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We have watched Jakob since his early shofar-blowing
days til now - when he teaches us! mazel tov!
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Jakob
Friedman Slifker Bar
Mitzvah D’var Torah December
20, 2014
Shabbat Shalom.
When I first learned my Torah portion was going to be Miketz,
I was really excited. I had studied the parasha multiple times in Jewish Day
School. I knew Miketz: the story of
Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams of cows and grain; his being given control
of the food supply in Egypt during the years of abundance and the following
years of famine; Joseph’s brothers’ coming to Egypt; Joseph’s holding Shimon
captive until his brothers returned with the youngest, Benjamin. I knew the story of how Joseph had returned
the gold to his brothers in their sacks of grain, making them fear they would
be suspected of being thieves. I knew
there’d be a lot to talk about, and I thought
I knew the story. In studying with Rabbi
Alanna, however, I found that these
stories are only half the deal. The
other half is way more interesting.
First of all, Pharaoh didn’t just give Joseph control of the food
supply in Egypt, he actually gave Joseph the power of a king and “only with
respect to the throne [was Pharaoh] superior to” Joseph. In addition, Pharaoh gave him this power
immediately after hearing Joseph interpret his dreams. When I read that I thought: there must be
more to this. Why would Pharaoh
immediately give Joseph this power? He’d
only just met the guy, so there’s got to be something else behind his
decision. With these questions in mind,
Rabbi Alanna and I went and looked at Breishit
Rabba and found some fascinating midrashim (which are rabbinic
interpretations of the text).
In one midrash, we learned about what happened before Joseph’s meteoric rise to power
-- in the time between Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dream and his being
granted the power of a king. According to Rabbi Eliezer, after
Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, Pharaoh told Joseph, “before I can give
you all this power, you need to show me that you know the fifty languages of
the world because a king must know
all the languages.” (I don’t know exactly
why he needed to know all these languages, but a certain 8 ½ year-old I know
suggested that a king has to be able to have control over any people he might
meet, and those people might speak different languages). Our midrash teaches that that night, the angel
Gabriel came down from heaven, taught Joseph the 50 languages, and told him
what he needed to do to pass Pharaoh’s challenge. The next morning, Pharaoh tested Joseph and
he aced the test. 50 languages? No problem.
Then Joseph surprised Pharaoh by saying, “but I also know another
language.” He then spoke in the language
of his people, Hebrew. At this point,
Pharaoh instructed Joseph not to tell a soul that he knew this language. Why?
Because Pharaoh did not know Hebrew, and he was concerned that his
people would no longer respect him as their
king and would rebel. Joseph agreed to
keep this secret. And it seemed like
that was that. But Rabbi Eliezer wasn’t
quite finished. In the next parasha, we learn that Joseph wanted to
bury his father in Canaan (Jacob’s final request) and that Pharaoh refused to
let him go. In response, according to
our Midrash, Joseph threatened Pharaoh, telling him, “If you don’t let me go,
then I’m going to tell everyone in Egypt that you don’t know a language that I do,
which will undermine your power and allow me to usurp you.”
This Midrash brings up something that seems to
contradict the stories I thought I knew so well. In my education at Jewish Day school, I was
taught to view Joseph as a hero. Yes, when he was younger, living with his
family in Canaan, he shared some dreams that seemed to suggest that he thought
he was better than everyone else. But
our lessons didn’t focus on Joseph’s pride, but rather on how these dreams led
to his brothers’ mistreating him and selling him to the Ishmaelites. Quite simply, his brothers were bad, and
Joseph’s supposedly selfless actions in Egypt made up for any character
flaws. But I was nine; I was in fourth
grade, and this was just another Torah
lesson.
Now, as a thirteen year-old, who’s beginning to
discover my own opinions, I see Joseph differently. Rather than viewing him simply as a hero, as
a selfless and kind leader, who distributes food to anyone who needs it, I’m
left with questions. Is Joseph really a
good leader? Or is Joseph a selfish,
power-hungry man, more interested in wealth and control, than in the well being
of his people?
One way of beginning to address these questions
is to ask other questions: Is Joseph
really in charge of his own actions? Or is God the one in control? If God
is the one in control, then is God merely a voice in Joseph’s ear directing
him or is God moving Joseph like a pawn, controlling everything Joseph says and
does?
The reason I’m asking these questions is
because, in reading Miketz in
preparation for my bar mitzvah, I noticed that when Joseph was interpreting
Pharaoh’s dreams, it’s not exactly clear who’s talking -- Joseph or God. Joseph doesn’t just say, “Well, God told me
the meaning of your dreams.” He talks
about God and Pharaoh in the third person, and it’s not clear where Joseph fits in. Before Joseph explains that the dreams of the
cows and the grain symbolize the years of abundance and famine to come, he
says, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same: God has told Pharaoh what he is
about to do.” That’s pretty clear. After explaining the dreams, however, he
then repeats himself, saying, “It is just as I have told Pharaoh. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about
to do. [...] The matter is determined by God and God will soon carry it
out.” Here, when Joseph says “I,” it’s
not clear whether he means himself or God.
Is Joseph equating himself with God, just as his brothers thought he was
in his earlier dream about the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him? Or, is
God speaking through Joseph to tell Pharaoh what God’s intentions are?
If this lack of clarity reflects Joseph’s desire
for power, then it proves my original theory: Joseph is selfish and more
interested in power than in the well-being of others. On the other hand, if God is speaking through Joseph then maybe some of
Joseph’s apparent selfishness is not his fault.
His seeming desire for power is really God moving Joseph like a pawn for
some greater purpose unknown to Joseph and to us. Why is God putting Joseph in this position of
power? Why does his being in this
position of power allow Joseph to forgive and to help his brothers? … Why do I
keep asking questions and leaving them unanswered?
Here’s my point -- one of the things I’ve
realized in writing this D’var Torah and in studying for my bar mitzvah is that
sometimes the things I thought I knew contain more layers, more complexity, and
more depth than I ever realized. I don’t
yet know the answers to all the questions I’ve posed here -- although I hope
they’ll lead to thoughtful discussions among all of you (at lunch). But what I do know is not to be complacent, and to always be ready to ask
questions and to be open to new answers.
As Ben Bag Bag used to say about the Torah, "Turn it, and turn it,
for everything is in it. Reflect on it and grow old and gray with it. Don't
turn from it, for nothing is better than it." Part of growing up for me
means taking responsibility for myself and my own learning. I know that in the Jewish community, by
becoming a bar mitzvah, I take on the responsibility of myself and my own
choices. I need to think about my own choices in terms of selfishness, power,
and the greater good -- no matter who’s directing me. I know that I have to
take this responsibility seriously because I can’t blame my parents anymore (at
least according to Jewish tradition).
My
Mitzvah project grows out of my parasha. Since Parshat
Miketz deals in part with storing and distributing
food for the hungry in times of need, I realized that I wanted to do something
related to food and hunger relief. As
part of my project, I recently helped organize a food drive through the
synagogue for Philabundance, the region’s largest hunger relief agency. In
fact, the centerpieces for the luncheon later are baskets we made with the food
we collected and which will be donated. For the other part of my project, I
worked with the Jewish Relief Agency, or JRA, where I packed and delivered
boxes of food to people in need. Why did I do these things? That’s a question
that I will answer. I did these for
my project for two reasons. First, because Miketz
revolves around food and hunger. But
secondly, and more importantly, I wanted to use my power and choices to help
others. According to Reconstructionist
Judaism, God doesn’t choose Jews to be performers of God’s commandments, rather
it is when we choose to serve God (typically, through the mitzvot), that we are brought close to the Divine.
Maybe
Joseph was prideful; maybe God was telling him what to do. At the same time,
maybe the whole story of Joseph and God didn’t even really happen. Maybe it’s just a story. So what really does matter? What matters to me is that I was influenced
by this story to help feed the hungry.
Maybe it’s just a story, but I think all of us should use the Torah to influence us to do good things
in the world, to interpret it and to find the lessons that are waiting there
for us when we’re ready to hear them.
I would
like to take a few minutes to thank all of the people who have helped me on my
journey to becoming a Bar Mitzvah.
Thank you to all the people who have traveled long ways and in two cases
overseas to be here: my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who came in
from Boston, New York, and Florida. Gina from California. Gabi from Tel-Aviv.
Zsuzsi from Budapest. Thanks to my friends for making me laugh and to my dog,
Phineas, for giving me constant smiles. Thanks to my tutor, Rebekah, for making
me not completely fail at this, Rabbi Annie and Rabbi Alanna for rehearsals and
my D’var, my teachers from PJDS for teaching me pretty much all the Hebrew I
know and helping teach me how to think about Torah, and to the whole Dorshei
community for providing me with a wonderful Jewish home. And, finally, thanks
to my amazing parents who supported me all the way, helped me through all my
struggles, and kept me from going completely crazy, so that I could be here
today.
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