Dear Blogger,
Do you remember me?
I am Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob. I am the second youngest, son of Rachel.
We were in your office in the spring.
So much has happened since then.
I hope this letter reaches you safely.
I have been given assurances that you will receive it before next month’s end.

I have not written to my family, and as I write more, you will understand the reason.

It was not long after our meeting that my brothers attacked me when we were out in the field.
My father had sent me to fetch them home, but when I arrived, they began pushing me and angrily insulting me.
They said that I had invented stories and that I had invented dreams, all in order to make them look bad.
They were as fierce as a band of lions, and hatred was in their eyes and in their very breath.
They circled me and taunted me. They bowed down to me to ridicule my dreams and me.
I tried to reason with them, and I tried to protest my innocence,
But they wanted to misunderstand me and my words.
And of course I could not bring silence onto words I had already spoken,
Words that had enraged them.
Why did the Lord send me dreams which would lead them to such fury?
Reuben tried to persuade them not to kill me outright.
Throw him into that pit, he said.
I was dirtied and my skin was reddened with their roughness.
They agreed to do as Reuben said.
But then Reuben left.
To where I do not know.
They grabbed me, stripped me of my cloak — which they ridiculed, in their envy.
I knew that nobody would find me at the bottom of that dark place, that hell.
We all knew it, and I pleaded with them to change their mind, but they had no mercy.
It didn’t matter what I said.
They mocked me for my “creative solutions.”
Some of them called me names, and mocked me more,
While others no longer looked at me.
Then they did it.
They cut their ties with me.
And shoved me into it.
I fell.
The murk.
The darkness.
The strange and wet coldness.
How can I describe my fear?
Looking upwards at them, I could no longer tell one from the others,
Their faces were now dark against the sun.
So many brothers, but not one to save me!
They would not have treated an animal the way they treated me.
They enjoyed seeing me defenceless.
I did not know I had kin like this.
They were strangers to me.
Ah — worse than strangers.
What stranger would take pleasure in torment such as this?
But then, tired of their sport, they left me.
I could hear them, but only faintly.
They were talking and even laughing.
For them, life would continue.
But for me, the silence was worse than their jeers, and I begged them to come back to me.
I was weeping.
I begged them to not leave me.
I promised that I would do anything for them, if they would only take me out again.
But I did not know what words to use to change their hearts.
My voice echoed and rattled to my own ears, but I did not know whether they could hear me.
I wept.
I waited, and listened, but there was nothing.

But then, all of a sudden, so much commotion!
They wanted me to come out, and I felt alive once more!
I was relieved and overjoyed, and I thanked the Lord for his rescue of me.
They had changed their minds, so I thought.
They lowered a rope, told me to grab it.
I clutched it eagerly and tried to climb up the sides of the pit.
Twice I fell back down, and I was afraid, but my brothers,
Who once again felt like my own brothers,
Encouraged me to try again.
I managed to get closer to the top, and their hands — many hands —
Reached for me and pulled for me to come out.
My heart flooded with love for them,
Once again

But then I understood.
A caravan with foreigners was nearby.
It had crossed this lonely field on its way to somewhere else.
These strangers surveyed me,
And I stood.
Surely I was scarcely recognizable as a man,
Covered in mud:
Mud in my hair, in my ears and my mouth.
My skin was cut and bleeding.
I must have looked like a madman.
But my humiliation was not complete.
I had not yet suffered enough.
In a moment, the transaction was finished, and I was bound and dragged to their caravan.

Blogger, my own brothers sold me into slavery.
Though it satisfied them to think of me as dead,
The money lured them, and they decided to act accordingly.
The new plan meant that I would be as good as dead,
And that was all that they wanted.

For this reason, I will not write to them.
If they know where I am, they may come to kill me or send someone else to do it.
If you meet them, I beg you not to tell them anything about me.

So now I am in a foreign place.
I am in Egypt.
My master is Potiphar.
He is an officer of the Pharaoh, and commander of the guard;
An important man, to be sure.
He has grown to trust me, and he treats me well.
So my life is better than before.
I do all of my work diligently, and I put my faith in the Lord.

I remember you, and I often remember how you tried to understand our family.
Numerous times, I said to myself, if only Blogger knew what happened afterwards!
It is for this reason that I wanted to write to you.
I thought that you would be interested to know how the story ended.
It ends with me in a land far away —
A slave, but not an unhappy one.

With warmest regards,
Joseph son of Jacob

 

BLOGGER: Why did they cancel?

ROBY: Death in the family.

BLOGGER: A death? Oh no. Who died?

ROBY: One of the sons.

BLOGGER: One of the sons? One of Jacob’s sons?

ROBY: That’s what the message said.

BLOGGER: One of Jacob’s sons?

ROBY: Yes.

BLOGGER: Who called? Which one died? And how? When?

ROBY: I’ll grab the notes; I wrote down what he said and I’d rather read them than try to remember. Just a sec.

(Silence.)

ROBY: It was Reuben who called. Reuben.

BLOGGER: He’s the eldest. And?

ROBY: Reuben said, “We found Joseph’s coat in the field when we were on our way home.”

BLOGGER: Joseph! Oh no! Poor Joseph!

ROBY: “It was covered in blood.”

BLOGGER: Oh no!

ROBY: The father’s really upset. “My father is out of his mind with grief” — that’s how he put it.

BLOGGER: Of course!

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: Nothing else?

ROBY: No. That’s everything. Do you want to listen to the message yourself?

BLOGGER: I probably should. I’ll listen to it later, and I should call them to offer my condolences. What time did the message come in?

ROBY: 4:55 this morning.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: I just don’t know what to think.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: So I guess that’s the last time I’ll ever see Joseph. Seemed like a really nice guy. Do you remember seeing him?

ROBY: There were so many of them. I didn’t really notice any one of them in particular.

BLOGGER: He was the one wearing that coat, kind of colourful, with a bunch of trim.

ROBY: Oh! Yes, I remember the coat! That was Joseph?

BLOGGER: Yeah.

ROBY: He looked like one of the younger ones?

BLOGGER: Yeah. He was the second-youngest one, but I don’t know how old.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: Did Reuben say anything else?

ROBY: No, there wasn’t anything else.

BLOGGER: Wow. Can’t believe it.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: Yeah. Oh boy. Jacob is not going to be okay. He’s going to be so broken. Joseph was his favourite.

ROBY: How do you know? He said?

BLOGGER: Yeah. Everybody knew.

ROBY: Oh. Well, yes, if Joseph was his favourite.

BLOGGER: Yeah.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: It’s going to be like Rachel all over again.

ROBY: Rachel?

BLOGGER: She was the mother of two of his sons, Joseph and Benjamin.

ROBY: Only two? There were so many of them!

BLOGGER: Yeah, there were like four mothers.

ROBY: Four?

BLOGGER: Yeah. Really complicated.

ROBY: Did Rachel pass away?

BLOGGER: Years ago, when Joseph was little. Jacob still hasn’t recovered.

ROBY: Wow.

BLOGGER: Yeah.

ROBY: Would you like me to send flowers?

BLOGGER: I don’t know. I don’t know if that would even make any sense to them, you know? Culturally, I mean. It might just be really confusing: “Why did Blogger just send us this plastic vase filled with white roses? There are no roots even.”

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: I think I should just phone, and find out if they would like me to attend his funeral or whatever they have. How are they going to deal with it though? They don’t have his body, right?

ROBY: Doesn’t sound like it.

BLOGGER: Oh, the whole thing is just so dreadful.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: You know, it’s just the finality of death. It’s just so — silent.

(Silence.)

 

BLOGGER: It strikes me that the whole dynamic is sad, because you are not sufficiently thinking about your other sons, in the way that your father didn’t think of you.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: I mean, it’s fun and fulfilling to express your love for your child, but if that show of love is accompanied by a disregard for the other children, it’s going to lead to problems. It’s just going to lead to problems. Right?

JACOB: I see no problems.

BLOGGER: I do!

JACOB: I do not!

BLOGGER: Alright. You don’t see that your elder sons are openly expressing resentment towards Joseph?

JACOB: This is natural! Even I have been angry with Joseph at times!

BLOGGER: At Joseph?

JACOB: Yes!

BLOGGER: Why? When?

JACOB: This talk of dreams. I did not like to hear it then. It made me angry. I said to him myself, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” I said that.

BLOGGER: You did?

JACOB: Yes!

BLOGGER: Okay, well, it seems that the parenting here is almost reckless sometimes. It seems you are doing whatever makes you feel happy in the moment, without thinking beyond that to the others, your other children. Your father did the same thing — all of his focus was on Esau, by the sound of it, and where did that leave you?

JACOB: I did not expect more.

BLOGGER: I guess you had your mother. But tell me, did it not lead to tension with your brother, and your father?

(Silence)

BLOGGER: Didn’t it? Didn’t it lead to hard feelings? Friction of some kind?

JACOB: Esau decided to kill me.

BLOGGER: Woah! To kill you? To literally murder you?

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: Because of the blessing?

JACOB: And the birthright.

BLOGGER: I see. What happened?

JACOB: My mother came to me and said, “Your brother comforts himself with thoughts of killing you when your father dies.” She was imagining that my father would be dead and that I would be too. She said she didn’t want to lose both of us. She told me to go to the house of her brother, Laban.

BLOGGER: Laban — is that the father of Leah and Rachel?

JACOB: Yes, the same.

BLOGGER: So you married your cousin?

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: I mean, you married your cousins — plural.

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: And so what happened with Esau? He never caught up with you?

JACOB: I did not see him for many years after that. I did not meet him until after the birth of my eleventh — after the birth of Joseph. And even then, I was dread afraid.

BLOGGER: Afraid of Esau?

JACOB: Yes, of Esau, that he might still want to avenge himself. And I was afraid, moreover, that he would kill not only me, but also my wives and children.

BLOGGER: But?

JACOB: But it was not like this. Esau was not angry with me anymore.

BLOGGER: Well that’s a relief!

JACOB: Yes, absolutely.

BLOGGER: And with respect with your own sons, will you agree with me that you might need to strengthen your relationship with your elder sons?

JACOB: My relationship with all of my sons is fine. There is no need to ‘strengthen’ anything.

BLOGGER: So you don’t see the repetition of a worrisome pattern?

JACOB: No.

BLOGGER: Nothing to worry about?

JACOB: Nothing to worry about.

BLOGGER: I hope you’re right.

 

 

In the Old Testament, we read that God “will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation.” Sometimes, the phrase is lengthened, referring to “those who hate God,” but sometimes concept of “sins of the father” seems to apply to everyone.

At first glance, the concept seems to say that innocent children will somehow experience, and perhaps commit, the same sins committed by their fathers. What does this mean? I remember seeing, a few years ago, a book about cleansing one’s family tree. It was a mixed-up and incorrect reaction to this concept, which sounds both unfortunate and unfair.

But the words are a riddle, because it is impossible for God to force anyone to sin. So then, if he is not making the children sin, what does this concept, or ‘rule,’ mean?

I think it means two things: first, children experience the consequences of their parents’ sins, and second, children often have the same weaknesses. For example, let’s say a woman is tempted to drink too much. We won’t be surprised to hear that 1) her children suffer the consequences of this, and 2) her children also happen to have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism. We aren’t surprised, right? Many of our human failings are intergenerational. It’s as though there’s a blind spot all the way down the family tree. Or let’s say a man has a terrible temper, and bullies his family habitually. You won’t be stunned when you hear that his father was the same way, right? We are actually used to seeing or learning of these patterns of “dysfunction” (= sin).

But where it gets interesting is when the story finally reaches a child who chooses differently.

This child, like all of the generations before, carries the weight of that specific type of weakness. Study his genetics or his surroundings, or both, and you will find excuse enough for this child to fall into the same hole as his parent(s), whether that hole is one of the talked-about ones (such as alcoholism or abusive behaviour), or whether it is one of the silent ones (such as envy or hypocrisy). The child has seen it in action. The son has learned from his father how to treat women poorly. The daughter has learned from her mother how to pretend to be holy. They’ve learned it, and, as a matter of fact, it comes easily.

However, this child chooses differently. This child recognizes the potential problems, the potential sin, and corrects the problem. This child confronts and conquers the problem, sooner or later. If this child chooses early and makes a point of avoiding anything that smells like repetition of the same problem, then that’s best. Father is an alcoholic and drug user? The child responds by avoiding alcohol and drugs (and nicotine and caffeine for good measure). Mother is a brazen flirt and home-wrecker? The child responds by cultivating loyalty and prudence in practice and in appearance. The child overcomes the sin of the parents.

I write this simply and briefly, as if it’s easy, but it’s a very dramatic thing to overcome any type of sin. Chesterton wrote his entire book, The Man Who Was Thursday, to illustrate the point that trying to be good is a profound adventure. He felt the point needed to be made, for it is commonly thought that ‘good’ people live very boring lives, that they don’t have stories worth telling.

But avoiding sin is about being tested, and tests can be dramatic. And the thing is, sooner or later, you will be tested to your absolute limit. Nobody is immune. If you believe that you have already been tested, and you didn’t actually find it difficult to resist temptation (because of your inherent goodness, good habits, humility or because of God’s grace, or the prayers of others), then I have news for you: you haven’t experienced your toughest test yet. Doubt me at your peril.

I will never forget the woman who pointed out to me, as if I were obviously lacking knowledge about faith and morals, that Christians need not worry too much about lust, because “Christ changes you.”

When she said this, in her superior way, it was one of those moments. Does this happen to you? It was one of those times when someone says something which is so utterly wrong-headed that you think to yourself: where do I even begin? There are so many things wrong here that I need a moment to think about how to tackle all of the embedded errors. Should I begin here, or should I begin there or there? Yet at the same time, I realize, from the level of arrogance or condescension of the speaker, that it really doesn’t matter what I say. She’s already written me off. At times like this, I am just dumbfounded. I don’t have an all-purpose retort at the ready to use in such situations. Do you?

Of course Christ changes people! But he doesn’t remove all the challenges. We still have the inclination to sin, and we still have the opportunity to sin. We are still tempted, as was Christ. If he was not spared, why would or should we be? The truth is, nobody gets through life without that really, really, tough exam — that exam which has only one question: “Will you choose what is right or will you choose what is wrong?”

One question. Does that make it easy?

Sin is like standing in front of a beautiful tree full of glossy, ripe plums. True, it’s not your tree, but look: here is a perfect and ripe plum within reach. It’s almost as if it’s meant to be, and the truth is, you’re hungry. And probably nobody would ever miss it, or know that it was you who took it.

One of the first poems that I ever really noticed was by William Carlos Williams:

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

 

It was a long time ago that I first read that. It is a “sorry-not sorry” poem. Effective, but I cannot say that I admire it. The speaker flaunts and revels in his choice, and the “Forgive me” is pure arrogance.

And it strikes me now as not coincidental that it was plums, the only fruit I never eat anymore. I won’t even touch it.

In any case, let’s go back to the child. The child resists. The child resists the sins which were committed by his or her parent(s). In this context, you can solve the riddle. In this context, you can understand the meaning. Let me explain.

When we read that God “will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation,” we must understand the reason. God is not doing this as a way of punishing the children and grandchildren and so on. He is doing this to allow a rematch. A rematch! Same sin, different soul. Through this rule, God says, “Double or Nothing.” The contest begins again.

The challenge repeats. Does the failure repeat?

The failure may repeat, and repeat, and repeat.

But then, finally, there is a victor. There is, finally, a child who wins, who overcomes the temptation. There is finally a child in the family tree who walks away from the fruit.

And then what? Can you guess? Should I tell you? I will.

It’s called “the surprise.” In his generosity, God counts the child’s win as a win for everyone on the family tree, going forwards and backwards. He shares the win with the father, the mother, the grandmother, the grandfather, the great-grandfather, the great-grandmother, the great-great-grandfather and the great-great-grandmother, and on and on and on and on. How does he do this? I have taken you this far, but can I explain the mystical way that this happens?

God breaks out the champagne. He breaks out the little crackers with cheese and slices of sausage. He passes the smoked salmon and the pate. There’s even one of those hollowed out big loaves filled with spinach dip on the table.

He says with a big smile, “Aren’t you all glad it was double-or nothing? Aren’t you glad? It was a good idea?”

And we all say that it was very, very, good.

 

BLOGGER: Your family is made up of twelve sons and one daughter. There are many half-sibling relationships here. What about you, Jacob. Do you have siblings, or half-siblings?

JACOB: I have only one brother, my twin.

BLOGGER: A twin! Are you an identical twin? Who is older?

JACOB: No, we are not identical. My brother was born first, and the main difference everyone notices when they compare us is that he is very hairy and I am like this. He always was, and that’s even how he got his name, Esau. I was born second, and they named me Jacob, because I was holding Esau’s heel as we left our mother’s womb.

BLOGGER: I suppose it was a surprise to everyone that there were two of you?

JACOB: My mother — her name is Rebekah — told me that when she was carrying us, she suffered a lot. She thought it was one baby, but the Lord told her that it was twins. She heard, “Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples, born of you, shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than the other. The elder shall serve the younger.”

BLOGGER: Wow, and so that’s how she found out she was carrying twins?

JACOB: She knew that way.

BLOGGER: And then you were born holding your elder brother’s ankle?

JACOB: His heel.

BLOGGER: Right, his heel. So did you quarrel a lot when you were children? Was there discord right from the beginning?

JACOB: We had moments of disagreement, but probably it was no worse than what one would find between any siblings. We certainly had different personalities. Esau was always more outspoken and loud. I was quieter. And as we grew older, our interests diverged. Esau’s a hunter, and he’s good at it. I never liked hunting.

BLOGGER: Okay, anything else?

JACOB: I don’t remember anything outstanding or particularly memorable about the years of our youth.

BLOGGER: Okay.

JACOB: Until the time of the blessing.

BLOGGER: The blessing?

JACOB: Before he died, my father gave me the blessing of the elder son.

BLOGGER: But you’re the second-born right?

JACOB: I am.

BLOGGER: But he gave you the blessing for the elder?

JACOB: He did.

BLOGGER: He got mixed up?

JACOB: Yes — well, he got tricked.

BLOGGER: Your father got tricked? He thought you were your elder brother?

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: How did that happen? You said you’re not identical twins.

JACOB: No, but he was blind by then.

BLOGGER: Your father was blind?

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: So you stepped in to take your elder brother’s blessing?

JACOB: I did so only to make my mother happy. She’s the one who had this idea.

BLOGGER: Your mother wanted you to take your brother’s blessing?

JACOB: Absolutely.

BLOGGER: Wait. She wanted this? Why? She liked you better than your twin brother?

JACOB: I had a special bond with my mother. Our temperaments, you could say, were more similar.

BLOGGER: But what about Esau? She didn’t love Esau the same way?

JACOB: Of course she loved him, but Esau had our father.

BLOGGER: What do you mean? Don’t tell me that your father preferred Esau?

JACOB: Oh yes, yes, of course he did.

BLOGGER: He did? Are you sure? Why would he?

JACOB: I know this for sure, yes.

BLOGGER: But why?

JACOB: He liked the game — the meat that Esau could hunt and prepare.

BLOGGER: You must be kidding!

JACOB: I speak plainly.

BLOGGER: You’re saying that your father — what was his name?

JACOB: Isaac. His name was Isaac.

BLOGGER: You’re saying that your father preferred Esau because Esau was a hunter and brought your father meals made of the game he had hunted? And that meanwhile, your mother preferred you because you were more suited to her temperament?

JACOB: This is how it was.

BLOGGER: So then, back to the blessing, it was your mother’s idea to have you take the blessing which your father, Isaac, had intended for your twin brother?

JACOB: She said to me, “Jacob, listen to me. I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food, that I may eat it, and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. Go to the flock, and fetch me two good young goats, that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he loves; and you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”

BLOGGER: So what did you say? I guess you agreed?

JACOB: Well, not at first. I said, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” I was afraid.

BLOGGER: What did she say?

JACOB: She just insisted. She said, “Upon me be your curse, my son; only obey my word, and go, fetch them to me.”

BLOGGER: Then what?

JACOB: I did not argue with her. I did as she directed. I went and brought her the animals, and she prepared them.

BLOGGER: And then?

JACOB: And then I brought the food in to my father, and I asked for the blessing.

BLOGGER: And he gave you the blessing?

JACOB: Well, not at first. He said, “Who are you, my son?”

BLOGGER: And what did you say? I guess you told him that you were Esau?

JACOB: I did. I said, “I am Esau your first-born. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that you may bless me.”

BLOGGER: So did he?

JACOB: Well, not at first. He was suspicious because of my voice, and I guess because of how soon I had the food. He said, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”

BLOGGER: What did you say?

JACOB: I said, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.”

BLOGGER: Is that a lie? So then what happened after that?

JACOB: Well, then it was worse, because he wanted to touch me to see if I really was Esau!

BLOGGER: Oh boy. Exactly what you had been worried about.

JACOB: Indeed.

BLOGGER: So what happened?

JACOB: Well, he felt my arms, but he thought that I was Esau, because my mother had put onto me the skins of the young goats. She covered my hands and the back of my neck with them.

BLOGGER: So this is a complete deceit.

JACOB: My mother is very intelligent. She thought of everything.

BLOGGER: But your heart must have been pounding.

JACOB: I was certain I would be found out.

BLOGGER: But?

JACOB: But he didn’t know it. He only asked me one more time if I were Esau, and when I said “I am,” he just gave me the blessing.

BLOGGER: Do you remember the words of the blessing?

JACOB: Of course. They are engraved upon me now.

BLOGGER: What’s the blessing, if you don’t mind my asking?

JACOB: “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one who curses you, and blessed be every one who blesses you!”

BLOGGER: So that’s the blessing which he had intended for Esau?

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: In the blessing, he mentions how you smell. So he smelled you too?

JACOB: He said, “Come and kiss me,” and when I did, he smelled my garments.

BLOGGER: But how could you smell like Esau?

JACOB: My mother gave me Esau’s clothing to wear.

BLOGGER: Oh!

JACOB: Yes, his best clothing, actually.

BLOGGER: I must say, it’s almost as if your mother had been planning this for years.

JACOB: I don’t know, but she was probably remembering the words given to her by the Lord.

BLOGGER: You mean about the two nations at war in the womb?

JACOB: Yes, and: “The elder will serve the younger.”

BLOGGER: Oh, I missed that part. The prophesy was that the elder twin would serve the younger twin?

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: So you think that her memory of those words may have influenced her actions in substituting you for the blessing?

JACOB: I don’t know. I cannot speak to this. I can only say what happened.

BLOGGER: And what about you? You went along with all of this. What did you think of this plan? Did you agree with it? Were you happy at the prospect of receiving the first born’s blessing?

JACOB: At first, I was confused at my mother’s directions, but then I thought it was good.

BLOGGER: Good?

JACOB: Yes, and also just.

BLOGGER: Just? Really! In what way could it have been just?

JACOB: Esau didn’t care about his birthright. He had already sold it to me.

BLOGGER: What?

JACOB: He traded his birthright to me for a bowl of lentil stew.

BLOGGER: How could he have? When?

JACOB: It was several months before the day of the blessing, but I don’t remember exactly when. He had come in from hunting, and he was very, very hungry. He saw that I had just made some stew. It was ordinary stew, with lentils and vegetables, but he was famished. So he said to me, “Give me some of that stew.” I said to him, “I will give it to you in exchange for your birthright.”

BLOGGER: What did he say? I guess he agreed?

JACOB: He said, “What use is my birthright to me if I perish for lack of food?” So you see how little he valued his birthright.

BLOGGER: And so you felt that —

JACOB: That it was mine, yes.

BLOGGER: Because of that conversation?

JACOB: Yes, of course.

BLOGGER: Okay, let me think here. So you actually had no qualms about your mother’s plan, because you felt that the birthright already belonged to you.

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: Wow. Okay.

JACOB: Esau could have refused to make the bargain.

BLOGGER: Right, but what about what your father wanted? Did your father ever find out that he gave the blessing to you, instead of Esau?

JACOB: He found out right away. Right after he had eaten the meal and the bread, right after he had drunk the wine, Esau came in with the meal that he had prepared, using the game he had hunted.

BLOGGER: Oh my.

JACOB: Yes. He went in to our father, and asked for his blessing.

BLOGGER: What happened? Did you see?

JACOB: No, I didn’t see, but I could hear the conversation from where I was. And my mother saw everything and told me later. She told me that Isaac my father began shaking terribly when he realized what had happened. He said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him?—yes, and he shall be blessed.”

BLOGGER: So it was too late to “undo” the blessing?

JACOB: Too late, of course. The blessing had been spoken.

BLOGGER: So then they were both upset? Both your father and Esau?

JACOB: They were both upset. Esau cried out very loudly, very bitterly. He said to our father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” And my father said, “Your brother came with guile, and he has taken away your blessing.”

BLOGGER: And then what?

JACOB: Then Esau said about me, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.”

BLOGGER: Indeed. Now did you not feel guilty in all of this?

JACOB: Guilty? I don’t know how I felt. I knew it was too late for Esau to take away the blessing I had received.

BLOGGER: So you felt like you succeeded?

JACOB: My mother’s plan had worked, yes.

BLOGGER: And so then Esau got nothing?

JACOB: My father initially said that he had nothing left to give. So you see, that would have been me, with nothing. In that sense, I do not regret it.

BLOGGER: You say, “initially,” so does that mean that he did find something left for Esau?

JACOB: Yes, he did. At first, when Esau asked him, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” my father said, “Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” But then, Esau asked him again. He said, “Is it the case that you have only one blessing that you can bestow?” He cried out so loudly, and he begged him, “Bless me, even me, also, O my father.” He was crying.

BLOGGER: And you really felt no guilt?

JACOB: I suppose I did, but it was tempered with the knowledge that he was standing in my own shoes.

BLOGGER: Alright, but your father Isaac did bless him?

JACOB: Yes. His blessing was that he would live by the sword, and that he would serve me. But it said that when he broke loose from me, he would be free.

BLOGGER: So the blessing spoke of a day when he would be free from your control.

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: Wow, this is a lot to absorb.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: There are certainly a lot of parallels between your past and your present.

JACOB: Perhaps.

BLOGGER: Well, don’t you see it? You have been so angry about how your father-in-law put Leah in place of Rachel on the wedding day, so that you didn’t marry the woman you had wanted to marry, but you yourself stood in for your twin brother! And your disguise was far more elaborate than Leah’s! She wore a veil, and that’s normal on a wedding day, but who wears someone else’s entire outfit along with goat’s skin?

JACOB: It was my mother who supplied these! I would not have conceived of such a plan!

BLOGGER: Are you sure? After all, you asked Esau for the birthright at his weakest moment!

JACOB: But he didn’t have to agree!

BLOGGER: True, but you didn’t have to ask!

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: But look, I understand that the situation was very imbalanced here. Your father prefers your brother, and all of this is very open. I think it would be painful for you.

JACOB: I knew it was that way.

BLOGGER: As in, you knew he preferred Esau?

JACOB: Yes.

BLOGGER: Right. And I want to bring that into the present, and into your approach to your relationships. You have a favouritism towards Rachel that persists even after she has died, and —

JACOB: Rachel has done nothing wrong! We cannot speak ill of her!

BLOGGER: I am not criticizing Rachel. I am saying that you need to reconsider your approach. Rachel is gone, and nothing can harm her. Leah is alive, and, as you said, has always been faithful to you. Leah can be hurt when you reject her.

JACOB: I am not rejecting her.

BLOGGER: Well, there are many forms of rejection. Your father’s behaviour was perhaps a form of rejection.

JACOB: I will not speak ill of my father.

BLOGGER: That’s nice. But it’s good for us to notice what happened before, because it seems to highlight what you are doing now. And we want to talk about the family dynamics that are occurring now, right?

JACOB: I guess that’s why we’re here.

BLOGGER: Yes. What I am thinking is this: your approach with your sons is also questionable. You say that you would give your life for any of them —

JACOB: I would!

BLOGGER: And I believe you, but my point is that you are engaging in a sort of exaggerated favouritism when it comes to Joseph, and probably Benjamin somewhat as well.

JACOB: What do you mean?

BLOGGER: I mean that your father neglected you, because he was so focused on Esau, and in the same way, you are neglecting your other sons, because you are so focused on Joseph.

JACOB: No, this is untrue! There is no neglect! When have I let them go hungry? When have they been without shelter? I have provided for their every need!

BLOGGER: But perhaps they have been, in a sense, without a father?

JACOB: I am their father! In every sense!

BLOGGER: Did you experience the love of your own father?

JACOB: Your question is now, what?

BLOGGER: Did you experience the love of your father?

JACOB: Did I experience the love of my father?

BLOGGER: Yes.

JACOB: What kind of question is that?

BLOGGER: I don’t know. Is it an unanswerable question?

(Silence.)

JACOB: Look, this is not something I wondered. I did not say, “Does my father love me? Does my father not love me?” I am his son, and he is my father, and that was all.

BLOGGER: Did you experience the love of your mother?

JACOB: Of course! Of course I did! I still do!

BLOGGER: Oh! And you answer so readily!

JACOB: But this is a different question!

BLOGGER: It seems to be!

JACOB: She is a woman! It is entirely different! It is in her nature! A woman is tender, affectionate, and so on.

BLOGGER: But it is not in a father’s nature?

JACOB: No!

BLOGGER: But then what about Esau and your father? What about you and Joseph?

(Silence.)

JACOB: I don’t know! I don’t know! You tell me! Who understands everything hidden? How can I know?

BLOGGER: It’s true. These things are mostly hidden, and when we want to understand, it’s difficult.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: But what I am concluding is that it seems there is a sinful behaviour that is repeating here. It’s not being addressed, and so the result is a pattern that’s going from generation to generation.

JACOB: Sinful?

BLOGGER: Yes, don’t you think so?

JACOB: Sin?

BLOGGER: Yes.

JACOB: I see what you are doing, but nothing will be gained with such speculation and questions in the dark! Blind and pointless musings! No matter what my father did or did not do, I will not speak ill of him. I will not speak ill of my father.

BLOGGER: I guess we’re different like that.

JACOB: Pardon me?

BLOGGER: Ah, nothing.

 

BLOGGER: I had a question for you, Jacob.

JACOB: I am ready. What is it?

BLOGGER: Tell me, how do you know that Reuben is your son?

JACOB: What? Reuben? Reuben, this is my son! He is my first born! Why do you ask, “How do I know?”

BLOGGER: Well, I wanted to check.

JACOB: Of course, he is mine.

BLOGGER: And Simeon?

JACOB: Simeon, too, yes, of course, he is my son.

BLOGGER: What about Levi?

JACOB: Levi, yes, he is my son!

BLOGGER: How do you know?

JACOB: What is this questioning? Of course I know. I know!

BLOGGER: But how do you know? Mothers always know, but fathers cannot know in the same way, of course.

JACOB: Levi is mine — these are all mine, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah! And Is’sahar, Zebulun!

BLOGGER: Those are sons of Leah, yes, I know, but paternity is not always so simple.

JACOB: Oh, now you are too close to offence! I know that Leah has always been faithful to me!

LEAH: Here is the first sensible thing I heard out of you.

BLOGGER: And I believe you.

JACOB: What is not to believe?

BLOGGER: But what about these other men, from the maids of your wives? How can you be sure that they are yours? Were the maids not free to find husbands of their own?

JACOB: But, the sons are mine! I know they are mine! Look at them. Look at their faces! It is my own face! Look at them! How can you say they are not mine? These are all mine: Dan, Nephtali, Gad and Asher. How can you question this?

BLOGGER: Well, the situation was so — wild. I don’t know how anybody could keep track.

JACOB: “Keep track!” I could “keep track.” I knew my own household! How could I not know my own household? It is you who doesn’t understand. For you, this is just names on a paper, but for me — for me this is my own flesh and blood!

BLOGGER: Your own flesh and blood.

JACOB: I dare not give an oath, but I answer you, yes, of course these are my own, my own flesh and blood, every single one of them. And Dinah too.

BLOGGER: An oath is still just words though?

JACOB: Woman, are you in your right mind? Have I not suffered enough through your questions?

BLOGGER: What would you be willing to do to prove that they are yours? I know you cannot show me any documentation or laboratory results.

JACOB: Woman!

BLOGGER: What would you be willing to do to prove that they are yours?

JACOB: For this, what? I can give anything. Anything! I would give my beard and the head wearing this beard for any of my sons. And you tell me, if you are so clever, who would say that, except for a true father? For any one of these, I would give my life.

BLOGGER: Ah, yes, then you must be their true father.

JACOB (with exasperated and dramatic sigh): Finally!

BLOGGER: So you are the father of not only Joseph and Benjamin, but also of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Nephtali, Gad, Asher, Is’sahar, and Zebulun. And Dinah.

JACOB: Yes, yes! Has my story changed, that you ask me everything one hundred times and then one hundred times again? It is amazing I submit myself to such questioning. Your methods, I don’t understand. In fact, as the head of this family, I speak for all of us: none of us understand your questions about paternity.

(Silence.)

JACOB: This isn’t all about the coat, is it?

 

 

Why does a parent bond with one child better than with another child?
Why does a parent empathize with one child better than with another child?

Favouritism is natural.
Favouritism is human.
Favouritism is mysterious.

It’s how we operate.
It’s how we relate to friends, acquaintances, and family members.

So many variations.
The child reminds you of yourself, so you like him more, or you like him less.
The child is the exact opposite of you, so you like him more, or you like him less.
The child is successful, so you like him more, or you like him less.
The child reminds you of your ex, so you like her more, or you like her less.
The child misbehaves, so you like her more, or you like her less.
The child is so ‘perfect,’ so you like her more, or you like her less.

Some parents believe they understand themselves.
They believe they know why they favour one child over another.
Other parents can’t figure out why they favour one child over another.

Let me say:
Favouritism is only a problem when the parent doesn’t see it as a problem.
Favouritism is serious when the parent is satisfied with a state of imbalance.
Favouritism is dangerous when the parent feels that the favouritism is entirely justified.
The bad parent says, “This is the way it is. I prefer him/her because of X and Y, and that’s just the way it is. It’s not my fault. It’s how I am; it’s how my child is.”
That’s no good. It’s dreadful, actually, to not care about the imbalance.

I am not worried about favouritism if the parent is worried about it.
Why not?
It’s because a worried parent will think about the imbalance and try to remedy it.

A worried parent wants to know what advice I have to give.

So here it is:

Dear Worried Parent,

First, don’t despair, or think you have an unusual problem. Many parents are drawn to one child more than to another.

Second, continue to show your love to the child you love easily (the “Loved Child,” let’s say).
Do not become cold and distant from the Loved Child in a misguided effort to balance things out.

Third, amplify your efforts with the other one, the “Unloved” Child.
You must work harder in every way.
Try everything.
The fact that things are easier with the other one is no answer.
Don’t blame the Unloved Child when your methods, which work so well with the Loved Child, go nowhere.
You must make every effort to understand the Unloved Child in the way that God understands the Unloved Child.
With effort, you will be able to melt away the barriers between yourself and your child.
I tell you, it is very likely that some of the barriers are in your own heart.
These barriers prevent you from appreciating all of the mysterious aspects of your child’s personality.
Talk with your child in the way that you would talk with your best friend.
Win your child over, using all of the techniques of true love.
Be inventive. Be daring. Be brave. Be silly.
Do not worry about being in control and in charge and all-knowing.
Often barriers between parent and child exist because the parent tries to maintain an image.
You could call it professionalism, but I might call it posturing.
Remove all of these artificial things. Break all the rules.
Forget about being tough and being strong.
Be open instead.
Why do you let your friend see more of the real you than your child sees?
The truth is that your child already knows a great deal more about your weaknesses than you realize.
So you must be humble. Humility is the main thing, actually. And honesty is part of humility.
So often we are dishonest because we are too proud or ashamed or embarrassed to admit how weak we are.
When you are honest about who you are, your child will also become more open.
Do not wait for your child to come to you. That is folly.
You are the parent. You must always be present to your child.
Never close the doors upon your child. That is also wrong. Never give up on your child.
God does not give up on anyone, and part of his not giving up on you (his child), is his gift to you of this child, this Unloved Child who will teach you to overcome yourself.

BLOGGER: So let’s continue. How is everything else? We’ve talked about some of the history of your births, and now I understand who is the mother of whom, and I’ve written all of that down. Where does that leave everyone? I see and I have spoken about the tension between some of the mothers, and between Leah and Jacob, but how do the rest of you get along?

JACOB: Everything is good!

BLOGGER: Everything is good?

(Silence.)

LEAH: Well, I wouldn’t say that.

JACOB: Yes, we all know what you think. We always know what you think!

LEAH: Oh, you! You don’t know everything. You just think you do!

BLOGGER: I would like someone else to answer. Someone else could speak about the current situation. Reuben, how about you? Are things good between everyone in this generation?

REUBEN: Things are good, yes.

JACOB: See! Just like I said.

SIMEON: We have no problems among us that are worth mentioning.

LEVI: We are shepherds, and we work together in the field. There is no dissension among us.

JUDAH: Mind you, to be fair, we should probably mention one thing, relating to one of us here.

LEVI: Do you mean?

JUDAH: Yes.

LEVI: Ah.

BLOGGER: So there is something?

JUDAH: Something, yes.

BLOGGER: Go ahead. It relates to whom?

JUDAH: To him (pointing)

BLOGGER: To Joseph?

JUDAH: Yes.

BLOGGER: What is it?

JUDAH: Well, to be frank, it’s his dreams.

BLOGGER: Dreams? As in, dreams when he sleeps?

LEVI: Yes! He says he has dreams!

BLOGGER: But — but why would this be a problem?

LEVI: It’s ridiculous! And he won’t stop with it!

BLOGGER: He won’t stop telling you about his dreams?

LEVI: Well, he tells about one dream, and then the next day, he’s got another one!

BLOGGER: You have dreams?

JOSEPH: Yes.

BLOGGER: Do you want to tell me about them?

SIMEON: Of course he’ll tell you about them! He’s not exactly secretive about them!

JOSEPH: I had two dreams. In the first dream, I was binding sheaves in the field with my brothers, and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright. My brothers’ sheaves gathered round it, and bowed down to my sheaf.

BLOGGER: And your second dream?

JOSEPH: In my second dream, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.

BLOGGER: Wow, those are some dreams!

JOSEPH: Yes.

BLOGGER: And what do you make of them? How do you interpret them?

JOSEPH: I don’t understand them, but it seems that the sheaves represent my brothers, and the eleven stars are my brothers bowing down to me.

BLOGGER: I see.

(Silence.)

BLOGGER: And I can see why your brothers might not like to hear about them.

JACOB: It’s just a dream! Everyone has dreams. You sleep, you dream. It’s okay. Why is there a problem?

LEVI: Of course, you wouldn’t see the problem with it! You always favour him!

JACOB: Silence! You are not to speak to me that way, son!

BLOGGER: Why did you tell your brothers about these dreams?

JOSEPH: I don’t know. I just did. I never had dreams like these.

BLOGGER: Have you had more dreams like that?

JOSEPH: No, it was just those two.

BLOGGER: And they are important to you?

JOSEPH: Yes.

BLOGGER: Why?

JOSEPH: I don’t know. They just felt different. They felt significant.

BLOGGER: A message from the Lord?

JOSEPH: I believe so, yes.

BLOGGER: How do you feel when you remember them? How do they make you feel?

JOSEPH: When I think upon them, I feel peaceful, even though I do not understand their meaning.

SIMEON: Peaceful!

LEVI: I can’t believe he says it so plainly.

REUBEN: He can’t help himself.

LEVI: Anyone who will listen to his dreams is his new friend.

JACOB: Silence! This is disgraceful! How can you speak this way about our Joseph?!

BLOGGER: It’s okay — we’ll move on. I think I understand better now. So it’s fair to say that when Joseph told you his dreams, you were not very pleased, because you felt like he was making up stories where he was superior? Am I right?

SIMEON: He has absolutely no business saying such things.

REUBEN: We are the elder brothers, and he needs to remember to be respectful.

JOSEPH: But how was I being disrespectful?

LEVI: You impudent thing! What right do you have to talk back like that?

SIMEON: He is getting a big head because our father favours him, and that’s really the true background here. So then it goes into his dreams.

LEVI: You think he actually had a dream like that?

SIMEON: Well, maybe, but I am not saying it means anything. It’s just because Father is always–

JACOB: What? What do I hear coming out of your mouth. What is this “Father always”?

SIMEON: I mean no offence. I am just explaining to the lady that maybe Joseph causes problems because you favour him.

JACOB: Favour him? Well, of course I favour him! He’s the son of my old age! Of course! He is all I have left from Rachel — along with Benjamin.

SIMEON (to Blogger): This is the problem behind the problem.

JACOB: What problem? Am I, as father, not allowed to love my own son? My own son, the child of my old age?

REUBEN (to Blogger): Have you noticed that Joseph is dressed more flamboyantly than the rest of us?

BLOGGER: Well, yes, I see that Joseph’s tunic is more elaborate than the ones everyone else is wearing.

JACOB: This is a beautiful coat I got him! It is beautiful! Most beautiful coat you can find!

BLOGGER: You purchased this coat for him?

JACOB: Yes!

BLOGGER: I am almost afraid of the answer, but I should ask: did you purchase such a coat for only Joseph?

JACOB: Yes!

BLOGGER: Not for any of your other sons?

JACOB: No, of course not! I can’t afford such coats for everyone! This is unique, and it was truly expensive!

BLOGGER: Okay. I think I might be seeing some of the problem here.

JACOB: I am not a poor man, but I can’t get coats like this for everyone! Why are you all looking at me like this? You need coats too?

BLOGGER: I think your sons feel that you love Joseph more than you love them. I think that’s part of the resentment.

JACOB: Resentment? What ‘resentment’? There is no resentment! Who has resentment?

SIMEON: And there’s something else.

BLOGGER: Other than the dreams and the coat?

SIMEON: Joseph is a tattle-taler.

BLOGGER: Meaning that he reports back to your father things that you don’t want him to report?

SIMEON: Exactly.

BLOGGER: Joseph?

JOSEPH: I have said only what is true.

BLOGGER: You have reported to your father the things that you have seen your brothers doing?

JACOB: See! You see how he honours me! I should know what happens under my own roof! I want to know — I have a right to know what happens on my own fields! Who will deny a father his right to know what his sons are doing to his name? I have a right to know!

BLOGGER: Okay, okay, so I think I’ve got it. Jacob, it seems that your sons believe that you love Joseph more than you love them.

JACOB: What? He is the son of my old age! The son of my Rachel! I break no laws! Tell me where it says that I cannot love him, my Joseph!

BLOGGER: Oh boy.

 

 

BLOGGER: Yes, please have a chair. Do we have enough seats for everyone? My, you’re probably the largest family I have had in the office for a while! Why don’t you introduce yourselves, and I’ll do my best to keep track. I am quite forgetful when it comes to names, so I’ll take some notes as we go along.

JACOB: I am Jacob, but you can also call me Israel. These are my sons. I have Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Here is Zebulun and Is’sahar. I have Dan and Gad, as well as Asher and Nephtali. And here are Joseph and Benjamin. Oh, and these are my wives. And this is my daughter, Dinah.

BLOGGER: Thank you for coming, everyone. So then, am I understanding the situation correctly: you don’t all have the same mother?

JACOB: It’s all the same father, that’s the main thing.

BLOGGER: Alright, but just to understand everything, I want to know how everyone is connected. How about this: I’ll ask the mothers to introduce themselves and tell me which sons are theirs? Would that work?

JACOB: I suppose it’s one method. You’re the expert.

BLOGGER: Okay, so why don’t we begin with the first wife?

LEAH: I am the first wife.

JACOB: But I got tricked into marrying her.

LEAH: He never loved me.

JACOB: I got tricked. I worked for him for seven years, and then he gave me the wrong girl!

LEAH: See? You can tell he doesn’t love me.

BLOGGER: Who gave you the wrong girl?

JACOB: Laban! Laban did this! I honoured my side of the agreement, and then he gives me his other daughter, the old one with the weak eyes. The wrong girl! I didn’t even realize it until it was too late! I couldn’t see until it was too late that it was this one beneath the veil, this one, instead of my Rachel. And besides, her attendant was the younger maid — who gives the younger maid to the older daughter? I was tricked! Afterwards he says, “But I could not give you my younger daughter in marriage first; it is not done!” So — would you believe? — Laban made me work for another seven years before I could have Rachel! Fourteen years I slaved!

LEAH: He never tried to love me. No matter how many sons I gave him, his heart never opened to me. If I were to give him one hundred sons, he still wouldn’t care for me! I can never be better than her! I can never win!

BLOGGER (addressing another woman): Are you Rachel?

ZILPAH: No, I’m Zilpah.

BLOGGER (addressing another woman): Are you Rachel?

BILHAH: No, I’m Bilhah.

BLOGGER: Where’s Rachel?

BILHAH: She’s dead.

LEAH: Dead.

JACOB: My Rachel!

BLOGGER: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.

(Silence)

BLOGGER: So we have 1 father and 4 mothers?

JACOB: Should be 4 mothers, but today, only 3 are here. The best one is gone!

BLOGGER (Looking sympathetically at Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah): Okay, so how did this work? Were you married to four women at once, or was divorce involved?

JACOB: Divorce! No! No divorce! Only 2 marriages. These (pointing to Bilhah and Zilpah) — no marriage.

BLOGGER: No marriage?

JACOB: No!

BLOGGER: But children?

JACOB: Yes!

BLOGGER: Hmm, okay. I thought you said these women were your “wives.” How about this: we’ll go back to the plan. Let each woman who is present name her sons. Okay?

LEAH & BILHAH & ZILPAH: Yes.

BLOGGER: Who will go first? Whose son is the eldest?

LEAH: Reuben. He is the eldest, first-born to Jacob. I prayed to the Lord, and he gave me son. I thought that my husband would love me if I had a son. I named him Reuben. I said, “the Lord has seen me suffering so much; now for sure Jacob will love me.” But did this work? No. Still he pined after Rachel!

JACOB: You complain so much, but I never asked for anyone other than Rachel. Blame your father! Blame his tricks. He changed my wages ten times! He demanded seven years for Rachel and seven years for you, and six years for the flocks. It is not my fault! My heart was true; I always loved Rachel and your father promised her to me!

LEAH: But you are not saying things correctly! You never made any room for me; you never gave me a chance! The Lord knows that I would be content with a scrap of your love, yet you give me nothing!

JACOB: I owed you nothing! Yet I still took care of you, gave you a home and food enough!

LEAH: Oh! How he talks like this to me!

BLOGGER: Yes, this is a difficult situation. He feels that he was tricked. And what about you? When your father substituted you for Rachel, what did you think? Did you agree?

LEAH: I was young. Jacob says that I was the “old one,” but twenty-three is not a grandmother! My father put pressure on me; he said nobody would want me because I was so old, and he said I wasn’t pretty, like Rachel. He said that he was rescuing me.

BLOGGER: So you knew that Jacob wanted Rachel?

LEAH: Of course! Everybody knew.

BLOGGER: So then, why did you agree?

LEAH: What choice do I have when I am in my father’s house? My father made it like this. It was not my idea. My mother also agreed.

BLOGGER: So it was a secret plan? Did Rachel know?

LEAH: Later she found out what we were planning, somehow. Perhaps one of the servants told her. She was furious — she was crying, and yelling at me, and almost at our father as well! But it wasn’t my fault!

BLOGGER: So the three of you — your father, your mother, and you — decided that you would be substituted for Rachel?

LEAH: Yes.

JACOB: Oh! The sorrow of it! The treachery! All of you! Your father should be grateful I didn’t murder you!

LEAH: Listen to him! He hates me!

JACOB: You are dramatic for nothing!

LEAH: Oh! You! You said you should have killed me! Who is dramatic? You are dramatic!

BLOGGER: Alright, alright. So let me take a guess, Leah. Were you, on some level, happy to take your sister’s place as the bride?

LEAH: Do I look happy? Who is happy with such a one as this?

BLOGGER: At the time of the wedding. At the time of the wedding, were you happy?

(Silence.)

LEAH: Nobody has ever asked me this.

BLOGGER: Were you happy to be marrying Jacob?

LEAH: I suppose I was. Yes, I was. I thought I would enjoy being his wife, and that eventually, he would be happy as well.

BLOGGER: You thought that he would grow to love you? You thought that you could take Rachel’s place?

(Silence.)

LEAH: Was she better than me? I bore him more children than she did! I could be just as good as Rachel.

JACOB: But you weren’t! You weren’t!

LEAH: Yes, I know that you think that, you crazy man! Don’t you think I know? I was never good enough for you!

BLOGGER: I suppose your happiness was short-lived, because as soon as he found out that you weren’t Rachel after the wedding, he became upset?

LEAH: The next morning, he was furious! As if I were nothing, as if I were worse than a dog, really!

BLOGGER: So it wasn’t a happy ending.

LEAH: No!

JACOB: No! It was terrible!

BLOGGER: Alright, let’s return to the sons. Who came after Reuben?

LEAH: After Reuben, I had another son. My second son I named Simeon, to mean, “The Lord knows that I am hated, so he gave me this son too.”

BLOGGER: And then?

LEAH: I had more sons. When I had my third son, Levi, I said, “Now this time my husband will join to me, for I have given him three sons.” And then I had another son. I said, “This time I praise the Lord,” and I named him Judah.

BLOGGER: And at some point here, because we must be about seven years along, he marries Rachel?

JACOB: Yes! Finally! I was Laban’s slave for fourteen years! He took advantage of me!

BLOGGER: What happened then?

LEAH: They married, but Rachel had no children! I had so many sons, but she had nothing. She envied me.

BILHAH: This is my part of the story, if you don’t mind, Leah. Let me explain. The situation was that when my mistress, Rachel, realized she could not have children with Jacob, she sent me in with him. She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. I can have children through her.”

BLOGGER: Wait, so you were the servant of Rachel, and she wanted you to conceive a child with her husband? You were helping her in this way?

BILHAH: Of course, yes.

BLOGGER: Oh my.

BILHAH: I had a son for Rachel, and she named him Dan.

BLOGGER: Was Rachel happy about that? The whole system, if I can call it that, sounds dreadful to me.

BILHAH: Of course she was glad! Because of me, she could provide Jacob with a son! She said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” And that is why she named him Dan.

BLOGGER: Then what happened?

BILHAH: Then I conceived again — another son for her. She said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have won!” That’s why she called him Nephtali.

LEAH: I will explain the next part.

BLOGGER: Alright, go ahead.

LEAH: When I found out Rachel’s way — to use her servant — I thought that two could play at that game! After all, I had a servant as well.

BLOGGER: And did it work?

LEAH: Of course it worked! I had son, who I named Gad, to mean “Good fortune!”

BLOGGER: Zilpah, that’s you?

ZILPAH: Yes, I’m Zilpah.

BLOGGER: You had this son, Gad, conceived with Jacob?

ZILPAH: Yes.

LEAH: And there was another one?

BLOGGER: Through Zilpah as well?

LEAH: Zilpah, yes.

BLOGGER: What was his name?

LEAH: Asher, because I said, “Happy am I! The women will call me happy!”

BLOGGER: Alright. Whew. So far, then, we have 8 sons. That is obviously not the end of the story, because there are 12 of you here today.

LEAH: When Rachel was hungry for mandrakes, she let me lie with Jacob. My son Reuben brought mandrakes to me, and Rachel wanted them. So I said, “You already took away my husband — now you want to take away my mandrakes too?” She said, “Then you can lie with Jacob tonight.” So I did, and I conceived another son. When he was born, I named him Is’sahar, to mean, “God has helped me because I gave my maid to my husband.”

BLOGGER: So you had five sons then?

LEAH: Six!

BLOGGER: Six!

LEAH: I named the sixth one “Zeb’ulun.” I said to myself, “God has given me a good dowry. Now my husband will honour me, because I have given him six sons!”

BLOGGER: That’s a lot of sons. No daughters?

LEAH: I had a daughter. This is Dinah.

BLOGGER: Hello, Dinah.

DINAH: Hello.

BLOGGER: Did Rachel have any children of her own?

JACOB: Of course she did! She gave me Joseph, and she gave me Benjamin.

BLOGGER: Okay.

JACOB: But she died when she was giving birth to Benjamin! She died too young! She left me alone!

BLOGGER: (thinking: “Yes, alone, except for the other three women and the twelve sons and one daughter.”)

JACOB: The love of my life.

BLOGGER: Yes.

JACOB: You know, I still think of her every day. Every day. Every day I think of my Rachel. I think: Rachel, you left me too soon. We had so little time together.

BLOGGER: Yes, I’m sorry that she died so young!

JACOB: Yes, so young!

BLOGGER: So who raised Joseph and Benjamin? Their mother was gone; were they raised by the other women?

ZILPAH: Mainly, it was me. I raised them.

LEAH: I helped too.

ZILPAH: No, not really.

LEAH: Yes, I did! Remember when you went away? You went to visit your mother. Who took care of them when you were gone?

ZILPAH: Alright, there was that time, but it was just the once.

LEAH: Ah! Who is forgetting now? You know how to show gratitude!

ZILPAH: I think I was their mother most of all.

LEAH: You remember things to match your taste.

ZILPAH: You are angry at the world!

LEAH: Oh! You scum! Do you see how she talks to me? This is a servant girl, yet dares say I am angry at the world!

JACOB: No, you are both wrong! You cannot say, “I am their mother” — to say this does not make it the truth. Blogger, I tell you: they had no mother! Their mother was in the ground! The only one they had was me: I was their father; I was their mother.

BLOGGER: Alright, so we will need to end today’s session soon. I will tell you my thoughts, as you have asked.

From what I’ve heard, there are a few layers of difficulty here.

I will address Leah first, because the first problems seem to stem from your rivalry with Rachel, which probably predated your wedding to Jacob. I don’t know if this rivalry went both ways, because Rachel isn’t here. It would be likely, though, that even if Rachel weren’t envious of you initially, she would have become so when you took her place. You had hoped, wrongly, that your marriage to Jacob would be a victory, but it was not, because it came about through deceit. You had hoped that Jacob and Rachel would forget about each other, but as we see even now, this is not how it turned out. Now I know that so many fathers viewed and treated their daughters as property, but you did not need to consent to your father’s plan. You consented because you saw the trickery as being to your advantage. You believed, as did your parents, that Jacob and Rachel would forget about each other, but they did not.

Their love was strong. It’s a beautiful love, and overcame the obstacles thrown in its path. Jacob, your enduring love for Rachel today is romantic in its way.

Nevertheless, you, Jacob, have not treated Leah fairly. Once she came under your protection as your first wife, you owed her more than shelter and food. You would have been given the grace from God to treat her kindly. She has experienced a great deal of sorrow, and it didn’t need to be this way. She is a daughter of God, and has a right to be treated with respect, consideration and love. This love need not even be romantic love. It can be the love of one human for another. There is always room in one’s heart for that type of love, and you would not be guilty of dishonouring the memory of Rachel by being kind to Leah. Moreover, as the mother of your sons, you owe her kindness. To treat the mother of your children poorly is a sign of barbarism.

With respect to the servants, Bilhah and Zilpah, you are, along with Leah, in an unfortunate situation which is a product of the types of unions which were accepted in your era. As best as you can, treat each other with compassion. Restrain your anger, because you have been bound together, and when you lash out at one another, you are only preparing future harm for yourself and your children.