The saga of Yosef and his brothers comes to a dramatic denouement in our parsha. As compelling as this story is in its own right, it also has critical ramifications for the future,

Take an interest in others and hear their pleas and pain.

as it plays a central role in the Exodus, as well as in the Geulah - then and in the future.


In the course of his 22 years away from home, Yosef undergoes an amazing transformation - from impetuous dreamer to tzadik. I suggest one key to his growth is his ability to listen. As a teenager, Yosef loved to talk. He spread negative rumors about his brothers, he talked about his grandiose plans for the future, he recounted his dreams to anyone and everyone who would listen. His "motor-mouth" led him into disfavor and then into disaster.


But then he is cast into the pits. There, he takes the time to listen to the dreams of the baker and butler, eventually leading to his freedom from prison. He then listens to Pharaoh's dream, not just hearing, but perceiving what is so important to Pharaoh - Egypt's economy and status as a world power. And so, Yosef alone rightly "reads" the dreams.


The ability to listen - to take an interest in others and hear their pleas and pain - is a wonderful quality that is essential for leadership. When Yosef's brothers finally confess their crime, they say, "We sinned when we did not listen to our brother Yosef as he cried out to us from the pit." And when Shlomo HaMelech asks G-d for just one thing, do you know what it is? Not wisdom, as most people think, but rather a lev shomaya, "a listening heart" (look it up in the beginning of I Kings).


Once, a town invited two rabbis to interview for the position of Rav. One of the candidates was distinguished, well trained and erudite; the other a shlemiel, shirt not tucked in, a

When Shlomo HaMelech asks G-d for just one thing, do you know what it is?

make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of guy. They were each asked to deliver a drashah for Shabbat and checked into a local inn.


The first rabbi, though quite prepared, spent Friday night in his room rehearsing his masterful drashah over and over. The other fellow had nothing in mind. But, to his good fortune, the inn's walls were thin and he could hear the sermon from the adjoining room. And so, in the morning, he innocently asked if he could go first in shul.


Imagine the first rabbi's shock when he heard the shlepper give the very drashah he had so carefully prepared. So, as he rose to speak, he told the shul: "Yes, it's important to speak well, as my colleague just did. But it is even more important for your Rav to be a good listener. So, to prove I know how to listen, I will now repeat the drashah you just heard - word for word."


He got the job, of course.