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 Joseph. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joseph. 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)