I once saw a television advertisement for a smartphone company in which a child is given a large lollipop. Then another child standing nearby receives a much smaller lollipop.

It goes without saying that everything that happens in the world is somehow connected to God. Some things happen because humankind is disobedient and rebellious. Sometimes things happen because we live in a fallen world and there is no one to blame.

This week’s Torah portion brings us to the story of Joseph and his brothers. This is the longest story in the book of Genesis. It is the climax of the narrative of the formation of the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Life is hard. How is that for an obvious statement! We all face difficulties of some kind.

Jacob “went out” (Gen. 28:10) not in confidence but in fear—running from Esau, from rejection, from his past, and from the belief that he wasn’t worthy of God’s blessing.

Everyone knows that the Patriarchs of Israel are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We read about them in the Scriptures and especially in the prayers of the Jewish people.