Parshat Vayeshev begins the cycle of Yosef stories that go from Ch.37 until the end of Bereishit. The story of Yehuda and Tamar in ch.38 however appears to interrupt the flow, introducing a completely unconnected narrative.

So what role does the story of Yehuda and Tamar play? Is it actually an interruption or does it perhaps hold the key to understanding the story of Yosef and his brothers as a whole, and in particular the development of Yehuda from villain to hero.

Audio here and source sheet here