Joseph’s simple words from this week’s parasha linger with me as we prepare for Shabbat: “I am looking for my brothers (אֶת־אַחַ֖י אָנֹכִ֣י מְבַקֵּ֑שׁ).” (Genesis 37:16)
On the most literal level, Joseph is simply trying to find them as his father has requested. But on a more spiritual level, Joseph is seeking their well-being — their shalom — and everything that goes with it: connection, understanding, responsibility, love, and care.
I’ve been thinking about that verse a lot this week as we celebrate extraordinary leaders in our community.
Last night’s Blue and White Ball gave us the opportunity to honor four remarkable people: Lowell Milken, Sandra Salka Milken, and Natalie and Michael Zarabi.
So much of their leadership is rooted in service — in lifting up our Wise family, the brothers and sisters who make this place not just a congregation but a home.
Again and again, these leaders have stepped up, not only for their own immediate families, but for all of us — their extended family.
And they stand in a long, strong line of leaders who have done the same.
From our founders, Florence and Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin of blessed memory, to the founding generation; to past presidents, past board members, WPA members, and committee chairs; to the hundreds upon hundreds of lay leaders and professionals who, across more than six decades, have served this community with devotion — who have sought the welfare of their brothers and sisters — and who have made Wise the blessing it is today.
Joseph’s seemingly mundane search — “I am looking for my brothers” — suggests multiple layers of leadership:
Seeking connection.
Seeking understanding.
Seeking the well-being of others.
This is what true leadership looks like.
It’s what allows our community to thrive — to pray, to learn, to celebrate, to enjoy our beautiful mountaintop, our remarkable facilities, and our extraordinary professional and lay leadership.
Our task is to be inspired by their example.
As we prepare for Hanukkah — for the season that celebrates bringing light into darkness — let us commit ourselves more fully to seek our brothers and sisters: to know them, to care for them, to serve them, and to be a source of light for them — the light of Torah, the light of community, the light of belonging.
And when we do this work well, when we lead and act for the sake of others — our brothers and our friends who become our brothers — then we are truly embodying the words of another text, the last two verses of Psalm 122:
לְמַעַן אַחַי וְרֵעָי
אֲדַבְּרָה־נָּא שָׁלוֹם בָּךְ.
לְמַעַן בֵּית־יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ
אֲבַקְשָׁה טוֹב לָךְ.
“For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I pray for your peace.
For the sake of the house of the Eternal our God,
I seek your goodness.”
May we follow the path of those visionaries who came before us, seeking one another, seeking the Holy One, living out Joseph’s question — and the Psalmist’s blessing.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoshi