WRJ Voices: Vayigash

This week’s parashah, Vayigash, is one often retold and even popularized in movies and musicals. This is the high drama story of Joseph meeting with his estranged brothers, who had years ago sold him into slavery over their jealousy of his favored status with their father. The brothers don’t recognize Joseph and think he is an Egyptian because of his status as Pharaoh’s aide. When a stolen goblet is found in their younger brother Benjamin’s bag, the brothers beg Joseph to spare him from slavery.

At a crucial moment in this exchange, Joseph reveals his true identity and cries out. “I am Joseph!” This story offers all the themes and emotions of a good prime-time TV soap opera - shock, betrayal, slavery, distrust, imprisonment, entrapment, but also sympathy, forgiveness, compassion, and reconciliation. Were you rooting for retribution? Joseph squelches his own emotions of anger and vengeance and spares his brothers from a punitive fate.

Dig into our own families’ history and we can probably find tales of riffs among siblings, accusations of parental favoritism and wrongs done to one and other. We’re guilty of similar divisions and finger pointing in our larger communities as well – among friends, neighbors, and especially our fellow citizens. How often do we choose forgiveness or compassion to build reconciliation? Why does it seem so hard to swallow our anger when the result is not a win but a loss for both sides? What would it look like if we followed Joseph’s example and put aside our differences and past histories for the greater good of the “family?”

These days, the high drama of soap operas is played out in politics and we blame this behavior of our political leaders for the divisiveness in our society. True, many do not model Joseph’s leadership. Some favor personal gain and power over empathy and employ ruthless tactics to achieve them. Sometimes their rhetoric antagonizes our communities creating disunity.

While not excusing current leadership or diminishing their impact, let’s take control of our own emotions with our actions and learn a lesson from Joseph. Offer empathy, forgiveness, and compassion in all of our relationships to foster unity across our communities. Let’s stop focusing on the negativity presented by some in power and diminish that power by building consensus with our neighbors. It may not make for great TV, but let’s create a better reality.

Andrea Gingold is an at-large member of the WRJ Executive Committee and the Immediate Past President of sisterhood at Temple Israel of the City of New York. By day, she is a fundraiser for UJA Federation NY, responsible for Professional Women’s Philanthropy.