One of the things that we notice is that Joseph remained steadfast in his faith, no matter what the situation that he found himself in. From being a slave to being 2nd to Pharaoh, he remained a Jew.

When faced with the accusations that they were spies by the prime minister of Egypt, they began to accuse Judah of selling Joseph. The problem was that they were willing participants. We have to realize that we are still responsible for our actions.

Pharaoh’s dreams tell Joseph that God is in charge. The language used to describe the 7 beautiful cows, and the 7 lean cows is the same as when the Torah describes Rachel and Leah. That tells Joseph that the dreams are from God.

Pharaoh discovers Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams due to the advice of his cup bearer. But the way that he mentions Joseph is not complimentary. This is to show that someone who does the right thing should be honored for his action, even though he might not be good himself.

In Joseph’s dreams he shows that he is different from his family. The first one has to do with farming while the family business is being shepherds. The second he is surrounded by the sun, moon and stars. But the family did not put their faith in these things.

Joseph interprets the dreams of the butler and baker while in prison. When the butler is returned to his duties Joseph asks him to remember him to Pharaoh. The butler doesn’t. This is to teach us that we have to put our faith in God, not man.

Before Joseph can attend his position of leadership he has to learn to be humble. That he can’t just declare himself the leader and expect others to follow. That is the reason he has to be sold into slavery and be in prison.

Judah’s doesn’t realize his potential. But Tamar does. It is only through their union is his full potential realized and he can then become the leader he was meant to be.

Both Joseph and Judah each have to undergo a crisis to achieve their potentials. The issue is not that there is a crisis that we face in our lives but how we handle them and how do we learn from them.

Jacob makes the mistake of letting all his sons know that Joseph is his favorite. This leads to jealousy and disaster. Joseph compounds the mistake by throwing this in their faces.