Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.
Vayigash - ויגש : "And he came
near" Root in Hebrew is “nagash” and speaks of intimacy.
There is a prophetic context
for this week’s Torah portion. Last week the title of the portion was “Miketz”
which means “at the end” this week’s portion is titled “ Vayigash” which means
“and he drew dear”; the following Torah
portion (12) is titled “va yechi” which is the last portion of Beresheet and it
means “ and he lived”. So, we can say “at the end Yahudah will draw near and he
(we) will live” This is rather profound because it implies in the last days
YHVH is going to open Judah’s (the Yuhadim’s) eyes to see what they thought was
an Egyptian saviour was in truth a Hebrew saviour.
Note how many times the word “father” is repeated in the following verses.
Gen 44:18
And Yehuḏah
came near to him and said, “O my master, please let your servant speak a word
in my master’s hearing, and do not let your displeasure burn against your
servant, for you are like Pharaoh.
Gen
44:19 “My master asked his servants,
saying, ‘Have you a father or a
brother?’
Gen
44:20 “And we said to my master, ‘We
have a father, an old man, and a
young child of his old age, and his brother is dead, and he alone is
left of his mother’s children, and his father
loves him.’
Gen
44:21 “And you said to your servants,
‘Bring him down to me, and let me set my eyes on him.’
Gen
44:22 “And we said to my master, ‘The
boy is not able to leave his father,
for if he leaves his father, his father shall die.’
Gen
44:23 “But you said to your servants,
‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you do not see my face
again.’
Gen
44:24 “And it came to be, when we went
up to your servant my father, that
we told him the words of my master.
Gen
44:25 “And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’
Gen
44:26 “But we said, ‘We are not able to
go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we shall go down, for we are
not able to see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
Gen
44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my
wife bore me two sons,
Gen
44:28 and the one went out from me, and
I said, “Truly, he is torn, torn to pieces!” And I have not seen him since.
Gen
44:29 ‘And if you take this one from me
too, and harm comes to him, you shall bring down my grey hair with evil to the
grave.’
Gen
44:30 “And now, if I come to your
servant my father and the boy is not
with us – since his own life is bound up in his life –
Gen 44:31
then it shall be, when he sees that the boy is not with us, that he
shall die. So your servants shall bring down the grey hair of your servant our father with evil to the grave.
Gen 44:32
“For your servant went guaranty for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall be
a sinner before my father forever.’
Gen 44:33
“And now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a slave
to my master, and let the boy go up with his brothers.
Gen 44:34
“For how do I go up to my father if
the boy is not with me, lest I see the evil that would come upon my father?”
This
was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. (approx. 27 references
to “father” in chp 44,45)
Now Yosef knows that
Yahudah has experienced a full repentance, BECAUSE OF HOW THE FATHER WAS
GRIEVED IN ALL THESE MATTERS.
Gen 45:1 And Yosĕph was unable to
restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he called out, “Have
everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Yosĕph made himself
known to his brothers.
Gen 45:2
And he wept aloud, and the Mitsrites and the house of Pharaoh heard it.
Gen 45:3
And Yosĕph said to his brothers,
“I am Yosĕph, is my father still alive?” But his brothers were unable to
answer him, for they trembled before him.
Commentary by Chaftez Chaim on vs 3 - Art Scroll Chumash.
When Yosef said: “I
am Yosef” Elohim’s master plan became clear to the brothers. They had no more
questions. Everything that had happened in the past 22 years fell into
perspective. So too, will it be in the time to come when Elohim will reveal
himself and announce, “ I am Ha Shem YHVH”; I am the Redeemer through My
Moschiach” The veil will be lifted from our eyes and we will comprehend
everything that transpired through history. (Italics added)
Gen
45:4 Then Yosĕph said to his brothers,
“Please come near(Heb ‘’gashu’’) to me.” And when they came near,(Heb
‘’vayigashu’’) he said, “I am Yosĕph your brother, whom you sold into
Mitsrayim.
Gen
45:5 “And now, do not be grieved nor
displeased with yourselves because you sold me here, for Elohim sent me before
you to preserve life.
Gen
45:6 “For two years now the scarcity of
food has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there is
neither ploughing nor harvesting.
Gen
45:7 “And Elohim sent me before you to
preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to give life to you by a great
escape. (Will this be an end time prophetic scenario?)
Gen 45:8
“So then, you did not send me here, but Elohim. And He has set me for a father
to Pharaoh, and master of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of
Mitsrayim.
Gen 45:9
“Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your
son Yosĕph, “Elohim has made me master of all Mitsrayim. Come down to me, do
not delay.
Gen 45:10
“And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen,(S1657-same root as vayigash
– a place of rest and comfort) and be near to me, you and your children, your
children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.
Gen 45:11
“And I shall provide for you there, lest you and your household, and all
that you have, come to poverty, because five years of scarcity of food are
still to come.” ’
Gen 45:12
“And look, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Binyamin see that it is
my mouth that speaks to you.
Gen 45:13
“And you shall inform my father of all my esteem in Mitsrayim,
and of all that you have seen. And you shall hurry and bring my father
down here.”
Gen
45:14 And he fell on his brother
Binyamin’s neck and wept, and Binyamin wept on his neck.
Gen
45:15 And he kissed all his brothers and
wept over them, and after that his brothers spoke with him.
Gen
45:16 And the report of it was heard by
the house of Pharaoh, saying, “The brothers of Yosĕph have come.” And it was
good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants.
Gen 45:17
And Pharaoh said to Yosĕph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your
beasts and go, enter the land of Kenaʽan,
Gen
45:18 and take your father and
your households and come to me, and I give you the best of the land of
Mitsrayim, and you eat the fat of the land.
Gen 45:19
‘And you, you have been commanded, do this: Take wagons out of the land
of Mitsrayim for your little ones and your wives. And you shall bring your
father, and come.
Gen 45:20
‘And do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land
of Mitsrayim is yours.’ ”
Gen 45:21
And the sons of Yisra’ĕl did so. And Yosĕph gave them wagons, according
to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them food for the journey.
Gen 45:22
He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments, but to
Binyamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.
Gen 45:23
And he sent to his father this: ten donkeys loaded with the best
of Mitsrayim, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, and bread, and food for
his father for the journey.
Gen
45:24 So he sent his brothers away, and
they left. And he said to them, “Do not quarrel along the way.”
Gen 45:25
And they went up out of Mitsrayim, and came to the land of Kenaʽan to Yaʽaqoḇ their father.
Gen
45:26 And they told him, saying, “Yosĕph
is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Mitsrayim.” And
Yaʽaqoḇ’s heart ceased, for he did not believe them.
Gen
45:27 But when they spoke to him all the
words which Yosĕph had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons which Yosĕph
had sent to transport him, the spirit of Yaʽaqoḇ their father revived.
See Yasher 54 how the
daughter of Asher ministered to Yakov in prophetic song preparing him for the
return of his son.
91. And they came unto the borders of the land, and
they said to each other, What shall we do in this matter before our father, for
if we come suddenly to him and tell him the matter, he will be greatly alarmed
at our words and will not believe us. 92. And they went along until they came
nigh unto their houses, and they found Serach, the daughter of Asher, going
forth to meet them, and the damsel was very good and subtle, and knew how to
play upon the harp. 93. And they called unto her and she came before them, and
she kissed them, and they took her and gave unto her a harp, saying, Go now
before our father, and sit before him, and strike upon the harp, and speak
these words. 94. And they commanded her to go to their house, and she took the
harp and hastened before them, and she came and sat near Jacob. 95. And she
played well and sang, and uttered in the sweetness of her words, Joseph my
uncle is living, and he ruleth throughout the land of Egypt, and is not dead.
96. And she continued to repeat and utter these words, and Jacob heard her
words and they were agreeable to him. 97. He listened whilst she repeated them
twice and thrice, and joy entered the heart of Jacob at the sweetness of her
words, and the spirit of God was upon him, and he knew all her words to be
true. 98. And Jacob blessed Serach when she spoke these words before him, and
he said unto her, My daughter, may death never prevail over thee, for thou hast
revived my spirit; only speak yet before me as thou hast spoken, for thou hast
gladdened me with all thy words. 99. And she continued to sing these words, and
Jacob listened and it pleased him, and he rejoiced, and the spirit of God was
upon him.
Gen 45:28
And Yisra’ĕl said, “Enough! My son Yosĕph is still alive. Let me go and
see him before I die.”
Gen 46:1 And Yisra’ĕl set out with all that he had,
and came to Be’ĕrsheḇa,
and brought offerings to the Elohim of his father Yitsḥaq.
Gen
46:2 And Elohim spoke to Yisra’ĕl in the
visions of the night, and said, “Yaʽaqoḇ, Yaʽaqoḇ!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Gen
46:3 And He said, “I am the Ěl, Elohim
of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Mitsrayim, for I shall
make you there into a great nation.
Gen 46:4 “I Myself am going down with you to Mitsrayim and I Myself shall certainly bring you up again. And let Yosĕph put his hand on your eyes.”
‘’Come and see how beloved are Israel in the sight of G-d! To every place to which they were exiled, the Divine Presence went with them. They were exiled to Egypt and the Divine Presence was with them; they were exiled to Babylon, and the Divine Presence was with them; and when they will be redeemed in the future, the Divine Presence will be with them. (Talmud, Megillah 29a)’’
Gen
46:5 And Yaʽaqoḇ rose up from
Be’ĕrsheḇa. And the sons of Yisra’ĕl brought their father Yaʽaqoḇ, and
their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to
transport him.
Gen
46:6 And they took their livestock and
their property which they had acquired in the land of Kenaʽan, and came into
Mitsrayim, Yaʽaqoḇ and all his seed with him.
Gen
46:7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his
daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed he brought with him to
Mitsrayim.
Gen
46:8 And these were the names of the children
of Yisra’ĕl, Yaʽaqoḇ and his sons, who came into Mitsrayim: Re’uḇĕn was
Yaʽaqoḇ’s first-born.
Gen
46:9 And the sons of Re’uḇĕn: Ḥanoḵ,
and Pallu, and Ḥetsron, and Karmi.
Gen
46:10 And the sons of Shimʽon: Yemu’ĕl,
and Yamin, and Ohaḏ, and Yaḵin, and Tsoḥar, and Sha’ul, son of a Kenaʽanite
woman.
Gen
46:11 And the sons of Lĕwi: Gĕreshon,
Qehath, and Merari.
Gen
46:12 And the sons of Yehuḏah: Ěr, and
Onan, and Shĕlah, and Perets, and Zeraḥ – but Ěr and Onan died in the land of
Kenaʽan. And the sons of Perets were Ḥetsron and Ḥamul.
Gen
46:13 And the sons of Yissasḵar: Tola,
and Puwʽah, and Yoḇ, and Shimron.
Gen
46:14 And the sons of Zeḇulun: Sereḏ,
and Ělon, and Yaḥle’ĕl.
Gen
46:15 These were the sons of Lĕ’ah, whom
she bore to Yaʽaqoḇ in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the beings,
his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.
Gen
46:16 And the sons of Gaḏ: Tsiphyon and
Ḥaggi, Shuni and Etsbon, Ěri and Aroḏi, and Arĕli.
Gen
46:17 And the sons of Ashĕr: Yimnah, and
Yishwah, and Yishwi, and Beriʽah, and Seraḥ, their sister. And the sons of
Beriʽah: Ḥeḇer and Malki’ĕl.
Gen
46:18 These were the sons of Zilpah,
whom Laḇan gave to Lĕ’ah his daughter. And these she bore to Yaʽaqoḇ: sixteen
beings.
Gen
46:19 The sons of Raḥĕl, Yaʽaqoḇ’s
wife: Yosĕph and Binyamin.
Gen
46:20 And to Yosĕph in the land of
Mitsrayim were born Menashsheh and Ephrayim, whom Asenath, the daughter of
Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.
Gen 46:21 And the sons of Binyamin: Belah, and Beḵer, and Ashbĕl, Gĕra and Naʽaman, Ěḥi and Rosh, Muppim and Ḥuppim, and Ard.
‘’When Benjamin was brought before Joseph, Joseph
questioned him: "Have you a brother?"
"I had a brother, but I do not know where he
has gone."
"Have you a wife?"
"I have a wife and ten sons."
"What are their names?"
"I named them all after my brother," said
Benjamin. "Bela -- he was swallowed up from me; Becher -- he
was his mother's firstborn; Ashbel -- he was taken away captive; Gera
-- he became a stranger in a strange country; Naaman -- his deeds were
seemly and pleasant; Achi -- he was my brother; Rosh -- he was my
superior; Muppim -- he was exceedingly beautiful; Chuppim -- I
did not see his chupah (marriage canopy) and he did not see mine; Ard
-- he was like a rose-bloom."
(Midrash Rabbah)
Gen
46:22 These were the sons of Raḥĕl who
were born to Yaʽaqoḇ: fourteen beings in all.
Gen
46:23 And the son of Dan: Ḥushim.
Gen
46:24 And the sons of Naphtali:
Yaḥtse’ĕl, and Guni, and Yĕtser, and Shillĕm.
Gen
46:25 These were the sons of Bilhah,
whom Laḇan gave to Raḥĕl his daughter, and she bore these to Yaʽaqoḇ: seven
beings in all.
Gen
46:26 All the beings who went with
Yaʽaqoḇ to Mitsrayim, who came from his body, besides Yaʽaqoḇ’s sons’ wives,
were sixty-six beings in all.
Gen 46:27 And the sons of Yosĕph who were born to him in Mitsrayim were two beings. All the beings of the house of Yaʽaqoḇ who went to Mitsrayim were seventy.
But if you count them, you find only sixty-nine; the seventieth is Jocheved the daughter of Levi, who was born between the boundary walls as they entered Egypt.(Talmud, Bava Batra 123a)
Jer 30:20 And his
children shall be as before, and his congregation shall be established before
Me. And I shall punish all who oppress them.
Jer 30:21 And his
Prince shall be from him, and his Ruler shall come from among him. And I shall
bring him near, and he shall approach Me, for who is this who pledged his heart
to approach Me?’ declares יהוה.
Jer 30:22 And you
shall be My people, and I shall be your Elohim.’ ”
Jer 30:23 See, the
storm of יהוה shall go
forth in a rage, a whirling storm! It bursts upon the head of the wrong.
Jer 30:24 The
burning displeasure of יהוה shall not
turn back until He has done and established the purposes of His heart. In the
latter days you shall understand it.b Footnote: bSee Jer_23:20.
Jer 31:1
“At that time,” declares יהוה, “I shall be the Elohim of all the clans of Yisra’ěl, and they
shall be My people.”
Jer 31:2 Thus said יהוה,
“A people escaped from the sword found favour in the wilderness, Yisra’ěl, when
it went to find rest.”
Jer 31:3 יהוה appeared to me from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I shall draw you with
loving-commitment.
Jer 31:4 “I am going to build you
again. And you shall be rebuilt, O maiden of Yisra’ěl! Again you shall take up
your tambourines, and go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
Jer 31:5 “Again you shall plant vines
on the mountains of Shomeron. The planters shall plant and treat them as
common.
Jer 31:21 “Set up signposts, make
landmarks; set your heart toward the highway, the way in which you went. Turn
back, O maiden of Yisra’ěl, turn back to these cities of yours!
Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given
us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst.
Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein