This week we reach the end of the book of Genesis, as we read Genesis 47:28-50:26, and its accompanying Haftorah, I Kings 2:1-12. Having dispensed with most of the action of the book, and with most of the story of Joseph, we need only wrap up with the ends of the lives of these characters. But within that is a powerful message on leadership, government, parenting and family relationships- really, any situation with an imbalance of power. Follow me below the orange artistically-rendered sheep for more.
Ever since Abraham entered the picture about two months ago, we’ve dealt with a series of deceptions. Abraham deceives several different kings about his relationship with Sarah, as does Isaac regarding his relationship with Rebecca. Rebecca and Jacob conspire to ensure that the latter receives the birthright, only to be followed by a series of one-upmanship in deception between Lavan and Jacob. Rachel even gets in on the act, hiding her father’s idols. Then the sons get in on it: Shimon (Simeon) and Levi slaughter a city after they circumcise themselves. Then they suggest to their father than Joseph has been mauled by an animal. Judah is deceived by his daughter-in-law into sleeping with her, only to have this revealed and for him to admit that he has not treated her correctly. Joseph tricks his brothers for a while before finally revealing himself to them (we’ll come back to this revelation later in the d’var Torah). In all, we haven’t had a very honest set of forefathers here- if anything, they seem to be a lesson in what not to do.
This week, we finally start to see a resolution to such deception. Early in the parsha, Jacob blesses Joseph, and then his sons, Ephraim and Menashe (Menasse). Or rather, that is the order he blesses them in, but Joseph’s sons were actually born in the opposite order. Here, Joseph tries to prevent deception- knowing that his father is blind, he informs his father that he’s about to give the birthright to the younger son, rather than the older. Jacob does in fact switch the blessings- but the switch is finally done openly. Jacob informs Joseph that the switch is quite intentional and has to do with their places in the future. Jacob, of course, should really have informed Joseph of this up front- but finally, we see an open break in the series of tricks.
The newly open Jacob continues to appear at the beginning of chapter 49, as Jacob gives his “blessings” to his sons. Here, instead of deception, all is once again laid bare. Jacob points out that he was well aware of Reuben’s hidden actions- of sleeping with (or perhaps even raping) Bilhah, one of Jacob’s concubines, and curses Reuben for it. Presumably, this is the sort of thing Jacob should have taken action on earlier, but it’s at least refreshing to see it now. He also gives a similar treatment to Shimon and Levi, based on their violence. Finally, all is open and everything comes to a head (it should be noted that Biblical Critics discuss the series of blessings as descriptions of the lot of the tribes at a much later date- but we’re going for a literary understanding here). Judah, on the other hand, receives quite a bit of praise- he’s a leader, and would later be the ancestor of David, but as we’ll see, he fits into the pattern of breaking the deceptions.
The parsha ends with both Jacob and Joseph dying. After Jacob is buried, the brothers become fearful and engage in one last deception- they tell Joseph that Jacob has commanded him to forgive them. At this, he weeps, and tries to convince them that he has no intention of hurting them. It’s not clear in the text why he weeps, but I tend to think that it’s because they have decided not to trust him- that he wants them to understand that there is no need to deceive him, because he has no desire to deceive them. Finally, the parsha ends with Joseph’s death- and despite his request to be buried back in Canaan, he is embalmed and buried in Egypt instead.
There is a profound message about removing deception and creating open relationships, and it starts in last week’s parsha and continues into this one. One of the most troubling aspects of the whole Joseph story is the way he treats his brothers, first by not revealing himself, then by playing mind games as he returned their silver (two weeks ago) and then plants evidence of a crime on Benjamin. And yet, outside of this, Joseph never seems to be angry with them. So what on earth is going on there?
Some traditional commentaries suggest that Joseph was just trying to see his dreams fulfilled- that his brothers would bow to him. But that could have been achieved much more easily- they came in to see one of the most powerful figures of Egypt; surely they bowed, and the dream was fulfilled, right? Moreover, his dreams don’t come true in quite the way he dreamed them; by the time Jacob comes down, he knows who Joseph is in Egypt, and none of Jacob’s wives come down, so the dreams are never fulfilled. I’d like to look at an alternative interpretation that I think ties together this parsha with the previous ones and gives us an important lesson.
Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, a contemporary commentator, takes what he calls the “literary-theological approach” to biblical interpretation: within a traditional framework, he uses modern close reading ideas to glean new ideas from the Torah. He suggests an interesting interpretation of Joseph’s actions, pointing out that up until last week’s parsha, Joseph did not know what his father’s role in his sale into slavery was. That is, If we go back to the beginning of Vayetze (three weeks ago), Jacob sends out Joseph to his brothers. Maybe Jacob knew what the brothers were planning on doing! When Joseph first encounters his brothers in Egypt (Miketz, two weeks ago), they don’t reveal to him that Jacob has no knowledge of their acts- they discuss among themselves about their acts, but nowhere in that discussion do they mention Jacob’s role, or lack thereof. All they tell Joseph is that they are twelve brothers, the youngest of whom is at home, and one other “is not.” Joseph, knowing the family trait of deceit, cannot trust even his father in this case, and so he in turn deceives them.
The key to breaking the pattern is openness, which occurs in last week’s parsha. When confronted with the planted evidence, Judah finally gives a full accounting- in particular, he recounts his father’s reaction to their request to go down and buy more grain. According to Judah, Jacob had said: “You know that my wife bore me two sons, and the one went out from me, and I said, surely he is torn to pieces, and I have not seen him since.” Rabbi Bin-Nun points out this particular line- that it is only here that Joseph has confirmation that his father was not involved in the attack against him. It is only now, when the full reaction is revealed, that the deception is broken, and Joseph feels compelled to reveal himself.
Throughout this accounting we have seen people repeatedly deceive one another. In this section in particular, we receive a powerful message- that distrust festers. When leaders are known to lie, we come not to trust what they say. This is true in families, and it’s true in government as well. It takes a profound revelation to shift this balance, and even then, there can be setbacks along the way, because the trust is shattered. In order to break the cycle, those with power must be open and truthful- and while they can insist on truthfulness from those with less power, they need to be aware that their actions create this distrust and that it can fester for a long time. The only way to make things better is a truly painful process of revelation, whether that’s family secrets or NSA spying, and to continue this process of revelation- even if the trust can’t fully be rebuilt.
Shabbat Shalom