“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Vayechi 5786
13 Teves 5786/January 2, 2026
BEYOND BARRIERS
I was taught the stories of the Torah and of our greatest leaders when I was young and always felt the stories were fascinating and intriguing. But as I have gotten older, I increasingly wonder how it’s possible for those heroes to have become as great as they were.
How could Rabbi Akiva never lose hope after all he endured? How could Yirmiyahu HaNavi never stop loving his people, even after they ignored his messages, tortured him and even tried to kill him? How could Moshe Rabbeinu never lose faith in his people after all they put him through despite his constant love and nurturance for them?
But above all, I wonder about Yosef Hatzaddik. How could a handsome 17-year-old, rejected from his family, and sold as a slave with no expectations of higher morality, have rejected the relentless advancements of a seductive woman? Beyond that, how could Yosef have been so forgiving of his brothers, to the extent that he was constantly worried that they shouldn’t feel ashamed over what they had done?
Although it is axiomatic that Yosef is greater than we could fathom, the Torah is a guidebook to teach us lessons for ourselves on our level. Therefore, it behooves us to ask how Yosef garnered such inner conviction and fortitude to be able to achieve superhuman feats?
For centuries, the idea of running a mile in under four minutes was believed to be humanly impossible. Experts in sports physiology believed the human body simply wasn’t engineered for such speed over that distance. Doctors claimed that attempting it could be dangerous, warning that a runner’s heart might explode, lungs might collapse, or muscles would tear apart under the sheer intensity. The 4-minute mile became a mythical, unbreakable barrier.
On May 6, 1954, a young medical student from Oxford named Roger Bannister shattered that myth.
Bannister had no professional coaching and no scientific training regimen. But he had relentless determination, and an unshakable belief that the limit everyone feared was baseless.
That day, 3,000 spectators watched as Bannister ran a mile in 3:59.4 minutes.
What was even more astonishing was that 46 days later, another runner—John Landy of Australia—broke Bannister’s record with a time of 3:57.9. Within a few years, dozens of runners had broken the so-called “impossible” barrier. Today, even high school athletes run sub-4-minute miles.
Bannister’s story is a powerful example of our ability to traverse accepted limits.
The human body didn’t suddenly evolve, and the track didn’t suddenly improve. The only thing that changed was the realization that it could be done.
Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum zt”l (B’korei Shemo) noted that it was naturally impossible for Yosef to overcome his challenges on his own. The only way he was able to transcend his incredible tests was because he had a living example who had transcended incredible challenges and maintained his integrity despite the odds. That example was his father, Yaakov Avinu. When Yosef pictured the saintly image of his father in the window that gave him the inner conviction to restrain himself from sinning with Potiphar’s wife.
Yaakov Avinu’s example encouraged Yosef to always remember that one can overcome even the most formidable challenges.
Reb Shmuel then writes that the truth is that there are many things one is unable to do until it becomes clear in his mind that it’s within his capability to do them. This doesn’t mean that at first, he deceived himself by thinking he couldn’t do something that he was in fact was able to do. The reality is that there are challenges one cannot overcome. However, through utilizing one’s intellectual faculties one can alter his nature. Things that were truly impossible will become possible when he believes he can do them if he has faith that it is within his ability to do so.
It was the example of Yaakov Avinu that gave Yosef the inner strength to overcome the challenge with Potiphar’s wife and to divest himself of any feelings of resentment towards his brothers.
Even more significant than one’s personal achievements is his becoming a living example for others that they can achieve great things as well.
When one person proves something is possible, others will follow.
This can be used in terrible ways such as when Amalek, our arch nemesis, attacked the Jewish people soon after their miraculous exodus from Egypt. In doing what no one else thought possible, Amalek demonstrated that the nascent Jewish nation was not invincible and could be attacked. Their evil example caused our ancestors untold anguish.
But it can inspire others in the most wonderful ways as well.
Five years ago, when my father-in-law a”h was first diagnosed with a serious illness, we wanted to do something special as a zechus for his refuah. After giving the matter some thought we decided to create a learning program for fathers and sons for 20 minutes prior to mincha on Erev Shabbos at our local shul.
It sounds like a crazy idea. The time right before Shabbos is very pressured as we are busy with last-minute preparations. Who would come to shul 20 minutes early, especially during the winter when Shabbos begins in the midafternoon?
The truth is that I never would have broached the idea if I didn’t have a living example of it. In Camp Dora Golding, every Friday, a half hour before minchah, hundreds of campers and some staff members voluntarily come to the camp shul to learn. You have to see it to believe it. There are some nice prizes, but nothing spectacular (it’s kept separate from camp’s other learning programs). Yet the shul is filled with campers dressed and ready for Shabbos learning Torah. Who would believe such a program could work in camp?
It was that program that inspired us to initiate it in our shul. Five years later, the program is b”H going strong.
I have no doubt that my father-in-law’s neshamah has tremendous nachas from it each week.
We all have heroes who inspire us and give us hope and courage to accomplish things beyond what we may have thought possible. The greatest contribution we can make is to ourselves be a positive living example for others. That’s the best way to pay it forward.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
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