Parashat MiKetz, Drasha delivered by Janet Roberts at HUC in Jerusalem, Dec. 10, 2001

The stories about Joseph comprise the longest narrative unit in the Bible.
If the narrative were, instead, a stage play, how might we picture the scene which opens this week's parasha?

Joseph is still the good-looking lead character, but his years in prison have taken a toll.  
Pharaoh has a dream which the Egyptian dream specialists fail to interpret.
Someone remembers Joseph's previous success at dream interpretation.  
Suddenly, Joseph is hauled out of prison to face Pharaoh.  What does he do now?

Here is our script:
Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph,
and they rushed him out of the prison,
and he (let's leave that untranslated for a moment),
and he changed his garment
and he came unto Pharaoh (Genesis chapter 41, verse 14).

There is an oddity in this verse, an ambiguity in the word  I left untranslated, va'yi-ga-lach.
The root means "to shave."  
Hebrew grammar allows two possible translations:  
either that Joseph shaved himself, or that he was shaved.

Let's imagine we are directing the scene.  This can be "Take One":  
Joseph says to Pharaoh's footmen,
"Wow,  I've been languishing in this pit of a prison for two years, and I can't wait to get cleaned up!"  
He shaves himself and makes his appearance in Pharaoh's court, well-groomed.

Here's "Take Two":
Joseph is a devout Hebrew, faithful to the traditions of his fathers, which he's learned from his study of Torah, in particular a law from the Book of Leviticus.  
As Pharaoh's butler approaches him, razor in hand, Joseph cries out,
"I'm not permitted to use a razor!"  
But Joseph is a prisoner, and, despite the Biblical prohibition, he has no choice in the matter - he is shaved.

If this seems like too much emphasis to place on the simple act of shaving, consider this: Shaving, getting a haircut, or changing clothes, are examples of choices we make in how we present ourselves, what face we show to the outside world.  How others see us plays a large part in who we are.  The other component of our identity is how we see ourselves.

What if these aspects are in conflict?  What happens when matters which are crucial to personal identity as a member of one group conflict with the demands of another culture?

Perhaps there's a "Take Three."  
Joseph confronts this dilemma:  
Does he respect local tradition, or remain true to his faith?  He wants to show respect for the king by appearing well-groomed; he knows that Egyptians prefer clean-shaven men.  But, Joseph also wants to uphold Israelite tradition, that shaving is not allowed.  How can he reconcile the conflict?  

A good actor could give us some insight into Joseph's interior monologue: "I want to be who I really am, a God-fearing Hebrew, but I also want to do well in Egyptian society -- it might be good for me personally, and great for my people Israel."  If he chooses to shave, is Joseph merely playing a role while holding onto his Hebrew identity, or is looking Egyptian' something he genuinely prefers?  In this "Take Three," we see a man torn between two cultures.

These different ways of viewing the Biblical narrative reflect three positions regarding the interface between different cultures.  In the first view, there is unavoidable conflict when one culture meets another head-on and the individual must make a choice.  This is what we see when Joseph remonstrates that he can't shave:  the demand of Egyptian culture, to appear clean-shaven before Pharaoh, against the demand of Torah law.

Another view is to say that it is possible to walk in two worlds, but sometimes one culture's demands must be subsumed by the other.  This is Maimonides' position.  In his Book of Knowledge,  we find a possible out' for Joseph,  an exception to the law of Leviticus:  
"An Israelite...who must appear before gentile sovereigns and to whom it would be a disgrace not to look like gentiles" --he is permitted to appear "after their fashion."  In other words, on't cut your payess, BUT, if your boss demands it, then you may.  Maimonides was a man who knew the demands of  living in two worlds.  In his own time, the 12th century, he was a most highly respected Jewish scholar and community leader, while he also played a major role in the Moslem court.  His experiences taught him, that when the context demands it, it may be possible to override the letter of Jewish law without stepping outside the confines of Jewish life overall.

This just begs the question:  Does Joseph HAVE TO look Egyptian in order to fulfill his role -
is it part of his job description?  Or does he CHOOSE how to appear?  I don't know the answer.

A third position is to say that there is no inherent conflict between two world-views.  Rather, they can complement each other.  Maimonides did more than subordinate his Jewishness - he tried to integrate the best of his Judeo-Spanish heritage with his adopted Egyptian culture.  The early Reformers likewise sought to enhance the Jewish tradition by  bringing in elements of the Enlightenment.  Modern Reform Jews carry the prophetic message of social justice to the larger American society in which many of us live.

For us, the conflict is no longer between the demands of a Pharaoh and those of Torah teaching.  We have internalized two cultures, because our own community demands that we wear both faces: to appear presentable in modern, western terms, and to follow Jewish tradition.  Joseph is understandable in this sense, as an example of the tension that exists when you walk in two worlds.  He has internalized the demands of Egyptian society.

Here's an example a little closer to home.  Suppose you're a man whose first High Holiday pulpit  is as service leader in a large North American Reform congregation.  Yom Kippur will be the first time that many congregants see your face.  Do you shave?   If you're a woman, do you go with a little lipstick and mascara?    If your answer is yes, is that a willing choice, or an accomodation to current cultural norms?  I suggest that many of us do both, accomodate when we must, and internalize, or assimilate, when we choose.   Perhaps the fact that we can't tell whether Joseph shaved, or was shaved, hints at this ambivalence within us.

The ambiguity stays with Joseph all his life.  The last face' that Joseph shows to the world
is the one carved on his Egyptian coffin.  He is buried in Egyptian style, but he asks to have his bones brought up from Egypt.   Martin Buber noted that the word used for Joseph's mummy case, aron, is the same word used for the Ark of the Covenant.Adding to this insight, a contemporary author, Joseph Wildavsky, has written:  "What are we to make of this double image ... the Egyptian...coffin and the Ark of the Covenant, ... symbols of Egypt and Israel?...
Is it to symbolize Joseph's ambivalence to the very end, his bones buried in Israel but within an enduring Egyptian casket?"

The question of how we might direct this text is an exercise.  The question of how we direct ourselves is more than an exercise - it's our life.  The connection between the face we present to the outside and the image we have of ourselves is complex.  How can we maintain our inner identity while being able to switch costumes?  Our challenge is how to be multifaceted, without being two-faced.  Inevitably we have to make choices - yet still recognize our own face in the mirror.

Today marks the start of our Hanukah celebration.  At the root of the holiday lies a confrontation between Hebraic and Hellenistic cultures.  Our weekly Torah portion presents us with a test case.

At the beginning of our verse, Pharaoh calls Joseph out of the pit.  Joseph transforms himself, and prepares for the next chapter in his life.  At the end of the verse, Joseph comes before Pharaoh - he presents himself as someone ready to take his place in the wider world.  May we learn to navigate that thin line between being two-faced, and multi-faceted, as we prepare to face the challenges ahead of us.