Vayeshev: Finding Meaning in Human Suffering

Suffering and misery are the most vexing issues in the human condition. Their resolution lies not in theological explanations per se, but rather in faith; faith that in this life we do not have the whole picture. We are experiencing a mere fragment of the greater reality, and that greater reality is beautiful and loving—part of the masterplan of a loving Hashem. This powerful, redemptive meta view emerges as the picture theme of our parsha.