When Can We Lie? After the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were afraid. Years earlier, when he had revealed his true identity to them, he appeared to have forgiven them for selling him as a slave.[1] Yet the brothers were not wholly reassured. Maybe Joseph did not mean what he said. Perhaps he still harbored […]
Moving Forward The book of Bereishit ends on a sublime note of reconciliation between Jacob’s sons. Joseph’s brothers were afraid that he had not really forgiven them for selling him into slavery. They suspected that he was merely delaying his revenge until their father died. After Jacob’s death, they express their concern to him. But […]
Family, Faith and Freedom If you want to understand what a book is about, look carefully at how it ends. Genesis ends with three deeply significant scenes. First, Jacob blesses his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasheh. This is the blessing that Jewish parents use on Friday night to bless their sons. My predecessor Lord Jakobovits used […]
The Future of the Past The scene that brings the book of Genesis to a close is intensely significant. Joseph’s brothers were terrified that, after the death of their father Jacob, Joseph would take revenge against them for selling him into slavery. Years before, he had told them that he forgave them. “Now, do not […]
What it Takes to Forgive Joseph forgives. That, as I have argued before, was a turning point in history. For this was the first recorded act of forgiveness in literature. It is important here to make a key distinction between forgiveness, which is characteristic of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, and the appeasement of anger, which is a […]
Jewish Time Different cultures tell different stories. The great novelists of the nineteenth century wrote fiction that is essentially ethical. Jane Austen and George Eliot explored the connection between character and happiness. There is a palpable continuity between their work and the book of Ruth. Dickens, more in the tradition of the prophets, wrote about society […]
On Not Predicting the Future Jacob was on his death-bed. He summoned his children. He wanted to bless them before he died. But the text begins with a strange semi-repetition: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father […]
When is it permitted to tell a lie? After the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were afraid. Years earlier, when he had revealed his true identity to them, he appeared to have forgiven them for selling him as a slave. That was the theme of last week’s essay. Yet the brothers were not wholly reassured. […]
Surviving Failure Bereishit ends on a sublime note of reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. His brothers were afraid that he had not really forgiven them for selling him into slavery. They suspected that he was merely delaying his revenge until their father died. So after Jacob’s death they express their fear. Joseph however insisted: […]
Generations Forget and Remember The drama of younger and older brothers, which haunts the book of Bereishit from Cain and Abel onward, reaches a strange climax in the story of Joseph’s children. Jacob/Israel is nearing the end of his life. Joseph visits him, bringing with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. It is the […]
