Friday, December 30th, 2011 - Parashat Vayyigash

Rabbi’s Weekly Teaching

Parashat Vayyigash
December 30^th, 2011

In the introduction to his autobiography Decision Points, George W. Bush writes, wisely: “I believe it will be impossible to reach definitive conclusions about my presidency -- or any recent presidency, for that matter -- for several decades. The passage of time allows passions to cool, results to clarify, and scholars to compare different approaches.” While Bush (along with most other presidents) wasn’t known for his humility, this cautious statement of the importance of withholding definitive judgment strikes what I believe is an important chord as we enter the election year of 2012. Would we be better-served as a country (and as a Jewish community) to re-elect Obama, or to go with the Republican contender? Following Bush’s lead, the only appropriate answer is: time will tell.

As it so happens, our Jewish tradition is full of questions, whose answers are debated for hundreds, even thousands of years. In this week’s Torah portion, for example, the hero Joseph restructures the Egyptian economy, the results of which include, perhaps, the very enslavement of the Israelites themselves.

The end of this week’s Torah portion is Genesis chapter 47. In it, we learn that “there was no bread in all the world, for the famine was very severe; both the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.” Perhaps some form of “climate change” led to shortages of food in the ancient Near East. Joseph was pretty high up in the Egyptian administration, so he saw the economic downturn as an opportunity to consolidate power for his boss, Pharaoh.

First, “Joseph gathered in all the money that was to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan...and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace.” Because Joseph was able to predict the weather patterns for a period of over a decade (see Genesis chapter 41), he correctly advised Pharaoh to buy up all the grain, nationalizing the market and (presumably) controlling the prices for the Egyptian consumers. When the famine hit, Joseph was able to set the grain price and rake in all the cash in the land.

And that’s not all! When the Egyptian people had run out of cash, Joseph instituted a barter system, whereby he took livestock for grain: “And Joseph said, ‘Bring your livestock, and I will sell to you against your livestock, if the money is gone.’”

Once the government owned all the livestock, the Egyptian people were still hungry, so they begged Joseph to increase the size of government even further: “Take us and our land in exchange for bread, and we with our land will be serfs to Pharaoh; provide the seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become a waste.” Joseph was an economic genius. Not only did he buy everything from the people thereby increasing their reliance on government handouts, but the people’s perception of Joseph was that the latter was saving their lives!

Genesis continues: “thus the land passed over to Pharaoh.” The land was the last thing to “pass over” (coincidence?) to Pharaoh; first it was the grain, then the cash, then the livestock, then the Egyptian people themselves.  

Joseph transformed the Egyptian economy, moving away from an ownership society and toward tenant farming: “Joseph said to the people, ‘Whereas I have this day acquired you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you to sow the land. And when harvest comes, you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be yours as seed for the fields and as food for you and those in your households, and as nourishment for your children.”

How does that sound to you? A 20% flat tax, with no ownership rights/burdens. The Egyptian people were unanimous in their praise of Joseph’s ingenuity: “they said, ‘You have saved our lives! We are grateful to my lord, and we shall be serfs to Pharaoh.’ And Joseph made it into a land law in Egypt, which is still valid, that a fifth should be Pharaoh’s….’

Why were the people so happy about the Joseph Doctrine? Their expectations and desires fit perfectly into the plan he devised. In a society that is afraid of famine and wants nothing more than the ability to survive, Joseph’s nationalizing plan ought to be celebrated. But what if you live in a society that values not only surviving, but thriving? Individualism? Creativity? What type of government would you want? And how do we deal with the reality that our society, unlike that of Ancient Egypt (as depicted in Genesis) has different subgroups with different expectations and desires? How do we find a middle ground, wherein those who want survival and those who want to thrive both have a place?

As a people, we re-read the Joseph story every year, and within two weeks of reading about the economic restructuring, we move to the enslavement of the Israelites. Was Joseph a true hero in Egypt? Or did he lay the groundwork for a government so big that eventually it needed slaves to keep it going? Should we celebrate his accomplishments as a leading Jewish thinker with global impact? Or was he merely a lackey of Pharaoh’s greedy regime? On this question, we’re still waiting for the results to clarify.

As we enter 2012, and the manifold discussions of politics and economics surrounding the elections, let us learn from the Jewish scholars who’ve debated Joseph for millennia, and debate our contemporary situation with a calm and curious attitude, eagerly learning from one another. After all, as Bush writes, it will be several decades before the impact of our chosen president will become clear.

With blessings for a very happy and healthy New Year,

Rav David Saiger

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