Joseph (יוסף), the son of Jacob (יעקב), from the book of Genesis.
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If shepherds are taboo to Egyptians, what do we make of them having sheep themselves?
Yosef tells his family to say they're shepherds because that's taboo to Egypt:
you must say, 'We and our fathers have dealt in livestock all our lives'. You will then be able to settle in the ...
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Why does Yosef bring his sons to Yaakov
Yaakov famously blesses Ephraim and Menashe but who tells Yosef to bring them to their grandfather? It doesn't seem that this would be a natural thing to do as they are not Yaakov's sons. Does ...
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Why did Yosef tell over the dreams?
In this weeks Parsha (Vayeishev), we learn about how Yosef had his two [prophetic] dreams. We find that in each case, Yosef told his brothers about his dreams:
And he said to them, "Listen now to ...
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Didn’t the Ishmaelites know they were buying their second cousin?
In studying bereishis I have come up with questions about Joseph and his brothers that have long bothered me. One question is in parsha vayeshev, where we read how Joseph was sold by his brothers to ...
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How did Yosef showing his circumcision prove anything?
Rashi to 45:4 says that when Yosef told his brothers to approach him, it was to show them his circumcision (presumably to prove he was Jewish). But how would that prove anything? All of Egypt had been ...
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Which commentators commend Yosef for noticing his fellow prisoners' sadness?
Toward the end of Parashat Vayeishev, Yosef is imprisoned along with two of Par'oh's chief servants. Starting in Gen. 40:6, the Torah tells us that he notices that they look sad, asks why, and ...
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Joseph and Chanukkah
The Parshiot about Joseph always fall right before or during Chanukkah. It their a relationship between the Joseph stories and the Chanukkah stories? It there something to be learned from the fact ...
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Why did Binyamin think Yosef was still alive?
Rashi (Bereshit 43:30), quoting the Talmud (Sotah 36B), tells us that Binyamin named each of his 10 sons in honor of Yosef.
Many of the names indicate that Binyamin knew that Yosef was alive, in ...
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Asara Haruge Malchut (Ten Martyrs), why were 10 Rabbis killed?
In Vayigash, Rabenu Bahya (also the Zohar) comments and says that the reason we had Asara Haruge Malchut because the brothers sold Yosef. However, Reuven didn't sell Yosef, so why should the ...
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Benyamin's reward
Benyamin, while being quite young at the time, is notably missing when Yosef is sold. Does he deserve a reward for not participating or was he simply not included and therefore is incidental in the ...
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Did Reuven find out what had happened to Yosef?
In Bereishis 37:29, "And Reuven returned to the pit and look! Yosef wasn't in the pit." But the verse or Rashi for that matter do not explain if he ever found out what the brothers had done. The ...
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How long was Yosef in prison?
We know from Gen 37 that Yosef was 17 when he went out to meet his brothers and ended up on the way to Egypt, and we know from Gen 41:46 that he was 30 when Paro appointed him as second in commend. ...
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Who sold Yosef, and who knew?
I had always understood that Yosef's brothers sold him to the Ishmaelites. We know that they planned to do so, but during this week's torah reading I noticed this for the first time:
כח ...
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Why did Yosef's brothers speak freely in the presence of the interpreter?
In Parashat Miketz, Yosef's brothers encounter him disguised as the viceroy of Egypt, and he accuses them of espionage, jails them for three days, and makes a demand that they know their father would ...
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Why is Yosef's age at death given twice?
At the end of Genesis, Yosef dies at the age of 110 years. 50:22–26:
וַיֵּשֶׁב יוֹסֵף בְּמִצְרַיִם הוּא וּבֵית אָבִיו וַיְחִי יוֹסֵף מֵאָה וָעֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים. וַיַּרְא יוֹסֵף לְאֶפְרַיִם ...
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Why didn't Yaakov and Yosef spend much time together?
It seems that Yaakov and Yosef did not spend much time together in Egypt. After the emotional reunion is there any other mention of them together? Why not?
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Understanding Rashi's resolution of an ambiguity in Parashat Vayigash
The following is based on a question I wrote in the margin of my chumash about ten years ago.
In Yehuda's speech to the Egyptian viceroy (Yosef in disguise) at the beginning of Parashat Vayigash, he ...
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Why does Rashi say דבתם refers to the children of Leah?
Rashi (Bereshis 37:2 sv את דבתם רעה) says:
כל רעה שהיה רואה באחיו בני לאה היה מגיד לאביו - Any evil he saw in his brothers, the sons of Leah, he would tell his father
However it would seem that ...
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Seeking source of explanation of ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק
וְלֹא יָכֹל יוֹסֵף לְהִתְאַפֵּק — Yosef could not forbear (Gen. 45:1) — but had he done so, had he completed the brothers' reconciliation that he had started, then the kingdom would ...
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Why did Yosef wash his face after crying the second time but not the first?
In Miketz, Yosef is seen to cry twice.
42:24:
וַיִּסֹּב מֵעֲלֵיהֶם וַיֵּבְךְּ וַיָּשָׁב אֲלֵהֶם
He turned from them, cried, and returned to them.
43:30–31:
וַיְבַקֵּשׁ לִבְכּוֹת ...
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Why isn't נִצָּבָה redundant?
In Bereshis 37:7 we read:
וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶה וְהִנֵּה קָמָה אֲלֻמָּתִי וְגַם נִצָּבָה - Behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and ...
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Was Joseph considered a Tzaddik as he went down to Egypt?
Rashi on 37 (25) cites the Medrash about what the camels were carrying:
and their camels were carrying, etc.: Why did Scripture publicize
their burden? To let you know the reward of the ...
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Did Joseph ever forgive his brothers? Did they request forgiveness?
After Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, did the brothers ever ask for Yosef's forgiveness for having sold him into slavery? And did Yosef ever formally forgive them? I'm looking for chapter ...
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Yosef Bones out of Egypt
What Happened to Yosef Bones when the Took them out of Egypt ot actually when the Found them?
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Was Joseph's bad report on his brothers evidence or simply damaging?
"Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, being still a lad even with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought evil ...
