Parashat HaShavua

וישב יעקב …   Ya’akov was settled in the land of his father…”  We would expect some kind of “happily ever after” story from here, but that is far from the case. “These are the generations of Ya’akov…” We would expect there to be a listing of children, grandchildren, etc., like in every other place where this phrase is used in the Torah. Instead the only name mentioned is Yosef, 17 years old, and behaving like a kid, and bringing reports of his brother’s bad behavior to his father. Did Ya’akov scold him for it?

All we know is that Ya’akov loved Yosef more than all the other sons because he was like the “youngest child of his old age,” the one that everyone dotes on and spoils. And Ya’akov didn’t keep this love a secret. He made him a special striped garment. The brothers saw that Yosef was the favorite, and they hated him for it. They couldn’t even speak civilly to him. One thing led to another, and the brothers sold him to slavery in Egypt, which eventually led to the whole family going down to Egypt, and eventually becoming slaves there.

The Rabbis in the Gemara (Shabbat 10b) identify this favoritism of Ya’akov as the cause of the nation of Israel going into exile in Egypt. “A person should never distinguish one of his sons from among the other sons by giving him preferential treatment. As, due to the weight of two sela of fine wool that Ya’akov gave to Yosef, beyond what he gave the rest of his sons, in making him the striped coat, his brothers became jealous of him and the matter unfolded and our forefathers descended to Egypt.”

So even though there were many factors leading to our exile in Egypt, many different causes, the Sages focus in on this one act of Ya’akov giving Yosef a small gift that showed his favoritism that led down the road to disaster.