On my vacation to the US visiting family, it seems I quickly got infected by the Chutz LaAretz mentality. "Is he good for the Jews" is the primary consideration for many US Jews when looking into political candidates.<\/p>\n
The Torah tells us that Pharaoh is pleased to learn of Yosef’s brothers’ presence in Egypt. The commentaries give numerous interpretations, but I recall a very simplistic explanation whose source I couldn’t locate. Pharaoh recognized Yosef’s abilities immediately, and quantitatively deduced that 12 are better than one. If one Yosef could rescue Egypt from a destructive famine and convert it to a wealthy country, imagine the possibility with 12 such characters.<\/p>\n
The latter Pharaoh who "didn’t know Yosef", in contrast, saw the power of the Jewish people and wasn’t excited by the possibilities, but felt threatened by it. He knew that he’d have to outsmart them to have a chance of bringing about their demise.<\/p>\n
The current Pharaoh desired to surround himself with smart, powerful people, and protected his interests by treating them with generosity and respect. The latter had no relationship with the Jewish people and saw them as a threat, not an asset.<\/p>\n
In business, it’s always a good idea to form and secure a relationship with intelligent and powerful people. Unless you have a good reason to suspect such a person, it’s best to have them on your side. A lot of businesspeople are often concerned with others stealing their business concept, but the reality is that people usually don’t have the time or resources to do so, and would rather help us than hurt us. Pharaoh embraced some qualified advisors, and we all should as well. <\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On my vacation to the US visiting family, it seems I quickly got infected by the Chutz LaAretz mentality. "Is he good for the Jews" is the primary consideration for many US Jews when looking into political candidates. The Torah tells us that Pharaoh is pleased to learn of Yosef’s brothers’ presence in Egypt. The … <\/p>\n