Torah Portion

Moments Of Triumph
Sow Seeds of Tragedy

There's still time
to sisli vity

for

Yet, in this portion, we also find the
seeds of tragedy. Providence has given
Joseph the foresight to save mass
quantities of food against the coming
famine. No such gift was provided to
the ordinary Egyptians, who are soon
reduced to desperation in the pursuit
of food. In the end, Joseph makes a
t moments of great tri-
fateful bargain with them, as they
plead: "We cannot hide from my lord
umph, the seeds may be
that our money is all spent; and the
sown for future tragedy
Jewish history is full of
herds of cattle are my lord's. There is
nothing left in the sight of my lord
such examples — the early victories of
but our bodies and our lands. Shall
the great revolt against the Roman
we die, before vour eyes, both we and
Empire led to the destruction of the
our land? Buy us and our
Second Temple, and the
land in exchange for food.
peaks of the Spanish
We with our land will
"Golden Age" came shortly
become slaves to Pharaoh;
before its downfall.
just give us seed, so that we
In recent times, the amaz-
may live and not die, and
ing successes of Israel in the
that the land may not
1967 Six-Day War came
become desolate." (Genesis
with what would become
47:18-20).
painful "baggage" — mil-
Every Passover, we are
lions of Palestinians, as well
told to treat strangers and
as the land where they lived.
RABBI ADAM
the oppressed well because
In the lifetime of our chil-
CH ALOM
you were slaves in Egypt.
dren, on this front we have
Specia 1 to the
We never hear that one of
been from the peaks of hope
Jezvis h News
our own created slavery in
to the depths of conflict in
Egypt in the first place. The
only a few years.
story of Joseph is a cycle of mastery
In our Torah portion this week, we
and servitude — Joseph lords his
find the same dynamic — in the
dreams over his brothers and is sold as
midst of hope, the seeds of despair.
a slave to Egypt. He rises to power
We reach the literary peak of a riveting
and falls into prison. And at the
height of his triumphal return, he
sows the seeds of future suffering
among his people.
Am Yisrael, the people of Israel, face
the choice Joseph faces. We have been
at the bottom of the ladder; we have
suffered our share, and then some.
Defending our lives, our security, and
our dignity is important; but if this
comes at the expense of the dignity of
others, we must be very cautious.
After all, we remember being slaves in
Egypt. And in our cultural imagina-
tion, we also created slavery in Egypt.
We may yet reconcile with our
Jewish brothers and sisters; we may
triumph in Egypt. We must not sow
biblical novella: the saga of Joseph and
tragedy for our children's future. 111
his brothers. Jacob's sons discover that
the overbearing Egyptian governor is
in fact their long-lost brother, they
weep at the reunion, and old Jacob is
finally reunited with his beloved son.
We see here the virtues of forgiveness,
How should Joseph have reacted
of courage and of hope. Most impor-
to meeting his brothers? Should
tant, we see the enduring power and
Joseph have allowed the
value of family, as the entire clan
Egyptians to sell themselves for
food? What experiences in your
moves to Egypt as one. A triumphant
lifetime have led you to behave
end to a family drama.
better toward others?

Shabbat Vayigash:
Genesis 44:18-47:27;
Ezekiel 37:15-28.

.

"

In our cultural
imagination,
we also created
slavery in Egypt.

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12/21
2001

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