The Torah portion for this week is Vayeishev, Genesis 37:1-40:23. This portion, or parasha, tells three stories, but today we will be concentrating on the trials of Joseph.
There are two major themes running through this parasha: Justice and Brotherhood. Tied to these two concepts is the matter of faith. In circumstances where brothers don’t act very brotherly and the judgments of others are not just, the characters must choose to either despair for the trouble in their lives or to have faith that everything will come to good in time.
It is important to remember that no story in the Torah exists in isolation. Every story can and often does make reference to an earlier story. Sometimes there is foreshadowing of stories yet to come. When we read Vayeishev, it is easy to see the parallels in the conflict between Joseph and his brothers, and the conflict between Cane and Abel, the first and therefore quintessential brothers.
When Cane kills Abel, God asks Cane where Abel has gone. Cane responds, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” By the punishments that result, we can only conclude that the answer is yes. So, when Joseph’s brothers conspire to harm him, they are failing in their duty to love, protect and teach him. They hate him for his arrogance, for telling them that his dreams foretell his dominion over the entire family. But when we look at several clues placed throughout the parasha, it is obvious that Joseph begins this story as a very young person. He doesn’t take the family flock to pasture like his brothers and he is later described as having grown into a man after several years as a slave in Egypt. Joseph, compared to his brothers, is a child. It was not the duty of his brothers to compete with him, but to teach him.
All the same, Joseph already had a path set out before him. Like many of his ancestors, he would have to come into his own by way of struggle and conflict. In the beginning of his story, Joseph has only dreams with which to approach life, no real experience. When his brothers remove him from this ease and comfort by selling him into slavery, he grows wiser and holier. When he is stripped of his freedom and dignity a second time by being falsely accused of pursuing his master’s wife, Joseph grows wiser and humbler still.
Throughout Joseph’s story, it is reiterated that God is with him. This is not just a phrase to reassure readers that he will be safe. It is an indication that Joseph will continue to grow and learn. This is a frequent setup in the Torah. To “be with God” means just as much that conflict is on its way than it means victory is assured.
Joseph’s story really begins when he stops to ask for directions to his brothers and their flock. He asks someone merely referred to as Ish, meaning simply “a man”. Joseph’s father, Jacob, also had an experience with someone merely referred to as Ish. This was the individual with whom Jacob wrestled the day before he received the name Israel, signaling his growth into the man he was meant to be. Many sages and scholars over the years have discussed the occasional appearance of Ish in the Torah. Much of the study surrounding these strange moments suggest that this simple man who meets many of our biblical figures is, in fact, God pointing the way to destiny.