The Great Humanitarian: Parshat Vayigash

In this week’s Torah reading of Vayigash, Joseph sustained the people of Egypt with enough food to get them through the years of famine. But it came at a huge cost. And possibly contributed to the Egyptians later enslaving the Israelites.

Before I discuss Joseph and Egypt, I want to look at a more modern case of someone who sustained millions from starvation but is better remembered today as an uncaring person who responsible for the suffering of a nation.

Herbert Hoover, the 31st US President, like Joseph, had a miserable childhood. He was born in Iowa in 1874 to a staunch Quaker family. Six years later, his father Jesse died of a heart attack, and before he turned 10, his mother, Hulda died of typhoid. His uncle Allen raised him for a short while on his nearby farm, but in 1885, the 11-year-old Hoover was sent to Oregon to live with another uncle, John Minthorn, whose own son had died a year before.

Hoover’s birthplace cottage in West Branch, Iowa. (CC BY-SA, Billwhittaker/ Wikimedia Commons)

So, Hoover was a poor orphan, and a poor replacement for his dead cousin. There was not much joy or cheer for young Herbert, and for the rest of his life, nobody could remember him laughing or enjoying himself.

Although he dropped out of school aged 13 and did not attend high school, he was accepted for the first class of Stanford University in 1891. He studied geology and eventually became a much sought-after mining engineer. Along with his wife, Lou, who he met at Stanford, he travelled to Western Australia to work for a London-based gold mining company. He convinced his bosses to buy the Sons of Gwalia gold mine, which became one of the most successful in the region.

Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover aboard a train in Illinois. (Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons)

He was then sent to China, where he developed gold mines near Tianjin. While there, the Boxer Rebellion broke out, trapping Herbert and Lou for a month during the Battle of Tientsin. Eventually, he moved to London, where he worked as an independent mining consultant. His expertise was in rejuvenating troubled mining operations and taking a share of the profits in exchange for his work. By 1914, Hoover was very wealthy, with an estimated personal fortune of $4 million (over $120 million in 2024).

In August of that year, World War I broke out, leaving 100,000 American citizens trapped in Europe. President Woodrow Wilson tasked Hoover with distributing food to the Americans in Europe. This was effectively the end of Hoover’s mining career, though he continued to study and write on geology for the rest of his life.

After Germany invaded Belgium, and neither the Germans nor the British were prepared to provide food, Hoover was put in charge of the Commission for Relief in Belgium. The US was still neutral at this point, and so Hoover was able to negotiate with the British, French, German, Dutch and Belgian governments to provide millions of tons of food to the Belgians and later to the residents of northern France.

Like the biblical Joseph, he always ensured he received full credit for his actions, including issuing press releases, and silencing others seeking to take some credit for themselves. Bill Bryson wrote in, “One Summer: America 1927” that,

Two things accounted for Hoover’s glorious reputation: he executed his duties with tireless efficiency and dispatch, and he made sure that no one anywhere was ever unaware of his accomplishments. Hoover… was meticulous in ensuring that every positive act associated with him was inflated to maximum importance and covered with a press release.

In 1917, after the United States joined the war, Hoover was appointed by Wilson to head the US Food Administration. He became known as the “food czar” and had to both provide supplies to the Allied Powers, and stabilize food prices at home, to avoid domestic shortages and rationing. Hoover became known as an expert administrator and a symbol of efficiency. According to the Hoover Library:

Hoover became a household name— ‘to Hooverize’ meant to economize on food. Americans began observing ‘Meatless Mondays’ and ‘Wheatless Wednesdays.’

Window sign for food service establishments. (Public Domain/ LOC’s Public Domain Archive)

After World War I ended, Hoover was charged with providing relief to the 400 million Europeans facing starvation through the American Relief Administration. Using this organization he also rebuilt infrastructure that would boost the economies of the continent.

During the Russian famine of 1921, Hoover and the ARA employed 300 Americans and more than 120,000 Russians and fed 10.5 million people daily. Hoover believed that the American aid would show the Bolsheviks the superiority of Western capitalism, and would thus help defeat communism.

He worked extremely hard and saved millions. But he never seemed to care about the people themselves. He rarely visited the displaced persons’ camps and was always extremely distant and aloof from the people he worked with. He was not a likeable character but even so, he became known as “The Great Humanitarian.”

In 1920, Warren G. Harding was elected president, and appointed Hoover to be Secretary of Commerce. After Harding’s 1923 death, Hoover continued in this role under President Calvin Coolidge.

Although his role was considered relatively minor and largely undefined, Hoover worked diligently and transformed his agency into one of the most powerful in the federal government. He earned the reputation of “Secretary of Commerce, and Undersecretary of Everything Else.”

He was responsible for everything from standardizing traffic lights and the sizes of milk cartons, to regulating radio broadcasting and air travel. He was such a well-known personality that it was not surprising that in 1927 he became the first person to do a live television broadcast.

In early 1927, the Great Mississippi Flood displaced 1.5 million people from their homes. Even though the Commerce Department was not responsible for disaster relief, the governors of six states asked Coolidge to appoint Hoover to coordinate the flood response.

Coolidge surprised the nation by declining to seek another term as president. This left Hoover free to earn the Republican nomination for the highest office in the nation. Coolidge did not endorse Hoover, stating, “For six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad.” Nevertheless, Hoover easily defeated his Democrat opponent, Al Smith with 58 percent of the popular vote, and 444 of the 513 electoral votes.

1928 electoral vote results. (Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons)

Within a year, Hoover was the most unpopular man in the country. In October 1929, the stock market crashed, leading to the worst economic depression in US history. People were quick to blame Hoover and his policy of reducing taxation, failing to reign in the out-of-control financial speculation and avoiding direct federal intervention. He believed that it was the responsibility of state and local government along with philanthropic organizations to take care of those who were down on their luck.

Crowd at New York’s American Union Bank during a bank run early in the Great Depression. (Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons)

In the immediate aftermath of Black Tuesday, Hoover told Americans, “Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the strength of business in the United States is foolish.” A year later, he told the country, “The worst is behind us.” On February 3, 1931, as people across the country were literally starving to death, Hoover said:

I am willing to pledge myself that, if the time should ever come that the voluntary agencies of the country together with the local and State governments are unable to find resources with which to prevent hunger and suffering in my country, I will ask the aid of every resource of the Federal Government because I would no more see starvation amongst our countrymen than would any Senator or Congressman. I have the faith in the American people that such a day will not come.

Which is not to say he did nothing. He placed tariffs on many imported goods, leading other nations to retaliate with tariffs of their own, leading to further economic decline. He also blamed immigrants for the depression. Under the slogan, “American jobs for real Americans,” he and his administration deported somewhere between 300,000 to 2 million Mexicans, of whom 40-60% were actually US citizens.

https://www.history.com/news/great-depression-repatriation-drives-mexico-deportation

A 2017 study by the non-partisan National Bureau of Economic Research into the effects of these deportations found that:

Repatriation of Mexicans was associated with small decreases in native employment and increases in native unemployment… the causal estimates do not support the claim that repatriations had any expansionary effects on native employment, but suggest instead that they had no effect on, or possibly depressed, their employment and wages.

Shanty towns for the destitute and homeless sprung up, that were known colloquially as “Hoovervilles,” while cardboard-soled shoes were known as “Hoover leather,” and an old newspaper was a “Hoover blanket.”

Hooverville on the Seattle tideflats, Seattle, Washington, U.S., 1933. (Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons)

Hoover did take action. He encouraged railroads and utilities to increase spending on construction and maintenance. In early 1932, he authorized the federal government to provide loans to prop up financial institutions, railroads and local governments. He signed the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, to lower the cost of home ownership.

However, he refused calls to provide federal relief for the unemployed, fearing that individuals on the dole would permanently weaken the country.

Perhaps today, Hoover is best known because of the song in the musical “Annie,” – “We’d like to thank you Herbert Hoover,” which contains the lines:

I used to winter in the tropics, I spent my summers at the shore

I used to throw away the paper, We don’t anymore!

We’d like to thank you: Herbert Hoover, For really showing us the way

We’d like to thank you Herbert Hoover, You made us what we are today

Ultimately, in 1932, he lost the election to Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide, winning only six states and 39.6% of the popular vote. Four years earlier he had won 444 electoral college votes. This time, he won only 59.

1932 electoral vote results. (Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons)

Throughout his presidential term, Hoover’s desire for publicity backfired, as Roosevelt constantly referred to Hoover’s Great Depression, and blamed him for the financial disaster, even though he was not quick to undo Hoover’s legislation.

In 1938, Hoover travelled to Europe and met with Adolf Hitler. Though he was expressed dismay at the persecution of Jews, he did not believe Germany presented a threat to the US. He opposed US involvement in the war, and believed that Roosevelt was the biggest threat to peace.

Hoover’s reputation was somewhat rehabilitated after World War II. He was an early supporter of Zionism. He also befriended President Harry S. Truman after Roosevelt’s death, and was appointed to head the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, which focused on eliminating federal waste, fraud and inefficiency.

Hoover with President Harry S. Truman and General Dwight D. Eisenhower at Princeton University. (Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons)

Today Hoover is still mostly remembered for Black Tuesday and the Great Depression, and more importantly, for failing to offer federal help to those who needed it most. He saved the lives of millions of starving people in Europe, but when he had the power to help his own country, he refused to accept responsibility.

This contrasts with Joseph, who absolutely accepted responsibility for the people of Egypt and the surrounding countries. He personally ensured that there was food for everyone who needed it – provided they could pay for it.

Like Hoover, Joseph ensured he was always in the limelight and always got credit for his achievements. Perhaps the only way to encourage the Egyptians to trust him with their grain in the years of plenty was to show the personal connection. When governments levy general taxation, it is not as effective as when there is a personal appeal to donate from a leader.

So Joseph rode around Egypt with “Pharaoh’s signet ring,” wearing “fine linen garments” with “a golden chain around his neck,” (Genesis 41:42). He rode in Pharaoh’s second chariot, while the people cried out “young king” (“avrech”). The women of Egypt were all in love with him, lining up to gaze upon his beauty (Rashi on Genesis 49:22). He took all the credit for gathering the grain in the years of plenty.

Then, when the famine began, Joseph personally distributed the food (Genesis 47:14-21).

In exchange for grain, Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan and brought the money to the house of Pharaoh. When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all of Egypt came to Joseph saying, ‘Give us bread. Why should we die because we have no money?’ Joseph said, ‘Bring your animals and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if you have no money.’ So they brought their animals to Joseph and he gave them bread, in exchange for their horses, their flocks of sheep, herds of cattle and donkeys, and he provided them with food in exchange for their animals in that year…
And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because each Egyptian sold his field, for the famine was very severe, and the land belonged to Pharaoh. And he [Joseph] transferred them [the people] to cities, from one border of Egypt to the other.

Joseph was the face of Egypt when times were good, and he was also the person the Egyptians turned to when times were bad. Initially the people stared at his beauty, but by the end he personified their suffering and exile from their homes.

As long as Joseph had Pharaoh’s trust, there was nothing the Egyptians could do about it. But they despised his brothers, who Pharaoh put in charge of the livestock that had been taken from the Egyptians (Genesis 47:6). And having confiscated everyone else’s land, Joseph gave his family homes in Ramses, the best land in all of Egypt (Genesis 47:11).

It is little wonder that after Joseph’s death, with a new Pharaoh ruling the country, the Egyptians were only too happy to enslave the Israelites and treat them harshly. Joseph the Israelite was so closely identified as the source of all their troubles. He had spent seven years warning them of an impending famine, then took all their possessions and even their land before giving them back the grain that they had willingly given him just a few years earlier.

Like Hoover, Joseph was also a great humanitarian. But before saving the Egyptians, he took everything they had from them.

The image of a Jew pulling the levers of power and taking the nation’s wealth has continued as an antisemitic trope to our own day. A few high-profile Jews are blamed for all the evils in the world. Many falsely believe that global wars are engineered by a Jewish cabal intent on world domination.

Mark Twain wrote in “Concerning the Jews“ (Harper’s Magazine September, 1899):

Is it presumable that the eye of Egypt was upon Joseph the foreign Jew all this time? I think it likely. Was it friendly? We must doubt it. Was Joseph establishing a character for his race which would survive long in Egypt? and in time would his name come to be familiarly used to express that character – like Shylock’s? It is hardly to be doubted.

How ironic it is that the savior of Egypt and his descendants for thousands of years have been blamed for every catastrophe and murdered for being successful.

Hoover’s desire for publicity when things were going well backfired as he became the personification of the depression when things went bad. Similarly, because Joseph was the public face of Egyptian famine and averting starvation, he became the ultimate bogeyman, hated for generations by those he helped.

So did Joseph act correctly when he sold the grain to the Egyptians? Could he have prevented the future Israelite slavery by giving out the food for free? Probably not. However, it is important for us to remember that our actions today can have repercussions in the future. We must always act with a thought for how our descendants will judge us, and how our decisions can impact their lives.

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