Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah!
Two years have elapsed since last week’s parasha, and during
this time, as the cupbearer forgot what Joseph had done for him, and Joseph languished
in jail. Pharaoh’s difficulty in interpreting his dreams of skinny cows devouring fat cows and thin ears
of corn swallowing fat ears of corn remind the cupbearer of Joseph’s ability to
tell a dream’s meaning. Joseph is washed, shaved, and brought up from prison.
His interpretation and then advice to Pharaoh regarding to how to plan for and
manage 7 years of famine raise him up to second in command over all of Egypt. Meanwhile,
the famine reaches Canaan, and Joseph’s brothers must come down to Egypt for
provisions. Thus begins a series of dramatic encounters between Joseph and his
brothers, with Joseph hiding his identity from them and testing them to see if
they have changed since they sold him down to Egypt.
It has been 20 years since his brothers sold Joseph as a
slave, the same number of years that Jacob and Esau were estranged from each
other in the previous generation. Here again we have an opportunity for
reconciliation between brothers who almost killed each other. In the earlier
story, Jacob wrestles with a man, is injured, and approaches his brother Esau
the next morning by bowing seven times, assuming a posture of humility. In this story, Joseph
hides his identity and assumes a position of great power and authority over his
brothers, putting them through an ordeal in which they believe they are going
to lose their brother Benjamin to slavery.
The drama unfolds slowly and deliberately as Joseph
manipulates his brothers, eventually bringing Judah (in next week’s parasha )
to prove himself as having done teshuvah. Judah recognizes how it would kill
their father to come back to Canaan without Benjamin.
As we compare these two stories of fraternal reconciliation,
what differences and similarities do we see? Is there a “wrestling” in this
week’s parasha? Does it make Judah’s turnaround more or less authentic given
that he doesn’t actually know he is speaking with Joseph? What is the role of Joseph’s
hidden identity in bringing about this shift in Judah’s behavior? Do we think
Judah would have been able to express his guilt and remorse directly to Joseph?
Have the other brothers changed at all, or only Judah?
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