Upon leaving prison, the biblical Joseph is given a job, and Pharaoh’s ring and chain and clothing to signify his rank and Pharaoh’s trust (Gen 41:42). This does not reflect the experience of many returning citizens who face unemployment at much higher rates than those without records. Changing the odds upon re-entry is one aspect...

Continuing look at Gen 41:14, in which Joseph is rushed out of prison to Pharaoh. Bureau of Prisons Covid-19 cases as of 5/18/20 and more on conditions for those not yet rushed out of prison.

The biblical Joseph's story is a reminder of the need, in detention and prison, for clean clothes and access to hygiene,

The biblical Joseph tells his fellow prisoners: “For in truth, I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews; nor have I done anything here that they should have put me in the dungeon.” — Gen 40:15 Sforno (Italy, c.1470 – 1550 CE) explains that Joseph’s meaning: the reason why he will have me released...

Continuing the previous stage, we see the biblical Joseph, who’d been sold into servitude at age 17, in prison: “And So Joseph’s master had him put in prison, where the king’s prisoners were confined…” Gen 39:20 “and he put him in jail.” This is a kind of underground prison, a dungeon, a place where the...

This stage takes the biblical Joseph into prison, and with his story in mind, we consider the conditions of youth in detention during this pandemic. Just received this from Southern Poverty Law Center and so include it FYI.

Sisters Rachel and Leah, both of whom marry the biblical Jacob, have differing relationships to the land of their birth and to the one where Jacob resettles. Their stories reflect past and future exile and a sense of being outsiders in the home of their birth. With this stage, we meet Rachel’s child, Joseph, the...

This stage explores the biblical Jacob’s travels to “artzah bnei-kedem,” the “land of the Easterners” or, maybe, “the land of the past.”

We’ve reached an odd juncture in the 49-stage journey, one associated in Jewish lore with the ending of a plague that killed 12,000 pairs of students. There is more on this plague and its relationship to racial justice here: Death by Disrespect and Conversing for Racial Justice.

More on Hagar, including her naming of God at what is then called Beer Lahai Roi