Miketz
What is the relation between openness and skill?
Reflection by Or HaLev Teacher Moran Peled:
“Openness and skill are closely related in the story of Joseph, manifesting in the two holes Joseph falls into. The first, the cistern his brothers throw him in, resets his identity. Joseph transforms from a pampered child with a rosy future to a destitute, sold into slavery in a foreign land.
But Joseph does not despair. Joseph stays open and attentive, and makes himself a valued servant in Potiphar’s home. Joseph pays attention, grows, and succeeds in a way that prepares him for the second pit of the prison that he is later thrown into after the accusations of Potiphar’s wife.
Joseph uses cunning and skill in prison, as well, and manages to not just get himself released from prison by the beginning of Parshat Miketz, but to become the deputy to the King of Egypt.
Joseph does all this by interpreting dreams. But not only that. He would not have gotten out of prison had he only been skilled at interpreting dreams. He needed also to be open to his surroundings, to be paying attention to the broader map of reality, to be in relationship with it.
So too in our meditation practice. To connect to the essence of our practice, we must be open - to ourselves, to others, to the world around us. And we must also acquire the skills of practice - concentration, sitting and walking meditations, compassion practices. Openness without the skills does not lead to the development of a spiritual practice. Skill without openness is soulless. The right balance of openness and skill is the recipe for success, both in Joseph’s life and in ours.”