A cry for unity

Who were the first two people to recognize the calamitous nature of Jewish disunity? The Midrash argues that it is Joseph and his younger brother Benjamin. (Yes, it’s not this week parsha, but the message is needed now).

When the brothers of Joseph were first sent to bring grain from Egypt they searched for Joseph in male brothels (Midrash Tanchuma Miketz 8:2). Benjamin was so distraught about the fate of his brother, he named all his sons with terms that related to Joseph (Midrash Rabbah 61:4).

Joseph finally revealed his identity to his brothers, and it’s no wonder there were such great cries of joy – particularly between Joseph and Benjamin. They were, after all, the only sons of Rachel who were separated for 22 years. The Torah describes this dramatic moment:

“And [Joseph] wept upon the necks of Benjamin, and Benjamin wept upon [Joseph’s] neck” (Bereishis 45:14)

Why add another reason to cry?

The Midrash explains the unusual language of Benjamin’s “necks” to mean that Joseph and Benjamin experienced prophecy at that moment. They were crying due to the eventual destruction of the two temples of Jerusalem which were located  in Benjamin’s territory* and Shilo, where the Tabernacle was once situated, in Joseph’s territory.*

We can certainly assume that Joseph and Benjamin were indeed crying out of extreme happiness and the Divine Spirit provided another reason to cry. The Midrash often concerns itself with the emotional and psychological backstory to the Torah. Why did the Midrash feel the need to add another emotional overlay to such a dramatic story?

Perhaps the Midrash is expressing a prophetic insight that Joseph and Benjamin experienced in their moment of joy. There was a foreboding reality that needed to be acknowledged. Joseph and Benjamin were part of a highly fractured family that sold their own brother into slavery. The Midrash described the opening of the Parsha as a volatile confrontation between Judah and Joseph. Had Joseph not revealed himself, Judah was ready to “dye the marketplaces of Egypt in blood” (Midrash Tanchuma Bereishis 5:10).

Calamities were coming

Even though there was unity after Joseph revealed himself, a disturbing pattern of disunity and unity had been set into motion for future generations. And they were powerless to prevent  it. Sometimes Jewish  disunity results in unpleasant but livable conditions – like a power struggle within an isolated community. However, disunity can also bring about such calamities as  the destruction of the Temples of Jerusalem. As the Babylonian soldiers were laying siege to Jerusalem, Jewish factions were fighting each other. The zealous burned down the storehouses of food that might have prevented the starvation of so many Jews.

We are now over 2,000 years past the destruction of the second Temple. Yet the divisiveness that brought about its destruction is still with us. Joseph put his brothers through great machinations before he revealed himself. We need initiatives as bold and creative as Joseph‘s to foster meaningful dialogue and a passion for unity.

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*When the Jewish People entered the land, Joshua drew lots to draw upon  Divine assistance in dividing the land among the tribes. The Tabernacle in Shilo was in the portion of Ephraim while the Temple of Jerusalem was in the portion of Judah and Benjamin