Weekly Torah Portion
Vayeishev
Genesis 37:1–40:23
Jacob settles in Hebron with his twelve sons.
His favorite is 17-year-old Joseph, whose brothers are jealous
of the preferential treatment he receives from his father, such
as a precious many-colored coat that Jacob makes for Joseph.
Joseph relates to his brothers two dreams he has which foretell
that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and
hatred towards him.
Shimon and Levi plot to kill him, but Reuben
suggests that they throw him into a pit instead, intending to
come back later and save him. While Joseph is in the pit, Judah
has him sold to a band of passing Ishmaelites. The brothers dip
Joseph's special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to
their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son
was devoured by a wild beast.
Judah marries and has three children. The
eldest, Er, dies young and childless, and his wife Tamar is
given in levirate marriage to the second son, Onan. Onan sins by
spilling his seed and he, too, meets an early death. Judah is
reluctant to have his third son marry her. Determined to have a
child from Judah's family, Tamar disguises herself as a
prostitute and seduces Judah himself. Judah hears that his
daughter-in-law has become pregnant and orders her executed for
harlotry, but when Tamar produces some personal effects he left
with her as a pledge for payment, he publicly admits that he is
the father. Tamar gives birth to twin sons, Peretz (an ancestor
of King David) and Zerach.
Joseph is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar,
the minister in charge of Pharaoh's slaughterhouses. G-d blesses
everything he does, and soon he is made overseer of all his
master's property. Potiphar's wife desires the handsome and
charismatic lad; when Joseph rejects her advances, she tells her
husband that the Hebrew slave tried to force himself on her and
has him thrown in prison. Joseph gains the trust and admiration
of his jailers, who appoint him to a position of authority in
the prison administration.
In prison, Joseph meets Pharaoh's chief butler
and chief baker, both incarcerated for offending their royal
master. Both have disturbing dreams, which Joseph interprets; in
three days, he tells them, the butler will be released and the
baker hanged. Joseph asks the butler to intercede on his behalf
with Pharaoh. Joseph's predictions are fulfilled, but the butler
forgets all about Joseph and does nothing for him.
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