Overview of the Weekly
Reading: Vayigash
To be read on 7 Tevet
5766 (Jan.7)
Torah: Genesis 44:18-47:27; Haftorah:
Ezekiel 37:15-28 (a prophecy of the ultimate resolution of the division
between "Yehuda" and "Yosef")
Vayigash is the 11th Reading out of 12 in Genesis
and 11th overall, and 34th out of 54 in overall
length.
Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27)
opens with Yehuda begging Yosef (who had yet to reveal his true identity)
to allow Benyamin to return home to Yaacov, and to keep Yehuda, instead.
At this point, Yosef could not restrain his emotions any longer and
declared his identity. He sent his brothers to bring Yaacov and the
rest of their families to live in Egypt. Yaacov journeyed to Egypt to
meet Yosef. On the way, G-d promised Yaacov that his offspring would
become a great nation in Egypt. The portion then lists the individuals
who went to Egypt which totaled 70. Yosef went out to greet his father.
Yosef then took Yaacov to meet Pharaoh who allowed the family to live
in Goshen as it was good shepherding land. The parsha concludes describing
how the people of Egypt used up their money buying food during the famine.
Eventually they had to sell their cattle and livestock to buy food.
When this too was expended, they even sold their land to Pharaoh. Yosef
moved the people from on side of the country to the other, and required
them to give 1/5 of their crops to Pharaoh. Only the Egyptian priests
were provided with food at no cost and owned their land. Meanwhile the
Jewish nation grew.
FROM THE MASTERS OF
KABBALA (K:1166/Vayigash)
From the holy
Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:1166/Vayigash)
We have established that the throne of precious stone stands upon
four legs.[1] And upon that throne is the likeness of a man[2] And upon
with whom to unite in communion, and be blessed, as is proper.When [all
these levels] are rectified within the person himself, so that all the
levels are a Merkava [i.e. a vehicle] for G-dliness, then it is
written, "Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father
Israel in Goshen."
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on
our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From the holy Ari,
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed (A:1166/Vayigash)
The significance of these [six names Havayah] is as follows:
We have explained in numerous contexts, including that of the commandment
of circumcision in our discussion of parshat Lech Lecha, at length, that
even though the five states of chesed spread throughout the body
of Zeir Anpin, from chesed to yesod, nonetheless,
the radiance of all the five states of chesed is absorbed in yesod;
the five states of gevura descend into yesod as well.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on
our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From Rabbi Chaim (ben
Moshe) Ibn Atar (S:1166/Vayigash)
The purpose of the various exiles is to isolate elements of holiness
which are scattered within various branches of the kelipa, the
"peel" surrounding the kernel which is all sanctity. Inasmuch
as Egypt was full of abominations [manifestations of such kelipa]
and impurity had its "headquarters" in that country, it was
no more than natural that many such segments of sanctity were scattered
throughout that country. In fact, the amounts of such scattered segments
of sanctity are usually proportionate to the amount of impurity and defilement
that abound in a certain area or environment.
For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on
our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM THE CHASSIDIC
REBBES (V:1166/Vayigash)
Hurry back to my father and say to him...G-d has made me lord (samani)
over all of Egypt (Gen. 45:9)
The intention was not that Jacob would be pleased to learn that Joseph
now occupied a high political position. Rather, samani can also
be translated "I put" - that through me, Joseph, G-d's name
has been publicized and made great throughout the land of Egypt. Indeed,
such a message would surely bring immense joy to Jacob.
(Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin)
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE
from the Chabad
Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for
www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org
MOSHIACH THIS WEEK
(M:1166/Vayigash)
"Yehudah approached Yosef
." (Gen. 45:18)
The word used for "approached" is vayigash, which implies
that they came very close together. Many years later, the descendants
of Yehudah and Yosef split. In fact, there were two separate kingdoms
of the Jewish people in the Holy Land: one king from Yehudah and one from
Yosef.
But when the Redemption comes, they will not only come very close, but
unite together into one kingdom. This is spoken of in the Haftorah, where
Yechezkel is told to take one stick for Yehudah and another stick for
Yosef and to combine them into one stick. At that time, all the Jews will
have one king, Melech HaMashiach.
[Reprinted with permission from L'Chaim Magazine (www.lchaim.org).]
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here) (W:1166/Vayigash)
If we look closely at the events surrounding Joseph's revealing
himself to his brothers, there is something not so clear. Joseph explains
that his arrival in Egypt was directly arranged by G-d, whose purpose
was to make him the ruler. Joseph continues by instructing his brothers
to give the same message to their father Jacob: "The Almighty has
made me to be the master of Egypt." And then Joseph makes the request,
"Come down to me; do not wait" (Ex. 45:9).
Why should his father move just because Joseph was the ruler of Egypt?
Joseph was aware that, by heavenly decree, the Jewish people had to be
in exile in Egypt and that his becoming ruler was a necessary stage in
the process. Furthermore, in order to fulfill this juncture of the divine
plan, Jacob also had to arrive.
This necessity was explained by G-d to Abraham at the Covenant Between
the Parts: "Your seed will be strangers in a strange land
and
afterwards leave with great wealth" (Gen.15:13-14). For this reason
Joseph had to collect wealth from all over the world, exchanged for the
food he had stored for the famine years. Egypt would become the wealthiest
of nations in order that the Jews could leave later with great wealth.
Even the plague of darkness was arranged so the hiding places of the Egyptians'
treasures would be revealed to the Jews, that they could later acquire
it. Why is this great wealth so important?
"Great wealth" denotes more than just physical wealth. It also
refers to the great spiritual wealth they acquired there. Egypt was a
place of extremes. Although the lowest place on Earth morally, it also
was a powerful intellectual and spiritual center. The purpose of the Jews
being there was to isolate and remove all of the sparks of good that were
buried within the 49 "gates" of impurity.
This is also the inner purpose of exile, whether on a community or on
a personal level. The Talmud says, "The reason G-d exiled the Jewish
people among the nations was to gather converts." (Pesachim 87:2)
The soul of a convert is a lost spark of G-dliness. And the general purpose
of exile is to isolate and redeem the sparks of holiness that are scattered
in the world. This was the true "great wealth" for which the
Jewish people descended. And this was the reason they could not leave
until it was accumulated.
We are in exactly the same situation now. Our job is to remove all the
good and to sanctify all of the physical that we come in contact with.
A Jew is not allowed to say, "Forget about the exile! I relinquish
my rights to the 'great wealth'. I prefer to just do my thing." We
have a mission. G-d wants the "great wealth", the sparks of
the world isolated and elevated by our using them for holy purposes.
The true and ultimate purpose of a Jew in exile is to live in the world,
with all of the difficulties that involves, and to imbue it with Torah
and the fulfillment of its commandments. And when we will uplift all the
hidden sparks that are found in the "great wealth", we will
merit immediately the final redemption and the arrival of the Mashiach.
Shabbat Shalom , Shaul
P.S. Please also read my weekly Shabbat Law, below.)
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
For all our insights for this parsha:
|