Tag Archives: Parasha

The title of this week’s parashah describes Jacob returning to Canaan with his family. Jacob, was the father of 12 sons and one daughter. This week’s Torah reading exposes the dynamics between Jacob’s children. Ten of Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. The jealousy led them to sell Joseph to itinerant traders on their way to Egypt. The haftarah, from the Book of Amos, touches on elements of unrighteous behaviour- like selling someone.

The prophet Amos was a herdsman and farmer. He taught that if the members of society are not good to each other, the society will crumble. The Kingdom of Judaea was experiencing a period of affluence. The rich were selfish and unrighteous, and there was a significant economic gap between the rich and the poor.

Amos begins this haftarah by saying, “… they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes…And a man and his father go unto the same maid to profane My holy name”.  Both phrases reflect the parashah. “The man and his father going to the same maid ” reminds us how Yehuda was unfair to Tamar, his daughter-in-law. The first phrase, “they sell the righteous for silver…” describes the brothers selling Joseph to Ishmaelite traders for 20 shekels of silver.

The illustration above is based on a painting in the Sarajevo Haggadah from 1350 Spain. We see the brothers exchanging money with Ishmaelite traders. The brothers are depicted as  Spanish merchants with fair skin and light hair wearing typical clothing of the period. The traders are black, with dark skin and curly black hair.  Joseph, portrayed as a young boy, stands with the foreign traders, begging his brothers to take him back. Camels carry the merchants’ goods.

 This image tells us that the Spanish Jews traded with black merchants traveling from North Africa. It tells us about the clothing of the time and the art produced for the Jewish community. We also learn that today we use the same haggadah that Jews used in medieval Spain and that Pesach was so important that someone commissioned a handwritten, illustrated book to be used at their seder.

Amos’s words and the story of Joseph’s sale were viciously used in history by Roman judges under the emperor Hadrian about 120 CE.  On Yom Kippur, we read about ten righteous Rabbis who were martyred. The Roman judges quoted a law which stated, “Whoever kidnaps a man and sells him, or if the man is found in his possession, must be put to death.” They used Amos, Devarim 24:7,  and the story of Joseph as an excuse to torture the ten Rabbis.

The story of Joseph took place about 3,500 years ago. Amos’s words in the haftarah, the sin of “selling your brother,” are from around 2,800 years ago. That quote was abused by Roman tyrants 1900 years ago. And then we move to the beautiful Sarajevo Haggadah from 660 years ago, replete with Jewish cultural history. Amos’s message comes through- do not sell your brother. Tragedy will unfold if you don’t treat your family and society with respect and understanding. This is the line through history.

One of the goals in creating my haftarah art pieces is to forge a connection between text, art, and Jewish history. Tanach is alive. Although time continues to pass, we can still learn from our history and know that we are living the history.

Shabbat Shalom, with prayers for the return of all our hostages and a lasting peace. A peace where Am Yisrael lives in unity and safety.

Laya Crust

“ILLUMINATIONS, An Exploration of Haftarah through Art and History” is a collection of all the haftarah pictures you have seen on my blog. The book boasts 82 full-colour pictures. A rich commentary accompanies each painting. To order a book or a haftarah print, go to https://www.haftarah-illuminations.ca/

I painted the picture you see here as part of a collection of pieces for a sefer haHaftarah- a haftarah scroll. You have seen many of these images over the years if you have been following my blog. I’m excited to announce that a collection of these paintings and their explanations will be published in a book called “ILLUMINATIONS, An Exploration of Haftarah through Art and History”. I will share more information about the book in the coming weeks.

The last number of weeks the Torah readings have been about the families of our forefathers and mothers. Abraham and Sarah’s grandson, Jacob, was the father of 12 sons and one daughter. This week’s Torah reading exposes the dynamics between Jacob’s children.

This illustration is based on a painting in the Sarajevo Haggadah from 1350 Spain.  I’m going to take you on a time traveler’s tour using this image from Sarajevo Haggadah from 1350 Spain. I’ll touch on the haftarah, the Torah reading, Roman persecution of the Jews, and the culture revealed in the Sarajevo Haggadah.

The haftarah is from the Book of Amos. The prophet Amos was a herdsman and farmer. He taught that if the members of society are not good to each other the society crumbles. The Kingdom of Judaea was experiencing a period of affluence. The rich were selfish and unrighteous, and there was a large economic gap between the rich and the poor.

Amos begins this haftarah by saying “… they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes…And a man and his father go unto the same maid to profane My holy name”.  Both phrases reflect the parashah. “The man and his father going to the same maid ” reminds us how Yehuda was unfair to Tamar, his daughter-in-law. The first phrase “they sell the righteous for silver…” describes the brothers selling Joseph to Ishmaelite traders for 20 shekels of silver.

The Sarajevo Haggadah has a wonderful rendering of the scene. We see the brothers exchanging money with Ishmaelite traders. The brothers are depicted as  Spanish merchants with fair skin and light hair wearing typical clothing of the period. Look at the traders- they are black, with dark skin, curly black hair, and black features.  Joseph stands with the foreign traders. He’s portrayed as a little boy, his hands held together, begging his brothers to take him back. And we see the camels carrying the merchants’ goods.

 This image tells us that the Spanish Jews traded with black merchants traveling from North Africa. It tells us about the clothing of the time and the art produced for the Jewish community. We also learn that today we use the same haggadah that Jews used in medieval Spain and that Pesach was so important that someone commissioned a handwritten, illustrated book to be used at their seder.

This scene reflects the first phrases of the haftarah and takes us to how the story of Joseph’s sale was viciously used in history.  On Yom Kippur, we read about ten righteous Rabbis who were martyred by the Romans under the emperor Hadrian about 120 CE. The Roman judges quoted a law which stated, “Whoever kidnaps a man and sells him, or if the man is found in his possession, must be put to death”. They used Amos, Devarim 24:7,  and the story of Joseph as an excuse to torture the ten Rabbis.

The story of Joseph took place about 3,500 years ago. Amos’s words in the haftarah, the sin of “selling your brother” are from around 2,800 years ago, That quote reminds us of the Roman tyrants 1900 years ago. And then we move to the beautiful Sarajevo Haggadah from 660 years ago, replete with Jewish cultural history. Amos’s message comes through- do not sell your brother. If you don’t treat your family and society with respect and understanding, tragedy will unfold. This is the line through history.

One of the goals in creating my haftarah art pieces is to communicate the theme of the haftarah, relate it to the parashah, integrate Jewish history, and forge a connection between the viewer and our Jewish past. In that way we can remember that the Tanach is alive. Although time continues to pass we can still learn from our history and that in truth we are living the history.

So, I hope you are enjoying my posts. Please always feel free to comment. Pass the posting to your friends. If you like my blog sign up and “Follow” me. You will receive an update by e-mail.

Shabbat Shalom, with prayers for peace, understanding. Respectful communication is a path to healing.

Laya Crust