Miketz: The Matrix

וַיִּזְכֹּ֣ר יוֹסֵ֔ף אֵ֚ת הַחֲלֹמ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָלַ֖ם לָהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵהֶם֙ מְרַגְּלִ֣ים אַתֶּ֔ם לִרְא֛וֹת אֶת־עֶרְוַ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ בָּאתֶֽם׃

Recalling the dreams that he had dreamed about them, Joseph said to them, “You are spies, you have come to see the land in its nakedness.”

How did the memory of the dream invoke this accusation?  It is amusing that reality now verifies the dream, but why does it launch this plot of false accusations  and pain for Jacob and his family?  A plot that uses false evidence, hidden in the saddle bags, echoing the actions of Rachel when Jacob fled form Lavan. 

Joseph has achieved his position as viceroy, in part,  by interpreting the dreams of others.  He foresaw the return of the wine steward to his position; and the death sentence of the baker.  His interpretation of those dreams may have contributed to the outcomes by influencing how the men looked at the moment of judgement. Joseph then interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh as visions of his nations economic future.  By motivating the relentless working of the soil for seven years, he may have contributed to the verification of that dream, as well.  He had used the dreams of others to advantage.

Did Joseph insist on making his own dream come true? The meaning of dreams is unclear.  Freud (and many others) tried to ground dreams in the dreamer's experiences and desires, remove them from the mystic.  But to the dreamer, they are significant visions, related to prophecy. The subjective experience of remembering the dream imparts hope and dread.  Joseph knew how to make dreams come true. Did he always need to practice this art? 

Dreams are the classic demonstration that perception is unreliable. We do not have a reliable way to assure that what we see is not fantasy, the Matrix. This confusion is used by internet trolls to advance "theories" as  credible alternative "facts."  The established structure of values and science is challenged, in a politically significant way, by statements that are free from the constraints of rigorous verification.  Challenging the establishment is a justified endeavor.  But who knew it would bring us to this? 

Joseph's dream was prophecy, just as the dreams of of the Pharaoh, the wine steward and the baker. The intervention of interpretation  helped make them happen, but they were going to happen regardless of the intervention. Joseph would rule over his family.  Bringing them into slavery was not included in his dream.

Maybe making our dreams come true is all we have.

Vayeshev: Control

We spend our lives doing; and envious of the ease with which the successful outcome comes to others.  Actions are necessary, but the consequences are unpredictable.  There is a physics to the proximate result, actions and reactions, F=ma, E=mcc. But  the consequences that are important are pinballed among too many forces to calculate,  the flippers rarely works and their impact is unpredictable. 

Joseph is identified as Jacob's legacy

אֵ֣לֶּה ׀ תֹּלְד֣וֹת יַעֲקֹ֗ב יוֹסֵ֞ף

 or is it how Jacob treated Joseph: as the favored son ( by accident of his late birth to the favorite wife), 

וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אָהַ֤ב אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ מִכָּל־בָּנָ֔יו כִּֽי־בֶן־זְקֻנִ֥ים ה֖וּא

Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age;

as the natural manager and overlord of the lesser  sons (the children of servants). 

 This behavior led not only to the murderous envy of his brothers 

וַיִּרְא֣וּ אֶחָ֗יו כִּֽי־אֹת֞וֹ אָהַ֤ב אֲבִיהֶם֙ מִכָּל־אֶחָ֔יו וַֽיִּשְׂנְא֖וּ אֹת֑וֹ

And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated 

( an envy that Jacob should have understood from his interactions with Esau, his own brother), but also to the dreams of domination. ( Even Joseph could not understand his dreams.  His father needed to confront him with their meaning  to show him how hurtful they were). 

 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מָ֛ה הַחֲל֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָלָ֑מְתָּ

“What,” he said to him, “is this dream you have dreamed? 

Ultimately, this envy born and magnified by father Jacob's favoritism, leads to a plot to eliminate the budding despot.  The plot evolves through a series of steps ( kill him, throw him into a dry pit)and ends with his sale into slavery.  A slavery that he never emerges from.  A slavery that results in the bondage of all his brothers' descendants for hundreds of years.  The bondage had been revealed to Abraham, three generations earlier, but who knew it would happen like this!

Gd intervenes in Joseph's life and makes him successful. 

וַיְהִ֤י  ...  אֶת־יוֹסֵ֔ף וַיְהִ֖י אִ֣ישׁ מַצְלִ֑יחַ וַיְהִ֕י בְּבֵ֖ית אֲדֹנָ֥יו הַמִּצְרִֽי׃

The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he stayed in the house of his Egyptian master.

 Perhaps that is as much as we can aspire to: a successful career. He is attractive, which becomes a liability when he becomes the object of desire of the master's wife. That leads to his imprisonment.  

Even in prison. Gd smiles on Joseph and brings all of his endeavors to success.

וַיְהִ֤י   ...אֶת־יוֹסֵ֔ף וַיֵּ֥ט אֵלָ֖יו חָ֑סֶד וַיִּתֵּ֣ן חִנּ֔וֹ בְּעֵינֵ֖י שַׂ֥ר בֵּית־הַסֹּֽהַר׃

the LORD was with Joseph: He extended kindness to him and disposed the chief jailer favorably toward him.

  Joseph shows himself to be an an expert  interpreter of dreams.  Three tendrils on the vine, three loaves, three days until Pharaoh's birthday.  On his birthday, Pharaoh considers the disposition of his prisoners.  He looks at the optimistic wine steward, who had a favorable interpretation to his dream,  and the sweating baker whose dream predicted his demise. Their appearances might have helped him decide their respective fates.  Or is it purely Gd's plan?

The Haftarah is one of the oldest commentaries on the Torah.  It was instituted when  reading from the Torah was forbidden by Antiochus, and is thus related to Chanukah.  The Haftarah for this weeks parsha ends:

Does a bird drop on the ground—in a trap— With no snare there? Does a trap spring up from the ground Unless it has caught something?

When a ram’s horn is sounded in a town, Do the people not take alarm? Can misfortune come to a town If the LORD has not caused it?

Cause and effect.  Nothing happens without human intervention.  The will of Gd prevails. 

Merit and fairness seem to yield to the Divine plan. Justice does not drive the plot.  It is the Divine Plan, and it works through whomever the Lrd decides. We all have a role. We just do the best we can with what we are handed. The plan abides. 

Vayishlach: the land  and its people

The parsha describes an invasion.  The Ivrim ( Hebrews) , who had originally come from Mesapotamia  appeared to have settled in Haran.  Those people, now led by Lavan, seemed to be ensconced in the area.  The degree to which they mixed and married with the surrounding neighbors  is not defined.  We can surmise that they maintained some important traditions because the wives of Isaac and Jacob  come from the Haranian cousins.  But it is clearly not the best place, it is not the promised land.  Jacob cannot stay and settle there. 

Returning to Canaan means confronting Esau. The conflict between Jacob and Esau has not been resolved.  Isaac had conferred, and confirmed, the blessing of the firstborn on Jacob, but Esau had said he would kill Jacob , presumably to wrest the promised land, and everything that went with it, from his devious brother.  

While he is still on the other side of the river, before he has personally crossed the border into Canaan, Jacob fights with a force that tries to block his entry into the contested territory. He wins the battle, earning a new name, Israel.  The root of the name is sar, as in Sarah, meaning ruler or prince.  Perhaps the name also confers the legacy of Sarah upon its bearer(s), identifying them as her  conceptual descendants. He is also rendered lame, less able to fight.  And there will  a battle tomorrow with Esau. 

Esau comes with  400 men, presumably an overwhelming army.  Canaan is a foreign and for Esau, as well. He has married local Hittite and Hevite  women, he has moved toward assimilation.  He has also married a granddaughter of Ishmael, from the interloper tribe.  Is this an army of mercenaries? That could change the meaning of  Jacob's generous gift.  The gift seems to buy off the attack.  Meanwhile, Jacob's limp removes the glory of victory

Why does Esau slink back to Seir, abandoning Canaan?  Maybe Seir was more appealing at the time.   Was he recognizing Jacob's superior claim to the Promised Land? Neither Esau nor Jacob had established a secular claim, yet. Maybe Esau preferred that Jacob deal with the problem of the gift of  a settled land. 

The issue arises with the royal rape of Dinah.  Her angry brothers, Levi and Simon, annihilate the people of Shechem to vindicate her honor, preventing the assimilation that was offered by their ruler. (Note the subtle difference in mayor Chamor's promise to the Israelites and the Shechemites.  To the Israelites he offers land, to the Shechemites he mentions only commerce).

What parts of our identity should we keep? How should we keep it? Perhaps the question is lame.  

Vayetzeh: Rules and Customs

Vayetzeh is about making a living.  The common understanding of that phrase is making enough money for food, clothing and shelter. My parents would use the Yiddish equivalent, machen a leben, to mean earning enough to live decently ( plain meaning) or to be rich ( ironic meaning). In this parsha, Yaakov makes a living both economically (described in greater than expected detail) and in terms of legacy - he marries, fathers children and shows his commitment to Promised Land.

Trust is a theme that runs through this parsha. When Yaakov awakes, after dreaming of angels and Gd's promise of security, legacy and return to the land, he promises to tithe his income .  Jacob trusts that Gd will fulfill the dream that he was granted.  Gd presumably trust JAcob ( and his descendants) to fulfill their commitment. 

Jacob comes to the well.  It is covered with a stone  ( one of several significant stones in the parsha).  A group of shepherds are waiting with their sheep.  Jacob appears to criticize their laziness.  They explain that the stone cannot be removed until all the shepherds are present.  It is the local custom. This is a place of laws and regulations, presumably for the common good.

 I do not know what happens when the stone is removed from the well. Perhaps  the water is  apportioned according to the great socialist principle: from each according to her ability, to each according to his need. Or perhaps, once the well is opened, each takes according to her strength. Or perhaps, the priniciple is stated and the grab ensues. We are not told.  Based upon history, I can guess. Yaakov ignored the local custom and removed the covering stone  to water beautiful Rachel's sheep.

Yaakov has come to Lavan to marry his daughter.  He makes a deal for for Rachel: seven years of labor.  Leah, her less appealing sister,  is delivered instead.  Lavan says that it would be violation of local custom to marry off the younger daughter before the older. Those local customs! Yaakov had misunderstood the agreement

The problem of definition in contracts should have been familiar to Jacob.  When he bought the birthright from Esau, we saw that Esau did not mean for Jacob to get the blessing associated with it.  It seems that local custom can melt the iron that clads a contract.

When Jacob continues to work for Lavan for a share of the sheep, Lavan tries to take advantage of every possible ambiguity in the agreement. He removes the ringed, speckled, spotted and brown sheep that were to be Jacob's and gives them to his sons.  He, conveniently, understands the agreement to apply only to sheep born after the signing.  He then changes the specifications: only ringed sheep, only spotted sheep.... will go to Jacob.  The sons complain that it should all be theirs since Lavan supplied the means of production ( extreme capitalism)  and so they want to impose a wealth tax ( extreme socialism).  In the end, Lavan declares that it is all his, but he is gifting that which Jacob earned to his daughters and grandchildren.

Clearly, the economic model is at the service of the victor. Politics and the customs it generates serve to redistribute wealth, often to those in charge.  

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