Joseph and his Coat of Many (Pride) Colors
This Shabbat, Jews everywhere will read the climax of the Joseph story: the literal "big reveal." For the past couple of weeks, the Torah has followed his journey, from braggadocious teenager thrown into a pit by his brothers, through dreams and prison, to Pharaoh's second in command in Egypt. Now, his brothers have come down to Egypt seeking food at a time of famine, and they have passed his goblet test (to see whether they will protect Benjamin, their youngest half-brother/his full-brother). Joseph's identity reveal is an emotional scene -- for both him and his brothers -- as we see here in Genesis 45:1-4 and 14-15:
Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!” So there was no one else about when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. His sobs were so loud that the Egyptians could hear, and so the news reached Pharaoh’s palace. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still well?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dumbfounded were they on account of him. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come forward to me.” And when they came forward, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, he whom you sold into Egypt... He embraced his brother Benjamin around the neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; only then were his brothers able to talk to him.
Modern Torah scholars have compared this scene to a "coming-out": Joseph carefully tests the waters first before choosing the moment to reveal his true self to his family; the reader waits with bated breath to see how everyone will react to this surprising news; both the characters and the reader experience relief once Joseph's identity secret is out in the open.
But this coming-out aspect of his story is only one of many reasons why the Joseph narrative can be read in terms of queerness. Rabbi Irwin Keller writes:
"Whether or not he was “gay” as we understand that in our generation, [Joseph's] narrative is a queer one. His role in his family; his role as substitute for his mother and ongoing embodier of her energy; his outsiderness in his family and in Egypt; the bullying he endures; his making good in the Big City; his taking control of his own narrative; and, unlike in a classic hero’s journey, his refusal to return home, instead bringing his problematic family to him, keeping them close but not too close... [In addition,] he wears unusual clothing. He is described as childlike at an age where he should not have been. His beauty is discussed in the text; and in several significant instances there are Hebrew phrases used to describe his appearance, emotion, garb or actions that specifically link him to noteworthy women elsewhere in Tanakh..." (Click here to read Keller's full article on the subject, entitled "Joseph's Womb: Gender Complexity in the Story of Joseph".)
Rabbinic readers of the biblical text also perceived something special in Joseph, in terms of gender and sexuality. In her article "(Gender)Queering Joseph: Midrashic Possibilities for the Torah's Most Extra Child," Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg focuses on Talmudic and Midrashic interpretations of Joseph, including one set of texts that talks about Joseph and his sister Dina having gender transitioned in utero(!), and another cluster that center around Joseph's make-up habits and fabulous clothing ("coat of many colors" can also be read as "princess dress" -- suggesting that perhaps his brothers' bullying had to do with not only their jealousy but also their disdain for his love of drag).
The Joseph story is an ancient one, of course, and it's hard to know how Joseph might have self-identified had he had today's colorful LGBTQIAP2S+ alphabet at his disposal. What I do know is that -- at the same time that we've been reading the Joseph story in our Torah portions over the last couple of weeks -- the queer community here in the US has been very much under attack. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced two proposed regulatory actions that would effectively cut off funding to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to young people, including a broad swath of "pharmaceutical or surgical interventions." In a separate action, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reportedly sent letters to multiple companies that sell chest binders, warning that they have "misbranded" medical devices. These moves are not yet binding law; still, they feel hateful and cause tremendous harm, regardless of their legality or ultimate enforceability. (A robust fight against these measures has already begun, of course. This week, 19 states have joined together to sue the Trump administration to block the proposed HHS rules, claiming that they are unlawful, and that they threaten access to healthcare for transgender youth, seek to intimidate hospitals and health providers into abandoning their patients or risking their livelihood, and are designed to strip states of their authority to regulate medicine.)
As a Jewish community grounded in core Jewish values, we at Kavana affirm that trans, nonbinary and intersex people are created b'tzelem Elohim -- in the image of the Divine. They -- along with every human being -- are deserving of dignity, respect, and safety. We will strive to build our own community as a place of full inclusion and belonging for people of all gender identities and expressions and all sexual orientations. We will stand in solidarity with the transgender and nonbinary youth who are most directly impacted by these recent actions, and with all who are being targeted by the administration's hateful rhetoric and political actions. (Keshet, an organization that "works for the full equality of LGBTQ+ Jews and our families in Jewish life," has written a Jewish pledge for trans dignity -- click here to take the pledge yourself and/or to learn more about their work. If you're so inclined, you're also invited to submit a public comment about the proposed HHS measures through the Human Rights Campaign, telling the government why this care matters to you and why these rules would hurt young people.)
Returning to the Joseph story: When he reveals his true identity, Joseph comforts his brothers, assuring them: "Now, do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me hither; it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you." Joseph is accepting of what's happened to him, forgiving of his brothers, and seems to deeply believe that his lifetime has unfolded in accordance with a divinely-ordained plan.
Today, it's hard to know with such certainty that everything will work out for the best in the end, although I do hope that we, too, can find strength in Joseph's reassurance. Meanwhile, though, it is very much upon us to work on behalf of every Joseph -- every young person who doesn't conform to gender expectations and norms, everyone who has ever felt the need to conceal their true identity. May we create a community and a world in which every identity reveal feels as emotionally positive and loving as the story of Joseph coming out to his brothers, and in which every individual can let their true colors shine!
Ken yehi ratzon (may it be so), and wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum
