Drash on Parashat Vayeishev
Rabbi Fred Morgan
Temple Beth Israel, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Torah narrative is filled with coincidences, moments of happenstance or what we might call fate.  But we readers of Torah who can skip ahead to the end of the story see these as moments of destiny, the fulcrum on which the tale turns.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in this week’s sidra, Vayeishev.  In this portion we hear the story of Joseph; we learn that he was favoured by his father Jacob, and we discover that he was a dreamer.  Perhaps this should be understood as meaning that Joseph could see the connections that others overlook.  Unlike most of us, he has the ability to stand outside his own story and spot those moments of destiny that give meaning and direction to life.

Early on in the portion Jacob sends Joseph to inquire after the well-being of his brothers, who are in the scrubland tending the flocks.  Joseph is “wandering in the field” in the area of Shechem, when “a man” appears who tells him he has overheard that Joseph’s brothers are to be found elsewhere, in Dothan.  This coincidental meeting stands out starkly.  We know that if Joseph had not met the man, none of what follows would happen: the story of his family’s descent into Egypt, and the eventual exodus of the Jewish people from bondage to freedom.  But that’s not all.   Joseph is portrayed as a man who takes advantage of coincidences.  Perhaps he sees his future reflected in this “man” who whispers a chance remark in his ear.

The story of Judah and Tamar stands out even more strikingly as an interpolation, a coincidence, within the framework of Joseph’s story.  Judah has advised his brothers not to kill Joseph but to sell him to the Midianite traders.  He has scruples, but his moral compass is skewed.  We are told that the Midianites take Joseph into Egypt, and at that point the narrative shifts to Judah who dwells still in Canaan.  A great period of time is compacted into a few words in the text: Judah marries and has sons; one of the sons marries Tamar and dies; a second son, bound to fulfill a levirate relationship with Tamar on behalf of his dead brother, also dies; Judah withholds the third son for fear he too will perish.

Tamar arranges things so she will become pregnant by Judah, thus gaining an heir for her husband in accordance with custom.  She tricks Judah into sleeping with her by offering herself to him disguised as a sacred prostitute.  Later, after she becomes pregnant, she is called before Judah to be punished for her apparent adultery.  Cunningly she reveals the identity of the foetus’s father to Judah, who must acknowledge that tzadkah mimeni, “she is more righteous than I; she is innocent, the baby is mine” (the phrase can be taken in both ways, according to midrash).  Tamar gives birth to twins, one of whom, Peretz, is the ancestor of King David.

Morality, so the story teaches both Judah and us, involves more than blindly following custom or taking situations for granted.  It is about seeing the true connections among things and doing what is right in an ultimate sense.  Truly ethical people challenge the conventional wisdom of their group, which is often grounded in nothing more than appearances, prejudices and happenstance.  The story of Judah and Tamar reflects this.  Joseph, too, challenges the status quo of his era; he is a dreamer, a visionary.  In this respect, he models the story of the Jewish people, a people of moral vision.