Mikeitz – Judaism: A religion of Action

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

Our Sages in their poetic Pirkei Avot (Lessons of the Forefathers) wrote (3:15):

הכל צפוי והרשות נתונה ובטוב העולם נדון והכל לפי רוב המעשה

Everything is foreseen, and free will is given, and with goodness the world is judged. And all is in accordance to the majority of the deed.

The depth of this message is that even though Hashem knows the future and gives humankind the benefit of the doubt as much as possible, our final judgment is based on our actions. Many religions are based on faith but have very few religious practices. Judaism, on the other hand, is filled with detailed religious actions that encompass all aspects of life. Our Torah gives us detailed laws of Kashrut (Dietary laws), laws of blessings on each food item and even laws on how to cut our hair. The lesson behind these extensive set of laws is to show that faith is not enough and being a good Jew “in my heart” doesn’t really equal religious observance. In order to dedicate ourselves to Hashem and the mission of enhancing his world, we must first and foremost act on our beliefs. As we have mentioned all throughout the book of Breishit, every story of our forefathers has a deep and powerful message for all generations to come. In this week’s Parsha, this idea comes alive.

After being thrown in jail on false charges, Yosef is brought to Pharaoh to try to interpret the meaning of his dream. Yosef hears Pharaoh’s dream and explains to Pharaoh that the dream means that a famine will arrive in Egypt in seven years’ time, although the upcoming seven years with be plentiful ones for Egypt’s crops. Yosef continues to tell Pharaoh that he must begin preparing for the famine by storing as much food as possible as a reserve for the time of the famine. As soon as Pharaoh heard Yosef’s interpretation, he was convinced that it was the right interpretation of his dream and appoints Yosef as his Viceroy. Prior to Yosef’s appearance before Pharaoh, the Torah tells us that Pharaoh called upon his most talented sorcerers to try to explain his dream. He was not satisfied with any of their explanations and only when Yosef interpreted his dream was he satisfied. Why was Yosef’s explanation more convincing to Pharaoh than anyone else? Why would Pharaoh trust Yosef’s explanation over his most trusted sorcerers? The answer is that Yosef not only explained Pharaoh’s dream but also gave him practical advice. He related that his dream is meant to show him that he, as a leader, had the tools to help his nation survive during difficult times. When Pharaoh heard this, he knew that Yosef was correct. Pharaoh’s sorcerers may have given creative explanations, but none of them were tangible. Pharaoh knew that the message of his dream had to bring some type of action, something practical.

We can take from this episode that religious practice is not just folklore. It is the way we bring faith into reality. Judaism is so detailed and rigorous in order to show that faith must be brought to fruition. Every good idea and moral must come into practice; every deep lesson can be applied in the real world.

In the 1930s, the Polish parliament was discussing a number of laws that could affect the over three million Jews living in its land. At that time, quite a of number of Jews were members of parliament. These Jews were not religious. On the contrary, they despised the observances of their fellow Jews. During these meetings, they would mock Jewish observance. They would joke about how Jews have laws about tying shoes in a certain fashion or washing hands before meals. One of the non-Jewish members of parliament overheard their conversation and said that it was amazing that Judaism can find meaning and spirituality in mundane activities.  The Jewish politicians were silenced. As Jews, we must value our religious practice. We should cherish the opportunities we have to serve Hashem with every waking moment. It’s not enough to believe. Let us make our faith real and act upon it.