December 27, 2024
Building Joseph’s Egypt
Building Joseph’s Egypt
Rabbi Ari S. Lorge
Since the earliest days of European settlement in America, those who came to these shores viewed it as a new Promised Land. Early colonists expressed this in their sermons, speeches, and in place names. This trend continued throughout American history. And Jews were no exception. In particular, we tend to highlight the Eastern European immigrants who spoke of America as the Golden Medina and a new promised land. And yes, often the promise was far from the reality.
Those of you who have been part of the Central seders I lead know the tradition of my grandfather, Rabbi Ernst Lorge. A German Jewish refugee, after declaring the Eternal Jewish longing at the end of seder, “לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם – next year in Jerusalem,” he would lead the table in singing America the Beautiful. America was the place that saved him, a promised land in his story. He spent his life working to build an America that lived up to that promise for all citizens. The singing lifted up the way America fulfilled its promise to him, and yet denied that promise to others. It was a song of gratitude and protest all at once.
But if we are looking through Torah colored glasses, if we adopt a Torah view of the world, modern-day America is not the Promised land, it is Egypt. That sounds harsh but I don’t intend it to be. In Torah’s time, Egypt was the center of the ancient world. It was the most powerful nation. Its military was unrivaled. It was the breadbasket of the world. Its culture was the height of all civilization. And Egypt was fundamentally pagan: it idolized wealth, position, power, and prestige. Any honest assessment using that viewpoint holds that today’s America is Egypt.
And our Torah portion takes us there with our ancestor Joseph, who has seen ups and downs in Egyptian society. We find Joseph forgotten in prison – innocent of his crimes. Suddenly he is rushed to Pharaoh who has had two dreams. Joseph is asked to interpret them. He does so, warning Pharoah that after seven years of plenty there will be seven years of famine. Then Joseph suggests a plan for how to meet the challenge. Pharaoh recognizes talent when he sees it and makes Joseph second in command of the entire nation. It is the original rags to riches story.
What is Torah trying to get at? This is the first of only 3 tales in all of our Bible about one of our ancestors finding power and position in the Diaspora. There must be some vital lessons for us Diaspora dwellers.
It is noteworthy that in rapid succession we get an image of two Egypts separated by hundreds of years: Joseph's Egypt and then Moses' Egypt.
I don't need to tell you that Moses' Egypt is the archetype of a corrupted society. It is merciless. A majority has dehumanized all minorities, pushing them out of power and stripping them of rights. Society is maintained through violence, intimidation, and fear. It is an exploitative world. Products matter more than people. Humans are degraded to chattel. This is the Diaspora at its most sinister. A world of pagan values at their zenith.
Now Joseph's Egypt is not perfect, but it is not at all Moses’ Egypt. Outsiders seem to be welcome if they can contribute. In fact, there is some form of meritocracy. Joseph, a Canaanite slave, is able to rise to a position of power due to his skill and competence. And Pharaoh comes to value Joseph for something truly extraordinary. We are told that Pharaoh sees that the spirit of God, ruach Elohim, is within Joseph. How strange that a non-Israelite notices this.
Having “God’s spirit within you.” is a phrase that becomes a marker of Divine favor in our Bible, but it is employed for the first time here. Our God is the antithesis of Egyptian religion. Pharaoh prays to false gods who represent force, dominance, and power. For Pharaoh to notice our God’s spirit in Joseph was to recognize something un-Egyptian – something countercultural that startles and surprises Pharaoh.
Pharaoh asked Joseph, a prisoner, to interpret his dreams. Joseph does not owe him anything. He has been falsely accused, and we would expect someone in his position to be bitter and angry. And yet Joseph is nothing of the sort. Without promise of freedom or favor, Joseph generously interprets Pharaoh’s dream, ensuring that Egypt will survive the coming calamity. Imagine being in Joseph’s shoes – he could have listened to the dreams and then kept silent, letting them all starve. What revenge he could have taken. But no. Not Joseph. In fact, he not only interprets the dreams, he then, without any prompting, lays out the plan necessary to position Egypt to weather the terrible famine. Why would he do that? He gives away his leverage. Pharaoh could easily have thrown him back in jail and enacted that plan himself. But these displays of open-heartedness, generosity, kindness, mercy, grace allow Pharaoh to glimpse God’s spirit within Joseph. In short, in Joseph’s actions he sees the qualities that are antithetical to his empire: counter forces to greed, dominance, selfishness, guile. He realizes that only such a person will be capable of enacting the necessary systems that will save them all – someone who can delay gratification, serve something greater than oneself, relinquish resources to the needy, and evenly and fairly give out what is amassed.
Moreover, we later learn that Joseph doesn’t only feed starving Egyptians, Joseph has opened Egypt’s resources to any foreigner since the famine has spread over the entire world. His Godly Spirit has opened up Egypt’s storehouses to all. This is not Moses’ Egypt, it is the sign of Joseph’s Egypt. Is it perfect? No. Is it the Promised Land? No. But, it shows great promise. Joseph has taken the Spirit of God that rests within him and spread it into Egypt. He has made a Diaspora that is more Godly and good.
We know it doesn’t last. A Pharaoh will arise who knew not Joseph – and who doesn’t see this spirit of God as something to value. This new pharaoh will return Egypt to what he thinks made its past great and glorious. He will make Egypt cruel and criminal again.
As 2025 dawns, Jews around America are asking what is our purpose and place here? We have to remember that Jewish exile exists on a continuum. Are we building Joseph’s Egypt or are we enabling Moses’ Egypt? Are we using our values and tradition to lead the way in inculcating a culture of welcoming the stranger, of opening our hand to the needy, of providing righteous and true judgements, shunning bribes, keeping honest scales, of not abandoning the old or impoverishing the sick? It remains to be seen.
For my part, like my Grandfather, I continue to sing America the Beautiful at the end of Seder. The beautiful part of thinking of America as a land of promise is recognizing the aspiration of what this place has been to some, and can be for all, while working tirelessly to make it so. May God’s spirit rest upon each of us in the new year of the Diaspora. May God’s spirit give us strength for what lies ahead.
Watch our sermon above or on Youtube, listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or read the transcript above.