Joseph’s brothers lie
Telling him that their father
Had some final words

“Forgive your brothers”
Is what they claim Jacob said
Just before he died

That’s not in Torah
So, is such a lie ok
In the quest for peace?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, addresses this question in his essay “The White Lie“

Jake wrestles stranger
Esau’s guardian angel?
Was it a man? G-d?

Or could it have been
Jacob’s own inner conflict
About his brother?

Jacob thinks it’s G-d
He names the place Peniel
Which means “Divine Face”

Rocks for a pillow
Jacob dreams of a ladder
Angels up and down

A revelation
“G-d is truly in this place
But I did not know”

Jacob “blesses” sons
Predicts future of each tribe
Just before he dies

His sons bury him
In the Cave of Machpelah
As he requested

——-

With this week’s portion
We finish Torah’s first book
And we say, “Chazak“

Jacob’s family
Seventy people in all
Settled in Goshen

Joseph and father
Reunited in Egypt
Pharaoh welcomed them

Joseph tells his dreams
Wheat, the sun, the moon and stars
Bowing down to him

Brothers not big fans
Even father shows concern
For his favored son

Jacob asks Joseph
“What kind of dream did you have?”
But withholds judgment

Dinah is defiled
Her father remains silent
Brothers seek revenge

Jacob gets angry
With Simeon and Levi
Shechem? Not so much.

Jacob had twelve sons
Six were children of Leah
Rachel had just two

Bilhah and Zilpah
Servants of the two sisters
Gave birth to two each

Reuben, Simeon
Levi, Judah, Issachar
Zebulun (Leah’s)

Bilhah’s first was Dan
Her second son Naphtali
Joseph’s fifth and sixth

Leah’s maid Zilpah
Mother of Gad and Asher
The seventh and eighth

And Rachel’s children?
Joseph, Jacob’s fav’rite son
And young Benjamin

Twelve boys, one sister
Leah’s daughter, named Dinah
More ’bout her next week

Again, the second
Instead of the first born son
Is the favored one

Judah pleads his case
Tells Joseph of Jacob’s pain
Brothers reunite