Timeless Torah

It’s the classic story of anti-Semitism. Egypt’s political atmosphere changed from welcoming JACOB AND FAMILY as dignitaries, to suspicion, hatred, and finally, exploitation. The commentaries remark that the Egyptian experience is a paradigm for our own exile. With that in mind, this Torah reading deserves careful study as it is pertinent to our own situation.

In Exodus the Torah writes, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” It is abundantly clear that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Who wouldn’t have known Joseph? Without Joseph’s intervention, the years of famine would have destroyed the country. Today, someone like Joseph would have sports arenas, libraries, avenues, and shopping centers named after him. Children in elementary schools would make plays about him, and we would all have a long weekend commemorating his birthday.

Rashi explains that, “Pharaoh made himself as if he didn’t know.” Incidentally, this illustrates the point in Ethics of our Fathers, “Be careful with ruling authorities…they appear as friends while they are benefiting, but they don’t stand up for a person in his time of difficulty.” So of course Pharaoh knew Joseph, but it was no longer in his best political interest to acknowledge him.

At any rate, the verse describes a time when there was a marked change in the relationship between the government and the Jews. The question is what happened that created the new Jewish problem and the change in policy.

The Mikdash Mordechai focuses on the expression, “These were…the Children of Israel ha’baim (literally ‘who are coming’) to Egypt.” The problem however is that this event occurred in the past, thus the phrase should have been, “Asher ba’u - who had come to Egypt.” So why does the Torah indicate that they are presently coming?

The change of tense tells us something about the mind-set of these initial sojourners. They did not view themselves as Egyptians, but as temporary visitors who were just passing through. What made the original generation different was their perception. They saw themselves as just arriving, but not completely settled. Their attitude towards Egypt was, “This is not my land, my people, or my culture. I am merely a guest.” That was the key to their success.

But then Joseph and his peers passed on. Their descendants multiplied and became strong, as the Bible unequivocally states, “Va’ya-tzmu b’meod, meod - They became very, very mighty.” Once again the wording must be examined. The term ‘meod’ literally means ‘very’. But as the Kli Yakar points out, ‘meod’ also means money, as in, “You should love your G-d with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your money/meodecha.” Money/Meod in this context also means physical goods and material wealth. Thus the phrase, “They became very, very mighty - Va’ya-tzmu b’meod, meod,” is telling us that the later generations in Egypt became very mighty/meod on account of their affluence/b’meod. They felt that they had arrived and they became part of Egyptian society. No longer did they see themselves as baim/now coming to Egypt.

This is also the deeper significance of, “The land (Egypt) became filled with them (Hebrews).” They Jews were now to be found in the cultural centers, in the spotlight, on the society pages of the latest magazines! The first generation rightly viewed themselves as greenhorns repeating, “This is not our home or our way of life. This is foreign to us!”

However, that generation died and their children were not satisfied with keeping their money in the bank. One had to show his wealth, become part of the smart set, and endow places of art and culture so that buildings prominently displayed the names of their Jewish beneficiaries. “The land was truly filled with Jews.”
Now it makes sense. “A new King arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” Pharaoh said, “These are not the same people that I knew. These folks are not Joseph’s type! They are different, changed. Therefore, I too will change.”

A Jewish change in attitude caused Egyptian alarm. As long as the Jews were content not being the shakers and movers of Egyptian society, Pharaoh respected them. Remain true to your heritage and you can be trusted. But become disloyal to your own family and upbringing, and the host nation will assume that the Jews cannot be loyal; possibly, even traitorous.

Like I said; it’s the classic tale of anti-Semitism. Everyone knows it…except some Jews.