Vayeshev: domination and love
Vayeshev: domination and love
Domination is the thread of the parsha. Jacob's invading family has settled in the land that his ancestors wandered. Joseph is chosen as the supervising son, the middle manager. He reports to the boss, Jacob.
Joseph has dreams. His dreams are of domination, the sheaves, the brothers, the sun and the moon and the stars bow to Joseph in his dream
Those whom Joseph dreams of dominating rebel and dominate him, throw him into a pit. Reuben, hoping to regain his upper middle status in the family, saves Joseph from murder at the hands of his other brothers.
Joseph is relegated to a permanent status of subjugation, he is made a slave. He is changed from a person to a property, an object that is bought and sold. He is now a purely economic entity, he is his monetary value, his net worth
The parsha then switches to the story of Tamar and Judah. A woman who cannot marry, in those days, was relegated to a life of poverty. In the context of the Torah, she is relegated to a a life that has no purpose, a life without progeny. Tamar descends to the ultimate degradation, to prostitution, to put meaning into her life. The male domination of her time ( that is carried forward by unfortunate tradition) comes through very clearly in her story of courage.
The story of the slave Joseph, that ends the parsha, ties together many of the threads. Joseph is not only a slave, he is a slave to chief executioner ( like my father was in Treblinka). As a slave he is subject to the commands of the free people that own him, including the woman of the house, who wants to prostitute him. He descends to another pit, the prison. And there he interprets dreams of ascent, dreams of restoration to a middle position. These dreams will lead to Joseph's ascent, but that will take time
The parsha explores the driver's of everyday life: the desire to dominate, suffering under domination; the desire for love, often in the wrong places.
Sometimes things work out
The parsha then switches to the story of Tamar and Judah. A woman who cannot marry, in those days, was relegated to a life of poverty. In the context of the Torah, she is relegated to a a life that has no purpose, a life without progeny. Tamar descends to the ultimate degradation, to prostitution, to put meaning into her life. The male domination of her time ( that is carried forward by unfortunate tradition) comes through very clearly in her story of courage.
The story of the slave Joseph, that ends the parsha, ties together many of the threads. Joseph is not only a slave, he is a slave to chief executioner ( like my father was in Treblinka). As a slave he is subject to the commands of the free people that own him, including the woman of the house, who wants to prostitute him. He descends to another pit, the prison. And there he interprets dreams of ascent, dreams of restoration to a middle position. These dreams will lead to Joseph's ascent, but that will take time
The parsha explores the driver's of everyday life: the desire to dominate, suffering under domination; the desire for love, often in the wrong places.
Sometimes things work out
posted by Sheldon Goldberg at 11:08 AM
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