The American Way

How is it possible that Joseph knows everyone else’s messages—those of his brothers, the butler, the baker, Pharaoh—yet his own message eludes him?

The lesson here is not to get down on Joseph, rather it’s a reflection of how life actually works.

We tend to think that because we know the silly mistakes football players make, let alone world leaders and celebrities, that we have our own personal issues sorted out.

The Talmud explains that a person cannot see their own junk (Talmud Shabbos 119a). Einstein solved some of the most troubling issues of physics, but his personal life proved to be too much for him. He died a sad and lonely man, neither surrounded by family nor friends, but in a simple hospital bed.

While personal excellence is nothing to sniff at, success is not dependent on it. Such is the American way.

Davey Miller’s time was up, however the on-duty angel at the Pearly Gates was having a bad day, “Our computer must have been hacked, I’ve never seen this before,” the angel complained. "Apparently, you get to decide whether you want to go to heaven or hell.”

Davey replies, “Obviously, I should choose heaven, but since I am going to be there for a very long time, do you mind if I take a peak at hell, first?”

The angel agrees, but on condition that he not speak to anyone there.

The elevator ride down was very long, and when the doors finally opened, Davey is surprised to see a grand dining hall with all the great evil and sinister names of history seated around a very long table. He’s also shocked to see one of his high school teachers. He would love to chat, but he’s reminded of the rule.

What surprises him even more is that the table is overflowing with every kind of delicacy, meat and wine and desserts galore. Davey turns to the angel and says, “I was really expecting hell to be more gruesome, now I don’t know where to go. Is it OK if I take a look at heaven?”

The angel agrees and now they take the very long up-elevator. Eventually the doors open to another banquet hall. This too has an enormous table that is overflowing with the same kind of extravagant delectables. Around the table are seated all the wonderful righteous people of history. Again there are a few surprises, like some of his relatives that he didn’t think would make it.

Just goes to show!

Davey is now completely confused and asks the angel, “They both seem the same. What’s the difference?”

The angel replies, “If you noticed, neither the righteous nor the evil had elbows. Elbows are very useful. Without them it is impossible to eat. In hell they are presented with every kind of food they desire, but they starve. In heaven it is the opposite.”

“How is that possible?” Asks Davey.

When it comes to IQ, the United States ranks embarrassingly 28th in the world. Educational test scores are not much better. How then to explain that America has been the world’s largest economy for over 100 years? Currently, 17 of the top 20 companies in the world (by market cap) are American. The other three are Saudi Arabian (#6 oil), Taiwanese (#13 TSMC) and Danish (#20 Novo Nordisk).

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google is quoted as saying that some of the best engineers come out of Illinois University. That’s because the best are not the smartest, the best are the ones who can work together. Similarly, James Manyika, an economist at McKinsey, opined that America is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the 21st century. It’s not smarts that wins, it’s being able to work together. This is America’s secret sauce.

The previous industrial revolution was marked by great individuals, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and many others. However, today’s corporate giants are teams. If Google or Apple were liquidated they would get mere pennies on the dollar relative to their market valuation. Their value is not in their patents, and certainly not their hardware, it’s in the gap between the people.

Despite what your mother told you, we all have faults. It's those people who work with a team so that their individual weaknesses are mitigated, who will find success.

If we help each other, then this is heaven, and if we don’t, then the same table will be hell.

Joseph, with all his genius, nevertheless made some serious errors. When we work together then each person’s flaws are nullified by someone else’s strengths. No matter how good or smart you are, your success in life is down to one simple highly praised Torah value, how well you play with others in the sandbox.