Parashah # 11
VaYigash ~ ויגש ~ And he approached
Torah: B’resheet/Genesis 44:18-47:27
Haftarah: Yechezk’el/Ezekiel 37:15-28
B’rit Hadashah: Acts 7:9-16
What a SHOW!!!! In living Technicolor, I might add!!!
Traditions!!! Have ya ever wondered where some of our traditions come from???? When someone has been to visit and they get ready to leave, do you walk them to the door? Do you go outside with them? How about to the car? Out the driveway as they start driving out???? (My mom was one of those!) Well . . . get a load of this!!!!!
One tradition is learning the importance of escorting people when they begin a journey. No more than approximately eight feet is required to accomplish this mitzvah, according to the rabbis. This shows the one being accompanied is not alone but is connected to others. One can be physically alone, yet spiritually connected to the one who escorts him on the beginning of his journey. Similarly, one may be physically far from Israel but spiritually connected to it. I’ll “amen” this!!!!!
The reason for my interjection of this information has to do with the last time Yosef saw his father. When Ya’akov sent him to check on his brothers, it is told Ya’akov began to escort Yosef as (Hah-lah-khah) Halakah indicates. (According to Webster’s Dictionary, Halakah is “any of the laws and ordinances not written down in the Jewish Scriptures but based on an oral interpretation of them.) Whatever!!! Let’s get real . . . There was NO written Torah at this time and there were NO rabbis to “add to” or “take away from” what/how Yehovah was instructing His children.
At 17, Yosef begged his father, then approximately 117, not to accompany him down the steep hill from (Hehv-rown) Hevron/Hebron because it would require a difficult climb back up by himself. However, Ya’akov’s response was this Mitzvah was of great importance. In retrospect, I believe, we can see Yosef actually was spiritually connected to his father all those years.
CHAPTER 44
The opening verse of this week’s Parashah/portion, verse 18 reads: “Then Y’hudah/Y’hudah approached him (Yosef/Joseph) and said, ‘If you please, my lord, may your servant speak a word in my lord’s ear . . .’”. Though Y’hudah didn’t realize to whom he was speaking, he was asking to speak to the Viceroy of Egypt; to say something softly to him, to speak to him in a quiet way.
Are you like me? Do you ever wonder why in the world the Torah tells us this seemingly insignificant detail? Yet, we know Torah is always teaching us something. This is why I never tire of studying Torah and never cease to learn new insights from it, year after year.
At a time when Y’hudah could be screaming with frustration because of the anguish his father, Ya’akov/Jacob, would suffer if he returned home without his youngest brother, Benjamin / Binyamin, he requests a time to talk quietly with Yosef, although he didn’t recognize his brother yet. It made me think of Mishlei/Proverbs 15:1 “a soft answer turns away wrath” and another, “A wise man speaking quietly is more worth heeding than the shouts of a ruler com-manding fools.” (Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 9:17) With Y’hudah’s offer to substitute himself in place of Binyamin (verses 33 & 34), Yosef finally receives the needed confirmation about his brothers’ devotion to Jacob and their love for Binyamin. They had learned their lesson regarding the crime they had committed against their brother, Yosef.
CHAPTER 45
Finally, Yosef can contain himself no longer and cries out, “Ani Yosef”/“I am Joseph” (verse 5) “God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.” Wow!!! This is a major foreshadowing of Yeshua coming before us to preserve life! Imagine the mixed emotions felt at that moment; the weeping with joy and sorrow!! I’m sure there must have been hundreds of questions going through everyone’s head. AND, probably, this was the first time they heard him speak in Hebrew! Prior to this, Yosef would have been speaking Egyptian. This parallels Yeshua not being recognized by His own “brethren”. I’m sure there will be much weeping when He reveals Himself to his brothers on “that day” too!
A few years ago, another Torah Teacher, Brother Lynn, made a rather astute observation. Verse 1 says he (Yosef) couldn’t control his feelings in front of his attendants and cried “Get everybody away from me! So no one else was with him when Yosef revealed to his brothers who he was.” Okay, so imagine this . . . all of his servants are out of the room; there is no one around, just him and his brothers and he revealed himself. Lynn believes Yosef showed his brothers he was circumcised because only Hebrews were circumcised. This makes perfect sense and I’m inclined to agree with Brother Lynn. Furthermore, in verse 4, “Yosef said to his brothers, “Please! Come closer! And they came closer.” Why else would it be necessary for the brothers to come closer except to see the revealed circumcision!?!
Yosef says, “Yehovah sent me before you to preserve life (l’michayah ~ למחיה)” (verse 5). The same Hebrew word (l’me-kah-yah) l’michayah ~למחיה is used in reference to the resurrection of the dead. Yosef goes on to state “Yehovah sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.” (verse 7)
Verses 9 & 10 say Yosef wants his brothers to go to his father, tell him Yosef is still living and bring him to Egypt. Yosef reiterates in verse 12 they have seen and his own mouth is speaking. I believe he is referring to the fact he is speaking (Eve-reet) Ivrit/Hebrew. Then, verse 15, “his brothers talked with him”, is another reference they were conversing in their native language.
In the meantime, Pharaoh learns these men are Yosef’s brothers so he joins in the welcome. I wonder what was going on in his mind. Can’t you just see the wheels turning? Let’s see . . . we seem to have so much favor when Yosef alone is around, I wonder what additional good will come when the rest of his family is here. SO, Pharaoh insists on sending wagons to retrieve Jacob and all of his family. In fact, he suggests they don’t even have to bring any of their belongings because he will provide the very best of Egyptian fare for them when they arrive. (Verses 16-20)
Surface reading indicates this is a very nice gesture but Yosef makes sure plenty of additional wagons are sent so Jacob/Ya’akov/Israel and family could bring ALL of their personal possessions so they would not assimilate into the Egyptian way of life. One thing Yosef instructed his brothers to tell his father, was he continued to follow the God of his fathers. In fact, Ya’akov became revived by the opportunity to see Yosef spiritually as strong as he used to be.
It appears Pharaoh was delighted when he heard Yosef’s brothers had come to Egypt. As a matter of fact, this warm welcome reveals an important detail about Yosef’s time in Egypt. Apparently, the entire time he had been in Egypt, he never told anyone what his brothers did to him. At least Pharaoh had never heard of Yosef’s brothers abducting and selling him. Had he known of those villainous deeds, he probably would not have extended such a warm welcome. Yosef loved his brothers and family so much, he could not bear the thought of defaming them so he kept the entire episode to himself. The only thing he ever said about his past was a vague explanation of being kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews (B’resheet/Genesis 40:15). Yosef never told the Egyptians about the incident because it was none of their business. By maintain-ing discretion, he was protecting the name and reputation of Yehovah in Egypt. If he had told his sad story to everyone, I believe the Egyptians would have wanted nothing to do with Yosef’s God or his religion. As we will learn later, many Egyptians chose to leave Egypt with the Hebrews because of the Mighty One of Israel!
As the brothers are preparing to leave, verses 21-24, Yosef gave them provisions for their journey. In addition, he gave each one of them a set of new clothes but to Binyamin he gave 7 ½ pounds of silver and five sets of new clothes. (There are those numbers again; seven for spiritual perfection and five for grace!!!) Then to his father, he sent 20 donkeys with various provisions. Twenty is the number of . . .
• maturity
• completion
• attainment
• redemption
• expectancy.
I believe we can see each of those words coming into play at this juncture. There was one final admonition from Yosef upon their departure. He said to them “Don’t quarrel among yourselves while you’re traveling!”(verse 24) Why do you suppose he made such a statement to them? Although he has observed a very definite change in their hearts, could he have been concerned about Binyamin’s welfare since he had received more than his brothers? Or, they might have gotten involved in a blame game over what they had done to Yosef.
One more matter before moving on. At this point, the brothers have somewhat of a dilemma on their hands. How were they going to break this astounding news to Ya’akov without giving him a heart attack?! It is said they decided to have a little girl, (Seh-rahk) Serach, Asher’s daughter, play the harp and sing to her grandfather. They told her: “When you sing for grandfather next time, sing to him: ‘Yosef is still alive, Yosef is still alive . . .”
We are told when little Serach sang these words, Ya’akov almost collapsed when he finally comprehended their meaning. However, the gentleness of her voice softened the shock and he was calmed. He gave Serach a blessing of longevity, and it is said she became the only one to go down to Egypt with Ya’akov and ascend 210 years later with Moshe.
However, verse 26, clearly states “they told him, Yosef is still alive . . . “. Perhaps the story concerning Serach is from the Oral Torah and just wasn’t canonized. When you consider all of the wagons and the gifts Yosef sent back to his father, it was no small entourage returning to Kena’an. Perhaps Asher did go ahead of the rest to tell Serach what she needed to do and by the time everyone else arrived Ya’akov was more prepared to hear all of the things which happened while “the boys” were in Egypt.
CHAPTER 46
“In a vision at night God called to Isra’el (his new name) and said Ya’akov! Ya’akov! (his old name). (verse 2) Why does his name change in the middle of the verse? I found an interesting commentary on Aish.com regarding this. Even after Jacob’s name was changed to Isra’el as a result of his victory over the “angel”, he still retained his original name. Jacob refers to a lower level or the physical realm, while Isra’el denotes his higher level or spiritual realm. God speaks to Isra’el and informs him he really is “Jacob, Jacob” the lower level. He is about to be exiled to Egypt for 210 years of blood, sweat and tears which personifies the harsh bondage of Pharaoh. However, it was the physical realm in which The Holy One caused Ya’akov to increase.
Verse 3 states “Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt. THERE I will make you a great nation.” Notice: It didn’t say . .
• when you are here in the Promised Land
• when you are in your comfort zone
• when you are where I want you to be eventually
• . . . but “THERE” I will cause your increase.
Sometimes, we have to go where we don’t necessarily want to go in order to receive our promise. The bottom line is obedience! Sometimes, our promises come from being in Egypt!
Often, when we are in exile or when we are faced with challenging circumstances, we are made “great”. Sometimes adversity puts us in touch with God. IF, in fact it doesn’t DRIVE us to Him.
Verses 8 – 27 state: “Thus all the people in Ya’akov’s family who entered Egypt numbered seventy.” We really don’t know how many entered Egypt. Let’s go back to verse 7 which says “his sons, grandsons, daughters, granddaughters and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.” Then in verses 8-26 we have the names of all the sons and their sons who entered and those names totaled 70 but according to verse 20, M’nasheh and Efrayim were born in Egypt, so they didn’t come into the Egypt, they were already there, as well as Yosef.
Oh, by the way, from last week’s Torah portion, if you thought the reason Binyamin stayed in Kena’an with Ya’akov was because he didn’t have any family to feed . . . well, guess again! Verse 21 lets us know he was the most prolific of all the sons!!! Check it out! Binyamin had ten sons, more than the other brothers.
Verse 26 tells us Ya’akov’s direct descendants not counting the wives of Ya’akov’s sons totaled 66. Now add Ya’akov plus Yosef and his sons, who were already there, that’s where the number 70 comes into play. Seventy represents God’s administration of the world, judgment and Israel’s captivity and return. However, as I said earlier, we really have no idea specifically how many went into Egypt with Ya’akov because we don’t know how many wives there were (we know they were not a monogamous society at this point) and we don’t know exactly how many children and grandchildren there were.
There are many different commentaries concerning these numbers. The number 70 is the total number of the patriarchal family who began to live in Egypt. The number Stephen used in Acts 7:14, of 75, was quoted from the Septuagint and apparently this discrepancy has to do with the 70 rabbis who translated the Hebrew Tanakh into Greek approximately 250 years before Stephen’s speech. Yehovah had seventy people begin Israel’s life in this journey into (Meetz-rah-yeem) Mitzrayim/Egypt. There are several other significant seventies in the Bible.
• The seventy people of Israel seem to tie in with the seventy other nations of the world. (D’varim/Deuteronomy 32:8)
• There are 70 elders (B’midbar/Numbers 11:16)
• Seventy years of captivity (2nd Chronicles 36:21)
• Seventy weeks of years prophesied before the Messiah comes (Daniel 9:24-27)?????
• Seventy translators of the Septuagint
• Seventy witnesses Yeshua sent throughout Israel (Luke 10:1)
According to verse 28 Jacob “sent Y’hudah ahead of him . . . to prepare ahead of him in Goshen.” It is believed Y’hudah’s primary objective in preceding the rest of the family was to establish a (Yeh-shee-vah) Yeshiva (school of learning). Historically, the first priority of Hebrew communities has always been Torah education so this set a precedent for all Hebrew history. When we get to the Exodus, you will notice, Y’hudah was always the first to move when they were in the wilderness. Even today, Y’hudah is in The Land ahead of the rest in the greater exodus spoken of in Yirme’yahu/Jeremiah 16:14-16.
Yosef wanted to be sure his family settled in Goshen, which was rich pastureland and away from the corrupt influence of Egyptian society. Because he had found favor with Pharaoh, he felt sure Pharaoh would want to recruit some of his family so he counseled his brothers on how to respond to the king. They should be truthful but in a way which would keep him from associating with them. The Egyptians were animal-worshipers and detested shepherds so Yosef had them introduce themselves as herdsmen. Therefore, Pharaoh shunned them and let them settle in relative isolation in Goshen. (Verses 46:31-47:6)
(As I’m preparing this, the Lord caused me to remember my mother using the phrase “land o‘goshen!” I wonder if she had any idea what she was referencing. I doubt it!)
CHAPTER 47
Verse 3 tells us Yosef took FIVE of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. I wonder why five? After all, he did have eleven other brothers. So where were the other six? As we have mentioned before there is a reason for every word written in scripture. If you have some thoughts or ideas concerning this, please lemme know!!!
Yosef introduces his father to Pharaoh, verse 7, who inquires about Ya’akov’s age. Ya’akov responds his “stay on earth has been 130 years; they have been few and difficult, fewer than the years my ancestors lived.” True, Ya’akov had a challenging life.
• He had a brother, Esav/Esau, who didn’t like him
• He lived in fear his brother would kill him
• He had to leave his home to escape his brother’s wrath
• He spent 20 years working for the love of his life, Rachel
• His only daughter, (Dee-nah) Dinah was tragically raped
• His beloved Rachel died in childbirth with her second son
• His favorite son was believed dead
• And now he had to leave his home because of famine
However, hadn’t The Almighty always been with him?
• Hadn’t he obtained the birthright
• Hadn’t he obtained the blessing
• Hadn’t he married Rachel
• Hadn’t he been given 12 sons
• Hadn’t he been reunited with his brother, Esau
• Hadn’t he amassed great wealth, herds and flocks
• Hadn’t he been spared the famine
• Hadn’t he been miraculously reunited with his son, Yosef
The sages criticize Ya’akov for complaining to Pharaoh and calling his years few and unpleasant. They imagined a humorous story where The Almighty transforms Ya’akov’s complaint into a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the story (which is called a Midrash) about verses 8 & 9 concerning Ya’akov’s attitude about his life, Yehovah was listening to this complaint and replied as follows: “So you call your years few and unpleasant? I gave you the covenant blessings, saved you from Esau and Laban, returned Dinah, Yosef, Sh’mon and Binyamin to you, prospered you and saved your family from famine, yet you complain about your life! I will take the thirty-three words spoken in those two verses and deduct them from your years. Then your years will indeed not reach those of your fathers.” (Genesis Rabbah 95).
Though times had been challenging for him, he still had received many blessings. The years of Ya’akov’s life were 147 while the life of his father Yitz’chak/Isaac’s was 180. There was a difference of 33 years in their ages at death. It is said because of this “bad attitude” his life was cut short by 33 years which parallels the exact number of Hebrew words used in verses 8 & 9. Perhaps the scripture, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Mishlei/Proverbs 18:21), was derived from this incidence! Is it a coincidence Yeshua was believed to be 33 at the time of His crucifixion? How does this correlate? Or does it?
Obviously, this story is not meant to be taken literally. Its whimsical style is characteristic of the sages. While teachings like this are not literally true, they always teach some deeper truth. In this case, the midrash has recognized it was inappropriate for Ya’akov to complain about his life. In reality, he had received great blessings. He did not know how many years he had left to live. For all he knew, he might have yet outlived his forefathers. To a certain extent, our words create our own reality. At the very least, our words and attitudes color the reality we must live in. How we respond to life’s hardships determines how much of a toll those hardships will take on us.
While this makes an interesting story, I believe it is important for us to look on the brighter side of things in our lives. For example, I know someone who, when asked how she is, almost always responds with “I’m blessed and highly favored of the Lord!” regardless of what she is going through or how she is feeling. I know life hasn’t been and isn’t a bed of roses for her. Nonetheless, her response is the same.
Verse 13, “There was no food anywhere, for the famine was very severe, so both Egypt and Kena’an grew weak from hunger.” 1st Corinthians 10:11 tells us “These things happened to them as prefigurative historical events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the (ah-kha-reet hah-yah-meem) acharit-hayamin/the end of the days. Many times we have heard Yehovah “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done” (Yesha’yahu/Isaiah 46:10). We need to be aware and pay attention!
A few years ago as I was preparing this Torah portion, I received the following email which is an absolute parallel.
RECENT VIRGINIA CHURCH SERVICE STIMULUS SERMON (2009)
Genesis 47:13-27 given by the Pastor of a predominantly black church.
So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt, and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock -their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey – to barter for grain and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year.
But the famine wasn’t over, was it? So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. “There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh.” So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh’s government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain. What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes. That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master? Yes.
But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.” God provided for His people, just as He always has!
They didn’t end up giving all their possessions to government, no, it says they gained possessions! But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today – the government today wants to “share the wealth “once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind.
And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago – as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders. What Mr. Obama’s government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh’s government did then, and it will end the same. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a “Messiah,” don’t they? Is he a Messiah? A Savior? Didn’t the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh”?
Well, I tell you this – I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh. Bow with me in prayer, if you will. Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says “And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters.
Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh’s government. In God We Trust. Amen.
Verses 14-17 “Yosef collected all the money . . .” Something funny occurred to me as I was reading the part where the peoples had used all their money to buy grain, then they were forced into the bartering system of trading their cattle and other livestock for food. Would this mean Yosef was the first “stock” broker????? And if that isn’t enough, how about this . . . Verse 20 says, “So Yosef acquired all the land in Egypt.” He apparently became the first Real Estate Broker as well!!!
Revelation!!!
Before we leave our Torah portion I want to share something The Almighty has made abundantly clear to me. Do you remember a couple of weeks ago when we made the comparison of Yosef with Yeshua?
• Both were sent by their Father
• Both came to see their brothers.
• Both were plotted against by their brothers.
• Each was sold for pieces of silver
• Both were stripped of their robes.
• Both were put in a pit
Here is another matter to consider: the role of Binyamin/Benjamin. He really plays a key role. Of all the brothers, he is the only one not involved in Yosef’s disappearance. He is the only one of the brothers to accept and love him. If you consider the parallels, I believe Binyamin represents Messianic Judaism, i.e. those of us who have chosen to believe the truth of Torah, follow its ways, and observe the moedim/appointed feasts and festivals set out by The Holy One. Yeshua, like Yosef, came to His brothers, was rejected by His older brothers but was accepted by His younger brother. I probably haven’t explained this adequately enough. I just know, in my spirit, this is, without a doubt, what Yehovah wants me to realize! Some commentaries point out all of His (tahl-meh-deem) talmidim/students (disciples, if you will), with the exception of Judas, were Binyaminites.
Revelation #2!!!
For the last several years, I have felt and believed Torah is a blue print for the rest of the Tanakh/Bible and for life. Furthermore, I believe B’resheet/Genesis is a blue print for the rest of scripture and for life! As time goes on and as I see many things happening and approaching, I am reminded of the words by King Sh’lomo/Solomon in (Koe-heh-leht) Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 1:9 “What has been is what will be, what has been done is what will be done and there is nothing new under the sun.” Bearing this verse in mind, I believe we will find some very interesting information in the weeks to come.
VaYigash ~ And he approached
Haftarah: Yechezk’el/Ezekiel 37:15-28
As we know from our Torah portion, Ya’akov and his sons were reunited with Yosef and our Haftarah is prophetic in nature concerning the eventual reunification of the twelve tribes of Israel. In today’s time, we hear of the “Ten Lost Tribes”; which in fact, are not lost but scattered or dispersed throughout the nations of the world and Yehovah hasn’t lost them at all!!!
As we read these designated verses, it is beyond me how anyone can deny the fact of two houses. Right here Yehovah makes it very clear there are two houses (sticks, if you will) and they will be brought together and made into a single stick. We have Y’hudah and his companions, who currently live in the land and we have Efrayim and all those who are joined with him, who currently are in exile. After Yeshua returns, these will be reunited in The Land and “one king will be king for all of them. They will no longer be two nations and they will never again be divided into two kingdoms” (verse 22). “All of them will have one shepherd; they will live by my rulings and keep and observe my regulations” (verse 24). Oh my goodness!!!! These verses are very clear Torah will be the rule of The Land. It’s good to be observing Torah now, practicing for His return.
For those who think ALL of His people are already in the land, I can assure you they are NOT because I ain’t!!! Seriously, I call your attention to Yoel/Joel 3:2 (remember, there is no “J” in the Hebrew language!) which says the exiles will not return until AFTER the parting of The Land. And, Yoel/Joel 3:1 indicates this is AFTER Y’hudah has already returned. (Is there an echo in here? [page 6] )
Lenny and Varda Harris have a song about this on their first album, “Adonai Echad”. The beginning words are “when Ephraim and Y’hudah come together there will be a celebration!” I hear the words of this song in my head whenever I read these verses.
Just as Yosef and the other family members fell on each other’s necks and wept, they wept tears of joy because the years of separation were over. Yeshua weeps tears, also, longing for the reunification of His brothers. This prophecy speaks of a time when a king from the House of David, who will be a servant of God, and who will unify the people in allegiance to Torah. Idolatry will be gone and the Temple will stand; the standard of life will be obedience to the laws of Torah and the entire world will know Yehovah is God!!! May it be in our lifetime, Holy One!
VaYigash ~ And he approached
B’rit Hadashah: Acts 7:9-13-15-16
Just as The Holy One sent Yosef to Egypt in order to save the rest of Yosef’s family from the famine, so too, The Almighty sent Yeshua to not only save His brothers but to save the rest of the world as well. Here we see a very interesting parallel between Yosef and Yeshua. Yosef’s identity is hidden from his brothers initially until the timing was right for the entire family to be saved.
Before Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he cleared the Egyptians out of the room. I believe, if Yosef is a parallel to Yeshua and his brothers are the Hebrew people, the Egyptians in Yosef’s presence could be a parallel to christian believers. They are members of Yosef’s court, his servants and officials; they already know him (or they think they know who he is). When it came time to deal with his own family, Yosef removed them (the Egyptians) from the situation. In like manner, I believe when Yeshua chooses to reveal Himself to the Hebrew nation, He will not require the assistance of “missionaries”. Just as (B’resheet/Genesis 45:1) “there was no man with him when Yosef made himself known to his brothers” I believe there will be no man with Yeshua when He makes Himself known to His brothers.
Brother Lynn sent some additional information which certainly bears sharing.
“Let’s look into the life of Yeshua and see something else in respect to this revealing.
John 2:1-2 Nicodemus, a master teacher comes to Yeshua in secret at night. Think on
that. Many Rabbis read the Brit Hadashah and have been for years. They think and
meditate on these things as they lay down to rest. (Shema and all it includes. Deuteron-omy 6:7). So is it not feasible they would come as did Nicodemus to Yeshua in secret in
the night??? There are testimonies to this effect if I’m not mistaken.”
Yeshua’s identity has been hidden from His brothers as well. In fact, there are some who would argue Christianity has tried very hard to remove Yeshua’s/Jesus’ Jewishness from Him. The Messiah who is taught in most churches and perceived by most Christians looks nothing like the Torah observant Jew who walked the earth 2000 years ago. Christianity has changed Yeshua’s clothing, His appearance and even His name into a person who appears more like a European or an American, certainly not like a Jew. Today this is changing. Yeshua is being revealed for the person He truly was and is. The Lion of the tribe of Y’hudah was, is and ever will be a Torah observant Jew with a Hebrew name, which is Yeshua. Let us always remember Yeshua . . .
• Was born a Jew
• Lived as a Jew
• Worshipped as a Jew
• Followed Torah as a Jew
• Died a Jew
• Arose a Jew
• Is coming back as a Jew
• And will rule and reign as a Jew
This is why He is called “King of the Jews”. Only a brother Jew can have the title “King of the Jews”. I can assure you the first thing He is going to tell His people when He reveals Himself to them is “Ani ach shel a’ta”/”I am your brother.” Halleluyah!!!!!
In closing, I believe Yeshua is a man like Yosef, eager to be reconciled with His brothers, eager to heal the wounds and right the wrongs of the past. He is full of empathy and longs for the final reconciliation and redemption.
Remember, His apostles knew His job was and is the restoration of the family. Acts 1:6 speaks of restoring the Kingdom which means two things: Self rule AND bringing ALL the family back. You will recall He said, “I come only for the lost sheep of the House of Israel”, and the Northern Kingdom, the House of Israel was and still is in captivity.
The corresponding Psalm for this Torah portion is: Psalm 48
Next week’s lesson: Parashah #12
VaYechi ~ And he lived
Torah: B’resheet/Genesis 47:28-50:26
Haftarah: M’lakhim Alef/1st Kings 2:1-12
B’rit Hadashah: Acts 7:9-16; Ivrim/Hebrews 11:21-22;
Kefa Alef/1st Peter 1:3-9; 2:11-17
Shavuah tov (Have a good week)!!!
Who fills his mind with Torah clears it of fear and folly.
Rabbi Chanina Sgan HaKohanim
Organize yourselves into classes for the study of Torah,
since it can best be acquired in association with others.
Talmud: Berkot 63b
