Miketz
“There’s nothing to eat!” my son would often exclaim as he
would stare into a refrigerator filled with food. The freezer was as well stocked with frozen
goodies. I soon realized that his
statements were not about reality but instead about desire. What he wanted to eat, what he imagined
savoring, was not to be found in the refrigerator. Now, even weeks after Hurricane Sandy, such
exclamations have disappeared. The
freezer is only partially restocked. The
refrigerator is once again filled.
For weeks we stared into an empty refrigerator. We were forced to throw out the defrosted
food. We cooked what we could heat up on
the gas stove. We were happy to have the
meal. We were confident that the lack of
electricity was only a temporary frustration.
Others were worse off. There was
still plenty to eat, just far too often not what we wanted to eat. Now, we no longer stare into the refrigerator
searching only for what we desire. Sandy cast such feelings
aside. Now we are happy to have its
light illumine whatever food might be on the shelves.
When Jacob saw that there were food rations to be had in Egypt , he said
to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another?... Go down and procure rations for us there,
that we may live and not die.” (Genesis
41:1-2) This week we read that our
forefather, Jacob, is confronted with a famine in the land of Israel Egypt
where unbeknownst to him, his son Joseph has stored plenty of food. In an extraordinary measure of foresight and
leadership Joseph stockpiled food throughout the seven years of plenty. Now, during the seven years of famine, everyone
is coming to him to procure food.
The Midrash relates: You may learn from the story of Jacob
that it is a man’s worst trial to have his children ask him for food when he
has nothing to give.
Imagine how difficult this trial was for Jacob. He had nurtured his children throughout their
years and sustained them on God’s dream.
They would settle in the Promised Land, the land of Israel
And now they know hunger.