The way of Yosef is the bring the full blooming of the Godliness of man. It is the way of heroism, not letting temporary situations overcome the inner spirit. When Yosef was in the most miserable place, in the Egyptian jail, he innocently asks his cell-mates, “Why is your face look sad today?”
Yet there is another way, a more feminine, the way of David. David did not ignore the troubles that he encountered. He deeply felt the pain and cried out to God, as we can see in the book of Tehilim. Feeling the pain allowed him to open up depths of the soul that would otherwise be totally hidden.
These two paths reveal the two types of greatness in man. The independence, dignity and strength on one hand, and and the complete dependence and trust in God on the other.
Adapted from Divrei Tora Bein Hametzarim, pp. 108-112, by R' Mottel Zilber shlit"a
