 Parshat VaYeishev
First Aliya - 11 p'sukim (37:1-11) [sdt] These are the TO'L'DOT of Yaakov: Yosef... Should not the Torah have started with Reuven? This comes to show us, says the Gemara, that Yosef should have been Yaakov's firstborn, but G-d's mercy for Leah put her before Rachel in giving birth. [sdt] The Gemara (Yerushalmi) wonders what Yosef reported about the brothers to Yaakov. R. Meir says, that they ate "limb from a living animal"; R. Yehuda says that they belittled the sons of Bilha and Zilpa and mistreated them; R. Shimon says that they cast their gaze upon the local women. R. Yehuda b. Pazi quotes theverse from Mishlei: "The scales and weighing stones of justice are HaShem's", meaning that a person is punished measure for measure. (Sources explain that the brothers did not do these things; Yosef misinterpreted what he saw.) In Yosef's case, the slaughter of a goat was instrumental in his abduction and the deception of his father; he was belittled and enslaved; he was accused of immoral behavior with Potifar's wife. Yosef's second dream, about the Sun, Moon, and stars bowing to him, added fuel to his brothers' hatred. Yaakov's reaction was to point out the absurdity of the dream, since Rachel, represented by the Moon, had already died and would therefore not be bowing to Yosef. Rashi says two different things: (1) The dream was referring to Bilha who raised Yosef in Rachel's absence; and (2) even "true" dreams have an element of nonsense. These seem to be mutually exclusive statements - if the Moon represents Bilha, then the dream contained no nonsense. Yaakov seems to have purposely voiced the second notion in order to diffuse some of the brothers' anger.
Second Aliya - 11 p'sukim (37:12-22) A point must be made about the concluding pasuk of this Aliya, which gives credit to Reuven for saving Yosef. Commentaries say that Reuven could have talked the brother out of the whole thing; instead, he suggested the snake- and scorpion-infested pit. Nonetheless, Reuven is credited for his intention to save Yosef. How much more so do we have to honor those who plan and succeed with good deeds and mitzvot. Rashi says that Reuven truly intended
to come back and save Yosef - that's good - but his reason was that he, as oldest, would
take all the blame - that's not necessarily a nice reason. Nonetheless, he gets the credit
for the good deed he planned on doing - even though it wasn't accomplished AND even though
his motives were not pure. Again I say, it give you something to think about. What credit
there is for proper motives, and for actual success. 3rd Aliya - 14 p'sukim (37:23-36) Commentaries point out that just as
Yaakov had deceived his father with a goat and a garment, so too was he deceived with a
goat and a garment. The dish prepared by Rivka for Yaakov to serve his father was made
from goat meat. Rivka dressed Yaakov in Eisav's special garment. The brothers took Yosef's
special garment - theK'tonet Passim - and smeared it with goat's blood. This is a stark
example of "Mida k'neged mida" - measure for measure. This is considered an indication that Yaakov subconsciously knew that Yosef was alive; one naturally accepts consolation for the dead after a time, but not for the missing. Try to imagine what it was like for
Yaakov Avinu, and what it is like for the families of Israel's missing soldiers. This is
why this Shabbat was chosen as Shabbat Ne'edarei Zahal. See the Special Features section. 4th Aliya - 30 p'sukim (38:1-30) [sdt] Why is the story of Yosef interrupted to tell us about Yehuda's situation? Rashi tells us that Yehuda was no longer looked up to by his brothers. After they saw the terrible effect on Yaakov of the Yosef business, they blamed Yehuda for not talking them out of the whole idea. Hence the term "And Yehuda went down from his brothers..." There he meets and marries the daughter of Shu'a, who bears him 3 sons. He marries off his eldest Er to Tamar. When Er dies, the next brother Onan, marries his brother's widow. When Onan also dies, Tamar is left to wait for the third son, Shelah. Then Yehuda's wife dies. Yehuda travels to the area where Tamar lives. Whenshe hears of his arrival and realizes that she has not been given to Shelah yet, she disguises herself. Yehuda, thinking she is a prostitute, sleeps with her. She asks and receives 3 items as security that he will send her payment. When it becomes known that Tamar is pregnant, Yehuda is summoned. Assuming that she has acted sinfully, he is prepared to have her punished. Tamar produces the 3 items and announces that she is pregnant by their owner. [sdt] The Gemara teaches that one must avoid embarrassing another at all costs - it is better to be thrown into a fiery furnace than embarrass someone. We learn this from Tamar, who did not denounce Yehuda, even though she would have been considered guilty of immorality had Yehuda not owned up to his actions. Yehuda recognizes that he is the guilty one, not Tamar. She gives birth to twins (one extending his hand first, the other actually being born first). They are named Peretz (ancestor of King David) and Zerach. Note the repeat of the confused firstborn theme. (Commentaries explain that prior to Matan Torah, any close relative could take the childless wife of the deceased; after the Torah was given, only the brother qualifies for YIBUM.) [sdt] Note how the "measure for
measure" punishment continues. Yaakov deceives his father with a garment (Eisav's)
and fans the jealousy of his son's against Yosef with the "coat of many colors".
He is deceived (and devastated) by that same coat when the brothers bring it back to him
all bloodied. Yehuda is "troubled" by his garment which he gave to Tamar as one
of the three securities for his promise to pay her with goats. (P'tilim, says Rashi,
refers to Yehuda's cloak.) Yosef, the victim (but not free of guilt in the affair) has his
coat grabbed by Potifar's wife. Yosef leaves it in her hands as he runs from the house;
the coat becomesthe damning piece of evidence against him. (See further on.) Interesting,
no? KI IM HALECHEM ASHER HU OCHEIL (except for the bread which he ate) = 20+10 (30) + 1+40 (41) + 5+30+8+40 (83) + 1+300+200 (501) + 5+6+1 (12) 1+6+20+30 (57) = 724. HI ISHTO (she is his wife) = 5+10+1
(16) + 1+300+400+6 (707) = 723. 5th Aliya - 6 p'sukim (39:1-6) The Midrash says that Yosef was aware
of his looks and became too comfortable in Potifar's house. Things were going well, he had
good food and drink, and he began "curling his hair". G-d (so to speak) said to
Yosef: Your father is in agony and you are enjoying yourself? I shall bring on the
"bear" (a reference to the aggressivewife of Potifar). Sixth Aliya - 17 p'sukim (39:7-23) [sdt] The Sfat Emet calls our attention to to sequence of verbs - And he refused, and he said... First and foremost when a person is being led into temptation, he must stand firm and refuse to go. THEN, if warranted, he can explain his reasons. The refusal must come first. This is a lesson we learn from Yosef HaTzaddik. She grabs him on a day when no one else is in the house. Yosef flees, leaving his coat behind. (This is the second time he has left his coat in the hands of others.) Potifar's wife denounces Yosef to all who will listen, and Potifar has no choice but to have Yosef imprisoned. G-d "favors" Yosef in prison, and Yosef becomes well-liked and respected there too. Even in his troubled circumstances, Yosef is watched over favorably by G-d. [sdt] Commentaries see the episode of Potifar's wife as an appropriate punishment for Yosef: (a) having been vain about his good looks, (b) having reported to his father that his brothers had been "lifting their eyes" to the local girls, and (c) experiencing libelous accusations against himself, as he had reported the "evildoings" of the brothers to their father. Baal HaTurim says that Yosef spent 10
years in prison corresponding to the 10 brothers he reported on. Seventh Aliya - 23 p'sukim (40:1-23) This episode poses an important question: what is the balance between faith in G-d and human effort. Was wearing a gas mask and going into a sealed room during the Gulf War the correct thing to do, or should we have sufficed with T'hilim & confidence in G-d's Divine protection? Was Yaakov proper in preparing for appeasementor war with Eisav, or should he have been praying full time? Should Yosef not have asked the wine steward to put in the good word with Par'o? The answers are yes, no, sometimes, maybe, could be. The Sages present Yaakov as doing the right thing by his multi-faceted plan. The criticism is in his "over-fear" of Eisav. Similarly, it was the responsible thing for us to seal a room and be diligent about gas masks. That was our HISHTADLUS, our efforts to "help ourselves".But to panic and "fall apart" when the siren sounded, that might have indicated a lack of faith. Commentaries say that Yosef should not
have relied on the wine steward because of the combination of who Yosef was, who the Sar
HaMashkim was, and the implications in that particular situation. Yosef should not have
asked the W.S. for help, lest he say: His own G-d might help with dream decoding, but I
was the one who gothim out of jail. In other words - Chilul HaShem. Each situation must be
evaluated on its own. 19 p'sukim - Amos 2:6-3:8 [The VaYeishev Homepage] |
