(1) Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan. (2) This, then, is the line of Jacob: At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father. (3) Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him an ornamented tunic. (4) And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him so that they could not speak a friendly word to him. (5) Once Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him even more. (6) He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed: (7) There we were binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf.” (8) His brothers answered, “Do you mean to reign over us? Do you mean to rule over us?” And they hated him even more for his talk about his dreams. (9) He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: And this time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִוא, רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן פָּתַח (ירמיה כט, יא): כִּי אָנֹכִי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹת, שְׁבָטִים הָיוּ עֲסוּקִין בִּמְכִירָתוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף, וְיוֹסֵף הָיָה עָסוּק בְּשַׂקּוֹ וּבְתַעֲנִיתוֹ, רְאוּבֵן הָיָה עָסוּק בְּשַׂקּוֹ וְתַעֲנִיתוֹ, וְיַעֲקֹב הָיָה עָסוּק בְּשַׂקּוֹ וּבְתַעֲנִיתוֹ, וִיהוּדָה הָיָה עָסוּק לִקַּח לוֹ אִשָּׁה, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הָיָה עוֹסֵק בּוֹרֵא אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ, וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִיא וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה. (ישעיה סו, ז): בְּטֶרֶם תָּחִיל יָלָדָה, קֹדֶם שֶׁלֹא נוֹלַד מְשַׁעְבֵּד הָרִאשׁוֹן נוֹלַד גּוֹאֵל הָאַחֲרוֹן, וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִוא, מַה כְּתִיב לְמַעְלָה מִן הָעִנְיָן, וְהַמְּדָנִים מָכְרוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל מִצְרַיִם.
“For I know the thoughts” (Jeremiah 29:11): The tribes were busy with the selling of Joseph. Jacob was busy with his sackcloth and mourning. Judah was busy looking for a woman. While the Holy One was creating the light of the Messiah! ...
(. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לִיהוּדָה אַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ (בראשית לז, לב): הַכֶּר נָא, חַיֶּיךָ שֶׁתָּמָר אוֹמֶרֶת לְךָ (בראשית לח, כה): הַכֶּר נָא. (בראשית לז, לג): וַיַּכִּירָהּ וַיֹּאמֶר כְּתֹנֶת בְּנִי, אָמַר לֵית אֲנָא יָדַע מָה אֲנָא חָמֵי, כְּתֹנֶת בְּנִי חַיָּה רָעָה אֲכָלָתְהוּ וגו', אָמַר רַב הוּנָא נִצְנְצָה בּוֹ רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, חַיָּה רָעָה אֲכָלָתְהוּ, זוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל פּוֹטִיפַר.
‘The Holy One Praised be He said to Judah, “You deceived your father with a kid. By your life, Tamar will deceive you with a kid”… The Holy One Praised be He said to Judah, “You said to your father, haker-na. By your life, Tamar will say to you, haker-na”’ (Bereshit Rabba 84:19 )....