20 December 2024
Week of December 15-21, 2024
Torah portion : Vayeshev: Genesis 37:1-40:23 Haftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8
Theme: Two Stories of Women and Sex
Parashat Vayeshev (“He settled”) begins the so-called “Joseph story cycle,” which continues until the end of the Book of Genesis (Brenner, 209).We left off our story with Joseph being taken to Egypt and given to one of Pharaoh’s officers, Potiphar, the Captain of the Guard. Meanwhile, Judah parted from his brothers and met the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua, and he married her. They had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Judah took a wife for Er; her name was Tamar. Due to his sinful acts, Er was wicked in the sight of YHWH, and he died. Judah told Onan then to marry the widow of his brother Er. Onan did not want to produce offspring for his brother, so he “wasted his seed on the ground” (v. 9). As a result, he also died for his wickedness. Judah then told Tamar to go home to her family and wait until Shelah grew up. Time passed, and Judah’s own wife died. Tamar heard that Judah’s wife died and of Judah’s plans to go to Timnah for the shearing of his sheep. So, Tamar discarded her widow’s garb and covered herself with a veil, waiting for Judah to pass by. When he saw her, he thought she was a prostitute and asked her to “couple” with him. As Tamar was now twice widowed, she took matters into her own hands in order to secure her future. She was determined to have a child in the family line. She demanded three things as payment: Judah’s signet seal, his cord, and his staff. He agreed to surrender his identity and social status as patriarch to Tamar (v. 18). Later, when Judah sought the woman, he could not find her. The people said there was no such person as the one he described. About three months later, he heard that his daughter-in-law had played the harlot and was expecting. Judah immediately ordered her to be brought forward to be burned. She, in turn, said that the items that she had would indicate the father of her progeny! Judah had not given her his son Shelah as promised. Tamar becomes the mother of Judah’s twin sons, Perez and Zerah.
At the same time, Joseph was in Egypt and had gained much favor with Potiphar. YHWH blessed the house of Potiphar because of Joseph’s handwork, integrity, and faithfulness. As time passed, Potiphar’s wife put her sights on Joseph. However, Joseph wanted nothing to do with any such relationship. When he refused to lie with her, she took hold of his garment from the field. He fled, and she immediately cried out, saying, “The Hebrew slave whom you brought to us came to me to toy with me. I screamed and he ran out and left his garment.” The master believed his wife and had Joseph put in prison. However, YHWH was with Joseph and extended kindness to him through the prison warden. As a result, YHWH prospered whatever Joseph did.
In these stories, two women use their feminine qualities in different ways to achieve their goals. Tamar is a clever trickster who uses her actions to claim what was legally her right as a widow. Judah had given her empty promises, and she took matters into her own hands. Potiphar’s wife, on the other hand, tried to trick Joseph into lying with her because she saw through her astrological arts that she was destined to produce a child by Joseph (Bakhos, 227). According to B’reishit Rabbah 86.3, the Rabbis believed that the woman Joseph eventually married was the daughter of Potiphar and his wife. Passages such as these represent ethnic tensions in the past. They remind us to “judge individuals by their actions and attitudes, rather than by labels and assumptions” (Wise, 229).
For Reflection and Discussion: 1. We all know women who are widows. What supports are needed to help them move on and continue living a meaningful life? 2. What positive ways can we reach out to those who are grieving the loss of a spouse, whether male or female?
Bibliography: Eskenazi, Tamara Cohn and Andrea L. Weiss, editors. The Torah: A Women’s Commentary. Women of Reformed Judaism, 2008.
This week’s Parashat Commentary was prepared by
Mary Louise Chesley-Cora, Delaware, USA, Bat Kol Alumna 200l
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