Jacob’s life was a seemingly endless streak of suffering and challenges. His own brother was hellbent on murdering him; his father in law tricked him into marrying the woman whom he did not desire to marry; his father in law also marginalized him professionally. Joseph’s life path follows a similar line: His brothers conspire to murder him; ultimately settling on selling him as a slave. Joseph is wrongly accused of misdeeds of carnal nature and unjustifiably imprisoned. These two forbears of Judaism can teach us a lot about the Jewish perspective on challenges, pain and suffering.

This Class was delivered at Shalom Cypress in Cypress, TX