This Sabbath is a unique one: not only do we read the usual weekly portion, but we also add additional readings for the new month of Tevet. Three separate Torah scrolls are typically required, so it is a very special confluence of events.
The portion tells the second part of the story of Joseph, when he interprets Pharaoh's dreams and is made second-in-command of Egypt; and when his brothers come to buy food and do not recognize the man they sold into slavery.
There are many fascinating aspects of this story, but one that is intriguing seems almost to be a narrative inconsistency. The brothers seem to assume that Joseph is Egyptian, but he does not dine with the other Egyptians.
The Egyptians know he is a Hebrew, and they do not dine with Hebrews -- whether Joseph, or his brothers. So Joseph dines at his own table. Perhaps the brothers assumed that was because of his status -- but did they not get a hint?
Just a question, among many... and that is the continuing joy of this portion, which I enjoyed in theatrical form in Toronto this week at a production of *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." It remains so wonderful.
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.
The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.
The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.
On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.
On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...
