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Leah’s Blog – Parashat Vayeshev 2025

Parshat Vayeshev – Leah’s Blog – December 2025

Fairy tales are short stories that are not true. The characters in these stories are often princes and princesses, kings and queens, giants, witches, heroes and villains. The royalty are always beautiful with powerful ancestry while the bad ones are always ugly with a dark past. Fairy tales usually have a happy ending. People have told fairy tales from time immemorial in all countries of the world.

They trend even today in post modernism as well, morphing into different story lines like never before. There is probably an even divide of those that seek to watch movies about seemingly innocent children’s stories of sorcery, witchcraft, spells, charms and occult and then those that are more involved in faith, prayer, and pro- active miracles happening in our time right now. It overlaps too,  – I can only speak for myself-  Innocent people that believe in G-d that love Harry Potter and Twilight. There are no miracles in fairy tale stories – just figments of imagination. Who doesn’t love a Tinkerbell?

YOSEF – THE GOOD LOOKING PRINCE

The Torah, especially the book of Berieshit, has stories about characters, heroes, villains, royalty, and symbolism. The Torah template and book layout might appear similar to the introduction and themes of fairy tales with obstacles and resolve after challenges, however stresses in the legacy it teaches about morality and heritage- the antithesis of magic. There are no fantastical creatures here- maybe an occasional angel. The rags to riches story of Yosef Hatzaddik comes to teach us through the riveting plot that שבטי יה- the royal princes of the tribes of Yisrael are people- not angels. They have faults and they make mistakes. There is telepathy and above nature abilities, but no magic in this story. As Yosef is led down to Mitzrayim after being sold, he indeed faces that very thing in the castle of Pharoh- the magicians and sorcery that enveloped that most powerful country.

On a closer look into the Yosef saga, we learn about human flaws. The brothers are not ugly but they play the villain. The royalty that sits on the throne needs the underdog to solve riddles yet Yosef says very clearly – “Hashem will give the answer.” In this story we learn about identity and fidelity as Yosef becomes one with Egypt he does not assimilate and identifies almost immediately- Ivri Ani- “I am a Hebrew.” He does not succumb to forbidden love. We learn about healthy family values despite the horrific schism experienced in the baseless hatred that led to the actual sale of Yosef to the Yishmaelim and the tikkun that took years to make in order to have the family united again after pain and division. We learn about the base of a strong nation that came out of these originators, the framers and fathers of Am Yisrael.

Perhaps the most striking lesson we learn from the Yosef saga is about G-d’s glory which becomes pronounced years later at the exodus when Moshe Rabbeinu spells it out for necromancer Pharoh surrounded by his failed magicians. Moshe raises his staff and miracles are performed while the sorcerers of Mitzrayim linked to demonic powers could not compete with the truth of G-d. Hashem’s glory is augmented in Yosef remaining mostly silent through the tikkun of the horrific atrocity of what his brothers did to him and he said finally as he revealed himself-“All of this happened for good, for now Hashem has enabled me to provide for you.”

HISTORY AND IDENTITY – THE SALE OF YOSEF THEN AND NOW

Now too there are those willing to “sell us to the Yishmaelim.” The baseless hate directed to those who live in Israel’s heartland will have to be fixed in the mindset of fairy tale and imagination- it has morphed into the hero being the villain- to the last possible scenario in fake reality, not true. It has reached the point of collaboration with the villain enemy against our true Princess- Israel- the home of our people. It is time to return to the true Torah stories – of the miracles happening right now here on this Land. We know that ultimately they will “eat out of our hands.”

We are a strong nation.

FRIENDS THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR ENABLING SO SO MANY MORE LIGHTS TO SHINE FROM THE HILLS OF SHOMRON-

Shabbat shalom dearest friends  –  xoxoxoxoxoxox – HAPPY CHANUKAH, Leah