D’var Torah and Reflection by Zane Braslawsce
A LIFE LESSON
In this week’s parsha, we learn about Joseph and his brothers. Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son and his brothers soon become jealous and hate Joseph. Joseph has many dreams throughout his life and becomes good at interpreting them.
One day...
"Joseph dreamt a dream which he told to his brothers, He said to them ... we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, when ... my sheaf arose and ... remained standing; then ... your sheaves ... bowed down to my sheaf." (Genesis, 37:5-7)
Most of us all have someone that we need to answer to in one way or another. Whether it's a supervisor at work, a teacher in school, or a parent at home, there's usually someone in our life that plays an authoritative role. Sometimes these "bosses" enjoy reminding us constantly of their authority and like to talk down to us. And other times they'll choose to treat us with the utmost respect and kindness.
Interestingly, we all find ourselves in the exact same authoritative position countless times throughout the day. There are many people in our lives over whom - if we choose to - we can exercise an enormous amount of dominance and control. We can treat these people most any way we see fit, usually with little or no consequences. For example, this can happen every time you interact with a waitress, a store clerk, or any hired help. Since these people are required to listen to us, we have the potential to treat them with outright rudeness and disrespect.
The reason why you'll sometimes see people acting this way is that they believe it gives their ego a boost. We all have a desire on some level be in a position of authority in business, politics, or the community. So, in an unconscious effort to fulfill this desire, some people will simply choose to treat others in a manner like they rule over them and act like their sheaf arose and remained standing.
This is the mistake that Joseph made with his brothers and why they really disliked him and eventually plotted to kill him.
You can instantly learn about a person's self-esteem by observing just how they treat people to whom they don't have to be nice. Sadly, many people will act one way toward their boss and people they want to impress but then become demanding or rude when speaking to others that they do have authority over.
Joseph got carried away with his authority over his brothers and he treated them unfairly and he talked down to them. His brothers soon became angry and plotted to kill him. They threw him in a ditch in the middle of the desert where he could no longer be arrogant to others.
In Diller we are learning how to be good leaders in our community. Joseph’s story teaches us as leaders to treat those people which we lead with respect and kindness so as to not get plotted against. We must realize their worth and not become full of ourselves. If we do so, we will eventually be leading no one and we would basically end up like Joseph sitting in a hole in the middle of the desert.
This is why being a good leader is such an essential part in a community. Diller is teaching us the skills we need so that we can grow and develop into good leaders within our Jewish communities and elsewhere. I would like to thank Lisa, Felicia, and Orly for helping us get to this point and for sculpting us into better leaders.
After the reading of the D’var torah, we discussed the recent events of Israel’s campaigns to take the Gaza Strip back with Adi our Shlicha. We talked deeply about the bombings on Israel and the effects it has not only of the people living there but everybody who has a connection to Israel. After this we discussed mission and vision statements.
We learned the key points in making each as well as seeing examples of different companies’ vision statements. We then used our newfound knowledge to create a mission and vision statement for our Chanukah party. Our committees then discussed our tasks for the upcoming Shabbaton. We ended the night with a little partying with our Diller Alumni, a little dancing, and a lot of Jelly Doughnuts!