Mindful Ambition: The Lion and the Ox #2 The Lion and the Ox: Two Modes of Jewish Leadership

Who was Joseph? Paradigm of discipline and focus? Starry eyed dreamer? Brilliant visionary? 

Joseph’s personality develops from day one, and can be derived from his very name. “And she (Rachel) called his name Joseph (yosef, to add) for G-d has gathered (asaf)  my shame.” Joseph, it turns out, relates both to adding and to gathering. He defines, gathers, directs, ensures that nothing gets lost, and then with every ounce of good conserved and every bit of bad contained, Joseph is ready to add.

Joseph’s name contains two fundamental truths: One, for goodness to thrive, evil must be kept at bay. Sure, it’d be great to vanquish all negativity, put all evildoers behind bars, and get on with our work. But that has little to do with reality. Instead, evil should be defined, understood, and promptly banished i.e., limited as much as possible; it has its powers, but the key question is: do we add to its strength? Do we give it larger-than-life powers? Joseph understood the power of limiting evil to be no more than it is on its own. “You want to mess with G-d’s world? You won’t get any attention or help from me,” says Joseph. 

As we travel through life, we will face challenges. A key question we must ask ourselves is, how much of this is true in objective reality, and how  much have I contributed to the problem by treating the issue as something greater than it truly is? Sure, it may be a problem, but is it really all encompassing? Joseph teaches us to allow our troubles to occupy the real estate they actually occupy and not an extra inch. 

The second lesson is that abundance, expansive blessing, and enduring greatness don’t grow out of thin air. There’s no magic potion, formula, program, book, or weekend retreat that can create success for you. Success and greatness are about growth. Growth, by definition, requires a starting point, a seed. You are the seed of your own future greatness. Only by discovering your roots, and working to conserve and focus the power within, can you discover that, in fact, there are no limits or borders to what you can achieve. The abundance of Joseph arises only from the focus of asaf. 

What’s remarkable is that all this begins before Joseph has made a single choice. It all lies in his name, in his inner potential. While Joseph’s identity and strength were unique, there’s nothing unique about this story. Every human being has an incredible and absolutely unique potential for greatness. Can we reconstruct Joseph’s path to the throne, and recreate it in our own lives? The answer, I believe, is a resounding yes! 

The very first thing we must do is find our inner sanctuary and guard it for all we are worth. Maybe you have a particular interest in one act of service or another? Perhaps there’s a talent waiting to be discovered that will empower you as an individual, and allow you to find your voice for the betterment of the world around you? Maybe there’s an aspect or book of ancient Torah wisdom that fascinates you?

The key idea is that the starting point is in front of you. You can only begin from the present, so be mindful of where you are now. If you can ensure this tiny but most vital part of your personality remains pure, unsullied by anger, unharmed by critics, and at once strong and vulnerable, you have your seed. Then you must get to work. The seed isn’t to be protected for eternity, it is there to grow into something formidable.

But the real world doesn’t allow for purity! True, but the game of life isn’t all or nothing. Even one droplet will be enough to get you going. The soul is all encompassing. It is one. By touching a part you’ve touched the whole. If, for only one moment, you manage to hear the voice of your soul, you will have your marching orders.

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