ויגש
Beresheet/Genesis 44:18-47:27
In the present and coming chaos of this world the key to shalom is intimacy with Ha Shem. This Torah portion reveals important instruction regarding this shalom.
Yahshua remarkably captured the essence of this instruction when he teaches us about coming to terms with or agreeing with our adversary.
Mat 5:25 “Be well-minded with your opponent, promptly, while you are on the way with him, lest your opponent deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
Mat 5:26 “Truly, I say to you, you shall by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
The Greek implies that we must come to terms with our enemy quickly while we are able. If we do not come to terms with that which is unfair and downright unrighteous we could land up in the “jailhouse” in deep bondage that will be almost impossible to come out of.
Occasionally we are able to do something about injustice, but we are living in times when this will become increasingly difficult and often impossible.
In these last days believers must be prepared to endure the most terrible injustices against themselves and others.
If we do not come to terms with this “seeming powerlessness” in our lives we will be consumed. How we respond to this “powerlessness” may be the determining factor whether or not you will be called to be part of the bride of Messiah or not.
Yehudah (Judah/tribe of Judah) shows us the way to overcome this “powerlessness” and in these last days will show us the way once again. It is possibly this quality above all that qualifies him to bring his dispersed brothers back together again. Once again Yehudah holds the key.
So in a sense we are “powerless” to even do something about our “powerlessness” No amount of rationalizing can bring about relief to this dilemma, however herein lies our complete victory over all evil.
May this parasha open our eyes to see.
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
(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.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Torah Readings:
- 44:18-30
- 44:31 – 45:7
- 45:8-18
- 45:19-27
- 45:28 – 46:27
- 46:28 – 47:10
- 47:11-24
- Maftir: 47:25-27
Haftarah : Ezekiel 37:15-28
When this prophecy comes true great light will be shed upon many of our unanswered questions.
Haftarah - Eze 37:16 “And you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it, ‘For Yehuḏah and for the children of Yisra’ĕl, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Yosĕph, the stick of Ephrayim, and for all the house of Yisra’ĕl, his companions.’
Eze 37:17 “Then bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they shall become one in your hand.
Eze 37:18 “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’
Eze 37:19 say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the stick of Yosĕph, which is in the hand of Ephrayim, and the tribes of Yisra’ĕl, his companions.(“chavero” –k&q*) And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Yehuḏah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.” ’
Eze 37:20 “And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.
Eze 37:21 “And speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the children of Yisra’ĕl from among the gentiles, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land.
Eze 37:22 “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Yisra’ĕl. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns.
Eze 37:23 “And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, nor with their disgusting matters, nor with any of their transgressions. And I shall save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I shall cleanse them. And they shall be My people, and I be their Elohim,
Eze 37:24 while Dawiḏ My servant is sovereign over them. And they shall all have one shepherd and walk in My right-rulings and guard My laws, and shall do them.
Eze 37:25 “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Ya’aqov My servant, where your fathers dwelt. And they shall dwell in it, they and their children and their children’s children, forever, and My servant Dawid be their prince forever.
- In the Hebrew Masoretic text occasional changes are made in the text. These changes are indicated by a letter “k”or “Q” in the margin of the text. The “K” stands for “ketiv” which means that which was originally written. The “Q” stands for “quere” and means the way which the text is now read and understood.
I believe the above change of text is objectionable. The original written text says “his companion” in the singular and the text was changed to the plural “his companions.”
I believe the implications of this change are significant. We better understand this implication if we take the analogy Paul uses in Romans chapter 11 concerning the natural branches and the wild branches that have been grafted into an already established root system.
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, (second person singular) being a wild olive tree, have been grafted in among them, and came to share the root and fatness of the olive tree,
Rom 11:18 do not boast against the branches. And if you boast, remember: you do not bear the root, but the root bears you!
Rom 11:19 You shall say then, “The branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”
Rom 11:20 Good! By unbelief they were broken off, and you (second person singular) stand by belief. Do not be arrogant, but fear.
Rom 11:21 For if Elohim did not spare the natural branches, He might not spare you (singular) either.
Rom 11:22 See then the kindness and sharpness of Elohim: on those who fell sharpness, but toward you kindness, if you continue in His kindness, otherwise you (singular) also shall be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for Elohim is able to graft them in again.
Rom 11:24 For if you (singular) were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
Rom 11:25 For I do not wish you (plural) to be ignorant of this secret, brothers, lest you (plural) should be wise in your own estimation, that hardening in part has come over Yisra’ĕl, until the completeness of the gentiles1 has come in. Footnote: 1Gen. 48:19.
Note how Paul addresses the “branches” as singular and warns them finally in the plural.
I believe we as grafted in ex gentiles need to be extremely cautious how we approach this tree and what kind of fruit our lives produces as a result of being grafted into this tree. WE DO NOT COME INTO THIS TREE AS A GROUP.
We must note that it is not the Messianic movement or any other group or movement that will be grafted in, it will be individuals that have forsaken their identity to take on their new identity. The only reference we have to this identity comes from Israel and the Jews, even though many of them have strayed from the Torah.
We must be cautious not to place too much importance to any on our “little group.” Our little group is a means to an end and not the end itself. I believe the Messianic movement is in danger of assuming a self- importance that will bring about their exclusion and not inclusion into Yisrael.
I am not trying to diminish the importance of belonging to a group. The scripture warns us about been lone rangers –
Heb 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging, and so much more as you see the Day coming near.
It is in these groups that we are pruned and prepared for fruitfulness and to be grafted in the “olive tree” as INDIVIDUALS.
The key to shalom is watching and praying that Yehudah will approach the Messiah in these last days. This has already begun to happen - Baruch Ha Shem YHVH!
Aliyah Rishon 44:18-30
Yasher chp 54 – gives some interesting background information not found in the Torah. Yasher indicates that Yahudah warned Yosef that he and Mitsrayim/Egypt would come to great harm if they sought to keep Benyamin in captivity.
Herein lies another key to our shalom. Whatever the response of our enemy we know that YHVH’s purpose will be fulfilled.
Note now the use of the word “father” in the following verses.
Gen 44:18 And Yehudah 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.
I believe Yakov had a suspicion that his sons were not telling him the truth.
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 – (10 times father is mentioned)
Aliyah Sheni 44:31-45:7
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 camels back. (approx.. 22 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” Elohims’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”. The veil will be lifted from our eyes and we will comprehend everything that transpired through history.
Many believe that when Yahshua reveals himself in the last days all things will fall into perspective not only for Yehudah but for all the returning brothers – the whole house of Yisrael.
Now we are being tested. There are different words in Hebrew used for testing.
1. (bachan) - the Hebrew letters “beit” “chet” “nun”
a) Often used of metals as a test for purity
b) Reveals the nature/quality of a thing
2. (nasah) – “nun” “samech” “hey” – will they be faithful to obey me
a) A test of obedience
b) Often used of the Israelites “testing” of YHVH.
3. (tzaraph)
a) Similar to bachan, but has in view the purifying outcome of the test for example silver.
b) Homophone of (saraph) – “to burn”
Devarim/Deu 8:2 “And you shall remember that יהוה your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, prove you,(nasa) to know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not.
Tehillim/Psa 12:6 The Words of יהוה are clean Words, Silver tried in a furnace of earth, Refined (tzaraph) seven times1. Footnote: 1Ps. 18:30, Ps. 119:140, Prov. 30:4.
Mal 3:2 “And who is able to bear the day of His coming, and who is able to stand when He appears? For He is like the fire of a refiner, and like the soap of a launderer.
Mal 3:3 “And He shall sit as a refiner and a cleanser of silver. And He shall cleanse the sons of Lĕwi, and refine them as gold and silver, and they shall belong to יהוה, bringing near an offering in righteousness.
Teh/Psa 26:2 Examine me, O יהוה, and prove me; Try my kidneys and my heart.
R’ Hirsch’s expanded translation:
“Examine me to determine how far I have progressed;
test me to see if I can progress still further;
cleanse [me] – I desire even chastisement if this will further my moral ennoblement
Yeshayahu/Isa 30:20 Though יהוה gave you bread of adversity and water of affliction, your Teacher1 shall no longer be hidden. But your eyes shall see your Teacher1, Footnote: 1Or teachers. See also Joel 2:23.
Tehfeelaht Ha Talmadim – Disciples’ Prayer.
Ve al tevieinu lidei masa ki im hatzileinu min ha ra.
Do not bring us into the hands of despair (melting) and if this happens because I know I will be tested, please keep me away from the evil one or from doing evil.
In other words let nothing be found in my heart that will cause You to put me to the test and if you do, please keep me from the evil one.
1Pe 1:7 in order that the proving of your belief – much more precious than gold that perishes, and proven by fire – might be found to result in praise and respect and esteem at the revelation of יהושע Messiah,
Herein lies another key to our shalom – being tested.
Hebraic understanding of Kidneys.
Tehiilim/Psa 16:7 I bless יהוה who has given me counsel; My kidneys also instruct me in the nights.
Rev 2:22 “See, I am throwing her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent of their works.
Rev 2:23 “And I shall slay her children with death. And all the assemblies shall know that I am the One searching the kidneys and hearts. And I shall give to each one of you according to your works.
A kidney consists of thousands of little filters that filter the liquids in your body. They separate between what your body can use and what your body cannot use gets passed out. Imagine what will happen to you if your kidneys stop working?
If we look into the spiritual realm of the Kingdom we see that we will soon become spiritually sick if we are not discerning between what is good for us and what is not good for us we should be discarding.
Often my kidneys “awake” me in the night. Once awake the Ruach of YHVH brings revelation that brings clarity into His ways and His Torah.
Gen 45:4 Then Yosĕph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” And when they came near, 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.
This could be a prophetic indication that a
remnant will return to Yisrael during the great tribulation.
Rev 3:7 “And to the messenger of the assembly in Philadelphia write, ‘He who is set-apart, He who is true, He who has the key of Dawid, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens, says this:
Rev 3:8 “I know your works – see, I have set before you an open door, and no one is able to shut it – that you have little power, yet have guarded My Word, and have not denied My Name.
Rev 3:9 “See, I am giving up those of the congregation of Satan, who say they are Yehudim and are not, but lie. See, I am making them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
Rev 3:10 “Because you have guarded My Word of endurance, I also shall guard you from the hour of trial which shall come upon all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
Rev 3:11 “See, I am coming speedily! Hold what you have that no one take your crown.
Rev 3:12 “He who overcomes, I shall make him a supporting post in the Dwelling Place of My Elohim, and he shall by no means go out. And I shall write on him the Name of My Elohim and the name of the city of My Elohim, the renewed Yerushalayim, which comes down out of the heaven from My Elohim, and My renewed Name.
Aliyah Shlishi 45:8 – 18
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, 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 Kena’an,
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.
I believe it is possible in the end times that the world system will accept a returning to Israel of those who believe and hear the calling to return to the land. This may however be short lived when the anti messiah begins to act like Antiochus Ephiphanes – the abomination of desolation.
Aliyah Reviee 45:19-27
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 Kena’an to Ya’aqov 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 Ya’aqov’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 Ya’aqov 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.
Aliyah Chamishi 45:28-46:27
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’ĕrsheva, 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, “Ya’aqov, Ya’aqov!” 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 Ya’aqv rose up from Be’ĕrsheḇa. And the sons of Yisra’ĕl brought their father Ya’aqov, 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 Kena’an, and came into Mitsrayim, Ya’aqov 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, Ya’aqov and his sons, who came into Mitsrayim: Re’uḇĕn was Ya’aqov’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 Shim’on: Yemu’ĕl, and Yamin, and Ohaḏ, and Yaḵin, and Tsoḥar, and Sha’ul, son of a Kena’anite 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 Kena’an. And the sons of Perets were Ḥetsron and Ḥamul.
Gen 46:13 And the sons of Yissasḵar: Tola, and Puw’ah, 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 Ya’aqov 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 Beri’ah, and Seraḥ, their sister. And the sons of Beri’ah: 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 Ya’aqov: sixteen beings.
Gen 46:19 The sons of Raḥĕl, Ya’aqov’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 Na’aman, 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 Ya’aqov: 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 Lavan gave to Raḥĕl his daughter, and she bore these to Ya’aqov: seven beings in all.
Gen 46:26 All the beings who went with Ya’aqov to Mitsrayim, who came from his body, besides Ya’aqov’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 Ya’aqoḇ 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)
Aliyah Shishi 46:28 – 47:10
Gen 46:28 And he sent Yehuḏah before him to Yosĕph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.
Gen 46:29 And Yosĕph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Yisra’ĕl. And he appeared to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.
Gen 46:30 And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”
Gen 46:31 And Yosĕph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I am going up to inform Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Kena’an, have come to me.
Gen 46:32 ‘And the men are shepherds, that they have been men of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds, and all that they have.’
Gen 46:33 “And it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’
Gen 46:34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants have been men of livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ so that you dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Mitsrites.”
To this day the shepherding kind of ministry in the body of Messiah is an abomination to some.
Gen 47:1 Then Yosĕph went and spoke to Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Kena’an. And see, they are in the land of Goshen.”
Gen 47:2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
Gen 47:3 And Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.”
Gen 47:4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, for the scarcity of food is severe in the land of Kena’an. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
Gen 47:5 And Pharaoh spoke to Yosĕph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.
Gen 47:6 “The land of Mitsrayim is before you. Settle your father and brothers in the best of the land, let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of capable men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”
Gen 47:7 And Yosĕph brought in his father Ya’aqov and set him before Pharaoh. And Ya’aqov blessed Pharaoh.
Gen 47:8 And Pharaoh said to Ya’aqov, “How old are you?”
Gen 47:9 And Ya’aqov said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”
Gen 47:10 And Ya’aqov blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Aliyah Sheviee 47:11-27
Gen 47:11 So Yosĕph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Mitsrayim, in the best of the land, in the land of Ra’meses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
Gen 47:12 And Yosĕph provided his father, and his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread for the mouth of the little ones.
Gen 47:13 Now there was no bread in all the land, because the scarcity of food was very severe, and the land of Mitsrayim and all the land of Kena’an became exhausted from the scarcity of food.
Gen 47:14 And Yosĕph gathered up all the silver that was found in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kena’an, for the grain which they bought. And Yosĕph brought the silver into Pharaoh’s house.
Gen 47:15 And when the silver was all spent in the land of Mitsrayim and in the land of Kena’an, all the Mitsrites came to Yosĕph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the silver is gone!”
Gen 47:16 And Yosĕph said, “Give your livestock, and I give you bread for your livestock, if the silver is gone.”
Gen 47:17 So they brought their livestock to Yosĕph, and Yosĕph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks they owned, and for the herds they owned, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.
Gen 47:18 And when that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We do not hide from my master that our silver is all spent, and my master also has the livestock we owned. There has not any been left before my master but our bodies and our lands.
Gen 47:19 “Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and let us and our land be servants of Pharaoh. And give us seed, and let us live and not die, and let the land not lie waste.”
Gen 47:20 And Yosĕph bought the entire land of Mitsrayim for Pharaoh, because every man of the Mitsrites sold his field, because the scarcity of food was severe upon them. And the land came to be Pharaoh’s.
Gen 47:21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Mitsrayim to the other end.
Gen 47:22 Only the ground of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had portions allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their portions which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their ground.
Gen 47:23 And Yosĕph said to the people, “Look, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Gen 47:24 “And it shall be that in the harvest you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. And four-fifths is your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”
Gen 47:25 And they said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find favour in the eyes of my master, and we shall become Pharaoh’s servants.”
Gen 47:26 And Yosĕph made it a law over the land of Mitsrayim to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the ground of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s.
Gen 47:27 And Yisra’ĕl dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim, in the land of Goshen. And they had possessions there and bore fruit and increased exceedingly.
“The Hebrew word vayei'achazu ("and they took possession of it") literally means "and they took hold of it," but also translates, "and they were held by it." Both interpretations are cited by our sages: Rashi translates vayei'achazu as related to the word achuzah, "land holding" and "homestead"; the Midrash interprets it to imply that, "The land held them and grasped them... like a man who is forcefully held."
This duality defines the Jew's attitude toward galut (exile). On the one hand, we know that no matter how hospitable our host-country may be, and no matter how we may flourish, materially and spiritually, on foreign soil, galut is a prison in that it dims our spiritual vision, hinders our national mission and compromises our connection with G-d. For only as a nation dwelling on our land with the Holy Temple as the Divine abode in our midst can we perceive the Divine presence in the world, fully realize our role as "a light unto the nations," and fully implement all the mitzvot of the Torah-the lifeblood of our relationship with G-d.
But we also know that we are in galut for a purpose. We know that we have been dispersed throughout the world in order to reach and influence the whole of humanity. We know that it is only through the wanderings and tribulations of galut that we access and redeem the "sparks of holiness" -- the pinpoints of Divine potential which lie scattered in the most forsaken corners of the globe.
So Galut is an achuzah in both senses of the word: a "holding" to develop and a "holding pen" we must perpetually seek to escape.
Indeed, it can only be the one if it is also the other. If we relate to galut solely as a prison, we will fail to properly utilize the tremendous opportunities it holds. But if we grow comfortable in this alien environment, we risk becoming part of it; and if we become part of the galut reality, G-d forbid, we could no more succeed in our efforts to develop and elevate it than the person who tries to lift himself up by pulling upwards on the hairs atop his own head (The Lubavitcher Rebbe).”
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam,asher natan lanu Toraht-emet,
v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(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. Ameyn.)
Please note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final authority on any subject.