Weekly Thought for Shabbat: In this week’s Torah portion, Vayeshev, Joseph’s bad relationship with his brothers comes to light. The Torah says, “…they hated him so that they could not speak a friendly word to him.” What happens when our anger or righteous indignation prevents us from being our best selves? It is as if every time we fail to act with kindness, the one who has hurt us wins again. The brothers were so disgusted with Joseph because of his arrogance and their father’s favoritism of him that they could not even muster one kind word. I am partial to the idea of “killing them with kindness.” It is indeed uncomfortable to be in a room where someone is ignoring you or obviously avoiding you or where you are doing the ignoring or avoiding. Take the opportunity to be the bigger person and reach out and be a mentsch. This may serve as a bridge to reconciliation and repair. It takes guts and vulnerability to reach out in such a way, but the rewards will be worth it and you will be no worse off had you not done it. Kill them with kindness and you and they may live again.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 20:28:03 +0000
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