Vayechi - The Power of Joseph and The Leadership of Jacob
I am going to use three well known quotes in this sermon:
- Shakespeare (c. 1596-1599): "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown" (Henry IV Part II Act 3)
- French National Convention (1793 - attributed to Voltaire but not supported by evidence) "Ils doivent envisager qu’une grande responsabilité est la suite inséparable d’un grand pouvoir." - roughly translated as " They must consider that great responsibility follows inseparably from great power."
- Lord Acton (1887) "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"
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A number of events have taken place around the world since we met last Shabbat, not least the targeted
killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, under the direct orders of
President Trump.
I am not
going to comment on the rights or wrongs of this action, but the tragic downing of a Ukrainian airline which killed 176 people by Iran, along with deaths of dozens of mourners at his funeral highlight the repercussions of terminating the life of a thoroughly evil human being.
As my
quotes highlighted, power is a very delicate tool - which can be used and
misused in equal measure - to highly beneficial or intensely destructive ends.
This week's
pasha details both the final days of Jacob and of his favourite son, Joseph.
As Jacob
lies dying, the Torah tells us:
(1) And
Jacob called his sons and said, “Come together that I may tell you what is to
befall you in days to come. (2) Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen
to Israel your father:
ואגידה לכם
THAT I MAY TELL YOU — He wished to reveal to them the end of Israel’s exile but
the Shechinah departed from him and he began to speak of other things (Genesis
Rabbah 98:2).
Jacob has
gathered all his sons together and is about to use his power to reveal how
their history will pan out. What will happen when Mashiach comes, but his
Divine gift is removed from him and instead, he uses his abilities to bless
them, to set them on their way - to lay out a route that they may follow.
Although
some of the blessings seem like curses....
(3) Reuben,
you are my first-born, my might and first fruit of my vigour, Exceeding in rank
And exceeding in honour. (4) Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer...
(5) Simeon
and Levi are a pair; Their weapons are tools of lawlessness. (6) Let not my
person be included in their council, let not my being be counted in their
assembly. For when angry they slay men, and when pleased they maim oxen. (7)
Cursed be their anger so fierce, And their wrath so relentless. I will divide
them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel.
Rabbi Sacks
in this week's Covenant and Conversation writes:
"the
fact that he is blessing all twelve together in the same room before at the
same time...we have not yet seen this before. There is no record of Abraham
blessing either Ishmael or Isaac. Isaac blesses Esau and Jacob separately.
The
mere fact that Jacob is able to gather his sons together is unprecedented and important.
In the next chapter - the first of Exodus - the Israelites are, for the first
time described as a people. It is hard to see how they could live together as a
people if they could not live together as a family."
Jacob knows
the crucial role he has a father of the nascent Jewish people. He understands
the responsibilities that are inherent in his position. He knows that, even if
he has harsh words to say to his eldest three sons - they will be righteous and
wise enough to see these as constructive criticisms, borne out of paternal
devotion and love. As they call it these days - "tough love". As
Shakespeare wrote, for Jacob "uneasy lies the head that wears the
crown", yet, "with great power comes great responsibility".
The result
we see in the next book of the Torah leads us to the exodus from Egypt, the
giving of the Torah and ultimately, the preparation for entering the Land of
Israel at the end of Devarim/Deuteronomy.
Although Gd
removed the Shechinah (holy spirit/ability to prophesy) at the outset of his address, this did not impede his
ability to "do the right thing" as a father and leader.
Examining
Joseph's use of the power invested in his position, brings us to a different
conclusion.
A few weeks
ago, we read how Joseph, at the age of 30 has been placed in the highest
position possible by Pharaoh.
Lord Sacks
reminds us how:
"During
the plentiful years, Joseph travels around the country, arranges for collection
of grain from the farmers and ensures that it's all stored safely. As the
drought takes over and deepens, the entire nation turns to him for food."
But slowly.
his position of authority starts to fill his head with new, dangerous ideas.
When the
Egyptians have used up all their money for buying grain, they come to Joseph
asking for food, telling him that they will die without it. He tells them that
he will sell it back to them in exchange for ownership of their livestock. They
comply and bring their horses, donkeys, sheep and cattle.
The
following year, he sells them grain in exchange for their land. The result being
that within three short years, he has transferred ownership of all the money,
livestock and private land to Pharaoh (excluding the lands of the Priests).
And he
removed the population town by town, from one end of Egypt’s border to the
other.
The Torah
is describing a situation whereby Pharaoh has total ownership of the people,
their belongings and wealth. In other words, the Egyptian people themselves
have become enslaved to Pharaoh.
(יט) לָ֧מָּה
נָמ֣וּת לְעֵינֶ֗יךָ גַּם־אֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙ גַּ֣ם אַדְמָתֵ֔נוּ קְנֵֽה־אֹתָ֥נוּ
וְאֶת־אַדְמָתֵ֖נוּ בַּלָּ֑חֶם וְנִֽהְיֶ֞ה אֲנַ֤חְנוּ וְאַדְמָתֵ֙נוּ֙ עֲבָדִ֣ים לְפַרְעֹ֔ה וְתֶן־זֶ֗רַע
וְנִֽחְיֶה֙ וְלֹ֣א נָמ֔וּת וְהָאֲדָמָ֖ה לֹ֥א תֵשָֽׁם׃
Let us not
perish before your eyes, both we and our land. Take us and our land in exchange
for bread, and we with our land will be slaves to Pharaoh; provide the
seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become a waste.”
(כה)
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ הֶחֱיִתָ֑נוּ נִמְצָא־חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֵ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י וְהָיִ֥ינוּ עֲבָדִ֖ים לְפַרְעֹֽה׃
And they
said, “You have saved our lives! We are grateful to my lord, and we shall be slaves
to Pharaoh.”
Rabbi Sacks
then writes:
"We
tend to assume that the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt was a
consequence of, and punishment for, the brothers selling Joseph as a slave. But
Joseph himself turned the Egyptians into a nation of slaves. What is more, he
created the highly centralised power that would eventually be used against his
people".
Power tends
to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It is
reasonable to suggest that Joseph's actions were designed with the most
altruistic of purposes. Our Rabbis even refer to him as Yoseph HaTzadik (Joseph the Righteous One - the only one of our Biblical Patriarchs who is given this moniker as a result of his resisting the amorous advances of Mrs Potiphar and maintaining his monotheistic beliefs in a the idolatrous country that was Egypt)
Yet, despite his best intentions, he felt (and knew) that he had a role to play.
Let's not forget that he was second-in-command to Pharaoh and therefore entrusted with devising policies that would ensure the best
outcome for the country he now considered his home. Nevertheless, the result of these economic blueprints would have long lasting ramifications our ancestors.
As we later learn, at the start of the parsha/portion of Shemot (Exodus) a new Pharaoh arose, "who knew not Joseph".
Joseph's power
had indeed released the proverbial genie from the bottle.
Jacob and
Joseph demonstrate how fickle the use of power can be, even when deployed with
the best of intentions.
Jacob
understood that he had a crucial role to play and even when limited by
forces that were beyond his control, was able to view the landscape with a
foresight that ensured the smooth transition of leadership to a new generation.
His son,
however, maybe due to a very different experience of life, made very human and
understandable mistakes which ultimately led to the enslavement of an entire
population by an individual whose outlook on the world was vastly different to his.
This
resulted in the destruction of his entire army in the raging waters of the Sea
of Reeds many years later, along with the decimation of the country that he
had pledged to save during the years of the drought (via the ten plagues).
With great
power, comes great responsibility and it behoves us to remember how important
this is when we are granted the ability to make a difference.
That we are
still here today, after all these years, testifies to the fact that our
ancestors followed Jacob's example, over Joseph's.
Shabbat
Shalom.
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