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Weekly Words of Torah goes PC (Parashah and Chesed) – Parashat Vayeshev 5780

To inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, Executive Director, Women’s League For Conservative Judaism

Parashat Vayeshev shows that Jacob (Israel) did not learn from his own upbringing to not have favorites. Israel/Jacob plays favorites, and all know that his son Joseph holds that place in Jacob’s heart. Israel/Jacob makes him his son Joseph a coat of many colors, which creates great jealousy amongst his siblings. Joseph is a dreamer who shares his dreams with his family. One such dream involves sheaves of wheat, and the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him.

One day, when Joseph goes to meet his brothers in the field, they attack him and throw him into a pit. They steal his special coat, and trick their father Jacob into thinking that Joseph was killed. However, the brothers actually sold Joseph into slavery. Joseph is eventually taken to Egypt to serve in Potiphar’s house. Joseph does well there and eventually becomes the lead slave. Joseph is harassed by Potiphar’s wife and he winds up being thrown in prison, where he interprets two prisoners dreams.

As we read about Joseph’s well-known coat of many colors, a Chesed idea for this week is to have a coat drive, and a sweater drive.

Weekly Words of Torah is a brief paragraph prepared weekly by our Executive Director, Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, presented in our “This Week @ Women’s League.” WWOT will provide meaningful thoughts related to the Weekly Torah Portion, an event on the Calendar, a Prayer, or something of Jewish interest, to inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women. If you have any particular interest in future topics, or want to send Rabbi Wolintz-Fields an email, you can contact her at ewolintz-fields@wlcj.org. Read previous Weekly Words of Torah here, and stay up-to-date with the latest WWOT theme, Chesed, here.