Parsha Vayeishev
December 13, 2025/23 Kislev 5786
Greetings friends:
In this parsha of Vayeishev, meaning “and he settled”, we learn something about Shalom Bayis, peace in the house, a measure of tranquility. Shalom Bayis is an important concept and given Jacob’s family size, he certainly faced his challenges in keeping peace at home. Given my family size, I think I can relate just a little. 😊
After all the travail that Jacob had endured under Laban and most recently under threat of his brother Esau, Jacob now reaches the land of his father, and the verse uses the term “settled” with exactly this in mind. Rabbi Acha (4th century rabbinic scholar in Israel) said in relation to this verse that when a righteous person seeks to enjoy tranquility in this world, Satan comes and says, “isn’t it enough that this person should enjoy the tranquility of the world to come?”, and the episode of Joseph’s presumed death and sale as a slave in Egypt then occurs.
We learn several things about raising children from the ensuing episode. Joseph has a dream where he sees symbolism (in sheaves and stars) of his family bowing to him. There is a contradiction in the way Jacob is described in dealing with the situation. The verse states “he kept the matter in mind” yet he also scolds Joseph for relating the dream! Jacob knew prophetically that there was truth to the dream, but he also knew that sometimes the truth is not always the best route. For example, if I ask my wife if I need to lose a couple of pounds, I am looking for “no, honey you look great” not “probably more than a couple.”
Jacob also favors Joseph with a special tunic, which is ultimately dipped in goat blood and presented to Jacob as evidence of Joseph’s death. Reish Lakish said in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah that this demonstrates that we need to treat all our children the same, an easier feat to say than do (the kids rarely see it as fair no matter what you do).
Despite all this Jacob sends Joseph to investigate what the other brothers are doing. Knowing the danger, why wouldn’t he have sent a servant? We also note in the verse that Jacob sent Jospeh from the valley of Hebron, yet Hebron is in the mountains! One answer is that Jacob knew that Joseph needed to go and work it out with his brothers. He also knew the danger and took Joseph to the tomb of his fathers (the valley of Hebron) to pray for him. Sometimes that is all we can do. We raise our children the best we can and pray for them as we send them out into the world.
As we reflect on this week’s parsha, let us also reflect on our families, loved ones, and friends and pray for peace in our homes, in all of Israel, and throughout the world. Amen.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh
In this parsha of Vayeishev, meaning “and he settled”, we learn something about Shalom Bayis, peace in the house, a measure of tranquility. Shalom Bayis is an important concept and given Jacob’s family size, he certainly faced his challenges in keeping peace at home. Given my family size, I think I can relate just a little. 😊
After all the travail that Jacob had endured under Laban and most recently under threat of his brother Esau, Jacob now reaches the land of his father, and the verse uses the term “settled” with exactly this in mind. Rabbi Acha (4th century rabbinic scholar in Israel) said in relation to this verse that when a righteous person seeks to enjoy tranquility in this world, Satan comes and says, “isn’t it enough that this person should enjoy the tranquility of the world to come?”, and the episode of Joseph’s presumed death and sale as a slave in Egypt then occurs.
We learn several things about raising children from the ensuing episode. Joseph has a dream where he sees symbolism (in sheaves and stars) of his family bowing to him. There is a contradiction in the way Jacob is described in dealing with the situation. The verse states “he kept the matter in mind” yet he also scolds Joseph for relating the dream! Jacob knew prophetically that there was truth to the dream, but he also knew that sometimes the truth is not always the best route. For example, if I ask my wife if I need to lose a couple of pounds, I am looking for “no, honey you look great” not “probably more than a couple.”
Jacob also favors Joseph with a special tunic, which is ultimately dipped in goat blood and presented to Jacob as evidence of Joseph’s death. Reish Lakish said in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah that this demonstrates that we need to treat all our children the same, an easier feat to say than do (the kids rarely see it as fair no matter what you do).
Despite all this Jacob sends Joseph to investigate what the other brothers are doing. Knowing the danger, why wouldn’t he have sent a servant? We also note in the verse that Jacob sent Jospeh from the valley of Hebron, yet Hebron is in the mountains! One answer is that Jacob knew that Joseph needed to go and work it out with his brothers. He also knew the danger and took Joseph to the tomb of his fathers (the valley of Hebron) to pray for him. Sometimes that is all we can do. We raise our children the best we can and pray for them as we send them out into the world.
As we reflect on this week’s parsha, let us also reflect on our families, loved ones, and friends and pray for peace in our homes, in all of Israel, and throughout the world. Amen.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh
