Mashiach ben David vs. Yosef

Mashiach ben David	Yosef
He will be wise and discerning. 1 Corinthians 1:30	He was wise and discerning. Bereshit (Genesis) 41:39
He will sit at the right hand of The Supreme Ruler. Matityahu (Matthew) 26:64	He will sit at the right hand of The Supreme Ruler. Bereshit (Genesis) 41:40
He will be second only to The Supreme Ruler. Ephesians 1:22	He will be second only to the supreme ruler. Bereshit (Genesis) 41:41
Will bring His people to where He dwells. Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:20	Brought his family to where he was dwelling. Bereshit (Genesis) 45:16-21

Kol HaTor teaches that Jeremiah chapter 31 is all about Mashiach ben Yosef. Throughout the Tanach, the key word that speaks of Mashiach ben Yosef is the word “Ephraim”.

I have heard rabbis of our generation^{^[16]} say that all of Hallel is speaking about Mashiach ben Yosef. As we look at Hallel keep this in mind.

Midrash, Yalkut Shimoni II, 499 [Satan] said: “Master of the Universe, show him to me”! God replied: “Come and see him”. When [Satan] saw [Mashiach], he shuddered and fell upon his face. He said: “Of course! This is Mashiach, who is destined to take me, along with all the Heavenly princes of the idol worshippers, down to Gehinnom, as it is said, “He will swallow up death for ever; and God will wipe away the tears from all faces...” [Isaiah 25:8] At that moment, the [Heavenly princes of the] idol worshippers said excitedly: “Master of the Universe, who is this in whose hands we fall? What is his name and what is his nature”? Said to them the Holy One, blessed be He: “His name is Ephraim, My righteous messiah”.

Bamidbar Rabbah 14:2 Abraham discovered God on his own, for he had no person to teach him how to recognize the Divine Presence, rather he did it all alone. And he was one of four people that come to find God on their own: Job found God on his own, as he said: “From my own laws I treasured His Words.”[17] Hezekiah, King of Judah, also found God on his own, as it is written of him, “By the time he learns to reject the bad and choose the good, people will be feeding on curds and honey”.[18] And also the King Messiah will find God on his own...

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60:22 The smallest shall become a clan; the least, a mighty nation. I, HaShem, will speed it up in due time.

Kol haTor V:I The secret of “The smallest will become a thousand” hints at the number 999 which is in the Sefirah of Yesod, and the root of the Supernal Radiance at the high level of the angel Metatron, “Prince of Presence”.

Hosea 13:11-14 I will give you a king in My ire, and take him away in My wrath. Ephraim’s guilt is bound up, His sin is stored away. Pangs of childbirth assail him, and the babe is not wise—for this is no time to survive at the birthstool of babes. From Sheol itself I will save them, redeem them from very Death. Where, 0 Death, are your plagues? Your pestilence where, 0 Sheol? Revenge shall be far from My thoughts.

Arizal, Likkutei Torah on lyov Because the “External Forces” [of the Left Side] draw sustenance from a precious soul and don’t allow it to emerge [into the world]... Therefore, when they see a particularly corrupt place, they allow the soul to emerge there, so that it would get further spoiled and return to them even more corrupted than it was at first... and through this you can understand why so many great people come from wicked parents, and the like.

Kol haTor 1:10 These are the birth pangs of the Messiah: the suffering will come gradually, together with the 999 footsteps of Mashiach, in such a way that the decree is divided into 999 small parts. And paralleling them will come salvations, as hinted in the verse [Jeremiah 30:7] “It is a time of trouble for Jacob, and he shall be saved from if (the numerical value of which is 999).

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:1-3 At that time, declares HaShem, I will be God to all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people. Thus said God: A people escaped from the sword, found favour in the wilderness. I will go to comfort Israel; from afar God appeared. I loved you with an eternal love, therefore I extend My grace to you.

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:4-6 I will build you firmly again, 0 Maiden Israel! Again you shall take up your hand-drums and go forth to the rhythm of the dancers. Again you shall plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; you shall plant and live to enjoy the fruit. For the day is coming when watchmen [Notzrim] shall proclaim on the heights of Ephraim: “Come, let us go up to Zion, to HaShem, our God!”

Notzrim is the modern Hebrew name for Christians.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 11:1 But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse, a twig [netzer] shall sprout from his stock.

Melachim bet (II Kings) 17:9-10 The Israelites committed against YHWH, their God, acts that were not right: They built for themselves [idolatrous] shrines in all their settlements, from Migdal Notzrim, to Ir Mivtzar. They set up pillars and sacred posts for themselves on every lofty hill and under every leafy tree.

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 4:16 Tell the nations: Here they are! Announce concerning Jerusalem: watchmen [notzrim] are coming from a distant land, they raise their voices against the towns of Judah.

Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Melakhim 11:4 ... Nevertheless, the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of man to comprehend, for His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts, our thoughts. Ultimately, all the deeds of Yeshua of Nazareth and that Ishmaelite who arose after him will only serve to prepare the way for Mashiach’s coming and the improvement of the entire world, motivating the nations to serve God together as Zephaniah 3:9 states: “I will transform the peoples to a purer language that they all will call upon the name of God and serve Him with one purpose.” ...When the true Messianic king will arise and prove successful, his position becoming exalted and uplifted, they will all return and realize that their ancestors endowed them with a false heritage and their prophets and ancestors caused them to err.

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:7-9 For thus said God: Cry out in joy for Jacob, shout at the crossroads of the nations! Sing aloud in praise, and say: “Save, 0 God, Your people, the remnant of Israel”. I will bring them in from the northland, gather them from the ends of the earth, the blind and the lame among them, those with child and those in labor, in a vast throng they shall return here. They shall come with weeping, and with compassion will I guide them. I will lead them to streams of water, by a level road where they will not stumble, for I am ever a Father to Israel, and Ephraim (Mashiach ben Yosef) is My first-born.

The Jerusalem Post

From Texas to Israel: Red heifers needed for Temple arrive

A Christian farmer In Texas raised the prized heifers which are essential for priests to serve In the Temple.

By TZVIJOFFRE

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 19:36 Updated: APRIL 8. 2024 16:23

The heifers were located and brought to Israel with the help of the Boneh Israel organization, which involves both Jews and Christians. Byron Stinson, a Texas rancher and a fundraiser and adviser for the organization, raised the cattle.

The heifers were greeted by a ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport. Temple Institute officials Rabbi Tzachi Mamo, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel and Rabbi Azaria Ariel participated in the ceremony, alongside Stinson and Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry director-general Netanel Isaac.

The ’Son of God’ is a title given to God’s chosen people.

Tehillim (Psalms) 2:1-2 Why do nations assemble, and peoples plot vain things; kings of the earth take their stand, and regents intrigue together against God and against His anointed one?

Tehillim (Psalms) 2:7 Let me tell of the decree: God said to me, “You are My son, I have fathered you this day”.

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:18-20 I can hear Ephraim lamenting: “You have chastised me, and I am chastised like a calf that has not been broken. Receive me back, let me return, for You, HaShem, are my God. Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse; now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh. I am ashamed and humiliated, for I bear the disgrace of my youth.” Truly, Ephraim (Mashiach ben Yosef) is My dearest son, a child that is dandled! Whenever I have turned against him, My thoughts would dwell on him still. That is why My heart yearns for him; I will receive him back in love—declares God.

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:33-34 ... I will put My Torah into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed God”, for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me—declares God. For I will forgive their iniquities, and remember their sins no more...

Kol HaTor indicates that there are 4 stages of Mashiach ben Yosef:

Kol haTor, Ch.2

1. “Ephraim is my firstborn” [Jeremiah 31:9];

2. “Mount Ephraim” [31:5],

3. “Ephraim wanders” [31:17];

4. “Ephraim is my favourite son” [31:20] –

all these are basic aspects of Mashiach ben Yosef that appear in the same chapter. Efraim is called God’s firstborn, because he is the first Mashiach through whom the ingathering of the exiles (kibbutz Galiyot is accomplished when 600K Jews are in Israel)[19] will occur, which means the exodus from exile. Mount Efraim is so called because it leads Israel up to Zion, as we learn from the verse: “call out from Mount Efraim, ’Rise and let us ascend to Zion.’”

The aspect ‘Efraim wanders, ’ signifies that Mashiach ben Yosef has no rest, he wanders from north to south, and from south to north, as written: “wake up North, and come to the South”. The initial letters of the 4 Hebrew words, , are equal in gematria to the value of Mashiach ben Yosef (566).

“Efraim is my favorite son” is the aspect ‘Lovingkindness, ’ because Efraim himself is from the left side, that means, from the side of Din, and always accepts influence from the right side, that is, from the quality of Lovingkindness. This is the import of: “and he placed his right hand on the head of Efraim.” We are commanded to speak of him constantly: “for whenever I speak of him, I remember him better” (Jer: 31:20) etc. Efraim is the one who wages war against Armilus. In gematria, and are equal [331].

Kol HaTor 2:118 (Isa. 35:10) “the redeemed [ransomed] of the Lord will return, and come to Zion with glad song” -- Whenever redeem is mentioned, it refers to the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef through whom the exiles will be gathered in, as explained by the Gaon at length in his paper on the secret of the letters.[20] From this we learn that the main ingathering of exiles is not less than 600,000, according to the interpretation of our Sages regarding this verse[21] in connection with the two crowns and the Golden Calf and the atonement for the sin. With regard to the verse: “they will obtain joy and happiness”, our Sages said.[22] The Gaon commented about this verse, that had he been born solely to understand the meaning of the Talmud on this matter, he would have considered it worthwhile. In essence, the verse speaks about the two meshichim.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Botzrah, who is this, majestic in attire, pressing forward with great might?

Mashiach can destroy Amalek becauuse they both come from the same root.

Shoftim (Judges) 5:14 From Ephraim came those rooted [or uprooting] in Amalek; After you, your kin Benjamin; From Machir came down leaders, From Zebulun such as hold the marshal’s staff.

Zohar 111,253b [Ra’aya Mehemna) David said: “The Right Hand of God acts valiantly! The Right Hand of God is uplifted! The Right Hand of God acts valiantly!” [Psalms 118:15-16] These three allude to the three [Sefirot] on the left, which are Binah, Gevurah, Hod... David said these three “Hands of God” alluding to Mashiach ben David, “the right hand”, receiving the three [Sefirot] on the left which will be unified by Mashiach ben Ephraim—he “will not die, but will live” [Psalms 118:17] from the Left Side... because Mashiach ben Ephraim is destined to be afflicted with various punishments but will not die, for he will live through Binah, which is the Tree of Life...

Tehillim (Psalms) 118:10 All nations have beset me; by the name of God, I will strike them down.

In The Grave

I am wondering if the story of Yosef from the time he is removed from the pit by the Ishmaelites until the time he is removed from the prison pit by Paro, is this representative of Mashiach in the grave being judged?

Is the confrontation between Potiphar’s wife and Yosef, the tikkun, the correction, which represents Mashiach’s triumph over idol worship? (It is well known that an adulterous woman is the image that HaShem presents when speaking of Israel going after other gods.)

Chazal indicate that Yosef served Potiphera for one year and then languished in prison for twelve years. Is the first year indicative of the twelve month’s that a person spends in tikkun after their death?

Yosef sent a message to Yaakov "G-d has made me the master of Egypt. Redah eilay [Come down to me], do not stay any longer" [Bereshit 45:9]. The Baal HaTurim says that there are only two times in the entire Tanach that the word 'Redah' [Come down] is used in this sense. The other occurrence is a reference to Nevuchadnezzar's descent to Gehinnom [Hell] [Yehezekel 32:19]. The Baal HaTurim comments that this teaches us that exile is on par with Gehinnom. Yosef's inviting Yaakov to leave Eretz Israel and to join him in exile was equivalent to inviting him to Hell!

According to Chazal, in the Talmud, those who go to Gehinnom spend no more than twelve months there.

Timing:

Note how the number twelve (12) is associated with government and rule:

From the time Yosef HaTzadik went to meet his brothers in Dothan until his becoming second to Pharaoh, was thirteen years. Yosef HaTzadik was released on Rosh Hashanah.

Yosef HaTzadik spent one year (twelve months) being tempted by Potiphar’s wife.

Yosef HaTzadik spent twelve years in prison.

The butler and the baker spent one year (twelve months) in prison.[23]

Yosef HaTzadik spent two years in prison after the release of the butler. ([24])

The cup bearer and the baker both had their dreams on Rosh Hashanah.

* * *

According to the Book of Esther, from the beginning of King Achashverosh’s reign to the time that that Haman’s evil plans were overturned and Haman was destroyed was a period of twelve years.

Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 14 Now, when King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim made war on King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, all the latter joined forces at the Valley of Siddim, now the Dead Sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son lived in the cave for twelve years, studying by themselves with out interruption and with out going outside.

Nechemiah 5:14 Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

Matityahu (Matthew) 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

Marqos (Mark) 5:25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis X:4 Similarly, there is a planet which completes its circuit in twelve months, e.g. the sun; another completes its circuit in twelve years, viz. Jupiter; yet another completes its circuit in thirty days, viz. the moon; still another completes its circuit in thirty years, viz. Saturn;

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XV:12 Yosef, too, had his trials, with Potiphar's wife, being imprisoned twelve years, and afterwards he came out and was made a ruler, as a reward for having withstood his temptations.

The Dreams

Chazal have suggested that the dreams of the Cup Bearer and the Baker, have application to Israel as well as to the Cup Bearer and the Baker. The following chart details some of the interpretations:

The three branches	The three men of excellence who arrive in every generation. The Patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaaqov. Moshe, Aaron, and Miriam. The Temple, The King, and the High Priest. The well, the pillar of smoke, and the manna. The three festivals: Pesach, Shavuot, and Succoth. The Aristocracy.
The vine	The world. The Torah. Jerusalem. Israel (Tehillim 80:9)
The budding blossoms	The Matriarchs. The Sanhedrin. The budding young priests. The abundant fertility of Israel.
Its blossoms bloomed	Its time for redemption is at hand.
Leaves	The common people.
Twigs	Those in Israel who are void of learning.
The clusters bringing forth grapes	The Tribes. The righteous people of every generation. The drink offerings. HaShem’s gifts to Israel. The time has come for Egypt to drink the cup of staggering. Its scholars.

Prophecy

This section will be used to show how the story of Mashiach ben David, i.e. Yosef in Egypt, is also prophesied elsewhere in scripture.

This next passage shows that HaShem will bring Israel back to land using transport provided by HaShem:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:15-21 See, HaShem is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword HaShem will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by HaShem. "Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things--they will meet their end together," declares HaShem. "And I, because of their actions and their imaginations, am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory. "I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations--to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to HaShem--on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels," says HaShem. "They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of HaShem in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites," says HaShem.

Commentary

From my teacher, His Eminence Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai:

Bereshit (Genesis) 41:38 starts with the words: ‘Pharaoh said to his servants, “Could we find another like him - a man in whom is the spirit of G-d?” Please do note that Pharaoh, the leader of the only world super-power of that time, says of Yosef: “upon whom is the spirit of G-d.” The Targum paraphrases and says: “in whom is the spirit of prophecy from the L-rd.” And, the Book of Yasher puts it: “in whose heart there is wisdom and knowledge” [Note: “understanding” is not mentioned but is alluded to. We could well state this in its Hebraic context as: “in whose heart/mind there is Chokmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding), and Daat (knowledge),” or simply: “in whose heart/mind there is ChaBaD.”]

In 1 Luqas (Luke) 2:40 we read:

“And, the child, went on growing, and waxing strong (in Spirit), becoming filled with wisdom; and, the knowledge of G-d, was upon him.” (Peshitta version)

Here Hakham Dr. Luqas was alluding in his Gemara treatise to the text of Bereshit 41:38. Compare also with Yeshayahu 11:2. Interesting that in the Stone’s Tanakh edition, vv.1-10 of Yeshayahu is labeled “The Davidic Mashiach,” and yet the more one looks at these ten (10) first verses of our Haftarah the more one can see that this has nothing to do with the Mashiach ben David but with a descendant of the Royal House of David who would be the Mashiach ben Yosef. Apparently someone has missed the boat rather badly on that one!

In the Midrash to Song of Songs 6:9 it is explained that even as “queens and concubines praise her (i.e. Israel)” this is like when Pharaoh said of Yosef: “Can we find such a one as this, in whom is the spirit of G-d … there is none so discrete and wise as you” (Genesis 41:38,39). That is why of Israel it is said in Deuteronomy 4:6 – “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” The Midrash seems to imply that at present Israel = Mashiach ben Yosef. But what is interesting is the kind of people that praises Israel – “Queens” (persons worthy of royalty) and “Concubines” (persons who are willing to be part of Israel for no gain, as a concubine is willing to share with a man even though she will not inherit as a wife). How great are the words of our Sages! So much depth, so much wisdom!

Perhaps this becomes more clear if we say that the only man who ruled over the Gentiles as the ruler of a superpower who was of Israel was Yosef! The only man to whom the crown of Israel to rule over the Jews was promised was David. That is why the Jew has little understanding about Mashiach ben Yosef, all we have looked forward if for Mashiach ben David and the inception of his Messianic Era, may it come soon! When we look at this in context we can surely now understand the words of Hakham Shaul in his Responsa to the Roman Proselytes:

Romans 11:26-30 For I wish not, ye should be ignorant, brethren, of this sacred secret (of the Torah), lest within yourselves you become presumptuous, that, a small blindness has fallen upon Israel, until, the full measure of the Gentiles, be gathered in; and then, will all Israel be delivered. As it is written (Isaiah 59:20): “A redeemer will come to Zion, and to those of Jacob who repent from willful sin.” … Now, touching the Masorah, they are hostile for your sake; but in the election, they are beloved for the Patriarchs’ sake. For G-d does not change in His free gift and in His calling.

I have always been intrigued as to what Hakham Shaul exactly meant when he wrote: “Now, touching the Masorah, they are hostile for your sake.” But as we see in the story of Yosef the brothers of Yosef (Israel) were hostile to Yosef for Yosef’s sake. If the brothers of Yosef had not sold him to the caravan traders he would not have ended in Egypt and become the ruler of the Gentiles. Thus Mashiach ben Yosef has nothing to do with Israel, except that He proceeds from Israel, and at some point in time becomes a deliverer to Israel, but Yosef never ruled over his brethren, his rule has to do with the Gentiles! And Yosef’s wisdom has nothing to do with Israel but with and for the Goyim! Another interesting thing is that sure, Israel is blind in a small part, but that does not compare to the presumptuousness that the Gentiles have and still hold, particular those who say that they are the followers of the Mashiach and teach that the Torah is done away and that they are the only Israel. I think if I am given the choice of being a little blind or of being presumptuous before G-d, I would rather prefer the former. The Gentiles should well take heed to The words of Pharaoh concerning Mashiach ben Yosef – “And by your command the whole nation (all of the Gentiles) will be sustained!” (Bereshit 41:40).

And the Gentiles, called Yosef “Avrekh”[25]. Our Hakhamim, in Bereshit Rabba 90:3, tell us that this particular word is composed of two words which can be translated as “a father-figure.” No wonder the Gentiles in their ignorance see Mashiach as part of G-d rather than as Israel’s gift to the Gentiles! Notice that the Torah does not call Yosef that, but the Gentiles did. The Targum translates “Father of the King” and in Egypt Pharaoh was seen as an incarnation of the sun god. In other words, the Egyptians (and all the Gentiles) see in Mashiach ben Yosef something greater than any of their gods.

Pharaoh, on the other hand called Yosef's name “Tzafenat-pa'neach – one who reveals secrets” (Ber. 41:45), or “the explainer of hidden things.” And this is what Hakham Shaul above was alluding to when he wrote: “For I wish not, ye should be ignorant, brethren, of this sacred secret (mystery)” [Romans 11:26]. Mashiach ben Yosef then is the revealer of the secret things in the Torah, the explainer of the hidden things in the Torah. And when the so-called “Gospels” are read from a rabbinical perspective this is what they exactly distil – the secret things hidden in the Torah! But in order to understand Mashiach ben Yosef’s words one needs to be a joyful and meticulous doer of the Torah as well as an experienced and advanced learner of the Torah. Without these two concomitant ingredients there is no way possible to understand the so-called “Gospels” – the Masorah of Mashiach ben Yosef. A mystery for a Jew is the “So’od” (secret) of the Torah. For the pagans well we all know what they mean by “mysteries.” The Secrets of the Torah were codified and written down finally in Spain before the inquisition, where the holy “Zohar” (radiance of the Torah) came to light.

The Story with Mr. Potiphar

The Torah informs us in Bereshit 41:45 – “vayiten-lo et-Asenat bat Poti-fera kohen On le'ishah - and he (Pharaoh) gave him Asenat daughter of Poti-fera, Priest of On, for a wife.” The Midrash, in Bereshit Rabba 86:3, identifies this person as being the same as Mr. Potiphar of chapter 39 of Bereshit. The word Poti-fera constitutes the first letters of the phrase “fattening oxen and calves in order that they become offered as sacrifices in pagan rites.” Apparently Mr. Potiphar became castrated (sexually impotent) as a penalty for wanting to use Yosef for homosexual purposes. In shame he resigned as a minister to Pharaoh and became a Pagan Priest serving the god “On.”

However, in Pirke D’Rabbi Eliezer,[26] it is said that Asenat was the daughter of Dina who had been raped by Shechem the son of Chamor. Regarding this, the wise Sephardi Sage, Hakham Bachya ben Asher of blessed memory comments:

“Yaakov had expelled her from his home and had arranged for her to live amongst some bushes. This is why she was called “Asenat” from the word “Asenah” meaning “bush.” When arranging for her to live near that bush Yaakov attached a note around her neck on which it was written “anyone who attaches himself to you thereby will become part of Yaakov’s family.” When Yosef saw this note he went and hid it. This is why when his father asked him who the lads were whom he had brought with him to be blessed (Gen. 48:9), he said: “they are my sons Whom HaShem gave me in this place.” He showed his father the note and what had been written thereon.

She was described as daughter of Potiphar because she had been raised in Potiphar’s house. She was so named in accordance with Sanhedrin 19 that states that anyone who raises an orphan in his home is deemed to have given birth to that person.”

Truly then Mashiach be Yosef has come to re-gather into Israel the “lost sheep of Israel”, those Jewish souls that have mingled up with the Goyim or who have been the product of the Goyim raping our women or converting our people to their religions at the edge of the sword. All of these are considered as Asenat the product of a raped Jewess by the hand of Gentiles. It is these who are the “lost sheep of Israel,” and in G-d’s accounting nothing is lost, as He loving brings back that which is His, most blessed be He!

Yosef’s Wisdom

The letter which follows was written by R’ Simcha Zissel Ziv z”l (the “Alter” of Kelm; died 1898), possibly to his son. It is found in Ohr Rashaz, no. 169.

I enjoyed your letter . . .

Behold, “It is befitting that wise men acknowledge the truth.” The reason is that once something has become clear to a wise man as if it stands before him alive, it is impossible for the wise man not to acknowledge the truth, even if it otherwise would be against his nature to admit that thing.

Who do we have who was more wicked than Pharaoh! Yet, when he heard Yosef’s interpretation, he was very moved by Yosef’s wisdom and he said (41:39-40), “Since G-d has informed you of all this, there can be no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace and by your command shall my people be sustained . . .” And so it was; whatever Yosef wanted to do he did, just as a person does with his own property. Thus, it says (41:55), “When all the land of Egypt hungered, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. So Pharaoh said to all of Egypt, ‘Go to Yosef, whatever he tells you, you should do’.” Rashi explains that Yosef had instructed the people to circumcise themselves, all of Egypt, and Pharaoh did not overrule Yosef. To the contrary, he commanded them that they must accept Yosef’s decree, for it cannot be annulled.

Look to what extent wise men acknowledge the truth. Pharaoh was a very wise man; this I learned in the Ramban. . . We see later, when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he said to them (45:9), “He [G-d] has made me father to Pharaoh, master of his entire household.” . . . Pharaoh was a very wise man and understood a lot from a little bit, i.e., he recognized Yosef’s great wisdom and that he [Pharaoh] was insignificant compared to Yosef’s wisdom. He saw that Yosef was fit to be king, not he, and it is the nature of wise men to acknowledge the truth, even if it otherwise would be against their nature to admit that thing. . .

Look at the strength of a wise man. He can acknowledge the truth and he was not hindered by the lashon hara of the butler [who called Yosef] (41:12), “A Hebrew youth, a slave.” Even though Yosef was a paroled prisoner and even though it was against the laws of Egypt [to appoint a slave to high office], Pharaoh made no investigation as to why Yosef was in prison. He understood that Yosef was his “father” in wisdom and deserved to rule.

Chanukah

By Hakham Yosef ben Haggai

This Shabbat is the first of the month of Tevet, and in Eretz Yisrael on Friday 6th of Tevet the winter season starts. And just as in the physical realm we see a darkening of the wonderful light of Chanukah, an obscuring of that which is clear and evident that leads to a hibernation of our search for the Divine light, and with it a diminution of our spiritual clarity. On the other hand the symbol for this month is the goat as seen in the symbol for Capricorn. The Hebrew word for goat is “Ghedi” and its numerical value is seventeen which is also the number for the word “Tov” meaning: good / beneficial. If we change the order of the letters for the Hebrew Ghedi = Goat, then we have “Gid” which means the male member. This means that this month is a most beneficial month to repair and rectify any problem with our relationship with G-d, symbolized by the covenant of circumcision which sealed upon our flesh and our hearts.

This also means that after the Primordial light has illumined our hearts during Chanukah then the Ruach HaQodesh (G-d’s Spirit of Holiness) starts to work with us on our response to that illumination by reminding us of our covenantal obligations with G-d, most blessed be He! This is why the middle letter of the Hebrew word “Gid” is the “Yod” which represents G-d’s wisdom in our brain the seed that sprouts in good deeds of loving kindness as an answer to the covenantal relationship with the Creator. If we were to take this middle letter “Yod” from the Hebrew word “Gid” then it remains the letters “Gimel” and “Dalet” which are the initials for “Gomel Dalim” which means “giving to the poor.”

That is, in this month we are given the opportunity afresh to renew our relationship with G-d, to do acts of Tikkun (reparation) and to rectify all those deeds and ideas in our lives and minds that have separated us from G-d, and from the covenant with Him. Far from being a time to slumber, it is a most propitious opportunity for renewal and regeneration. This is an excellent month to rid ourselves of the problem of spiritual sleep in a material world. This is the month to concentrate on what really matters to us and avoid the spiritual paralysis of materialism, of a better home, a better car, a better whatever, when all that G-d wants is a better heart, and a better walk with Him and our fellows.

Similarly, this week we read about the reconciliation of Yosef with his brethren. The breach in the covenant of the Patriarchs upon Yaakov’s is rectified, and from separation emerges synthesis and unity amongst all of Bne Yisrael (the children of Israel). This is why we read about this wonderful episode of our history at this time of the year.

In order to understand our Seder for this Shabbat we need to return to a text covered two Sabbaths ago, that is Bereshit (Genesis) 43:8-9 –

“Then Judah said to Israel his father, ‘Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I myself will be a guarantor for him; from my hand you will require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.’”

Please note that it is not until Yehudah became the guarantor for Binyamin that Yaakov allowed the brothers to take his son Binyamin down to Egypt. So, when the cup of Yosef is found in Binyamin’s sack, Yehudah the guarantor, took up the issue with Yosef. We can contrast then Yehudah’s discharge of his responsibility towards his brethren with that of Cain, as it is written:

“Then HaShem said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He (Cain) said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper (guarantor)?’” – Bereshit 4:9

Whilst the English translation seems to reflect a very humble Yehudah the truth is that in the Hebrew it is the very opposite. For example, Midrash Rabba (93) comments on Bereshit 44:18:

“THEN YEHUDAH CAME NEAR TO HIM … LET YOUR SERVANT SPEAK A WORD IN MY Lord’s EARS” – May my words penetrate into your ears.”

And Rashi, in the Peshat (Literal level) of interpretation, comments:

“AND LET NOT YOUR WRATH GLOW” – From these words you may infer that he (Yehudah) spoke to him (Yosef) in harsh terms. “FOR YOU ARE EVEN AS PHARAOH” – In my sight you are as important as the king. This is the literal meaning, but a Midrashic explanation is: You will ultimately be stricken with leprosy for detaining Benjamin even as your ancestor Pharaoh was stricken because he detained my ancestress Sarah one night.”

In this vein, the Babylonian Talmud states concerning Mashiach ben Yosef:

“Some say (about the Mashiach): “Menachem (Hebrew for Comforter) son of Hezekiah is his name …” And the Rabbis say: “The Leprous of the House of Study is his name, as it is said, Verily, he has borne our diseases, and our pains – he carried them, and we thought him stricken, smitten of G-d, and afflicted (Isaiah 53:4).” … Rav said: “If he is of those who live today, then he is like our Holy Master, Rabbi Yehudah the Prince, and if he is of those who have died, then he is like Daniel the beloved man.” (Sanh. 98b)

Our Sages report that 1,500 years later the Ba’al Shem Tov had an encounter with him and discovered him amongst the unknown and hidden saints. Thus the record sates:

“[One Friday afternoon a young Talmudic scholar was riding with the Ba’al Shem Tov in a cart across the open field, when all of a sudden he espied a village in the distance, and he was filled with joy, for he thought that they would surely spend the Sabbath there, and not out in the open. And in that very moment they entered the village, and, behold the horse went of its own through the village and did not stop at any house. The youth became saddened by this, for it seemed that they would, after all, not spend the Sabbath in the village. But when the horse reached the end of the village, it stopped in front of a ruin. The youth thought that they would spend the Sabbath in that ruin and became filled with joy, for it was better than being in the field. And the Ba’al Shem Tov entered the ruin, and the youth went after him. And, behold, in the ruined house lived an old man, a leper; from head to foot there was no hale spot in his body, he was so full of wounds and boils. And his wife and children walked about in torn and tattered garments. And when the Ba’al Shem Tov opened the door, the old man became filled with joy, and ran up to the Ba’al Shem Tov, and said to him, “Peace be unto you my Master and Teacher!” And he who saw not their joy has never seen joy in his life. And they went into a separate room, and talked about half an hour. And then they took permission from each other in fierce love, like the love of David and Jonathan. And then the Ba’al Shem Tov took his seat in the cart, and the horse trotted along on its own …

On the way back home the youth asked the Ba’al Shem Tov: “What was the meaning of the joy which the encounter with the old lepper caused to both of you?” … And the Ba’al Shem Tov said to him: “… As for what happened between me and the old man in the village, as it is known, there is a Mashiach in every generation in this World, in reality, clothed in a body. And if the generation is worthy, he is ready to reveal himself; and if, G-d forbid, they are not worthy, he departs. And behold, the old man was ready to be our True Mashiach, and it was his desire to enjoy my company on the Sabbath. But I foresaw that he would depart at the Third Meal (which is taken at the outgoing of the Sabbath), and I did not want to endure any pain on the Sabbath (and therefore I took my leave from him before the arrival of the Sabbath).”[27]

The story is full of rich Kabbalistic expressions and symbolism, nevertheless it perfectly describes a more recent encounter between Yehudah and Yosef as we read in our Seder for this Shabbat. The Holy Zohar further describes this Mashiach ben Yosef as follows:

Zohar 2:212a The souls which are in the Garden of Eden of Below roam about on every New Moon and Sabbath, and go to that place which is called Walls of Jerusalem, where there are many officers and detachments which watch over those walls … And they go to that place, but do not enter it until they are purified. And there they prostrate themselves, and enjoy that radiance, and then return to the Garden. [And again] they go forth from there and roam about in the world, and they see the bodies of the sinful suffering their punishment … And they continue to roam and view those afflicted with sufferings and disease, and those who suffer for the Oneness of their Master, and they return and tell all of this to the Mashiach. In the hour in which they tell the Mashiach about the sufferings of Israel in exile, and about the sinful amongst them who seek not the knowledge of their Master, the Mashiach lifts up his voice and weeps over those sinful amongst them. This is what is written: He was wounded because of our transgressions; he was crushed because of our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). Those souls then return to their places. In the Garden of Eden there is a hall, which is called the Hall of the Sons of Illness. The Mashiach enters that hall and summons all the diseases and all the pains and all the sufferings of Israel that they should come upon him, and all of them come upon him. And would he not thus bring ease to Israel and take their sufferings upon himself, no man could endure sufferings Israel has to undergo because they neglected the Torah … As long as Israel dwelt in the Holy Land, the rituals and the sacrifices they performed in the Temple removed all those diseases from the world (Hebrew: OLAM); now the Mashiach removes them from the children of the world (Hebrew: OLAM).

Thus Yosef, in our Seder, is also seen as the deliverer of the Gentiles for he correctly interpreted the word of G-d in a dream to Pharaoh, and delivered the world from famine. This is clearly seen in Bereshit 45:4-5 where we read:

“And Yosef said to his brothers, ‘Please come near to me.’ So they came near. Then he said: ‘I am Yosef your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for G-d sent me before you in order to preserve life.’”

For twenty-two years the brothers of Yosef had erected a series of arguments to justify their behaviour with Yosef. But something changed, Yehudah said: “Now therefore please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers” (Bereshit 44:3). Yosef was not willing to reveal himself until his brothers totally accepted his authority, for he remembered how they had been angry, exclaiming, “Will you then rule over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?” (Ber. 37:8). When Yehudah, the leader of the brothers, accepted Yosef’s authority and referred to himself as “your servant,” Yosef was no longer able to restrain himself, and identified himself to them. When Yehuda utter the words “And now let your servant remain instead of the lad,” Yosef realised that Yehuda had fully repented, and was willing to suffer the humiliation to be a slave in perpetuity, as long as this would atone for his sin. The words “Ani Yosef” (I am Yosef) were enough, the brothers understood.

Twice Yosef says “Ani Yosef” (I am Yosef). The first time in Bereshit 45:3, and the brothers became dismayed in his presence out of shame for their sin against Yosef. The second time in Bereshit 45:5. Rashi explains that the first time Yosef said it in a tone of exclamation, and seeing his brothers were ashamed of their sin, “He (Yosef) called to them again in mild, sweet, and gentle language and showed them his circumcision.” Rashi further states that in truth Yosef presented tenderly to his brethren two proofs to show them he was their brother. First, his circumcision, and second, he spoke to them in Hebrew the language of the house of Yaakov. Yosef showed his circumcision to his brothers to show that though he had endured much evil he had been faithful to the sacred seal of the covenant. And to his faithfulness to the seal of the covenant in his flesh he attributed his greatness and state of exaltation.

Further Yosef commands his brethren: “Hurry and go up to your father, and say to him, thus says your son Yosef: G-d has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry” (Bereshit 45:9). With this Yosef was telling his brothers, “Until now you have not recognised me because I have been speaking in a foreign language using foreign expressions, but now that I speak in Hebrew and use Hebrew expressions you will be able to recognise my voice. Hurry, return to HaShem, and say to Him, thus says Mashiach Ben Yosef, HaShem has made me Master of all the Goyim, come down to me, do not tarry.

It is to this phrase: “G-d has made me the lord of all Egypt” that Hakham Shaul refers when he states:

Romans 11:25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this secret, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that partial blindness has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

That is, until Mashiach ben Yosef has fully become the lord of all Egypt (i.e., the Gentiles) Mashiach ben David can’t be dispatched nor Mashiach ben Yosef will be revealed to his brethren. But one may ask, what is this partial blindness that has befallen Israel? The answer is quite simple the partial blindness consists in the failure to recognise that Mashiach ben Yosef is the Mashiach for the Gentiles, and when all Israel recognises this simple fact then Mashiach ben Yosef will be revealed as Mashiach ben Yosef.

The great tragedy in history has been that because the Gentiles have betrayed Mashiach ben Yosef and have not kept the commandments but reverted to idolatry, Mashiach ben Yosef still to this very day remains a shadowy figure to most Jews. The Gentiles have boasted against the natural branches forgetting that the root of the Written and Oral Torah together with the Patriarchs supports them. How much the Gentile who comes to adhere to the rule of Mashiach ben Yosef owes the Jewish people! A debt which requires the Gentile to observe G-d’s commandments even if only as a token of gratitude.

Another interesting allusion here is found in the next verse where it says that Yosef “fell upon his brother Binyamin’s neck, and wept.” Rashi tells us that the Hebrew word “Tsavarai” translated as “neck” is in the Torah in the plural form. That is, Yosef cried over the two necks – i.e., temples that would be built in the territory of Binyamin (Song of Songs 4:4). However, when Binyamin wept upon Yosef’s neck, he wept on account of the sanctuary in Shiloh which would be built in Yosef’s territory and also become destroyed. The Holy Zohar adds that Yosef also wept over his brethren (45:15) because he could prophetically see the time in which his brethren would be dispersed throughout the nations. However, his brethren did not weep, because they were not inspired like Yosef by the spirit of G-d’s holiness.

May you and your loved ones have a great Shabbat with much Shalom, blessing and repose!

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

The Added Letter

An Essay[28]

Parshat Mikeitz begins with Yosef languishing in prison in Egypt. He has been forgotten by his would-be savior, the reinstated servant of Pharaoh. Now Pharaoh dreams a frightening dream. Yosef is summoned and offers sage advice. Pharaoh is enthralled with his new advisor:

Bereshit (Genesis) 41:37-44 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God? 39 And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, none so discreet and wise as thou: 40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41 And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Yosef’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him over all the land of Egypt. 44 And Pharaoh said unto Yosef, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

The New Politician

Yosef, the slave, is made second only to Pharaoh. This means that he has been elevated over all of the other politicians of Pharaoh’s court. Imagine the envy and bitterness of the lifelong politicians in Pharaoh’s court. This envy and bitterness can not be directly expressed so the displaced politicians must challenge Yosef according to the law. The Talmud records this intrigue:

Sotah 36b R. Hiyya b. Abba said in the name of R. Johanan: At the moment when Pharaoh said to Yosef, And without thee shall no man lift up his hand etc., Pharaoh's astrologers exclaimed: ‘Wilt thou set in power over us a slave whom his master bought for twenty pieces of silver!’ He replied to them, ‘I discern in him royal characteristics.’ They said to him, ‘In that case he must be acquainted with the seventy languages’. Gabriel came and taught [Yosef] the seventy languages, but he could not learn them. Thereupon [Gabriel] added to his name a letter from the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and he learnt [the languages] as it is said: He appointed it in Yosef for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I [Yosef] heard a language that I knew not. On the morrow, in whatever language Pharaoh conversed with him he replied to him; but when [Yosef] spoke to him in the holy tongue he did not understand what he said. So he asked him to teach it to him; he taught it to him but he could not learn it. [Pharaoh] said to him, ‘Swear to me that thou wilt not reveal this’; and he swore to him. When [Yosef] later said to him, My father made me swear, saying, he remarked to him, ‘Go, ask [to be released from] thine oath.’ He replied to him, ‘I will also ask [to be released from my oath] concerning thee’. Therefore, although it was displeasing to him, [Pharaoh] said to him, Go up and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

Sefer HaYashar also lends us some insight into this passage:

Yashar 48:42 And the king was sitting upon his royal throne in a princely dress girt around with a golden ephod, and the fine gold which was upon it sparkled, and the carbuncle and the ruby and the emerald, together with all the precious stones that were upon the king's head, dazzled the eye, and Yosef wondered greatly at the king. 43 And the throne upon which the king sat was covered with gold and silver, and with onyx stones, and it had seventy steps. 44 And it was their custom throughout the land of Egypt, that every man who came to speak to the king, if he was a prince or one that was estimable in the sight of the king, he ascended to the king's throne as far as the thirty-first step, and the king would descend to the thirty-sixth step, and speak with him. 45 If he was one of the common people, he ascended to the third step, and the king would descend to the fourth and speak to him, and their custom was, moreover, that any man who understood to speak in all the seventy languages, he ascended the seventy steps, and went up and spoke till he reached the king. 46 And any man who could not complete the seventy, he ascended as many steps as the languages which he knew to speak in. 47 And it was customary in those days in Egypt that no one should reign over them, but who understood to speak in the seventy languages. 48 And when Yosef came before the king he bowed down to the ground before the king, and he ascended to the third step, and the king sat upon the fourth step and spoke with Yosef. 49:1 After these things the king sent and assembled all his officers and servants, and all the princes and nobles belonging to the king, and they all came before the king. 2 And the king said unto them, Behold you have seen and heard all the words of this Hebrew man, and all the signs which he declared would come to pass, and not any of his words have fallen to the ground. 3 You know that he has given a proper interpretation of the dream, and it will surely come to pass, now therefore take counsel, and know what you will do and how the land will be delivered from the famine. 4 Seek now and see whether the like can be found, in whose heart there is wisdom and knowledge, and I will appoint him over the land. 5 For you have heard what the Hebrew man has advised concerning this to save the land therewith from the famine, and I know that the land will not be delivered from the famine but with the advice of the Hebrew man, him that advised me. 6 And they all answered the king and said, The counsel which the Hebrew has given concerning this is good; now therefore, our lord and king, behold the whole land is in thy hand, do that which seemeth good in thy sight. 7 Him whom thou chooses, and whom thou in thy wisdom knowest to be wise and capable of delivering the land with his wisdom, him shall the king appoint to be under him over the land. 8 And the king said to all the officers: I have thought that since God has made known to the Hebrew man all that he has spoken, there is none so discreet and wise in the whole land as he is; if it seem good in your sight I will place him over the land, for he will save the land with his wisdom. 9 And all the officers answered the king and said, But surely it is written in the laws of Egypt, and it should not be violated, that no man shall reign over Egypt, nor be the second to the king, but one who has knowledge in all the languages of the sons of men. 10 Now therefore our lord and king, behold this Hebrew man can only speak the Hebrew language, and how then can he be over us the second under government, a man who not even knoweth our language? 11 Now we pray thee send for him, and let him come before thee, and prove him in all things, and do as thou see fit. 12 And the king said, It shall be done tomorrow, and the thing that you have spoken is good; and all the officers came on that day before the king. 13 And on that night the Lord sent one of his ministering angels, and he came into the land of Egypt unto Yosef, and the angel of the Lord stood over Yosef, and behold Yosef was lying in the bed at night in his master's house in the dungeon, for his master had put him back into the dungeon on account of his wife. 14 And the angel roused him from his sleep, and Yosef rose up and stood upon his legs, and behold the angel of the Lord was standing opposite to him; and the angel of the Lord spoke with Yosef, and he taught him all the languages of man in that night, and he called his name Jehoseph. 15 And the angel of the Lord went from him, and Yosef returned and lay upon his bed, and Yosef was astonished at the vision which he saw. 16 And it came to pass in the morning that the king sent for all his officers and servants, and they all came and sat before the king, and the king ordered Yosef to be brought, and the king's servants went and brought Yosef before Pharaoh. 17 And the king came forth and ascended the steps of the throne, and Yosef spoke unto the king in all languages, and Yosef went up to him and spoke unto the king until he 146 arrived before the king in the seventieth step, and he sat before the king. 18 And the king greatly rejoiced on account of Yosef, and all the king's officers rejoiced greatly with the king when they heard all the words of Yosef.

This excerpt from the Talmud teaches us that Yosef received two things from the angel Gabriel: Mastery over the all seventy languages of the earth, and an additional letter to his name. Chazal, our Sages, learnt these two things from their exegesis of a passage in Tehillim:

Tehillim (Psalms) 81:1-7 <<To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph.>> Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. 2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. 3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 4 For this was a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. 5 This he ordained in Yehosef (Yosef) a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: I heard a language I understood not. 6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. 7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

The verse refers to ;xuvh (Yehosef), that is, ;xuh (Yosef) with an extra letter, the letter v heh. Additionally, the passage refers to his having heard a language he had not understood. These two ideas are combined in the Talmud, producing the concept of Yosef being taught this information by the angel Gabriel.

Yosef’s name change is not as well known as Avram’s change to Avraham, also by the addition of the letter v heh. This name change also has repercussions in halacha.

The Midrash tells us that the addition to Yosef's name is related to the spurning of the advances of the Potiphar's wife:

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XXIII:10 There were three who fled from transgression and with whom the Holy One, blessed be He, united His name. They are: Yosef, Jael, and Palti. How do we know it of Yosef? Because it says, He appointed it in Yosef (Yehosef) for a testimony (Psalm 81:6). What is the implication of the expression ’Yehosef’? God (yah) testifies in regard to him that he did not touch Potiphar's wife.

Yosef's allegiance to HaShem brought about a merger, reflected in the change of Yosef's name. The new form, Yehosef, serves as an ongoing testimony to his faithfulness to HaShem. This association between the name Yehosef and his rejection of Potiphar's wife’s advances, allows us an insight into another passage in the Talmud, commenting on Bereshit 39:11:

Sotah 36b How was it with Yosef [that he sanctified the Name]? — As it is written: And it came to pass about this time, that he went into the house to do his work. R. Johanan said: This teaches that both [Yosef and Potiphar's wife] had the intention of acting immorally. ‘He went into the house to do his work’ — Rab and Samuel [differ in their interpretation]. One said that it really means to do his work; but the other said that he went to satisfy his desires. ‘And there was none of the men of the house etc. — is it possible that there was no man in a huge house like that of this wicked [Potiphar]! — It was taught in the School of R. Ishmael: That day was their feast-day, and they had all gone to their idolatrous temple; but she had pretended to be ill because she thought, I shall not have an opportunity like to-day for Yosef to associate with me. And she caught him by his garment, saying etc. At that moment his father's image came and appeared to him through the window and said: ‘Yosef, thy brothers will have their names inscribed upon the stones of the ephod and thine amongst theirs; is it thy wish to have thy name expunged from amongst theirs and be called an associate of harlots?’ (As it is written: He that keepeth company with harlots wasteth his substance.) Immediately his bow abode in strength

Yosef's conscience motivates him to reject the advances of Potiphar’s wife, but the connection with the ephod seems a bit obscure.

The context of this Talmudic passage is a discussion of the ephod of the High Priest, which, we are told, is inscribed with exactly fifty letters:

Sotah 36b SIX TRIBES ASCENDED THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT GERIZIM etc. What means and the half of them? — R. Kahana said: As they were divided here [on the mounts] so were they divided on the stones of the ephod. An objection was raised: The High priest had two precious stones on his shoulders, one on this side and one on the other side; upon them were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes, six on one stone and six on the other, as it is said: Six of their names on the one stone, [and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, according to their birth]. [This indicates that] the second six were to be according to their birth, but the first six were not to be according to their birth; because [the name of] Judah came first, and there were fifty letters, twenty-five on each stone.

In order to make the equation work, one suggestion in the Talmud is that Yosef's name needs another letter:

Sotah 36b [It was stated above that on the stones of the ephod] were fifty letters; but there were fifty less one! — R. Isaac said: One letter was added to the name of Yosef, as it is said: He appointed it in Yosef for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt.

Had Yosef sinned, he would have been rejected, excluded from the totality of the Twelve Tribes, and his name would not have appeared on the ephod. By retaining his purity, Yosef received an extra letter which serves as a testimony to his righteousness.

The starting point of the discussion in the Talmud actually concerned not the ephod, but the blessings and the curses which the tribes performed on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval:

Sotah 36b SIX TRIBES ASCENDED THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT GERIZIM etc. What means and the half of them? — R. Kahana said: As they were divided here [on the mounts] so were they divided on the stones of the ephod.

The ephod is introduced into the discussion here because of the similar division of the tribes. The Talmud describes the events of the day:

Sotah 36a After that they brought the stones, built the altar, and plastered it with plaster, and inscribed thereon all the words of the Torah in seventy languages; as it is said: Very plainly. Then they sacrificed burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, ate and drank and rejoiced, pronounced the blessings and the curses, packed up the stones, and came and lodged in Gilgal; as it is said: Carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place. It is possible [to think that they were to deposit them] in any lodging place; therefore there is a text to state, Where ye shall lodge this night, and then it is written: And those twelve stones, which they took [out of Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal].

In order to understand the intrinsic connection between these ideas we must explore the nature of speech and the purpose of language. When man was created, he was endowed with numerous capabilities, as the Torah recounts:

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:7 And HaShem God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The Targum[29] expands on this, and explains that man was endowed with speech. The breath of HaShem with which man was animated gave him the capability of speech. The purpose of speech is for man to manifest the image of HaShem with which he is endowed. Yet Bereshit goes on to tell so many tales of individual and collective failure, that at times it seems the image of HaShem within man has become tarnished. One such event was the rebellion by the generation of the Tower of Babel.

[JERUSALEM. And all the inhabiters of the earth were (of) one language, and of one speech, and one counsel: for they spake the holy language by which the world was created at the beginning: while their hearts erred afterwards from the Word of Him who spake, and the world was, at the beginning; and they found a plain in the land of Pontos and dwelt there.]

And they said, a man to his fellow, Come, we will cast bricks, and put them in the furnace. And they had brick for stone, and slime for cement. And they said, Come, we will build us a city and a tower, and the head of it shall come to the summit of the heavens; and we will make us (an image for) worship on the top of it, and put a sword in his hand to act against the array of war, before that we be scattered on the face of the earth. And the Lord was revealed to punish them for the work of the city and the tower which the sons of men builded.

[JERUSALEM. And they said, Come now, and we will build us a city and a tower, and the head of it shall reach to the summit of the heavens, and we will make us in it a house of worship at the top,......and we will put a sword in his hand, lest there be set against him the array of war, before we be scattered upon the face of all the earth.]

And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and the language of all of them one: and this they have thought to do: and now they will not be restrained from doing whatever they imagine. And the Lord said to the seventy angels which stand before Him, Come, we will descend and will there commingle their language, that a man shall not understand the speech of his neighbour. And the Word of the Lord was revealed against the city, and with Him seventy angels, having reference to seventy nations, each having its own language, and thence the writing of its own hand: and He dispersed them from thence upon the face of all the earth into seventy languages. And one knew not what his neighbour would say: but one slew the other; and they ceased from building the city. Therefore He called the name of it Bavel, because there did the Lord commingle the speech of all the inhabitants of the earth, and from thence did the Lord disperse them upon the faces of all the earth.

In the wake of this sin of rebellion, man, who still possessed the ability to speak, lost the ability to communicate. Not only were there multiple languages, but that thought of man which had been successfully put in words, was not only partially successful. The very essence of man had been limited by his sin. Generations later, Yosef, who has HaShem’s name as a part of his person, is the first individual who is able to reach back to the point before this sin, when man was still able to communicate, when man's soul was still directly in touch with his mission. This is what the Sages convey in the Gemara: Yosef masters language. Not just seventy languages, but language itself! Yosef, who had been taken from his people, from his own language, found himself in a debased, alien society. Yosef, at seventeen, is imbued with the Spirit of HaShem. He is able to speak clearly, and to effectively communicate.

Ironically, the Zohar explains the origin of Yosef 's greatness:

Zohar Pinchas 213b Come and see, at the moment when the wife of Potiphar grabbed him, Yosef made believe that he did not understand her language...

Yosef 's reward for this feigned ignorance which in part saved him from sin was the mastery of all language. We might trace this idea to the mitzva that the Bne Israel, upon entering the land of Israel, were to write the words of the Torah:

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 27:4-8 Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister. 5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto HaShem thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. 6 Thou shalt build the altar of HaShem thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto HaShem thy God: 7 And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before HaShem thy God. 8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

The Mishna explains:

Sotah 32a HOW WERE THE BLESSINGS AND CURSES [PRONOUNCED]? WHEN ISRAEL CROSSED THE JORDAN AND CAME TO MOUNT GERIZIM AND MOUNT EBAL WHICH ARE BY SAMARIA, (THIS IS IN THE VICINITY OF SHECHEM WHICH IS IN THE VICINITY OF THE TEREBINTHS OF MOREH, AND IT IS SAID, ARE THEY NOT BEYOND JORDAN ETC. AND ELSEWHERE IT STATES, AND ABRAM PASSED THROUGH THE LAND UNTO THE PLACE OF SHECHEM UNTO THE TEREBINTH OF MOREH; AS THE TEREBINTH OF MOREH MENTIONED IN THIS LATTER VERSE IS SHECHEM, SO THE TEREBINTH OF MOREH MENTIONED IN THE FORMER VERSE IS SHECHEM.) SIX TRIBES ASCENDED THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT GERIZIM, SIX TRIBES ASCENDED THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT EBAL, AND THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES WITH THE ARK WERE STATIONED BELOW IN THE CENTRE, THE PRIESTS SURROUNDING THE ARK, THE LEVITES [SURROUNDING] THE PRIESTS, AND ALL ISRAEL ON THIS SIDE AND THAT SIDE; AS IT IS SAID, AND ALL ISRAEL, AND THEIR ELDERS AND OFFICERS, AND THEIR JUDGES STOOD ON THIS SIDE THE ARK AND ON THAT SIDE ETC. THEY TURNED THEIR FACES TOWARDS MOUNT GERIZIM AND OPENED WITH THE BLESSING:BLESSED BE THE MAN THAT MAKETH NOT A GRAVEN OR MOLTEN IMAGE’, AND BOTH PARTIES RESPOND AMEN. THEY THEN TURNED THEIR FACES TOWARDS MOUNT EBAL AND OPENED WITH THE CURSE: CURSED BE THE MAN THAT MAKETH THE GRAVEN OR MOLTEN IMAGE’, AND BOTH PARTIES RESPOND ‘AMEN’. [SO THEY CONTINUE] UNTIL THEY COMPLETE THE BLESSINGS AND CURSES. AFTER THAT THEY BROUGHT THE STONES, BUILT THE ALTAR AND PLASTERED IT WITH PLASTER, AND INSCRIBED THEREON ALL THE WORDS OF THE TORAH IN SEVENTY LANGUAGES, AS IT IS SAID, VERY PLAINLY. THEN THEY TOOK THE STONES AND WENT AND SPENT THE NIGHT IN THEIR PLACE.

The Torah must be taught in every language in order to bring the entire world to the point of clarity and communication.

Yosef was the first to set out from his home and become submerged in alien culture. Unlike Abraham, who remained on the edge of other communities and taught morality to individuals, Yosef was positioned in the highest echelons of the most powerful empire of his day, under constant scrutiny, constantly compared and contrasted with the society at large. Despite this challenge, Yosef maintained holiness and purity on a personal level. Despite being pulled by his garments toward a spiritual abyss, Yosef displayed greatness.

Our vision of the future is closely intertwined with this very aspect of Yosef 's greatness: In the future, the confusion in the world will end. The curse of Babel will be undone. People will speak one language with clarity, and the words of Torah will be universally understood:

Zephania (Zephaniah) 3:8-9 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith HaShem, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of HaShem, to serve him with one consent.

On that day, the peoples of the world will grab onto the tzitzith of the Jew; not in an attempt to corrupt, but, this time, in a search for HaShem:

Zecharyah (Zechariah) 8:23 Thus saith HaShem of hosts; In those days that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the tzitzith of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard God with you.

Messiah son of Yosef

The Talmud, a part of the oral law, reveals many aspects of Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Lets take a look at these passages:

Sukkah 52a What is the cause of the mourning [mentioned in the last cited verse]? [30] — R. Dosa and the Rabbis differ on the point. One explained, The cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Yosef,[31] and the other explained, The cause is the slaying of the Evil Inclination.

It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Yosef, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, And they shall look upon me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son;[32] but according to him who explains the cause to be the slaying of the Evil Inclination, is this [it may be objected] an occasion for mourning? Is it not rather an occasion for rejoicing? Why then should they weep? — [The explanation is] as R. Judah expounded: In the time to come[33] the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring the Evil Inclination and slay it in the presence of the righteous and the wicked. To the righteous it will have the appearance of a towering hill, and to the wicked it will have the appearance of a hair thread. Both the former and the latter will weep; the righteous will weep saying, ‘How were we able to overcome such a towering hill!’ The wicked also will weep saying, ‘How is it that we were unable to conquer this hair thread!’ And the Holy One, blessed be He, will also marvel together with them, as it is said, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, it shall[34] also be marvellous in My eyes.[35]

Our Rabbis taught, The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to the Messiah, the son of David (May he reveal himself speedily in our days!), ‘Ask of me anything, and I will give it to thee’, as it is said, I will tell of the decree etc. this day have I begotten thee, ask of me and I will give the nations for thy inheritance.[36] But when he will see that the Messiah the son of Yosef is slain, he will say to Him, ‘Lord of the Universe, I ask of Thee only the gift of life’. ‘As to life’, He would answer him, ‘Your father David has already prophesied this concerning you’, as it is said, He asked life of thee, thou gavest it him, [even length of days for ever and ever].[37]

Sukkah 52b And the Lord showed me four craftsmen.[38] Who are these ‘four craftsmen’? — R. Hana b. Bizna citing R. Simeon Hasida replied: The Messiah the son of David, the Messiah the son of Yosef, Elijah and the Righteous Priest.[39] R. Shesheth objected,[40] If so, was it correct to write, These[41] are the horns which scattered Judah,[42] seeing that they came to turn [them] back?[43] — The other answered him, Go to the end of the verse: These then are come to frighten them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horns against the Land of Judah, to scatter it[44] etc. Why, said R. Shesheth to him, should I argue with Hana in Aggadah?[45]

Messiah son of David

Midrash Rabbah - The Song of Songs II:33 33. Another explanation: MY BELOVED SPOKE AND SAID UNTO ME. He spoke through Elijah and said through the Messiah. What did he say to me? RISE UP, MY LOVE, MY FAIR ONE, AND COME AWAY. R. Azariah said: FOR LO, THE WINTER (HA-SETHAW) IS PAST: this refers to the kingdom of the Cutheans[46] which seduces (mesithah) the world and leads it astray by its falsehoods, as we read, If thy brother, the son of thy mother, entice thee--yesitheka (Deut. XIII, 7). THE RAIN IS OVER AND GONE: this refers to the subjection of Israel. THE FLOWERS APPEAR ON THE EARTH: the conquerors have appeared on the earth. Who are they? R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Isaac: As it is written, And the Lord showed me four craftsmen (Zech. II, 3), namely, Elijah, the Messiah, Melchizedek,[47] and the War Messiah.[48] THE TIME OF THE ZAMIR IS COME: the time has come for Israel to be delivered; the time has come for uncircumcision to be cut off; the time has come for the kingdom of the Cutheans to expire; the time has come for the kingdom of heaven to be revealed, as it says, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth (ib. XIV, 9). AND THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE IS HEARD IN OUR LAND: Who is this? This is the voice of the Messiah proclaiming, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings (Isa. LII, 7). THE FIG TREE PUTTETH FORTH HER GREEN FIGS. R. Hiyya b. Abba said: Shortly before the days of the Messiah a great epidemic will come upon the world and the wicked will vanish. AND THE VINES IN BLOSSOM GIVE FORTH THEIR FRAGRANCE: this refers to the survivors, spoken of in the verse, And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem (ib. IV, 3).[49]

R. Johanan said[50]:

In the first year of the septennate in which the scion of David will come, will be fulfilled the statement of the Scripture, And I will cause it to rain upon one city, etc. (Amos 4:7).

In the second year famine will assail it.[51]

In the third year there will be a great famine, from which men, women, and children will perish, and pious men and men of good deeds will become few, and the Torah will begin to be forgotten in Israel.

In the fourth year there will be scarcity of a kind and plenty of a kind.[52]

In the fifth year there will be great plenty and the people will eat, drink, and be merry, and the Torah will be renewed and restored to Israel.

In the sixth year there will be thunderings,

in the seventh year wars. At the expiration of the seventh year the scion of David will come.

Said Abaye: How many septenate have passed like this, and yet he has not come I He will only come in the circumstances described by Resh Lakish[53]:,In the generation in which the scion of David will come, the meeting house[54] shall be a bawdy house and Galilee shall be laid waste and Gabalina[55] shall be desolate and the men of Galilee shall go about from town to town and find no pity and the wisdom of the scribes shall become putrid and the God-fearing and pious shall cease and truth shall be abandoned and the generation will be brazen-faced like a dog., How do we know that Truth will be abandoned? Because it says, And truth is lacking (ne-’edereth), and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.[56] Whither does Truth go? The School of R. Jannai said: It will go and settle in separate groups (‘adarim) in the wilderness.’[57] The Rabbis say: In the generation in which the scion of David will come, the wise men of the generation will die and the rest will waste away with grief and sorrow and much trouble will come upon the community and cruel decrees will be promulgated, one coming on top of another. R. Nehorai said: In the generation in which the scion of David will come, the young will insult their elders and the old will rise before the young, as it says, The daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house,[58] and a son will feel no shame before his father. R. Nehemiah said: Before the days of the Messiah there will be great poverty and scarcity, and the vine will cast its fruit and the wine will turn bad and the whole of the government will be converted to minuth and there will be no reproof. R. Abba b. Kahana said: The scion of David will come only in a generation which is brazen-faced like a dog. R. Levi said: The scion of David will come only in a generation which is full of impudence and deserves to be exterminated. R. Jannai said: If you see one generation after another cursing and blaspheming, look out for the coming of the Messiah, as it says, Wherewith Thine enemies have taunted, O Lord, wherewith Thine enemies he taunted the footsteps of Thine anointed,[59] and immediately afterwards it is written, Blessed be the Lord for evermore, Amen and Amen.[60]

War

In Tehillim (Psalms) 2, our Hakhamim tell us that this refers to the rebellion of Gog and Magog against HaShem and the Mashiach:

Tehillim (Psalms) 2 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against HaShem and against his Anointed One. "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will proclaim the decree of HaShem: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve HaShem with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Go to Yosef!

In Bereshit 41:55 we read: “When all the land of Mitzrayim hungered, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. So Pharaoh said to all of Mitzrayim, ‘Go to Yosef. Whatever he tells you, you should do.’” And this is the same counsel that HaShem has for the Gentiles – ‘Go to Mashiach ben Yosef. Whatever he tells you, you should do.’ In Midrash Tanchuma and in Mikeitz 7, it relates what happened. When Pharaoh sent his petitioners to Yosef and they pleaded with him for bread, Yosef told them to come back after they had circumcised themselves. Thereupon the people returned to Pharaoh and cried in front of him telling him that Yosef had refused to supply them with bread until they had circumcised themselves. Pharaoh said to them: “Why were you foolish enough not to have stored food for yourselves during the last seven years?” Thereupon the people told him that everything they had stored had rotted away. Pharaoh asked them if not some of yesterday’s bread was left over? They told Pharaoh that even bread they had put in their bread baskets on the previous day had turned bad. Thereupon Pharaoh told them to go back to Yosef and to carry out all of his instructions. This is the meaning of the verse (Proverbs 11:26): “he who withholds grain they will curse (i.e. Pharaoh), whereas he who sells it (i.e. Yosef) will enjoy a blessing.” This is what Yaakov had in mind when he said to his son Yosef (Genesis 49:26) “the blessings of your father surpassed the blessings of my parents.” Moshe alluded to this in Deut. 33:15: “may this blessing come to rest on the head of Yosef, etc.,” that is, that the reason Yosef enjoys these additional blessings is that he was the supplier of bread to humanity.

It is then that we can see why it was necessary for Mashiach ben Yosef to be born in Bet Lechem – The house of bread.” And the Midrash is intimating here that the bread Mashiach ben Yosef is only for those Gentiles that are willing to undertake circumcision after the manner of Moshe and be obedient to his commands as found in the Written and Oral Torah of Israel, as it is said in the Gemara of 2 Luqas 15:21 - “For the rest you (Gentiles) have Moshe who from ancient generations has in every city them that proclaim him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

Clearly, as can be seen, to understand who is Mashiach ben Yosef and what he is supposed to do, and what is the nature of his ministry one needs to read the story of Yosef in the Written and Oral Torah to begin to understand something of the import and significance of this Mashiach. I know that some modern Hakhamim teach that Mashiach ben Yosef will fight the war of Gog and Magog nevertheless, this is not correct and what is more it is contrary to the teachings of the Oral Torah which in part we have discussed above. Mashiach ben Yosef is not a warrior Mashiach but a dispenser of bread (i.e. Torah) to the Gentiles, provided they are will to submit to a Bet Din and be circumcised after the manner of Moshe.

Finally we read in our section of the Midrash of Matityahu for this Shabbat (11:20-24) about three cities of Galilee notorious for the assimilated Jews in them. Mashiach ben Yosef appealed to these to repent and turn back to Torah, they did not and thus the warning that if they fail to repent punishment from the hand of heaven would be meted out. No Torah, no bread! It is a simple as that. And he who ceases to diligently buy and study Torah from Mashiach ben Yosef, and put it into practice, a famine will come and even the bread that they had saved (their theologies) will all become stale and not fit to eat. Let us obey the Creator whilst it is yet called “today” and return to His ways!

* * *

Yosef said unto his brothers, "I am Yosef!" (Bereshit 45:3)

From the moment the brothers set foot in Egypt they were bewildered by the inexplicable events that were occurring: Why is the viceroy accusing us of being spies? Where in the world did he get that absurd notion? Why is he insisting on our bringing our younger brother? Why did he take Shimon hostage? How did the money we paid for the grain get into our sacks? How does the viceroy know our birth order so precisely? Why the plot to accuse Benjamin of thievery? In their anguish the brothers cried, "What is this that G-d has done to us?" (42:28)

Yehuda enters a dialogue with Yosef and tells him that it would be impossible for their father to withstand the loss of Binyamin: "It will happen that when he sees the youth is missing he will die, and your servants will have brought down the white-haired head of your servant, our father, in sorrow to the grave." [Bereshit 44:31]

The parsha begins: "Vayigash ailav Yehuda {And Yehuda drew close to him) [44:18]," to argue the case of Binyamin before Yosef. Yehuda relates the effect that Binyamin not returning will have on their father Yaakov. He relates how he had pledged to excommunicate himself in both this world and the eternal one if Binyamin would not return (Rashi 44:32). Finally he offers himself as a more able slave in the place of Binyamin.

“And Yosef was unable to restrain himself and he called out, ‘All men should leave from around me,’ and no man stood with him when Yosef made himself known to his brothers” (45:1)

Upon witnessing this display of brotherly love between Yehuda, the son of Leah, and Binyamin, the other son of Rachel, Yosef realizes that the animosity that they had toward him was not felt toward Binyamin. Overcome with emotion he orders all of the Egyptians to leave the room. "Now Yosef could not restrain himself...”, Yosef, crying, turns to his brothers and reveals his true identity. "Ani Yosef -- ha'ode avi chai {I am Yosef! Is my father still alive?} [45:3]."

When Yosef revealed himself to his brothers after having been missing for twenty-two years, they were speechless – dumbstruck. They had sold him on the belief that he was a threat to the future of the Jewish people, and therefore disliked by HaShem as well. The fact that he was not only still alive, but second-in-command of Egypt as his dreams had predicted, testified to the depth of their error.

The brothers, unable to answer him, stood there in shocked and embarrassed silence.

The Gemara in Chagigah 4b states:

When Rabbi Elazar learned this pasuk, he would cry. He explained, “If they were too embarrassed to speak after being rebuked by a person of flesh and blood, how much more so will it be after the rebuke of HaShem.”

The brothers' shock was not just surprise. It represented the reversal and the beginning of the tikkun, the repair of everything that had gone wrong between the brothers.

Imagine the shock, the sheer incredulity, the utter embarrassment of the brothers. One more time Yosef declares, "Ani Yosef Achikha - I am Yosef your brother."

As to why the brothers were silent, Rabbi Hillel gives a wonderful insight: The brothers were strong and forceful when they knew they were correct. However, when they realized that they had been living a lie, they were not strong anymore, and were not able to speak. When Yosef said the simple words, "Ani Yosef", the Chafetz Chaim suggests that all their questions were solved. For with these words, they saw the reasons behind their suffering. In the same way, when HaShem will eventually tell us "Ani HaShem," he will answer all of our questions, and we too will understand all of our suffering.

At this moment, when Yosef finally told his brothers 'I am Yosef,' what were the brothers thinking?

The Beit Halevi explains that Yosef’s initial words to his brothers, while delivered softly, contained a stinging rebuke of their words, and actions, that left them speechless. During the past two visits to Egypt, they kept invoking the image of their elderly father. As they pleaded with Yosef to release Binyamin, they begged him to consider the pain that the imprisonment of Binyamin would have on Yaakov.

At that moment, Yosef could no longer contain himself; “v’lo yachol Yosef l’hisapek” (Bereshit 45:1). He was offended that they were using the imagery of their father’s suffering when it benefited their cause. “Ani Yosef, I am your brother Yosef [the one who was left for dead in the pit 22 years ago]. Ha’od avi chai; is my father still alive [from all the pain that YOU caused him]?” This was not a casual question about the welfare of their father. It was highest level of rebuke, explains the Beit Halevi. The ten (10) shavatim were being challenged by their younger brother to reflect upon their actions, and the agony that they had caused their father. The Midrash comments that it is this more elevated level of tochacha that we will all face in the Beit Din Shel Ma’aloh (The Heavenly Court).

Perhaps the brothers were thinking that twenty-two years of history suddenly has become clear.

Think about what has been happening during the past twenty plus years. Their father, Yaakov, is a broken and depressed Jew. He is crying. He refuses to be comforted. He goes into a prolonged mourning. The Shechinah [Divine Presence] leaves him. The brothers witness all of this.

Then there is a famine. The brothers have to go down to Egypt. They are wondering why all this is happening. In Egypt, they meet this fellow who gives them such a terribly hard time. They are accused of being spies. They are taken hostage. They have to go back to their father. They have to negotiate with him. They find the silver cup...

During those twenty years, the brothers were probably wondering, "What is happening to us? Why are all of these troubles... our father... spies... accusations... hostages... happening?" They didn't understand what was happening to their lives.

Finally, with two words: "Ani Yosef" (I am Yosef) everything becomes clear. They understand that this was Yosef doing all this to them. They understand, perhaps, that there was a reason why Yosef was taken down to Egypt -- that if Yosef hadn't been in Egypt they all would have died in famine. They now understand what they did wrong.

Twenty-two years of their lives suddenly became clear with two words. They understand their father. They understand Egypt. They understand the accusations. Like a bolt of lightening, things that made no sense whatsoever now became totally clear.

The Background of the Messiah to come

In order to recognize the future Mashiach when He comes, it is useful to understand the background of some of the previous messianic figures.

The background for Yosef, for example, is instructive.

a. Yosef was told by HaShem (in two dreams) that he was going to provide justice for the people by becoming a king.

b. The world had no knowledge of Yosef, or his greatness prior to ascending to power.

c. Yosef’s father (Yaaqob abinu) was a great spiritual leader.

d. He came from the most powerful kingdom at the time – Egypt.

e. He disappeared after checking on the welfare of his brothers who were shepherds.

f. He was hated by his brothers because of his dreams.

g. He was hidden from his brothers (In Egypt) while the whole world knew him.

These same characteristics are often found in messianic figures. Consider Moshe:

a. Moshe was told by HaShem (at the burning bush) that he was going to provide justice for the people by becoming a king.

h. The world had no knowledge of Moshe, or his greatness prior to ascending to power.

b. Moshe’s father (Amram) was a great spiritual leader.

c. He came from the most powerful kingdom at the time – Egypt.

d. He disappeared after checking on the welfare of his brothers who were making bricks.

e. He was hated by his brothers because they now had to collect their own straw..

i. He was hidden from his brothers (in Midian) while the whole world knew him.

Consider David HaMelech:

a. David was told by HaShem (through Shmuel the prophet) that he was going to provide justice for the people by becoming a king.

b. The world had no knowledge of David, or his greatness prior to ascending to power.

c. Yosef’s father (Yishai) was a great spiritual leader.

d. He came from the most powerful kingdom at the time – Israel.

e. He disappeared because he was chased by Saul HaMelech who wanted to kill him.

f. He was hated by his brothers because he was thought to me a mamzer.

j. He was hidden from his brothers (while fleeing from Saul HaMelech) while the rest of the world knew him.

Consider Yeshua:

a. Yeshua was told by HaShem that he was going to provide justice for the people by becoming a king.

b. The world had no knowledge of Yeshua, or his greatness prior to ascending to power.

c. Yeshua’s father (Joseph) was a great spiritual leader.

d. He came from the most powerful kingdom at the time – Rome.

e. He disappeared because he was chased by Herod who wanted to kill him.

f. He was hated by his brothers because He threatened their power.

k. He was hidden from his brothers (the Jews - after his ascension) while the whole world knew him.

In the future, we can expect something similar to be true of the future Mashiach.

Ivrit - Hebrew

When the brothers previously appeared before him, Yosef spoke through an interpreter: The brothers spoke their native Hebrew, Yosef, after receiving the translation would respond in the Egyptian dialect of his day. This time when he spoke to them, he spoke to them in Hebrew. These five words, "Ani Yosef - Haod Avi Cha" he cried out in Hebrew.

So what was the proof positive that he was Yosef, son of Yaakov and son of the land of Israel, and not Tzafnat Paneach, son of the Nile and son of the land of Egypt? He spoke to them in Hebrew.

But it begs the question. Was he the only one who spoke Hebrew? Is it not possible for a non-Jew to speak Hebrew? After all, and I must say L'havdil (which is our way of making an utter distinction between holy and profane) didn't even Eichmann gloat about being able to speak Hebrew?

The answer, I believe, must be straightforward. To Yosef, Hebrew was not a three credit course; it was not a foreign language. It was lashon hakodesh - the holy tongue.

Yosef was not merely a sophisticated vizier in Egypt who had mastered a foreign language - he was speaking mama lashon, the language of his father and his father’s father. The language that was suffused with the pain and the promise of his people, the language that was invested with the heartache and the hearts’ desires of a people. The language that was vouchsafed to him as an inheritance and that would be the language of Torah.

Demographers claim that by the year 2020 Hebrew will be the first language, the mama lashon, so to speak, of the majority of Jews in the world. What an astounding statistic when you realize that not too many decades ago, Hebrew was considered to Jews what Latin was to Catholics. And yet, If one would have suggested that Hebrew would become a revived, reinvigorated, and modern spoken language, the response might have been: Are you kidding?.

Speaking Hebrew is more than mastering phonetics or morphology - it is about imbibing the feelings and meanings of a text. It's more than verbiage - it's also a value system. Speaking Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people is also about making the values and visions, the poetry and prose, the tastes and smells of the Jewish people part of our lexicon. About this, there can be no compromise.

There are, as we began to see last week, these apparent parallels between the story of the Akeida and the story of Joseph, suggesting that the story of the sale of Joseph - or at least Jacob willingness to send Joseph down to his brothers, Jacob's command to send Joseph down for an apparently superfluous and very dangerous test, to see if he will go to Shechem, was in fact just that. It was a test. It was never meant to end in Joseph's demise. There was a safety mechanism as we talked about last week, it was the fact that Jacob knows; Haloh achecha ro'im b'Shechem - aren't your brothers in Shechem? But they're not in Shechem they're in Dotan, [they were/he was 1:18] never supposed to meet up with the angel, the angel was G-d's twist, Joseph was never supposed to wander, giving an opportunity to meet some wayward angel along the way. Joseph was simply supposed to go to Shechem and supposed to come back, it was never supposed to happen the way it actually happened.

But the question is why? Why even bother with such a test? Why play G-d in this kind of way? What could possibly be gained from it? What was Jacob out to do? What was he out to see?

Why don't we begin to take a look at that by again sort of re-reading the story of the prelude to the sale of Joseph with that question in mind, and I think we'll find a number of indications for understanding that issue. So let's kind of do that right now. Okay, Chapter 37, one more time; Vayeshev Yaakov b'eretz megurei aviv b'eretz Canaan - and Jacob was in the land of Canaan when we have the following. Eileh toldot Yaakov Yosef - as we mentioned last week this is a very strange phrase - these are the generations of Yaakov: Joseph. As if to say that Joseph is the only generations of Yaakov? What do you mean, what about the rest of the tribes? But there was something special about Joseph. These are the generations of Yaakov: Joseph.

Now the Midrash is bothered by this problem, how come Joseph was singled out? The Midrash gives a number of solutions to this problem. One is, looking at this whole phrase; These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, when Joseph was 17 years old he was bringing back bad tidings to his father. As if to say that somehow this is the legacy of Jacob. The legacy of Jacob is the following simmering divide within the family which is symbolized by the beginnings of Joseph bringing back these bad tidings to the father, which ultimately leads to the sale of Joseph and the Jews coming down to Egypt. This is one interpretation of the Midrash, that the verse is hinting that this is the beginning of what will become Jacob's legacy, which is this divide within the family and bringing the family down to Egypt. That's one possibility.

The other possibility of the Midrash is the focus on Joseph itself. Is that the father - that Jacob sees Joseph as his legacy, that in Jacob's eyes Joseph is it, Joseph is his legacy. Why would that be? What's so special about Joseph? Well there's two answers to the question; the Midrash gives both of them. One possible answer is that Joseph is the son of his beloved Rachel and Rachel is the wife that Jacob had always wanted to marry and Joseph is his first son from Rachel and therefore Joseph has a special place in his eyes.

But there's a couple of other things which the Midrash says that I think are interesting too and play out in an interesting kind of way in the story. One thing the Midrash says is that Joseph looks like him. Now who cares so much? Why is that so special? But for some reason that was important to Jacob that Joseph looked like him, that his face looked like him.

The Midrash says one last thing which Rashi quotes, which is that - and Jacob has no way of knowing this at this time, but is it a premonition that Jacob has? That ultimately, everything that befalls Joseph in his life has befallen Jacob in his life. That Joseph's life in some measure repeats or takes the same path that Jacob's life does. Each of these brothers was hated by their other brother; Jacob was hated by Esau and Joseph was hated by the other brothers. Each of them went into some sort of exile; exile from their hometown, exile from their home turf. Now this hasn't happened to Joseph, but again, it's as if the destiny of Joseph's life is the destiny - is to replay, with some embellishments perhaps, the life of his father.

So for whatever reason it is, Jacob sees in Joseph his legacy. His physical legacy - he looks like me, his destiny is like me, there's something about this kid that his destiny is like me. And after all he is the first child of the wife I was really supposed to marry all along before Lavan tricked me and gave me Leah instead of Rachel, it was supposed to be Rachel and this is my firstborn child.

Pre-Egyptian Exile

So I want to share with you this theory of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik - Rav Soloveitchik, that says the following. He says there was this time that Jacob spent in Laban's household, his mother's brother. He runs away to Laban's household on the advice of his mother and on the advice of his father after deceiving his father and deceiving his brother into giving him - in essentially making him the firstborn son. So Jacob runs away and he heads off to Lavan's household and he spends a long time there essentially in a state of indentured servitude, and at some point he decides to leave. But when does he decide to leave? He decides to leave when Joseph is born.

Now listen carefully at how the verse phrases this. I'm going to read from that verse for a second. You'll find the verse I'm talking about in Chapter 30 in Genesis, verse 25, here's the verse. Rachel gives birth to her very first son; Vatikra et shemo Yosef - and she calls the name of the child Joseph; Leimor, Yosef Hashem li ben acher - let G-d add for me another child, even more than this. Vayehi k'asher yaldah Rachel et Yosef - now listen to how the verse phrases it - and it happened when Rachel gave birth to Joseph; Vayomer Yaakov el Lavan - that Jacob said to Lavan; Shalcheini v'elchah el mekomi ul'artzi - let me go and let me go back to my place and let me go back to my father's house.

Now if you notice the verse goes out of its way to say; Vayehi k'asher yaldah Rachel et Yosef - and it happened when Joseph was given birth that Jacob said it's time to leave. Why all of a sudden? Why was it - it's very clear that as a result of Joseph's birth he says it's time to leave. Who was Joseph? Why? Well Rav Soloveitchik says Joseph was the firstborn son of Rachel. Why did that matter? Jacob was aware - [Rav Soloveitchik 7:30] says - of Abraham's fearful prophecy, that the prophecy that was that your children will go down to a land not their own. Remember although we know that that's Egypt, nobody at this point knows that it's Egypt. As a matter of fact, the identity of the land in which the Jews would be enslaved is left undetermined. So what was the prophecy? The prophecy was to Abraham - if you look back in Genesis Chapter 15 - the prophecy was that; Ger yiheye zaracha b'eretz loh lahem - your children will be a sojourner in a land not their own; V'avodum v'inui otam - and they will enslave them and will oppress them for 400 years. V'acharei ken yeitzu b'rechush gadol - and afterwards they will leave with a lot of money and; V'dor revi'i yashuvu heinah - the fourth generation will come back to here.

So now Jacob looks at this prophecy and says the following things. All right; Ger yiheye zaracha b'eretz loh lahem - your children will be a Ger - a wanderer, in a land - a sojourner in a land not their own, where they'll be in exile, they'll feel uncomfortable in a land that's not really theirs. Well that's exactly what happens to Jacob. Jacob is forced to run away into a land that's not his, he's exiled from his brother and he's off, estranged from his family in some land, in Padan Aram that he doesn't want to be. V'avodum - and these people there they'll enslave them. Hachi achi atah va'avadetani chinam - Laban says to Jacob - are you my brother and you're going to serve me for nothing? In fact Jacob does serve Laban and that was the prophecy wasn't it? [Abraham/G-d 9:11] says that these people are going to make you serve them, well Laban made me serve him too, and it sounds kind of familiar. V'inui otam - and they will oppress you, and Jacob certainly felt oppressed in the house of Laban, he was forced and tricked and had to work another seven years and just could never get out of it.

V'inui otam arbah me'ot shanah - 400 years. Well Jacob says, it's not really 400 years, but it's certainly a long time. Well, as it happens, if you think about it, the Jews were not even in slavery for 400 years in Egypt. Anyway, the verse seems to be exaggerating on some level; if you'd actually do the calculations it's 210 years, so the commentators struggle to figure out why it's 210 years instead of 400 years. But the fact is, is that the Jews were only there for 210 years, not 400 years. Four-hundred years, it was a long time, it depends on how you calculate it. Interestingly enough, how long was Jacob "enslaved" in the house of Laban? Twenty-one years. It's interesting it's a multiple of 10, the microcosm and the macrocosm. The nation is enslaved for 210 years, I'm enslaved for 21 years. He doesn't know about this yet, but he says, I've been enslaved here and oppressed for a long time.

The prophecy continues. Ger yiheye zaracha b'eretz loh lahem v'avodum v'inui otam arbah me'ot shanah - your children will be sojourners in a land not their own and they'll be enslaved for this very long time. What will happen after that? V'acharei ken yeitzu b'rechush gadol - and after that they'll go out with a lot of money, they'll go out with a; Rechush gadol - they'll go out with a tremendous amount of wealth. What does Jacob try to do as he leaves? Immediately after this what does he try and do? It's not good enough for him to leave, but he makes a point of leaving with great wealth. He makes a point of trying to - if you remember there's this - if you go back in the verses in Chapter 30 there's this elaborate formula that Jacob comes up with, that he's going to get every spotted and speckled sheep, and that's going to be his - he gets Laban to agree and G-d helps him. He miraculously comes out with a lot of wealth. Well, G-d helps me and I miraculously come out with a lot of wealth. By the way, just like G-d helped the Jews miraculously come out of Egypt with a lot of wealth.

So Jacob looks at this and it looks like it's all happening - and it could all happen. It looks like it's me. The prophecy said what? The fourth generation is going to come back here and Jacob starts counting the generations and Abraham is one generation, and Isaac would be two, and Jacob himself would be three, so it's the birth of my child that's going to be four. Well birth of my child - well I've had a lot of children but who is my real wife? It's Rachel. Rachel is my real wife. The firstborn child of my real wife, Joseph. Vayehi k'asher yaldah Rachel et Yosef - and it happened when Rachel gave birth to Joseph, it's the fourth generation, Jacob says, it's time to go.

So this is Rav Soloveitchik's theory. But it rides upon this view, the great significance of the birth of Joseph in Jacob's eyes. In Jacob's eyes this is my firstborn, this is the child of Rachel, this is the child of the wife that I was supposed to have all along. Later on, by the way, when the generations of Yaakov are finally counted in Parshat Vayechi, at the end of Genesis, that's how Rachel is introduced. He has four wives but Rachel is introduced as Eshet Yaakov - The (capital T) wife of Yaakov. So Yaakov looks at this and says, Joseph is my son, he is my legacy, he is the firstborn child of the wife that I was always supposed to have all along. He looks like me, he shares the same destiny as me - the same physical destiny, there's something about him, the same spiritual destiny. He just seems like he's the one that will bear my legacy.

By the way, that is the role, as it were - why is it the firstborn is so significant? The firstborn is seen - what is being an heir all about? What being an heir is about is carrying the family name on from generation, carrying the legacy on. The firstborn child is seen as having a greater share - as being THE bearer of legacy - which is why of course that in Jewish law that the firstborn child is to get this double share of the inheritance. The double share of the inheritance is simply a physical manifestation of a spiritual destiny as a greater bearer of legacy of the family into the next generation. And, if you think about the second portion, this doubled portion of an inheritance, you'll find hints of it in the Joseph story.

Let's keep on reading. So back to Genesis Chapter 37; V'Yisrael ahav et Yosef mikol banav - and Jacob loved Joseph more than all of his other sons - we're in verse 3 - Ki ben zekunim hu lo - and remember we had trouble translating this verse last week - because he was a child of his old age. Well Rashi in one of his translations, in the commentators, and the Ramban and the Seforno struggle over this - but one of the translations that Rashi suggests for; Ben zekunim hu lo - that he was the child of his old age, was that, again, his faced looked like him. He looked like him. He had the same physical attributes as he did. Again, you look at a kid that has the same physical attributes as you and he's the child of the wife that you always thought was your favorite wife, and you look at this child and you see your legacy before you.

V'asah lo ketonet passim - and he made him a many-colored coat. He made him this coat. So what was the significance of that coat? What was he doing in giving him that coat? Let's look at what the brothers do when they sell Joseph into slavery, they take off that coat. That coat in their mind is the vision in their eyes of the father loving him more. But not just their father loving him more but I think something else as well; their father not just loving him more but loving Rachel more. But again, even more than loving him more and loving Rachel more, something else. It's the symbol, I think, of him being the firstborn child, of Jacob seeing him as the great legacy of the whole family, as Joseph being the firstborn, the child of Rachel.

You see it in a couple of ways. Let's look at what they do when they take off that coat, when they take off his coat. Listen to Rashi very carefully. Here's what Rashi says. The verse, if you listen carefully adds a couple of words and let's read this carefully. When they take off his coat, when they're selling him into slavery, when they put him in the pit, so verse 23 in Chapter 37. Vayehi k'asher bah Yosef el echov - when Joseph came to his brothers; Vayafshitu et Yosef et kutanto - they stripped him of his cloak; Et ketonet hapasim asher alav - they stripped him of the many-colored cloak that was upon him. Now it says it twice. It says first they stripped him of his cloak and then they stripped him of the many-colored cloak that was on him. Why does it have to say it twice?

Rashi says, because there were two cloaks. Et kutanto - the first cloak was just his regular cloak; Et ketonet hapasim asher alav - was the special cloak that his father made him. Now, listen to these chilling words added by Rashi. And the coat of many colors was; Hu she'hosif lo aviv yoter al echov - that was the cloak that he gave him more than all of the other brothers. What's the implication of Rashi? Rashi is saying is that the father gave all the brothers cloaks, everybody had a cloak, but Joseph had the many-colored cloak. What is the many-colored cloak? I don't know, maybe the many-colored cloak symbolizes the rainbow coalition, the many colors of the family coming together under Yosef's watch, under Yosef's watchful eye. That he is the legacy, he is the uniter - not the divider - of the family, he can bring everyone together, he is the one who is going to carry my vision forward and lead these tribes and make them into a nation.

Hu she'hosif lo aviv yoter al echov - this is the cloak, the second cloak that he got. It's the double portion. The double portion that an heir gets, that the firstborn child gets. He is the firstborn child of my favorite wife. He has the doubled coat. That's the first thing they take off.

What does that mean if that's the first thing they take off of him? If that's what they - the verse goes out of its way, they stripped him of that cloak. So here I want to bring you back to a point that I made once a while ago, in a series of lectures in which I dealt with the story of Yehuda and Tamar at great length. I made those lectures available over the summer, some of you may have heard them, they came from the archives over the summer for the online classes. But I want to focus here on one point that I made there. There's a very chilling series of connections between this section here in Genesis in the sale of Joseph and a very interesting piece in Deuteronomy. I'm going to point it to you, it's in Deuteronomy Chapter 21, verse 15. Read along with me.

Debarim (Deuteronomy) Chapter 21

You're going to read a section of text, you're going to notice four words that seem out of place here. Here's the section of text. Ki tiheyena l'ish shtei nashim - when a man will have two wives; Ha'achat ahuva v'ha'achat senu'ah - a loved wife and a hated wife. Now there's the first indication that something is wrong. Who has a hated wife? Why do you have a wife if you hate her? Why bother having her if you hate her? Maybe it's one thing to have a wife who is loved and a wife that you don't love quite as much, but what do you mean, a wife that you love and a wife that you hate? So that's word number 1 which seems a little strange here.

Keep on reading. V'yaldu lo banim ha'ahuva v'hasenu'ah - and these two wives, they both have children, this loved wife and this hated wife; Vehaya haben habechor laseni'ah - and the firstborn child goes to the hated wife. Vehaya b'yom hanchilo et banav - and it will be on the day that he causes his sons to inherit his estate; Et asher yiheye lo - that which comes to him. Loh yuchal levaker et ben ha'ahuva al pnei ben hasenu'ah habechor - he shall not make the firstborn child the son of the loved wife, upon the face of the son of the wife that he doesn't love as much who in fact is the firstborn child. Ki - rather; Et habechor ben hasenu'ah yakir - he must recognize the child of the Senu'ah - of the not loved wife; Latet lo pi shnayim b'kol asher yimotzeh lo - to give him a double portion; B'kol asher yimotzeh lo - in everything that is found to him. Ki hu reishit ono - because he is the first of his loins; Lo mishpat habechora - to him is the rightful title of the firstborn.

Now what other words are out of place here? If you listen to it you'll find a few words that are out of place. One is; Ki et habechor ben hasenu'ah yakir. The language Yakir is strange. The firstborn child of the Senu'ah - of the hated wife; Yakir - he must recognize. You could have left out that word and it would have made it perfect sense. You could have said; The firstborn child, the son of the hated wife, you must give him the double portion. Instead of; You must recognize him to give him the double portion. What do you mean - what does recognize add here? So recognize is a word that seems out of place.

And; B'kol asher yimotzeh lo - how do we describe the estate - the property which the father is giving over to his firstborn? B'kol asher yimotzeh lo - he must give him a double portion in all that is found to him. Now that's a very strange way of talking about a property, 'in all that is found to him'. Just say; And all that he has - B'kol asher yesh lo. What do you mean; B'kol asher yimotzeh lo - in everything that is found to him? Then finally, why do I give it to him? Ki hu reishit ono - because he is the first of his loins, this firstborn child. That's a very strange language; 'the first of his loins'. This is a regular prose paragraph and here is poetry being injected into the prose paragraph; Ki hu reishit ono.

Four phrases that are entirely out of place; Senu'ah - the hated one, Yakir - recognize; Yimotzeh lo - found to him; Reishit ono - the firstborn son. What are these phrases talking about? These phrases all point you back to the sale of Joseph. Every last one of them. Listen to the first phrase; Senu'ah - when a man shall have two wives, a hated wife and a loved wife. Well who is the hated wife? If you look through the entire Bible you will find that the Hebrew term Senu'ah - hated woman, hated wife, is actually applied to a real person, to a specific person, only once in the entire Tanach. That is Leah. Vayar Hashem ki senu'ah Leah vayiftach et rachmah - and G-d saw that Leah was hated and therefore he opened her womb and even though she was not supposed to have children she had a child. Who was that child? That child was Reuven, the firstborn child of Jacob. So who is the Senu'ah? The Senu'ah is Leah. The hated wife in this case is Leah.

So; Ki tiheyena l'ish shtei nashim, it's a code word for Jacob. Jacob is the man. When a man has two wives, the first is who? He has two wives the first is the Senu'ah, he also has the Ahuva, he has Leah and he has Rachel. V'yaldu lo banim ha'ahuva v'hasenu'ah - and they both give birth to children. Vehaya haben habechor laseni'ah - but the firstborn child belongs to who? To the Seni'ah - to Leah. Who is that child? He's Reuven.

Vehaya - and it shall be; B'yom hanchilo et banav et asher yiheye lo - on the day that he causes to inherit - gives over his legacy to the children that he has; Loh yuchal levaker et ben ha'ahuva al pnei ben hasenu'ah habechor - he can't make the child of the Ahuva - the loved wife, the Bechor. Who is that? Who is the firstborn child of the loved wife? The firstborn child of Rachel is Yosef. He cannot make Yosef the Bechor - the firstborn child. Rather; Ki et habechor ben hasenu'ah yakir - he must instead recognize that it is the child of the Senu'ah - it is Reuven who in fact must be recognized; Latet lo pi shnayim - to give him the double portion.

But listen carefully to the language. What do you need to do when you give the firstborn child - when you give Reuven the legacy? Yakir - you must recognize him, to give him the double portion; B'kol asher yimotzeh lo - in everything that is found to him. You must recognize him to give him the double portion in all that is found to him. Recognize, found to him. Recognize, found to him. Where have I heard these words, recognize and found to him? You've heard them in the sale of Joseph.

Flip forward to Chapter 37, what do the brothers say when the strip the coat off of Joseph, the double portion, and what do they do, they present it to the father and they say; Zot matzanu - this we found; Haker nah - recognize it please; Haketonet bincha hi im loh - is it your son's coat or not? Is it Joseph's coat or not? There's a double meaning there. They're not just presenting a bloody coat and saying, we don't know, we found this, whose is it, and he recognizes it and it's Joseph's. Yes, that's one level of their meaning, but there's another level of their meaning which betrays their entire perspective on the whole story, which gives the perspective of the brothers on the sale of Joseph

What is that other meaning? That other meaning borrows from Deuteronomy. Take the code words from Deuteronomy and insert them into Genesis. What does Yakir mean in Deuteronomy? Yakir in Deuteronomy - recognize - means to recognize who your real firstborn is. What does Yimotzeh Lo mean in Deuteronomy? B'kol asher yimotzeh lo - you must give a double portion of everything that is found to him, in his estate. Yimotzeh is your things, your estate. These words are co-opted now in Genesis. What does Genesis say? Genesis says the brothers took the coat, the symbol of the firstborn-ness, of the double portion, which Joseph got, they present it to the father and they say; Zot matzanu - here is your estate, this is yours, this is your stuff, this is your legacy. Zot matzanu haker nah - recognize; Haketonet bincha hi im loh - does the cloak belong to Joseph or not? Is it really Joseph's?

It doesn't belong to Joseph. Joseph isn't the Bechor. He's the Bechor of one wife, he's the Bechor of Rachel. But you have two wives, your firstborn child is Reuven, you can't take a child who is not the firstborn and make him the firstborn because you want him to be. That's not kosher. And Deuteronomy seems to uphold that it's not kosher. Seems to uphold the perspective of the brothers. It doesn't mean they can throw Joseph into slavery, it doesn't mean they're justified in disenfranchising him and kicking him out of the family, but this was the brothers' perspective. Jacob has got it all wrong, he thinks that there's a firstborn when there is no firstborn here. And this is what they come to the table with, and in effect what it is that they're telling Jacob behind the mask of the bloody coat.

Okay, so now I think we're ready to really understand how the stage was set for the sale of Joseph from both the father's perspective and from the brothers' perspective. Let's take the father's perspective first. Dad looks at Joseph and sees his legacy, he sees the firstborn child of Rachel, he looks like him, everything about him seems to say that you are the one who is going to take my life further into the next generation. He gives him this multicolored coat, that you're the uniter of the tribes of Israel, it's going to be Joseph. The brothers see that and they begin to hate him and then they hear these dreams - and they hear these dreams and they hate him because of the dreams.

But then dream 2 comes along and Joseph tells dream 2 not just to the brothers but to his father, because dream 2 includes the father. Dream 2 is that the sun and the moon and the stars are all going to come and bow down to me. By implication, you and Mom are both going to come down to me. Now what's Jacob's response to that? Jacob has a twofold response to that. (A) Vayig'ar bo aviv - and his father is upset at him, accosts him for this dream. What is this dream? You think I'm going to come with your mother and we're going to bow down to you? Rashi says, your mother isn't even alive anymore, you really think this is true? On the one hand he's angry, he's upset and, as Rashi says, he's angry because he's fostering this malcontent, this spirit of discontent in the family, it's causing waves, it's roiling the family, the brothers are upset.

But on the other hand; Vayekanu bo echov v'aviv shamar et ha'davar - as Rashi says, the father guarded the thing. Hayah mamtin u'metzapeh matai yavoh - Rashi says - he was waiting for the time when it would happen. He was hoping for the time when it would happen.

Now if you're Jacob, so what does this dream mean to you? So you see there's conflict in Jacob's response. On the one hand there's anger, but there's also the hope, the hope that maybe it's true. You see the second dream and what do you say to yourself? It's one thing for Joseph to tell the second dream to everyone - but let's just think about the second dream on its own hands. Everyone is going to come and bow down to Joseph. Joseph IS going to lead the family into the next generation. On the one hand there's anger, what's he doing telling this? Even there's anger because not only are the brothers bowing to him but the father is bowing down to him too? I mean it's one thing to be my legacy, it's another thing to replace me, I'm going to be bowing down to you? It somehow doesn't fit.

But on the other hand; Hayah mamtin u'metzapeh matai yavoh - if you're Jacob and you see this dream, what does this dream tell you? In your heart of hearts what have you been doing? You've always looked at Joseph as the man, you always looked at Joseph as the one who is going to - as your firstborn, the firstborn child of Rachel, who is going to take your legacy forward. But you never knew if it was really true, because there was a part of you that always said, but Reuven is my firstborn. I mean let's face it, I did marry Leah and she had these children, there's everybody else and I can't make Joseph the firstborn, I mean, Reuven is my firstborn child. Then - but he has a soft spot in his heart for Joseph, and Joseph is - seems - there just - his face is similar to him, everything is similar to him. But Jacob always thinks to himself, maybe it's just me? Maybe it's just me? Maybe I'm biased towards him? I don't know. Maybe I'm just being subjective.

But all of a sudden the second dream comes along and what does the second dream show? It seems like it's a sign from G-d, it's seems like he's had this prophetic dream, and the prophetic dream is the realization of Jacob's dreams for Joseph. Maybe it's really true? Maybe this is the sign from G-d that Joseph IS the one who is destined to lead our family? That it really is going to be him. So I'm angry at him, but on the one hand maybe it's really true, maybe this is a sign I was looking for, maybe this is G-d coming out of the clouds and telling me, Jacob, you're right, it is Joseph.

But there's conflict in Jacob's world because at the same moment that it looks like there's this sign from G-d, that this is some great prophetic dream which is confirming everything that Jacob hopes for Joseph, there's another element that doesn't quite seem to fit. The mother in the dream and the fact that father is supposed to bow down to him, that's not what firstborns are supposed to do. It's one thing if a firstborn takes my legacy further, a firstborn is devoted to me, a firstborn doesn't usurp me, I don't go bowing down to my firstborn, that's not what a good firstborn does. Maybe this dream is all a lie? I mean, after all, Mom's in the dream, Mom's dead. So he's angry at him, he says; Havoh navoh ani v'imecha v'achecha lehishtachavot lecha artzah - do you really think that I'm going to come - it's one thing for the brothers to come, you really think I'm going to come? And your mother's dead.

So a part of him says, (a) maybe the dream is false because it includes Mom - and not only that, if the dream is false, then maybe it's not a prophecy at all? Maybe it's just an expression of Joseph's ego? Maybe it's just that he's power-hungry, maybe he just wants us all - not just the brothers? Maybe he's not the loyal purveyor of my legacy, taking my legacy forward, but maybe he wants everything, maybe even I and his mother? Maybe he's coming to run away with the family legacy, to make it his own, not to be a loyal servant of the father? What a firstborn really is, is to take the father's vision further, it's not to go off and to make his own vision and to have even the father and the parents going and bowing down to him.

So which is it? The dream heightens both possibilities for him. The dream throws into relief the quandary which Jacob has been having this whole time, who is Joseph? Is Joseph my loyal son? I think he is - and here all of a sudden there's this dream that says you're it, you're my firstborn. On the other hand, what's this business about me bowing down to him and the mother? And is it false? And is it just his imagination? Maybe it's not prophetic at all? What is it? So Jacob doesn't know. What is his relationship to Joseph?

That sets the stage for the test. The great Akeidah test. What is an Akeidah test all about? The Akeidah test will tell Jacob for sure which Joseph is the true Joseph. What is the Akeidah test designed to do? It is a test of loyalty. That is the one thing that Jacob desperately needs to know about Joseph at this moment, who are you Joseph? Are you - it seems like G-d is coming out of the clouds and saying it's you, but is that really happening? Are you really the loyal child that can carry my legacy forward and devote yourself to what this family really is all about; the legacy of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob going forward to build a nation? Or is not about that? Is it about you? So are you ego-driven, is all about your own personal legacy? What if there was a conflict between your own personal legacy and your loyalty towards me?

Jacob designs such a conflict in his Akeida test. He plays G-d, as it were, to create the Akeidah test one more time. Where just as G-d pitted Abraham's love for Isaac against loyalty for G-d and said, you're overjoyed with the birth of Isaac, are you overjoyed just because of a father's love for Isaac? And that means that you're off track with your own legacy that you're no longer taking G-d's legacy and taking it into the world. Or are you overjoyed because you're able to take the legacy of G-d further? The Akeidah test is designed to test that and Abraham proved himself loyal to G-d.

Now the question is in another generation, just such a test, who would Joseph prove himself loyal to? Would he even go to Shechem for me? What are the limits of your loyalty? Do you have that level of self-abnegation where if your self comes in conflict with what it would mean to take my vision further, which would it be? Would you even go to Shechem? Would you put yourself at the mercy of your brothers if I asked you to - if I looked like a benighted soul and innocently sent you off to go check on the welfare - the Shelom of your brothers, when you can't even speak in peace to them? Would you even go if there was no protection? Would you even go all the way from Emek Chevron to Shechem when it's so far away? Why don't you go - Lech nah - go please - just like Abraham, please take your son, the only son, the son that you love? Would you go?

Joseph answers the words Hineini - just like Abraham did, the loyal son. And he goes. And the Akeidah test is underway. But the test was, what kind of son are you? It's a question to which Jacob desperately needs the answer. Right here and right now.

So in essence really, the background - almost like the subconscious level of the story - is the same from the perspective of the brothers as it is from the perspective of the father. What's happening here in the buildup to the sale of Joseph, from the father's perspective is to figure out is Joseph really my firstborn. What's happening from the brothers' perspective is exactly the same question playing out, that Joseph is not really your firstborn. When the brothers come and they strip the coat and they bring it to the father and they say; Haker nah haketonet bincha hi im loh - recognize this, is it really your son's, they are hitting the nail on the head, they are responding to Jacob in kind.

Behind the scenes Jacob has been devising a test - the brothers may not be aware of it, Joseph may not be aware of it, Jacob is aware of it - divining a test, as it were, to decide what really is the status of Joseph? Does Joseph have the loyalty to be the child that will carry on my legacy to the next generation, or is he self-absorbed? Is he really my firstborn? The brothers come to Jacob with the coat and ask him that same question, is he really your firstborn? But from the brothers' perspective it's not a question of loyalty, it's not does Joseph have enough loyalty to be your firstborn? It's a question of bald facts on the ground. He's not your firstborn, it's a matter of biological fact, it is Reuven, you can't go and favor the one over the other, you have to come to grips with the reality. The reality is your firstborn child comes from the mother you didn't love as much. That's a painful reality in the family, but it's one that you have to come to grips with.

But from Jacob's perspective that's not the question. At this point the question is not who really is my firstborn, but, does Joseph have the qualities to be the firstborn? It's not a matter of biology right now, it's a matter of dedication, it's a matter of this child about whom I have these premonitions what really is his nature? Can he be what I want him to be?

Interestingly, there's this interplay, I think, between the brothers' perspective and the father's perspective. The father has been trying to craft this test to see if in fact Joseph deserves this title of Bechor - of firstborn, and the brothers have been struggling with the same issue. But again recall what we talked about last week, that until the father gets involved the trajectory of the brothers' responses to Joseph's indiscretions we might say, is hatred. They hate him, they hate him even more, they hate even more, they hate him because father loves him more, they hate him because the dreams, they hate him because of the dreams. Then - but it changes to jealousy when what happens? When the father gets involved and when the father seems to take the second dream seriously. That, I think, is what really alarms the brothers. It's not just a fraternal issue right now, it's a whole family issue. It's not just an issue between brothers, it's what does Dad think? It's when they see in Dad's eyes that he takes the dream seriously, that Father is wondering on the basis of this what the story is, that's when jealousy creeps in, and that's also what propels them to act.

Their rationale in sending out Joseph is not just that we can't stand him, we don't like him, we hate him. The rationale is that Dad has got this whole family dynamic wrong. Dad is willing to crown him as firstborn when he can't have that role. The family can't allow for that. That's what propels them - obviously in an unjustified expression - but those are the dynamics that I think propel them to act.

So curiously on some level both Yaakov and the brothers are both on the same page, they're both vying over the same issue and Joseph is kind of in the background over this issue, but the issue is, what is Joseph's status? Is he a firstborn brother or not? Is he the leader of the pack or not? Jacob is seeking to find out and embarks upon an Akeidah-like test to try to explore that possibility. The brothers, interestingly, as they see Joseph coming are exactly on the same page. In a certain way really the question which the brothers ask is exactly the same question which is ruminating in Jacob's mind. Remember what the brothers say when they see Joseph approach? It says; Hinei ba'al ha'chalomot halazeh bah - oh look it's the person who has all those dreams. Let's throw him in a pit; Venireh mah yiheyu chalomotav - and let's see what will be with his dreams?

The brothers want to see what will be with his dreams sarcastically. The father does want to see what will be with his dreams, not sarcastically. The father really wants to know. It's the same question. What's going to be with these dreams? What's going to be with these dreams? The father sends him on an Akeidah mission to see is this person worthy of these dreams? The brothers have concluded that he's not and sarcastically say, what will be with his dreams.

There's an interesting Midrash as well, which Rashi quotes, which is that the brothers will say, what will be with his dreams, and G-d says, we'll see whose 'what will be' will outlast the others. You say, what will be with his dreams, and I say, what will be with his dreams. Let's see what will be with his dreams. And G-d acts really in a way that neither the brothers nor Jacob could predict.

Tikkun [66]

Yosef's plan was aimed at saving Egypt during the years of famine, but at the same time he was also planning a way to bring his dreams to realization. The Divine spirit within him goaded him to plan a way of leading the brothers to correct their ways, and a way of testing whether they had indeed done this.

Yosef knew that sooner or later his brothers would arrive, seeking food, and thus the dream of the sheaves would be fulfilled. The second dream - with the stars bowing before him - would be realized only when he would be able to bring about the hoped-for spiritual process of saving the brothers from the abyss of their sin; only thus would the family be able to be reunited in the proper way (not artificially), so that Yaakov would die knowing that all his children were worthy heirs of his heritage.

Perhaps this is how Yosef prepared his trap. Many citizens must have been questioned during the first few years of the famine, while Yosef was busy nationalizing all property, for fear of an uprising against the regime. It seems that the suspicions were more serious concerning foreigners, who may have arrived in some or other disguise. Perhaps Yaakov's sons - particularly Shimon and Levi - were naturally regarded with caution in foreign lands after what they had cunningly perpetrated in Shekhem. Their entry into Egypt through - according to Chazal - different entry points, was also not counted in their favor as soon as they were identified as brothers. As if this were not enough, the brothers were also found to be expressing particular interest in the fate of a slave who had been brought to Egypt some twenty-two years previously. From the perspective of the Egyptian security services, these men were trying to glean details about the Egyptian viceroy - the king's second-in-command. For this reason, they were clearly suspicious, and there was no difficulty in having them imprisoned without Yosef having to disclose his true intent.

*****

We may assume that the brothers were separated from one another and placed in different cells, so that their testimonies could be compared against each other. In their interrogation, they were questioned as to every possible aspect concerning their family and their aims. Perhaps they underwent torture and were forced to tell every detail. Because of their inability to coordinate their testimonies, they had no choice but to tell the truth. It quickly became apparent that, in addition to the ten "suspects" that the security services were holding, there were another two suspects that had not yet been caught. The entire security system (directed and staged by Yosef, of course) was put on alert in order to arrest the two missing "prime suspects," whom the brothers were stubbornly protecting, denying that they had come with them to Egypt. In their interrogation, it was discovered that all the brothers gave the same story about Binyamin, but perhaps there were contradictions as to the fate of Yosef. The brothers must certainly have mumbled and stammered, ashamed to admit that they had sold him into slavery. The interrogators noted the discrepancies in the different versions of what they said, and their suspicions deepened. Each of the brothers was taken to his cell and beaten severely, with the demand that he answer the question, "Where is Yosef?" By the time the brothers met again, three days later, they understood very well the reason for the punishment that had befallen them:

"They said to each other: But we are guilty on account of our brother, for we saw his distress when he pleaded to us but we did not listen; therefore this trouble has come upon us." (42:21)

Yosef demonstrates generosity towards them and does not demand that they bring their lost brother. However, he is insistent that they bring the remaining brother - Binyamin - to ensure that there are no other spies roaming around in Egypt.

THE PLAN IS UPSET

Yosef's strategy is well-thought out, but it is upset. Yosef is deeply moved by Reuven's words to his brothers:

"Reuven answered them and said: Did I not tell you, saying, 'Do not sin against the boy' - but you did not listen; now behold, his blood is required." (42:22)

When Yosef hears this, his goes off to a quiet corner and WEEPS FOR THE FIRST TIME. But he knows that this is not enough. Reuven's reaction, and the reaction of the rest of the brothers, is an acceptance of their punishment for their sin, but this falls short of representing true 'tikkun' (repair). Yosef leads the brothers into a test concerning Binyamin. In my view, his intention was not to cause Binyamin to be brought to Egypt, but rather the exact opposite! Yosef demonstrates to them, by means of his whole carefully staged performance, that the purpose of bringing Binyamin is so that he can be interrogated in the Egyptian dungeon, on suspicion of spying. It is clear to everyone that if Binyamin is brought to him, it may not be possible to get him out of there and return him to his father. It is for this reason that Yaakov is so reluctant to send Binyamin (who is already past the age of thirty, and is father to ten sons), and it is for this reason that Reuven and Yehuda must offer such great commitments to guard him.

Despite all of this, will the brothers bring Binyamin to Egypt? Yosef expects that the brothers will protect Binyamin and not lead him into the danger awaiting him in Egypt at the hands of the viceroy. He expects that they will prefer to remain hungry in Canaan, even leaving Shimon in the Egyptian jail, so long as Binyamin will not be in danger. Yosef is prepared to regard this as repentance and 'tikkun' for what the brothers had done to him.

Indeed, for a long while the brothers do not return with Binyamin in tow. Perhaps Yosef is already on the point of revealing his identity to Shimon and telling him about the test that he had set up for the brothers. Perhaps he is on the point of sending for his father and brothers, calling them to come and make peace. One could ask: what proof has he as to any 'tikkun' on the part of the brothers? After all, it is quite likely that it is their father who is refusing to allow them to take Binyamin. But Yosef knows well that Yaakov is no longer the real leader of the family. Just as they had deceived him as to the sale of Yosef, so they could find a way to bring Binyamin to Egypt, if they so chose.

But then the brothers return, and Binyamin is with them! At first, Yosef believes that they are repeating the sin of his sale; he expresses his disappointment in WEEPING FOR A SECOND TIME:

"Yosef hurried - for his mercy was aroused towards his brother - and he sought to weep; he came into the chamber and wept there." (43:30)

Why was Yosef's mercy aroused towards Binyamin? Binyamin had grown up with his father, had established a large family, and was living well. It was Yosef himself who was deserving of pity: why is he, who was taken from his father's home and thrown into a pit in the valley of Dotan, and then into the dungeon in the house of the captain of the guard, now crying for Binyamin?

In my view, when Binyamin was brought to Egypt, this signaled to Yosef that Binyamin, too, was still not loved by his half-brothers. He deduces that Binyamin, too, is persecuted and hated. He concludes that the hand of Yehuda - who wanted to sell him - prevailed over the hand of Reuven - who wanted to save him. He has no knowledge of the terrible guarantee that Yehuda supplied in order to take Binyamin.

Nevertheless, Yosef's caution prevents him from drawing conclusions too hastily. He decides to test the brothers once more - through the plot of the goblet. Stealing the goblet used by the ruler for divining would clearly verify the suspicion of spying. He causes Binyamin to be "caught," and has him returned to the viceroy's palace.

This time, Yosef presents the brothers with a more difficult test. He causes the brothers to envy Binyamin, just as they once envied Yosef himself. He demonstrates greater affection for Binyamin than for them, allotting him a five-fold ration (43:34). He even gives them reason to hate Binyamin - "thief of the divining goblet" - for embroiling them once again in the suspicion of espionage. Finally, he tests their reaction to his desire to make Binyamin an eternal slave in Egypt.

The similarity to the story of Yosef's sale is as close as it could possibly be. The brothers tear their garments, just as they once stripped Yosef of his coat, and Yehuda joins Reuven in accepting their punishment:

"Yehuda said: What shall we say to my lord; how shall we speak and how shall we justify ourselves? God has found the sin of your servants; behold, we are slaves to my master - both we and he in whose hands the goblet was found." (49:16)

Even this is not enough - until Yehuda's emotional speech. In this speech, Yosef suddenly learns of Yehuda's guarantee for Binyamin's safety. Suddenly he understands: they have not brought him down to Egypt with a view to abandoning him. Yehuda is prepared to be enslaved for the rest of his life in place of Binyamin. He is ready to give up his life for his half-brother, and to spare his father anguish. He is prepared to accept full justice - measure for measure - for selling Yosef to Egypt, and to become - in place of Yosef and Binyamin - a slave there forever. NOW YOSEF WEEPS FOR THE THIRD TIME. This weeping - the hardest and the longest - is where he reveals his identity to his brothers. Here, finally, it is not only "sheaves" that are bowing before him - men seeking food - but shining stars, brothers who have taken the path of "tikkun."

[6] Chazal or Ḥazal (Hebrew: חז״ל), an acronym for the Hebrew "Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha" (חכמינו זכרונם לברכה‎, "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"), refers to all Jewish sages of the Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud eras, spanning from the times of the final 300 years of the Second Temple of Jerusalem until the 7th century CE, or c. 250 BCE – c. 625 CE.

[8] Tanchuma, Vayigash 10 - The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, explains that the Jewish people are called Tzion by virtue of their study of Jewish texts and fulfillment of G‑d’s commandments. This causes them to be distinguished, or marked, for their uniqueness. As it states in Jewish law, “When a physical object has a sign, a marking, should it be lost, the sign enables it to be returned to its owners.”

[13] AKA New Testament– it is neither new, nor a testament.

[14] The age at which Yosef was sold is 17. The Mispar Katan is Eight, alluding to the eight days of Chanukah.

[15] Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer [ed. Higger], chaps. 35, 37; Midrash Aggadah [ed. Buber], Gen. 41:45

[19] There were 630,000 Jews in Eretz Israel in 1948.

[26] Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer [ed. Higger], chaps. 35, 37; Midrash Aggadah [ed. Buber], Gen. 41:45

[27] Kadamer, Sefer Sippurim Noraim, pp. 9a-b,10b

[29] The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch, With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, By J. W. Etheridge, M.A.

[31] The precursor of the Messiah ben David, the herald of the true Messianic age.

[39] Identified in Gen. R. XLIII with Melchizedek. [MS.M. reads: Melchizedek. He represented the best type of Monotheist of the non-Jewish race].

[42] Zech. II, 4, Which shows that it refers to enemies of Israel.

[44] Zech. ibid., which shows that the ‘horns’ refer to the enemies of Israel and not to the craftsmen.

[45] He admitted defeat at the hands of an expert in homiletics.

[48] V.J.E., art. Melchizedek.

(3) Lit., the priest anointed for war’, an expression originally applied to the priest who accompanied the troops. Cf. Suk. 52a, where instead of ' War Messiah ' we have ' Messiah son of Yosef’. The two are probably identical, Messiah the son of Yosef being regarded as the forerunner of the Messiah during the wars that will precede his advent.

[51] I.e. the land of Israel. Lit. ' Shafts of famine will be launched against it.’

[52] Lit., scarcity and no scarcity, plenty and no plenty.,

[55] A district S. of Jerusalem, inhabited by Idumeans.

[57] Y.K.: The few remaining men of truth will find it impossible to live in the great cities filled with falsehood, and so will remove to the wilderness. It may also mean that there will be so many conflicting opinions as to what is the truth as to render it, for all practical purposes, inaccessible.

[60] After the period of taunting (the Hebrew denotes blasphemy) comes the time for blessing God--the Messianic era.

[62] BT Berachot 60a; Tanchuma [ed. Buber], Va-Yetze 19

[63] Genesis Rabbah 76:9; Tanchuma [ed. Buber], Vayishlach 19

[65] This section is from a shiur by Rabbi David Fohrman

Mashiach ben Yosef	Yosef
Mashiach ben Yosef was the firstborn of HaShem’s beloved Israel who is likened to a bride.	Yosef HaTzadik was the firstborn of Yaaqov’s beloved Rachel.

Mashiach ben Yosef’s life begins and ends with prophecy.	Yosef HaTzadik’s life, as depicted in Torah, begins and ends with prophetic dreams.

Mashiach ben Yosef, in his first coming, serves his father and brothers for 37 (33) years before His death. (According to most estimates)	Yosef serves his Father (Israel) and his brothers for 17 years. Bereshit 37:2 [14]

Marqos 14:62 And Yeshua said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.	Bereshit 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

HaShem saw spiritual greatness and the continuity of the Jewish people in Mashiach ben Yosef.	Yaaqov saw spiritual greatness and the continuity of the Patriarchs in Yosef.

Mashiach ben Yosef was united with his brothers through the agency of the angel Gavriel.	Yosef HaTzadik was united with his brothers through the agency of the angel Gavriel.

Hated by His "brothers". *Yochanan (John) 15:25*	Hated by his brothers. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:4*

Brought a bad report about his brothers. *Matityahu (Matthew) 12:30-37*	Brought a bad report about his brothers. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:2*

Loved by his father more than his brothers. *Matityahu (Matthew) 3:17*	Loved by his father more than his brothers. Bereshit (Genesis) 37:3

He was a shepherd. *Yochanan (John) 10:11*	He was a shepherd. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:2*

He was called the King of the Jews *Matityahu (Matthew) 27:37*	He said he would be king *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:9-10*

He was sent by His Father (HaShem) to check on his brothers. *Matityahu (Matthew) 15:24*	He was sent by his father (Yaakov) to check on his brothers. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:14*

"Brothers" plotted to kill Him. *Matityahu (Matthew) 12:14*	Brothers plotted to kill him. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:20*

His disciples had him buried in a “pit”.	His brothers had Yosef “buried” in a pit.

Yeshua did not utter a word to the judges when they judged him.	Yosef did not utter a word to his brothers when they sold him.

Mashiach ben Yosef’s pleas were ignored. *Matityahu 26:42*	Yosef’s pleas for help were ignored. *Bereshit 42:21*

His people ate a meal while He was in the pit (Pesach). *Yochanan (John) 13:1*	Brothers ate a meal while he was in the pit. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:25*

He died doing His Father's will. *Matityahu (Matthew) 26:42*	"Died" doing his father's will. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:23-24*

Judas sold Him to the Romans for 30 silver pieces. *Matityahu (Matthew) 26:16*	His brothers sold him. The coat of many colors dipped in blood and given with a lie to his father. Wild animals killed him. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:28* – Yaaqov’s sons are likened to wild animals in Bereshit 49.

Some Jews worked to save Mashiach ben Yosef’s life, believing Him to be innocent.	Yehudah worked to save Yosef’s life, believing him to be innocent.

His robe was covered with blood. *Marqos (Mark) 15:17*	His robe was covered with blood. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:31*

Marqos 14:47 And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.	The firstborn sought to rescue Yosef (Bereshit 37:21-22)

Mashiach ben Yosef, in his first coming, dies at the hands of His brothers and is thrown into a pit. Matityahu 27:60	Yosef is thrown into a dual pit by his brothers. Bereshit 37:24

His empty pit caused concern. *Matityahu (Matthew) 28:8*	The empty pit caused Reuben concern. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:29*

Came out of the grave alive. *Marqos (Mark) 16:11*	Came out of the pit alive. *Bereshit (Genesis) 37:28*

Met the spice bearers (Miryams). Mashiach ben Yosef is taken out of the tomb and wrapped in spices. Marqos (Mark) 16:1, Yochanan (John) 20:15	Met the spice bearers (Ishmaelites). Yosef is drawn out of the pit and taken by a spice caravan to Egypt. Bereshit 37:25

Mashiach ben Yosef went down to Egypt as a youth.	Yosef went down to Egypt as a youth.

Did not get His kingdom right away.	Did not get his kingdom right away.

His disciples came to search for Him.	His brothers came to search for him.

His disciples did not recognize him.	His brothers did not recognize Him.

Began His ministry at 30. *Luqas (Luke) 3:23*	Began his ministry at 30. *Bereshit (Genesis) 41:46*

Yosef was brought out of the pit and prison to be exalted to the Pharaoh's right hand: Bereshit (Genesis) 40:39-41 Then Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” So Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Yosef's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as His second in command.	Yeshua was brought out from the pit after death and exalted to the Father's right hand: Philippians 2:8-11 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Yeshua Mashiach is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Ate a meal with His disciples after the pit. *Marqos 16:14*	Ate a meal with his brother’s after the pit. *Bereshit 43:25*

*II Luqas 2:4* And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.	*Sotah 33a* a Master has declared: Gabriel came and taught [Yosef] the seventy languages.

*Yeremyahu 23:3* And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.	*Bereshit 46:7* (Yaaqov) His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

The bride of Mashiach is Israel, but many believe her to be the Christian goyim.	Yosef married a woman who was thought to be a goy who was in reality a grand-daughter of Yaaqov. Bereshit 41: 50 And unto Yosef were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath (Dinah’s daughter[15]) the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.

Yeshua was not recognized after He was raised from the pit.	Yosef was not recognized after he was raised from the pit.

Yeshua	Yosef
Preached HaShem's word in prison. 1 Tsefet (Peter) 3:19	Preached HaShem's word in prison. *Bereshit (Genesis) 40:1-13*
Reigned at the right hand of God. Matityahu (Matthew) 26:54	Reigned at the right hand of Pharaoh. Bereshit (Genesis) 41:39-40
Was a servant before He was the King. Matityahu (Matthew) 12:15-18	Was a slave before he became king. Bereshit (Genesis) 39:1-2
Provided food for His "brothers". Marqos (Mark) 8:1-8	Provided food for his brothers. Bereshit (Genesis) 47:12-13
Was drawn out of the pit by The Supreme Ruler. II Luqas (Acts) 13:32-33	Was drawn out of the pit by the supreme ruler. *Bereshit (Genesis) 41:14*
He will be the King of the Jews. Marqos (Mark) 15:1-12	He was the first king of the Jews. Bereshit (Genesis) 47:12-13
Mashiach ben Yosef, in his second coming, will serve the Gentiles who will see that they are blessed because of him.	Yosef serves the Gentiles and their priest for 13 years.
Mashiach ben David will give the Gentiles as an inheritance to His brothers.	Yosef enslaves the Egyptians and they serve him for food.
Mashiach ben David will reveals Himself only to His brothers.	Yosef reveals himself ONLY to his brothers.
Mashiach ben David will gather is all the outcasts of Israel and settle them in their land (Israel).	Yosef gathers all of Israel and his descendants and settles them in Goshen.

In Egypt	In Persia
We see that the kingdoms of Pharaoh and Achashverosh are organized in a similar fashion. In Mikeitz (41:34-47), the Torah states, “VeYafkeid Pekidim Al HaAretz…VeYikbetzu Et Kol Ochel HaShanim HaTovot...Vayitav HaDavar BeEinei Faroh UVeEinei Kol Avadav,” “Let [Pharaoh] appoint officers over the land...and let them gather all of the food from the good years...and the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all of his servants.”	The language that Megillat Esther uses is very similar: “VeYafkeid HaMelech Pekidim…VeYikbetzu Et Kol Na’arah Betulah…Vayitav HaDavar BeEinei HaMelech,” “Let the King appoint officers...that they may gather all virgins...and the thing was good in the eyes of the King” (2:3-4). This sets an expectation that the Jews will be treated in a similar manner in both episodes.
The backgrounds for the experiences of both Yosef in Egypt and the Jews in Persia are also presented in a similar manner. In Mikeitz (42:29), the Torah states: “VaYavo’u El Yaakov Avihem…Vayagidu Lo Et HaKorot Otam,” “And they came to Yaakov their father...and told him all that had befallen them.”	We note a parallel text in Megillat Esther (4:7): “Vayaged Lo Mordechai Eit Kol Asher Karahu,” “And Mordechai told [Esther, through Hatach,] all that had happened to him.”
Yosef HaTzadik steels himself against expected emotional adversity when he provides food for his brothers, but before he reveals himself to them, “Vayirchatz Panav, Vayeitzei Vayit’apak,” “And he washed his face, and he went out and restrained himself” (43:31). A similar word is used when Yosef feels himself unable to control his emotions: “VeLo Yachol Yosef LeHit’apeik LeChol HaNitzavim Alav,” “And Yosef could not restrain himself before all that stood by him.”	The Torah uses parallel wording to describe the emotions of Haman (Esther 5:10): “Vayit’apak Haman Vayavo El Beito,” “Haman restrained himself and returned to his home.”
Achashveirosh honors Mordechai in a manner almost identical to the way in which Pharaoh honors Yosef. Mikeitz 41:42-43 discusses the latter: “Vayalbeish Oto Bigdei Sheish Vayasem Revid HaZahav Al Tzavaro, Vayarkeiv Oto BeMirkevet HaMishneh Asher Lo Vayikre’u Lefanav…,” ”… And [Pharaoh] arrayed [Yosef] in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he made him ride in his secondary chariot, and they proclaimed before him...”	Regarding the honor of Mordechai, Megillat Esther states (6:8-11), “Yavi’u Levush Malchut Asher Lavash Bo HaMelech VeSus Asher Rachav Alav HaMelech…VeHirkivuhu Al HaSus BiRchov HaIr VeKar’u Lefanav,” ”Let the royal apparel be brought which the King has worn, and the horse that the King rides upon…and bring [Mordechai] on horseback through the streets of the city, and proclaim before him...”
Even a small detail, the king’s ring and seal of authority, is found in both Parshat Mikeitz and Megillat Esther. In Mikeitz, we see that “Vayasar Paroh Et Tabato Mei’al Yado Vayitein Otah Al Yad Yosef,” “Pharaoh took off the ring that was on his hand and put it on the hand of Yosef.”	The same occurs with Mordechai in Megillat Esther (8:2): “Yayasar HaMelech Et Tabato Asher He’evir MeiHaman Vayitnah LeMordechai,” “And the King took off the ring that he had given to Haman and gave it to Mordechai.”

Clearly, then, the experiences of Mordechai and the Jews of Persia are related to the experiences of Yosef and his brothers in Egypt.

Yosef’s Story	The Symbols	The Meaning	Messiah’s Story
Genesis 37:2 This is the account of Jacob. Yosef, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.	Jacob = Israel Yoseph = “Let Him add” – A symbol of Messiah Flocks: sheep = Jews, goats = Gentiles Brothers = Jews. Bilhah = Timid Zilpah = To trickle, as myrrh 17 = 7+10. Israel lived in Egypt (the world) for 17 years. The seventh prime number. The perfection of spiritual order. Father = HaShem	This is the account of Israel. Yeshua, a young man “the perfection of spiritual order”, was tending His people with his Jewish brothers, the sons of the “timid one” and the sons of “the one who trickles”, Hashem’s wives, and He brought Hashem a bad report about them.	Luke 20:9-16 He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.' "But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!"
Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Yosef more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.	Israel = “He will rule as God”. Robe = cover Richly Ornamented = The palm of the hand or the sole of the feet.	Now HaShem loved Messiah more than any of His other sons, because he had been born to Him in His old age, and HaShem made Yeshua a cover for his palms and feet.	Mark 9:7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"
Genesis 37:4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.	Speak = arrange Kind = Shalom = Peace.	When the Jews saw that Hashem loved Yeshua more than any of them, they hated Yeshua and could not arrange peace with Yeshua.	John 15:18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

	Akeida	Yosef
Test – begins with ‘hineni’.	Bereshit (Genesis) 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him: 'Abraham'; and he said: 'Here am I.'	Bereshit (Genesis) 37:13 And Israel said unto Joseph: 'Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them.' And he said to him: 'Here am I.'

Introduction

Overview

Meshichim - Two Messiahs

Mashiach ben Yosef vs. Yosef

General Comparisons