It’s Biblical! This week: Joseph
Everything you ever wanted to know about your favourite Torah characters, and the ones you’ve never heard of…
The dramatic story of Joseph, which occupies a significant portion of the book of Genesis, tells us of an orphan loved by his ailing father and hated by his powerful brothers, who would emerge from the suffering of slavery and misery of prison to become the second most authoritative man in the civilization of his time.
It is a tale of tragedy and joy, deep affection and hostile jealousy, ambition, conspiracy, abuse, falsified murder, kidnapping and human trafficking, regret, exile, grievance, famine, wealth, power, loyalty and betrayal, and inspiring closure.
What shapes the story, however, is repentance instead of revenge, kindness rather than anger, and generosity in place of punishment (easily contrastable with the Count of Monte Cristo).
Surprisingly, Joseph’s greatness is not usually attributed to his position of power against all odds, nor his economic strategy which sustained Egypt throughout years of famine.
What earned Joseph the rare and unexaggerated title of righteousness was an event (Gen 39:7 – 13) which took place when Joseph was just another disposable slave.
Joseph rose to the highest imaginable level of human greatness at a time when he was forgotten, abused, and hopeless. In a moment of great physical urge and overwhelming seduction, Joseph found the strength to restrain and retreat.
It was a private and secret moment. Apart from the persuasive woman involved, no-one would have known. Abandoned, powerless, and despondent, in a depressing and crushing environment, Joseph would have briefly enjoyed not only pleasure, but perhaps some comfort as well.
Despite these vigorous human physical and emotional inclinations, Joseph escaped, thereby risking even more personal catastrophe.
Ben Zoma said: “Who is strong? One who masters his [or her] evil impulse, as it is said, ‘He [or she] who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he [or she] who rules over his spirit is better than he who conquers a city’”
Courage, strength, and heroism, is the virtue of resisting impulsive behavior, as exemplified by Joseph.
Rabbi Boruch M Boudilovsky is rabbi of Young Israel of North Netanya
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
