Vayeshev, וַיֵּשֶׁב

Yosef is given a special coat by his father, a kutonet pasim, a fine striped tunic, as a symbol of his status as his father’s favorite, most beloved child (Genesis 37:3).  Growing up with his father treating him this way, it is no surprise that Yosef’s dreams betray this sense of superiority, with visions of […]

Yosef has a difficult life, but he doesn’t seem to suffer through it like his father Yaakov.  He seems to ride the ups and downs with equanimity, grace and success.    How We Navigate the Pits Consider the image of the pit.  Yosef is thrown into the pit first by his brothers and later by Potiphar,

Dedicated to the memory of Gavriella Bader, z”l, a caring friend to my children and a beautiful human being. May her memory be a blessing, as her life was a blessing. Yaakov is inconsolable at what he thinks is his son Yosef’s death.  His children come to comfort him and vayema’en lehitnahem, “he refuses to

ויהי ה’ את יוסף, “And God was with Yosef” (Click image to read more)

Et Ahai Anokhi Mevakesh. “It is my brothers that I am seeking,” says Yosef to the mysterious “man” who helps him along his way when he is sent out by his father to check on his brothers. This statement seems a deep truth about the Yosef story as a whole. The seeking of brotherhood drives

How quickly and how far does the family of Yaakov descend in this parsha! Hatred festers unchecked among the brothers, and turns to violence against Yosef who is thrown down into a pit and sold “down” to Egypt as a slave. The Torah draws a parallel between this descent of Yosef’s (hurad) and that of