Parashat Vayeshev | From Silence to Action

“So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood; and they sent the multicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, ‘We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.’ Then he examined it and said, ‘It is my son’s tunic. A vicious animal has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!’ So Jacob tore his clothes, and put on a sackcloth undergarment over his waist, and mourned for his son many days.[1]” Jacob is certainly not a perfect father but our hearts go out to him, the man who is no youngster, now facing a great difficulty of his life. Just a short while prior Jacob requested, “Are your brothers not pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, ‘I will go.’[2]” Sefer HaAgadah by Bialik and Ravnitski we find the following, “Rabbi Hema Bar Hanina said: When Jacob remembered these words his stomach would upset: you knew that your brothers hate you and yet you still said to me ‘הנני – I will go!’[3]”

So, it seems that based on what this rabbi says that Jacob praises his son Joseph, who he thinks is no longer alive, that even though he knew how much his brothers despise him, he still agrees to leave home and go out and find them. However, there is something deeper we need to consider here and that is the issue of responsibility. Joseph dreamt about the bound sheaves of his brothers that bowed down to his sheaf. In a follow-on dream “the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.[4]” A dream which he is quick to share with his brothers and father, who responded, “‘What is this dream that you have had? Am I and your mother and your brothers actually going to come to bow down to the ground before you?’ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.[5]”

What we actually learn from here is that Jacob was well aware of the relationships between the brothers however, Jacob, simply kept this matter in his mind. He does not take the time, so it seems, to ponder about the issue and what the consequences should be, or how to prevent the brothers from harassing Joseph. Maybe this is simply hindsight – who would have thought that brothers would do such a thing to one of them? Maybe Jacob ought to have done that after his previous experience with their hasty behavior. He at least was expected to remember what Simeon and Levi have done, where “each took his sword and came upon the city undetected, and killed every male[6]” following what Shechem the son of Hamor had done to Dinah their sister. He has already experienced how they have acted and possibly there was a need to take some more time, a little more effort, prior to sending Joseph to find his brothers.

Jacob, as a father and a leader of a tribe, could have mostly likely done better. Think a little bit more on what could happen. Are there any risks on the way? Is it wise to send Joseph by himself to find his brothers, even if they would do him no harm? There are obviously also other hazards on the long way. It is important to plan ahead, spend time thinking on how to mitigate risks and increase the chance for the mission to succeed. It is insufficient to keep matters in mind, it is absolutely required to act so that there is a chance of success. With that said, it is also important to avoid being overly cautious, a situation that happens when we are so careful of what could go wrong that we refrain from doing anything. This route will also not lead us to success. We always have to balance between the risks that we take, or have others take on our behalf or order, and the benefit that may be bestowed on those taking the risk.

The prophet Amos, speaking of the sins of Israel, has this to say, “‘But you made the Nazirites drink wine, And you commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!' Behold, I am making a rut in the ground beneath you, Just as a wagon makes a rut when filled with sheaves. Refuge will be lost from the swift, And the strong will not strengthen his power, Nor the warrior save his life. The one who grasps the bow will not stand his ground, The swift of foot will not escape, Nor will the one who rides the horse save his life. Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked on that day,’ declares the Lord.[7]” Taking the time to think about what it is the prophet is trying to say here, we can see that on one hand there is great success, plenty of wine and harvest, military might, horses and weaponry. All of these cannot withstand hardship when the people lack the words of the prophets. That situation where the prophets, whose words can be harsh and demanding, putting a high standard of conduct, are not pleasant to listen to, and therefore hushed. It may seem we are better off by not listening, refraining from hearing, not allowing the words to enter our domain.

There is an important lesson to us all. We cannot expect to change things if we simply remember them, or just keep them in our minds. We must fight for them. This can be for the rights of others, but not forgetting to fight for our own rights. It is the profound understanding that our rights should be no more than anyone else’s but also not less. Unlike Jacob we shall not try to just keep the matter to ourselves, unlike Israel, we shall not try to have them silenced.

Shabbat Shalom and wishes for Good Health.

Reuven Marko, 26 November 2021, 22 Kislev, 5782

[1] Genesis 37 31-34 [2] Genesis 37 13 [3] Sefer Hagada, 3rd edition (Hebrew, my free translation), 38, 14, 89, based on Bereshit Rabah 84 [4] Genesis 37 9 [5] Genesis 37 10-11 [6] Genesis 34 25 [7] Amos 2 12-16