Genesis 44:18-47:27 | Ezekiel 37:15-28 | Luke 6:12-19

This week's edition of The Set Table contains:

Questions and Commentary on Shabbat Vayyigash
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
Looking Ahead

Questions & Commentary on Parashat Vayyigash

1. Why did Judah's monologue bring about reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers? What can we learn from his actions? 

David Nichol

Our parasha begins in the midst of the Joseph story. The story up to this point is well summarized by Judah's opening monologue: 

Then Judah approached him [Joseph] and said, "If you please, my lord, may your servant speak a word in my lord's ears and let not you anger flare up at your servant-for you are like Pharaoh. My lord has asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or brother?'  And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young child of his old age; his brother is dead, he alone is left from his mother, and his father loves him.' Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, and I will set my eye on him.' We said to my lord, ‘The youth cannot leave his father, for should he leave his father he will die.' But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again!' . . . And now, if I come to your servant my father and the youth is not with us-since his soul is so bound up with his soul-it will happen that when he sees the youth is missing he will die, and your servants will have brought down the hoariness of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. For your servant took responsibility for the youth from my father saying,

‘If I do not bring him back to you then I will have sinned to my father for all time.' Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the youth as a servant to my lord, and let the youth go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the youth is not with me, lest I see the evil that will befall my father! "

Genesis 44:18-23, 30-34 (Stone Chumash)

Judah's monologue is the climax of the entire narrative.  Even knowing that Joseph is the unrecognized brother, the reader does not know what he intends to do.  Will he keep Benjamin with him in Egypt, forcing his brothers to return home and face the untimely death of their father?  Whatever he may have intended, Judah intervenes successfully. What is not clear, however, is why Judah's speech elicits such an emotional response from Joseph.  He says little that Joseph did not already know. What does he say that changes the course of events, resulting in family reconciliation and salvation of Jacob's family from famine? 

A clue may be found in the first word of our parasha, vayyigash, "and he approached/drew near." Perhaps it wasn't anything Judah said per se, but his action of drawing near to Joseph that made the difference. In a legal sense, Judah doesn't even have much of a case here. But first, he draws near to Joseph and establishes a personal connection with him. Second, he speaks with true humility, recognizing his own faults. Third, he speaks with passion, even offering to stay in Benjamin's place. Through these things, he is able to change Joseph's harsh judgment into a lenient one. As a result, Joseph reveals himself, inviting all the brothers to "draw near to me" (geshu-na elai), and they do so (vayyigashu) (Genesis 45:4). The scales are tipped toward a happy ending. 

Judah teaches us a lesson here. As Jews and as followers of Yeshua we have obligations to be witnesses (edim)--to God's fidelity to Israel, God's love for the world, and the promise of eventual redemption through Yeshua.  However, the content of our testimony (edut) is not enough to fulfill the obligation.  Rather, an essential part of our testimony is drawing near to others, communally and individually. This involves forging connections with others who see things differently, listening as well as telling, and laying our selves and our story bare.   

This is not only true when relating to other people, but also in prayer. Our sages teach us that drawing near to God with passion, humility and a broken heart is more powerful than a well-spoken prayer (also see Luke 18:9-14). The content of prayer is subordinate to the action of prayer, the discipline of devequt, drawing near to God. 

2. Jewish tradition talks about two Messiahs: Mashiach ben David, the royal Messiah, and Mashiach ben Yosef, the suffering Messiah (b. Sukka 52a). How does the life of Joseph foreshadow the life of Messiah? 

Nick Amic

In Jewish tradition the "sufferings" of Mashiach ben Yosef occur in three stages: 1. rejection; 2. humiliation & degradation; 3. assumption of others' wrongs. These three stages are followed by a fourth stage which culminates them all - exaltation. With the fourth stage, we come to the "second" Messianic personage - Mashiach ben David. How is Joseph's life a picture of each aspect of suffering of the Messiah? 

Let's begin first with a brief recounting of the story. Our story opens up with the Torah's immediate connection of Joseph to Jacob: "These are the generations of Jacob: when Joseph was seventeen years old" (Genesis 37:2). It is quite clear that Joseph is favored and thus also given prophecy. He shares this prophecy with his brothers who immediately conspire to kill him. Although, there are those who speak out in his defense (37:21-22), they place him in a pit and leave him to die. He was then taken, placed in prison and numbered among the transgressors. Every step along the way Joseph encounters unwarranted suffering. On the subject of Joseph's suffering Rabbi Hillel Shklover, the grand-nephew and disciple of the famous Vilna Gaon offers an amazing insight from a section of Kol Hator listing 156 aspects of Mashiach ben Yosef: 

Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him - This is one of the traits of Yosef not only in his own generation, but in every generation, i.e., that Mashiach ben Yosef recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him. This is the work of Satan, who hides the characteristics of Mashiach ben Yosef so that the footsteps of the Mashiach are not recognized and are even belittled because of our many sins. Otherwise, our troubles would already have ended. Were Israel to recognize Yosef, that is, the footsteps of ben Yosef the Mashiach which is the ingathering of the exiles etc., then we would already have been redeemed with a complete redemption.

Kol Hator, Chapter 2, Aspect #39 

It is obvious that Joseph was degraded and left to be "slain" (b. Sukka 52a). Yet, there is an additional aspect that has heretofore not been considered - the actions of Mashiach ben Yosef himself. It is on a deeper level that Joseph and Mashiach ben Yosef are connected. Joseph's descent into Egypt can be likened unto the descent of of Messiah. Like Joseph, he took "the form of a bond-servant" and "humbled himself" (Philippians 2:7-8). Both Joseph and Yeshua ben Joseph came to be exalted - one over all of Egypt, the other over all of creation (Philippians 2:9). 

Luke 6:12-19 - Passing the Torch

Sean Emslie

In this week's besora reading, Yeshua chooses his talmidim, those who would be with him throughout his work on earth and then to be his emissaries to take his message out after he leaves to return to the Father.  Yeshua chooses twelve men to fill these roles, to be his students and companions, and to be the ones that will have to take the message of Yeshua to future generations and to "the uttermost part of the Earth".   

Yeshua gives us an important lesson in leadership: leadership involves sharing the responsibility and finding gifted individuals to assist. This approach is exemplified by Moses' appointing of the 70 elders to assist him in his role of leading the people of Israel in the desert.  Yeshua shows us the importance of a leader in preparing future leaders. He knew that his time was short and a Roman stake soon awaited him. For his message to continue he needed to prepare other to take his message forward. Hence, he chose to mentor the twelve talmidim and then to send them out to bring his message to future generations. We are beneficiaries of their faithful service. 

What can we learn from this besora reading for the future of Messianic Judaism? One thing is the importance of current leaders choosing future leaders and preparing them for their important task of building Messianic Judaism for the future. Secondly, like the talmidim those "young leaders" who are called to be mentored and prepared for future leadership must share Yeshua's talmidim's willingness to take up the task of being prepared to be future leaders and carry forward the vision.   

This can be seen by the analogy of passing a torch from one generation of leaders to the next. This passing of the torch involves the current leaders preparing future leaders to receive the torch and for them to pass it on to them. Then those future leaders should accept the torch and their responsibility of being the ones in which the future of Messianic Judaism will rest. They can play a tremendous role in changing our world for God like Yeshua's first talmidim did in their world by their faithful service.  

NEXT WEEK'S READINGS - PARASHAT VAYYECHI

Genesis 47:28-50:26
2 Kings 2:1-12
Matthew 5:1-16