Joseph and Judah: A Sacred Dialogue
D’var Torah for Parashat Vayeishev
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
December 13, 2022
In its first verse, this week’s Torah portion, Vayeishev (“And Jacob dwelled,” Genesis 37:1-40:23), implies a peaceful conclusion to Jacob’s travails. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
This portion begins the saga of Joseph and his brothers, a well-known story retold in novels, movies and musicals. Joseph—the dreamer, the arrogant, the favorite son—will be forcefully degraded. The coat of many colors given him as a sign of his superiority by his father, Jacob, is torn and dipped in blood, then presented to Jacob as evidence that Joseph was devoured by a wild beast. (Which, in a sense, he was—the wild beast being his own brothers). However, he is not killed; at Judah’s suggestion, Joseph is instead sold to a caravan of Midianite traders who deliver him to the hands of a minister in Pharaoh’s court. Handsome and successful, Joseph is tempted by his master’s wife but does not give in. However, he is imprisoned after the woman falsely accuses him of attempted rape. In prison, Joseph again finds success and is put in charge of other prisoners. He turns out to be not only a dreamer but also an interpreter of dreams. It so “happens” that two of Pharaoh’s top ministers are imprisoned in the same prison. Joseph interprets their dreams correctly: One is executed, the other is released and restored to his important position. But he promptly forgets his promise to have Joseph released, and Joseph must languish in prison for a while longer.
Usually left out of the more popular versions of this story is the seemingly extraneous account of Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar. However, it’s actually an important tale, the turning point in Judah’s journey toward redemption.
The story of Joseph takes up nearly a quarter of the entire book of Genesis. That isn’t only because it is so well told. This story of pride, downfall and deliverance takes us from the humble tents of Jacob to the splendid court of the most powerful man in the ancient world—Pharaoh. It includes a large and varied cast and features dramatic turns of events. As the story unfolds, the fascinating psychological journey taken by all its characters turns them all from shallow, cardboard figures into engrossing, three-dimensional individuals who hold within them the potential for both weakness and greatness.
But there is yet more there than meets the eye.
The story of Joseph and his brothers actually sets the stage for an ideological dialogue that goes on to this day. The central conflict isn’t only between Joseph and Judah; it’s about the philosophy that each of them represents. Joseph stands for the belief that everything is pre-ordained, that God sets the stage and we, human beings, are merely the actors in this divine drama. In this narrative, Joseph is the lightening rod, the figurehead through which God’s will is done. Judah’s belief, on the other hand, is much more personal and practical. Judah’s contrition—both towards his father, his daughter-in-law Tamar, and the brother he had sold into slavery—leads to a complete reversal of character. Judah learns from his mistakes. He understands the consequences of his past bad choices and makes the effort to correct his ways. In this narrative, it is Judah, not Joseph, who is the true hero of the story. That’s why we, the Jewish People, follow the religion called Judaism. Judah’s belief in free-will, his understanding that God gives us the ability to turn our failures into triumphs, has become the foundation of our faith.
And yet, the messianic belief that Joseph represents—the belief that Redemption lies somewhere just beyond our reach but inevitably awaiting us—is there as well. It is this belief that has helped the Jewish People overcome all the struggles we have faced throughout our history. Joseph’s ability to understand the role God plays in our lives, his willingness to forgive (but not forget)—these are the characteristics that, right along with Judah’s practicality, will define Jewish faith and history for millennia to come.
It's a sacred dialogue.
© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman
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