Genesis Cycle Five Vayeshev

 Vayeshev

While Seeking for God


Can we know God?

Sometimes it seems we can't. The other day I heard a friend of mine, a rabbi, say that she doesn't think God-knowledge is possible.

 I’ve heard similar statements repeated by respected scholars, friends and community members who themselves are involved with society on a myriad of levels. The supposed rationale is this: If you think you’ve achieved any knowledge at all, you haven’t.  And if you dare say you do know God and have had visions then you are humiliated. Eyebrows are raised. It just isn’t seen as rational.  Into the snake pit you deserve to be thrown.

Well, thank God the parasha Vayeshev (and all of Torah) flies in the face of this idea.  If it didn’t, I’d be so sad.  It would mean that all the studying, healing and prayer, the persistent love for the Jewish people, and yes for everyone, would be nothing more than a fantasy.  It would mean that  our intimacy would be false.  And it doesn’t help the study of Torah (and the pursuit of peace) if the fruit of the study itself is judged so pointedly.

  
Let’s look at Vayeshev and try to find hints that knowing the unknowable is exactly, as the Sfat Emet (the 19^th century mystic) says, not only our human task, but our responsibility. 

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Well, we don’t have to look far for these hints. We can look far. We can decide that if those we trust have betrayed us and shipped us to hell-on-earth…that we need to look beyond ourselves for God. We can also decide that if we messed up and placed a stumbling block  before our all-too-knowing brother…that we as well need to look beyond ourselves for God
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The truth though is no matter where (or how low) we go or who sends us, God is within Torah and therefore within us (Pirkei Avoth 1, Tehillim 19, Mishlei 8).

We see this clearly in Vayeshev. The tiny details as well as the whole all support the said hypothesis… that we (at our individual level) can know God in a sustaining intimate manner and act with that same love.

Let’s look at a detail in the parashah first.

We read in line 37:2: Eleh toledot Yaakov. Yosef ben sheva esrei.

Here are the chronicles of Yaakov (we read). Then immediately: Yosef was seventeen years old.  We expect a list after a mention of chronicles. We expect to hear names and numbers of wives, children, their ages and birth-places.  Here, we get an introduction but not the list itself. Why is this?

As Rashi points out, in Genesis Rabbah (84:6) we read that Yaakov and Yosef are mirror images.  What happens to one happens to the other.  Therefore we are about to experience the chronicles of Yaakov as reflected through the body of Yosef. As the kabbalists say, Yaakov is tiferet but Yosef is exponential tiferet.  That tiferet experience is what chronicles refers to.  As quoted by Rashi, we read in Genesis Rabbah: What is prepared for the righteous in the world to come is not sufficient for them but they seek (also) to dwell in tranquility in this world.

Here we see that we can know God.  Not only is intimacy possible in the world to come (the place of the ephemeral) it is great enough so that it can be compared to intimacy in this world. In other words, just as Yaakov and Yosef reflect each other with balance, so does our intimacy with  God in mind/speech and in action.

There’s more though: Intimacy with God is inherent not only in the parasha but in the teachings of our great 11^th century French sage (Rashi)  known for his rational interpretations.  Rational logic, therefore does include God-knowledge.


Next, let’s look at the parashah as a whole.  According to Genesis Rabbah (84:22)  Rav Huna says that Yosef is sold five times. First to the Ishmaelite, then to the merchants, the Midianites, the Egyptians and to Potiphar. We can all see the downward trend here.  Yosef though maintains his intimacy despite his earthly travels. In other words, the experience does not block the higher level radiance  as we see with his dreams in the jail.

Here as well we see we can know God no matter what happens to us at the earthly level.

Something similar happens with Yehudah. He also goes down, literally yarad. In his case he is not being sold. He is acting within conscious intent. He then does things that are hurtful to his daughter-in-law Tamar. His intimacy with God though is safeguarded by her when (according to the Talmudic rabbis) she saves him from public humiliation.

Here as well we see we can even turn towards God given our mistakes.


As we clearly learn….try as we might, reach as we may, fear as we fear, there is nothing in Torah or the teachings of our sages that supports giving up on a full connection with God. Transparent or blocked, here or there, in this world or the next, within us and within our neighbor, knowledge of God, this faith-made-solid, is quite possible. Not easy but possible.  As rational as we see ourselves we can infuse the rational with this deep faith…and welcome with kindness and curiosity others who do the same (or don’t). Yes there are challenging moments along the way…many….but we can still admit what we collectively know in our hearts: Peace is possible.  Rashi would agree: the rational was never intended to be a synonym for doubt. Rational logic, on the contrary, is a gate to Holiness: Through it (if we enter beyond doubt) we are even more strengthened with love of everyone on earth and the beautiful intimacy for which we yearn.