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Orchard of Delights Shemot
knowledge appears again and again in their story. Appropriately, and Shmuel, respectively, in Sotah 11a). Either way, this king had
the generation that left Egypt is referred to as the dor de’ah (the conveniently forgotten all that Joseph had done in saving Egypt
generation of knowledge). from the devastating famine and in restructuring the Egyptian
Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh teaches that the three letters of Adam economy in a manner that concentrated vast wealth and power in
(alef, dalet, mem) can be read as an acronym, explaining the spiritual the monarch’s hands.
process and purpose inherent in Divine service. The alef represents The Torah is eternal and its narratives are archetypal in nature.
emunah (faith); the dalet – da’at (knowledge); the mem – ma’aseh Thus, it is no surprise that an amazing pattern is alluded to in this
(action). In order to progress, the individual must take faith, ground verse and in the Rabbis comments on it. Countless times throughout
it in knowledge, and then act upon those beliefs and knowledge in Jewish history, Jews have emigrated to various kingdoms, provinces,
the world. In Judaism faith is not “blind,” rather it walks hand in empires, and nation states at their leaders’ requests. The rulers or
hand with knowledge; in fact, faith is revealed and made manifest governments recognized the many talents the Jews would bring with
through knowledge. This notwithstanding, the process of attaining them and invited them to come and assume prominent positions in
this level is difficult; many times human beings are unable to translate society, as Pharaoh did with Joseph. Invariably, like Joseph who
their beliefs and knowledge into concrete deeds. However, becoming rose to the pinnacle of his society in power and influence, these Jews
Adam, an individual truly created in God’s image, entails undergoing managed to rise to the upper echelons of power in government and
this three-stage process. finance, as well as in the arts, sciences, and liberal professions.
In the Shema, the Torah’s quintessential expression of faith, the Until, that is, a “new” king would arise “who did not know
letters ayin and dalet are written larger than normal in a traditional Joseph,” who conveniently forgot how much the Jews had done for
Torah scroll (Deuteronomy 6:4). When these two letters are combined him. Eventually, the very contribution the Jews made to their host
they spell either “witness” or “know,” depending on the order of the countries resulted in their own success and lead to jealousy, mistrust,
letters. The generation that left Egypt failed to entirely rectify the and accusations of dual loyalty and treason. Jews were (and still are)
fallen aspect of knowledge, yet it played a key part in the ongoing scapegoated by all sides: the rich and the poor, the conservative and
process of doing so. The mission of the Jewish people is to continue the liberal, the communist and the capitalist.
that process till “the knowledge of God covers the earth like the waters Just as Joseph and his family’s financial and political success
cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
were followed by slavery, so too throughout Jewish history, initial
“golden periods” have merely been the precursors to crusades,
inquisitions, mass expulsions, ghettos, pogroms, and the Holocaust.
Yet, just as the Jews in Egypt survived their oppression, Jews
throughout history have weathered every storm until this very day.
This archetypal pattern of the Jews going up and down the ladder
of success is alluded to not only by Jacob’s dream of the ladder but
also by the story of the birth of the Jewish people, as recounted in
the book of Shemot.
A second archetypal aspect present in the Joseph story is the
role of the Jew as “second to the king.” Throughout history Jews
have risen to become either second-in-command or to occupy very
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