At the conclusion of the book of בראשית, we can sum up most of the book as conflict within families; with a focus on the struggles of jealousy between siblings that was usually caused by parents or even in some cases, even God himself(Cain and Abel).
As a sidebar to this discussion, it is interesting, that even within creation itself we find the seventh day being chosen over the other days, with it being considered holy(separate).The midrash also tried to insert conflict into creation itself, with the quarrel between the sun and the jealous moon (see the full story/midrash in chulin 60b).
What's very unique about the book of Bereishit, is the lack of any strong criticism, whether it be positive or negative, as it regards most of its sibling rivalry. Even with Cain and Abel, the Torah spends more time dealing with the lying of Cain and his internal fears/ conflicts vs the criticism of the first act of homicide. In fact, the punishment of Cain, seems mild compared to the act( to sum up his punishment-you will no longer find success in farming...).
With the conflict between Sarah, Ishmael and Issac, we do have one of the very few comments from God; with his telling Abraham to listen to his wife's demand, that he send Ishmael and his mother Hagar away. In fact, God tells Abraham that Issac is the chosen one of all his children.
From this point on, we have the story of Issac and Jacob trying to imitate their father/grandfather Abraham, by choosing one son over the other/s. The Torah and God are completely silent as the stories with its accompanying tragedies take place. Whether it's Esav that is cast out or the exile of Israel and his family, there is only silence. We do see negative consequences of all the deceiving and manipulating that takes place, as a result of nepotism towards one child over the other/s. We see the pain that it causes the parents and siblings but as far as any type of criticism, there is just silence...
Even more disturbing, is that after all the travails that Yaakov has experienced as a result of fighting Esav and showing favoritism to Joseph over his brothers; he now chooses Joseph's children over the rest of his children. Even within this favoritism, he again chooses one son over the other(Ephraim over Menashe)!
The Ralbag comments/questions, that the blessing of Yaakov to Yosef, that he will have an extra share in the land of Israel as a result
his sons, Ephraim and Menashe being counted as tribes, is puzzling. When the land of Israel was finally divided, it was based on the population of each tribe. The larger tribes got bigger pieces of land, while smaller tribes got less. It really made no difference, if Joseph's sons were counted as separate tribes, as it regards the division of the land.
At the end of the day, do these berachot even matter? Besides the beracha that one says over his children of ישימך אלהים כאפרים וכמנשה) which is probably insulting, since most of us are probably remnants of Judah and Levi); what advantages did these berachot bring? We know Yaakov had a problem with Simeon and Levi, and yet the very stories that we are reading, are from the Torah that was given to us by a decendant of Levi! You may want to argue, that Joshua, who is a descendant from Joseph/Ephraim brought us into the land of Israel, but that is still very small in comparison to the contributions of Judah and Levi.
In fact, we have lots of failings from the tribe of Joseph. Saul, the first king was not only a failure but also a total disaster. He was a one term king with no chance of the eternity of his kingdom. Instead Judah/David became the chosen one for eternal rulership. Even when king Shlomo sinned and as a result, his kingdom was divided by Yerovam(from Ephraim), with his taking over rulership of the ten tribes; this too was very short lived. In fact, Yerovam led the ten tribes into idolatry and eventual doom and destruction. Most of the kings after him were not even from Joseph. In fact, as a result of Joseph/Yerovam, there are no longer ten tribes in existence. Maybe this destruction of the ten tribes via exile/assimilation is the tikkun or teshuva of the entire chumash of bereishit...
It seems to me, that the lesson of Chumash Bereishit, is the danger of division and infighting that rips the Jewish people apart from not only themselves but also their land. Maybe the creation of the world and the creation of our nation, have a common denominator; that division that is not based on serving God, will only lead to destruction. Just like the moon was made smaller as a result of its jealousy of the sun(midrash), so too, we as a nation are made smaller as a result of favoritism and jealousy. Some events that come to mind are, should some of us risk our lives and the lives of our parents and children by fighting, while the rest of us study within the safety of the confines of the bet midrash? Should we look at those of us that are less religious in practice as inferior to those of us that are shomer shabbat? When we oppress the wannabee convert or the poor and disadvantaged, while we adhere to the most extreme kashrut chumrot, are we really closer to God? By saying tehillim as a mantra or magical challah bakes, are we contributing to our brothers on the front line? When we support leaders that insult and curse our country and its children that are risking their lives, are we acting in the ways of God?
Something to think about with all that has happened to us with the current events...
