by Joy Scott, Am Haskalah Congregant
In last week’s Parsha (Mikietz), Joseph, then Viceroy of Egypt, is approached by ten of his brothers from Canaan, to purchase grain and food, as the famine Joseph had prophesied to the Pharaoh proliferated throughout the entire region. At first, Joseph does not identify himself as the brother, who they so cruelly sold to be an Egyptian slave, over twenty years before. Instead, he devised a series of tests, to ascertain if the men were both remorseful for their actions, as well as if they had matured into men of morality. Every test proved that each of the brothers had developed into trustworthy, honest individuals. Ultimately, the brother, long thought of as dead, reveals himself and says: “I am Joseph”(1). His brothers were stunned and worried about how he planned to avenge himself for their despicable actions towards him. Each of them recoiled in horror, bewildered that this high Egyptian ruler was the same young man, who they sold to be a slave.
Joseph attempted to reassure his brothers, that not only were they forgiven; but, he had created a plan to reunite the entire family. He said to them: “Come draw near to me. Do not be troubled or chagrined for your past deeds, for it was to save your lives that God sent me ahead of you; I will assure your survival and keep you alive for a great deliverance. So, it’s not you who sent me here, but the God , who made me a father to the Pharaoh, a lord of all his household, and a ruler over the entire land of Egypt”(2).
As the book of Genesis comes to a close, the story of Joseph not only prefigures future deliverance; but, also darkly foreshadows impending enslavement. Joseph sets in motion a chain of events which leads to the enslavement of his own people, in later generations.
After Joseph makes peace with his brothers, he tells them to waste not a minute, and go up to their father, Jacob, in Canaan, and tell him the plan, to come with all the family (seventy in total), to Egypt where Joseph is now a lord over all of Egypt. The family will reside in the rich land of Goshen and will prosper, despite the years remaining for the famine to end. The famine was expected to continue and worsen over the next five years, and the impact on the Egyptian population was disastrous. In order to survive, the Egyptian people had to sacrifice their property and freedom. Joseph was without mercy in his actions. First he collected all the silver in the land, and used it as payment for grain and food. When the silver was depleted, and the people asked for food, Joseph allotted them food, in exchange for their livestock. The livestock only lasted one year; at which point, the Egyptians , who were becoming accustomed to their accelerating impoverishment, offered themselves as slaves(3). During this time, Joseph’s family were “fruitful and multiplied greatly”(4).
However, Joseph’s descendants later paid the price for Joseph’s treatment of the Egyptians, in their time of need. Many years later, a new Pharaoh libeled the Israelites as ‘the enemy within’; and, not only made them slaves, but, even attempted genocide(5).
Rather than a linear ascent from slavery to freedom, this story oscillates between glory and sorrow. Telling and re-telling these cyclical stories, allows us to cultivate the virtues of resilience and gratitude. Perhaps this awareness has some correlation to the peculiar longevity of Jewish civilization.
FOOTNOTES:
(1) The Torah: A Modern Commentary
(2) Genesis (45: 5-8)
(3) Genesis (47:13-26)
(4) Genesis (47:27)
(5) The Torah: A Modern Commentary