Bible Says What?! ‘Jacob was a terrible father’
Rabbi Charley Baginsky looks into the Torah and picks out a controversial topic, giving a progressive response
Of all the Torah’s patriarchs and matriarchs, Jacob is the most difficult to see in a constantly positive light.
A brief summary of his life sees him usurping his brother’s birthright by tricking their dad, before going on to father children by four women and then favouring one of those sons so much that the other 11 sell him into slavery.
The fate that befalls Joseph is one of the starkest examples of the many sibling rivalries in the Bible, as he is thrown in a pit and then sold by his brothers, who subsequently tell Jacob he has been killed by a wild beast.
While the brother’s actions are obviously shocking, you again have to question the actions of Jacob – fresh from his betrayal of Esau.
Not only are his sons out of control, but the Torah tells us that a big part of their motivation was that “they saw that their father loved Joseph more than any of them”.
In the Torah, for once, there are happy endings all round.
Again cutting a long story short, Joseph forges his own identity, becomes Vizier (the second most powerful person in Egypt after Pharaoh) and is reconciled with his brothers and father. Jacob moves to Egypt, where he lives with all 12 children until he is the ripe old age of 147.
But what we can learn from Jacob’s parenting skills, or lack thereof? As practically a single father of 12, the Torah gives no indication of Jacob ever chatting through his problems with other people. Maybe this was his biggest mistake.
In 2019, with isolation becoming a real issue for people of all ages, community is more important than ever. Receiving support and comfort from those in a similar position to ourselves is vital to stop us repeating the same mistakes of our most flawed patriarch.
Rabbi Charley Baginsky is Liberal Judaism’s director of strategy and partnerships
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
