By Rabbi Bradley Artson, provided by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, for MyJewishLearning.com
On the surface, there is no reason for Joseph to be lonely. He is, after all, the favorite child of his father, surrounded by 11 brothers, in the midst of a bustling and energetic family.
Joseph has the potential to fill his life with friendship, family and love. Yet his need to be preeminent, his need to belittle the gifts and experiences of this family in order to glorify his own talents, isolate him from his own kin. We get a clue about the extent of Joseph's pride from the very start.
Still Young
The Torah tells us that "Joseph, being seventeen years old, was still a lad." The Rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah, the ancient midrash on the Book of Genesis, struggle with that sentence. After all, if he is seventeen, he is no longer a mere lad! They suggest that the Torah is telling us that "he behaved like a boy, penciling his eyes, curling his hair and lifting his heel."
Like many people today, Joseph thinks he must invent a false and glamorous image in order to show his worth to himself and the world. As if that weren't sufficiently pitiful, he also feels compelled to put others down in order to be noticed and appreciated.
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