Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue
Weekly Parasha
Parasha #9: Vayeshev (He continued living) B’resheet (Genesis) 37:1-40:23
Halftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8
B’rit Hadashah: Acts 7:9-16
Parasha:
In this Parsha we learn of some of the animosity that existed between Yosef and his brothers. One of the reasons that the brothers disliked Yosef is because he would repeat things to his father about them. In chapter 37:2 it reads: "And he (Yosef) brought their evil talk to their father."
Many ask how could a righteous man like Yosef have been guilty of lashon harah (gossiping)? Some sages as a way of apologetics say that Josef didn’t actually gossip and that Yaacov used Yosef as a model for his brothers to follow. He would lecture them, demanding that they follow Yosef’s example. This of course added to the tension between Yosef and his brothers. When we set someone as an example of "good" against siblings, other members of their family or institutional family we invent an artificial environment in which those being critically examined become resentful.
Yet, other Sages feel that even a righteous man such as Yosef might have been caught in the web of lashon harah. Many years ago I learned a valuable lesson from a trusted friend. I was complaining about a business competitor and in the course of my diatribe I was maligning this competitor’s character. My friend gently reminded me that expending the energy to tear someone else down would better be spent by concentrating on building up my own resources. I have never forgot that advice.
The great Rabbi Yisrael Meir Hakohen, also known as the Hafetz Hayim, refrained from all gossip. He said that lashon harah is more dangerous than any gun or bomb made by man because while all weapons have a specific range in which they operate, lashon harah can cause damage to anyone anywhere in the world. You can ruin a man’s life and reputation just by speaking evil about him. A tale is told of the Hafetz Hayim who was traveling in a carriage with a few other passengers. One of the passengers, who didn’t recognize him, asked if he had heard about the great Hafetz Hayim. The Hafetz Hayim, being a modest man, answered that he knew of the man, but didn’t think that he was all that great. Upon hearing this, the passenger smacked the Hafetz Hayim across the face. The Hafetz Hayim said that he learned from this episode that lashon harah was so bad that a person may not even speak lashon harah about himself.
In the B’rit Chadasha James wrote, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain" (James 1:26). When men take more pains to seem religious than really to be so, it is a sign their religion is in vain. The not bridling the tongue, readiness to speak of the faults of others, or to lessen their wisdom and piety, are signs of a vain religion. The peerson, who has a slandering tongue, cannot have a truly humble, gracious heart. False religious may be known by their impurity and uncharitableness. True religion teaches us to do every thing as in the presence of G-d. An unspotted life must go with unfeigned love and charity. Our true religion is equal to the measure in which these things have place in our hearts and conduct. And let us remember that nothing avails in Messiah Yahshua, but faith that worketh by love, purifies the heart, subdues carnal lusts, and obeys G-d's commands.
And lastly, lashon harah has also been likened to murder for it destroys the person it is directed against.
Halftarah Relevance to Parasha: (Amos 2:6)
We see Yosef being sold into slavery in this week’s Parsha. In the Halftarah, Amos tells the nation that even though they bring sacrifices and celebrate Holy Days, G-d is going to punish them and exile them. One of the reasons for this severe punishment is that the people are selling the "righteous for money." This is the same sin that the brothers committed against Yosef. Being dutiful to G-d is not enough. You must also be dutiful to your fellow man.
Sayings of the Sages:
"In three more days, Pharaoh will hang you." (40:19)
Why did Yosef interpret the baker’s dream in such and abrupt and negative way?
A story is told of a famous artist who drew a lifelike portrait of a man with a basket of fruit on his head. The fruit looked so real that birds would try to eat it. A prize was announced for anyone who could find something wrong with the painting. A wise man said that the painting had a major flaw. The man was obviously not lifelike, for had the man looked as real as the fruit, the birds would have been too scared to eat from his basket.
Yosef realized that the baker had seen himself as someone dead, otherwise the birds wouldn’t have eaten the bread in the basket.
Some things to think about:
1. The Torah tells us that Yaacov favored Yosef because he was the child of his old age. But we know that Yosef wasn’t the youngest son, Binyamin was. According to the Torah, Yaacov should have loved Binyamin even more than Yosef! Why then was Yosef the most loved?
2. The focal point of this Parsha is the selling of Yosef into slavery. Why, in the middle of all the action does the Torah insert the story of Yehudah and Tamar?
3. Yosef asked the Pharaoh’s butler not to forget him. Our Parsha ends with the verse, "And the butler did not remember Yosef, and he forgot him." Was this forgetfulness ingratitude, an accident, or divine intervention?
Gematria:
"And Yaacov lived in the dwelling place of his father;(37:1)
Where exactly is this dwelling place? The numerical value of the phrase migurey aviv, "the dwelling place" is 278. The gematria gives us a hint that it was Hebron, for the numerical value of ze Hevron, "This is Hebron" is also 278.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Davis