By Nadia Hecker-O'Brien

This week’s parsha is an oldie but a goodie. It starts with Joseph having a dream that he will one day rule over his brothers. He shares this with his brothers but seeing as they are already very envious of him being favored by their father, Jacob, they get very angry and make a plan to get rid of him. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers and relocates to Egypt. He soon finds a household to manage but runs into another issue. The master’s wife wants Joseph to “lie with her” but he refuses. After his refusal the master’s wife claims, out of spite, that it was in fact Joseph who tried to seduce her, and as a result Joseph is imprisoned. During his time in prison Joseph interprets the dreams of the Pharaoh’s chief butler and baker. Telling them that in three days time the butler will be freed and the baker killed. This portion ends with Joseph asking the butler to plead on his behalf once freed but the butler forgets. For a more in depth summary go here.

One theme I found interesting, which appears (at least) twice throughout this portion, is this sense of spitefulness and jealousy. We see this with Joseph’s brothers as well as the master’s wife. Both groups of people have this idea that in order to be happy or somehow “get even” they must hurt Joseph in some way. I’m sure we have all had moments where that feeling has come over us and it seems like hurting someone is the solution when it really isn’t!

The movement is probably the place I’ve grown most in terms of understanding how to engage in productive, positive dialogues about things that have upset me. “Accepting and demanding,” or recognizing that we must love and care about people in order to effectively criticize or ask things of them has been essential to the development of my most meaningful relationships.

Spoiler alert! Later on we will learn that Joseph’s dream that he would rule over his brothers, does in fact come true and in a way, that is reminiscent of the Oedipus myth, his brothers’ plan ultimately backfires perhaps proving that it is not through spiteful actions that we will be fulfilled but through other, more constructive means.