Vayechi 2021
Maimonides writes the following in the Mishnah Torah, his book of Jewish law, based on a source in the Talmud:
“A Jew is not allowed to follow in the ways of the idolaters, and is not permitted to imitate their dress or hair style. Just as a Jew is different in their thinking and their religion so too must they be in their looks. As it states in the Torah, “And you shall not walk in their (the idolaters) ways.” … But a Jew who works in a position of government and must sit before their dignitaries for which it would be unfitting if he did not dress like them, such a person is permitted to wear their clothing ....”
The Kesef Mishnah, one of the commentaries on Maimonides, asks:“If not imitating the ways of the idolaters and not dressing like them is a Biblical law, how can the Rabbis permit this, even for someone who must sit in government?“
The Keshef Mishnah answers, “Since this is for the good of the Jewish people it is permitted. For, when Jewish people are involved in government they cause salvation for the Jewish people.” Yet, we see in our Torah portions that even though Joseph was close to the monarchy in Egypt, ultimately this relationship with Pharaoh did not prevent the enslavement of the Jewish people, as we will read next week, “And a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph…”
A friend of mine who recently visited the United Arab Emirates, told me he thinks the recent growth of a Jewish community there is very good for the Jewish people. The last century has given us a successful relationship with, and integrated us into the United States, and has witnessed the successful growth and security of Israel as the Jewish homeland, but much of the modern day Arab world until now has been a place of Jewish expulsion. He feels that the Jewish people being present, accepted and successful in an additional part of the world is good for the Jewish people and the world.
I was not so sure, I did not really see why it is good for us to be growing a Jewish community in the UAE. But perhaps he has a point. We can learn from Yosef in our Parshiot that even if it ultimately does not directly save the Jewish people, it does help with the Jewish mission of being a light unto the nations. We have spent millennia in exile, going from one country to another and leaving our mark- ethical monotheism, a respect for the spiritual and the worldly, our complexity of thought and argument and liturgy, etc. It seems throughout history to be the Jewish people’s destiny to influence the world. Perhaps then it is good that we are spreading Jewish life to countries where we would have never imagined it possible, since like Joseph in Egypt, we have a mission to the peoples of the world. To integrate just enough that we can facilitate an exchange of ideas and bring some of our unique gifts to the world, but not so much that we assimilate and lose ourselves in the process. Maybe soon I will visit this new and fast growing Jewish community in the Gulf.
