he Torah in Parashat Vayechi tells us of the special blessings that Yaakob Abinu pronounced to each of his sons just before his passing. In his blessing to Yosef, Yaakob declared, "Me'Kel Avicha Ve'yazreka" – literally, "From the G-d of your father, and He shall help you" (49:25). Rav Moshe Alshich (Safed, 1508-1593) noted two difficulties in the text of this phrase. First, instead of blessing Yosef simply that "the G-d of your father" should assist him, Yaakob said, "Me'Kel Avicha" – "FROM" the G-d of Yosef's father should help him. Secondly, Yaakob added the letter "Vav," which means "and," before the word "Yazreka," such that he said, "and He should help you," rather than just wishing that G-d should help Yosef. To explain Yaakob's intent, Rav Moshe Alshich cites the Gemara's teaching in Masechet Sukka (52) that a person's Yeser Ha'ra (evil inclination) rises against him each and every day, in an attempt to cause him to sin, as indicated by the verse (Tehillim 37:32), "Sofeh Rasha La'sadik U'mebakesh La'hamito" – "The evil one eyes the righteous person and seeks to have him killed." The "evil one" is the Yeser Ha'ra, that endeavors to bring about the righteous person's spiritual demise by luring him to sin. The Gemara then says that if not for Hashem's help, we would be unable to withstand the challenges posed by our evil inclination. This is inferred from the next verse, which states, "Hashem Lo Ya'azbenu Be'yado, Ve'lo Yarshi'enu Be'hushafeto" – "G-d does not leave him in its hands, and He will not convict him when he is judged." Rav Moshe Alshich raises the question as to the meaning of the end of this second verse – "He will not convict him when he is judged." Why does this need to be said? If the individual refrains from sin, and does not succumb to the lures of his evil inclination, then why would we have thought that he would be "convicted"? The answer, the Alshich explains, is that since the person abstains from wrongdoing only through G-d's help, we would think that he should be held responsible as though he committed the forbidden act. As it was G-d who gave him the strength and wherewithal to resist temptation, logic seems to dictate that he should receive no credit for abstaining. The verse therefore teaches that Hashem, in His infinite love and compassion, gives us all the credit for our spiritual successes, even though they were made possible only because of His gracious assistance. Despite the fact that we depend on His help to withstand our Yeser Ha'ra, Hashem rewards us as though we did it all ourselves. Rav Moshe Alshich explains Yaakob's blessing to Yosef on this basis. He writes that Yaakob was referring to the test that Yosef withstood – the test posed by Potifar's wife, who tried luring him to have an inappropriate relationship. The Gemara (Sota 36b) tells that Yosef nearly succumbed to her advances, but then his father, Yaakob, appeared to him and implored him to abstain. It thus emerges that Yosef refrained from sin only thanks to Yaakob's assistance. Rav Moshe Alshich explains that this is the meaning of the phrase, "Me'Kel Avicha" – that Yosef's success in resisting temptation came "from" Yaakob, who intervened to rescue him. Yaakob then added, "Ve'yazreka" – that G-d would nevertheless continue granting Yosef assistance. Yosef would not be punished, and would not be denied Hashem's love and grace, despite the fact that he needed his father's help to refrain from wrongdoing. Whenever we confront any sort of spiritual challenge, we must remember that religious life is fraught with such challenges, that we are supposed to confront these tests, and that Hashem is always helping us. Moreover, we must remember that Hashem values and cherishes the efforts we make to overcome these challenges and do the right thing. He is there to help us – but this does not in any way diminish from the greatness of the work we put in to stay on course and refrain from improper behavior.