Continuing
from last week’s Parsha, Joseph’s Journey and life, we jump ahead to the
following passage , Please allow me to recap:
(Gen.
45) 1Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and
he cried out, "Make everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one
with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept so loudly
that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it. 3Joseph
said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But
his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his
presence.
4Then
Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done
so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5And
now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me
here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6For two
years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there
will not be ploughing and reaping. 7But God sent me ahead of you to preserve
for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to
Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9Now hurry back
to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made
me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don't delay. 10You shall live in the
region of Goshen and be near me- you, your children and grandchildren, your
flocks and herds, and all you have. 11I will provide for you there, because
five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and
all who belong to you will become destitute.' 12You can see for yourselves, and
so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13Tell
my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you
have seen. And bring my father down here quickly." 14Then he threw his
arms around his brother Benjamin and he really cried hard, and Benjamin
embraced him, also weeping! 15And he kissed all his brothers and cried over
them. Afterwards his brothers finally talked with and to him.
After
this, Joseph's brothers prepared to return to their father's house. Joseph gave
them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for
their journey.
25So
they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.
26They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all
Egypt." Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. 27But when they told
him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had
sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 Jacob
said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him
before I die."
Now Jacob and his family moved out of the land
of Canaan and headed for Egypt. Jacob offered a sacrifice along the way, and
there God spoke to him, saying, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not
be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I
will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And
Joseph's own hand will close your eyes." (Gen. 46:3,4)
After
a long journey, Jacob and his family arrived in the land of Egypt. How happy
Jacob (the Father) was to see his beloved son Joseph after so many years! Thus
Jacob (aka Israel) and his family settled in Egypt, in the region of Goshen.
There they increased greatly in numbers and became a very large family!!!.....
Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years. In all, he lived to be 147 years old.
That’s a hundred and svansick and something plus!...Thus, Jacob, the father of
the tribes of Israel, died, and went to be with God. Joseph and his brothers
and all the people of Egypt mourned for him for seventy days. Jacob's sons
buried their father in the land of Canaan, in the tomb of Abraham, his
grandfather.
You
ask, why did he just read and paraphrase a few paragraphs? What am I, as an
individual, sitting here going to get or learn from it?
PLEASE
allow me to share with each and every one of you;
We
must really look and feel the meaning in our hearts and look with in ourselves,
deep into our souls, at this part of the Torah portion, as it relates to ALL of
us!
Let
me share a few stories, “Barry Stories”……..
Just
this past week, I received an e mail from a cousin whom I have never met face
to face (very large family and he is a 4th cousin, 5 times
removed..). I was Cced with a list of other relatives, some I know, and others,
I haven’t any idea who they are or where they reside. To summarize the e mail, My Cousin, notified
of his older brother’s passing in his e mail.
Shared a few details of the upcoming service, and stated his brother is
finally not suffering; a rather semi-normal e mail notification. What took me off guard was he was fairly
descriptive about his “strained” relationship and having really no contact for
many years with him. Then, about two
years ago, they sort of reconciled, although the years of a strong bond and
true brotherhood had been lost. I am not casting judgment, just sharing
observations. I find this rather sad, as
so many lost times and memories that “COULD HAVE” happened, and never a way to
recapture. Although, my own brother and
I certainly do not agree on many things, we ARE indeed close in our
relationship and could not imagine “banishing” or that of being “banished” and
severing relations for many, many years.
I ASK YOU, IS THIS A MODERN DAY EXAMPLE OF JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS?
My
father has an older brother; my dad is 80, and his brother, my uncle, just
turned 89! Thank G-d, I have some long Gevity in my genes! My uncle is a lot of fun and very loving when
I am in his presence(although been many,
many years since I’ve seen him or he me, or even a call), but when I was a
child and most of my life, there had or has been , well…..Minimal contact, even
for some simchah’s! My dad and my uncle
are NOW very, very close in their brotherhood, but it wasn’t always that
way. Did my Uncle choose his own
isolation? I have my own opinion, but at
this point, it honestly doesn’t matter, as just knowing I have an Uncle who is
happy, healthy (esp. at 89!) and sharp as a tack, makes my heart smile, as does
my dad’s heart, as he has such a sweet and very loving relationship with HIS
brother, even after a large void in time many years back! I ASK YOU, IS THIS A MODERN DAY EXAMPLE OF
JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS?
Nathan
and Mia are my 10 year old children. Most of my friends had children already
and we really wanted children of our own.
G-d’s true and pure gifts to human kind; our children make us better
people. Yes, 2, 10 year olds! Twins? No! As some of you know, my children were adopted
from a small, impoverished village in Russia, about an hour and a half flight
away from the border of China. The trip entailed time, patience, money, and
about 6 weeks of travel to Russia. What
a truly beautiful and amazing experience.
One reason Russia was chosen, both mom and dad have strong Russian
Ancestry, and what a fitting way to pay tribute to our own. People used to say, “What a blessing and what
lucky kids!”….I would smile with a slight smirk, and politely state, “ No,
no…What lucky and blessed parents we are, and family to have them as part of
us, as children of the heart, our hearts!”
It made our family complete and honestly, full circle! . I
ASK YOU, IS THIS A MODERN DAY EXAMPLE OF JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS?
Oprah
and other talk show hosts with validity, dignity, love, and humanity were known
for family reconciliations, reuniting child and parent, brother with brother,
sister with sister, sister with brother, grandparents with their own children’s
children…… and for ALL of us TV viewers to experience with tears of joy! I ASK YOU, IS THIS A MODERN DAY EXAMPLE OF
JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS?
I
have openly shared factual memories, my story, and my own experiences with all
of you. Just as we may all think, ‘this
doesn’t pertain to ME!’…This Parsha/Portion, I can skip and not read and/or
learn from.. I ask of all of YOU to consider and please take a look, a careful
sincere and insightful look into your soul and your hearts, and make the right
and necessary ‘reconciliations’!
. I ASK YOU, ARE YOU, OR DO YOU KNOW OF A
MODERN DAY EXAMPLE OF JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS?
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