READING 6 - THE ORTHODOX READINGS - CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
In Israel, both in Hebrew and Arabic people say: "Yom yom" [day-day, a day to day schedule not any further]. And this has nothing to do with the Bible and the Gospel since Our daily bread" is in fact "the bread for tomorrow" since it sustains us into the next day. In Semitic languages, future is a major verbal grammatical structure because all our deeds, actins thoughts lead us to the World to Come [Olam HaBa, or Olam Atid in Hebrew].
Our daily life may seem a routine or a wheel of an unknown fortune. God's projects on us are unforseeable but faith should widely open to any kind of events and renewal of our hopes and abilities.
THE JEWISH READINGS
Shabbat A' deHANUKKAH VAYESHEV, Kislev 25th, 5763
Portion of the Torah - Parshat Torah: VAYESHEV [And Jacob dwelt]
Bereshit/Genesis 37:1-40:23
Prophetic Portion - Haftarah Book of the Prophet Amos 2:6-3:8
In this Shabbat portion of the Torah, Jacob dwells a certain time in the country in which his father was a stranger, i.e. in the Land of Canaan. He has a beloved son, Yosef [Joseph] who was seventeen yhears old and was feeding the flock with his brothers. They are the twelve brothers who will build up the Tribes of Israel.
But for the moment, they are very different and some of them are their mother's sons, others like to play, fight, are lazy or whatsoever... Normal life would you say. Perhaps. A life full of contradictory behaviours and emotions, especially jealousy.
Just as His great grandfather Abraham was tempted 10 times before he really expressed his faith to the only One God, the portion of the Bible shows this week different temptations or violence toward the rules, at least given to Abraham and to Noah. We should remember that the Torah and the Commandments were given after the flight from Egypt, i.e. much later and that moral life, ethical behaviours were considered in a different way before the Giving of the Torah. We could even say that this is a present day problem because a lot of people and even faithful behave themselves as if the Torah and/or the Gospel have never been entrusted to mankind.
So Joseph is thrown into a pit, almost left for dead by his brothers, although they were not very likely to kill him. They knew that this would profoundly affect their father Jacob-Israel. So they sold him to a caravan enroute to Egypt.
They don't know what the future will show them, but this caravan had a specificity: usually these caravans were carrying kerosene for fuel and resin and it was not a very nice-smelling trip. On the other hand, in this pericope, Joseph is sold to a caravan conducted by the Yishmaelites and "their camels carried spicery and balm and myrrh" [Genesis 37:25]. The famous interpreter of the Torah, Rashi, said that it was a kind of anticipation. These rare fragrances and balms were a sign that Joseph was a righteous young man with a rare future.
It is very important to point out the fact that Joseph was thrown into a pit by HIS BROTHERS and sold as A SLAVE BY HIS BROTHERS. We had discussed this issue last week [Reading 5]. He is preserved because his wealth is righteousness and not lustful desires.
Whe he is already in Egypt, Potiphar's wife wants to seduce him and he refuses her. She then decreed to let him be thrown in jail. Women's jealousy is sometimes frightening as they might abruptly drift from love or attractivity to "honest" hatred and revenge. Joseph remained steadfast, even in prison where he revealed and interpreted the dreams of the people who were imprisoned with him. Please do have a look at the shortest epistle of Saint Paul to Philemon. It includes all of the Jewish and Christian spirit of forgiveness and freedom in a pure heart.
In the same portion, Juday misleads Tamar [Genesis 38].
Sometimes we would like to hurt, to slander, and to even affect in depth some people because they are righteous. They do not pretend to anyhthing. They are instruments
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