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The Joseph Story

The Joseph Story



The story of Joseph and his brothers is one of the most well-known in the entire Bible. And yet, the story – for all its familiarity and simplicity – is darker than the one we might remember learning as a child. Indeed, a sober reading of the text reveals that this is no child's story at all. What are we to make of this story of near-fratricide? What enduring meaning does it hold out to us?

  1. What Were They Thinking?
  2. Building Tensions
  3. Coats, Dreams and Jealousy
  4. What Was Jacob Thinking?
  5. A Break From the Action
  6. The Original Internet
  7. The Hidden Hyperlinks
  8. A Confluence of Echoes
  9. Where Have I Heard This Before?
  10. The Brothers' Perspective
  11. When Three Are One
  12. Will the Real Firstborn Please Stand Up?
  13. Bechor: A Tale of Twos
  14. Rabbi Soloveitchik's Theory
  15. Joseph's Undershirt
  16. The Meaning of the Second Coat
  17. Four Links
  18. Double Entendre
  19. The Riddle of the Bowing Moon
  20. The Hidden Angel
  21. Chain of Words
  22. Jacob, Jacob!
  23. Backwards Akeidah
  24. Be Very Afraid
  25. Is This the End of the Trail?
  26. But What Does It All Mean?
  27. Why Now?
  28. An Unwinding Akeidah
  29. Reading Without the End in Mind
  30. Microcosm, Macrocosm
  31. I Will Return You
  32. Other Echoes
  33. Deepening Connection
  34. Expulsion
  35. Losing Two Coats
  36. The First of Three Mysteries
  37. Where is Reuven?
  38. Three Card Monte
  39. Keep Your Eye on the Midianites
  40. Rashi and Ramban on 'Who Sold Joseph'
  41. Where is Reuven - Redux
  42. The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
  43. What Does God Think of All This?
  44. Is Apathy the Ultimate Evil?
  45. Seven Brothers
  46. Exile
  47. Still Responsible?
  48. Introduction to Yehudah and Tamar
  49. Kinds of Questions
  50. A Question of Placement
  51. A Tale of Two Digressions
  52. Does Rashi Answer The Question?
  53. Are We Explaining One Sentence or a Whole Story?
  54. A Triangle of Descent
  55. The Unexpected Element
  56. Perpetual Mourning
  57. Failure to Persuade
  58. Patchwork Quilt
  59. Superfluous Details
  60. Lest It Come To Scandal
  61. Recognize, Please..
  62. Tales of Goats and Coats
  63. Keepsake or Evidence?
  64. Collateral
  65. Interwoven-ness
  66. How Many--and Why?
  67. What's At Stake?
  68. Yehudah's Name
  69. Recognition
  70. Re'uven
  71. Wordplay
  72. Hunger Games
  73. Line of Sight
  74. All Eyes and Ears
  75. The Trouble With Life is That it Doesn't Come with a Soundtrack
  76. But Chevron Isn't In a Valley...
  77. Civil War and Slavery
  78. What Does the Book of Psalms Have to Do With the Joseph Story?
  79. A Curious Dedication
  80. Profit Motive
  81. Blood Money
  82. Did Jacob Know?
  83. A Father's Ambivalent Blessing
  84. The Ruthlessness of War
  85. The Lion and the Cub
  86. Collateral
  87. To Redeem an Ancestor's Pledge
  88. The Lion and the Lamb
  89. Moving Up
  90. Memories of Father
  91. First Cries
  92. Where Would I Be Without You
  93. What Could Kill Me--But Then What?
  94. A Palpable Presence