This week’s parsha is quite perplexing. The Torah tells us that Joseph spoke lashon hara, slander, about his brothers and that the brothers decided to kill him for it. “And each man said to his brother, ‘Behold, the dreamer comes. So now let us go and kill him and throw him into one of the…

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayeshev, Yosef is 17 years old and quite self-involved. He is a dreamer and, as Rashi tells us, constantly coming his hair, and overly concerned with his outward appearance. He seems haughty, declaring his dreams to his family, which are perceived by his father and brothers as being about Yosef’s …

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayeshev, Yosef is 17 years old and quite self-involved. He is a dreamer and, as Rashi tells us, constantly combing his hair, and overly concerned with his outward appearance. He seems haughty, declaring his dreams to his family, which are perceived by his father and brothers as being about Yosef’s own…

Our parsha, Vayeshev, is filled with deception facilitated by clothing.  Joseph’s clothes of many colors are used by his brothers to deceive their father into thinking Joseph is dead, Tamar hides her face under a veil so Judah does not recognize her and takes her for a prostitute, and the wife of Potefar uses a…

In this week’s parsha, Vayeshev, we read the story of Joseph and his brothers which contains the tragic seeds of the Jewish peoples’ exile in Egypt. As the Talmud writes (Shabbat 10b): “Rava bar Meḥasseya said that Rav Ḥama bar Gurya said that Rav said: A person should never distinguish one of his sons from…

This week’s Torah portion, Va’yeshev, begins by describing the relationship between Joseph and his brothers when Joseph was 17 years old. The Torah tells us that when Joseph was tending sheep with his brothers “…Joseph brought slander about them to his father. Israel loved Joseph more of all the brothers….and they (his brothers) were unable…