HEALING, HUMILITY, AND THE LIMITS OF HUMAN POWER

This week the world watched an extraordinary story unfold.
Alyssa, a young teenager with an aggressive and previously incurable form of blood cancer, has entered full remission thanks to a pioneering form of gene therapy. Doctors described her recovery as “remarkable,” even “miraculous.” Alyssa’s treatment began in 2022 at Great Ormond Street. Now, three years on, her cancer is undetectable. We celebrate this moment of medical brilliance and human hope.

Yet moments like this also raise profound ethical questions.

The Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel, in The Case Against Perfection, warns that the same technologies that heal can also tempt us toward enhancement – toward reshaping human nature not to cure illness but to pursue a vision of “perfect” bodies, “better” children, or designer traits. Sandel cautions that this shift risks eroding the humility and giftedness at the heart of our moral life.

Medicine should restore what is broken, not redefine what it means to be human.

So how do we celebrate the wonder of healing without succumbing to the temptation of hubris?

Parashat Vayeshev offers a striking model for this moral balance. Joseph is blessed with extraordinary gifts, but he does not initially understand how to use them. He wields his dreams for self-assertion rather than service. Even his father rebukes him for his grandiose aspirations. The result is conflict, alienation, and a fracturing of brotherhood. His descent into the pit marks the beginning of a long process that strips away arrogance and teaches him humility.

Only years later does Joseph discover the true purpose of his gift:

“G-d has sent me ahead of you… to preserve life.” (Bereishit 45:7)

Human power becomes holy only when it is used to save, not to elevate ourselves above others.

Alyssa’s story is a Joseph-moment of our age – extraordinary human gifts placed in service of life. It is science at its best: not striving for perfection but restoring possibility.

Her recovery reminds us of the miracles that are possible when human creativity is directed toward healing rather than enhancement. It invites us to give thanks to G-d – not only for scientific achievement, but for the moral clarity that guides it to the right end.

May this remarkable breakthrough inspire us to use our talents as Joseph eventually learned to use his: with humility, responsibility, and a deep awareness that the power to heal is one of the greatest gifts G-d entrusts to humanity.