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PAR'SHAT VA'ERA: Ethics of a Godly Leader pt 2.  Empathy? But What About Me?

1/27/2017

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 וגם אני שׁמעתי את־נאקת בני ישׂראל אשׁר מצרים מעבדים אתם ואזכר את־בריתי׃ 

Moreover, I have [also*] heard the groaning of the people of Isra'el, whom the Egyptians are keeping in slavery; and I have remembered my covenant.  (Exo 6:5) 
*The Hebrew has the word, 'also'.


WE SHOULD EMPATHIZE WITH THE PROBLEMS OF OTHERS EVEN WHEN WE OURSELVES ARE SUFFERING.

 In Chasam Sofer, Rabbi Moshe Sofer explained why the word 'also' is included in the verse though it may seem superfluous (and there are no superfluous words in the Torah). 
     He says that by it is inferred that it is not only HaShem who heard the 'groanings', but the people also heard one another's cries. Even though the entire Jewish people were enslaved and afflicted, they did not forget the plight of their fellowman. 
     By this, HaShem encourages us not to be so wrapped up in our own problems that we forget to empathize and be concerned for the plight of those around us, who may after all be under a heavier burden that we are, while out of concern for others refuse to impose their burdens on those around them through verbal complaints. 

Here is a little anecdote about this.  
The mother of Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv has a custom to collect money for the poor at funerals. At the funeral of her only daughter, she also collected charity. When asked how she was able to compose herself at the height of her grief, she replied, "Just because I am suffering doesn't mean that the poor have to suffer also."
(Tnuas Hamussar, vol. 2, p. 28). 


Our Master has certainly left us an example to follow on this matter. 
     He Himself is described by Isaiah the prophet as, ... a man of pains, well acquainted with illness. ... Though mistreated, he was submissive -- he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to be slaughtered, like a sheep silent before its shearers, he did not open his mouth.  (Isa 53:3-7 CJB)


     Fully aware of what expected Him within the next few days in Jerusalem, He stopped on His way to comfort Lazarus' two sisters who had just lost their brother. Yochanan records that at that moment,  

Yeshua cried; (Joh 11:35 CJB). 

      Anticipating the soon coming destruction of the Temple and of the city, even at the height of His suffering, He made sure to empathize with the 'daughters of Jerusalem' saying, 



"Daughters of Yerushalayim, don't cry for me; cry for yourselves and your children!  (Luke 23:28). 

     While Himself unjustly hanging on the tree, He cared for the thief who, admitting his guilt, begged to be 'remembered', 

"Then he [the thief] said, "Yeshua, remember me when you come as King." Yeshua said to him, "Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-`Eden." (Luke 23:42-43). 



    Finally, just before the end, our Master also made sure that His mother, as well as His youngest disciple, would be cared for after His departure,

"When Yeshua saw his mother and the talmid whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, "Mother, this is your son." Then he said to the talmid, "This is your mother." And from that time on, the talmid took her into his own home. (John 19:26-27).



   But we might say, "Oh, but this is Yeshua! He can do that, but we can't!" Let' play with that self-absolving argument. When Aaron lost his two sons, he was in the middle of a great dedication ceremony, but the faithful Levite refused to mourn while in the service of HaShem. Not only did he not want to draw negative attention away from this very important moment and to himself, but he also didn't want to dampen the joy it meant for the people of Israel. Later, he went to mourn his two sons in the privacy of his own tent with his own relatives. 

*******
Paul, The Master's dear apostle gave us a commandment to practice empathy. he instructed us to, 

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."  (Rom 12:15). 



     This command doesn't seem to be conditional to our state of mind at the time. Following Yeshua's example, we are not to indulge in burdening others with our problems, but are to be aware and concerned with their problems. 

NOTE: All that said, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't share our personal issues with others in order to get help, counsel, prayer, or even comfort and sympathy, but we are to do so in private, with the leaders of the congregation so as not to burden the whole congregation with our personal issues. While we are to give that sympathy, we are not to indulge in milking it from others. Sad to say, congregation 'prayer requests' times are often hijacked into 'pity parties'! We must remember what the dear apostle also said to the Roman congregation, 

'There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.'  (Act 20:35 CJB)

    Following the example of the Master, while ujustly imprisoned Paul, and Silas his travelling companion, cared more for their jailer than for themselves and even for their own freedom. Here is the account that Luke, Paul's biographer, left us regarding that episode,

The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. After giving them a severe beating, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to guard them securely. Upon receiving such an order, he threw them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood. Around midnight, Sha'ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God while the other prisoners listened attentively. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. But Sha'ul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We're all here!" Calling for lights, the jailer ran in, began to tremble and fell down in front of Sha'ul and Sila.  (Act 16:22-29 CJB)

Paul's motto was, 

 When we are cursed, we keep on blessing; when we are persecuted, we go on putting up with it; (1Co 4:12 CJB)



    James, the Master's brother, also tells us how to handle the adversities of life in,

Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.  (Jas 1:2-4 CJB)



What I feel about this is that, if we do not know how to take today's afflictions with patience and joy, how will we be able to emulate the example of the early Jewish messianic martyrs whom the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Jewish believers in first century Israel) challenges with,

What more should I say? There isn't time to tell about Gid`on, Barak, Shimshon, Yiftach, David, Sh'mu'el and the prophets; who, through trusting, conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, received what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, had their weakness turned to strength, grew mighty in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead resurrected; other people were stretched on the rack and beaten to death, refusing to be ransomed, so that they would gain a better resurrection. Others underwent the trials of being mocked and whipped, then chained and imprisoned. They were stoned, sawed in two, murdered by the sword; they went about clothed in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, mistreated, wandering about in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground! The world was not worthy of them! All of these had their merit attested because of their trusting. Nevertheless, they did not receive what had been promised, because God had planned something better that would involve us, so that only with us would they be brought to the goal. (Heb 11:32-40 CJB)


MAY WE, WITH ALL THE MARTYRS OF THE FAITH THROUGHOUT THE AGES, TAKE OUR TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS PATIENTLY.

 MAY WE, LIKE THE MASTER, USE THEM AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE TO PROVOKE IN US EMPATHY FOR OTHERS, RATHER THAN SYMPATHY FOR OURSELVES. 

R' Gavriel Lumbroso

 

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PAR'SHAT SHEMOT: Ethics of a Godly  Leader: Empathy With the Suffering of Others.

1/20/2017

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 ויאמר יהוה ראה ראיתי את־עני עמי אשׁר במצרים ואת־צעקתם שׁמעתי מפני נגשׂיו כי ידעתי את־מכאביו׃ 
 וארד להצילו מיד מצרים ולהעלתו מן־הארץ ההוא אל־ארץ טובה ורחבה אל־ארץ זבת חלב ודבשׁ אל־מקום הכנעני והחתי והאמרי והפרזי והחוי והיבוסי׃ 
 ועתה הנה צעקת בני־ישׂראל באה אלי וגם־ראיתי את־הלחץ אשׁר מצרים לחצים אתם׃ 


Adonai said, "I have seen how my people are being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slavemasters, because I know their pain. I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that country to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Kena`ani, Hitti, Emori, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi. Yes, the cry of the people of Isra'el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. 
(Exo 3:7-9 CJB)


HaShem claimed that He has seen the oppression of His people and heard their cries. He also says, "I know their pain" which all resulted in "I have come down...". In two weeks we will go over Par'shat 'Bo'. Though English texts of that parasha translate it as 'go', in Hebrew, 'Bo' means 'Come'. The sages have therefore concluded that if HaShem tells Moshe, 'Come to Pharaoh...' (Ex 10:1), as opposed to 'Go to Pharaoh...', HaShem must be in Egypt. From there we learn that Hashem did not just content Himself with looking from afar. He came and took part of the afflictions of His people. 

This sets an example for would-be leaders of HaShem's people. We cannot be satisfied with leaders with only remote empathy. A leader of HaShem's congregations need to be able to not just say 'sorry', or 'I feel and understand your pain ...', (when they really sometimes don't) but to really truly empathize, and that from a heart of experience. Therefore, one cannot be a  true leader of HaShem's people without having personally gone through harrowing experiences. This seems to be the hallmark of all of HaShem's leaders.  

I am remembered of the famous story of Jim Elliot and Nate Saint who went to teach about the God of Yeshua to the Mincayanis, a Waodani tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador in 1956.  The tribe  was so engrossed in personal vendettas that they did not know what it was to have grandchildren. They actually killed Jim and Nate with their spears. The wife of Jim Elliot decided to continue her husband's work and went to live among the  Mincayanis in order to care for them. That was something that took them by surprise. Her main message was about the God who could understand them  because He Himself had lost his son by a spear. But though it was painful to Him, He did not choose to go for revenge but rather to use His son's death as an element of life for those who killed him.  You can watch the docu-drama rightly called 'The End of the Spear' here: http://christian-flix.com/end-of-the-spear/ Those tribes people felt that God could understand them so they were willing to listen to His Words and let them change their lives.

Here is an anecdote to illustrate the point. (Heard from Rabbi Shalom Shwadron)

A little boy was playing in front of Rabbi Shwadron's house in Jerusalem. The child fell, and received a nasty cut. Hearing the child's cry, Rabbi Shwadron ran outside, put a towel over the cut, and rushed over with the boy to a doctor that lived nearby. As he was running, an elderly lady noticed his concern and distress and, thinking it was one of Rabbi Shwadron's children, called out, "Don't worry, don't worry, Hashem will help!"
   It so happened that the boy was the woman's grandson. Rabbi Shwadron was curious to see her reaction when she would realize the child's identity. Sure enough, as soon as she realized that it was her grandson, she stopped saying, "Don't worry," and started screaming at the top of her lungs, "My Meir! My Meir!" while neighbors tried to calm her down.
   When someone else's child is involved, you may detachedly say, "Don't worry"; but when your own child is involved, then you'll shout!

Such kinds of leaders were the foremen of the Children of Israel in Egypt. 

The text of the Torah tells us, 

'The foremen of the people of Isra'el, whom Pharaoh's slavemasters had appointed to be over them, were flogged and asked, "Why haven't you fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday and today, as you did formerly?"(Exo 5:14)

   These officers were Israelite. They had pity for their fellow Israelites and did not force them to fill their quotas. When the officers handed over bricks to the Egyptian taskmasters, the taskmasters beat them for not having pressed the workers to fill their quotas. (Shemot Rabbah 5:20 cited by Rashi).

   The Chofetz Chayim writes that leaders very often take unfair advantage of the people working under them. The just mode of behavior, however, is to never act condescendingly to others, even if you are elevated to a rank above them. Arrogance is a trait which is strictly forbidden. According to some authorities, the prohibition against arrogance is listed among the 613 commandments of the Torah. We should learn from the officers of the Children of Israel who not only did not take unfair advantage of those under them, but who even suffered physical pain to aid them. (Machaneh Israel, pt 2 ch 3.)


   It is recorded in the Torah that when Moshe followed Jethro's advice to share the load of the care of the people by delegating responsibility onto others,  he looked for ... able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, ....(Exo 18:21) When Moses asked the people to chose these kinds of leaders, Jewish historians tells us that the people chose these officers who had suffered the lash of the Egyptians on their behalf.


Paul taught from the events in the desert saying that ... these things took place as examples for us, ...(1Co 10:6). This choice by the Children of Israel should therefore serve us as a good sample of the kinds of leaders we should chose for our congregations.
 
The Master Himself taught about these things in the following words. He said,
    
"You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. Among you, it must not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! (Mat 20:25-27)

..whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Mat 23:12)

The Master Himself, our Leader and King, set the example for us by suffering the lash of the Romans on our behalf. 

It is the conviction of this writer that only when, like the Children of Israel of old,  we will desire and establish such types of leaders over  our congregations: 
  • leaders who give their lives; 
  • leaders who do not consider their office as gain;  
  • leaders who reject pride and arrogance in favor of humility and service; 
  • leader who, through their personal abnegation can show the miracle of the resurrection in their own lives of service to the body; 

then our messianic movement will be strong and conquer the world, just as it did before! 

R' Gavriel Lumbroso


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PAR'SHAT VAYECHI: True Deeds of Kindness are Those Performed Without Ulterior Motives.

1/12/2017

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 אם־נא מצאתי חן בעיניך שׂים־נא ידך תחת ירכי ועשׂית עמדי חסד ואמת אל־נא תקברני במצרים׃

"If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, (Gen 47:29 ESV)


​You may have noticed that whereas I usually use the CJB for an English text of the Tanach, this time I used a ESV text. The reason for that is because in this case, whereas the CJB text represents a correct literate meaning, the ESV gives us a more literal text which I need for this midrash. 

The commentary Genesis Rabah 96:5 asks, "is there such thing as 'lovingkindness of lying', such that he should say, "lovingkindness and truth"?! 

Medieval Torah commentator Rashi notes that in Gen 47:29, Jacob asks for a favor to be done to him once he is deceased. Rashi then expounds on Jacob's request to Joseph by observing that  a favor done for the dead does not generate any reward from the deceased. They can't even say 'thank you' or give you a smile of acquiescence. Therefore 'lovingkindness of lying' must be lovingkindness done with the ulterior motive of a reward. 

We generally have big difficulties with thןד principle. We always look forward for some sort of reward for our unselfish actions, even if it is just the warm feeling that comes from doing unselfish acts. Human nature is such that we have difficulty with the idea of giving without being rewarded with at least recognition or  an acknowledgment of some sort. Our Master Yeshua who is aware of our natural selfish nature warned us against that attitude in, 
 
What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Mat 5:46-48 CJB)

 

Taking this further, here is a part of a teaching from Rabbi Chayim P. Scheinberg, Head of Yeshiva Torah Or in Jerusalem. he says that, 'A woman should not look at her daily chores; she should be happy for the opportunity to take care of her home, especially caring for the children.' [When we feel like complaining about the dishes, let's remember that we have those dishes because Hashem in His great kindness provided us with something to eat. When we complain about house-cleaning we should think of those outside subject to the elements and who would be happy to have a home to clean. The sometime daunting task of raising children should always remind us that Hashem blessed us with them]. 'Children rarely appreciate what their mothers do for them (until perhaps they have children of their own), so it is real CHESED SHEL EMET (KINDNESS OF TRUTH) to care for young children.'  [Sometimes even the husband doesn't even appreciate  the efforts of his spouse as he should. This is even more 'KINDNESS OF TRUTH on the part of the wife.]

If that same housewife had the opportunity to serve a religious/spiritual leader, or even to perform the same good deeds of feeding and caring in the  name of some altruistic mission, she would be happy to do so. It is no less of chesed/kindness to do it for our own children. What it the difference? When we serve people or a cause, there is the reward of recognition which young children seldom give us. But in the eyes of the Father, the later is more  meritorious than the former. 

The same can be applied to men, or those in households who 'bring in the bacon' (and of course we are talking about 'turkey bacon :-)). Often that person has to be subjected to intense demands of jobs or assignments that they may or may not like; working with colleagues that they may or may not like; under a boss that they usually don't like, in less than perfect situations, But they are doing it for the chesed Torah obedience act of caring for their families, who may or may not show what they consider is the due appreciation for their efforts. Working under the negatives of these situation are the meritorious parts in eyes of Hashem. 

I would like to take this further home and apply it to marriage.

Any given married person sometimes feels like they are doing all the giving while the other is only taking. Chances are  that the 'other' feels the same. It is so because both look at things from the perspective of different lenses. More often than not, they are both right in their own merits so they refuse to see things from the other's point of view. At this point, it seems hopeless. 

What we have to realize then is that according to the teachings of Torah and of our Master, while it is encouraged to be giving encouragement and praise to those who serve us, it is not wrong to do one-way giving without any expectations in return. It is actually meritorious to do that. Again, our Master said, 

What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? 
Why, even sinners love those who love them. 
What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that. 
What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full.(Luk 6:32-34 CJB)

Here is another article to illustrate the idea.

When Rabbi Moshe of Kobrin was 7 years old there was a severe famine in Lithuania. Poor people wandered from village to village in search of food. Many of them flocked to the home of Rav Moshe's mother, who readily cooked and baked for them. Once a very large number of the poor came to her home and she had to cook for them in shifts. When some individual grew impatient and insulted her, she began to cry, since she felt that she was doing her utmost for them. Her young son, the future Rabbi of Kobrin said to her, "Why should their insults trouble you? Don't their insults help you perform the mitzvah [commandment] with sincerity? If they had praised you, your merit would be less, since you might be doing the kindness to get their praise, rather than to fulfill the Almighty's command."

This anecdote goes against our natural reaction that would have the young rabbi protect his mother against the insults of the ungrateful beggar. Instead, the young Rabbi reminded her of the Torah which encourages us to forego earthly praise and acknowledgements for our good deeds in favor of heavenly praise and recognition. In this manner the young Rabbi protected more than his mother's present earthly temporary suffering; he secured and protected her future heavenly eternal reward!

This sounds much like what the writer in the Book of Hebrew wrote concerning the women of the persecuted Jewish messianic community in first century Israel, women who refused, ... to be ransomed, so that they would gain a better resurrection. (Heb 11:35)

Finally. this anecdote goes along with the Master's teaching, 
"Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So, when you do tzedakah, don't announce it with trumpets to win people's praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! But you, when you do tzedakah, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you. 
(Mat 6:1-4 CJB)


Our Master who performed his earthly acts of kindness was rewarded with man's ignominy and hatred. As such He followed the sample of His Father  who out of love for us gave His Son as a ransom for our Torah-breaking. See how we acknowledged the Father's sacrificial gift ... 

MAY WE LEARN TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT WHETHER WE ARE REWARDED OR NOT. 

MAY WE LEARN IN EVERYTHING WE DO TO PERFORM FOR AN AUDIENCE OF 'ONE'; 
ONLY FOR HE WHO IS THE FATHER OF ALL KINDNESS AND MERCIES.

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PAR'SHAT VAYIGASH: Ethics of Brotherly/Sisterly Love

1/6/2017

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 ... ויגשׁ אליו יהודה

Then Y'hudah approached Yosef ...
(Gen 44:18)

If you have been following our weekly midrashes, you have probably seen that I dissect these parashas according to authentic Jewish and Chassidic eschatological traditions, as well as fish heavily for ethical patterns. Par'shat Vayigash brings a conclusion to both.

The sages of Israel often associated the peace, plenty, security, and love of The World to Come with the resolution of the conflict between the two Houses of Israel, the House of Judah (Southern kingdom/Leah), and the House of Ephrayim (Northern Kingdom/Rachel). Our text this week takes us to this important resolution and therefore on the prophetic path envisioned by the prophet Ezekiel, in a vision preceding that of the great war of Gog and Magog (chapt 38-39),

"You, human being, take one stick and write on it, 'For Y'hudah and those joined with him [among] the people of Isra'el.' Next, take another stick and write on it, 'For Yosef, the stick of Efrayim, and all the house of Isra'el who are joined with him.' Finally, bring them together into a single stick, so that they become one in your hand. When your people ask you what all this means, tell them that Adonai Elohim says this: 'I will take the stick of Yosef, which is in the hand of Efrayim, together with the tribes of Isra'el who are joined with him, and put them together with the stick of Y'hudah and make them a single stick, so that they become one in my hand.' (Eze 37:16-19 CJB)


We see today a preliminary time of this united Israelite nation in the nation of Israel itself where all the descendants of Jacob are called 'Jews', descendant of Judah, regardless of which tribe they originally belong to. 

Our parasha takes us to the mechanics of this union. As we have seen last week, Joseph tests his brothers as to their resolve of repentance, and also as to their attitude towards their father. Were they going to break his heart again by easily giving up Benjamin and thus, as children of Leah, secure their own inheritance from the House of Rachel? As we saw, the House of Leah passed the test. Judah rose to the  occasion when he offered himself as a slave to Pharaoh instead of Benjamin in order to protect his father Jacob,

So now if I go to your servant my father, and the boy isn't with us -- seeing how his heart is bound up with the boy's heart --when he sees that the boy isn't with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sh'ol with grief. For your servant himself guaranteed his safety; I said, 'If I fail to bring him to you, then I will bear the blame before my father forever.' Therefore, I beg you, let your servant stay as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father so overwhelmed by anguish." (Gen 44:30-34 CJB)


On a side note, this story shows us the truth in the old adage, 'As long as there is life there is hope!' We often do wrong things in life, things that we feel we can never correct. But if later, if even much later, the path of our life takes us to a  situation that is similar to the one we have previously miserably failed in; if at that time we draw from the lessons learned and the maturing caused by that miserable failure and make the right decision, it serves as an atonement, as a second chance to pass the test and this time get a A+.  HaShem is truly the God of second chances.

Back to Judah and Joseph. The mechanics that establish the cosmic reconciliation between Judah and Joseph are very simple and were the ones taught us by the Master. 

Let's first look at Joseph. The important ingredient that Joseph needed to bring to the table was his total faith in HaShem which caused him to not desire to avenge himself from his brothers,

Yosef said to his brothers, 
"Please! Come closer." And they came closer. 
He said, "I am Yosef, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But don't be sad that you sold me into slavery here or angry at yourselves, because it was God who sent me ahead of you to preserve life. ... God sent me ahead of you to ensure that you will have descendants on earth and to save your lives in a great deliverance. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household and ruler over the whole land of Egypt.  (Gen 45:4-8 CJB)

Joseph showed us here the true meaning of the HaShem's injunction through Moses and Paul,

Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai. (Lev 19:18 CJB)

Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God's anger; for in the Tanakh it is written, "Adonai says, 'Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay.' "  (Rom 12:19 CJB)


Now is the time to take stock of our lives. Do we bear any grudges for the suffering caused us by others? Does our attitude towards it conflict with these verses? The Master tells us,

So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift. (Mat 5:23-24 CJB)

Now let's look at Judah's participation in the peace-making process.

Judah really had a change of heart. From, "... what advantage is it to us if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Yishma`elim, instead of putting him to death with our own hands. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." ... (Gen 37:26-27 CJB) to, "Therefore, I beg you, let your servant stay as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father so overwhelmed by anguish."(Gen 44:33-34 CJB), Judah made a 180 degree reversal. An example of true repentance which HaShem greatly honored. This radical change from the pits of selfishness to the grandeur of giving himself for his brother and father earned his house the crown of Israel. 

If you have really turned from your sins to God, produce fruit that will prove it!  (Mat 3:8 CJB)


Pain [repentance] handled in God's way produces a turning from sin to God which leads to salvation, and there is nothing to regret in that! ... (2Co 7:10 CJB)

The deeds of the fathers are truly portent to the children. In their deeds the fathers not only show us that they learned obedience though the things that they suffered, but they also left us a blueprint on how to also bring the Kingdom of God on earth today in our families, congregations, and communities, and that before it eventually covers the earth as the waters cover the seas. 

MAY WE LEARN LIKE JOSEPH TO PUT AWAY RESENTMENT, GRUDGES, AND DESIRE FOR VENGEANCE.
MAY WE LEARN LIKE JUDAH WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TRUE REPENTANCE, AND HONESTLY CHANGE OUR WAYS.

SO THAT AS THE MASTER TAUGHT US TO PRAY TO OUR FATHER:

 תבא מלכותך ... כאשר בשמים גם בארץ׃

"MAY YOU KINGDOM COME ... ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN"
(Mat 6:10 CJB)

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