That’s kind of what happened in Egypt, according to the legends surrounding Joseph, the dreamer who rose to power.
Remember Joseph? Sold into slavery by his brothers, he ended up interpreting Pharaoh's dreams, foretelling seven years of incredible abundance followed by seven years of devastating famine. A classic rags-to-riches story, seasoned with divine insight.
The Bible tells us (Genesis 41) that Joseph advised Pharaoh to stockpile grain during the good years. But the Legends of the Jews, that magnificent collection of rabbinic stories compiled by Louis Ginzberg, paints a much more vivid picture of just how Joseph accomplished this feat.
According to these legends, the harvests were beyond belief! One single ear of grain yielded two whole heaps! To prepare for the lean years, Joseph didn't just stash the grain away. He was meticulous. He stored the grain in cities strategically located in the center of each district. He even scattered ashes and earth from the very fields where the grain had grown over it. And get this: he preserved the grain in the ear. Can you imagine the sheer volume? All these measures, we're told, were specifically designed to prevent rot and mildew. A kind of ancient, divinely-inspired food preservation system.
But here's where the story gets even more interesting. The Egyptians, seeing this unbelievable bounty, decided to get in on the action. They figured, "Hey, we can save some too!" So they squirreled away their own reserves, anticipating the coming famine.
But their efforts were… less successful.
When the famine hit, they rushed to their storehouses, eager to access their saved grain. And what did they find? Rot. Mold. Uselessness. According to the legends, their grain had become completely unfit for consumption. Disaster!
The famine struck so suddenly and severely, the stories say, that people ran out of bread literally as they were sitting at their tables! They didn’t even have a crust of bran bread to tide them over. Oy vey!
Why the difference? Was it just luck? Or was there something more to Joseph’s success?
Perhaps it was Joseph's connection to the divine, his ability to truly understand God's plan. Or maybe it was his humility, his understanding that the bounty wasn't his to hoard but to steward responsibly. Whatever the reason, the contrast between Joseph's success and the Egyptians' failure serves as a powerful reminder. It's not enough to simply accumulate resources. We must also have the wisdom and foresight to use them wisely, to share them generously, and to preserve them with care. Otherwise, our abundance may rot before our very eyes.
And in times like these, that's a lesson worth remembering.