Genesis Cycle Two Vayeshev 37:1 to 40:23

VaYeshev

Angels are divine beings. Therefore, you would think they appear at crucial moments. Here’s the question. What’s so crucial about directions in a field? It happens in line 37:14. Clearly, an angel wants to relay a message to Joseph. The angel is reaching half way. Joseph though doesn’t reach back. He just gets the directions and walks on. So, even though we are in the lineage of Judah…not Joseph necessarily…let’s try and and undestand what the angel is saying.

First, what’s the story? Well, it begins with the announcement: These are the chronicles of Jacob. Then, we jump right to Joseph. The rest of us are clumped together as the brothers. There’s clearly something about Joseph we are being asked to understand.

It’s hard though when the first thing he does is give our father a mixed report..mixed because the word raah means bad and/or to nurture. The root word is different but they are spelled alike in this context. So perhaps we are bad. Perhaps we are to be nurtured like sheep. Still (we must remember) this is how Joseph sees us. It’s his perspective. So it partly describes him. And whether we like it or not, Joseph’s vision comes from a place of great light. Let’s drop story for a second. Imagine Joseph as a whirlwind of light. If it’s whirling next to a few whirls speckled with grains of darkness, it’s going to say hey everyone watch out…to protect itself and others. You can’t blame the whirlwind. You can't blame Joseph. He’s acting in his nature. There’s still potential for us to join in peace...for shalom. Maybe we can learn from him.

Then Jacob gives him a coat. Some say it’s long, down to the feet. Others say it has many colors or stripes …a pattern. Whatever it is, it’s real nice. But what’s it for? If you look at Torah, tzitzit are to be placed on the corners of spiritual garments. Since in Hebrew the word for corners is the same as for wings …you can infer that tzitzit are to be placed on the wings. And that’s the problem. Joseph’s coat has wings for tzitzit. Joseph has all these gradations of consciousness represented by all the colors or stripes. But what about the rest of the brothers? What about all of us? We have to watch someone else who has been given the real gift…the ability to know and to love God intimately…to fly. If we want to fly we have to take drugs or do stupid things like have affairs with our daughter-in-law or some prostitute or even our father’s lover. We have to kill whole towns, attack weak countries, ignore the needy, say mean things, wander for forty years in the wilderness of our own words…no doubt we’re still wandering. No, we don’t get the wings and they are beautiful. They are amazing. We see them. We see the coat. We hope that Joseph will be able to lead us, point the way. We want that. We want to be included, to learn to have wings as well. But what does he do?

He puts the coat on inside out. I repeat, he puts the coat on inside out.

What does this mean? It means that those of us who don't have wings (yet) are left out. It means that learning won’t come easy. It’s not intentional. He just figures the wings go on the inside. His sense of God-style is really lacking. He’s just a novice tzaddick anyway. Now, he might be able to fly a bit but only deep in his dreams. And these dreams are centered around him when, if he had put the coat on right, the dreams could have merged us as one. He certainly can conceal his light better…and shine brighter…but the coat feels useless if it serves to separate. It is meant as a gift of connection, not disconnection. We all can still see the radiance. We can even touch it.

And though hate is not a nice word, it’s hard not hating him. The whole search for the Promised Land could have been redundant. He didn’t have to be sold (yes, by us) as a slave to Egypt. He could have seen us and we would have seen him. With that coat on inside-out he’s put us back millennium. He tries. He tries real hard. But he can only see in his dreams and that’s not good enough. The dreams have to be right here on earth. Love for God is simply a reflection of love for man.

How do we know that the coat was put on inside-out? Well, this is a parasha of dichotomies and pairs. Look at the word m’guray (37:1). It can mean journeys or dread. Look at the story of Judah folded within the story of Joseph. Look at how they deal with women. Supposedly (according to midrash) Joseph is so tempted by Zelikhah his sperm flows out of his feet and hands. Not Judah though. His sperm flows out naturally. So we have self restraint vs lack of self restraint. We have inner captivity (Judah) vs outer captivity. There’s the dichotomy of the baker and the chief steward. So why not the outside of the coat and the inside of the coat?

This brings us to the angel in the field. He finds Joseph, the novice tzaddick. What are you seeking, he asks? I’m seeking my brothers, Joseph says. He’s looking for us! He wants to know where we are tending. I bet though if we were standing right in front of him he wouldn’t see us. I bet we are this moment. If you think about it, this one and that one (Shechem and Dothan) have the same gematria (17) and that’s how old Joseph is anyway. He really needs to hear this. So the angel is saying… it’s not this one, it’s that one. Don’t go here, go there. Turn directions…turn the direction of your coat. What a smart angel! He’s trying to tell Joseph that his coat is inside-out. And Joseph doesn’t listen. He walks away.

This goes to show many things. In the long run, if we receive a spiritual garment we want to put it on carefully. We also want to understand that handling such power is not easy. We may want to have compassion for those who wear them…because it’s that same compassion that will bring us under their protection. We may want to be open to angels. Soon, we will all have wings and tzitzit, tangible or intangible, and the energy will move beyond the fringes and carry us closer and closer to God.

So, may we help (and not hinder) the strong so they can learn and lead. May we listen to concealed messages. May we merge…Judah and Joseph…as one. May we all put the coat on with attention and discernment. May we spread our wings wide and shelter the world. May we see and be seen. May we shine with love, acceptance, patience and compassion.