Dec 31/05 - Shabbat Mikeitz

Commentary by Rabbi Alan Green

Joseph's rise to become one of the most powerful men in the ancient world is punctuated by spectacular ascents and descents. However, each descent is only the prelude to an even higher ascent. The first descent occurs when Joseph's elder brothers, tired of his lording it over them through the mechanism of his dreams, cast him into a pit and sell him to a passing caravan. Joseph then descends geographically and metaphorically into Egypt, and into the household of Potiphar.

Initially Joseph ascends in the service of Potiphar, gaining his trust to such an extent that Potiphar "left all that he had in Joseph's hands...and paid attention to nothing except the food he ate" (Gen. 39:6). However, Joseph is forced to reject the sexual advances of Potiphar's wife, and descends into Egyptian prison when she pins the blame on him. Nevertheless, Joseph quickly rises to a position of responsibility, as "the chief jailer put into Joseph's charge all the prisoners who were in that prison..." (Gen. 39:22).

Joseph takes another step up when he successfully interprets the dreams of two of Pharaoh's servants—the chief cup bearer, and the chief baker—who have been jailed along with Joseph. Joseph is able to predict the cup bearer's restoration to Pharaoh's good graces, as well as the execution of the chief baker.

Our Parsha begins two years later, when Pharaoh has his own disturbing dreams. Pharaoh's inability to interpret these dreams reminds the cup bearer of Joseph's expertise, and Joseph ascends from the dungeon to stand in person before Pharaoh. The Hebrew word used for dungeon here—BOR, or pit—is identical to the one used to describe the cistern into which Joseph was thrown by his brothers back in Genesis 37:24.

There, Joseph's own dreams get him thrown into a BOR. Now, Joseph's accurate rendering of Pharaoh's servants' dreams raises him from another BOR, to the court of Pharaoh—the summit of power in the ancient world. Joseph then ascends higher yet, as he formulates a brilliant economic program based on his interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams.

Joseph's descents and even more spectacular ascents prefigure those of the Jewish people as a whole. Because Joseph's brothers forced him to descend to Egypt, Joseph's entire family eventually makes YERIDAH to Egypt. There, the Israelites descend further, to the depths of slavery. However, Moses then liberates the Israelites, leading them up from Egypt and on to the world- transforming, history-making heights of Mt. Sinai.

Moses also experiences his own remarkable ascents and descents. During the prelude to Sinai, "Israel encamped there, in front of the mountain, and Moses went up to God" (Ex. 19:3). After God says what he has to say, "Moses came and summoned the elders of the people" (Ex. 19:7), at the foot of the mountain.

Moses then ascends the mountain to report the people's response to God, only to be told, "Go to the people, and warn them to stay pure today and tomorrow" (Ex. 19:10). Faithful servant that he is, "Moses came down from the mountain to tell the people to stay pure" (Ex. 19:14). But God isn't through with Moses yet.

As the Lord descends upon Mt. Sinai, "the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up" (Ex. 19:20). God then says to Moses, "Go down, warn the people not to break through to the Lord, to gaze, lest many of them perish" (Ex. 19:21). Significantly, just as Moses reaches the base of the mountain, the great event unfolds, and God reveals the Torah to the people of Israel (Ex. 19:25).

We also experience many ascents and descents in the course of our own lives. We tend to experience the high times as happiness and joy, and the low times—our failures and humiliations—as sadness and depression. We can also imagine that Joseph couldn't have been very happy when he was in the pit. The Torah explicitly says that our ancestors fully experienced the misery of their enslavement. Perhaps even Moses was less happy at the foot of Mt. Sinai than he was at its summit.

But we needn't yield to depression. Rabbi Nachman of Breslau once wrote: "If you want to return to God, you must become expert in Halachah—'the Way'—so that nothing in the world can overcome you, as you rise and fall. No matter what may befall you, you must remain steadfast, fulfilling the words of the Psalmist: 'If I rise to Heaven, You are there; and if I spread myself in the abyss, You are also there.' For God is even in the bottomless pit. Even there, you may approach Him...Wishing to surrender to His Blessed Name, gird your loins, and hold tenaciously to the ways of God forever!"

A staple of Hasidic teaching says, "YERIDAH L'TZORECH ALIYAH"—"The descent is only for the sake of the ascent." If we realize that descending to the depths of failure has a higher purpose—to rise to even greater heights than those of which we were capable before—perhaps we can learn to bear our suffering gracefully. Perhaps we can learn to live fully expectant of the spiritual elevation that inevitably comes as a result of the lessons of defeat, and the learning of true humility.