Archive for the ‘ Vayeshev ’ Category
Yaakov sends Yosef to Shechem to see how his brothers are faring. The brothers were to be there pasturing their flock. The distance between Chevron, where Yaakov was, and Shechem is over 80 kilometers (close to 50 miles). Why did they have to go so far? Couldn’t they find a place closer to home for [ READ MORE ]
Yosef was sent by his father to inquire about the welfare of his brothers. When he arrived to the place they were scheduled to be, they were not there and he met a man who asked him what he was seeking. Yosef answered: ET ACHAI ANOCHI MEVAKESH, “…I seek my brothers…” (Gen. 37,16) According to [ READ MORE ]
Joseph is asked to interpret the dreams of the two fellow prisoners who were with him. First Pharaoh’s cupbearer discloses his dream. He saw a vine with three branches that brought forth grapes. He was holding Pharaoh’s cup in his hand and was squeezing the grapes into the cup and handed it to Pharaoh. Joseph’s [ READ MORE ]
Two chamberlains or attendance of Pharaoh were cast into the prison where Yosef was. The Torah calls them SAR HAMASHKIM and SAR HA’OFIM. It is interesting that they are given the title of SAR which in Hebrew means a prince or a minister. Obviously they were in the lowly employ of the king and would [ READ MORE ]
Yosef is in Mitzraim and is in charge of the household of Potifar. The Torah testifies: VAYEHI HASHEM ET YOSEF VAYEHI ISH MATZLIACH, “And Hashem was with Yosef and he was a prosperous man.” The Chafetz Chaim makes a very interesting observation. When we say the prayer for the new month we repeat one particular [ READ MORE ]
VAYESHEV YAAKOV BE’ERETZ MEGUREY AVIV, “Yaakov dwelt in the land where his father had resided”. (Gen. 37,1) We find many places where we are told with the same expression VAYESHEV that the Jews dwelled in different places. We find it in Egypt, “…and Israel dwelt in Egypt.” (Gen. 47,27) We find the expression with reference [ READ MORE ]
A very interesting story is told about Rabbi Simcha Bunim that is related to this week’s portion. When the Chasidic movement first started in the city of Pshische where Rabbi Bunim lived, there were rumors in Lublin that the Chasidim were not behaving according to the established customs of Chasidism. The Chasidic Rabbis of Lublin [ READ MORE ]
Towards the end of the Portion the Torah tells us that Yosef prospered in Egypt in whatever he did. First it says: VAYEHI ISH MATZLI’ACH, “he was a successful person”. In the next verse it says: HASHEM MATZLI’ACH BEYADO, “Hashem succeeds his hand”. The Torah again repeats the same thought and says: VAYEVARECH HASHEM ET [ READ MORE ]
We read this week about the dreams Yosef had. Next week we read about the dreams that Pharaoh had. Both had two dreams. These dreams, however, were of different types. Yosef dreamt first about earthly matters. He dreamt about the sheaths of wheat. His second dream was about the heavens, the sun, the moon and [ READ MORE ]
The opening words of the Sidra are VAYESHEV YAAKOV, and Yaakov dwelled in the land where his father had lived (Gen. 37:1). The Torah had previously told us in great detail how Yaakov had returned to Israel. Why then repeat it here and tell us where Yaakov dwelled? In answer to this question Chazal tell [ READ MORE ]
In the portions of Toldot and VaYishlach we read about the hatred with which Yaakov had to contend from Esav and Lavan. In this week’s Sidra we come across hatred between brothers, not strangers. Yosef’s brothers hated him to such an extent that they were ready to kill him and ended up selling him into [ READ MORE ]
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