Vayechi - 5th Portion

Join me as we learnish for the fifth day Thursday parishes chapter 49 verse 19. Yesterday we began as Yakov to began to bless his children. The first six of his children were blessed. to Ruv Shim and Aliy were rebuked while Yehuda is and Zulun were given special blessings as well as done. Today we continue with starting with the tribe of God. Verse 19, troops will march forth from God and they will return on their tracks. Rashi over here is going to explain what this word god gdud and how this all comes into play and what the prophecy that Jacob is saying. Verse 19 all the different words and are all referring to troops different groups. And this is what Manakim explained. Manakim is referring to Rashi's uh teacher concerning Hebrew grammar. His name was and he talks about the different ways how grammatically what this word may be. Now Rashi explains if you might say that the word is not written without two dolls. So therefore what is which they only have one. How can they mean a troop? One can explain that the root word of the word gad shame gdud the troop itself is like a noun it's not describing anything and however when it comes are describing a certain type of action that happened so the actual noun has to have two dollars and that's why the word has two because generally any word that's made up of two letters to be repeated at the end of the word again Soimal. So therefore the last one of the letters are repeated again but the root word itself is only two letters. Now rashi is now going to continue with the rest of the rashi is going to be bringing us many different types of such type of examples where you have the word with only one uh one letter or then it's repeated at the end. So for example, as it says in the book of Proverbs, the bird moves and that's from the same word like but it only says it once to move over there in the book of Judges it says over there a demon fell which comes from the word. So too in our case where it says the word all three of these words mean are all coming from the same word which means true [snorts] when he's talking in a word of activity of a verb it's not repeating it like we mentioned before the few words that he said all of these are made up of two words of two letters which is the root word for example god shav but when he uses exam and a verb. He does not repeat the letter at the end. He only says it once. When he's talking about a action that happened in the past or an effect that it's happening on somebody else, then he would repeat it. For example, he groups together, he wanders, he uplifts, he assimilates or he which is from the root word of when he gets others to do. So for example, so again over there when he's using the root word maybe two letters but it's talking about having an effect on somebody else he's going to add the letter again at the end of the word. Same thing over here in our verse. >> [snorts] >> So too over here when he uses the terminology they will troop together and that's not talking about that other people will do it from them they will gather groups my children went out or they went out for me. So too, when we're looking back at our verse, what is it referring to? God, that troops will march forth from God. Meaning that troops will come forth from them that they will go together with their brothers to the other side of the of the Jordan to war, all the people who are ready for war. It's until the war until the actual land of Israel is conquered and then they will come back and in exchange of that as we read at the end of the book of numbers they will get the allotted portion on the other side of the Jordan who and they will return on their tracks. So what does this mean? This Rashi explains mean refers to the tribe of God. All of the tribe of God will return back home in peace to their plot of land that they took on the other side of the Jordan. And nobody will be missing that everybody will return home safely. Usually means a heel, but over here it means in the same way they went. That these troops that went to war will be able to return home safely in the same way they went. Yeshua, they will come back. We find this where it says that your footsteps are not known meaning that the word though it means generally healed but it also refers to a person's steps of where they walk and how they walk and where they go in other places we find and as it says in old French your where you go your steps where you take is noticeable that you've gone there verse 20 now he goes to usher may usher from usher's territory will come forth the richest foods. He will provide the king's delicacies. What does this mean? So, a food which is generally we call the general food can be referred to as the word bread. The word doesn't only mean bread but it refers to the general concept of food that will come from the portion of usher will be juicy will be oily meaning because they'll a lot of olives in his portion and they'll have so much oil like a wellspring that there'll be so much oil they'll be dipping all their foods into oil gave him the same similar blessing. that his land will be so steeped in oil like water that they'll be able to immerse in oil that in the track of and it's brought us in a factual state where this blessing actually came to be that one time the people of Lutka which is a place in the land of Syria needed lashem and needed oil and they sent a messenger he went from place to place until he came to a place which was full of oil and that was and they gave him a bucket full full of uh and they gave him a full bucket of oil and it says that he was able to immerse himself meaning that the oil that they gave him was worth hundreds of thousands of zuzim that he was able to get at the time verse 21 we now move on to naftali naftali naftali will write that the fruit of napali's property will ripen as quick and the literally the translation of means a deer set loose one who offers words of praise. What does this mean? So there are multiple interpretations as we're see inside. What is the word? This refers to the valley of ginoser. the valley of Ginoser which came into the portion of Napa in that area it was quick for the fruit to ripen said it's fruit to come quick it's referring to an area which is by the kerat the Talmud says the tractor of migilla that canerat was called gininoiser and one of the reason why it was called gininoiser was because its fruit are very sweet at as as as the um as The sound of a harp or violin and therefore it was called the valley of gininoiser was coared to a deer because it has very good fruit. The same way this dove who very quickly goes to a place can go the deer can go from one place to the next very quickly. So too these fruits ripen quickly and they are very tasty. Meaning the deer that is sent that the deer runs very quickly and you cannot stop it in its tracks or one who offers words of praise. Like the says that any person that eats the fruit will give praise and say wow these are beautiful delicious yum great fruit. This is referring something else as well that this can be explained also was giving a prophecy about that when Cisra came to wage war against the Jewish people the tribe of Naftali hurried and recognized that this was dangerous and they were the ones the first to go out to war against them and as D'vorah tells Barak in the book of judges and you'll take 10,000 people from the tribe of you will go there and they went there hastily. It also says there which means sent which also shows that they went quickly that they quickly barak ran to be able to wage war against them. Another gives words of praise. This is referring to the song of Dvorra that because of Napali they because of the tribe of Napali and Dvor later on gave song to the success of the Jewish people on the waging of the war against Cisra. The rabbis give another explanation to this that this was referring to on the day that Jacob was buried. What does it mean that they will give praise to what he said when was being buried as we're going to learn later on in the Torah reading that Asov came complaining and saying one second Leia is already buried there the other spot in the cave of the patriarchs for me and what happened was they had to send Napali to the land of Egypt to go bring the document that showed that Asov was willingly gave up and sold as we spoke a few weeks ago that when Yakov gave him all the money when he set and as set out the amount Seer Yakov purchased from him the rights to be buried in the cave of the patriarchs. But he had to show him the document. The document was in the land of Egypt as it says in the tractor of Satan and Afali was the one who quickly ran to bring the document because he was blessed to be like a deer that he can run quickly. The tarum explains in a good land he will have his portion and he will thank God because he will give thanks to God that he was able to get such a beautiful property with such great fruit and its great things that come from it. [snorts] Verse 22, we are now about to describe Yoseph's blessing. Benf Yoseph is a charming man. Alien charming to the eye. The girls used to walk up along the wall to gaze upon his beauty. And as we're going to see there are different explanations of what this means, how and what Yoseph and what Yakov is referring to about this blessing. So let's see in Rashi what this means. Ben Ysef Benf Rashi 22 meaning he will find grace in people's eyes a charming individual. The word pas is an Aramaic word like in the words that Rabbi Shim accepted grace from upon us. Let us grant favor to Rabbi Shim as it's discussed at the end of detracted. So Rashi explains he was charming to any eye that saw him. He was very pleasant to the people that saw him. that the girls would go along the wall explains the daughters of Egypt would walk along the wall of the city to see his beauty. Therefore, he says and even though he begins by saying plural many but then means walk they would all walk one on their own. The daughters they wouldn't go in big groups but they would go one on their own. to go to a place that they should be able to view him from there. Another explanation because they see him because the daughters of Egypt would then walk along the wall to watch his beauty because of looking at him like the words that I see him but it's not. Now there's many different explanations of what this verse actually means. of this is what the seemingly simple interpretation is after tells us the verse before now he tells us the grammatical explanation of the word pus the in the word which is the last letter is who is making it sound better whenever there a tough can be at the end of a word it's not necessarily changes the translation of the word but the tough can make it sound more poetic. What does the word mean? That comes from the word to see. We have this in other places. They went up that the women of Egypt, the girls of Egypt went up on the wall that in order that they should be able to see better. The explanation that of the Aramaic translation and this is something else. meaning that two tribes will come out from his children which is and they will take part of two different sides of the Jordan. And as we know, half of was part of the tribes that were on the other side of the Jordan. And why does he write daughters and not sons if he had two sons? Because the children of Manasha, the daughters of Manasha, referencing to the daughters of that they were on both sides of the Jordan. They were the ones that asked Moshe to have a portion in the land of Israel. And their portion happened to be somewhere on one side of the Jordan and somewhere on the other side of the Jordan. But these are the children of Yoseph. Telling us that these children of Yoseph his his children that will come from him. And the word comes from the word pir his children that come from him. There are other in this verse that explain this terminology that's used in the verse and they explain it as follows. When Asov came to greet Jacob when he was returning back from love and home and the daughters of Jacob and the daughters of everybody bowed down to Asov and all of them and all of them the daughter the mothers went before their children to bow down to say that Yseph went first and only afterwards. Why did Yseph go before his mother? Joseph said to himself, "This evil guy, he thinks of himself haughty and great. Maybe he's going to look at my mother and therefore he was concerned them to protect his mother." He went first and he picked himself up to protect her from Asov seeing her. And this is what his father's blessing him because you my son lifted yourself made yourself taller. You made yourself greater. Therefore where did you get this greatness from to protect from the eye of seeing as therefore you then merit to such great things. What's the greatness that you've gotten was that the girls should come out to look at you when you were made visor of Egypt. All the girls came out of Egypt to everybody to see you. Another way that the Talmud explains it and the medish explains it. This was a blessing that Jacob was giving Yseph that his children will not be affected by an evil eye. So too when he blessed earlier he blessed them similarly that they should be like fish that no evil eye affects fish as well. Verse 23. They embittered his life and they became as salient. They hated him destined to share with him with arrow sharp tongues. What does this mean? Who made his life bitter? What was going on over here? And it refers to again as we continue with Yoseph verse 23. Rashi Many people made Yoseph's life miserable until Yseph became the great person he is who made his life bitter of his brothers that they sold him who made his life bitter and his wife that they imprisoned him same from the same word which means that they made the Jewish people's life bitter and they became his asalants His brothers became his counterparts, his aliens who were fighting with him. This is not talking about the actual action. Would have been under these are the people that were fighting with him. Also, if this is talking about like shooting arrows at him, he should have said, this is something that they was already happened that the brothers were the ones that were fighting with him. That from heaven, it was already destined that it should happen. All those mean that somebody else did it. And Rash's telling us the grammatical difference. If it's a when you look at the root word and how you would announce it talking about a reference to others or if the person did it himself and how the activity as we know that in Hebrew they are seven different ways how things are p how something can be affected in the actual word and how it can be pronounced in seven different types of terminologies. They were stealing from themselves or uplifting themselves. They became the ones who were part of the argument. uses the terminology they were the ones that tried to take revenge. What does it mean with arrow sharp tongues or with arrows? What are these people with arrows that their tongues were like arrows? Meaning that they spoke about him very harshly that they wanted to kill him. They want threw him into the pit. The tarum translates They were people who were divisive divisiveness that they tried to create arrows. The word means to have half on one side, half on the other that they created divisiveness amongst them. Those that were fighting with him, his brothers that became his enemies. Verse 24, he was his prophecy concerning his brothers was fulfilled because he relied on God's might. Relied on God's might. His power was authoratively established. The arms of his hands were from mighty from the agency one of Jacob and from there one who sustains the people of Israel. What does this mean? What is he referring to? It sounds very cryptic. So Rashi explains as follows. It was settled strongly. It was firmly established of what his power would be that his hands were decorated with gold and beauty. This was the ring that was given to him on the ring that was given on his hand. The rash before and means strong that he was the one to be stronger than his brothers. What does it mean that his arms that the Pharaoh put his ring on Yoseph's finger which made him then the one in charge? The word comes from the word gold and beautiful bright gold. Where did he get this power from? How was he who chosen to be the one the leader? This was given to him from God who the father of Yakov the great one of the Jewish people Allah from there Yoseph went up to greatness to lead the Jewish people and therefore the Jewish people are called Evan Israel. Why this he was called Evan Israel the rock of the Jews the foundation of the Jews the main rock the main leader of the Jewish people using a terminology of Malus of kingdom so too the explains it this way that it's referring to the kingdom of Yseph explains as follows that his prophecy came to fruition those dreams that he said that the brothers would come to bow down to him because he kept the Torah in secret because he kept the Torah even in the time of being in Egypt. Therefore, his prophecy came to be this is an extra meaning. What is why was Yoseph why did Yoseph merit this? This that the saying this is not found in the Hebrew language. This is something that he is adding in from the Aramaic and he put his trust in God. This he's translating as the word the word he's putting his strength in God. is the Aramaic on the Hebrew words that his prophecy returned because of his strength and God that God was to him as a means for strength for power and in the faith of God. Because of that he was able to be above his brothers. His hands were then decorated as we explained before because of that his hands were decorated with gold that he became the viceroy of Egypt. Evan Israel the word Evan is made up of it is a word that's made up of two words of a father and sons. Yakov that he became the leader of the Jewish people not only for the sons but also for the father for Yakov 25 verse 25 continues to talk about the greatness of Yoseph from God from the God of your father who will help you and of the almighty who will bless the blessings of the heaven above may all from above and the blessings that lie below us with the blessings of insemination and of the blessings of and of the womb. What does this mean? So Rashi explains as follows verse 25 From your father, you had all this ability. the God of your father and because of that he helped you out because you're with your God was with your heart when you do not listen to the words of your master's wife that when she tried to seduce you and you did not fall for it and you did not listen because you had fear of God as you said I will not do so because I don't want to sin to God who therefore God is the one that's going to bless the blessing of of the womb. This is the blessing that the the translates that this is the blessing to the father and the mother meaning as follows that those that give birth and those that give the ability to have the children will be blessed. What does this mean? What's the blessing? that the male should be able to give the drop that would give it the ability that they should be able to have become pregnant because of it. And the females and the female should not miscarry the the child or the fetus and they should be able to bring the baby to full term. What is he referring to over here? that is referring to the semon of the father as the explains. He sends it forward. He he shoots it. So too when the word of refers to because the semon shoots forth like an arrow the ability for the male to give birth in the female. Verse 26. Verse 26. The blessings bestowed by God upon me your father have surpassed the blessings of my forbears to the utmost bounds of the eternal hills. They will be may they rest upon the head head of Yoseph and to one who was separated from his brothers. What does this mean? Rashi explains to us in verse 26. What does this mean? Not that the blessings of Y that Yakov is giving to Yseph is greater than the blessings that gave to Yakov. YaKob is talking about the blessings that God gave him or gave his parents and he's giving to Yoseph as what follows those blessings that God has given me continue to grow stronger and better even to the God blessed my parents that the blessings that I got and continue to be have are stronger and more than the blessings that my parents got. Why? As he explains, the blessings that I got, they got stronger. There is no limit to them. Go to the end of the world. Meaning to the the highest hills surpassed all the great the greatest blessings of the eternal hills [snorts] because God gave me a blessing. He gave me a blessing for eternity without any limitations. And they reached the four corners of the universe as God told. He said, "You will spread forth to the east and to the west and to the north and to the south." But God never told where he gave them limitations. He said, "Look and see whatever you can see. That's what's going to be given to you." That means he only gave him he only gave him the land of Israel. said to you and to your children I gave all these lands and I'll keep to the promise that I gave to your father Abraham but what does he tell him to the north to the south to the east to the west it's all yours didn't limit anything this is why says about somebody who keeps the shabas I will give you the portion that God gave Jacob our father but he doesn't say the one to a because Jacob's has no limits a was only that he saw What does the word mean? Means it has a limit. This is what explained that the word means a limit, a a destination means forefathers. We the word mean for parents. They're the ones that gave that were that were pregnant with you. They were pregnant with me in the my mother's womb. So too it also talks about we find this that the man was pregnant but meaning the man gave birth and that's why parents are called means until the end as we find this in the book of numbers you will desire you will have an end to the east side as well as he tell them you come to the edge of tenna all these blessings the ones that I got the ones of my parents are given given to the head of Yseph are given to Yseph. What is the word? A separation of his brothers separate. He's separate from his rest of his brothers. Like the word Nazerite, the Nazar has to be separate from all everybody else in the way he behaves. So two that he will separate from the holy things of the of the Jewish people. So too, we tell a person who is a Nazarite that he has to keep a distance and the rabbis explain all these verses in a different way. And here's what the rabbis explained starting from the three verses before. And they say as follows means that he was able to keep strong meaning he was able to overpower his evil inclination that though he was seduced by his master's a wife and she tried getting him to sin with him he was able to withhold himself from sinning. What does the word keshas mean then? How does this work? He calls it a bow, an arrow. I'm sorry. As we mentioned before that the shoots forth like an arrow. What does it mean then that they went through his arms, his fingers? The word the Zion can be interchanged for like which means to scream and are interchangeable. that what happened was because she seduced him and he was about to be with her. However, he had to hold himself back and the semin emanated from between his fingers came out from from between his fingers and he did not have any relationship with Kotifar's wife. That's what it means from the hands of his father Yakov that because of his father Yakov he had the ability to conquer his evil inclination. What happened was at that moment he had the image of his father in front of him who told him Yoseph your brothers are going to be written on the aphod on the apron of the high priest. Do you want your name there? And at that moment he was able to withhold himself from being with his wife as described in the tracted of the translate the word as desire wish of the great of the great hills meaning this is referring to the great righteous and great scholars are referred to the hills the top mountains. These are the blessings that that this is the blessings that why that his mother wanted that he should get from his and she made sure that Jacob would get those blessings that he was now giving over to Yseph. This concludes the fifth Torah reading of