VaYigash

VaYigash

Genesis 44:18 – 47:27

In the name of Yahushua

Our Messiyah,

I pray for the Spirit of Understanding

The Spirit of Knowledge and

 The Spirit of Wisdom

As I read through this Parasha

Parasha VaYigash is the eleventh Torah Portion in the yearly Torah cycle, at the end of Parasha MiKeitz, Benjamin was an apprehended as a thief who had been caught red-handed with the viceroy’s cup. The eleven brothers stood haplessly at the mercy of this supposingly hostile all powerful Egyptian, who determine that Benjamin would have to remain in Egypt as a slave while his brother could return to their father.

Judyah step forward risking his life, while the other brother stood dumbfounded! His speech was simple yet eloquent; controlled yet emotional; respectful yet firm. Judyah petitioned without debasing himself; He could not protest the fairness of the verdict, because the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Like a true leader he offered up himself as a substitute, not realizing that he was speaking to the very brother whose life he had save in 37:26 and settle to sell him as a slave.

In 167 BCE, Hebrew rebels led by Judyah Maccabee rose up against the Greek ruler, Antiochus, who had desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. In a series of battles lasting some twenty-five years, the Maccabees defeated the much larger and better trained Greek army.

They reentered the Temple and purified it, after which a few night’s oil miraculously kept the Temple Menorah lit for eight days, which would become the basis for our contemporary celebration of Chanukah, which was last week.

It is no concident that the story of Vayigash is generally read on the Sabbath after Chanukah, because there is a link between the Maccabees who defeated the Greek and the consciousness espoused by the Torah portion of Vayigash.

Vayigash begins with the words “Vayigash elav Yehuda,” or Yehuda stood up to Joseph. This alluded to Judyah’s resistance to Joseph’s demand that Benjamin, their youngest brother be a slave in Egypt. Judyah protested that if Benjamin was forced to come to Egypt, Jacob, would die of grief.

What this Torah Portion Vayigash made clear is that like so many Torah Portion it is more than it appears to be, a story about events that took place thousand of years ago. Below the surface, it is describing the process of redemption, which can come only when enough righteous believers rise up, just as the Maccabees did against the Greeks, and Judyah did to the Egyptians.

Vayigash elav Yehuda speaks of our elevation through what the sages name azut dekedushah, or holy audacity. Rising up with holy audacity eventually led to the restoration of the Temple and the creation of the miracle of Chanukah; where a few thousand dedicated Hebrews were able to defeat a more powerful Greek army. This victory had nothing to do with military proficiency, the miracles occurred because the Maccabees had Azut dekedusha and vayigash elav Yehuda. They had the holy audacity to stand up to the Greek. 

In the previous Torah portion of Miketz, we saw the brothers brought low by Joseph and by the challenging events they faced. This, unfortunately is our situation today. We are constantly been beaten down by the Galut, the darkness of the world.

This Torah portion Vayigash shows us how to challenge that. The great gift of the Sabbath of Vayigash is that it awakens within us the courage to stand up for ourselves when we are being oppressed; from victim to victory.

Spiritual courage and tenacity is a rare commodity in our world today. The ravery and audacity require to raise our hearts in our spiritual work is the hidden blessing of the Sabbath of Veyigash.

In Vayiash, Judyah was able to bring an end to the pain of his brothers, not because his spirit was so elevated, but because he had awakened the holy bravery within himself. One of the gifts of the Sabbath of Vayigash is that it gives us access to the consciousness of Judyah, to help us who lack the spiritual ability to awaken within us the righteous indignation. The Maccabees did it. Judyah did it. We can do it too.

Everything we want to achieve in our spiritual life has already been done by someone before us. We are not required to simply discover a new trail to the miracle of past generation. We are simply finding the trail to the miraculous that the spiritual giants of history have blazed for us.

How do we achieve holy audacity? We do it by reminding ourselves that our action reawaken what those before us accomplished, that we are only reconnecting to what they did. Because they opened up this channel for us, we can create miracles.

Mikeitz

Parashas Mikeitz

Genesis 41:1 – 44:18

In the name of Yahushua

Our Messiyah, (Jesus Christ)

I pray for the Spirit of Understanding

The Spirit of Knowledge and

The Spirit of Wisdom

As I read through this Parasha

Happy Channukah.

Mikeitz is the tenth portion of the Torah Cycle, Veyeshev the portion before this one, ends with a tremendous amount of sadness. Jacob seems to have lost his favorite son Joseph, and is in a state of morning. The ten older sons were unable to ease the grief of Jacob. Miketz describe how Joseph was sold into slavery, how he was falsely accused, of sexual advances to his bosses wife, his sentenced to prison.

Miketz starts with Pharaoh two dreams: One with the seven lean cows rising from the Nile and devouring seven fat cows, and the other dream where the seven withered ears of grain devour seven fat ears.

Pharaoh so-called wise men are unable to interpret his dreams, but the head wine steward, who had met the Kabbalah master Joseph in prison, he remember his extraordinary Kabalistic gift. Pharaoh orders Joseph taken out of prison and brought to the Palace.

Like the sixth days of creation, which depict the sixth stage to our spiritual development, we see Joseph entering into another stage of his spiritual enhancement. After years of hardship, where the principles of the Heavenly Kingdom had been cemented into his life, His final test was about to begin.

The life of a believer is like studying for a major test; now a major corporation will be in town looking for the most qualified person to fill the role as Vice President, only the best will do.

The time had come to free Joseph and begin the chain of events that would bring Jacob and his family to Egypt to fulfill the last part of the prophecy to Abraham that his offspring would be subjugated and persecuted (15:13-16).

The events of this experience begin two years after the release of the Cupbearers, and a total of twelve years since Joseph was imprisoned. At this point Joseph was almost thirty years old, Jacob 120, and Isaac 180. Isaac would die soon after.

The Kabbalah teaches that the twelve children of Jacob were not simply people; they were channels of the Light of the CREATOR. Each of them had their own spiritual task and his role as a spiritual channel in their generation, as it is ours.

Joseph’s task was to gather all of the light before it could be revealed to the world. He had the power then, as our Messiyah do now, that would unite the scattered light and prepare it to be manifested. When Joseph was sold into slavery, all his brother did not know why, they think that it was just a coincidence. Not knowing that the stone that the builder refused would become the chief corner stone.

This illustrates an important lesson. When we are not aware of those people in our life that support us spiritually and physically, we will not appreciate their assistance. It is only when those people are either taken away, that we begin to realize how much we need them.

The Kabbalists say that when Joseph was separated from his brothers, Benjamin took his place spiritually. Although Benjamin was not on the same spiritual level as Joseph, he still brought a measure of unity and spiritual elevation to the broken family. Now the rest of the story!

Gen 41:1 And it came to be, at the end of two years’ time, that Pharaoh had a dream, and saw himself standing by the river, - Pharaoh dream of himself standing by the river Nile, reflecting upon it suggests that his thoughts was focused on the river whose annual overflow determined the agricultural fate of Egypt for the next year.

Gen 41:2 and saw seven cows coming up out of the river, fine looking and fat, and they fed amongst the reeds, - The symbolism of Pharaoh’s dreams are figurative since famine and abundance in Egypt depends on the overflow of the Nile, Pharaoh saw the cows coming out of the river. Since oxen or cow are usually harnessed for the purpose of plowing the land, farming the fat cows alluded to prosperity. They came from the river symbolized that the ensuing prosperity would be limited to Egypt. The cows or oxen were beautiful alludes to years of prosperity, in farming the land.

Vyeishev

Parashas Vayeishev

Genesis 37:1 – 40:23 NKJV

Please pray this

Prayer before reading

In the name of Yahushua

Our Messiyah, (Jesus Christ)

I pray for the Spirit of Understanding

The Spirit of Knowledge and

 The Spirit of Wisdom

As I read through this Parasha

This  Parashas is the ninth Torah Portion, Vayeishev means “and he settled.” After devoting a mere chapter to the genealogy of Esau and his offspring, the Torah now turn to the story of Jacob and his family. As been its practice, the Torah gives short narrative to people who have fallen short of its goal, but speaks volumes of those who have managed to overcome and secure their inheritance.

So it was that great men like Noah, Abraham, and Isaac were discussed in great details, while millions of others men and women since creation, were mention briefly, and some not at all. It is not what is written on my tomb stone that is of concern to me. It is what is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life about me I am concern about.

Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter. The Torah says that Jacob loved Joseph, the second youngest son more than the other, so much so that Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors.

Understandably from a purely human perspective, how the other sons became jealous of Joseph. Adding to the tension, Joseph told his brother his dream, the purpose of his life. Like all who are govern by the selfish Ego, the brothers understand that Joseph would rule over them.

They, like many of us today, we fail to understand the circumstance in which it would take place, and the benefit of Joseph eventuality lordship over his brother. This Parashas was written to instruct believers that we are living in the present, we have no idea of the future. The circumstance that accurs in our lives is to provide us with the necessary tools that when the future arrive we will be ready for it.

If Jacob’s sons and ourselves would only pray for revelation, they as well as us might have understand why we like Joseph was given these dreams. The CREATOR will never leave us without a witness.

The brothers took these dreams to mean that Joseph intend to rule over then, instead, YAHVEH send Him ahead to prepare a way for then as a savior would. It was  a prospect they did not relish, when looking at it from a selfish egotistic point of view. In fact they were so resentful that they made a plan to kill him. Every time an emotion is trigger in our lives, lets pay close attention to our reaction; for with our emotions, our true character is manifested.

Every crime, every antsocial behavior, every misunderstanding is a result of the inner programming of our consciousness on our Ego, which determine our emotion. Human treat these emotion by placing each other in Prisons, ABBA YAHVEH uses these emotions or characteristic traits to show us what we are to change.

By placing people into prisons does nothing to renovate the ego. Prison is an institution that magnifies our already selfish ego. These boys were all sons of the promise; however, the selfishness of their Ego was been exposed. Now is the time to deal with the exposed selfish traits.

Gen 37:¹ Now Jacob settled in the land where his father was a sojourning, in the land of Canaan. - The contract between Jacob settled and Isaac sojourning is very interesting. This analogy seems to imply that Jacob saw Canaan as his final destination, while Isaac was looking for the world to come.

Could it also means that because of the different in the age, contribute in shaping the difference world view of these two righteous men? Isaac who had lives a full life, one who had reach maturity and walk in that spiritual state of perfection, was now looking to the world to came. While the relative younger Jacob with a young family, wanted a secure peaceful environment, one which EL YAHVEH had furnished as the place to reside.

Our world view even from a spiritual mature position, shape the way we view life. This verse gave us an insight into the mind set of two great men at different time in their life. Isaac’s view elucidate that there are too much to accomplish and too few of us are capable of doing it. Knowing that, the righteous are more than willing to sacrifice a bit of the temporary peace, for the sake of eternal elevation; even for their offspring.

Vayishlach

Parashas Vayishlach

Genesis32:4 - 36:43

Please pray this

Prayer before reading

In the name of Yahushua

Our Messiyah, (Jesus Christ)

I pray for the Spirit of Understanding

The Spirit of Knowledge and

The Spirit of Wisdom

As I read through this Parasha

This Parashash Vayishlach is the eighth Torah Portion, in the yearly Torah Cycle, it continues on the theme of Jacob spiritual development. We learn in the last Parashas how Jacob worked on his character. Now we see Jacob in his next stage of development, on how to be a peace maker?

Jacob had to run away from home, after deceiving his brother, in which his brother Essa swore to kill him. Now twenty years later this situation will finally come to a conclusion. Knowing that Esau had developed a hate rage Jacob for having tricked him of his birthright and his father’s blessing, Jacob is understandably apprehensive about facing his brother.

The confrontation between the Esau and Jacob is recorded to illustrate how EL YAHVEH sent an angel to save His servant Jacob from the hand of a stronger brother Esau. Furthermore, it shows that Jacob did not rely on his own craftiness as before, but strove mightily to ensure his safety through practical spiritual measure.

It shows that in our battle against the spirit of Esau in our lives, we must be prepared on three fronts: In Prayer, in gifts, and in battle.

The Torah tells us that prior to this meeting; Jacob prayed to ABBA YAHVEH, expressing his humility for all the goodness ABBA YAHVEH has given him. Keenly aware of his good fortune and prosperity, Jacob sends messengers ahead with gifts of assess goats, and sheep. When he approaches Esau, he bowed down seven times before his brother as an act of submission.

The Torah teaches us in this Parasha as Jacob realized the only hope he had of protecting himself and his family was to be generous to his brother, a form of the Messiyah and to diminish himself.

Only when Jacob saw Esau did he realized what he was truly battling against all this time, it was his Anochi, the god within. In that moment, Jacob Yisrael, knew that all of his spiritual works, all his prayers, all his study, none of these spiritual tools was going to help him, for his struggle was within his own ego. Jacob like Yisrael today will not recognize Messiyah Yahushua until they learn that their hope was to lower themselves before Messiyah.

It is Witten that the only way a person can become righteous “tzadik” is to throw themselves down at least seven times in their spiritual life. To understand this belief, we need to understand that most of us like Jacob at the beginning of the story. We all have a spiritual work to accomplish, we have our study to finish, and we have our faith to strengthen. We can prepare all we want for our battle against our flesh, the Esau in us, unless we learn to control our Ego, we will achieve nothing.

In order to overcome our Ego, we must first understand the magnitude of the challenge. The Ego is as great a challenge as the forces of Edom that were arrayed against Jacob. Because most of us are still living like proud Jacob, proud of our spiritual accomplishment, we failed to understand that our only purpose in life is to diminish the influence of the selfish Ego over our lives.

By humbling ourselves daily, we diminish the power of our Ego selfish and awaken the desire to share; it is the only way we can bring the forces of Edom, the flesh, under authority. Jacob tried to organize his family into two groups, to hide them from Esau, but it was not until he humbles himself, by bowing down before Esau, that he overcame. Esau had no choice but to accept Jacob. The spiritual forces of the Heavenly realm race to his rescue, shifting the balance of Power from Esau to Jacob. Humbling ourselves is our only effective to exulting ourselves

We can achieved this level of Righteousness and create the environment for miracle to happen in our lives. We create the condition for miracles when we reach the spiritual level of Ayin or nothingness, for in nothingness there is no selfish Ego. At the level of Ayin we do not care for or worry about ourselves. This is true mastering of our spiritual selves.

Through true purge of our selfish Ego and is the annihilation of our own selfish desire, we remove the spirit of darkness and confusion from us, as we draw near and nearer to the Light of the CREATOR. That was why Esau the spirit of darkness had no affect on Jacob. The Light of this Torah portion gives us the ability to create miracle, provide blessing, and even grant us redemption.

Even when judgment is meant for us, as the forces of Edom was on its way to Jacob. When we humble ourselves it nullifies the judgment and changes it into a blessing. As believers, if we can move one person, one step closer to perfection, it is a revelation of the Light of the CREATOR, it is more powerful than if we teach a thousand persons who never progress spiritually. This does not mean that we should never teach everyone we meet; it does mean that we should always have the goal of perfection foremost in our lives.

This Parashas illustrate the point that even though we may recognize someone’s negative trait, we must always be open to the potential for transformation. This was the mistake Jacob made when he try to hide his family from his brother.

In addition to encouraging us to diminish our Ego, this portion of Vayishlach reminds us to never lose sight of the possibility of redemption and the potential for drawing

Light goes only with the depth of our physical fall. We are awaken by the example of Jacob to appreciate our humility and extreme care must be take when dealing with ours  and other people’s soul.

 Gen 32:4 And Ya'akov sent malachim before him to Esav achiv unto Eretz Seir, the country of Edom. - The Hebrew account of this verse says that, Jacob send malachim (messengers) before him. Malachim or messengers are the Hebrew names for Angels. This teaches that mature believers are greater than angels, for when Jacob had need of an emissary, he had the right to summon angels to do his bidding.

The reason for the greater stature of human beings over angels is that angels are static. Human beings, however, achieve their standing through their own striving for perfection. The word malachim can either mean angel or human emissaries, sent ones or Apostles.

Angels cannot change their status, while humans are the only created being, who have this opportunity to do so. How then do we change our spiritual status? It is by our obedience to the Word of EL YAHVEH. Our perfectness is measure by how well we pass the test. The Text book is the Torah! We will be judge by the Written Word of Torah. The angel like the devil cannot improve their status; they can decline from where they are if they are ever found to be disobedient.

Angels are messengers (Rev 7:11), sons are rulers (Rev 3:21), and servants are the ones who do the work (Rev 7:9, 15). After we die, our spiritual position will never change. Ecc 11:5b and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. - As a dead tree does not have the ability to change it size or position, we humans cannot change our spiritual position after we die, we become static. That is why Revelation 7:15 say that those who were standing in front of the Throne had tears in their eyes.

Why? When they found out what they could have achieve while they were here on earth and they did not. They were crying in the spiritual sense. Do not be like one of those my friends; grow spiritually while we are still in this body, or while we are still alive. These emissaries were sent towards the land of Seir, towards the Gulf of Aqaba.