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"Genesis"

February 12th, 2026

Dear Friends,

Toward the end of the book of Genesis, the sons of Jacob do not realize that the Egyptian official who controls their fate is their brother Joseph, whom they sold into slavery two decades earlier. He is now viceroy of Egypt. He talks, dresses and walks like an Egyptian.

They have trekked down to Egypt hoping Joseph will grant them provisions during a grinding famine. He seats them at a table but does not eat with them. Torah states, “The Egyptians would not dine with the Hebrews, for that would be abhorrent to them” (Genesis 43:32).

I’ve spent my life dining with fellow Jews. We might make too much noise at times, but “abhorrent”? That’s extreme!

The thirteenth century French Jewish commentator known as the Chizkuni explains, “Egyptians … felt that they were a superior race and everyone else was inferior.”

It is therefore not that specifically that brood of brothers that was abhorrent. Rather, to that dominant culture, everyone was abhorrent. No one was their equal. This produced 360 degrees of xenophobia and prejudice.

Our outsider status – as Jews – has been an abhorrence to more than one dominant culture. Thankfully, that’s not where we live today. We are honored to be citizens of a nation that prioritizes values over bloodlines. That ethos has been good for us and for others – from wherever they hail. It has helped our nation thrive. And it is worth standing up for and protecting.

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