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VAYIGASH “And he drew near”
26 Dec
2009
Genesis 44:18-47:27
Ezekiel 37:15-28
Luke
6:9-16
In this Torah
portion, Judah is standing before Joseph, pleading for his brother
Benjamin. Then Joseph reveals himself and conciliates with his brothers.
Pharaoh then hears the good news of Joseph's family reunited and joins in
the welcome. Joseph gives gifts to his brothers and sends them off to
their father, who then comes to see Joseph. The family is settled in
Goshen, taken care of by Joseph, where they were blessed and multiplied.
The main theme
here is the reconciliation of the brothers (Gen 45). Joseph said to his
brothers, “I am Joseph… Come close to me if you please.” Now as we know
from the privilege of history, this relationship broke up after the death
of Solomon when the brothers (tribes) split.
The Haf Torah
relates, in Ezekiel 37:15-28, how G-d would one day bring them together to
be in unity. In Ezekiel, “The word of HaShem came to me, saying, ‘Now
you, son of man, take yourself one wooden tablet and write upon it, “For
Judah and the children of Israel, his comrades.” Then take another wooden
tablet, and write upon it, “For Joseph, the wooden tablet of Ephraim, and
all the children of Israel, his comrades. And bring close to yourself,
one to the other, like a single wooden tablet, and they shall become one
in your hand.’”
As we can see, G-d
foresaw that in the future the brothers would one day be joined once again
as when they were reconciled with Joseph in Egypt and became one family,
united in common bond to receive G-d's blessings of being fruitful and
multiplying, as well as being a blessing to Egypt. So one day they shall
be united in one common bond of Torah, worship of HaShem, and being led by
Mashiach in the coming reign of the Messianic age, in which all the
nations, as Egypt was, will be blessed, and Israel will be fruitful and
multiply in the knowledge of HaShem.
The promises of
the new covenant state in Jeremiah 31:33, “But this is the covenant which
I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, says the Lord, I
will put my law within them and on their hearts will I write it. And I
will be their G-d, and they will be my people.”
Today, in our age,
we see part of this prophecy fulfilled as Judah and all other of the
tribes are no longer against each other, they are all one; Jews not two
separate States but only one State of Israel. However, the Messianic Age
has not yet come. Not all Israel has Torah on their hearts, peace has not
come and Messiah is yet not on His throne in Jerusalem.
We now continue to
pray and seek HaShem's Kingdom to come. Let us not lose hope and fall away
from G-d's love but be steady in our resolve for G-d's Kingdom to come,
and peace to reign. G-d bless, and may peace and blessings be upon us all.
Shalom U’Bracha
Shavuah Tov
Rabbi Z.
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