Siz Shver Siz Zan a Yid (It's Tough to Be a Jew)

Dear Rabbi: 

Last week we were left with the cliffhanger of Joseph creating "fake news" and accusing Benjamin of stealing so as to be able to hold him in Egypt while his brothers would have to tell Jacob that his second most favored son was in extreme jeopardy. Vayigash has special meaning to me not so much as it relates to Joseph but how it starts with Judah.

 

I don’t know if Judah had any formal training, but his plea to Joseph to take him instead of Benjamin goes down as one of the best closing arguments ever made before what is the equivalent of a judge and jury today. Any attorney would drool over the emotion and effect this has on Joseph.  How effective were Judah’s words, well let’s look at the language contained in this week’s parshah as it is stated in the Second Aliyah at chapter 45:

 

“Now Joseph could not bear all those standing beside him, and he called out, "Take everyone away from me!" So no one stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

And he wept out loud, so the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard.”

 

These powerful emotions have a Perry Mason type of ending when the following is stated:

 

“And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" but his brothers could not answer him because they were startled by his presence.”

 

In a real court like setting, there is no admission given from the witness stand, but if there was, the “jury”, his brothers, gave the perfect response. By the way, your reference to Joseph seeing Jacob before he took any inappropriate actions with Potiphar's wife loses even more credibility for what seems to be the first time since Joseph is thrown into the pit, he thinks of his father.  

 

Joseph says two other remarkable things within this Second Aliyah that I will state, but I would like to reserve my comments as it relates to these two sentences when I wrap up my thoughts about Joseph and his saga. The two lines go like this:

 

“But now do not be sad, and let it not trouble you that you sold me here, for it was to preserve life that G-d sent me before you.”

***

“And G-d sent me before you to make for you a remnant in the land, and to preserve [it] for you for a great deliverance.”

 

All I do want to say about what I just quoted is that your comment to me a few parshahs ago was that Joseph and G-d did not have any direct conversations and that is why he is not to be considered a Patriarch, but other than you giving me your comment about how this cannot be considered something said between Joseph and G-d, I will leave this exchange for now.

 

In the Third Aliyah, chapter 45, Joseph goes on to ease his brothers’ guilt by saying it was not them that brought him to Egypt but it was an act of G-d. He also says something that in a way contradicts part of your sermon last week wherein you inferred that starting with Joseph, Jews have had political influence but never had the ultimate title of “president”. If that is so, explain why Joseph states the following:

 

“And now, you did not send me here, but G-d and He made me a father to Pharaoh, a lord over all his household, and a ruler over the entire land of Egypt.”

 

Joseph seems to be inferring that he is Pharaoh’s superior and recent events as it relates to George W. Bush and our current president could be used as examples of people other than the president really calling the shots.

 

This aliyah also may be the beginning of what will become “anti-Semitic” feelings towards our forefathers when Joseph tells his brothers to tell their father that even though there will be five more years of famine, Jacob’s family will be given prime real estate in Goshen and will be well provided for. This aliyah again shows that Joseph can predict what is going to happen when Pharaoh echoes what Joseph already told his brothers.

 

The aliyah ends with Jacob at first not believing what he hears from his sons but then wants to go. There is something about aliyahs that I sometimes do not understand. The first sentence of the Fourth aliyah is the last line of chapter 45 with now “Israel” (the last aliyah ends with Jacob now wanting to go) saying the following: And Israel said, "Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die." He never gives an inch when he is speaking about his favorite son to his other sons.

 

If you want to “push back” on my question posed earlier about how Joseph keeps telling his brothers that “G-d did all this not you”, you can use the Fourth Aliyah as an example of Jacob having the ability to have a conversation with G-d because it tells of the exchange between the two of them while Jacob camps in Beer Sheba and G-d tells him not to worry about going to Egypt, when the following is stated: “And He said, "I am G-d, the G-d of your father. Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.” I would like to comment on this as well next week. I will leave this Aliyah with the constant going back and forth of “Israel” vs. “Jacob” interchange. Jacob is what he is, Israel is what he should be. 

 

The Fifth Aliyah describes Jacob’s immediate family that is making the journey and I leave it to you to further describe the scene if you want to comment.

 

The Sixth Aliyah has a strange exchange between Joseph and his family when the following is said:

 

“And if it comes to pass that Pharaoh calls you and asks, 'What is your occupation?'

You shall say, 'Your servants have been owners of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors,' so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians."

 

Why does Joseph have to tell his family that they are to tell Pharaoh they are shepherds in order to get the land of Goshen if Pharaoh already promised them this land in the Third Aliyah?

 

There is another exchange in this aliyah that to me again brings out the true nature of Jacob and I submit contradicts your earlier statement of Jacob’s “development” as his life goes on. Pharaoh greets Jacob and asks the following: “And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?"

 

Jacob’s response is very telling when he says the following: “And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and miserable, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojournings."

 

Here we have a man (and it is “Jacob” speaking not “Israel”) who despite his large family and despite his wealth, is someone that is “miserable”. He even gets something that most of us would wish for but cannot get back. He gets to see his favorite son again after thinking that he was lost twenty years earlier. How great a gift is that? Why can’t he see all that G-d has given him? To me this is not a person that has evolved as his life has played out.

 

The Seventh Aliyah could be thought of as again sowing the seeds of anti-Semitism in Egypt and what is to come. Jacob’s family is living somewhat comfortably while the rest of Egypt is forced into slavery. I will finish my thoughts as it pertains to Joseph next week. Stay tuned. 

 

Shalom, 

Mordecai

Dear Mordecai,

I love that! “Fake news”!

I know the name Perry Mason but know nothing about him.

I hope you know that I really do appreciate your allergy to Midrash. I’d rather read the text directly, which is what you do, too.

Indeed, Joseph says “And G-d sent me” twice, but how does he know G-d sent him if G-d did not speak with him? I suppose this is the question you are asking.

I’m excited to get some feedback – push-back – on my sermon from this past Shabbat. I was wondering how that landed.

Yes, Jacob is what he is and Israel is what he should be.  

I do not know the answer to this question: “Why does Joseph have to tell his family that they are to tell Pharaoh they are shepherds in order to get the land of Goshen if Pharaoh already promised them this land in the Third Aliyah?” I’ll have to look into it more.

The big question for the last several weeks has centered around Jacob and whether he develops or not. You cite Jacob’s remark to Pharaoh about his life as a sign that Jacob remains a small person his entire life. I think what really divides on this issue is the nature of heroism. I’m using the word hero to mean protagonist, but it also retains some of its colloquial meaning. You have one concept of heroism, and I subscribe to another. Indeed, Jacob has much to be grateful for, and I admit that he might have done well to lead with that. Leading with his hardship may make him look like he pities himself. Yet, all this confirms what I’ve been saying all along about the nature of Jacob’s heroism. It is the most human of the Patriarchs. Abraham is larger than life; Jacob is not. I truly believe that Jacob’s life was extremely hard. Why shouldn’t he express this?

Shalom,

Rabbi

Dear Rabbi,

First off, either I am dating myself or your generation does not appreciate what came before the internet digital age. Perry Mason was a fictional character created by the author Erle Stanley Gardner in over eighty novels. There were movies, a radio series and for nine years it was a staple on television starring Raymond Burr as the master criminal defense attorney that took on the most difficult murder cases to prove those that were accused were really innocent. He won all of the time and generally got the guilty party to admit the crime on the stand. Take it from someone that has tried more cases than I can count, this does not happen in real life. 

Getting on to Jacob, you have got to be kidding. Jacob must have been speaking in Yiddish when he said what he said to Pharaoh. Specifically he must have said, siz shver siz zan a Yid. (Roughly translated it means its tough to be a Jew, but in Yiddish it has a much stronger meaning.) It may be humble not to want to brag about what you have accomplished or earned, but it is something else to not only "lead" with the word "miserable" as it relates to his life, but there is no mention of the great things that happened to him as he walked on this Earth. A hero is someone that does not have to brag about his accomplishments, but he does not have to act as if nothing good happened to him either. 

Shalom, 

Mordecai

Dear Mordecai,

I suppose you are dating yourself, and I am revealing my generation’s lack of interest in anything in pop culture that preceded 1980. I also thought I had heard of Raymond Burr, but then I realized I was confusing him with Aaron Burr, who killed Alexander Hamilton. Sounds like Erle Stanley Gardner may have played a role in inspiring you to become a lawyer. Why did you become a lawyer?

I’ve heard that statement uttered, though I have never seen the Yiddish spelled out. I once heard second-hand that even Ariel Sharon said this – during the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza.

The only rebuttal I can offer is: Consider whom Jacob is speaking to. Pharaoh is not G-d. Why should he tell Pharaoh “the truth” of his life? You contend that Jacob suffers from is a lack of gratitude, but why would Pharaoh be the best audience to express gratitude before?

Shalom,

Rabbi

Dear Rabbi,

I have been thinking about my come back to you as it related to Jacob and the definition of a hero. To me a hero is someone that was thrown into a hell that to this day cannot be adequately described. It is someone that came to a new country without a dime in his pocket and probably without the understanding of any of the words spoken to him as he set forth on the new terrain. It is someone that pulled himself up, went to work, raised a family and never lost his religious faith despite those that despised him for nothing more than his religious belief and killed most of his family because of that belief. It is someone that always wanted to help others and wanted nothing more in return then the people he helped developed a greater love and understanding of that religion. What is a synonym for hero as I just described? Bernie Berko

Shalom, 

Mordecai