My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) -Vayeshev
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on November 29, 2007 | Tags: Vayeshev
We read in Parshah Va-Yeishev, "Now Israel loved Joseph best of all
his sons… and he had made him an ornamented tunic." Why did Jacob
play favorites? He already knew from growing up with his brother
Esau how much tsuris that could lead to, and his Uncle Laban taught
it to him again when he was tricked into marrying Leah. Instead of
making each son feel special in his own way, Jacob chose to make
Joseph, one of the youngest of his offspring, into his favorite
without thinking of the consequences. In the Talmud the rabbis
commented, "See the consequences of favoring one child over another. Because of those few ounces of wool, our people were enslaved in Egypt." (BT Shabbat 10b, quoted in Etz Hayyim.) Children and parents can relate in different ways, but favoritism can't help but breed jealousy and resentment. As the Talmud suggests, sometimes it's easier for an outsider to recognize a problem – or a pattern repeating itself – than the person in the thick of it.
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
