Mindful Ambition: The Lion and the Ox #2

The Lion and the Ox: Two Modes of Jewish Leadership

Who was Joseph? Paradigm of discipline and focus? Starry eyed dreamer? Brilliant visionary?

Joseph’s personality develops from day one, and can be derived from his very name. “And she (Rachel) called his name Joseph (yosef, to add) for G-d has gathered (asaf) my shame.” Joseph, it turns out, relates both to adding and to gathering. He defines, gathers, directs, ensures that nothing gets lost, and then with every ounce of good conserved and every bit of bad contained, Joseph is ready to add.

Joseph’s name contains two fundamental truths: One, for goodness to thrive, evil must be kept at bay. Sure, it’d be great to vanquish all negativity, put all evildoers behind bars, and get on with our work. But that has little to do with reality. Instead, evil should be defined, understood, and promptly banished i.e., limited as much as possible; it has its powers, but the key question is: do we add to its strength? Do we give it larger-than-life powers? Joseph understood the power of limiting evil to be no more than it is on its own. “You want to mess with G-d’s world? You won’t get any attention or help from me,” says Joseph.

As we travel through life, we will face challenges. A key question we must ask ourselves is, how much of this is true in objective reality, and how much have I contributed to the problem by treating the issue as something greater than it truly is? Sure, it may be a problem, but is it really all encompassing? Joseph teaches us to allow our troubles to occupy the real estate they actually occupy and not an extra inch.

The second lesson is that abundance, expansive blessing, and enduring greatness don’t grow out of thin air. There’s no magic potion, formula, program, book, or weekend retreat that can create success for you. Success and greatness are about growth. Growth, by definition, requires a starting point, a seed. You are the seed of your own future greatness. Only by discovering your roots, and working to conserve and focus the power within, can you discover that, in fact, there are no limits or borders to what you can achieve. The abundance of Joseph arises only from the focus of asaf.

What’s remarkable is that all this begins before Joseph has made a single choice. It all lies in his name, in his inner potential. While Joseph’s identity and strength were unique, there’s nothing unique about this story. Every human being has an incredible and absolutely unique potential for greatness. Can we reconstruct Joseph’s path to the throne, and recreate it in our own lives? The answer, I believe, is a resounding yes!

The very first thing we must do is find our inner sanctuary and guard it for all we are worth. Maybe you have a particular interest in one act of service or another? Perhaps there’s a talent waiting to be discovered that will empower you as an individual, and allow you to find your voice for the betterment of the world around you? Maybe there’s an aspect or book of ancient Torah wisdom that fascinates you?

The key idea is that the starting point is in front of you. You can only begin from the present, so be mindful of where you are now. If you can ensure this tiny but most vital part of your personality remains pure, unsullied by anger, unharmed by critics, and at once strong and vulnerable, you have your seed. Then you must get to work. The seed isn’t to be protected for eternity, it is there to grow into something formidable.

But the real world doesn’t allow for purity! True, but the game of life isn’t all or nothing. Even one droplet will be enough to get you going. The soul is all encompassing. It is one. By touching a part you’ve touched the whole. If, for only one moment, you manage to hear the voice of your soul, you will have your marching orders.

That is only the beginning. The next step is growth. Ask, how can I expand this talent of mine. How do I ensure that I hear the whisper of my soul more often, and how do I allow it to shine its glow over more and more areas of my life? And finally, how can I spread its light to others, so that the others too can see the goodness that abounds? Experiment, act, apply, grow, and then hit the repeat button. As you grow, you will be capable of new opportunities which will in turn raise you higher up the ladder of success.

For some, self-knowledge comes easily, but for others it's a challenge to discover their inner essence. One way to uncover your potential is to look deeply at where you’ve been most useful to others. Where have you had the greatest positive impact, and what do those stories say about you as a person?

Joseph, the epitome of strength and self-expression, doesn't forget his fathers house. He knows that his roots begin way before his entering this planet, and extend far into the future. This man who climbed his way to the throne with his own sweat, tears, and blood, sacrificing his very life along the way, knew that he was but building on what came before him. His seed, the strength within, was also the essence of his father Jacob who had sacrificed everything to bring Joseph into the world and see him thrive.

Jacob’s attribute is pure truth. (Which is why his challenge is to deal with falsehood and find a way to properly apply it). The world of his nemesis, twin brother Eisav, is one of evil fantasy. Pure truth and evil fantasy can’t meet. There’s no way for Jacob to influence or even approach Eisav.

The goodness and truth of Jacob are awesome indeed, but when dealing with the enemies of good, Jacob must flee or at best contend. When, on that fateful night, Eisav’s angel manages to wound the tamchin d’oraisa (the wealthy supporters of Torah who inhabit Eisav’s realm) Jacob is hard pressed to respond (based on Zohar). Jacob alone has a difficult time in Eisav’s realm.

WIth Joseph’s birth, however, Jacob feels confident facing Eisav. What happened? What changed?

Jacob’s kernel of truth has been expanded. He’s given birth to a Joseph, to the one who can add. But how can one add to the truth? The answer, imagination. Joseph adds the power of imagination to Jacob’s intellect. Joseph brings Jacob’s truth to meet unusual and confusing scenarios, places where the answer is far from obvious. Via the power of imagination and visualization, Joseph extroplates. He asks, what would my father Jacob say if he were here? Now, as far as Joseph can see, Jacob never will walk in his shoes. Jacob is as far away from the scene of Egyptian decadence as possible, but Joseph can imaginatively ask, “what would it look like if Jacob were here?

Upon Joseph’s arrival, Jacob is ready to grow, to develop, to conquer. The kernel of truth, perfectly preserved by Joseph’s focus, yet expanded by his imagination, contains infinite power.

With Joseph’s strength Jacob needn’t fear Eisav. Joseph can translate Jacob’s truths to the world of Eisav’s falsehood. He can meet fantasy head on and win.

Rachel, who pined for Joseph, “If I’m not granted a child, I’d rather be dead,” named him Joseph, “because G-d has gathered in my embarrassment.” Later, Joseph stands tall and blocks his beautiful mother from the lustful gaze of uncle Eisav. As we explained, the asaf aspect of Joseph helped him keep evil at bay. Yes, Eisav was going to be Eisav, but that didn’t mean that his lust had to affect the purity of the righteous Rachel.

Joseph added to his father’s truth, and he protected and nurtured his mother’s purity.

Don’t forget that the person you are to others is as fundamental a part of you as the person you are to yourself.

This too is a unique quality that Joseph personified. He was a self made man, but he was just expressing his parents greatness in new ways. In many ways he was a bridge, and today we turn to him for inspiration in how to translate the Torah’s eternal truths to our ever changing world.

So define your truth, protect it, nurture it, and then let it grow. Let your inner goodness, charm, and positivity overwhelm the evil disease of negativity that surrounds us from without and at times threatens to engulf us from within. You are a bridge between your past and your future.

How can we expand our inner core? By truly anchoring ourselves to our moral compass we ensure that our growth, our travels along the road of life, don’t dilute our true greatness. Rather, the road we take is but a continuation of the inner truth we will never compromise on. As we apply our inner strength to new situations we discover new applications for old wisdom. In a word, we grow.

But Joseph’s successes aren’t self-serving. He understood that just as he was a bridge between his potential self and his actual self, he was also to be the same bridge for others. They stand between where they are and where they could be, and if you become you, then your friends, family, and acquaintances, with you as a model, will have an easier time becoming themselves.

One little shine of just one soul can and will dispel a whole lot of darkness.