Parsha Mikeitz

This Parsha sets the stage for Israel's inevitable descent into Egypt. It is true that circumstances have led them to this point. It is also true that their actions too have made this road into Egypt inevitable. If only Israel could wake up and follow Hashem their fate might have been avoided. Joseph through his spirit of prophecy does wake up only for long enough to divine the future. He realizes he is a part of G-d's ultimate plan for the deliverance of Israel which is why he arranges all of the events that befall his brothers.

Joseph comes in at the level of Yesod seeing that which is to come in the future. It isn't for him to make his own destiny. He simply becomes the observer of destiny rising to this level through his right actions. Joseph is caught between both worlds. Here all of his efforts revolve around bringing his family into Egypt taking them irrevocably away from their home in Canaan. Joseph isn't the master who can heal both past and future. This will be up to Moses later on. For now Joseph is only master of the dreams of consciousness and not their outcomes. Joseph is trapped in time never realizing the ultimate reality of now where all events are both fluid and naturally becoming. He doesn't realize that the plenty of Egypt is but an illusion which will in the end cause all of Israel to become slaves to materiality and then finally become the subjects of this materiality. Joseph is the light that shines throughout this Parsha. In the midst of his affliction as he calls it Joseph is still able to see the good all around him. Joseph is on his way in this Parsha to bring all of Israel into Egypt so that they may receive a great deliverance in the future. The enticements of Egypt are many foremost among them is the plentiful food that supplies the entire surrounding area that is going through the famine predicted by Joseph. We cannot however lose sight of the fact that this is Egypt land of darkness no matter what there may appear to be on the surface.

Joseph marries an Egyptian and has children with her. This is a key aspect of this Parsha. He reproduces his kind in Egypt from the side of the evil inclination. His success will short lived as his influence over his family Israel will pass away and the toils of Israel in bondage will increase in the land that they are destined to be strangers in. He rises to the pinnacle of Egyptian success one rung below the Pharoah. Because of this he is able to hold sway over his entire family so that they too will come to enjoy Egypt and the plenty that he has found there. It is a common enticement for the ego to enjoy the fruits of momentary pleasure while the attention grows further and further away from Hashem.

Pharoah in the next Parsha commands that Joseph's entire clan be brought into Egypt and made comfortable there. It is ironic that Joseph brings his family out of the land that is then promised to Israel following their flight from another Pharoah four hundred years later. The question then becomes why leave Canaan at all if it is the promised land of the future? Why not simply stay put in Canaan, worship Hashem, and let the land become filled with the milk and honey of righteousness. The answer is of course that the family of Israel wasn't ready for this blessing. In effect by letting Joseph be sold as a slave they doomed themselves to suffer a similar fate. Their actions produced a negative result that would take time to unfold. It is symbolic of their negative actions that Joseph further tries to implicate them in evil deeds by planting the Silver Goblet in Benjamin's sack. The Silver Goblet represents the illusion of materiality that is thrust upon them by Joseph in his efforts to teach his brothers a lesson and prove his sovereignty over them just like in the dreams he told them long ago.

There is always a better way only Joseph could not envision this. His visions could not be modified because of the level of consciousness which he attains only could predict and not interdict as Moses is able to do further down the historical road. We see that Joseph's actions however directly contributed to the subsequent enslavement of Israel. He could not resist the evil inclination that called for some kind of payback for the misdeeds that had befallen him. In so doing he only created more havoc within the body of Israel leading to their steady deep descent within Egypt. This in a sense is Joseph's vision colored by the evil inclination surrounding Israel that needs to be purified. This evil inclination is fueled by the unconscious desires of men who haven't yet embraced Torah nor divined deeply into its secrets.

Israel then becomes subject to wheel Joseph could rise to only a certain level in his consciousness so that therefore he could not realize the great danger that Israel faced. He hasn't realized what Moses later on does that the mind of man must effect it own change within, that change being called I am. It is only through this change as we shall see that Israel upon receiving the Torah achieves that moment of purity. The difference between Joseph and Moses is that Joseph saw the events that were to take place in the future and could nothing about them while Moses saw these events as opportunities for transformation.

The lesson presented for us is that we too have the ability to foretell our our future by the thoughts we are thinking and the actions we are taking. The plan of creation is written inside and everytime we rise up within to listen for that inspiration the plan of our lives is enhanced. The logical extension of this plan of creation is the perfection of consciousness where we truly become in the image of our creator free of the klippoth of misunderstanding that clings to us because of what we are choosing to accept and what we are too asleep to reject.