Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Jan 5, 2007 2:05:07 GMT -8
Sorry to get this out so late...busy, busy, busy 
By Reuel D.
Parashah Vayechi[/center]
As we find our selves reading this last parashah in B’resheet we recall the journeys of the Biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs. We have read about their wonderings, their struggles and their family problems. We have also read about their successes, their great faith, and their encounters with El Shaddai, and the covenants given by Him. If we choose we can learn much from their experiences and journeys, both good and bad. Indeed, their stories are not just history for those the knowledge inclined. These accounts are written for our benefit. One of the reoccurring themes in Judaism is to “Remember”. This is most important especially when it comes to correcting our mistakes and to help the next generation avoid the same mistakes. This theme is most fresh when it comes to the “Sho’ah”, the Holocaust, the great destruction and calamity that came upon our people. How do we avoid such things and protect ourselves, our families, and our people? I believe that the single most effective tool we have to avoid future calamities is to pass on the instruction of El Elyon (God Most High) to our children and our people. Not, only pass it on, but indeed to disciple them in it and teach them to avoid assimilation into a non-
culture.
We can avoid the unfavorable results our forefathers experienced by learning from their experiences. We don’t have to have the same
description given by Ya’akov in B’resheet (Gen.) 47:9 where he says,
"The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”.
Ironically, this parashah is called “Vayechi” which means “And He Lived”, but in reality the parashah starts with the death of Ya’akov (Yisrael). And, this is where he completes his passing on of to Generation Next. I believe our forefather Yisrael sets a great precedent here as an example of how to pass on to the next generation. Worship. I believe one must demonstrate the worship of Adonai Elohim, the God of Yisrael in their life to effectively pass on His to the next generation. And, this is exactly what Yisrael (Ya’akov) did. After Yosef gave his word regarding Yisrael being buried in the land of his forefathers we read in B’resheet (Gen.) 47:31,
… "Yisra'el bowed himself on the bed's head.”
What is so special about this bowing of Yisra’el on the bed?
We see the same language as describing Melekh (King) David right before this parashah’s haftarah in Melakhim Alef (1Kings) chapter two. In Melakhim Alef (1Kings) 1:47 it says,
“Moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Your God make the name of Shlomo (Solomon) better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne: and the king bowed himself on the bed.”
You may be asking yourself, what does being “bowed” on the bed have to do with worship? It reminds me of the passage in Tehillim (Psalms) where it says in chapter 63:3-7,
“Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches. For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.”
But, I think the most convincing evidence that Yisra’el ended his life with worshipping Adonai is found in the book of Hebrews 11:21 where it says,
“By faith, Ya`akov, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Yosef, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”
The writer of the book of Hebrews quotes it as “leaning on the top of his staff” as apposed to being bowed on the bed because he is quoting from the Septuagint (Greek TeNaKh), which renders it that way. But, in any case, we find that a life of worship preceded the effective passing on of into the lives of the next generation. We cannot simply fill those we disciple with head-knowledge of the most high, as this is only part of what is to be known. No, we must teach them to worship by displaying it in our own conduct and lives. In this parashah Ya’akov is assuring the passing on of his faith in the El Shaddai and passes on the remembrance of the covenants given as we read in B’resheet (Gen.) 48:3-5
“Ya`akov said to Yosef, "El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kena`an, and blessed me, and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.' Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and Menasheh, even as Re'uven and Shim`on, will be mine.”
By adopting Efrayim and Menasheh he was adding sons to his family, but I believe he was also doing so in honor of his dead wife Rachel whom he loved. We see Ya’akov speak of her immediately after explaining the adoption to Yosef he says,
“As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Kena`an in the way, when there was still some distance to come to Efrat, and I buried her there in the way to Efrat (the same is Beit-Lechem)." - B’resheet (Gen.) 48:7
When we continue to read we also see the passage detailing Ya’akov instituting the special blessing that we hear every Shabbat over our sons, “Yesimchah Elohim k' Efrayim v' Menasheh", “God make you like Efrayim and Menasheh.”. The name “Efrayim” means “fruitful” and “Menasheh” means “causing to forget”. So, the blessing that Ya’akov and God wants for his people is they be fruitful as they forget the misery of their past life of bondage. This is the promise for all those in Yeshua The Messiah, that they would be grafted in and be adopted into the family of the Elohim Of Yisrael and thus become fruitful, and forget all the tears of the past. And, indeed Ya’akov prays the following upon these two sons in B’resheet (Gen.) 48:15-16,
"The God before whom my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak did walk, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak. Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
Ya’akov prays that “the Angel whom has redeemed” would bless the boys. Whom is this “Angel Whom Has Redeemed”? As I read of the appearances of this very special messenger of Elohim described as, ‘The Angel Of YHVH’, this Messenger throughout the scriptures whom speaks the very words of Adonai…I cannot help but believe that it is Mashiach (Messiah) appearing all throughout human history, especially in the case of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov. Therefore, there may be a special blessing by Yeshua Himself incorporated into this blessing of Efrayim and Menasheh that is used in the blessing of Am Yisrael (Children Of Yisrael).
This is part of the of Elohim that Ya’akov wishes to pass on! But, part of passing on to those we are discipling is also to help them identify wrong behavior. This is one of the purposes of , to show us our spiritual blemishes. And, it’s purpose is to purify us. The is how we know what sin is. It assists us in avoiding sin’s damaging effect in our lives. The writings of the Brit Chadashah (New Covenant) in 1Yochanan (John) 3:3-4 tell us the following,
“Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure. Everyone who sins also transgresses the law (). For sin is the transgression of the law ().”
So, this may be the reason why when Ya’akov (Yisra’el) sets out to bless his sons that the first few proclamations don’t sound much like blessings! We read in B’resheet 49:4-7 Ya’akov saying first to his son Re’uven and then to Shim’on and Levi the following,
“Boiling over as water, you shall not excell; because you went up to your father's bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch. "Shim`on and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. My soul, don't come into their council. My glory, don't be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Ya`akov, and scatter them in Yisra'el.”
I believe Ya’akov was showing His sons their spiritual blemishes so that they may teach their children to avoid similar violations as it would be important for them to do so in the future. This would be especially true for the tribe of Levi whom would be the future priesthood and the teachers of Yisra'el! But, for those whom are going down the spiritual path of Elohim…such rebukes will not make one angry. Do you fit part of the description found in Mishlei (Proverbs) 9:8? It states,
“Don't reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.”
Are you a “scoffer”, or are you a “wise” person? Certainly, Ya’akov loved the sons he was rebuking just as our Heavenly Father loves us when he rebukes us, as it says in Hebrews 12:6-8,
“For whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn't discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not children.”
So, if we are sons and daughters of El Elyon (The Most High God), we will be disciplined in His instruction. And, if we are responsible Fathers and Mothers we will discipline our children and disciples in Adonai’s. And, this is what we see David doing toward the end of his life in Haftarah Vayechi. Melakhim Alef (1Kings) 2:1 says,
“Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Shlomo (Solomon) his son, saying, I am going the way of all the earth: be you strong therefore, and show yourself a man; and keep the charge of YHVH your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his mitzvoth (commands), and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the of Moshe, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself.”
When we think of our inevitable death we tend to put our lives into perspective. But, let’s not wait until death is on our doorstep to instill our Heavenly Father’s in the lives of others! Many times we are too busy building our own kingdom and filling up are own massive barns with treasures for ourselves to be effective deliverers of The Message. In Luke 12:15-21 Yeshua said,
…“Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses." He spoke a parable to them, saying, "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. He reasoned within himself, saying, 'What will I do, because I don't have room to store my crops?' He said, 'This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will tell my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry."' "But God said to him, 'You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared--whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Let us lay up treasure in heaven for ourselves, our family, our friends, and for the next generation. Mishlei (Proverbs) 29:18 says,
“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but one who keeps is blessed.”
Let us proclaim the vision of the coming Kingdom and a coming King governed by His. Let us proclaim it today, let us proclaim it tomorrow, and let us proclaim it until the coming of Yeshua HaMashiach, our Master, and King!
Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!
(Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!)
HalleluYah v’shalom aleychem!
(Praise Yah and peace be upon you)
Passing On To Generation Next
[/u]
On To Generation NextBy Reuel D.
Parashah Vayechi[/center]
As we find our selves reading this last parashah in B’resheet we recall the journeys of the Biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs. We have read about their wonderings, their struggles and their family problems. We have also read about their successes, their great faith, and their encounters with El Shaddai, and the covenants given by Him. If we choose we can learn much from their experiences and journeys, both good and bad. Indeed, their stories are not just history for those the knowledge inclined. These accounts are written for our benefit. One of the reoccurring themes in Judaism is to “Remember”. This is most important especially when it comes to correcting our mistakes and to help the next generation avoid the same mistakes. This theme is most fresh when it comes to the “Sho’ah”, the Holocaust, the great destruction and calamity that came upon our people. How do we avoid such things and protect ourselves, our families, and our people? I believe that the single most effective tool we have to avoid future calamities is to pass on the instruction of El Elyon (God Most High) to our children and our people. Not, only pass it on, but indeed to disciple them in it and teach them to avoid assimilation into a non-
culture.We can avoid the unfavorable results our forefathers experienced by learning from their experiences. We don’t have to have the same
description given by Ya’akov in B’resheet (Gen.) 47:9 where he says, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”.
Ironically, this parashah is called “Vayechi” which means “And He Lived”, but in reality the parashah starts with the death of Ya’akov (Yisrael). And, this is where he completes his passing on of
to Generation Next. I believe our forefather Yisrael sets a great precedent here as an example of how to pass on to the next generation. Worship. I believe one must demonstrate the worship of Adonai Elohim, the God of Yisrael in their life to effectively pass on His to the next generation. And, this is exactly what Yisrael (Ya’akov) did. After Yosef gave his word regarding Yisrael being buried in the land of his forefathers we read in B’resheet (Gen.) 47:31,… "Yisra'el bowed himself on the bed's head.”
What is so special about this bowing of Yisra’el on the bed?
We see the same language as describing Melekh (King) David right before this parashah’s haftarah in Melakhim Alef (1Kings) chapter two. In Melakhim Alef (1Kings) 1:47 it says,
“Moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Your God make the name of Shlomo (Solomon) better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne: and the king bowed himself on the bed.”
You may be asking yourself, what does being “bowed” on the bed have to do with worship? It reminds me of the passage in Tehillim (Psalms) where it says in chapter 63:3-7,
“Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches. For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.”
But, I think the most convincing evidence that Yisra’el ended his life with worshipping Adonai is found in the book of Hebrews 11:21 where it says,
“By faith, Ya`akov, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Yosef, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”
The writer of the book of Hebrews quotes it as “leaning on the top of his staff” as apposed to being bowed on the bed because he is quoting from the Septuagint (Greek TeNaKh), which renders it that way. But, in any case, we find that a life of worship preceded the effective passing on of
into the lives of the next generation. We cannot simply fill those we disciple with head-knowledge of the most high, as this is only part of what is to be known. No, we must teach them to worship by displaying it in our own conduct and lives. In this parashah Ya’akov is assuring the passing on of his faith in the El Shaddai and passes on the remembrance of the covenants given as we read in B’resheet (Gen.) 48:3-5“Ya`akov said to Yosef, "El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kena`an, and blessed me, and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.' Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and Menasheh, even as Re'uven and Shim`on, will be mine.”
By adopting Efrayim and Menasheh he was adding sons to his family, but I believe he was also doing so in honor of his dead wife Rachel whom he loved. We see Ya’akov speak of her immediately after explaining the adoption to Yosef he says,
“As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Kena`an in the way, when there was still some distance to come to Efrat, and I buried her there in the way to Efrat (the same is Beit-Lechem)." - B’resheet (Gen.) 48:7
When we continue to read we also see the passage detailing Ya’akov instituting the special blessing that we hear every Shabbat over our sons, “Yesimchah Elohim k' Efrayim v' Menasheh", “God make you like Efrayim and Menasheh.”. The name “Efrayim” means “fruitful” and “Menasheh” means “causing to forget”. So, the blessing that Ya’akov and God wants for his people is they be fruitful as they forget the misery of their past life of bondage. This is the promise for all those in Yeshua The Messiah, that they would be grafted in and be adopted into the family of the Elohim Of Yisrael and thus become fruitful, and forget all the tears of the past. And, indeed Ya’akov prays the following upon these two sons in B’resheet (Gen.) 48:15-16,
"The God before whom my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak did walk, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak. Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
Ya’akov prays that “the Angel whom has redeemed” would bless the boys. Whom is this “Angel Whom Has Redeemed”? As I read of the appearances of this very special messenger of Elohim described as, ‘The Angel Of YHVH’, this Messenger throughout the scriptures whom speaks the very words of Adonai…I cannot help but believe that it is Mashiach (Messiah) appearing all throughout human history, especially in the case of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov. Therefore, there may be a special blessing by Yeshua Himself incorporated into this blessing of Efrayim and Menasheh that is used in the blessing of Am Yisrael (Children Of Yisrael).
This is part of the
of Elohim that Ya’akov wishes to pass on! But, part of passing on to those we are discipling is also to help them identify wrong behavior. This is one of the purposes of , to show us our spiritual blemishes. And, it’s purpose is to purify us. The is how we know what sin is. It assists us in avoiding sin’s damaging effect in our lives. The writings of the Brit Chadashah (New Covenant) in 1Yochanan (John) 3:3-4 tell us the following, “Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure. Everyone who sins also transgresses the law (
). For sin is the transgression of the law ().”So, this may be the reason why when Ya’akov (Yisra’el) sets out to bless his sons that the first few proclamations don’t sound much like blessings! We read in B’resheet 49:4-7 Ya’akov saying first to his son Re’uven and then to Shim’on and Levi the following,
“Boiling over as water, you shall not excell; because you went up to your father's bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch. "Shim`on and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. My soul, don't come into their council. My glory, don't be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Ya`akov, and scatter them in Yisra'el.”
I believe Ya’akov was showing His sons their spiritual blemishes so that they may teach their children to avoid similar
violations as it would be important for them to do so in the future. This would be especially true for the tribe of Levi whom would be the future priesthood and the teachers of Yisra'el! But, for those whom are going down the spiritual path of Elohim…such rebukes will not make one angry. Do you fit part of the description found in Mishlei (Proverbs) 9:8? It states,“Don't reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.”
Are you a “scoffer”, or are you a “wise” person? Certainly, Ya’akov loved the sons he was rebuking just as our Heavenly Father loves us when he rebukes us, as it says in Hebrews 12:6-8,
“For whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn't discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not children.”
So, if we are sons and daughters of El Elyon (The Most High God), we will be disciplined in His instruction. And, if we are responsible Fathers and Mothers we will discipline our children and disciples in Adonai’s
. And, this is what we see David doing toward the end of his life in Haftarah Vayechi. Melakhim Alef (1Kings) 2:1 says, “Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he charged Shlomo (Solomon) his son, saying, I am going the way of all the earth: be you strong therefore, and show yourself a man; and keep the charge of YHVH your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his mitzvoth (commands), and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the
of Moshe, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself.”When we think of our inevitable death we tend to put our lives into perspective. But, let’s not wait until death is on our doorstep to instill our Heavenly Father’s
in the lives of others! Many times we are too busy building our own kingdom and filling up are own massive barns with treasures for ourselves to be effective deliverers of The Message. In Luke 12:15-21 Yeshua said, …“Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses." He spoke a parable to them, saying, "The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. He reasoned within himself, saying, 'What will I do, because I don't have room to store my crops?' He said, 'This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will tell my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry."' "But God said to him, 'You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared--whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Let us lay up treasure in heaven for ourselves, our family, our friends, and for the next generation. Mishlei (Proverbs) 29:18 says,
“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but one who keeps
is blessed.”Let us proclaim the vision of the coming Kingdom and a coming King governed by His
. Let us proclaim it today, let us proclaim it tomorrow, and let us proclaim it until the coming of Yeshua HaMashiach, our Master, and King!Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!
(Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!)
HalleluYah v’shalom aleychem!
(Praise Yah and peace be upon you)
