Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

Our Torah portion for this week introduces us to Joseph, describing him as a “na-ar” – a youth. Rashi tells us that in using the term “na-ar” the Torah means to teach us that “his actions were childish: he curled his hair, and he touched up his eyes so that he should appear good-looking.”

 The Chassidic Rabbi Aaron of Karlin gives us a more flattering interpretation of the word “na-ar”. Rav Aaron says that this means that Joseph always had the quality of youthfulness. We conclude the  Birkat Hamazon  (Grace after Meals) with the words, “I was a youth and now I am now old…..”

נַעַר הָיִיתִי גַּם זָקַנְתִּי

Rav Aaron tells us to read instead, “I was a youth even when I grew old.”

נַעַר הָיִיתִי גַּם כְּשֶׁזָקַנְתִּי

“A person must renew themselves at all times. This was Joseph – even into his old age he was learning new things and renewing himself. The psalmist writes, “God satisfies your mouth with goodness, so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:5) So too, the Jewish people are compared to the moon, which renews itself each month. The moon, in fact, reduces its light so that it can then fill in what it lacks and renew itself again and again.”

With the blessings of modern medicine, it is not uncommon to be able to be active and engaged well into our eighties and even nineties. This requires us to take care of ourselves spiritually as well as physically. Like Joseph we can draw on the wellspring of our spiritual heritage and renew ourselves daily so that we can fulfill the vision of the psalmist:

In old age they still produce fruit;
they are full of sap and freshness. (Psalm 92:15)