"Yosef" - his other stepmother would call. "Yosef" you are going to be late for Cheder!"
"Yosef" - his other stepmother Bilha would call, "Yosef! Everyone has already eaten up all the pita that I baked this morning! All that is left is the stale bread from yesterday!
Finally, Leah, Yakov's chief wife would call Yosef, "Just because you are your father's favorite doesn't mean that you can take advantage! Your mother Rachel in Gan Eden can't protect you forever!" Come and eat and go to Cheder.
But Yosef would not listen and many a day he want to school hungry. But the other brothers would not let their brother starve and his best friend Benjy would always sneak an extra pita for his older brother.
But one day, precious children, listen to this, Benjy forgot to bring extra food, and Yosef never watched his temper either in those days. he thought nothing of getting angry. It was natural for him to raise his voice, he was the best at everything, he knew his Aleph Bet at the age of two and a half, he could speak, 3 languages by the age of six, and by the age of 17 he knew how to speak 70 languages! But you know all that already my precious children, you go to Cheder too, and learn all about Yosef in class. But Yosef, he also knew some secrets that you and I don't know and will never know. He knew why the trees grow here in this place, and not in that one, where deep buried in the earth are gold and diamonds but he never told anybody. He boasted about his secrets so much that his other brothers, the sons of Leah, they number 6 you know, they would circle him and stare at him until he stopped to boast. Yosef's father, Yakov never was told about Yosef's boasting, but he knew anyway. But even wise old Yakov had no idea what to do about it.
Then came a day that the brothers decided to end the boasting. They knew about a deep hole, just big enough for a man to stand in. Oh, my precious children learn from the deeds of others but sometimes don't do the same, judge whether it is good or bad first.
These six brothers, the sons of Leah, she was a bitter woman, the only man she loved was her husband Yakov, but alas, his heart was for his long dead second wife. Even after all this time, he still mourned her. The first love is often the strongest, and hard to let go, even more so because she had died in childbirth of the youngest son, Benjamin. "Ah, had Rachel never asked for the Dudaim, she would still be alive!" Yakov would often wish. So Leah, she saw this in Yakov's eyes on certain days, mostly on Benjamin's birthday. There was never any music, harp or flute on Benjy's birthday, as it was the yarzeit of Rachel.
Benjamin was also wise, and he knew the reason and in his own way, accepted his father sadness, and made it his own. the two would sit side by side and sigh. One for a wife, and the other for a mother.
Yosef was not the same however, he was make of different feelings, not sensiteve at all. The brothers, you remember my precious children, especially the six sons of Leah wanted revenge. A dangerous emotion if you ask me! As you remember they dug a hole in the ground, the job was to watch the sheep, they were older you know after school and Yakov had many many sheep, not the pain kind that were white, with only two horns, but he had magnificent sheep.
Yakov kept special spotted and striped sheep with the many curvy horns, some had up to 6 horns on the head! The wool was soft of different colors, each sheep was a work of art, and at market fetched a good price too. Especially the rams, but he would sell only so many, they were his secret, Yakov knew how to cause them to sire the best offspring. He had learned this art while he was minding the sheep of Lavan, his father in law. I'm sure that you know that story however.
So the six brothers. made Yosef fall into this hole, all of them walking abreast in order to round up the sheep, Yosef yelled and yelled, and only when he was quiet did the brothers take him out. So now you know that later when the brothers sold Yosef for 20 pieces of silver, it was not the first time. Things always happen like that a sin doesn't come to a pious person all at once, it creeps upon you a little at a time, first the brothers drop Yosef into a hole, but they took him out. But the second time they sold him. Oh, my precious children, if only Yosef hadn't been so boastful, he wouldn't have been sold, and the Hebrews wouldn't have gone down in the Egypt, and become slaves!
"Yosef" - his other stepmother Bilha would call, "Yosef! Everyone has already eaten up all the pita that I baked this morning! All that is left is the stale bread from yesterday!
Finally, Leah, Yakov's chief wife would call Yosef, "Just because you are your father's favorite doesn't mean that you can take advantage! Your mother Rachel in Gan Eden can't protect you forever!" Come and eat and go to Cheder.
But Yosef would not listen and many a day he want to school hungry. But the other brothers would not let their brother starve and his best friend Benjy would always sneak an extra pita for his older brother.
But one day, precious children, listen to this, Benjy forgot to bring extra food, and Yosef never watched his temper either in those days. he thought nothing of getting angry. It was natural for him to raise his voice, he was the best at everything, he knew his Aleph Bet at the age of two and a half, he could speak, 3 languages by the age of six, and by the age of 17 he knew how to speak 70 languages! But you know all that already my precious children, you go to Cheder too, and learn all about Yosef in class. But Yosef, he also knew some secrets that you and I don't know and will never know. He knew why the trees grow here in this place, and not in that one, where deep buried in the earth are gold and diamonds but he never told anybody. He boasted about his secrets so much that his other brothers, the sons of Leah, they number 6 you know, they would circle him and stare at him until he stopped to boast. Yosef's father, Yakov never was told about Yosef's boasting, but he knew anyway. But even wise old Yakov had no idea what to do about it.
Then came a day that the brothers decided to end the boasting. They knew about a deep hole, just big enough for a man to stand in. Oh, my precious children learn from the deeds of others but sometimes don't do the same, judge whether it is good or bad first.
These six brothers, the sons of Leah, she was a bitter woman, the only man she loved was her husband Yakov, but alas, his heart was for his long dead second wife. Even after all this time, he still mourned her. The first love is often the strongest, and hard to let go, even more so because she had died in childbirth of the youngest son, Benjamin. "Ah, had Rachel never asked for the Dudaim, she would still be alive!" Yakov would often wish. So Leah, she saw this in Yakov's eyes on certain days, mostly on Benjamin's birthday. There was never any music, harp or flute on Benjy's birthday, as it was the yarzeit of Rachel.
Benjamin was also wise, and he knew the reason and in his own way, accepted his father sadness, and made it his own. the two would sit side by side and sigh. One for a wife, and the other for a mother.
Yosef was not the same however, he was make of different feelings, not sensiteve at all. The brothers, you remember my precious children, especially the six sons of Leah wanted revenge. A dangerous emotion if you ask me! As you remember they dug a hole in the ground, the job was to watch the sheep, they were older you know after school and Yakov had many many sheep, not the pain kind that were white, with only two horns, but he had magnificent sheep.
Yakov kept special spotted and striped sheep with the many curvy horns, some had up to 6 horns on the head! The wool was soft of different colors, each sheep was a work of art, and at market fetched a good price too. Especially the rams, but he would sell only so many, they were his secret, Yakov knew how to cause them to sire the best offspring. He had learned this art while he was minding the sheep of Lavan, his father in law. I'm sure that you know that story however.
So the six brothers. made Yosef fall into this hole, all of them walking abreast in order to round up the sheep, Yosef yelled and yelled, and only when he was quiet did the brothers take him out. So now you know that later when the brothers sold Yosef for 20 pieces of silver, it was not the first time. Things always happen like that a sin doesn't come to a pious person all at once, it creeps upon you a little at a time, first the brothers drop Yosef into a hole, but they took him out. But the second time they sold him. Oh, my precious children, if only Yosef hadn't been so boastful, he wouldn't have been sold, and the Hebrews wouldn't have gone down in the Egypt, and become slaves!
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