RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:MIKEITZ:DREAMS

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:MIKEITZ:DREAMS

 

Parasha Mikeitz: Genesis 41:01-44:17

 Life is a Masquerade

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
 

In this Torah portion we find Joseph and his brothers in Egypt, still caught in the ugly family dysfunction that has plagued their clan for generations. Could we for a moment imagine this family sharing a Hanukah meal with the kids, deciding who gets to light the first candle or pick their favorite color from the box of candles? Who would decide the place seatings? Would we sit Tammy next to Judah? Would he even recognize her? Which mom gets to sit across from pappa Jacob? Whose recipe for latkes would we use? Oy! Luckily, this Hanukah scene will not be played out by this family's descendents for about 1,500 years, although the first Pesach is only a about 400 hundred years away.

In this parasha the recurring theme of hidden agendas and lack of assertive communication is replayed. Wearing the mask this time is Joseph, who does not reveal himself to his brothers. These poor guys are squirming and in fear for their very lives. And Joseph drags the game on and on, pulling the brothers, and then his father Jacob, closer into his net. And why not? Has Joseph had training in assertiveness?? Has Joseph had training in observing a normal family life where he could have learned trust and unconditional love?

Joseph, as we read in the previous parasha was a gifted, bright young man. But he was also was a tattletale and spoke loshan ha ra. He was proud, flaunting his new coat and his award as most favored son in front of his older brothers. He told them of his dream that one day they would bow to him. Joseph knew that his brothers could be cruel and bloody, as the massacre of the men of Shechem was only in the recent past. He indeed was a dreamer but his interpretation of dreams helped save him from Pharaoh's dungeon.

And so Joseph deals with his brothers as he saw his brothers and father and mother(s) and grandfather and grandmother deal with their family and others...with masks on. Tamra masquerades from Judah. The brothers hide Joseph's demise from Jacob. Jacob dresses up as Esau to fool Isaac. Rebbekah insists that he do it! Laban masks Leah to fool Isaac. We are taught Talmudically that Rachel helps Leah fool Isaac. Rachel lies to her dad about his missing idol, masking it under her skirt. Abraham masks the true reason he and Isaac are taking their pilgrimage. God's angels as men are masked whenever they appear. God speaks to man through angels, and through dreams, and in riddles, and rarely if ever assertively and open. Joseph has had some lousy role models.

As we light the Hanukah menorah, at home or at Temple, and look around the room, do our friends and loved ones see the real us, or do they see the masks we wish to wear? Are we honest and assertively kind with our friends and family or do we beat around the bush, speak in half-truths and riddles, keeping up the 3,700 year old masquerade? Do we pray to God honestly, with kavenah, and with true intention, or just perfunctorily work our way through the Shabbat service? Do we mask our own true feelings from our own selves, going through life with a cloudy hidden sense of self that makes it impossible to truly know and love another?

As the glow of the Hanukah menorah and the weekly glow of our Shabbat candles light up our faces, may we all resolve to lift off the masks and facades that hide us from each other, to make our lives and our loves meaningful and wonderful, and to pray that God continues to show His face to us and that we can successfully be able to smile back at Him.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukah!,

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
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