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Would you Appoint a Poet as CEO? - מקץ

Thursday, 26 December, 2024 - 8:23 pm

 

Would you Appoint a Poet as CEO?

  

Would you Appoint a Poet as CEO? A Philosopher as President? 


Just because Joseph was a genius dream interpreter, why would that qualify him to be the chief executive of the world’s superpower? Why would Pharaoh select Joseph to gather grain for the entire country and prepare for the seven years of famine instead of choosing an experienced administrator? 


The genius of Joseph was not that he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, predicting that there would be seven years of famine following the seven plentiful years. Joseph's radical insight was that the human being has the ability to interfere with the course of nature, to go up against the seeming inevitability of destiny, and to overcome his fate. 


The pagan Egyptian society believed in the absolute power of the forces of nature. If the gods of nature would choose to bring famine and destruction to Egypt, no human activity would be able to change that. No Egyptian would be successful in gathering grain because no Egyptian believed that it could be done.


When Joseph interpreted the dream he told Pharaoh: 


 It is this matter that I have spoken to Pharaoh; what Elokim (God) is about to do He has shown Pharaoh. (Genesis 41:28)


Jewish philosophy explains that the name of G-d which Joseph employed, Elokim, has the numerical value of the Hebrew word for nature, and refers to G-d as expressed within the laws of nature. Joseph told Pharaoh that the dream is an expression of the name Elokim, but the human being can dig deeper, and reach the name Hashem, which is the name that transcends nature, which can change the course of history.   


Indeed, Pharaoh's dreams were in multiples of seven: seven fat cows and seven emaciated cows, seven healthy ears of grain and seven beaten ears. The number seven, like the seven days of the week, represents the cycle of nature, which seems to be unstoppable and unchangeable. Yet, the holiday of Chanukah, which, interestingly, always occurs during this Torah portion, highlights not the number seven but the transcending number eight; the ability to express unconditional, supra-rational commitment to goodness and holiness, to challenge the undefeated army of the superpower of the time, and to prevail. 


The lights of Chanukah remind us that we are not defined by the statistics and algorithms of natural order. The candles teach us that we can transcend the natural darkness and lead the world to  a place of light, hope, and healing. 


Adapted from the Chasam Sofer



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