Are you sick and tired of majority holidays like Festivus too? Do you wish there were something more spontaneous, more real, more spiritual? You are in luck. Oh boy.
Click here:
http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/2007/01/today-is-link-to-jack-day.html
Or, if you're feeling lucky, here:
http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/
And have a happy LTJ day. Or not. It's up to you.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
RASHI'S PUCKISH SENSE OF HUMOUR
Either Rashi had a dry wit, or he was the Jerry Springer of his age.
You doubt?
Let me show you, by encapsulating Rashi's explicata of part of the Yosef cycle.
Shechem rapes Dinah, who then has a bastard that Yakov flings from the tent with a note pinned to her neck. Who is then whisked off to Egypt, to be adopted by a gay gourmand who has purchased her uncle Yosef to use as a catamite.
When the gay gourmand's bored wife tries to get "some", the crap hits the fan and Yosef is locked away for assault. He spends twelve years in jail.
Meanwhile, his brothers marry their sisters and have kids, except for Yehudah who has an affair with the still zesty widow of his two no-goodnik sons (who both died under mysterious circumstances - yeah, right!).
Then, a miracle. Half of the trailer park goes to Egypt to find something to snarf.
At this point Yosef has been released, because Pharaoh took a liking to him and set him up in style. The gay gourmand has become a eunuch and joined the priesthood. And Yosef has married the gay gourmand eunuch priest's adoptive daughter, who is actually his niece! Which the family takes as fabulous news, and they promptly move to a new trailer park. Except for most of the women, who have died. Or they stayed behind in Canaan, but Rashi says they died. Shoyn.
A while later, Yochebed, another one of Yosef's female relatives and contemporaries, gives birth at one hundred and thirty years of age (surely a record, as not even Sarah immaeinu managed to get big with seed so late in the game). The father is her younger cousin, in case you were wondering.
By this time, in imitation of rabbits, the family has outgrown the trailerpark. And despite being in their hundreds of thousands, and the huge number of births, they only have two midwives - Rashi alleges because they were like animals (lions, asses, sheep, whatever - he fails to mention rabbits).
When they finally hear of some new digs there will be over three million of them. After barely more than two centuries of (wait for it!) inbreeding!
Look, if Rashi could tell that story with a straight face, he must have been the life of the party. No wonder he was a successful wine merchant. Either that, or he was trying to force his listeners and readers to think, to take issue. He wanted to see which ones were paying attention, and which ones were asleep at their shtenders.
Which is much more believable than the assumption that so sharp a scholar took midrash as the unvarnished truth.
You doubt?
Let me show you, by encapsulating Rashi's explicata of part of the Yosef cycle.
Shechem rapes Dinah, who then has a bastard that Yakov flings from the tent with a note pinned to her neck. Who is then whisked off to Egypt, to be adopted by a gay gourmand who has purchased her uncle Yosef to use as a catamite.
When the gay gourmand's bored wife tries to get "some", the crap hits the fan and Yosef is locked away for assault. He spends twelve years in jail.
Meanwhile, his brothers marry their sisters and have kids, except for Yehudah who has an affair with the still zesty widow of his two no-goodnik sons (who both died under mysterious circumstances - yeah, right!).
Then, a miracle. Half of the trailer park goes to Egypt to find something to snarf.
At this point Yosef has been released, because Pharaoh took a liking to him and set him up in style. The gay gourmand has become a eunuch and joined the priesthood. And Yosef has married the gay gourmand eunuch priest's adoptive daughter, who is actually his niece! Which the family takes as fabulous news, and they promptly move to a new trailer park. Except for most of the women, who have died. Or they stayed behind in Canaan, but Rashi says they died. Shoyn.
A while later, Yochebed, another one of Yosef's female relatives and contemporaries, gives birth at one hundred and thirty years of age (surely a record, as not even Sarah immaeinu managed to get big with seed so late in the game). The father is her younger cousin, in case you were wondering.
By this time, in imitation of rabbits, the family has outgrown the trailerpark. And despite being in their hundreds of thousands, and the huge number of births, they only have two midwives - Rashi alleges because they were like animals (lions, asses, sheep, whatever - he fails to mention rabbits).
When they finally hear of some new digs there will be over three million of them. After barely more than two centuries of (wait for it!) inbreeding!
Look, if Rashi could tell that story with a straight face, he must have been the life of the party. No wonder he was a successful wine merchant. Either that, or he was trying to force his listeners and readers to think, to take issue. He wanted to see which ones were paying attention, and which ones were asleep at their shtenders.
Which is much more believable than the assumption that so sharp a scholar took midrash as the unvarnished truth.
EVANGELICAL EXCESS IN THE MILITARY -- MIKEY WEINSTEIN INTERVIEW ABOUT FUNDAMENTALIST ATTACK ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
One of the blogs I regularly read ('melech hagawblinim') alerted me to an interview with Mikey Weinstein about evangelical excess in the US military.
The interview is here:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/12/13/weinstein/index.html
Now, you may be asking why you should take time out from your busy schedule to read it - after all, it is a good thing that our soldiers have a faith to succour them when the shells are coming right at them, isn't it?
ONE WORD: EVANGELICAL EXCESS.
[Many members of my family served in the military, and on both sides we've been here since well before the civil war. I make mention of this to clarify that I am as American as you, just so you don't go overboard on ad-hominem xenophobia.]
AGAIN: EVANGELICAL EXCESS
Some juicy quotes, to convince you that you should read the interview, and not only read it, but take it to heart, and alert others to it.
1. "We have a virulently dominionist, fundamentalist evangelical Christian element within the Pentagon. They would prefer this to be the "Pentecostalgon," not the Pentagon. That's what they would prefer. They're trying to turn the Pentagon into a frickin' faith-based initiative, and that is not what our military is about. "
2. "...it's also blatantly violative of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and at least as important it's violative of Clause 3, Article 6 of the Constitution -- you don't even have to get into the Bill of Rights -- which states that we will never have a religion test for any position in the federal government, which was brilliantly prescient of our Founding Fathers. "
3. "...like that one person, Catton, whom I knew when I was a kid at the [Air Force] Academy, and he goes, "I share my faith, that's who I am, and let me tell you right now, the hierarchy as an old-fashioned American is that your first duty is to the Lord, second to your family and your third is to your country." That is the exact opposite of what is taught, and for anyone who understands anything about the military, it is always the country first. "
4. "These are Christians being preyed upon by evangelical Christians and being told that you're not Christian enough, therefore you're going to burn in a hell of fire. "
5. "When you have the leadership believing that to be a good soldier, good Marine, good airman or sailor you have to be not just a Christian but the right type of Christian, we're no better than al-Qaida."
If, at this point, your dander ain't up, there's something very wrong with you.
Your dander IS up, isn't it?
Or are you one of those people? You know, those fundamentalist bigot screwball whackjobs all hepped up on your sacred duty to insult everyone else unless they convert to your own brand of self-righteous idiocy.
If you are, please fee free to leave comments - I love reading the rabid spew of your type, and ripping you apart (I admit it, I like a cheap dirty battle of wits with unarmed people, I'm kinda vicious that way).
The interview is here:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/12/13/weinstein/index.html
Now, you may be asking why you should take time out from your busy schedule to read it - after all, it is a good thing that our soldiers have a faith to succour them when the shells are coming right at them, isn't it?
ONE WORD: EVANGELICAL EXCESS.
[Many members of my family served in the military, and on both sides we've been here since well before the civil war. I make mention of this to clarify that I am as American as you, just so you don't go overboard on ad-hominem xenophobia.]
AGAIN: EVANGELICAL EXCESS
Some juicy quotes, to convince you that you should read the interview, and not only read it, but take it to heart, and alert others to it.
1. "We have a virulently dominionist, fundamentalist evangelical Christian element within the Pentagon. They would prefer this to be the "Pentecostalgon," not the Pentagon. That's what they would prefer. They're trying to turn the Pentagon into a frickin' faith-based initiative, and that is not what our military is about. "
2. "...it's also blatantly violative of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and at least as important it's violative of Clause 3, Article 6 of the Constitution -- you don't even have to get into the Bill of Rights -- which states that we will never have a religion test for any position in the federal government, which was brilliantly prescient of our Founding Fathers. "
3. "...like that one person, Catton, whom I knew when I was a kid at the [Air Force] Academy, and he goes, "I share my faith, that's who I am, and let me tell you right now, the hierarchy as an old-fashioned American is that your first duty is to the Lord, second to your family and your third is to your country." That is the exact opposite of what is taught, and for anyone who understands anything about the military, it is always the country first. "
4. "These are Christians being preyed upon by evangelical Christians and being told that you're not Christian enough, therefore you're going to burn in a hell of fire. "
5. "When you have the leadership believing that to be a good soldier, good Marine, good airman or sailor you have to be not just a Christian but the right type of Christian, we're no better than al-Qaida."
If, at this point, your dander ain't up, there's something very wrong with you.
Your dander IS up, isn't it?
Or are you one of those people? You know, those fundamentalist bigot screwball whackjobs all hepped up on your sacred duty to insult everyone else unless they convert to your own brand of self-righteous idiocy.
If you are, please fee free to leave comments - I love reading the rabid spew of your type, and ripping you apart (I admit it, I like a cheap dirty battle of wits with unarmed people, I'm kinda vicious that way).
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
RABBI PINKY SCHMECKELSTEIN
Tayere Rabbosai,
It is with distinct pleasure that I announce a new addition to the blogoilam.
Rabbi Pinky Schmeckelstein, Shlita und soll sein shtark und gazunt, has a blog which can be visited here:
http://rabbi-pinky.blogspot.com/
I highly recommend it. Leave comments. Ask kashes. Search for knowledge. You will be better for it. You should only be so smart. And handsome too. That's an order.
Of course you can also still visit the Yeshiva at: http://www.geocities.com/npoj8/index.html
[And if you do, be sure to also delve into the writings of the RABAM (here: http://www.geocities.com/npoj8/RABAM_Section.html). ]
Fittingly, Harav Schmeckelstein starts off with a mefarsh on Parshas Shmois. Which it this week the reading of is. Print it out, and share it with all of your friends in shul. Share it with the rov of your school, and increase his lomdus. It's a mitzva.
It is with distinct pleasure that I announce a new addition to the blogoilam.
Rabbi Pinky Schmeckelstein, Shlita und soll sein shtark und gazunt, has a blog which can be visited here:
http://rabbi-pinky.blogspot.com/
I highly recommend it. Leave comments. Ask kashes. Search for knowledge. You will be better for it. You should only be so smart. And handsome too. That's an order.
Of course you can also still visit the Yeshiva at: http://www.geocities.com/npoj8/index.html
[And if you do, be sure to also delve into the writings of the RABAM (here: http://www.geocities.com/npoj8/RABAM_Section.html). ]
Fittingly, Harav Schmeckelstein starts off with a mefarsh on Parshas Shmois. Which it this week the reading of is. Print it out, and share it with all of your friends in shul. Share it with the rov of your school, and increase his lomdus. It's a mitzva.
BOYCOTT ISRAEL - BOYCOTT ISRAEL - BOYCOTT ISRAEL - BFBFBBRRRRPFF!!!
Shoshi on the JROD list drew my attention to a blogposting called "how to Properly Boycott Israeli Products (here: http://israeliproducts.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-properly-boycott-israeli.html and http://israeliproducts.blogspot.com/ ).
It appears to be a one-shot posting by an otherwise far from prolific writer.
But I liked it so much that I'm copy-pasting it in its entirety below. I really think that you should read it, and most especially I encourage you to go to the blog in question (again, here: http://israeliproducts.blogspot.com/ ) to add your comment.
Encourage him to write more, in addition to letting him know what other useful products are made in Israel (which, if included in the boycott, would shoot the boycottmorons in their collective foot).
So here it is. Enjoy.
-------------------
How To Properly Boycott Israeli Products
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
"OK. So I understand that you are ticked off at Israel, and in love with the Palestinians. That's fine with me, as long as you have truly weighed up all the facts.
So, you want to boycott Israel? I'll be sorry to miss you, but if you are doing it - do it properly. Let me help you.
Check all your medications. Make sure that you do not have tablets, drops, lotions, etc., made by Abic or Teva. It may mean that you will suffer from colds and flu this winter but, hey, that's a small price for you to pay in your campaign against Israel, isn't it?
While we are on the subject of your Israeli boycott, and the medical contributions to the world made by Israeli doctors and scientists, how about telling your pals to boycott the following.....
An Israeli company has developed a simple blood test that distinguishes between mild and more severe cases of Multiple Sclerosis. So, if you know anyone suffering from MS, tell them to ignore the Israeli patent that may, more accurately, diagnose their symptoms.
An Israeli-made device helps restore the use of paralyzed hands. This device electrically stimulates the hand muscles, providing hope to millions of stroke sufferers and victims of spinal injuries. If you wish to remove this hope of a better quality of life to these people, go ahead and boycott Israel.
Young children with breathing problems will soon be sleeping more soundly, thanks to a new Israeli device called the Child Hood. This innovation replaces the inhalation mask with an improved drug delivery system that provides relief for child and parent. Please tell anxious mothers that they shouldn't use this device because of your passionate cause.
These are just a few examples of how people have benefited medically from the Israeli know-how you wish to block. Boycotts often affect research. A new research center in Israel hopes to throw light on brain disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. The Joseph Sangol Neuroscience Center in the Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer Hospital, aims to bring thousands of scientists and doctors to focus on brain research.
A researcher at Israel's Ben Gurion University has succeeded in creating human monoclonal antibodies which can neutralize the highly contagious smallpox virus without inducing the dangerous side effects of the existing vaccine.
Two Israelis received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Doctors Ciechanover and Hershko's research and discovery of one of the human cells most important cyclical processes will lead the way to DNA repair, control of newly produced proteins, and immune defense systems.
The Movement Disorder Surgery program at Israel's Hadassah Medical Center has successfully eliminated the physical manifestations of Parkinson's disease in a select group of patients with a deep brain stimulation technique. For women who undergo hysterectomies each year for the treatment of uterine fibroids, the development in Israel of the Ex Ablate 2000 System is a welcome breakthrough, offering a noninvasive alternative to surgery.
Israel is developing a nose drop that will provide a five year flu vaccine. These are just a few of the projects that you can help stop with your Israeli boycott.
But let's not get too obsessed with my ducal research, there are other ways you can make a personal sacrifice with your anti-Israel boycott. Most of Windows operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel. So, set a personal example. Throw away your computer!
Computers should have a sign attached saying Israel Inside. The Pentium NMX Chip technology was designed at Intel in Israel. Both the Pentium 4 microprocessor and the Centrum processor were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 in Israel by four young Israeli whiz kids.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R. & D. facilities outside the US in Israel. So, due to your complete boycott of anything Israeli, you now have poor health and no computer. But your bad news does not end there. Get rid of your cellular phone.
Cell phone technology was also developed in Israel by MOTOROLA which has its biggest development center in Israel. Most of the latest technology in your mobile phone was developed by Israeli scientists.
Feeling unsettled? You should be. Part of your personal security rests with Israeli inventiveness, borne out of our urgent necessity to protect and defend our lives from the terrorists you support.
A phone can remotely activate a bomb, or be used for tactical communications by terrorists, bank robbers, or hostage-takers. It is vital that official security and law enforcement authorities have access to cellular jamming and detection solutions. Enter Israel's Net line Communications Technologies with their security expertise to help the fight against terror.
SO ALL THE NOISE ABOUT THE USA LISTENING TO OUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE CALLS, YOU SHOULD KNOW IT IS ISRAEL WHO IS DOING THE LISTENING FOR US.
A joint, nonprofit, venture between Israel and Maryland will result in a 5 day Business Development and Planning Conference next March. Elected Israeli companies will partner with Maryland firms to provide innovation to the US need for homeland security.
I also want you to know that Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita - 109 per 10,000 - than any other nation.
Israel has the highest number of startup companies per rata. In absolute terms, the highest number, except the US. Israel has ratio of patents filed. Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies outside of Silicon Valley. Israel is ranked 2 in the world for venture capital funds, behind the USA. Israel has more museums per capita. Israel has the second highest publication of new books per capita.
Relative to population, Israel is the largest immigrant absorbing nation on earth. These immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom or expression, economic opportunity, and quality of life.
Believe it or not, Israel is the only country in the world which had a net gain in the number of trees last year. Even Warren Buffet of Berkshire-Hathaway fame has just invested millions with Israeli Companies.
So, you can vilify and demonize the State of Israel. You can continue your silly boycott, if you wish. But I wish you would consider the consequences, and the truth.
Think of the massive contribution that Israel is giving to the world, including the Palestinians - and to you - in science, medicine, Communications, security. Pro rata for population we are making a greater contribution than any other nation on earth.
We can't be all bad.....
-------------------------------------------------
I should point out that West-Europeans who wish to boycott Israel really need to look at where their retirement and healthcare funds are entrusted, which is usually with American companies and portfolios, most of whom are also invested in Israel. So if you are serious about the boycott, please send your unemployment cheque, socialized medicine payout, or any other money you receive as a benefit of being citizens of European countries right back to your government, with a note saying that you cannot accept it. Remember, the guilt of benefiting in any way from Israel eats at you, and tars you permanently.
As does, in mitten drinnen, the guilt of benefiting from America's overseas involvements - all of Europe is parasitically profiting along with that enterprise.
You're already smarmy pustules, you wouldn't want to be hypocrites to boot, would you?
It appears to be a one-shot posting by an otherwise far from prolific writer.
But I liked it so much that I'm copy-pasting it in its entirety below. I really think that you should read it, and most especially I encourage you to go to the blog in question (again, here: http://israeliproducts.blogspot.com/ ) to add your comment.
Encourage him to write more, in addition to letting him know what other useful products are made in Israel (which, if included in the boycott, would shoot the boycottmorons in their collective foot).
So here it is. Enjoy.
-------------------
How To Properly Boycott Israeli Products
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
"OK. So I understand that you are ticked off at Israel, and in love with the Palestinians. That's fine with me, as long as you have truly weighed up all the facts.
So, you want to boycott Israel? I'll be sorry to miss you, but if you are doing it - do it properly. Let me help you.
Check all your medications. Make sure that you do not have tablets, drops, lotions, etc., made by Abic or Teva. It may mean that you will suffer from colds and flu this winter but, hey, that's a small price for you to pay in your campaign against Israel, isn't it?
While we are on the subject of your Israeli boycott, and the medical contributions to the world made by Israeli doctors and scientists, how about telling your pals to boycott the following.....
An Israeli company has developed a simple blood test that distinguishes between mild and more severe cases of Multiple Sclerosis. So, if you know anyone suffering from MS, tell them to ignore the Israeli patent that may, more accurately, diagnose their symptoms.
An Israeli-made device helps restore the use of paralyzed hands. This device electrically stimulates the hand muscles, providing hope to millions of stroke sufferers and victims of spinal injuries. If you wish to remove this hope of a better quality of life to these people, go ahead and boycott Israel.
Young children with breathing problems will soon be sleeping more soundly, thanks to a new Israeli device called the Child Hood. This innovation replaces the inhalation mask with an improved drug delivery system that provides relief for child and parent. Please tell anxious mothers that they shouldn't use this device because of your passionate cause.
These are just a few examples of how people have benefited medically from the Israeli know-how you wish to block. Boycotts often affect research. A new research center in Israel hopes to throw light on brain disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. The Joseph Sangol Neuroscience Center in the Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer Hospital, aims to bring thousands of scientists and doctors to focus on brain research.
A researcher at Israel's Ben Gurion University has succeeded in creating human monoclonal antibodies which can neutralize the highly contagious smallpox virus without inducing the dangerous side effects of the existing vaccine.
Two Israelis received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Doctors Ciechanover and Hershko's research and discovery of one of the human cells most important cyclical processes will lead the way to DNA repair, control of newly produced proteins, and immune defense systems.
The Movement Disorder Surgery program at Israel's Hadassah Medical Center has successfully eliminated the physical manifestations of Parkinson's disease in a select group of patients with a deep brain stimulation technique. For women who undergo hysterectomies each year for the treatment of uterine fibroids, the development in Israel of the Ex Ablate 2000 System is a welcome breakthrough, offering a noninvasive alternative to surgery.
Israel is developing a nose drop that will provide a five year flu vaccine. These are just a few of the projects that you can help stop with your Israeli boycott.
But let's not get too obsessed with my ducal research, there are other ways you can make a personal sacrifice with your anti-Israel boycott. Most of Windows operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel. So, set a personal example. Throw away your computer!
Computers should have a sign attached saying Israel Inside. The Pentium NMX Chip technology was designed at Intel in Israel. Both the Pentium 4 microprocessor and the Centrum processor were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 in Israel by four young Israeli whiz kids.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R. & D. facilities outside the US in Israel. So, due to your complete boycott of anything Israeli, you now have poor health and no computer. But your bad news does not end there. Get rid of your cellular phone.
Cell phone technology was also developed in Israel by MOTOROLA which has its biggest development center in Israel. Most of the latest technology in your mobile phone was developed by Israeli scientists.
Feeling unsettled? You should be. Part of your personal security rests with Israeli inventiveness, borne out of our urgent necessity to protect and defend our lives from the terrorists you support.
A phone can remotely activate a bomb, or be used for tactical communications by terrorists, bank robbers, or hostage-takers. It is vital that official security and law enforcement authorities have access to cellular jamming and detection solutions. Enter Israel's Net line Communications Technologies with their security expertise to help the fight against terror.
SO ALL THE NOISE ABOUT THE USA LISTENING TO OUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE CALLS, YOU SHOULD KNOW IT IS ISRAEL WHO IS DOING THE LISTENING FOR US.
A joint, nonprofit, venture between Israel and Maryland will result in a 5 day Business Development and Planning Conference next March. Elected Israeli companies will partner with Maryland firms to provide innovation to the US need for homeland security.
I also want you to know that Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita - 109 per 10,000 - than any other nation.
Israel has the highest number of startup companies per rata. In absolute terms, the highest number, except the US. Israel has ratio of patents filed. Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies outside of Silicon Valley. Israel is ranked 2 in the world for venture capital funds, behind the USA. Israel has more museums per capita. Israel has the second highest publication of new books per capita.
Relative to population, Israel is the largest immigrant absorbing nation on earth. These immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom or expression, economic opportunity, and quality of life.
Believe it or not, Israel is the only country in the world which had a net gain in the number of trees last year. Even Warren Buffet of Berkshire-Hathaway fame has just invested millions with Israeli Companies.
So, you can vilify and demonize the State of Israel. You can continue your silly boycott, if you wish. But I wish you would consider the consequences, and the truth.
Think of the massive contribution that Israel is giving to the world, including the Palestinians - and to you - in science, medicine, Communications, security. Pro rata for population we are making a greater contribution than any other nation on earth.
We can't be all bad.....
I should point out that West-Europeans who wish to boycott Israel really need to look at where their retirement and healthcare funds are entrusted, which is usually with American companies and portfolios, most of whom are also invested in Israel. So if you are serious about the boycott, please send your unemployment cheque, socialized medicine payout, or any other money you receive as a benefit of being citizens of European countries right back to your government, with a note saying that you cannot accept it. Remember, the guilt of benefiting in any way from Israel eats at you, and tars you permanently.
As does, in mitten drinnen, the guilt of benefiting from America's overseas involvements - all of Europe is parasitically profiting along with that enterprise.
You're already smarmy pustules, you wouldn't want to be hypocrites to boot, would you?
GET OUT OF IRAQ
A large part of the problem with our attempt to solve Iraq's problems is the incompleteness of our approach - too few men, too few professionals, too few funds, and too many projects, too many loyal Republican flunkies, and too many unrealistic assessments.
As Rabbi Jeremy Rosen put it, our approach is like: "going into a foul smelling room, holding your nose and spraying at arms length ( or getting some poor sanitary worker to do it for you) instead of going in totally and completely and really clearing the place out".
Of course that is a characteristic of much that we do internationally.
But in the case of Iraq, for justifiable reasons many Americans are not behind this adventure, and for unjustifiable reasons the rest of the world got their knickers in a twist over our sheer chutzpah in thinking we could rectify some matters in the Middle-East. In any case, we've made a mess of it, we're not going to commit significantly greater efforts and resources to it, and our European allies will not contribute by word or deed to the rectifying of it.
[We bought it, we broke it, we no longer want it.]
Our nerve, and our arrogance, was in not realizing that the failures in the European approach to Levantine problems could not possibly be due to any European failings.
[Well, we're Americans, so we can't know any better.]
There's also a nasty pattern of world-wide kvetshing and kretshing about whatever we do.
I'm fairly certain that the rest of the world thought the Marshall plan ill-advised.
I know that several commentators criticized our contribution to famine relief in Africa and post-tsunami aid in Asia as not being sufficient - because it did not make everybody happy again, raise the dead, and bring on the Messiah.
Totally cynically, I feel we should get out of Iraq, and let the Syrians, Persians, Turks, and Saudis fight each other directly, rather than continue to provide them with a forum for their proxy war. They hate each other? Good - let them stop paying Baghdadi goon squads to clobber innocents at random, and get themselves directly involved.
Pakistanis, of course, will supply man-power to each fanatical faction - and Pakistan would be the better for being drained of their psychopaths.
As will Europe, when all those coddled Islamic whack-jobs leave the environs of Paris, Antwerp, and Rotterdam.
[The remaining European contribution can then be wailing and the wringing of tiny little hands.]
I would also especially suggest involving the Dutch - they have a strong opinion about everything (which is usually unfavourable at best), they might as well remove that clog and put their money where their mouth is.
[Sanctimony should be added to the list of deadly sins - for which the Dutch can serve as poster boys.]
No matter what the rest of the world does or thinks about Iraq, we should get out and let the place blow up.
There ain't a darn thing wrong with that.
Please feel free to leave disagreeable comments.
As Rabbi Jeremy Rosen put it, our approach is like: "going into a foul smelling room, holding your nose and spraying at arms length ( or getting some poor sanitary worker to do it for you) instead of going in totally and completely and really clearing the place out".
Of course that is a characteristic of much that we do internationally.
But in the case of Iraq, for justifiable reasons many Americans are not behind this adventure, and for unjustifiable reasons the rest of the world got their knickers in a twist over our sheer chutzpah in thinking we could rectify some matters in the Middle-East. In any case, we've made a mess of it, we're not going to commit significantly greater efforts and resources to it, and our European allies will not contribute by word or deed to the rectifying of it.
[We bought it, we broke it, we no longer want it.]
Our nerve, and our arrogance, was in not realizing that the failures in the European approach to Levantine problems could not possibly be due to any European failings.
[Well, we're Americans, so we can't know any better.]
There's also a nasty pattern of world-wide kvetshing and kretshing about whatever we do.
I'm fairly certain that the rest of the world thought the Marshall plan ill-advised.
I know that several commentators criticized our contribution to famine relief in Africa and post-tsunami aid in Asia as not being sufficient - because it did not make everybody happy again, raise the dead, and bring on the Messiah.
Totally cynically, I feel we should get out of Iraq, and let the Syrians, Persians, Turks, and Saudis fight each other directly, rather than continue to provide them with a forum for their proxy war. They hate each other? Good - let them stop paying Baghdadi goon squads to clobber innocents at random, and get themselves directly involved.
Pakistanis, of course, will supply man-power to each fanatical faction - and Pakistan would be the better for being drained of their psychopaths.
As will Europe, when all those coddled Islamic whack-jobs leave the environs of Paris, Antwerp, and Rotterdam.
[The remaining European contribution can then be wailing and the wringing of tiny little hands.]
I would also especially suggest involving the Dutch - they have a strong opinion about everything (which is usually unfavourable at best), they might as well remove that clog and put their money where their mouth is.
[Sanctimony should be added to the list of deadly sins - for which the Dutch can serve as poster boys.]
No matter what the rest of the world does or thinks about Iraq, we should get out and let the place blow up.
There ain't a darn thing wrong with that.
Please feel free to leave disagreeable comments.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
SOMALI AIR ATTACK
Dear readers,
The following post is directed specifically towards Dutch readers. It is a reaction to the utterly vile garbage that many Dutch write on the internet, when they think that we Americans are too stupid to understand them. If you are not one of those people, please ignore this post. I mean you no harm. If, on the other hand, you belong to the majority of Dutch, you are richly deserving of opprobrium, and I wish you ill. As the text below will make clear.
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OVER SOMALISCHE DOOIEN
Beste luitjes,
Aan de Nederlandsch-talige reacties op het internet te lezen heeft het oer-euvele Amerika weer eens iets snoods gedaan, en vrome Nederlanders benne weer eens woest verontwaardigd jegens dat jenkie-tuig.
Men hoeft niet eens een afwachtende houding over feitelijkheden aan te nemen -- eenieder weet gewoonweg dat die vuile Amerinazis volslagen verkeerd zijn, zoals altijd. Dus moet men dit meteen luidkeels veroordelen, voor die psychopatische trailertrashlui denken dat ze dit zomaar kunnen doen.
Klopt dat?
Is dat ongeveer hoe men daar in P'tata over ons recente bombardement denkt?
Gelieve het uw antwoord in het Duits of het Russisch te schrijven.
[Niet omdat ulieden alleen die talen zouden spreken ware het niet voor de Amerikaansche inmenging in de Europeesche oorlog zes decenia terug, immers het waren niet ons maar de Canadezen die u van de Duitsers bevrijdden (en zoals ieder weet was de Marshall plan ook iets Canadees), maar juist omdat ulieden reeds jaren lang sympathisanten van iedereen zijt geweest die jegens het euvele Amerika streed. Bravo, 'Ollanders, bravo!]
Met weelderige groeten, vooral aan de socialisten en NSBers onder u allen,
---B.O.T.H.
PS. I: Dit is alleen aan de ontzettend Nederlandsachtigen onder ulieden gericht. Zo ge zelfs een beetje beter geinformeerd bent (en dus van teveel kaas-smet vrij) zult u wellicht realizeren dat ik hier gewoon de plattelands en kinkelsche types aanspreek - met woede op het ongeinformeerd venijn dat ik dagelijks van uw schrijvende Neanderthalers op het internet lezen mag. Het is dus niet aan u gericht, maar eerder aan die dronkelap die dees ochtend vroeg tegenover uw slaapkamer aan het kotsen was en u verontwaardigd uitschold toen u beleefd vroeg of ie dat niet elders zou kunnen doen.
PS. II: U boft dat men hier nog niet in de gaten heeft wat een stel Amerika-haters en terreur-sympathisanten er in Nederland zijn. Anders zouden wij u ook op imperialistische wijze motten uitmoorden. Zelfs de mensen onder u.
PS. III: Schrijf maar raak. Daar ik als Amerikaan natuurlijk veel te stom en ignorant ben om een andere taal te leren en mij in internationale onderwerpen te verdiepen, zal het mij een raadsel blijven wat ge schrijft, in welke taal dan ook. Voorts kijk ik natuurlijk alleen maar Foxnews, en lees ik alleen de plaatselijke propaganda krantjes. Om over de evenredige en onpartijdige wijsheden van het Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau maar niet te spreken - zelfs nooit van gehoord.
The following post is directed specifically towards Dutch readers. It is a reaction to the utterly vile garbage that many Dutch write on the internet, when they think that we Americans are too stupid to understand them. If you are not one of those people, please ignore this post. I mean you no harm. If, on the other hand, you belong to the majority of Dutch, you are richly deserving of opprobrium, and I wish you ill. As the text below will make clear.
---------------------
OVER SOMALISCHE DOOIEN
Beste luitjes,
Aan de Nederlandsch-talige reacties op het internet te lezen heeft het oer-euvele Amerika weer eens iets snoods gedaan, en vrome Nederlanders benne weer eens woest verontwaardigd jegens dat jenkie-tuig.
Men hoeft niet eens een afwachtende houding over feitelijkheden aan te nemen -- eenieder weet gewoonweg dat die vuile Amerinazis volslagen verkeerd zijn, zoals altijd. Dus moet men dit meteen luidkeels veroordelen, voor die psychopatische trailertrashlui denken dat ze dit zomaar kunnen doen.
Klopt dat?
Is dat ongeveer hoe men daar in P'tata over ons recente bombardement denkt?
Gelieve het uw antwoord in het Duits of het Russisch te schrijven.
[Niet omdat ulieden alleen die talen zouden spreken ware het niet voor de Amerikaansche inmenging in de Europeesche oorlog zes decenia terug, immers het waren niet ons maar de Canadezen die u van de Duitsers bevrijdden (en zoals ieder weet was de Marshall plan ook iets Canadees), maar juist omdat ulieden reeds jaren lang sympathisanten van iedereen zijt geweest die jegens het euvele Amerika streed. Bravo, 'Ollanders, bravo!]
Met weelderige groeten, vooral aan de socialisten en NSBers onder u allen,
---B.O.T.H.
PS. I: Dit is alleen aan de ontzettend Nederlandsachtigen onder ulieden gericht. Zo ge zelfs een beetje beter geinformeerd bent (en dus van teveel kaas-smet vrij) zult u wellicht realizeren dat ik hier gewoon de plattelands en kinkelsche types aanspreek - met woede op het ongeinformeerd venijn dat ik dagelijks van uw schrijvende Neanderthalers op het internet lezen mag. Het is dus niet aan u gericht, maar eerder aan die dronkelap die dees ochtend vroeg tegenover uw slaapkamer aan het kotsen was en u verontwaardigd uitschold toen u beleefd vroeg of ie dat niet elders zou kunnen doen.
PS. II: U boft dat men hier nog niet in de gaten heeft wat een stel Amerika-haters en terreur-sympathisanten er in Nederland zijn. Anders zouden wij u ook op imperialistische wijze motten uitmoorden. Zelfs de mensen onder u.
PS. III: Schrijf maar raak. Daar ik als Amerikaan natuurlijk veel te stom en ignorant ben om een andere taal te leren en mij in internationale onderwerpen te verdiepen, zal het mij een raadsel blijven wat ge schrijft, in welke taal dan ook. Voorts kijk ik natuurlijk alleen maar Foxnews, en lees ik alleen de plaatselijke propaganda krantjes. Om over de evenredige en onpartijdige wijsheden van het Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau maar niet te spreken - zelfs nooit van gehoord.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
NOTES ON PARSHAS VAYECHI
[NOTE: Spelling errors have been corrected as of 01:45 PM, Friday January 5th.]
VAYECHI = And he lived
12th. parsha in Bereishis (Genesis) psukim 47:28 - 50:26
1st Aliya: Yakov is already an old man at the beginning of this parsha, being one hundred and forty seven years of age. He calls Yosef and Yosef's sons to him, promising that the sons should each be a tribe. Yakov makes Yosef promise to bury him in Canaan.
Eerste alija: Jakov is reeds een oude man, daar hij aan het begin van deze parsja honderd en zevenenveertig jaren oud is. Hij laat Jozef en diens zonen tot zich komen, de zonen belovend dat zij ieder als stam gerekend zullen worden. Van Jozef eist hij dat na zijn dood hij in Kenaan begraven zal worden.
2nd Aliya: The blessing of Yosef's sons is described, as well as the crossing of the arms by Yakov, thus delivering the blessings other than Yosef had expected. The blessing of hamalach hagoel is also mentioned.
Tweede alija: De zegening van Jozef's zone word beschreven, alzook het kruisen van de armen door Jakov, do zo de twee jongens anders zegent dan hun vader had verwacht. Ook word hamalach hagoel aangehaald.
3rd Aliya: Yakov explains to Yosef that both sons will have different futures as tribes, and both tribes will be great in Israel.
Derde alija: Jakov legt aan Jozef uit hoe verschillend de twee zonen zullen zijn, doch beiden zullen in Israel groot zijn.
4th Aliya: Yakov calls all his sons to come, and describes their differentiation with a view towards different blessings.
Vierde alija: Jakov roept zijn zonen bijeen, en beschrijft hun verschillende eigenschappen teneinde hun op verschillende wijs te zegenen.
5th Aliya: The blessings to each and to all.
Vijfde alija: De zegening aan ieder, en aan allen.
6th Aliya: Yakov repeats the wish that he be buried in Canaan. After his death his body is treated as customary in Egypt, after which the levaya leaves for Canaan. Following these events it transpires that the brothers are concerned that Yosef harbours ill-will, but he reassures them.
Zesde alija: Jakov herhaalt de wens dat hij in Kenaan begraven zal worden. Wanneer hij sterft word zijn lichaam zoals gebruikelijk in Egypte behandeld, waarna de begravenis stoet naar Kenaan vertrekt. Daaropvolgend blijkt dat de broeders zich zorgen maken dat Jozef hun geen goed toejegent vanwege hun voorhene handelingen, maar hij stelt hun gerust.
7th Aliya: Yosef rules for another fifty-four years. He makes the brothers promise to take his remains with them when the Hebrews finally leave Egypt. Yosef dies aged one hundred and ten years.
Zevende alija: Nog vier en vijftig jaren regeert Jozef over Egypte. Hij laat de broeders beloven zijn lichaam mee te nemen wanneer de Hebreeuwen eindelijk Egypte zullen verlaten. Op honderd en tien jarige leeftijd sterft Jozef.
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THE DAYS OF YAKOV: YAKOV CALLS YOSEF AND HIS SONS TO HIM
Psook 47:28
"Vayechi Yaakov beeretz Mitzrayim sheva esre shana vayehi yemei-Yaakov shenei chayav sheva shanim vearbaim umeat shana"And so Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred forty seven years
Seventeen years - the same number of years that Yosef lived with his family before going down to Egypt.
Psook 47:29"Vayikrevu yemei-Yisrael lamut vayikra livno leYosef vayomer lo im-na matzati chen beeineicha sim-na yadcha tachat yerechi veasita imadi chesed veemet al-na tikbereni beMitzrayim"
And the day drew near that Israel had to die, and he called his son Joseph, and said to him 'If now I have found favour in your sight, put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh, and be good and truthful to me - do not bury me in Egypt
Hand under thigh - swearing in the same manner as Eliezer, for not only is this a subservient pose, but one must swear holding (or seeming to hold) something pertaining to a commandment - Yosef's hand is near the 'place of the circumcision'.
Psook 47:30"Veshachavti im-avotai unesatani miMitzrayim ukevartani bikvuratam vayomar anochi ese chidvarecha"But when I sleep with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their tomb - ' And he said: 'I will do as you have told me'
Sleep - which references the day of resurrection, though also a poetic descriptus of death.
Psook 47:31
"Vayomer hishava li vayishava lo vayishtachu Yisrael al-rosh hamita"And he said: 'Swear to me' And he swore to him. And Israel bowed down upon the head of the bed.
Bowed down upon the head of the bed - which is towards the Shechinah.
ADOPTION OF YOSEF'S SONS
Psook 48:3
"Vayomer Yaakov el-Yosef El Shadai nira-elai beLuz beeretz Kenaan vayevarech oti"
And Jacob said to Joseph: 'El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Psook 48:4"Vayomer elai hinni mafrecha vehirbiticha unetaticha likhal amim venatati et-haaretz hazot lezaracha achareicha achuzat olam"
And said to me: Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a community of peoples, and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession
This land to your offspring - a lineage to hold as sanctified inherited treasure, a sacred heirloom. I will give - a future transaction, one which is open-ended and ongoing. It is still being given. It is by assuming their task as caretaker of the land that it becomes theirs, it is their mitzvah when they acknowledge it as a mitzvah.
Psook 48:5"Veata shenei-vaneicha hanoladim lecha beeretz Mitzrayim ad-boi eleicha Mitzraima li-hem Efrayim uMenashe kiRuven veShimon yihyu-li"
And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine
Your two sons ( ) are mine - meaning that he acknowledges them as being fully entitled in the inheritance, countering the impact of their mother's people (an Egyptian priestly house), and co-opts them fully into the clan, despite the foreigness which obscures them.
They are now not merely scenery, but full actors in a way that negates any word to the contrary, despite their shadowy maternal lineage. They are mine, as my own sons, as the subsequent blessing will make clear.
But note that many commentators insist that these two are the grandchildren of Dinah, whose daughter was whisked to Egypt to be adopted by a eunuch priest and then married to her uncle Yosef.
Psook 48:7
"Vaani bevoi miPadan meta alai Rachel beeretz Kenaan baderech beod kivrat-eretz lavo Efrata vaekbereha sham bederech Efrat hiv Beit-lachem"
And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan on the road, a while before coming to Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem'
Rachel died on me - as Yakov was returning to the land. She is buried by the roadside.
Psook 48:8
"Vayar Yisrael et-benei Yosef vayomer mi-ele"
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said: 'Who are these?'
Who are these? From which we might read that he had not seen them before, as Yosef was over all of Egypt, and Yakov and the brothers were settled as herdsmen in Goshen. But also, "who are these that should be blessed?", meaning that he wishes Yosef to formally state that they are his sons. It is not that he disputes their worth, as can be seen from both the preceding and what follows, but that he expects Yosef to speak in the manner of testimony.
Psook 48:12
"Vayotze Yosef otam meim birkav vayishtachu leapav artza"
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and prostrated himself with his face to the earth
And he prostrated - A gesture of respect. But why did he do so? Here Yosef, who is mighty in Egypt, shows himself still humble to Yakov, against whom he willnot and cannot presume upon his status as viceroy. It will be remembered that he gave much to Benyamin at the time when Benyamin was his father's representation among the brothers. But note also that the Beraisos say that the Shechinah was at the head of his father's bed, and thus he prostrates himself fittingly.
SWITCHING HANDS AND DIFFERENTIATED BLESSINGS
Psook 48:13
"Vayikach Yosef et-sheneihem et-Efrayim bimino mismol Yisrael veet-Menashe vismolo mimin Yisrael vayagesh elav"
And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them near to him
In order to guide his father's hands.
Psook 48:14
"Vayishlach Yisrael et-yemino vayashet al-rosh Efrayim vehu hatzair veet-semolo al-rosh Menashe sikel et-yadav ki Menashe habechor"
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and held it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was the first-born
Yakov deliberately countermoves - the order of sons runs counter to his own past, should he by upholding it (the correct order) now seem to prove Esav rightfully the inheritor? Not so. And this is nothing compared to the scene he makes when blessing all of the brothers, as we shall see.
Psook 48:15
"Vayevarech et-Yosef vayomar haElohim asher hithalchu avotai lefanav Avraham veYitzchak haElohim haroe oti meodi ad-hayom haze"
And he blessed Joseph, and said: 'The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
And he blessed Yosef - before moving on to blessing Yosef's sons, to indicate that they are one in Yosef. As we shall see regarding tribal status later.
Psook 48:16
"Hamalach Hagoel oti mikol-ra yevarech et-hanearim veyikare vahem shemi veshem avotai Avraham veYitzchak veyidgu larov bekerev haaretz"
(And) the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in amid the land'
Note: Ha malach, ha goel - the angel, the redeemer. Two separate functions.
And let my name be named in them - because even though they are the result of Yosef living 'over all Egypt', and despite their mother's being of suspect antecedence, they are also members of the clan - full members, not courtesy adoptees. Two portions by themselves, not merely heir to Yosef's portion, and thus by this act safeguarded from any dispute over their rights because of their foreigness. Even if Asnat, their mother, was the daughter of Dinah by the Shechemite rapist, her upbringing in Egypt and illegitimate parentage would cast a shadow over her childrens' rights. But if Asnat is the true daughter of Potifera, then her Egyptianness and connection to idolatrous priests is equally a matter of concern.
This shows a disregard for normal procedure and standard practise; though such disregard in the past has ill-served Yakov (as in his relations with his brother Esav, his marriage to Leah and Rachel, and his favouritism of Yosef and then Benyamin), Yakov's stubborn contrarian insistence here further supports Efraim and Menashe as far as rights within the clan.
And the names of my fathers - excluding Terach and Nachor, for there is no merit attached to those names.
Psook 48:20"Vayevarachem bayom hahu lemor becha yevarech Yisrael lemor yesimcha Elohim keEfrayim vechiMnashe vayasem et-Efrayim lifnei Menashe"
And he blessed them on that day, saying: 'By you shall Israel bless, saying: God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh' And he set Ephraim in front of Manasseh
Note that this is the same format for blessing the sons of the family on shabbes nacht.
Psook 48:21"Vayomer Yisrael el-Yosef hine anochi met vehaya Elohim imachem veheshiv etchem el-eretz avoteichem"
And Israel said to Joseph: 'Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers
Will ( ) bring you back - By which is meant that each tribe (including the two born in Egypt) will be brought back to the land.
Psook 48:22
"Vaani natati lecha shechem achad al-acheicha asher lakachti miyad haEmori becharbi uvekashti"
Moreover I have given to you one portion more than to your brothers, from that which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow'
Va-ani natati lecha shechem achad al-acheicha - and I have given you a shoulder (shechem) more than your brothers. This refers obliquely to psukim 47:29 - 30 "please do not bury me in Egypt - and I will lie with my fathers in the Meuras ha machpelah. The meaning of the verse is twofold: Yosef has been moved up to the rank of firstborn, getting the traditional double portion, but Yosef as such is also responsible for returning Yakov's remains to the land, and re-affirming the linkage with the Eretz Kadosh, as Shechem was where his father's tent had stood when last Yosef lived in the land.
Which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow - Shimon and Levi, as just one example of strife, had fought against Shechem. And it can be taken for granted that conflict between settled locals and a band of Gypsies was an inevitable occurence. So, while the text does not actually say that Yakov fought the natives, what is meant is both specifically the incident with Shimon and Levi, and more generally the firm defense of clan rights though much outnumbered in the land.
My sword and my bow - Shimon and Levi at Shechem, when they avenged the disgrace of their sister. And was this not justified? But note that Chamor the father of Shechem was a Hivvite… where does this mention of Amorite come from? Probably from a conflation of sound - from Hhamor to Ha-Emori (what I have transcribed as 'CH' and here as 'Hh' is actually 'H' - a breathy sound). The definite article subsuming the first consonant of the name, as may be reflected in speech. This would appropriately epithetize the men of that city, as they were among the worst of Canaanite nations, and thus stand in for all of a bad lot.
Concerning which, Amorite and 'emor' (to speak) have similarities, as fits those whose crimes are compounded by their mouths, which is what happened when Chamor told Yakov that Shechem wished to marry the girl, and told his men that they would by a strategem seize the wealth of Yakov and his family in addition to having committed rape.
Sword and bow - Wisdom and discernement; words of Torah and the sound judgement that their use requires.
BLESSING OF THE TWELVE BROTHERS, AND THE PROMISE THAT THEY BURY YAKOV IN CANAAN
Psook 49:1
"Vayikra Yaakov el-banav vayomer heasfu veagida lachem et asher-yikra etchem beacharit hayamim"And Jacob called to his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall happen you in the end of days
That I may tell you what will happen to you in the end of days - here said as eloquent hyperbole, as Yakov tells them how their tribes will end up after they to have died, before proceding with a collective blessing. The mention of 'the end of days' (be acharit ha yamim) has confounded literalists who fail to conceive of the fathers being flowery.
Note: Bereishis rabbah, the Talmud, and Rashi all hold that at that point the Shechinah left Yakov, as a result of which he departed from his notes. Perhaps it is worth bearing in mind that the Torah gives a framework on which these three can hang their statements, but it does not exist because of them - it is independant of their writings, which neither add nor subtract.
If the brothers were concerned about their descendants returning to the land, what Yakov tells them makes clear that their tribes will dwell in the Eretz Kadosh after sojourning in Egypt. A reassurance, but more for those who come after, at a time when a Pharaoh who knows not Yosef arises.
The 'end of days' is that period after the immediate era and the era which immediately follows it, with an era separating it further; their days, their childrens' days, and the days of their childrens children (which last term is an abstraction).
Psook 49:2"Hikavtzu veshimu benei Yaakov veshimu el-Yisrael avichem"
Assemble yourselves, and hear, oh sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father
Psook 49:3"Reuven bechori ata kochi vereshit oni yeter seet veyeter az"
Reuben, you are my first-born, my might, and the first fruit of my vigor, greater of dignity, and greater of power
Reuben, my vigor - from when Yakov sweated for Laban.
Psook 49:4"pachaz kamayim al-totar ki alita mishkevei avicha az chilalta yetzui ala"
Rushing as water, you lack excellence, because you mounted your father's bed, then desecrated it - he went up to my couch
Mounted your father's bed - As referenced in psook 35:22 (when he 'lay with Bilhah'). A forbidden thing, like incest, like adultery. But in that this is mentioned with scant further remark in that section, and no consequence to Bilhah is referenced, and it is furthermore said "and Israel heard (of it)", it can be inferred that this is an allegation given voice by rivalry within the family, neither proven consumated nor proven false - it is suspect, as much as the accusation that Yosef tried to disgrace Potifar's wife, and probably hyperbole, as used by Yakov here..
Rashi, of course, offers a more fanciful and disturbing explanation, believing that at times the Shechinah was present over the bed of Yakov - and if that was so, why was Yakov so often fearful, and circumspect in so much? Yakov is not given to a surfeit of confidence or prescience, though for effect and point he is here represented otherwise, it being the scene of the end of his days. The difference between the various images of Yakov paint a better picture of him, and give a tension to the tale.
Psook 49:5
"Shimon veLevi achim kelei chamas mecheroteihem"
Simeon and Levi are brethren, weapons of violence their kinship
Weapons of violence - also translatable as stolen tools, as weapons whose planned use would be unjust, and who by their excess (of which Shechem is the example) prove it better that they should not be thus enabled or made capable.
Psook 49:6"Besodam al-tavo nafshi bikhalam al-techad kevodi ki veapam hargu ish uvirtzonam ikru-shor"Let me not come into their council, nor to their assembly my glory be united, for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they hamstrung the ox.
Because their plots are frightful in effect and excessive. They exterminated Shechem, from which we learn that if eloquent rhetoric is taken as truth, violence or offense may result instead of sober common sense. The modern Edomite proves this abundantly.
Hamstrung an ox - Which shows their cruelty, though this is refers not to an animal but to Yosef. Literalism is no help here.
Psook 49:7
"Arur apam ki az veevratam ki kashata achalkem beYaakov vaafitzem beYisrael"Accursed is their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel, I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel
Scatter them in Israel - not having shares in the inheritance of equal kind or measure, and hence incapable of colluding.
Accursed is their anger - their anger is maledicted, not they themselves. Yakov is not cursing his sons, merely describing.
Psook 49:8"Yehuda ata yoducha acheicha yadcha beoref oiveicha yishtachavu lecha benei avicha"Judah, your brothers shall praise you, your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons shall bow down to you
Your brothers shall praise you - because of Benyamin.
Psook 49:10
"Lo-yasur shevet miHuda umechokek mibein raglav ad ki-yavo Shilo velo yikhat amim"
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, till Shiloh come, and to him shall be the obedience of peoples.
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah - the moral qualities of leadership belong to this tribe by virtue of Yehudah standing up for all of them when facing the Egyptian viceroy - it was his actions that preserved Benyamin to them, and they to their father.
And this too is an open-ended statement, which holds until the ketz.
Shiloh - a place where there was a tabernacle, but also meaning the anointed one, the redeemer.
Psook 49:13
"Zevulun lechof yamim yishkon vehu lechof oniyot veyarchato al-Tzidon"
Zebulun shall dwell at the sea shore, and he shall be a port for ships, and his flank shall be at Sidon
Even to the whole coast, which is a locus that a nomadic people would not normally be overly familiar with. It is odd that there is so narrow a vocabulary for seafood in Hebrew - this indicates that Zebulun shall be maritime traders rather than coastal fishermen.
Psook 49:14"Yisashochar chamor garem rovetz bein hamishpetayim"
Issachar is a big-boned ass, crouching down among the sheep-folds
Rashi and the Beraisos go nuts here, in desperate stretches to read good into the text. Hoary antiquity hallows their interpretation, but unless the tribes return from beyond the Sambation, what they say here is in any case largely moot.
Psook 49:16
"Dan yadin amo keachad shivtei Yisrael"
Dan shall judge his people, as one (of) the tribes of Israel
Dan shall judge - as the name advertises (dan / din). What Yakov says next illustrates how unsettling the progress of justice can be.
Psook 49:17"Yehi-dan nachash alei-derech shefifon alei-orach hanoshech ikvei-sus vayipol rochvo achor"Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward
Psook 49:19"Gad gedud yegudenu vehu yagud akev"
Gad, a troop shall troop unto him, but he shall yet troop upon their track
Dan and Gad - Justice and force of arms, affecting righteousness for Israel.
Psook 49:22"Ben porat Yosef ben porat alei-ayin banot tzaada alei-shur"A fruitful vine is Joseph, a fruitful vine by a spring, its branches spreading across the wall
As the vineyard of Hashem, mentioned in Yesayah 5:7 "for the vineyard of Hashem, Lord of Hosts, is the house of Israel".
Branches spreading across the wall - others shall benefit also from the virtues of Yosef.
Psook 49:24
"Vateshev beeitan kashto vayafozu zeroei yadav midei avir Yaakov misham roe even Yisrael"But his bow stayed firm, and the arms of his hands were made gleaming, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from there, from the shepherd, the stone of Israel,
Yosef epitomizes that which reflects glory on Israel, like an archer bright with gleaming bands around his arm, standing erect. And in the same way, as we have seen, all brothers, some brothers, and even one brother may stand in for Israel, wich is both collective and singular, and Israel also represents the one, the many, and all of them - the superlatives applied to Yosef express in the particular what is blessed upon all in general.
Psook 49:25"MeEl avicha veyazereka veet Shadai vivaracheka birchot shamayim meal birchot tehom rovetzet tachat birchot shadayim varacham"
Even by the God of your father, who shall help you, and by El Shaddai, who shall bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep, crouching beneath, blessings of the breasts and the womb
Sforno points out here that both direct and indirect blessings are mentioned, which shows both a gradation and a hierarchy. But also: Yosef was born in the land, of the favourite wife of his father's chosing, whereas Yosef's sons were born in Egypt of a woman given to him as a cooptative mark of Pharaonic grace while he was beyond his family. Therefore both the God of your father as in the land, AND by the all powerful aspect of God outside the land.
Psook 49:27"Binyamin zeev yitraf baboker yochal ad velaerev yechalek shalal"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf - in the morning he devours prey, and at dusk he divides the spoils'
In reference to the tale of the Levite, his concubine, and the men from the tribe of Benyamin. Which in short speaks of dismemberment, tribal warfare and slaughter, and the rape of foreigners. A very disturbing tale, yet a very entertaining disturbance to tell about.
But Benyamin is also the sword arm, from whence Saul.
Psook 49:28
"Kol-ele Shivtei Yisrael sheneim asar vezot asher-diber lahem avihem vayevarech otam ish asher kevirchato berach otam"
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them, and he blessed them, each according to his blessing he blessed them
What their father said to them, and he blessed them - two verbs, two different actions. Remonstrative prophetics followed by, and matched with, the blessings appropriate to them, and a collective blessing upon the twelve.
All these are the twelve - because Menashe and Efraim are Yosef, only in portion are they separate.
Each according to his blessing - as appropriate for each one individually, the reason for which was shown in the telling of their natures that preceded the blessing.
Psook 49:29"Vayetzav otam vayomer alehem ani neesaf el-ami kivru oti el-avotai el-hameara asher bisde Efron haChiti"
And he charged them, and said to them: 'I shall be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
And he charged them - lest they otherwise overlook the tie to the land and the specific place, the responsibility for which is part of their inheritance, and part of the obligation of that inheritance.
Psook 49:30"Bamara asher bisde haMachpela asher-al-penei Mamre beeretz Kenaan asher kana avraham et-hasade meet Efron haChiti laachuzat-kaver"
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burying ground
Note: Kever is the same as kubur in Arabic, meaning tomb or grave.
YAKOV DIES
Psook 49:33"Vayechal Yaakov letzauot et-banav vayeesof raglav el-hamita vayigva vayeasef el-amav"When Jacob finished of charging his sons, hedrew up his feet into the bed, and perished, and was gathered to his people
Gathered to his people - a poetic descriptus, but also a reference to the day of resurrection.
YAKOV IS BURIED
Psook 50:3"Vayimleu-lo arbaim yom ki ken yimleu yemei hachanutim vayivku oto Mitzrayim shivim yom"And forty days were completed for him, for so are the days of embalming done - And the Egyptians lamented him for seventy days.
Seventy days - a full month more. But seventy days also means a multitude of days.
The Egyptians grieved for him as one does for a relative, because of what his son had done for them.
Psook 50:4"Vayaavru yemei vechito vayedaber Yosef el-beit Paro lemor im-na matzati chen beeineichem dabru-na beaznei Faro lemor"
And when the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh's household, saying: 'If now I have found favour in your eyes, speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying:
Psook 50:5"Avi hishbiani lemor hine anochi met bekivri asher kariti li beeretz Kenaan shama tikbereni veata eele-na veekbera et-avi veashuva"
My father made me swear, saying: see, I die - in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me'. Now therefore let me go up, I pray you, and bury my father, after which I shall return'.
Psook 50:6"Vayomer Paro ale ukevor et-avicha kaasher hishbiecha"
And Pharaoh said: 'Go up, and bury your father as he made you swear'
And Pharaoh said - Because if one attends assiduously to his father's wishes in such a matter, it is like doing so for Pharaoh, who is in loco parentis to all within the kingdom, and it is for the good order that he do so, wherefore the king has an interest in ordering that it be done. And note here that one who enables another to do a good deed gains merit from both the deed and the enabling.
Psook 50:7
"Vayaal Yosef likbor et-aviv vayaalu ito kol-avdei Faro ziknei veito vechol ziknei eretz-Mitzrayim"
And Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
Psook 50:8"Vechol beit Yosef veechav uveit aviv rak tapam vetzonam uvekaram azvu beeretz Goshen"and all of the households of Joseph and his brothers, and his father's house, only their children and their flocks and their herds, did they leave in the land of Goshen
Psook 50:9
"Vayaal imo gam-rechev gam-parashim vayehi hamachane kaved meod"
And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very impressive company
Psook 50:10"Vayavou ad-Goren HaAtad asher beever haYarden vayispedu-sham misped gadol vechaved meod vayaas leaviv evel shivat yamim"
And they came to the threshing-ground of Atad, which is across the Jordan, and there they eulogized with very great and impressive lamentation, and he mourned for his father seven days
Goren ha-atad - the bracken (atad) threshing ground (goren), a place name. But threshing grounds have a ritual connotation, being community connected and like altars. They are powerful locii.
Psook 50:11"Vayar yoshev haaretz haKenaani et-haevel beGoren haAtad vayomru evel-kaved ze leMitzrayim al-ken kara shema Avel Mitzrayim asher beever haYarden"
When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the threshing-ground of Atad, they said: 'This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians', so the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is across the Jordan
YOSEF'S BROTHERS SEEK REASSURANCE - THEY WORRY THAT THEIR PAST TREATMENT OF YOSEF STILL RANKLES
Psook 50:16"Vayetzauu el-Yosef lemor avicha tziva lifnei moto lemor"
And they sent a message to Joseph, saying: 'your father commanded before he died, saying:
Psook 50:17"Ko-tomru leYosef ana sa na pesha acheicha vechatatam ki-raa gemalucha veata sa na lefesha avdei elohei avicha vayevke Yosef bedabram elav"So shall you say to Joseph: Please forgive the transgressions of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. And now, we pray you, forgive the transgressions of these servants of the God of your father'. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him
This command from Yakov is not mentioned earlier in the text, but it can be inferred, as Yakov blessed all of them together and spoke of their differentiation, by which is implied that all must continue to be as brothers. But the brothers have reason to be worried, as the glue which held the family together was the generation that passed, and they would not gladly end up as distant from each other as the siblings of previous generations.
Psook 50:18"Vayelchu gam-echav vayiplu lefanav vayomru hinenu lecha laavadim"
And his brothers also went and prostrated themselves before him, and they said: 'Behold, we are your bondmen'
Psook 50:19
"Vayomer alehem Yosef al-tirau ki hatachat Elohim ani"
And Joseph said to them: 'do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?
Am I in the place of God? By which Yosef implies that the compact is not with him, but with the God of their fathers Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yakov, as was reitterated earlier, because it is by the hand of Hashem that they shall go up out of Egypt.
Psook 50:20"Veatem chashavtem alai raa Elohim chashava letova lemaan asho kayom haze lehachayot am-rav"
Although you meant evil against me, God meant it for good, to accomplish what it is this day, that a great population be kept alive
Psook 50:21"Veata al-tirau anochi achalkel etchem veet-tapchem vayenachem otam vayedaber al-libam"Now therefore do not fear, I will sustain you, and your children' And he comforted them, and spoke to their hearts.
YOSEF DIES
Psook 50:24
"Vayomer Yosef el-echav anochi met ve Elohim pakod yifkod etchem veheela etchem min-haaretz hazot el-haaretz asher nishba leAvraham leYitzchak uleYaakov"And Joseph said to his brothers: 'I die, but God will indeed remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob'
Psook 50:25"Vayashba Yosef et-benei Yisrael lemor pakod yifkod Elohim etchem vehaalitem et-atzmotai mize"
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying: 'God will surely remember you, and that you will bring my bones up from this place.
Psook 50:26"Vayamat Yosef ben-mea vaeser shanim vayachantu oto vayisem baaron beMitzrayim"So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years. And they embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt
Psukim 50:24 - 26 serve as a reminder of their relation with Hashem, and their bond to the land, that they get up and go when the time comes, and that they have a task in so doing.
VAYECHI = And he lived
12th. parsha in Bereishis (Genesis) psukim 47:28 - 50:26
1st Aliya: Yakov is already an old man at the beginning of this parsha, being one hundred and forty seven years of age. He calls Yosef and Yosef's sons to him, promising that the sons should each be a tribe. Yakov makes Yosef promise to bury him in Canaan.
Eerste alija: Jakov is reeds een oude man, daar hij aan het begin van deze parsja honderd en zevenenveertig jaren oud is. Hij laat Jozef en diens zonen tot zich komen, de zonen belovend dat zij ieder als stam gerekend zullen worden. Van Jozef eist hij dat na zijn dood hij in Kenaan begraven zal worden.
2nd Aliya: The blessing of Yosef's sons is described, as well as the crossing of the arms by Yakov, thus delivering the blessings other than Yosef had expected. The blessing of hamalach hagoel is also mentioned.
Tweede alija: De zegening van Jozef's zone word beschreven, alzook het kruisen van de armen door Jakov, do zo de twee jongens anders zegent dan hun vader had verwacht. Ook word hamalach hagoel aangehaald.
3rd Aliya: Yakov explains to Yosef that both sons will have different futures as tribes, and both tribes will be great in Israel.
Derde alija: Jakov legt aan Jozef uit hoe verschillend de twee zonen zullen zijn, doch beiden zullen in Israel groot zijn.
4th Aliya: Yakov calls all his sons to come, and describes their differentiation with a view towards different blessings.
Vierde alija: Jakov roept zijn zonen bijeen, en beschrijft hun verschillende eigenschappen teneinde hun op verschillende wijs te zegenen.
5th Aliya: The blessings to each and to all.
Vijfde alija: De zegening aan ieder, en aan allen.
6th Aliya: Yakov repeats the wish that he be buried in Canaan. After his death his body is treated as customary in Egypt, after which the levaya leaves for Canaan. Following these events it transpires that the brothers are concerned that Yosef harbours ill-will, but he reassures them.
Zesde alija: Jakov herhaalt de wens dat hij in Kenaan begraven zal worden. Wanneer hij sterft word zijn lichaam zoals gebruikelijk in Egypte behandeld, waarna de begravenis stoet naar Kenaan vertrekt. Daaropvolgend blijkt dat de broeders zich zorgen maken dat Jozef hun geen goed toejegent vanwege hun voorhene handelingen, maar hij stelt hun gerust.
7th Aliya: Yosef rules for another fifty-four years. He makes the brothers promise to take his remains with them when the Hebrews finally leave Egypt. Yosef dies aged one hundred and ten years.
Zevende alija: Nog vier en vijftig jaren regeert Jozef over Egypte. Hij laat de broeders beloven zijn lichaam mee te nemen wanneer de Hebreeuwen eindelijk Egypte zullen verlaten. Op honderd en tien jarige leeftijd sterft Jozef.
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THE DAYS OF YAKOV: YAKOV CALLS YOSEF AND HIS SONS TO HIM
Psook 47:28
"Vayechi Yaakov beeretz Mitzrayim sheva esre shana vayehi yemei-Yaakov shenei chayav sheva shanim vearbaim umeat shana"And so Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred forty seven years
Seventeen years - the same number of years that Yosef lived with his family before going down to Egypt.
Psook 47:29"Vayikrevu yemei-Yisrael lamut vayikra livno leYosef vayomer lo im-na matzati chen beeineicha sim-na yadcha tachat yerechi veasita imadi chesed veemet al-na tikbereni beMitzrayim"
And the day drew near that Israel had to die, and he called his son Joseph, and said to him 'If now I have found favour in your sight, put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh, and be good and truthful to me - do not bury me in Egypt
Hand under thigh - swearing in the same manner as Eliezer, for not only is this a subservient pose, but one must swear holding (or seeming to hold) something pertaining to a commandment - Yosef's hand is near the 'place of the circumcision'.
Psook 47:30"Veshachavti im-avotai unesatani miMitzrayim ukevartani bikvuratam vayomar anochi ese chidvarecha"But when I sleep with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their tomb - ' And he said: 'I will do as you have told me'
Sleep - which references the day of resurrection, though also a poetic descriptus of death.
Psook 47:31
"Vayomer hishava li vayishava lo vayishtachu Yisrael al-rosh hamita"And he said: 'Swear to me' And he swore to him. And Israel bowed down upon the head of the bed.
Bowed down upon the head of the bed - which is towards the Shechinah.
ADOPTION OF YOSEF'S SONS
Psook 48:3
"Vayomer Yaakov el-Yosef El Shadai nira-elai beLuz beeretz Kenaan vayevarech oti"
And Jacob said to Joseph: 'El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Psook 48:4"Vayomer elai hinni mafrecha vehirbiticha unetaticha likhal amim venatati et-haaretz hazot lezaracha achareicha achuzat olam"
And said to me: Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a community of peoples, and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession
This land to your offspring - a lineage to hold as sanctified inherited treasure, a sacred heirloom. I will give - a future transaction, one which is open-ended and ongoing. It is still being given. It is by assuming their task as caretaker of the land that it becomes theirs, it is their mitzvah when they acknowledge it as a mitzvah.
Psook 48:5"Veata shenei-vaneicha hanoladim lecha beeretz Mitzrayim ad-boi eleicha Mitzraima li-hem Efrayim uMenashe kiRuven veShimon yihyu-li"
And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine
Your two sons ( ) are mine - meaning that he acknowledges them as being fully entitled in the inheritance, countering the impact of their mother's people (an Egyptian priestly house), and co-opts them fully into the clan, despite the foreigness which obscures them.
They are now not merely scenery, but full actors in a way that negates any word to the contrary, despite their shadowy maternal lineage. They are mine, as my own sons, as the subsequent blessing will make clear.
But note that many commentators insist that these two are the grandchildren of Dinah, whose daughter was whisked to Egypt to be adopted by a eunuch priest and then married to her uncle Yosef.
Psook 48:7
"Vaani bevoi miPadan meta alai Rachel beeretz Kenaan baderech beod kivrat-eretz lavo Efrata vaekbereha sham bederech Efrat hiv Beit-lachem"
And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan on the road, a while before coming to Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem'
Rachel died on me - as Yakov was returning to the land. She is buried by the roadside.
Psook 48:8
"Vayar Yisrael et-benei Yosef vayomer mi-ele"
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said: 'Who are these?'
Who are these? From which we might read that he had not seen them before, as Yosef was over all of Egypt, and Yakov and the brothers were settled as herdsmen in Goshen. But also, "who are these that should be blessed?", meaning that he wishes Yosef to formally state that they are his sons. It is not that he disputes their worth, as can be seen from both the preceding and what follows, but that he expects Yosef to speak in the manner of testimony.
Psook 48:12
"Vayotze Yosef otam meim birkav vayishtachu leapav artza"
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and prostrated himself with his face to the earth
And he prostrated - A gesture of respect. But why did he do so? Here Yosef, who is mighty in Egypt, shows himself still humble to Yakov, against whom he willnot and cannot presume upon his status as viceroy. It will be remembered that he gave much to Benyamin at the time when Benyamin was his father's representation among the brothers. But note also that the Beraisos say that the Shechinah was at the head of his father's bed, and thus he prostrates himself fittingly.
SWITCHING HANDS AND DIFFERENTIATED BLESSINGS
Psook 48:13
"Vayikach Yosef et-sheneihem et-Efrayim bimino mismol Yisrael veet-Menashe vismolo mimin Yisrael vayagesh elav"
And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them near to him
In order to guide his father's hands.
Psook 48:14
"Vayishlach Yisrael et-yemino vayashet al-rosh Efrayim vehu hatzair veet-semolo al-rosh Menashe sikel et-yadav ki Menashe habechor"
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and held it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was the first-born
Yakov deliberately countermoves - the order of sons runs counter to his own past, should he by upholding it (the correct order) now seem to prove Esav rightfully the inheritor? Not so. And this is nothing compared to the scene he makes when blessing all of the brothers, as we shall see.
Psook 48:15
"Vayevarech et-Yosef vayomar haElohim asher hithalchu avotai lefanav Avraham veYitzchak haElohim haroe oti meodi ad-hayom haze"
And he blessed Joseph, and said: 'The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
And he blessed Yosef - before moving on to blessing Yosef's sons, to indicate that they are one in Yosef. As we shall see regarding tribal status later.
Psook 48:16
"Hamalach Hagoel oti mikol-ra yevarech et-hanearim veyikare vahem shemi veshem avotai Avraham veYitzchak veyidgu larov bekerev haaretz"
(And) the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in amid the land'
Note: Ha malach, ha goel - the angel, the redeemer. Two separate functions.
And let my name be named in them - because even though they are the result of Yosef living 'over all Egypt', and despite their mother's being of suspect antecedence, they are also members of the clan - full members, not courtesy adoptees. Two portions by themselves, not merely heir to Yosef's portion, and thus by this act safeguarded from any dispute over their rights because of their foreigness. Even if Asnat, their mother, was the daughter of Dinah by the Shechemite rapist, her upbringing in Egypt and illegitimate parentage would cast a shadow over her childrens' rights. But if Asnat is the true daughter of Potifera, then her Egyptianness and connection to idolatrous priests is equally a matter of concern.
This shows a disregard for normal procedure and standard practise; though such disregard in the past has ill-served Yakov (as in his relations with his brother Esav, his marriage to Leah and Rachel, and his favouritism of Yosef and then Benyamin), Yakov's stubborn contrarian insistence here further supports Efraim and Menashe as far as rights within the clan.
And the names of my fathers - excluding Terach and Nachor, for there is no merit attached to those names.
Psook 48:20"Vayevarachem bayom hahu lemor becha yevarech Yisrael lemor yesimcha Elohim keEfrayim vechiMnashe vayasem et-Efrayim lifnei Menashe"
And he blessed them on that day, saying: 'By you shall Israel bless, saying: God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh' And he set Ephraim in front of Manasseh
Note that this is the same format for blessing the sons of the family on shabbes nacht.
Psook 48:21"Vayomer Yisrael el-Yosef hine anochi met vehaya Elohim imachem veheshiv etchem el-eretz avoteichem"
And Israel said to Joseph: 'Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers
Will ( ) bring you back - By which is meant that each tribe (including the two born in Egypt) will be brought back to the land.
Psook 48:22
"Vaani natati lecha shechem achad al-acheicha asher lakachti miyad haEmori becharbi uvekashti"
Moreover I have given to you one portion more than to your brothers, from that which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow'
Va-ani natati lecha shechem achad al-acheicha - and I have given you a shoulder (shechem) more than your brothers. This refers obliquely to psukim 47:29 - 30 "please do not bury me in Egypt - and I will lie with my fathers in the Meuras ha machpelah. The meaning of the verse is twofold: Yosef has been moved up to the rank of firstborn, getting the traditional double portion, but Yosef as such is also responsible for returning Yakov's remains to the land, and re-affirming the linkage with the Eretz Kadosh, as Shechem was where his father's tent had stood when last Yosef lived in the land.
Which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow - Shimon and Levi, as just one example of strife, had fought against Shechem. And it can be taken for granted that conflict between settled locals and a band of Gypsies was an inevitable occurence. So, while the text does not actually say that Yakov fought the natives, what is meant is both specifically the incident with Shimon and Levi, and more generally the firm defense of clan rights though much outnumbered in the land.
My sword and my bow - Shimon and Levi at Shechem, when they avenged the disgrace of their sister. And was this not justified? But note that Chamor the father of Shechem was a Hivvite… where does this mention of Amorite come from? Probably from a conflation of sound - from Hhamor to Ha-Emori (what I have transcribed as 'CH' and here as 'Hh' is actually 'H' - a breathy sound). The definite article subsuming the first consonant of the name, as may be reflected in speech. This would appropriately epithetize the men of that city, as they were among the worst of Canaanite nations, and thus stand in for all of a bad lot.
Concerning which, Amorite and 'emor' (to speak) have similarities, as fits those whose crimes are compounded by their mouths, which is what happened when Chamor told Yakov that Shechem wished to marry the girl, and told his men that they would by a strategem seize the wealth of Yakov and his family in addition to having committed rape.
Sword and bow - Wisdom and discernement; words of Torah and the sound judgement that their use requires.
BLESSING OF THE TWELVE BROTHERS, AND THE PROMISE THAT THEY BURY YAKOV IN CANAAN
Psook 49:1
"Vayikra Yaakov el-banav vayomer heasfu veagida lachem et asher-yikra etchem beacharit hayamim"And Jacob called to his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall happen you in the end of days
That I may tell you what will happen to you in the end of days - here said as eloquent hyperbole, as Yakov tells them how their tribes will end up after they to have died, before proceding with a collective blessing. The mention of 'the end of days' (be acharit ha yamim) has confounded literalists who fail to conceive of the fathers being flowery.
Note: Bereishis rabbah, the Talmud, and Rashi all hold that at that point the Shechinah left Yakov, as a result of which he departed from his notes. Perhaps it is worth bearing in mind that the Torah gives a framework on which these three can hang their statements, but it does not exist because of them - it is independant of their writings, which neither add nor subtract.
If the brothers were concerned about their descendants returning to the land, what Yakov tells them makes clear that their tribes will dwell in the Eretz Kadosh after sojourning in Egypt. A reassurance, but more for those who come after, at a time when a Pharaoh who knows not Yosef arises.
The 'end of days' is that period after the immediate era and the era which immediately follows it, with an era separating it further; their days, their childrens' days, and the days of their childrens children (which last term is an abstraction).
Psook 49:2"Hikavtzu veshimu benei Yaakov veshimu el-Yisrael avichem"
Assemble yourselves, and hear, oh sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father
Psook 49:3"Reuven bechori ata kochi vereshit oni yeter seet veyeter az"
Reuben, you are my first-born, my might, and the first fruit of my vigor, greater of dignity, and greater of power
Reuben, my vigor - from when Yakov sweated for Laban.
Psook 49:4"pachaz kamayim al-totar ki alita mishkevei avicha az chilalta yetzui ala"
Rushing as water, you lack excellence, because you mounted your father's bed, then desecrated it - he went up to my couch
Mounted your father's bed - As referenced in psook 35:22 (when he 'lay with Bilhah'). A forbidden thing, like incest, like adultery. But in that this is mentioned with scant further remark in that section, and no consequence to Bilhah is referenced, and it is furthermore said "and Israel heard (of it)", it can be inferred that this is an allegation given voice by rivalry within the family, neither proven consumated nor proven false - it is suspect, as much as the accusation that Yosef tried to disgrace Potifar's wife, and probably hyperbole, as used by Yakov here..
Rashi, of course, offers a more fanciful and disturbing explanation, believing that at times the Shechinah was present over the bed of Yakov - and if that was so, why was Yakov so often fearful, and circumspect in so much? Yakov is not given to a surfeit of confidence or prescience, though for effect and point he is here represented otherwise, it being the scene of the end of his days. The difference between the various images of Yakov paint a better picture of him, and give a tension to the tale.
Psook 49:5
"Shimon veLevi achim kelei chamas mecheroteihem"
Simeon and Levi are brethren, weapons of violence their kinship
Weapons of violence - also translatable as stolen tools, as weapons whose planned use would be unjust, and who by their excess (of which Shechem is the example) prove it better that they should not be thus enabled or made capable.
Psook 49:6"Besodam al-tavo nafshi bikhalam al-techad kevodi ki veapam hargu ish uvirtzonam ikru-shor"Let me not come into their council, nor to their assembly my glory be united, for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they hamstrung the ox.
Because their plots are frightful in effect and excessive. They exterminated Shechem, from which we learn that if eloquent rhetoric is taken as truth, violence or offense may result instead of sober common sense. The modern Edomite proves this abundantly.
Hamstrung an ox - Which shows their cruelty, though this is refers not to an animal but to Yosef. Literalism is no help here.
Psook 49:7
"Arur apam ki az veevratam ki kashata achalkem beYaakov vaafitzem beYisrael"Accursed is their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel, I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel
Scatter them in Israel - not having shares in the inheritance of equal kind or measure, and hence incapable of colluding.
Accursed is their anger - their anger is maledicted, not they themselves. Yakov is not cursing his sons, merely describing.
Psook 49:8"Yehuda ata yoducha acheicha yadcha beoref oiveicha yishtachavu lecha benei avicha"Judah, your brothers shall praise you, your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons shall bow down to you
Your brothers shall praise you - because of Benyamin.
Psook 49:10
"Lo-yasur shevet miHuda umechokek mibein raglav ad ki-yavo Shilo velo yikhat amim"
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, till Shiloh come, and to him shall be the obedience of peoples.
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah - the moral qualities of leadership belong to this tribe by virtue of Yehudah standing up for all of them when facing the Egyptian viceroy - it was his actions that preserved Benyamin to them, and they to their father.
And this too is an open-ended statement, which holds until the ketz.
Shiloh - a place where there was a tabernacle, but also meaning the anointed one, the redeemer.
Psook 49:13
"Zevulun lechof yamim yishkon vehu lechof oniyot veyarchato al-Tzidon"
Zebulun shall dwell at the sea shore, and he shall be a port for ships, and his flank shall be at Sidon
Even to the whole coast, which is a locus that a nomadic people would not normally be overly familiar with. It is odd that there is so narrow a vocabulary for seafood in Hebrew - this indicates that Zebulun shall be maritime traders rather than coastal fishermen.
Psook 49:14"Yisashochar chamor garem rovetz bein hamishpetayim"
Issachar is a big-boned ass, crouching down among the sheep-folds
Rashi and the Beraisos go nuts here, in desperate stretches to read good into the text. Hoary antiquity hallows their interpretation, but unless the tribes return from beyond the Sambation, what they say here is in any case largely moot.
Psook 49:16
"Dan yadin amo keachad shivtei Yisrael"
Dan shall judge his people, as one (of) the tribes of Israel
Dan shall judge - as the name advertises (dan / din). What Yakov says next illustrates how unsettling the progress of justice can be.
Psook 49:17"Yehi-dan nachash alei-derech shefifon alei-orach hanoshech ikvei-sus vayipol rochvo achor"Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward
Psook 49:19"Gad gedud yegudenu vehu yagud akev"
Gad, a troop shall troop unto him, but he shall yet troop upon their track
Dan and Gad - Justice and force of arms, affecting righteousness for Israel.
Psook 49:22"Ben porat Yosef ben porat alei-ayin banot tzaada alei-shur"A fruitful vine is Joseph, a fruitful vine by a spring, its branches spreading across the wall
As the vineyard of Hashem, mentioned in Yesayah 5:7 "for the vineyard of Hashem, Lord of Hosts, is the house of Israel".
Branches spreading across the wall - others shall benefit also from the virtues of Yosef.
Psook 49:24
"Vateshev beeitan kashto vayafozu zeroei yadav midei avir Yaakov misham roe even Yisrael"But his bow stayed firm, and the arms of his hands were made gleaming, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from there, from the shepherd, the stone of Israel,
Yosef epitomizes that which reflects glory on Israel, like an archer bright with gleaming bands around his arm, standing erect. And in the same way, as we have seen, all brothers, some brothers, and even one brother may stand in for Israel, wich is both collective and singular, and Israel also represents the one, the many, and all of them - the superlatives applied to Yosef express in the particular what is blessed upon all in general.
Psook 49:25"MeEl avicha veyazereka veet Shadai vivaracheka birchot shamayim meal birchot tehom rovetzet tachat birchot shadayim varacham"
Even by the God of your father, who shall help you, and by El Shaddai, who shall bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep, crouching beneath, blessings of the breasts and the womb
Sforno points out here that both direct and indirect blessings are mentioned, which shows both a gradation and a hierarchy. But also: Yosef was born in the land, of the favourite wife of his father's chosing, whereas Yosef's sons were born in Egypt of a woman given to him as a cooptative mark of Pharaonic grace while he was beyond his family. Therefore both the God of your father as in the land, AND by the all powerful aspect of God outside the land.
Psook 49:27"Binyamin zeev yitraf baboker yochal ad velaerev yechalek shalal"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf - in the morning he devours prey, and at dusk he divides the spoils'
In reference to the tale of the Levite, his concubine, and the men from the tribe of Benyamin. Which in short speaks of dismemberment, tribal warfare and slaughter, and the rape of foreigners. A very disturbing tale, yet a very entertaining disturbance to tell about.
But Benyamin is also the sword arm, from whence Saul.
Psook 49:28
"Kol-ele Shivtei Yisrael sheneim asar vezot asher-diber lahem avihem vayevarech otam ish asher kevirchato berach otam"
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them, and he blessed them, each according to his blessing he blessed them
What their father said to them, and he blessed them - two verbs, two different actions. Remonstrative prophetics followed by, and matched with, the blessings appropriate to them, and a collective blessing upon the twelve.
All these are the twelve - because Menashe and Efraim are Yosef, only in portion are they separate.
Each according to his blessing - as appropriate for each one individually, the reason for which was shown in the telling of their natures that preceded the blessing.
Psook 49:29"Vayetzav otam vayomer alehem ani neesaf el-ami kivru oti el-avotai el-hameara asher bisde Efron haChiti"
And he charged them, and said to them: 'I shall be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
And he charged them - lest they otherwise overlook the tie to the land and the specific place, the responsibility for which is part of their inheritance, and part of the obligation of that inheritance.
Psook 49:30"Bamara asher bisde haMachpela asher-al-penei Mamre beeretz Kenaan asher kana avraham et-hasade meet Efron haChiti laachuzat-kaver"
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burying ground
Note: Kever is the same as kubur in Arabic, meaning tomb or grave.
YAKOV DIES
Psook 49:33"Vayechal Yaakov letzauot et-banav vayeesof raglav el-hamita vayigva vayeasef el-amav"When Jacob finished of charging his sons, hedrew up his feet into the bed, and perished, and was gathered to his people
Gathered to his people - a poetic descriptus, but also a reference to the day of resurrection.
YAKOV IS BURIED
Psook 50:3"Vayimleu-lo arbaim yom ki ken yimleu yemei hachanutim vayivku oto Mitzrayim shivim yom"And forty days were completed for him, for so are the days of embalming done - And the Egyptians lamented him for seventy days.
Seventy days - a full month more. But seventy days also means a multitude of days.
The Egyptians grieved for him as one does for a relative, because of what his son had done for them.
Psook 50:4"Vayaavru yemei vechito vayedaber Yosef el-beit Paro lemor im-na matzati chen beeineichem dabru-na beaznei Faro lemor"
And when the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh's household, saying: 'If now I have found favour in your eyes, speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying:
Psook 50:5"Avi hishbiani lemor hine anochi met bekivri asher kariti li beeretz Kenaan shama tikbereni veata eele-na veekbera et-avi veashuva"
My father made me swear, saying: see, I die - in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me'. Now therefore let me go up, I pray you, and bury my father, after which I shall return'.
Psook 50:6"Vayomer Paro ale ukevor et-avicha kaasher hishbiecha"
And Pharaoh said: 'Go up, and bury your father as he made you swear'
And Pharaoh said - Because if one attends assiduously to his father's wishes in such a matter, it is like doing so for Pharaoh, who is in loco parentis to all within the kingdom, and it is for the good order that he do so, wherefore the king has an interest in ordering that it be done. And note here that one who enables another to do a good deed gains merit from both the deed and the enabling.
Psook 50:7
"Vayaal Yosef likbor et-aviv vayaalu ito kol-avdei Faro ziknei veito vechol ziknei eretz-Mitzrayim"
And Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
Psook 50:8"Vechol beit Yosef veechav uveit aviv rak tapam vetzonam uvekaram azvu beeretz Goshen"and all of the households of Joseph and his brothers, and his father's house, only their children and their flocks and their herds, did they leave in the land of Goshen
Psook 50:9
"Vayaal imo gam-rechev gam-parashim vayehi hamachane kaved meod"
And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very impressive company
Psook 50:10"Vayavou ad-Goren HaAtad asher beever haYarden vayispedu-sham misped gadol vechaved meod vayaas leaviv evel shivat yamim"
And they came to the threshing-ground of Atad, which is across the Jordan, and there they eulogized with very great and impressive lamentation, and he mourned for his father seven days
Goren ha-atad - the bracken (atad) threshing ground (goren), a place name. But threshing grounds have a ritual connotation, being community connected and like altars. They are powerful locii.
Psook 50:11"Vayar yoshev haaretz haKenaani et-haevel beGoren haAtad vayomru evel-kaved ze leMitzrayim al-ken kara shema Avel Mitzrayim asher beever haYarden"
When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the threshing-ground of Atad, they said: 'This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians', so the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is across the Jordan
YOSEF'S BROTHERS SEEK REASSURANCE - THEY WORRY THAT THEIR PAST TREATMENT OF YOSEF STILL RANKLES
Psook 50:16"Vayetzauu el-Yosef lemor avicha tziva lifnei moto lemor"
And they sent a message to Joseph, saying: 'your father commanded before he died, saying:
Psook 50:17"Ko-tomru leYosef ana sa na pesha acheicha vechatatam ki-raa gemalucha veata sa na lefesha avdei elohei avicha vayevke Yosef bedabram elav"So shall you say to Joseph: Please forgive the transgressions of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. And now, we pray you, forgive the transgressions of these servants of the God of your father'. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him
This command from Yakov is not mentioned earlier in the text, but it can be inferred, as Yakov blessed all of them together and spoke of their differentiation, by which is implied that all must continue to be as brothers. But the brothers have reason to be worried, as the glue which held the family together was the generation that passed, and they would not gladly end up as distant from each other as the siblings of previous generations.
Psook 50:18"Vayelchu gam-echav vayiplu lefanav vayomru hinenu lecha laavadim"
And his brothers also went and prostrated themselves before him, and they said: 'Behold, we are your bondmen'
Psook 50:19
"Vayomer alehem Yosef al-tirau ki hatachat Elohim ani"
And Joseph said to them: 'do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?
Am I in the place of God? By which Yosef implies that the compact is not with him, but with the God of their fathers Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yakov, as was reitterated earlier, because it is by the hand of Hashem that they shall go up out of Egypt.
Psook 50:20"Veatem chashavtem alai raa Elohim chashava letova lemaan asho kayom haze lehachayot am-rav"
Although you meant evil against me, God meant it for good, to accomplish what it is this day, that a great population be kept alive
Psook 50:21"Veata al-tirau anochi achalkel etchem veet-tapchem vayenachem otam vayedaber al-libam"Now therefore do not fear, I will sustain you, and your children' And he comforted them, and spoke to their hearts.
YOSEF DIES
Psook 50:24
"Vayomer Yosef el-echav anochi met ve Elohim pakod yifkod etchem veheela etchem min-haaretz hazot el-haaretz asher nishba leAvraham leYitzchak uleYaakov"And Joseph said to his brothers: 'I die, but God will indeed remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob'
Psook 50:25"Vayashba Yosef et-benei Yisrael lemor pakod yifkod Elohim etchem vehaalitem et-atzmotai mize"
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying: 'God will surely remember you, and that you will bring my bones up from this place.
Psook 50:26"Vayamat Yosef ben-mea vaeser shanim vayachantu oto vayisem baaron beMitzrayim"So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years. And they embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt
Psukim 50:24 - 26 serve as a reminder of their relation with Hashem, and their bond to the land, that they get up and go when the time comes, and that they have a task in so doing.
A TEST... ONLY A TEST
I decided to avoid reading the Algemeen Handelsblad during lunch - normally I read it for the anti-American spew by ignorant Dutchmen, and the sheer bias of its reportage (it is always good to know what those most European of Europeans think, if it can be called that...).
And instead, I headed directly into the BBC website.
Where I found one of the most telling phrases. A phrase that very well could be a test - if the reader sees nothing remarkable, the reader is possibly European, and very probably beyond salvation. On the other hand, it could also test your outrage.
This is the phrase:
"The bullets should be used against the Jews and not the Palestinians"
[Gazaite father of eleven Hatim Muhammad, as quoted in this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6199529.stm ]
This is a quote from one of the people whom so many Western-Europeans claim are just like us, warm, humane, civilized, and deserving of peace, prosperity, and their own country. It reflects the sentiments of a man whom the BBC would want us to have sympathy for, a man whose account of hardship in Gaza is meant to arouse both our interest and our emotions. An average, man in the street, regular Joe.
A pox upon both him and the BBC.
And instead, I headed directly into the BBC website.
Where I found one of the most telling phrases. A phrase that very well could be a test - if the reader sees nothing remarkable, the reader is possibly European, and very probably beyond salvation. On the other hand, it could also test your outrage.
This is the phrase:
"The bullets should be used against the Jews and not the Palestinians"
[Gazaite father of eleven Hatim Muhammad, as quoted in this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6199529.stm ]
This is a quote from one of the people whom so many Western-Europeans claim are just like us, warm, humane, civilized, and deserving of peace, prosperity, and their own country. It reflects the sentiments of a man whom the BBC would want us to have sympathy for, a man whose account of hardship in Gaza is meant to arouse both our interest and our emotions. An average, man in the street, regular Joe.
A pox upon both him and the BBC.
POOH POOH AND PSHAW
Treppenwitz (http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/) writes:
"...each and every 'gesture' Israel has ever made towards easing the plight of the Palestinian population has resulted in increased attacks and violence. Every attempt to make 'occupation' less onerous for the Arabs has been met with direct violence... and the one real test case for removing any semblance of 'occupation' (Gaza) has provided proof of the direst warnings that the response to autonomy would be increased attacks against Israel/Israelis.
I'm sure there are those of you who will 'pooh-pooh' and 'pshaw' the actual danger posed by stones and fire-bombs......."
[For all of his posting, and it is a very worthwhile thing to read, click here: http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/2007/01/the_natives_are.html ]
---------
At this rate, the 'Jooz' will have to retake Gaza, and even solidify their hold over everything between the Jordan and the sea (including the entire Shomron AND the Golan) - just to ensure a reasonable level of mayhem, rather than the total civil war that the Palestinians seem quite capable of bringing upon themselves.
It is hardly likely the Arabs will ever make peace. Even if one ignores the fact that Arab upon Arab violence seems both an accepted facet of life, and prompts little regret and less outrage, it would seem evident that the only society over there in that region which is not entirely psychotic is Israel.
So the question is, why do the Arabo-philes and pro-Palestinians feel no urge to convert to Edomitish religion en-masse and go live over there, as "Palestinians" themselves? Is it because they fear the insanity and bloodthirst of their pets? Or do they actually despise the land and the alleged natives?
Do they not wish to bring peace to that tortured region by personally helping the Pally-wallies heal? To leaven by their sanity the soup that is Arab?
[And please do not bring up freaks like Rachel Corrie - if she hadn't believed that it could not happen, she never would've gotten in front of that bulldozer, and had she had any common sense, it would not have happened. Besides, she's been ever so much more useful dead than alive.]
Again - why isn't there a mass-movement from Berkeley to emigrate to Jenin? Do we need to put a MacDonald's and a Starbucks there to get you Pallyphiles to move? How about the other Arab countries? We can put a MacDonald's and a Starbucks there too.
We really care about you.
Go on.
"...each and every 'gesture' Israel has ever made towards easing the plight of the Palestinian population has resulted in increased attacks and violence. Every attempt to make 'occupation' less onerous for the Arabs has been met with direct violence... and the one real test case for removing any semblance of 'occupation' (Gaza) has provided proof of the direst warnings that the response to autonomy would be increased attacks against Israel/Israelis.
I'm sure there are those of you who will 'pooh-pooh' and 'pshaw' the actual danger posed by stones and fire-bombs......."
[For all of his posting, and it is a very worthwhile thing to read, click here: http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/2007/01/the_natives_are.html ]
---------
At this rate, the 'Jooz' will have to retake Gaza, and even solidify their hold over everything between the Jordan and the sea (including the entire Shomron AND the Golan) - just to ensure a reasonable level of mayhem, rather than the total civil war that the Palestinians seem quite capable of bringing upon themselves.
It is hardly likely the Arabs will ever make peace. Even if one ignores the fact that Arab upon Arab violence seems both an accepted facet of life, and prompts little regret and less outrage, it would seem evident that the only society over there in that region which is not entirely psychotic is Israel.
So the question is, why do the Arabo-philes and pro-Palestinians feel no urge to convert to Edomitish religion en-masse and go live over there, as "Palestinians" themselves? Is it because they fear the insanity and bloodthirst of their pets? Or do they actually despise the land and the alleged natives?
Do they not wish to bring peace to that tortured region by personally helping the Pally-wallies heal? To leaven by their sanity the soup that is Arab?
[And please do not bring up freaks like Rachel Corrie - if she hadn't believed that it could not happen, she never would've gotten in front of that bulldozer, and had she had any common sense, it would not have happened. Besides, she's been ever so much more useful dead than alive.]
Again - why isn't there a mass-movement from Berkeley to emigrate to Jenin? Do we need to put a MacDonald's and a Starbucks there to get you Pallyphiles to move? How about the other Arab countries? We can put a MacDonald's and a Starbucks there too.
We really care about you.
Go on.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
IS THERE ANY REASON NOT TO KILL AHMEDINEJAD?
[This posting was inspired by a very appealing remark on the blog of frumactress (here: http://frumactress.blogspot.com/ dated December 31st.
I discovered her blog by clicking while reading the comments on a fragrant posting of Jameel, whose blog is here: http://muqata.blogspot.com/ (check out his cool new banner!).]
Every time Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is quoted, I almost automatically think of Din Rodef - the obligation to kill a person who imperils the life or property of another person.
Regarding Din Rodef, this: Tractate Sanhedrin, 73a: "And these are the ones whom one must save even with their lives: one who pursues his brother to kill him(rodef achar chaveiro le-hargo), and after a male or a betrothed maiden to rape them."
Al pi Rambam "When one pursues another to kill him, every Jew is commanded to save the victim from the attacker, even at the cost of the attacker’s life" (Mishne Torah, Murderers and Preserving Life, 1:1).
Note two things:
One - the textual implication is that both pursuer and victim are Jewish - but it is further said that animals who pursue are also to be killed. So it applies to anyone. And by the same token, also if a Gentile is being pursued - the rabbonim were obsessed with Jews, naturally, and wrote at a time when there just weren't many Gentiles waltzing around the holy land.
The other thing is that one must be careful thinking about such a solution when there is no immediate threat - saying "he will kill someone in the next ten years" is scant justification. The threat must be such that inaction means murder.
That being said, there are several practical arguments for eradicating Mr. Ahmedinejad. And I personally would cheer his demise.
Can you, dear reader, think of any reason not to whack him?
I discovered her blog by clicking while reading the comments on a fragrant posting of Jameel, whose blog is here: http://muqata.blogspot.com/ (check out his cool new banner!).]
Every time Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is quoted, I almost automatically think of Din Rodef - the obligation to kill a person who imperils the life or property of another person.
Regarding Din Rodef, this: Tractate Sanhedrin, 73a: "And these are the ones whom one must save even with their lives: one who pursues his brother to kill him(rodef achar chaveiro le-hargo), and after a male or a betrothed maiden to rape them."
Al pi Rambam "When one pursues another to kill him, every Jew is commanded to save the victim from the attacker, even at the cost of the attacker’s life" (Mishne Torah, Murderers and Preserving Life, 1:1).
Note two things:
One - the textual implication is that both pursuer and victim are Jewish - but it is further said that animals who pursue are also to be killed. So it applies to anyone. And by the same token, also if a Gentile is being pursued - the rabbonim were obsessed with Jews, naturally, and wrote at a time when there just weren't many Gentiles waltzing around the holy land.
The other thing is that one must be careful thinking about such a solution when there is no immediate threat - saying "he will kill someone in the next ten years" is scant justification. The threat must be such that inaction means murder.
That being said, there are several practical arguments for eradicating Mr. Ahmedinejad. And I personally would cheer his demise.
Can you, dear reader, think of any reason not to whack him?
Thursday, December 28, 2006
NOTES ON PARSHAS VAYIGASH
Please note: I originally posted a draft of this on Wednesday at 07:04:00 PM, disclaiming that it was a work in progress. It is no longer a work in progress, but complete. All bugs and weasels have been banished from the text (which has also, alas, grown longer).
I thank you for your patience, and look forward to your thoughts (hoping, fervently, that you will have some).
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11th Parsha in Bereishis (Genesis)
Vayigash = And he drew near
Psookim 44:18 - 47:27
First Aliya: Judah speaks with Josef about the stolen wine-beaker, starting with the events that preceded when Josef asked about their father and their family.
Eerste alija: Jehoedah spreekt met Jozef over de gestolen wijnbeker, beginnende met de vragen die Jozef stelde over hun vader en hun familie.
Second Aliya: Judah proposes to Josef that not Benjamin but he himself should be slave, and that Josef permit Benjamin to return to their father. Deeply moved, Josef reveals to the brothers that he is their sibling, and explains that in what had happened the hand of Hashem is evident.
Tweede alija: Jehoedah pleit met Jozef dat niet Benjamin maar hijzelve slaaf tot Jozef word, mits Jozef Benjamin tot hun vader laat wederkeren. Uiterst ontroerd laat Jozef aan de broeders blijken hun verdwene broeder te zijn, en legt uit dat in het gebeurde de hand van de eeuwige ligt.
Third Aliya: Josef instructs them to return to Canaan, in order to bring their father and their family to Egypt because of the continuing years of scarcity. Pharaoh extends an invitation to this effect.
Derde alija: Jozef zegt hun terug te keren naar Kenaan om hun vader en de rest van de familie te brengen om de komende hongersnood jaren veilig te verblijven. De Pharaoh strekt hun bovendien daar een uitnodiging voor.
Fourth Aliya: Josef sends the finest of Egypt, with supplies, and food for JaKob, to Canaan with his brothers, who upon their arrival tell their father that Josef lives and is viceroy of Egypt.
Vierde alija: Jozef stuurt het fijnste van Egypte, alsmede bevoorading, en voedsel voor Jakob, met zijn broeders terug naar Kenaan, waar de broeders hun vader Jakob vertellen dat Jozef leeft, en onderkoning van Egypte is.
Fifth Aliya: Before leaving for Egypt Jakob brings a scarifice at Beersheba, where Hashem tells him that he will bring him down to Egypt, and will also be with him when he comes up again to the land. The list of the seventy souls that descend to Egypt follows.
Vijfde alija: Alvorens naar Egypte te vertrekken om zijn lang verdwenen zoon Jozef te weerzien, voltrekt Jakob te Beersjeba een offerande, waar Hasjem hem zegt dat hij Jakob zowel neer naar Egypte zal brengen, als met hem zal zijn wanneer hij weder omhoog naar het land zal keren. Vervolgens een lijst van de zeventig zielen die naar Egypte nedergaan zullen.
Sixth Aliya: Jakob and Josef see each other again for the first time in 22 years. Five brothers are presented to Pharaoh to represent the entire family, to tell Pharaoh about the occupations of Jacob's clan, and to show Pharaoh what manner of people he has invited into Egypt. JaKob meets Pharaoh, and there is an exchange of courtesies.
Zesde alija: Jakob en Jozef zien elkaar voor het eerst in twee en twintig jaren. Vijf broeders worden naar Pharaoh gebracht als vertegenwoordigers van de gehele familie, om Pharaoh te vertellen wat hun kunde is, en Pharaoh te laten zien wat voor mensen hij in huis gehaald heeft. Jakob krijgt een audientie, waarin wederzijds beleefdheid geld.
Seventh Aliya: The lasting famine affects Egyptian society severely, and Josef restructures the nation thoroughly in order to preserve both the land and people of Egypt.
Zevende alija: De jarenlange hongersnood tast de Egyptische maatschappij aan, en Jozef hervormd deze grondig tot behoud van land en volk van Egypte.
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THE VICEROY'S WINE-CUP
Psook 44:18 "Vayigash elav Yehuda vayomer bi adoni yedaber-na avdecha davar beaznei adoni veal-yichar apcha beavdecha ki chamocha keFaro"
Then Judah came near to him, and said: 'Oh my lord, let your servant, I pray you, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger flare up against your servant; for you are like Pharaoh.
Rashi suggest here that Yehudah is warning Yosef that a consequence of acting against Benyamin might be tzaraas - absurd! The situation is not at all similar to their great grandmother Sarah detained by Pharaoh!
But rather, 'may your anger not flare up, for you are like Pharaoh' meaning that Yehudah knows of his responsibility and power, but would nevertheless wish to risk speaking to him straightforwardly on this matter, because it is so important to him.
Yehudah had no choice but to attempt to save Benyamin, and so found the courage to speak to Pharaoh's viceroy.
Rashi further implies a threat - if Pharaoh's viceroy antagonizes Yehudah, according to Rashi, Yehudah will kill both the viceroy and Pharaoh. Which, also, is absurd, as even part of it would have guaranteed the death of all brothers.
Psook 44:20
"Vanomer el-adoni yesh-lanu av zaken veyeled zekunim katan veachiv met vayivater hu levado leimo veaviv ahevo"
And we said to my lord: We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.
And his brother is dead - Yehudah at this point has no reason to believe otherwise, because if Yosef is alive, why has he not returned to his family?
Psook 44:22
"Vanomer el-adoni lo-yuchal hanaar laazov et-aviv veazav et-aviv vamet "
And we said to my lord: The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
Why can he not leave his father?
Because both father and son rely upon each other, and more, he respresents all the brothers while they are away.
And who would die? Jakov or Benyamin? Rashi opines Benyamin, likening the situation to Rachel who died while on the road, and this is valid.
Psook 44:32
"Ki avdecha arav et-hanaar meim avi lemor im-lo avienu eleicha vechatati leavi kol-hayamim"
For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying: If I bring him not to you, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever.
["And Yehudah 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 children.
I will be his surety, from my hand you can demand him. If I do not bring him to you, and stand him before you, then let me bear the blame for ever.']
Yehudah has pledged the future of his line on behalf of his brother. Now note - as his brother represents all of the brothers to Yakov, and thus to the collective 'Israel', Yehudah's future and his lineage are pledged to all, including Yosef. This is why we shall read that the leadership shall not pass from Yehudah when Yakov blesses him.
And what Yehudah here proposes is that it is better that he should remain a slave in Egypt and his sons be blessed by Yakov, than that Benyamin stay in Egypt and Yehudah and his sons be cursed.
Psook 44:33
"Veata yeshev-na avdecha tachat hanaar eved ladoni vehanaar yaal im-echav"
Now therefore, let your servant, I pray you, abide instead of the lad as a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brothers.
Instead of - not knowing what would be his fate. If it is said that Potifar acquired Yosef for a catamite, then this is equally likely so for Benyamin as slave to the viceroy. And Rashi points out that Yehudah claimed himself a better candidate for any matter, to persuade the viceroy to choose him instead of Benyamin.
[In reference to Potifera, whom both Rashi and the Midrashic sources aver was Potifar, but because he had purchased Yosef for homosexual purposes, he was made neuter and became Potifera.]
YOSEF REALIZES THAT HIS BROTHERS ARE CHANGED MEN
Psook 45:1
"Velo-yachol Yosef lehitapek lechol hanitzavim alav vayikra hotziu chol-ish mealai velo-amad ish ito behitvada Yosef el-echav"
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried: 'Cause every man to go out from me.' And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
Those who had been standing were the guards, clerks, functionaries, and court officers. As is clear - the brothers, up to that time, had been supplicants, and thus were in abased positions rather than standing upright.
Psook 45:4
"Vayomer Yosef el-echav geshu-na elai vayigashu vayomer ani yosef achichem asher-mechartem oti Mitzraima"
And Joseph said to his brothers: 'Come near to me, I pray you.' And they came near. And he said: 'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
Rashi claims at this point that Yosef showed his brothers that he was circumcised, to prove that he was their brother, as is borne out by Tanchumah 5, and Bereishis Rabbah 93:8.
But this implies that they did not believe him despite his emotion, despite his voice, and despite his speaking their language. Think rather, they were still in doubt, because Yosef's revelation of his true identity dramatically changed the situation, and was utterly flabbergasting besides. And if he was indeed their brother, was he vindictive about the past?
They are in shock, they do not know what to think.
But Yosef reassured them by inviting them to come closer to him, as only kin are close, and he explained to them how it was.
Showing that he was circumcised would have been pointless - if they disbelieved all else, this too would not convince them. The appearance of circumcision could be an Egyptian trick, it is inconclusive, and it cannot have been a secret that the second most important man in Egypt was a Hebrew.
And concerning the viceroy being Hebrew, at that time the term may not have been limited to Abraham's descendants, else why would the wine-steward have so described Yosef to Pharaoh? A term which applies to only a few dozen people would have no meaning to the ruler of Egypt. It is likely instead that the term at that time was an alternative to Canaanite, or a Canaanite regionymic. Yet if it does have the particular meaning that we associate it with, this would suggest that our text metaphorizes in terms its readers can understand, in order to make a point.
Now, had there been any implied threat from Yehudah, as Rashi suggested, Yosef would have been ill-advised to have sent away the guards and have these potentially treacherous men, who HAD done ill to him in the past, draw close.
Psook 45:6
"Ki-ze shenatayim haraav bekerev haaretz veod chamesh shanim asher ein-charish vekatzir"
For these two years has the famine been in the land; and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest.
It is normal to prepare for a drought in the following year, as one year's good harvest may not be followed by another like it. And this implies seed for the third year. Yosef here is praeluding to there being more years of famine.
There shall be neither plowing - for what is the use of plowing when the earth is baked, and it is evident that even beyond the depth of the furrow there is no water? Seed sown would be better eaten.
Nor harvest - and even if there were to be a plowing, it would be without issue, so severe is the drought.
Psook 45:8
"Veata lo-atem shelachtem oti hena ki haElohim vayesimeni leav leFaro uleadon lechol-beito umoshel bechol-eretz Mitzrayim"
So now it was not you that sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Father to Pharao = Translation of the title; Vizier. But the expression shows that though his responsibilities may include his kinfolk, it transcends them. But also, Yosef and relatives under his protection must act responsibly towards Egypt. A conflict of interest, or a conflation?
If purposes coincide, neither.
[And note that familial terms indicate a level of closeness and respect even today - young associates are 'achi', respected older gentlemen are 'abba'. Especially so among the Edomites and others native to that region.]
Psook 45:9
"Maharu vaalu el-avi vaamartem elav ko amar bincha Yosef samani Elohim leadon lechol-Mitzrayim reda elai al-taamod"
Make haste, and go up to my father, and say to him: So says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.
Psook 45:10
"Veyashavta veeretz-Goshen vehayita karov elai ata uvaneicha uvenei vaneicha vetzoncha uvekarcha vechol-asher-lach"
And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shalt be near to me, you, and your children, and your children's children, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have
Dwell in the land of Goshen - Yakov's kin are not to mingle with all Egypt or presume upon their relation to Pharaoh through Yosef, but to exist separately, both for their own and Egypt's sake. It is not intended that they become Egyptian, but merely that they be included under Egypt's umbrella.
As herdsmen, and as stewards of Pharaoh's cattle, they will be separate from those who later in this account sell themselves and their lands to Pharaoh for food, and they will remain mobile - such as a tribe fleeing from oppression at some point in the future might well need to be.
Psook 45:11
"Vechilkalti otcha sham ki-od chamesh shanim raav pen-tivaresh ata uvetcha vechol-asher-lach"
And there will I sustain you; for there are yet five years of famine; lest you come to poverty, you, and your household, and all that you have
He finishes the statement which began in psook 45:6. 'These past two years, and yet five more years'.
Psook 45:12
"Vehine eineichem root veeinei achi Binyamin ki-fi hamedaber aleichem"
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
Paraphrasis: "You are witnesses, and Benyamin, who bears no blame, is also a witness - it cannot be covered up; both your knowledge of events, and the life of Benyamin, wil testify that these are the facts, or else he would be a slave, and you would return desolation to Yakov".
Regarding the language Yosef spoke to this brothers, the Ramban opines that the holy tongue was the language of Canaan, as Abraham did not bring it there from Ur of the Chaldees or from Haran, where Aramaic was spoken. He mentions also that what Yosef said of the circumstance that brought him to Egypt was greater proof of his identity than his language, as linguistic ability (speaking Canaanite) could be expected of important Egyptians accustomed to dealing with foreigners.
Psook 45:14
"Vayipol al-tzavrei Binyamin-achiv vayevke uVinyamin bacha al-tzavarav"
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
As brothers who have not seen each other in many years will do, like Yakov and Esav. But on Benyamin first, as this is the brother whom he had not seen longer than the others, who stands in for his father Yakov, and who was blameless of events. Only then his other brothers.
[And note that there is no suggestion of one wishing to bite the neck of the other, as Rashi imputed to Esav - though the circumstances are not dissimilar, and the expression is virtually the same. Some of the early commentators were quick to condemn Esav.]
Rashi here sees fit to allude to the two temples in (the territory of) Benyamin, and the tabernacle of Shiloh in Yoseph, which are destined to be destroyed. The juxtaposition is a useful mnemonic, but no causal link is credible. So, 'as', not 'because'.
THE ROYAL COMMAND
Psook 45:16
"Vehakol nishma beit Paro lemor bau achei Yosef vayitav beeinei Faro uveeinei avadav"
And the report thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying: 'Joseph's brothers are come'; and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
Why was the report pleasing?
Because Pharaoh and his servants knew by this that Yosef was not alone, but had family and the sense of responsibility towards others that his position required. But if Yosef is not alone, then there are others like him (having similar talents or virtues), and among these too there surely must be those by whom Egypt can benefit. And further, Yosef putting his kin separate from, and not over, Egypt, spoke well of his and his kinfolks character, as in a previous parshas we saw that the allegation against Yosef was unbelievable and moot to Pharaoh.
And it may be said that Pharaoh and his household were pleased because they saw that Yosef's brethren had come for him from Canaan, from whence he had been stolen, as Yosef would not have intimated the exact details. One does not portray one's relatives in an unfavourable light, the more as his brothers had eaten at some distance from the pit (so as not to hear his entreaties), wherefore he could not have heard aught of the discussion regarding his fate, and he himself knew who had found him there and who had sold him, and who had brought him down to Egypt.
Psook 45:17
"Vayomer Paro el-Yosef emor el-acheicha zot asu taanu et-beirchem ulechu-vou artza Kenaan"
And Pharaoh said to Joseph: 'Say to your brothers: Do this: load your beasts, and go, get you to the land of Canaan;
Why did Pharaoh say this to Yosef?
Because it shows that it is by his (Pharaoh's) wish that it happen, not by Yosef favouring his kin over his obligations. It is his wish because Yosef had benefitted Egypt (as might his relatives), and Yosef had done so and proven himself worthy of trust because he feared Hashem.
Think of it this way: "If I do well by Yosef, who has preserved my kingdom, then Yosef's god cannot by Yosef withdraw his favour".
Pharaoh, by commanding Yosef's brothers, authorizes the expense, thus either augmenting OR supplanting the money that Yosef had laid out. And one who provides funds has not only the merit of the action he has thus enabled, but also the merit of enabling the action through others, who also gain merit.
Psook 45:22
"Lechulam natan laish chalifot semalot uleVinyamin natan shelosh meot kesef vechamesh chalifot semalot"
To all of them he gave each man changes of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver, and five changes of clothes.
So much more to Benyamin because Benyamin endured accusation, and as previously mentioned, to Benyamin is as if to Yakov.
Psook 45:23
"Uleaviv shalach kezot asara chamorim nosim mituv Mitzrayim veeser atonot nosot bar valechem umazon leaviv ladarech"
And to his father he sent in like manner ten asses laden with the best of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with grain and bread and food for his father by the way.
Asses and she-asses - not only what they were laden with, but also the animals themselves, as including both genders makes it a herd which will have young, not merely a pack-train.
The best of Egypt - Rashi, a wine merchant, happily seizes upon this to mean vintage wines, based on Talmudic references. But a better understanding is those things which add enjoyment to life, as well as those things which sustain life (grain and bread), and in addition to delicacies and tonifying foods for his father.
Psook 45:24
"Vayeshalach et-echav vayelechu vayomer alehem al-tirgezu badarech"
So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them: 'do not become agitated while underway.'
Do not become agitated... Why is this said?
Because not only are they commissioned by Pharaoh as we read in psook 45:17, but this too is by the hand of Hashem, and therefore their responsibility surely outweighs other considerations.
It is like this: "Do not become entangled in issues or side-tracked, but singlemindedly make haste, for this is of primary importance. Also do not dwell on my reappearance (which may put you in a bad light), or wonder what untruths you told our father before, but focus instead upon the matter at hand. Do not let your resurgent shame prevent you from doing what needs to be done."
Tirgezu (distracted, agitated) is also associated with fear and trembling - "do not fear, because it is by Pharaoh's authority and protection that you travel, and do not fear, lest what you told our father now come to haunt you. You will not be robbed while underway (because of the power of Pharaoh), and when you arrive it will be evident tha Hashem arranged even that you should have made your brother go down to Egypt and become viceroy for precisely this eventuality".
YAKOV FAINTS
Psook 45:26
"Vayagidu lo lemor od Yosef chai vechi-hu moshel bechol-eretz Mitzrayim, vayafag libo ki lo-heemin lahem"
And they told him, saying: 'Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.' And his heart rejected it, for he believed them not.
Why did his heart (mind) reject it?
Because it defied reason - were he to believe them now it would negate what they had told him all these years, and why would Israel have a future beside the land? It is furthermore natural to disbelieve the extraordinary.
It was unbelievable, like before, when Hashem both spoke of and showed to Pharaoh the coming famine (psook 41:1 - 7), as explained by Yosef (psook 41:25 - 29). NowYakov's sons spoke to their father and showed what had been sent with them by Yosef (as substantiation of what they said), and explained what had happened and what Yosef had told them.
Also, an attachment to the land where he was now settled (after fleeing it years before, and being in exile by Lavan many years) affected Yakov, and an infection by its inhabitants among whom he lived, azoy: if the land was to be the inheritance of Israel, then would it not would include the resources, among which the population?
Israel was small at that time, and it could not yet be conceived that they would be so large as to fill the land (though that is indeed what was promised to Abraham), so logically, a civil assumption of authority springs to mind, rather than a divinely guided inheritance.
As we shall see from the example of the Egyptians who will sell themselves and their land to Pharaoh, and who in the future will side with a new Pharaoh in persecuting the Hebrews, a land cannot sustain two separate peoples.
Psook 45:27
"Vayedabru elav et kol-divrei Yosef asher diber alehem vayar et-haagalot ashero-shalach Yosef laset oto vatechi ruach Yaakov avihem"
And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them; and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.
The wagons that Yosef had sent - with the authority of his position, and the approval of Pharaoh, and as per Pharaoh's command.
Psook 45:28
"Vayomer Yisrael rav od-Yosef beni chai elcha veerenu beterem amut"
And Israel said: 'There is much; Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.'
There is much - a surfeit of things good to Israel. The news that his son lives, the return of all his other sons, including Simeon who was held in Egypt, and Benyamin upon whom he relied and ose freedom had been at risk, and also the reconciliation of Yosef with his brothers. There is much.
I shall go and see him before I die - that which he dared not think for many years now becomes reality, and his most heartfelt wish will be fulfilled.
But he does not say that he will die upon seeing his son; he expects and intends to yet return to the land.
FAREWELL TO THE LAND
Psook 46:1
"Vayisa Ysrael vechol-asher-lo vayavo Beer-shava vayizbach zevachim l'Elohei aviv Yitzhak"
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Thus recommitting to the land, as he and his fathers had there trusted Hashem.
By the sacrifice at Beersheba Yakov honoured his father Yitzhak who had been wont to sacrifice there also, and so, by sacrificing to the god of his father he honours both his father and his father's father, and thus reaffirms his faith in and adherence to the covenant of Hashem to Abraham.
Psook 46:2
"Vayomer Elohim leYisrael bemarot halaila vayomer Yaakov Yaakov, vayomer 'hineni'"
And God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said: 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said: 'Here am I.'
Psook 46:3
"Vayomer anochi ha El-Elohei-avicha al-tira merda Mitzraima ki-legoi gadol asimcha sham"
And He said: 'I am God, the God of your father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation.
This informs Yakov that it is by Hashem's devising, and it shall be indeed that the land is to be Israel's inheritance - Hashem is everywhere, even in Egypt, and even in Egypt will Israel be heir to the Eretz Kadosh.
Psook 46:4
"Anochi ered imcha Mitzraima veanochi aalcha gam-alo veYosef yashit yado al-eineicha"
I will go down with you into Egypt; and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes.'
Hashem speaks to Yakov in particular, but also means that He wil bring his descendents up from Egypt back to the land.
Note that this is not a promise, but a statement of fact (because it is Hashem speaking).
Jacob the individual will return to the land, and Israel the collective of Jacob are also destined to return. This is a future event, openended when it is said, and hence an eternal certainty. Even at the very end of time, Hashem will bring Israel up, and Israel's return to the land is according to Hashem's design. It is a mitzvah to live in the land, and if a mitzvah is to be performed, Hashem will assist therein. Or rather, it is by the aid of Hashem that one may perform the mitzvah.
And in relation thereto, note that ten represent Israel, as the ten brothers did before Yosef during the first visit. And one also represents Israel, as Benyamin during the second visit, and as Yosef was and Yakov will be before the Pharaoh. Even the remnant represent Israel, with whom Hashem will be when descending and when returning up to the land, at all times since Israel went down into Egypt, as it says "and I will surely bring you up again".
And Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes - it is customary for the favoured son to close the eyes of his father at the time of death, though normally it is the right of the oldest son to be the one who does so.
[In the family of Abraham normal applecarts, however, are often upset. Younger brothers get the blessings of the eldest son, and second-born sons might end up with the farm. This whole tale turns around such twists.]
Psook 46:5
"Vayakam Yaakov miber shava vayisu venei-Yisrael et-Yaakov avihem veet-tapam veet-nesheihem baagalot ashero-shalach Paro laset oto"
And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
Psook 46:6
"Vayikchu et-mikneihem veet-rechusham asher rachshu beeretz Kenaan vayavou Mitzraima, Yaakov vechol-zaro ito"
And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him;
A LIST OF EVERYONE
Being a listing of all those whose descendents shall return from Egypt.
Psook 46:7
"Banav uvenei vanav ito benotav uvenot banav vechol-zaro hevi ito Mitzraima"
His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
When refering to lineages the plural sons (of) and daughters (of) is accurate. All his seed implies all who are and will be among his descendants.
Psook 46:8
"Veele shemot benei-Yisrael habaim Mitzraima Yaakov uvanav bechor Yaakov Reuven"
And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's first-born.
Psook 46:10
"Uvenei Shimon Yemuel veYamin veOhad veYachin veTzochar veShaul ben-hakenaanit"
And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of the Canaanite woman.
Rashi explains that the Canaanite woman was Dinah, by reason of her having been raped by Shechem the son of Chamor the Chivite. Which is bent but logical. Then Rashi states that Shimon, her brother, who was thirteen at the time when she was raped, married her. Which poses a problem - who is the father of Shaul? He is the son of the Canaanite woman, which if that is Dinah means that he was born after Asnat, if Rashi's previous assertion that Asnat, Yosef's wife, was Dinah's daughter, is to be believed.
So if Shimeon had fathered him, why is he called the son of the Canaanite woman?
Rather, he is mentioned last in order, and as the son of the Canaanite woman, which suggests that Shimon may have had a concubine from among the daughters of the land, contrary to the ideal custom of Abraham, Yitzhak, and Yakov.
In any case, the son of the Canaanite woman is not of the same mother as the other sons of Shimon. Rashi's explanation is far-fetched - the obliqueness of reference in the text suggests a mother not worth any further detail, though her son must be mentioned as part of Israel.
Psook 46:15
"Ele benei Lea asher yalda leYaakov beFadan-aram veet Dina vito kol-nefesh banav uvenotav sheloshim veshalosh"
These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
With his daughter Dinah - whose offspring adhere to no tribe (unless of course Rashi's incestuous explanation is believed), and thus cannot be counted by tribal nomen or to the land, though nevertheless part of Israel - a foreshadowing of the Erev Rav.
Mention of Dinah here, and mention of the Canaanite woman previously - if they are the same person, why is mention made twice?
All the souls, his sons and his daughters - if daughters, then who beside Dinah? Rashi earlier postulated Asnat, yet it is as logical to suppose the 'Canaanite woman'. If her son is also counted (and his soul came from her), then she too has a lineage among Israel. Likely a convert, perhaps a 'bas Sarah', and conceivably as such adopted. But as she and Dinah are mentioned separately, they are meant separately.
Hence 33 souls.
Rashi also mentions Jochebed, who was born in Egypt, as the thirty third - a monumental stretch, as lineage offspring are listed in order according to their parent, and it is clarified in the list that exceptions to coming to Egypt are Manasseh and Efraim, whose lineage on their mother's side is also made clear - they are the grandchildren of Potifera, priest of On (psook 41:45).
Regarding Jochebed, this is the same as Moses' mother, according to Bava Basra 123a. But this would be most remarkable, as she would then have to become pregnant when already a generation older than Sarah was when she gave birth at the age of ninety years.
Rashi, in reasoning al pi Bereishis Rabbah, that the spouses of Yakov's sons were twin sisters of other brothers, explains the absence of these wives as meaning that they died before the descent to Egypt, hence the soul-count being seventy. But it is those whose lineages will be part of the Hebrews who leave Egypt during the time of Moses who are listed, the count is by lineages descended from Yakov with whom Hashem will be at that return to Canaan, as mentioned in the psook that leads this listing (46:4).
[This count concerns itself with ancestral lines, not individuals - there are no bondsmen or servants mentioned, and we know that Yakov had left Lavan with his own men. Abraham, it will be recalled, also had men of his household who were not related to him. It defies reason to believe that in addition to the women all being dead, the men of the household had all disappeared. And this is in no way even hinted at in this account.]
And further, if it is meant that the non-listing of these wives must mean that they died before the descent to Egypt, then the absence of any other names leaves precious few women by which further members of the tribe would be born - unless they married Egyptian women, which surely would be far worse than marrying Canaanites, who at least would have spoken the same language. It begs the question how Yakov's boys kept from going native (they remain a separate people until the exodus).
Psook 46:26
"Kol-hanefesh habaa leYaakov Mitzraima yotzei yerecho milvad neshei venei-Yaakov kol-nefesh shishim vashesh"
All the souls belonging to Jacob that came into Egypt, that came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six.
Psook 46:27
"Uvenei Yosef asher-yulad-lo veMitzrayim nefesh shenayim kol-hanefesh leveit-Yaakov habaa Mitzraima shivim"
And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls; all of the soul of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were seventy.
Seventy is a metaphor for a multitude, and parts, as we have seen throughout the tale of Yosef and his brothers, represent the total. The singular mention of 'soul' to which Rashi alludes shows the unity of Yakov's family, and declares them followers of one god (as distinct from the people whom they left behind, and those adjacent to whom they will live in Egypt).
[Pursuant thereto, it is well to realize that 'soul' in this section of the five books is a metaphor for those who believe in the god of Abraham. Not that other humans have no souls, but in the same way that those who deny the resurrection are denied resurrection, and those who deny an afterlife are denied an afterlife, the souls of those who do not follow the god of Abraham are irrelevant to this tale. Soul in the singular is a collective or multiple concept, like Israel, and souls in the plural refers to individuals, like Israel.]
REUNION
Psook 46:29
"Vayesor Yosef merkavto vayaal likrat-Yisrael aviv Goshna vayera elav vayipol al-tzavarav vayevke al-tzavarav od"
And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a very long time.
He wept excessively, because all that he had forced himself to forget came back to him, and he had so long not been part of the life of his kin.
The Midrash states that Yakov controlled himself at this point by reciting the shema - which, therefore, may be seen as conveying both praise and thankfulness. As you knew.
[This is the second time when someone who has excellent reason to be agrieved falls emotionally on Yakov's neck. Do not mention teeth.]
Psook 46:31
"Vayomer Yosef el-echav veel-beit aviv eele veagida leFaro veomra elav achai uveit-avi asher beeretz-Kenaan bau elai"
And Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father's house: 'I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him: My brothers, and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me;
He will announce to Pharaoh the arrival of his kin, he will not hide it. But he will prepare Pharaoh also for their arrival.
Psook 46:32
"Vehaanashim roei tzon ki-anshei mikne hayu vetzonam uvekaram vechol-asher lahem heviu"
And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
They brought their wealth with them, and all that they have - they did not arrive as paupers to be a burden.
[And wealth further implies men in addition to the sons, as wealth attracts attention and cattle require hands.]
Psook 46:34
"Vaamartem anshei mikne hayu avadeicha minureinu vead-ata gam-anachnu gam-avoteinu baavur teshvu beeretz Goshen ki-toavat Mitzrayim kol-roe tzon"
That you shall say: your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth till now, both we, and our fathers; that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is abhorrent to the Egyptians.'
This reflects the difference between the settled and nomadic populations, and it is well to bear in mind that they worship at different altars, and are thus suspect to each other, because oaths and therefore trustworthiness are paired with religious affiliation, as are feasts and eating together. One does not trust those with whom one cannot dine, and it is well to recall kashrus at this point.
Psook 47:1
"Vayavo Yosef vayaged leFaro vayomer avi veachai vetzonam uvekaram vechol-asher lahem bau meeretz Kenaan vehinam beeretz Goshen"
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said: 'My father and my brothers, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.'
Psook 47:2
"Umiktze echav lakach chamisha anashim vayatzigem lifnei Faro"
And from among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
Five men - as a representative number who can speak for the family. And including Yosef, half of the sons of Yakov.
Why not all?
To show that they speak for each other, not just for themselves or their own households. And with Yosef, they also speak to Pharaoh's benefit. And it is likely that he picked those more likely to make a good impression (Rashi disagrees).
Psook 47:3
"Vayomer Paro el-echav ma-maaseichem vayomru el-Paro roe tzon avadeicha gam-anachnu gam-avoteinu"
And Pharaoh said to his brothers: 'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh: 'your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.'
Psook 47:4
"Vayomru el-Paro lagur baaretz banu ki-ein mire latzon asher laavadeicha ki-chaved haraav beeretz Kenaan veata yeshvu-na avadeicha beeretz Goshen"
And they said to Pharaoh: 'To sojourn in the land have we come; for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, we pray you, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.'
Psook 47:6
"Eretz Mitzrayim lefaneicha hiv bemeitav haaretz hoshev et-avicha veet-acheicha yeshvu beeretz Goshen veim-yadata veyesh-bam anshei-chayil vesamtam sarei mikne al-asher-li "
The land of Egypt is before you; in the best of the land make your father and your brothers to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell. And if you know of any able men among them, then appoint them stewards over my cattle.'
Stewards over my cattle - as agents of Pharaoh, and with his patronage.
Psook 47:7
"Vayave Yosef et-Yaakov aviv vayaamidehu lifnei Faro vayevarech Yaakov et-Paro"
And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and stood him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
And Jacob blessed Pharaoh - in greeting. It is still customary to do so.
It is fitting that the leader of the family should be preceded by his sons; Yakov comes not as a servant. And therefore he stood - inferiors or supplicants were expected to abase themselves, but Pharaoh accepts and expects that Yakov stand. Pharaoh honours Jakov (and Yosef) by waving protocol, then shows respect to Yakov by asking about his age.
Psook 47:8
"Vayomer Paro el-Yaakov kama yemei shenei chayeicha"
And Pharaoh said to Jacob: 'How many are the days of the years of your life?'
Psook 47:9
"Vayomer Yaakov el-Paro yemei shenei megurai sheloshim umeat shana meat veraim hayu yemei shenei chayai velo hisigu et-yemei shenei chayei avotai bimei megureihem"
And Jacob said to Pharaoh: 'The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.'
A courtly exchange, but note that the formality is the politeness of near-equals, a far cry from Yosef's first interview with Pahraoh, which was marked by a to-the-pointness, as of an inferior speaking to a superior. It is well that the boss sees what manner of clan he is giving permission to settle to, and also to show courtesy to his most valued employee.
Jacob in response is self-depreciating, in effect saying "and yet I cannot be compared to my fathers (not only in years but also in other matters) for I have not accomplished what they accomplished".
[How else can one account for his non-germane prolixity?]
Sojournings - having left home as a young man under a cloud, and also having left the home of his maturity, and even having left the home of his old age, Jacob sojourns, not at home anywhere, having the multi-layered sense of home common to nomands and emigrants, where the place of home is an ideal formulation rather than an actual locus. And note that 'home' is ennumerable in years.
Psook 47:10
"Vayevarech Yaakov et-Paro vayetze milifnei Faro"
And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
Now this, though courteous, is the reverse of the normal situation between a monarch (especially one representing the deities of Egypt) from whom the blessing flows outward (it should emphatically not be read as the brocho we say when invoking Hashem, which is as subject to the Master of the Universe). But the blessing of a man like Yakov was something worth having - a man of potent spiritual power, a numinous entity.
Psook 47:11
"Vayoshev Yosef et-aviv veet-echav vayiten lahem achuza beeretz Mitzrayim bemeitav haaretz beeretz Rameses kaasher tziva Faro"
And Joseph placed his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
In ancient times the region of Rameses (the land of Goshen) in the northwestern part of Egypt was a part of the Semitic cultural zone, as were Canaan, Padan-aram & Aram Naharein, and, forget not, Ugarit.
THE FAMINE WAS EXTREME
Psook 47:13
"Velechem ein bechol-haaretz ki-chaved haraav meod vatela eretz Mitzrayim veeretz Kenaan mipnei haraav"
And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was extreme, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.
Languished - became weary, because agricultural efforts were to no avail, making a waste of the effort, and because the famine weighed heavily upon the populace, bowing them down.
Psook 47:15
"Vayitom hakesef meeretz Mitzrayim umeeretz Kenaan vayavou chol-Mitzrayim el-Yosef lemor hava-lanu lechem velama namut negdecha ki afes kasef"
And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said: 'Give us bread; for why should we die in your sight, as our money fails.'
Why should we die in your sight - said because Yosef had authority over the food-supply, and by his decision in this matter they would live or die.
Psook 47:16
"Vayomer Yosef havu mikneichem veetna lachem bemikneichem im-afes kasef"
And Joseph said: 'Give your cattle, and I will give you bread for your cattle, if money fail.'
By acquiring livestock for Pharaoh Yosef accomplished three things: effected their survival by a trade, preserved both national resources and the worth of the treasury, and demonstrated the worth of his kin (who were, if able, appointed stewards over Pharaohs cattle).
Psook 47:19
"Lama namut leeineicha gam-anachnu gam-admatenu kene-otanu veet-admatenu balachem venihyouanachnu veadmatenu avadim leFaro veten-zera venichyouvelo namut vehaadama lo tesham"
Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be bondmen to Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not desolate.'
Us and our land - but both already belonged to Pharaoh. Yet by thus trading they are not shamed, and are sustained.
That the land not be desolate - to indicate that the famine will end after the next year, as they will be sustained one more year during which there will be sowing, at the end of which there will be a harvest, and the land will be replenished. But in the meantime, they need to have food.
Psook 47:21
"Veet-haam heevir oto learim miktze gevul-Mitzrayim vead-katzehu"
And as for the people, he resettled them city by city, from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
To better preserve the nation. But in so doing, he unified what had almost certainly been a mixture of ethnicities and differing cultures into a nationality, and prevented regional revolts during the years of famine. Only the priests, directly stipended by the king, and thus, like Yakov's kin (stewards of cattle), functioning directly on behalf of the king, were free from resettlement.
It may be said that in thus leaving two potentialy competing hereditary groups tied to the royal house (namely the priestly caste and the Hebrews), with privileges, who where not of serf-class, the scene was set for a rivalry that those who were not priests were bound to lose upon the falling of the dynasty. The new royals would need the priests to sanctify their power, and would see the Hebrews as dubious, not an asset, and probably supportive of the previous kings. And further, the downfall of so large and prosperous a group (as the Hebrews were to become) could not but be advantageous to the priests (and likely the new Paharaoh). But this is speculation.
Psook 47:22
"Rak admat hakohanim lo kana ki chok lakohanim meet Paro veachlu et-chukam asher natan lahem Paro al-ken lo machru et-admatam"
Only the grounds of the priests he did not purchase, for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and lived from the portion which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they sold not their land.
Psook 47:23
"Vayomer Yosef el-haam hen kaniti etchem hayom veet-admatchem leFaro he-lachem zera uzeratem et-haadama"
Then Joseph said to the people: 'Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Psook 47:24
"Vehaya batvuot unetatem chamishit leFaro vearba hayadot yihyoulachem lezera hasade uleachlechem velaasher bevateichem veleechol letapchem"
And it shall come to pass at the ingatherings, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.'
One part to Pharaoh, in part as as a hedge against future famine.
Four parts - for seed (first part), for food (second part), for the servants and workers of the household (third part), and for the children (fourth part).
Assuming that the five parts are ranked in order of importance, starting with Pharaoh, why are the children mentioned last? Why not ahead of the servants?
Because a household is hostage to the goodwill of its servants, who must be well fed in order to consider the benefit of their master as their own.
And children result only once a family is established - if there is no seed, no food, and no farm, then there is little to sustain the children in any case.
A fifth, and four parts - meaning that the populace is tasked hereby as agents of Pharaoh, not as managed property, nor as mere tenants. And thus the basis is laid for the eventual persecution of the Hebrews, because the Bnei-Yisroel are not tied to Pharaoh-the-instution as a citizenry under common circumstance, but as officers over kine in Goshen and to Pharaoh-the-house, as we shall see when a new Pharaoh (of a new dynasty), who has no relationship with Yakov's clan ("knows not Yosef"), comes to power. The bonds between the Hebrews and the former ruling house will no longer hold, and this new Pharaoh will seek to lower these people, who unlike the rest of his subject are not bound to the land and the country in the way that ensures a smoothly functioning society. It will further be to his benefit to dispossess these people - throughout history that has been a potent argument in favour of striking at minorities.
Psook 47:27
"Vayeshev Yisrael beeretz Mitzrayim beeretz Goshen vayeachazu va vayifru vayirbu meod"
And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they acquired property, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.
As stewards of Pharaoh's cattle they were insulated from the misfortune that the people of the land had endured.
Acquired property - took holdings, and perhaps laid the seed of discontent against themselves, because they presumed, as herdsmen (shepherds, who were "abhorent to the Egyptians"), and did so at a time when Egyptians suffered.
I thank you for your patience, and look forward to your thoughts (hoping, fervently, that you will have some).
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11th Parsha in Bereishis (Genesis)
Vayigash = And he drew near
Psookim 44:18 - 47:27
First Aliya: Judah speaks with Josef about the stolen wine-beaker, starting with the events that preceded when Josef asked about their father and their family.
Eerste alija: Jehoedah spreekt met Jozef over de gestolen wijnbeker, beginnende met de vragen die Jozef stelde over hun vader en hun familie.
Second Aliya: Judah proposes to Josef that not Benjamin but he himself should be slave, and that Josef permit Benjamin to return to their father. Deeply moved, Josef reveals to the brothers that he is their sibling, and explains that in what had happened the hand of Hashem is evident.
Tweede alija: Jehoedah pleit met Jozef dat niet Benjamin maar hijzelve slaaf tot Jozef word, mits Jozef Benjamin tot hun vader laat wederkeren. Uiterst ontroerd laat Jozef aan de broeders blijken hun verdwene broeder te zijn, en legt uit dat in het gebeurde de hand van de eeuwige ligt.
Third Aliya: Josef instructs them to return to Canaan, in order to bring their father and their family to Egypt because of the continuing years of scarcity. Pharaoh extends an invitation to this effect.
Derde alija: Jozef zegt hun terug te keren naar Kenaan om hun vader en de rest van de familie te brengen om de komende hongersnood jaren veilig te verblijven. De Pharaoh strekt hun bovendien daar een uitnodiging voor.
Fourth Aliya: Josef sends the finest of Egypt, with supplies, and food for JaKob, to Canaan with his brothers, who upon their arrival tell their father that Josef lives and is viceroy of Egypt.
Vierde alija: Jozef stuurt het fijnste van Egypte, alsmede bevoorading, en voedsel voor Jakob, met zijn broeders terug naar Kenaan, waar de broeders hun vader Jakob vertellen dat Jozef leeft, en onderkoning van Egypte is.
Fifth Aliya: Before leaving for Egypt Jakob brings a scarifice at Beersheba, where Hashem tells him that he will bring him down to Egypt, and will also be with him when he comes up again to the land. The list of the seventy souls that descend to Egypt follows.
Vijfde alija: Alvorens naar Egypte te vertrekken om zijn lang verdwenen zoon Jozef te weerzien, voltrekt Jakob te Beersjeba een offerande, waar Hasjem hem zegt dat hij Jakob zowel neer naar Egypte zal brengen, als met hem zal zijn wanneer hij weder omhoog naar het land zal keren. Vervolgens een lijst van de zeventig zielen die naar Egypte nedergaan zullen.
Sixth Aliya: Jakob and Josef see each other again for the first time in 22 years. Five brothers are presented to Pharaoh to represent the entire family, to tell Pharaoh about the occupations of Jacob's clan, and to show Pharaoh what manner of people he has invited into Egypt. JaKob meets Pharaoh, and there is an exchange of courtesies.
Zesde alija: Jakob en Jozef zien elkaar voor het eerst in twee en twintig jaren. Vijf broeders worden naar Pharaoh gebracht als vertegenwoordigers van de gehele familie, om Pharaoh te vertellen wat hun kunde is, en Pharaoh te laten zien wat voor mensen hij in huis gehaald heeft. Jakob krijgt een audientie, waarin wederzijds beleefdheid geld.
Seventh Aliya: The lasting famine affects Egyptian society severely, and Josef restructures the nation thoroughly in order to preserve both the land and people of Egypt.
Zevende alija: De jarenlange hongersnood tast de Egyptische maatschappij aan, en Jozef hervormd deze grondig tot behoud van land en volk van Egypte.
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THE VICEROY'S WINE-CUP
Psook 44:18 "Vayigash elav Yehuda vayomer bi adoni yedaber-na avdecha davar beaznei adoni veal-yichar apcha beavdecha ki chamocha keFaro"
Then Judah came near to him, and said: 'Oh my lord, let your servant, I pray you, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not your anger flare up against your servant; for you are like Pharaoh.
Rashi suggest here that Yehudah is warning Yosef that a consequence of acting against Benyamin might be tzaraas - absurd! The situation is not at all similar to their great grandmother Sarah detained by Pharaoh!
But rather, 'may your anger not flare up, for you are like Pharaoh' meaning that Yehudah knows of his responsibility and power, but would nevertheless wish to risk speaking to him straightforwardly on this matter, because it is so important to him.
Yehudah had no choice but to attempt to save Benyamin, and so found the courage to speak to Pharaoh's viceroy.
Rashi further implies a threat - if Pharaoh's viceroy antagonizes Yehudah, according to Rashi, Yehudah will kill both the viceroy and Pharaoh. Which, also, is absurd, as even part of it would have guaranteed the death of all brothers.
Psook 44:20
"Vanomer el-adoni yesh-lanu av zaken veyeled zekunim katan veachiv met vayivater hu levado leimo veaviv ahevo"
And we said to my lord: We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.
And his brother is dead - Yehudah at this point has no reason to believe otherwise, because if Yosef is alive, why has he not returned to his family?
Psook 44:22
"Vanomer el-adoni lo-yuchal hanaar laazov et-aviv veazav et-aviv vamet "
And we said to my lord: The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
Why can he not leave his father?
Because both father and son rely upon each other, and more, he respresents all the brothers while they are away.
And who would die? Jakov or Benyamin? Rashi opines Benyamin, likening the situation to Rachel who died while on the road, and this is valid.
Psook 44:32
"Ki avdecha arav et-hanaar meim avi lemor im-lo avienu eleicha vechatati leavi kol-hayamim"
For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying: If I bring him not to you, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever.
["And Yehudah 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 children.
I will be his surety, from my hand you can demand him. If I do not bring him to you, and stand him before you, then let me bear the blame for ever.']
Yehudah has pledged the future of his line on behalf of his brother. Now note - as his brother represents all of the brothers to Yakov, and thus to the collective 'Israel', Yehudah's future and his lineage are pledged to all, including Yosef. This is why we shall read that the leadership shall not pass from Yehudah when Yakov blesses him.
And what Yehudah here proposes is that it is better that he should remain a slave in Egypt and his sons be blessed by Yakov, than that Benyamin stay in Egypt and Yehudah and his sons be cursed.
Psook 44:33
"Veata yeshev-na avdecha tachat hanaar eved ladoni vehanaar yaal im-echav"
Now therefore, let your servant, I pray you, abide instead of the lad as a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brothers.
Instead of - not knowing what would be his fate. If it is said that Potifar acquired Yosef for a catamite, then this is equally likely so for Benyamin as slave to the viceroy. And Rashi points out that Yehudah claimed himself a better candidate for any matter, to persuade the viceroy to choose him instead of Benyamin.
[In reference to Potifera, whom both Rashi and the Midrashic sources aver was Potifar, but because he had purchased Yosef for homosexual purposes, he was made neuter and became Potifera.]
YOSEF REALIZES THAT HIS BROTHERS ARE CHANGED MEN
Psook 45:1
"Velo-yachol Yosef lehitapek lechol hanitzavim alav vayikra hotziu chol-ish mealai velo-amad ish ito behitvada Yosef el-echav"
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried: 'Cause every man to go out from me.' And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
Those who had been standing were the guards, clerks, functionaries, and court officers. As is clear - the brothers, up to that time, had been supplicants, and thus were in abased positions rather than standing upright.
Psook 45:4
"Vayomer Yosef el-echav geshu-na elai vayigashu vayomer ani yosef achichem asher-mechartem oti Mitzraima"
And Joseph said to his brothers: 'Come near to me, I pray you.' And they came near. And he said: 'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
Rashi claims at this point that Yosef showed his brothers that he was circumcised, to prove that he was their brother, as is borne out by Tanchumah 5, and Bereishis Rabbah 93:8.
But this implies that they did not believe him despite his emotion, despite his voice, and despite his speaking their language. Think rather, they were still in doubt, because Yosef's revelation of his true identity dramatically changed the situation, and was utterly flabbergasting besides. And if he was indeed their brother, was he vindictive about the past?
They are in shock, they do not know what to think.
But Yosef reassured them by inviting them to come closer to him, as only kin are close, and he explained to them how it was.
Showing that he was circumcised would have been pointless - if they disbelieved all else, this too would not convince them. The appearance of circumcision could be an Egyptian trick, it is inconclusive, and it cannot have been a secret that the second most important man in Egypt was a Hebrew.
And concerning the viceroy being Hebrew, at that time the term may not have been limited to Abraham's descendants, else why would the wine-steward have so described Yosef to Pharaoh? A term which applies to only a few dozen people would have no meaning to the ruler of Egypt. It is likely instead that the term at that time was an alternative to Canaanite, or a Canaanite regionymic. Yet if it does have the particular meaning that we associate it with, this would suggest that our text metaphorizes in terms its readers can understand, in order to make a point.
Now, had there been any implied threat from Yehudah, as Rashi suggested, Yosef would have been ill-advised to have sent away the guards and have these potentially treacherous men, who HAD done ill to him in the past, draw close.
Psook 45:6
"Ki-ze shenatayim haraav bekerev haaretz veod chamesh shanim asher ein-charish vekatzir"
For these two years has the famine been in the land; and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest.
It is normal to prepare for a drought in the following year, as one year's good harvest may not be followed by another like it. And this implies seed for the third year. Yosef here is praeluding to there being more years of famine.
There shall be neither plowing - for what is the use of plowing when the earth is baked, and it is evident that even beyond the depth of the furrow there is no water? Seed sown would be better eaten.
Nor harvest - and even if there were to be a plowing, it would be without issue, so severe is the drought.
Psook 45:8
"Veata lo-atem shelachtem oti hena ki haElohim vayesimeni leav leFaro uleadon lechol-beito umoshel bechol-eretz Mitzrayim"
So now it was not you that sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Father to Pharao = Translation of the title; Vizier. But the expression shows that though his responsibilities may include his kinfolk, it transcends them. But also, Yosef and relatives under his protection must act responsibly towards Egypt. A conflict of interest, or a conflation?
If purposes coincide, neither.
[And note that familial terms indicate a level of closeness and respect even today - young associates are 'achi', respected older gentlemen are 'abba'. Especially so among the Edomites and others native to that region.]
Psook 45:9
"Maharu vaalu el-avi vaamartem elav ko amar bincha Yosef samani Elohim leadon lechol-Mitzrayim reda elai al-taamod"
Make haste, and go up to my father, and say to him: So says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.
Psook 45:10
"Veyashavta veeretz-Goshen vehayita karov elai ata uvaneicha uvenei vaneicha vetzoncha uvekarcha vechol-asher-lach"
And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shalt be near to me, you, and your children, and your children's children, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have
Dwell in the land of Goshen - Yakov's kin are not to mingle with all Egypt or presume upon their relation to Pharaoh through Yosef, but to exist separately, both for their own and Egypt's sake. It is not intended that they become Egyptian, but merely that they be included under Egypt's umbrella.
As herdsmen, and as stewards of Pharaoh's cattle, they will be separate from those who later in this account sell themselves and their lands to Pharaoh for food, and they will remain mobile - such as a tribe fleeing from oppression at some point in the future might well need to be.
Psook 45:11
"Vechilkalti otcha sham ki-od chamesh shanim raav pen-tivaresh ata uvetcha vechol-asher-lach"
And there will I sustain you; for there are yet five years of famine; lest you come to poverty, you, and your household, and all that you have
He finishes the statement which began in psook 45:6. 'These past two years, and yet five more years'.
Psook 45:12
"Vehine eineichem root veeinei achi Binyamin ki-fi hamedaber aleichem"
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
Paraphrasis: "You are witnesses, and Benyamin, who bears no blame, is also a witness - it cannot be covered up; both your knowledge of events, and the life of Benyamin, wil testify that these are the facts, or else he would be a slave, and you would return desolation to Yakov".
Regarding the language Yosef spoke to this brothers, the Ramban opines that the holy tongue was the language of Canaan, as Abraham did not bring it there from Ur of the Chaldees or from Haran, where Aramaic was spoken. He mentions also that what Yosef said of the circumstance that brought him to Egypt was greater proof of his identity than his language, as linguistic ability (speaking Canaanite) could be expected of important Egyptians accustomed to dealing with foreigners.
Psook 45:14
"Vayipol al-tzavrei Binyamin-achiv vayevke uVinyamin bacha al-tzavarav"
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
As brothers who have not seen each other in many years will do, like Yakov and Esav. But on Benyamin first, as this is the brother whom he had not seen longer than the others, who stands in for his father Yakov, and who was blameless of events. Only then his other brothers.
[And note that there is no suggestion of one wishing to bite the neck of the other, as Rashi imputed to Esav - though the circumstances are not dissimilar, and the expression is virtually the same. Some of the early commentators were quick to condemn Esav.]
Rashi here sees fit to allude to the two temples in (the territory of) Benyamin, and the tabernacle of Shiloh in Yoseph, which are destined to be destroyed. The juxtaposition is a useful mnemonic, but no causal link is credible. So, 'as', not 'because'.
THE ROYAL COMMAND
Psook 45:16
"Vehakol nishma beit Paro lemor bau achei Yosef vayitav beeinei Faro uveeinei avadav"
And the report thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying: 'Joseph's brothers are come'; and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
Why was the report pleasing?
Because Pharaoh and his servants knew by this that Yosef was not alone, but had family and the sense of responsibility towards others that his position required. But if Yosef is not alone, then there are others like him (having similar talents or virtues), and among these too there surely must be those by whom Egypt can benefit. And further, Yosef putting his kin separate from, and not over, Egypt, spoke well of his and his kinfolks character, as in a previous parshas we saw that the allegation against Yosef was unbelievable and moot to Pharaoh.
And it may be said that Pharaoh and his household were pleased because they saw that Yosef's brethren had come for him from Canaan, from whence he had been stolen, as Yosef would not have intimated the exact details. One does not portray one's relatives in an unfavourable light, the more as his brothers had eaten at some distance from the pit (so as not to hear his entreaties), wherefore he could not have heard aught of the discussion regarding his fate, and he himself knew who had found him there and who had sold him, and who had brought him down to Egypt.
Psook 45:17
"Vayomer Paro el-Yosef emor el-acheicha zot asu taanu et-beirchem ulechu-vou artza Kenaan"
And Pharaoh said to Joseph: 'Say to your brothers: Do this: load your beasts, and go, get you to the land of Canaan;
Why did Pharaoh say this to Yosef?
Because it shows that it is by his (Pharaoh's) wish that it happen, not by Yosef favouring his kin over his obligations. It is his wish because Yosef had benefitted Egypt (as might his relatives), and Yosef had done so and proven himself worthy of trust because he feared Hashem.
Think of it this way: "If I do well by Yosef, who has preserved my kingdom, then Yosef's god cannot by Yosef withdraw his favour".
Pharaoh, by commanding Yosef's brothers, authorizes the expense, thus either augmenting OR supplanting the money that Yosef had laid out. And one who provides funds has not only the merit of the action he has thus enabled, but also the merit of enabling the action through others, who also gain merit.
Psook 45:22
"Lechulam natan laish chalifot semalot uleVinyamin natan shelosh meot kesef vechamesh chalifot semalot"
To all of them he gave each man changes of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver, and five changes of clothes.
So much more to Benyamin because Benyamin endured accusation, and as previously mentioned, to Benyamin is as if to Yakov.
Psook 45:23
"Uleaviv shalach kezot asara chamorim nosim mituv Mitzrayim veeser atonot nosot bar valechem umazon leaviv ladarech"
And to his father he sent in like manner ten asses laden with the best of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with grain and bread and food for his father by the way.
Asses and she-asses - not only what they were laden with, but also the animals themselves, as including both genders makes it a herd which will have young, not merely a pack-train.
The best of Egypt - Rashi, a wine merchant, happily seizes upon this to mean vintage wines, based on Talmudic references. But a better understanding is those things which add enjoyment to life, as well as those things which sustain life (grain and bread), and in addition to delicacies and tonifying foods for his father.
Psook 45:24
"Vayeshalach et-echav vayelechu vayomer alehem al-tirgezu badarech"
So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them: 'do not become agitated while underway.'
Do not become agitated... Why is this said?
Because not only are they commissioned by Pharaoh as we read in psook 45:17, but this too is by the hand of Hashem, and therefore their responsibility surely outweighs other considerations.
It is like this: "Do not become entangled in issues or side-tracked, but singlemindedly make haste, for this is of primary importance. Also do not dwell on my reappearance (which may put you in a bad light), or wonder what untruths you told our father before, but focus instead upon the matter at hand. Do not let your resurgent shame prevent you from doing what needs to be done."
Tirgezu (distracted, agitated) is also associated with fear and trembling - "do not fear, because it is by Pharaoh's authority and protection that you travel, and do not fear, lest what you told our father now come to haunt you. You will not be robbed while underway (because of the power of Pharaoh), and when you arrive it will be evident tha Hashem arranged even that you should have made your brother go down to Egypt and become viceroy for precisely this eventuality".
YAKOV FAINTS
Psook 45:26
"Vayagidu lo lemor od Yosef chai vechi-hu moshel bechol-eretz Mitzrayim, vayafag libo ki lo-heemin lahem"
And they told him, saying: 'Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.' And his heart rejected it, for he believed them not.
Why did his heart (mind) reject it?
Because it defied reason - were he to believe them now it would negate what they had told him all these years, and why would Israel have a future beside the land? It is furthermore natural to disbelieve the extraordinary.
It was unbelievable, like before, when Hashem both spoke of and showed to Pharaoh the coming famine (psook 41:1 - 7), as explained by Yosef (psook 41:25 - 29). NowYakov's sons spoke to their father and showed what had been sent with them by Yosef (as substantiation of what they said), and explained what had happened and what Yosef had told them.
Also, an attachment to the land where he was now settled (after fleeing it years before, and being in exile by Lavan many years) affected Yakov, and an infection by its inhabitants among whom he lived, azoy: if the land was to be the inheritance of Israel, then would it not would include the resources, among which the population?
Israel was small at that time, and it could not yet be conceived that they would be so large as to fill the land (though that is indeed what was promised to Abraham), so logically, a civil assumption of authority springs to mind, rather than a divinely guided inheritance.
As we shall see from the example of the Egyptians who will sell themselves and their land to Pharaoh, and who in the future will side with a new Pharaoh in persecuting the Hebrews, a land cannot sustain two separate peoples.
Psook 45:27
"Vayedabru elav et kol-divrei Yosef asher diber alehem vayar et-haagalot ashero-shalach Yosef laset oto vatechi ruach Yaakov avihem"
And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them; and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.
The wagons that Yosef had sent - with the authority of his position, and the approval of Pharaoh, and as per Pharaoh's command.
Psook 45:28
"Vayomer Yisrael rav od-Yosef beni chai elcha veerenu beterem amut"
And Israel said: 'There is much; Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.'
There is much - a surfeit of things good to Israel. The news that his son lives, the return of all his other sons, including Simeon who was held in Egypt, and Benyamin upon whom he relied and ose freedom had been at risk, and also the reconciliation of Yosef with his brothers. There is much.
I shall go and see him before I die - that which he dared not think for many years now becomes reality, and his most heartfelt wish will be fulfilled.
But he does not say that he will die upon seeing his son; he expects and intends to yet return to the land.
FAREWELL TO THE LAND
Psook 46:1
"Vayisa Ysrael vechol-asher-lo vayavo Beer-shava vayizbach zevachim l'Elohei aviv Yitzhak"
And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Thus recommitting to the land, as he and his fathers had there trusted Hashem.
By the sacrifice at Beersheba Yakov honoured his father Yitzhak who had been wont to sacrifice there also, and so, by sacrificing to the god of his father he honours both his father and his father's father, and thus reaffirms his faith in and adherence to the covenant of Hashem to Abraham.
Psook 46:2
"Vayomer Elohim leYisrael bemarot halaila vayomer Yaakov Yaakov, vayomer 'hineni'"
And God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said: 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said: 'Here am I.'
Psook 46:3
"Vayomer anochi ha El-Elohei-avicha al-tira merda Mitzraima ki-legoi gadol asimcha sham"
And He said: 'I am God, the God of your father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation.
This informs Yakov that it is by Hashem's devising, and it shall be indeed that the land is to be Israel's inheritance - Hashem is everywhere, even in Egypt, and even in Egypt will Israel be heir to the Eretz Kadosh.
Psook 46:4
"Anochi ered imcha Mitzraima veanochi aalcha gam-alo veYosef yashit yado al-eineicha"
I will go down with you into Egypt; and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes.'
Hashem speaks to Yakov in particular, but also means that He wil bring his descendents up from Egypt back to the land.
Note that this is not a promise, but a statement of fact (because it is Hashem speaking).
Jacob the individual will return to the land, and Israel the collective of Jacob are also destined to return. This is a future event, openended when it is said, and hence an eternal certainty. Even at the very end of time, Hashem will bring Israel up, and Israel's return to the land is according to Hashem's design. It is a mitzvah to live in the land, and if a mitzvah is to be performed, Hashem will assist therein. Or rather, it is by the aid of Hashem that one may perform the mitzvah.
And in relation thereto, note that ten represent Israel, as the ten brothers did before Yosef during the first visit. And one also represents Israel, as Benyamin during the second visit, and as Yosef was and Yakov will be before the Pharaoh. Even the remnant represent Israel, with whom Hashem will be when descending and when returning up to the land, at all times since Israel went down into Egypt, as it says "and I will surely bring you up again".
And Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes - it is customary for the favoured son to close the eyes of his father at the time of death, though normally it is the right of the oldest son to be the one who does so.
[In the family of Abraham normal applecarts, however, are often upset. Younger brothers get the blessings of the eldest son, and second-born sons might end up with the farm. This whole tale turns around such twists.]
Psook 46:5
"Vayakam Yaakov miber shava vayisu venei-Yisrael et-Yaakov avihem veet-tapam veet-nesheihem baagalot ashero-shalach Paro laset oto"
And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
Psook 46:6
"Vayikchu et-mikneihem veet-rechusham asher rachshu beeretz Kenaan vayavou Mitzraima, Yaakov vechol-zaro ito"
And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him;
A LIST OF EVERYONE
Being a listing of all those whose descendents shall return from Egypt.
Psook 46:7
"Banav uvenei vanav ito benotav uvenot banav vechol-zaro hevi ito Mitzraima"
His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
When refering to lineages the plural sons (of) and daughters (of) is accurate. All his seed implies all who are and will be among his descendants.
Psook 46:8
"Veele shemot benei-Yisrael habaim Mitzraima Yaakov uvanav bechor Yaakov Reuven"
And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's first-born.
Psook 46:10
"Uvenei Shimon Yemuel veYamin veOhad veYachin veTzochar veShaul ben-hakenaanit"
And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of the Canaanite woman.
Rashi explains that the Canaanite woman was Dinah, by reason of her having been raped by Shechem the son of Chamor the Chivite. Which is bent but logical. Then Rashi states that Shimon, her brother, who was thirteen at the time when she was raped, married her. Which poses a problem - who is the father of Shaul? He is the son of the Canaanite woman, which if that is Dinah means that he was born after Asnat, if Rashi's previous assertion that Asnat, Yosef's wife, was Dinah's daughter, is to be believed.
So if Shimeon had fathered him, why is he called the son of the Canaanite woman?
Rather, he is mentioned last in order, and as the son of the Canaanite woman, which suggests that Shimon may have had a concubine from among the daughters of the land, contrary to the ideal custom of Abraham, Yitzhak, and Yakov.
In any case, the son of the Canaanite woman is not of the same mother as the other sons of Shimon. Rashi's explanation is far-fetched - the obliqueness of reference in the text suggests a mother not worth any further detail, though her son must be mentioned as part of Israel.
Psook 46:15
"Ele benei Lea asher yalda leYaakov beFadan-aram veet Dina vito kol-nefesh banav uvenotav sheloshim veshalosh"
These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
With his daughter Dinah - whose offspring adhere to no tribe (unless of course Rashi's incestuous explanation is believed), and thus cannot be counted by tribal nomen or to the land, though nevertheless part of Israel - a foreshadowing of the Erev Rav.
Mention of Dinah here, and mention of the Canaanite woman previously - if they are the same person, why is mention made twice?
All the souls, his sons and his daughters - if daughters, then who beside Dinah? Rashi earlier postulated Asnat, yet it is as logical to suppose the 'Canaanite woman'. If her son is also counted (and his soul came from her), then she too has a lineage among Israel. Likely a convert, perhaps a 'bas Sarah', and conceivably as such adopted. But as she and Dinah are mentioned separately, they are meant separately.
Hence 33 souls.
Rashi also mentions Jochebed, who was born in Egypt, as the thirty third - a monumental stretch, as lineage offspring are listed in order according to their parent, and it is clarified in the list that exceptions to coming to Egypt are Manasseh and Efraim, whose lineage on their mother's side is also made clear - they are the grandchildren of Potifera, priest of On (psook 41:45).
Regarding Jochebed, this is the same as Moses' mother, according to Bava Basra 123a. But this would be most remarkable, as she would then have to become pregnant when already a generation older than Sarah was when she gave birth at the age of ninety years.
Rashi, in reasoning al pi Bereishis Rabbah, that the spouses of Yakov's sons were twin sisters of other brothers, explains the absence of these wives as meaning that they died before the descent to Egypt, hence the soul-count being seventy. But it is those whose lineages will be part of the Hebrews who leave Egypt during the time of Moses who are listed, the count is by lineages descended from Yakov with whom Hashem will be at that return to Canaan, as mentioned in the psook that leads this listing (46:4).
[This count concerns itself with ancestral lines, not individuals - there are no bondsmen or servants mentioned, and we know that Yakov had left Lavan with his own men. Abraham, it will be recalled, also had men of his household who were not related to him. It defies reason to believe that in addition to the women all being dead, the men of the household had all disappeared. And this is in no way even hinted at in this account.]
And further, if it is meant that the non-listing of these wives must mean that they died before the descent to Egypt, then the absence of any other names leaves precious few women by which further members of the tribe would be born - unless they married Egyptian women, which surely would be far worse than marrying Canaanites, who at least would have spoken the same language. It begs the question how Yakov's boys kept from going native (they remain a separate people until the exodus).
Psook 46:26
"Kol-hanefesh habaa leYaakov Mitzraima yotzei yerecho milvad neshei venei-Yaakov kol-nefesh shishim vashesh"
All the souls belonging to Jacob that came into Egypt, that came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six.
Psook 46:27
"Uvenei Yosef asher-yulad-lo veMitzrayim nefesh shenayim kol-hanefesh leveit-Yaakov habaa Mitzraima shivim"
And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls; all of the soul of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were seventy.
Seventy is a metaphor for a multitude, and parts, as we have seen throughout the tale of Yosef and his brothers, represent the total. The singular mention of 'soul' to which Rashi alludes shows the unity of Yakov's family, and declares them followers of one god (as distinct from the people whom they left behind, and those adjacent to whom they will live in Egypt).
[Pursuant thereto, it is well to realize that 'soul' in this section of the five books is a metaphor for those who believe in the god of Abraham. Not that other humans have no souls, but in the same way that those who deny the resurrection are denied resurrection, and those who deny an afterlife are denied an afterlife, the souls of those who do not follow the god of Abraham are irrelevant to this tale. Soul in the singular is a collective or multiple concept, like Israel, and souls in the plural refers to individuals, like Israel.]
REUNION
Psook 46:29
"Vayesor Yosef merkavto vayaal likrat-Yisrael aviv Goshna vayera elav vayipol al-tzavarav vayevke al-tzavarav od"
And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a very long time.
He wept excessively, because all that he had forced himself to forget came back to him, and he had so long not been part of the life of his kin.
The Midrash states that Yakov controlled himself at this point by reciting the shema - which, therefore, may be seen as conveying both praise and thankfulness. As you knew.
[This is the second time when someone who has excellent reason to be agrieved falls emotionally on Yakov's neck. Do not mention teeth.]
Psook 46:31
"Vayomer Yosef el-echav veel-beit aviv eele veagida leFaro veomra elav achai uveit-avi asher beeretz-Kenaan bau elai"
And Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father's house: 'I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him: My brothers, and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me;
He will announce to Pharaoh the arrival of his kin, he will not hide it. But he will prepare Pharaoh also for their arrival.
Psook 46:32
"Vehaanashim roei tzon ki-anshei mikne hayu vetzonam uvekaram vechol-asher lahem heviu"
And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
They brought their wealth with them, and all that they have - they did not arrive as paupers to be a burden.
[And wealth further implies men in addition to the sons, as wealth attracts attention and cattle require hands.]
Psook 46:34
"Vaamartem anshei mikne hayu avadeicha minureinu vead-ata gam-anachnu gam-avoteinu baavur teshvu beeretz Goshen ki-toavat Mitzrayim kol-roe tzon"
That you shall say: your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth till now, both we, and our fathers; that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is abhorrent to the Egyptians.'
This reflects the difference between the settled and nomadic populations, and it is well to bear in mind that they worship at different altars, and are thus suspect to each other, because oaths and therefore trustworthiness are paired with religious affiliation, as are feasts and eating together. One does not trust those with whom one cannot dine, and it is well to recall kashrus at this point.
Psook 47:1
"Vayavo Yosef vayaged leFaro vayomer avi veachai vetzonam uvekaram vechol-asher lahem bau meeretz Kenaan vehinam beeretz Goshen"
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said: 'My father and my brothers, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.'
Psook 47:2
"Umiktze echav lakach chamisha anashim vayatzigem lifnei Faro"
And from among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
Five men - as a representative number who can speak for the family. And including Yosef, half of the sons of Yakov.
Why not all?
To show that they speak for each other, not just for themselves or their own households. And with Yosef, they also speak to Pharaoh's benefit. And it is likely that he picked those more likely to make a good impression (Rashi disagrees).
Psook 47:3
"Vayomer Paro el-echav ma-maaseichem vayomru el-Paro roe tzon avadeicha gam-anachnu gam-avoteinu"
And Pharaoh said to his brothers: 'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh: 'your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.'
Psook 47:4
"Vayomru el-Paro lagur baaretz banu ki-ein mire latzon asher laavadeicha ki-chaved haraav beeretz Kenaan veata yeshvu-na avadeicha beeretz Goshen"
And they said to Pharaoh: 'To sojourn in the land have we come; for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, we pray you, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.'
Psook 47:6
"Eretz Mitzrayim lefaneicha hiv bemeitav haaretz hoshev et-avicha veet-acheicha yeshvu beeretz Goshen veim-yadata veyesh-bam anshei-chayil vesamtam sarei mikne al-asher-li "
The land of Egypt is before you; in the best of the land make your father and your brothers to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell. And if you know of any able men among them, then appoint them stewards over my cattle.'
Stewards over my cattle - as agents of Pharaoh, and with his patronage.
Psook 47:7
"Vayave Yosef et-Yaakov aviv vayaamidehu lifnei Faro vayevarech Yaakov et-Paro"
And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and stood him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
And Jacob blessed Pharaoh - in greeting. It is still customary to do so.
It is fitting that the leader of the family should be preceded by his sons; Yakov comes not as a servant. And therefore he stood - inferiors or supplicants were expected to abase themselves, but Pharaoh accepts and expects that Yakov stand. Pharaoh honours Jakov (and Yosef) by waving protocol, then shows respect to Yakov by asking about his age.
Psook 47:8
"Vayomer Paro el-Yaakov kama yemei shenei chayeicha"
And Pharaoh said to Jacob: 'How many are the days of the years of your life?'
Psook 47:9
"Vayomer Yaakov el-Paro yemei shenei megurai sheloshim umeat shana meat veraim hayu yemei shenei chayai velo hisigu et-yemei shenei chayei avotai bimei megureihem"
And Jacob said to Pharaoh: 'The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.'
A courtly exchange, but note that the formality is the politeness of near-equals, a far cry from Yosef's first interview with Pahraoh, which was marked by a to-the-pointness, as of an inferior speaking to a superior. It is well that the boss sees what manner of clan he is giving permission to settle to, and also to show courtesy to his most valued employee.
Jacob in response is self-depreciating, in effect saying "and yet I cannot be compared to my fathers (not only in years but also in other matters) for I have not accomplished what they accomplished".
[How else can one account for his non-germane prolixity?]
Sojournings - having left home as a young man under a cloud, and also having left the home of his maturity, and even having left the home of his old age, Jacob sojourns, not at home anywhere, having the multi-layered sense of home common to nomands and emigrants, where the place of home is an ideal formulation rather than an actual locus. And note that 'home' is ennumerable in years.
Psook 47:10
"Vayevarech Yaakov et-Paro vayetze milifnei Faro"
And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
Now this, though courteous, is the reverse of the normal situation between a monarch (especially one representing the deities of Egypt) from whom the blessing flows outward (it should emphatically not be read as the brocho we say when invoking Hashem, which is as subject to the Master of the Universe). But the blessing of a man like Yakov was something worth having - a man of potent spiritual power, a numinous entity.
Psook 47:11
"Vayoshev Yosef et-aviv veet-echav vayiten lahem achuza beeretz Mitzrayim bemeitav haaretz beeretz Rameses kaasher tziva Faro"
And Joseph placed his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
In ancient times the region of Rameses (the land of Goshen) in the northwestern part of Egypt was a part of the Semitic cultural zone, as were Canaan, Padan-aram & Aram Naharein, and, forget not, Ugarit.
THE FAMINE WAS EXTREME
Psook 47:13
"Velechem ein bechol-haaretz ki-chaved haraav meod vatela eretz Mitzrayim veeretz Kenaan mipnei haraav"
And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was extreme, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.
Languished - became weary, because agricultural efforts were to no avail, making a waste of the effort, and because the famine weighed heavily upon the populace, bowing them down.
Psook 47:15
"Vayitom hakesef meeretz Mitzrayim umeeretz Kenaan vayavou chol-Mitzrayim el-Yosef lemor hava-lanu lechem velama namut negdecha ki afes kasef"
And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said: 'Give us bread; for why should we die in your sight, as our money fails.'
Why should we die in your sight - said because Yosef had authority over the food-supply, and by his decision in this matter they would live or die.
Psook 47:16
"Vayomer Yosef havu mikneichem veetna lachem bemikneichem im-afes kasef"
And Joseph said: 'Give your cattle, and I will give you bread for your cattle, if money fail.'
By acquiring livestock for Pharaoh Yosef accomplished three things: effected their survival by a trade, preserved both national resources and the worth of the treasury, and demonstrated the worth of his kin (who were, if able, appointed stewards over Pharaohs cattle).
Psook 47:19
"Lama namut leeineicha gam-anachnu gam-admatenu kene-otanu veet-admatenu balachem venihyouanachnu veadmatenu avadim leFaro veten-zera venichyouvelo namut vehaadama lo tesham"
Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be bondmen to Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not desolate.'
Us and our land - but both already belonged to Pharaoh. Yet by thus trading they are not shamed, and are sustained.
That the land not be desolate - to indicate that the famine will end after the next year, as they will be sustained one more year during which there will be sowing, at the end of which there will be a harvest, and the land will be replenished. But in the meantime, they need to have food.
Psook 47:21
"Veet-haam heevir oto learim miktze gevul-Mitzrayim vead-katzehu"
And as for the people, he resettled them city by city, from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
To better preserve the nation. But in so doing, he unified what had almost certainly been a mixture of ethnicities and differing cultures into a nationality, and prevented regional revolts during the years of famine. Only the priests, directly stipended by the king, and thus, like Yakov's kin (stewards of cattle), functioning directly on behalf of the king, were free from resettlement.
It may be said that in thus leaving two potentialy competing hereditary groups tied to the royal house (namely the priestly caste and the Hebrews), with privileges, who where not of serf-class, the scene was set for a rivalry that those who were not priests were bound to lose upon the falling of the dynasty. The new royals would need the priests to sanctify their power, and would see the Hebrews as dubious, not an asset, and probably supportive of the previous kings. And further, the downfall of so large and prosperous a group (as the Hebrews were to become) could not but be advantageous to the priests (and likely the new Paharaoh). But this is speculation.
Psook 47:22
"Rak admat hakohanim lo kana ki chok lakohanim meet Paro veachlu et-chukam asher natan lahem Paro al-ken lo machru et-admatam"
Only the grounds of the priests he did not purchase, for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and lived from the portion which Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they sold not their land.
Psook 47:23
"Vayomer Yosef el-haam hen kaniti etchem hayom veet-admatchem leFaro he-lachem zera uzeratem et-haadama"
Then Joseph said to the people: 'Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.
Psook 47:24
"Vehaya batvuot unetatem chamishit leFaro vearba hayadot yihyoulachem lezera hasade uleachlechem velaasher bevateichem veleechol letapchem"
And it shall come to pass at the ingatherings, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.'
One part to Pharaoh, in part as as a hedge against future famine.
Four parts - for seed (first part), for food (second part), for the servants and workers of the household (third part), and for the children (fourth part).
Assuming that the five parts are ranked in order of importance, starting with Pharaoh, why are the children mentioned last? Why not ahead of the servants?
Because a household is hostage to the goodwill of its servants, who must be well fed in order to consider the benefit of their master as their own.
And children result only once a family is established - if there is no seed, no food, and no farm, then there is little to sustain the children in any case.
A fifth, and four parts - meaning that the populace is tasked hereby as agents of Pharaoh, not as managed property, nor as mere tenants. And thus the basis is laid for the eventual persecution of the Hebrews, because the Bnei-Yisroel are not tied to Pharaoh-the-instution as a citizenry under common circumstance, but as officers over kine in Goshen and to Pharaoh-the-house, as we shall see when a new Pharaoh (of a new dynasty), who has no relationship with Yakov's clan ("knows not Yosef"), comes to power. The bonds between the Hebrews and the former ruling house will no longer hold, and this new Pharaoh will seek to lower these people, who unlike the rest of his subject are not bound to the land and the country in the way that ensures a smoothly functioning society. It will further be to his benefit to dispossess these people - throughout history that has been a potent argument in favour of striking at minorities.
Psook 47:27
"Vayeshev Yisrael beeretz Mitzrayim beeretz Goshen vayeachazu va vayifru vayirbu meod"
And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they acquired property, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.
As stewards of Pharaoh's cattle they were insulated from the misfortune that the people of the land had endured.
Acquired property - took holdings, and perhaps laid the seed of discontent against themselves, because they presumed, as herdsmen (shepherds, who were "abhorent to the Egyptians"), and did so at a time when Egyptians suffered.
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GRITS AND TOFU
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