Parashat vaYeshev, Genesis 37:1–40:23 

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens . . . (Gen. 2:4) 

From generation to generation, we shall tell of your greatness; forever and ever, we shall declare your holiness. (Conclusion of the Kedushah prayer of the Siddur)

Generations—tol’dot in Hebrew—appears as a key word throughout the book of Genesis. In the second chapter (v. 4), the word summarizes the entire creative process that is pictured in Genesis 1, and introduces the more concrete and earthy portrayal of Genesis 2. In the following chapters, the formula “these are the generations”—eleh tol’dot—will appear ten more times to introduce the nations of humankind, and especially the descendants of Abraham.

The term tol’dot frames the whole drama of Genesis. The Lord seeks to establish a godly line of humankind that will follow in his ways and preserve the knowledge of him from generation to generation. But this desire encounters repeated opposition as humans rebel against, or simply ignore, the divine will. Genesis portrays a contest for generational continuity, and nowhere is this contest more evident than in the story of Joseph, which begins with the final occurrence of the phrase, eleh tol’dot:  

These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. (Gen. 37:2) 

The text says, “These are the generations of Jacob,” and immediately moves on to focus on Joseph, designated by Jacob as the heir apparent. Reuben, who had the right of inheritance as the firstborn, had already disqualified himself when he “went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine” (Gen. 35:22). Simeon and Levi, next in line, proved their unworthiness by their violent and treacherous behavior toward Shechem (Gen. 34; 49:5). Later in this parashah, the action will shift to Judah, who follows Simeon and Levi in birth order. Will he prove himself worthy to be Jacob’s heir? The choice between Joseph and Judah will not be resolved until the end of Genesis, and will indeed play out in biblical history far beyond that point. But for now, the focus is on Joseph.

Throughout Genesis, God is calling forth a human line that will truly represent him and be his partner on the way from Creation to completion. In his infinite wisdom, God decides that the roadmap for this journey must pass from generation to generation in one extended family. He favors Abraham because he has proven faithful in this task of generational transmission:  

Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him. (Gen. 18:17–19) 

Likewise, in Exodus, the Lord says to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt . . . that you may know that I am the Lord” (Exod. 10:1–2).

God’s strategy of self-revelation, which is central to the whole biblical narrative, moves forward on one-by-one telling—“that you may tell your son and your son’s son.” When we tell our children, or any younger generation, about what God has done, we too have a share in declaring his name, that is, his reputation and glory, to those around us.

Because this generation-to-generation transmission is essential to God’s plan, it entails a battle, the contest for continuity. At the beginning of Joseph’s story, his brothers threaten his life. They spare him, but then the life of his whole generation is threatened by famine. Joseph must pass through many trials—rejection, slavery, imprisonment—as well as unparalleled success, before he establishes a new generation of his own. He endures all to ensure the survival of the next generation. In his own estimation, this is a battle well worth fighting, as he will tell his brothers at the end of the story. “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones” (Gen. 50:20–21).

It is a contest for the Lord, through Joseph, “to save many people alive.” In the same way, there is a contest today to preserve the next generation. It is bad enough (from the standpoint of those who oppose God) for a few individuals to have an encounter with God, but a multi-generation movement for Yeshua—never! Anyone seeking to raise a family in the 21^st century knows this contest for continuity firsthand.

In this struggle, we pass on not only the remembrance of events, but an immediate and intimate knowledge of the Lord, as Moses said, “What he did for me.” God desires that through our story, a new generation “may know that I am the Lord” (Exod. 10:2b).

The God revealed in Torah, who moves and acts redemptively on the stage of history, has most fully revealed himself in Yeshua the Messiah. He now moves and acts redemptively in our lives. We pass his legacy on by displaying “what the Lord did for me . . .” concretely in the way we behave, the way we speak, and the way we treat each other.  

For the journey: How can I display “what the Lord did for me” through Messiah Yeshua in my life? What am I doing to pass that story on to the next generation?

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Russ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

from Creation to Completion: A Guide to Life’s Journey through the Five Books of Moses, available at www.messianicjewish.net.