Tammuz 1

This is the traditional date of the birth and the death of Joseph (1560-1450 BCE), the son of Jacob and Rachel. Joseph's father gave him a multi-colored coat, which aroused the envy of his half-brothers. They suspected that Joseph would try to assume family leadership when he told them of his two dreams, in which the brothers all bowed down to him. The brothers sold Joseph into slavery, where he was brought to Egypt and eventually rose to the post of Prime Minister. Twenty years later, the family was reunited in Egypt, and Joseph forgave the brothers, saying that it was all part of God's plan. Shortly before Joseph's death he made the Israelites take an oath that they would bury him in Israel. His remains were eventually buried in Shechem, and throughout the millennia, Joseph's Tomb was a place of pilgrimage and prayer. The tomb was destroyed by Arab mobs in the Intifada of 2000.