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Sheila Hancock, the actor and writer, spoke about life and ageing. It’s all down to you, she said. That is the truth that guides life. Every opportunity we take or conversation we begin. Every new thing we agree to, or principle we hold onto. It is all down to us. Parashat Vayeshev introduces Joseph in his idiosyncratic specialness. As he becomes a parent, Jacob is unable to shift from the favouritism he experienced in his childhood as he singles out Joseph for love, praise and the famous multi-coloured dream coat. As a young man in Egypt, Joseph fends for himself. He continually falls on his feet, doing well maybe because of God’s blessing, his canniness or both. In a particularly dramatic moment in this week’s Torah portion, Joseph refuses the overture by the wife of his boss Potiphar: |
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This verse captures something extraordinary that calls to us in the way we navigate moments of decision making in our lives. By way of the trope (or accent) in the Hebrew text (a shalshelet over the verb וַיְמָאֵ֓ן, “he refused”), the Masoretes indicate how very super-human Joseph’s resistance to her advances must have been. The note stretches out this one word in its intensity and uncertainty. He is resisting temptation. This is a fairly dramatic moment but we all know times when we have had to decide something quickly. Rabbi Sheila Weinberg and the Sefat Emet, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter of Gur, 19th century, both talk of the moments of decision-making that we all come across, where we need to pause, take a breath and really think. Even further afield, both Lao Tzu, 6th BCE, and Pema Chodron, Buddhist Nun, agree – the centre of your being is where you have the answers. We all have to dig deep, take a moment, question ourselves and know that ultimately, it’s all down to us. A neat reminder. Shabbat Shalom, |
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