Introduction to Parashat Hashavua
Yeshivat Har Etzion

PARASHAT VAYEISHEV

Structuring Yosef’s Rise and Fall

By Rabbi Yaakov Beasley

A.                 INTRODUCTION – THE TOLEDOT OF YA’AKOV

With Yitzchak’s death and burial by “his sons, Eisav and Yaakov,” the Torah concludes the final third of Sefer Bereishit with the toledot - the generations of the two brothers.  Though it will concentrate almost entirely on the fate of Yaakov’s family, the Torah begins by telling us about the fate of Eisav. In a lengthy account, Chapter 36, we receive the impression of a man whose lineage and destiny are nothing but overwhelming successes.  His three wives bear him five sons while he dwells in Canaan, and his tribe increases even more upon his voluntary removal to the land of Seir.  The Biblically significant number twelve appears[1], as his line produces twelve chieftains (the thirteenth chieftain Amalek, born of a concubine, becomes the permanent hereditary enemy of the Children of Israel).  As these chieftains become kings, we sense that Eisav is flourishing, even without the Divine promise.  Not so Yaakov.  When the Torah focuses upon him, the contrast could not be greater:

And Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s wanderings, in the land of Canaan (37:1).

While Eisav is well established, Yaakov dwells – perhaps prematurely – in a land of wanderings[2].  More puzzling is the second verse:

And these are the generations (toledot) of Yaakov:  Yosef, seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock [of?] his brothers, and he was a lad with [to?] the sons of Bilhah and of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought an evil report of them to his father.

Unlike Eisav, of whom we receive an immediate accounting of his descendents, when we come across Yaakov’s generations (toledot), we are confronted with the story of the young Yosef.  Rashi insists that every mention of the word toledot is understood as children[3], and reads our verse, “These are the accounts of [the generations] of Yaakov.”  His interpretation is difficult, as we have already seen several appearances of the word toledot in Sefer Bereishit followed by a story, not a genealogical listing (see the footnotes for how Rashi explains those occurrences). The Ibn Ezra, however, understands that the word toledot can refer to significant occurrences in a character’s life.  The Ramban understands our verse in the same way that Rashi interpreted the word toledot‘s appearance by Yitzchak[4], that the ensuing story concerns all of Yaakov’s descendants, including the seventy descendants to be mentioned in Chapter 46.

            We can suggest a different explanation why the word toledot is not followed by a listing of Yaakov’s children by pointing out several unique factors about this introduction. We are not, unlike previous occurrences (see Noach and Yitzchak), at the beginning of Yaakov’s career, neither are we about to witness the birth of his children.  Instead, with Yaakov attempting to settle the land, we find our thoughts drifting forward – who will assume the mantle of leadership next; and perhaps more strikingly, what will be the fate of the brothers that are rejected.  Will they too, like Yishmael and Eisav before them, leave the land and the Divine promise behind them?  Or will Yaakov manage (or even attempt to) keep his entire family structure united towards the Divine purpose[5].  Rereading the text with this question in mind, we discover that the text clearly intends to convey the impression that Yaakov has but one single son:  “These are the generations of Yaakov.  Yosef …” (37:2). 

B.                 WHO IS YOSEF – FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Within Yosef’s introduction, the Torah immediately points to the problems of leadership and unity within Yaakov’s family.  Our initial impressions are not promising – Yosef is introduced as a shepherd, connected to only half of his siblings, and as a tattletale.  The next verses describe a lad favored by his father, despised by his brothers, and a dreamer who dreams of authority and supremacy.  The portents ahead are ominous, even if Yaakov is unable to see them – a fitting turnaround for someone who took advantage of his father’s inability to see (both at the time of blessing, and in the understanding of his children).

Let us examine each of the Torah’s original descriptions of Yosef.  First, he is a shepherd, someone who in theory, guides and rules (if only over sheep).  However, the text can be read as follows:

Yosef, being seventeen years old, shepherded his brothers with the sheep though he was only a lad, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives[6]. 

Noticeably, whether or not he is tending (ruling?) his brothers or his sheep, Yosef only accompanies his half-brothers, the children of the concubines Bilhah and Zilpah.  He remains apart from the sons of Leah, his natural rivals for the leadership.   The schism in the family between Yaakov and the sons of Leah, which began during the episode of the rape of Dinah due to Yaakov’s muted response to and criticism of the brothers’ reaction to the crisis has now advanced to poison the relationships among the next generation.  In last week’s class, we paraphrased a comment of the Or haChayim haKadosh, to ask a simple thought question:  If Dinah had been the daughter of Rachel, and not Leah, would Yaakov have kept silent upon hearing the news of the assault of his daughter, or later rebuke the brothers for their actions?  We tend to think that Yaakov would have led the charge against the inhabitants of Shechem himself.   Whether or not this is true, we suspect that this is indeed the brothers’ impression. 

            More pressing are the charges that Yosef was, indeed, a tattletale.  We can only guess at Yosef’s motivations – was a he a ‘spy’ on Yaakov’s behalf, charged, in his role as ‘shepherd,’  with reporting his brothers’ misdeeds to his father?  Perhaps he sincerely desired to reform his brothers’ and raise their moral level.  One could also envision him acting on his own initiative; tattling due to simple naivetי or worse, libeling his brothers with reports of his own devising.  In a family where apparently only one brother will be selected to carry the Divine blessing, it’s not hard to fathom the poisonous relationships that exist between siblings.

            The Torah not only does not reveal why Yosef tattled to his father; it does not disclose what he said, or even if it was true.  Attempting to ascertain the Divine sense of justice, we note that within two chapters, Yosef will be the report of two false claims.  The brothers’ will tell Yaakov that wild beasts devoured Yosef; and Potiphar’s wife will accuse Yosef of attempted rape, reports the reader knows to be blatantly false.  Traditional commentary also doubted the veracity of Yosef’s report, per Rashi:

He reported to his father that they used to eat flesh cut of from a living animal, that they treated the sons of the concubines with disrespect, and that they were suspected of living in an immoral sexual manner.  Therefore, he was punished similarly:  For stating that they used to eat flesh off living animals, the Torah stated, “they slaughtered a goat” after they sold him and they did not eat its flesh while it still lived (v. 31).  For relating that they used to call his brothers slaves, “Yosef was sold for a slave.”  And because he accused them of immorality, “And his master’s wife cast her eyes upon him …” (Rashi, ad. loc.)

            Are there any textual clues that can help us decipher what precisely Yosef said?  The Hebrew word for evil report, ‘dibah,’ appears in only one other place in the Torah –by the episode of the spies and entering the Land of Israel.  There, it states that the spies “spread an evil report of the land” among the people (Bamidbar 13:32).  In additional to being false, ‘dibah’ also refers to words that were said[7].  Was there anything that the brothers had previously said that had gone unreported to Yaakov?  We return to the aftermath of Dinah’s rape and the angry confront between Yaakov and Shimon and Levi:

And Yaakov said to Shimon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious unto the inhabitants of the land … and I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and smite me, and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.”

And they said, “Like a whore! should our sister be treated?!” (34:30-31)

The careful reader notes that while the Torah states that Yaakov spoke to his children, it does not state that they spoke “to Yaakov.”  Perhaps they responded directly.  However, we can also suggest that they humbly held their tongues in the presence of their father’s rebuke, and only upon leaving the tent, closing the tent’s flap behind them, do they furiously spew out their anger.  If so, then does Yosef take it upon himself to report their discontent to Yaakov?

C.                 A SON OF HIS OLD AGE

Despite the rift, Yosef remains Yaakov’s favorite.  We sense that this is due to his being Rachel’s son.  Perhaps, Yaakov sees in Yosef the dreamer a reflection of himself (being no stranger to dreams).  Interestingly, the Torah brings an unexpected reason for this preference: “ki ben zekunim hu lo” - he was the son of his old age.  The Ramban explains the difficulties this creates as follows:

That is, the son born to him in his old age.  The Onkelos translated:  “He was a wise son to him,” for all that he had learned from Shem and Eiver he transmitted to him.  Another interpretation: his facial features were similar to Yaakov’s.  This is Rashi’s language.  Rabbi Avraham (Ibn Ezra) explains it this way:  “Because he was the son of his old age – for he begot him when he was ninety-one years old.  They likewise called Benyamin a child of his old age (44:20)…

In my opinion, this is not correct! … All of his sons were born to him during his old age!  Yissachar and Zevulun were no more than a year or two older than Yosef.

The correct interpretation appears to me to be that it was the customs of the elders to take one of their younger sons to be with them to attend to them.  He would constantly lean on his arm, never being separated from them, and he would be called ben zekunav because he attended him in his old age.  Not Yaakov took Yosef for this purpose, and he was with him constantly … and this is why it states “ki ben zekunim hu lo” – and he was to him (to serve him) a son of his old age.

The Ramban has pointed out the difficulties in the literal interpretation of ben zekunim, for all of Yaakov’s children were born after Yaakov reached his nineties.  Like Rashi and Onkelos before him, the Ramban interprets ben zekunim as referring to either a specific quality of Yosef, or the special relationship that existed between them.  Interpreting ben zekunim figuratively, we can suggest that Torah labels Yosef as the child who is the solution to the problem of Yaakov’s old age.  Like Avraham and Yitzchak before him, the advent of old age means that Yaakov must choose for himself a successor, and apparently, Yaakov believes Yosef best suited for the mantle of leadership.  This makes the ketonet passim, the ornamented tunic that Yaakov gave Yosef, more than the sentimental gift of an old man for his favorite son. It is the garb of rule, a sign of Yosef’s elevation over the others[8]. 

We wonder what motivated Yaakov’s decision.  Having lived through the repercussions of a struggle between parental preferences and the resulting fratricidal enmity, surely Yaakov would have done everything in his power to maintain the wholeness of his family.  Rabbinic thought was scathing in its criticism of Yaakov’s behavior:

Rav Chama bar Giora said in the name of Rav:  “A person should never favor one son among his sons, for because of the value of two selas (coins) of a striped garment that Yaakov gave to Yosef above his other sons, his brothers were jealous of him, and the matter was brought about so that our forefathers were brought down to Egypt (Talmud Shabbat 10).

However, the criticism ignores the pressing problem of succession.  The eldest, Reuven, disqualified himself with his dalliance with Bilhah.  Shimon and Levi are, in his estimation, hotheaded zealots.  Given the alternatives available, Yaakov doesn’t appear to have much choice.  Perhaps, by appointing Yosef while he was still alive, Yaakov hoped to settle the issue of succession peacefully while he still has the authority.  It may be a gamble, and we suspect Yaakov knows it.   

D.                 STRUCTURING THE STORY

Two questions remains:  First, does the clothing fit?  Will Yosef grow into his role as leader, able to unite the brothers around him? Or will he “lose his shirt”[9] (both literally and figuratively)?  Second, if Yosef proves unworthy of the leadership over the brothers, how will Yaakov react?  A structural analysis of the first episode of Chapter 37 provides us with an answer.

Chapter 37 contains two major episodes: Yosef’s dreams and the reactions of his brothers, and the brothers’ attack on and sale of Yosef near Dotan.  Both episodes are structured chiastically, with a symmetrical telling around a central axis.  The first section, Yosef’s dreams and the reactions they provoke, is structured as follows:

Introduction:  The toledot of Yaakov in Canaan

A – Yaakov’s (Israel’s) preferential treatment of Yosef (v. 3)

B - The brothers’ hatred of Yosef (v. 4a)

C – The brother’s refusal to speak to Yosef (v. 4b)

D – The brother’s reaction to Yosef’s first dream (v. 5)

E – Yosef’s first dream (v. 6-7)

F – The brothers' hatred of Yosef deepens (v. 8)

E’ – Yosef’s second dream (v. 9-10a)

D’ – Yaakov’s reaction to the second dream (v. 10b)

C’ – Yaakov rebukes Yosef (v. 10c)

B’ – The brother’s (continued) hatred/envy of Yosef (11a)

A’ – Yaakov guards (ponders) the matter (11b)

That Yosef’s tenure as leader failed miserably is unquestionable.  Even had Yosef been prudent and politically attuned, we suspect that the brothers, still smarting from Yaakov’s rebuke over the Dinah episode, would have rejected any attempt to impose a son of Rachel over them.  However, Yosef’s complete incompetence exacerbates the situation beyond repair.  Without analyzing the dreams too deeply, we are struck by how oblivious Yosef appears to the deteriorating relationship between him and his brothers.  Seemingly unaware of simple prudence and tact, Yosef blithely reports his visions of grandeur in front of his seething siblings.  (Note that the Torah describes the brothers’ reactions before Yosef tells them his dream!)

            What is significant is Yaakov’s intervention after the second dream.  Until now, Yaakov has demonstrated the ability to maintain his silence when necessary - even Reuben’s affair with Bilhah does not provoke a reaction.  Suddenly, Yaakov actively rebukes and scorns his visionary son.  Whether this is a tactical step on Yaakov’s part, to deflect some of the rage that the brothers are feeling, or an attempt to teach Yosef the need to be circumspect in his utterances, is unclear.  The reader wonders if Yaakov is reconsidering his clearly disastrous choice. 

            The careful reader, however, notes two additional details.  First, the text portrays Yaakov as saying one thing publicly; privately, it appears that he does grant the dreams some credence.  More importantly, it is Yaakov, not Yosef, who actively provides the dreams with a familial interpretation.  While the numbers make the interpretation plausible, it ignores a new, dangerous detail.  In the dream, the heavenly bodies declare Yosef’s greatness (as opposed to declaring the glory of G-d).  Canaan was not the locale for where nature is brought to her knees to serve man.  From his youth, Yosef dreams like an Egyptian[10].

E.                  CONCLUSION

Even through the most merciful eyes, Yaakov’s attempt to anoint Yosef as a successor was an unmitigated fiasco.  The brothers, already irate with what they suspect was unfair treatment during the affair of Dinah, now find their worst nightmares confirmed.  Even worse, Yosef makes himself repugnant to them, with his constant harping, tattling, and megalomaniac visions of grandeur.  Will Yaakov be able to recreate the sense of the family unity that characterized his dealing with Lavan?  At what price will peace be restored? With these questions lingering in the background, Chapter 37 continues with the sending of Yosef to Shechem.