Wonder and the Word ויהי - Reflections on Parshat Vayeshev

 

 

And Then

I always thought the words, and then, were a prelude to something wonderful.  Like seeing a ship come in or finding a note in your letterbox, when you weren’t expecting one.  That swift, surprising transition from nothing to everything.

         And then.

Two little words that hold a world of promise.

         And then the light pierced though the dark, forbidding sky, and the rain stopped falling.

         And then I met you.

 

-         Lang Leav

 

“Then” is a much maligned word in the world of fiction writing, often making lists of “Top Ten Words to Avoid”.  “I sat down and I read the parasha,” reads perfectly well without the word “then”. Moreover, a description of events that uses the word “then” or “and then” repeatedly can sound unwieldy, even immature. “I went to the store, and then I bought groceries, and then I cooked dinner, and then I did the dishes.”

On the other hand, in the hands of poets and authors, such emphasis can highlight a deeper message. Imagine taking the word “then” out from Agatha Christie’s And Then there were None, or, from the words of Martin Niemoler, “First they came for…”  In these works, the repetitive and redundant use of “then” expresses dreadful inevitability. 

“Then,” or, “and then,” can also be an expression of amazement.  “And then” can signify a wondrous and unexpected life changing event, “and then our eyes met for the first time.”  These “two little words,” can add depth when used appropriately.

In the Torah, one finds a similar term, “vayehi”, which translates literally as “and it was.”  When one thinks of the Hebrew “vayehi”, one readily recalls the account of creation Genesis 1, “Vayomer Adonai Yehi Or, Vayehi Or”, “God said: Let there be light, and there was light.”  While it does not have the exact same meaning as “and then”, it is close enough.  It is commonly used as a stock phrase, much like “once upon a time”, as in the opening verse of the Book of Esther: Vayehi Bimei Ahashverosh. “And it was in the days of Ahashverosh”, or in this weeks Torah portion,  Vayehi ahar hadevarim haeleh, “and it was after these things”. 

The term Vayehi, while common, is not overused.  Within the Torah, it does not appear more than 4 or 5 times in a chapter, with two notable exceptions.  The obvious exception is Genesis chapter 1, where vayehi appears twenty-one times.  The second exception is in this week’s Torah portion, in Chapter 39 of Genesis, where Vayehi appears fifteen times.  The rarity of such heavy repetition evokes questions regarding the meaning of vayehi, and the effect of repeating it.  In the creation account, Veyehi highlights the divine nature of the creation, especially of light, and therefore, time.  God is the one she’amar v’hayah olam “who spoke, and the world came into being”.  Creation occurs by fiat of God’s spoken decree.  Furthermore, it emphasizes the passing of a single day, underscoring the miraculous nature of God’s work.

In our Parasha, the first use of vayehi is in the second verse, which reads

Vayehi Adonai et Yosef vayehi ish matzliach vayehi biveit adonav hamitzri

And God was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, and he was in his Egyptian master’s house

This repetition of “vayehi” three times within one verse is striking, and it is the subject of interpretation for several commentaries on the Torah.  I would like to suggest that “Vayehi”, here, is like Lang Leav’s “then”.  “Vayehi” emphasizes, introducing something new, unexpected, and, maybe even wondrous.  Keeping in mind that it often tells us a new story is beginning, as the Torah’s “Once upon a time”, for the listener, hearing it repeated like this is a verbal cue, playing with the perception of plot-time and expectations.  The verse tells us that God is with Joseph, but, the consecutive “vayehi”s underscore the drama of God’s involvement.  Is it any wonder that the very next verse, we read

Vayar Adonav ki Adonai ito vechol asher hu oseh Adonai matzliah biyado

And his master saw that God was with him and that all that he did, God made it succeed by his hand

Midrash and classical commentaries raise the question about what Potiphar, an idolater, saw.  Many suggest that the light of God’s divine presence was manifestly visible upon Joseph.  Others, take the verse at face value, saying that the success of Joseph’s endeavors, along with its impact on the success of the entire household, was so sensational that one could only conclude it was miraculous.   

Just as the listener to the parasha experiences the literary cue of the repeated “vayehi”, one can almost imagine that Potiphar experiences it as well.  The sense that something wondrous just happened is embedded in the narration of the story.  It portrays Potiphar’s perception of events as nothing short of a miraculous. 

As the chapter continues, the repeated “vayehi”s reinforce the divine hand in Joseph’s life. I would like to suggest that it also highlights the personal struggle of Joseph with his own vanity, a trait already suggested by Rashi on Genesis 37:2.  It is true that Joseph has prophetic dreams that his brothers will bow to him and that he is favored by his father, but, he lacks discretion in communicating this with his family. It is further true that his presence in Potiphar’s house brings success, but Joseph’s statement to Potiphar’s wife in 39:8 is that, “He is not greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me.” He almost puts himself in the place of Potiphar, the master, which, in his time and context, would have been seen as incredibly arrogant. Nor does he give credit to God, even though it was obvious even to his Egyptian master.

Later, when he asks Pharaoh’s butler to help him, he fails to recognize his own hand in his situation.  By contrast, his brother Judah, who was responsible for some terrible things, openly admits his errors in the preceding chapter. Judah is the first person in the bible to admit he is wrong.  Joseph does not reflect in quite the same way. The result, I believe, is spelled out in the final verse of the parasha (Genesis 40:23):

The butler did not remember Joseph, and forgot him. 

The redundancy of the first and last clause of this verse stresses that Joseph is totally forgotten.  This emphasis contrasts remarkably with the “vayehi”s of the previous chapter.  For once, for a period of two years, we know nothing of Joseph.  He fails to make an impression on anyone, and, in that time, there is no description of any divinely inspired success or any favoritism.  This experience is humbling, and prepares him for taking on his destined leadership role.

As traditions past have taught us, a close reading of the narrative of Torah can give us deeper insights into its message.  May we, in our own lives, learn to be thankful for those who support us and develop a sense of wonder at the small miracles that help us each and every day.  Shabbat Shalom.