Vayigash: Oy, Another Jewish Banker...

I go back and forth about this whole "Radical Honesty" thing. As you may (hopefully) recall, that was my theme of my sermons at this year's High Holidays, and it has since morphed into a personal creed for the whole year... possibly even

beyond. But honesty is hard. Not everything needs to be shared, not all the time, and not with everyone. On the other hand, how is it completely HONEST if it's selective??? For example, should I share with you the uncomfortable details of our Torah portion? It may be truthful to focus on ways that our text has led to anti-Semitism, has fanned the flames of racist stereotypes, and could be used against us as examples of karma or poetic justice; we got what we deserved! Do people want to hear it? Do I/we want to look at it and try and make some sense of what our ancestors did and why? Clearly, the answer is "yes," because I'm about to tell you about it now! Though I acknowledge it is complex, and that sometimes the truth can hurt. Maybe the main point is, nothing is ever as simple as it seems...

The Joseph story (and thus the entire Book of Genesis) are about to conclude. This section may be familiar to you; Joseph brings his family down to Egypt, life is good, Pharaoh loves him... but then a new Pharaoh arises who does NOT know Joseph.
Dark clouds begin to spread across the sky, and we have an ominous feeling heading into the Book of Exodus. What is sometimes left OUT of the narrative, and which is unpleasant to talk about, is how Joseph conducted himself as Grand Vizier in Egypt. The end of our parashah makes it abundantly clear that he was not a kind-hearted, people-focused ruler. After seven years of plenty - and thus seven years of stockpiling and hoarding grain - Joseph does NOT redistribute the food back to the Egyptians during the subsequent famine. Instead, he SELLS it back to them, and little by little acquires (on Pharaoh's behalf) essentially the rights to all the land of Egypt. The people sell him EVERYTHING; ultimately declaring: "Take us and our land in exchange for bread, and we with our land will be serfs to Pharaoh; provide us with seed that we may live and not die" (Gen. 47:19). The Egyptian priests are spared; however with the exception of the top 1% of the population, everyone else is now essentially a slave.

I think you can see why this is SO uncomfortable to read. The outsider - the Jew - comes in and enslaves the people!! The tax collector, the banker, the money-grubbing Hebrew; this story reinforces all of the worst stereotypes and fears that

people have about Jews. Bitterly we must acknowledge that our Jewish history has been filled with this awful trope over and over and over again. From Pharaoh's perspective, it's perfect! If all goes well, Pharaoh looks like a genius and a savior for bringing Joseph in at the right time to save the people. If it all fails; blame the Jew. And this constantly repeating pattern has made us all nervous. It doesn't help to see a daily barrage of stories about Jews like Bernie Madoff, Harvey Weinstein, Michael Cohen, Jarred Kushner, and so, so many others. People in positions of power and influence, who took (or take...) advantage of the system for personal gain, greed, and dominance. How can I ignore the ways in which this story plays RIGHT into all those awful models?!?!

Well, that's where honesty comes back in. We can't hide from our past... or from our present. Let's acknowledge the wrongs we see committed - whether in the Torah, in Hollywood, on Wall Street, or in Washington. Joseph's story IS in the

Torah. It is also true that we collectively suffer for his decisions. Bringing the family down to Egypt leads to enslavement and oppression. All the ways that Joseph subjugates the Egyptians are soon mirrored in Pharaoh's persecution of the Hebrews. Is it indeed poetic justice?? Perhaps. It is also a stark reminder to us of what happens when we pursue wealth at the expense of others, power on the backs of the less-fortunate. I think we have to read these stories year after year, to remind ourselves of the risks of abuse of power. This also doesn't just affect the wealthiest Jews or those with public personas. We all need to take this lesson to heart and work on our humility, our compassion, and our concern for ALL people around us, not just our own family and friends... you know, if we're being really honest...


Images in this blog post:
1. CC image courtesy of Nick Youngson on Alphastockimages.com
2. CC image courtesy of Pixnio
3. CC image courtesy of Meanwhile in Budapest
4. CC image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons