Joseph always feels different and strange. He always feels alone, even when he is with friends. His parents loved him but did not understand him. His brothers were jealous of his brains and good looks. He is the quintessential Jew, determined to be different and desperate to belong. For all sorts of irrational reasons he wanders far away from home, feels lost much of the time, becomes a well respected man in a strange land but is never sure why.
When he is forced to leave home, he keeps running and running, ends up minimizing his Jewishness. He mingles with gentiles so much that eventually becomes one of them. He forgets who he is for many many years. He tries to pretend that he is one of them. They accept and like him. They think he is good looking and interesting to listen to. But a strange thing happens. Incrementally, gradually and cumulatively the longer he lives with gentiles the more Jewish he becomes. Instinctively, deep in his soul, he remembers that he belongs to another tribe. And when he meets his brothers, Joseph is Jewish again but it takes him a while to figure out how and why.
Joseph has certainly had his share of dreams and adventures. He remembers them all very well. It has been quite a trip! As he gets older he is, for the first time in his life, deeply in love, comfortable in his skin, sleeping at night, able to be who he is from the depths of his soul. Despite everything, Joseph is profoundly Jewish, determined to be different and desperate to belong; some things do not and cannot change.
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