This week’s Torah portion takes its name from the opening Hebrew word of the parashah. Miketz - at the end. The reading coincides with the ending of our secular year and if my reckoning is correct to the completion of a calendar decade as well.
The text begins, miketz shenatayim yamim, “at the end of two year’s time” Pharaoh dreamed a series of dreams in which fat cows swallowed up skinny cows and parched ears of corn gobbled up healthy ones. The dreams were a foreshadowing of bad times to come for the land of Egypt and a veiled injunction for someone to take proactive measures to offset the dire challenges ahead. The repetition of the dream was a sure indication of catastrophe to come.
In the case of our world and our time, we confront the nightmarish possibility of a world in the escalating throes of a climate crisis. We dare not fail to note that recent scientific studies show the rate of arctic melting is accelerating. The probability of a resulting dramatic rise in the sea levels combined with continuing heat and drought will put unsustainable pressures on our world. The likelihood of such a disaster is ever more likely.
And Pharaoh woke up. V’yikatz paro - same root word as the title of the portion. Same word used to describe the Patriarch Jacob when he awoke to the realization that God was in this place and he did not know it.
“Woke” in contemporary English is a political term that refers to an awareness of issues of importance. It is derived from the African American vernacular. In Hebrew, verbs derived from the root kts (mikketz and yikatz) can mean ‘to awaken’ and ‘to end.’ Scientific reports of global warming are to our times what Pharaoh’s dreams were to his. If we do not awaken to the dangers and take steps to ameliorate the worsening situation we may truly be confronting the end of life on this planet as we know it.
In the light of Joseph’s interpretation of the king’s two dreams, Pharaoh’s says “Where is there in all the land one as wise and discerning as this one.” Where in our world are those with the wisdom and discernment to lead us in this time of looming crisis?
I hesitate to end the secular on such a depressing note, but my hope for this new year is that the human race will be around for many, many more new years to come.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Whiman