Protecting the Widow, Orphan & Stranger: The Judah Story as Origin
And how Harry Potter & Disney references showcase it
Those of you who have read Harry Potter are familiar with ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard.’
One of the tales concerns the deathly hallows. Much has been made of comparing this tale to the story of Judah in this week’s parsha. This is because Judah offers, as security, his cloak, ring and staff- which parallels the cloak of invisibility, the resurrection stone and the elder wand.
But I want to suggest there’s a different aspect of the story of the Deathly Hallows that appears within ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ that mirrors Judah. And that is the fact that this narrative, a seeming fairy tale, actually provides the origin story of some of the world’s most powerful artifacts. Similarly, the story of Judah provides, in narrative form, the true origin story of one of the most important mitzvot in the Torah- protecting the vulnerable.
Here are but a few examples of where this mitzvah comes up.
וְגֵ֥ר לֹא־תוֹנֶ֖ה וְלֹ֣א תִלְחָצֶ֑נּוּ כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
כׇּל־אַלְמָנָ֥ה וְיָת֖וֹם לֹ֥א תְעַנּֽוּן׃ You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan [an orphan is defined as losing either one parent or both parents];.
אִם־עַנֵּ֥ה תְעַנֶּ֖ה אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י אִם־צָעֹ֤ק יִצְעַק֙ אֵלַ֔י שָׁמֹ֥עַ אֶשְׁמַ֖ע צַעֲקָתֽוֹ׃ If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me,
וְחָרָ֣ה אַפִּ֔י וְהָרַגְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם בֶּחָ֑רֶב וְהָי֤וּ נְשֵׁיכֶם֙ אַלְמָנ֔וֹת וּבְנֵיכֶ֖ם יְתֹמִֽים׃ {פ}
and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans.
and also
עֹשֶׂ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט יָת֖וֹם וְאַלְמָנָ֑ה וְאֹהֵ֣ב גֵּ֔ר לָ֥תֶת ל֖וֹ לֶ֥חֶם וְשִׂמְלָֽה׃
[God] upholds the cause of the orphan and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing him with food and clothing.—
and also
לֹ֣א תַטֶּ֔ה מִשְׁפַּ֖ט גֵּ֣ר יָת֑וֹם וְלֹ֣א תַחֲבֹ֔ל בֶּ֖גֶד אַלְמָנָֽה׃
You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the orphan; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pawn.
You get the picture. The Talmud says we are commanded to welcome the stranger 36 times throughout the Torah. So where does all this come from? Why is this so important?
I would like to suggest that we see exactly how important this is by following the story of Judah- the man who initially gets all of this wrong.
Let’s begin with Joseph.
Joseph is an orphan. You may be surprised by this because you might have been taught to define an orphan as one who has lost both of his parents. However, the Hebrew word in the Tanakh for orphan, yatom, refers to someone who has lost either parent. As we see, Joseph has lost his mother.
וַיִּסְעוּ֙ מִבֵּ֣ית אֵ֔ל וַֽיְהִי־ע֥וֹד כִּבְרַת־הָאָ֖רֶץ לָב֣וֹא אֶפְרָ֑תָה וַתֵּ֥לֶד רָחֵ֖ל וַתְּקַ֥שׁ בְּלִדְתָּֽהּ׃
They set out from Bethel; but when they were still some distance short of Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had hard labor.
וַיְהִ֥י בְהַקְשֹׁתָ֖הּ בְּלִדְתָּ֑הּ וַתֹּ֨אמֶר לָ֤הּ הַמְיַלֶּ֙דֶת֙ אַל־תִּ֣ירְאִ֔י כִּֽי־גַם־זֶ֥ה לָ֖ךְ בֵּֽן׃
When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Have no fear, for it is another boy for you.”
וַיְהִ֞י בְּצֵ֤את נַפְשָׁהּ֙ כִּ֣י מֵ֔תָה וַתִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ בֶּן־אוֹנִ֑י וְאָבִ֖יו קָֽרָא־ל֥וֹ בִנְיָמִֽין׃
But as she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni;dUnderstood as “son of my suffering (or, strength).” but his father called him Benjamin.eI.e., “son of the right hand,” or “son of the south.”
וַתָּ֖מׇת רָחֵ֑ל וַתִּקָּבֵר֙ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ אֶפְרָ֔תָה הִ֖וא בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם׃
Thus Rachel died. She was buried on the road to Ephrath—now Bethlehem.
וַיַּצֵּ֧ב יַעֲקֹ֛ב מַצֵּבָ֖ה עַל־קְבֻרָתָ֑הּ הִ֛וא מַצֶּ֥בֶת קְבֻֽרַת־רָחֵ֖ל עַד־הַיּֽוֹם׃
Over her grave Jacob set up a pillar; it is the pillar at Rachel’s grave to this day.
Even though Joseph still has his father, and his father loves him very much, the loss of his mother is pivotal. Similar to almost every Disney movie, the dead mom effect leaves him unprotected, and in effect opens him up to everything else going badly for him. Here’s a brief excerpt from the above-linked article that speaks to that idea.
Aside from the fact that Disney is still using classic fairy tales as original source material, another possible explanation for it could stem from the reason Bambi had, which is the fact that the loss of a mother causes you to grow up and accept responsibility — something nearly every Disney character must often do. As a stereotype, mothers are often seen as nurturing and protective. If you have a mom, she will always make sure you are okay. Would Elsa have ever become Queen of Arendelle without having no other choice? Would Anna have risked her life to save her sister if her mother was there?
Here’s a list of 27 motherless Disney characters, for those interested.
Once Joseph is an orphan, there’s no one to guide him or give him advice as to how to navigate social relationships with his brothers. His younger brother is too little to help him or act as a resource to him. His stepmothers had their own challenges in terms of their relationship to his mother; they don’t step in to help him. This leads to a perfect storm in which Joseph, the orphan, is a ripe target for being harmed and done away with. Indeed, the brothers decide to kill him. But then Judah has a different idea. It is the idea that will turn Joseph into a stranger.
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוּדָ֖ה אֶל־אֶחָ֑יו מַה־בֶּ֗צַע כִּ֤י נַהֲרֹג֙ אֶת־אָחִ֔ינוּ וְכִסִּ֖ינוּ אֶת־דָּמֽוֹ׃
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood?
לְכ֞וּ וְנִמְכְּרֶ֣נּוּ לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֗ים וְיָדֵ֙נוּ֙ אַל־תְּהִי־ב֔וֹ כִּֽי־אָחִ֥ינוּ בְשָׂרֵ֖נוּ ה֑וּא וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֖וּ אֶחָֽיו׃
Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.
Judah claims that he is being “brotherly” by choosing to sell Joseph rather than kill him. However, by doing this, he effectively casts Joseph out. Selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites associates Joseph with another individual who was cast out- albeit by Sarah- Ishmael himself. Long term, selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites means that Joseph will end up in Egypt, where he will be a stranger.
The fact that Joseph is a stranger is played up. When Potiphar’s wife accuses him of raping her (when in fact Joseph had simply rejected her sexual advances), this is what she says:
וַתִּקְרָ֞א לְאַנְשֵׁ֣י בֵיתָ֗הּ וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר רְא֗וּ הֵ֥בִיא לָ֛נוּ אִ֥ישׁ עִבְרִ֖י לְצַ֣חֶק בָּ֑נוּ בָּ֤א אֵלַי֙ לִשְׁכַּ֣ב עִמִּ֔י וָאֶקְרָ֖א בְּק֥וֹל גָּדֽוֹל׃ 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.
וַיְהִ֣י כְשׇׁמְע֔וֹ כִּֽי־הֲרִימֹ֥תִי קוֹלִ֖י וָאֶקְרָ֑א וַיַּעֲזֹ֤ב בִּגְדוֹ֙ אֶצְלִ֔י וַיָּ֖נׇס וַיֵּצֵ֥א הַחֽוּצָה׃ And when he heard me screaming at the top of my voice, he left his garment with me and got away and fled outside.”
וַתַּנַּ֥ח בִּגְד֖וֹ אֶצְלָ֑הּ עַד־בּ֥וֹא אֲדֹנָ֖יו אֶל־בֵּיתֽוֹ׃ She kept his garment beside her, until his master came home.
וַתְּדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלָ֔יו כַּדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לֵאמֹ֑ר בָּֽא־אֵלַ֞י הָעֶ֧בֶד הָֽעִבְרִ֛י אֲשֶׁר־הֵבֵ֥אתָ לָּ֖נוּ לְצַ֥חֶק בִּֽי׃ Then she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew slave whom you brought into our house came to me to dally with me;
וַיְהִ֕י כַּהֲרִימִ֥י קוֹלִ֖י וָאֶקְרָ֑א וַיַּעֲזֹ֥ב בִּגְד֛וֹ אֶצְלִ֖י וַיָּ֥נׇס הַחֽוּצָה׃ but when I screamed at the top of my voice, he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
וַיְהִי֩ כִשְׁמֹ֨עַ אֲדֹנָ֜יו אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֣י אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבְּרָ֤ה אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כַּדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה עָ֥שָׂה לִ֖י עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ וַיִּ֖חַר אַפּֽוֹ׃ When his master heard the story that his wife told him, namely, “Thus and so your slave did to me,” he was furious.
It’s important that Potiphar’s wife keeps on stressing that it is the Hebrew slave who tried to rape her. There are several possibilities as to why she does this- either simply because this is what is distinctive about him, and she wants to identify him, or because Hebrews are supposed to be better than this (think of the Dina story, where such things are not done in Israel) and yet he isn’t, OR, and this is most important…to play up the foreign aspect. This foreigner, who is unknown to you, who isn’t like us Egyptians- HE has tried to rape me. It makes the story more believable precisely because Joseph is a stranger.
In 2015, Trump said:
“When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have a lot of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
When I heard it, I thought of this scene. Trump was playing up the foreign aspect- these foreigners are *not like us* and they are rapists…unlike us.
And now let’s get to the widow. There is a side story in this week’s parsha in which Judah takes a Canaanite wife. He has sons with her. His son marries a woman named Tamar, and then dies because he practices Onanism (refusing to spill his seed inside of Tamar so as not to mar her beauty.) [Fun side point: Onanism recently got the small screen treatment due to Bridgerton, although the reasoning behind the act was different.] God kills him. Tamar marries Judah’s second son but the same thing happens. At that point, Judah is afraid of marrying his third son to Tamar because he believes that she is a woman whose husbands die.
Read what happens next.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָה֩ לְתָמָ֨ר כַּלָּת֜וֹ שְׁבִ֧י אַלְמָנָ֣ה בֵית־אָבִ֗יךְ עַד־יִגְדַּל֙ שֵׁלָ֣ה בְנִ֔י כִּ֣י אָמַ֔ר פֶּן־יָמ֥וּת גַּם־ה֖וּא כְּאֶחָ֑יו וַתֵּ֣לֶךְ תָּמָ֔ר וַתֵּ֖שֶׁב בֵּ֥ית אָבִֽיהָ׃
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Stay as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”—for he thought, “He too might die like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
וַיִּרְבּוּ֙ הַיָּמִ֔ים וַתָּ֖מׇת בַּת־שׁ֣וּעַ אֵֽשֶׁת־יְהוּדָ֑ה וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם יְהוּדָ֗ה וַיַּ֜עַל עַל־גֹּֽזְזֵ֤י צֹאנוֹ֙ ה֗וּא וְחִירָ֛ה רֵעֵ֥הוּ הָעֲדֻלָּמִ֖י תִּמְנָֽתָה׃
A long time afterward, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. When cLit. “he was comforted.”his period of mourning was over,-c Judah went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, together with his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
וַיֻּגַּ֥ד לְתָמָ֖ר לֵאמֹ֑ר הִנֵּ֥ה חָמִ֛יךְ עֹלֶ֥ה תִמְנָ֖תָה לָגֹ֥ז צֹאנֽוֹ׃
And Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is coming up to Timnah for the sheepshearing.”
וַתָּ֩סַר֩ בִּגְדֵ֨י אַלְמְנוּתָ֜הּ מֵֽעָלֶ֗יהָ וַתְּכַ֤ס בַּצָּעִיף֙ וַתִּתְעַלָּ֔ף וַתֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ בְּפֶ֣תַח עֵינַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־דֶּ֣רֶךְ תִּמְנָ֑תָה כִּ֤י רָאֲתָה֙ כִּֽי־גָדַ֣ל שֵׁלָ֔ה וְהִ֕וא לֹֽא־נִתְּנָ֥ה ל֖וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃
So she took off her widow’s garb, covered her face with a veil, and, wrapping herself up, sat down at the entrance to Enaim,dCf. Enam, Josh. 15.34. Others “in an open place” or “at the crossroad.” which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him as wife.
Tamar is a widow in this story. And Judah is oppressing the widow.
How is he doing this? Tamar is effectively betrothed to Shelah, Judah’s son. She isn’t permitted to take another husband. However, Judah is refusing to marry Tamar off to Shelah. What this practically means is that Tamar is unable to have children of her own, and she keeps growing older and older.
Tamar acts and takes matters into her own hands- being intimate with Judah himself, and eventually becoming mother to his children.
Here’s the important part- after doing the cruel things he did- oppressing the orphan, turning his brother into a stranger and oppressing the widow- Judah exhibits a willingness to grow.
When Judah declares that Tamar has been an unworthy woman and broken her betrothal contract, she does not declare that he is the father of her children. Instead, she asks him whether he recognizes the pledges he had given her. Judah is faced with a choice- to deny what he has done and to proceed with burning Tamar, or to admit his role and take responsibility. He chooses the latter, saying
וַיַּכֵּ֣ר יְהוּדָ֗ה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ צָֽדְקָ֣ה מִמֶּ֔נִּי כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן לֹא־נְתַתִּ֖יהָ לְשֵׁלָ֣ה בְנִ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָסַ֥ף ע֖וֹד לְדַעְתָּֽהּ׃ Judah recognized them, and said, “She is more in the right than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he was not intimate with her again.
Once Judah recognizes he has unfairly oppressed the widow, he becomes open to realizing he has done wrong to his brother- the orphan turned stranger- as well.
The brothers as a unit- including Judah- recognize their cruelty in Genesis 42:21.
וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אָחִ֗יו אֲבָל֮ אֲשֵׁמִ֣ים ׀ אֲנַ֘חְנוּ֮ עַל־אָחִ֒ינוּ֒ אֲשֶׁ֨ר רָאִ֜ינוּ צָרַ֥ת נַפְשׁ֛וֹ בְּהִתְחַֽנְנ֥וֹ אֵלֵ֖ינוּ וְלֹ֣א שָׁמָ֑עְנוּ עַל־כֵּן֙ בָּ֣אָה אֵלֵ֔ינוּ הַצָּרָ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ They said to one another, “Alas, we are being punished on account of our brother, because we looked on at his anguish, yet paid no heed as he pleaded with us. That is why this distress has come upon us.”'
We later see Judah acting as surety for his brother Benjamin, an orphan. See Genesis 43: 8-9
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוּדָ֜ה אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל אָבִ֗יו שִׁלְחָ֥ה הַנַּ֛עַר אִתִּ֖י וְנָק֣וּמָה וְנֵלֵ֑כָה וְנִֽחְיֶה֙ וְלֹ֣א נָמ֔וּת גַּם־אֲנַ֥חְנוּ גַם־אַתָּ֖ה גַּם־טַפֵּֽנוּ׃ Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy in my care, and let us be on our way, that we may live and not die—you and we and our children.
אָֽנֹכִי֙ אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔נּוּ מִיָּדִ֖י תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נּוּ אִם־לֹ֨א הֲבִיאֹתִ֤יו אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ וְהִצַּגְתִּ֣יו לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְחָטָ֥אתִֽי לְךָ֖ כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃ I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible: if I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I shall stand guilty before you forever.
Finally, Judah is given the opportunity to make Benjamin into a stranger by having him stay as the foreign vizier’s slave- while all the rest of the brothers could go home.
See Genesis 44:17.
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר חָלִ֣ילָה לִּ֔י מֵעֲשׂ֖וֹת זֹ֑את הָאִ֡ישׁ אֲשֶׁר֩ נִמְצָ֨א הַגָּבִ֜יעַ בְּיָד֗וֹ ה֚וּא יִהְיֶה־לִּ֣י עָ֔בֶד וְאַתֶּ֕ם עֲל֥וּ לְשָׁל֖וֹם אֶל־אֲבִיכֶֽם׃ {ס} But he replied, “Far be it from me to act thus! Only he in whose possession the goblet was found shall be my slave; the rest of you go back in peace to your father.”
It is at this moment that
וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו יְהוּדָ֗ה Then Judah came close to him (Genesis 44:18).
This is the turning point of Judah’s life. He is choosing to repudiate everything he was before- the man who oppressed the orphan, who turned his brother into a stranger, and who oppressed the widow. He has publicly admitted the widow was right and he was wrong, he has taken a different orphan into his safekeeping, and now he is going to offer himself in Benjamin’s place. He, Judah, is willing to become the stranger- because this is a story of growth.
וְעַתָּ֗ה יֵֽשֶׁב־נָ֤א עַבְדְּךָ֙ תַּ֣חַת הַנַּ֔עַר עֶ֖בֶד לַֽאדֹנִ֑י וְהַנַּ֖עַר יַ֥עַל עִם־אֶחָֽיו׃ Therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers.
As a huge Beauty and the Beast fan (but only the original Disney animated version, not the live action one), this always reminds me of Belle’s line, “Take me instead.” (The sacrificial aspect of Beauty and the Beast has always spoken to me, and is also the reason that some of my favorite characters include Frodo from LOTR and McMurphy from ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’)
The Davidic dynasty stems from Judah. Kings stem from Judah. Why is that?
It is because of who Judah is in this story. He is the one who commits sins and repents for them. He grows. He does better. He is originally the prototype of a character God detests- an oppressor of widow and orphan, the creator of the stranger- and he redeems himself.
The story of the monarchy, when it is at its finest, follows that redemptive arc. David himself does wrong- but he admits it, learns from it, and grows. It is when Judah’s descendants are unwilling to live up to Judah’s example, unwilling to find the courage to grow through admitting fault and changing course, that all goes downhill.
The tale of Judah is a narrative depiction of one of the most stunning mitzvot in the Torah- the protection of the vulnerable, the weak, the downtrodden. To learn the story of Judah is thus to learn the story of that mitzvah. And through learning it, we can come to understand how important, how significant and how profound that law really is.