If you could be the Prime Minister, would you do it? What would you do with your new power? Would you leverage your situation to ensure that your family also got similar positions?
When Joseph invited his family down to Egypt, Pharaoh heard about it and was eager to meet them. Joseph, after all, had shown amazing managerial prowess in everything he had done. Joseph had served as viceroy for a mere 9 years and had turned Egypt into the most wealthy nation on Earth. Pharaoh considered that more brothers with similar talents could each be appointed to government positions and bring the country to unimaginable greatness. He had to meet them to find out.
Before the big meeting, Joseph spoke to his brothers and counseled them on what to say. He said:
“And it shall be, when Pharaoh summons you and says ‘What is your occupation?’ Then you are to say, ‘Your servants have been cattlemen from our youth till now, both we and our forefathers,’ so that you may be able to settle in the region of Goshen, since all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.”
Breishis 46:33-34
Why did Joseph give them this advice? It’s like going on an interview to be a truck driver and saying that you think other truckers are scumbags and that you don’t actually have a drivers license. The Egyptians hated shepherds and, even if they didn’t, herding animals for your whole life is hardly a good resume for becoming a big government official.
Rashi explains that Joseph was intentionally trying to disqualify his brothers so Pharaoh would just leave them alone. The family could move to Goshen, study torah, and stay away from immoral Egyptian society. Joseph saw that it was necessary for himself to take on a position of power in order to reunite his family in the proper way, but he also saw that politics was no thing for a nice Jewish family to be involved in. Josephs power had its uses, but he was also wary of its propensity to corrupt.
One lesson we can take from this, is that even if you must make hard decisions and do things imperfectly yourself, there is still value in protecting your family and hoping that they can live a better life than you. Another lesson, and perhaps the more counter-intuitive one, is that “a better life” is not defined by power. A better life is one that is closest to morality.
Have an easy and meaningful fast, and a good Shabbos,
Rabbi Altonaga and the JET Team
