header
header

Miketz 5784: Being Seen for Who We Are

What might Yosef’s story, so full of pain yet hope, teach us about maintaining our own faith during difficult times?

During these challenging times, many feel themselves torn between a desire to stand firmly in their Jewish identities and values and the feeling that they must hide their identity. In this week’s parsha discussion, Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Jon Leener explore this familiar feeling through an examination of Yosef. Having experienced significant trauma and spent much of his life being unseen for who he truly is, Yosef ultimately takes responsibility for himself and reveals his true identity, allowing himself to be truly seen. What might we take from Yosef’s example about staying hopeful even when we are at our lowest point?

Credits: Rabbi Jon Leener and Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield – Pardes Faculty

Jonathan Leener

Rabbi Jonathan Leener is a Faculty Associate Fellow for Pardes North America. Jonathan was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in 2016. He has served as the rabbinic intern at Sherith Israel Congregation in Nashville, Tennessee and Beth Sholom Congregation in Potomac, Maryland.

Jonathan is a founder of Base and served as the founding rabbi of Base BKLYN. He is currently the rabbi of the Prospect Heights Shul in Brooklyn, NY, where he lives with his wife, Faith, and their three children.