Humility

“Before Honour there is Humility.” – Proverbs 15:33

Humility, in my opinion, is one of the lessons of Parashat “Miketz.”

The story begins with Yosef’s childhood.

As it unfolds, we learn that, unlike his brothers, Yosef has been blessed with sublime foresight, wisdom and abilities. Unfortunately for him, since he was not the oldest, he had little, if any, say in everyday life or important matters that pertained to him as well. Imagine how frustrating it must have been for him having to follow the advice and directives of those who did not share his level of acuity. His older brothers must have felt it as well.

To add insult to injury, Yosef was also Ya’akov’s favourite son. The reason could be double fold. The first might be related to Yosef being his son from his beloved wife, Rachel. The second, he must have recognized Yosef’s talents from early on and thus preferred him over the others. Or was it perhaps because “he had been born to him in his old age,” as Bre’sheet 37 :3 tells us? Whatever the reason, Ya’akov never made his preferential attitude towards Yosef a secret much to the disdain of his older children. As a token of his love for Yosef, Ya’akov made an “ornate striped robe” for him.

That gesture by Ya’akov, naturally, was resented by his other sons. It developed into great, unbearable hatred which, as the story in Bresheet tells us, ignited in the brothers a burning desire to hurt Yosef and wish to dispose of him.

There is a question that is begging to be asked here. Why would an “ornate striped robe,” propagate such a deep-seated hatred towards Yosef?

Rachel Sivilia undertook the task of finding out. In her article entitled, “Joseph’s ornate robe, brotherly jealousy just because of a robe?” (http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/ktav_et/maamarim/sivilia6.pdf) Sivilia, states that she decided to research the clothing closet of that period according to their soc ial class . What prompted her to engage in it was a picture she saw of a wall painting in a tomb from ancient Egypt. It depicted a group portrait of a family or tribe who were on their way to Egypt to purchase wheat. What caught her attention was their garb. They were all wearing ornate striped robes of different fabrics and different colours.

According to Sivilia, different robes, their texture, their splashy hues were the marks of the social class of those who wore them. She, therefore, concludes that the robe given to Yosef was not only exceptional to the status of Yosef’s brothers but to that of Ya’akov as well. It classified him as nobility. He was their superior. It gave him the confirmation that he was above them.

It did not, however, stop at merely feeling superior. Yosef was not apprehensive about expressing his overflowing pride, arrogance and vanity through his dreams of dominance and preeminence.

It was evident that Yosef had not yet mastered the art of humility.

We can only imagine the frustration, jealousy and sense of revenge that brewed through his brothers like a burning fire. The eruption was imminent. As we know, they sold him to a convoy of Yishmaelites who took him to Egypt where he was sold as a slave to a man named Potifar.

The turning point Yosef’s life’s journey, the journey towards reaching maturity, adulthood, ridding himself of his vanity and above all reaching that point of rare integration between his exceptional talents and humility seems to have happened when Yosef was in prison. He was jailed following following the episode with Potifar’s wife who accused him of sexual harassment.

Even after all the hardships that he has endured, Yosef does not lose his faith in G-d. In prison, he ascends to a higher spiritual level when he realizes that his special gifts and abilities come from G-d. “The answers lie with G-d,” he tells Pharaoh’s wine steward and chef when they ask him to interpret their dreams. From the depth of his awareness of the source of his powers, sprouted his salvation.

“I cannot do it," Yosef, similarly, replied to Pharaoh, "but G-d will give Pharaoh the answer he desires" (Bresheet 41:16) is what Yosef answers Pharaoh when the latter asks him to explain  his dream. He has undoubtedly learned the importance of being modest and humble. Just then, when Yosef insists that his solution does not come from his ability but from G-d, just then Pharaoh finds him worthy of being freed from prison and serve as his right-hand man.

Is Yosef, perhaps, what Pharaoh was looking for, not just a talented man but a man of honour, a man who practices humility “one in whom is the spirit of God ?” (Genesis 41:38).

Shavua tov and Chodesh tov.

Kavod

Kavod is Hebrew for Honour.

Honour, a word which originated in Latin, could mean a host of concepts to many. To some, it means glory, renown, dignity reputation. In Hebrew, however, the language which I, as a Jew, define myself in, it bears those and much more, a lot more.

Hebrew is a language based on the system of roots. As such, in most cases, words that share the same root are related in their meaning.

The root for the Hebrew word Kavod כָּבוֹד   is  כ,ב,ד k,v,d . It is the same root for the word, “heavy,” כָּבֵד, (kaved).  What follows then is that these words are related as they stem from the same root. We generally refer as heavy to something that weighs much and thus has a stronger influence on our lives. Honour is generally given to anyone who bears significance and meaning.

Kaved,“Liver” in Hebrew, is another word that stems from the same root as Kavod. It is that internal organ in our body whose role is to break down the food we eat, a very significant role. It was also discovered in the past that the liver is the heaviest internal part in the human body.

Kavod, appears in the Tanach 119 times. In most cases there, it is used to describe G-d.  In other cases, when it is used to describe humans, it almost always refers to their inner beauty and good qualities. These are the qualities that are the reflection of that spark of G-d, His image, that is in each one of us. Every one of us, therefore, holds the potential to adorn themselves with the title of being Honourable.  We can, through our deeds and behavior, choose to highlight these inner traits or we may choose to ignore and scorn them. Dignity, the state or quality of being worthy of earning Honour or respect, and integrity are the compass that will dictate and guide us, humans, in choosing the right path for ourselves to be merited and deserving of Honour. That, as Roger Froikin, my mentor, has just reminded me is consistent with our great Jewish ideology and tradition of 3400 years.

This concept is also reinforced in the literature of our sages where the following saying is emphasized.  “Those who run after Kavod, the Kavod evades them…. Those who run away from Kavod, Kavod chases them.
 "הרודף אחר הכבוד הכבוד בורח ממנו, והבורח ממנו ..., הכבוד רודפו"

Again, what that saying implies is that in Judaism, genuine Honour is not external, one which is given for a flaunt of wealth, social or other position or a role. Neither is it one that can be actively sought, demanded or imposed. Rather, it is earned. It is earned for wisdom, honesty and modesty which are expressed through their deeds and behaviour. Therefore, when we witness people for whom all that matters are their title and their affluence yet when asked to engage in a matter that they consider beneath their dignity, we refer to them as players in the game of Honour.

As we enter the Jewish New year of 5778, I express a silent prayer for Am Yisrael, in particular, and the world in general. I pray that this year will bring Peace, unity to our fractured world and above all the earned cloak of  Kavod, Honour, to all.

Shanah Tovah