Last week, we discussed all of the genealogies of Genesis 36. We discussed that they make a nice transition from the story of Jacob to the story of his sons, particularly Joseph. We discussed “reference repair,” in which a reference is clarified–for example, “Esau: he is Edom.” We discussed the fact that Esau was quite prosperous and imagined he might have been better off outside the family than in it—the quarreling family that even includes a father who almost killed his son. We mentioned that the text says Esau went away from the presence of Jacob because their property was too great for them to live together and noted that it was a new explanation.

Our artwork this week is by Belorussian-French Jewish painter, Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Young Shepherd Joseph (above) and Joseph Explains Pharaoh’s Dreams (below). Chagall went to Palestine in the 30’s and then began his etchings of Torah stories. He went back in the 50’s and the project spanned two decades. Art historian, Meyer Schapiro, said: “If we had nothing of Chagall but his Bible, he would be for us a great modern artist.”