December 20-21, 2019 / 23 Kislev 5780
Shabbat Vayeshev
Torah Reading: Genesis 37:1-40:23 / Haftarah Reading: Amos 2:6-3:8
“Favoritism”
Dear Friends,
Is it right to show favoritism between our children? This week’s Torah portion tells of how Jacob favored Joseph above all his brothers. The explanation given is that Joseph was born in Jacob’s old age. We also know that Joseph was the first-born son of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel. As a symbol of his love, Jacob made Joseph a striped coat, the “Coat of Many Colors,” which only raised his brothers’ jealousy. Joseph came to believe that he was favored as we see in the dreams he recounted to his brothers. Their envy would eventually lead to the brothers selling Joseph to become a slave in Egypt.
Certainly Jacob had a lot to do with Joseph’s difficulties. His favoritism created a fracture in the family that would take many, many years to heal. Rather than showing favoritism to our children, we should see each child for his or her many unique and distinctive talents. Every child is special.
Zay a mentsch – Be a good person.
Shabbat Shalom.
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