A lesson in leadership
Vayeishev 2015
By: Ileanah Carazo
The story of the patriarchs is a story of courage and leadership.
Some of them chose to be the leaders, others were chosen by G-d or the circumstances.
Some were born with the right to be leaders but never met the requirements of times norevents.
Others were born without apparent possibilities for greatness and ended up playing crucial roles in the history of our people.
This week, two main characters are presented: Joseph and Judah. Both were called to leadership in different areas. Both had to earn their right to lead. Both succeeded after a chain of amazing circumstances.
After loosing his beloved Rachel, Jacobnow is settled and hoping to spend the rest of his days in peace. His main joy is his son Joseph, the oldest son of Rachel. He showers him with special gifts, and of course, the other sons become jealous of Joseph.
Joseph was a brilliant, attractiveand honest young man. He thought that each person must be authentic both in action and in words. But he was also self-possessed and immature. Every time he saw his brothers doing something against his father’s wishes, he would go and “tell” on them to his father.
Joseph alsohad prophetic dreams in which he saw himself elevated to the highest positions of power, and his family bowing in front of him.
The brothers’ jealousy is augmented by Joseph’s dreams, which Joseph insists on repeatedly describing to them and to his father—dreams which foretell his mastery over them.
Of course, the brothers hated him for his attitude, and as soon as they had an opportunity, they decided to get rid of him.
Some of them wanted to kill Joseph.
The sons of Leah (Simeon and Levi) were determined to prevent at any cost, the fulfillment of Josephs dream. Reuben did not have the courage to stand against his brothers but suggests that they throw him into a pit instead, intending to come back later and save him. But while Joseph is in the pit,Judahconvinced the group to sell Joseph to a caravan of passingIshmaelite’s.
The brothers dip Joseph’s special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son was devoured by a wild beast.
As soon as the brothers saw the huge impact that the supposed death of Joseph caused in their father, they felt guilty and immediately blamed Judah for leading them into selling Joseph.
Judah’s life became a hard one.
He moves away from his family, marries and hasthreechildren. The eldest,Er, dies young and childless, and his wife,Tamar, is given in levirate marriage to the second son, Onan. Onan sins by spilling his seed, and he too meets an early death. Judah is reluctant to have his third son marry her. Then,Judah’s wife also dies.
Determined to have a child from Judah’s family,Tamardisguises herself as a prostitute and seduces Judah himself.
Judah hears that his daughter-in-law has become pregnant and orders her to be executed for harlotry, but when Tamar produces the ring he left with her as a pledge for payment, he publicly admits that he is the father. Tamar gives birth to twin sons,Peretz(an ancestor ofKing David) andZerach.
Judah recognizes his mistakes, and publically accepts the paternity and the fact that Tamar is more righteous than he is.
Coming back to Joseph, he got sold as slave into the house of Potiphar, a Pharaoh’s courtier and made his way up.
He became the head of the Potiphar household, but Potiphar’s wife fell in love with him.
Joseph rejected her many times, and his attitude arousedher desires even more.
One day she ambushed him. He rejected her again and tries to run away, but she grabbed his garment and in order to free himself from her, he left is garment in her hand. This cost him to be put on prison without any trial.
In prison he learned humbleness and started to use his amazing capacity for dreaming interpretation for the benefit of others and not only of himself. This eventually will take him out of prison and his presence in Egypt will be the fulfilling of his own most precious dreams.
Two brothers, two different lives. Both were chosen for greatness and leadership.
Joseph knew his life was destined for fame and power. He was not born to be a shepherd, not even a great one.
He was a visionary and Egypt was the perfect environment for him to bloom. But in order to rise up he had to go down. First he had to learn to control his ego, his pride, his sense of knowing it all, and to recognize that his capabilities were only a gift from G-d and not something that he was entitled to. Only when he was able to use his gifts to help others, his real power was unleashed.
Judah was the fourth son. He grew up without even the hope of becoming the leader. But life events opened up avenues of possibilities for him.
He just wanted to be a family man. When he used his persuasive powers for the first time, he was not aware of the responsibilities of being a leader.
He had to learn the hard way that when things go right, the leader just materialize the desires of his people, and when things go wrong, the leader has to assume full responsibility for the thoughts and feelings of everybody.
After his first and painful failure with the brothers, he gives up and put distance between him and his family, only to discover that ignoring yourcall and your responsibilities, does not exempt you from them.
Both brothers have to pass the test of sexual ethical conduct.
Both learned that sexual energy needs to be honored and channeled properly.
Both descendants had a transcendental role to play in the history of Am Israel. Our sages speak of two messiahs, each with a role to play in the final fulfillment of Israel’s mission—a messiahdescending from Joseph, and a messiah from the royal house ofDavid, from the tribe of Judah
Joseph’s control over his sexual impulses teaches us that moral issues are more important than physical satisfaction and personal gain, and that we have the power to choose our actions.
Judah’s failure to control his physical appetite gave him the possibility of doing teshuvah, accepting his responsibilities, repairing his wrongdoings, and in doing so; he earned the honor of becoming the leader of his father household.
Joseph originally was not a leader, but he dreamed about the heavens and became the most powerful man of his time.
His raise to power saved his whole family from famine, making possible that you and I could be here today remembering this story.
Judah originally was not a leader, but in learning to do what is right regardless to the consequences and in recognizing his mistakes and assuming the responsibility for them, he made his name eternal and we proudly call ourselves his heirs.
May we learn from the life stories of Joseph and Judah to grow in our own power, to honor the ethical guidelines of our tradition and to become the leaders that our families and communities deserve.
Shabbat Shalom!