for Parshat VaYigash
i
Joseph tells his brothers of his dreams
that predict his greatness
that make his brothers hate him so much
they send him off to slavery in Egypt.
*
In Egypt
Joseph becomes a powerful man.
The brothers, not knowing who he is,
come to him for bread.
*
Joseph throws them in jail
plays tricks with their money
calls them spies & thieves
until Judah, Joseph’s brother,
tells this unknown man
all he has wrought upon them
and how the game he is playing
will break their father.
*
Joseph breaks down
he cries: I am Joseph
he says: you had thought to do me harm;
through you,
God has brought me
to sustain a great nation.
*
And Joseph cares for his brothers
the rest of their lives.
*
And this is the first time
anyone acknowledges God
as overseeing the brothers’ whole story.
ii
In anger,
Judah tells Joseph
what he could never say before:
how much Joseph matters to this family.
*
And that is what breaks down the walls
between Joseph and his brothers
and takes the curtain away
between the brothers and God.
___
Shabbat Shalom,
Abe
___
For simplicity, I wrote that the brothers send Joseph to Egypt, but the sale of Joseph is far more indirect. See Gen 37:18-29
Comments