Bereishit 37:1 – 40:23
There is a lot going on in Parsha Vayeshev. First the family dramas. Reuben is the oldest, but born of Leah, and Yaakov preferred Rachel, and after she died, her son Yosef. Yosef early on comes on as obnoxious, brandishing his coat of many colors, telling on his brothers to Yaakov, and telling them dreams that clearly make him top dog. Generally, a brat. So, the other brothers are gone with the flocks and Yaakov sends Yosef to check up on them. They are not at Shechem where they were supposed to be, but a man (or angel) points him in the right direction. They see him coming and plot to kill him. Reuben speaks up and says to throw him in the pit, planning on getting him later. Reuben leaves and Yehuda (Judah) suggests they sell him to some approaching Ishmaelites, taking his tunic and selling him as a slave. Reuben returns, finds him missing and thinking his brother dead, he rents his clothes. They dip the tunic in lamb’s blood and go back to tell Yaakov.
The story is interrupted here, to tell a later story of Yehudah. Here we learn of his marriage to a Canaanite woman. His eldest son Er grows up and Yehuda finds a bride for Er. Her name is Tamar. This son dies, so he tries to get the second oldest, to do his duty and give her child. Onan instead spills his seed early and she doesn’t get pregnant and for this he dies. The third child is promised when old enough, and Tamar is sent to stay with her father. The third when old enough is not sent and Tamar knows this. So, she hears Yehudah is coming to her village. She wears a veil; pretends to be a prostitute and he sleeps with her. In exchange he’ll send a goat, but she demands personal items of his as security. The deed is done. Later, he sends a goat inquiring of the prostitute, but none is known to the villagers. Three months later, he’s informed Tamar is pregnant. He summons her, suspecting her of adultery, demanding she be burned. She shows him the personal items and he declares she is more righteous than he. She has twins, who also struggle in the womb, reminiscent of Yaakov and Esav.
Back to Yosef, he becomes a favorite of Pharoah’s servant Potiphar and is put in charge of the household. But his wife desires him to sleep with her and he refuses. One day when the house is empty, she grabs his garment and he escapes, but she holds the garment. She accuses him of what she has done, and Potiphar sends him to jail. There he’s popular and is put over the other inmates. Two servants of Pharoah, the cupbearer, and the baker are sent to jail. They both have dreams and Yosef interprets. The first will be restored, the other will die. He asks the first to tell Pharoah his predicament, but the cupbearer forgets after he’s freed.
In these various stories, we find imperfect humans with faults we can all identify with. But we also see character arcs of growth and redemption. First there is Yosef, who begins with a knack for leadership, but also a tad arrogant and off putting. Seriously, I can understand why his brothers disliked him so. But through hardship, enslavement and later imprisoned, despite the betrayal by his family, he remembers his people, and while sleeping with Potiphar’s wife might have been tempting, he chose instead to do the right thing. Later it will be he who saves his family and people amidst a terrible famine as Pharoah’s assistant.
Then there is Yehudah. It was he who suggested his brother be sold into slavery. But after the death of two of his three sons, and sending Tamar away to her father, she teaches him by risking her very life, posing as a prostitute wearing a veil to be impregnated by her husband’s father so that she would continue the line. He sees the err of his ways, and becomes according to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory, and I can’t remember any other, the first man in Torah to admit he was wrong. Furthermore, it was Yehudah who proposed selling his brother Yosef into slavery that later offered himself as slave to save his brother Benjamin. That is no small thing. Recognizing our failures, looking to community, and doing teshuvah is essential for creating that better world around us.
How about Tamar? She risked her life to have those twins, and from her offspring would result the line of David. I can’t help but reflect on the relationship between her and another outsider woman whose line led to King David, none other than the Moabite Ruth.
Let’s not also forget Reuben. He was the firstborn, but his mother was Leah, growing up in the family drama where his mother was unloved by Yaakov, and after her death, Yosef became the favorite. But despite all of this, Reuben is the one who spoke out against the murder of their brother, and who intended to come back and retrieve him.
We grow through our own adversities, through recognizing our own failures and in the process, building within us the capacity for chesed, loving kindness. In encountering those who are in those difficult times, our own capacity for compassion grows. For our Jewish people to become ready to work to repair the world, our Patriarchs and Matriarchs and the tribe Israel had to learn these traits. That was passed on through the generations. Torah offers both the successes and the failures from which we learn. As we do our work, sitting Shivas, offering food for the sick and those in need, offering simple acts of kindness, such as a well written card, or a ride to shul, or a hug, phone call or visit to let them know we see their pain and we are there for them, it can make a world of difference for that person, but also the one who shows compassion. Working together for each other, we all benefit, the afflicted and the good souls who share loving kindness. For that we can say, Baruch HaShem!
@Vayeshev @Dvar Vayeshev @Joseph @Tamar @Judah @Parsha Vayeshev
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