יוֹסֵף
Yosef
Joseph
וַיֵּשֶׁב
Torah Portion 9 of 12 · Bereshit (Genesis) 37:1–40:23
Parashat Vayeshev: the story, then the game.
Yosef has a coat, a set of dreams and brothers who've heard enough. A pit near Dotan leads to Egypt, Potiphar's house and a cell, where he starts reading other people's dreams.
Vayeshev: "And he settled"
The Story of Parashat Vayeshev
A coat and two dreams
Yaakov loves Yosef most and gives him a coat of many colors. Yosef dreams of sheaves and stars bowing to him, and he tells his brothers. They can no longer speak to him peacefully.
The pit
His father sends him to check on his brothers. A man finds him wandering in a field near Shechem and sends him on to Dotan. His brothers see him coming, strip off the coat and throw him in an empty pit. A caravan passes on its way to Mitzrayim, and they sell him. Yaakov is shown the coat and refuses to be comforted.
Potifar's house and the prison
In Mitzrayim, everything Yosef touches prospers, and Potifar puts him over his whole house. When Potifar's wife falsely accuses him, he's thrown in prison, and there too he rises. He interprets the dreams of Par'oh's butler and baker, and it all happens as he says. The butler goes free and forgets him.
Read in synagogues on Shabbat, December 5, 2026.
What You Play
The part of the story we focus on.
This is the newest portion in the game. You play Yosef from his father's tent all the way to the prison in Mitzrayim.
כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים
A Coat of Many Colours
Go out to your brothers at the flock, and speak with Yaakov by the tents.
Bereshit (Genesis) 37
אֶת אַחַי אָנֹכִי מְבַקֵּשׁ
Seeking My Brothers
Meet the man in the field near Shechem, go on to Dotan, wait in the pit and leave with the caravan.
Bereshit (Genesis) 37
Yosef in Potifar's House
Reap the wheat, fill the jars, press the oil and run the house.
Bereshit (Genesis) 39
In the Prison
Wait in the prison and hear the dreams of the butler and the baker.
Bereshit (Genesis) 40
The story of Yehudah and Tamar in Bereshit (Genesis) 38 is part of the portion, but it isn't a quest in the game.
This portion at a glance
- The coat and the dreams37:1–11
- The pit near Dotan37:12–28
- Yosef in Potiphar's house39:1–6
- Thrown into prison39:19–23
- The butler's and baker's dreams40:1–23
Hebrew from Parashat Vayeshev
כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים
Ketonet Passim
Yosef's coat
דֹּתָן
Dotan
Where the brothers were
פּוֹטִיפַר
Potiphar
Yosef's Egyptian master
Talk about it
- How would you have told your brothers about those dreams, if at all?
- What keeps Yosef working hard after everything that's happened to him?
- Why do you think the butler forgets?
About Parashat Vayeshev
What is Parashat Vayeshev about?
Yosef's coat, the pit near Dotan and a prison in Egypt. The name, וַיֵּשֶׁב, means "And he settled."
Where is Parashat Vayeshev in the Bible?
It runs from Bereshit 37:1 to Bereshit 40:23, which is Genesis 37:1–40:23 in an English Bible. It's portion 9 of the 12 in the book.
Can I play Parashat Vayeshev in Gan Eden?
Playable now in Gan Eden, free in your browser.
גַּן עֵדֶן
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