Miketz: Extra

Our parsha, like last week’s, opens with two dreams. This time, the dreamer is Paroh. He dreams first of seven healthy, nourished cows emerging from the Nile river, who are then swallowed up by seven emaciated cows which also come out of the water. Next, the dream repeats, but this time it is seven lush ears of grain swallowed up by seven desiccated ears. 

Mystified by these images, Paroh seeks interpretation. His Minister of Beverages (Rabbi Dr. Bonna Devora Haberman’s completely delightful translation of “sar hamashkim”), who had been with our protagonist Yosef in jail, remembers his cellmate’s talent for dream explication, and Yosef is summoned. Paroh recounts his dreams to Yosef, and Yosef immediately makes meaning of them. Yosef says: 

וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל־פַּרְעֹה חֲלוֹם פַּרְעֹה אֶחָד הוּא אֵת אֲשֶׁר הָאֱלֹהִים עֹשֶׂה הִגִּיד לְפַרְעֹה׃

שֶׁבַע פָּרֹת הַטֹּבֹת שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים הֵנָּה וְשֶׁבַע הַשִּׁבֳּלִים הַטֹּבֹת שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים הֵנָּה חֲלוֹם אֶחָד הוּא׃

וְשֶׁבַע הַפָּרוֹת הָרַקּוֹת וְהָרָעֹת הָעֹלֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶן שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים הֵנָּה וְשֶׁבַע הַשִּׁבֳּלִים הָרֵקוֹת שְׁדֻפוֹת הַקָּדִים יִהְיוּ שֶׁבַע שְׁנֵי רָעָב׃

הוּא הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֶל־פַּרְעֹה אֲשֶׁר הָאֱלֹהִים עֹשֶׂה הֶרְאָה אֶת־פַּרְעֹה׃

הִנֵּה שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים בָּאוֹת שָׂבָע גָּדוֹל בְּכׇל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃

וְקָמוּ שֶׁבַע שְׁנֵי רָעָב אַחֲרֵיהֶן וְנִשְׁכַּח כׇּל־הַשָּׂבָע בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְכִלָּה הָרָעָב אֶת־הָאָרֶץ׃

וְלֹא־יִוָּדַע הַשָּׂבָע בָּאָרֶץ מִפְּנֵי הָרָעָב הַהוּא אַחֲרֵי־כֵן כִּי־כָבֵד הוּא מְאֹד׃

וְעַל הִשָּׁנוֹת הַחֲלוֹם אֶל־פַּרְעֹה פַּעֲמָיִם כִּי־נָכוֹן הַדָּבָר מֵעִם הָאֱלֹהִים וּמְמַהֵר הָאֱלֹהִים לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ׃

וְעַתָּה יֵרֶא פַרְעֹה אִישׁ נָבוֹן וְחָכָם וִישִׁיתֵהוּ עַל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃

יַעֲשֶׂה פַרְעֹה וְיַפְקֵד פְּקִדִים עַל־הָאָרֶץ וְחִמֵּשׁ אֶת־אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בְּשֶׁבַע שְׁנֵי הַשָּׂבָע׃

וְיִקְבְּצוּ אֶת־כׇּל־אֹכֶל הַשָּׁנִים הַטֹּבוֹת הַבָּאֹת הָאֵלֶּה וְיִצְבְּרוּ־בָר תַּחַת יַד־פַּרְעֹה אֹכֶל בֶּעָרִים וְשָׁמָרוּ׃

וְהָיָה הָאֹכֶל לְפִקָּדוֹן לָאָרֶץ לְשֶׁבַע שְׁנֵי הָרָעָב אֲשֶׁר תִּהְיֶיןָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְלֹא־תִכָּרֵת הָאָרֶץ בָּרָעָב׃

וַיִּיטַב הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי פַרְעֹה וּבְעֵינֵי כׇּל־עֲבָדָיו׃ 

And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same: Pharaoh has been told what God is about to do.The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears are seven years; it is the same dream.The seven lean and ugly cows that followed are seven years, as are also the seven empty ears scorched by the east wind; they are seven years of famine. It is just as I have told Pharaoh: Pharaoh has been shown what God is about to do.

Immediately ahead are seven years of great abundance in all the land of Egypt.After them will come seven years of famine, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. As the land is ravaged by famine, no trace of the abundance will be left in the land because of the famine thereafter, for it will be very severe. As for Pharaoh having had the same dream twice, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and that God will soon carry it out.

Accordingly, let Pharaoh find someone who’s discerning and wise, whom you can set over the land of Egypt. And let Pharaoh take steps to appoint overseers over the land, and organize the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty. Let all the food of these good years that are coming be gathered, and let the grain be collected under Pharaoh’s authority as food to be stored in the cities. Let that food be a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will come upon the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish in the famine.” The plan pleased Pharaoh and all his courtiers.

(Miketz 41:25-37)

Yosef tells Paroh that his dreams represent Egypt’s agricultural fortunes: there will be seven years of plenty that are then “swallowed up” by seven years of famine. But Yosef does not stop with this offer of interpretation — he adds on advice for how to cope with this rocky future. 

Rabbi Dr. Bonna Devora Haberman z”l explains Yosef’s proposed (and subsequently adopted) response to the forthcoming famine as an oppressive one. She writes that Yosef

suggests consolidating all of the wealth "under the hand of Pharaoh." He advocates for a hierarchy of overseers who systematically collect and store the grain centrally. When the Egyptians are desperate for food, they end up selling their animals, their land, and ultimately, themselves into destitute slavery to Pharaoh…

Yosef's dream interpretations culminate in the institution of oppression; he lays the foundation for the enslavement of the Egyptians that ensues. Later, another Pharaoh will use the excessive power that Yosef had consolidated in the office of the king to enslave the Israelites.

Drawing on Rabbinic traditions, Rabbi Dr. Haberman sees Yosef as creating oppressive hierarchies where he could have instead advocated a system that provided for all. She suggests that “Perhaps Yosef's ideas about power and authority are rooted in his experience of jealousy and betrayal by his brothers and by Potiphar's spouse, enslavement, and imprisonment.Based on the abuses he has suffered, Yosef conceives political and economic arrangements that deprive people of the dignity of their livelihood and any morsel of autonomy.”

What was it, though, that pushed Yosef to build a hierarchical economy structured around scarcity rather than abundance? Rabbi Dr. Haberman compellingly claims that Yosef, “who has been ‘feminized’ in some respects, dressed up, then mocked, stripped, and imprisoned is promoted from powerlessness to extreme power. He takes with him and implements the abuse and punishment that he suffered at the hands of those who ought to have cared for him.” In other words, Yosef is visiting the oppressions he has experienced upon others. 

The very very wonderful Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, in her piece “(Gender)queering Joseph” (subscribe to her Substack!), discusses Yosef’s femininity – which Haberman reads as being disempowering – as a key part of who he is. She says”

So yeah, Jacob gave Joseph a stripey princess tunic, or perhaps a princess dress, which it seems he wore, happily…Anyway, Joseph is pretty AF, and, like Rachel and the others here, has a hot bod.  And, notably, he is the only even remotely male-coded character in the Bible to be described in these terms.  

In any case, we could also read this story optimistically, as a story of good parenting.  As a story of Jacob, who saw Joseph for who he was—whether because of something that happened before he was born, or just something about the particular quirks of who he was, he was the kind of kid who would be delighted to receive a princess gown.  And so Jacob made sure that Joseph had one, and Joseph reveled in it.  

In Rabbi Ruttenberg’s joyful vision, Yosef revels in his femininity, and his experience of gender – or genderqueerness, or queerness – is one of delight. But as queer people know, the euphoria that comes from leaning into experiences of rightness around gender can come with risks. And we see one such risk in how Yosef is treated by Potiphar’s wife in last week’s parsha.

(The next few paragraphs discuss attempted sexual assault – feel free to skip until the section beginning“Is it any wonder”!)

Enslaved in Potiphar’s house after he has been sold by his brothers, Yosef is vulnerable. The pesukim tell us:

וַיְהִי אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַתִּשָּׂא אֵשֶׁת־אֲדֹנָיו אֶת־עֵינֶיהָ אֶל־יוֹסֵף וַתֹּאמֶר שִׁכְבָה עִמִּי׃

וַיְמָאֵן  וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־אֵשֶׁת אֲדֹנָיו הֵן אֲדֹנִי לֹא־יָדַע אִתִּי מַה־בַּבָּיִת וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יֶשׁ־לוֹ נָתַן בְּיָדִי׃

אֵינֶנּוּ גָדוֹל בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה מִמֶּנִּי וְלֹא־חָשַׂךְ מִמֶּנִּי מְאוּמָה כִּי אִם־אוֹתָךְ בַּאֲשֶׁר אַתְּ־אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵיךְ אֶעֱשֶׂה הָרָעָה הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְחָטָאתִי לֵאלֹהִים׃

וַיְהִי כְּדַבְּרָהּ אֶל־יוֹסֵף יוֹם  יוֹם וְלֹא־שָׁמַע אֵלֶיהָ לִשְׁכַּב אֶצְלָהּ לִהְיוֹת עִמָּהּ׃

וַיְהִי כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וַיָּבֹא הַבַּיְתָה לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלַאכְתּוֹ וְאֵין אִישׁ מֵאַנְשֵׁי הַבַּיִת שָׁם בַּבָּיִת׃

וַתִּתְפְּשֵׂהוּ בְּבִגְדוֹ לֵאמֹר שִׁכְבָה עִמִּי וַיַּעֲזֹב בִּגְדוֹ בְּיָדָהּ וַיָּנׇס וַיֵּצֵא הַחוּצָה׃

וַיְהִי כִּרְאוֹתָהּ כִּי־עָזַב בִּגְדוֹ בְּיָדָהּ וַיָּנׇס הַחוּצָה׃

וַתִּקְרָא לְאַנְשֵׁי בֵיתָהּ וַתֹּאמֶר לָהֶם לֵאמֹר רְאוּ הֵבִיא לָנוּ אִישׁ עִבְרִי לְצַחֶק בָּנוּ בָּא אֵלַי לִשְׁכַּב עִמִּי וָאֶקְרָא בְּקוֹל גָּדוֹל׃

וַיְהִי כְשׇׁמְעוֹ כִּי־הֲרִימֹתִי קוֹלִי וָאֶקְרָא וַיַּעֲזֹב בִּגְדוֹ אֶצְלִי וַיָּנׇס וַיֵּצֵא הַחוּצָה׃

After a time, his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”But he refused. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master gives no thought to anything in this house, and all that he owns he has placed in my hands. He wields no more authority in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except yourself, since you are his wife. How then could I do this most wicked thing, and sin before God?” And much as she coaxed Joseph day after day, he did not yield to her request to lie beside her, to be with her. One such day, he came into the house to do his work. None of the household being there inside, she caught hold of him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and got away and fled outside. When she saw that he had left it in her hand and had fled outside, she called out to her servants and said to them, “Look, he had to bring us a Hebrew to dally with us! This one came to lie with me; but I screamed loud. And when he heard me screaming at the top of my voice, he left his garment with me and got away and fled outside.”

(Vayeishev 39:7-15)

When we read Yosef as queer or trans, the coercive attempts at sex by his enslaver take on an even grimmer tone. The anger of Potiphar’s wife at Yosef’s rejection resonates with uncomfortable strength alongside the history of threatened and actualized “corrective” rape. And Potiphar’s wife’s lie that Yosef attempted to assault her rings with the discourses of predatory queer people that are all too alive in our current political world. 

In response to Yosef’s resistance to Potiphar’s wife’s sexual coercion, he is imprisoned. His enslavers bring the full force of the carceral state down on Yosef, and he loses the bare minimum of safety and protection he has previously possessed. 

Is it any wonder, then, that when Yosef is brought out of imprisonment that he seeks the safety of power backed up by money? He has learned that in his queer glory, he is too vulnerable to the mere favor of others, which can turn quickly. He must gain power that is his, that cannot be yanked away in mere seconds. 

The irony is, of course, that the system of enslavement that Yosef’s policies inaugurate is later used to yank away the safety of the rest of his family as they are enslaved in Egypt. 

When we are faced with violence coming from those with power, it can feel like our only option is to seek power ourselves, to compete and protect ourselves. And it can even work, in the short term. And we owe ourselves the protections we can scrape up from our non-ideal world; it’s not our obligation to suffer. 

But as we contemplate how to best keep ourselves safe, we must remember that there are other options. R. Ruttenberg, in her essay, points out that Yosef’s very name tells us more about him: 

As for his name—Joseph—well, Genesis 30:24 tells us that Rachel named him with the intention of saying, “may God add another son for me,” but it more literally means, “will add,” and kind of has that connotation of, “This kid is a lot,” or maybe just, “Extra.”  Goes with the striped gown and the elaborate stories about dreams, maybe. 

Yosef is “extra” in his very identity. That is a trait that in his own life drew predation and danger. Gender transgression and femininity both invite harassment in a patriarchal and transphobic system. But in looking out at the options he might have had to build something new, he could have drawn out his very extra-ness. What if he had built a new economic system based on the idea of his name, of abundance?

To read Yosef as a queer ancestor is to see him struggle to find peace and safety in a world of danger. But it is also to see the hints of an alternative world, one where there is “extra” for everyone – where instead of hoarding and scarcity, there is overflowing delight. Instead of a world of seeking power so that we can gain the barest safety, a world of sharing nourishment and thriving.

This is I think the third one of these I have sent out while on an Amtrak. What does it take for a girl to get a sponsorship!!