Parsha:

Vayeishev 

Description

How we treat the people around us depends greatly on how close we consider them: the closer we are, the more generously we relate to them. It's obvious that we're going to act differently to our children than to a stranger in the street. We see precisely this dynamic in play as Yosef's brothers alienate themselves from him, and eventually commit a heinous act towards him. But, before they can bring themselves to do anything, they first must push him, at least in their minds, out of their inner circle.