In Sefer Bereishit, the Torah describes three incidents in the life of the biblical character Joseph which get repeated. In chapter 37, Joseph tells of his two dreams to his brothers and later in chapter 40, the Torah describes Joseph interpreting the dreams of his two cell mates in prison. In chapter 37, the Torah describes Joseph being thrown into a pit by his brothers, and in chapter 39, Joseph is thrown into an Egyptian prison (which the Torah calls a pit) from which he ultimately rises to royalty. In chapter 38, Tamar, the wife of Judah’s eldest son, dresses up like a prostitute and tempts her father-in-law Judah and later, in chapter 39, Joseph resists the temptations and sexual advances of the wife of Potiphar.

What is the significance of all this repetition?

Each situation demonstrates Joseph’s transformation from object to subject. In each of these three situations Joseph is first acted upon but ultimately exerts his own influence and takes control of the situation. In the first instance, Joseph begins by merely telling his dreams to his brothers but later he takes to interpreting other people’s dreams. In helping others make sense of their troubling dreams, Joseph develops a reputation as an effective dream interpreter which inspires Pharaoh to fetch him from jail to interpret his own troubling dreams. Pharaoh is so impressed with Joseph that he releases him from prison and appoints him viceroy of Egypt. In the second situation, Joseph is simply thrown into a pit by his angry brothers and then sold into slavery. Later when Joseph again finds himself in “the pit,” this time in an Egyptian prison cell, Joseph reaches out to his cell mates, offers them help, and it is here where he develops his reputation as a dream interpreter. Instead of simply feeling sorry for himself he turns to his cell mates and asks: “Why do you look so upset today?”¹ Overcoming the natural tendency to become absorbed in one’s own problems, Joseph turns to his neighbor and opens a dialogue, transforming the second pit scenario into a positive situation by turning away from the role of victim to one of leader.

In the third scenario Judah gives into temptation, submitting to a prostitute who, unbeknownst to him, was his own daughter-in-law Tamar. Later we see Joseph in a similar situation, the object of his master Potiphar’s wife’s sexual advances. In this case however, unlike his brother Judah, Joseph resists the temptation. He fights off the urge to be with Potiphar’s wife, which the Jewish Sages describe as a heroic feat since Potiphar’s wife was very beautiful and relentless. In this scenario, and in the two others, Joseph transforms himself from object to subject, asserting a level of control over the situation in which he finds himself.

Transforming ourselves from object to subject is a fundamental Jewish teaching which Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik taught was accomplished by the modern Zionist movement: for 2,000 years the Jew had been victim to the control and dominance of other peoples and governments. By creating sovereignty in the land of their forefathers, the Rav argued, the modern-day Zionist movement effectively transformed the Jewish people from a people of fate, subject to the whims of other rulers, to a people of destiny capable of chartering and shaping their own future.

The best ancient example of this is the Chanukah story we just celebrated. The Jewish community, living under the Greek Seleucid Empire, was placed in what seemed to be a helpless position. Subject to the mighty Greek forces ruling over ancient Judea, Jews were faced with an impossible choice: relinquish their Judaism in favor of the prevailing Hellenistic culture or suffer death at the hands of the more powerful Greek forces. The Macabees refused to accept the Greek ultimatum and instead created a third option: revolt! In doing so they transformed themselves from object to subject.

In his extraordinary book, “Fear No Evil,” former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky tells of his experiences in a Soviet prison. Chanukah was approaching. Sharansky explained to his friends in prison that there was this Jewish holiday which celebrated his people’s national freedom in the face of forced assimilation. Sharansky’s cell mates were so impressed they decided to celebrate the holiday with him and even fashioned a wooden menorah from materials in the prison. The prisoners found some candles and on the first night Sharansky lit the menorah. This Chanukah celebration continued until the sixth night when the authorities confiscated Sharansky’s menorah. In protest, he declared a hunger strike. Sharansky was summoned to the office of the head of the prison, Major Osin, who tried talking him out of his hunger strike. “Listen,” Sharansky said, “I’m sure you have the menorah somewhere. It’s very important to me to celebrate the last night of Chanukah. Why not let me do it here and now, together with you? You’ll give me the menorah, I’ll light the candles and say the prayer, and if all goes well, I’ll end the hunger strike.” Osin promptly retrieved the confiscated menorah from his desk. He summoned someone to bring in a large candle. “I need eight candles,” Sharansky said, continuing: “Osin took out a handsome inlaid pocketknife and deftly cut me eight candles. I arranged the candles and went to the coat rack for my hat, explaining to Osin that ‘during the prayer you must stand with your head covered and at the end say amen.’ Osin put on his major’s hat and stood. I lit the candles and recited my own prayer in Hebrew, which went something like this: ‘Blessed are You, Ado-nai, for allowing me to rejoice on this day of Chanukah, the holiday of our liberation, the holiday of our return to the way of our fathers. Blessed are You, Ado-nai, for allowing me to light these candles. May you allow me to light the Chanukah candles many times in your city, Jerusalem, with my wife, Avital, and my family and friends.’”

Inspired by the sight of Osin standing meekly at attention, Sharansky added in Hebrew: “And may the day come when all our enemies, who today are planning our destruction, will stand before us and hear our prayers and say ‘amen.’’Amen,’” Osin echoed back.

I can think of no greater example of someone subject to another’s control than a prisoner in the Soviet gulag. Yet, even in that extreme predicament, Sharansky managed to assert some level of control. Like the modern Zionist movement today, the ancient Jewish community in Greek times, and the biblical Joseph, Sharansky managed to go from object to subject and in doing so became a master of his own destiny. In our own time, we too have merited to experience this, in witnessing the Jewish people’s rising from the Holocaust—the ultimate object of other people’s control—to the creation of an independent Jewish State of Israel, enabling us to chart our own national destiny. What a blessing—to be the masters of our own fate. Let us never take that blessing for granted.

Rabbi Mark Wildes, founder, Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE), a highly successful Jewish outreach program which engages 20’s/30’s in Jewish life and which has facilitated 383 marriages