The disagreement between Yosef and his brothers created a tremendous rift amongst the family. Indeed, their hatred for Yosef was so vindictive that they ruled that he should be put to death. Certainly,  an indictment against them for such a spiteful attitude towards their brother. On the other hand, we know that the sons of Yaakov were tremendously righteous people so how could they have erred in such a massive way? Did Yosef mistakenly add to their fire of animosity when he went to their father and complained to him about their behavior? Could that have been avoided?

Yaakov after twenty difficult years at the house of Lavan finally travels back to his father. However, not until he has to deal with his wayward brother Eisav. The hatred still prevails because Yaakov stole the blessings from their father Yitzchok that were meant for Eisav. Although Yitzchok eventually conceded them to Yaakov, Eisav was still extremely agitated and was poised for a military encounter with his brother

Our Sages refer to Yaakov as the ‘premier’ of the Patriarchs. Certainly, we may assume that Yaakov consolidated the incredibly remarkable traits of his father and grandfather and further expanded the formation of the future nation with his indelible mark of truthfulness. In contrast to his forebears, Yaakov’s household was exceptional with children representing the finest of  scions.

   Yitzchok is faced with the challenge of a famine that is ravaging his region. Of course, taking note of his father’s reaction to the famine during his lifetime, he planned to go to Egypt, as Avrohom had done, to secure food for his family. However, Hashem had another plan in mind.