d’var torah
Will We Be Judahs or
Einsteins? By Rabbi Gila Colman Ruskin
I Parshat Vayeshev
just fi nished reading “Th e Other
Einstein” by Marie Benedict, pub-
lished in 2016.

How disturbing was this depiction of
Albert Einstein’s fi rst wife and collabo-
rator, Mileva Maric, a brilliant mathe-
matician who may have been the actual
author of the theory of relativity. How
distressing was Einstein’s abject neglect
of his family and his attempts to erase
Mirac’s scientifi c contributions from
history, depriving her of sharing the
Nobel Prize.

My view of his greatness has been sig-
nifi cantly dampened by this (somewhat
fi ctionalized) account of his personal
cruelty toward her.

nitely a heroine, paired with the ances-
tor from whom most of us Jews claim
our descent: Judah, son of Jacob.

Th e behavior of this childless widow
seemed debauched when she seduced
her father-in-law Judah by disguising
herself as a prostitute, seeking to be
impregnated by him. Yet her actions
were driven by noble intention: continu-
ing the family line of her deceased hus-
band Er. In contrast, aft er his wife died,
Judah relinquished his responsibility as
tribal leader by squandering his “seed”
with a prostitute while on his way to a
festival with a friend.

To guarantee payment for sexual ser-
vices, Tamar shrewdly demanded that
Judah leave with her his seal, cord and
staff until he can send payment. When
Judah’s friend attempts to deliver pay-
ment and retrieve the personal eff ects,
the prostitute is nowhere to be found.

his reputation would be ruined. Th e
baby is left with her parents, and they
wed. When that child dies of scarlet
fever, Einstein seems relieved. Although
the groundbreaking discoveries in phys-
ics resulted from their combined study
and collaboration, he removes Maric’s
name from their publications.

As his reputation grows, his mis-
treatment of her increases. She and her
children are dependent on his earnings.

She has no opportunity to proclaim to
the world the truth, that these were her
ideas, her mathematical fi ndings; the
articles were her compositions. Finally,
when infi delities are revealed, she mus-
ters the courage to fi nd a lawyer who
craft s a divorce agreement entitling her
to the cash award for the Nobel Prize
that she is certain he will win. She leaves
with her children; Einstein marries his
cousin, leaves for America and goes on
to fame and fortune.

Life presents us all with opportuni-
ties to transcend the fear of shame and
to do what is right. Will we be Judahs
or Einsteins? JE
Rabbi Gila Colman Ruskin, emer-
ita of Temple Adas Shalom in Havre
de Grace, Maryland, is an artist of
Mosaic Midrash, which is displayed
at Beth David Reform Congregation
in Gladwyne. Th e Board of Rabbis of
Greater Philadelphia is proud to pro-
vide diverse perspectives on Torah com-
mentary for the Jewish Exponent. Th e
opinions expressed in this column are
the author’s own and do not refl ect the
view of the Board of Rabbis.

Life presents us all with
opportunities to transcend the fear
of shame and to do what is right.

As we read this week Parshat
Vayeshev, how striking are the remark-
able parallels between the alleged hero-
ics of our ancestor Judah, son of Jacob,
and Albert Einstein.

Both men lived in times when men
utterly controlled the fi nancial and
social fate of women, when their word
would be believed over any woman’s
claim. Both of them could have had their
reputations marred by being shamed by
a brilliant, yet powerless woman. But the
diff erence in their reactions to this risk
spells the diff erence between accom-
plishment and true valor.

You, our readers, may not be familiar
with the 38th chapter of Genesis. Th e
story of Tamar was never taught in the
religious school I attended, nor in the
day school my children attended. With
its references to a harlot, masturbation
and burning at the stake, even adults
may be alienated from what seems like
a sordid tale.

Th at is indeed sad; Tamar was defi -
Judah worries about becoming a laugh-
ingstock. When Tamar does become pregnant
and the news is revealed to Judah, he
resolves to have her burned, as is his pre-
rogative as tribal chief. Why? Because
having had sexual relations with one
outside his household, when she is his
son’s widow, could bring shame to
Judah. Tamar then presents to Judah his
personal eff ects. Judah rises above his
fear of being shamed, publicly acknowl-
edging that Tamar was in the right. He
declares that he would claim her and her
off spring as his family and his future.

Tradition tells us that as a result of
Judah’s acknowledgment, God decided
to appoint him as the ancestor of King
David, and of us, the Jewish people.

In contrast, Einstein, when con-
fronted with the news that Maric is
pregnant with his child out of wedlock,
refuses to acknowledge the child, fi nds
excuses not to marry her, claiming that
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