Dena Weiss. One of the great and recurring biblical tragedies is the competition and enmity between brothers. After Esav and Ya’akov part ways, we see the dynamic of brotherly suspicion and hatred resurface among Ya’akov’s children, spurred, as such negative family dynamics often are, by Ya’akov’s own behavior as a parent. Ya’akov shows clear and explicit favoritism towards Yosef, the eldest son of his favorite wife. Thankfully, the story of Yosef and his brothers ultimately ends in reconciliation. But even at its tensest moments it can teach us the value of taking small steps to improve a situation that seems (and may well be) intractable, unresolvable, and hopeless.