This Sidra of Vayeshev is devoted, mainly, to the story of Joseph. It begins by telling us that when Joseph was young, he was cared for by Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, because his own mother, Rachel, had died. Leah had six children of her own, so she had no time to look after Joseph. For this reason, Joseph normally spent his time with Bilhah and Zilpah’s children. Unfortunately, Joseph was not happy in their midst and did not feel that he was part of the group. He was probably still traumatised by his mother’s untimely death. Benjamin was six years younger than he was, so he was unable to be friends with him. Because of his unhappiness, Joseph constantly brought to his father reports about the maidservants children’s naughty conduct. This alone made him very unpopular. However, some of our commentators suggest that Joseph’s motives were completely pure. He wanted his father to know what they were doing so that he would be able to guide them on the right path. If this is right, it shows that Joseph already had leadership qualities at this tender age.
The second reason why Joseph was not popular was because Jacob had a particular love for him. The Torah emphasises that he loved him because he was born in his old age. The truth is that Joseph was not the youngest child; Benjamin was. Nevertheless, Jacob favoured Joseph and showed it very clearly to all the siblings. He made for Joseph a special multi-coloured tunic, or, as others explain, a garment that covered his entire body. It was a garment which was normally worn by princes. Our rabbis emphasised that Jacob made a grave error by discriminating between his children and said that this was the cause of extremely tragic events in the family.
The tension between the brothers and Joseph grew even more intense when Joseph told them his dreams. Unfortunately, Joseph did not realise that he was causing his brothers to have such antagonism towards him. He meant well. He wanted to be friendly to them but they were not even able to listen to him when he spoke to them nicely.
The second portion of the Sidra opens with a new scene. Joseph’s brothers travel with their sheep to Sh’chem, which was a town in the mountains of Efraim , a long way from Hebron, where they lived. Joseph stayed at home with his father. But his father was worried about his sons because Sh’chem was a dangerous place for them. Only a short time before, they had been involved in a massacre there. Jacob was concerned that the inhabitants of that town might now take revenge. So he asked Joseph to go urgently to find out if they were okay and return home immediately. We know that for Yaakov it was a matter of urgency because chapter 37 verse 13 begins with the word LECHA, ‘hasten to go’.
It is remarkable that, in view of the tension with his brothers, Joseph responded without any hesitation with the word HINNENI, which means: here I am to do what you want. It shows two things. First of all, how much respect Joseph had for his father, and, secondly, that he was not at all anxious to go to his brothers. It reinforces the impression that Joseph had no idea that his brothers were hostile to him. It is also interesting to note that Jacob, too, did not suspect, in any way, that there was some risk in asking Joseph to go.
It is strange that the Torah tells us that Jacob sent Joseph from the valley of Hebron. Hebron is situated on a mountain. On the surface, it indicates that the family lived in the valley next to Hebron. But our ancient rabbis suggested a Midrashic interpretation for the Hebrew word for valley, which is EMEK, from the root meaning deep. On that basis, they said that the word symbolises the profound historical significance of that moment. Jacob’s apparently innocent request to Joseph transformed the fortunes of the family. Life would never be the same again. Joseph would never return again to his father and his life would plunge from happiness to tragedy.
Life would never be the same again. Joseph would never return again to his father and his life would plunge from happiness to tragedy.
Joseph ascended the mountains of Hebron, probably via Jerusalem, and arrived in the area of Sh’chem. As he was searching for his brothers he met a man who offered to help him by asking him: “Whom are you looking for?” Joseph answered: “I am looking for my brothers.” The man confirmed that he had seen them and showed Joseph the way. Our rabbis say that he was an angel, because that meeting was so incredibly fateful. We have all had fateful meetings, which we did not plan. This was Joseph’s.
Joseph’s answer: “I am looking for my brothers” has become famous in the last 20 years, acquiring a new significance, which relate to the religious concept of AREIVUT, the mutual responsibility, which all Jews feel for each other, including our martyrs in past generations. It has become the motto which accompanies all the school children, on their visits to the concentration camps and the crematoria in Poland, where millions of Jews were exterminated. The purpose of those visits is to give the children the feeling that they are searching for their brethren who perished in Europe.
As soon as the brothers saw Joseph from far away, they set out their evil plans to kill him. They made fun of Joseph by calling him ‘the dreamer’ and urged one another to act quickly. At this point, Re’uven, the eldest brother, intervened and wanted to save him. Both verse 21 and verse 22 begin with his urgent plea to them to desist from killing him. Through this literary style, the Torah demonstrates Re’uven supreme effort. At first, he hoped to save him by taking part in their conversation. But, when he saw that his brothers were not paying any attention to what he was saying, he became angry and demanded that they should stop immediately from their murderous intentions and offered an alternative plan to throw him into the pit. He really cared for his brother for he made sure that the pit into which Joseph was thrown was empty. He was absolutely sure that Joseph would be safe inside, until he would come back to rescue him. Most tragically, his plan did not work. Reuven’s courageous moves failed. But Re’uven teaches us an important lesson that when we see someone in great danger, we must do all we can to help.