Torah Readings and Comments

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 Parashah Vayeishev   Dec. 15/16, 2006   Bereshit (Genesis) 37:1-40:23

We are reading what could be called the chronicles of Ya’acov and the introduction of Yoseph, the son of Ya’acov’s beloved wife, Rachel. A number of wives and concubines bore children for Ya’acov but the two sons, Yoseph and Benyamin, born in his old age by his chosen wife Rachel were shown to be favored sons.

Let us look back here and we will see Ya’acov and his mother Rebecca manipulating Yitschaq into giving his blessing to Ya’acov rather to the eldest son Esau. Esau had already traded his birthright to Ya’acov for a bowl of soup, thus scorning the value of the birthright of the eldest son.

Because of this deception, Ya’acov was sent to Laban, Rebecca’s brother who lived in Charon of Paddan-Aram. He was sent for his own safety since Esau had sworn to kill Ya’acov as soon as their father Yitschaq was dead.

While many competitions occurred between sons of the same father but not the same mother, this was not the case with Esau and Ya’acov. They were fully brothers. Much ‘payback’ of deception was wrought on Ya’acov by Laban.  Laban agreed to give his daughter Rachel to him as a wife when Ya’acov had fulfilled seven years of labor for him. However when the seven years were completed, we see Leah, the older daughter being given (secretly and covertly) as his wife. Upon discovering he had married the ‘wrong’ daughter, he confronted Laban and he responded that it was against their custom to give the younger before the older in marriage. Laban did not mention this until after the fact. Thus Ya’acov was committed to seven more years of labor to acquire the wife he loved and wanted, Rachel.

Intrigue after intrigue fills the story of Ya’acov so it would behoove you to begin at Bereshit 1 and catch up to where we are reading this week in Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 37.

By this time we see Ya’acov being called Israel . As mentioned before, Yoseph and Benyamin were favored sons both because of being the sons of the beloved wife Rachel and because they were born to Israel in his old age. We read of Yoseph being favored in many ways, the fine multi-colored tunic, and his pre-imminence as just a teenager shown by Israel ’s dependence on him to inform him of what his other sons (Yoseph’s elder brothers) were doing. The result was that the brothers hated and envied him, a recipe for disaster, which became hot when Yoseph shared dreams he had dreamed with his parent and his brothers. These dreams saw Yoseph lifted up and powerful and showed his family bowing and being subject to him. Even Israel reprimanded him for seeming to think he would rule over his family. These sparks of hatred leaped up as a fierce flaming bonfire that would scorch them all.

Yoseph was sent by Israel to find his brothers, who were shepherding the flocks and see to their welfare. They were not where they were supposed to be but he sought them until he found them. The brothers spied him from a distance and speaking scornfully of the ‘dreamer’ they plotted to kill him. Reuven the eldest son sought to save Yosephs life by saying let us not shed our brothers’ blood but let us rather cast him into a nearby pit. We are told that Reuven planned to come later and take him out of the pit and send him home. The brothers ripped the hated tunic off his back and threw him into the pit.

As the brothers sat laughing at Yosephs’ cries for help, the profit motive came into play. For upon seeing a caravan of Ishmaelites (3459  Yishma` e'liy-Ishmaelite = see Ishmael "God will hear"; a descendant of Ishmael) coming from Gilead and heading for Mitzrayim ( Egypt ), Yahudah suggested that they sell him to be a slave and thus avoid having his blood on their hands. After they sold him to the men of the caravan they knew they must cover their deed so their father would not know what they had done. They killed a goat and soaked Yosephs tunic in the goat’s blood, delivered it to their father told him that a wild animal had attacked him and tore him to shreds. Israel was inconsolable. This was his favorite son, the son of Rachel, his beloved wife.

As Israel mourned, Yoseph was even then being sold to Potiphar, a high ranking servant to the Pharoah.

The writing now leaves Yoseph in Mitzrayim and turn to his brother Yahudah. We find he has married a woman called Shua and she gave birth to three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah. When he was old enough Yahudah took a wife for his firstborn Er, a woman called Tamar. We are told YHWH was not pleased with Er and he died before his wife could bear a child for him. Thus Yahudah instructed the second son, Onan to enter into a levirate marriage (Levirate marriage is the practice of a woman marrying one of her husband's brothers after her husband's death, if there were no children, in order to continue the line of the dead husband. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage outside the clan was forbidden.) with Tamar so there would be offspring to carry on the name of Er the elder. Onan, knowing that the children born of his relationship with Tamar would legally belong to Er sought a solution. He would have sex with her but let his seed fall on the ground so as to not impregnate her. This did not please YHWH and Onan died also. Yahudah then told her to remain a widow until his younger son Shelah was old enough to take a wife. Tamar went to live in her fathers’ house.

Yahudah’s wife died and after the mourning period ended, he went with his friend Hirah, an Adullamite, to oversee the shearing of Yahudah’s sheep.

Tamar took things into her own hands when she heard that Yahudah was coming her way. Since Shelah was grown and she had not been given to him, she removed her widow’s garments and covered her face with a veil. She wrapped herself up so she would be unrecognizable and appeared to be a prostitute for we are told that when Yahudah saw her he thought she was a harlot because her face was covered. Many cultures today have the women cover their faces. Think about this.

She invited him to have a sexual encounter and him not knowing she was his daughter-in-law agreed. She asked for a kid goat for her favors and since, of course, he did not have a kid goat with him, she suggested that he give her as a pledge to pay, his signet, his wrap and his staff. He gave them to her to hold as a security for payment and then had sex with her. We are told that she conceived and he went on his way. She then redressed in her widow’s garb.

Yahudah then sent the kid goat by his Adullamite friend to pay her and retrieve his pledge. Hirah could not find her although he searched carefully and inquired of the neighbors. Everyone he asked told him there was no prostitute there. Yahudah said to just let her keep the pledge.

After about three months, Yahudah was informed that his daughter-in-law had played the harlot and was pregnant. Yahudah responded angrily and said she should be burned. As she was being taken out to be destroyed, she sent the signet, the wrap and the staff to Yahudah with the message that she was pregnant by the man who owned these. He recognized them and acknowledged his responsibility and also realized that she had done this because he did not give her to his son Shelah as a wife thus breaking his promise, leaving her as a childless widow. We are told he was never intimate with her again. Tamar gave birth to twin sons, named Perets and Zerach. The babies jockeyed to be the first born. Zerach first thrust out his hand and the midwife put a scarlet thread around his wrist but he withdrew and Perets was born first. How often we see the struggle between brothers for preeminence, even in the womb.

The reading now rejoins Yoseph in Mitzrayim. All Yoseph touched succeeded and he, although a slave, was given charge over all the possessions of the courtier of Pharoah named Potiphar. He had full confidence in Yoseph and let him use his own discretion in handling his household and accounts.

Yoseph was described as handsome in form and appearance and Potiphar’s wife was very aware of this and she told him, ‘lie with me’. He vehemently refused because it would be sin against YHWH and disloyalty to Potiphar. She persisted in trying to entice him until finally she grabbed his garment and as he fled the garment was left in her hand. We have heard it said that there is not wrath like a woman scorned. The woman accused Yoseph of attempted rape and she wanted her husband to put him to death but rather he sent him to the prison where Pharoah’s prisoners were confined. Even I prison, Yoseph found favor and the warden put him in charge of all the inmates. The warden trusted Yosephs judgment and gave him a free hand in the oversight of the prison.

We once again see changes foretold by dreams and we can feel sure that YHWH was with Yoseph. The baker and the cupbearer to Pharoah were in this prison. Both had a dream and both were disturbed by what they saw in the dream. When Yoseph  came in to check on them after they had the dreams, he saw they were disturbed so he inquired as to what was wrong with them and they told him they had a dream but no interpretation for them. After giving all honor to YHWH, he said for them to tell him their dreams.

The cupbearer told Yoseph: I saw a grapevine and on it were three tendrils and it was as though it budded. The blossoms became clusters of ripened grapes. I had Pharoahs cup in my hand so I took the grapes and pressed them into the cup and handed them to him.

Yoseph told him that the three tendrils represented days and that the cupbearer would be restored to his former position in three days.

Yoseph then asked him to remember him when he was once again in his honored position. He wanted him to mention him to Pharaoh and share the information that he was kidnapped in the land of the Hebrews and he had done nothing to deserve being cast into the pit.

Now when the baker saw what was interpreted, he shared his dream.  I saw three wicker baskets on my head which contained Pharaoh’s bread.  The birds were eating from the baskets. Yoseph then told the baker that in three days Pharaoh would have him decapitated and hung on a tree where the birds would eat his flesh.

The third day was Pharaoh’s birthday and he had a huge party for all his servants. He restored his cupbearer and hanged his baker just as Yoseph had said but the cupbearer forgot him and never mentioned him to Pharaoh as he was asked.

Haftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8

Next Reading :

Parashah Mikeitz

Bereshit 41:1-44:17

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