by Rabbi Koval
Strife, Jew vs. Jew, brothers pitted against brothers - it made headline news this week. Painful.
Strife, Jew vs. Jew, brothers pitted against brother - it made headline news in the Parsha (weekly Torah portion) this week, probably the most emotional Parsha read each year.
Strife, Jew vs. Jew, brothers pitted against brother - it made headline news in the Parsha (weekly Torah portion) this week, probably the most emotional Parsha read each year.
Coincidence?
Jewish mystical tradition teaches us that events of the weekly Parsha have cosmic effects on our world. Perhaps the energy of Joseph and his brothers is resurfacing this week... to test us, as we struggle with the same feelings of jealousy, ego and strife as did our holy ancestors of old.
This week's Parsha has a happy ending. No Cain and Aibel-esqe conclusion. Instead, reconciliation and reunification.
Over 4,000 years later, what can we do to bring about a happy ending to our sad unfolding story?
Jewish tradition also teaches us that current events are not spectator sports. It's G-d's way of instant-messaging us, to search our own hearts and examine our own relationships. We all struggle with jealously, ego and strife in our inter-personal relationships. It's part of the human condition. (See Pirkei Avot, chapter 4, mishna 28: "Rabbi Elazar HaKappar said, jealousy, lust and ego remove a person from the world.")
Suggestions? Here's one that resonates with me: When dealing and struggling with a difficult person or relationship, stop, take a step back, and try and get objective for a moment. Say to yourself, "Here is a fellow human being, created in G-d's image, possessing a soul, just like me." Try and focus on that person not as a body, not as male or female, not as stubborn or flexible, but as a soul.
I know it sounds quirky, but it really works. When viewing another person through the objectivity lens, resentment can be replaced with sympathy, making forgiveness and reconciliation possible.
Last night I heard an interesting saying on the radio: "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."
Let's be that teacher and hope and pray that the student is ready!
