Yosef named his son Efraim because he forgot all the hardships and his father's household. Why would Yosef want to forget his father's house? Some people always live saying "what could have been." They live in the past and bemoan why things didn't work out the way they expected. Their entire life is filled with regret over how things worked out and they lose the power to deal with the challenges in front of them because they just dwell on the past. This leads down a path of יאוש for they feel there is no way they can drag themselves out of their predicament. That of course is a failing way to live. Yosef was giving thanks for the fact that he could put the past behind him. He didn't go around thinking I was the best son of Yaakov and now I'm here in Egypt and that's the end of my life. He forgot where he came from and how he got there, not that he forget his illustrious ancestry but he didn't use that as a reason for self-pity and giving up on making the best of the situation in front of him. (Based upon Rav Shlomo Amar.)
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