Vayeishev 37:3 · unit 1

Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 37:3

The Complete Passuk

וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אָהַ֤ב אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ מִכׇּל־בָּנָ֔יו כִּֽי־בֶן־זְקֻנִ֥ים הוּא לוֹ וְעָ֥שָׂה לוֹ כְּתֹ֥נֶת פַּסִּֽים׃

Now Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Shabbos 10b.

Sefaria — Shabbos 10b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
אָמַר רַב חָמָא בַּר גּוּרְיָא אָמַר רַב: לְעוֹלָם אַל יְשַׁנֶּה אָדָם בְּנוֹ בֵּין הַבָּנִים, שֶׁהֲרֵי בִּשְׁבִיל מִשְׁקַל שְׁנֵי סְלָעִים מִילַת שֶׁעָשָׂה יַעֲקֹב לְיוֹסֵף יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁאָר בָּנָיו נִתְקַנְּאוּ בּוֹ אֶחָיו וְנִתְגַּלְגֵּל הַדָּבָר וְיָרְדוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְמִצְרָיִם.

English: Rav Chama bar Gurya said in the name of Rav: A person should never single out one of his sons from among the others, for because of the weight of two selaim of fine wool that Yaakov made for Yosef more than for his other sons, his brothers became jealous of him and the matter rolled on until our fathers went down to Egypt.

On the daf / in context: Shabbos 10b derives from the favoritism shown by the coat a general warning against preferential treatment of one child.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The coat of many colors is read as the concrete cause of the jealousy that led to the Egyptian exile.

What Is Learned

A parent must not favor one child over the others even in a small matter. Yaakov’s gift of the special coat to Yosef aroused the brothers’ jealousy and set in motion the chain of events that brought the family down to Egypt.