Yosef the Ruler v. Yosef the Brother - bad guy or good guy?

Parshat Vayeshev

by Rabbi Avi Billet

When we read the story of Yosef and his brothers carefully, a number of things jump out at us that mirror the Torah’s narrative from the depiction of creation.

Beginning with Yosef’s first dream, we note that it takes place in a field where some of the bundles bow to one bundle – an image of subservience and, seemingly unrelated, farming.

The brothers say to Yosef, “Do you want to be our king? Do you intend to rule over us?”

This might not seem so significant, except that one of the terms they use – “Im Mashol timshol banu” – includes a word that appears only one other time in the entire Bible. That word is “timshol” and it is the same word God uses to tell Kayin to take control of his desires and emotions and try to do better rather than harbor a grudge forever.

His second dream invokes the celestial entities that were created on Day 4 – the sun, moon and stars.

And after his second dream, the brothers go to take care of sheep.

The image of farming in dream #1, and the brothers getting away from Yosef through being shepherds reminds us of the first conflict of brothers, that of Kayin and Hevel.

As we know the story that is coming, we tend to identify Yosef as the “good guy” and the brothers as the “bad guys.” In the Kayin/Hevel story, as Kayin is the murderer and Hevel is the victim, we always identify Kayin as the “bad guy” and Hevel as the “good guy.”

But the use of the word “timshol” being directed at Kayin and at Yosef would seem to imply that in some way they are in the same boat – you have the opportunity to rule over something… what are you going to do with that?

Kayin did not control his passion and he killed his brother. Maybe the brothers are hinting to Yosef that if you don’t control this desire to rule over us, someone may come to be murdered.

The parallel is not exact, and it is therefore imperfect. For example, Yosef’s first dream implies that they are all farming – not just Yosef – and that somehow either he is the best farmer, or his produce is better than that of his brothers.

Their response to his dreams (they don’t directly respond to his dream about the stars) is to go shepherding. Are they identifying with Hevel? Are they giving a premonition that they are going to right the wrong done so long ago to Hevel on account of a similar fight between the farmer and the shepherd?

This leads into a very different discussion about how we determine right from wrong.

For example, is it always true that when a 2-person fight ends with one dead and the other standing that the survivor is guilty of murder? Of course not. Self-defense, a boxing match or other contact sport in which the players know the risks, a battlefield, or a righteous execution (think Nuremberg, Eichmann, etc.) are all examples of a justified killing (or, at least in the boxing case, one with no criminal intent).

In the case of Kayin and Hevel, there is a very simple way to read the verse to suggest that Kayin may have been acting in self-defense, or at the very least, he rose from an inferior position to knock Hevel who had overpowered him (see Midrash Aggadah 4:8). This perspective changes our perception of right and wrong (don’t worry too much, as most commentaries paint Kayin as the bad guy).

In the case of Yosef and his brothers, it is very easy to make the case for the brothers being the good guys and Yosef being the bad guy. In ancient times, the first born was the natural leader of a family. True, Yosef was the first born to Rachel, but he had a lot of half-brothers who were older than he. But Reuven should have been the natural leader. Additionally, if a new nation is to arise, as we’ve seen in other cases (Yishmael, Nachor), the twelve children are equal princes, with equal shares until their father dies and their oldest sibling takes over.

Yosef making his own inroads disturbs the brothers on many levels. He is jumping into a position that is not naturally his. He is the recipient of his father’s favoritism, which did not go well in keeping a family together in the past (see what happened with Yishmael and Eisav), and his being chosen bodes poorly for the future of the rest of the family. Will they be rejected from Yaakov’s family?

Perhaps the brothers, in looking at all this, are realizing the connection to the first fight between brothers and are determined that the majority will not be lost due to the whims of a fractional minority of one. Certainly in their eyes, Yosef is the “bad guy” and they are the “good guys.”

Recall as well that the fight to the death between Kayin and Hevel took place in a “sadeh” (field), while in Yosef’s dream of the farming, the brothers are all in a “sadeh,” and when Yosef is looking for his brothers in Shechem, he is lost in a “sadeh.” (37:15)

I think it is that encounter, when a third party, a mysterious man, meets Yosef, when the shift from a correction of a past misdeed to a different kind of story begins to unfold.

The man asks Yosef “What are you looking for?” And Yosef says, “I am seeking out my brothers.” Because despite everything, Yosef knows in his heart that he is not looking to change anything in their relationship. He may have dreams of grandeur and of royalty, but he does not believe that he will rule OVER his brothers. More that his position will be of great benefit to his family.

And so it becomes a matter of perspective. Perhaps Yosef putting his cards on the table – “I seek my brothers” ends up changing the direction of the story so much that his brothers detect in him a brother when they see him. And while they don’t treat him nicely, they do come to the realization that “our hand shall not be upon him, for he is our brother.” (37:27)

If only all the Jewish people could remember that in the end, all of the Jewish people are “our brother” we would be able to look past differences and note what we have in common and mend many open wounds without any need for even the verbal violence that sometimes passes between us.