Mr. Goldberg is a Jewish “yente” reporter who goes off to interview the director of a home for the mentally challenged.
How do you know if someone belongs in here?
Well, we fill up a bathtub with water and we give the person a bucket, a teacup, and a spoon and we ask them to empty the bathtub.
I see says the reporter, the smart ones will use a bucket.
No, says the director the smart ones will pull out the plug, so the water can run out. Now, do you want a south-facing or north-facing room?
In this week's portion Vayigash, After orchestrating his family’s descent to Egypt, Joseph brings his father before the Egyptian king. It is, we expect, a rare historic moment, an encounter between the most powerful man in the civilized world, the Pharaoh, and the Patriarch of the Jewish nation.
The setting is momentous. This is not only an encounter between two great world leaders but a confrontation between two vastly different, powerful cultures. Meeting for the first and only the recorded time is the monarch of the world’s greatest empire and the last patriarch, the progenitor of an eternal nation which will outlast countless empires beyond Egypt.
We wait with bated breath as two worlds collide. Yet, when the meeting takes place, it is nothing but a letdown.
Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?”
Jacob responds, “The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years. Few and difficult were the days of the years of my life and they did not reach the days of the years of the lives of my fathers, in the days of their sojourning.”
Jacob blessed Pharaoh again, and he left the presence of Pharaoh.
The conversation between Jacob and Pharaoh can only be described, at first glance, as deeply disappointing. After all this preparation: Is this all these great leaders had to say to each other?
Why is Pharaoh so concerned with Jacob’s age? It does not even seem appropriate. When you meet an elderly person you usually don’t ask them their age, certainly not as the opening question, even before a “hi.”
And what is the real meaning of Jacob’s elliptical response to the king? Why not answer simply and directly? Pharaoh asked you how old you are, so just tell him: “I am 130 years old.” Why do you start telling him about the poor quality of your life? He never asked how your life was?
What is the definition of a Nudnik? You ask him how he is doing, and he actually tells you…
What is more, do you think the Egyptian monarch can help you? Above all, if the conversation between Jacob and Pharaoh was so banal, why does the Torah bother to record it at all?
Clearly there is much more to this brief encounter than meets the eye.
It comes with a story.
The Shaagas Aryeh became the Rabbi of the community of Metz, France, at the age of 70, after years of poverty and intense strife with wealthy Jews who tried to manipulate him during his previous rabbinic posts. The Shagas Aryeh was an outstanding genius and a moral man and he suffered a lot from internal Jewish politics.
When he became the Rabbi of Metz and gave his first speech, people were amazed. On his way out, he overheard two of the community members talking. The first said to the second, "It is a
shame. He is such a wonderful scholar, such a wonderful Rabbi, such a wonderful asset to our community It is a shame - how long will he be able to be with us? It is too bad that we could not have gotten him when he was 40 or 50!"
The Shagas Aryeh, upon hearing this comment explained the dialog between Pharaoh and Yaakov.
When Jacob arrived in Egypt, even though they were during a famine, the famine stopped in his merit! Good times returned to Egypt. Pharaoh was thrilled with having Jacob in Egypt. But he looked at him and saw that he was an old man.
The question "How old are you" was in effect a different question, completely self-serving: "how many more years of the boom can we expect? You seem so old and frail, will we lose you any day now? Will our economy collapse soon?" Pharaoh could care less about one thing only: Howe many more years can Egypt “milk” the blessings of having a Jacob in their midst.
So Jacob told Pharaoh not to worry: "I'm only 130 years old. My father and grandfather lived longer. The reason why I look so old is that I had a difficult life, but, in fact, I am not nearly as old as the life expectancy in my family. My father and grandfather lived until way past 130!"
The Shagas Aryeh told his congregants: "I am 70 years old, but don't worry, I am not that old. I seem old because of all the suffering I endured. But in spirit, I am a young man. I will be your Rabbi for the next 20 years."
And so it was. He was Rabbi in Metz for 20 more years, from 1765 till 1785, and died when he was 90 years old. His works are still classics in the Torah world.
Why would Jacob feel this way? Yes, he struggled, but why brush away much of your 130 years?
At last, we come to a powerful insight shared by the Rebbe. When Pharaoh saw Jacob, he seemed physically so old, and yet still motivated, young, vibrant, and fresh.
So the king asks him: “How old are you?!” Don’t you think it’s time to relax, retire, and take it easy? Why are you so driven? Why are you so ambitious? If you were 30 or 40, okay. But for G-d’s sake, You are an old man! Time to slow down!
Pharaoh perhaps wanted to see Jacob let down his guard, relax, and slowly integrate and assimilate.
So our Patriarch said these incredible words: “The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years…
What does this mean?
Most of us are satisfied with reasonable aspirations: make ends meet, live in peace with your neighbors, save up for retirement, enjoy three nice vacations a year, maybe even develop your mind. But every so often we encounter one of those rare individuals who cannot relish his meal as long as someone, somewhere, remains hungry; who, if there is ignorance in the world feels his own wisdom deficient; who, if there is discord anywhere in the universe, cannot be at peace with himself.
Such a man was Jacob. His earthly life and deeds were but the beginnings of the thirty-five-century saga of Israel.
“Jacob wished to settle in tranquility. But then there descended upon him the trouble of Joseph.” Why, indeed, was his wish denied him? Jacob, a personal peace was inseparable from a general state of harmony in G-d's world. What Jacob sought was not some peace and quiet in his individual life, but the ultimate peace: the union of spirit and substance, the infusion of meaning into the matter. To Jacob, “settling down” was nothing less than the ultimate redemption through Moshiach.
America is a blessing. Israel is a blessing. Our prosperity and blessings are amazing opportunities. But they must never become traps! The prosperity of modernity, as the prosperity of ancient Egypt, must never deter us from who we are and what our mission is.
After the latest craze of anti-Semitic incidents in New York over Chanukah, there are different worthy organizations that have come up with logos stating, “I stand behind anti-Semitism.” Well, I don’t! I do not want to be known as someone who stands behind anti-Semitism, rather, I want to DO something about it. I want to be in front of it and not behind it. I want to be proactive and not just offer a feel-good pump fist in the air. I wish to inspire all who read this to be action-oriented as well.
So, practically speaking, what can we do in 2020 to stop or at least slow the disease, scourge, menace, and plague of Jew-hating bigots and thugs?
I, like you, have been watching videos of the aforementioned attacks, and they all have one thing in common. What I witnessed in horror was that the greater public on the streets of New York did nothing to protect the victim. I saw a Yeshiva student being harassed, garbage thrown at him and tormented, and yet not one person on the street came to his rescue. The cars continued to drive by or park, the pedestrians crossed the street to avoid confrontation and the store owners continued to hawk their wares. This is unacceptable and is called MORAL ROT. When good people do nothing then this is a tacit approval that all is okay.
Put down the latte and start calling others on the street to help this poor victim. When the holy Torah commands us in Leviticus, “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed,” it does not only mean marching for gun control or ending animal abuse. IT MEANS LITERALLY– STOP THE BLOODSHED. In the words of the great Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “In a free society, only some may be guilty but all are responsible.” Cowardice, weakness, timidity, and fearfulness are all words to describe spinelessness. Be inspired to stop the moral rot.
The new laws to hit New York state are a danger to all the good citizens and are a haven and shelter for thugs. The new law basically states that bail is a thing of the past unless the perp draws blood. It is madness! You can fire a gun, hit someone, rob at gunpoint or spit at a Jew, and as long as you do not draw blood, you will be released at your own recognizance and right back on the street.
This week alone, a woman assaulted three Jewish women, got arrested, was released and then promptly that very day assaulted someone again and was released AGAIN. This same Tiffany Harris has a record of assault in 2018, and she has not shown up for other court dates in the past. She is a scofflaw and a threat to human beings. She is being treated better than we are. She needs to cool her jets in a prison. Don’t be a sideliner. Call your state assemblyman and state senator. Call the Governor and get people like her off the street. I did. My assemblyman is in agreement that the new law is insanity at best, and kowtowing for votes at its worst.
Read the following and be inspired.
“Each time a man or woman stands up for an ideal or acts to improve a lot of others, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those tiny ripples can build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and
resistance.” – Robert Kennedy.
As a Rabbi, I am stopped by a great many Jewish people in the street, supermarket and even in the DMV. They tell me that they are scared. They tell me that this year they are not placing their Chanukah menorah in the window for fear of anti-Semitic thugs.
My response is always the same. Do not let thugs, hooligans and hate-filled people dictate what you do or do not do.
You are a Jew – be proud!
If you hide your Jewishness out of fear or discomfort, then they have won the battle. We must not let them be victorious. Ironically, the very story of Chanukah depicts this message. The Jews refused to let the Greeks dictate what is okay to do and believe. They fought back. We need to add in our Jewish pride at this time and God forbid, not retreat.
May 2020 be a much better year and may the stank of anti-Semites be washed away by good people standing up for our people.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky
Tom Peacock wrote...