Free Republic

Joseph wanted to raise the Egyptians to a higher spiritual and moral plane. So he arranged that they be circumcised. That way, perhaps the exile destined upon his people would be shortened. The plan backfired. Rather than alleviating the Egyptian exile, Joseph empowered the Egyptians to oppress his people yet more viciously. Joseph believed he could shortcut the Egyptian exile. We sometimes delude ourselves that we can hot-wire our own darkness. We imagine we can bring thousands more to Torah, if we just would compromise with electronics on Shabbat. Or that we could achieve so many more mitzvahs, if we...

This is life, all of it: Sitting like a small child upon the shoulders of the Creator of heaven and earth as He carries us out of slavery in Egypt to eternal life in the Promised Land. Everything along the journey is sweet and good, if we will only embrace it with love. Even the pain is good, a pain that cleanses body and soul as we rise to a place higher than our little minds can conceive. And yes, even those paths we believe we’ve stumbled down by our own fault, He carries us tenderly through those as well,...