Two Minute Torah Podcast

Vayeshev 5772 by Rabbi Ilana Garber

Shalom! My name is Rabbi Ilana Garber, and I'm a rabbi at Beth El Temple in West Hartford, CT. Welcome to KOACH's Two-Minute Torah, a project of the College Department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

I just love the stories of Genesis - it's a good thing Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" so that we can sing about the drama of these families from so long ago. The musical helps us to remember the events of the story of Jacob, his 12 sons, and their adventures and misadventures as they sell their brother, Joseph, and as he eventually rises from servitude to a very high position in Egypt, one that ultimately helps to save his brothers from starvation.

It's a cleverly crafted story, and as we read parshat Vayeshev, we witness the unfolding of several exciting plots. In a close reading of the entire portion, I noticed how Vayeshev begins and ends with a comment about memory. Let's take a closer look.

As the portion begins, Joseph has these crazy dreams about his brothers' sheaves of grain bowing to his and then about the sun, moon, and 11 stars bowing to him. Joseph is already their father, Jacob's, favorite son; perhaps he should not have rubbed this in his brothers' faces! But he does, and even Jacob is not sure what to do with Joseph's dreams. We read in chapter 37 verse 11 that "his brothers were wrought up at him, and his father kept the matter in mind - v'aviv shamar et hadavar."

As the portion ends, and by the way we're skipping tons of drama surrounding Joseph's sale to Egypt, his struggle to reject the advances of Potiphar's wife, and the challenges of his time in prison (not to mention the story of Judah and Tamar - see chapter 38 of Genesis for this interesting side-story), we meet Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker in prison, and Joseph listens to their dreams. In three days' time, Joseph interprets, the cupbearer will be returned to his post, serving wine to Pharaoh, while the baker will be impaled. Joseph begs the cupbearer to remember him, saying in chapter 40 verse 14, "But think of me when all is well with you again, and do me the kindness of mentioning me to Pharaoh, so as to free me from this place." However, as the portion ends, the very last line we read is chapter 40 verse 23, "Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him."

Wow - not only did he not think of him, he also forgot him. Some way to show gratitude to the guy who just interpreted your dream! The cupbearer is so busy and thinks so little of Joseph - whose name he probably does not even know - that he is able to forget him completely. This is a far cry from Joseph's father, who, in the verse quoted above, was taking note, keeping the matter in mind, observing all that happened and remembering it.

Who are you more like? I'll admit, it's getting easier and easier to forget things, especially people and places, as I get older. But that's not how we grow or how we learn. And it's not how we help others. Remembering, observing, and taking note - like Jacob did - is how we weave a fabric of history, how we craft a family and community, and it's how we shape our future. As we read Vayeshev this week, try to be a bit more aware. Pay attention a bit more. Meet someone and commit to remembering their name. Go somewhere and really take in the scenery. Everything you experience today can help to shape how and what you experience tomorrow. Make it memorable!