Vayeishev

Genesis 37:1−40:23

God’s Presence Can Be a Wondrous Thing

By Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff, Reprinted from ReformJudaism.org

When I was a young rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College, I served a small Reform congregation in Fairmont, West Virginia. After Shabbat dinner at the home of a dedicated member (they were all dedicated in Fairmont!), I walked to synagogue with my host. On the way, I naively observed, "Since you go to shul every Shabbat, you must have a strong faith in God." His response surprised me: "Truthfully, I have little faith. I don't go to temple to be with God; I go to be with other Jews."

If I were to share that story with an evangelical Christian, she might not get it. Most evangelicals go to church to be with God (and with their friends, as well). The difference has to do, in part, with Jews being a minority. Especially in small communities, we feel a strong need to be with other Jews. But fundamentally, being Jewish often is not about God. It is frequently about Israel, values, social justice, ethnic bonds, customs, rituals, and preserving those traditions from generation to generation.

I meet many liberal Jews--Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, or agnostic--who tell me that they envy the strong faith of Evangelicals, Orthodox Jews, and others. They wonder why we don't have more God-talk. They wish they could feel the Presence of God more intensely in their lives. They long for just a fraction of the faith that some of their neighbors have.

In Parashat Vayeishev, we read that when Joseph was in Egypt, "the Eternal was with Joseph." Moreover, his master, Potiphar, Captain of Pharaoh's Guard, "saw that the Eternal was with him" (Genesis 39:2-3).

What does it mean "to be with God"? How did Joseph get to be with God? Did he pray three times a day or feel confident that God would protect him? What would it take for you and me to "be with God"? Let's consider how our tradition might respond to these questions.

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