Voices of WRJ: Vayeishev

In a society where women lack power and influence, how can they create change and get people to follow the correct path? That is the question that confronted Tamar in this week’s Torah portion, Vayeishev.  Tamar married Judah’s oldest son, Er. He died shortly after because “he was wicked in the sight of Adonai.” (Gen 38:7). Due to the laws of Leverite marriage, Tamar was then married to Judah’s second son, Onan. He did not want to produce a child who would legally be considered the child of his brother and thus reduce Onan’s inheritance. God, therefore, caused him to die.

Given these events, Tamar was supposed to marry Judah’s last son, Shelah. Judah probably believed that Tamar was somehow cursed, so he put off the marriage, saying Tamar needed to wait until Shelah grew up. He sent Tamar back to her parents’ home. As the years passed, Tamar realized that Judah would never follow through on the marriage. 

She eventually tricked Judah into having sex with her by dressing up as a temple prostitute and taking his staff and signet ring as insurance for subsequent payment. Judah’s messenger could not find the temple prostitute to make the payment later because, of course, there was no temple prostitute in the area. Tamar became pregnant from her contact with Judah.  Not realizing he was the father, Judah called for Tamar’s execution for adultery. After all, she was engaged to his son. As Tamar was removed from her home, she held out the staff and signet ring to show who the father was. Judah, recognizing the items, admitted, “She is more in the right than I.” (Gen 38:26). Tamar gave birth to twins and never had sex with Judah again.

The ancient Rabbis often accused women of being seductresses and dishonest. They would usually point to Eve and Rebecca as evidence. They claimed that Eve tricked Adam into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge, causing their eviction from the Garden of Eden. They saw Rebecca’s helping Jacob trick Isaac to give Jacob his blessing instead of Esau as another example of the danger allegedly posed by women. Yet they never considered that they helped perpetuate a system that did not allow women to create change without using trickery or manipulation -- the only tools available to them. 

It is interesting to note that clearly the Torah and Bible do not criticize Tamar for seducing Judah. Instead, the text acknowledges that she was more in the right than Judah. In fact, having twins was a sign of God’s blessing. If there is any doubt that the Bible and some of the traditions view Tamar positively, one could look to her descendants. Boaz, from the tribe of Judah (and therefore a descendant of Tamar), married Ruth. Ruth and Boaz’s great-grandson was King David. What better affirmation can there be?

Today, of course, women in the United States have more power and independence than our foremothers. We can work for issues we care about directly and openly. Yet, we can still look to the women of the Bible for inspiration as we work to make the world, our country, and our own families follow a path toward justice. If those women without power could risk death to set things right, we certainly can and should find the energy, bravery, and time to work for what is right today. This bravery might require protesting in the streets or writing letters. It could be lobbying, organizing others, going to meetings (virtually or in-person). There is a wide range of activities available to us to work for change. 

Tamar could have just stayed in her parents’ home, accepted that she would never marry Shelah, and died childless. Instead, she chose to act even if she had to use deception and risk execution.  Her bravery gave us King David. We should all follow in her footsteps and do what we can to create change. Only by acting can we hope to repair the world.