Vayeshev
Parshat Vayeshev
This portion marks the beginning of the narrative of Jacob’s children. We are introduced to Joseph as a 17 year old and the portion describes the relationships between Joseph and his father and brothers. Scholars agree that this is one of the best written stories in all of literature for its sense of plot and character development.
First Aliyah Genesis chapter 37:1-11 pp. 226-228
Joseph is Jacob’s favorite and as a token of that status, Jacob gives Joseph a cloak of many colors. The brothers hate Joseph because of this and also because of the dreams Joseph has. Joseph tells his family of two dreams which depict eleven bushels of wheat bowing down to one bushel and eleven stars, the sun, and the moon bowing down. These dreams arouse jealousy and hatred among the family, but they also foreshadow what will happen in the future.
Second Aliyah 37:12-22 pp. 228-230
One day the brothers are tending the flocks in Shechem and Jacob tells Joseph to go see how the flocks are doing. The brothers see him coming and decide to kill him and throw him in a pit. Only Reuben, the oldest, decides not to kill Joseph, just throw him in the pit.
Third Aliyah 37:23-36 pp. 230-233
The brothers strip Joseph of his multi-colored cloak and throw him in an empty pit. A caravan of Ishmaelites happens to be passing by on the way to Egypt. Judah suggests selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites. They pour goat blood on the cloak and bring it back to Jacob. Jacob rips his garment and sits in mourning for many days - he will not be consoled. Joseph, in the meantime, has been sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard.
Fourth Aliyah - 38:1-30 pp. 233-237
This chapter is an interruption in our narrative. Here we learn about Judah’s family. He had three sons, the wife of the oldest was Tamar. The oldest son died before they had children so Tamar, as was a biblical custom and later, Jewish law, married the next oldest brother. This brother died too because of sexual misconduct and Tamar is forced to wait for the next brother to be old enough to marry. The brother finally comes of age, but Judah does not give his son to Tamar right away. Tamar gets impatient and decides to dress up as a prostitute. While Judah is out he arranges to be with that prostitute not knowing it is Tamar. Tamar reveals who she is and Judah realizes that he should have given his son to her on time. However, Tamar is impregnated by Judah and bears twins.
Fifth Aliyah - 39:1-6 pp. 238-239
We return to Joseph in servitude to Potiphar. While with Potiphar, God blesses Joseph and everything with which he comes into contact. Therefore, Potiphar and his household are blessed and become wealthy. Joseph is a trusted servant and the aliyah ends with “and Joseph was of beautiful form, fair to look upon.”
Sixth Aliyah -39:7-23 pp. 239-242
Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph , but Joseph refuses her advances. However, the wife accuses Joseph of seducing her, so Potiphar sends Joseph to jail. While in jail God is still with him.
Seventh Aliyah - 40:1-23 pp. 242-245
Pharaoh’s chief butler and baker end up in jail in the same cell as Joseph. They both have dreams one night and are desperate for an interpreter. Joseph says “all interpretations belong to God” and he interprets their dreams. One, the baker, will be hung and the other, the butler, will be restored to his position. That is how it happened and the portion ends telling us that the butler forgot about Joseph.
Maftir - 40:20-23 pp. 244-245
Haftorah - Amos 2:6-3:8 pp. 247-249
Amos describes the immorality of the northern kingdom of Israel including selling the poor into slavery – the connection with the Torah reading.
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