Make up assignment Vayishlach/Vayeshev

Make up assignment  Vayishlach/Vayeshev

This Torah portion starts with the recount of Joseph telling his brothers of his dreams, and their reaction towards him, sometimes it seems unwise to speak freely but that was Joseph’s character.  From the beginning of these two parasha we see that Joseph was a young man of integrity and that his upbringing was filled with sound guiding, from his mother, father and most likely his grand father. This makes me wonder what are dreams, but opportunities to either fulfill them or avoid them.  If we recount the number of times that dreams is mentioned in the scriptures, we get approximately over 50 mentions of the word dream.  Although this is quite a large number not all of these turn to be prophetic messages in the Torah, but those that are have either been fulfilled are about to be fulfilled, or both. As in the case of Joseph it can be counted as a prophetic message that was in a way fulfilled twice and is yet to come to pass and is currently being fulfilled.  I am referring to Joseph being a type of Messiah, that he was the source of salvation from the famine and at the same time his brothers did not recognize him when they came to Egypt as he was too Egyptian for them to recognize him.  I this present day we can say the same about the pagan Jesus presented to the Jewish brothers a non Torah observant westernized Jew that cannot possibly be their Messiah, and if they follow this Jesus it would go against what they have been taught in Torah Deu 13, this is still in play today as we are yet to see messiah revealed to his brothers and the reconciliation yet to come.   The most amazing thing is that this prophecy came to pass, and not only that but the whole incident is a type of the Messiah, which was yet to come at that time and at the same time is yet to be fulfilled. These parallels are significant in that it shows us that nothing that is to happen in the future should take us by surprise, that there are always a pre-cursor that will enlighten us enough so as to be prepared and ready at the right time.

Joseph came to his brothers and they rejected him they hated him as he was the beloved of his father.  Beyond that he also was blessed with HaShem’s attention that he spoke to him through dreams and as a result he was resented for it.  If any takes the challenge of living a righteous life before HaShem and before his peers, those around him that are not in a personal relationship with God will feel intimidated and react to the point of rejecting God by attacking and persecuting HaShem’s servant.  We see that through out the generations since the destruction of the second temple, which those that clang to God’s commandments’ and observed His statutes inevitably came under the cross hairs of those that rejected God.   In the case of young Joseph he ended in a pit and sold into slavery even after pleading with his brothers.

Despite all this events the rejection by his own flesh and blood, he remained faithful to his God his upbringing and his connection with HaShem was unshakable to the point that when he was falsely accused and ended up in a jail his faith remained steadfast in his salvation the creator of the world, the one that made covenant with his fore fathers Abraham Isaac and his father Jacob.  He no doubt heard the stories from his own grand father, Isaac about the great God that had separated his family to be destined to be set aside for salvation of the mankind.   So long as he depended in HaShem as his salvation he was prospering even in jail.  The upside is that no mater how bad the situation we can still prosper as joseph did in jail, and from the pit and the dungeon we may find ourselves elevated to a place of honor. The Sages in the Talmud teach us “He that follows after righteousness and mercy, finds life, prosperity and honor” Brachos 5b.  Truth and righteousness is Torah and Mercy is acts of charity. This were the character of Joseph through out his life, yet he was the fulfillment of a prophesy to Abraham, the promise of his steadfastness was that he was to prosper no mater where and what circumstances surrounded him.

As Talmidin of the most High God and our Master Yeshua we ought to live our lives as Joseph did.  No mater our circumstances and our surroundings we should live as per our redeemed character that was in-stowed in us by our Rebbe’s ultimate sacrifice so that we may gave free access to the Father through Him and by Him Rebbe Melech HaMeshiach.  He that follows after righteousness and mercy finds life, prosperity and honor.  Not because of the recompense but because we want to honor our Father in heaven, for as children is our imperative to imitate our Heavenly Father as we imitate our own earthly father.  May he give us the opportunities to be faithful in the little so that we may be faithful in larger and weightier maters of this world. Matthew 25:21: `And his lord said to him, Well done, servant, good and faithful, over a few things thou was faithful, over many things I will set thee; enter into the joy of thy lord.