From the Cyber Torah Archives

One of the most heartfelt moments in the Bible occurs in this week's parsha (Torah portion) when Joseph finally reveals his true identity to his brothers. We have been reading the story of Joseph, watching Joseph suffer the lowest of lows and rise to the greatest of heights. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers; through God's help he rises to become second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt.

There is a famine throughout the near-East and food only in Egypt because of Joseph's effective management of the land. As a result, those same brothers who many years ago betrayed him must now beg food from Joseph. They fail to recognize him because of his Egyptian clothing. He gives them food, but demands to see his youngest brother, Benjamin, before he will again allow them food. Jacob, Joseph's father who thinks that his son is dead these many years, at first refuses to allow Benjamin to leave his sight because then he will lose both Joseph and Benjamin - both of Rachel's children. The brothers convince Jacob and bring Benjamin with them. Joseph then plants one of his cups in Benjamin's bag to implicate Benjamin as a thief. The brothers now have the same opportunity: they can dispose of the favored younger son and save their own skins, or at great personal risk find a way to save Benjamin. They chose to find a way to save their brother.

They tell Joseph, whom they have still failed to recognize, of their father's love for both Benjamin and his supposedly dead son, Joseph. They tell him that if Benjamin fails to return, it will mean the death of Jacob.

Now the heartfelt moment arises. Joseph sends out his Egyptian servants and lets out a cry heard by the whole house of Pharaoh. I am Joseph, he tells his brother, and they fall one upon the other and cry. They are a family reunited.

Joseph faced a struggle to retain his Jewish identity. He was given an Egyptian name and even an Egyptian wife. The Bible never teaches that she converted, although the Rabbinic tradition states that in fact she did. His own brothers failed to recognize him as Jewish when they came to Egypt for food. As Rashbam teaches, they failed to recognize him because they had no expectation of their brother who had been sold into slavery rising to become the most powerful man in Egypt, save only Pharaoh. Even so: he had no noticeable Jewish qualities. His brothers came back to him and in that family his Jewish identity once again asserted itself. He again became a part of a family that would become a holy people.

We today are a lot like Joseph. We have risen from the pit of oppression in Eastern Europe to a level of prominence unmatched by any other religious or ethnic group. Jews are disproportionately represented at the finest colleges and universities, nad similarly represented in many of the most lucrative and respected professions. Our tradition of valuing education and caring for our families has enabled us to prosper in country finally willing to allows us to contribute.

We are also like Joseph because we are indistinguishable from those around us. Joseph adopted Egyptian dress and we similarly have taken on American dress and customs. There are few public customs that identify us as Jews. I do wear a Kippah in public - and I do so in order to identify myself publicly as an observant Jew. Many of us have mezuzot on our doors - similarly identifying our household as Jewish. Whenever I go someone's home for the first time, I always look for the mezuzah. I figure even if it is the wrong house, any Jewish household will help me find another. In general, out on a public street or in a mall, I have no idea who is Jewish.

The question we face is: when will we have our tearful reuniting as a people? We all feel a need for purpose and meaning in our lives, we all feel a sense of loneliness in the face of the breakdown of community in America. Yet we continue to live as we have always lived and to drift further and further apart.

I pray for the day when we will make the decision, each individually and together as a community, to once again tearfully fall upon one another. To strive for ways to enrich our Jewish lives, and through that search rededicate ourselves to God and His commandments. Then we will once again become a truly holy people.