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 onset 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
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). Here it is in the sense of “making one’s self known” and 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 brothers: "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, if
there is any relation to
“negotiations” (stemming from Latin) in the English
language?
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!”
