Parasha Vayigash

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:01:00 +0000

He Approached

To recap our Parsha from last week, Benjamin has been caught with a special cup that belonged to Joseph (it having been planted there by one of Joseph's attendants) and now the brothers stand before Joseph having just heard the verdict that Benjamin will now have to remain in Egypt forever as a slave to Joseph while the others brothers were free to return to Canaan (a much better alternative to the punishment that the brothers had offered earlier when they were accused of stealing the cup - "Whichever one of us the goblet is found with, let him be put to death — and the rest of us will be my lord’s slaves!”).

This week's Parsha now beings with Judah approaching Joseph to intercede for Benjamin, offering to take his place as a slave. He pleads that if Benjamin was not to return to Canaan, his father (Ya'akov) would die of grief due to having lost his second favourite son. This is a very bold action on Judah's behalf and thankfully it was the correct one. You see, Joseph did not have the cup planted in Benjamin's sack to deceitfully arrange to have his brother enslaved in Egypt for the remainder of his life, he had done it to see if the hearts of his brothers had changed over the years. Would they forsake Ya'akov's favourite child again into slavery in Egypt (his only other child with Rachel) or would they stand up for him and try to see him returned to his father? Judah's powerful words caused Joseph to clear the room of everyone except for his brothers and then he wept aloud (apparently so loud that it caused great concern to the people of Egypt that Joseph was so distressed). He then revealed himself to his brothers, speaking to them in Hebrew "I am Joseph, is my father still alive?". This revelation caused the brothers to draw back in dismay as the guilt of their past deed came back to haunt them. He reassures them that all is okay and that it was in fact not them that had sent him to Egypt but HaShem. He went on to explain that he had been raised up to his position in Egypt to preserve the family during the time of famine in the land.

The Parsha continues on with Pharaoh insisting that Ya'akov and the family move to Egypt, the trip from Canaan to Egypt, Israel and Joseph being reunited, the family settling in Goshen, Pharaoh meeting the brothers and Israel, Israel blessing Pharaoh (which resulted in the famine only lasting another 2 years instead of 5) and Joseph's policies for the management of the food during the famine enriches Pharaoh. There is so much in this Parsha but I just want to touch briefly on a couple of points.

We see an incredible revelation of Grace in this Parsha. Joseph is incredibly gracious with his brothers. They sold him into slavery and told his father that he had been killed by a wild animal so he had plenty motive and opportunity to exact revenge on them but he saw the bigger picture and realised that it was all part of HaShem's plan to save the nation of Israel. Not only did he forgive them but he returned their money, provided a feast for them and supplied them with fine clothes. They received that which they didn't deserve.

We also see the plan set in place to ensure that the nation of Israel would live and not die. We see that a long time before the actual famine took place, HaShem put in motion the events which would see Joseph elevated to the position where he could ensure that not only his family but the countries surrounding Egypt would survive the terrible famine. This sounds a lot like physical salvation to me ...

These couple of points remind me of someone else who came bringing grace and offering salvation!

A few questions for thought...

What does vayigash mean?
How did the brothers respond to Joseph's revelation?
What is the significance of the number 5 found throughout this parsha?
Why did Ya'akov stop at Beersheba on route to Egypt?
Why did Joseph want Ya'akov and family to settle in Goshen?
How is Joseph a foreshadow of Yeshua our Messiah?

A little extra ...

Did you know that the Rabbi's believe that when Ya'akov sent Judah to go ahead and prepare Goshen for their arrival he was sent to go and set up a Yeshiva - a house of Torah study?
Joseph was a prophet and recognised that the Jewish people were destined to be sojourners in a foreign land (revealed to Abraham by HaShem). He was able to establish his family in Egypt in order that they prospered there. It was only in later years when the Israelites started assimilating into Egyptian culture that they were enslaved.
The two brothers who "faced off" over Benjamin, Joseph and Judah, both have Messianic significance ... Yeshua came first as Messiah ben Yosef and he will come again as Messiah ben David - David is from the line of Judah!

Parasha Vayishlach

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:54:00 +0000

Parasha Vayishlach

Wow, what a jam-packed Parasha this week! There are lessons that we can all take out of this weeks reading. Rabbi Ari’el finished his Parasha last week talking about trusting HaShem (see here if you missed Rabbi Ari’el’s commentary) and I want to pick up on that this week.

We already know from the previous weeks reading that Yaakov (Jacob) was worried about returning to his brother Esav (Esau) when HaShem instructs him to to return to his land and his people. This fear is again identified this week when our reading starts with Yaakov sending messengers ahead to his brother to let him know that he was returning. He is obviously quite nervous and is trying to gauge the reception he is to receive from Esav. The response he gets is probably the one that he dreaded the most - “Esav is coming to meet you and he is bringing 400 men with him”! As fearful as he is, he is a practical man and he has a contingency plan for such an event. His first step is to divide his household into two camps with the reasoning that if one camp is attacked, the other camp will be able to escape. The second thing that he does is he cries out to HaShem for His help. He reminds Him that he is following the instructions that he was given to return to his land and his people and that in following this instruction, HaShem had promised to “do him good”. The final thing he does is to then choose from his herds and flocks many animals as a gift for his brother which are to be driven before the family as they journey to Esav.

(The sages believe that this strategy of prayer, gifts (or appeasement) and battle are the threefold preparation that needs to take place in the struggles with Esav’s descendants).

Right, so far so good … we’ve all read this so we are on the same page here right? Yaakov is afraid but he has a plan so he is ready to meet his brother … okay if that’s the case, why does he go against his plan by sending his wives, children and possessions across the river (so that they are no longer in two camps) and he remains alone by himself? One theory puts his actions down to the following …

He was so afraid that he had decided to flee.

Initial reaction may have you reeling, “What, Yaakov fleeing? Why would he do such a thing? He was a man of Torah, one who studied in tents”. Yes but he had also lived most of his life true to his name “Supplanter”. He had deceived his brother out of his birthright and then his blessing. Could it be that as knowledgable as he was and even having heard directly from HaShem Himself, he had a lack of faith issue? If we look back over his life we can see where he often took things into his own hand … was this to help the promise of HaShem come to pass? How often do we do this ourselves today? Do we really need HaShem for much in our lives? Most of us are working, have an income, own a car, have a roof over our head. In the western world it is quite easy for us to not “need’ HaShem for a majority of our physical needs (even perhaps our medical needs?). Now, I’m not saying that this is a representation of you or the people in our Kehila but think about it seriously, what do we lack today? Unfortunately too often today people also end up fleeing from HaShem when the going gets tough… back to our reading …

HaShem sends an angel to prevent Yaakov from fleeing.

Even in Yaakov’s weakness and lack of faith, HaShem is gracious enough to help him overcome his fear. This night of wrestling is transformational for Yaakov. His fear is broken and in its place we see humility and servanthood. A man who once believed that to rule over his brother, he needed to trick his birthright and blessing from him, now realises that a true leader comes as a servant (he approaches his brother as a servant). Does that model sound familiar? I’m pretty sure it’s the model that Yeshua HaMoshiach promoted during His time on earth.

For this, HaShem removes the name that had him ‘pegged’ as a deceiver and says that he will be called that no more. From that time on he was to be known as Isra’el - one who has shown his strength to both God and man and has won.

Don’t be fooled, we can’t do this journey on our own. We all need HaShem in our lives. Make a decision today to put complete trust and faith in Him!

Thoughts of a Talmid

Parasha Vayigash

Parasha Vayishlach