By Madison Slobin

Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat is my favorite play, needless to say I was really excited when I found out that this weeks Parchat Vayeishev is the one that begins Joseph's journey! Joseph was Jacob's first son and was always favored. Jacob was pretty open about his favoritism and even gave him a magnificent coat of many colours to demonstrate his love. This enraged Jacobs other sons and they proceeded to sell Joseph into slavery, telling their father that his beloved son had been devoured by a wild beast. Eventually Joseph lands himself in a prison, where he sings the infamous "Close Every Door To Me"...just kidding, that's only in the play. All throughout this process Joseph is having crazy dreams about what the future will bring, and spoiler alert: the dreams turn out to be true!

I would like to think that Jacob's other sons were just really into shivyon erech ha'adam but perhaps didn't utilize the best tactics to accomplish their goals. They were insanely jealous of their brother, and had grown tired of being the underdogs. Focusing on what the brothers may have experienced reminds me of my own experiences- feeling jealous of skills that others possessed but I did not. We want what we don't have, whether that be dreams that accurately tell the future or the ability to articulate ideas during peulot. Yes, even in Habonim, I feel we tend to value one kind of contribution over another. I would like to believe that Habonim Dror encourages all members to stay involved regardless of ones ability to grasp concepts or eloquently articulate themselves in conversation. I can imagine that a movement based heavily on discussion and the exchange of ideas might be a more challenging place for many people, and does not leave much room for individuals whose talents lie in perhaps the physical/artistic realms or otherwise to demonstrate their abilities. Joseph and his obvious talents captured the love of many but by overshadowing his brothers, they were not able to engage in any sort of brotherly partnership. I hope that we can learn from the mistakes of Jacob's family and

recognize people as partners regardless of whether their strengths come across in a Habonim setting. Let us not alienate anyone who chooses to fight for the same things we do but try and find the value in every individual, discouraging the existence of jealousy and encouraging understanding and partnership