Va-Yeishev: It Doesn't Matter If You Find It Funny

The Torah has a really wicked sense of humor. Well, I suppose it's really the rabbinic treatment of Torah that produces a lot of the sarcasm and irony, but I tend to think the humor is inherent in the

text itself. You see, the rabbis 

are the ones who divide up the Torah into portions, what we call 'parshiot' (pl.), and each 'parashah' (sing.) is given a name, usually from the first significant word in that section. But if it's really just based on the first word other than 'the,' 'and,' or 'now,' how come we have a Torah portion called 'The Life of Sarah,' which instantly reports of the death of Sarah? Or, similarly, the Torah portion of 'Vayechi - And [Jacob] Lived,' which begins with the death of Jacob? In my opinion, these are definitely instances of weird, somewhat-morbid Biblical humor. And this week's Torah portion is another prime example.

Our parashah is called 'Vayeishev - And [Jacob] was settled.' It could, of course, just be referring to a geographical statement, sharing with us the real estate choices of our ancestor, Jacob. But I believe it's

also referring to how he felt settled and at ease, having finally escaped the memories of his childhood deceptions, his shrewd uncle, Laban, and his unpredictable brother, Esau. Now he's got his wives, his plethora of offspring, land, and he can finally take it easy... that is, for another minute or two. Just as Jacob is getting ready to kick back and start spoiling his favorite son, Joseph; tragedy strikes. His sons orchestrate an elaborate ruse, telling Jacob that his son has died while really selling him into slavery in Egypt. And it all goes downhill from there. 'Settled'? I don't think so. Very funny, Torah narrative!

Rabbi Gunther Plaut, in his Torah commentary, suggests this is indeed quite intentional on the part of the Biblical authors. He calls this a literary device, 'dramatic reversal,' and tells his readers that it was a very popular method employed by Aristotle. Plaut defines it as follows: "Fate thwarts the will of man

by turning the effect of his actions to its own purposes rather than to his." The Torah has in mind another purpose entirely, and does not feel obliged to honor Jacob's desire to finally relax. And by giving the Torah portion this title, the author (or at least the rabbis who decided where one parashah ends and another begins...) is essentially mocking Jacob, and mocking us all for thinking we can dictate our own fate. It is as the Yiddish expression suggests: "People plan, God laughs."

So what is the Torah's purpose then? When we look at the life of Jacob, we see that he cannot get away from his earlier behavior; the deceptions of his youth come back to haunt him later in life. We reap what we sow, whether we want to or not. We cannot control fate, but we CAN live every day with purpose and meaning. Tragedy, illness,

or failure may plague our lives, but if we've supported and helped others in their time of need, they will be there for us. We invest in our families, our community, and our planet, and even though we receive no guarantees of feeling 'settled' in return, we will, at the very least, be as prepared as we could possibly be for the challenges ahead. When we try to fight against destiny, that is when we struggle the most, and we experience heartache, frustration, and indignation. Let's face it; the Torah is going to laugh at us no matter what, and God's probably doing the same. All we can do is laugh along, and make the most of every moment we're given. I told you it was a weird sense of humor!

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image courtesy OC Always on Flickr

2.CC image courtesy of twid on Flickr

3. CC image courtesy of Image Editor on Flickr

4. CC image courtesy of chimothy27 on Flickr