Vayesh: Genesis 37:1:40:23 & Vayesh: Genesis 37:1:40:23
(Last week we focused on Hannukah – this week we will review last week’s and this week’s portion)
Summary:
Our portions focus on the story of Joseph. We read about Joseph’s dream when the wheat and the stars bow down to him.
We meet a mysterious man who directs Joseph in the field. Then we learn that Joseph is thrown into a pit and sold to traders by his jealous brothers. We also read a narrative detour of sexual intrigue surrounding Tamar. After that we return to Joseph’s journey into Egypt which leads to Potiphar’s home and his wife. Finally, in an Egyptian prison cell Joseph is transformed from mere prisoner to dream interpreter par-excellence, eventually for the Pharaoh himself. In our second portion Joseph rises to a position of power and prepares Egypt for a famine. Eventually Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt in search of food. Joseph recognizes them and sets up a forced reunion which will only take place in next week’s Torah portion.
Lesson:
Our Torah portions include an expansive narrative with deep lessons. What’s a Jews to do, what’s a rabbi to do – so many themes, so many lessons, so many opportunities for learning!
Reading through the parsha, I was lost in the macro – until I noticed the micro – one small verse that is repeated throughout our portion. It called out to me amidst the richness of our text.
After being sold into slavery, we read four times: כי יהוה אתו -The Eternal was with him (was with Joseph). The commentators of our tradition see a problem here. Isn’t God everywhere? Isn’t God with all of us all the time? And especially Joseph – one of our ancestors, an intimate of God. This small phrase calls out for interpretation!
And the rabbis of our tradition have taken up the challenge!
Rav Huna in a Midrash, a rabbinic tale, attempts to solve the problem. He teaches that the verse means that “Joseph whispered God’s name whenever he came in and whenever he went out.” It's not that Joseph received special attention from God…no, the contrary, Joseph cultivated his own internal consciousness of God’s presence. By repeating God’s name to himself and invoking God’s love and involvement, Joseph trained himself to perceive the miraculous in the ordinary, to experience wonder in the mundane. Rav Huna goes even further. He teaches that Joseph whispered God’s name. His religious experience was an internal one. He didn’t need to testify aloud to God’s presence in his life – he simply reminded himself softly as he came in and went out.
The eternal was with Joseph…in a quiet and uneventful way, whispering God’s name, Joseph brought God into his everyday life.
The great commentator Rashi also notices the verse and attempts to solve the problem quite differently. “The name of God was often, was fluent, in his mouth.” For Rashi, Joseph spoke aloud about God, not merely to God. He shared his fervent love for God, his eagerness to serve God, letting others know that God was constantly in his life. What’s the purpose of testifying aloud? Through his public affirmation of God, Joseph may have led others to consider their own relationship with God. Through speaking aloud of God, Joseph challenged others, provoked others to rethink their own assumptions, to search for God in their lives.
The eternal was with Joseph…in an obvious and public manner, Joseph testified to God’s presence in the world, in his life. By testifying aloud, Joseph brought God into his own consciousness and thus the consciousness of others.
Quiet piety or open testifying – two interpretations of one small verse. Both teach us. Both provide models for us.
Sometimes the eternal is with us in quiet personal ways: when we embody God’s love and follow in God’s footsteps, when we act Godly, demanding justice for refugees, visiting the sick, caring for the homeless,
Sometimes the eternal is with us in public ways: when we speak about God. Whether it's in the synagogue, in Torah study, or in our everyday lives, we need to speak of, share, learn from others about how we conceive of God, how Judaism can concretize our historic love affair with our Creator, our Liberator.
“The Eternal was with him.” Just as God was with Joseph in quiet and personal ways; just as God was with Joseph in a public and communal manner, so may God be with us. May we act Godly in our day-to-day lives. And may we testify to God’s presence in our lives.
Miketz: Genesis 41:1-44:17
(Last week we focused on Hannukah – this week we will review last week’s and this week’s portion)
Summary:
Our portions focus on the story of Joseph. We read about Joseph’s dream when the wheat and the stars bow down to him.
We meet a mysterious man who directs Joseph in the field. Then we learn that Joseph is thrown into a pit and sold to traders by his jealous brothers. We also read a narrative detour of sexual intrigue surrounding Tamar. After that we return to Joseph’s journey into Egypt which leads to Potiphar’s home and his wife. Finally, in an Egyptian prison cell Joseph is transformed from mere prisoner to dream interpreter par-excellence, eventually for the Pharaoh himself. In our second portion Joseph rises to a position of power and prepares Egypt for a famine. Eventually Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt in search of food. Joseph recognizes them and sets up a forced reunion which will only take place in next week’s Torah portion.
Lesson:
Our Torah portions include an expansive narrative with deep lessons. What’s a Jews to do, what’s a rabbi to do – so many themes, so many lessons, so many opportunities for learning!
Reading through the parsha, I was lost in the macro – until I noticed the micro – one small verse that is repeated throughout our portion. It called out to me amidst the richness of our text.
After being sold into slavery, we read four times: כי יהוה אתו -The Eternal was with him (was with Joseph). The commentators of our tradition see a problem here. Isn’t God everywhere? Isn’t God with all of us all the time? And especially Joseph – one of our ancestors, an intimate of God. This small phrase calls out for interpretation!
And the rabbis of our tradition have taken up the challenge!
Rav Huna in a Midrash, a rabbinic tale, attempts to solve the problem. He teaches that the verse means that “Joseph whispered God’s name whenever he came in and whenever he went out.” It's not that Joseph received special attention from God…no, the contrary, Joseph cultivated his own internal consciousness of God’s presence. By repeating God’s name to himself and invoking God’s love and involvement, Joseph trained himself to perceive the miraculous in the ordinary, to experience wonder in the mundane. Rav Huna goes even further. He teaches that Joseph whispered God’s name. His religious experience was an internal one. He didn’t need to testify aloud to God’s presence in his life – he simply reminded himself softly as he came in and went out.
The eternal was with Joseph…in a quiet and uneventful way, whispering God’s name, Joseph brought God into his everyday life.
The great commentator Rashi also notices the verse and attempts to solve the problem quite differently. “The name of God was often, was fluent, in his mouth.” For Rashi, Joseph spoke aloud about God, not merely to God. He shared his fervent love for God, his eagerness to serve God, letting others know that God was constantly in his life. What’s the purpose of testifying aloud? Through his public affirmation of God, Joseph may have led others to consider their own relationship with God. Through speaking aloud of God, Joseph challenged others, provoked others to rethink their own assumptions, to search for God in their lives.
The eternal was with Joseph…in an obvious and public manner, Joseph testified to God’s presence in the world, in his life. By testifying aloud, Joseph brought God into his own consciousness and thus the consciousness of others.
Quiet piety or open testifying – two interpretations of one small verse. Both teach us. Both provide models for us.
Sometimes the eternal is with us in quiet personal ways: when we embody God’s love and follow in God’s footsteps, when we act Godly, demanding justice for refugees, visiting the sick, caring for the homeless,
Sometimes the eternal is with us in public ways: when we speak about God. Whether it's in the synagogue, in Torah study, or in our everyday lives, we need to speak of, share, learn from others about how we conceive of God, how Judaism can concretize our historic love affair with our Creator, our Liberator.
“The Eternal was with him.” Just as God was with Joseph in quiet and personal ways; just as God was with Joseph in a public and communal manner, so may God be with us. May we act Godly in our day-to-day lives. And may we testify to God’s presence in our lives.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Donald Goor