Throughout our history, such divisions occurred. And even today, we are not free of such struggles. We have hatreds and jealousies growing out of brothers and sisters fighting one against the other. The Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform communities attack one another - claiming solely for themselves authenticity of interpretation and tradition. One calls the other apostate, while the other calls the one fanatical.
Rifts turn into great divides.
Acted out on a grand scale is the sibling rivalry limited in the Torah to Joseph and his eleven brothers. Division serves to weaken and not strengthen. When the brothers collude against Joseph, they are attacking the one who will save them. We spoke about this same issue last week. For as our lesson suggests, the divisions between brothers is a foreshadowing of the divisions brewing within the state of Israel.