As a din fell over the crowd at Paycor stadium in Cincinnati on Monday night, the intense battle between rival teams ceased its importance. All eyes fell on the medical team working on Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. In these moments, rivalries dissolve. All that matters is the health and safety of a fellow human being.
In this week’s Torah portion, Joseph and his brothers come together to bury their father, Jacob. Up until this moment, their relationship has been fraught with betrayal and enmity. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph, for his part, tormented his brothers in his role as viceroy to Pharaoh. But, here toward the end of their story, they put all this history aside to honor their father, bringing his body back to Canaan to be buried beside his parents and grandparents in the cave of Machpelah. A question remains after they have completed this sacred duty: would they return to their former rivalry now that their father was gone? In the final chapter of Genesis, the brothers relay a message to Joseph given to them by their father: “Forgive, I beg you now, the trespass of your brothers.” (50:17) “Do not fear, I will nourish you and your little ones,” Joseph replies (50:21).
No matter how much we human beings get wrapped up in our petty disputes, we must remember we are the same species sharing the same planet. As we extend our thoughts and prayers to Damar Hamlin, his friends and family, we do so not as Buffalo Bills fans, but as fellow human beings. We wish him a refuah shelema, a complete healing of body and spirit.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex