Vayigash (And He Approached) B’resheet/Gen 44:18-47:27
Haftorah Readings: Ezekiel 37:15-28
1.Last week near the end of the Torah portion, Genesis 43:34 says, “Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.” Why do you think Joseph gave five times as much to Benjamin? Did he love him more? Did he feel sorry for him?
Joseph was looking for change in his brothers.
Benjamin was the youngest and was also the son of Rachel.
I think Joseph was looking for any sign of jealousy in the brothers. Had they changed?
When G-d shows us sin in our lives and we repent He gives us opportunities to show Him we have truly repented. We do not go back to old behavior from the past. The brothers proved they had changed also.
2.Do you gauge a person by their mistakes or by their response to those mistakes? When we look at Joseph and Judah over the last few weeks of reading which of these two had the greatest impact on the future of the Jewish people and why? What can we learn from this?
Joseph is the central character of at least the last nine chapters of Torah. We see him emerge as a leader, He did not let events that happened to him drive him to despair.
We have also seen Judah in these chapters.
Genesis 37:26-27 He was the brother who proposed selling Joseph to the Midianites.
Genesis 38:1 He is described as “going down,”
He intermarried with Canaanite women. Lost two of his sons because of sin,
He went into a prostitute, who unknown to him was his daughter-in-law Tamar.
This is not a pretty picture of a man, but of a man on a moral decline.
Yet, as we read on in scripture, we see a man whose descendants became kings over Israel.
King David was his descendant. The tribe of Judah traveled at the forefront as Moshe led the people out of Egypt. The tribe of Judah survived the Babylonian conquest. The Jewish people still bear his name as Yehudim.
When we look at Joseph we see the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The descendants of these two sons disappeared after the Assyrian conquest in 722 BCE.
In Genesis 44:33-34 Joseph announced he was going to hold Benjamin hostage when the brothers returned to Canaan. We see Judah’s interaction with Joseph. He went to Joseph and spoke in his ear. Judah then told Joseph he was ready to give himself in place of his brother, Benjamin. This broke Joseph and he revealed his true identity to his brothers.
What happened the last time Joseph saw Judah? His last view of his brother was when he was taken away by the slave traders years before. But now he realized Judah had changed.
Also we see change in Judah in Genesis 38:26. He said of Tamar, “She is more righteous than I.” This is the first time in Torah we read of a person admitting they were in the wrong.
The Hebrew root of his name Judah has as one of its meanings, “to confess.” (Lahitvadot)
What can we learn from all this? We all make mistakes. We all sin. There was only one perfect One and it was not us. The important thing is what do we do with that sin. Judah’s life teaches us the importance of confession. Also we are to live out that confession by living differently and not repeating the same mistakes over and over.
It is true that when we see that we have sinned and confess that sin, sometime in the future the opportunity will arise to repeat that same sin. It is at that moment we must remember our confession and do something different, do the right thing.
Here in our portion we see the result of that. When faced with another opportunity to save his brother Judah chose the correct path. When Joseph saw the change in Judah it touched him deeply.
In scripture we read of two kings of Israel, David and Shaul. Both of these men sinned. Both confessed their sin. However, the outcome was different. David confessed immediately but Shaul made excuses for his actions before he finally confessed. Shaul lost the throne. David did not.
As G-d’s people, we will have times when we fall short. The issue is what do we do next?
When we look at ourselves we must look honestly and without excuses. Do we try to rationalize our actions or do we come to the Father admitting, confessing our sin and committing to not repeat it again. G-d is always ready to accept us when we confess our sins. He is ready to forgive us and restore us. However, our lives must reflect the evidence of a changed life. We are a new creation.
We can find this in the Messianic scriptures when we read the words of Yeshua. He spoke to the woman taken in adultery. First He confronted her accusers and they faded away. He then told the woman, “Go and sin no more.” John 8:11
Our lives have been changed. We live this out every day. When we do stumble G-d is ready to forgive. We exhibit that forgiveness by not returning to what we were. We are changed.
3.Describe how Joseph saw the things that had happened to him in Genesis 40:15. Then read Genesis 45:4-8 and Genesis 50:19-21. What changes if any, do you see? What is the lesson here?
Let’s read these passages:
Genesis 40:15, “For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit”.
Genesis 45:4-8, “Then Joseph said to his brothers, Come close to me. When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that G-d sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But G-d sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but G-d. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.”
Genesis 50:19-21, “But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of G-d? You intended to harm me, but G-d intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”
Joseph’s understanding of his life changed. His new understanding is reflected Genesis 45:4-8 and in 50:19-20. In these verses he expresses his new understanding of past events in his life. What caused his change of heart and what does it say to us?
Joseph went through a process from chapter 40 until chapter 50 His understanding of his life underwent a change. We often hear the past is past and there is no changing it. This is true to a certain extent. It is true that events that happen to us cannot be changed. However, how we see them, our perception, can change. We see it here with Joseph and also with his brothers. He was able to bring G-d into what had happened and unlock a spiritual lesson from a traumatic happening. The facts remained the same but now he had the ability to see deeper than just the events that happened to him.
I expect each of us have come through some difficult times. Because of that we may have lived our lives carrying around the hurt or even the hate until today. I think this Torah section gives us a clue of how to put those hurts down, to look at it with a different understanding, to see how G-d can use it to bring us to a deeper understanding of His will for our life.
Matthew 5:44, “But here is what I tell you. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.We see this same idea mentioned here in the Messianic scriptures. How is it possible to love your enemies, bless those who curse you? Here we get a clue in our reading.
Look deeper than the facts. What can G-d do in your life through what happened to you?
Is it the ability to be more understanding with someone who you know has suffered in a similar way? You might be able to help another let go of the darkness and embrace what G-d can do in their life in the present. By what we do now in the present we can redeem the pain of the past.
4.There are three times in the Hebrew Bible where we see the word vayigash, “and he drew close,” is used in connection with prayer. First, Genesis 18:23-25 when Avraham approached G-d. Second, in Genesis 44:18 when Judah approached Joseph and third in I Kings 18:36 where Elijah spoke to G-d. Three approaches, three prayers, but different from one another. What was each man’s purpose for drawing near? How do we draw near to G-d? What urges you to draw near to G-d?
Genesis 18:23-25 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[a] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Genesis 48:18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
I Kings 18:36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “L-rd, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are G-d in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
These three men together represent the full spectrum of emotions and concerns we bring to the act of prayer. Each is introduced by the word vayigash, “and he approached, drew close, stepped forward.
Abraham prayed for justice.
Judah prayed for mercy.
Elijah prayed for G-d to reveal Himself.
All three are examples of times in our lives when we might draw near
Abraham prayed on behalf of strangers – the people of the plain. They were wicked. The Torah told us this long before, when Lot first separated from Abraham to make his home in Sodom (Gen. 13:13). Yet Abraham was still concerned with their fate. He pleaded in their defense.
Judah pleaded for mercy with Joseph for the sake of his brother Benjamin and his father Jacob who he knew would not be able to bear the loss of yet another beloved son. He spoke on behalf of the family.
Elijah spoke to G-d for the sake of G-d. He wanted the people to renounce idolatry and return to their faith – to the one true G-d who rescued them from Egypt and took them to Himself in love. His primary concern was for G-d’s sovereignty over the people. Later, when G-d revealed Himself on Mount Horeb, Elijah says, “I have been very zealous for the L-rd G-d Almighty.” He spoke for the honor of G-d Himself.
All three situations are examples of times that should also cause us to draw near to G-d.
We should feel drawn to pray for the lost world as Avraham did for Sodom.
We should feel the need to draw near to G-d to pray for mercy for family members
We should feel a burden to draw near and pray for G-d to reveal himself to those who are in darkness.
But before we can draw near to G-d we have to clear away any unclean that might come between us and our Heavenly Father. We then can come in humility before the throne knowing He hears and is concerned about things that concern us.