Parashat Va'yai'shev

This week’s portion, Va’yai’shev (literally, “and he resided” as in “and Ya’akov  resided in the land where his father has lived”) is a very interesting portion. Much shorter than its predecessor, Va’ye’shev is a succinct, wonderfully-written first episode in a three-part series focusing on one person: Yoseph, Ya’akov’s beloved son.  Yoseph  is particularly important to Ya’akov as he is one of only two sons that Rachel, his beloved wife for whom he worked 14 years, gave him. 

The portion begins with a description of Yoseph, who is seventeen when we meet him, and – precisely like his mother Rachel – is described as both “handsome looking” and “a feast for the eyes” (Gen. 39:6; compare Gen. 29:17 (same exact description of his mother Rachel)). It is not a surprise, therefore, that this most-beloved, favorite son of Ya’akov feels somewhat superior to his ten older brothers. Dressed in his unique multi-colored garb, this young man is also – as we learn at the beginning of the portion – the one brother who constantly run to tells his parents about the misdeeds of his brothers, “slandering them [in the eyes of their father]” (Gen. 37:2) And since every action has a reaction (especially in tight-knit families), it should come at no surprise that the brothers, too, “hated him and did not speak to him.” (Gen. 37:4)

  After this initial description of Yoseph – which is not all that complementary – the portion continues to describe his two dreams.  The notion of dreams returns at the end of the portion, where we meet Yoseph as a prisoner in an Egyptian jail, interpreting dreams for the local cabinet members who are also imprisoned. Other than those two sets of dreams, which “bookend” this week’s portion, we also encounter a very interesting story about Yehuda – Yoseph’s big brother – and his extremely able and sophisticated daughter-in-law, Tamar.  Unfortunately, I have room this week to discuss only the first of these three fascinating stories – that of Yoseph’s dreams.

I. Yoseph’s Dreams

Yoseph is well known today as the first “dream solver” – the person who may interpret the meaning of any dream presented to him. Long before Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams (1899) – in which Freud has claimed to “provide proof that there is a psychological technique which allows us to interpret dreams” – the biblical Yoseph realized that dreams consists of our subconscious manifestations of desires, fears, and wishes.  But before turning to the dreams of others – like any good therapist – he had to deal with his own.

Yoseph’s dreams may be considered simple – even simplistic – in comparison to the more complex dreams he later deciphers; they are quickly understood by his own family members – brothers and parents alike.  In the first of these dreams, Yoseph and his brothers are binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly Yoseph’s sheaf stands tall while all the others’ sheaves are gathered around it and bow to it.  (Gen. 37:7) Indeed, the dream is simply portrayed, visibly powerful, and clearly understood.  The brothers’ reaction, too, is also quite expected:  “And the brothers have said: Do you intend to rule over us like a king? To govern us like a ruler? And they have continued to despise him both for his dreams and his words.” (Gen. 37:8)

Yoseph’s second dream is not more sophisticated, though certainly more daring. This time, he removes his kingdom from the simple farm into the heavenly skies. In this second dream no less than the sun, the moon, and all eleven planets [an astonishing astronomical bit of information, considering the time it was written; more on that later] are all bowing down to him. Hearing about this new level of aspirations, even Yoseph’s own loving father cannot stand idle: “And his father scolded him and said: what is this dream you dreamt – should myself and your mother and all your brothers bow down to you? And his brothers were jealous of him, and his father kept that in his mind.”  (Gen. 37:9-11).

II. Why Did Yoseph Reveal His Dreams?

Let us pause for a moment and consider Yoseph’s situation. He knows full well, even before revealing his first dream to his brothers, that he is far from being his brothers’ favorite. Indeed, by the time the second dream comes around he can be certain that even his adoring father is likely to be upset with him for reporting its content. Yet he goes on to reveal the content of both dreams to his brothers and his father. Why did he do that? The traditional midrashim simply saw Yoseph as a either too naïve or too young and ignorant to understand the ramification of such a move as revealing the content of his own dreams. Yet everything we learn later about Yoseph suggests the exact opposite – that he was neither naïve nor stupid; that he was, in fact, one of the shrewdest, smartest, and most practical figures to roam Genesis’ pages. This young man, who was immediately liked by everyone who laid eyes on him – men and women, high-ranked officers and lowly prisoners alike – was able to successfully climb the social and political  ranks of the only regional superpower and to become, at an extremely young age of 30, the first-ever “Vice President” to the King of Egypt himself. Smart, sophisticated, polished, and with keen political instincts, Yoseph was everything but naive. That should give us pause: Why would such a person knowingly antagonize both his brothers (who hate him to begin with) and his parents (who adore him) by telling them the content of his condescending dreams? Let us examine those dreams again, more closely.    

1. First Dream: In the Field

We begin the account of the first dream. By the time he had it, we already know several things about Yoseph: First, of all the brothers, he was the most beloved by Ya’akov (and had the wardrobe to show for it). Second, the other brothers hated him, and for good reason. Third, and importantly, the brothers’ animosity was so severe that they had stopped any communication with him – they did not speak to Yoseph at all. Finally, they were bigger than him – stronger both as individuals and as a team. Considering all these factors combined, it is clear that Yoseph’s approaching of his brothers to tell them about his “superiority complex” dream – a dream that can be understood only as a direct provocation – seems more like a suicide mission than a smart, politically-savvy move.

Note also that the first dream is a bit more subtle than the second: Here, the brothers’ sheaves bow to Yoseph’s sheaf; but they themselves do not bow to him.  It is only in the second dream where the sun, moon, and eleven planets actually bow directly to Yoseph – to him, not to his planet. Is that important? Can those dreams be interpreted differently?

2. Second Dream: The Sun, Moon, and Eleven Planets

Of all the biblical dreams, Yoseph’s second dream is my favorite.  Perhaps because it was depicted by Walt Disney in his masterful adaptation of Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer's Apprentice” in the movie Fantasia (the only piece, by the way, to be reproduced in the 2000 version of the film.) And while the original story about the mischievous helper of the magician, authored by the famous German poet Goethe, says nothing about Yoseph’s dream (see http://german.about.com/library/blgzauberl.htm), the animated depiction by Disney has Mickey Mouse dreaming about himself as standing on a very tall cliff, surrounded by gushing waters, and ordering the sun, moon, and planets around him to obey all his commands (conveyed by the magic stick). Thus Mickey’s only “dream” in that story is directly based on Yoseph’s second dream in our portion.

Another reason why I like this dream is because of the profound cosmological knowledge it contains. Recall the period in which the dream is being reported – very little astronomical data is said to be known at the time. Yet the dream picks the number 11 for all the planets; this, until recently, has been considered the exact number depicted by NASA to describe the same phenomenon. 

(see http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfm). I doubt this is a mere coincidence.

Then again, we must consider the fact that here Yoseph is about to irritate not only his brothers, but also his beloved mother and father. Why would he do that? He already made this mistake once – must he repeat it a second time, with even worse ramifications?   

III. The Dreams “Interpreted”: Yoseph, A Man of Faith

I think that the “interpretation” of (or the explanation for) the revelation of both dreams is one: Yoseph reported them “as is,” without refinement, to both to his brothers and parents not because he was naïve, but because he considered them to be divine interventions.  Indeed, every time Yoseph is asked later about dreams and their interpretation, he always invokes God. (see, e.g., Gen. 40:8; 41:16; 41:25). And dreams in which God was involved also played a major role in the life of his father Ya’acov. I venture to guess that the story of Ya’akov’s most famous dream – “Jacob’s Ladder,” which was shortly reviewed in a previous post – was told over and over to the “chosen son.” Thus, when Yoseph begins to have dreams of his own he clearly senses that God has finally come to him as well. That is the reason he told the dreams’ content – without omitting any of the details – to both his brothers and his father. That is the reason he even dared to challenge the very authority of his beloved father; he truly felt this was God’s calling. Perhaps he was right. Recall that when asked to “solve” one of the dreams later in his life, Yoseph does not hesitate to tell a (former) senior official at Pharaoh’s court that he is about to be hung; this, too, could have been considered a foolish (not to mention life-threatening) move, considering the position Yoseph was in; yet he preferred to tell the truth the way he saw it – as God ordered him to do. 

I think this is one of the Portion’s most important, and often overlooked, lessons: Yoseph was neither Naïve nor stupid, neither arrogant nor too shy; he simply took dreams as a serious manifestation of divine intervention. Seen in that light, I think we may be able to better understand Yoseph’s actions in the beginning of this portion. More broadly, though Yoseph is never mentioned as a great hero of our tradition – never mentioned within the same line as the three fathers, Moshe, or any of the important prophets – Yoseph was truly a man of faith. Yoseph believed in God, and was willing to risk his life and reputation, time and again, to do what he considered to be God’s will. And that, to me, is a true Jewish hero.       

Shabbat Shalom,

Doron

Parashat Va'yish'lach

The eighth portion of the week, Va’yish’lach – literally, “and he sent,” as in “Ya’akov has sent agents to his brother Esav” – continues to reveal the fascinating story of our third Forefather, Ya’akov (soon to be named Israel).  Indeed, last week we reviewed Ya’akov’s twenty years of service with Laban, a period summarized by Ya’akov in a very moving monologue at the end of the portion. Now we enter a new era, one in which Ya’akov prepares for a meeting he dreaded (and escaped from) for twenty years – the reunion with his brother Esav.  The portion also includes the famous story known as the Rape of Dina, Ya’akov’s daughter. I will make a short comment on each of those subjects.

I. “And Ya’akov remained on his own…”

Careful and meticulous – that is how the text describes Ya’akov’s preparations for his meeting with his twin brother Esav for the first time in twenty years. To recall:  This is the same brother who said, even before their father Yitzchak passed, “Let the mourning period of my father end, and I will kill my brother Ya’akov.” (Gen. 27:41)   This is the same brother from whom Ya’akov escaped to the other end of the Middle East.  This is the same brother from whom Ya’akov bought (or stole, if you ask Esav) the precious right of the first-born, the birthright, and then received their father’s blessings for it (or stole it yet again, according to the same version).   

And Ya’akov knows – what proves to be right – that his homecoming ceremony cannot be kept a secret. Somehow, despite the lack of internet or cable news in those days, everyone seems to know that Ya’akov – with his vast amount of property, two wives, two midwives, and eleven sons – is coming back to town. So Ya’akov prepares, and he prepares well.  He is hoping for the best but planning for the worst.  He begins by what every good general would do: gathering intelligence.  So he sends a group of reconnaissance warriors to find out about Esav’s intentions and actions. ((A textual note: It is interesting to note that the warriors, who are no doubt human, are described by the Hebrew original as “angels” (“Mal’a’chim”; Gen. 32:4), while the “real” angel that appears later in the portion is described as “a man” (“Eash”; Gen. 32:26)). Ya’akov then asks these men to deliver a message to his brother – basically that he has been living with Lavan (a relative of both brothers) and that now he, Ya’akov, would like to appease Esav. But when these messengers return to Ya’akov they mention nothing about a message delivered; rather, their report is somewhat bleak: “We arrived at your brother, at Esav, and there he was – marching towards you and [a small army of] four hundred men with him.” (Gen. 32:7, my translation).  

Ya’akov, realizing the gravity of the situation, begins to prepare accordingly. He first divides his property, theorizing that if Esav would hit the first camp he would at least have the other to save.  He then prays to God and asks for salvation – something he hasn’t done, perhaps, in twenty years.  But our Third Father also realizes (and internalizes) the very important notion according to which God only helps those who help themselves: He thus prepares a major gift for his brother – hundreds of sheep, ewes, rams, camels, cows, and bulls – and then divides it, too, into several groups.  He instructs his slaves to keep a safe distance between each group of presents, such that every time Esav would run into one of them he – Esav – would hear the exact same text: “this is a gift from your servant Ya’akov.” (Gen. 32:19) Ya’akov then takes his two wives, two midwives, and eleven sons and crosses the Jordan into Israel.  So far for Ya’akov’s meticulous planning. [Consider, in that respect, Ya’akov’s previous encounters with his brother and how well prepared was he for those as well – as in buying the Birthright for a well-cooked stew, and receiving the blessings from father Isaac by wearing sheep’s skin on his bear arms; for Ya’akov, it has always been about preparation.]

And after all that preparation, after taking care of his family, his property, his men, and his brother – after all that, Ya’akov is left on his own: “…  And Ya’akov remained on his own” (Gen. 32:25).

And then he wrestles all night with an apparent Angel (the issue of the angel’s true nature is far from self-evident, but I cannot enter that discussion here). After Ya’akov insists on receiving a blessing, the Angel blesses him and changes his name to Israel, as he could be present – “sari’ta” – with both God and Men.  (Gen. 32:25-33) And so the name of our people was created – “Am Israel,” the nation of Israel. We are not the nation of Abraham, nor of Isaac, but of Ya’akov’s – now called Israel.

The text does not explain why or how Ya’akov, who was accompanied by a huge entourage of a few hundred men and women, was “left alone” in the middle of the night to fight with an angel.  But perhaps I may offer one direction to think about it; and that direction relates directly to the heart of the human spirit, to the ultimate understanding of the human mind. 

After all the careful preparations, after all the meticulous planning, after all the cost-benefit analyses, game-theory considerations, and damage-control scenarios – Ya’akov is left alone.  It is he – and no one else – who has to wrestle with the consequences of his actions. It is he who has to fight his inner demons.  It is he who cannot sleep at night before the big event, the meeting with his twin brother after twenty years. It is he who has to find his own God and wrestle with him all night. 

And this, I am afraid, is true for every one of us as well.  Indeed, at the end of all ends, “the buck stops here” for each and every one of us (not only for the president who coined the term).  We may plan all we want, persuade ourselves that we have externalized all the risk in the world, hide behind the most cutting-edge theories and well thought-out doctrines; but at the end of the day, it is us – each and every one of us – who has to account for their actions, all on our own. It is us who need to wrestle with our inner Gods all night.  And only if we are still standing in the morning, we can be truly feel “Israel” – like someone who stood with both men and gods and was not defeated.

And, in case you are still wondering:  The actual meeting with Esav went just fine. Esav ran toward his brother, hugged him, kissed him, and made peace (Gen. 33:4). All’s well between the brothers now.  [To be sure, things are a bit more complicated than that; but let’s leave it at that for now.]

II. The Rape of Dina

Dina’s rape is one of the most complicated stories in Ya’akov’s history.  According to the text, Dina – the only daughter of Ya’akov, who came from Leah (big sister) – went for a walk, when suddenly a young prince, the son of a local king, saw her.  He took her to himself, slept with her, and tortured her.  The story quickly spreads – “an outrage has been done: someone slept with Ya’akov’s daughter” and her brothers are called into action.  But then a sudden twist:  The rapist falls in love with Dina, which apparently was not part of the plan. And so the prince’s father, the local king, asks Dina’s father (Ya’akov) for permission to marry her.  Ya’akov, not a young lad, delegates the treatment of this delicate political issue to his sons.  They plot a revenge, whereby they would ask the men to circumcise themselves as a precondition to the wedding, and then kill them while still in pain from the procedure. The plan carries out flawlessly, and Shimon and Levi execute it to its last gruesome detail. They save their sister, and everyone’s happy. 

Or are they? Even Ya’akov himself start having second thoughts when he hears about the price this local tribe had to pay for sleeping with his daughter; their men are all dead, their property gone, their wives and children taken prisoners of war. Isn’t that too much, wonders Ya’akov even taking into account the horrific thing done by one of theirs?  (Gen. 34:30) The brothers answer with a single sentence – or rhetorical question, more accurately – which promptly ends all discussion. In fact, this same single sentence is still used today by angry brothers (and husbands) who wish to avenge their loved one’s rape: “Should our sister be treated like a whore?”  (Gen. 34:31)

You decide.

Shabbat Shalom.

Doron