This week's Torah portion is called Vayeshev – He Settled. As a continuation of the previous parashah, when Jacob met his brother Esau and emerged from the encounter whole, so to speak (body and soul), the Torah tells us that Jacob and his family settled in the city of Hebron, with his father Isaac.
Then the Torah tells us everything that happened to Joseph, Jacob's "favorite" son: his brothers hated him and sought to kill him, they threw him into a pit of snakes and scorpions, sold him into slavery several times, and imprisoned him. For many years, Jacob believed Joseph was dead, and he suffered until he was reunited with him. (Our sages explain that it is Divine Mercy that a person forgets the suffering of a loved one's death after a year, in order to continue with life despite the loss. However, in this case, since Joseph was alive, Jacob could not find solace after his supposed death.).
It is clear in Jewish thought that all events in a person's life are Divine Providence; that is, they are ordained and presented by God so that the person may grow spiritually and reach the fullness of their potential. The Midrash connects this idea with Jacob's attitude in this section.
In the previous sections, it is recounted that after Esau tried to kill Jacob, Jacob went to his uncle Laban's house, where he worked for seven years to marry Rachel, only to be tricked and given Leah instead. Then, he worked another seven years for Rachel (this time for real!) and then six more years to earn enough money to support his family (by then he had four wives and eleven children). In the end, Laban threatened him with death, and he fought against his brother's guardian angel.
When our parashah arrived, Jacob wanted to settle in Hebron and rest with his father, dedicating himself to his family and studies. But he could not. Our sages comment on the name of this section, saying that "Jacob tried to settle in peace, and immediately Joseph's suffering arose" (see Rashi Bereshit 37:2).
We see that, evidently, this was not the time in Jacob's life to settle down, that is, to relax and rest, to remain at a certain spiritual level, but rather to continue working on himself and his surroundings, continually striving for growth. Every person has work to do in this life. This work is carried out throughout all the years of life. Of course, there is rest, but not rest for its own sake, rather rest to recover strength and continue the work. In other words, rest is part of the work. But in our section, Jacob wanted to "settle down," to rest from the difficulties he had encountered up to that point in his life, and God did not allow it.
Each person should consider whether their breaks are part of their work or not, whether they are stuck at a certain level or not, so as not to waste the time that God gives us on earth.