Torah portion Genesis 41:1-44:17
Two years later, Pharaoh had dreams in which 7 sturdy, healthy cows came up out of a river were devoured by 7 gaunt cows and also that 7 fat ears of grain growing on a single stalk were eaten by 7 scorched ears. He sent for all the magicians and wise men, but none could interpret the dreams. In the more disturbing dream, seven fat and happy cows come up out of the river, to be followed by seven skinny and ugly cows, who after a small hesitation while they are all side by side, DEVOUR THE FAT COWS ALIVE! Even though the USDA once fed cow parts to cows and still insists it is ok to feeding chicken litter to cows (after the chickens have eaten cow parts themselves), cows are neither carnivores nor cannibals.
There is a subtle anti-idolatry message: the Pharaoh considered himself a diety, the river was also divine AND he called all the magicians in. Then the cupbearer remembered Joseph and they sent for him. Joseph said he did not interpret dreams, but God did through him. Joseph interpreted that there would be seven good years and seven years of famine. He recommended that a man be appointed to oversee the harvest so that food may be stored in advance for the famine years. Pharaoh must have realized by now that his ways weren't working and was ready to seek another way; he saw that God was known to Joseph. He made Joseph this overseer, the second in command over all Egypt. Someone in Torah study asked if this was opportunism or a true turning. It does seem to me that this Pharaoh, presented as a minor hero, did have a true turning; in the very next parsha, it says the next Pharaoh did not know Joseph.
Pharaoh gave Joseph his own signet ring as well as gold chains, linen garments, a chariot and a wife who was the daughter of a priest. (Some say this wife was the daughter of Potiphar, which would be interesting not only on a sexual level, but also because a steward/priest is an unusual combination, but my JPS text shows the names are similar but not the same; this girl is the daughter of Poti-phera. Not being able to read Hebrew, I don't know which is correct.) The children of this union were named Ephraim and Manasseh. Pharaoh also gave Joseph the name of Zaphenath-paneah, which my JPS edition says means "God speaks; he lives." "Joseph" means "increase."
Joseph traveled the country, gathering food during the seven years of plenty, and storing it in the cities closest to the fields that grew it. Joseph gathered grain in such plenty it (echoing the promise of God to his ancestors) was like the grains of the sea, beyond counting.
When the famine came, Joseph rationed out the food. The famine spread throughout the world so all the world came to Joseph to procure ration. Jacob urged his sons to go to Egypt to secure food, also. (Jacob said, "Why do you keep looking at one another!" like they were really slow- witted. Another translation says, "Why are you showing off?" This may be a better translation; it was around during Rashi's time and Rashi said the brothers were acting as if they had plenty to eat when their stores were running low.) Jacob sent all the brothers except Benjamin, the youngest, fearing that he would come to a bad end if he went with the others. He must have understood in his heart that the older brothers were at least somewhat responsible for what happened to Joseph.
Joseph recognized the brothers, but the brothers did not recognize him as they bowed low to him, like the wheat sheaves of Joseph's dream when he was young. Joseph spoke harshly to them, accusing them of being spies. He demanded to know who they were and where they were from. He said he would give them nothing unless they bring the youngest brother to him. He confined them all in the guardhouse for three days to think about it, then came back and said if they left one remaining, the rest could go to bring back the brother. As long as they brought back the brother, they would come to no harm. Reuben chastised the others; he had told them not to do wrong to Joseph and now they were paying the price. Joseph heard and wept.
Joseph took Simeon and bound him. (Why Simeon, the second son, who has already displeased Jacob? Perhaps he remembered that Reuben and Judah, the other two oldest, had both not wanted to kill him.) Joseph then gave orders that the brothers' sacks be filled with grain, that their money be quietly placed within the sacks and they be given provisions for the journey. The brothers were afraid when they saw their money had been returned; they feared being accused of thievery.
The brothers went home and told Jacob what transpired. They said they must return with Benjamin in order to rescue Simeon and ensure they could all move freely about the land. Jacob, of course, answered, "Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more and now you would take away Benjamin!" Reuben offered his father, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care and I will return him to you." Jacob refused. He appeared to wallow in self pity: "It is always me that you bereave; these things always happen to me!" He said, in an obvious slight to the other brothers, "My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left."
The famine worsened and the family ran out of rations. Eventually Jacob asked the brothers to go back for more food, but Judah reminded him that they could not return without Benjamin. Jacob (called Israel here) was angry with them for even mentioning they had another brother! (And who can blame him?) Judah said he would himself be surety for Benjamin, and that they must go, they could already have been there and back twice if they had not dawdled. So Jacob asked them to take gifts for the man, as well as double the money. (The gifts included nuts during a time of famine; Jacob was sending what was very precious to him and what was most precious, Benjamin.)
So the brothers took gifts, double the money and Benjamin. Joseph had his house steward bring the brothers into the house and prepare a feast. They were afraid and pleaded with the steward that they did not know how the money got back in their bags the last time. The steward said all was well, that he got their money and God must have gifted them. He returned Simeon to them. The steward brought water for them to bathe their feet and he fed their asses.
The brothers waited for Joseph, gifts laid out conspicuously. They bowed low before Joseph. Joseph saw Benjamin and was so overcome, he had to hurry out of the room to weep. He washed his face, regained control of himself and ordered that the meal be served. Benjamin's serving was three times that of anyone else.
Note here that the Egyptians could not dine with the Hebrews, not even with Joseph, who ate at a table alone. Joseph ate by himself; the brothers ate by themselves and the Egyptians ate by themselves!
Joseph sent all the brothers off with plentiful grain and all the money they came with. He had his silver goblet sneaked into Benjamin's bag. Then he had his steward overtake them, pretending to think they had stolen his silver goblet. The brothers all protested that they would never do such a thing and if anyone among them be found with any silver or gold, let that person die and the rest of them become slaves of Josephs! The steward replied only the one with whom the silver was found would be a slave; the rest would go free. The brothers rent their clothes when Benjamin's bag held the goblet. This story is reminiscent of the one in which Jacob protested to Laban that he did not have the idols, when his favorite wife did, in fact, have them.
The brothers all returned to Joseph and threw themselves on the ground before him. He demanded to know why they would take an object he needed for divination! Judah pleaded that they would all serve as his slaves, but Joseph said he would only keep the younger.
In Torah study, we were fascinated by the psychology of the tale. Could Joseph have sent notice to his father that he was alive and doing well? What if he thought his father were part of the scheme to remove him from the household? After all, his father sent him far away to look for the brothers. My fiance wondered if maybe the living mothers even were responsible. Joseph's mother was long dead. He had no protector at home. We know that Joseph "brought bad reports" of the brothers to his father. We also know his father favored him and would give him a double portion, even though the next in line once Reuben was removed from his position of power would have been a concubine's son, certainly not Joseph, who was born tenth. We know Joseph had good reason to fear his brothers.
It's hard to know why Joseph insisted on framing Benjamin, and there are no clues as to how Benjamin felt about it. Like Dinah earlier, his reactions are deemed unimportant. It is Judah who matters. Two people in Torah study brought up a spiritual reason for Joseph's strange and cruel seeming plan to entrap Benjamin. He was able to orchestrate a similar scenario with taking him from his father and making him a slave in a foreign land. Instead of Joseph being merely spiteful, he is giving the brothers the chance to redeem themselves. And Judah, who by now has grown significantly, does.
Two Torah study members, looking forward to whether Joseph foreshadowed Moses, looked backwards at the previous parsha and discussed whether Joseph was shepherding with the brothers or whether he was shepherding the brothers themselves. Cain said, "Am I my brothers keeper?" In the story of Joseph, the answer clearly is yes, we must be our brothers' keepers.
Another message in this parsha is that we must remember to plan ahead; we may not have the gift of prescience like Joseph did. Joseph's brothers mistreated their own during times of plenty and were unusually blessed that Joseph treated them well during times of scarcity. This is not the way the world usually works. It is much harder (and we see this in the Torah over and over) for people to remember to serve God and their fellows in good times.
Showing posts with label Jacob. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jacob. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Speech Given About The Spiritual and Emotional Growth of Jacob, Joseph and Judah
The assignment for the last speech of Speech 111 was to deliver a 5 minute speech on any subject we wished, off an outline only, with nearly non-stop eye contact and feeling. My first thought was to do the story of Joseph, and then I thought maybe not, because my classmates are secular or Christian, and nearly all are at least 20 years younger than I and look bored most of the time. Could I interest them in a Biblical story?
I ended up deciding that I could interest others in what interested me, and I loved studying these two parshas. The trick would be to use an opening that would appeal to bored 20 year olds, so when you read my introduction, please do not take offense.
Below is my five minute speech.
Have you ever wondered how Bible stories are supposed to inspire when many characters who did good deeds were punished anyway? And the matriarchs and patriarchs entire lives seemed dominated by jealous, destructive and manipulative behavior? In a sea of soap opera story lines, one dysfunctional family not only grew emotionally and spiritually, but also shared a happy ending! Today I will show how Jacob and his sons Judah and Joseph evolved by telling of their behavior before and after Joseph was sold into slavery.
The patriarch Jacob was the second born twin in a society that gave first born sons a majority of the inheritance. He and his brother were both physically strong, but he was smarter and tricked his brother out of both his birthright and his father’s blessing. Later in his life he remained unable to solve problems without brute strength or trickery. He let his young sons make very poor choices.
Joseph was the tenth born son, but favored because he was the first born of his father’s favorite and most beautiful wife. He was precocious and handsome, but socially inept. He was somehow unaware that his brothers would resent his tattling on them and boasting of dreams in which he became their master. When Jacob gifted him with an expensive multicolored coat, Joseph did not even have the sense to wear it only for special occasions. He wore it everywhere, even out in the fields with his brothers while they herded sheep.
The brothers already proved themselves violent over reactors by previously killing every male in a town because one man violated their sister. They threw Joseph into a pit and sat down to eat their lunch, discussing how to kill him. Judah suggested they sell him as a slave rather than kill him themselves. They smeared the blood of a goat on Joseph’s coat, returned home and asked Jacob, “Please examine this; is it your son’s tunic or not?”
Jacob’s own behavior to his father was being brought back to haunt him. When his father was old and blind, Jacob applied goat kid hair to his skin so his father would think he was his hairy twin Esau.
Years pass, during which it seems that Jacob, Joseph and Judah all reflect on what they have done wrong and how they have hurt others. During this time Judah has trouble with his own sons, two of whom displease God and die young.
Joseph still has growing to do before he has enough wisdom and empathy to save the entire world known to the Israelites at that time. So we shall move on to his life after he was sold into slavery by his brothers.
Joseph was purchased by the chief steward of the Pharaoh, Potiphar, who quickly noticed that everything Joseph did went exceptionally well. He placed Joseph in charge of his entire household.
God was with Joseph, but Joseph was still vain. The rabbis of the Talmud said Joseph slicked down his eyebrows and curled his hair! Joseph’s beauty attracted Potiphar’s wife; she repeatedly tried to seduce him. Finally she commanded him, “Lie with me!” She grabbed him by his coat and tore it. Repeating the behavior of his brothers, she used the coat in a lie, claiming that Joseph had tried to rape her.
Joseph was thrown into another sort of pit, a dungeon. While imprisoned, he was given more management training; he was put in charge of all the other inmates. He noticed that the Pharaoh’s imprisoned baker and wine steward were particularly downcast one day and he asked them why.
They had dreams that no one else could interpret. When Joseph was a child, he did not credit God for his dreams. In jail, however, he learned not only compassion, but also humility. He made it clear that God sent dreams and he, Joseph, was merely interpreting them with God’s help. The Wine Steward would be forgiven by Pharaoh and restored to his post. However, the Baker would be put to death. The dreams came to pass as he said.
But although Joseph gave credit to God for the interpretations, he had not yet learned to admit he needed God’s help. Instead, he asked the Wine Steward to get him out of jail.
The steward forgot him. Joseph languished another two years, giving him ample time to reflect.
Then the Pharaoh himself had two dreams no one could interpret. The steward remembered him and Joseph was brought to the court. Again he gave God credit for both the dreams and his interpretation of them. Seven years of famine in Egypt would follow seven years of plenty. Joseph recommended that food be stored during the years of plenty. His wisdom and direct line to God pleased the Pharaoh, who made Joseph second in command.
Joseph traveled throughout Egypt to gather and store grain. When the famine came, Joseph doled out grain in exchange for money, livestock and human labor. Not only did he ensure the continuance of the Egyptian race, but he also made the Pharaoh very rich.
By the time his own brothers arrived to procure food, they did not even recognize him. Joseph fed them well, taking no payment, but pressing them for information about his father and youngest brother Benjamin. He demanded Benjamin be brought to him.
Judah, who knew how greatly Jacob doted on Benjamin, offered himself as a slave to Joseph rather than taking Benjamin from his father. Judah, who showed only a shred of empathy for Joseph and none for his father when the brothers wanted to kill Joseph, had learned to love and to put his own welfare last.
Joseph finally revealed his identity. He assured the brothers they need not fear retribution, because God intended he be sold into slavery in order to give him the opportunity to save them all from famine. As a child favored only by his father, he was conceited. Favored by the entire known world, he had learned humility.
Jacob, now over 100 years old, had never been a very involved parent. However, when he heard that not only was Joseph alive and well, but forgave his brothers and would guarantee their survival, Jacob rejoiced and finally became a wise leader of his family.
From the most inspirational family story in the Bible, we learn that hardship and time can help teach even the toughest and most self centered characters humility and kindness.
I ended up deciding that I could interest others in what interested me, and I loved studying these two parshas. The trick would be to use an opening that would appeal to bored 20 year olds, so when you read my introduction, please do not take offense.
Below is my five minute speech.
Have you ever wondered how Bible stories are supposed to inspire when many characters who did good deeds were punished anyway? And the matriarchs and patriarchs entire lives seemed dominated by jealous, destructive and manipulative behavior? In a sea of soap opera story lines, one dysfunctional family not only grew emotionally and spiritually, but also shared a happy ending! Today I will show how Jacob and his sons Judah and Joseph evolved by telling of their behavior before and after Joseph was sold into slavery.
The patriarch Jacob was the second born twin in a society that gave first born sons a majority of the inheritance. He and his brother were both physically strong, but he was smarter and tricked his brother out of both his birthright and his father’s blessing. Later in his life he remained unable to solve problems without brute strength or trickery. He let his young sons make very poor choices.
Joseph was the tenth born son, but favored because he was the first born of his father’s favorite and most beautiful wife. He was precocious and handsome, but socially inept. He was somehow unaware that his brothers would resent his tattling on them and boasting of dreams in which he became their master. When Jacob gifted him with an expensive multicolored coat, Joseph did not even have the sense to wear it only for special occasions. He wore it everywhere, even out in the fields with his brothers while they herded sheep.
The brothers already proved themselves violent over reactors by previously killing every male in a town because one man violated their sister. They threw Joseph into a pit and sat down to eat their lunch, discussing how to kill him. Judah suggested they sell him as a slave rather than kill him themselves. They smeared the blood of a goat on Joseph’s coat, returned home and asked Jacob, “Please examine this; is it your son’s tunic or not?”
Jacob’s own behavior to his father was being brought back to haunt him. When his father was old and blind, Jacob applied goat kid hair to his skin so his father would think he was his hairy twin Esau.
Years pass, during which it seems that Jacob, Joseph and Judah all reflect on what they have done wrong and how they have hurt others. During this time Judah has trouble with his own sons, two of whom displease God and die young.
Joseph still has growing to do before he has enough wisdom and empathy to save the entire world known to the Israelites at that time. So we shall move on to his life after he was sold into slavery by his brothers.
Joseph was purchased by the chief steward of the Pharaoh, Potiphar, who quickly noticed that everything Joseph did went exceptionally well. He placed Joseph in charge of his entire household.
God was with Joseph, but Joseph was still vain. The rabbis of the Talmud said Joseph slicked down his eyebrows and curled his hair! Joseph’s beauty attracted Potiphar’s wife; she repeatedly tried to seduce him. Finally she commanded him, “Lie with me!” She grabbed him by his coat and tore it. Repeating the behavior of his brothers, she used the coat in a lie, claiming that Joseph had tried to rape her.
Joseph was thrown into another sort of pit, a dungeon. While imprisoned, he was given more management training; he was put in charge of all the other inmates. He noticed that the Pharaoh’s imprisoned baker and wine steward were particularly downcast one day and he asked them why.
They had dreams that no one else could interpret. When Joseph was a child, he did not credit God for his dreams. In jail, however, he learned not only compassion, but also humility. He made it clear that God sent dreams and he, Joseph, was merely interpreting them with God’s help. The Wine Steward would be forgiven by Pharaoh and restored to his post. However, the Baker would be put to death. The dreams came to pass as he said.
But although Joseph gave credit to God for the interpretations, he had not yet learned to admit he needed God’s help. Instead, he asked the Wine Steward to get him out of jail.
The steward forgot him. Joseph languished another two years, giving him ample time to reflect.
Then the Pharaoh himself had two dreams no one could interpret. The steward remembered him and Joseph was brought to the court. Again he gave God credit for both the dreams and his interpretation of them. Seven years of famine in Egypt would follow seven years of plenty. Joseph recommended that food be stored during the years of plenty. His wisdom and direct line to God pleased the Pharaoh, who made Joseph second in command.
Joseph traveled throughout Egypt to gather and store grain. When the famine came, Joseph doled out grain in exchange for money, livestock and human labor. Not only did he ensure the continuance of the Egyptian race, but he also made the Pharaoh very rich.
By the time his own brothers arrived to procure food, they did not even recognize him. Joseph fed them well, taking no payment, but pressing them for information about his father and youngest brother Benjamin. He demanded Benjamin be brought to him.
Judah, who knew how greatly Jacob doted on Benjamin, offered himself as a slave to Joseph rather than taking Benjamin from his father. Judah, who showed only a shred of empathy for Joseph and none for his father when the brothers wanted to kill Joseph, had learned to love and to put his own welfare last.
Joseph finally revealed his identity. He assured the brothers they need not fear retribution, because God intended he be sold into slavery in order to give him the opportunity to save them all from famine. As a child favored only by his father, he was conceited. Favored by the entire known world, he had learned humility.
Jacob, now over 100 years old, had never been a very involved parent. However, when he heard that not only was Joseph alive and well, but forgave his brothers and would guarantee their survival, Jacob rejoiced and finally became a wise leader of his family.
From the most inspirational family story in the Bible, we learn that hardship and time can help teach even the toughest and most self centered characters humility and kindness.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Torah Portion Genesis 37:1-40:23
Torah Portion Genesis 37:1-40:23
Material for this parsha comes from the JPS Tanakh, Midrash Rabbah and Torah study at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene. As I've mentioned before, this is a very dynamic group. Today both rabbis were present.
The parsha is named Vayeishev, "and he dwelled/settled". In Torah study, we talked about the Hebrew word meaning more that he rested/resided instead of making a permanent home and that there's a negative connotation to it. Rabbi Yitz and another gentleman chanted the opening lines of this parsha together in Hebrew. No doubt the other gentleman had never chanted this passage before, but they sang in unison, note for note. My fiance asked how and Rabbi Yitz said that there were small notations like dots under the letters, called Trope, that showed the musical form of the text, because the entire Torah was intended to be sung aloud. I remembered reading countless tales of how few written copies were available in Jewish schools throughout the ages, and that even four year olds learned by repeating word for word the changing of the school master. This continued into yeshiva (a Jewish school of higher learning). I was very impressed with the gentleman who without any warning, sang along so perfectly. My fiance and I decided in the car later that the ability to do that was one more good reason to learn Hebrew.
The second sentence of this parsha is: "This is the line of Jacob", but instead of naming all the children like the Bible typically does, it plunges right into the story of Joseph, as if Joseph were the only important child, which, of course, is the source of all his troubles.
At age 17, Joseph shepherded along with his brothers. The text is unclear; he may have worked with only the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's concubines, or he may have worked with all the brothers. The text says: "Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father." Perhaps he shepherded with all brothers and reported negative things of all of them. Perhaps they were making fun of him even then. But it could possibly be that he worked only for the sons of the concubines but still brought bad reports of the other brothers. In Torah study, I asked if the Hebrew clarified this. It does not. Rabbi Yitz said one Midrashic story casts Joseph's behavior in a very favorable light, saying that Leah's sons were mistreating the sons of the concubines so Joseph, in attempt to keep the family together, told his father.
It is no surprise that the same brothers who destroyed a town because of one man's behavior with their sister should be unreasonably angry with Joseph for telling on them and for being the favored son. Jacob had given Joseph a gift of an especially fine, colorful tunic with long sleeves. (Rabbi Maurice said that the word for tunic here is the same word used for the cloak of virgin brides. Later there are other references to Joseph's androgynous beauty.)
The brothers' jealousy became worse when Joseph told them of dreams in which it appeared he ruled over them. (The submission of all the brothers' sheaves of wheat to Joseph's is important, since it is for lack of food among the brothers that Joseph actually is able to rule over them. More on this later. It is also significant that the brothers' sheaves are together in a circle and Joseph's is alone.) Jacob does scold him, but apparently takes it seriously; "his father kept the matter in mind." Midrash says that Jacob was able to foresee the ffuture when this would come to pass. Perhaps Jacob, who seemed to lack prophetic visions unless God beat him over the head with them, remembered his own dream of the Stairway to Heaven and considered that dreams could mean much larger things than they seemed to. Rabbi Maurice said that Joseph seemed like an Asperger's child, brilliant but socially lacking, and that someone, Jacob preferably, but possibly Reuben, should have taken him aside and asked him to stop his big talk.
One day Jacob called Joseph, who answered hinieni, which means "I am here" or "I am ready" in Hebrew. This word is repeated throughout the Tanakh when God calls. Jacob told Joseph to go to Shechem, where he believed the brothers were pasturing sheep, but they had actually gone a little father, to Dothan. (Why Shechem again? Does Jacob want Joseph to find them because he believes only evil can come of going back to the town they destroyed?) Midrash says they are also tending to themselves; they did not follow their father's instructions.
Joseph does not find the brothers in Shechem, so he consults a man who tells them they said they were going to Dothan. Rashi and Maimonides both said the man was actually an angel sent by God. (Rashi specifies the angel Gabriel.) We could wish that Gabriel would protect Joseph from what happens next, but eventually everything works out well, as Joseph tells his brothers much later in Egypt. The brothers saw Joseph coming. They scheme to throw him into a pit. Reuben, however, the same one who had sex with his father's concubine, entreated the other brothers not to kill the boy. Reuben actually intended to save the boy himself later from the pit. (Midrash says that he was in sackcloth and repenting, when he was not present for the sale of Joseph, so maybe during his period of repenting having sex with his father's concubine, he learned some empathy.) The men took Joseph's tunic, threw him into a pit without water - and then sat down to eat!!! Judah had the idea of selling Joseph rather than killing him and the others agreed. Thus Joseph was taken to Egypt. Reuben rent his garment when he found Joseph missing. The other brothers slaughtered a kid, smeared it's blood on Joseph's tunic and took the tunic to Jacob, who put on a sackcloth and mourned. It's rather fitting that Jacob, who deceived his own father earlier, is now the deceived father.
Midrash Rabbah says that Jacob suspected Judah of killing Joseph because Judah supposedly brought the torn and bloodied coat to their father.
As we later learn, with Joseph gone, Benjamin, the other son of the departed Rachel, becomes the favorite. It may not be that Joseph was favored for any other reason than his mother. However, the hardship Joseph suffered because his mother died and his brothers hated him may have helped him become wise and strong. Midrash Rabbah says Joseph was lost to his father for 22 years, just as Jacob was lost to his father for 22 years.
The story temporarily leaves Joseph and moves on to Judah, who has apparently assumed leadership of the brothers after Reuben, Simeon and Levi (the first three born) lost the favor of their father for their immoral and/or violent conduct. Judah left home, found a wife and began to begat sons. The first son displeased the Lord and did not live long enough to produce offspring by his wife, Tamar. Judah asked his second son, Onan, to marry the wife, but Onan did not want to produce any children by her because the firstborn would count as his brother's, not his own. So he pulled out. The Lord killed him, also. (Per Monty Python: Every sperm is sacred, every sperm is great! If one sperm gets wasted, God gets quite irate!) Judah asked Tamar to stay as a window in her father's house until the third son Shelah grew up, but he did not really want to give her to Shelah, for fear the third son might also die. (Apparently he considers her the likely reason the first two sons died rather than considering them to be at fault.)
Many years later, Judah came to the town of her father for sheep shearing. She covered herself with a veil and dressed as a harlot. Judah promised her a kid from his flock to pay for his services; she asked for his seal, cord and staff as proof that he would pay her. She conceived by him, put on her widow's garb again and went home. Judah did send a kid but could not find any harlot in town because there wasn't a harlot in town. When she was three months pregnant began to show, Judah was told that his supposedly chaste widow daughter in law was pregnant. He was angry that she should bring shame on the family and declared, "Let her be burned!" But she had his seal, cord and staff. He then admitted that he was at fault because he had promised her his son Shelah but had failed to keep his promise. Remember, this was a time when a woman must have a son in order to be guaranteed a secure future after the death of her husband.
Like Rebekah, Tamar had twins. The midwife tied a crimson thread on the hand that poked out the womb first, to signify that child was first born. But the child withdrew his hand and the other came out first. Peretz, whose name means break-through, one of the sons, was an ancestor in the Davidic line. (As an aside, Midrash Rabbah says that two women covered themselves with veils and had twins; the other being Rebekah.)
The story returns to Joseph. Joseph was purchased by the chief of Pharaoh, Potiphar. Because of Joseph, the Lord blessed Potiphar's household; Potiphar recognized this and made Joseph his personal attendant, in charge of everything he owned. Joseph again got a rather fine linen coat, as well as jewelry. (Midrash says that Potiphar wanted Joseph sexually.) Joseph was handsome, but thought nothing of Potiphar's belongings - or his wife. However, Rashi thought he was vain and that what happens next is punishment for his vanity. (Rashi actually wrote that Joseph curled his hair!)
Potifar's wife became increasingly a pest, bothering Joseph to have sex with her. One day she commanded, "Lay with me!" She grabbed his fine coat and as he ran off, it tore. Like the brothers before her, she used his coat as evidence for a lie. She told everyone, first her servants and then her husband that Joseph tried to rape her, she screamed and he fled. Potiphar believed his wife and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were confined. (Notice how this is the only woman whose desire for sex was stated outright rather than hidden in schemes or subdued while male family members decided whether to give her as a wife.)
The Lord favored Joseph in prison, too, where Joseph was given charge of all the prisoners. The Pharaoh's cup bearer and baker were jailed shortly thereafter. (A fly was found in wine and a stone in a loaf of bread.) Joseph showed concern for their feelings, which is one of the reasons people so love Joseph even today. His life was an exhaustive roller coaster ride, but he was kind, noticing they seemed downcast on one particular day. The cup bearer and baker were distraught because no one could interpret their dreams. Joseph said surely God could! And then he did. (The cup bearer is restored to his position but the baker is executed.) He asked the cupbearer, whose dream was favorable, to remember him when he got out, and to set him free, for he had done no wrong. Even though both of the dreams came true, the cupbearer forgot to set Joseph free. Midrash says that this is punishment for Joseph asking another human being to release him rather than asking God to.
Rabbi Yitz said this story is representative of the Jewish story, that Joseph is aware of his chosenness despite persecution and that he holds onto belief in his destiny as helping to bring the Messianic age. Rabbi Maurice says that Joseph is very accepting of the troubles that come his way. Torah often mentions others crying out, but there is no mention of this from Joseph when he is thrown into the pit, sold, or sent to jail. Rabbi Yitz also said that Midrash said that Jacob could not be comforted because he did not actually believe deep down that Joseph had died. You can not be comforted for the living.
I have to write a speech for my Speech 101 class. I am really impressed by how an event planned with evil intent led to the emotional growth of both Joseph and the brothers. By the end of the next parsha it is clear that they have all learned empathy and kindness.
Material for this parsha comes from the JPS Tanakh, Midrash Rabbah and Torah study at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene. As I've mentioned before, this is a very dynamic group. Today both rabbis were present.
The parsha is named Vayeishev, "and he dwelled/settled". In Torah study, we talked about the Hebrew word meaning more that he rested/resided instead of making a permanent home and that there's a negative connotation to it. Rabbi Yitz and another gentleman chanted the opening lines of this parsha together in Hebrew. No doubt the other gentleman had never chanted this passage before, but they sang in unison, note for note. My fiance asked how and Rabbi Yitz said that there were small notations like dots under the letters, called Trope, that showed the musical form of the text, because the entire Torah was intended to be sung aloud. I remembered reading countless tales of how few written copies were available in Jewish schools throughout the ages, and that even four year olds learned by repeating word for word the changing of the school master. This continued into yeshiva (a Jewish school of higher learning). I was very impressed with the gentleman who without any warning, sang along so perfectly. My fiance and I decided in the car later that the ability to do that was one more good reason to learn Hebrew.
The second sentence of this parsha is: "This is the line of Jacob", but instead of naming all the children like the Bible typically does, it plunges right into the story of Joseph, as if Joseph were the only important child, which, of course, is the source of all his troubles.
At age 17, Joseph shepherded along with his brothers. The text is unclear; he may have worked with only the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's concubines, or he may have worked with all the brothers. The text says: "Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father." Perhaps he shepherded with all brothers and reported negative things of all of them. Perhaps they were making fun of him even then. But it could possibly be that he worked only for the sons of the concubines but still brought bad reports of the other brothers. In Torah study, I asked if the Hebrew clarified this. It does not. Rabbi Yitz said one Midrashic story casts Joseph's behavior in a very favorable light, saying that Leah's sons were mistreating the sons of the concubines so Joseph, in attempt to keep the family together, told his father.
It is no surprise that the same brothers who destroyed a town because of one man's behavior with their sister should be unreasonably angry with Joseph for telling on them and for being the favored son. Jacob had given Joseph a gift of an especially fine, colorful tunic with long sleeves. (Rabbi Maurice said that the word for tunic here is the same word used for the cloak of virgin brides. Later there are other references to Joseph's androgynous beauty.)
The brothers' jealousy became worse when Joseph told them of dreams in which it appeared he ruled over them. (The submission of all the brothers' sheaves of wheat to Joseph's is important, since it is for lack of food among the brothers that Joseph actually is able to rule over them. More on this later. It is also significant that the brothers' sheaves are together in a circle and Joseph's is alone.) Jacob does scold him, but apparently takes it seriously; "his father kept the matter in mind." Midrash says that Jacob was able to foresee the ffuture when this would come to pass. Perhaps Jacob, who seemed to lack prophetic visions unless God beat him over the head with them, remembered his own dream of the Stairway to Heaven and considered that dreams could mean much larger things than they seemed to. Rabbi Maurice said that Joseph seemed like an Asperger's child, brilliant but socially lacking, and that someone, Jacob preferably, but possibly Reuben, should have taken him aside and asked him to stop his big talk.
One day Jacob called Joseph, who answered hinieni, which means "I am here" or "I am ready" in Hebrew. This word is repeated throughout the Tanakh when God calls. Jacob told Joseph to go to Shechem, where he believed the brothers were pasturing sheep, but they had actually gone a little father, to Dothan. (Why Shechem again? Does Jacob want Joseph to find them because he believes only evil can come of going back to the town they destroyed?) Midrash says they are also tending to themselves; they did not follow their father's instructions.
Joseph does not find the brothers in Shechem, so he consults a man who tells them they said they were going to Dothan. Rashi and Maimonides both said the man was actually an angel sent by God. (Rashi specifies the angel Gabriel.) We could wish that Gabriel would protect Joseph from what happens next, but eventually everything works out well, as Joseph tells his brothers much later in Egypt. The brothers saw Joseph coming. They scheme to throw him into a pit. Reuben, however, the same one who had sex with his father's concubine, entreated the other brothers not to kill the boy. Reuben actually intended to save the boy himself later from the pit. (Midrash says that he was in sackcloth and repenting, when he was not present for the sale of Joseph, so maybe during his period of repenting having sex with his father's concubine, he learned some empathy.) The men took Joseph's tunic, threw him into a pit without water - and then sat down to eat!!! Judah had the idea of selling Joseph rather than killing him and the others agreed. Thus Joseph was taken to Egypt. Reuben rent his garment when he found Joseph missing. The other brothers slaughtered a kid, smeared it's blood on Joseph's tunic and took the tunic to Jacob, who put on a sackcloth and mourned. It's rather fitting that Jacob, who deceived his own father earlier, is now the deceived father.
Midrash Rabbah says that Jacob suspected Judah of killing Joseph because Judah supposedly brought the torn and bloodied coat to their father.
As we later learn, with Joseph gone, Benjamin, the other son of the departed Rachel, becomes the favorite. It may not be that Joseph was favored for any other reason than his mother. However, the hardship Joseph suffered because his mother died and his brothers hated him may have helped him become wise and strong. Midrash Rabbah says Joseph was lost to his father for 22 years, just as Jacob was lost to his father for 22 years.
The story temporarily leaves Joseph and moves on to Judah, who has apparently assumed leadership of the brothers after Reuben, Simeon and Levi (the first three born) lost the favor of their father for their immoral and/or violent conduct. Judah left home, found a wife and began to begat sons. The first son displeased the Lord and did not live long enough to produce offspring by his wife, Tamar. Judah asked his second son, Onan, to marry the wife, but Onan did not want to produce any children by her because the firstborn would count as his brother's, not his own. So he pulled out. The Lord killed him, also. (Per Monty Python: Every sperm is sacred, every sperm is great! If one sperm gets wasted, God gets quite irate!) Judah asked Tamar to stay as a window in her father's house until the third son Shelah grew up, but he did not really want to give her to Shelah, for fear the third son might also die. (Apparently he considers her the likely reason the first two sons died rather than considering them to be at fault.)
Many years later, Judah came to the town of her father for sheep shearing. She covered herself with a veil and dressed as a harlot. Judah promised her a kid from his flock to pay for his services; she asked for his seal, cord and staff as proof that he would pay her. She conceived by him, put on her widow's garb again and went home. Judah did send a kid but could not find any harlot in town because there wasn't a harlot in town. When she was three months pregnant began to show, Judah was told that his supposedly chaste widow daughter in law was pregnant. He was angry that she should bring shame on the family and declared, "Let her be burned!" But she had his seal, cord and staff. He then admitted that he was at fault because he had promised her his son Shelah but had failed to keep his promise. Remember, this was a time when a woman must have a son in order to be guaranteed a secure future after the death of her husband.
Like Rebekah, Tamar had twins. The midwife tied a crimson thread on the hand that poked out the womb first, to signify that child was first born. But the child withdrew his hand and the other came out first. Peretz, whose name means break-through, one of the sons, was an ancestor in the Davidic line. (As an aside, Midrash Rabbah says that two women covered themselves with veils and had twins; the other being Rebekah.)
The story returns to Joseph. Joseph was purchased by the chief of Pharaoh, Potiphar. Because of Joseph, the Lord blessed Potiphar's household; Potiphar recognized this and made Joseph his personal attendant, in charge of everything he owned. Joseph again got a rather fine linen coat, as well as jewelry. (Midrash says that Potiphar wanted Joseph sexually.) Joseph was handsome, but thought nothing of Potiphar's belongings - or his wife. However, Rashi thought he was vain and that what happens next is punishment for his vanity. (Rashi actually wrote that Joseph curled his hair!)
Potifar's wife became increasingly a pest, bothering Joseph to have sex with her. One day she commanded, "Lay with me!" She grabbed his fine coat and as he ran off, it tore. Like the brothers before her, she used his coat as evidence for a lie. She told everyone, first her servants and then her husband that Joseph tried to rape her, she screamed and he fled. Potiphar believed his wife and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were confined. (Notice how this is the only woman whose desire for sex was stated outright rather than hidden in schemes or subdued while male family members decided whether to give her as a wife.)
The Lord favored Joseph in prison, too, where Joseph was given charge of all the prisoners. The Pharaoh's cup bearer and baker were jailed shortly thereafter. (A fly was found in wine and a stone in a loaf of bread.) Joseph showed concern for their feelings, which is one of the reasons people so love Joseph even today. His life was an exhaustive roller coaster ride, but he was kind, noticing they seemed downcast on one particular day. The cup bearer and baker were distraught because no one could interpret their dreams. Joseph said surely God could! And then he did. (The cup bearer is restored to his position but the baker is executed.) He asked the cupbearer, whose dream was favorable, to remember him when he got out, and to set him free, for he had done no wrong. Even though both of the dreams came true, the cupbearer forgot to set Joseph free. Midrash says that this is punishment for Joseph asking another human being to release him rather than asking God to.
Rabbi Yitz said this story is representative of the Jewish story, that Joseph is aware of his chosenness despite persecution and that he holds onto belief in his destiny as helping to bring the Messianic age. Rabbi Maurice says that Joseph is very accepting of the troubles that come his way. Torah often mentions others crying out, but there is no mention of this from Joseph when he is thrown into the pit, sold, or sent to jail. Rabbi Yitz also said that Midrash said that Jacob could not be comforted because he did not actually believe deep down that Joseph had died. You can not be comforted for the living.
I have to write a speech for my Speech 101 class. I am really impressed by how an event planned with evil intent led to the emotional growth of both Joseph and the brothers. By the end of the next parsha it is clear that they have all learned empathy and kindness.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Genesis 32.4-36:43
Genesis 32.4-36:43
It did not say at the beginning of this parsha who the messengers were that Jacob sent to meet his brother Esau before travelling further. My first thought was that they were angels, since that was how the previous parsha ended, but they acted in a very human manner, returning to say that Esau was heading their way with 400 men. They did not tell Jacob he had no reason to fear, so of course he was afraid and divided his camp into two, thinking that if Esau attacked one camp, the other might escape. Then he prayed to God, praising him for his steadfast kindness and protection in the past and asking for it again when Esau arrived. He reminded God of the promise to make his progeny too numerous to count!" (This reminding God of His promise in times of trouble seems to be a family trait.)
In Torah study, we discussed the repeated use of the word face in Hebrew; we're not entirely sure of the exact definition. An Israeli in attendance said it was not used like the English losing face. Rabbi Yitz said it was inner essence. There are a couple places where the Hebrew is used to indicate the face or faces of God (Panim = faces) and indicates turning.
Jacob selected a huge number of livestock to give to Esau as a gift and sent them ahead in droves to meet Esau. He intended each time for Esau to be pleased with his gift and think it was the last, then encounter another (and finer) gift. He waited out part of the night, then sent his wives, servants and eleven children plus all his possessions across a stream and remained alone.
A "man," interpreted to be an angel, wrestled with Jacob the rest of the night, leaving Jacob's hip wrenched out of his socket, but undefeated. This is, after all, the same Jacob who rolled the rock apparently several other men usually rolled off the well. The angel actually begged him to let him go at daybreak, but Jacob insisted on a blessing first. The angel said Jacob would be renamed Israel because he fought both human and divine and prevailed. Jacob asked the angel's name, but the angel refused and left. In Israeli society (and also American Indian) one can find out a lot about others by the names they are given. Unlike modern day Americans, who are often named after celebrities or ancestors, or just because the names sound good, Israeli names included a description of the individual. Talmud has two opinions, which are both considered true, that both a man and a god fought with Jacob. The sense is there is a blurred line between man and divine. My fiance and I talked about whether the wrestling is to deal with Esau or to wrestle with himself and that he had to end up crippled because his ego was so tied up in physical strength.
Thereafter, Jacob/Israel limped and therefore, the Bible says we Jews are not to eat the thigh muscle that attaches to the hip socket. (The Rabbis extend this prohibition.)
In Torah study, someone reminded us that God wanted to destroy Moses, too and Zipporah saved the family by circumcising the boys in a hurry. We still struggle with worry over whether God wants to destroy us or let others destroy us. We are not always as quick and bright as Zipporah.
Jacob (the text still calls him so here) divided his children and wives according to their dearness to him; he put the maids and their children first, then Leah and her children, then Rachel and Joseph. He went ahead and bowed low seven times as he approached his brother. When he and Esau met, they embraced and wept. (David said that wrestling with the angel prepared him for this meeting with Esau, since wrestling and embracing are related!) Esau was astonished by the number of wives and children Jacob had and protested about all the gifts Jacob had sent ahead. Esau said he had enough possessions of his own. But Jacob insisted.
From JewishJournal.com:
Esau's response is surprising. He embraces his brother. Kisses him. They weep together. Is 20 years enough time to erase the pain of a stolen birthright? Could a fleet of animals have warmed Esau's heart? To be sure, Esau is overwhelmed. “Looking about, Esau saw the women and the children. ‘Who,’ he asked, ‘are these with you?’ “ (Genesis 33:5). As it turns out, Esau has become a brother-in-law and uncle many times over. “And what do you mean by all this company which I have met?” (Genesis 33:8). He is perplexed by the number of animals representing Yaakov's wealth and prosperity. He might even be stunned by Yaakov's generosity, amazed by all that has transpired since Yaakov ran away.
And in the midst of animals, wives and children, two brothers acknowledge a new reality:
Yesh li rav, Esav says. “I have enough. Let what you have remain yours.”
Yesh li kol, Ya’akov says. “I have plenty. Please accept.”
And suddenly, where once there was only enough for one, it seems there is enough for everyone. Twenty years earlier, a perceived scarcity was the source of great fear and anger, dividing the family. Twenty years later, surrounded by family and livestock, both brothers proclaim, “I have what I need,” and they embrace.
There is something magical about this declaration, “Yesh li kol.” I have enough. I have everything I need. In Parashat Vayishlach, it transforms a scene between brothers.
Pasted from
It appeared that Jacob may have deceived his brother again when he asked that Esau go on home and Jacob would travel at the pace of his children and livestock and meet Esau at his home. JPS says " But Jacob journeyed on to Succoth and built a house for himself and made stalls for his cattle."
In this home, Dinah, Leah's daughter, "went out to visit the daughters of the land." (Rabbi Yitz says dinah/din means judgment.) The Talmudic Rabbis saw this as very unwomanly behavior; no wonder she was raped by Shechem! Rabbi Yitz and the Israeli in Torah study said it was unclear in Hebrew. The same word is used in the relationship between Sarah and Hagar. It might be all of the following: oppressed, responded, humbled, humiliated and defiled, purposely allowing multiple meanings.
Likewise, we don't know what to think about the fact that Shechem wanted his father to get him Dinah as a wife. Was he repentant or just a control freak? So the father, Hamor, went to speak with Jacob. Here Jacob acts like Abraham; he knew what happened, but kept silent until his sons came home. Hamor intended to speak with Jacob, but the sons met him first.
Jacob's sons were very angry and were not impressed by Hamor's entreaties for them to intermarry with his city's daughters in return. Hamor promised them that they could settle in the land. Shechem offered to pay whatever bride price and to ply them with gifts if he could have Dinah for a wife.
Jacob's sons tricked the men by saying they could not agree to let any of their women marry uncircumcised men. But if they and the others in their town would be circumcised, they could settle in peace, intermarry and become like kin. Shechem and Hamor went into town and pleaded with the townspeople to be circumcised so they may live as kindred. The men did so. (There is no record if they knew that Shechem had actually raped Dinah or just wanted her for his wife.) On the third day Simeon and Levi went into town with swords and slew all the men, who were in too much pain to fight. They took Dinah back home. The other sons plundered the town, seizing not only goods and livestock, but also all the women.
In Torah study, my fiance brought up that the men of the town were circumcised but not for religious reasons, but for profit. Rabbi Maurice says it was not done in repugnance of intermarrying because they took the women of the town. Rabbi Maurice also brought up the final blessing in a later parsha - in which the tribal head of the priesthood kills men when he is angry and maims cattle when he is not. This may serve as a warning for later.
Dinah is not treated as a human being here. I think since she is not a matriarch, Torah did not consider it important that she has a personality. Unlike the matriarchs, she was not shown to feel love, jealousy, hurt, anger or joy. She was an extra rather than a character actor; it was more important how Jacob and the sons react to what happened. (Nahmanides, in contrast to all the other sages, said that Dinah was not described, even though all the other women of the Bible are, because the Bible does not want to blame the victim by saying she was pretty, shapely, etc. The other sages assumed she did something to deserve what happened to her.)
Jacob chastised them, saying their actions would make them enemies of all the Canaanites and Perizzites, and that they could be destroyed. The sons answered, "Should our sister be treated like a whore?" This strikes me as harsh, to ruin a town and kill all the men because one behaved badly, especially since that one attempted to make amends. However, this behavior is still fairly common in the Middle East today.
Jacob heard a call from God to go to Bethel and build an altar "to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." Are we to take it that God did not believe Himself adequately thanked? When Jacob dreamed of the stairway to heaven, he turned his pillow stone to become a pillar, poured oil on it, renamed it Bethel and promised that IF God stayed with, fed and clothed and protected him, God would be his God and that he would tithe, Torah records that he built an altar on the land he bought from Hamor in Canaan. It does not record a return to Bethel, tithing or any particular pattern of worship. In fact, Jacob told his people to rid themselves of their idols and the rings in their noses, so we can only assume they worshipped pagan gods rather than the Lord.
Jacob told his family to purify themselves, including changing their clothes and he buried the idols and earrings before they left. God sent a terror to all the cities surrounding them so that no one pursued them. Jacob took his family to the same place where he had laid his head on a stone, formerly called Luz but now renamed Bethel, meaning that God resided there. Jacob built and altar and named it El-bethel. El, again, is the name of the Canaanite God.
Again, the idols are treated in a manner that could almost be humorous: they are so small one can bury them along with earrings!
God appeared and told Jacob he was to be called Jacob no longer, but Israel. God told him "I am El Shaddai." El-Shaddai means God of the mountain. El is the name of the Canaanite highest god. More on this later. He repeated the commandment to be fertile and multiply, promised that nations would be born of him and kings would spring from his loins. Apparently when Jacob ran away from clear and present danger in Canaan and came to build an altar, God forgave him.
Israel and his family continued on their journey. Rachel went into difficult labor and the family had to stop. The midwife tried to comfort her, saying she had another boy, but Rachel died. She named the boy Ben-oni, son of my suffering. Israel called him Benjamin, which means either son of the south of son of the right hand. Rachel died and was buried on the road to what is now Bethlehem.
Reuben had sex with his father's concubine Bilhah and Jacob/Israel found out, but the text does not tell us if he punished Reuben in any way at this point. But Jacob/Israel did not forget, as we will later see.
Israel at last reached his father, Isaac, who made it to 180 years old before he died and was buried by both sons, Esau and Israel. Intereting he made it this long, because when he blessed the sons, he was already blind and weak. Since then at least 35 years have passed in my estimation, based on the sexuality of the children and the fact that Jacob said when he left Laban that he had promised to serve seven years but ended up serving twenty.
Esau took his large family and livestock and moved because Canaan was not fertile enough to support both his family's and Israel's. Esau's descendants were called Edomites. One of his grandchildren by Esau's son Eliphaz and a concubine was Amalek, who would fight with Israelis later.
It did not say at the beginning of this parsha who the messengers were that Jacob sent to meet his brother Esau before travelling further. My first thought was that they were angels, since that was how the previous parsha ended, but they acted in a very human manner, returning to say that Esau was heading their way with 400 men. They did not tell Jacob he had no reason to fear, so of course he was afraid and divided his camp into two, thinking that if Esau attacked one camp, the other might escape. Then he prayed to God, praising him for his steadfast kindness and protection in the past and asking for it again when Esau arrived. He reminded God of the promise to make his progeny too numerous to count!" (This reminding God of His promise in times of trouble seems to be a family trait.)
In Torah study, we discussed the repeated use of the word face in Hebrew; we're not entirely sure of the exact definition. An Israeli in attendance said it was not used like the English losing face. Rabbi Yitz said it was inner essence. There are a couple places where the Hebrew is used to indicate the face or faces of God (Panim = faces) and indicates turning.
Jacob selected a huge number of livestock to give to Esau as a gift and sent them ahead in droves to meet Esau. He intended each time for Esau to be pleased with his gift and think it was the last, then encounter another (and finer) gift. He waited out part of the night, then sent his wives, servants and eleven children plus all his possessions across a stream and remained alone.
A "man," interpreted to be an angel, wrestled with Jacob the rest of the night, leaving Jacob's hip wrenched out of his socket, but undefeated. This is, after all, the same Jacob who rolled the rock apparently several other men usually rolled off the well. The angel actually begged him to let him go at daybreak, but Jacob insisted on a blessing first. The angel said Jacob would be renamed Israel because he fought both human and divine and prevailed. Jacob asked the angel's name, but the angel refused and left. In Israeli society (and also American Indian) one can find out a lot about others by the names they are given. Unlike modern day Americans, who are often named after celebrities or ancestors, or just because the names sound good, Israeli names included a description of the individual. Talmud has two opinions, which are both considered true, that both a man and a god fought with Jacob. The sense is there is a blurred line between man and divine. My fiance and I talked about whether the wrestling is to deal with Esau or to wrestle with himself and that he had to end up crippled because his ego was so tied up in physical strength.
Thereafter, Jacob/Israel limped and therefore, the Bible says we Jews are not to eat the thigh muscle that attaches to the hip socket. (The Rabbis extend this prohibition.)
In Torah study, someone reminded us that God wanted to destroy Moses, too and Zipporah saved the family by circumcising the boys in a hurry. We still struggle with worry over whether God wants to destroy us or let others destroy us. We are not always as quick and bright as Zipporah.
Jacob (the text still calls him so here) divided his children and wives according to their dearness to him; he put the maids and their children first, then Leah and her children, then Rachel and Joseph. He went ahead and bowed low seven times as he approached his brother. When he and Esau met, they embraced and wept. (David said that wrestling with the angel prepared him for this meeting with Esau, since wrestling and embracing are related!) Esau was astonished by the number of wives and children Jacob had and protested about all the gifts Jacob had sent ahead. Esau said he had enough possessions of his own. But Jacob insisted.
From JewishJournal.com:
Esau's response is surprising. He embraces his brother. Kisses him. They weep together. Is 20 years enough time to erase the pain of a stolen birthright? Could a fleet of animals have warmed Esau's heart? To be sure, Esau is overwhelmed. “Looking about, Esau saw the women and the children. ‘Who,’ he asked, ‘are these with you?’ “ (Genesis 33:5). As it turns out, Esau has become a brother-in-law and uncle many times over. “And what do you mean by all this company which I have met?” (Genesis 33:8). He is perplexed by the number of animals representing Yaakov's wealth and prosperity. He might even be stunned by Yaakov's generosity, amazed by all that has transpired since Yaakov ran away.
And in the midst of animals, wives and children, two brothers acknowledge a new reality:
Yesh li rav, Esav says. “I have enough. Let what you have remain yours.”
Yesh li kol, Ya’akov says. “I have plenty. Please accept.”
And suddenly, where once there was only enough for one, it seems there is enough for everyone. Twenty years earlier, a perceived scarcity was the source of great fear and anger, dividing the family. Twenty years later, surrounded by family and livestock, both brothers proclaim, “I have what I need,” and they embrace.
There is something magical about this declaration, “Yesh li kol.” I have enough. I have everything I need. In Parashat Vayishlach, it transforms a scene between brothers.
Pasted from
It appeared that Jacob may have deceived his brother again when he asked that Esau go on home and Jacob would travel at the pace of his children and livestock and meet Esau at his home. JPS says " But Jacob journeyed on to Succoth and built a house for himself and made stalls for his cattle."
In this home, Dinah, Leah's daughter, "went out to visit the daughters of the land." (Rabbi Yitz says dinah/din means judgment.) The Talmudic Rabbis saw this as very unwomanly behavior; no wonder she was raped by Shechem! Rabbi Yitz and the Israeli in Torah study said it was unclear in Hebrew. The same word is used in the relationship between Sarah and Hagar. It might be all of the following: oppressed, responded, humbled, humiliated and defiled, purposely allowing multiple meanings.
Likewise, we don't know what to think about the fact that Shechem wanted his father to get him Dinah as a wife. Was he repentant or just a control freak? So the father, Hamor, went to speak with Jacob. Here Jacob acts like Abraham; he knew what happened, but kept silent until his sons came home. Hamor intended to speak with Jacob, but the sons met him first.
Jacob's sons were very angry and were not impressed by Hamor's entreaties for them to intermarry with his city's daughters in return. Hamor promised them that they could settle in the land. Shechem offered to pay whatever bride price and to ply them with gifts if he could have Dinah for a wife.
Jacob's sons tricked the men by saying they could not agree to let any of their women marry uncircumcised men. But if they and the others in their town would be circumcised, they could settle in peace, intermarry and become like kin. Shechem and Hamor went into town and pleaded with the townspeople to be circumcised so they may live as kindred. The men did so. (There is no record if they knew that Shechem had actually raped Dinah or just wanted her for his wife.) On the third day Simeon and Levi went into town with swords and slew all the men, who were in too much pain to fight. They took Dinah back home. The other sons plundered the town, seizing not only goods and livestock, but also all the women.
In Torah study, my fiance brought up that the men of the town were circumcised but not for religious reasons, but for profit. Rabbi Maurice says it was not done in repugnance of intermarrying because they took the women of the town. Rabbi Maurice also brought up the final blessing in a later parsha - in which the tribal head of the priesthood kills men when he is angry and maims cattle when he is not. This may serve as a warning for later.
Dinah is not treated as a human being here. I think since she is not a matriarch, Torah did not consider it important that she has a personality. Unlike the matriarchs, she was not shown to feel love, jealousy, hurt, anger or joy. She was an extra rather than a character actor; it was more important how Jacob and the sons react to what happened. (Nahmanides, in contrast to all the other sages, said that Dinah was not described, even though all the other women of the Bible are, because the Bible does not want to blame the victim by saying she was pretty, shapely, etc. The other sages assumed she did something to deserve what happened to her.)
Jacob chastised them, saying their actions would make them enemies of all the Canaanites and Perizzites, and that they could be destroyed. The sons answered, "Should our sister be treated like a whore?" This strikes me as harsh, to ruin a town and kill all the men because one behaved badly, especially since that one attempted to make amends. However, this behavior is still fairly common in the Middle East today.
Jacob heard a call from God to go to Bethel and build an altar "to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." Are we to take it that God did not believe Himself adequately thanked? When Jacob dreamed of the stairway to heaven, he turned his pillow stone to become a pillar, poured oil on it, renamed it Bethel and promised that IF God stayed with, fed and clothed and protected him, God would be his God and that he would tithe, Torah records that he built an altar on the land he bought from Hamor in Canaan. It does not record a return to Bethel, tithing or any particular pattern of worship. In fact, Jacob told his people to rid themselves of their idols and the rings in their noses, so we can only assume they worshipped pagan gods rather than the Lord.
Jacob told his family to purify themselves, including changing their clothes and he buried the idols and earrings before they left. God sent a terror to all the cities surrounding them so that no one pursued them. Jacob took his family to the same place where he had laid his head on a stone, formerly called Luz but now renamed Bethel, meaning that God resided there. Jacob built and altar and named it El-bethel. El, again, is the name of the Canaanite God.
Again, the idols are treated in a manner that could almost be humorous: they are so small one can bury them along with earrings!
God appeared and told Jacob he was to be called Jacob no longer, but Israel. God told him "I am El Shaddai." El-Shaddai means God of the mountain. El is the name of the Canaanite highest god. More on this later. He repeated the commandment to be fertile and multiply, promised that nations would be born of him and kings would spring from his loins. Apparently when Jacob ran away from clear and present danger in Canaan and came to build an altar, God forgave him.
Israel and his family continued on their journey. Rachel went into difficult labor and the family had to stop. The midwife tried to comfort her, saying she had another boy, but Rachel died. She named the boy Ben-oni, son of my suffering. Israel called him Benjamin, which means either son of the south of son of the right hand. Rachel died and was buried on the road to what is now Bethlehem.
Reuben had sex with his father's concubine Bilhah and Jacob/Israel found out, but the text does not tell us if he punished Reuben in any way at this point. But Jacob/Israel did not forget, as we will later see.
Israel at last reached his father, Isaac, who made it to 180 years old before he died and was buried by both sons, Esau and Israel. Intereting he made it this long, because when he blessed the sons, he was already blind and weak. Since then at least 35 years have passed in my estimation, based on the sexuality of the children and the fact that Jacob said when he left Laban that he had promised to serve seven years but ended up serving twenty.
Esau took his large family and livestock and moved because Canaan was not fertile enough to support both his family's and Israel's. Esau's descendants were called Edomites. One of his grandchildren by Esau's son Eliphaz and a concubine was Amalek, who would fight with Israelis later.
Genesis 28:10 - 32:3
Genesis 28:10 - 32:3
Collected from my thoughts, Midrash (usually Genesis Rabbah), TBI’s Torah study group and Midrashic Women by Judith Baskin. I blame no one but myself for all my negative thoughts about the behaviors of our patriarchs and matriarchs.
In previous parsha, Jacob has already received the birthright blessing of his father Isaac through trickery that was Rebekah's idea. Jacob did not protest that that was dishonest, just that his father would recognize his smooth, hairless skin and would curse him as a trickster. (Esau must have been very, very hairy if Rebekah had to affix goat kid skin to him!)
Jacob left his home before Esau could kill him because Rebekah has persuaded (through negativity) Isaac to make sure Jacob found a wife from among their kin. Isaac told Jacob to go choose a wife from Laban's daughters. (Laban is Rebekah's brother, so all these girls would be his nieces.) Isaac says, "May El Shaddai bless you..."
This parsha begins with "Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran." The place where he first stopped for the night was a holy place, actually Mount Moriah according to the Rabbis, although Jacob did not know it. He placed his head on a stone for a pillow. Rabbi Eliezer said Jacob "met" this place; other rabbis said that the word for his arrival could also mean "prayer", though it was not the usual expression for prayer. Somehow it connotes that the earth, or even the mountain, sprang forward to meet him there. I am afraid I don’t yet know Hebrew, so I can not explain how this is. In Genesis Rabbah, the Rabbis also said the sun set suddenly, forcing him to stop there in this holy place. Genesis Rabbah further goes on to say that "he lay down in that place" implied a restrictiveness, that he never laid down to rest during all his service with Laban, because he was so engaged in Torah study!!!
And is this the inspiration for the Eagles' Stairway to Heaven? "He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky and angels of God were going up and down on it." God appeared to him in the dream, saying, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac..." Here, although it is a little early, we can use Martin Buber's idea:
Martin Buber - "Why do we say: 'our God and the God of our fathers'? There are two kinds of people who believe in God. One believes because he has taken over the faith of his fathers, and his faith is strong. The other has arrived at faith through thinking and studying... The advantage of the first is that, no matter what arguments may be brought against it, his faith cannot be shaken; his faith is firm because it was taken over from his fathers. But there is one flaw in it: he has faith only in response to the command of man and he has acquired it without studying and thinking for himself. The advantage of the second is that, because he found God through much thinking, he has arrived at a faith of his own. But here too there is a flaw: it is easy to shake his faith by refuting it through evidence. But he who unites both kinds of faith is invincible. And so we say 'our God' with reference to our studies and 'God of our fathers' with an eye to tradition. The same interpretation has been given to our saying 'God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob' and not 'God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob', for this indicates that Isaac and Jacob did not merely take over the tradition of Abraham; they themselves searched for God."
God also made the promise to Jacob that his offspring will be the "dust of the earth", which I read as uncountable, essential to living, frequently overlooked and mortal, as in we will return to dust. God said "all the families of the earth" (which could mean of the dust of the earth rather than literally everyone on the earth, since that would not be true) "shall bless themselves by you and your descendants." And still today, we Jews do. God promised he would not leave Jacob until he brought him back to the land and did what he promised. This is a better promise than Abraham got! But Jacob, although shaken and awed, still says "If God remains with me and protects me on this journey... and gives me bread... and clothing... (then) the Lord shall be my God... And I will set aside a tithe." Would you or I, if God spoke with us so, be so bold as to bargain and express disbelief? I hope not.
There's an unusual amount of detail about the well, Gen 29: how large the stone was that covered the well and that flocks of sheep had to wait for someone to roll the stone off the well before they could drink. It says there were three flocks of sheep waiting, but does not mention the shepherds; we are supposed to know that Jacob addresses them when he says, "My friends, where are you from?" In an amazing coincidence when he asked if the shepherds know Laban, they replied that his daughter Rachel was coming now with her father's flock. Jacob urged them to uncover the well but they said they have to wait for all the flocks. I supposed he is showing eagerness to get them off so he might speak with her. The Rabbis explained he thought they are loafing and should be working for their masters, so that is why he says they should water their sheep and go back to pasture.
Rachel was a shepherdess, a working girl! Jacob was so impressed by her; she was beautiful and shapely. He was filled with strength and rolled the stone off the well, ignoring what the others had said so she could water her sheep immediately. Then he KISSED! And he started crying and told her he was kin. The Rabbis thought he cried because he foresaw that they will not be buried together. Alternately, they thought it was because he came bearing no gifts. Even though kissing in welcome is a middle eastern thing, it must have still seemed overwhelming. She ran off to tell Laban, who ran up to greet him. Genesis Rabbah says Laban remembered how Abraham's servant brought many gifts and that is why he came running. The Rabbis so dislike Laban they say he hugged because he thought Jacob might have gold in his bosom and kissed because he thought Jacob might have pearls in his mouth!
Is this Laban the inspiration for Elton John’s Lebon, who liked his money and spent his days counting?
Jacob told Laban he was running from his brother and was penniless. He worked for Laban a month before Laban offered him wages. Jacob offered to serve Laban seven years for Rachel's hand in marriage. He specified Rachel, the younger daughter, lest there be any confusion. Although he wanted her and may have suspected Laban already, he had no gifts. Only his muscle.
The seven years passed very quickly. He asked for Rachel's hand so he "may cohabit with her!"
Laban made a big feast and Jacob must have gotten a little drunk. We are not told if Rachel knew what was happening (Megillot thinks she did and wished to spare her sister shame) but Laban gave Jacob Leah instead and somehow Jacob did not notice the difference until morning. Jacob complained to Laban, who said they marry the older girls first, but he can have the younger one also if he agreed to wait one week before taking possession of her and if he served another 7 years. It occurs to me here that the time for observing the wedding and sitting shiva are the same, 7 days.
The bitterness between these two sisters must have been great; jealousy from Leah and from Rachel, anger at the trickery and Jacob's enforced servitude.
In the Prayer class on the Jewish Day of Learning, Professor Deborah Greene said that it is possible that Leah prayed, because "The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren." The first actual recorded prayer is later, from Samuel's mother, Hannah. But it seems likely that Leah cried out, at least.
Rachel, as we know from her later theft of idols, was an idolater. She went to Jacob and said, "Give me children or I shall die." "Jacob was incensed at Rachel and said, 'Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?'" (Is this where the underwear company got their name?) So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a concubine. Unlike Sarah, Rachel was delighted to have children she could raise as her own, even if she had to find a surrogate. She said God had "vindicated her" and given her a son. When her maid bore a second son, she said she had waged "a fateful contest" against her sister and "prevailed." But I think unlike Sarah’s maid Hagar, Bilhah actually gave up her child.
Leah had already borne 4 sons before Rachel gave her maid as concubines. With the third son, Leah knew she had more than fulfilled the strongest interpretation of the commandment to be fruitful and multiply, which was to bear two sons. She named the first two. The third "was named" Levi, either by Jacob or by God. She realized how great the gift of the 4th son was; she named Judah and promised to praised the Lord. Leah clearly believed in God.
God had not withheld children from Jacob and Leah, but from Rachel. Maybe it was because of Rachel's idols? Or because she, as the more beautiful sister, was vain? Also, she seems to take her hold over Jacob for granted... See the mandrakes, below. When the maid's children are born, Rachel offers no praise, only an indignant sense that she is getting her due.
Leah, who was previously content, became unhappy that she has not borne any more children! So she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob! Zilpah bears two sons.
Regarding my earlier comment that if I had to give my husband my maid as a concubine, I'd find a hairy and smelly maid, I suspect these women were not great beauties. After all, Laban, who was a greedy fellow, gave them up!
So far:
Leah's own children: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, all sons.
Leah's sons by her maid Zilpah: Gad and Asher
Rachel's sons by Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.
And there is this bizarre scene, where Rachel wanted a few of the mandrakes Leah's son brought home, and Leah answered, "Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son's mandrakes?" I really must try some mandrakes, because I can't imagine equating the two... And then Rachel answered that she will let Leah have Jacob for the night in exchange for mandrakes! Then Leah went out and met Jacob as he came back from the fields. She actually told him he was to sleep with her because she purchased him with mandrakes. Whoa!!!! What could Jacob have thought over being sold so cheaply by his favorite wife? Upon reading this, I texted my fiancé, "May our lovemaking and cuddling remain priceless, no matter how many years pass."
In fact, the Rabbis thought that Rachel's and Leah's assumption that they could choose who Jacob slept with was worthy of big punishment. Therefore, Rachel died younger and was not buried with her husband. And Leah's actions were disdained; her daughter Dinah was considered as just above a harlot.
Although Rachel is often called our mother, really Leah is, because all the tribes but Judah and Levi were wiped out or disappeared; thus we are also related to Laban. In Torah study, a lady read aloud: Rachel, who was Jacob's intended for the spiritual world, bore Joseph, who saved Israel, Leah, his intended for this world, bore Levi and Judah.
God "heeded Leah and she conceived, and bore him a fifth son." Leah seems to clearly understand the precedent mentioned above; when she becomes pregnant, she says that God honored her giving of her maid to Jacob. Leah bears Issachar and Zebulun before finally bearing Jacob's only daughter, Dinah. The Rabbis thought that while in utero, Dinah was turned from a boy into a girl because Leah realized that one more son would expose her sister to ridicule.
God finally "remembered Rachel." She bore Joseph. The Rabbis thought that Esau, who strangely had not yet seen Rachel, somehow lusted for her. If a couple had been married 10 years, the man was expected to divorce her just because she was barren. So not only must her joy have been great, but also her relief.
At this point, Jacob asked Laban for permission to leave with his wives and children. Laban knew that he has been blessed with livestock and sons because of Jacob; he tried to strike a deal so as not to lose his good fortune. Jacob answered, "When shall I make a provision for my own household?" (which of course has now grown very large!) They agreed to Jacob's suggestion that he remove all the dark, spotted and speckled sheep and goats. Jacob said this way Laban will be able to easily see that Jacob is not stealing from him. Laban agreed, no doubt thinking these are less worthy animals and also more rare. But just in case, Laban took all the speckled, dark and spotted animals and had his sons pasture them three days' journey away from Jacob. Laban must not have cared one iota for the welfare of his daughters or grandchildren! Jacob answered this with magic: he peeled strips of bark off sticks of poplar, almond and plane (or hazelnut) and put them in the water troughs so when the flocks came to drink, they would see the rods, come into heat, mate and bring forth speckled, spotted and dark offspring. Jacob also ensured he had sturdy offspring by judicious placement of the rods; if sturdy animals came to drink, he placed the rods in and if weak animals came, he did not. Of course I can't miss the symbolism of placing a rod in a trough to ensure fertility!
Laban's sons started speaking badly of Jacob, as if he were stealing from them. Jacob called his wives out to the field and told them that he had served their father with all his might, but their father had cheated him time and time again. He told his wives the reason for his prosperity was not dishonesty, but because God would not let Laban harm him. He told them that God told him it was time to go home to his family. His wives sided with him.
Rachel then stole her father's idols. Jacob sent his wives, children and livestock on towards his homeland first, while continuing to serve Laban, presumably to give his wives a fair chance against being pursued. Then Jacob left. It was three days before Laban knew. Laban pursued them for seven days, finally catching them in Gilead. God appeared to Laban in a dream and warned against doing anything, good or bad, with Jacob. Laban said Jacob should not have run off without saying goodbye. He admitted that God warned him not to attempt anything with Jacob, but then he asked Jacob why he stole his gods!!! Jacob did not know Rachel stole idols so he said if anyone did indeed take Laban's gods, that person could die! I don't think that Jacob didn't think anyone stole it, but that he didn't want a thief in his midst.
Rachel places the idols, which must have been very small, in a camel cushion and sat on them, pretending to have her period. This brings up some "how could people be so blind" questions: If Rachel and Laban knew that God made Jacob prosperous and had heard the voice of God, why would they want these silly little idols that could be hidden in a cushion? In fact, Jacob calls the household goods. (or objects or utensils)
There are a few other possible interpretations. In Torah study a Hebrew scholar pointed out that the word for idols is singular. Laban knew that God would leave with Jacob. The "you have outwitted me" means you have stolen my heart, which could mean stealing his daughters. Someone in Torah study said we should not interpret Laban as bad; he is our ancestor. Laban means white.
My fiancé pointed out another theme in this parsha, that of leaving fathers. Jacob left his and now Rachel, leaving hers, takes mementoes with her. Jacob was confronted with his actions towards his father when he accused Leah of deceiving him that first night in bed and she answered that he was the original deceiver.
Jacob became quite angry at Laban for rummaging through his things as if he were a criminal. Instead of 7 years, he has spent 20 years in Laban's service. It's about time he got angry. And during this time not one of Laban's flock miscarried. Jacob did not eat any of his rams. He served in both scorching and frosty weather, even when unable to sleep. And if it weren't for God's help, Jacob would now be empty handed because Laban had not willingly paid him what he promised.
Laban conceded, ungracefully, although "all Jacob has is really his, what can he do about it now?" So they made a pact not to harm each other, built a mound of stones and made a sacrifice. Laban also said Jacob better not take any wives besides his daughters - I guess he has noted Jacob's randiness.
Laban kissed his family goodbye, then left. Jacob continued on until he encountered angels of the Lord.
Supplementary Readings:
In Hosea 12:3-7, Jacob is criticized for trying to supplant his brother and for fighting a divine being until the being wept. Summarized so, it sounds as if Jacob was proud to a fault. Hosea said that we (like Jacob) had to return to our God, like Jacob did at Bethel, and practice goodness, justice and trust in the Lord. Micah’s book ends in 7:18 -20 with “Who is a God like You, forgiving iniquity and remitting transgression…You will keep faith with Jacob, Loyalty to Abraham, as You promised on oath to our fathers in days gone by.”
Collected from my thoughts, Midrash (usually Genesis Rabbah), TBI’s Torah study group and Midrashic Women by Judith Baskin. I blame no one but myself for all my negative thoughts about the behaviors of our patriarchs and matriarchs.
In previous parsha, Jacob has already received the birthright blessing of his father Isaac through trickery that was Rebekah's idea. Jacob did not protest that that was dishonest, just that his father would recognize his smooth, hairless skin and would curse him as a trickster. (Esau must have been very, very hairy if Rebekah had to affix goat kid skin to him!)
Jacob left his home before Esau could kill him because Rebekah has persuaded (through negativity) Isaac to make sure Jacob found a wife from among their kin. Isaac told Jacob to go choose a wife from Laban's daughters. (Laban is Rebekah's brother, so all these girls would be his nieces.) Isaac says, "May El Shaddai bless you..."
This parsha begins with "Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran." The place where he first stopped for the night was a holy place, actually Mount Moriah according to the Rabbis, although Jacob did not know it. He placed his head on a stone for a pillow. Rabbi Eliezer said Jacob "met" this place; other rabbis said that the word for his arrival could also mean "prayer", though it was not the usual expression for prayer. Somehow it connotes that the earth, or even the mountain, sprang forward to meet him there. I am afraid I don’t yet know Hebrew, so I can not explain how this is. In Genesis Rabbah, the Rabbis also said the sun set suddenly, forcing him to stop there in this holy place. Genesis Rabbah further goes on to say that "he lay down in that place" implied a restrictiveness, that he never laid down to rest during all his service with Laban, because he was so engaged in Torah study!!!
And is this the inspiration for the Eagles' Stairway to Heaven? "He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky and angels of God were going up and down on it." God appeared to him in the dream, saying, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac..." Here, although it is a little early, we can use Martin Buber's idea:
Martin Buber - "Why do we say: 'our God and the God of our fathers'? There are two kinds of people who believe in God. One believes because he has taken over the faith of his fathers, and his faith is strong. The other has arrived at faith through thinking and studying... The advantage of the first is that, no matter what arguments may be brought against it, his faith cannot be shaken; his faith is firm because it was taken over from his fathers. But there is one flaw in it: he has faith only in response to the command of man and he has acquired it without studying and thinking for himself. The advantage of the second is that, because he found God through much thinking, he has arrived at a faith of his own. But here too there is a flaw: it is easy to shake his faith by refuting it through evidence. But he who unites both kinds of faith is invincible. And so we say 'our God' with reference to our studies and 'God of our fathers' with an eye to tradition. The same interpretation has been given to our saying 'God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob' and not 'God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob', for this indicates that Isaac and Jacob did not merely take over the tradition of Abraham; they themselves searched for God."
God also made the promise to Jacob that his offspring will be the "dust of the earth", which I read as uncountable, essential to living, frequently overlooked and mortal, as in we will return to dust. God said "all the families of the earth" (which could mean of the dust of the earth rather than literally everyone on the earth, since that would not be true) "shall bless themselves by you and your descendants." And still today, we Jews do. God promised he would not leave Jacob until he brought him back to the land and did what he promised. This is a better promise than Abraham got! But Jacob, although shaken and awed, still says "If God remains with me and protects me on this journey... and gives me bread... and clothing... (then) the Lord shall be my God... And I will set aside a tithe." Would you or I, if God spoke with us so, be so bold as to bargain and express disbelief? I hope not.
There's an unusual amount of detail about the well, Gen 29: how large the stone was that covered the well and that flocks of sheep had to wait for someone to roll the stone off the well before they could drink. It says there were three flocks of sheep waiting, but does not mention the shepherds; we are supposed to know that Jacob addresses them when he says, "My friends, where are you from?" In an amazing coincidence when he asked if the shepherds know Laban, they replied that his daughter Rachel was coming now with her father's flock. Jacob urged them to uncover the well but they said they have to wait for all the flocks. I supposed he is showing eagerness to get them off so he might speak with her. The Rabbis explained he thought they are loafing and should be working for their masters, so that is why he says they should water their sheep and go back to pasture.
Rachel was a shepherdess, a working girl! Jacob was so impressed by her; she was beautiful and shapely. He was filled with strength and rolled the stone off the well, ignoring what the others had said so she could water her sheep immediately. Then he KISSED! And he started crying and told her he was kin. The Rabbis thought he cried because he foresaw that they will not be buried together. Alternately, they thought it was because he came bearing no gifts. Even though kissing in welcome is a middle eastern thing, it must have still seemed overwhelming. She ran off to tell Laban, who ran up to greet him. Genesis Rabbah says Laban remembered how Abraham's servant brought many gifts and that is why he came running. The Rabbis so dislike Laban they say he hugged because he thought Jacob might have gold in his bosom and kissed because he thought Jacob might have pearls in his mouth!
Is this Laban the inspiration for Elton John’s Lebon, who liked his money and spent his days counting?
Jacob told Laban he was running from his brother and was penniless. He worked for Laban a month before Laban offered him wages. Jacob offered to serve Laban seven years for Rachel's hand in marriage. He specified Rachel, the younger daughter, lest there be any confusion. Although he wanted her and may have suspected Laban already, he had no gifts. Only his muscle.
The seven years passed very quickly. He asked for Rachel's hand so he "may cohabit with her!"
Laban made a big feast and Jacob must have gotten a little drunk. We are not told if Rachel knew what was happening (Megillot thinks she did and wished to spare her sister shame) but Laban gave Jacob Leah instead and somehow Jacob did not notice the difference until morning. Jacob complained to Laban, who said they marry the older girls first, but he can have the younger one also if he agreed to wait one week before taking possession of her and if he served another 7 years. It occurs to me here that the time for observing the wedding and sitting shiva are the same, 7 days.
The bitterness between these two sisters must have been great; jealousy from Leah and from Rachel, anger at the trickery and Jacob's enforced servitude.
In the Prayer class on the Jewish Day of Learning, Professor Deborah Greene said that it is possible that Leah prayed, because "The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren." The first actual recorded prayer is later, from Samuel's mother, Hannah. But it seems likely that Leah cried out, at least.
Rachel, as we know from her later theft of idols, was an idolater. She went to Jacob and said, "Give me children or I shall die." "Jacob was incensed at Rachel and said, 'Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?'" (Is this where the underwear company got their name?) So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a concubine. Unlike Sarah, Rachel was delighted to have children she could raise as her own, even if she had to find a surrogate. She said God had "vindicated her" and given her a son. When her maid bore a second son, she said she had waged "a fateful contest" against her sister and "prevailed." But I think unlike Sarah’s maid Hagar, Bilhah actually gave up her child.
Leah had already borne 4 sons before Rachel gave her maid as concubines. With the third son, Leah knew she had more than fulfilled the strongest interpretation of the commandment to be fruitful and multiply, which was to bear two sons. She named the first two. The third "was named" Levi, either by Jacob or by God. She realized how great the gift of the 4th son was; she named Judah and promised to praised the Lord. Leah clearly believed in God.
God had not withheld children from Jacob and Leah, but from Rachel. Maybe it was because of Rachel's idols? Or because she, as the more beautiful sister, was vain? Also, she seems to take her hold over Jacob for granted... See the mandrakes, below. When the maid's children are born, Rachel offers no praise, only an indignant sense that she is getting her due.
Leah, who was previously content, became unhappy that she has not borne any more children! So she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob! Zilpah bears two sons.
Regarding my earlier comment that if I had to give my husband my maid as a concubine, I'd find a hairy and smelly maid, I suspect these women were not great beauties. After all, Laban, who was a greedy fellow, gave them up!
So far:
Leah's own children: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, all sons.
Leah's sons by her maid Zilpah: Gad and Asher
Rachel's sons by Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.
And there is this bizarre scene, where Rachel wanted a few of the mandrakes Leah's son brought home, and Leah answered, "Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son's mandrakes?" I really must try some mandrakes, because I can't imagine equating the two... And then Rachel answered that she will let Leah have Jacob for the night in exchange for mandrakes! Then Leah went out and met Jacob as he came back from the fields. She actually told him he was to sleep with her because she purchased him with mandrakes. Whoa!!!! What could Jacob have thought over being sold so cheaply by his favorite wife? Upon reading this, I texted my fiancé, "May our lovemaking and cuddling remain priceless, no matter how many years pass."
In fact, the Rabbis thought that Rachel's and Leah's assumption that they could choose who Jacob slept with was worthy of big punishment. Therefore, Rachel died younger and was not buried with her husband. And Leah's actions were disdained; her daughter Dinah was considered as just above a harlot.
Although Rachel is often called our mother, really Leah is, because all the tribes but Judah and Levi were wiped out or disappeared; thus we are also related to Laban. In Torah study, a lady read aloud: Rachel, who was Jacob's intended for the spiritual world, bore Joseph, who saved Israel, Leah, his intended for this world, bore Levi and Judah.
God "heeded Leah and she conceived, and bore him a fifth son." Leah seems to clearly understand the precedent mentioned above; when she becomes pregnant, she says that God honored her giving of her maid to Jacob. Leah bears Issachar and Zebulun before finally bearing Jacob's only daughter, Dinah. The Rabbis thought that while in utero, Dinah was turned from a boy into a girl because Leah realized that one more son would expose her sister to ridicule.
God finally "remembered Rachel." She bore Joseph. The Rabbis thought that Esau, who strangely had not yet seen Rachel, somehow lusted for her. If a couple had been married 10 years, the man was expected to divorce her just because she was barren. So not only must her joy have been great, but also her relief.
At this point, Jacob asked Laban for permission to leave with his wives and children. Laban knew that he has been blessed with livestock and sons because of Jacob; he tried to strike a deal so as not to lose his good fortune. Jacob answered, "When shall I make a provision for my own household?" (which of course has now grown very large!) They agreed to Jacob's suggestion that he remove all the dark, spotted and speckled sheep and goats. Jacob said this way Laban will be able to easily see that Jacob is not stealing from him. Laban agreed, no doubt thinking these are less worthy animals and also more rare. But just in case, Laban took all the speckled, dark and spotted animals and had his sons pasture them three days' journey away from Jacob. Laban must not have cared one iota for the welfare of his daughters or grandchildren! Jacob answered this with magic: he peeled strips of bark off sticks of poplar, almond and plane (or hazelnut) and put them in the water troughs so when the flocks came to drink, they would see the rods, come into heat, mate and bring forth speckled, spotted and dark offspring. Jacob also ensured he had sturdy offspring by judicious placement of the rods; if sturdy animals came to drink, he placed the rods in and if weak animals came, he did not. Of course I can't miss the symbolism of placing a rod in a trough to ensure fertility!
Laban's sons started speaking badly of Jacob, as if he were stealing from them. Jacob called his wives out to the field and told them that he had served their father with all his might, but their father had cheated him time and time again. He told his wives the reason for his prosperity was not dishonesty, but because God would not let Laban harm him. He told them that God told him it was time to go home to his family. His wives sided with him.
Rachel then stole her father's idols. Jacob sent his wives, children and livestock on towards his homeland first, while continuing to serve Laban, presumably to give his wives a fair chance against being pursued. Then Jacob left. It was three days before Laban knew. Laban pursued them for seven days, finally catching them in Gilead. God appeared to Laban in a dream and warned against doing anything, good or bad, with Jacob. Laban said Jacob should not have run off without saying goodbye. He admitted that God warned him not to attempt anything with Jacob, but then he asked Jacob why he stole his gods!!! Jacob did not know Rachel stole idols so he said if anyone did indeed take Laban's gods, that person could die! I don't think that Jacob didn't think anyone stole it, but that he didn't want a thief in his midst.
Rachel places the idols, which must have been very small, in a camel cushion and sat on them, pretending to have her period. This brings up some "how could people be so blind" questions: If Rachel and Laban knew that God made Jacob prosperous and had heard the voice of God, why would they want these silly little idols that could be hidden in a cushion? In fact, Jacob calls the household goods. (or objects or utensils)
There are a few other possible interpretations. In Torah study a Hebrew scholar pointed out that the word for idols is singular. Laban knew that God would leave with Jacob. The "you have outwitted me" means you have stolen my heart, which could mean stealing his daughters. Someone in Torah study said we should not interpret Laban as bad; he is our ancestor. Laban means white.
My fiancé pointed out another theme in this parsha, that of leaving fathers. Jacob left his and now Rachel, leaving hers, takes mementoes with her. Jacob was confronted with his actions towards his father when he accused Leah of deceiving him that first night in bed and she answered that he was the original deceiver.
Jacob became quite angry at Laban for rummaging through his things as if he were a criminal. Instead of 7 years, he has spent 20 years in Laban's service. It's about time he got angry. And during this time not one of Laban's flock miscarried. Jacob did not eat any of his rams. He served in both scorching and frosty weather, even when unable to sleep. And if it weren't for God's help, Jacob would now be empty handed because Laban had not willingly paid him what he promised.
Laban conceded, ungracefully, although "all Jacob has is really his, what can he do about it now?" So they made a pact not to harm each other, built a mound of stones and made a sacrifice. Laban also said Jacob better not take any wives besides his daughters - I guess he has noted Jacob's randiness.
Laban kissed his family goodbye, then left. Jacob continued on until he encountered angels of the Lord.
Supplementary Readings:
In Hosea 12:3-7, Jacob is criticized for trying to supplant his brother and for fighting a divine being until the being wept. Summarized so, it sounds as if Jacob was proud to a fault. Hosea said that we (like Jacob) had to return to our God, like Jacob did at Bethel, and practice goodness, justice and trust in the Lord. Micah’s book ends in 7:18 -20 with “Who is a God like You, forgiving iniquity and remitting transgression…You will keep faith with Jacob, Loyalty to Abraham, as You promised on oath to our fathers in days gone by.”
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