blogs/rabbi-huberman

Pharaoh, Chanukah and the Environment

We live in a world where increasingly we are referred to as consumers rather than citizens.

We live in a disposable world.  Cellphones are upgraded every two years, while old ones languish in drawers until they are eventually tossed.

Computers, televisions, monitors and keyboards are replaced and junked at the blink of an eye.  We live in a culture which seduces us to spend and discard as we chase immediate gratification.

But where is this leading us?

This week's Torah portion -- and perhaps the holiday of Chanukah -- provide us with an important hint.

In this week's Torah reading, titled Miketz -- (at the end of two years time) -- Joseph provides us with one of humanity's first written examples of environmental conservation.  And two important Middle Eastern civilizations survive because of it.

Joseph, as we left him last week, is languishing in prison, a victim of sexual harassment.

In jail, he displays the ability to interpret dreams -- and this skill is conveyed to Pharaoh, who is haunted one night by two consecutive visions.

The first dream describes seven healthy cows being consumed by seven skinny ones.  Pharaoh returns to sleep and observes seven healthy ears of grain being swallowed by seven thin ones.

Pharaoh is distressed.  What can this mean?

Pharaoh's cupbearer reaches back into prison and retrieves Joseph, who after a being provided with new clothes and a haircut, appears before the Egyptian monarch.  Joseph listens to Pharaoh as he recounts his two dreams and comes to the following conclusion.   

Joseph foresees seven years of agricultural plenty followed by seven years of famine.  He advises Pharaoh to establish storehouses so that excess of the seven plentiful years can be stored -- and this will provide sustenance for the seven years of drought.

And so it comes to pass.

Traditional commentators note that Joseph possessed the "spirit of God," and this enabled him to impart wisdom and predict the future.

But as we reread this week's Torah portion, perhaps we can consider a new interpretation. For within Joseph's explanation of Pharaoh's dream, we witness an innovative Biblical teaching regarding conservation.

It inspires us to think about preserving the earth.  It teaches us that the resources we manage are not endless.  It prompts us to consider safeguarding what we have now -- whether that be environmental or even financial -- and prepare for that inevitable drought.

Indeed, society has become obsessed with consumerism.  We gauge a society's strength or a government's success by monitoring the stock exchange. But is that all there is?

Where are the values, the maturity and the integrity which should sustain our society?

A few months ago, as we completed reading the Torah's account of creation, God instructed Adam to "till and tend to the earth." (Genesis 2:15)

The Kabbalah, our mystic tradition, teaches that six worlds preceded this one.  This, the seventh, is the final world God will bestow upon us. Therefore, we must do our utmost to sustain it.

I can picture prior to Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, unharvested grain rotting in the fields, or produce unpicked in the fields or on the vine.  I envision large wasted portions arrogantly dumped in garbage heaps.  I picture waste.

But Joseph instructs Pharaoh to set up storehouses so that ultimately the Egyptians, the Israelites and others could survive.

It's a lesson in conservation and agricultural management, which we may argue is the forerunner to our environmental awareness today. 

We are currently celebrating the festival of Chanukah.  It is a time to rejoice over the re-dedication of the holy Jerusalem Temple almost twenty-two centuries ago.

One day's light lasted for eight.

There have been many interpretations of this miracle. But let us also consider that aside from this explanation: Was it possible that the Israelites on that first "festival of lights" understood the importance of conserving that one small jar of oil over eight days?

At minimum, as we contemplate evolving interpretations of Jewish texts and holidays, let us also consider the theme of conservation -- perhaps reinforcing the value of environmental stewardship above unbridled consumption.

Whether its oil, or water resources or air quality, let us take a moment this Shabbat and ask ourselves in this world of consumerism: how can we better citizens?

How can we protect the earth?  How can we better till it and watch over it?  And perhaps on a more personal level, how can we put aside some of what we have today, and preserve it for tomorrow?

Earlier in my career, as I worked in the environmental field in northern Canada, I was inspired by the words of a First Nations chief who shared with me a traditional saying regarding the environment.  He noted, "We do not inherit the earth from our elders -- rather we borrow it from our children."

Let us consider the message of Joseph in this week's Torah portion. Let us also consider the overlap between this Parashah, and an alternative and updated message for Chanukah.

How can we make this a more Green Chanukah?

Let us also reflect upon how we are using our resources, as we revisit Joseph's lesson taught thousands of years ago: What we can do today to ensure that God's sacred earth will sustain us into the future?

That is the beauty of the Jewish tradition.  The words of our Torah and the celebration of our festivals follow us from generation to generation.

But the world in which we apply it to changes.  And so do we.

Shabbat Shalom. Chag Urim Sameach (Happy Festival of Lights).

Rabbi Irwin Huberman