Mikketz is dominated by two of the great encounters in the Torah. The first is the reversal in Joseph’s fortunes. Forgotten and abandoned in prison, he is finally remembered by Pharaoh’s butler and brought out to interpret Pharaoh’s troubling dreams, which he does with ease. Having told Pharaoh that the dreams portend eventual drought and famine, he then articulates a…
After twenty-two years and many twists and turns, Joseph and his brothers finally meet. We sense the drama of the moment. The last time they had been together, the brothers planned to kill Joseph and eventually sold him as a slave. One of the reasons they did so is that they were angry at his reports about his dreams; he…
The Parsha in a Nutshell This summary is adapted from this week’s main Covenant & Conversation essay by Rabbi Sacks, available to read in full via the left sidebar Something extraordinary happens between last week’s parsha and this one, almost as if the week’s break is itself part of the story. In Vayeshev, we saw Yosef in prison. Previously he…
The story of Joseph is one of those rare narratives in Tanach in which a Jew (Israelite/Hebrew) comes to play a prominent part in a gentile society – the others are, most notably, the books of Esther and Daniel. I want here to explore one facet of that scenario. How does a Jew speak to a non-Jew about God? What…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Mikketz tells two of the most dramatic stories in the Torah. The first is the reversal in Yosef’s fortunes. Forgotten and abandoned in prison, he is brought out to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, which he does successfully. Having told Pharaoh that the dreams warn of eventual drought and famine, he then announces a solution to the…
The Parsha in a Nutshell This week’s parsha begins with Yosef at his lowest point, chained and forgotten in prison. But when Pharaoh is disturbed by two dreams, his butler remembers Yosef is an interpreter and may be able to help explain them. Yosef tells Pharaoh that the dreams contain a prophecy that there will be 7 good years in…
Mikketz represents the most sudden and radical transformation in the Torah. Joseph, in a single day, moves from zero to hero, from forgotten, languishing prisoner to viceroy of Egypt, the most powerful man in the land, in control of the nation’s economy. Until now, Joseph has rarely been the author of events. He has been the done to rather than…
Something extraordinary happens between the previous parsha and this one. It is almost as if the pause of a week between them were itself part of the story. Recall last week’s parsha about the childhood of Joseph, focusing not on what happened but on who made it happen. Throughout the entire rollercoaster ride of Joseph’s early life he is described…
The Summary This summary is adapted from this week’s main Covenant & Conversation essay by Rabbi Sacks. This week’s Torah portion recounts how Yosef, despised by his older brothers and sold into slavery by them, eventually becomes a powerful Egyptian ruler. When his brothers later visit Egypt they fail to recognise him, though Yosef immediately recognises them. This story is…
A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible I Believe is a personal and intimate demonstration of how Rabbi Sacks came to see the world through listening attentively to the Torah and its message for the present and all times. This book is the last instalment of the Covenant & Conversation series of themed books, written by Rabbi Sacks on the…