Vayeshev opens with “Jacob settled” in the land then the story pivots to Joseph—seventeen, dreaming, reporting, and marked by a ketonet passim. Is he “ben zekunim” because Jacob is old, or because Joseph is the heir to Jacob/Israel’s wisdom and prophetic sight? Dreams of sheaves and of sun, moon, and stars ignite fraternal fury; hatred blinds while Joseph keeps seeing. Sent with a “hineni” to seek his brothers’ shalom, he instead meets an ish, a pit, and a passing caravan. In the seam chapter of Judah and Tamar, obligation, courage, and recognition (“tzadkah mimeni”) reset a lineage. Beneath it all runs Genesis’ central test: can siblings learn to live a shared covenant without erasing difference—shepherds rooted at home and a dreamer who will shape empires.

We explore:
• “Vayeshev Yaakov” and why settling triggers unrest: Rashi’s midrash on comfort and unfinished work
• Jacob vs Israel in the verse: private father and public mission in one person
• Ben zekunim and ketonet passim: favoritism, or formation of a successor in wisdom
• Dreams as windows: why the field of sheaves and the night sky point beyond Canaan
• Seeing vs hating: how resentment narrows perception and drives the plot
• The “ish” at Shechem, the pit, and the sale: providence or consequence
• Judah and Tamar: levirate duty, social repair, and “tzadkah mimeni” as a moral turning point
• Two models of covenant life: brothers in the land and Joseph in the world—and why the family needs both

Parshat Vayeshev 5786
Torah: Genesis 37:1–40:23 | Haftarah: Amos 2:6–3:8
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