(1) Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan. (2) This, then, is the line of Jacob: At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, he was young, [he was] together with the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father. (3) Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons — he was his “child of old age”; and he had made him an ornamented tunic. (4) And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him so that they could not speak a friendly word to him.
~ What is the image of the family, in these verses?
~ Is anyone being blamed for the state of things?
~ What is your first impression of young Yosef?
~ Why do you think the text flips between the names Ya'akov and Yisrael?
"Joseph was seventeen years of age, etc" (Genesis 37:2), and it further says "He was young" (ibid.)? Rather, he did youthful things. He touched up his eyes, he picked up his heels, he fixed his hair.
"He was a shepherd... he brought negative reports [of his brothers, to his father]" (ibid.). What did he say? Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon disagree. Rabbi Meir said, [he said to his father Ya'akov] "Your sons are suspect regarding [the consumption of] a limb of a living animal". Rabbi Shimon said [he said to his father Ya'akov] "They are casting their eyes on the daughters of the land". Rabbi Yehuda said [he said to his father Ya'akov] "They scorn the sons of the maidservants and call them slaves".
Rabbi Yehuda son of Simon said, on his own words he was punished - [since] "honest scales and balances are Ad-nai's" (Proverbs 16:11). The Holy Blessed One said to him, "You said "Your sons are suspect regarding a limb of a living animal" - by your life, even in a time of corruption they never did anything but slaughtered and [then] ate, (Genesis 37:31) "They slaughtered a kid"! You said they scorned the sons of the maidservants and called them slaves - (Psalms 105:17) "Yosef, sold into slavery". You said they cast their eyes on the daughters of the land - by your life, that I will stimulate in you the bear, (Genesis 39:7) "And his master's wife cast [her eyes upon Yosef]".
~ There are three parts in this midrash.
~ What does the first part say? How does it define "youthful things"?
~ What does the second part say? How does it define "reports"?
~ The third part tries to understand Yosef's travails through the lens of the second part. How does it do so?
וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אָהַב אֶת יוֹסֵף (בראשית לז, ג), רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר שֶׁהָיָה זִיו אִיקוֹנִין שֶׁלּוֹ דּוֹמֶה לוֹ. רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אָמַר שֶׁכָּל הֲלָכוֹת שֶׁמָּסְרוּ שֵׁם וְעֵבֶר לְיַעֲקֹב מְסָרָן לוֹ. (בראשית לז, ג): וְעָשָׂה לוֹ כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים, רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה אָמַר, צָרִיךְ אָדָם שֶׁלֹא לְשַׁנּוֹת בֵּן מִבָּנָיו, שֶׁעַל יְדֵי כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים שֶׁעָשָׂה אָבִינוּ יַעֲקֹב לְיוֹסֵף, (בראשית לז, ד): וַיִּשְׂנְאוּ אֹתוֹ וגו'. פַּסִּים, שֶׁהָיְתָה מַגַּעַת עַד פַּס יָדוֹ. דָּבָר אַחֵר, פַּסִים, שֶׁהָיְתָה דַקָּה וְקַלָּה בְּיוֹתֵר וְנִטְמֶנֶת בְּפַס יַד. פַּסִּים, שֶׁהֵפִיסוּ עָלֶיהָ אֵיזֶה מֵהֶם יוֹלִיכָהּ לְאָבִיו, וְעָלַת לִיהוּדָה. פַּסִּים, עַל שֵׁם צָרוֹת שֶׁהִגִּיעוּהוּ, פֵּ"א פּוֹטִיפַר, סמ"ך סוֹחֲרִים, יו"ד יִשְׁמְעֵאלִים, מ"ם מִדְיָנִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, פַּסִּים, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה (תהלים סו, ה): לְכוּ וּרְאוּ מִפְעֲלוֹת אֱלֹקִים, וּכְתִיב בַּתְרֵיהּ (תהלים סו, ו): הָפַךְ יָם לְיַבָּשָׁה, לָמָּה וַיִּשְׂנְאוּ אֹתוֹ, בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁיִּקָרַע הַיָּם לִפְנֵיהֶם, פַּסִּים, פַּסיָם.
Israel loved Yosef (Gen. 37:3) - R. Yehudah and R. Nechemiah disagree. R. Yehudah said: [he loved him more than the other children because] his fine features (זיו איקונין) were similar to his (זקנים, old age, is to be seen as a combination of זיו and איקונין). R. Nechemiah said: [he loved him more than the other children because] all the halachot Shem and Ever had passed to Ya'akov, he passed to him.
And he made for him a k'tonet passim (Gen. 37:3) - Resh Lakish, in the name of R Elazar ben Azaria said: One should not treat one of his children differently from the others, for because of the k'tonet passim his father Ya'akov made for Yosef, they hated him. פסים passim, for it reached the palm פס of his hand. Another explanation: for it was exceedingly thin and light and could be hidden in the palm of a hand. פסים, for they cast lots (פיס, post biblical Hebrew) over it for which of them would take it to his father, and selected Y'hudah. פסים on account of the troubles that overtook him: פ Potifar, ס sochrim, "traders," י Yishm'elim, מ Midyanim. Another explanation: פסים, Resh Lakish in the name of R Elazar ben Azariah: "Go see the acts of God."(Psalms 66:5) And in the next verse: "He turned sea to dry land." Why did they hate him? Because the sea would be torn before them. פסים= "strip of sea" פס ים.
~ Why is Yisrael favoring Yosef, in this midrash? Why do you think the rabbis wanted to explain the phrase "son of his old age"? What is the position of Yosef in the birth order?
~ What are the explanations for "k'tonet passim", Joseph's technicolor coat?
~ What is the main message of Resh Lakish and R. Eleazar ben Azaria? Does it assume that Yaakov should have acted differently?
~ How do you understand the hidden messages in the word passim?
~ How does Rashi explain the phrase "with the sons of Bil'ha"?
~ If you didn't know the midrash above, how does this portray Yosef?
~ What do you make of the dynamics in such a large family?
~ What about now? What is the intention of Yosef when he is fraternizing with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah? What does this imply about his connection with the other brothers, from Le'ah?
(ה) וַיַּחֲלֹ֤ם יוֹסֵף֙ חֲל֔וֹם וַיַּגֵּ֖ד לְאֶחָ֑יו וַיּוֹסִ֥פוּ ע֖וֹד שְׂנֹ֥א אֹתֽוֹ׃ (ו) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֕א הַחֲל֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָלָֽמְתִּי׃ (ז) וְ֠הִנֵּ֠ה אֲנַ֜חְנוּ מְאַלְּמִ֤ים אֲלֻמִּים֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֛ה קָ֥מָה אֲלֻמָּתִ֖י וְגַם־נִצָּ֑בָה וְהִנֵּ֤ה תְסֻבֶּ֙ינָה֙ אֲלֻמֹּ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וַתִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖יןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִֽי׃ (ח) וַיֹּ֤אמְרוּ לוֹ֙ אֶחָ֔יו הֲמָלֹ֤ךְ תִּמְלֹךְ֙ עָלֵ֔ינוּ אִם־מָשׁ֥וֹל תִּמְשֹׁ֖ל בָּ֑נוּ וַיּוֹסִ֤פוּ עוֹד֙ שְׂנֹ֣א אֹת֔וֹ עַל־חֲלֹמֹתָ֖יו וְעַל־דְּבָרָֽיו׃ (ט) וַיַּחֲלֹ֥ם עוֹד֙ חֲל֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וַיְסַפֵּ֥ר אֹת֖וֹ לְאֶחָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֨ה חָלַ֤מְתִּֽי חֲלוֹם֙ ע֔וֹד וְהִנֵּ֧ה הַשֶּׁ֣מֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵ֗חַ וְאַחַ֤ד עָשָׂר֙ כּֽוֹכָבִ֔ים מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֖ים לִֽי׃ (י) וַיְסַפֵּ֣ר אֶל־אָבִיו֮ וְאֶל־אֶחָיו֒ וַיִּגְעַר־בּ֣וֹ אָבִ֔יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מָ֛ה הַחֲל֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָלָ֑מְתָּ הֲב֣וֹא נָב֗וֹא אֲנִי֙ וְאִמְּךָ֣ וְאַחֶ֔יךָ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֥ת לְךָ֖ אָֽרְצָה׃ (יא) וַיְקַנְאוּ־ב֖וֹ אֶחָ֑יו וְאָבִ֖יו שָׁמַ֥ר אֶת־הַדָּבָֽר׃
(5) Once Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him even more. (6) He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed: (7) There we were binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf.” (8) His brothers answered, “Do you mean to reign over us? Do you mean to rule over us?” And they hated him even more for his talk about his dreams. (9) He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: And this time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” (10) And when he told it to his father and brothers, his father berated him. “What,” he said to him, “is this dream you have dreamed? Are we to come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow low to you to the ground?” (11) So his brothers were envious of him, and his father kept the matter in mind.
~ What does these dreams show about Yosef?
~ What does the telling of the dreams to the brothers show about Yosef?
~ Why do you think the brothers are envious of him?
~ How does the doubling of expressions on v. 8 make the anger of the brothers palpable?
וַיַּחֲלֹם יוֹסֵף חֲלוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם שִׁמְעוּ נָא (בראשית לז, ה), אָמַר כָּךְ יִהְיוּ הַנְּבִיאִים מוֹכִיחִין אֶתְכֶם, (מיכה ו, א): שִׁמְעוּ נָא אֶת אֲשֶׁר ה' אֹמֵר. (בראשית לז, ז): וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים, אַתֶּם כּוֹנְסִין פֵּרוֹת, וַאֲנִי כּוֹנֵס פֵּרוֹת, שֶׁלָּכֶם רְקֵיבִים וְשֶׁלִּי עוֹמְדִין. (בראשית לז, ז): וְהִנֵּה קָמָה אֲלֻמָּתִי וְגַם נִצָּבָה, רַבִּי לֵוִי וְרַבִּי אַחָא, רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר עֲתִידִין אַתֶּם לַעֲשׂוֹת אֱלִילִים אִלְמִים לִפְנֵי עֲגָלָיו שֶׁל יָרָבְעָם וְלֵאמֹר (שמות לב, ד): אֵלֶּה אֱלֹקֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל. אָמַר רַב אַחָא עֲתִידִים אַתֶּם לְהַעֲלִים עָלַי דְבָרִים לִפְנֵי אַבָּא לוֹמַר (בראשית לז, לג): חַיָּה רָעָה אֲכָלָתְהוּ, וּמַאן קָאֵים לֵיהּ מִשְׁתִּיקוּתָא דְּאִמָּא. קָמָה, וְהִנֵּה קָמָה אֲלֻמָּתִי וְגַם נִצָּבָה וְהִנֵּה תְסֻבֶּינָה אֲלֻמֹּתֵיכֶם, כְּנֶגֶד חָמֵשׁ פְּעָמִים שֶׁהֵן עֲתִידִין לְהִשְׁתַּחֲווֹת לוֹ. (בראשית לז, ח): וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ אֶחָיו הֲמָלֹךְ תִּמְלֹךְ עָלֵינוּ, רַבִּי לֵוִי וְרַבִּי סִימוֹן, חַד אָמַר מִפְּנֵי שֶׁעָנוּ אוֹתוֹ בְּעַיִן רָעָה לְפִיכָךְ מַעֲמִיד רְשָׁעִים, וְחַד אָמַר מִפְּנֵי שֶׁעָנוּ אוֹתוֹ בְּלָשׁוֹן כָּפוּל, לְפִיכָךְ הוּא מַעֲמִיד מְלָכִים.
(10) Once Joseph had a dream ... Hear, please (Gen. 37:5-6). He said: the prophets will admonish you like this, "hear, please" - "Hear please what Ad-nai says" (Micah 6:1).
"There we were binding sheaves" - I bring produce in, you bring produce in, but your vegetables are rotting and mine are healthy.
"Suddenly my sheaf [אֲלֻמָּתִי alumati] stood up and remained upright" - Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Acha disagree. Rabbi Levi said: in the future you will make silent idols [אֱלִילִים אִלְמִים elilim ilmim] in front of Yeravam's golden calves and you will say "this is your god, Yisrael" (Ex. 32:4). Rabbi Acha said: in the future you will conspire [לְהַעֲלִים leha'alim] against me and say to dad "a wild animal ate him" (Gen. 37:33). And what will stand for me? My mother's silence.
"Stood up" - "suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf" - these [extra words] correspond to the five times they will bow down to him in the future.
"His brothers said to him: will you reign over us? Will you rule over us?" (Gen. 37:8) - R. Levi and R. Simon - one said that because they answered him with an evil eye, he eventually produced evil people (Yerovam ben Nevat was from Ephrayim) . Another said that because they answered him with a double expression, he eventually produced kings (Joshua and Yerovam).
~ This is a five-part midrash, and the five parts are completely independent from each other.
~ The first part has to do with the role of the prophet. Save that for the next midrash we will see.
~ What do you make of the second part, the vegetables? Does it remind you of any other midrash?
~ The "sheaves" part has to do with the possible noun or sound connections. How do Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Acha disagree? How does Rabbi Levi interpret the dream? How does Rabbi Acha see the "silence of my mother"? When was Rachel silent?
~ How does the last part of the midrash work? What assumptions it brings?
And he dreamed yet another dream (Gen. 37:9) - at the moment Yosef said "and behold the sun and the moon" Yaakov said "who told him that my name is sun?" Rabbi Yitzchak said: [when Joshua was making the sun stand still] Joshua said to the sun: 'you evil servant! Did not my father buy you with money? My father saw you in his dream "and behold the sun and the moon etc bowed down to me", you, too need to stop right now!' And the sun did stop, immediately, as it is written " And the sun stood still and the moon halted, " (Joshua 10:13).
"And when he told it to his father and brothers, his father berated him" (Gen. 37:10) - the Holy Blessed One said: the same way they will berate their prophets, as it is written "and now, why didn't you berate Jeremiah from Anatot?" (Jer. 29:27)
"And he said to him: 'what is this dream you dreamed?' (Gen. 37:10) - Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Chama bar Chanina: [we see] that our father Yaakov believed that the resurrection of the dead would happen in his days, as it is written "would we come" - I and your brothers would come, that's expected, but not I and your mother who is already dead. But you are saying that I, and your mother and your brothers!? And Ya'akov did not know that the issue was regarding Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, who raised Yosef like his own mother.
~ The first two midrashim reread the verse with a view called 'ma'aseh avot siman labanim' - the deeds of the Fathers are a sign for the children. How does this moment ripple through the rest of the Tanach, according to the general voice and Rabbi Yitzchak?
~ What was Ya'akov's mistake regarding the dream, according to Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Chama bar Chanina? To what dynamic in the family is Ya'akov blind to?
And a man found him (Gen. 37:15) - three angels met him: a man found him, this is one; and the man asked him, this is two; and the man said, this is three (Gen. 37:17).
And a man found him (Gen. 37:15) - this is Gavriel, as it is written "and the man Gavriel" (Daniel 9:21).
~ The "man" that meets Yosef in the field is the same "man" that struggled with Ya'akov. Why? What does that point, in terms of the general arc of Jewish narrative in the Tanach?
"A man found him, and behold! He was blundering in the field: Rabbi Yannai said: He [Joseph] was met by three angels for scripture says, "A man found him" (Gen. 34:15); "and the man asked him"; and "the man said" (Gen. 34:17). "They have gone from here" - from the characteristics of the Place. "And they saw him far off"(Gen. 34:18): They said, 'Let us kill him by inciting the dogs against him.' "And they said one to another behold the dreamer comes"(Gen. 34:19): the rabbis said, “they exclaimed, Behold he is coming wrapped in his dreams”. Rabbi Levi said, “[they said] this one will ensnare us into serving foreign overloads.” "Come now therefore and let us slay him"(Gen. 34:20): The Holy Blessed One said to them, “You say ‘We shall see’ and I say ‘We shall see’. Indeed "we shall see whose words will be fulfilled, Mine or theirs." (Jer. 44:28)
~ What words will be fulfilled?
~ Is there a reason given in the Torah text for this revelation of the fact that the Jews would be slaves?
Blessed be the One who keeps His promise to Israel, Blessed! The Holy Blessed One calculated the end [of the exile,] to do as God said to Avraham, our father, in the Covenant between the Pieces, as it is stated (Genesis 15:13-14), "And He said to Avram, 'you should surely know that your seed will be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation for which they shall toil will I judge, and afterwards they will go out with much property.'"
The standard [haggadah] text reads, “In each generation, one is duty-bound lirot et atzmo, to consider himself, as if he had been delivered from Egyptian bondage.” Instead of the reflexive verb lirot et atzmo, signifying an inner experience, Maimonides substitutes the verb, l’harot et atzmo, to demonstrate, to behave in a manner manifesting the experience of finding liberty after having been enslaved for a long time.
The Torah’s commandments regarding strangers represent nothing more or less than the rigorous application of the principles of universal justice even in the face of nationalistic zeal. Tribal mentalities, familial loyalties and fear of the unfamiliar are not to interfere with our duties to one another as human beings created in the image of God. It is incumbent upon American citizens to disregard artificial distinctions of nationality and ethnicity and to treat immigrants however they define themselves with the respect and consideration to which God entitles all of us.
Katnut and gadlut mean smallness and greatness, respectively. Hebrew speakers might recognize that the words katan and gadol, small and big, are hidden in there.
Mochin dekatnut is how we relate to things when we are reacting to them through the prism of our egotistical needs. When you react to cold weather by saying to yourself ‘not good’ and to warm weather by saying ‘good’ (or the other way around) you are being swallowed by the mochin dekatnut. When you react to cold weather by saying to yourself ‘not good’ and you begin by donating jackets, hats and gloves to others, you are elevating the 'not good' to mochin degadlut.
Similarly, regarding the naming of Jacob in Torah, we could see Yisrael representing mochin degadlut - after all it is the name given to our people. When our patriarch is acting towards the inevitability of growth of the Jewish people - sometimes not being aware of it, and certainly not being conscious of the breadth and the depth of that growth - then he is called Yisrael. But as with all human beings, the mochin dekatnut is lurking beneath the surface, just about ready to ensnare us in reacting with smallness of vision and character.