This action-packed portion tells the story of Joseph’s sale and early years in Egypt, before his rise to fame and fortune. Joseph’s dreams and the attention he garners from his father prompt his brothers’ jealousy, and they set out to destroy him. Initially throwing him in a pit, they fish him out, sell him to traders heading towards Egypt, and trick their father into believing Joseph had been killed. Joseph rises to prominence in his master’s household until his spurned mistress gets him jailed. There, he interprets dreams for two other prisoners. Meanwhile, back in Canaan, we read of Judah’s marriage, and the efforts he makes to find a match for his children.
The Portion of Vayeishev
וַיֵּשֶׁב יַעֲקֹב בְּאֶרֶץ מְגוּרֵי אָבִיו בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן׃ Now Yaakov was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan. וְלֹא־זָכַר שַׂר־הַמַּשְׁקִים אֶת־יוֹסֵף וַיִּשְׁכָּחֵהוּ׃ Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Yosef; he forgot him.