 they meet Joseph as viceroy for the first time, and realize the correlation between their predicament in Egypt and their cruel treatment of Joseph: “Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us and we gave no heed.” (42:21) But Reuben takes this this even further, seeking repentance for his actions, and taking responsibility for his mistake stating to his brothers: “His blood as well – behold! – is being avenged,” (42:22) as if saying, “Own up to your transgression in its entirety.” Judah is also responsible for causing the family trauma. He is the one who sold Joseph into slavery to the passing caravan of Ishmaelites. But the story of Joseph, and the situations that he engenders, is about activating the energy of tshuva within his brothers, which is analogous to their tikkun, their spiritual healing, their repair.
The beauty of Joseph’s ingenuity is in how he generates tshuva to stimulate the higher sephirot of chochmah and binah. For instance, when he asks his brothers to bring Benjamin to Egypt, he forces a situation where Judah has to take full responsibility for Benjamin. Reuben even suggests to Jacob first, “Put him in my care,” he says, “and I will return him to you.” (42:37) But Judah’s tikkun is bound to the very moment that Joseph disappeared, which prompts Judah to say to his father: “Send the lad with me, and let us arise and go, so we will live and not die, we as well as you as well as our children. I will personally guarantee him; of my own hand you can demand him. If I do not bring him back to you and stand him before you, then I will have sinned to you for all time.” (43:8-9) Tshuva (repentance) is often likened to a return, a return back in time and space, back through a reliving in the mind of a misdoing (which occurs in the realm of the intellect), and the repair of that misdoing through a proactive remorse (which occurs in the emotive realm). Feeling true regret, taking responsibility for one’s actions, and going through the lengths to rectify the situation is how we become better people. This is how we grow, this is how we face our fears, and this is how we correct our deficiencies. Through tshuva, we can reconnect the emotional and intellectual sephirot, which is related to our tikkun. This is also why, found within the “lowest point of creation,” within the dream state of spiritual exile, we find the seeds of moral action, and the “essential reason” for our return. Within deficiency is also abundance; within spiritual lack are also the solutions that take us back to the beginning – realizing this paradox, applying tshuva for our tikkun, is what reveals the hiddenness of G-d’s mystery in creation.
This lesson is paramount to our time now. As I write these words, fires are raging across the Australian continent, a volcano just erupted in New Zealand, and I wonder what the earth is saying. I wonder what all the birds of the air, all the creeping beings of the ground, and all the beasts of the land – what do they have to say? I pray for them. If we never take responsibility for the environmental harms that have been done to this planet, will we ever become a responsible society? Will we ever repent? Will we ever heal?
Topics Include: the metaphysical relationship between famine and the seven sick cows, nakedness of the land and song of the land, tshuva as a stimulant for chochmah and binah
Carasik, Michael. The Commentators' Bible: Genesis: The Rubin JPS Miqra'ot Gedolot. Jewish Publication Society, 2018.
Dubov, Nissan Dovid. “The Sephirot.”
Accessed December 21, 2019.
Goldman, Rabbi Yossy. “Famine in the Land.” https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/233934/jewish/Famine-in-the-Land.htm Accessed December 19, 2019.
Judelman, Rabbi Shaul David. “Parashat Mikeitz: The Song of the Land – A Torah Teaching for the Western Environmentalist.”
Accessed December 21, 2019.
Kalmenson, Rabbi Mendel. “The Repentance Litmus Test.” https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1080728/jewish/The-Repentance-Litmus-Test.htm Accessed December 19, 2