Torah Portion

Vayeshev

וישב

Genesis 37:1-40:23
Amos 2:6–3:8

Qatlanit: The “Killer-Wife”

Qatlanit: The “Killer-Wife”

Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, is twice-widowed, but the Torah still expects Judah to allow his third son Shelah to marry her. In the Second Temple period book, Tobit marries his seven-times widowed cousin upon the advice of the angel Raphael. And yet, the Talmud prohibits marrying twice widowed women, for fear they are dangerous.

Dr.
Elaine Goodfriend
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The Protective Red Thread

The Protective Red Thread

As Tamar gives birth to twins, the midwife ties red thread around Zerah’s wrist. The spies instruct Rahab to tie a red cord in her window. What is the significance of the red thread?

Dr.
Rosanne Liebermann
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Does the Torah Prohibit Male Masturbation?

Does the Torah Prohibit Male Masturbation?

Onan son of Judah “would let [his seed] go to waste on the ground, so as not to provide offspring for his brother. This was wicked in the eyes of YHWH, who killed him” (Genesis 38:9–10). What was Onan’s sin?

Prof.
Michael L. Satlow
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Joseph Dreams that the Sun, Moon and Stars Bow to Him – Does It Come True?

Joseph Dreams that the Sun, Moon and Stars Bow to Him – Does It Come True?

Jacob berates Joseph when he hears his second dream: “Are we to come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to you?” (Genesis 37:10) Rachel, his mother, was dead. What then did the dream mean?

Dr.
Mordecai David Rosen
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Joseph Accuses His Brothers of Selling Him – But Did They?

Joseph Accuses His Brothers of Selling Him – But Did They?

When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he says, “I am your brother, whom you sold into Egypt” (Gen 45:4). Tradition takes for granted that Joseph’s brothers were indeed the ones who sold him. However, as Rashbam and Shadal note, a straightforward peshat reading of events once Joseph is thrown into the pit reveals a different conclusion.

Prof. Rabbi
Marty Lockshin
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Judah Meets Tamar “On the Road to Timnah”

Judah Meets Tamar “On the Road to Timnah”

Samson also meets a woman of questionable status in ​Timnah. Why do sexual encounters with foreign women take place in Timna?

Dr.
Mahri Leonard-Fleckman
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Finding Meaning in Incoherence: The Joseph Story Beyond Source Criticism

Finding Meaning in Incoherence: The Joseph Story Beyond Source Criticism

The story of Joseph is replete with narrative contradictions. Source criticism has long dominated the quest for textual coherence. But how are we to make sense of the integrated text?

Prof.
Edward L. Greenstein
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Why Does the Torah Describe Babies Born Hands First?

Why Does the Torah Describe Babies Born Hands First?

Jacob is famously born with his hand grasping the ankle of his twin brother, Esau. Similarly, Zerah puts his hand out first, before being overshot by his twin brother Peretz. Does this reflect men’s ignorance of childbirth or their familiarity with other realia?

Dr.
Eran Viezel
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Joseph in Custody: Enslaved or Imprisoned

Joseph in Custody: Enslaved or Imprisoned

Joseph, sold by two different groups (Midianites and Ishmaelites), seems to have been bought by two different men (Potiphar, captain of the guard, and an unnamed Egyptian man), leading to two discrete storylines, each of which place Joseph in a different position when he meets the cupbearer and the baker.

Dr. Rabbi
Zev Farber
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Her Name Was Tamar – Invasive, Destructive, Redemptive

Her Name Was Tamar – Invasive, Destructive, Redemptive

The character of Tamar draws on a botanical motif—the tamar, the date palm—to evoke a recurring trope of female family members whose beauty and presence have the power to destroy or save the family.

Prof.
Jacqueline Vayntrub
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The Historical and Literary Complexity of the Joseph Story

The Historical and Literary Complexity of the Joseph Story

The story of Joseph as a young man (Genesis 37-40) is full of contradictions and doublets, and is interrupted by the story of Tamar and Judah (Genesis 38). Beyond that, hovering in the background is the question: how can the spoiled youth, his father’s favorite, become the prudent leader and savior of his family?

Prof.
Athalya Brenner-Idan
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Joseph and the Dreams of Many Colors

Joseph and the Dreams of Many Colors

Understanding the practice of dream interpretation in the Joseph story by using the ANE interpretive traditions as background.

Prof.
Jack M. Sasson
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Primeval Coats

Primeval Coats

Clothing, beginning with Joseph’s coat, functions both as a marker of distinction and as the source of undoing in the Joseph story. Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer adds layers of history to this coat: it is the original garments made from the sloughed skin of the serpent that God gave to Adam and Eve, which was then worn by Nimrod, Esau, and Jacob. Midrash Tanchuma claims it to be the (future) High Priest’s tunic.

Prof. Rabbi
Rachel Adelman
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Tamar’s Extraordinary Risk: A Narrative—not a Law—of Yibbum

Tamar’s Extraordinary Risk: A Narrative—not a Law—of Yibbum

By withholding his son Shelah from Tamar, Judah sins against her. Powerless to oppose him legally, Tamar must resort to subterfuge to achieve what is justly hers, the possibility of children from her deceased’s husband’s stock.

Prof. Rabbi
Pamela Barmash
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Encountering the Documentary Hypothesis in the Joseph Story

Encountering the Documentary Hypothesis in the Joseph Story

The Joseph story provides a compelling case for the use of source-critical methods for unraveling intertwined stories in the biblical text.

Ben Sandler
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Who Was “Shelah Son of Judah” and What Happened to Him?

Who Was “Shelah Son of Judah” and What Happened to Him?

The history and geography of the Judahite clan of Shelah as portrayed in the Bible and in the extra-biblical Sources.

Prof.
Aaron Demsky
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Vayeshev

וישב

Genesis 37:1-40:23

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה אֶל־אֶחָיו מַה־בֶּצַע כִּי נַהֲרֹג אֶת־אָחִינוּ וְכִסִּינוּ אֶת־דָּמוֹ׃

בראשית לז:כו

Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood?"

Gen 37:26

Genesis

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