DECEMBER 14 • 2023 | 45 from prisoner-without-hope to viceroy of the greatest empire of the ancient world. Why this extraordinary chain of events? It is telling us something important, but what? Surely this: God answers our prayers, but often not when we thought or how we thought. Joseph sought to get out of prison, and he did get out of prison. But not immediately, and not because the butler kept his promise. The story is telling us some- thing fundamental about the relationship between our dreams and our achievements. Joseph was the great dreamer of the Torah, and his dreams for the most part came true. But not in a way he or anyone else could have anticipated. At the end of the previous parshah — with Joseph still in prison — it seemed as if those dreams had ended in ignominious failure. We have to wait for a week, as he had to wait for two years, before discovering that it was not so. There is no achievement without effort. That is the first principle. God saved Noah from the Flood, but first Noah had to build the Ark. God promised Abraham the land, but first he had to buy the Cave of Machpelah in which to bury Sarah. God promised the Israelites the land, but they had to fight the battles. Joseph became a leader, as he dreamed he would. But first he had to hone his practical and admin- istrative skills, first in Potiphar’s house, then in prison. Even when God assures us that something will happen, it will not happen without our effort. A Divine promise is not a substitute for human responsibility. To the contrary, it is a call to responsibility. But effort alone is not enough. We need siyata diShe- maya, “the help of Heaven. ” We need the humility to acknowl- edge that we are dependent on forces not under our control. No one in Genesis invoked God more often than Joseph. As Rashi says, “God’s Name was constantly in his mouth. ” He credited God for each of his successes. He recognized that without God he could not have done what he did. Out of that humility came patience. Those who have achieved great things have often had this unusual combination of charac- teristics. On the one hand, they work hard. They labor, they practice, they strive. On the other, they know that it will not be their hand alone that writes the script. It is not our efforts alone that decide the outcome. So we pray, and God answers our prayers — but not always when or how we expected. (And of course, sometimes the answer is “No. ”) The Talmud (Niddah 70b) says it simply. It asks: What should you do to become rich? It answers: Work hard and behave honestly. But, says the Talmud, many have tried this and did not become rich. Back comes the answer: You must pray to God from whom all wealth comes. In which case, asks the Talmud, why work hard? Because, answers the Talmud: The one without the other is insufficient. We need both: human effort and Divine favor. We have to be, in a certain sense, patient and impatient — impa- tient with ourselves but patient in waiting for God to bless our endeavors. The week-long delay between Joseph’s failed attempt to get out of prison and his eventual success is there to teach us this delicate balance. If we work hard enough, God grants us success — not when we want but, rather, when the time is right. SPIRIT Develop Your Talents J oseph is a man on a lengthy journey to become the person he is meant to be. As a rabbi, I am particularly aware of the myriad actions I do every sin- gle day that shape who I am and how others see me. In Joseph, I find a model who grows from self-ab- sorption to being in an active relationship with God. Joseph’s three instances of dream interpretation shine a light on his spiritual development over time. When we initially encounter him, Joseph is a swaggering youth. He eagerly shares his dreams and their interpretations with his family, who seem to consider them irritating delusions of grandeur that simply add to the list of his annoying behaviors. Joseph comes off as self-aggran- dizing and obnoxious, with no regard for how others might experience him. The early ver- sion of Joseph is highly self- oriented. The next time Joseph has the chance to interpret dreams, we encounter a person living in entirely different circumstanc- es with an entirely different attitude. He has been sold into slavery by his own brothers, bought by an Egyptian man to serve in his household and then sent to jail after falsely being accused of rape. When his fellow inmates mention that they are trou- bled by bad dreams and lack an interpreter, Joseph steps in right away. Yet this is hardly the egotistical Joseph of yesteryear, eager to show off and unaware of the impact of his behavior. Instead, he responds, “Surely God can interpret. Tell me [your dreams]. ” (Genesis 40:8) Joseph has the same tal- ent as before and does not deny or minimize it. Yet, now we find that God is a key part of the team as well. In fact, this is the first time that Joseph acknowledges God in any way. Through the same inborn skill that previously got him into trouble, Joseph now finds room to connect with the Divine. Joseph’s transformation is further underscored in this portion when, two years later, he is called upon to inter- pret Pharaoh’s dreams for him. Pharaoh summons Joseph from jail and remarks on his skill. This time Joseph’s answer is even more dramatic, “Not I. God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare. (Genesis 41:16) Now Joseph claims to remove himself entirely from the process while also running the risk of offend- ing the most powerful man in his universe with his answer. Yet, Joseph is determined to honor God with is gift. We, like Joseph, can choose to seek out God in whatever form He might take and to connect with God through the practice of our own skills and talents. I pray we will all pursue the transformation and connection that Joseph found that led him to his better self. Rabbi Megan Brudney is a rabbi at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township. This article originally appeared in the JN on Dec. 29, 2016. TORAH PORTION Rabbi Megan Brudney Parshat Mikketz: Genesis 41:1-44:17; I Kings 3:15-4:1.