless addictions, sin and harmful behaviors.

  These days, it seems virtually impossible, to guard oneself spiritually from succumbing to some form of sin or addiction. So how do we protect ourselves and one and other?

By making sure that there is plenty of "water" in our daily spiritual diets. If there is an abundance of “water” (Torah study and practice) in our lives, then there simply can't be any room for snakes and scorpions, - period!

The pure "light” of the Torah will illuminate the path before you, giving you the ability to openly and clearly discern the difference between good and evil in every life situation. It will clearly illuminate the difference between productiveness and counter productiveness, spiritual harm and spiritual safety, both in the immediate sense and in the very, very long term sense of the word spiritual.

When we study and fill ourselves with the Torah’s wisdom -we also fill our minds and hearts with good character traits that enable strong and healthy emotional and behavioral self-control. We raise ourselves higher than the narrow mindedness of comparatively unholy or non-Torah based life choices and influences.

The snakes and scorpions of harmful behavioral choices and addictions have no space to occupy in the pure light of Torah based life choices through continuous learning!

In this day and age there are many temptations and seemingly easy ways out, but in the end there are really no excuses. If you’re facing serious life challenges and problems right now, that just makes it all the more critical that you start connecting with Torah.  

It’s never too late! Never give up!

With the help of technology you have the ability to connect to the life transforming wisdom of the Torah like never before; - It’s all right there "at the tip of your fingers".

It’s just a matter of making that critical first choice and taking that critical first step. I say: Choose Water, Choose Torah!