Vayeshev: evidcnce

Last year's medical buzzword was "evidence-based" This is not a simple idea.  It would seem to mean that medical decisions should be based upon the outcome of studies, putting aside opinion and anecdote.  But anyone that watches crime dramas on TV knows that the evidence can be misleading.  How to apply the evidence to the particular situation is an art ( often used to the advantage of insurance companies). 

The parsha is a study in misleading evidence. Jacob is convinced by the torn  and bloody coat  of many colors ( the coat he gave to his precious Joseph), and his trust in the other sons, that Joseph has been mauled to death by an evil beast. 

Judah is mislead by a veil ( and an attitude) that Tamar, the femme fatale, is a prostitute; not the woman who has been wronged by Judah and his sons.  

The midwife that delivers Tamar of Judah's twin sons ties a red ribbon around the hand of Zerach, but his brother Peretz is born first. 

The wife of Potifar, Joseph's Egyptian master, spins the garment that she stripped from him, in her attempted seduction, into an attempted rape, leading to Joseph's imprisonment. 

People come to evidence with a priori beliefs...and then they begin to spin the tale