Joseph asks the cup bearer to remember him to Pharaoh. The cup bearer forgets about him. This teaches us that, while we have to make all preparations to succeed, we have to remember that it is God who will redeem us in the end.

Just as Potiphar's wife accused Joseph of the crime she wanted to commit, so too, with our enemies, they accuse us of the crimes they want to commit against us.

The Torah states that the pit that Joseph was thrown into had no water. The Midrash states that it had snakes & Scorpions. This teaches us that without Torah (symbolized here by water) you will end up with snakes & scorpions

Yehuda had to learn humility before he could become the leader of the family. This happens when he is confronted by Tamar & admits that he is the father of her unborn twins.

It is interesting to note that throughout Jewish history, our leaders were not the first born. They were individuals who earned their roles as leaders. That is the secret of success.

Jacob's favoritism towards Joseph sets off a chain of events. The other brothers are jealous of Joseph and plot against him. This is a strong lesson to parents to show all their children their love equally.

According to the Ari (Rabbi Yitzhak Luria) Rachel is not buried in Rachel's Tomb. But because so many people have prayed there over the centuries her spirit hovers over it. It is a case when holiness is created by people.

When Esau and Jacob meet after many years, Esau invites Jacob to be with him. Jacob does not. He knows that Esau is bad and will be detrimental to his family. To keep the peace between them he goes his own way. He had to build a wall between himself and his brother.

The struggle depicted in the portion of the week is symbolic of the struggle we have with God and ourselves. We should try to be spiritual, but we cannot forget that we have physical needs as well.

The reason that Jacob was upset at the actions of Shimon & Levi was that he felt that they acted outside the law. He was against vigilante justice. He felt that their reasoning was sound but that they took the law into their own hands.