As we conclude this season of lights I think it is an understatement to say that this has been a tough time for the Jewish community. The war between Israel and Gaza as we know has caused a variety of reactions, some of those playing out on major university campuses and local protests, coinciding with the concerning rise of antisemitism. While for some it’s more clear cut, Israel has to do what it must, for many Jews there is a moral conundrum that is the water under the ice: the war is taking a devastating toll and world condemnation is getting louder everyday, but this is my family and Israel needs to get rid of Hamas. As a result many Jewish people have needed to question their connection to a past they may have walked away from for one reason or another, or simply bifurcated their Jewish self and a connection to Israel. This is what I see in this week's sedra, parashat Miketz; Joseph is coming to terms with his present and his past, recognizing they are intertwined.
The continuation of the Joseph saga begins with Pharaoh calling on Joseph to interpret his dreams. The dreams of seven gaunt cows eating seven healthy cows, and seven unhealthy ears of grain swallowing up seven healthy ears of grain, are interpreted by Joseph to mean that seven years of hardy produce from the land of Egypt will be followed by seven years of famine. A shrewd businessman, Joseph tells Pharaoh to store up the abundance of food so that when the famine comes not only will the people still be able to eat, but there will be plenty so the nations of the world will come to Egypt to purchase food as well. Pharaoh is pleased with this interpretation and tells Joseph to take the lead on this project, making him the second most powerful human in the world, second only to the Pharaoh. Seven years after his appointment Joseph is confronted by his brothers who came to buy food; yes, the same ones who sold him into slavery 22 years earlier. While there is much to tell regarding that reunion here I want to write about Joseph's struggle to separate himself from his past. Is such a thing even possible, can we really truly run from our past? Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel teaches that when we reconcile the past in the future it is “To us, recollection is a holy act; we sanctify the present by remembering the past.””
Yet in an attempt to do such a thing, that is to disavow a connection to the past, we see this happening in Genesis 41. Here when Joseph and Asenath had two sons they (the sons) were given names that reflected Joseph's desire to keep his past in the past. Looking at his one son, Manasseh, the meaning of his name is telling; “God has made me completely forget my hardship and my parental home.” We learn in a Midrash (Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Miketz 12) that in Rabbinic tradition what Joseph forgot was the pain of the past as he immersed himself in the study of Torah day and night, meaning he did forget the best parts of his upbringing. That tradition informed the Sfrono who taught, “what happened to him (Joseph) foreshadowed what would happen in the future, as described in Isaiah 65:16; ‘for the former troubles shall be forgotten.’” While that is a comfortable way to understand Joseph's denial of his past pain, it is pretty black and white to me; Joseph was mad at his family and wanted to forget them with no cognizant intent to reconcile his emotions. This is no different from what many Jews are dealing with today, even if not the same story line.
A recent interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, the Jewish Independent from Vermont, regarding the Israel-Hamas war is worth noting. Sanders considers Israel to be illegal occupiers of the Palestinian territories, further calling Netanyahu a “racist” who has created a government that “provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.” Sanders also calls on the United States to stop funding Israel right now given the amount of deaths Israel's relentless military campaign is causing against the Palestinian people. Yet in this same interview he says, “they (Israel) have a right to go to war against Hamas (although not the Palestinian people),” facing blowback from other progressives for not explicitly supporting a cease-fire. This type of blowback is also shared by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC). Here, Jewish Democratic lawmakers are feeling “abandoned” by the progressive community in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel. In this case they feel a sense of abandonment by those whom Jewish Democrats have “stood so strongly as allies with other minority communities over generations,'' which has resulted in a “painful time.” You see, for Sanders and Manning the Jewish community is their family, and despite what they may feel about Israel politically they are unable to separate from their family. As I said, I think that is a Jewish problem right now that many are facing to varying degrees. This situation is making many Jews question their own loyalties and what that means in their relationship to Israel.
In this parasha we experience a Joseph who wants to forget everything about his past, but when he encounters his brothers (here and beyond), we meet a different Joseph, who puts his family first. I truly feel that Joseph's plight is being played out right now in the Jewish community and Torah is teaching a very important lesson that is making many ask the question; can I really run from my family? If Joseph was asked that same question I suspect he would say no.
Shabbat Shalom and Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
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