Brothers Divided, in Yerushalayim United

Long before Dovid HaMelech established his permanent capital in Yerushalayim, the nations of the world already recognized the holy city as a place unlike any other. They sensed its metaphysical significance, the gateway to the heavenly realms (Ramban, Bereishit 14:18). They called the city Shalem, evoking wholesomeness and peace.  Not coincidentally, Yerushalayim straddles the border […]

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Yosef and the Dreams of Zion

Our parsha revolves around dreams. It opens with a young Yosef dreaming about things that were beyond the family’s immediate experience – of a grain field for a family of shepherds and of the celestial beings. These dreams at first get Yosef in trouble, as his brothers react to them negatively and eventually sell him […]

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Yosef: The Diaspora Jew Who Self-Defines as Zion

The Midrash in this week’s parsha compares Yosef to Zion. Each step of Yosef’s journey – from his initial favored status to his seeming downfall to his rise as viceroy of Egypt – occurred to Zion as well. Zion enjoyed an initial favored status, was cast into exile only rise again in the future. The […]

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