The story, as we know, revolves around Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Genesis 39:11 tells us, "It was on a certain day, he came into the house to perform his labor, and there was no one of the people of the household there in the house." Simple enough. But the rabbis of the Midrash—those ancient interpreters of scripture—weren't satisfied with the surface reading. They asked, "Is it possible that this man’s house remained without anyone inside?" Surely not!

Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nechemya offer different explanations. Rabbi Yehuda suggests it was the day of the celebration of the nibul—a term the midrash uses to allude to an idolatrous practice, perhaps connected to the Nile. Everyone, it says, went to see the festivities, except for Joseph. Rabbi Nechemya proposes it was the day of the theater, drawing a similar conclusion: everyone attended, but Joseph stayed behind.

But why? The text says he came "to perform his labor," which Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nechemya interpret as calculating his master's accounts. But Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman throws a curveball. He suggests Joseph came "to perform his labor" indeed... but in a different sense. He went, according to this reading, to potentially submit to the advances of Potiphar's wife!

Then comes the twist. "There was no one [ish]," the text continues. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman cleverly interprets this to mean that Joseph "examined himself and did not find himself to be a man [ish]." In other words, he was afflicted with impotence, or perhaps, he realized that yielding to temptation would reduce him to the level of an animal, not a man.

The Midrash offers another interpretation, a rather graphic one: "The bow was drawn, and was restored." What does that mean? It's a euphemism, suggesting that Joseph experienced sexual arousal but then regained control. As it says in Genesis 49:24, "His bow sat firm [vateshev be’eitan kashto]." The rabbis cleverly expound upon this, reading vateshev as "it returned" [vatashav] to its original state [le’eitano]. He conquered his desire!

Rabbi Yitzchak takes it even further, suggesting Joseph's semen dispersed and emerged through his fingernails! The text references Genesis 49:24 again: "And the arms of his hand were gilded [vayafozu]." The Midrash plays on the words, reading vayafozu as "they were dispersed" [vayafutzu]. Apparently, Joseph dug his fingernails into the ground, using the discomfort to quell his desire (as explained in Sota 36b).

Finally, Rav Huna, citing Rabbi Matna, offers a powerful image: Joseph saw the image of his father, and his blood cooled. This references Genesis 49:24 again: "From the shepherd of the stone of Israel." The question then becomes: who enabled Joseph to conquer his desire? The answer: "From the God of your father, and He will help you…blessings of breasts and of womb" (Genesis 49:25) – the blessings of your father and your mother.

So, what are we to make of all this? It's a fascinating glimpse into how the rabbis wrestled with the complexities of human desire and the power of resisting temptation. Was it divine intervention? Was it the memory of his father? Was it a physical manifestation of his struggle? Perhaps it was a combination of all these things. The Midrash doesn't offer a single, definitive answer, but instead, invites us to ponder the depths of human resilience and the ever-present choice between succumbing to our desires and striving for something higher. What guides you when faced with temptation?