The Power to Change
D’var Torah for Parashat Mikeitz
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
December 21, 2022
As this week’s Torah portion, Mikeitz (“At the End,” Genesis 41:1—44:17) begins, Joseph is released from the prison in which he was unjustly incarcerated, called upon to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh recounts his disturbing dreams and the distressing fact that none of his magicians and sages has been able to interpret them.
I’ve always wondered about this part of the story. Maybe it’s because I’ve read it many times over (spoiler alert!) and know how it all ends. But—really now—are these dreams so hard to understand? Does it take a rocket scientist or Freudian analyst or to figure them out? Two dreams, each basically following the same pattern: In the first, seven fat and healthy cows appear by the riverside, only to get eaten up by seven skinny and sickly cows; and then the same with seven “healthy and good ears of grain growing on one stalk” that get swallowed up by seven thin stalks “beaten by the east wind.”
And yet, “all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men thereof” are completely stymied,
Setting aside the comic aspect of this scene, maybe it isn’t the dreams that has them all scratching their heads. Maybe it’s what to do about the disaster they predict.
For aside from this being a colorful and dramatic yarn, the story of Joseph and his brothers brings up important questions. To what extent is human destiny pre-determined? How much free choice is there? Do we have any say about the outcome of events, or are we merely playthings in the hands of fickle gods?
Joseph’s cleverness isn’t made clear only by his ability to interpret dreams. It stands out boldly against the background of the prevailing belief in fatalism, the conviction that everything is predetermined by the fates, that whatever they predict must inevitably happen. In a society compelled by gods, priests and kings into believing that there’s nothing that can be done to change the course of history, there is no recourse and no free choice. What will be, will be. Que sera sera. In this kind of system, the best one can hope for is to get the gods to forget their original intent. Get them drunk enough, well-fed enough, entertained enough, and then pray that they look elsewhere for their malevolent and even perverse pleasures.
Joseph was of a different mindset. Everything he had learned from his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents convinced him that we can make a difference in the world. What makes Joseph seem such a wonder in the eyes of Pharaoh and his courtiers is not only his explanation of Pharaoh’s dreams, but also the simple solution he offers, something that none of them could even dream of: Store up the grain left over from the seven years of plenty and distribute it later, during the oncoming years of famine.
Joseph’s cleverness leads him to become the second most powerful man in Egypt, subject only to Pharaoh himself. Then, and only then, with his system is all set up, is Joseph able to turn his attention to that other pressing matter: settling the score with his brothers. And he does so with cunning and even cruelty, testing their honesty and remorse, pushing them to the point where they will break and reveal the secret they had been keeping for 22 years.
As is true with all the Torah’s lessons, marvelous stories contain within them powerful messages. Mikeitz tells us that we are not powerless even in the face of overwhelming odds. The possibility of change is contained within us, enabling each of us to bring about both personal growth and cultural progress. We can change the course of life and history. We can make a difference in the world. We have the power.
© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman
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