December 11, 2025
Parashat Vayeshev tells the story of Yosef and his brothers, and it introduces this story by stating, אלה תולדות יעקב, יוסף – "These are the offspring of Yaakov: Yosef…" Although Yaakov had many children – twelve sons and a daughter – the Torah identifies specifically Yosef as Yaakov's תולדות – "offspring." Rashi brings several explanations for why Yosef is presented as Yaakov's only child, one of which is שהיה זיו אקונין של יוסף דומה לו – Yosef's appearance resembled Yaakov's appearance. Why would this resemblance justify describing Yosef as תולדות יעקב ? Why is it so significant that Yosef looked like Yaakov? The Bat Ayin explains that Rashi actually does not refer to physical appearance. Rather, Rashi means that Yosef aspired to be like Yaakov. Yosef was considered Yaakov's primary child because of Yosef's unique level of humility, recognizing how far he had to go to be like his father, how much he had to learn from his father, how much greater he needed to become so he could approach his father's level. More than any of Yaakov's other children, Yosef wanted to be like Yaakov. Later, the Torah describes Yosef as Yaakov's בן זקונים , which seems to mean that he was born when Yaakov was already an older man. The ancient Targum Onkelos translation, however, translates this phrase as בר חכימא ("a wise son"). The Bat Ayin writes that the word חכימא is related to the verb חכה – "wait," or yearn, and anticipate. Yosef yearned to be like Yaakov. He aspired to follow Yaakov's examp