By Rabbi Linda Holtzman
Parshat Vayeshev
Joseph is one of the most complicated and controversial characters in the Torah. Is he doing exactly what God wants him to do so the Israelite people can eventually leave ancient Egypt and be freed, or is he leading the people into 400 years of slavery by creating a top-down, autocratic form of government? Is he an egocentric young man who deserves what his brothers did to him because of his parading his “superiority” over them, or is he a child whose father has put him in the worst of situations by clearly favoring him over his brothers? Or is Joseph all these things, simply trying to survive in a world that does not celebrate who he is, one whose judgement is often clouded?
It has often been suggested that Joseph was a queer character in the Torah where there were very few of them. He is alienated from his brothers, which might be because of his dreams of power but which might also be because he is the one gay man among them. He is given a special coat by his father who knows that fashion interests his unusual son. He resists the attention of Potiphar’s wife, even though he must know that he will be in trouble for such resistance. Perhaps she holds no interest for him. That may all be true and Joseph may indeed be queer, but that’s not accurate as a representation from the times that the Joseph story was written. Yet, there is some essential truth revealed in seeing Joseph through modern eyes.
Joseph clearly does not fit in. In today’s Torah portion, his brothers throw him in a pit and sell him off to traveling salesmen. He is on the outside in his family, and when he arrives in Egypt, he is on the outside there, managing to end up in prison soon after he arrives. His dreams ultimately let him succeed, but he never opens his life to anyone in Egyptian society. Joseph is successful but his success creates an unhealthy society for everyone.
How can it not? When someone can’t be fully themselves, when they feel like an outcast, there is no way that they can feel secure enough to think expansively and generously. Joseph manages to become wealthy and powerful and the people in ancient Egypt all eat, but the top-down structure of his government leads to 400 years of enslavement for the Israelites. Lack of respect for all human beings leads to even greater lack of respect.
Later books in the Torah spell this out again and again. The command “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” is repeated multiple times. I see this as a response to the story of Joseph. If you start by not respecting difference in a family member, it grows into something much larger. The whole society becomes intolerant and loses its ethical center. Through its picture of ancient Egypt, this Torah portion is giving us a glimpse at today’s American society.
During the recent presidential election, we saw political ads targeting transgender people and immigrants who do not have the correct documentation to allow them to stay in the United States. We saw ads that treat transgender people as if they were frightening beings, taking away opportunity from cisgender people. We heard tales of gender reassignment surgeries for people in prison (in truth, that is a very rare occurrence) and of “men” being on sports teams with “girls.” We saw nothing that treated transgender people as people deserving of the same rights and respect as everyone else. And we heard people trying to immigrate to the United States described as “criminals” and “hordes” overrunning our borders. We heard nothing that treated struggling immigrants trying to save their lives and livelihoods as people deserving of the same rights and respect as everyone else.
I see the Joseph story as a cautionary tale. If we don’t treat all people in our society as full human beings, fully deserving of fair treatment, soon it permeates to the entire society. Starting with one family and ending with 400 years of enslavement is extreme but not surprising. We are at a place in our country that could lead to years of mistreatment and degradation of many decent human beings. We all need to keep our eyes and hearts open to ensure that this doesn’t happen. It’s time for all of us to work together to build a decent, caring, open society.
Linda Holtzman is a Reconstructionist rabbi. She is the rabbi of the Tikkun Olam Chavurah, a progressive, spiritual community focused on social and political justice. She also teaches at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Board of Rabbis.