Vayeishev - 1st Portion

Join me as we learn together for Sunday. The first Torah reading of Paras Vesv, chapter 37, verse 1. Last week's Torah reading concluded by telling us about the chieftains of all the different families of the families of Asov and how Yakov settles in the land of Kevra. This week's Torah reading begins with as Yakov now is surrounded by his family. All our Torah observant following the letter of the law and he's settling and enjoying with time with his family in the city of Hevron and it was now in the year 220 from the world creation where Yakov settled safely in the land of after being after escaping from Lavan and Asaf. Where was he settled? In the region where his father lived, which wasan in the land of Cananan Rashi, why does he tell me about Jacob? Rashi explains what's happening here over here. Now that the Torah already enumerated and told us about that in short told us all about the settling of Asf and his children that they were not and it doesn't go into length because they were not important and that they should be uh that it should tell us in length about them. to explain the detail of where they were settled and what lands they went to with the order of their wars that they had. For example, how they eventually also conquered the theoret's land. But over here now the Torah changes course and starts to explain to you call Yeshua Yakov all the settlements and we are Yakov lived the and the happenings and his children in great length. And he tells us the detail all the different places where they went and why they went to the different places. And why is that? Because they're important in front of God that he should discuss them at length. He adds and continues. You'll find the same thing this rule the 10 generations from Noah. So when the verses tell us about general people who are not the greatest, the Torah tells it to them in short. For example, so and so gave birth to so and so. Then it comes to tell us about the stories of Noah. The Torah then goes at length. So to the 10 generations from that being that they're not that important in front of God, he doesn't go them at length. He tells it them in short. However, when it comes to he continues to discuss it at length and Rashi gives this a parable to the example of what it's similar to. Imagine imagine one has a diamond and it falls amongst and gets lost in the sand. person looks through the sand and he starts si uh putting it through a siev and through a and and sifting through it until he's able to find the gemstone once the fellow finds his diamond he throws out the stones he throws out the sand he doesn't need all the other stuff mi from his handless or margles and he takes the diamond so too God sifts through all the different people that he created until he comes to the diamond and the people who are important and talks about them at length. Another explanation what it means of he gives the example the parable a person who owns a lot of flax to he has camels that are ladden filled with flax and they have to go into the store and what's he going to do with them? He has to get into the place where the blacksmith is. wants to go into the area of where the blacksmith and the blacksmith deals with banging out the metal where there's fire to soften the metal and so on to so the fellow wonders and asks the blacksmith the person with the flax asked the blacksmith how am I going to get all this flax into the store if you're here with all your stuff there was one smart guy on the side one smart alec and he answered He tells him, "One little spark that comes, one little spark that comes out of the blacksmith's tools." One little spark that comes out of the bellows of the blacksmith can burn and consume the entire flax. He saw all the chiefs of families of all the different nations of Asua that were mentioned before. He wondered and he asked me and how am I able to conquer them all because it says in the end of days that the con that the generals of Asaf that will all come toion and they will be judged. And he asked question was how is it possible that at the end of days I will be able to conquer all the generals of Asaf. So what did God tell him? So therefore, what does it say later on? Who are the children of Jacob Yseph? It says that the that the family of Jacob will be like firef and the family of As will be like straw. Meaning that being that the Jewish people are compared to fire and with them Yoseph is also going to be like this flame and the Asov is compared to the flax or to the straw that will be destroyed quickly through the children of Yakov. Verse two, these are the children of Yakov, the descendants of Yakov. Ysef Yoseph, it all began in 22:16 when Yoseph was 17 years old. And what was he doing? He was pastoring the flock together with his brothers and with the sheep who and he was a young boy as Ben. And he was with the sons of Benila and with the sons of Zilpa his father's wives and Yseph brought the evil reports about his brothers and the way they conducted according to him in an inappropriate way. He told this to his father. Let's see. Rashi verse two. What's going on here? Aila told this Yakov the Torah over here is not coming to tell me he's coming to tell me about the children of Jacob but more about the places where they were and he says and these are shall told us this Yakov these are the places where Yakov lived this is the places where they lived and this is the uh things that they've done as they went along the way and that they came to a finally to a permanent place to stay in the land of Israel What's the reason why they had to move places after they were settled in the land of Israel? Number one was the fact that when Yseph was 17 years old, he was then sold by his brothers as we'll see later in this Torah reading. Because of this, they were moved and they had to go down to Egypt. is this is the explanation that would be according to the simple interpretation to explain each item according to what it needs. The med explains as follows. Why does it say these are the children of Jacob and then continue to tell me about why does the Torah say these are the descendants and begins with Y because of many things. Number one because the entire being of Jacob why he even worked by loving for 14 years was only to marry Rachel to marry Ra and was about Yseph. Another reason was because Jacob and Yseph looked alike and everything that happened to Jacob eventually happened to Yseph as well. For example, Zenistan both were hated by their brothers. This one Jacob his brother Asov wanted to kill him and this one his brothers wanted to kill him as we see later on in the verse. So too there are many of these examples that the meda brings comparing Yakov and Yseph's lives and how they were very alike. The another explanation of what this whole va is all about. The word means that he wanted to settle restfully and peacefully wanted to sit in peace and in harmony. that all of a sudden came the problems and the suffering that he had to go through the anguish of the sale of Yseph. And this is because the righteous want to have serenity sit in peace in this world. God says to them, "Isn't it not enough that what they're going to have and what's prepared for them in the world to come?" They also want to sit in peace and tranquility in this world. What does it mean that he was a young man? He would do things which were appropriate for young people. Meaning for example, he would comb his hair or make his hair look nice. He would uh do something to his eyes according to someone would put some mascara whatever it may be something to make his eyes look good that he should look on the outside he should look beautiful what does it mean that he was with the children of the children of meaning to say he would hang out with the sons of because the other brothers would embarrass them saying that they were from the children of the maidervants But Yseph was nice to them and would speak to them and bring them close as what were the bad words that he would say this not that he made up stuff anything that he saw wrong of his brothers the children of Leia do he would tell his father for example Rashi says that they would be eating from the limb of a living animalic and that they would be disrespectful to these children of the maid servants calling them servants because since their mother were made servants. And number three, and he accused them of promiscuity. And all of these three things that he spoke against his brothers, all of these three things were happened to him as well. He be was punished with them as well. Number one, the fact that he accused them. Because of that, they slaughtered a a goat and dipped his shirt into it, thereby thinking that he was killed. And they did not eat it while it was alive. And they did not eat it while he was while the goat was alive. But and also they didn't say that he was still alive. And the very fact that he called and the fact that he spoke to his father that his brothers called the other brothers slaves was sold as a slave. And then and then the fact the promiscuity that he told to his father as well what happened to him that he was seduced by his master's wife. What does the word mean? never uses the terminology in the verse for words fur that anytime he would try to find something bad to speak about them he would the word also comes from the word that the for example the talks about in the song of songs that wine is good for those that articulate and speak even those that are sleeping Continuing in verse three, however, Israel referring to Jacob loved Yoseph more than all his other sons because he was a son of old age. Not only that, he made for him a robe of fine wool. What does it mean? Rashi explains that he was born to met an old age. However, the translates this to mean he was a brilliant boy for him, a young smart individual. Whatever he learned of the Torah in the Yeshiva, he gave it over to Yoseph. Another explanation was that they looked very much the same that he looked like Jacob and therefore he had a special love towards him. Pim what does the word pim mean clay? These were clothes about clothing which was made from very fine wool. For example, we find this in the book of Esther also the which is mentioned by the book of Shak another medish explains that over here the word is actually an acronym of the troubles that are going to happen to Yseph because of the troubles that is going to happen to Yseph. Number one, which is the pay to the merchants, to the Arabs, and to the Midionites, and all those make the word. And the brothers saw that his father liked them, liked him more than the rest of his brothers, and they hated him for it. And they could not speak with him peacefully. tells us because of the um terrible things he would tell his father about from the not nice things that the Torah tells us about the brothers, the fact that they hated him. We also learn their praise, we also learn something nice that even though the Torah is telling us something negative about the brothers, we learned something positive as well that they were straightforward. It wasn't that they said something and felt something differently. Whatever they felt they were outspoken and said that as well and because of that they couldn't speak peacefully to him to speak with him. Verse five and Yseph had a dream and he told it to his brothers and they continued to hate him even more after the dream because of the dream. What was the dream? Verse seven. day. And behold, he said to them and he said, I'm sorry, verse six. And he said to them, and he said to them, listen up to the dream that I have had. Verse seven, and there we were binding sheavs in the midst of the field, the middle of the field. When my she stood the was standing straight upright, remained standing. And then your sheavs reformed a circle and your she served a c made a circle around mine and they all bowed down to my she does it mean that we were bundling sheav were tying the wheat together to make bundles of them. We find this in the word means bundles that a person would go and announce who it was maybe it stood up and remained standing. Not only did it stand, the other ones also stood up but then they fell. His stood and remained standing while the rest of the bundles bowed down to him. verse eight. And his brothers told him, "Would you really seek to reign over us? Would you really seek to rule over us?" And they continued to hate him even more because of his dreams and because of the talks that he told to his father as well as he proved that his talk that he took the dreams very seriously. says, "The terrible things that he would tell his father about them." Verse nine, he had another dream and he told it to his brothers and he said, "I had another dream, behold the sun and the moon and the 11 stars were bowing down before me." Verse 10 and he told this to his brother told the dream to his father and to his brothers in the presence of his brothers and his father then uh became angry at him he told him what is this dream that you've dreamt how is this able to happen is it even possible that I your mother and your brothers will come to you to bow ourselves elves down on the ground before you. How is this even possible? Verse 10, he already told the dream to his brothers. After he told it to his brothers, he then went and retold the dream again in front of his brothers to his father. boy. His father saw the need to get angry at him because he was creating animosity between him and his brothers and therefore he felt that this would help to cool down the hate that existed between the brothers and Yseph in a question. He was asking your mother already died and therefore the dream cannot happen. Jacob did not know that this was referring to Billah brought him up like a mother. However, the rabbis learn an interesting thing concerning dreams just from this episode. There is no dream without nonsense in it. Every dream has to have something which is not true. The reason why did this he was hoping that his brothers shouldn't think about this. They should not be jealous of him. Therefore, when he got angry at them, he said, "Is it even possible for this even to happen?" The same way that it's impossible for your mother to come to to bow down before you because she already passed. So to the rest of the dream is nonsense and this way hoping that the brothers would dismiss it. However, his brothers remained jealous of him. It didn't help. But his father waited expectantly for this matter to take place. As Rashi tells us, he was waiting and expecting for this to happen. We find this other places meaning the words don't wait. Don't to expect it. And if we look at the beginning of this week's Torah reading where it tells us a told us Jacob Ysef these are the descendants of Yakov Yosephidus explains to us that what does it mean these are the descendants Yakov is Yoseph that if we look at Yseph life Yseph's life is a paradigm for the Jewish people going through the exiles. Yseph was a person that had great dreams but he was hated because of it. And as he went along, he was successful. And the more he was successful, the more people were jealous and the more in trouble he got and the more people hated him. So to the Jewish people, we're going to go through many different exiles where the people around us are going to hate us because of our success and be jealous of us because of our success and our knowledge. And even when we go down to a place, they're going to throw us into prison. And even there, we'll be successful. No matter what the exile will happen to us, the Jewish people will always be successful coming out on top until the time will come that they will see that Ashir that Ysef was the one that fed everybody and took care of everybody. The time when it comes the coming of Moshiach that the nations of the world recognize that Ysef the Jewish people are the essence of the world and are those greatest contribution and all of the world will be dependent on the Jewish people. This concludes the first reading of Paras Vatius.