Parashat VaYeshev, Gen. 37:1-40:23

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In the Pit- with the Miracle of Hope

Study with Baruch Sienna


Parshat VaYeshev begins the novella of Joseph that will span the next three weeks. This week’s portion tells of Joseph’s conflict with his brothers, and his imprisonment in Egypt (that also foreshadows the enslavement of the Israelites there). The well known and beloved story has been adapted into a Broadway musical and a children’s animated feature film.


Parshat VaYeshev again this year (as it often does) also coincides with the holiday of Chanukah that we begin this Shabbat (we light the Chanukah candles before the Shabbat candles). (For Kolel's Chanukah pages and holidays 'how to', click here). The themes of assimilation in the story of the conflict between the Hellenists and the Hasmoneans resonate with the story of Joseph, who (unlike the other patriarchs) is given an Egyptian name, marries the daughter of an Egyptian priest, and lives most of his live in Egypt.


Of course, the meaning of the holiday of Chanukah has evolved, as different stories have been interpreted by different communities and at different times. The story of the miracle of the cruse of oil lasting eight days for centuries was seen as a symbol of faith in God, and the divine role in history. Traditional Jews see Chanukah as a cautionary tale against assimilation. For modern liberal North American Jews, the struggle of the Maccabees against the Syrian oppressors is about the fight for religious freedom and tolerance. (Ironically, the Maccabees were actually guerrilla fighters and religious extremists- today some might call them ‘terrorists’ which causes cognitive dissonance since it is not clear which side of the Chanukah story we liberal Jews would be on). Israelis see in the struggle of the few against the many a metaphor for their own battle for survival. The newest trend, in teaching the ‘true story of Chanukah’ from multiple perspectives and various sources, teaches the dangers of division between the Jewish denominations.


The Rabbis were not fond of Chanukah, and did everything in their power to keep it from taking centre stage. They excluded the book of Maccabees from the biblical canon. Ironically, it was the early Christians who retained the books (I & II) in a collection called the Apocrypha, or ‘outside books’. There is no Talmud tractate on Chanukah like there is for the minor festival of Purim. In the prayer for Chanukah recited every day in the central Amidah prayer, God is thanked for the miracle of the victory. God, not the Maccabees is the hero of the story. At least, that is the story the Rabbis want us to remember. That is not all that surprising- after all, the rabbis delete Moses from the Hagaddah too. The Rabbis don’t like human heroes.


But there is more to it than that. The Rabbis, living under the shadow of Imperial Rome did not think a story that glorified a grassroots rebellion against a mighty foreign power was a smart idea. In addition, the Rabbis were not particularly fond of the Maccabees’ descendants, the Hasmonean dynasty that had taken over and were aligned with the Sadduccees (the priestly upholders of the old Temple cult). Ironically, these descendants of the Maccabees quickly became assimilated, corrupt, and puppets of Rome. To their way of thinking (and in hindsight, they were right), it would be Rabbinic Judaism and their innovations: interpretative Torah study and verbal prayer (instead of sacrifices) that would have the power to withstand the mighty Roman Empire, not spears and stones.


It is also thanks to the Rabbis, who in a discussion about Shabbat candles, and tangentially mention Chanukah, that we first hear the now famous story of the miracle of the cruse of oil lasting eight days. And while discussing various other details about Chanukah lights (where and when they can be lit), the sage Rav Tanhum is quoted (Shabbat 21a) saying that Chanukah lights cannot be lit higher than twenty amot (cubits: or 30 feet/10 meters). And then, another seemingly unrelated teaching is brought in the name of the same Rav Tanhum to explain the redundancy of the description of the empty and waterless pit Joseph was thrown into (as if to say, while we’re talking about Rav Tanhum, here is another thing he taught). Rashi quotes this midrash: "As it says that the pit was empty can I not deduce that there was no water in it? Why does it say that there was no water? There was no water, but there were snakes and scorpions.“ This is a particularly memorable Rashi (and perhaps a little farfetched).

Just being thrown into a empty pit is not life threatening, unless it is a viper's den. For the Rabbis the lights of Chanukah are pirsum ha-nes- a symbol of the miracle, so Joseph surviving the pit must also be miraculous if they are to share a connection. But poisonous snakes to me seems forced. Rashbam, Rashi’s grandson, makes a different point. The Torah tells us that there was no water, because the brothers did not want to kill Joseph with their own hands, and thrown into a water cistern Joseph would have immediately drowned. I’ve seen the enormous cisterns in Israel and it would be impossible to get out- and if there was more than 6 feet of water, it would be certain death. The fact that there was no water in the cistern allowed Joseph to survive. Ramban agrees with Rashi that there were snakes and scorpions, but that the brothers didn’t know about them, either because the pit was too deep, or the lethal animals were hiding in crevices. Ramban says this (not because if the brothers had known about the animals, they would not have thrown him in, but) because he believes that if they had seen how Joseph was miraculously unharmed, they would have realized the divine plan, and here he uses the phrase: nes gadol (a great miracle- the same as we see on the first two letters of our dreidel!)

What is the connection between Joseph's pit to Chanukah lights? The simple answer is that the Talmud is not logical and linear, but instead uses associative memory, and while remembering Rav Tanhum, these two teachings were brought together. But there is one more way I think the two stories connect. I have always read the Torah's phrase "there was no water" (unlike Rashbam) to mean that Joseph would certainly die. Water is a metaphor for Torah, and across cultures a symbol of birth, life and hope. Not only did Joseph not have food or water, but he also had no family, no support system. Even God’s plan was hidden from him. He had no hope. When we are in a physical or psychological pit, we need hope. That is what the Chanukah story is about. The struggle of the Maccabbees against the mighty Syrian oppressors looked hopeless, yet they prevailed. Rabbi Julie Wolkoff writes in Learn Torah With... 5755, “Joseph is completely, utterly alone. All the familiar things of his life are gone. He has entered the dark night of the soul with no apparent sustenance to help him through it.” At Chanukah, too, we enter the darkest night of the year, and we respond by lighting a candle. Rav Tanhum is teaching that when we feel that we are in a pit, or with no hope, we must light a candle in the darkness.

 

Chanukah Sameach and Shabbat Shalom.

BDS