Parashat Va-yeshev (Genesis 37:1 - 40:23)

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

In Parashat Vayeshev, Genesis 37:1 - 40:23, the spotlight now firmly rests on Joseph, Jacob's favorite son. His brothers hate him, his father favors him and, Mrs. Potiphar has him thrown in jail. Simply put: Joseph's life takes many twists and turns. Ultimately, as we all know, his life is part of a greater plan by God but as he was living it he must have wondered what was coming next.

In Genesis 37:7 Joseph tells his brothers about his dream, "..we were binding sheaves in the field, my sheaf arose and stood up straight and your sheaves placed themselves around mine and bowed down." His brothers get mad at that statement. Why? Wasn't he just retelling a dream? Can you really blame someone for just reporting what happens in his or her dream?
In his second dream (Ch. 37:9) he tells his brothers that the sun, the moon and the stars all bowed down to him. His brothers get even angrier. If they got mad the first time, why would Joseph tell his brothers the second dream? Would you have told them the second dream if you had been in Joseph's place? Why or why not?
Just after the dream business Jacob sends Joseph, by himself, to check on his brothers. Why does Jacob do this? Doesn't he think something bad might happen? Was there any way to guess what the brothers might do to Joseph? Could Jacob have guessed that there might have been problems? Why or why not?
After Joseph is sold into slavery and is brought to Egypt he is sold to Potiphar, an officer in Pharaoh's guard (Ch. 39). Mrs. Potiphar decides she really likes poor Joseph and traps him in a bad situation that ultimately lands him in jail. At the moment he is tossed in the clink, do you think he knew that God had a plan and that this was one more step? Do you always know why things are happening to you? Can you look back on some things in your life, good or bad, and see how you got there through a series of steps?
In jail Joseph meets the chief butler and the chief baker. Each of them has a troubling dream. Joseph says, "Do not interpretations (of dreams) belong to God? (Ch. 40:8)" But he goes ahead and interprets the dreams himself. Is this a contradiction? What might Joseph's statement mean? What is the most vivid dream you have had in the last couple of weeks? Do you know what it means? Do all dreams have meaning?