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Jacob refused him nothing. He owned the most beautiful clothes, for he liked to be regarded as graceful and elegant. He craved attention. He knew he was the favorite and often boasted of it. Moreover, he was given to whims and frequently was impertinent. Arrogant, vain, insensitive to other people's feelings, he said freely whatever was on his mind. We know the consequences: he was hated, mistreated, and finally sold by his brothers, who in truth were ready to kill him."
Messengers of God, Elie Wiesel
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Parashat VaYeshev now turns its attention to Joseph. The Joseph narrative forms a finely developed novella spanning the next four parashiyot. It is one of the most well-known stories (now a musical! and a children's animated feature) with violence, sex and intrigue (on second thought, maybe it should carry at least a PG-14 rating!). The Torah describes Joseph's character as he matures-- from an impulsive, self-absorbed and day-dreaming teenager to a savvy, diplomatic and forward-thinking politician.
Like other biblical characters, the Rabbis see Joseph through their own particular coloured lenses. Although Joseph is not considered one of the primary three patriarchs, he is traditionally given the title: Yosef Hatzadik, the Righteous, a title he earns from his refusal to sleep with [the unnamed] Mrs. Potiphar. (In the midrash she is named Zulaikha.) Joseph is most well known, of course, for his famous coat of many colours. But a piece of distinctive clothing is featured in virtually every episode of Joseph's life. It's as if he had to have a different outfit for each story.
The first is the best known: Jacob's gift of a special ornamented tunic. The exact meaning of 'k'tonet passim' (traditionally rendered as a 'coat of many colours') is not entirely clear. We all have images of a rainbow multi-coloured coat, (in modern Hebrew, passim means stripes) but it probably refers to an embroidered ceremonial tunic. The biblical Hebrew term refers to a robe being worn by a king's daughters (II Samuel 23:18). Joseph is a son of Jacob's favourite wife, Rachel, and his coat is a symbol of his father's favouritism (again, the familiar theme of a favoured child; see the discussion in our 5762 and 5763 archives). It is not the coat, but what the coat represents that makes the brothers hate him. Joseph is thrown in a pit, and his beloved coat smeared with goat's blood, and presented to his father for identification. (Perhaps the brothers' deception with a goat echoes Jacob's earlier deception of his father with goatskins and stolen clothing). The Midrash sees in the coat a hint of Joseph's troubles: [It was further called] passim in allusion to his misfortunes, the [four Hebrew letters of] passim: peh standing for Potiphar, samekh for Soharim (traders), yod for Yishme'alim (Ishmaelites), and mem for Midyanim (Midianites).
In Egypt, Joseph serves Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh, and becomes responsible for the entire household. Potiphar soon leaves everything in Joseph's hands "except the bread that he eats." (Some Rabbis interpret this as a euphemism for his wife). Joseph was incredibly handsome; the Torah's description "He was well built and handsome" (39:6b) parallels the identical description of his mother Rachel (29:17), and he is the only man so described in the Bible. The Rabbis describe him as quite effeminate and imagine that he curled his hair and painted his eyebrows. "Joseph would spiff up his eyes, pirouette on his heels, fashion his hair so that he would look beautiful" (Breishit Rabbah). Sort of like the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy). The juxtaposition of Joseph's physical description (seemingly out of place here in verse 6 describing Joseph's responsibilities) immediately followed by "And his master's wife set her eyes on Joseph" suggests to the Rabbis that his pre-occupation with his own appearance gained Mrs. Potiphar's [unwanted] attention.
Ironically, it is a distinctive garment that gets Joseph into trouble. For the second time Joseph is stripped of his garment and, once again, thrown into a pit--this time a prison-dungeon. The word garment is repeated six times for emphasis. Potiphar's wife holds his garment in her hand with accusations of his trying to seduce her, when in reality he flees from her sexual advances. However, while the text explicitly states that he refused her advances, the Rabbis entertain the possibility that Joseph 'asked for it' and that he was more than tempted. A few even go so far as to say he had taken off his clothes before the image of his father appeared to him making him reconsider. The rare, musical cantillation note of shalshelet [a long, wavering note] over 'he refused' can be interpreted that Joseph may have similarly wavered.
When he finally gets out of prison (one more costume change) he is dressed in proper clothes to meet the Pharaoh, and he receives special linen robes from Pharaoh with his appointment as viceroy of Egypt (41:42). In case we haven't gotten the point, Joseph sends clothes back with his brothers, after his emotional disclosure (in Parashat Vayigash- in two weeks). Every time there is a change of fortune, there is a change of clothes. In folk tales, this is a common motif; note how super heroes must change into their costumes. (In Spiderman 2, Peter Parker, sick of the ramifications of being a super hero throws away his 'identity' and must retrieve it before he can re-assume his super hero status). In Joseph's case, we can really say, the clothes make the man!
Lessons for Today
From the very beginning, we would have predicted that Joseph would live a charmed life. His father loved him and provided him with anything he needed. He had big dreams. And in Egypt, and even in jail, the text tells us 'God was with him.' But it is not enough to have all that going for you. Joseph's good looks got him in trouble. His dreams alienated his brothers. His obsessing over his physical appearance made him vain and conceited. Joseph's life teaches us that even with talent, and good looks, and family connections, there are no guarantees for success. Joseph needed to mature, and while in jail he finally learns the difference between the inside and the outside. At his lowest point, he was stripped of his externals and he changed his tune. He began to rely on his inner gifts, and acknowledge God's presence in his life. His ability to listen, to have empathy for others, to hear in other people's dreams their wish for the future enabled him to rise to a position of power and wealth and (as we'll see in a few suspenseful weeks) even make peace with his brothers.
Like Joseph, too often many of us rely on our charm, or focus on our physical beauty or our innate talents while we overlook our inner spiritual gifts. Joseph's coat is a symbol of the externals in our lives that we tend to over-emphasize: the clothes we wear, the car we drive, our homes we live in. Many TV shows now feature 'extreme makeovers' of how we dress, or our homes, or even our bodies. Certainly we should dress respectfully and attractively. Certainly we should take care of our bodies to be healthy and look our best. But sometimes I worry that we are bombarded with the message: "You can't be happy if your outside isn't perfect."
Joseph's wardrobe issues teach us a valuable lesson to focus more on developing our inner qualities and obsess less over our outer appearances. Every Friday night at the Shabbat table we sing 'Eishet Chayil: The Woman of Valour' from Proverbs. She too, worried that everyone was clothed appropriately, and made linen and purple garments. But the poem concludes: Sheker Hakhein, vehevel hayofi. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is illusory; It is the fear of Adonai that is praiseworthy." Where we drive to, is more important than how we get there. What we do with our lives is more important than how blessed we are at birth. The values in our homes are more important than the kind of furniture we have in them. That's the lesson that Joseph learned and the lesson his life's story teaches us.
Shabbat Shalom.
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