Monday, November 25, 2013

Mikeitz

Genesis 41:1−44:17

Real Men Cry

Joseph's tears, public and private

By Shuly R Schwartz; Provided by the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative rabbinical seminary and university of Jewish studies.

In the 1970s, football star Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier sang "It's All Right to Cry" on the landmark record album "Free to Be You and Me," produced by Marlo Thomas.

The former New York Giants defensive tackle told us, in the Carol Hall song, that "crying gets the sad out of you. It's all right to cry; it might make you feel better." Feminism had arrived in America, and men--including football stars with feminine nicknames--were permitted, even encouraged, to show their emotions and cry.

The Assassination of JFK

A decade earlier, on the cusp of the feminist era and of an era of turmoil in America, I saw my dad cry for the first time. He stood in front of the TV, tears streaming down his cheeks, as he watched the events of that afternoon in November, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Stunned by the horrific tragedy, I was also jolted by my father's open display of emotion. My dad was a caring and loving man, but as a child, I suppose I too was influenced by the norms of the day: Grown men didn't cry! It would take the Kennedy assassination, Marlo Thomas's recording and a whole series of events and social changes in American life to make a man's crying, even in the private confines of his home, socially acceptable.

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Monday, November 18, 2013

Vayeishev

Genesis 37:1−40:23

God Was In That Text

It is important to seek God in times of fortune, and to hear the divine voice in our texts.

By Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz
Provided by the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative rabbinical seminary and university of Jewish studies. Reprinted with permission of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

God's presence in our world is truly in the eye of the beholder. While there are times we feel an acute absence of God in our lives, there are also times that we are keenly aware of God's Presence. More often than not, it is in times of distress and tragedy that we turn to be discovered by God rather than in times of blessing.

Our patriarch Jacob is the quintessential model of such relationship. When Jacob leaves home and again when he is about to confront his brother Esau after 20 years, Jacob prays to God--for protection and blessing. Yet when we arrive at this week's parashah, Parashat Vayeshev, and read the opening lines of the Torah reading--namely that "Jacob was now settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan"--one would expect Jacob to utter some prayer of thanksgiving. After pulling through tragedy after tragedy (stealing the blessing from his brother Esau, fleeing home, suffering from the deceit of his uncle Laban, wrestling with a mysterious assailant, and living through the rape of his daughter Dinah), one would expect at a minimum an acknowledgment of God's work in his life, especially when he is settled.
Where is God?

Sadly, the entire opening chapter of Parashat Vayeshev contains not one mention of God. We know God is acting in the background, but at same time, there is no explicit reference to God. So where and how do we find God?

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Monday, November 11, 2013

Vayishlach

Genesis 32:4−36:43

Silent Deliberations

We should learn to react with humanity.

By Rabbi Marc Wolf

Provided by the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative rabbinical seminary and university of Jewish studies. Reprinted with permission of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

"Too often the strong, silent man is silent only because he does not know what to say, and is reputed strong only because he remains silent." This indictment, spoken by Winston Churchill, initially reminds me of our patriarch Jacob. We read this week one of the most disturbing stories contained in the Genesis narrative--the abduction of Dinah. As our parashah tells us, Dinah was the daughter of Leah and Jacob, sister to Shimon and Levi.When she went out one day to meet the other young women of the land, the local prince, Shekhem, abducted her. Upon hearing the news of this violation, Jacob reacted as we never would have supposed a father would--with silence.

Jacob and Shekhem Make A Deal

Juxtaposed with Jacob's reaction, is the angry response from Dinah's brothers. After abducting her, Shekhem fell in love with Dinah and wished to marry her. When Shekhem came to Jacob to plead his case, the parashah tells us that the brothers answered him, "cunningly, with deceit" (Genesis 34:13). Speaking for their father, they struck a bargain with Shekhem:If he convinced every single male in his land to circumcise themselves, then he could have their captive sister's hand in marriage.

Rabbeinu Bahya, a 13th to 14th century commentator from Spain, stated in his commentary on Vayishlah, that the brothers had no intention of letting Dinah marry this man. They planned, instead, to wait until the third and harshest day of pain after circumcision, when the men of the city would be weakest, and take their sister back from her captivity. This plan, however, morphed into a deadly act of vengeance.

The Revenge of Shimon and Levi

When Shimon and Levi went to release Dinah, something went drastically wrong. The brothers entered the home of Shekhem, and then crumbled into an emotional fury. They displayed a lapse of faith in God, who bestows righteousness and compassion, and in a moment of filial loyalty, stepped over aline that snowballed into wrath, rage and vehemence. They killed each and every male in the city and then turned their swords against Shekhem and finally his father.

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Vayeitzei

Genesis 28:10−32:3

Complicated Relationships

The emotional struggles of our ancestors can help guide us today.


By Rabbi Melissa Crespy; Provided by the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative rabbinical seminary and university of Jewish studies.

I cannot read Parashat Vayetze dispassionately.

The struggle between two sisters for the love of the same man, the back and forth attempt to win his affections by bearing more and more children, and the visible jealousy and pain that each one of them experiences leaves me feeling angry every time I read the story.

Particularly galling is Jacob's reaction to Rachel—the wife whom he loves deeply—when she cannot become pregnant. She has seen her sister Leah bear Jacob three sons (presumably within three years), and can no longer take the pain of being the barren wife. "Give me children, or I shall die" she says to Jacob (Genesis 30:1). And the Torah records his response:"Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, "Can I take the place of God ("hatahat elohim anokhi"), who has denied you fruit of the womb?"

The Midrash Rebukes Jacob

Midrash Rabbah (71:7), avoiding any of the apologies later commentators will make, cuts to the chase when it comments: "Said the Holy One, Blessed be God, to him [Jacob]: "Is that a way to answer a woman in distress? By your life, your children will one day stand in supplication before her son [Joseph], who will answer them, 'Am I a substitute for God (hatahatelohim ani)'" (Genesis 50:19)?

The midrash is acutely sensitive to Rachel's feelings here,and to Jacob's cruelty in answering her as he did. Yes, she overstated, but her comment reflected how terribly pained and unworthy she felt by not being able to bear children. Jacob just dug the knife in deeper by saying that God had denied her the ability to produce children. The midrash responds that an insensitive comment like this one will not go unpunished, and it doesn't. In the not too distant future, Jacob's other sons are at the mercy of Rachel's son Joseph,where they hear language very close to the cruel words Jacob had spoken. As a rabbinic dictum teaches: "Midah k'neged midah" (one unkind deed will be paid back by another).

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