Do any of these scenarios look familiar?

• You’re driving down a busy street in town and traffic starts to back up. The culprit? A double-parked car that is manned by someone waiting for a shopper to emerge.
• You go into shul and can’t find a siddur or a particular sefer on the shelf because whoever used it last decided not to return it.
• You are about to take food at a kiddush when a hand reaches over and clears the plate of its contents.
• You walk down the street minding your own business and someone passes by while engaged in a loud, passionate phone call, oblivious to all around him/her.

This week’s parsha tells of a severe famine in Egypt, one which had been foretold by the prisoner-turned-viceroy some seven years earlier (as recorded in Parshat Miketz). We are well aware of Yosef’s suggested strategy to store grain as a way of maintaining his countrymen during the predicted food crisis (see Bereishit 41:34-36).

What is striking, however, was Pharaoh’s immediate decision to install Yosef, heretofore a slave and prisoner, as the second-highest-ranking official in the entire country, for the express purpose of implementing his own strategic recommendation.

And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants… And Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you, you shall be over my house, and according to your word shall all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than you. (Ibid, 37-40)

There are many brilliant individuals who have affected governmental or military policy throughout the annals of human history, who were never installed into a formal seat of authority. Their job was to share ideas and strategies, and then watch people in positions of political or military power actualize their thoughts. What was it that Pharaoh saw in this Hebrew dream interpreter that inspired him to promote Yosef to the lofty position of viceroy?

Perhaps a hint to what motivated the Egyptian ruler can be gleaned from a relatively nondescript sequence found at the end of this week’s parsha, which describes Yosef’s role during the most acute period of the famine.

And there was no bread in all the land, for the famine was very severe … And Yosef gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and … brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when the money was all spent … all of the Egyptians came to Yosef, and said, “Give us bread. Why should we die in your presence, for the money is gone?” And Yosef said, “Give [me] your cattle and I will give you food for your cattle” … And they brought their cattle to Yosef and (he) … fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

When that year ended, they came to him the second year, and said to him, “Our money is spent. My lord also has our herds of cattle. There is nothing left … but our bodies and our lands. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.” And Yosef bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. (Bereishit 47:13-20)

Consider the subtle yet powerful transition that transpired between the first exchange involving Yosef and the Egyptian people in year one and the second conversation the following year. In the first year, Yosef collected all of the nation’s money as payment for the food that he provided. When the money ran dry, he accepted their animals as payment. However, at that time, the people still viewed the viceroy as a public servant, demanding that he “give (them) bread,” so that they not “die in (his) presence.”

In the latter sequence, however, when their land and their very selves replaced money and livestock as the base payment for future food purchases, one can discern a significant shift in the people’s attitude. Instead of concerning themselves with their personal needs, the Egyptians now worried about the country first, and saw themselves and their land as the basis for national growth and prosperity. “Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.”

No longer was survival about them. In one short year, Yosef had helped an entire nation achieve a complete attitudinal turnaround, by prioritizing the needs of the nation before their own. How was Yosef able to achieve this incredible transformation? What was it about Yosef that inspired people to think beyond themselves, to go out on a personal limb for the ultimate benefit of their country? Consider how Chazal detail the personal touch that Yosef gave to feeding the planet:

All the nationalities came to purchase food and would bring taxes to Egypt and a gift for Yosef. And he would speak to each individual in his own language. (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, 39)

Yosef nurtured the world during the famine the way a shepherd cares for his flock. (Bereishit Rabbah, 91:5)

Yosef understood that if he was going to guide the Egyptian nation through that tumultuous period, he had to avoid heavy-handed bureaucratic disconnect and instead develop the personal connections that would allay fears and encourage individuals to put themselves out at personal risk for their collective benefit.

When Pharaoh asked Yosef to interpret his troubling dreams, he never requested more than an interpretation. However, Yosef went beyond the ruler’s request and offered a strategy for national survival. The sense of personal connection and care that Yosef displayed, despite having only known the country from the vantage point of an abandoned slave and falsely accused prisoner, indicated to Pharaoh that this was the perfect person to lead his country out of potential catastrophe.

Yosef used personal connections to inspire his people to set aside their personal needs and give of themselves to ensure national survival. In addition, he fostered within them a deep-seated appreciation and uncompromised fealty to the rulers and their country. “And they said, ‘You have saved our lives; let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.’” (Bereishit 47:25)

While there are many reasons as to why some people misbehave in social/communal contexts (the most obvious being selfishness and poor manners/training), it can also be suggested that such people lack a feeling of connection and responsibility to others. They think less about how their behavior affects those around them and more about the personal convenience associated with their choices.

When we think “others first,” as Yosef did, then the potential for such thinking is greatly reduced. We become more concerned with the broader implications of our actions and how we can contribute to the greater good. This might manifest in developing “big ideas” (such as launching a new chesed initiative) but it can also apply readily to simple, day-to-day interactions and choices as well. And wouldn’t it be great if we can shop, daven, learn, socialize and walk the street without having to constantly work around others’ insensitivities?

By Rabbi Dr. Naphtali Hoff

 Rabbi Naphtali Hoff, PsyD, is president of Impactful Coaching & Consulting. He can be reached at (212) 470-6139 or at [email protected].