Day 14/50: Thriving in an Unfiltered World

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה’ אֶל־משֶׁ֔ה רְאֵ֛ה נְתַתִּ֥יךָ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לְפַרְעֹ֑ה

And Hashem said to Moses, “See! I have made you a lord over Pharaoh…

Against his will, Yosef had been thrust into a society that was very much like the world of unfiltered internet of today. He lived among the Mitzrim, who are described by Chazal as ”flooded with zimah.” The Mitzrim created a whole society centered around disturbing forms of arayos and the basest and most animalistic taavos fathomable. Mitzrayim was the ancient equivalent of the dark world of tumah on the internet.

Yosef was trapped in this country for years and had no choice but to breathe its contaminated air on a daily basis. Even more than that, his master’s wife tormented him and attempted to entice him day in and day out, and he had nowhere to seek refuge.

Yosef had every reason to claim that this was an unfair test. He was a young bachur who had been thrown into Mitzrayim on his own, with no prospects for a shidduch in sight. Yosef taught us that even in a decadent world with all its nisyonos and with all the ”options” that are so readily available to us, it is possible to do the right thing and not make excuses for ourselves. Yosef proved that we, too, can survive in an unfiltered world and maintain our standards of kedushah and taharah. 

Living in an unfiltered world means that we will find ourselves facing challenges when we least expect them. Even when we have tried hard to set up proper gedarim to protect ourselves, our fences can still fall down. Yes, our devices need good filters, but the reality is that we live in an unfiltered world and there is a limit to our ability to protect ourselves. If we are committed to dealing with surprises at every bend, we will emerge victorious in the nisyonos of our generation.