In this week’s Torah portion, Joseph’s brothers become enraged with jealousy. For their entire childhood, Jacob favors Joseph, lavishing him with gifts. Like his father, God sends messages to Joseph through his dreams. One night, Joseph dreams that his entire family bows down to him in respect. Joseph’s brothers formulate a plan that will put an end to his arrogance. They lead Joseph astray until they are far from their home. Originally, they leave Joseph in a ditch to suffer, but they decide that a better solution may be at hand. They could make a profit off their currently dying brother! When the sons of Israel attempt to reclaim their brother, they discover he is already being brought away by Midianites. These traders sell Joseph to Potiphar, a member of Pharaoh’s court. Potiphar’s wife frames Joseph for coming on to her, and he is apprehended. In prison, Joseph meets two high servants of Pharaoh. These men seemed distressed, so Joseph offers to ease their pain. The men say their dreams are their cause for worry. Putting his talent to work, Joseph interprets their dreams under one condition. The Pharaoh’s royal cupbearer dreams that Pharaoh will restore him from imprisonment, yet the chief baker imagines Pharaoh executing him. Once Joseph tells the cupbearer the meaning of his dream, he begs him to help release him from prison. Unfortunately, the cupbearer forgets about Joseph, even when both dreams become reality.
In many ways, Joseph is analogous to modern Judaism. His brothers banish Joseph from his homeland during his youth. Likewise, the ancient Romans forced the Jews into exile. The Jews spread into the diaspora, the land outside of Israel. For centuries, the Jews suffered persecution in Europe and elsewhere, much like Joseph’s imprisonment. Somehow, the traditions of the Jewish people never faltered, dreaming that morality will eventually be restored. In Joseph’s later life, Pharaoh releases him and makes Joseph the Pharaoh’s official dream interpreter. From the 1880’s to the 1920’s, Jews flocked to the Americas to be free of persecution. In this land of religious freedom, they were legally permitted to practice in peace. However, the Jews quickly realize freedom of religion and religious tolerance do not automatically coincide with one another. Joseph saves Egypt and his family from famine, but leaving God’s promised land left a gaping scar in the Jewish people through the time of Moses. Although Joseph seems to transform from an Israelite into an Egyptian throughout Genesis, assimilation is never truly possible. As a minority, American Jews know that their homes miss a certain religious flare. When American Jews read the sacred words written in Genesis, something seems empty. God promised Abraham a land for him and all his descendants, yet Jews are spread all over the world today.
The Lion King’s Pumbaa said home is where your rump rests. At its most basic level, the home is a place of rest and shelter. Does this mean a home away from home can range from a best friend’s house to a hotel room? The simple phrase is more than that though. A home away from home needs to be meaningful. Such a place must exude sacredness to make it a place where one is comfortable staying everyday. For instance, a camp must be welcoming or the kids would forever be homesick. A home away from home is built on memories that occurred in there. This area brings out the most confidence in us that we often keep hidden within the safe four walls of our house. Building off of Pumbaa’s philosophy, a home away from home is where we feel comfortable resting our rump.
Does Israel meet such qualifications for the Jewish people? There are certainly a multitude of memories the Jewish people share with this sacred land. The UN granted Israel the right to this most disputed area in the Middle East to allow the Jewish people to feel entirely comfortable from persecution, yet somehow this land is a haven for war and conflict. Can Israel be a place of such comfort when worries of suicide bombers come into mind every time we ride the bus? Knowing a few Israeli teens, I learned that they recognize the reality of their situation, but they do not let such fear constrict their daily routines. Many Jews are advocates for peace, yet military service is mandated in Israel. It is evident that the UN intended Israel is quite possibly a Jew’s imaginable home away from home, but the current Israel, a product of 60 years of conflict, is not even close to such a place of comfort and tranquility.
Joseph is an unfavorable character in the Torah, for he is responsible for breaking the chain of ancestors to live and die in Canaan. Many blame Joseph for causing the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Bare in mind, Joseph also saves the Jewish people from famine later in Genesis, and his brothers force his exile upon him. Living in the United States is a comfort for American Jews. As previously said, Israel is far too unstable to instantly drop the comfort of our Americanism. Perhaps Israel is our true home and the US is the home away from home. As we wait to feel ready to return home, we can only support Israel. Gandhi said to be the change in the world we want to see, so we should make Israel our home, not just a place on the map. By celebrating the Israeli culture or taking interest in the politics of the homeland, we can be American while keeping the covenant with God. Assimilation is probably the worst sin one could commit against God. We not only turn away from God, but we hide who are inside. Our address may be somewhere in Massachusetts, but there is always a welcoming door across the Atlantic Ocean. Joseph left the Promised Land and became an Egyptian, but we do not need to choose between Americana and Judaism.
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