My Brother's Keeper

Dear Family and Friends, 

The book of Bereishit (Genesis) focuses on the question that Cain asks God after being confronted about his missing brother, Hevel (whom Cain just murdered). Cain responds to God's question about where his brother is by stating: "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). The snarky question that Cain poses, in Hebrew “hashomer achi anochi?”, seems to become a running theme throughout the rest of the book of Genesis, as brothers continue to have frought and tenuous relationships, lacking regard and care for the other. We see this play out in the stories of Cain and Hevel, Avraham and Ishmael, Yaakov and Esav, and Joseph and his brothers throughout the book of Bereishit. Two weeks ago, however, we saw the first corrective to this cycle in Parshat Vayigash, as Judah stood up to protect his brother Benjamin, bringing Joseph to tears. 

In last week's parsha, Parshat Veyechi, Yaakov is nearing the end of his life, and before his death he bestows a blessing on Efraim and Menashe. Yaakov is the first person in the Torah to become choleh (sick) before death. Before Yaakov, we read about people sneezing and simply expiring in the marketplace in our midrash, with no prior warning. By becoming sick before dying, Yaakov asked for and was given the chance to bless his children and even his grandchildren.

We are reminded every Friday night of Yaakov’s blessing over Ephraim and Menashe, when we bless our sons to be blessed like them. Yaakov seems to be perpetuating the tenuous relationship between brothers that we have seen throughout the book of Bereishit. He switches his hands for Ephraim and Menashe’s blessing, attempting to establish a hierarchy between them. Following Judah's small change in behaviour, we see a chiddush in them, too. This time, unlike their grandfather before them who fought for Yizchak's blessing, the brothers do not scramble for the “better bracha”. It seems that Judah’s tikun (repair) in Parshat Vayigash really was a corrective from the jealous and competitive behaviour of Cain and Hevel, Avraham and Ishmael, Yaakov and Esav, and Joseph and his brothers throughout Bereshit. 

This week in shul, we will be reading the first portion in the second book of the Torah, the book of Exodus- Parshat Shmot. As we move from the book of Bereishit into Shmot, we are met with the story of Miriam, who follows Moshe as he is sent out of harms way along the river in order to know what will happen to him. It is clear that Judah, Ephraim, and Menashe's effort to stop the cycle of brotherly violence and competition has carried over to the book of Shemot, where we see a sibling who cares deeply about the fate of her brother. 

Each week at the Shabbat table, we bless our children to continue to be like Ephraim and Menashe- not just to maintain their Jewish identities in the face of great violence and corruption, but also to look out for one another- whether it be across the ocean, or within the walls of our own homes, schools, and synagogues. We, too, should bless our children to be like Miriam, who protected and took responsibility for her brother, Moshe. May we all feel an obligation and duty to look after our siblings and fellows near and far, and may we take great pride and pleasure in it, just as Judah, Ephraim, Menashe, and Miriam did. 

I want to thank Rabbi Danny Nevins for his beautiful words of Torah, and for inspiring my parsha learning for the past few weeks! I'm glad I could share it with all of you.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, 

Lara