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IDENTIFICATION WITH THE PAIN OF THE NEIGHBOR

VAYIGASH

The youngest brother, Binyamin, was accused of stealing the cup of Yosef that he used for spells, and for that, he was going to be imprisoned. Yehuda assumed the defense of the young man and implored for his fate, he even offered to carry out personally the punishment imposed on Binyamin, because he had guaranteed his safety to his father. Actually, the older brother, Reuven, had wanted to assume the responsibility for Binyamín, placing as insurance the life of his own children. Yaacov rejected Reuven’s offer because he couldn’t avenge any accident that happened with Binyamin by doing damage to his own grandchildren.

Why does Yaacov agree to entrust Yehudah with the security of Binyamin? Yehudah offers no more security than his own honor: to be a sinner before his father for the rest of his days. The Midrash suggests that Yehudah promises his portion in the Hereafter if something happened to Binyamin.

Returning to the biblical narrative, we read that when the brothers inform the elderly father Yaacov that they have to bring Binyamin next time as proof of the veracity of their words, the patriarch questions why they informed the Egyptian hierarch about their brother? Have not the difficulties and misfortunes that had happened so far been enough? Alai hayu chulana, “everything has fallen about me”, exclaims Yaacov.

The word “alai” had been used by Rivka when she induced her son Yaacov to disguise himself as if he were Esav. When Yaacov replied that if the father found out about the ploy, disaster could strike. To appease him, Rivka said: “alai kilelatecha bení, “may the curse be diverted to me.”

Like his mother, Yaacov also uses the word “alai”, and taking into account that he had lost his favorite son Yosef, now that he hears that he must risk Binyamin, the word “alai” highlights his anguish and deep pain.  The Midrash suggests that the word “alai” which is written with the letters “ayin”, “lamed” and “yod”, is a reference to three characters that caused Yaacov anxiety: Esav, Lavan and Yosef.

The rivalry with Esav is known, a competition that started when the brothers were still in the entrails of the mother. Hatred and confrontation occur generally between people who are close and live together and produce suffering.

In the home of his uncle Lavan, Yaacov had to learn to defend his interests, because from day one he was deceived. First, when his wife was changed, placing Lea in Rachel’s place. Then his uncle tried to trick him with the remuneration for his work. The deception that Yaacov had perpetrated against his father Yitschak and the one who forged against his brother Esav, was being settled symbolically. Lavan was the brother of his mother Rivka and although Yaacov would have preferred to have an affectionate family relationship with his uncle, and suffered for not being able to do it.

The greatest pain for a parent is the loss of a child, it goes against nature. Therefore, Yaacov never forgot the disappearance of Yosef. He probably had doubts about what happened, because it was an act full of irony when the brothers presented the father with the bloody robe of Yosef and asked him to recognize it. It was the same robe that had produced the jealousy among the brothers for the preferential treatment Yosef received from their father. “Surely he was eaten, a bad beast swallowed him”, was the reaction of the father. But we should not underestimate the whirlwind of doubts that seized the patriarch. That the brothers themselves they were guilty of Yosef’s disappearance, perhaps crossed his mind. Thus, there was no consolation. Who could relate to the pain caused by the loss of a child?

Yehudah could identify with Yaacov’s pain because he had lost two sons: Er and Onan, who, married successively Tamar and died for their sin.

According to biblical commentators, in their intimate relationships with Tamar, Er prevented her from becoming pregnant so that the pregnancy did not disfigure her. Onan also did the same, because he thought that the son that Tamar would bear would be considered the son of her deceased brother.

Yaacov entrusted the care of Binyamin to Yehudah because he thought he was the only son who had empathy for him and could feel the inconsolable pain at the loss of a son.

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FRATERNAL INTRIGUES AND LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

MIKETS

The subject of our chapters is the well-known story of Yosef and his brothers, the intrigues and jealousy that caused Yosef’s “sale” that, in turn, led to his servitude in the home of Potiphar, chief of the slaughter-men or butchers of the pharaoh.

For refusing the amorous advances of his wife’s master, Yosef is jailed and demonstrates his intellectual and spiritual abilities by correctly interpreting the dreams of two detainees. That aptitude is remembered by one of them, the cupbearer when he returns to the monarch’s grace.

When astrologers fail to adequately explain Pharaoh’s dream, the cupbearer suggests that Yosef be brought from the depths of prison to interpret the dream. Yosef’s intelligence and spirituality come to the fore by the brilliance of his interpretation and the suggestions that suggest taking advantage of the prediction contained in the dream.

To avail himself of the exceptional gifts of the young man, Pharaoh appoints Yosef as his second in command to lead the fate of the Egyptians for years to come. Events necessarily unfold according to divine design and the brothers are forced to travel to Egypt to buy food because of the famine that envelops the region. The difficulties inherent in this mission led the brothers to remember their original crime: Yosef’s “sale”. What caused this tragic event?

There was a competition for leadership among the brothers. On the one hand, Reuven, the oldest, and on the other side was Yehudah, fourth in age, but with great charisma and clear leadership qualities. The story of the “sale” begins when the elderly father Yaacov sends Yosef to inquire about the welfare of the brothers who had gone far away from home in search of pasture for their flocks. As soon as the brothers saw Yosef from afar, they decide to assassinate him,  perhaps because they think that he came to spy on their behavior and then rat about them to the father, just as he had done before.

The exegetes point to Shimon and Levi as the probable protagonists of this sinister plan, since they had shown unusual cruelty in the case of the violation of their sister Dina. 

It is then that Reuven assumes the leadership of the firstborn and suggests that they not kill Yosef in order not to bear responsibility for shedding his blood.  It was better, he argues, to throw him into a well where he will not be able to survive.

After the first encounter with the brothers who came to buy food, Yosef – who has not yet made himself known to his brothers – demands that Binyamin accompanies them on their next visit, a fact that will sustain the veracity of their story. The father, who is still mourning because of Yosef’s disappearance, refuses to allow it, and the brothers Reuven and Yehuda, present arguments about the necessity of Binyamin to participate in the next trip to Egypt. Reuven offers his children as guarantors for Binyamin’s safety, but the argument does not convince the father, because the possible loss of his youngest son could not be compensated with the lives of his own grandchildren.

Yehudah argues that in case of an accident that would occur with Binyamin, he – Yehudah – will remain in moral debt to the father for the remainder of his days. But moreover, Yaacov knows that Yehudah had suffered the personal loss of two sons, Er and Onan, and, therefore, had great personal empathy for the pain that the death of a son produces. Yehudah showed tangible sensitivity in the face of possible tragedy.

Yehudah became the factual leader because he assumed responsibility for his conduct in the case of his daughter-in-law Tamar.

Indeed, at the crucial moment of the trial for adultery, when Tamar showed the clothes belonging to the man responsible because of her pregnancy, Yehuda publicly acknowledged that the garments belonged to him. He could have ignored the evidence during the trial and permit the fulfillment of the death penalty of Tamar, thereby erasing an obscure fact from his recent past. Since due to the seductive dress of Tamar, Yehuda had a casual sexual relationship with her by assuming she was a prostitute.

Yehudah did not evade duty in the face of the precarious and dangerous situation of Tamar and showed the fundamental characteristic of a leader: take responsibility for the facts, without taking into account the consequences. One of the reasons why an individual is willing to follow the command of another is because he knows that that person will always tell the truth and will not abandon him, notwithstanding the “cost” and the danger it implies for the leader.

The bravery of nowadays Israeli soldiers is also related to the knowledge, with complete certainty, that his companions will never abandon him and that will do what is humanly possible in order to rescue him in case he falls into enemy hands.

This behavior is inherited from the example of Yehudah who received the trust of his brothers and became their leader as a forerunner of the Kings of Israel. In the words of Yaacov “lo yasur shevet miYehudah” the scepter of kingship will never be taken away from Yehudah.

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RIVALRY BETWEEN BROTHERS

VAYESHEV

The Torah characterizes the era of Noah with the following phrase: ki yétser lev haadam ra mineurav, “from his youth, the inclination of the heart of man is evil.” Why? Because no one wanted to listen to the warnings of Noah who took 120 years to build the ark, giving enough time for many people to rethink their attitude and choose to save themselves from the flood that was approaching evermore. In fact, that penchant for evil manifested itself when Kayin murdered his brother Hevel, and a replay almost occurred in the case of Esav, who vowed to kill his brother Yaacov for having taken away his father’s blessing through a stratagem.

We read in these chapters about another possible murder: the brothers plan to kill Yosef. Why? For his dreams. This is what the Torah tells us that when the brothers perceive Yosef from afar, they exclaimed: “Here comes the dreamer” and immediately plan his murder.

In the case of Kayin and Hevel, the Torah does not detail what the quarrel or verbal fight between the brothers consisted, an event that culminated in the death of the youngest of them. In Yaacov’s case, Esav felt that he had been betrayed by his twin brother who, through deception, took away the fatherly blessing. When analyzing what happened between the brothers who would later become the parents of the twelve tribes of Israel, how can murder be justified as a reaction to a dream? The brothers throw Yosef into a well to starve from hunger and immediately sit down to a hearty dinner. The irony of the facts shows excessive cruelty.

It must be remembered that Yaacov’s children came from different mothers, and there surely developed a marked rivalry between the children of Leah and the children of Rachel. Didn’t the children know that Lea was the one who was despised, the woman who was imposed on the patriarch through deception, a ploy similar to the one Yaacov had used a few years ago to obtain the father’s blessing? There was no doubt that the patriarch had transferred his love for the late Rachel to Yosef and Binyamin. In later chapters, the Torah will testify to Yehudah’s willingness to take Binyamin’s place in prison, because he knows that the father will never be able to bear the pain that will produce the absence of the young man who was born at the time Rachel expired.

Natan Aviezer interprets Yehuda’s noble action in offering his willingness to take Binyamin’s place in jail as a clear demonstration that he was aware of the difference in affection. The father had shown clear preference for Rachel’s sons and it was opportune that Yehudah stays in prison instead of Binyamin. Even when Shimon is imprisoned, the brothers do not suggest that the father send Binyamin. Only when supplies are about to run out, do the brothers think that the young man should accompany them on their next trip to Egypt.

Yosef’s dreams were the trigger for the brothers to act against the unjust preference of the father for Rachel’s children. Didn’t they have the same father? Why did the father buy a multi-colored tunic only for Yosef? Years later, when the father lay on the deathbed, all the brothers exclaimed in unison: Shema Israel …, “Listen father Israel, HaShem our God, HaShem is unique.” The message of monotheism had been internalized by the brothers, but Yosef acted just as if he were Yaacov’s sole spiritual heir.

When the brothers threw Yosef into the empty well, did they just want to scare him, or did they really want to eliminate him? When the brothers agree to sell Yosef to slave traders, they show that although they wanted to get rid of the young man, they were not willing to spill his blood. Although slavery represented a death sentence of prolonged agony, there was always the possibility that Yosef would be saved.

We are at the beginning of the creation of the Hebrew people and our ancestors will make mistakes and commit errors. What is important and decisive is the direction of their actions and desires. Over the years, the reckless initial steps will give way to concrete – and often heroic – acts of those who with their energetic personalities set the course and forged the character of a nation that survived the outrage and injustice, to appear with renewed vigor in the arenas of history with the creation of the modern State of Israel.

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YAACOV FIGHTS AN ANGEL

VAYISHLACH

The patriarch had been absent from his parents’ home because he feared the justified wrath of his brother Esav. Hadn’t he unlawfully obtained the patriarchal blessing to the detriment of his brother? His parents warned him of possible fraternal revenge and Yaacov found refuge in the home of his uncle Lavan, where he married his two daughters. Including the concubines awarded to him. Yaacov became the progenitor of twelve children who, in turn, fathered the twelve tribes of Israel.

After twenty years of absence from the parental home, the moment of return arrived. In recent days, Yaacov had concluded that Lavan’s influence had rubbed off on him and that the time had come to face reality: his brother’s anger. But this time he was accompanied by twelve men, a multitude of servants and thousands of heads of animals that made up his herd. The scouts he sent reported that Esav was coming to meet him with four hundred men, a number that augured a warlike confrontation. Yaacov had to prepare.

The night before the meeting he went out alone, probably to ponder the possible outcome of the following day. He ran into an ish, an enigmatic human or angel whom he had to fight until dawn. Who was this iconic figure? Was he a man, a devil or an angel? If he was indeed an angel, what had been his mission? There are those who think that it was Esav’s protective angel who came to wound Yaacov to weaken him before the next day’s meeting between the brothers. Others believe that he was Yaacov’s protective angel, whose mission was to train him and teach him how to overcome Esav.

Rambam thinks that this episode happened in Yaacov’s brain. It was a dream. Such as the donkey of Bileam who, years later, would speak only in the mind of the prophet. A kind of fantasy that had a prophetic quality. According to Rambam, the biblical text perhaps refers to the fight that Yaacov had to wage against himself. The dream had had a real impact because it injured his thigh.

Rabbi Yosef Karo considers the experiences of the patriarchs to augur the future of the Hebrew nation. Abraham’s journey to Egypt in response to the Canaan famine predicted the exile of his descendants into Egyptian slavery. The events that accompanied the life of Yitschak correspond to the exile in Babylon, and Yaacov exemplifies the millennial exile of the Hebrew people. Now, Esav demands the return of the paternal blessing and the rights of the firstborn that Yaacov took away. Esav knows he has no merit for it and sends his protective angel to fight Yaacov. Yaacov comes out victorious of the encounter and the angel blesses him and thus confirms who owns the blessing that the old patriarch Yitschak had given.

The case of the primogeniture is different: Karo thinks that the wound that Yaacov receives in the thigh is a sign that this matter has not been resolved. With the gifts that Yaacov offers to Esav in this anticipated meeting, the full payment for the birthright is fulfilled, since Esav knows that he does not possess the moral integrity to assume the religious leadership of the family, a primordial function of the primogeniture. Yaacov’s limp is cured after Esav accepts his brother’s gifts.

Shaul Regev quotes Rabbi Eliecer Ashkenazi, who believes that the birthright was legally acquired by Yaacov. He even received a document signed by Esav which, as was the custom, he tied around his waist and this is the reason why the angel attacked him in that area of his body. The idea is that Yaacov did not acquire that right through a stratagem, behavior that is derived from the etymology of his name Yaacov. Therefore, the angel changed his name from Yaacov to Israel, whose meaning is authority.

Abarbanel, who points to Rambam’s interpretation that everything had happened in the course of a prophetic stupor, differentiates between “dream” and “vision.” In the case of a “prophetic vision,” the events take on a tangible reality, as in the case of the three characters who appeared before the convalescent Abraham after his circumcision.

For Abarbanel, he was not just a person who wanted to eliminate Yaacov; the angel represented a nation and, therefore, the fight against Israel did not end with that episode. The Jewish people will not be defeated, but they will be wounded. As long as Israel resides in Esav’s territory, while it is in exile, it will have to suffer injuries. But when the final redemption comes, the other peoples will have to offer him a blessing and, in this way, they will confirm the authenticity and legitimacy of the original blessing Yaacov received from the elder Yitschak.