Leap of Faith: planning is key to weathering a storm
Joseph would never have allowed empty shelves in our supermarkets
“Find a man to lead you through the famine. With a flair for economic planning.”
These lines from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s telling of the Joseph story, as Joseph tells Pharoah that his dreams predict a serious disruption in the supply chain, could easily also be spoken in our political moment. When Joseph interprets Pharoah’s dream, he proposes a plan that elevates him to lead advisor status, and lifts biblical Egypt up from sure disaster to the ability to navigate expected shortages effectively.
The Joseph story reminds us that the question of how to plan for and manage the supply, storage, and distribution of food has been a problem that has troubled leaders and challenged government stability for as long as humans have lived in organised societies. It draws our attention to solutions on a social level, and the need we all have for those who have oversight of our entire food system to use the knowledge they have for the wellbeing of all.
Debate may flow between politicians as to who is ultimately responsible for our current shortages, but the lesson that the situation we find ourselves in underscores is that these issues are not for individuals to solve by personal stockpiling or finding our own sources of goods. When it is left to individuals to figure out a way through these situations, those with more means are able to secure what they need, also creating market conditions that further disadvantage others who perhaps did not have the means or the knowledge to make similar plans.
Joseph’s solution is to look at society as a whole, to understand how the coming reality impacts what people need, and to make fair and reasonable asks (in their case to centralise resources, perhaps in our case not to stockpile or to eat more turnips) so that a sensitive food system is able to weather the storm.
The whole Jewish year is shaped by agricultural festivals, and by a religious awareness of the rhythms of the world around us and the cycles of our crops. Perhaps the constant availability of food regardless of the season has dulled our awareness of the rhythms of our natural world, and the cycle of the Jewish year might pull us back into consciousness and, more sustainable consumption, and encourage us to advocate for better planning.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
