VaYeshev

In this section of the Torah there is a long and detailed story about Yosef and his brothers that you have probably read and talked about many times before.  We all know the story - Yosef is his father's favorite child, his father Yaacov treats him better than the other brothers, they hate him, they sell him to a caravan, his father thinks he's dead, yadda, yadda, yadda.
When the caravan gets to Egypt Yosef is sold to a wealthy man and serves in the household as a slave until Potifar's wife accuses him of behaving badly and is sent to jail.  There he interprets dreams and eventually is freed (but that doesn't happen until next week's installment)

This is the longest story about an individual in the entire Torah (except for Moshe, and that's a different story, since Moshe is traditionally understood to be telling the whole thing).  It lasts through four parashot, four weekly Torah readings, and has much more detail than most stories.

Here's the question:  What's so important about Yosef that he gets such a long story?

• Is it about how bad it is to be jealous of your siblings?
• Is it about how important it is for parents to treat their kids fairly?
• Is it about how a kid who is pretty spoiled can turn out OK?
• Is it about how sometimes bad things can turn out to have good endings?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog