Remember when Joseph was imprisoned in Egypt, and he asked one of his buddies to put in a good word for him with Pharaoh, hoping he might get sprung from jail? Well, some commentators seem not to take too kindly to Joseph’s tactic. Rashi, quoting our Sages, explains that because Joseph did that, God delayed his liberation from prison for two full years. 

It kind of makes you scratch your head: That sounds like a harsh punishment. What was so bad about what Joseph did? Why fault him for trying to get out of prison? 

In this week’s episode, Ari Levisohn and Daniel Loewenstein jump off from this question, and it takes them to all kinds of places… ultimately revealing a startling picture of who Joseph was and what he represents. But you’ll have to listen to find out!

Looking for the course that Ari described as “incredible”? Rabbi Fohrman’s piece on how Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams? “Does God Speak To Us Today?”

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

Follow us on your favorite social media.