Joseph and his ten brothers had a difficult relationship. It spiraled out of control until the brothers' jealousy overtook them and they abducted Joseph, ultimately selling him into slavery. A famine strikes the region. Joseph, the slave, presents Pharaoh with G-d’s plan for salvation. Pharaoh installs him as Viceroy, and charges him with implementing the plan, which saves Egypt.
When Joseph's brothers come from Israel in search of grain, they meet Joseph, whom they haven't seen in two decades. They don't recognize him, but Joseph recognizes them.
Joseph wants to ascertain whether his brothers regret how they treated him, and whether they've grown as human beings, so he orchestrates situations to test them. As Joseph discerns their deep repentance, he emotionally calls out to them: “I am Joseph!”
Suddenly recognizing what's been happening, the brothers are faced with an earth-shattering paradigm shift. Imagine hearing that you've been operating under a fundamental misconception; that you THINK you've been rationally assessing reality, but you've actually had it all wrong. Your mind begins to race as you revisit the decisions you made in the fog of this illusion.
We've all gone through paradigm shifts. Sometimes it's the slow dawning of a recognition, and sometimes it's a sudden, startling realization. Either way, it's a humbling experience.
But humility leads to growth. When we set aside our self-importance, we can learn a new perspective, and stop living a lie.
Fast forward to 2023 in the USA: The Jewish community has consistently been a brother in solidarity to those advocating justice for the vulnerable and marginalized. Jews in the media have consistently been on the front lines of those speaking truth to power and supporting citadels of ‘forward-thinking,‘ Higher Education. Brothers in solidarity, we thought.
Until October 7, when our brothers sold us out. What will it take for the media, ‘social justice’ groups, politicians, University administrations, etc. to have an “I am Joseph” moment?
If they watch footage from Hamas cameras, of sadistic rapes, tortures and murders, will they speak up?
If they learn that Israel unilaterally gave Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005, FORCIBLY removing Jews (including families who’d been there for generations), only to have the residents turn their new opportunity into a missile launching site, forcing Israel to protect its borders, will they stop calling Gaza an “open-air prison”?
Will ‘educated’ leaders of our top Universities ever acknowledge that - gaslighting aside - “from the river to sea” is unmistakably a call for Jewish genocide?
The list goes on, but who is open to hearing it? Are our ‘brothers’ humble enough to shift perspective?
Joseph’s brothers were able to change their attitude; sadly, the jury is still out on our present-day ‘brothers.’
But it's not looking good.