To this day, I remember when we began reading the highly dramatic story of Yosef and his brothers. We all identified with Yosef, of course, and were frightened and angry when his brothers sold him into slavery. We were shocked to learn that it was Yehuda who suggested that rather than throwing Yosef into a pit ridden with snakes and serpents, from which Yosef <\/em>could never emerge alive, it would be better to sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites who were passing by. Yehuda\u2019s influence over his brothers was so strong that they complied, extracted Yosef from the pit, and delivered him into the hands of the Ishmaelites for twenty silver coins. And so, Yosef was taken to Egypt.<\/p>\nWe were then brought to tears when the brothers informed their father Yaakov <\/em>about Yosef\u2019s whereabouts. \u201cThey took Yosef\u2019sdistinctive robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe into the blood. They then sent (vayeshalchu<\/em>) the magnificent robe and brought it to their father saying (vayomru<\/em>), \u2018This is what we found, please recognize (haker<\/em> na<\/em>) whether this is your son\u2019s robe or not. He recognized it (vayakira<\/em> vayomer<\/em>), \u2018This is indeed my son\u2019s robe! A wild beast has devoured him. Yosef has been torn to bits!\u2019 Yaakov tore his garments, placed sackcloth around his waist, and mourned his son for many days. He could not be consoled and kept saying, \u2018I will go down to the grave grieving for my son.\u2019\u201d (Genesis 37:31-36, freely translated).<\/p>\nWe returned to the classroom the next day, eager to learn of Yosef\u2019s fate, hoping to proceed to chapter 38 and hear the rest of the story. How disappointed we were when the teacher informed us that \u201cwe will skip the next story.\u201d He did not tell us why, but quietly, almost ashamedly, notified us that chapter 38 was not about Yosef at all but was about something that would not interest us. Raising his voice a bit, he informed us that we will next learn all about Yosef. He had us open our Chumashim<\/em> and turn to chapter 39, where we immediately read, \u201cAnd Yosef descended to Egypt.\u201d From there onward, we learned the rest of his story.<\/p>\nWhat was the story in chapter 38, and why did we skip it? If indeed it was not about Yosef, then why was the suspenseful narrative of Yosef\u2019s tribulations being interrupted? Years later, I came to know that chapter 38 contained the story of Yehuda and Tamar and that our teacher had decided that we were too young and immature to learn about their relationship. But I\u2019ve remained puzzled for many years questioning why the Torah interrupted the story of Yosef with this digression into the story of Yehuda and Tamar.<\/p>\n
Among the many answers offered to this question, I\u2019ve come to favor one approach to most others. It is the approach of an Italian rabbi and famous bible scholar and professor in Israel, Umberto Moshe David Cassuto (1883-1951). He served as chief rabbi of his native Florence, was a professor of Hebrew at the university there, and eventually was appointed chair of Bible studies at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He was a major opponent of so-called \u201cHigher\u201d biblical criticism and maintained forcefully that we must, in his words, \u201cpenetrate to the innermost meaning of the Biblical passages and draw from the texts themselves the answers to our questions. Let us consult the book; let us listen to the verses and hear what they tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is here that I must assume that the reader is familiar with the story of Yehuda and Tamar. Otherwise, please read chapter 38 yourselves, in Hebrew preferably, or in a good English translation if necessary. Following Professor Cassuto, I will focus only on the denouement of the story, its final episode, chapter 38, verses 25 and 26 especially.<\/p>\n
There, Yehuda, having suspected his pregnant former daughter-in-law Tamar of harlotry, condemns her to death by fire. He does not realize that he himself fathered the child (or twin children) that she carries. She is taken to the site of her execution and \u201cshe sends to her father-in-law and says (shalcha<\/em> \u2026 laymor<\/em>), \u2018Please recognize (haker<\/em> na<\/em>) to whom this signet ring and threads and staff belong (note: these are the very objects that he gave to her as payment for her intimacy with him, at the time not knowing her identity).\u2019 Yehuda recognizes these objects and says (vayaker<\/em> Yehuda vayomer<\/em>), \u2018she is more righteous than me!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\nIf you\u2019ve been reading this carefully, you have noticed the striking phenomenon of the phrases \u201cand she sent to her father-in-law saying,\u201d \u201cand she said please recognize,\u201d \u201cand Yehuda recognized and said,\u201d in chapter 38, which are almost identical to the phrases \u201cand they sent the robe\u2026 and they said,\u201d \u201cplease recognize whether this is your son\u2019s robe,\u201d \u201cand he recognized it and said,\u201d in chapter 37.<\/p>\n
In an essay Professor Cassuto published in 1929, he wonders, \u201cCan this be mere coincidence? Or do the phrases in chapter 37 serve as background for the frightful sense of bereavement experienced by Yaakov when he is confronted with the image of his favored son torn to pieces by a wild beast. Could Yaakov\u2019s trauma not be seen as Yehuda\u2019s fault? Could not the Judge of the World have punished Yehuda, whose idea it was to sell Yosef into bondage, by having him suffer similar trauma by being confronted by his sinful, albeit unintentional, illicit relationship with his daughter-in-law? Just as Yehuda and his brothers caused Yaakov to tragically \u201crecognize\u201d the death of his beloved son, so was Yehuda destined to \u201crecognize,\u201d to his horror and shame, the objects that were sent to him forcing him to \u201crecognize\u201d and confess his guilt.\u201d <\/p>\n
I find Professor Cassuto\u2019s approach ingenious and just one example of the power of \u201clistening to the verses and hearing what they tell us.\u201d <\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to conclude with words of Professor Cassuto as he ended his inaugural address when he assumed his position at Hebrew University. It is a prayer as suitable now as it was then in 1939: <\/p>\n
\u201cJust as the books of Scripture proved a source of a blessing for our forefathers, may it be so too for us, for our children and our children\u2019s children. May they raise our spirits and embolden our hearts to realize our aspirations and to achieve the aims toward which we have directed our being, the renewal of the people of Israel upon the Land of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
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