Themes of Genesis
Sermon, December 24, 2004
Rabbi Bruce Kadden

This Shabbat we complete our reading of the book of Genesis with Parashat Vayechi.  It is an appropriate time to reflect on the themes that we have experienced these past 12 weeks as we have journeyed from creation to the land of Egypt.  There are indeed a number of important themes that recur in the book and that offer important lessons.

First of all, we quickly learn that bearing children is not easy.  Each of the principal Matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel, is barren for a period time.  In each generation there is at least a temporary threat to covenant.  Barrenness is thus not only a personal tragedy and challenge for those involved, but a real danger to the survival of Judaism.

Sarah is the first to experience barrenness; she gives Abraham her handmaid Hagar, but this arrangement only leads to tension and conflict in the family.  Eventually, however, Sarah does become pregnant, and bears Isaac.

Isaac’s wife Rebecca is also barren.  In response, Isaac pleads with God, and Rebecca becomes pregnant with twins, Jacob and Esau.  Jacob falls in love with Rachel, but is tricked into marrying Leah.  He also receives Rachel, but she too is barren, whereas Leah gives birth to one child after another.  Finally, Rachel conceives and bears Joseph and then Benjamin, but tragically dies in childbirth.

Why does barrenness play such an important part in the beginning of our people’s history?  What should we learn from this recurrent theme?

Barrenness is one example of just how precarious the covenant between God and the Jewish people is.  In every generation there is a significant threat to its survival.  There are other threats to it as well, such as Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac, but the greatest and most persistent threat is the inability of a matriarch to bear the child who will carry on the covenant.

Nevertheless, the covenant endures, due to faith and trust in God and God’s commitment to assure that it continues.  The book of Genesis clearly teaches that God is ultimately in control.

The second significant theme that we find in Genesis is the subordination of the first born son to the second born or later born son.  The younger son is always the favorite and favored one.  This theme is introduced almost at the beginning, when God accepts the offering of Abel, but does not accept the offering of his older brother, Cain.  Cain, of course, rises up and slays his brother Abel and is punished for this crime.  In fact, the lineage that will eventually produce Noah does not go through Cain, but through his younger brother Seth.

Similarly, the covenant is passed not to Abraham’s older son, Ishmael, but to his younger brother, Isaac.  Now, one might argue that this is due to the fact that Isaac is the son of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, rather than Hagar, her concubine.  But in the very next generation, Rebecca gives birth to twins and the covenant is passed to the younger twin, Jacob, much to the chagrin of his older brother, Esau.

When we get to the next generation, things get complicated.  There is no question that Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son, but that may be because he is the firstborn of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel.  Reuben, the eldest, seems to be supplanted by Judah.  And, of course, the covenant really continues through all of the sons.

Finally, in this week’s portion, we are once again reminded of the preference for the younger son when Jacob blesses his grandchildren.  Jacob crosses his hands so as to place his right hand upon Ephraim, the younger child.  When Joseph tries to correct him, Jacob objects saying, “I know, my son, I know.  He too shall become a people and he too shall be great.  Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall be plentiful enough for nations.”

For those of us who are first-born, the consistent preference for a younger son is a little hard to take.  Why does this theme run throughout Genesis?  Biblical scholars have suggested that this theme may have offered crucial support when it came time to choose the kings of Israel.  For David was the youngest son of Jesse and Solomon was not David’s eldest.  At a time when primogeniture was practiced in most cultures, and kingship was passed from eldest son to eldest son, the Israelites challenged this norm, by choosing a king not based on order of birth, but upon merit.

Although biblical law gives the first-born a double portion of inheritance, the biblical narrative clearly indicates that the first-born is not automatically qualified to take his father’s place.  We learn from this that we shouldn’t judge someone based on whether they are the oldest or youngest, but rather on whom they are.

There is a third important theme that is found throughout Genesis, though perhaps not as obvious as the other two:  journeying.  The main characters are constantly on the move.  Abram and his family begin in Ur, then go to Haran, and finally to the land of Israel.  But even once they arrive in the land, they don’t stay in one place for long.  Abram first stays in Shechem, then moves southward, and then on to Egypt when there is a famine. 

Although Isaac never leaves the land of Israel, he too journeys throughout the land, rather than settling in one place.  And his son, Jacob, returns to Haran to escape from Esau and to find a wife.  He stays there many years before returning to the land of Israel.  Finally, in last week’s portion, Jacob and his family journey to Egypt to escape the famine in Israel and reunite with Joseph. 

It is as if the Torah is saying:  don’t settle down; don’t stay in one place too long.  In commenting on the Cain and Abel story, Rabbi Gunther Plaut writes, “Much of Israel’s early history is connected with shepherds, the nomadic life, and experiences encountered in traveling through desert lands…. The nomad looked upon all settlers, urban as well as rural, with contempt:  They were slaves to possession and therefore prone to corruption and idolatry.”

We see this message reflected in the Tower of Babel; when the settled people try to build a tower to the heavens to make a name for themselves, God prevents them from completing the task, scattering them throughout the world.

Thus, Genesis reminds us of the dangers of becoming entrenched in a particular place.  We are much better off when we are on the move, when we travel from place to place.  The theme of the wandering Jew begins early in our people’s history and continues in modern times.  Many of our parents or grandparents picked up and moved from one place to another.  Most of Israel’s Jewish citizens are only second or third generation residents.

So as we conclude the book of Genesis, we take a moment to recognize the importance of its themes:  barrenness and the precariousness of the covenant, passing on the covenant not based on order of birth but merit, and the preference of journeying from place to place rather than settling down.  May we continue to learn from these themes each and every time we read Genesis.

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