Ksharim - Makom Israel

4.11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of thehousehold servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Cometo bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of thehouse, 14 she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "thisHebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! (Gen 39:11-14)5. “brought to us a Hebrew”- the Hebrews were hated by the Egyptians; theywouldn’t eat with them or buy from them or enter their homes. So she said hehas done us an injustice to bring a Hebrew into our house and make him lordover us. (Nachmanides Gen: 39,14)Potiphar’s wife, one of the upper class, aligns herself with the servants and slaves -“us” - andsets them against Joseph, the outsider, to protect herself. The history of anti-Semitism is rifewith examples of leaders taken advantage of class differences to encourage hatred of theJew and deflect it from themselves. e.g. Chmelniski massacres which started as a revolt of theCossacks against the Poles. The Nazis, Arab regimes today.6.39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you,there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of mypalace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect tothe throne will I be greater than you." 41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I herebyput you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." 42 Then Pharaoh took his signetring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes offine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariotas his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way” Thus heput him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no onewill lift hand or foot in all Egypt." 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, ] to be hiswife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.(Gen 41: 39-45)Joseph is framed and jailed and once again manages to rise from desperate circumstancesand this time even higher – second to the king. He is given emblems of office; clothes, asignet, chariots, a wife and a new name. (sources 2-5)7. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended tobe a stranger and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?" heasked. (Gen 42:7)At this moment Joseph is faced with a dilemma. There is a temptation to deny his heritageand let himself be thought of as one of the natives; or should he identify with his brothers.Source 6 &7, the protagonist in Philip Roth’s short story “Eli the Fanatic” also comes to mind.8. So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, heoffered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.45 Ksharim