Joseph’s Fabulous Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph’s Fabulous Technicolor Dreamcoat
Parashat Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1–40:23)
This chapter provides a queerly interpretation of Joseph's account in the readings of Parashat Vayeshev of Genesis. Scholars, rabbis, and LGBT activists searching for “queer openings” in the Torah often focus on Joseph. The emotional drama of his life are pregnant with queer subtexts, making Joseph the figure many LGBT readers would vote the “most likely to be gay” of any character in the Torah. The great rabbinic and medieval commentators make the modern task of “queering” Joseph even easier, with all of them having noted that Joseph had a certain “sensibility.” For example, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki claims that Joseph “dressed his hair” and “touched up his eyes so that he should appear good looking.”
Keywords: queerly interpretation, Jacob, Parashat Vayeshev, Genesis, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki
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