WRJ Voices: Vayeishev

Vayeishev is an amazing parashah. It is one that we all know, and it is the beginning of the Joseph story. In this first portion, there are many themes presented. We find Joseph as the young son of Jacob, who favors him over his brothers. Jacob gives Joseph a coat of many colors, which further infuriates the brothers. They are very jealous of Joseph and plot to be rid of him. They decide to sell him to a traveling caravan of Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt. They bring back Joseph’s bloody coat to their father and at that point Jacob surmises that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Jacob is distraught. His loss is another important theme throughout this narrative.

Joseph is taken to Egypt as a slave and works for one of Pharaoh’s officers. He does well there and is given authority over the household. In this position Joseph is almost seduced by his Egyptian master’s wife, Potiphar. However, he does not want to get involved. Even so, Potiphar lies to her husband and Joseph is thrown into prison.

Another story of seduction is that of the widow, Tamar, and her father-in-law, Judah. Tamar decides to trick Judah into a sexual liaison in order to secure the family’s future. In this we see a strong woman willing to take risks.

Another major theme is the dreams that Joseph has and those that he later interprets for others. When Joseph is young, he tells his brothers of his dream:

Once Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf.” His brothers answered, “Do you mean to reign over us? Do you mean to rule over us?” And they hated him even more for his talk about his dreams. (Genesis 37:5-8)

Joseph did not interpret these early dreams, but however innocently explained, his family was upset.

He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: And this time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” And when he told it to his father and brothers, his father berated him. “What,” he said to him, “is this dream you have dreamed? Are we to come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow low to you to the ground?” So his brothers were wrought up at him, and his father kept the matter in mind. (Genesis 37:9-11)

In prison in Egypt, Joseph hears the dreams of his cellmates, two officers of Pharaoh. He interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the chief baker, saying that the cupbearer will soon be serving Pharaoh again but the baker will not be so lucky. And his words came to pass.

The importance of dreams permeates this entire parashah. These dreams for the most part came in the night during sleep, but there are other dreams that we all have for our futures, for our families and for our sisterhoods. Sometimes we call them goals or aspirations. Certainly our own sisterhoods have dreams that we work to make a reality each year. We create programs and fundraisers based on need, on our ideas, and on social justice initiatives. All of these programs and initiatives are “dreamed” about and then brought to reality.

Certainly, WRJ has its own list of dreams that have come to be, not by wishing, but by collaboration, foresight, hard work, and the generous giving of many. I remember back to the 2007 WRJ Assembly in San Diego when WRJ unveiled The Torah: A Women’s Commentary. What a joyous night that was! What had started out as a wonderful thought, a lofty goal, a vague plan, evolved into a gift to the world and a strong step forward for women’s voices in the Torah.

More recently, I was honored to work on the Wilkenfeld Leadership Seminar, held last April in London. Along with my supportive committee and the backing and encouragement of Dolores Wilkenfeld, past WRJ President, we gathered Reform women from around the world to network, become better leaders, and collaborate on projects. What had started as a wonderful concept of Dolores’, has now become a reality, with the second Seminar already on the schedule.

Our sisterhoods are made up of women who like to organize, budget, socialize, plan and dream. Do not discount the dreamers among us. We need their visions and your visions. Dare to dream, to share your ideas, to involve others, and to bring these new inspirations for programs and advocacy to life.

Ellen Bick is a WRJ board member, a past district president of the Pacific District, and the Chair of the 2016 Wilkenfeld Seminar held in London.