Vayigash: Origins of Power and Identity

 Vayigash: Origins of Power and Identity

 

Vayigash presents a pivotal moment in Jewish history when Jacob's family descends to Egypt, setting the stage for both the Egyptian bondage and eventual exodus. This migration, driven by famine, carries deep implications about power, assimilation, and the tension between survival and identity.

 The story begins with a confrontation. The Hebrew word "vayigash" means "approach," but carries undertones of trepidation and courage in the face of danger. When Judah approaches the Egyptian viceroy (his unrecognized brother Joseph) to offer himself in place of Benjamin, he displays the same courage Abraham showed in confronting God over Sodom's destruction. This is indicated by the use of the same word, vayigash, for both encounters.  Judah's vayigash confrontation leads to Joseph revealing himself to his brothers, choosing to embrace the family that had sold him into slavery , not  seeking revenge nor maintaining sole inheritance of Jacob's legacy.

 Earlier the  text had suggested Joseph might be Jacob's sole heir, as indicated by the verse, "These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph," where Joseph's name is set apart by the cantillation mark gershayim (literally meaning "divorces"). Instead of excluding his half-brothers, Joseph enables the formation of the twelve tribes, though his own position of power creates complex dynamics within the family.

The migration to Egypt itself reveals the  tension between assimilation and identity. Joseph instructs his brothers to present themselves as cattle-breeders rather than shepherds when meeting Pharaoh, knowing that shepherds are considered abhorrent to Egyptians. This suggestion to bend the truth for better social integration echoes through Jewish diaspora history. However, the brothers reject this advice, proudly declaring themselves shepherds like their ancestors. This tension between assimilation and tradition would play out countless times as Jews migrated to new lands.

This conflict between the newcomers and the assimilated plays out over the generations. When my parents came to America, the more assimilated American cousins tried to teach them how to be American: the right phrases and gestures. My parents were lost. The world of their childhood was a dreamlike legend to them and their American host-peers. Yiddish was now reserved for witticisms; otherwise, it was to be forgotten along with the traditions it recalled.

Settled immigrants and newer immigrants are in a  dance. Those who came earlier sacrificed their pasts and endured the hardships of pioneers. They were forced to adapt and found appealing aspects in the new ways. Those who prospered were  in a position to rescue their kin. Along with the welcome came a mixture of advice and dominance. The situation echoed the story of Joseph and his brothers.  The acclimatized, now naturalized citizens, want to keep the wealth and power they have acquired through assimilation. The newcomers dredge up the old resentments and antisemitism. They also remind the assimilated of things they may have lost. 

My parents tried to become American, but there were limits to how much they could change .  American non-kosher food was too foreign, they never lost their accents.  It is only now that I see how intelligently they selected from the menu of possible Americanisms, along with the clever rejections. Those choices are most of what I am. 

I married an Americainer, a woman whose roots were in the uppermost corner of the West coast, the most American place in America. Her American forebearers  stretch back to  the  colonization of Puget Sound by Europeans, five generations. Her parents spoke perfect English, no Yiddish. But the spark of the memory of the abandoned traditions was in her. She was sent to Jewish school, exposed to our history in a favorable light. She grew to love it.  Now our children have it, in their own, hybrid, ways. I am very hopeful for the next generation

The traditions are modified by the environment. The traditions color how we see the ambient culture and how we try to change it.

Chanuka celebrates the victory of Jewish tradition over the temptations of assimilation. A new tradition, the lighting of the menorah, comes to preserve the old portfolio of beliefs and practices. The Jews rejected becoming Greek, but they became proficient in many of the arts the Greeks developed. Chanuka is the paradigm of selective assimilation, a trick that is modeled  Vayigash. Chanuka is a renewed preparation for exile

 

The Israelites' decision to remain in Egypt even after the famine ends reflects a pattern seen throughout Jewish history. Like Abraham before them, they left the Promised Land during famine, but unlike Abraham, they stayed in Egypt due to their privileged position and connection to power. This choice sets up the eventual enslavement of their descendants, fulfilling God's prophecy to Abraham of 400 years of servitude.

The story of Vayigash thus presents multiple layers of meaning about power, identity, and survival. It shows how the need for survival can lead to compromises with identity, how economic necessity can transform into political subjugation, and how privilege can bind people to places that will ultimately prove dangerous to them. The brothers' refusal to hide their shepherd identity suggests that maintaining authentic identity might be as important as physical survival.

 

These themes continue to resonate in modern Jewish experience, particularly in diaspora communities. The tension between assimilation and tradition, the complex dynamics between established immigrants and newcomers, and the challenge of maintaining identity while adapting to new surroundings all echo the patterns first seen in Vayigash. The story reminds readers that the choices made for immediate survival can have long-lasting consequences for identity and freedom.

In the end, Vayigash is not just about Jacob's family moving to Egypt; it's about the perpetual tensions between survival and identity, between power and vulnerability, and between the promise of prosperity and the price of assimilation. These tensions continue to shape Jewish experience and broader human society to this day. It asks the ultimate question: who am I?

 

Aided by Claude