'Practical Wisdom’ from Yosef and the Hasmoneans to us
The Parasha in our everyday life- Miketz - Chanukah - 5782
Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald - Rosh Yeshivat Hesder 'Meir Harel' Modi'in
Not every good planner gets to be a good performer as well. Not every planner has 'practical wisdom’, where his plan will be practical and easy-to-execute, and vice versa, not every good performer has 'practical wisdom' whose work has quality planning. Not every great intellectual gets to be a man of action who implements his ideas, and vice versa, not every man of great deeds gets to be a great intellectual. Not every revolutionary thinker also gets to be a public leader who knows how to implement those ideas. Not every good strategist gets to be a good operator, and vice versa. The intellectual world is abstract and it is enough for the thinker to activate his thoughts, in a world that contains contradictions and complexities. But if the 'practical wisdom’, the 'what' and 'how' to do, does not come as well, the idea will not materialize in 'real time’. The ‘real time’ world has its own rules, it consists of details and specifications, it often has tensions and complexities. If they are not taken into account in ‘real time’, as part of the plan, and are not given creative solutions in the first place, the plan will not be practical. This is why some promising ideas and theories did not materialize, and investment-intensive startups did not mature into a finished product.
On the other hand, the real world should be derived from the principles of the idea and the intellectual world, that the סוֹף מַעֲשֶּׂה ‘Made at the end’ would be compatible with בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה תְּחִלָּה ‘and planned from the start’ without which it is a mechanical, superficial body, without a soul.
Yosef is asked to solve Pharaoh's dreams:
וַאֲנִ֗י שָׁמַ֤עְתִּי עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר תִּשְׁמַ֥ע חֲל֖וֹם לִפְתֹּ֥ר אֹתֽוֹ׃
“Now I have heard it said of you that for you to hear a dream is to tell its meaning.” (Bereshit 41:15)
As part of the dream solution, Yosef proposes to appoint a suitable 'projector' with powers on behalf of Pharaoh who will manage the crisis and the preparations to solve these dreams:
וְעַתָּה֙ יֵרֶ֣א פַרְעֹ֔ה אִ֖ישׁ נָב֣וֹן וְחָכָ֑ם וִישִׁיתֵ֖הוּ עַל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
“Accordingly, let Pharaoh find a man of discernment and wisdom, and set him over the land of Egypt.” (Bereshit 41:33)
He should be both ‘intelligent’ and ‘smart’:
עיוני ומעשי בהנהגת המדינות שישים הוא לב לזה
“A wise man, someone possessing the necessary insight of how to put his wisdom to practical use, who will guide the affairs of the country so that the kingdom will not come to harm” (Sforno ibid).
This proposal had a strategic thinking that looked to the future:
ואמר יוסף כל זה בעבור שיבחרו אותו כי החכם עיניו בראשו:
“Yosef mentioned all this so that they should choose him for this task, for the wise man’s eyes are in his head”. (Ramban ibid)
Pharaoh accepts his advice and appoints him to the position because there is no one like him 'wise and understanding' among all his advisers:
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר פַּרְעֹה֙ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף אַחֲרֵ֨י הוֹדִ֧יעַ אֱלֹקים אוֹתְךָ֖ אֶת־כׇּל־זֹ֑את אֵין־נָב֥וֹן וְחָכָ֖ם כָּמֽוֹךָ׃
"So Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Since G-d has made all this known to you, there is none so discerning and wise as you”. (Bereshit 41:39)
This role requires 'intelligence' - understanding the emerging reality, and also 'wisdom' - to put it into a practical action plan:
אין נבון וחכם כמוך – 'נבון' שהגדת דברים העתידין להיות, וחכם שנתת לנו עצה כיצד נעשה
“There is no wiser and more intelligent man than you - 'wise' because you have said things that are to come, and intelligent since you have given us advice on how to do it" (Midrash HaBeor
ר"ל החכמה והתבונה צריכה אל שר הארץ להמציא עצה ותושיה בהנהגת המדינה
“His desire is to say that the Minister of the Land should have the wisdom and understanding to be able to be resourceful and give advice in the leadership of the state.” (Malbim ibid)
Yosef was not only a strategist and operator; he was also a successful executioner and leader who succeeded in implementing and putting his plan to practice.
וְיוֹסֵ֗ף ה֚וּא הַשַּׁלִּ֣יט עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ ה֥וּא הַמַּשְׁבִּ֖יר לְכׇל־עַ֣ם הָאָ֑רֶץ
“Now Yosef was the vizier of the land; it was he who dispensed rations to all the people of the land” (Bereshit 42:6)
Yehuda HaMaccabi and the Hasmoneans had a similar effect, carrying out the revolt in the Greek Empire, managing to do the unbelievable, with real miracles despite their inferiority. It is said of them:
והאיש יהודה ואחיו נכבדו מאוד בעיני כל ישראל וכל הגויים באשר נשמע שמם:
ויאספו אליהם מברכים:
"And the man Yehuda and his brethren were greatly honored when in sight of all Israel and all the Gentiles whenever their name was heard. People would bless them” (The Book of Maccabees I -4:63-64)
And even Antiochus himself fell into a deep frustration at his failure in the face of the revolt in Judea, in which he blamed the Jews -in his decrees- (Ibid 6:7-12).
The principle of 'practical wisdom’ is an important principle in the Theory of ethics and moral conduct. In both directions. The great test of man is that he should not only be an intellectual – נָאֶה דּוֹרֵשׁ - Those who expound the Torah’s verses well - but also an implementor - נָאֶה מְקַיֵּים - who fulfill its imperatives well.
נאין דברים כשהן יוצאין מפי עושיהן יש נאה דורש ואין נאה מקיים נאה מקיים ואין נאה דורש בן עזאי נאה דורש ואין נאה מקיים אמר לו מה אעשה חשקה נפשי בתורה ויתקיים העולם באחרים.
"There are some who expound the Torah’s verses well but do not fulfill its imperatives well, and there are some who fulfill its imperatives well but do not expound its verses well, Ben Azai expounds the Torah’s verses well but do not fulfill its imperatives well, (he did not get married), he said what can I do, my soul wanted to learn Torah. The world will continue through other people” (Tosefta Yevamot 8).
Therefore, in the founding book of ethics, the “Mesilat Yesharim” (The Path of the Just), the Ramchal (Moshe Chaim Luzzatto) first defines the general principles and then actually specifies its ways and its means for every man according to his intellectual tendency and natural desire, their minds and practices.
But there is also the other side. The principles of behavior and morals are supposed to reflect a great conception based on wisdom and not just practice, it is the duty of great sages and not just of people who focus on it as they cannot immerse themselves in in-depth Torah study. Therefore, Ramchal established his original book 'Mesilat Yesharim' (through debate) as a discussion between the 'Sage' and the 'Pious'.
The 'Sage' believed that matters of virtue and self-work are a matter for those who are unable to engage in wisdom, but throughout the book he is convinced that the pious is no less wise than he is, and in his self-work there is no less wisdom.