Parashat Miketz

In a recent article in The New York Times, “The Lasting Damage of a Fractured Family,” Jane Brody writes, “Show me a family that has not been  fractured — temporarily or permanently — by a fury-filled rift between two or more members and I might believe in miracles.” In this week’s parashah, the Divine Hand is clearly at work in the fractured family of the “Joseph cliffhanger” that is Parashat Miketz.  The story of Joseph, like many of the family stories in the Torah, is rife with deception, sibling rivalry, and repugnant behavior. When one thinks about the Torah, even the first family has to deal with seduction, eviction, and murder. In Joseph’s case, there are numerous siblings from four different women. Of course, since Joseph looks like his mother, the beautiful Rachel of favored-wife status, we know that his father, Jacob, will treat him differently. Maybe Joseph was a bit spoiled, being one of the youngest sons; he might have been less amenable toward hard work; maybe his head was more in the clouds. Like his father Jacob, Joseph’s dreams had the aura of prophecy. However, maybe he should not have told his brothers that he would hold dominion over them. Of course, it is the way one relates a story that is important, and the brothers might not have felt so friendly toward this boy after hearing his dream — no matter how Joseph has told it to them. 

Joseph’s brothers develop a murderous hatred toward him and decide they will kill him; however, they throw him into a pit instead, and when a caravan of Ishmaelites comes through the land, the brothers sell Joseph to them. The beautiful tunic that Jacob has made for Joseph becomes evidence that he is dead, as the brothers have smeared it with animal blood. Jacob rends his clothes and mourns for his son. There is no remorse. The brothers have solved their problem by getting rid of Joseph; they do not seem to mind the fracture in their family.

Making their way to Egypt, the Ishmaelites sell Joseph into slavery. However, Joseph’s intelligence and cleverness come to the fore, and ultimately he has a job in Pharaoh’s house, working for Potifar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guards. His troubles are not over, because he lands in prison as a result of a false charge against him by Potifar’s wife, who has apparently tried to seduce him. Joseph is a moral young man and will not give in to this woman’s feminine wiles. It is in prison where he interprets the dreams of Pharaoh’s baker and butler. Having the gift of prophecy, Joseph’s explanations come true. 

          A few years later when Pharaoh is troubled by bad dreams, and Pharaoh’s viziers can make neither head nor tail of them, the baker remembers Joseph’s ability to predict the future. Not only does Joseph decipher the nightmarish images which Pharaoh has revealed to him, he comes up with solutions to the difficulties presented. Of course, Joseph has matured and understands that it is God who has enabled him to help Pharaoh. As a result, Pharaoh hires him to be the second-in-command, an important position when one must create store houses for seven years of abundant food and grain to stave off the seven years of famine that will follow. Joseph now wears the signet ring the Pharaoh has given him, as well as a gold chain around his neck.

           Canaan faces famine, too, and the brothers travel to Egypt to obtain food. Though Joseph recognizes them, they do not know him. Firstly, they believe he is dead, and secondly, years have passed, and Joseph is no longer a boy. He speaks fluent Egyptian, and Jacob’s sons have no reason to suspect that Joseph is anything but an Egyptian functionary. Joseph treats them somewhat harshly and does not reveal his true identity. The fracture in Jacob’s family has not yet been healed. Joseph does not seem to realize all of the forces at work that have caused the fractures in his family: his grandmother’s unethical behavior, his uncle’s deception, his father’s favoritism, and perhaps his own arrogance. Has power corrupted him or is the golden chain that Pharaoh has given him a portent of the chains that the Israelites will wear when they become slaves in Egypt years later, when a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph wields all the power? Jane Brody may be correct about needing a miracle to fix “the lasting damage of a fractured family.” Stay tuned for next week’s parashah.

Shabbat Shalom!