Each of the weekly Parashot (parashas) presents
a narrative that tells a story of individuals (and later of much larger
groups), describing their relationships, fortunes and misfortunes, travels and
battles, struggles and learning situations, instructions for living (the Torah),
and much more. Every one of these stories also relates to the Elohim of Yisrael.
No doubt, there is a great deal to be gleaned from these accounts, as indeed we
do. Yet, an even more careful examination will reveal facts beyond ‘mere’
object lessons or
annals of the past. These episodes, that occurred so long ago, form the
foundation of a continuum which is part of today's world dynamics! And what's more, they have a bearing on our
very own lives. This thread of continuity, which ties the biblical characters,
their decisions and responses to YHVH – indeed, their very lives - to ours, is
what makes the Parashot so exciting and important.
With this in mind, we approach
Parashat Va'yigash. “Va’yigash” means "and he approached” or
“drew near," originating from the root n.g.sh (noon, gimmel,
shin).* At the outset of the Parasha we see Yehuda "drawing near" to
Yoseph. Although in his blindness Yehuda does not recognize his brother, still his
new 'approach' (after having passed his tests described in chapter 38) enables
him to draw closer to his sibling, albeit as mentioned, unawares. As we saw at the end of last week's Parasha, Yehuda
has been reformed through some reflection and repentance. This, as well as some
of his other traits, to be discussed later, should inspire us with hope and
anticipation regarding his descendants who are destined to follow in the
footsteps of their progenitor. Some day, they too will draw near to their long-lost
and ‘hidden’ brother; not only to the brethren from amongst the descendants of
Yoseph, but also to their greater and as of yet unrecognized Brother, Yeshua (see
Zech. 12:10-13:2).
The words of this ‘greater Brother’ take on
special meaning in the context of the current story, a story that may be viewed
as a prophetic pattern relating to the collective destiny of Yehuda. Thus,
Yeshua’s declaration, "no
man can come to [the Son], except the Father… draw him" (John
6:44 emphasis added), lends an added dimension to the first 16 verses of the
Parasha (see 44:18-34 - Yehuda's monologue), where father is mentioned
no less than 14 times. Yehuda's oft repeated "eved - servant”
(or literally “slave”), singular and plural and “adonie” (“my
master/lord”), in connection to himself and his family (ref. 44:18,
19, 21, 23, 24, 27 etc.), is indicative of the fact that Yoseph's dreams, of
his brothers’ submission to him, are being fulfilled. But it also clearly
foreshadows Yehuda's future attitude toward his Master and Messiah. Following
Yoseph's disclosure of his identity, the latter beckons his brothers to come
near to him – “g’shu” - sharing the same root as va’yigash
- and they respond by, again, “drawing near” (“vayigshu” 45:4). Interestingly,
the name of the land that Yoseph will designate later on for his family will be Goshen. Although
this name’s etymological origin is unclear, it happens to sound very much like
the above-mentioned verb, thus suggesting that “approaching” or “drawing” to
their brother will enable the siblings to benefit from the future place of
refuge that Yoseph will prepare for them (cf. John 14:1,2).
In recent Parashot we followed Yehuda's
process of learning about redemption. We have looked at the term "arov,"
which is “guarantee” or “surety.” In his monologue, addressing Yoseph and
presenting the case of Binyamin, Yehuda says: "For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, `If I do not bring him
back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever'" (44:32
emphasis added). Among the many words derived from the root a.r.v (ayin, resh,
vet/bet), we also find “pleasant” – “a’rev” - as in: “Behold, I send My
messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me… He will sit as a refiner and
a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi… then the offering of
Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing – “arva” - to YHVH"
(Mal. 3:1, 3, 4, italics added). Similarly, Yehuda's present action/’offering’ also
brings great pleasure to the Father’s heart. Yehuda's treatment of his brother
Binyamin in our Parasha, and the "eravon" (guarantee) that he is so
faithful to keep, speak of a future day when Yehuda’s house will do so
corporately. These two terms, “Drawing near” and “pledge” are found in a
prophetic scripture penned by Yimiyahu (Jeremiah). Describing a day when
Ya’acov’s tents will be restored and when a Ruler of greater and nobler stature
will come forth from the midst of the nation, the prophet says: “He will draw
close – “ve’nigash” – to Me, for who is he who would pledge –
“ve’arav” – his heart to draw close – “lageshet” – to Me?
says YHVH” (30:21 italics added). It is no coincidence that these specific
terms are strung together so many centuries later, when reference is made to
Yehuda’s greater Son (and brother), thus illustrating that the life of the
ancient forefather exemplifies what eventually comes to full manifestation and
fruition in his progeny, in this case in Yeshua.
In this second journey to Egypt Egypt we read: "Then he [Jacob] sent Judah Judah
Last week we read in 43:30-31 how Yoseph's "heart yearned for
his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went
into his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself." This time,
after Yehuda's monologue, Yoseph is unable to restrain himself any longer (ref.
45:1). In both cases the word for “restrain” is "hit'apek"
(a.p/f. k - alef, pey/fey, kof) and means, “to hold in, restrain,
be strong.” It originates from the same root that serves the word
"ah'fik” – “riverbed” - which restrains the water coursing through it. On
the earlier occasion, Yoseph's inner strength enabled him to withhold his flow
of emotions. This time, the ‘dam’
breaks, there is no restraint and the ‘ah'fik’ overflows with tears as he makes
himself known to his brothers (45:1).
"Made himself known"
is "hitvada," of the root “yada” (y.d.a, yod, dalet, ayin) –
“to know.” “Yada” is a very common verb. There are many levels of “knowing,”
including the knowing of great intimacy, such as in the physical/sexual
relations between husband and wife (e.g. Gen.4:1). “To make one’s self known”
is not a frequently used verb, one example of its usage is found in Bamidbar
(Numbers) 12:6, when YHVH addresses Moshe, Aharon and Miriam: "Hear now My
words: If there is a prophet among you, I, YHVH, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream"
(italics added).
Yoseph
continues to address his brother: "But now, do not therefore be grieved or
angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for Elohim sent me before you to preserve life" (45:5 emphasis added). We
already noted that "sent" is the theme of the story of Yoseph. All
the circumstances that have befallen him have been part of YHVH's
pre-determined plan to send him for His purposes. Yoseph is a man with a mission, brought to light now
by his own words - "to preserve life." To make his point Yoseph
repeats these words before his stunned brothers… "And Elohim sent me before you to preserve you a
remnant in the earth, and to keep alive before you a great escape" (45:7).
Yoseph employs the words "she'erit," which is “remnant,”
and "pleta," referring to “escape or refuge,” thereby
projecting on to the coming events. Thus, the final outcome of the predicament
of the soon coming famine and forced emigration, and later of forced labor,
enslavement and genocide, although potentially of great threat to the
Israelites’ very existence (possibly sustaining a mere “remnant”), will
actually culminate in a “great deliverance” in both quality and quantity. It is
in their host country that the family of Ya'acov will become a great multitude
(ref. 47:27). It seems that this seed, in order to increase greatly, requires
foreign soil!
Several times in his speech, while trying to plead Binyamin's case,
Yehuda makes reference to the death of Binyamin's brother (that is, to
Yoseph), to the possible death of Binyamin himself, and to the likely death
of his father (44:20, 22, 31). Immediately following Yoseph's disclosure of
identity, he asks whether their father is still alive (45:3). As we
noted above, Yoseph then declares that the purpose for his mission was "to
preserve life," and
"to save you alive"
(vs. 5, 7 italics added). When the brothers return home they tell their father
that, "Yoseph is still alive"
(v. 26 italics added). After the initial shock, it says that "the spirit
of Jacob their father revived… and Jacob said, 'Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him
before I die'" (v.
27, 28 italics added). Thus death, and the threat thereof, which had colored
the first part of the Parasha, is offset by life and revival in the 'counter'
text. Almost from the start, the story of Yoseph and his mission portends the
themes of impending death followed by survival. At the end of the Parasha, we
once again encounter this topic, woven neatly into the fabric of the text. In
the narrative that deals with Ya'acov and his family's reunion with Yoseph, in
chapter 46, we read: "And Israel
Next, we see Yoseph's interaction with the hungry Egyptian populace,
whose lives are greatly endangered by the famine and by lack of financial means
by which to obtain sustenance. In order to alleviate impending death,
these people pay for their supplies with their land and labor (as they have
already used up their livestock for that purpose, ref. 47:16, 17). Their words
express the same vocabulary: "Wherefore should we die before
your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to
Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die,
and that the land be not desolate" (47:19, see also v. 15, italics added).
Yoseph complies with their request, adding that a fifth of the purchased sustenance is to be handed over to Par'oh (v.
23, 24). "And they said, 'you have saved our lives'" (v. 25 italics
added). Next week's Parasha, which focuses on Ya’acov’s death, starts paradoxically
with the words, "And Jacob lived…" (italics added), being also
the name of the Parasha.
We cannot
depart from this week’s reading without pausing to look at the scene of
Elohim's last (recorded) appearance to Ya'acov. On his way down to Egypt Israel Egypt Egypt Egypt Egypt
* Here one may
ask, is there any relation to “negotiations” in the English
language (stemming from Latin)?
1.
Studies in Bereshit, Nechama
Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner. Library, Department for Torah
Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn , N.Y.
Hebrew Tools for Everyday Use
Our
Parasha yields ‘readily available’ terminology that may be put to use in
everyday speech, such as the verb for “approach” – nigash – and the noun –
gisha – once again “approach”. “Know” and “send” are, obviously, very common
verbs. Much is said about “life” and “living” in this Parasha, and most of you
probably recognize the word “chai” for “alive” or “living”, and “le’chayim” –
“to life” when toasting.
So, without
further ado let’s get started:
The boy approached his father
Ha’ye’led nigash el aviv
The girl approached her father
Ha’yal’da nigsha el avi’ah
Yehuda had a new approach
LeYehuda hay’ta geesha chadasha (lit. To
Yehuda there was an approach new)
Yoseph knew that Elohim sent him
Yoseph yada she’Elohim sha’lach oto
Did Yoseph know if Yaacov was alive?
Ha’eem Yoseph yada she’Yaacov chai?
“To Life!”
“Le’chayim!”
