In Parshas Vayeishev, the story of Yosef and his brothers begins to unfold in full force. Yaakov has returned home to Canaan, where - contrary to his longing for some tranquility and peace in his life - the troubles with his sons begins. At the age of seventeen, Yosef - the favorite son - dreams of sheaves in the field, and heavenly bodies, all bowing down to him. These dreams ire the brothers, who increase their hatred and jealousy of him.

When, one day, Yaakov sends Yosef to check on his brothers and the flocks, the brothers see Yosef approaching, and plot against him. Ultimately, he is sold to Egypt and bought by Potiphar, Chief Executioner to Pharaoh (Bereishis 37).

The next perek moves to the topic of Yehuda and Tamar, from whose union, ultimately, Melech Ha’Moshiach will be born (Bereishis 38).

In the house of Potiphar, Eishes Potiphar tries to seduce Yosef, until he finally resists, leaving his cloak in her hand and running outside to escape her seduction. She frames Yosef, claiming he tried to seduce her, and Potiphar has Yosef thrown in jail (Bereishis 39). After a decade in jail, he meets the Butler and Baker, both of whom are disturbed by their respective dreams. Yosef correctly interprets their dreams, and asks the Butler to remember him, and not to forget him. The Butler gets out of jail and promptly forgets Yosef (Bereishis 40).

Whereas Yaakov thought his troubles were finally over - the trouble of Eisav, the trouble of Lavan, the abduction and violation of Dina, and the death of Rachel - his most significant trouble - that of Yosef and the brothers - had only just begun.

It is the sons of Yaakov who presented their father with Yosef’s cloak that they dipped in goat blood to trick him into thinking Yosef was torn to shreds by a wild animal. And when all of Yaakov’s children arise to comfort him, the pasuk tells us: וַיְמָאֵן֙ לְהִתְנַחֵ֔ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר כִּֽי־אֵרֵ֧ד אֶל־בְּנִ֛י אָבֵ֖ל שְׁאֹ֑לָה, and he refused to be comforted, and he said: For I will descend on account of my son as a mourner to the grave (37:35).

Of all the avos - and despite the fact that Avraham was tested with ten tests - Yaakov had the most turbulent life. As the angel attests when he renames Yaakov to Yisrael: for you have striven/wrestled with G-d and with man, and you have prevailed (32:29).

Yaakov had to deal with struggles and strivings practically his whole life. He had his external enemies - Eisav, Lavan, Shechem; the abduction and violation of his daughter, Dina; his troubles in the home between his children - Yosef and the brothers; the disappearance of Yosef for over twenty years; and his move - out of necessity - to Egypt - for the last seventeen years of his life. 

Moreover, these struggles are not just relevant to the life of our forefather, Yaakov, they are the blueprint of the lives of all of us, his children, Am Yisrael. For, as the Sages teach us: kol mah she’eirah la’vos, siman la’banim - all that happened to the patriarchs is a foreshadowing and omen for future generations.

From the life of Yaakov the Torah is teaching us how we can traverse the highways of life, and emerge triumphant. As he was limping, we may in fact be wounded - and often are, may Hashem have mercy on us - but as our nation as a whole always prevails, so can each one of us, as individuals.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks points out that the Torah portrays the avot and imahot as very real personalities, with all of their human complexities, so that we can relate to them, take strength from their lives and learn from them (Covenant and Conversation, Genesis, p.230) (In his commentary to Sefer Bereishis, this is also the consistent approach of Rav Samson Rafael Hirsch). Had our avot and imahot been portrayed, for posterity, as angelic, super-human, or as demigods, chas v’shalom, we could not learn from, nor emulate, them or strive to better ourselves. 

After Yaakov wrestles with the angel on the shores of the River Yabok, and the angel asks Yaakov to free him, Yaakov replies: I will not send you off until you have blessed me (32:27). Rabbi Lord Sacks writes, “I will not let you go until you bless me: These words of Jacob to the angel lie at the very core of surviving crisis. Each of us knows from personal experience that events that seem disappointing, painful, even humiliating at the time, can be the most important in our lives. Through them we learned how to try harder next time; or they taught us a truth about ourselves; or they shifted our life into a new and more fruitful direction. We learn, not from our successes but from our failures. We mature and grow strong and become more understanding and forgiving through the mistakes we make. A protected life is a fragile and superficial life. Strength comes from knowing the worst and refusing to give in. Jacob/Israel bequeathed us many gifts, but few more valuable that the obstinacy and resilience that can face hard times and say of them: ‘I will not let you go until you bless me.’ I will not give up or move on until I have extracted something positive from this pain and turned it into blessing.

“… What Genesis [Sefer Bereishis] tells us is that the heroes of our faith did not live charmed lives. They suffered exiles, knew danger, had their hopes disappointed and the expectations delayed. They fought, they struggled, but they neither gave in nor gave up… Sometimes they laughed in disbelief; there were times when they feared, trembled, wept… They were human beings, not angels; they were people with whom we can identify, not saints to be worshipped. Jacob taught us that we cannot pre-empt crisis, nor should we minimise it, but we can survive it, thus becoming worthy of bearing the name of one who struggled with G-d and with men and prevailed” (Covenant and Conversation, Genesis, p.232-233). 

May we be graced with the courage and strength, faith and trust, perseverance and fortitude, to extract blessing from all times in our lives, b’ezaras Hashem. Though at times this may be of supreme difficulty, and require us to find the light even when we are limping, may Hashem - in His great mercy and compassion - guide us on the path of triumph and success.

בברכת שבת שלום ובשורות טובות