“God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on earth, and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance.”
—Genesis 45:7
The story of Joseph is Judaism’s Star Wars — it’s the Hero’s Journey. Like Luke Skywalker, Joseph is forced to leave his home to go on a journey of trial, tribulation and growth. And now we have come to the climax of Joseph’s story.
One of the most important elements of the Hero’s Journey is the supernatural mentor or the Spiritual Guide who teaches the hero, guides them, and shows them who they are capable of becoming. At the beginning of the Joseph story, which traverses 14 chapters of Genesis, Joseph is sent out after his brothers by his father, Jacob. Joseph goes out into the field, the sadeh — a place notorious for danger and uncertainty — where he comes upon an Ish, not unlike the Ish with whom Jacob wrestled at the river. Our sages teach that this Ish in the field was an angel, too.
The Ish asked Joseph a very important question: “Mah T’vakeish? What is it that you desire?” Joseph responds, “I am looking for my brothers,” setting in motion his epic journey that comes full circle in this week’s Torah portion. For Joseph, this Ish is his Yoda, putting Joseph on the path to find his brothers in a way that shapes the rest of the Torah. Joseph’s journey culminates with Jacob’s 12 sons coming together to realize that they are more than the sum of their parts — they are the 12 tribes of Israel! No longer did they hate Joseph, and Joseph did not hate them. As Joseph tries to reassure his dumbfounded brothers (they thought he was dead), he states three times that God put this plot into motion and that the journey was for good. I take comfort knowing that Joseph came before us, Israel, to ensure our survival by taking the hard road: The Hero’s Journey.