VaYeishev (3): Fighting for Faith and Faith for Fighting

וימאן - And he adamantly refused

Yosef is being temped day after day by the wife of Potifar. Each time they encounter on another she is dressed more attractively then before, but he doesn't budge. Where did he get the inner fortitude from?

R' Shlomo Chaim of Koidenov explains as follows: The Mekubalim teach us that letters are building blocks. Hashem used speech to create the world, and we use them to construct ideas. (This will be explained with more depth in a latter post.) What emerges is that a word comprised of a series of letters in a particular sequence is automatically related to a word containing the same letters in a different order. This is because the basic elements at play are the same. 

The word וימאן has the same letters as ויאמן which means that he had faith. Because Yosef's Emunah was so strong and Hashem's pressence was such a strong reality, he was able to withhold from temptation.

The opposite is true as well. When one fights off the Yetzer HaRa his soul becomes strengthened and empowered. Through battling the Yetzer HaRa and standing up for what is right we are rewarded with heightened spiritual sensitivity. One can be Zocheh to greater Emunah through perseverance when the going gets tough.

This back-and-forth is a central key in Avodas Hashem. We need to tap into our wellsprings of inner faith in order to over come the Evil Inclination, but doing so inspires us to have a greater sense of holiness, which in turn helps us overcome even more difficult struggles.

This is the reason that וימאן is read with the Shalsheles. The tune of the Shalsheles is a repetitious up and down. This is because וימאן represents the up-and-down, back-and-forth struggle of life. Faith which wins the battle, which generates more faith which in turn prepares us for the next struggle.