Vayeshev: Origins of Humility?

And the man Moses was very humble, more than every human who was on the face of the earth

Numbers 12:3

How does one become humble? The Torah Portion Vayeshev provides an answer; it is a Master Class in humiliation. Humiliation. as Vayeshev indicates, is a humbling mechanism.

The Hebrew Bible values an individual’s capacity to be humble. Humble, as an adjective, means “having or showing a modest estimate of one’s value or importance; not arrogant or self-important.” Oxford Dictionary. For this post’s purposes, both arrogance and self-importance play a large role in humility.

And you may say to yourself, “My God!… what have I done?”

David Byrne

How Did I Get Here?

Vayeshev shows that lack of self-awareness, audicious self-esteem, and defiance are pathways towards humiliation. The Torah Portion documents three individuals- Jacob, Joseph and Judah- enduring painful humiliation as a result of their flaws.

Going through the portion, one must appreciate that it is as well-crafted as any modern day movie script. It expertly takes readers through each distinctive humiliation. While each individual is taken to task, only one of them, within the portion, will reach a state of humility.

Jacob- Favoritism

A prior TCP post, If Heschel Met God, posits that fostering brotherhood is one solution to the Problem of Man. Siblings working together has many positives. It can generate success and prosperity; it can achieve peace and good behavior.

Jacob’s actions in Vayeshev encouraged the exact opposite. Rather, he doused lighter fluid on tenuous relationships. [Note: To begin with, his sons are from a multitude of mothers.]

In Vayeshev, Jacob’s unabashed love for his youngest son- Joseph- becomes a destructive force that tears his family apart.

The famous Coat of Many Colors, crafted by Jacob for Joseph, ignites controversy. It literally placed a target on Joseph’s back. Jacob’s over-the-top love for one son stoked hatred from his others. Genesis 37:4.

Jacob’s lack of awareness and failure to deal with this division led to a disaster.

The Humiliation

Jacob’s other sons plotted against Joseph. By force, they arranged for Joseph to be sent off to Egypt. There, he would become a slave.

Jacob’s humiliation occurred when his sons covered up their sin. They presented to him Joseph’s bloodied coat. To Jacob, the blood soaked coat suggested something horrifying had occurred. He believed that his son been eaten by a wild animal.

Vayeshev tells: “And Jacob ripped his clothes and wore sackcloth on his hips and mourned his son for many days.” Genesis 37:34.

The Braggart

Joseph’s youthfulness proved problematic.

At seventeen, he thought it was acceptable to give bad reports to his father concerning his brothers. Genesis 37:2. One can assume that he simply ratted out his brothers. The Torah makes no reference that Joseph tried address any problems with his siblings. Simply put, he lacked sensitivity towards others.

Joseph further compounded his familial problems when he openly discussed his fantastic dreams. Despite not being on speaking terms with his brothers [Note: And they hated him. And they were not able to speak a greeting to them. Genesis 37:4], he stoked their anger by revealing dreams that alluded to his superiority. Genesis 37:5-11.

Joseph’s final Vayeshev dream was so annoying that he even irked his father Jacob. Genesis 37:10. [Note: At that point, Jacob finally appreciated the monster he had created. Genesis 37:11.]

Joseph’s humiliation finally came at the hands of Potiphar’s wife while he was a slave in Egypt.

While Joseph is attempting to avoid her Mrs. Robinson-like seduction, she grabbed hold of his garment. To escape, he fled from her naked. [Note: implied from “and he left his garment in her hand and fled” was that he was naked. Genesis 39:13] Apparently, he left the house naked.

Joseph’s ultimate humiliation was his being reduced to a naked slave in a foreign land.

The Defiance

Judah defied tradition. Admittedly, he was fearful of turning over his third son to his daughter-in-law, Tamar, as tradition required. His second son failed in his obligation to impregnate her and provide her a child.

Judah’s fear for his youngest son was real. His first two sons were dead. They had been taken by the Lord. The first for being bad, the second, for refusing to procreate with Tamar. Genesis 38:7-10.

As a result of the past, Judah deceived Tamar in order to deny her his third son. He feared that his third son would succumb to the same fate.

Tamar, appreciating Judah’s deception, set up a ruse. She disguised herself as a prostitute and engaged Judah. Not only did she sleep with Judah, she also took some of his personal items as security.

As a result of the encounter, Tamar became pregnant. Upon the revelation of Tamar’s pregnancy, Judah sanctimoniously attacked her for having intercourse outside of marriage and demanded her death.

When facing her accused, Tamar revealed that she possessed items from the individual who was the father. She produced Judah’s seal, cords and staff.

At that point, Judah, humiliated, conceded. “She’s more right than I am, because of the fact that I didn’t give her to my son Shelah.” Genesis 38:26.

Conclusion

Within Vayeshev, Judah is the only one who not only suffers the humiliation, but also becomes humbled. For both Joseph and Jacob, their pathways towards reaching humility is in later Portions.

Thus, long before Moses became humbled, the Torah Portion Vayeshev provided the painful mechanism of humility to humble.

The big picture issue is whether people can become humble without having to experience humiliation. Is it possible that people can learn to avoid behaviors that make the susceptible to experiencing humiliation.

Be well!!

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