Rabbi Howard Silverman

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.