The Haftarah Project: Vayehi—Shame, Silence, and Moral Reckoning
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I am a MAN…I have a choice.
Surrounded by family, two aged men lie on their death beds. The text invites us into this tender scene as we prepare to hear their final words of wisdom and blessing. But we are in for a surprise!
In Parashat Vayehi, we recognize the man as our forefather Jacob, surrounded by his twelve sons. The scene begins with the blessing of Joseph followed by the iconic and controversial blessings of Ephraim and Menashe.
The brothers Simeon and Levi come next, and the scene takes a disturbing turn. Rather than offering them a blessing, Jacob denounces these sons. ”Simeon and Levi are a pair; their tools of violence…for when angry they slaughter men…cursed be their fury so fierce and their wrath so relentless. I will divide them in Jacob, disperse them in Israel.”
In the Haftarah, King David, age 70, blesses his 12-year-old son Solomon. “And keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in His ways, to keep his statutes and His judgements, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn.”
Here too the scene takes a disturbing turn. Suddenly David, in his final words, inveighs against a pair of his enemies, whom he instructs Solomon to kill!
On closer reading and with some historical and psychological insight, we find a disturbing lesson to be learned in the juxtaposition of this Torah portion and the Haftarah.
Jacob’s censure of his sons is a reference to the rape of Dinah.
Rabbi Shai Held points out that though the brothers acted despicably in their murderous revenge of their sister’s rape, Jacob’s own conduct is arguably no better than theirs. Whereas the brothers were appropriately incensed, Jacob is depicted as being indifferent to his daughter’s violation. The Bible recounts that Jacob waited till his sons returned from the fields to relate the event. “His sons were in the field, so Jacob was silent until they arrived.” (Genesis 34:5). Jacob seems more concerned about himself and his own safety than about his daughter when he says to Simeon and Levi. “You have taken away my peace of mind by making me odious among the local inhabitants, the Canaanites and Perizites…if they now band against me.” (Genesis 34:30)
David’s dying request is frighteningly specific: “let his hoary head go down to the grave” (1:6). He requests that Solomon kill both Joab ben Zerruiah, David’s nephew and his former commander-in-chief, who had supported Adonijah’s revolt against David, and Shimei ben Gera, who had joined Absalom, David’s son (II Samuel 16:7), in Absalom’s revolt against his father. Some commentators consider these murders as justified in preemptively stabilizing the monarchy of the new Davidic dynasty.
Perhaps the story is more complex. Let us recall the story of David’s daughter Tamar who was raped by her half-brother Amnon. David fails to bring Amnon to justice because Amnon is the first born. It is Absalom, her full brother, who kills Amnon to avenge the defilement of his sister. And, it is Shimei who survives the unsuccessful coup to topple David’s throne.
What do Simeon, Levi, and Shimei ben Gera have in common?
They are the living reminders of Shame—the shame of these forefathers who were unable to acknowledge, understand, speak out, and defend women who have been demeaned, violated, and raped. Including their own daughters. Shame is so powerful that only the death of the remaining witnesses can blot out the memory!
But the memory was not blotted out.
The tribe of Simeon was eventually dispersed, while Levi’s descendants became the Priestly tribe, including Moses, Aaron, Saul, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Ezra. Nor was the memory of Shimei wiped out. His son Ehud is referenced in Judges 3:15. “again the Israelites cried out to the Lord and He raised up Ehud son of Gera as their deliverer.” The Talmud recounts that Mordecai was also of the lineage of Shimei.
Our sacred texts don’t shy away from describing the repulsive behavior of our forefathers. Rather the Biblical stories are intended to depict these men as who they were. Men of both great strength and great weakness. Men of great wisdom capable of abhorrent decisions.
Jacob and David, on their death beds, were still hiding from their shame at their silence.
I want to believe that our decisions are derived from the lineage of Levi and Shimei.
That we are:
Men who refuse to be silent.
Men who stand up.
Men willing to fight not only for the rights of women but for all those abused and silenced.
Editor’s Note: The reflections from the Haftarah Project represent the thoughts and opinions of the author.