The stories of our Patriarchs in the book of Genesis follow a distinct pattern. Parents play favorites, setting up rivalries between and among brothers. The brothers are at odds with one another, and then go their separate ways. This is the general outline, but the details differ with each iteration, the conflict between the brothers getting more complex and more intense.
The pattern begins with Isaac and Ishmael. We do not see a direct conflict between the two, but we know Sarah senses some danger or seeds of future conflict and has Abraham send Ishmael away, along with his mother Hagar.
The conflict between Esau and Jacob is more immediate and direct, beginning even in the womb. It culminates in Jacob fleeing from Esau’s wrath after Jacob tricked him out of his birthright and blessing of the first-born.
Most complex, detailed, and intense of all is the story of Joseph and his brothers, which reaches its culmination in this week’s Torah portion. The brothers, consumed with jealousy of Joseph, conspired to sell him into slavery. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph transcends the fate they meant for him, and rises to the very top of Pharoah’s court, as the leader of the anti-famine effort.
The details of each story are different, but they all have the same, felicitous, ending. They all end with reconciliation. Isaac and Ishmael come together in amity to bury their father. Jacob and Esau reconcile when Jacob returns after twenty years away. And Joseph, in our Torah portion, after determining his brothers have changed and become loving brothers to the youngest, Benjamin, reveals himself to the brothers, forgives them, and invites them to bring all their families to Egypt to settle there as guests of Pharoah.
It is difficult not to see the stories of our Patriarchs as cautionary tales about parental favoritism and sibling rivalry. But the ultimate lesson is about the power of reconciliation, recognizing that people have the capacity to grow and to change, and that the ties of family love and loyalty transcend all other considerations.
-Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
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