Scholars have long acknowledged the correlation between the first male followers of Jesus and the twelve tribes of Israel. As we prepare to celebrate Easter and the coming of the Holy Spirit, might there be relevant insights regarding this relationship for us to consider? In her brilliant psychological commentary on the book of Genesis, The Murmuring Deep, Jewish theologian Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Ph.D., shares two stunning observations which serve to guide us.
In her chapter entitled “What if Joseph Hates Us?" Dr. Zornberg brings to our attention the fears uttered by Joseph’s brothers after the death of their father, Jacob. She suggests that what initially were regarded by the brothers as gestures of reconciliation (when Joseph wept, took them in, and cared for them), were now thought of as mere pretense for Jacob’s sake.
Now that Jacob was no longer among them, Joseph was free to reveal his true intentions of retaliation for being deprived all those years of his father’s love, his home, and his culture. Her commentary underscores the trepidation, guilt, and distrust which lingered in the hearts of the brothers as they expressed concern for their own safety: “What if Joseph hates us and pays us back for all the evil that we did to him?” (Gen.50:15) In referencing Talmud and Kabbalah reflections, Zornberg further establishes the perspective that, in not receiving Joseph’s genuine, face-to- face words of forgiveness, his brothers were never truly absolved of their sin against him.
We are presented here with the unsettling prospect of a never-reconciled relationship between Joseph and his brothers. And we are left with the speculation of an unhealed wound still lingering within the foundational core of the House of Israel. Coupled with this is Jacob’s dismay in his realization that Shekinah, the Abiding Feminine Dwelling of God, had withdrawn Her Presence, leaving him to bless his sons without Her prophetic guidance. In noting both the unresolved rift among Joseph’s brothers and the seemingly related withdrawal of Shekinah’s Presence, it behooves us further to consider Jesus’ greeting to His disciples after His Resurrection.
As recorded in the Gospels, Jesus appeared to the fearful eleven taking refuge in the upper room. He greeted them face-to-face with the words, “Peace be with you,” reassuring them of His forgiveness and instructing them in their call also to forgive. He then breathed on them the Holy Spirit. (John 20:19ff)
By His face-to-face encounter with those who had abandoned Him, was Jesus in essence re-entering the unreconciled, spiritual depths of Joseph’s wound? Was He fulfilling the needed act of forgiveness and thereby restoring wholeness to the House of Israel? Was the breath of the Holy Spirit upon His disciples the prelude to the longed-for return of Shekinah’s abiding Presence?
We note Jesus’ words recorded in the Gospel of Luke as they pertain to our reflection, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and forgiveness of sin would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Lk.24:46ff)
As lovers and followers of Christ, we each have been called to share in His ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). Forgiveness is key to our healing and to unleashing the universal life force of Shekinah, known to us now as the Holy Spirit. May we humbly embrace this ministry, and with grateful hearts joyfully proclaim, “Alleluia, Alleluia!”
ClareJulian Carbone, LCSW, ARCWP, is a therapist and spiritual director who resides and works in Salt Lake City. Ordained in 2015 with ARCWP, she is actively involved in interfaith dialogue, prayer, and friendship.
Leading/Spring 2022/ClareJulian Carbone/Shekinah/Version Two
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