PARSHAT VAYEISHEV

 Rabbi Daniel Nevins

Male characters and voices dominate biblical literature, yet the near-absence of female characters is particularly striking in Parashat Va-yeishev. Here is the story of Jacob (his wives don't appear) and his 12 sons (his daughter doesn't appear) exploring the world of men-in the field, on the road, in the city, and in prison. These narratives are rough and even violent, and this tone carries over to the two stories in which women do appear: Judah's coarse treatment of Tamar and Joseph's encounter with Potiphar's unnamed wife, who physically accosts him.

The Torah sets up the story of Joseph by observing that he was "well-built and handsome" (Gen. 39:6). But it is not only on the outside that Joseph looks good. His resistance to the seductions of Mrs. Potiphar shows strength of character, as does his pious explanation that he is obliged to keep faith with both Potiphar-his master-and with God. In this story, Mrs. Potiphar lacks character (in both senses of the word); she is merely a foil to showcase the virtue of Joseph. He is no longer the spoiled boy prancing about in his fancy clothes and boasting of his dreamy destiny. Joseph has become a cool and collected man; he is now an efficient manager of other people's concerns.

If Joseph looks exceptionally good in chapter 39, this impression is magnified in contrast to the view that we have just been shown of his brother Judah in chapter 38. Judah repeatedly makes desperate decisions that result in catastrophes. It had been his idea in chapter 37 to sell Joseph into slavery; the traditional commentaries plausibly attribute to Judah the plan of dipping the tunic in the blood of a kid and presenting it to Jacob. In chapter 38, Judah "goes down" from his brothers, and the descent is figurative as well as literal. He subverts the levirate marriage of his daughter-in-law Tamar by denying her access to his youngest son, Shelah, even when the boy comes of age. In this way Judah harms not only Tamar, but also the memory of his first son, his lineage, and his reputation.

If Joseph looks good due to his sexual self-restraint with Mrs. Potiphar, Judah's hiring of a woman whom he assumes to be a prostitute looks terrible. The younger brother Joseph, alone in the world, has learned to master his urges and thus his surroundings. The older brother acts from fear, loneliness, and lust.

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These words of Torah were taken from The JTS Torah Commentary archive: http://www.jtsa.edu