Yosef the Closer, the Continuer and the Need to Internalize Impermanence Just when you think that the story is over, there always seems to be more. As we read the epic tale of Joseph, Yosef HaTzadik, each chapter in his life seems that it could be the end of the story, but it is not. He is put in a pit, left to die–not the end. He is sold as a slave-not the end. He rises to the top level in his job-not the end. He is sent to jail to languish-not the end. He has a ruptured relationship with his brothers-not the end. Yosef is the paradigm of resilience in the book of Breishit and in looking more at this fascinating character, his life reflects the dual nature of his name. In Vayetze, we are told that Rachel is finally given the gift of children and she gives her child the name Yosef. The first allusion to his name is the hope for an end. Yosef contains the root of the word for the end, the sof, as it is the end of this terrible chapter of childlessness for Ra...
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