This is about Parshat Vayeshev, it is the story of Joseph. Joseph is a young fellow at this point and the Torah begins by telling us in chapter 37 Genesis that Jacob settled in the land and the Rabbis made a big deal about him, saying he is settled. And the question for us to ask ourselves is how often we just settle. We do not inspire to a greater levels of holiness or achievement.
And then the Torah says that he loved Joseph more than his other sons, which of course he knows right away then he get into a lot of trouble and cause trouble, when he expressed your clear love for one child over another. And right before that, the Torah tells us that Joseph is bringing even reports about some of his brothers. He was toddling on them, which I am sure did not endear them to him.
Any case, he gets a quarter of ornamented coat, which is called the coat of many colors from his father. This is a sign of his favoritism, and then they pour oil on the hot fire, he has these dreams which express that he is someday going to role over his brothers, even though he is younger than all but one.
Now, whether that is true or not, it certainly does not endear them to him any further. Then his father sends him to go find them, and there is this mysterious passage there which says he bumps into a man that we never meet again, and never hear about again, who directs him on the way. And one of the commentators notes on that is, how often in times in life, things have seemed incidental at the time throughout the have been huge. If it has not been for that, other things would not have transpired and that man played that wrong.
So he comes upon his brothers and they conspire to kill him, there were two stories there that are woven together by the editor. There is a story where Ruvain plays the main role, we are all in another story where Judah plays the main role and there are two different nations that have a hand in rescuing him. He started into a pit, according to the story, instead of killed, the brothers slay an animal and they dip his coat in the blood to take back top Jacob to pretend that he has been killed.
Any case, he is taking on of this pit and brought to Egypt where he is sold in the slavery, to Potiphar's house. Well later in the story, Potiphar’s wife wants to seduce him and he refuses. He thinks that will bring dishonor, and she falsely accuses him of attempted rape, he is thrown into jail. And there in jail, he also interprets the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s henchmen, a cup bearer and a baker who are in jail. And one of them, he interprets the dream to say that their fellows are going to be rescued out of jail the other is going to be killed, and sure enough that happened. But the one who is going to be rescued out of jail gets out of jail but forgets about Joseph and that is where the story ends for this week.
So the other is the continuation of the drama and the next three chapters of Genesis, which ends Genesis, basically deal with the continuing saga of Joseph and his brothers, and the movement of Jacob and his family down to Egypt which sets up the slavery that begins the book of Exodus. It is Parshat Vayeshev.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services