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Certain unique landscapes in the Torah carry a strong association with a particular kind of experience. A garden reminds us of innocence (Genesis 2:25). A mountain is a place of revelation (Genesis 22:14, Exodus 19:20). At a well, one might find love (Genesis 24:11-13, 29:9-11, Exodus 2:15-21). A far more common landscape in the Torah is the field. The field is not usually where the main action takes place. We take it for granted as a background setting, where work happens, or through which travelers pass. So when we come upon Yosef wandering through a field in Parashat VaYeishev, we may not make much of it. According to a midrashically-styled reading by the Keli Yakar, however, a deeper understanding of the field is precisely what might have saved Yosef from all the disaster that will follow.
By Hadar Institute4.7
9090 ratings
Certain unique landscapes in the Torah carry a strong association with a particular kind of experience. A garden reminds us of innocence (Genesis 2:25). A mountain is a place of revelation (Genesis 22:14, Exodus 19:20). At a well, one might find love (Genesis 24:11-13, 29:9-11, Exodus 2:15-21). A far more common landscape in the Torah is the field. The field is not usually where the main action takes place. We take it for granted as a background setting, where work happens, or through which travelers pass. So when we come upon Yosef wandering through a field in Parashat VaYeishev, we may not make much of it. According to a midrashically-styled reading by the Keli Yakar, however, a deeper understanding of the field is precisely what might have saved Yosef from all the disaster that will follow.

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