Parashat VaYigash, Gen. 44:18-47:27

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Who are Bnei Yisrael?

Study with Baruch Sienna


The book of Genesis (from chapter 12) focuses on the families of the patriarchs and matriarchs. One reason these ancient narratives of parenting and sibling rivalry resonate for us today is that we can easily relate to these stories of favouritism, jealousy and (occasionally) difficult marital relationships. For even with all our advanced technology and modern inventions, it seems that people have not changed all that much in a few thousand years. In this week's Parshat VaYigash, the Joseph saga concludes with the climactic revelation of Joseph's true identity to his brothers and their emotional reunion. Even thousands of years later, it is hard to read this story and not feel the hurt, the shock and the impact of the reconciliation. The story continues with Joseph arranging for his brothers to return to Canaan to retrieve their father Jacob, and to settle in the land of Egypt- Mitzrayim.

But in this week's parasha, as the book of Genesis wraps up (next week is the book's final parasha- with the final deathbed blessing of Jacob to his children, and the deaths of Jacob and Joseph), we make the transition from 'family' to 'people,' and starting with the book of Exodus and for the rest of the Torah, the Torah's focus is no longer on individuals, but on the People of Israel. Describing their descent to Egypt, the Torah provides a geneaology of 'bnei Yisrael,' Jacob's entire family (70 in total). These verses are repeated in the opening sentences of Exodus' first chapter. Later in the Torah, the transition from family clan to nation is made explicit: "You shall then recite as follows before Adonai your God: 'My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation.' " (Deut. 26:5).

In the prayerbook, and most of the Torah, the phrase 'bnei Yisrael' refers to the 'Israelites', although it is often translated (literally) as 'Children of Israel.' I have never particularly liked the English 'Children of Israel' (the Israelites are immature and infantilized enough without needing to be called 'children'!) In our parasha for the last time, 'bnei Yisrael' really means the children [sons] of Israel [Jacob's new name] and we see the sons of Jacob referred to this way (Gen. 42:5, 46:5). Everett Fox whose mostly literal translation tries to be faithful to the Hebrew, creatively attempts to makes the distinction between the two meanings with the former 'capital C' Children, and the latter, lower case 'c' children.

Unlike the relative ease with which we can relate the 'family' stories of Genesis, understanding our relationship to the 'People' of Israel is more complex. Firstly, what makes the 'people' of Israel itself has evolved. Mordecai Kaplan has written, "Thus, in the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, peoplehood consisted mainly of land, government and cult; in the Babylonian Exile, of race and religion; in the Second Commonwealth, of land, law, religion and custom; in the Middle Ages, of religion, law and community life" (The Future of the American Jew, pg. 64). Since many perceive the Judaism of today to be mainly a religion, it is hard to explain why non-religious or non-practising Jews are still considered 100% Jewish. There is no such thing as a 'lapsed' Jew in the way one can leave faith based religions. Indeed, Hitler's Nazis killed even those Jews who had converted (or whose parents or even grandparents had converted) to Christianity. The Nazis incorrectly believed that Jews formed a [n inferior] race, but were correct that Jews belong to a people. The Nazis didn't kill Jews because of their religious beliefs or practices. As Mordecai Kaplan astutely points out, defining Judaism as a religion would rule out most [non-believing or non-practising] Jews!

Furthermore, if Judaism were solely a religion, why would it need a specific country? There is no official country for 'Lutherans' or 'Episcopalians.' A person can be fine Roman Catholic with no particular allegiance or connection to the Vatican, yet Jews have a special attachment to the land of Israel. In part, this is because in ancient times, the split between religion and nationality was virtually inconceivable. It was only during the Babylonian Exile that the Jewish people's identity was retained through the practice of a religion in exile. Central to this diaspora experience however, was the belief and desire to return to the land. Indeed, many of the Torah's agricultural laws apply to the land of Israel. Today, most of us are disconnected from farming, or rural life, (even in Israel, for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv residents), but the tithing rules of peah and ma'aser, and shmitah are still in force [only] in the land of Israel. But for the two thousand years that the Jewish people have survived without a country, 'nation' has been replaced by Torah; according to Saadyah Ga'on, "Israel is a nation only by virtue of its Torah."

But how was this possible for Jacob and his descendants? Remember, there was no Torah (yet) or Judaism as we know it. The story of Jacob's family, this Bnei Yisrael, going into Egypt is interesting, because it is in Egypt, not in Israel, where their national identity is forged. There were no Jewish holidays. No Jewish foods. What made Jacob's descendants distinct? How is it that while in Egypt, they remained separate from Egyptian culture, and were able to maintain their separate identities?

The Passover Hagaddah interprets the phrase, 'became a nation- vayehi sham legoy' in the Deuteronomy verse quoted above to mean that the Israelites were 'distinct.' There are a number of similar midrashim that provide an answer. Rav Huna said in the name of Bar Kapparah: Because of four things Israel was redeemed from Egypt: They didn’t change their names or their language, they didn’t speak slander, and none of them was promiscuous (Vayikra Rabba). One midrash includes brit milah (circumcision) in its list of four. The Minor Peskta provides another interpretation: “And there they became a nation” – this teaches that the Israelites were distinct there, in that their clothing, food, and language was different from the Egyptians’. They were identified and known as a separate nation, apart from the Egyptians." The Orthodox 19th century sage, the Hatam Sofer agrees this latter interpretation, "Beware of altering your Jewish names, language, and attire. A clue to this is found in the verse, 'Jacob arrived in peace (shalem), in Shechem' (Genesis 33:18) The Hebrew word shalem is a mnemonic for Shem = name, Lashon = language, Malbush = attire…" Hence, among the ultra-Orthodox (haredi) communities, they have 'Jewish' names, speak Yiddish, and dress in distinctive clothing.


Most of us are not that distinct from our non-Jewish neighbours. Today many of us have 'English' names, speak the language of the street, and dress relatively the same as our non-Jewish neighbours. However, even Joseph would not pass this test, as he was not recognized by his brothers because of his Egyptian appearance, he was given an Egyptian name (Tzafnat Pane'ach) and obviously spoke Egyptian (the brothers did not know he understood them as the 'interpreter stood between them.')

How to feel part of the 'Israelite' community, if we do not live in Israel, or are not particularly observant (synagogue going) is a challenge. In the spirit of Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers, another midrash suggests, "In Egypt, the Israelites gathered to dwell as a group, all of them becoming as one, and they covenanted to act with loving-kindness toward one another; to be loyal to the covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... (Tanna d'bei Eliyahu). I don't think we need to live in a ghetto, or in a 'Jewish neighbourhood' like many ethnic communities do in large cities with Chinatowns and 'Little Italies.' But the second part of the Midrash can teach us a valuable lesson on how to live in a sacred community: to act with loving-kindness toward one another, and feel obligated to the Divine Covenant.

 

Shabbat Shalom.

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