Vayeshev 2020

1“And Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his other sons …… And his brothers saw that he was more loved than them and they hated him and were unable to speak to him with peace. And Joseph dreamt a dream and told his brothers and they hated him even more (Vayosifu Od S’no Oto)”. The Rabbis explained the hatred as being a result of their jealousy of Jacob’s preference. However the jealousy wasn’t mentioned until later after telling of the two dreams. “And they were jealous of him and their father guarded the matter.” The Parsha connects both the paternal preference and the dreams with the brother’s burning jealousy.

2Stories of jealousy are pervasive in the book of Genesis both in the text and in the Midrash. The angels were jealous of mankind. The sun was jealous of the moon. The snake was jealous of Adam concerning Eve and of Adam’s preferred access to fruits in the garden. Cain and Abel was a classic story of religious envy. There G-d addressed the issue of envy with a direct response. “if you wish to do better you will be raised, and if not you will carry your sin to your grave.” What this means can be understood by examining another story. That being the story of the two great lights back in the fourth day of creation.” And G-d created two great lights.” The two lights were initially equal but the one was jealous so G-d reduced it and that became the moon. (Midrash Bereishis Rabah) It is difficult for us to take this story on its face value. It certainly works for children but for adults the story is about envy. In the end “and G-d made the large light (sun) to rule the day and the small light (moon) to rule the night”. Although one may be smaller than the other they rule equally. In religious observances the moon plays a much greater role. We use the lunar calendar almost exclusively. The moon is blessed and heralded monthly in advance (Kiddush Hachodesh) and after its emergence (Kiddush Levanah). The moon taught us how to deal with envy. The moon accepted the lesser light knowing and accepting its role as ruler of the night. The result was a lesser role than the sun in the physical world but a larger spiritual role.

3Everybody dreams. Our dreams are our own, belonging exclusively to us. Envy is the opposite of dreams. The envious person rejects his or her own dreams. In its place the envious person replaces his dream with that of another. Each of us has our own mission in this world. Our dreams should reflect our deepest desires to achieve this specific mission. Joseph’s dreams were about his role as a sustainer and a leader. His brothers were filled with envy. They were jealous first of father’s love and later of Joseph’s dreams. They failed to understand their individual unique role in the world. They needed desperately to “Be raised”. Joseph was able to accomplish his personal mission while his brothers floundered. Reuben’s dream of being the first born with all that entailed was spoiled by his own actions in last week’s Parsha, sleeping with Bilhah. Shimon and Levi lost ground in their attack on innocents in Shchem and in their role in the sale of Joseph. Judah’s prime role in the sale of Joseph prevented his descendants from achieving Jacob’s promise of kingship for hundreds of years until David.

4We pray for a healing of our dreams during the Priestly Blessing. (Birkat Kohanim). The prayer for peace indeed the hope for peace will come to all of us when our dreams are healed. Then envy will be replaced with dreams and piece will rule on earth.