The Gifted Kid (Parshat Vayeshev)

From a punk wearing eyeliner to commodities trading expert

Joseph wearing his coat of many colors from the Bible | Generated by AI

Week 9: Parshat Vayeshev

• Torah Portion: Genesis 37:1 - 40:23

• Haftarah Portion: Amos 2:6 - 3:8

• Summary: Joseph's dreams, his sale into slavery, and the story of Judah and Tamar are recounted. The Haftarah condemns social injustices and underscores the consequences of neglecting the needs of the poor and needy.

• Thematic Connection: Dreams and Justice

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By Rabbi Patrick Beaulier

Parshat Vayeshev begins with Joseph (the Technicolor Dreamcoat fella) being favored by his father Jacob, which causes jealousy among his brothers. And for good reason.

Joseph is a punk in the best sense of the term. There’s even a midrash that he was “penciling his eyes, curling his hair, and lifting his heel” (Bereishit Rabbah 84:7). Sounds a lot like what I did as a kid, and what you see kids do today, especially with blurring boundaries around gender presentation.

We will also discover that he is gifted. The Gifted Kid as we called him in my generation.

But there’s a problem - Joseph is not a good person.