In this week’s Torah portion, we encounter a recurrence of the fatal flaws of arrogance and deceit—reflections of character that make Torah as powerful a source for negative object lessons as for those that are positive. The hubris and moral corner-cutting that defined Jacob’s early life is passed on to his son Joseph, amplified by the intergenerational dysfunction of parental favoritism. Jealousy of Joseph’s favored status blends with resentment of his abuse of his power to interpret dreams to the detriment of his angry brothers. Thus an epic journey is set in motion—one that is as unnecessarily circuitous as it is necessary for Joseph’s evolution as a person—a journey that will transform the destiny of this first family of Judaism as it will that of our people as a whole.
