Genesis
There is something very exciting about beginnings – whether its beginning the Torah, beginning a new school year, starting the first chapter of a book, starting a new job, connecting with a new person. There is a sense of anticipation and unknown.
This weeks Torah portion begins at the very beginning -
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
When God began to create heaven and earth—
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר׃
God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹהִ֔ים בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃
God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לָאוֹר֙ י֔וֹם וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא לָ֑יְלָה וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃ (פ)
God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.
These first few verses of Genesis are some of the most well known in the entire Torah. Everyone is familiar with the account of how God took six days to create the Universe and rested on the seventh day. God is incredibly productive over those six days, creating light, separating light from darkness, creating sky, water and land, plants, sun moon and stars, animals, and finally, as God’s piece de resistance, God creates human beings.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (whose commentary this dvar Torah is based on) describes this narrative as “the most revolutionary as well as the most influential account of creation in the history of the human spirit”. But Rashi, the medieval commentator, commenting on the first verse of Genesis, asks the question Why does the Torah begin where it does - with the story of creation? Rashi says that the Torah is a book of laws, and therefore it should start with the first law, which doesn’t occur until Exodus 12:2.
Rabbi Sacks gives an interesting answer to this intriguing question. Perhaps the Torah begins with creation, in order to highlight our own human power as creative beings. Just as God is creative, we are to be creative.
We learn in Genesis 1:28 that we were all created in God’s image:
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃
And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים פְּר֥וּ וּרְב֛וּ וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ וּרְד֞וּ בִּדְגַ֤ת הַיָּם֙ וּבְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּבְכָל־חַיָּ֖ה הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂת עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”
Because we’re created in God’s image, we are called on to imitate God. As it says in Leviticus 19:2 “Be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy”.
Out of all God’s creations, humans are the only ones given the ability to shape the world around us, to be active agents in the world, to create worlds of our own.
When we create something, whether it is a poem, an artwork, a project outline, a chocolate cake, or a child, we start from a place of beginning, a blank state, an unformed void, just as God did. Whatever it is we create has never existed before, and we don’t know how it will turn out. The end product is unknown. Like with any new beginning, we may feel anticipation, excitement, as well as some fear. But creativity is what defines us humans.
I wish for us all that we may we savor the new beginnings of this season, and may we feel the blessing of God’s favor in everything we do and create in the world.
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Tazria- Metzora
People are often very uncomfortable with the subject of this week’s Torah portion, the double portion Tazria-Meztora, which deals with skin diseases, bodily functions, and impurity. The detailed laws about various states of impurity seem outdated, not relevant to our modern lives. We no longer isolate women after childbirth, or send someone with a skin disease out of the community. How can we relate to these laws today?
The concept of purity - tahor, and impurity - tame, were crucial to the people of the biblical world. They had no modern medicine available, and perhaps developed these concepts to feel more in control and help stem the outbreak of diseases and ailments they did not understand the cause of. Ritual purity was an important part of religious life and was taken very seriously. The parsha describes the process people who had become ritually impure, through leprosy, contact with the dead, menstruation, or childbirth, had to go through to return to a pure state. It involved a period of separation, followed by an offering of some kind, made by a priest on their behalf. Leviticus 14 describes such a purification ritual for a person who has been healed of leprosy -
"the priest shall order two live clean birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff, and hyssop to be brought for him who is to be cleansed. The priest shall order one of the birds slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel; and he shall take the live bird, along with the cedar wood, the crimson stuff, and the hyssop, and dip them together with the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. He shall then sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the eruption and cleanse him; and he shall set the live bird free in the open country"
The ritual continues with bathing, shaving all one’s hair, and finally being let back into the camp. This ritual, in and of itself did not fundamentally change anything physically about the person. They were already healed of their condition. Yet these actions allowed the afflicted person to once again feel part of the group, the feel renewed and whole again. Impurity, as it was understood, was not merely a physical state, but one affecting our entire selves.
The experience of illness, or of childbirth, and even menstruation, affects us emotionally as well as physically. We may look at ourselves and the world completely differently, following an illness or the birth of a child.
Perhaps the concept of purity in the bible is not all that different than for us today. While ritual purity and impurity is not as big a concern, we all know what it means to feel a sense of being at peace, and in balance with the world around us, or the opposite- ill at ease, not ourselves, somehow thrown off. For me, I feel pure when I feel closeness to those around me, to God, and to my purpose in the world. When my mind feels clear, and not muddied by trivial things which don’t matter.
Our morning liturgy speaks about purity – one of the first prayers we say upon waking up is “Elohai neshama shenatata bi tehora hi” Oh God, the soul You have given me is pure.
Within these simple and words hide incredible depth. Our souls, it says, are pure, and every morning is a new opportunity for us to return to that pure, and whole state. Our bodies and souls are constantly in flux from one state to another.
What this week’s parsha shows us is that what was impure can once again become pure. We can always return to the clarity and sense of peace that we seek, no matter how far afield we find ourselves.
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Vayera
This week’s parhsa, Vayera, opens with the words
Vayera elav Ado-nai b’elyonei Mamre v’hu yoshev petach ha-ohel k’khom hayom
The Lord appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre, he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot
From these few words, the Rabbis derived the mitzvah of bikur cholim, visiting the sick, one of the most meaningful mitzvoth that we have. Avraham is resting at the entrance to his tent, recovering from the pain of his circumcision at the end of last week’s parsha. God appears to him, comforting him in his time of pain. Usually God appears when He has a message to give, but this time God merely brings His presence.
When we visit those who are sick, we emulate God’s behavior and walk in His ways. When God appears to Avraham, he does not cure him of his pain, and he does not even say a word to him. It is God’s presence alone that is healing. From this we learn that it is not so important what we say when we visit someone who is sick, but merely that we are present with them. The role of a visitor is not to fix or to cure, but to bring caring and empathy, and to affirm the person’s humanity at a time they may be feeling isolated or depressed.
It is said in the Talmud that visiting one who is sick removes 1/60 of their pain. One commentator asks, in that case could 60 visitors completely cure them? There are a variety of answers but another commentator answers that 60 visitors could indeed heal the person completely, if each one of them loved the person as themselves. While we know rationally that this is not how sickness and health ultimately work, it is an image that demonstrates the powerful effect a visit can have on a person who is sick. It shows us the approach we should have as a visitor - that we should have a loving intention and value the person as we do ourselves.
While bikur cholim is one of the most challenging mitzvot, it is one that is truly Godly.
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Vayigash
In this weeks parsha, Vayigash, the story of Joseph which began in the parsha two weeks ago, reaches its climax and begins to wind down to its end which is in next weeks parsha.
It is twenty years since Joseph has seen his brothers, who in his youth, threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery, because of their intense jealousy of him and their father's favoritism of him.
Joseph has come a long way, and now is the head of Pharaoh’s court. There is a famine in the land of Canan, and his brothers, who live in Canaan, come to Egypt to ask for help, for there is grain in Egypt, due to Joseph’s leadership. The brothers bow down to Joseph, just as was predicted in Joseph’s dream , long before.
Jospeh recognizes his brothers but hides his identity from them. Just before he is about to reveal his identity to them, he becomes so overcome with emotion, that “his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians could hear and so the news reached pharaoh’s place”.
Joseph says to his brothers, please come forward to me. I am your brother Joseph, he whom you sold into Egypt”. Now, do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me hither; it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you.
6
כִּי־זֶ֛ה שְׁנָתַ֥יִם הָרָעָ֖ב בְּקֶ֣רֶב הָאָ֑רֶץ וְעוֹד֙ חָמֵ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵין־חָרִ֖ישׁ וְקָצִּֽיר׃
It is now two years that there has been famine in the land, and there are still five years to come in which there shall be no yield from tilling.
7
וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהִים֙ לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם לָשׂ֥וּם לָכֶ֛ם שְׁאֵרִ֖ית בָּאָ֑רֶץ וּלְהַחֲי֣וֹת לָכֶ֔ם לִפְלֵיטָ֖ה גְּדֹלָֽה׃
God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on earth, and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance.
Joseph speaks to his brothers gently, with respect. He does not show anger or want revenge, though his brothers treated him so badly so long ago. And not only that but he saves their lives, giving them food and shelter, saying “the best of all the land of Egypt shall be ours”.
This behavior shows Joseph’s strong character and his ability to forgive. When Joseph was a young boy, and would impulsively tell his dreams to his brothers, dreams in which they would bow down to him, little did he know what path his life would take to reach that point.
In this parsha, Joseph shows that he has matured, he is no longer the naïve and perhaps somewhat arrogant boy he was in the parsha from two weeks ago. His brothers have also changed, and learned their lesson, having suffered with guilt and pain over what they did many years before. Back at the beginning of Genesis, when we read of the story of Cain, who murdered his brother Abel, also because of jealousy, we read the famous words of Cain when God asks him where his brother is – “Am I my brothers keeper?
In this weeks parhsa, we hear echoes of those words in Joseph’s actions with his brothers. But this time, the answer is “yes I am”.
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Vayeshev
This week’s parsha, Vayeshev, begins the dramatic and well-known story of Joseph and his eleven brothers. No wonder this biblical story has become such a strong part of our popular culture, one that has been made into both a famous Broadway musical, and a popular animated film. This is the bible at its height of drama – jealousy, sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, violence, seduction, imprisonment, power, suspense…As Chief Rabbi of Britain, Jonathan Sacks puts it, “This is as near the Torah gets to Greek tragedy”.
The story begins with Joseph as a young man of 17, tending the flocks in the fields with his brothers. And we are told “Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father”. Jacob favors his son Joseph over all the others, and makes him a special coat. The brothers are intensely jealous of Joseph, and to make matters worse, Joseph shares his dreams with them, in which “the sun, moon and eleven stars (clearly representing the brothers) were bowing down” to him. The brothers’ anger is inflamed and they plot to kill Joseph.
The narrative then follows Joseph through an array of changing scenes – first he is thrown into a deep pit by his brothers, and then spared by being sold to a traveling caravan of Ishmaelites, and brought down to Egypt. He finds his way into Pharaoh’s court, as the personal attendant to an Egyptian courtier, but then gets thrown once again into a dungeon, after being falsely accused of seducing the courtier’s wife.
In the dungeon he interprets the dreams of two of his fellow inmates, the cupbearer and the baker. He predicts based on the dreams that the cupbearer will be released, while the baker will be killed. He asks the cupbearer to intercede for him with Pharaoh once he is free, but at the end of the parsha we are told “yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him”.
This is a parsha full of strong imagery and symbolism, evoking bold colors and exotic scenes that would inspire any artist. The coat that Jacob makes for his favorite son, Joseph, the “katonet passim”, which some translate as an ornamented tunic, or a coat of fine wool, has often been imagined to be a coat of dazzling colored stripes. The coat dipped in goats’ blood, which the brothers show to their father to make him believe that Joseph has been killed, when in reality he has been sold to a caravan of merchants on their way down to Egypt. And, of course, there are the dreams.
The dreams in this parsha are all connected to the natural world – first he dreams he and his brothers are binding sheaves of wheat in the field – his sheaf stood up and remained upright, while his brothers’ sheaves bowed low to his sheaf. In his next dream, the sun, moon and stars represent Joseph’s family.
While in the dungeon, Joseph interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker – the cupbearer dreams of a vine with three branches. “It had barely budded, when out came its blossoms and its clusters ripened into grapes”. From this Joseph predicts accurately that the cupbearer will be freed and restored to his post. The cupbearer takes the grapes and puts them in Pharaoh’s cup. The baker on the other hand, dreams of birds - “there were three openwork baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket were all kinds of food for Pharaoh that a baker prepares; and the birds were eating it out of the basket above my head.” Joseph predicts, somewhat gruesomely, that the baker will be impaled on a pole, and the birds will pick off his flesh, and this too comes about.
Joseph, at the beginning of the story, is a naïve boy, a shepherd in the fields. Unlike his father Jacob, who we know as a clever trickster, and his brothers who come up with a scheme to get rid of Joseph, Joseph himself is a child of nature. He is honest to a fault – when he sees or perceives something, he feels the need to tell people around him, even when it would be smarter not to do so. He is eager and excited to tell his family his dreams, even though the meaning of them is clearly problematic.
He seems to have, without even trying, a simple connection to nature and to God. His ability to interpret dreams comes naturally, and without effort. He seems aware of this, and even to take it for granted. When the cupbearer and baker come to him, saying “We had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph says to them to them, “Surely God can interpret! Tell me [your dreams].” He is certain that this ability he has is directly from God, and does not question it.
Joseph, in this beginning part of the narrative, has the childlike quality of just acting, without questioning, doubting, or analyzing the situation beforehand. Joseph acts through pure intuition, he sees and hears and feels what is around him, and in his dreams, and he responds. Joseph’s life is a lot like a roller coaster, yet he just keeps hanging on throughout the bumpy ride.
This is part of what makes Joseph’s story so fascinating. How many of us are able to just act on our intuition, without analyzing the possible outcome beforehand? How many of us believe seriously in the meanings of our dreams? While we cannot live by our intuitions alone, perhaps we should learn, like Joseph, to listen more to our dreams and visions, both those we have when we sleep, as well as the dreams we have for ourselves when we are awake.