It occurred to me that the Torah portions for last week and this week -- Miketz and Vayiggash -- are uniquely relevant to the financial crisis, which the press highlighted as the sea change of the year just ended.
Last week, Pharaoh had his famous dreams of the fat cows and the skinny ones, and the fat ears of corn and the skinny ones. Unlike many national leaders of the modern period, Pharaoh took notice of his disturbing dream, sensing its hint of trouble brewing for his prosperous kingdom. He searched for a person in his kingdom -- any person, even a jailbird! -- with the ability to interpret the disturbing sign, and so was Joseph brought before him. The amazing thing that happened there was not only that Joseph dared speak truth to power -- but that power was able to hear the truth.
And the truth was that no matter how secure the boom times might appear, they would inevitably be followed by bust (business cycle, anyone?). Joseph didn't need to be a prophet to arrive at that thought; he needed common sense and -- just as important -- the sense to heed it. Perhaps even more than that, he needed the sensitivity and intuition to hear the stirrings of Pharaoh's own mind and soul, the sense to agree with them, and the courage to speak them aloud in a society where it seemed that the boom time would last forever.
So what's the lesson for 2009? First, to all of us: Dare to speak to truth to power, and dare to trust common sense. Second: Power, keep your ears open to hear the truth. And third: Power, seek out those with the keen intellect, intuition and ability to sense the undercurrents to overt reality, and to suggest wise and prudent courses of action.
Sound obvious? So why are the bombs falling again in our part of the world? Is there no one with the ability to spy out a wise and prudent course of action in dealing with our enemies? Must it always come down to brute violence? (To be sure, sometimes it must; I'm not saying our army should be disbanded, but that there might be craftier and more prudent ways of outmaneuvering our enemies.)
Joseph -- a story for our time.
Last week, Pharaoh had his famous dreams of the fat cows and the skinny ones, and the fat ears of corn and the skinny ones. Unlike many national leaders of the modern period, Pharaoh took notice of his disturbing dream, sensing its hint of trouble brewing for his prosperous kingdom. He searched for a person in his kingdom -- any person, even a jailbird! -- with the ability to interpret the disturbing sign, and so was Joseph brought before him. The amazing thing that happened there was not only that Joseph dared speak truth to power -- but that power was able to hear the truth.
And the truth was that no matter how secure the boom times might appear, they would inevitably be followed by bust (business cycle, anyone?). Joseph didn't need to be a prophet to arrive at that thought; he needed common sense and -- just as important -- the sense to heed it. Perhaps even more than that, he needed the sensitivity and intuition to hear the stirrings of Pharaoh's own mind and soul, the sense to agree with them, and the courage to speak them aloud in a society where it seemed that the boom time would last forever.
So what's the lesson for 2009? First, to all of us: Dare to speak to truth to power, and dare to trust common sense. Second: Power, keep your ears open to hear the truth. And third: Power, seek out those with the keen intellect, intuition and ability to sense the undercurrents to overt reality, and to suggest wise and prudent courses of action.
Sound obvious? So why are the bombs falling again in our part of the world? Is there no one with the ability to spy out a wise and prudent course of action in dealing with our enemies? Must it always come down to brute violence? (To be sure, sometimes it must; I'm not saying our army should be disbanded, but that there might be craftier and more prudent ways of outmaneuvering our enemies.)
Joseph -- a story for our time.
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