Cary Hillebrand takes a look at Parashat Vayeshev

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Parashat Vayeshev

פרשת וישב

בראשית  Genesis 37:1 to 40:23

Chapter 37, verses 1 through 11 – Meet Joseph the tattler

In the previous parashot, we witness how parental favoritism resulted in, or at least contributed to irreparable strife between Jacob and Esau, Isaac’s two offspring. Jacob has apparently not learned this bitter lesson and plays favorites with his own offspring.

Jacob the trickster raised Joseph the tattler. Despite this, or perhaps because of his obnoxious behavior, Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son. We do not know why Joseph was considered the “son of his old age” (בן זקונים הוא לו) when Benjamin was much younger. Perhaps he held Benjamin responsible for the death, in childbirth, of his beloved wife Rachel. The Torah is silent here. Joseph was even given an ornamental overcoat. This was obviously not work clothes that would be plain and rugged, so he was probably a prima donna, not expected to do any real work. As if this was not enough, Joseph taunts his brothers with his dreams. We do not know if he was being arrogant or extremely naïve. Perhaps the modern reader would speculate that he may be on the Asperger spectrum. We do not know if Jacob was aware as to how his favoritism was impacting on the family dynamics.

Verses 12 through 17 – Joseph sends Jacob on an ill fated mission

Why would Jacob have sent Joseph alone from Hebron to Shechem, a long and quite possibly dangerous journey, and for what purpose? To inspect how his brothers, with whom he already has a troubled relationship, are performing their duties? Surely, Jacob must have realized that this will not end well.

Also, why are they pasturing in Shechem of all places, when earlier they slaughtered and plundered the inhabitants? Surely, they would not have received a warm welcome (to say the least).

Verses 18 through 36 – The brothers rid themselves of Joseph

Things take an ugly turn. The brothers are determined to kill Joseph. Reuven prevents this but his plan to eventually free Joseph is foiled by Judah who tells his brothers to sell Joseph to passing Ishmaelite traders who in turn take him to Egypt and sell him to Potiphar, a big shot in Egyptian society. Was Judah unaware of Reuven’s intentions and so he was probably trying to save Joseph from a worse fate? It is also possible, although I think unlikely, that Judah simply saw an opportunity to leverage a profit from selling Joseph instead of killing him outright. The Torah does not say.

Chbapter 38, verses 1 through 30 – The story of Judah and Tamar

Here the Joseph narrative is interrupted to tell the tale of Judah and Tamar.

Judah “went down” from his brothers (וירד יהודה מאת אחיו). One Rabbinic tradition is that Judah was exiled from the brothers, taking the fall so to speak for the loss of Joseph.

Judah marries a Canaanite woman. While this is not outright prohibited to the seed of Abraham, there is an apparent distaste to intermarrying with them. Perhaps the loss of his first two sons may be punishment for this apparent sin. Alternatively, it may be punishment for his role in the selling of Joseph. Or it may simply be happenstance. The Torah is silent on this. Also, note that while Judah’s father-in-law, Shua is mentioned twice, we do not learn the name of Judah’s wife. Why is it?

Judah resisted what apparently was local custom or obligation (later, in Leviticus it will become Torah law) to marry his surviving son, named Shelah (שלה – interestingly, this translates into “belongs to her”) to his late sons’ widow Tamar (תמר). So, Tamar, cast into a state of limbo, bound by local custom to only marry the surviving son and yet prevented by Judah from doing so, poses as a prostitute to lure Judah into sleeping with her and hopefully impregnating her. The Rabbis obviously had problems with this and go through contortions to morally justify Judah’s and even Tamar’s behavior. With echoes to the fate of his father Jacob before him, Judah is at first a deceiver in the act of selling Joseph to the Midianites and has now been deceived by Tamar. Judah may also be something of a hypocrite. When it was revealed that Tamar is pregnant, and not by Shelah who Judah withheld from her, it was presumed that she engaged in prostitution. An outraged Judah declared that she must be killed by burning. Never mind that Judah availed himself of the services of a prostitute (not knowing of course that she was Tamar). To his credit, when Judah is presented with proof that he had impregnated her, albeit unwittingly, Judah owned up, even declaring that she is more in the right than he is (צדקה ממני) as he withheld his surviving son from her.

Chapter 39, verses 1 through 23 – Joseph is framed

The narrative returns to the ongoing saga of Joseph, now in Egypt in the house of Potiphar (פוטיפר). The Torah assures us that G-d was with Joseph (ויהי ה’ את יוסף) and indeed, initially, things are looking up. Potiphar appreciates Joseph’s talents and puts him in charge of his household. Unfortunately, his wife takes a liking to the handsome Joseph. Upon her repeated advances and flirtations being spurned, she frames Joseph, falsely claiming that he tried to rape her.

Why does Potiphar have Joseph jailed instead of tortured and killed for such a crime? Perhaps he doubted his wife’s story. Another, somewhat risqué interpretation is that Potiphar is introduced (verse 1) as סריס פרעה usually translated as “courtier of Pharaoh. Note that the Hebrew סריס can also be translated as eunuch. If Potiphar was indeed a eunuch, he could not have satisfied his wife and may have wanted the young and handsome Joseph to play that role in his stead (and perhaps produce an heir). If so, then if Joseph truly suffers from Asperger symptom, he would not have read the situation correctly and so acted how he did. No matter: even in jail Joseph makes the best of his circumstances and the warden gives him the run of the place, putting him in charge of all the prisoners.

Chapter 40, verses 1 through 23 – Joseph interprets dreams

Joseph correctly interprets the dreams of the recently imprisoned cupbearer and the baker to the court of Pharaoh. The former will be pardoned and returned to his position in Pharaoh’s court and the latter will be beheaded and impaled – Joseph did not mince words! He describes their predicted fate in a factual manner, apparently without compassion. This may be a further indication that he is on the Asperger spectrum. Keep in mind that ancient peoples honestly believed that dreams bore messages, perhaps prophesies, from the gods. Interpretation of dreams was a recognized and honored profession in Egypt and other societies in the ancient world.

A midrash postulates that the cupbearer’s “crime” was that a fly fell into Pharaoh’s cup after it was served, a misfortune that he could not have prevented. As for the baker, a stone was found in Pharaoh’s loaf of bread, caused by his carelessness. That is, this was a “crime” that could have been prevented.

Joseph had requested the cupbearer to put in a good word for him with Pharaoh, but the cupbearer forgot about him, abandoning him to his fate (for the time being).

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