ABSTRACT
Just as the fable of Balaam's ass is meant to teach Moses that they must share the fate of their people, even though all they can expect in return is abuse, so the story of Judah and Tamar is a preview of the lesson of the Joseph stories, which is that leaders cannot save their people by violating the moral law. Chaim Chertok demonstrates the close relationship between the stories of Judah and Tamar and of Ruth and Naomi. Joseph has no such alternative; in his relations with Mrs. Potiphar, the wife of his Egyptian master, Joseph must choose between an unlawful liaison or imprisonment or worse. Where Tamar and Naomi choose to use sex to maintain their communities, Joseph refuses sex to maintain his obedience to God's law. The falsification and the negation of memory teach Joseph a valuable lesson about the importance of self-interest in human affairs.
