What can leaders today learn from Yosef? Yosef’s beginnings in parshat Vayeshev do not portend a great leader, even if his dreams predict otherwise. He is busy stirring up his brothers’ jealousy. The midrash depicts him as self-interested and frivolous. Yet, from the moment he is thrown into a pit, Yosef undergoes a transformation of character and emerges from dark times into a leader who spreads the light of his identity and faith to the outside world.

After the Torah describes the sale of Yosef, he is “taken down” (hurad) to Egypt. Midrash Bereshit Rabbah sees deeper meaning in this “yeridah” (descent) and understands it to be a spiritual decline. Yosef, perhaps at his greatest low, immersed in Egyptian culture, finds himself alone with Potiphar’s wife, who tries to seduce him. According to one Talmudic opinion, Yosef intended to sin with her. Only when he looked up at the window and saw an image of his father did he overcome his temptation and act responsibly and righteously. Alone, in a foreign land, this was a great test of faith. When he reacts with moral strength, this is a sign that he was destined to be a true leader.

Hanukkah too, is a time which spotlights the darkness of Jewish assimilation. The Maccabees were battling fellow Jews who chose Hellenistic cultural trends over Judaism and were willing to abandon core Jewish beliefs and mitzvot. The antidote to this, can be found in the way we light the Hanukkah candles. The Talmud teaches: “It is a mitzvah to place the Hanukkah lamp at the entrance to one’s house on the outside.” The Hanukkah lights are a reminder that by strengthening the light in our home – tradition, identity, morality and faith, we then can shine those values outward to the world. 

Yosef and Hanukkah’s message for leaders today: Cultural and ideological trends have led to a distorted view of reality and darkened the light of moral clarity. True leaders are those who can distinguish between good and evil, light and darkness. Shabbat Shalom and Hanukkah sameach -Karen Miller Jackson