In the entire Torah scroll, “vayechi” is unique in that there is no extra space between it and the preceding parashah, in contrast to the general rule that a new parashah begins on a new line or is at least separated by nine empty spaces. Rashi, therefore, describles “vayechi” as “closed.” Yakov wanted to tell his children the time of the “end,” the Messianic age when Yisrael’s exile would finally end. We wait for that coming time when this will become a reality. This coming together will bring a quality and intensity of life that will surpass all our expectation and understanding, a life that is presently hidden from us.
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:
- 47:28 – 48:9
- 48:10-16
- 48:17-22
- 49:1-18
- 49:19-26
- 49:27 – 50:20
- 50:21-22
- Maftir: 50:23-26
Haftarah: 1 Kings 1:1-12
Aliyah Rishon 47:28 – 48:9
Gen 47:28 And Yaʽaqoḇ lived in the land of Mitsrayim seventeen years. So the length of Yaʽaqoḇ’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
These seventeen years were the best years of his life -- years of prosperity, goodness and peace; his other 130 years were filled with toil and pain (Midrash; Baal HaTurim).
When the child came home he asked his grandfather, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi: How can it be that our father Jacob, the greatest of the Patriarchs, lived the best years of his life in pagan Egypt?
Replied Rabbi Schneur Zalman: It is written that Jacob "sent Judah ahead of him... to show the way to Goshen" (Genesis 46:28). The Midrash explains that this was to establish a house of learning, where the sons of Jacob would study Torah. When one studies Torah, one is brought close to G-d, so that even in Egypt one can live a true "life." (HaYom Yom)
These would have been the best years of Yahshua’s life. He would have had his bar mitzvah at age 13 and 17 years later he would enter into the ministry of his Father. These were years where promising students would be trained for the ministry.
Why should it be different today? Training for the ministry was to be trained in Torah.
We see a similar pattern repeated for the apostle Paul. If we look at Galatians 1:17,18 and Galatians 2:1 - It would appear that Paul went through 17 years of preparation before he was released as an apostle to the Gentiles.
Gen 47:29 And the time for Yisra’ĕl to die drew near, and he called his son Yosĕph and said to him, “Now if I have found favour in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, and show kindness and truth to me. Please do not bury me in Mitsrayim,
The dispersion “galut” can never be our true home. We constantly sense that this is not our place, constantly beseech haShem to "carry us out of Egypt."
The days of the righteous die, but they do not die... It does not say, "and Israel drew near to die," but "the days of Israel drew near to die." (Midrash Rabbah)
Commentary – Donald Morgan- Gen 24:2-9,47:29"... put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by YHVH ...." (Note: This means "put your hand under my testicles," which is the manner in which oaths were taken at the time; "testament," "testify," and "testicle" come from the same root word.)
“There has been a great deal of research that examines how ancient religious rituals still influence modern behavior. Praying people would be surprised to learn that the posture of hands in prayer may be a modern re-enactment of touching testicles. The ancient practice is known as the "Yarek Oath" these new discoveries come from the work of the historian Dr. Rex Curry. They are based on some of the oldest descriptions of prayer (or oaths) in the Scriptures.” Wikipedia.
I personally believe that there will be a great deal of reproduction (spiritual and physical) that continues to take place in the millennium and after the “eighth day.” It seems unimaginable that YHVH’s set apart life (the word “holy” was used to translate the Hebrew word Kadosh, but the real meaning is “set apart”) will not be continually produced and reproduced for a long time still to come. - A thousand generations – From Adam until now we have only had about 120 generations.
When Yosef and Eliezer “touch” the genitals of the patriarchs, it was a solemn declaration and promise that the set apart covenant life would continue. When Yosef makes this oath I believe it prophetically points to the promise of YHVH to return us to the land of Yisrael to once again reproduce set apart life.
AFTER ALL WE ARE BORN AGAIN FROM AN INCORRUPTABLE SEED!!!!! –
1Pe 1:23 having been born again – not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible – through the living Word of Elohim, which remains forever,
Gen 47:30 but I shall lie with my fathers, and you shall take me up out of Mitsrayim and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I do as you have said.”
Gen 47:31 And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him, and Yisra’ĕl bowed himself on the head of the bed.
There is debate over the use of the Hebrew word “mitah”(bed) or “metah”(staff) Perhaps in the context of the narrative “bed” may be a better choice as a bed is a place where the “seed” would be passed on. The bed could be seen as a type of altar where set apart intercourse took place to bring forth a set apart people.
Gen 48:1 And after these events it came to be that it was said to Yosĕph, “See, your father is sick.” And he took with him his two sons, Menashsheh and Ephrayim.
Gen 48:2 And Ya’aqov was told, “See, your son Yosĕph is coming to you.” And Yisra’ĕl strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.
Gen 48:3 And Ya’qov said to Yosĕph, “Ěl Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kena’an and blessed me,
Gen 48:4 and said to me, ‘See, I am making you bear fruit and shall increase you and make of you an assembly of peoples, and give this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’
Gen 48:5 “And now, your two sons, Ephrayim (doubly fruitful) and Menashsheh,(to forget or be deprived) who were born to you in the land of Mitsrayim/Egypt (birth canal) before I came to you in Mitsrayim, are mine – as Re’uvĕn and Shim’on, they are mine.
Gen 48:6 “Your offspring whom you shall bring forth after them are yours, and let them be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
Gen 48:7 “And I, when I came from Paddan, Raḥĕl died beside me in the land of Kena’an on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is Bĕyth Leḥem.”
Yir/Jer 31:15 Thus said יהוה, “A voice was heard in Ramah (a hill or place of idolatry), wailing, bitter weeping, Raḥĕl weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
Rachel weeps for the dispersed sons of Yisrael who have been entangled in idolatry to return to the Land.
Gen 48:8 And Yisra’ĕl saw Yosĕph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”
Gen 48:9 And Yosĕph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom Elohim has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and let me bless them.”
Here we witness one of the most precious revelations of our redemption. There would be nations born again into the covenant of YHVH outside of Yisrael and even outside the Torah. We as non Jewish believers are part of this miracle. However in these last days our times of ignorance of the Torah and the covenant YHVH has “winked” at; now He commands all men everywhere to repent and to return to the ancient paths.
Act 17:30 “Truly, then, having overlooked these times of ignorance, Elohim now commands all men everywhere to repent,
Aliyah Sheni 48:10-16
Gen 48:10 And the eyes of Yisra’ĕl were dim with age, and he was unable to see. And he drew them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
Gen 48:11 And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “I had not thought to see your face. But see, Elohim has also shown me your seed!”
Gen 48:12 So Yosĕph brought them from between his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.
Note the reproductive inferences in the above two highlighted verses.
Gen 48:13 And Yosĕph took them both, Ephrayim with his right hand toward Yisra’ĕl’s left hand, and Menashsheh with his left hand toward Yisra’ĕl’s right hand, and brought them near him.
His arms cross making an ancient Paleo “tav” which was a cross or sign of the covenant.
Gen 48:14 And Yisra’ĕl stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephrayim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Menashsheh’s head, consciously directing his hands, for Menashsheh was the first-born.
Gen 48:15 And he blessed Yosĕph, and said, “The Elohim before whom my fathers Aḇraham and Yitsḥaq walked, the Elohim who has fed me all my life long to this day, (emphasis my own)
Gen 48:16 the Messenger who has redeemed me from all evil – bless the youths! And let my name be called upon them, and the name of my fathers Aḇraham and Yitsḥaq. And let them increase to a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Aliyah Shlishi 48:17- 22
Gen 48:17 And when Yosĕph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephrayim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from the head of Ephrayim to the head of Menashsheh.
Gen 48:18 And Yosĕph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the first-born, put your right hand on his head.”
Gen 48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also becomes a people, and he also is great. And yet, his younger brother is greater than he, and his seed is to become the completeness of the nations.”
Rom 11:25 For I do not wish you to be ignorant of this secret, brothers, lest you 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.
What does the “mello goyim” or fullness of gentiles mean? I personally believe it means when the full number of Torah observant ex –gentiles are in the world, this will trigger off the end time events that prepare the way for the dispersed to come together and for the Messiah to return.
There are several rabbis today who believe when the gentiles begin to embrace Torah, the coming of Moshiach is at hand.
According to Rashi it was Ephraim’s dedication and love of Torah that caused him to receive the greater blessing. Mannasheh ruled the country with Yosef while Ephraim studied the Torah with Yakov his grandfather. (See chumash p 273)
Gen 48:20 And he blessed them on that day, saying, “In you Yisra’ĕl shall bless, saying, ‘Elohim make you as Ephrayim and as Menashsheh!’ ” Thus he put Ephrayim before Menashsheh.
Gen 48:21 And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “See, I am dying, but Elohim shall be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
Gen 48:22 “And I, I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.”
Aliyah Reviee 49:1-18
Gen 49:1 And Ya’aqov called his sons and said, “Gather together, so that I declare to you what is to befall you in the last days:
Whenever the Torah speaks about the “achariet hayamim” (the last days) it should serve as an extremely important call for our full attention. This term appears a few times in the Torah and is once again proof that the Torah has not been done away and remains significant in our understanding and been prepared for the last days prior to the Messianic age.
The Hebrew word for “call and befall” come from the same root word “kra” meaning “what will call you in the last days”.
This presents a challenge because as we read what it is that will befall the 12 tribes in the last days, we notice that most of what will call them is a sad reminder of their failures.
Why is this so? I believe it is possible that in the last days, there is going to be such a deep, thorough and genuine repentance from the dispersed brothers of Yisrael that it will result in the ushering in of the Messianic kingdom.
Gen 49:2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Ya’aqov, and listen to Yisra’ĕl your father.
Gen 49:3 “Re’uḇĕn, you are my first-born, my power and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of exaltation and the excellency of power.
Gen 49:4 “Boiling like water, you do not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it – he went up to my couch.
The Hebrew word for “boiling” is “pachaz” BDB defines this word as “recklessness, wantonness, unbridled license, frothiness” This same word is used in Zeph 3:4 says that the prophets became “pachaz” because they did violence to the Torah. This word pachaz” also conveys the idea of losing something you once had.
This realization will cause a deep repentance to come upon Reuven and his descendants in the last days.
There will be a deep repentance from an attitude of “entitlement.” This will certainly not only apply to Reuben and his descendants but to the other brothers as well. We must remember that these tribes have become so interspersed amongst each other and the nations that it is almost impossible to distinguish one from the other in our day.
Gen 49:5 “Shim’on and Lĕwi are brothers, their weapons are implements of violence.
Gen 49:6 “Let my being not enter their council, let my esteem not be united to their assembly; because they slew a man in their displeasure, and they lamed an ox in pleasure.
Gen 49:7 “Cursed be their displeasure for it is fierce, and their wrath for it is cruel! I divide them in Ya’aqov and scatter them in Yisra’ĕl.
The sages believe the second temple was destroyed because of a baseless hatred amongst the people. This baseless hatred is called “sinat chinam” This was the same baseless hatred amongst the brothers that killed the Messiah.
Yoch/Joh 15:25 but...that the word might be filled which was written in their Torah, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ (Ps 69:4)
Sadly we experience this same baseless hatred from some Christians when we tell them we have returned to the ancient paths of our fathers and to the Torah of YHVH.
Gen 49:8 “You, Yehuḏah, your brothers praise you; your hand is on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children bow down before you.
Gen 49:9 “Yehuḏah is a lion’s cub; from the prey you have gone up, my son! He bowed down, he crouched like a lion. And like a lion, who does rouse him?
Gen 49:10 “The sceptre shall not turn aside from Yehuḏah, nor a Lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him is the obedience of peoples.
Gen 49:11 “Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.
Gen 49:12 “His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
The gematria of “Shiloh comes” in the Hebrew is 358 which is the same as the gematria for the Hebrew word “Messiah”.
It is clear that Yehudah was destined for leadership and royality, the Davidic dynasty and Messiah. When Yakov addresses Yehudah, he is still a lion’s cub however in the future he will be a full grown lion and king.
The sceptre shall not depart from Yehudah. The use of the word “until” could also mean “including” and therefore when Messiah comes Yehudah keeps its position of leadership under the leadership of Messiah. In contrast to this imagery of a lion the Torah goes on to describe a donkey. The sages knew this referred to the coming of Messiah on a donkey. Today we know that this is true of Messiah’s first coming.
The Torah goes on to describe the eyes of Messiah, darker than wine and piercing (shaman).
Rev 1:14 And His head and hair were white as white wool, as snow, and His eyes as a flame of fire,
The Messiah’s eyes could see and pierce through everything, nothing was concealed or hidden from him.
Even though Yehudah is this lion, they failed to recognize their Messiah coming to them humbly on a donkey.
Zec 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Tsiyon! Shout, O daughter of Yerushalayim! See, your Sovereign is coming to you, He is righteous and endowed with deliverance, humble and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey1. Footnote: 1Mt. 21:5, John 12:15.
Of all the brothers Yehudah’s repentance will be the most solemn and significant when they realize they have rejected their Messiah for so long.
Zec 12:10 “And I shall pour on the house of Dawiḏ and on the inhabitants of Yerushalayim a spirit of favour and prayers. And they shall look on Me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son. And they shall be in bitterness over Him as a bitterness over the first-born.
Gen 49:13 “Zeḇulun dwells at the seashore, he is for a haven for ships, and his border is unto Tsiḏon.
“Sidon” means “hunting” if we consider all the shipping trade and commerce that has taken place over the years, we have to ask ourselves “how much of all of this was for personal gain?” We must ask ourselves how the great nations of this world have promoted their dominance in the world via their sailing fleets and guarded trade routes. Was the primary reason for these trade routes not the spreading and financing of the study and knowledge of Torah?
Devarim/Deu 8:18 “But you shall remember יהוה your Elohim, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is today.
Gen 49:14 “Yissasḵar is a strong donkey lying down between two burdens,
Gen 49:15 and he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, and he inclined his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a subject to slave labour.
Instead of Yissakar studying Torah he became consumed in the burdens of every- day life.
Gen 49:16 “Dan rightly rules his people as one of the tribes of Yisra’ĕl.
Gen 49:17 “Dan is a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backward.
Gen 49:18 “I have waited for your deliverance, O יהוה!
Possibly instead of Dan waiting for YHVH’s deliverance he sought to deliver himself.
Aliyah Chamishi 49:19-26
Gen 49:19 “Gaḏ, a raiding band raids him, but he raids its heel. (Or he himself is raided)
The very thing that Gad was good for, fighting and protecting his brothers was the very thing that became his downfall.
Satan does not always attack us on our weaknesses but more often on our strengths.
Gen 49:20 “Bread from Ashĕr is rich, and he gives delicacies of a sovereign.
Instead of feeding the hungry he lavished YHVH’s provision on the rich.
Gen 49:21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose, he gives words of elegance.
His gift for communication was not harnessed to make the Torah beautiful; instead it was used to entertain the world.
Gen 49:22 “Yosĕph is an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree, an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree by a fountain, his branches run over a wall.
Gen 49:23 “And the archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.
Gen 49:24 “But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Yaaqov – from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Yisra’ĕl –
Gen 49:25 from the Ěl of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
Gen 49:26 “The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the limit of the everlasting hills. They are on the head of Yosĕph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.
Yosef speaks of the great wealth, influence and favour YHVH has granted the western nations of the world. Today after all these centuries of blessing and supremacy what does the west have to show for this blessing?
However a remnant shall choose life and bring deliverance to the multitudes.
Aliyah Shishi 49:27 – 50:20
Gen 49:27 “Binyamin is a wolf that tears, in the morning he eats prey, and at night he divides the spoil.”
Although this is a nation that produced great men and woman of Elohim, it also produced shame. See Judges chp 19&20.
We need to be cautious that we fail to see our deep need for “Teshuvah” – repentance. We all like to paint a rosy picture and be positive about our ancestors. This could cause us to fail to hear what the Ruach of YHVH (the set apart Spirit of Yahveh) truly wants to tell us in these last days.
Gen 49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Yisra’ĕl, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.
The greatest blessing is to receive the TRUTH that brings deep repentance that brings the refreshing presence of YHVH back into our lives.
Gen 49:29 And he commanded them, and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Ḥittite,
Gen 49:30 in the cave that is in the field of Maḵpĕlah, which is before Mamrĕ in the land of Kenaʽan, which Aḇraham bought with the field of Ephron the Ḥittite as a possession for a burial site.
Gen 49:31 There they buried Aḇraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Yitsḥaq and Riḇqah his wife, and there I buried Lĕ’ah –
Gen 49:32 the field purchased, and the cave which is in it, from the sons of Ḥĕth.”
Gen 49:33 And when Ya’aqov ended commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
Gen 50:1 And Yosĕph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him.
Gen 50:2 And Yosĕph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Yisra’ĕl.
Gen 50:3 And forty days were completed for him, for so are completed the days of embalming. And the Mitsrites wept for him seventy days.
Gen 50:4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Yosĕph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If, now, I have found favour in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,
Gen 50:5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “See, I am dying, bury me in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Kena’an.” And now, please let me go up and bury my father, and return.’ ”
Gen 50:6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
Gen 50:7 And Yosĕph went up to bury his father. And with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Mitsrayim,
Gen 50:8 and all the house of Yosĕph, and his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen.
Gen 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great company.
Gen 50:10 And they came to the threshing-floor of Ataḏ, which is beyond the Yardĕn, and they lamented there with a great and very heavy lamentation. And he observed seven days of mourning for his father.
“Atad” means piercing and binding. This threshing place was perhaps in Yerushalayim.
Gen 50:11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Kena’anites, saw the mourning at the threshing-floor of Ataḏ, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Mitsrites.” That is why its name was called Aḇĕl Mitsrayim, which is beyond the Yardĕn.
Gen 50:12 And his sons did to him as he had commanded them,
Gen 50:13 for his sons brought him to the land of Kenaʽan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Maḵpĕlah, before Mamrĕ, which Aḇraham bought with the field from Ephron the Ḥittite as property for a burial site.
Gen 50:14 And after he had buried his father, Yosĕph returned to Mitsrayim, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.
Gen 50:15 And when Yosĕph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Yosĕph hates us, and pays us back all the evil which we did to him?”
Gen 50:16 And they sent word to Yosĕph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying,
Gen 50:17 ‘This is what you are to say to Yosĕph, “I beg you, please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the Elohim of your father.” And Yosĕph wept when they spoke to him.
Gen 50:18 And his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “See, we are your servants.”
Gen 50:19 And Yosĕph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of Elohim?
Gen 50:20 “And you, you intended evil against me, but Elohim intended it for good, in order to do it as it is this day, to keep a great many people alive.
This is a powerful message and serves to remind us that all things work out together for the good to those who love YHVH and are called to fulfil His purposes.
Rom 8:27 And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the set-apart ones according to Elohim.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all matters work together for good to those who love Elohim, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He knew beforehand, He also ordained beforehand to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, for Him to be the first-born among many brothers.
Rom 8:30 And whom He ordained beforehand, these He also called, and whom He called, these He also declared right. And whom He declared right, these He also esteemed.
Rom 8:31 What then shall we say to this? If Elohim is for us, who is against us?
Rom 8:32 Truly, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up on behalf of us all – how shall He not, along with Him, freely give us all else?
Rom 8:33 Who shall bring any charge against Elohim’s chosen ones? It is Elohim who is declaring right.
Rom 8:34 Who is he who is condemning? It is Messiah who died, and furthermore is also raised up, who is also at the right hand of Elohim, who also makes intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of the Messiah? Shall pressure, or distress, or persecution, or scarcity of food, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it has been written, “For Your sake we are killed all day long, we are reckoned as sheep of slaughter.”
Rom 8:37 But in all this we are more than overcomers through Him who loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor messengers nor principalities nor powers, neither the present nor the future,
Rom 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of Elohim which is in Messiah יהושע our Master.
Aliyah Sheviee 50:21 – 26
Gen 50:21 “And now, do not fear, I provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Gen 50:22 And Yosĕph dwelt in Mitsrayim, he and his father’s household. And Yosĕph lived one hundred and ten years.
Gen 50:23 And Yosĕph saw Ephrayim’s children to the third generation. The children of Maḵir, son of Menashsheh, were also brought up on Yosĕph’s knees.
Gen 50:24 And Yosĕph said to his brothers, “I am dying, but Elohim shall certainly visit you and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Ya’aqov.”
Gen 50:25 And Yosĕph made the children of Yisra’ĕl swear, saying, “Elohim shall certainly visit you, and you shall bring up my bones from here.”
Gen 50:26 And Yosĕph died, being one hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Mitsrayim.
And after having read one of the books of the Torah we say:
“Chazak, chazak, ve-nitchazek!”
Be strong, be strong, and be strengthened!”
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.