Parshat VaYigash

Yaakov's Fear

Yaakov had been depressed and living a life a turmoil for 22 years, believing that Yoseph had been killed by a wild animal.

Suddenly, he discovers that "Yoseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die" (Bereshit 45:28) and "the spirit of their father Yaakov was revived" (ibid 27).

He immediately sets off towards Egypt, but first makes a stop in Be'er Shev, where "he slaughtered sacrifices to the God of his father Yitschak" (ibid 46:1). There God said to him: "Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation" (ibid 2).

From these words it was clear that Yaakov was afraid to go to Egypt. Why was Yaakov afraid?

In order to answer this question, we must first ask another two questions. Fistly, why did Yaakov go to Be'er Sheva? Secondly, why did he make sacrifices to the God of his father, Yitschak and not the God of Avraham? Obviously the God of Yitschak is the same as the God of Yaakov, and therefore practically speaking, Yaakov was also worshipping the God of Avraham. However, why does the Torah limit God's title to simply that of Yitschak?

We must remember that this was not the first time that there was a famine in Canaan and that the Patriarchs wanted to go to Egypt.

Firstly with Avraham: "There was a famine in the land, and Avram descended to Egypt to sojourn there because the famine was severe in the land" (ibid 12:10).

Then with Yitschak: "There was a famine in the land, aside from the first famine that had been in the days of Avraham…The Lord appeared to him (Yitschak), and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land that I will tell you'" (ibid 26:1-2).

Avraham went to Egypt because of famine. Yitschak wanted to go to Egypt, because of famine, but God told him not to.

Yaakov is troubled. He is suffering from famine, Yoseph his beloved son, is offering him salvation in Egypt. Should he be like Avraham and go, or should he be like Yitschak and stay?

Moreover, he knows what it means to leave home. Yaakov left Canaan for Padan Aram for what he thought would have been a short period, ("you shall dwell with him for a few days until your brother's wrath has subsided – ibid 27:44), but ended up being there for over twenty years. He is now an old man and knows that if he goes down to Egypt, he and possibly his whole family may never return. Can he really go to Egypt?

To answer that question he cannot ask the God of Avraham, as He permitted Avraham to go to Egypt. He must ask the God of Yitschak, the one who forbade him to go.

More than that, he goes to Beer Sheva, the place where God had appeared to Yitschak and said: "Do not go down to Egypt."

There, at that same place, that same God, answers Yaakov's fear and promises him: "there I will make you into a great nation. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up" (ibid 46:3-4).

Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat VaYigash entitled: "The Descent to Egypt" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/12/parshat-vayigash-descent-to-egypt-after.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat VaYigash entitled: "The Saving of Egypt " appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/parshat-vayigash-saving-of-egypt-this.html

A further Sedra Short entitled "Confrontation and Reconciliation" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/01/parshat-vayigash-confrontation-and.html.

Parshat Miektz

Why Yospeh did not Phone Home

One question that bothers many people about the whole Joseph narrative is the fact that he does not contact his father to let him know that he was alive.

We can understand why Yoseph dif not contact Yaakov in his earlier years, for first he was a slave, albeit, an important slave, in the household of Potiphar, and after that he was held in incarceration for two years. However once He was freed, he became a powerful leader: "Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I am Pharaoh, and besides you, no one may lift his hand or his foot in the entire land of Egypt'" (Bereshit 41:44).

From that point onwards, Yoseph lived for nine years before he let Yaakov know that he was still alive. Why did he not contact him sooner?

Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun suggests that Yoseph believed that his father was part of the plot to be rid of him. After all, he mocked his dream: "Will we come I, your mother, and your brothers to prostrate ourselves to you to the ground?" (ibid 37:10) and he then sent him to find his brothers when he knew that deeply disliked him. Rav Bin Num takes into account that Yoseph appreciated that in each generation one of the patriarch's sons was chosen and another was rejected (Yishmael and Esav).

So too, Yoseph named his eldest son, Menashe, because "God has caused me to forget all my toil and all my father's house" (ibid 41:51) and it was only once Yehuda said that Yaakov sorely missed him, (see 44:27-29), that Yospeh realized that his father deeply mourned him and that his analysis was incorrect. It was at that point that he revealed himself.

I would, however, like to suggest an alternative explanation.

We must remember that Yoseph was betrayed by his family and that so much time had passed. He was seventeen when he was sold into slavery and thirty when he stood before Pharaoh. Was he still the same person who left his father's home thirteen years earlier?

He now had a new name, Tsafnat Paneach, his wife was the daughter of an Egyptian priest and Menashe's name testifies that he was tying to forget his bitter past.

When his brothers stood before him, "they did not recognize him" (ibid 42:8). He was simply a different person, with a new life, totally unrecognizable from the self-centered shepherd boy that he had been thirteen years previously.

And he could have carried with on with that lifestyle, but something happened when he saw his brothers: "Yoseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed" (ibid 9).

Until this point, he had forgotten his dreams, he had forgotten his previous life. Yet, upon seeing his brothers he suddenly remembered who he was and that he had a destiny. It was suddenly the time for him to contact his father again. He just needed to find the way to do it.

Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Miketz entitled: "The Silence of God" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/12/parshat-miketz-silence-of-god-god.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat Miketz entitled: "Measure for Measure" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/parshat-miketz-measure-for-measure.html

A further Sedra Short on Parshat Miketz entitled "One Dream or Two?" appears at: http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/parshat-miketz-one-dream-or-two.html

Parshat VaYishlach

Seeing the Face of God

The night before meeting Esav, Yaakov struggles with a man at Nachal Yabbok. As it turns out, the man is a divine being. He gives Yakov a new name: Yisrael. We have discussed why a divine being was fighting Yaakov in the first place and the significance of Yaakov's additional name in a previous Sedra Short (see http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/parshat-vayishlach-wrestling-with.html).

This week, I would like to discus Yaakov's reaction. "Yaakov named the place Peniel (lit. the face of God), for [he said,] "I saw an angel face to face, and my soul was saved" (Bereshit 32:30).

It is clear from this statement that Yaakov expected to die. Seeing divine beings is meant to be beyond the human narrative and so when he saw the angel, Yaakov should not have continued living.

Indeed, Moshe asks God "show me your glory" (Shemot 33:18), God responds that "you cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live (ibid 20)."

In fact, the first time that Moshe encountered God, he almost died. Moshe sees a burning bush in the wilderness and is surprised that the bush is not being consumed. He decides to have a better look. "The Lord saw that he had turned to see" and so quickly calls out saying "Do not come close" (Shemot 3:4-5). To be sure, as soon as Moshe realizes that God is within the bush, he "hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God (ibid 6).

Gidon also saw an angel and thought he was going to die. At first, Gidon thought that the angel giving him the mission to save Israel was an ordinary person and so Giodn refused to accept the mission. The angel decides that Gidon needs to understand that his mission is from God and so he reveals himself by performing a supernatural act and then disappearing.

Gidon then realized that he was an angel and said: "Alas, O Lord God! Because I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face" (Shoftim 6:22). He assumed he was going to die, so "the Lord said to him, "Peace be to you, fear not, you shall not die (ibid 23)".

Manoach and his wife, Shimshon's parents, also met an angel. Manoach also did not believe that he was an angel until the angel revealed himself.

"Manoach (then) knew that he was an angel of the Lord. Manoach said to his wife, 'We shall surely die, because we have seen God" (ibid 13:22). However, his wife seemed to be more intelligent than him. "But his wife said to him, "If the Lord wanted to kill us, He would not have received from our hand a burnt-offering and a meal-offering, and He would not have shown us all these things; and at this time He would not let us hear (such things) as these (ibid 23)".

While seeing only God himself would lead to death, as happened with Aharon's two sons, Nadav and Avihu (see Shemot 34:10-11 and VaYikra 10:1-2), seeing angels would not lead o death.

Nevertheless, as is clear from the episodes recorded here, people, including Yaakov, were frightened about seeing all divine beings.

Perhaps the Torah is trying to give us a monotheistic message. Only God is truly a Divine Being. Everything else, including angels, is just his tools. They are not worthy of worship.

Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat VaYishlah entitled: "Israel and Shechem – a Varied Relationship" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/11/parshat-vayishlach-israel-and-shechem.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat VaYishlah entitled: Reuven and Bilha" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/12/parshat-vayishlach-reuven-and-bilha.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat VaYishlach entitled "Struggling with the Present", appears at: http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/parshat-vayishlach-wrestling-with.html

Parshat VaYetzeh

Yaakov's Many Wives

In this week's parsha, Yaakov Avinu, marries two sisters, Rachel and Leah. He then takes their maidservants, Bilha and Zilpa, as concubines. It is possible that they, in particular Bilha, also became his wives at a later stage.

Yaakov was not the only one of our forefathers who had more than one wife. Avraham himself married not only Sarah, but also Hagar and Keturah. In fact, Yitschak was the only one of the Patriarchs to have one wife.

It is however, interesting, that polygamy does not seem to be the natural Biblical ideal. To begin with when God created Man, He said: "It is not good that man is alone" (Bereshit 2:18) and so He creates a partner for him. After having created a soul-mate for him, the Torah states: "a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (ibid 24). Adam and Eave are the archetype human beings and their relationship is totally monogamous and complete when they found each other.

Indeed, the Rabbis even suggest that the original human being was a hermaphrodite, that God split them and therefore, when they found each other, they were actually finding themselves.

Furthermore, if we examine the Biblical examples when a man had more than one wife, we will find cases of suffering and strife.

The first person to have more than one wife was Lemech: "Lemech took himself two wives; one was named Adah, and the other was named Zillah…'incline your ears to my words, for I have slain a man by wounding (him) and a child by bruising (him)'" (ibid 3:23). While we cannot attribute Lemech's murderous actions directly to the fact that he had one wife, the Torah does imply that in Lemech's time, humanity took a turn for the worse.

The next person who had more than one wife was Avraham: "Sarai said to Avram, 'Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing; please come to my handmaid'" ibid 16:2). Sarah makes an ultimate sacrifice. She knew her husband was promised an heir, however, she did not know that she was to be the mother. So after years of childlessness, she gave Avram the opportunity of having that child. However, it turned out that it was a challenge she found impossible to cope with: "Sarai said to Avram, 'May my injustice be upon you! I gave my handmaid into your bosom…and I became unimportant in her eyes. May the Lord judge between me and you'" (ibid 5).

Indeed, Avram is eventually forced to send his son Yishmael away as Sarah was concerned about him impeaching Yitschak's inheritance. Avraham is even forced to send away his other sons from Keturah, in order to protect Yitschak: "To the sons of Abraham's concubines, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from his son Isaac while he [Abraham] was still alive" (ibid 25.

Rachel and Leah, both of Yaakov's wives, also did not get on, even though they were sisters. Indeed "The Lord saw that Leah was hated" (ibid 29:31). Leah felt hated and second best. Rachel herself is so jealous of her sister's childbearing that she's prepared to give Bilha to Yaakov. Leah promptly follows suit and gives him Zilpa. The episode with the dudaim, the mandrakes that Reuven had gathered for Leah, also shows the tenseness and deep jealousy of their relationship.

It is therefore, no surprise that this mutual jealousy was transferred to their sons with Yoseph, eventually being sold into slavery by his half-brothers.

The relationship between Hannah and Penina, the wives of Elkana, was also hostile: "Her rival (Penina) would frequently anger her (Hanna), in order to make her complain" (I Shmuel 1:6).

Certainly Adoniah and Shlomo, two sons of David from different wives, did not get on and were rivals for the throne. Adoniah plots against Shlomo who has him executed (see I Kings 3:13-25).

Shlomo himself had many wives: "He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart. It was at the time of Solomon's old age, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not whole with the Lord" (ibid 11:3-4).

Every single case that the Torah reports of a man having more than one wife led to problems.

It is therefore, clear, especially if we consider Adam and Eve's harmony in the Garden of Eden, that while the Torah tolerated the concept of polygamy, it seems to consider monogamy to be the ideal.

Last year's Sedra Short for Parshat VaYetseh, entitled: "Yaakov and Lavan's Working Relationship” appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/11/parshat-vatezeh-yaakov-and-lavans.html.

Another Sedra Short for Parshat VaYetseh, entitled: " Yaakov's Guilt” appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/11/parshat-vayetseh-yaakovs-guilt-yaakov.html.

Another Sedra Short for Parshat VaYetseh, entitled: " The Dust of The Earth" can be found at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005/12/parshat-vayetse-dust-of-earth-god.html.

Parshat VaYechi

The Adoption of Ephraim and Menashe

When Yaakov felt that he was dying, he asked Yoseph to ensure that he will be buried in Canaan, in Hevron, together with Avraham and Yitzchak and his wife Leah. Yoseph promises that he would do that (See Bereshit 47:28:31).

Some time later, Yoseph heard that Yaakov was dying. He brings his two sons Menashe and Ephraim to him. Yaakov then begins along story of how God appeared to him on his way back from Padan Aram and how Rachel, Yoseph's mother died and how he buried her Bet Lechem. In the middle he interrupts the story and adopts Ephraim and Menashe as his two own sons.

It's a strange episode. Rashi explains that the reason why Yaakov is apologizing to Yoseph. He has just asked Yoseph to embark on an ambitious project. i.e. to take his body from Egypt to Ca naan, yet he did not do this for Yoseph's mother Rachel. She died in Bet Lechem and he buried her there. So he's saying even though I did not make the effort to take Rachel's body from Bet Lechem to Hevron, a relatively short journey, I still want you to take me from Egypt to Canaan.

The problem with this explanation is that it is in the wrong place. If this was Yaakov's intention, this story should have been in the previous chapter, when he actually asks Yoseph to bury him in Canaan. Yet this episode occurred sometime later. It also does not explain why Yaakov interrupts the story with the adoption of his grandchildren.

It is likely that Yaakov tells this story because it explains why he is adopting Ephraim and Menashe. How does it explain it?

When Yaakov returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him, saying: "a nation and a multitude of nations shall come into existence from you, and kings shall come forth from your loins" (Bereshit 35:11).

The problem with this is that Yaakov has no more children after this point; nothing more will come forth from his loins. Yaakov therefore understands this prophecy as referring to his grandchildren and so he adopts Ephraim and Menashe. He then goes on with the story to explain why he had no more children; it is because that Rachel his wife died.

Rather than being an apology, Yaakov is raising her status, ensuring that she has a larger share in "congregation of peoples" (ibid 48:4) that would come forth from him.

Last years' Sedra Short on Parshat VaYechi, entitled: "The Mummification of Yaakov" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat VaYechi, entitled: "Yoseph's inheritance" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_parshablog_archive.html

Parshat Vatezeh

Yaakov and Lavan's Working Relationship

When Lavan first met Yaakov, he embraced him, welcomed him into his house and declared: "Indeed, you are my bone and my flesh" (Bereshit 29:14), signifying a warm relationship.

However, it's very clear that Lavan often chose his words carefully, allowing them to be understood in a number of ways, so that he could take advantage of the situation. A prime example occurs after Yaakov has been with Lavan for a month. Lavan says:

הֲכִי אָחִי אַתָּה וַעֲבַדְתַּנִי חִנָּם הַגִּידָה לִּי מַה מַּשְׂכֻּרְתֶּךָ

There are two ways to translate and understand this passuk (ibid 15):

"Because you are my kinsman, should you work for me for free? Tell me what your wages shall be."

This translation implies that up until now Yaakov had been working for Lavan without pay. This put him on the level of a slave who does not get paid, but lives on the meals provided for him in return for his labor. Lavan seems to be saying to Yaakov that as he is family, he should be paid. Sounds good.

However, there is another way to understand the passuk:

"Are you my kinsman that you should work for me for free? Tell me what your wages shall be."

Slaves are not the only people that do not get paid a wage; the family members also do not get regular pay. They share a portion of the profits. Note that previously Yaakov had "stayed with him a full month" (ibid 14). Lavan, it appears, is therefore angry with Yaakov and is saying to him that he is not a clansman who does not have to pull his weight and yet share the profits. Lavan tells Yaakov that from now on he is a mere hired hand who must work hard to earn his keep.

Indeed, it is clear that Yaakov is considered to be a slave, for when his second set of seven years is over, Yaakov asks Lavan: "Send me away, and I will go to my place and to my land" (ibid 30:25).

Yaakov asks to be sent away – this an expression of being released from servitude. Furthermore, Yaakov also says: "Give [me] my wives and my children for whom I worked for you, and I will go, for you know my work, which I have worked for you" (ibid 26). A master has the right to keep the wives and children of a slave when he sets the salve free. Yaakov is therefore saying that he is not a slave for he worked for his wives – but the underlying theme is that he is treated as a slave.

Indeed, once Yaakov flees, in a further sign that he was not a free man, he explains to Lavan: "Because I was afraid, because I said, 'Lest you steal your daughters from me" (ibid 31:31). Yaakov is afraid that Lavan will insist on keeping his wives and children.

Lavan even says this implicitly claiming that by secretly fleeing Yakkov had: "led away my daughters like prisoners of war" (ibid 26). Lavan even claims that he has: "the power to inflict harm upon you" (ibid 29), i.e. the legal right to punish Yaakov for fleeing.
However, by this time Yaakov has had enough: "What is my transgression? What is my sin, that you have pursued me?" (ibid 36). Yaakov is saying that he is an independent unit and has no need to seek permission to leave.

Furthermore, Yaakov calls for an independent tribunal to judge between them and to clarify this. "Put it here, in the presence of my kinsmen and your kinsmen, and let them decide between the two of us" (ibid 37).

Lavan is rocked by this tribunal and feebly responds: "The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the animals are my animals, and all that you see is mine. Now, what would I do to these daughters of mine today, or to their children, whom they have borne?" (ibid 43). I.e. all he really, meant was that he would never harm his daughters, not that he would actually take them away.

Lavan clearly loses this tribunal as he is forced to make a pact with Yaakov as equals acknowledging that Yaakov is his own separate clan over which he has no rights.

Last year's Sedra Short for Parshat VaYetseh, entitled: " Yaakov's Guilt” appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html.

Another Sedra Short for Parshat VaYetseh, entitled: " The Dust of The Earth" can be found at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_parshablog_archive.html

Parshat Toldot

Yitschak's Vision

"It came to pass when Yitschak was old, and his eyes were too dim to see" (Bereshit 27:1).

Yitschak was blind. Therefore, Yaakov was able to deceive him by announcing that he was Esav, thereby gaining the blessing that Yitschak had intended to give Esav.

Many seem to think Yitschak blindness was not just limited to his vision, he was also blind to Esav's true personality. Had he been aware of who Esav really was, he would never have intended to give him the blessing.

However, upon closer examination we will see that Yitschak was indeed aware of his son's abilities and personality. He was aware that Yaakov was to be the inheritor of the blessings God had given Avraham and had passed down to him. However, he also wanted to ensure that Esav had a future; that he wouldn't be left out.

This is clear from Esav's moving plea to Yitschak immediately after Yaakov's deception was revealed.

"When Esav heard his father's words, he cried out a great and bitter cry, and he said to his father, 'Bless me too, O my father!...Have you not reserved a blessing for me?'… Yitschak answered and said to Esau, 'Behold, I made him a master over you,' …Esav said to his father, 'Have you [but] one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father.' Esav raised his voice and wept" (ibid 34-35).

Three times Esav asks his father for a blessing and each time Yitschak responds that he does not have one. However, this is not true.

When Yitschak sends Yaakov to Padan Aram to find a wife, immediately after this incident, the Yitschak again blesses Yaakov saying: "May the Almighty God bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and you shall become an assembly of peoples. May He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you, that you may inherit the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Avraham" (ibid 28:3-4).

Yitschak blesses Yaakov that he will be Avraham's inheritor, that he will receive the Land of Canaan and that God'ds blessings to Avraham would continue through him.

This is not the blessing that Yitschak intended to give Esav. That (ibid 27:28-29). That was a blessing about material wealth and power, it was not about Avraham's destiny.

Yitschak always intended to pass that onto Yaakov, he was aware that only Yaakov and not Esav, was worthy of it. However, he loved Esav, and just like Avraham with Yishmael, he did not want to leave him empty handed; he wanted to secure his future knowing fully well that Esav was not his inheritor.

However, this was not to be because of Rivka's interference.

The real question therefore, remains, whether Rivka knew that her husband did understand his children. Did she know which blessing Yitschak had intended to give Esav? Would she have reacted differently had she known that Yitschak did not intend to give Esav the inheritance of Avraham?

Last year's Sedra Short for Parshat Toldot, entitled: "Yitchack Avinu – Action Man” appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html.

Another Sedra Short for Parshat Toldot, entitled: "Twins in Her Womb" can be found at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_parshablog_archive.html