Vayeshev: Thanksgiving Edition!

By AJ BERKOVITZ

While Parshat Va-Yeshev prominently displays Joseph’s journey from slavery to freedom, it is nonetheless important to pay some attention to the entire dramatis persona. In the midst of this narrative lies a more subtle discourse on the relationship between two other brothers: Ruben and Judah. Without Ron Weasley Harry would be swimming with the fishes and Godric’s sword. Without gravy the turkey would be too bland. Without multiple sources – I mean fine literary technique of interweaving stories - the Bible would be less of an artistic mastery. In light of this, let us begin:

Although born first, Ruben is one of the more tragic biblical characters. Every attempt to assert his dominance ends in utter failure. He sleeps with his father’s concubine and is cursed. He attempts to save his brother and returns to the pit to find Joseph gone. He seeks redemption by promising his own sons in place of Benjamin only to be rejected by his father. Why is Ruben sidelined? Why does he fail?

To answer we need to understand the behavior of his younger brother: Judah. Judah, unlike Ruben does not seek to hide behind apologetics and censor which speaker - I mean Judah commands the respect of his brothers from the beginning. He proudly declares the plot to sell Joseph. From here came the budding seeds of the leadership which Judah would later acquire. It is to develop this point the Bible tangentially relates the story of Judah and Tamar. This story is tethered to the previous one by such key phrases as Haker Nah. For a good exposition on the intertextuality of these stories see the first chapter of Robert Altar’s Art of Biblical Narrative. This key phrase leads us to the development in the characterization of Judah as a leading character. The first Haker Nah, found in the Joseph Story, is tethered to the moment when the brothers seek to absolve themselves from the suspicion of selling Joseph. The brothers send a messenger with Joseph’s bloody coat to Jacob. The messenger proclaims: haker nah, and the brothers are safe. Although the instigator of the plot, Judah, at first, does not have the daring to fully take responsibility. This is precisely what the second Haker nah comes to emend. In the second story, Judah recognizes the Haker Nah. Instead of running away and preserving his honor, he understands his responsibility and takes action. A good leader accepts the consequence of his actions. A good Voldemort ought to know that killing Harry allows himself to be killed. A good turkey ought to run away, or institute a farm break, before the High Holiday of Yom Hodu comes around. After all, if Abaye claims that rats will store extra food because they know its Pesah soon (See B. Pesahim 9), than shouldn’t turkeys have some sense of self-preservation. But alas, nishtaneh ha’briyot (Nature changed. An argument employed many of our less colored bretheren to maintain the integrity of rabbinic science.) Judah was able to learn, entertain dialogue, be open minded, and all that other lovely ideas that the post- modern world best accentuates.

Ruben, on the other hand, did not use his leadership capabilities in a way that western democracy would see fit. Instead of wielding his authority in the right time, namely during the sale of Joseph, he misuses it to aggrandize himself and asset his own dominance. He fails. Instead of being perceptive to the result of his actions or accepting the consequences of them, Ruben floats unfettered in a daze of authority. He is at once arrogant and fearful. Come to think of it, sounds like many dictators. His reign cannot last and the place of honor switches from his hands to that of his younger brother. In some sense the theme of the entire book of bereshit: v’rav ya’avod tzair. Ruben falls to Judah, Voldemort caves to Harry, Turkey to us, and obscurantist institutions claiming to be a university to, well, truth.

A true leader needs to be like Judah: understanding the limits of his power and most importantly when and where to wield it. It is with this understanding many of the Judean kingship reigned. Most notably of course, King David: The Once and Future King. (“And My servant David shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk in Mine ordinances, and observe My statutes, and do them” Ezekiel 37:24.)

Vayishlach: Face-ing Up

By EMILY LEVINE

*The following ideas are based on a conversation I had with David Marks.

A basic reading of the first two perakim in Parshat Vayishlach reveals an interesting pattern. The shoresh פ.נ.ה. (literally translated as face) is used a total of nine times. We first see this phrasing in the reasoning Ya’akov gives for the elaborate set of gifts he sends to his brother: “…For he reasoned, ‘If I propitiate (אכפרה פניו) with presents in advance, and then face him (אראה פניו), perhaps he will show me favor (ישא פני).’ And so the gift went on ahead (על פניו)…” (Gen. 32:21-22). Our narrative is then interrupted by the story of Ya’akov’s struggle with the “man” and subsequent name-change from Ya’akov to Yisrael. Ya’akov names the site of the encounter “Penuel” because he had seen God face to face, "פנים אל פנים" and survived. Just a few lines later we again come across this familiar term during Ya’akov’s actual reunion with his long-estranged brother. Ya’akov entreats Eisav to accept the gift, “for to see your face is like seeing the face of God” (33:10). The story then ends happily; both Ya’akov and Eisav continue on their separate ways, and Ya’akov arrives safely at his next destination, where he immediately settles in, "ויחן את פניהעיר" (33:18).

The language used in this story is clearly not coincidental. I would like to suggest that the repetitive references to panim, to face-to-face interactions, are brought to emphasize a shift in Ya’akov’s character. These face-to-face interactions Ya’akov has, represent a personal transformation, as he is converted from a man of trickery into a new man, ready to openly face his past.

Until this point, Ya’akov has been consistently involved in acts of deception. He tricks his brother twice, misleads his father, Yitzhak, and even his name has connotations of deception (see 27:36). Even leaving the country does nothing to change this condition. In Lavan’s house, too, Ya’akov is constantly surrounded by fraud and trickery. As Ya’akov now returns to Canaan, the realization begins to creep up on him that he finally has to face what he’s been running from for the past twenty two years. The first message he sends to his brother, while polite, is shadowed with self-confidence, self-importance, and perhaps, even a bit of arrogance. Ya’akov boasts of the great wealth he has acquired while abroad. 

Yet, when his messengers return to report Eisav’s approach, with an army of men behind him, Ya’akov is frightened and loses his original confidence. He strategizes, he prays, he sends gifts. And gifts. And gifts.  Ya’akov’s level of fear compels him to change his original approach. He is hit with the realization that maybe now is the time when he will be forced to confront Eisav head on, to fess up to the deception that has been lying untouched for over two decades. Ya’akov reasons, maybe if I send presents first, the honesty won’t be as painful. Here he brings up the idea of panim, of open discussion and confrontation, yet still doesn’t seem comfortable with the idea just yet. It is almost as though he stumbles over the words, the shoresh פ.נ.ה. appearing four times in the span of just a passuk and a half.

But now, Ya’akov meets God. After struggling all night with the “man,” the name Ya’akov is switched to Yisrael.  A name of deception is replaced by a name that has honesty and uprightness at its root (ישר). And what was it that caused this radical change? Ya’akov himself explains this to be a result of a face-to-face encounter with God himself. The awesome interaction manages to strip away the deception of Ya’akov and bring out the man who can openly confront his fears, the man who is Yisrael.

Now Ya’akov is prepared to meet his brother. The brothers embrace and weep, and Ya’akov explains to Eisav that “to see your face is like seeing the face of God” (33:10). The encounter with God clearly had a strong influence on Ya’akov. It allowed him the ability to meet his brother face-to-face, to interact with his brother in person and overcome the fears that had been haunting him these past twenty two years.

Ya’akov continues on in his journeys and arrives safely in Shechem (שלם, lit. whole). Rashi explains his safe arrival to be an overall state of well-being, in terms of health, riches and religious steadfastness. Ya’akov finally settles down,"ויחן את פני העיר" (33:18) - capable of facing his past and living up to his new identity of Yisrael.