Here’s my 2009 VaYeshev Commentary! Or listen to it!
Shabbat Shalom.
Our parashah for today is VaYeshev, a Hebrew word that means “And he settled.” It covers Genesis chapters 37 through 40.
Now, a lot happens in this week’s portion and one could do at least four commentaries with the material, but what I’ve decided to focus on this week is chapter 39. As this chapter opens, we see that from the moment Joseph is sold as a slave in Egypt, the L-RD proves His faithfulness by blessing Joseph in all he does. In fact, he becomes such a worthwhile worker for his first owner, Potipher, that Joseph is placed in charge of everything Potipher is responsible for. We read this in:
Genesis 39:6-7
So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
Keep in mind that at this time, it is believed that Joseph is a young man still in his late teens – perhaps eighteen or so. As anyone who is the parent of a teenager, or at least has watched teen comedies, can tell you, this is not a time in a young man’s life when he is necessarily at his most mature and self-controlled, especially in the area of sexual temptation. And the danger of this situation is already hinted at in these very verses. As we read in:
Weekly Midrash, vol. 1, pg 193:
Ramban writes: Why does the verse call her here the wife of his master (39:7)? To show us that even though she was his master’s wife, and Joseph ought to have been afraid to disobey her, yet in this matter he was unafraid and feared God alone.
So it is clear that Joseph, despite his hardships, is made of sterner stuff that many young men his age; he fears the L-RD more than he desires to give in to temptation, for he turns down Potipher’s wife. But I believe there’s more than a “Just Say No To Temptation” message in this tale about this period in Joseph’s life, so let’s examine how he says no. We read this in:
Genesis 39:8-10
But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
Did you catch that? Not only did he refuse to go to bed with her, but he refused to even “be with her.” The Hebrew here suggests that this means not only did Joseph refuse to have sex with her, but he avoided situations of even being alone with her.
How could a young man show such restraint? Was it as shallow a reason as he didn’t find Potipher’s wife attractive? I don’t think so.
But perhaps it’s this. Perhaps it is because our current culture is incorrect when they suggest that one cannot expect obedience and restraint from young people. Some have called this “the soft bigotry of low expectations” and too often, I believe, we don’t expect enough from young men and women when it comes to restraint and a willingness to obey the L-RD. The Sages also suggest an additional motive, as we read in:
Weekly Midrash, vol. 1, pg 193:
Joseph did not want to lie with her in This World, and then again be her companion in the World to Come. For he who lies with another man’s wife goes to Gehinnom together with her.
Now, Gehinnom is a Hebrew word that has the same connotative meaning as the word, “hell.” It is a place of suffering and complete separation from the L-RD. And unlike the popular Hollywood images of hell today, there is no aspect of Gehinnom that is desirable or fun. It’s not a party.
Yet is a fear of hell or punishment enough to banish temptation from anyone’s minds, young or old? In all honesty, that seldom works. If it did work, no child would ever grab a cookie from the cookie jar without permission – at least, they would not grab one the second time.
Could it be that Joseph’s ability to resist Potipher’s wife comes because of his deeply-rooted belief in the promises of the L-RD for his life? Let’s remember that from an early age, Joseph has received prophetic promises from the L-RD, dreams that depict him at being destined for great things. These are the dreams that caused his brothers to be so jealous of him that they sold him into slavery in the first place. Yet despite being sold into slavery, being moved to Egypt against his will, and serving in the house of a man who did not worship the same God Joseph worshipped, he does not allow bitterness and disillusionment to overcome him. He clings to the promises of the L-RD on his life, even when his life circumstances seem to be leading him further away from fulfillment of those promises.
So the question is, can promises of a desirable future motivate young people to put aside distracting influences in order to achieve a goal? I believe so.
In fact, the examples are many. One need only study the lives of dedicated Olympic and professional athletes to find examples of sacrificing the pleasures of the moment to achieve a desirable goal. The top achievers in athletics seldom have prolific romantic and social lives; they seldom have additional hobbies and outside interests; they remained focused on achieving their goal to the exclusion of such distractions.
Certainly, not all athletes pull this off. Tales of those who get in trouble with drugs or sex and other distractions abound. You can read about it on just about any sports page. And yet, these distractions either are not found in the lives of the top athletes, or such distractions creep in after they’ve achieved the top level of success and they no longer feel challenged.
In a similar way, one could view Joseph’s focus on God’s promises for his life as being analogous to the young woman who practices for hours on end, each day, in order to make the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team; or the young man who “doesn’t have time for parties and girlfriends” because he’s so focused in making it to the NFL or the NBA.
God has set lofty promises before Joseph and, like a dedicated athlete, when the distraction of sexual temptation comes to him in the form of Potipher’s wife, Joseph so desires the goal God has promised him, he has no time for, nor interest in, the distraction that could keep him from achieving that goal.
I believe this focus on God’s promises is what gives even a young man like Joseph the ability to say no to temptation. And he doesn’t just say no once, does he? No, the Torah teaches that Potipher’s wife sought him out daily, trying to tempt him, hoping to catch him in a weak moment.
You know, much is made of “weak moments.” They are a frequent excuse given by those who give in to temptation. “Oh, I wouldn’t normally do that, but I was caught in a weak moment.” Joseph avoids such a weak moment, but how?
I believe a lot of it has to do with how he avoids temptation. Already we’ve read that Joseph avoided even “being with her.” He tried to avoid being alone with her, even though she was his master’s wife. And there’s more to his strategy of resistance. Let’s read on in:
Genesis 39:11-12
One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
So there we have it, the moment in this entire episode during which even well-intentioned young people could fall back into the excuse of having a weak moment, and allow themselves to give in to temptation. The Torah tells us Joseph was on the job and none of the other servants were there that day. In all the other circumstances, Potipher’s wife had approached him while others were around, and the fear of discovery could have been a sobering factor.
But now, that excuse is gone. There is no one else to see them, no one who could discover them; it’s just Joseph and Potipher’s wife, all alone in the house. And she doesn’t merely proposition him, but grabs him by his clothing, an aggressive gesture meant to control Joseph.
So does he surrender to temptation? No, Joseph is still valuing the promises of the L-RD over a temporary moment of pleasure with another man’s wife. So what’s his response?
Does he spend time sharing about the plan of God for her life out of the Torah?
Does he offer to pray with her?
Does he say no, but stick around and allow her to continue grabbing at him?
No! He does none of these things! What does he do? He flees! He runs! He gets himself out of the house entirely!
And he flees so eagerly, he doesn’t even care when Potipher’s wife doesn’t let go of his cloak! In fact, we’re told his cloak is ripped off his body and he still runs away!
You see, too often people resist sin only half-heartedly. They say they want to choose the path of righteousness, but they keep themselves in the path of temptation, rather than getting out of its way. In fact, some believers consider it a form of proving their character to plunge themselves right into the middle of temptation and then try to resist it.
In the middle of the third century of the Common Era, one Byzantine community of believers was discovered testing their level of purity by having single men and women, including a bishop, sleep and cohabit together without having sex. Cyprian condemned the practice and put an end to it, but it is still considered an ideal in the minds of some ascetic-minded people, even though the results of such a foolish test is often out-of-wedlock pregnancies, rather than spiritual growth.
And we see a similar lack of wisdom today? New believers are often rescued by the L-RD out of habitual sins, such as drinking, and yet, in their zeal to share their newfound faith, where is the first place they want to go? Back to the bars to share their faith, when that’s the last place they should be!
That’s not the Torah’s advice for avoiding temptation, is it? What does the Bible say?
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee sexual immorality.
In the L-RD’s Prayer, Yeshua tells us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Does God lead us into temptation? No, but he does lead us out! We either lead ourselves into temptation, or we flee it. That’s how Joseph avoided sexual immorality with Potipher’s wife. He didn’t stick around to prove he was super-spiritual or especially holy. He knew he was as prone to temptation as anyone… so he ran the other way.
Of course, choosing righteousness rarely is rewarded by the world, and we all know how Joseph’s story plays out. Despite doing the right thing, a false accusation is made against him by the spurned wife of Potipher, and he’s jailed for doing the very thing he made sure not to do!
Some would say his comfort is in knowing this accusation is false, but does Joseph alone know the truth, apart from God? Perhaps not. The crime Joseph was accused of was usually punishable by death, yet Joseph is only jailed. Why?
Here’s a clue from the:
Weekly Midrash, vol. 1, pg 194:
Chizkuni writes: Why did they not put him to death? Because there were no witnesses.
Had Joseph given into temptation, none of the promises the L-RD had made to him would have been fulfilled through Joseph. The L-RD would have found another way. By fleeing temptation, Joseph proves even a hormonal teenage male can obey the L-RD and not submit to temptation. By obeying the L-RD, his life became a shining example, and indeed, our best shadow of the promised Messiah – the Messiah Yeshua.
Shabbat Shalom.
My 2009 VaYeshev Commentary
Monday, December 14th, 2009
Here’s my 2009 VaYeshev Commentary! Or listen to it!
Shabbat Shalom.
Our parashah for today is VaYeshev, a Hebrew word that means “And he settled.” It covers Genesis chapters 37 through 40.
Now, a lot happens in this week’s portion and one could do at least four commentaries with the material, but what I’ve decided to focus on this week is chapter 39. As this chapter opens, we see that from the moment Joseph is sold as a slave in Egypt, the L-RD proves His faithfulness by blessing Joseph in all he does. In fact, he becomes such a worthwhile worker for his first owner, Potipher, that Joseph is placed in charge of everything Potipher is responsible for. We read this in:
Keep in mind that at this time, it is believed that Joseph is a young man still in his late teens – perhaps eighteen or so. As anyone who is the parent of a teenager, or at least has watched teen comedies, can tell you, this is not a time in a young man’s life when he is necessarily at his most mature and self-controlled, especially in the area of sexual temptation. And the danger of this situation is already hinted at in these very verses. As we read in:
So it is clear that Joseph, despite his hardships, is made of sterner stuff that many young men his age; he fears the L-RD more than he desires to give in to temptation, for he turns down Potipher’s wife. But I believe there’s more than a “Just Say No To Temptation” message in this tale about this period in Joseph’s life, so let’s examine how he says no. We read this in:
Did you catch that? Not only did he refuse to go to bed with her, but he refused to even “be with her.” The Hebrew here suggests that this means not only did Joseph refuse to have sex with her, but he avoided situations of even being alone with her.
How could a young man show such restraint? Was it as shallow a reason as he didn’t find Potipher’s wife attractive? I don’t think so.
But perhaps it’s this. Perhaps it is because our current culture is incorrect when they suggest that one cannot expect obedience and restraint from young people. Some have called this “the soft bigotry of low expectations” and too often, I believe, we don’t expect enough from young men and women when it comes to restraint and a willingness to obey the L-RD. The Sages also suggest an additional motive, as we read in:
Now, Gehinnom is a Hebrew word that has the same connotative meaning as the word, “hell.” It is a place of suffering and complete separation from the L-RD. And unlike the popular Hollywood images of hell today, there is no aspect of Gehinnom that is desirable or fun. It’s not a party.
Yet is a fear of hell or punishment enough to banish temptation from anyone’s minds, young or old? In all honesty, that seldom works. If it did work, no child would ever grab a cookie from the cookie jar without permission – at least, they would not grab one the second time.
Could it be that Joseph’s ability to resist Potipher’s wife comes because of his deeply-rooted belief in the promises of the L-RD for his life? Let’s remember that from an early age, Joseph has received prophetic promises from the L-RD, dreams that depict him at being destined for great things. These are the dreams that caused his brothers to be so jealous of him that they sold him into slavery in the first place. Yet despite being sold into slavery, being moved to Egypt against his will, and serving in the house of a man who did not worship the same God Joseph worshipped, he does not allow bitterness and disillusionment to overcome him. He clings to the promises of the L-RD on his life, even when his life circumstances seem to be leading him further away from fulfillment of those promises.
So the question is, can promises of a desirable future motivate young people to put aside distracting influences in order to achieve a goal? I believe so.
In fact, the examples are many. One need only study the lives of dedicated Olympic and professional athletes to find examples of sacrificing the pleasures of the moment to achieve a desirable goal. The top achievers in athletics seldom have prolific romantic and social lives; they seldom have additional hobbies and outside interests; they remained focused on achieving their goal to the exclusion of such distractions.
Certainly, not all athletes pull this off. Tales of those who get in trouble with drugs or sex and other distractions abound. You can read about it on just about any sports page. And yet, these distractions either are not found in the lives of the top athletes, or such distractions creep in after they’ve achieved the top level of success and they no longer feel challenged.
In a similar way, one could view Joseph’s focus on God’s promises for his life as being analogous to the young woman who practices for hours on end, each day, in order to make the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team; or the young man who “doesn’t have time for parties and girlfriends” because he’s so focused in making it to the NFL or the NBA.
God has set lofty promises before Joseph and, like a dedicated athlete, when the distraction of sexual temptation comes to him in the form of Potipher’s wife, Joseph so desires the goal God has promised him, he has no time for, nor interest in, the distraction that could keep him from achieving that goal.
I believe this focus on God’s promises is what gives even a young man like Joseph the ability to say no to temptation. And he doesn’t just say no once, does he? No, the Torah teaches that Potipher’s wife sought him out daily, trying to tempt him, hoping to catch him in a weak moment.
You know, much is made of “weak moments.” They are a frequent excuse given by those who give in to temptation. “Oh, I wouldn’t normally do that, but I was caught in a weak moment.” Joseph avoids such a weak moment, but how?
I believe a lot of it has to do with how he avoids temptation. Already we’ve read that Joseph avoided even “being with her.” He tried to avoid being alone with her, even though she was his master’s wife. And there’s more to his strategy of resistance. Let’s read on in:
So there we have it, the moment in this entire episode during which even well-intentioned young people could fall back into the excuse of having a weak moment, and allow themselves to give in to temptation. The Torah tells us Joseph was on the job and none of the other servants were there that day. In all the other circumstances, Potipher’s wife had approached him while others were around, and the fear of discovery could have been a sobering factor.
But now, that excuse is gone. There is no one else to see them, no one who could discover them; it’s just Joseph and Potipher’s wife, all alone in the house. And she doesn’t merely proposition him, but grabs him by his clothing, an aggressive gesture meant to control Joseph.
So does he surrender to temptation? No, Joseph is still valuing the promises of the L-RD over a temporary moment of pleasure with another man’s wife. So what’s his response?
Does he spend time sharing about the plan of God for her life out of the Torah?
Does he offer to pray with her?
Does he say no, but stick around and allow her to continue grabbing at him?
No! He does none of these things! What does he do? He flees! He runs! He gets himself out of the house entirely!
And he flees so eagerly, he doesn’t even care when Potipher’s wife doesn’t let go of his cloak! In fact, we’re told his cloak is ripped off his body and he still runs away!
You see, too often people resist sin only half-heartedly. They say they want to choose the path of righteousness, but they keep themselves in the path of temptation, rather than getting out of its way. In fact, some believers consider it a form of proving their character to plunge themselves right into the middle of temptation and then try to resist it.
In the middle of the third century of the Common Era, one Byzantine community of believers was discovered testing their level of purity by having single men and women, including a bishop, sleep and cohabit together without having sex. Cyprian condemned the practice and put an end to it, but it is still considered an ideal in the minds of some ascetic-minded people, even though the results of such a foolish test is often out-of-wedlock pregnancies, rather than spiritual growth.
And we see a similar lack of wisdom today? New believers are often rescued by the L-RD out of habitual sins, such as drinking, and yet, in their zeal to share their newfound faith, where is the first place they want to go? Back to the bars to share their faith, when that’s the last place they should be!
That’s not the Torah’s advice for avoiding temptation, is it? What does the Bible say?
In the L-RD’s Prayer, Yeshua tells us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Does God lead us into temptation? No, but he does lead us out! We either lead ourselves into temptation, or we flee it. That’s how Joseph avoided sexual immorality with Potipher’s wife. He didn’t stick around to prove he was super-spiritual or especially holy. He knew he was as prone to temptation as anyone… so he ran the other way.
Of course, choosing righteousness rarely is rewarded by the world, and we all know how Joseph’s story plays out. Despite doing the right thing, a false accusation is made against him by the spurned wife of Potipher, and he’s jailed for doing the very thing he made sure not to do!
Some would say his comfort is in knowing this accusation is false, but does Joseph alone know the truth, apart from God? Perhaps not. The crime Joseph was accused of was usually punishable by death, yet Joseph is only jailed. Why?
Here’s a clue from the:
Had Joseph given into temptation, none of the promises the L-RD had made to him would have been fulfilled through Joseph. The L-RD would have found another way. By fleeing temptation, Joseph proves even a hormonal teenage male can obey the L-RD and not submit to temptation. By obeying the L-RD, his life became a shining example, and indeed, our best shadow of the promised Messiah – the Messiah Yeshua.
Shabbat Shalom.
Tags: Torah commentary, VaYeshev
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