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> Genesis/Bereishis > Parshat Vayeishev / Vayigash
The Joseph Stories: A Contest for True
Leadership
In the Joseph narrative (Genesis
ch. 37- 50), five
personalities are
challenged to define what is true leadership. The figures include Jacob,
Reuben, Judah, Joseph, and Onan, spanning three generations. The
characteristics of ideal leadership, based on the forgoing analysis are
1) seeking the peace of one's brethren, 2) being truly empathetic, 3)
seeking the preservation of life for them, and 4) recognizing that the
true director of fortune is ultimately G-d. In a word, leadership is the
empathetic and humble quest for the peace of one's brethren. The word
"brethren" here is not incidental, but is part of the basic definition
of a good leader. If he\she appreciates the sense of brotherhood, he\she
can be a leader. Otherwise, s/he cannot.
It was Jacob in whose charge the directions for new leadership
initially fell. He tries to chastise Joseph for his self aggrandizing
visions of leadership, yet he does so halfheartedly and does cultivate a
sense of elitism in Joseph. Jacob's request that Joseph go out to "seek
the peace of" or inquire as to the well being of his brothers is his
first important lesson on leadership; the purpose of leadership is to
look after the well being of the flock, not to seek worshippers for the
leader. But somehow, in his later grief over his son's disappearance,
Jacob loses sight of this very principle. He says to the brothers who
wish to take Benjamin to Egypt that "you have made me bereave. Joseph is
no longer. Shim'on is no longer. Now you'll take Benjamin. These things
always happen to me." He begins to see the family's losses only in terms
of the grief it causes him. He is even willing to let the family starve
rather than jeopardize his favorite remaining son. However, after Judah
steps forward with a convincing plea to save the whole family, Jacob
rises again to the occasion, prays for the safety of the whole clan, and
the return of the missing, and as for himself, "if I am to be bereaved,
let me be bereaved." His happiness does not come before the chance of
saving the whole family. Leadership is about the well being of the
family, not of the leader.
In the end, did Jacob learn the lesson of humble leadership? It's not
clear. At the end of Genesis, Jacob is quoted posthumously by the
brothers asking Joseph to forgive them. As readers, we wonder if the
attribution to Jacob is correct. Would he suspect his beloved son of
mass fratricide? If he indeed said those words, they contain a
problematic image: Joseph "carrying the sins" of his brothers. This
places Joseph in the less than humble role of G-d, the forgiver of sin.
If he said it, it represents a slip in his new appreciation of
leadership, or in his perception of Joseph's qualities as leader.
Reuben, the first-born should have been next in line for leadership, but
fails. Yes, he is zealous about the welfare of brother Joseph, but for
the wrong reasons. He admonishes the brothers not to kill because he is
against killing. He doesn't invoke the concept of brotherhood as Judah
does. (This may be philosophically superior, but brotherhood will
galvanize the brothers more than abstract morality.) He saves Joseph to
return him to his father, not to save a soul or a brother. When he sees
that Joseph is not in the pit, he says "woe unto me!", "what is to
be of
me!" His concern as a leader is for himself. Much later, in arguing with
Jacob for Benjamin's departure, he says Jacob can kill Reuben's two sons
if he doesn't return Benjamin. It's lame. A leader must protect the
lives of all, including his own family. He has replaced his initial
self-centeredness with an overblown selflessness.
Judah rises above all the brothers from beginning to end, though his
beginning was far from admirable. His initial plea for Joseph is based
on brotherhood. People listen to him. The brothers listen to him, as
does Jacob later on. He encourages the next generation to be concerned
with the life of their brothers. He appeals to his surviving son Onan to
take his widowed sister-in-law as a wife to bear children for the dead
brother. His lowest point is when he denies the next son's right and
obligation to marry the second time widow lest she kill his remaining
son as well. Here Judah ceases to worry about the dead (the last
generation) and about those yet to be born, over his concern for his
only son, which is reminiscent of Jacob. Later he appreciates his
responsibility to all generations when he says to Jacob to send Benjamin
so that they can all live "we, you, and our infants." His empathy for
Jacob is clear from his final grand plea to Joseph. Even Joseph listens
to him. As a clear sign of his leadership, Jacob not only eventually
grants him the blessing of kingship, but sends him forth to survey
Goshen before the family arrived.
Joseph's quest for leadership is the most extensive and complex.
Instead of seeking the brothers' good, he brings their bad tidings to
Jacob. He dreams of grandeur, not brotherhood. In Egypt, however, he
begins to become great. He avoids temptation. He looks after the well
being of his prisoners. "Why are you so sad today?" he asks. But he
still has some hubris. "G-d Interprets. Tell me," he says to the
prisoners. When he stands before Pharaoh, he is more clear. Five times
he emphasizes that it is G-d who interprets, "not I." Once he gets his
new job, however, the power goes to his imaginative head again. Pharaoh
says Joseph is the only one in charge. There is no argument from
Joseph. He calls him "Mr. Interpreter." No argument. When the brothers
come, he cries, he asks of the peace of their father, but he doesn't
have much sympathy. After the brothers prove themselves, he rises to the
occasion. He is so concerned that twice he tells them not to worry. He
declares that he is not in G-d's place to punish or even forgive. He
sustains the life of his family. Only once does he slip. The Egyptians
say to him, "You have given us life." We hear not a peep of an
objection
from Joseph on that.
Onan is the ultimate non-leader. He is not empathetic to his brother or
the widow. He is killed by G-d, which is actually a rare occurrence in
the Bible. Why is he dealt with so severely? He doesn't understand
brotherhood, the ultimate value of brotherly leadership. Onan is not a
minor figure in the book of Genesis. He is the anti-messiah, as opposed
to Judah, Tamar, and Peretz, the ancestors of King David the messiah.
Who is the better leader, Judah or Joseph? Both are guarantors of the
life and sustenance of the family. Both are empathetic. At the end of
their lives they are about equal, but ultimately, it is the one who is
"one of the brothers," and not above them, the spokesperson of the
brothers, and not the one who forgives them from above whose children
become the kings of Israel. Judah is the father of King David, whereas
Joseph is only the father of Israel's first conqueror, Joshua, and the
break-away Northern Kingdom of Israel. The northern kings brought only
division, not unity.
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