Sources from essay by Rabbi Lisa D. Grant, PhD in The Mussar Torah Commentary
When we fiurst meet Joseph in Parashat Vayeishev, he is a spoiled and overindulged teenager who flaunts his privilege over his brothers. Though he speaks the truth of his dreams to his brothers, he does so without tact or thought as to how his interpretations may be heard. From the perspective of Mussar, his yetzer hara ("the evil inclination"), which can be understood as the impulse to habitually act selfishly, is more dominant that his yetzer tov ("the good inclination"), the impulse to act with sensitivity and self-awareness. This imbalance produces disastrous consequences. Joseph's brothers throw him into a pit and then sell him into slav-ery. In Parashat Mikeitz, however, Joseph is transformed. Joseph the dreamer becomes a skillful interpreter of dreams. This transformation leads to his salvation and the acquisition of great power, position, and wealth.
The key difference between the Joseph who taunts his brothers in Parashat Vayeishev and the more mature and humble Joseph of Mikeitz is that he has developed a steadfast faith in God, which helps him to become more aware of the consequences of his actions.
-Rabbi Lisa D. Grant, PhD
(14) Thereupon Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was rushed from the dungeon. He had his hair cut and changed his clothes, and he appeared before Pharaoh. (15) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I have heard it said of you that for you to hear a dream is to tell its meaning.” (16) Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Not I! God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.” (17) Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, (18) when out of the Nile came up seven sturdy and well-formed cows and grazed in the reed grass. (19) Presently there followed them seven other cows, scrawny, ill-formed, and emaciated—never had I seen their likes for ugliness in all the land of Egypt! (20) And the seven lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven cows, the sturdy ones; (21) but when they had consumed them, one could not tell that they had consumed them, for they looked just as bad as before. And I awoke. (22) In my other dream, I saw seven ears of grain, full and healthy, growing on a single stalk; (23) but right behind them sprouted seven ears, shriveled, thin, and scorched by the east wind. (24) And the thin ears swallowed the seven healthy ears. I have told my magician-priests, but none has an explanation for me.” (25) And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same: Pharaoh has been told what God is about to do. (26) The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears are seven years; it is the same dream. (27) The seven lean and ugly cows that followed are seven years, as are also the seven empty ears scorched by the east wind; they are seven years of famine. (28) It is just as I have told Pharaoh: Pharaoh has been shown what God is about to do. (29) Immediately ahead are seven years of great abundance in all the land of Egypt. (30) After them will come seven years of famine, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. As the land is ravaged by famine, (31) no trace of the abundance will be left in the land because of the famine thereafter, for it will be very severe. (32) As for Pharaoh having had the same dream twice, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and that God will soon carry it out. (33) “Accordingly, let Pharaoh find someone who’s discerning and wise, whom you can set over the land of Egypt. (34) And let Pharaoh take steps to appoint overseers over the land, and organize the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty. (35) Let all the food of these good years that are coming be gathered, and let the grain be collected under Pharaoh’s authority as food to be stored in the cities. (36) Let that food be a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will come upon the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish in the famine.” (37) The plan pleased Pharaoh and all his courtiers. (38) And Pharaoh said to his courtiers, “Could we find another like him—a man with the divine spirit?”
(א) אשר רוח אלהים בו. אינו כפתרון של חכם שמבין מתוך החלום שכך פתרונו וגם אינו כפתרון החרטמים שיודעים מאחורי הפרגוד מה שנאמר לו בחלום שבזה האופן אין ידיעתם בפרטות
It is not like the solution of a wise man who realizes from the dream that this is his solution, nor is it like the solution of those behind the curtain who know what was said to them in the dream, in this way they have no knowledge of the details.
Throughout the narrative, we read that God is with Joseph, and Joseph professes his faith in God, at his darkest times and in his successes. Through his travails, Joseph grows in his practice of emunah, "faith," in God. Because of Joseph's faith, Pharaoh trusts him and decides to elevate him to be the chief architect and administrator over all of Egypt.
The cynical among us might think that at this high-stakes moment, Joseph invokes God to deflect attention away from himself, in case Pharaoh would lash out in anger because he predicts a great famine. Yet, Bachya ibn Pakuda, eleventh-century author of Duties of the Heart, the first codification of Jewish ethical teachings, notes that faith in God does not mean you should avoid making decisions that result in personal benefit.
-Rabbi Lisa D. Grant, PhD
(עז) ועוד כי מן הידוע אצלנו שאנו מתקשטים במבחר מה שנוכל עליו מן המלבושים בצאתנו לקראת מלכינו ושרינו וגדולי דורנו מפני שהם משקיפים על גלויינו כמו שאמר (אסתר ד) כי אין לבוא אל שער המלך בלבוש שק ואמר (בראשית מ״א:י״ד) וישלח פרעה ויקרא את יוסף ויריצוהו מן הבור ויגלח ויחלף שמלותיו. וכפי זה אנו חייבים להתקשט בעבודת האלהים בנראנו ובנסתרנו לאלהים מפני השקפתו עלינו בשוה תדיר. ואלו היינו מעלים בלבנו כי השקפת המלכים על הנסתר ממצפונינו כהשקפתם על הנראה מגופנו לא היינו מתעכבים לקשט מצפונינו כרצונם ממנו.
(77) Furthermore, it is known to us that we adorn ourselves with the best clothing we can when going out to greet our kings, high officials, or great men of our generation because they observe our exterior appearance, as written "for one may not enter the king's gate dressed in sackcloth" (Esther 4:2), and "So Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they rushed him from the dungeon, and they shaved and changed his clothes, and he [then] came to Pharaoh" (Bereishis 41:14). According to this, we are obligated to adorn ourselves in the service of G-d in our exterior and in our interior for G-d, because He observes us equally in both respects at all times, since if we believed in our minds that the (human) kings were able to look at our interior just like they can see our physical exterior, we would not delay to adorn our interior in a way that they would wish us to do.
Bezalel, another key biblical character, is also endowed with ruach Elohim. Both he and Joseph can be seen as creators, planners, and builders. Bezalel is entrusted with the design and construction of the Mishkan, the portable Tabernacle the Israelites use throughout their wanderings in the wilderness to ensure their spiritual survival. In a parallel move, Joseph builds storehouses for grain to assure Egypt's physical survival. These two biblical characters' emunah makes them trustworthy servants and allows the creative work of their hands to flourish.
-Rabbi Lisa D. Grant, PhD
Emunah is often confused with "belief." "Faith" is not something to be understood intellectually or rationally; rather it needs to be learned from experience and deep reflection. Faith is not static. Like all other middot, it needs to be practiced and renewed constantly. One can grow in faith and one can lose faith. Faith can be seen as a kind of religious courage, as Rabbi Shai Held writes, as "knowing God whether or not one sees Him."
As in the case of other middot, we may not see the immediate benefit of cultivating our faith. The inner work of listening for the divine voice as we strive to make good choices takes time. However, the moment we make a choice is the moment in which we consciously negotiate between our inclination to do good (our yetzer tov) and our inclination to give into bad habits and irresponsible behavior (our yetzer hara). This act of ethical decision-making is at the heart of Mus-sar. And when we make our decisions in light of the question "How is the divine manifest in me, through me, with me, in this moment.'** we are acting in faith.
-Rabbi Lisa D. Grant, PhD
Questions to Ask
The Babylonian Talmud, in Shabbat 3Ia, connects emunah to Seder Z'raim (the Mishnaic "order" dealing with agriculture). Rashi explains that for the farmer, faith in God is a prerequisite to planting. Lack of emunah leads to stunted growth and even regression.
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What seeds do you need to plant in yourself in order to cultivate emunah?
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How does your experience of the Divine help to shape your choices?
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What happens when you stop and ask yourself, where is God for me in this moment?
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How does asking that question shape your understanding and experience of what may happen?
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What are some times in your life when you have felt that emunah has helped you to overcome an obstacle or to cope with a challenge?