#hunger #josephstory #egypt #symphony #refugees #rice #corn #wheat #dwindlingsupplies #tempo #amounts #guarding
One of the themes of Parshat Miketz is hunger. Of course, we also read about Joseph who is the interpreter of dreams and we experience the drama of Joseph's brothers caught up in a masquerade as Joseph both feeds them and tricks them to bring his brother Benjamin and his father to Egypt. The underlying theme throughout the Parshah though is hunger. Joseph is made the hunger czar in Egypt and prepares for the seven years of drought and hunger. Jacob and his sons and their families suffer from hunger, so they travel to Egypt where they have heard there is food.
Hunger still exists in every corner of the world. Drought still creates conditions of hunger and there is hunger in our communities as well. Covid 19 has created pockets of hunger in every community. I hope that this small poem brings the eternal issue of hunger to our attention.
The Symphony
Hunger is a symphony
With food on our plates it is but a soft hum in the background
Pianissimo, barely heard above our complacency
A hint of a melody
Our bellies satisfied, we do not perceive the music
It is a mere tickle in our ears
As though hunger does not exist.
Sometimes hunger arrives stealthily
Adagio
We listen, alert and on edge
Eyes wide open, mouths hunting
We watch and pray as our pantries empty
Flour, rice, corn
We measure and conserve
Forever watchful of amounts
Guarding what is ours
or sharing what we have
as our reserves dwindle
the music builds in tempo
Our ears now perceive the sounds
Louder and louder
the strings play
Point and counterpoint
The drums beat steadily, reflecting fear
When hunger is upon us
There is no escaping the music
It pounds in our ears,
Horns and drums, strings and brass
A crescendo of sound
Inhabits our bellies, our minds,
It consumes us, our ears, our eyes
Forte, fortissimo
Louder and louder it pounds
There is no escaping the music
It plays in all of its glorious terror
We can only flee from its clutches
Travel to a place of plenty
Of bread, of rice, of corn
Of food for our children
Food is the rhythm of life
Wherever food is, we move to the music
Our feet take us
We are the percussion, we set the beat
We follow others in the symphony of hunger
Our bellies lead us, always hopeful
Step over step, step over step
We are famished, we are driven
to the lands where there is food
to a place where the music is gentler
Genesis 41:55, 56. (Translation from Sefaria)
וַתִּרְעַב֙ כָּל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם וַיִּצְעַ֥ק הָעָ֛ם אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֖ה לַלָּ֑חֶם וַיֹּ֨אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֤ה לְכָל־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ לְכ֣וּ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף אֲשֶׁר־יֹאמַ֥ר לָכֶ֖ם תַּעֲשֽׂוּ׃ And when all the land of Egypt felt the hunger, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Jo-seph; whatever he tells you, you shall do.”—
וְהָרָעָ֣ב הָיָ֔ה עַ֖ל כָּל־פְּנֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּפְתַּ֨ח יוֹסֵ֜ף אֶֽת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֤ר בָּהֶם֙ וַיִּשְׁבֹּ֣ר לְמִצְרַ֔יִם וַיֶּחֱזַ֥ק הָֽרָעָ֖ב בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ Accordingly, when the famine became severe in the land of Egypt, Joseph laid open all that was within, and rationed out grain to the Egyptians. The famine, however, spread over the whole world.