Window Of Opportunity

In his formidable adolescent years, Yosef in thrust into a pit, soled into slavery, tempted by his master's wife, thrown into jail  and endures plenty of other hardships.  After such events, one would expect Yosef to become jaded with life.  However, we don't see that at all, quite the contrary, he remains faithful to his family and never shows any signs of depression.  How was Yosef able to maintain his feelings for life after going through such hard times?

The Gemorah in Sanhedrin (99b) says ת"ר (במדבר טו, ל) והנפש אשר תעשה ביד רמה זה מנשה בן חזקיה שהיה יושב ודורש בהגדות של דופי אמר וכי לא היה לו למשה לכתוב אלא (בראשית לו, כב) ואחות לוטן תמנע ותמנע היתה פלגש לאליפז (בראשית ל, יד).  Why is it this possuk specifically that he makes fun of, there are plenty of pessukim of names at the end of Vayishlach?

The Meor Einayim explains that there is a specific message in this possuk that Menashe picked up on and was bothered by.  He says that תמנע is related to the word מניעה, if a person says that I can't keep the Torah because I have too many difficulties, that is a פלגש לאלפז, it is just an opening to the evil forces.  Menashe felt that his many מניעות were indeed an excuse for his evil actions.  Hence, he was very bothered by this possuk.  He is mistaken, says the Meor Einayim, for the מניעות aren't there to derail a person, they are there to bring the person even closer to Hashem.  The extra effort isn't meant as a deterrent, its meant to raise a person's commitment to Hashem,.  It is up to the individual to see the window of opportunity that God is opening up for him/her.  As someone once said, "when God closes a door he opens a window."

When Yosef is talking to his brothers Vayigash (45:5,) he says וְעַתָּה אַל תֵּעָצְבוּ וְאַל יִחַר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם כִּי מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי לְמִחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי אלקים לפניכם.  He views his journeys in Egypt not as a slave sentence placed upon him because of his brothers actions, he views it as a mission of Hashem, as a שליחות.  Yosef understood that all the roadblocks placed in his path weren't there to derail him from being Yosef Hatzaddik, it was to make him into Yosef Hatzaddik.  It was this attitude that gave Yosef the power to survive through all of his journeys.