In this week’s Torah portion, Joseph is in Pharaoh’s court. He has been elevated from being a poor Hebrew boy, a servant of the chief steward and being kept in prison, to being in charge of Pharaoh’s court and in charge of all the land of Egypt. Joseph attains this status, this position after he interpreted two of Pharaoh’s dreams: the first about 7 fat cows and 7 lean and hungry cows, and the second about 7 fat ears of grain and 7 thin ears of grain. (Notice, just as an aside, the repeated use of the number 7). Pharaoh compliments Joseph for his ability to interpret the dreams, but Joseph gives the credit to God, saying, “God has revealed to Pharaoh what He (God) is about to do.”

Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams led to Pharaoh’s and Joseph’s judicious actions that saved all the Egyptians from famine. This clearly shows wisdom on the part of each of the men.

In this week’s Haftarah portion, (from First Kings 3:15 – 4:1), there is also wisdom on display. In this well-known story we have King Solomon asking God for the gift of wisdom when he has to solve a dispute between two women each of whom is claiming a baby as her own.

We can see in both of these cases that wisdom precedes justice. The question is, therefore, how to develop/gain wisdom? One answer is through living and learning from one’s actions. Another answer is through study. The Torah and the Haftarah offer numerous stories from which we can learn many various lessons. And another source of lessons on how to gain wisdom is our own prayer book.

I’ve pulled out a few examples of wisdom from our prayer book and you can decide for yourself which ones you can relate to.

• Pirkei Avot, in identifying who is wise, said: And who is wise? The one who learns from everyone.
• A different reading about the value of wisdom says, “Happy is the one who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding; for its value is greater than silver, its yield than fine gold. It is more precious than rubies, no treasure can match it.”
• We are repeatedly guided to wise actions by this rubric: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
• Chaim Stern, who wrote and edited many passages in our prayer book, wrote this prayer,

May the one whose spirit is with us in every righteous deed,

Be with all who work for the good of humanity

And bear the burdens of others,

And who give bread to the hungry,

Who clothe the naked,

And take the friendless into their homes.

May the work of their hands endure,

And may the seed they sow bring abundant harvest.

• The Jewish Fund for Justice offered this advice:

I can stay the tears of others, if I can see myself as diminished of their sorrows.

I can hasten time when everyone will be able to rejoice in freedom.

And if I can see myself as the companion of those fighting against oppression,

I can honor the struggle of people everywhere to gain dignity and deliverance from bondage.

When I look at myself in the mirror, who will I see?

• Chaim Stern wrote these lines of inspiration:

As I awaken, let this be my thought:

May my day be filled with acts of loving kindness.

Let me be drawn to learning and discernment, and may my actions be shaped by mitzvot.

• Maimonides identified the 8 degrees of tzedakah, which go from

“giving grudgingly, reluctantly, or with regret” to

“helping another to become self-supporting, by means of a gift, a loan, or by finding employment for the one in need.”

• Rabbi Elyse Frishman and Chaim Stern contributed these ideas to influence us to wise actions:

When justice burns within us like a flaming fire,

When love evokes willing sacrifice from us, when, to the last full measure of selfless devotion we demonstrate our belief in the ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness—then Your goodness enters our lives and we can begin to change the world….”

• A different entry encourages us to:

Pray as if everything depended on God. Act as if everything    depended on you.

• Rabbi Robert I. Kahn wrote these honest thoughts:

I need strength, humility, courage, patience. Strength to control my passion, humility to assess my own worth, courage to rise above defeats, patience to cleanse myself of imperfections. And wisdom to learn and live by our sacred teachings.

• And finally (here), Rami Shapiro wrote this encouragement:

In each age, we receive and transmit Torah.

At each moment we are addressed by the World.

In each age we are challenged by our ancient teaching.

At each moment we stand face to face with Truth.

In each age we add our wisdom to that which has gone before.

At each moment the knowing heart is filled with wonder.

In each age the children of Torah become its builders and seek to set the world firm on a foundation of Truth.

I hope we are able to give some thought to how to act wisely and always do the right thing.

I want to thank Sydney Wexler for suggesting, just a few weeks ago when he led Torah study, that we include the Haftarah in our study. I have attempted to follow his lead.

SHABBAT SHALOM