VaYechi- And He lived

From Rabbi Farber

"Accept Forgiveness"


Parashat HaShavua VaYechi / And He Lived

This Week's Reading List:
BeReshit / Genesis 47:28-50:26
Melachim Aleph / 1 Kings 2:1-12
Kefa Aleph / 1 Peter 1:3-9


Bereshit {50:15} When Yoseph's (Joseph's) brothers saw that their 'ab (father) was dead, they said, "It may be that Yoseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all of the evil which we did to him. {50:16} They sent a message to Yoseph, saying, "your 'ab commanded before he died, saying, {50:17} "So will you tell Yoseph, 'Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you. ' Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the G-D of your 'ab." Yoseph wept when they spoke to him. {50:18} His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." {50:19} Yoseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of G-D? {50:20} As for you, you meant evil against me, but G-D meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive. {50:21} Now therefore do not be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones." He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.

I found this passage so typical of believers today. Allow me to explain. We all should know that Yoseph is a type of Yeshua. Yoseph was rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, abused and mistreated, sent to prison, resurrected from prison and became great among the Gentiles, the Mitzrim (Egyptians). Yeshua was rejected by his brothers, His own people. He was sold, by one of is own, for thirty pieces of silver. He went down into the pit (hell), was resurrected and became great among the Gentiles (Nations). The similarities between Joseph and Yeshua are not at all coincidental, nor do the similarities end with what I have just told you here, this is only the beginning.

You will remember that in last week's parasha, parasha VaYigash, Y'huda (Judah) and the other brothers poured out their hearts to Yoseph, they confessed their sin before him. At this point Yoseph had not yet revealed himself as Yoseph to his brothers. Subsequently he does reveal his identity and forgives his brothers of their sin and absolves them for what they had done to him.

Bereshit {45:4} Yoseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." They came near. "He said, I am Yoseph, your brother, whom you sold into Mizrayim (Egypt). {45:5} Now do not be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for G-D sent me before you to preserve life. {45:6} For these two years has the famine been in the land, and there are yet five years, in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. {45:7} G-D sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance.

Yoseph's brothers were forgiven. All that transpired in the past was forgotten. Yoseph had moved on in his life, but obviously his brother's had not. Even thought Yoseph clearly forgave them, they had not forgiven themselves and therefore were still carrying around their guilt.

Well, if we continue with the comparison of Yoseph being a type of Yeshua, is not this scenario frightfully similar to the lives of many believers today? Everything that happened to Yoseph was, as he admitted, ordained by HaShem for the purpose of benefiting his brothers and future generations of bnei Yisrael. The brothers' confession to Yoseph would now allow them all the benefits of living under the protection of Yoseph who had been elevated to the powerful position of viceroy in Mitzrayim. Similarly, everything that happened to Yeshua was ordained by the Father for the express purpose of benefiting bnei Yisrael and in turn the entire world. When we confess our sin to Yeshua, the sin we committed against Him by breaking the commandments of Torah, He forgives us. In fact we are told:

Michah (Micah) {7:19} He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

However, do we forgive ourselves? Many of us do not! Despite the fact that we have been forgiven we still carry around our guilt. Allow this week's Parasha and specifically the portions of Scripture that I have quoted from it to minister to you so that you will not be like Yoseph's brothers and that you will accept the forgiveness that Yeshua has given you and move on in your life.

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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber

Hallelujah for our Lord, our Teacher,our Rabbi, "YESHUA" King Messiah for ever and ever!!!

חג חנוכה שמח

A bonus contribution from Rabbi Farber Helping with some of the blessings for this holiday season. Hope you enjoy. -Bradley

"חג חנוכה שמח!"
"Have A Joyous Festival Of Chanukah"

Please visit www.bluemountain.com for more Chanukah greetings.
Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

On this the festival of lights we remember Yeshua HaMashiach the light of the world. May His light continue to shine in your life during this holiday season and throughout the year.

Thank you for being part of our mishpacha,
Rabbi Jack (Ya'acov) Farber

3 Blessings: Before the lighting of the candles
Blessing 1: Recite each night
Baruch ata Ado-nai,
Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam,
Asher kid'shanu bid'varo,
v'natan lanu et Yeshua M'shiychanu,
v'tzi'vanu l'ki'ot or la'olam. ,בָּרוּך אַתָּה יהוה
,אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
,אַשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בִּדְוָרוֹ
וְנַתָך לָנוּ אֶת יְשׁוּעָ מְשִׁיחֵנוּ
.וְצִוָּנוּ לְכִּוֹת אוֹר לָעוֹלָם
Blessed are You, Ad-nai our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us by Thy Word, given use Yeshua our Massiah and has commanded us to be a light to the world.
Blessing 2: Recite each night
Baruch ata Ado-nai,
Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam,
She'asah nisim la'avoteinu,
bayamim ha'ham baz'man hazeh ,בָּרוּך אַתָּה יהוה
,אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
,שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוׁתֵינוּ
.בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has wrought miracles for our forefathers in days of old, at this season.
Blessing 3: Recite Only the first night
Baruch ata Ado-nai,
Elo-heinu Melech ha'olam,
She'hecheyanu, vekiy'manu,
vehigi'anu laz'man hazeh ,בָּרוּך אַתָּה יהוה
,אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
,שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ, וְקִיְמָנוּ
.וְהִגִּעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has kept us alive, and sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.
2 Blessings: After the lighting of the candles
Ha'Neirot Halalu: Recite each night
Ha'Neirot halalu anachnu madlikin
al hanisim ve'al hanifla'ot, ve'al hat'shu'ot ve'al hamilchamot,
she'asita la'avotainu bayamim haham baz'man hazeh,
al yedei kohaneicha hakedoshim.
Vechol sh'monat yemei Chanukah,
haneirot halalu kodesh hem.
Ve'ein lanu reshut le'hishtamesh ba'hem,
eh'lah lir'otam bilvad,
k'dei le'hodot u'lehalel leshimcha hagadol al nisecha ve'al nifle'otecha ve'al yeshuatecha. הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ אֲנַחְנוּ מַדְלִיקִין
עַל הַנִּסִּים וְעַל הַנִּפְלָאוֹת וְעַל הַתְּשׁוּעוֹת וְעַל הַמִּלְחָמוֹת
שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה
עַל יְדֵי כּהֲנֶיךָ הַקְּדוֹשִׁים
וְכָל שְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה
הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ קדֶשׁ הֵם
וְאֵין לָנוּ רְשׁוּת לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בָּהֶם
אֶלָּא לִרְאוֹתָם בִּלְבָד
כְּדֵי לְהוֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל עַל נִסֶּיךָ וְעַל נִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ וְעַל יְשׁוּעָתֶךָ
These lights we kindle upon the miracles, the wonders, the salvations, and the battles which you performed for our forefathers in those days at this season through Your holy priests. During all eight days of Chanukah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them, but to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for Your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.
Ma'oz Tzur: Recite each night
Ma'oz tzur yeshu'ati
Lecha na'eh leshaba'ach
Tikone bait tefilati
Ve'sham todah nezabe'ach
Li'at Tachin Matiba'ach
Mitzar haminaba'ach
Az agimor bishir mizmor
Chanukat hamiziba'ach. מָעוֹז צוּר יְשׁוּעָתִי
לְךָ נָאֶה לְשַׁבֵּחַ
תִּכּוֹן בֵּית תְּפִלָּתִי
וְשָׁם תּוֹדָה נְזַבֵּחַ
לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּחַ
מִצָּר הַמְּנַבֵּחַ
.אָז אֶגְמוֹר בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹר
חֲנֻּכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
O mighty Rock of my salvation, to praise You is a delight. Restore my house of prayer and there we will bring a thanksgiving offering. When You will have prepared the slaughter for the blaspheming foe, Then I shall complete with a song of hymn the dedication of the Alter.

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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Jack (Ya'acov) Farber

HaShavua Miketz / At The End Of

another contribution from Rabbi Farber. Thanks again, Brad

Parashat HaShavua Miketz / At The End Of

This Week's Reading List:
BeReshit / Genesis 41:1-44:17
Melachim Aleph / 1 Kings 7:40-50
Korintim Aleph / 1 Corinthians 2:1-5


Bereshit {41:25} Yoseph (Joseph) said to Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one. What G-D is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. {41:26} The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years. The dream is one. {41:27} The seven lean and ill-favoured cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine. {41:28} That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What G-D is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh. {41:29} Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt). {41:30} There will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Mitzrayim. The famine will consume the land, {41:31} and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous. {41:32} The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by G-D, and G-D will shortly bring it to pass.

There are countless famines and droughts happening in diverse places throughout the world -- even now as I am writing this D'var Torah! In fact Yisrael (Israel) is going through one of its worst droughts since its rebirth. Water rationing is in place and heavy fines are being imposed against those who use excessive water. Every Israeli citizen has been required to register with the water authority. Depending on how many people live in the same residence, they are allotted their monthly water quota. If the water ration is exceeded then, like I said, there is a heavy fine that is levied.

It is not difficult to discern from Scripture that droughts and famines are providential. Right here in our Parasha this week HaShem reveals through Pharaoh's dreams that He will be subjecting Mitzrayim to an extended famine. Famines are caused by drought (lack of rain) and blistering heat. However, as we know from Parasha Miketz, HaShem did not send famine into the land of Mitzrayim for no reason. HaShem always has a purpose for what He does. In this case it was to elevate Yoseph to the position of viceroy in Mitzrayim so that, in the process of time, the dreams HaShem sent Yoseph so many years ago would be fulfilled.

Our G-d is in total control of the weather. After all, He created the earth, and it is He who maintains and sustains it. So, if HaShem withholds rain that intern causes droughts and famines, then He would not be doing it out of capriciousness, but rather for a purpose, as He did in this week's Parasha. What is G-d's purpose? It is that He would be glorified. Look at all the famines around the world today and judge for yourself. Are the countries experiencing these famines and droughts serving the one true G-d, the G-d of Heaven and earth, the G-d of Yisrael? Certainly not! If by chance one of the countries calls themselves ‘Christian', are they truly serving G-d, are they honouring His Torah?

Whenever there is a devastating famine in an apostate country and the Red Cross, the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations go on a massive fundraising campaign to assist those who are affected I often struggle with the idea of giving. This is my logic: If I truly believe that HaShem is in control of the weather and that He uses rain or the lack thereof as a blessing or a punishment, then will my giving be interfering with the will and sovereignty of G-d? Will I be interfering with His purpose? There is nothing I would like more than to alleviate the suffering of a fellow human being. However, if that suffering is a result of their disobedience to G-d and for the purpose of glorifying God, then I have to ask, “Should I get involved?”

Bereshit {11:13} It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to my mitzvoth (commandments) which I command you this day, to love HaShem your G-D, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your nefesh (soul), {11:14} that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, and your new wine, and your oil. {11:15} I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you shall eat and be full. {11:16} Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; {11:17} and the anger of HaShem be kindled against you, and he shut up the sky, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and you perish quickly from off the good land which HaShem gives you.

Zecharyah (Zechariah) {14:17} And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) to worship the King, Ad-nai Tz'vaot (the L-rd of Hosts), there will be no rain on them. {14:18} And if the family of Mitzrayim does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which HaShem smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate Sukkot (Tabernacles). {14:19} This will be the punishment of Mitzrayim, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Sukkot.

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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber

Hallelujah for our Lord, our Teacher,our Rabbi, "YESHUA" King Messiah for ever and ever!!!

Va Yeshev- he settled Genesis 37:1 to 40:23

Va Yeshev- “and he Settled”
Genesis 37:1-40:23




The next Torah portion goes into the famous story of Joseph. Before we get into that, I would like to lay out a theory about this section of the first book of the Torah. I am sure others have said this before, but I have always held this from my earliest years in Bible college and now am not sure who first came up with the idea.
The book of Bere’shit (Genesis) is 50 chapters long. It covers the longest portion of Biblical history from the dawn of creation though thousands of years down until Israel and his family live in Egypt. It sets the stage for the Exodus. Yet, for all these great men and great stories, why would over ¼ of the book be dedicated to the story of Joseph? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great story. It has become the subject of movies, and an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The story resonates on a lot of fronts, but why Joseph? The length of Joseph’s life was only 110. That’s a good long life by any standard, but Adam lived to be almost 1000. Noah was nearly that as well. Abraham and Seth seem to hang on forever. Poor Enoch gets just a couple line in the Bible, yet Joseph get over ¼ of the book of Genesis…why?
Here is the theory. It doesn’t have to be taken as gospel, but it is how I handle the why question. Many people have noticed that different portions of the book of Genesis have a different mood and flow. The Joseph part is the most obvious, but the book starts with a poem. There portions where the name of God (technically “gods“) is exclusively “elohime”, and other portions where the tetra gram is used (the Sacred name of God, generally translated LORD in most English Bibles). There are also portions where the words are used together like “The LORD God said to…”
The theory is that although we do believe in the full inspiration of Scripture it is also possible that the first book included a gathering of text related to Israel’s early history. These gathered texts were then put together by Moses (under the direction of the Holy Spirit) to form the first book of Scripture. This would suggest that the Joseph story would have been a complete text by itself. Proponents of this theory (who know far more then I about Egyptian literature) suggest that this story has the flow of an early Egyptian text. Whether this is true or not, the “original” that Moses might have consulted when he wrote this book has been lost. All we have is the record of the sacred text… which is what God intended for us to have in the first place.
Back to Joseph. The text starts with the statement that Jacob sojourned where his father did in the land of Canaan. One dear older brother recently found himself travelling doing a shofar ministry (e-mail me I can tell you more), and in the course of this was homeless. We, as many of you know, spent several months with no home this year. Another dear young brother with two children drops by and visits often and I have dubbed us the “fellowship of the sojourners”. We work in an area, but we really don’t have our “home” in the area. (Yes, you are correct, we have sort of lost that status just over a week ago). However, there is something to be said for that mindset. We are all sojourners, especially if we dedicate ourselves to the Kingdom of God. We may reside in an area. We may be employed in an area, but we choose not to set our roots down too deep. Our real home, our real place of loyalty, is a kingdom not built by human hands. Here is just where we…”sojourn”. If God calls us elsewhere then we should rejoice to be worthy of that call. We should (like Abraham in the story of the sacrifice of Isaac) wake the next morning and start on the way. Sincerely, brothers and sisters, I am looking at the present chronology of events in Israel. I am watching what is happening with other faithful brothers and sisters and I feel that things may be coming together toward God’s final act. As much as it depends on you, I would urge you to look closely at your life and start thinking about what and how you would act if God asked you to act. We need to be cautious about how deep our roots go. I do think God intended our loyalties to be outside this world. “seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness…”
Back to our story. Jacob has now become the patriarch not unlike his fathers Abraham, and Isaac. He has several children, and herds. He also has his favourite, Joseph. Joseph is given a “coat of many colours”. This translation (although made popular from Martin Luther’s translation work) is not consistent with the text. The better translation is either a “coat with long sleeves”, or like the JPS version translates the Hebrew “an ornamented coat”. This may have had many colours, but that is beyond the text. If you have ever seen the movie Joseph King of Dreams they do a good job of setting the stage here. This coat means that he doesn’t do “physical work”. He was the favourite, and the rest of the boys understood that. He was singled out for special honour. This situation was created (at least in part) by Jacob. Joseph continued to irritate the situation.
The rest of the boys could not speak a friendly word (or speak “peaceably”) to him. The word is “Shalom”. This is the traditional Hebrew greeting. We don’t know if this was the greeting during Joseph’s time, but either way the brothers do not seek the well-being of Joseph.
Joseph has these dreams where his brothers and his parents and brothers are all bowing down to him. I have often wondered why God would do this. The kid is 17 years old. Is he really going to have the wisdom to keep this information to himself? If God wanted to provide him with a bit of insight into his future this was certainly not something that endeared him to his family. The brothers are even less likely to be favourably disposed to him.
Joseph is sent to his brothers. Just so you get the visual on this. The brothers don’t like Joseph. Joseph likely knows this. His dad likely knows this, yet Joseph raises no concern. He obeys his father without question.
Joseph doesn’t find his brothers (Gen 37:15) instead he finds a “man”. There have been many comments on this “man” whole stories have been written about him. I will quote from one Bible commentary site:

http://biblicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/commentary-on-genesis-37/

Jewish tradition considered him an angel in the form of a man. For Calvin the inclusion of the “man” episode was to depict the diligence of Joseph in carrying out his duty and concomitantly reveals the heinous atrocity of the brothers’ crime. The word order in Joseph’s response, lit., “my brothers I’m seeking” (v. 16), making familial relationship paramount in his thinking, reinforces the trust that he presumes and the brothers transgressed. Since the “man” intercepted Joseph, overheard the private conversation of the brothers, and correctly directed Joseph to discover his brothers at Dothan, the passage conveys the theological orientation of the narrative as a whole. Whether the “man” is an angel or a human, the unseen hand of the Lord is apparent here. He is directing Joseph to discover his brothers so that the divine plan for the salvation of Jacob and many peoples (50:20) might be realized, although it meant a troubling time for the house of Jacob. Where are Joseph’s custodial angels who like his father’s might save him from his brothers, as they did with Jacob and Esau (32:1-2 [2-3]) Luther answered, “In such danger we see the deepest silence of God and the angels. . . But behold how much good God draws forth from this.”
So Joseph is captured by his brothers, sold as a slave to his cousins (the Ismaelites), sent to work for Potiphar, set up by his wife and lands himself in prison.
In the midst of this story is also a story of Judah and Tamar. Judah is the one who will eventually get the firstborn blessing from Jacob. Judah’s first son is a loser (no explanation), God kills him. The second son doesn’t mind have physical relations with Tamar, just does want to get her pregnant. Is this a lust issue? Is this hatred for his brother? Is this hatred for Tamar? We don’t really know, but we do know God is not please so his live is taken as well. The youngest is really too young for this role, so she waits. He job is to wait…in this case forever for Judah to give his third son. Judah never does.
Tamar tricks Judah to become the father and sets it up so he’s in no position to have her done away for immorality. Judah wants her burned…not a pretty way to go. She’s a pretty clever gal. Judah comments rightly that she is more righteous (zadekh) then he. Weird story, certainly not the sort of nice image of Judah. Remember Judah was the one who sold Joseph even when Reuben was trying to save his life. So, which family does the Messiah come from?
Judah
In fact, he’s from Judah and Tamar. (Mt 1:3 and Luke 3:33)
The story is an amazing contrast with Joseph who refuses relations with his master’s wife and gets falsely accused and tossed into prison.
One other little note, and I think this comes across well in the movie Joseph: king of dreams. Joseph is a slave. He has no rights. Potiphar was well within his rights to just have him killed, but instead he’s tossed into prison. In fact, it’s not a prison for the commoners, but prisons of the royal court. If someone was to say that Potiphar did not believe his wife, or found it suspicious, then I would think he was likely right.
Enjoy God’s word…it was written for you. -Bradley Avi

VaYeshev from Rabbi Jack Farber

Again thanks for your contribution Rabbi Farber

Parashat HaShavua VaYeshev / And He Settled

This Week's Reading List:
BeReshit / Genesis 37:1-40:23
Zekharyah / Zechariah 2:14-4:7
Ma'asei Talmidim / Acts 7:9-16

As I read through this week's Parasha I could not help but remember the words of Martin Luther King when he said, “I have a dream.” Martin Luther had a dream about African Americans finally finding their place in America – ending once and for all the injustice of segregation. When he had this dream black people were still looked down upon, relegated to menial jobs and sitting in the back of buses. If you asked any white person in the south during those turbulent years they would have said Martin Luther was nothing but a dreamer and desegregation would never happen – never! The facts and history, of course, speak for themselves. Desegregation did happen, the world has changed and Martin Luther's dream has come true – Praise G-d!
Now, I do not believe that it was Martin Luther King that in the end made his dream come true. Sure he worked hard at his dream. He had rallies and he held sit-ins, but still it was not from him that the victory came. Martine Luther King had many disappointments and set backs along the way where he through that his dream would not become a reality. Ultimately it took him having to give up his life before his dream was realized. However, Martin Luther King was not the first dreamer.
Bereshit {37:5} Yoseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more. {37:6} He said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: {37:7} for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf." {37:8} His brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?" They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words. {37:9} He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me." {37:10} He told it to his 'av (father) and to his brothers. His 'av rebuked him, and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your 'em (mother) and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?" {37:11} His brothers envied him; but his 'av kept this saying in mind.
Yoseph had a dream, but no one paid him any mind. His family though that his dreams were ridiculous. They thought that there was no way what he dreamed could possibly come true, but it did. Everything Yoseph dreamed became a reality. Yet I doubt very much that he himself took them very seriously as the events of his life were unfolding. Can you picture what he must have been thinking while at the bottom of a dry pit waiting to die of thirst, after being placed there by his brothers or when he was sold by them to the Midianites as a slave? It was certainly not about his dreams of being the ruler over his family – it was more about surviving! It took defeat before G-d would bring victory in Joseph's life, just like it took defeat for Martin Luther King for G-d's victory to be realized and his dream to become reality.
I know that we all have had dreams, but the reality is that not all dreams are prophetic. In fact the vast majority are not, but that is not what is important. What is important is that we not take our dreams too seriously. Sometimes we do take our dreams far too seriously. We analyze them, study them and dwell on them so that we can try to find out their interpretation and meaning. Remember it was not until it was all over that Yoseph realized what his dreams really meant and he had to go through some very difficult times before it was realized, but he lived to see it. Sadly Martin Luther King never lived to see his dream realized.
What I am trying to say is that whether or not our dreams are truly prophetic HaShem is the one that is in control and He is the one who will fulfill our dreams. Some of us may live to see their fulfillment and some of us may not but at the end of the day it all depends on G-d.
I, for one, do not put a lot of effort into the interpretation of dreams. Like Yoseph, I am just too busy living my life from day to day, trusting in the L-rd to get me through each day, one day at a time. Therefore, I do not have the time to be preoccupied with what I dreamt last year, last month or even last night. Yes, from time to time I share my dreams, but then I just file them away in the recesses of my mind and go about the task of living. G-d in His wisdom and in His time will make my dreams come true -- or not! Baruch HaShem!
Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) {5:7} For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear G-d.
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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber

Comic Book Torah portion- Vayishlach

Just thought this might be fun as a casual approach to the passage. A Torah portion comicbook. -Shabbot Tov

New post from Rabbi Ya'acov Farber

Thanks again, Rabbi Farber, The grace of Ha Shem be with you and yours, -Bradley Avi

"קפיצה למסקנות"
"Jumping To Conclusions"

Parashat HaShavua VaYishlach / And He Sent
This Week's Reading List:
BeReshit / Genesis 32:3-36:43
Ovadyah / Obadiah 1:1-21
Mattityahu / Matthew 26:36-46
Bereshit {32:3} Ya'akov (Jacob) sent messengers in front of him to Esav (Esau), his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. ` {32:4} He commanded them, saying, "This is what you shall tell my lord, Esav: 'This is what your servant, Ya'akov, says. I have sojourned with Lavan (Laban), and stayed until now. {32:5} I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, men-servants, and maid-servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favour in your sight. '" {32:6} The messengers returned to Ya'akov, saying, "We came to your brother Esav. Not only that, but he comes to meet you, and four hundred men with him." {32:7} Then Ya'akov was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies; {32:8} and he said, "If Esav comes to the one company, and strikes it, then the company which is left will escape."
When people ask if I physically exercise or workout at a gym I would tell them that the only exercise I get is ‘jumping to conclusions'. Of course I always mean it as a joke, but when you consider the passage I quoted above, taken from our Parasha this week, jumping to conclusions can be a very serious thing -- even a sin! Allow me to explain.
Many times when we talk with people we take what they say or how they respond to us in the wrong way and because of that we ‘jump to conclusions'. In fact in misunderstanding them we develop this “what if” scenario in our minds and we often come up with wrong, distorted conclusions; we ‘jump to conclusions'.
Esav and Ya'acov did not exactly part company on the best of terms twenty years earlier. So it understandable that when Ya'acov heard that his brother was coming to meet him and that his brother had with him four hundred men that he concluded the worst. However, the fact is that there is no indication in Scripture that Esav's intentions were anything less than honourable.
Esav, obviously by what we read in this Parasha, was a wealthy, self-made man. He had reached the level of wealth, influence and power that he had hoped to achieve through his father's blessing, yet he achieved this without it, he did it on his own. His birthright did not have any meaning to him twenty years ago, and now that he had what he wanted, financially and politically, it meant even less to him so why hold a grudge. Esav got it all, and he did it “his way” so there was no longer any need for hard feelings towards his brother, whom he thought cheated him out of his potential wealth, influence and power.
Ya'acov, on the other hand, did not fare so well these past twenty years. First he was cheated when it came to the woman he loved. Then he was cheated when it came to acquiring wealth. He laboured twenty years for practically nothing! When he finally left Lavan, his father-in law, he did so with his family and his wealth that he acquired by manipulation and by the grace of G-d. So is it any wonder that he was suspect of his brother? Manipulative people think that everyone else is manipulative. Ya'acov, because of the hard life he led these past twenty years, was still carrying the guilt of what he did to his brother and this guilt led him to ‘jump to conclusions'.
You see if you are untrustworthy, you will not trust; if you cheat, you will always be suspect of being cheated; if you are a deceiver, you will always suppose that you are being deceived. This was Ya'acov and it could be you as well!
Of course, when viewed in the spiritual, there was a huge difference between what happened to Esav and what happened to Ya'acov over the past twenty years. Ya'acov, despite all of his faults, had a true heart for G-d and because of it G-d was moulding and shaping him into the true man of G-d that He intended him to be, as chastisement and hardship build character. However, Ya'acov had not changed enough. There was still more of the old self lurking inside of him and this event of ‘jumping to conclusions' instead of trusting in G-d proved it to us, and I believe it proved it to Ya'acov as well.
On the other hand Esav was carnal and spiritually dead. Just as carnally dead as he was twenty years ago and perhaps even more so. Esav's godlessness manifested itself in his pride. I believe that is why he came to greet his brother with four hundred men on horseback. It was not for a show of strength, but it was, in my opinion, a show of, “I made it regardless of you Ya'acov, so now I am coming to rescue you from your homeless wanderings and bring you to live in my kingdom.”
I think the lesson to be learned here is that our own guilt, our own manipulative and suspicious tendencies deceive us. They are what cause us to be wary and ‘jump to conclusions'. Shaul (Paul) gave us the antidote for conclusion jumping.
Filifim {4:8} Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber
Hallelujah for our Lord, our Teacher,our Rabbi, "YESHUA" King Messiah for ever and ever!!!
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Shalom Shalom

VaYetze "and he left"

My dear brother Paul Daniel mentioned last year that each of the Torah passages are sung within the synagogue. Of course, we don't sing the English passage, but I thought it might be fun to include a sample of this song (only 1 minute) for those who don't regularly make it to a synagogue service. To date, I have never attended a Messianic congregation where the Torah portion is sang in Hebrew. I have been to ones that were read, but so far, not sung. Enjoy.



VaYetze “and he left”
Genesis 28:10 - 32:3

Summary
A ladder to heaven
Rachel at the well
Jacob and Laban
Jacob’s children
The speckled and spotted sheep
Jacob’s departure

I have to admit, there some Torah portions which don’t have as much action, but this one is a really amazing passage. Each one of the segments that I mentioned above has enough material to dig into and enjoy. This passage also covers a number of years. In it, Jacob grows from a refugee with nothing to the great Patriarch that we come to know him as. This passage is also full of interesting speculation and imagination. The picture of Jacob’s ladder is the subject of much artwork.



In resent days I have read 2 books (novels) which cover this time period. Both have very different perspectives on the characters. Both surprised me by their brash almost irreverent look at the people and stories. Also, both were so engaging that they were difficult to put down.
The first was called The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and the second was called The Son of Laughter by Frederick Buechner
I am not really recommending either of these books, but just showing how this Torah portion has fired the imagination of many.

- How does one understand a ladder going up and down from Heaven? Why? What’s the point?
- What’s with the oil poured on a rock?
- How could Jacob get fooled into marrying the wrong gal after working for her for 7 years?
- Between Leah and Rachael, is one of them a good person, one bad, both good, both bad?
- Why does God allow Leah to have lots of children and Rachael so few? Why the whole “baby race” including 2 extra moms (a total of 4 women producing children for Jacob)?
- Does Jacob practice some type of “magic” to have all the good lambs and goats be speckled?
- Why would Rachael steal the household gods?
- My personal favourite, The Jacob family bumps into a camp of angels and we only get 1 verse about this? And related, did Jacob send “angels” to his brother to let him know they were on their way back home?

Maybe, when I am a white-haired old man I will have written on all the questions. Today, I will tackle just one. Maybe we’ll start at the first.

Jacob’s ladder
Jacob has left his father’s house, mostly out of fear of his brother, but also to acquire a wife in Haran. He travels and is exhausted and rests near a city called Luz. There is no indication that he actually stays in the city. He uses stones for pillows, so you get the impression he’s out under the stars in the nearby wilderness.
Although there is a lot strange in this passage, one of the things that is weird is the “stone situation”. In verse 11 there are several stones used for pillows. In verse 18, he has one stone, but they still use the word “pillows”. What happens to the stones? Of course, we don’t get a lot of extra help from the passage, but it has long been speculated (in the Talmud for example) that the stones were about him (perhaps as a little refuge), and as he slept they merged into one stone at his head. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 91b.)
While Jacob slept, he sees angels. To be honest, Jacob sees a lot more angels during his lifetime then almost any Biblical character. He sees them here. He sees them at the end of this Torah passage. He (perhaps) sends angels to see his brother. He will wrestle with an angel. His life is full of angelic encounters. Most people who see angels are terrified, and in fact, Jacob is really concerned when he finally wakes (Gen 28:17). Yet, like the other passages with his angels they go with limited comment.
Jacob also hears the voice of God repeating the promises of Abraham. As I mentioned last week, Jacob “staying around the tents” got to understand the promises of God and the work of God through the ages. I have no doubt that he knew this was what God promised his Grandfather. He was part of the fulfillment. In fact, to date, there were very few “children” of Abraham on Earth. Jacob was the first big push in the children of Abraham being numerous like the dust of the Earth.
The is also something else which is important for this passage; “God’s opinion”. I don’t mean this to sound glib. In the whole last passage we have very little insight about what God thinks? Did God comment to Jacob about how he felt about buying the birthright for a bowl of stew? Did God comment about whether he accepted Jacob as the rightful lineage after he stole the blessing? NO. God is totally silent. Isaac seems to have accepted it, but God is silent. To be honest, who cares what Isaac thinks? We only want to know what God thinks.
Here we get the confirmation that God has chosen Jacob, and in the end, that makes all the difference. Shabbot Tov, Bradley Avi

Vayetze-Behold

sent from Rabbi Jack Farber-Congregation Melech Yisrael, Canada's oldest Messianic Congregation

"Divine Confirmation"


Parashat HaShavua VaYeitzei / Behold

This Week's Reading List:
BeReshit / Genesis 28:10-32:2
Hoshea / Hosea 13:6-14:10
Yochanan / John 1:43-51

Bereshit {29:9} While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her av's (fathers) sheep, for she kept them. {29:10} It happened, when Ya'akov (Jacob) saw Rachel bat (daughter of) Lavan, his em's (mother's) brother, and the sheep of Lavan, his em's brother, that Ya'akov went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Lavan his em's brother. {29:11} Ya'akov kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. {29:12} Ya'akov told Rachel that he was her av's brother, and that he was Rivkah's son. She ran and told her av.

The verse that caught my attention from this portion of Scripture, which was taken from this week's Parasha, was:

Bereshit {29:11} “Ya'akov kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.”

It always intrigued me as to why Ya'acov cried after kissing Rachel. First, taking into consideration ancient Middle Eastern protocols between unmarried couples, this was not a passionate romantic kiss. It was, I am certain, the type of kiss Shaul suggested believers in Yeshua HaMashiach greet each other with; much like the French or Russians kiss when they greet each other.

Romim (Romans) {16:16} Greet one another with a holy kiss.

I interpret a holy kiss to be a peck, mostly into the air, on either or both cheeks without having any lower body contact. This was the type of kissing that was most common during that period among Semitic people, a custom that seems to have carried over into the first century. So, this being the case then Ya'acov would have given her a holy kiss when he met Rachel for the first time.

However, why did he lift up of his voice and cry out? Most people suggest that he was love struck at that very instant, but I do not see it that way. I see it more like this: Has G-d ever spoken to you and you have doubted that you actually heard from G-d, but then He gave you some type of confirmation that it was truly Him that you heard from? Yes, this is what I believe happened with Ya'acov. In his dream a day earlier Ya'acov saw HaShem standing at the top of this ladder that extended from earth to heaven. From that position HaShem said:

Bereshit {28:13} Behold, HaShem stood above it, and said, "I am HaShem, the G-D of Avraham (Abraham) your av, and the G-D of Yitzchak (Issac). The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. {28:14} Your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. {28:15} Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you."

This was quite the promise and I am sure Ya'acov was impressed by the dream, but I am sure he also had his doubts that it was actually a prophetic dream, that it was true and that it was actually HaShem that was speaking to him. I would have my doubts as well as I am sure you would too.

How do I know that Ya'acov had his doubts? I know by what he said the very next morning after the dream:

Bereshit {28:18} Ya'akov rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. {28:19} He called the name of that place Beit-El (House of G-d), but the name of the city was Luz at the first. {28:20} Ya'akov vowed a vow, saying, "If G-D will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, {28:21} so that I come again to my av's house in shalom (peace), and HaShem will be my G-D, {28:22} then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be G-D's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."

Did you notice the “IF” in verse 20? This tells me that Ya'acov did doubt his dream! Sure he did and like I said you and I would have as well. However, HaShem was not going to let Ya'acov go through his life doubting; He gave him confirmation that it was Him he had heard.

Ya'acov was running from his brother Esav, was heading to strange unfamiliar territory and was looking for someone he never met and therefore did not know. Where would he start looking for his mother's brother? What could he expect to encounter when he did meet him? Would they even receive him? All these questions and more, I am sure, were running through Ya'acov's mind. Then he stumbled upon a well, but not just any old well. I am sure there were many in the area of this city, but this well was the exact well where Lavan had his daughter Rachel water their sheep. An accident, a happenchance, I doubt it! This was from the L-rd and Ya'acov knew it! The kiss he planted on Rachel was a kiss of joy that HaShem had confirmed his promise and the lifting up of his voice was him praising HaShem for the conformation He gave him by this encounter. Now Ya'acov knew that he had heard right, that he had heard from G-d. From here on in he knew his destiny because all of HaShem promises are “Yea and Amen!!!”

Korintim Bet (2 Corinthians) {1:20} For all the promises of G-d in him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of G-d by us.

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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber

Hallelujah for our Lord, our Teacher,our Rabbi, "YESHUA" King Messiah for ever and ever!!!

A little video for Children-Toledot (Generations)

This 8 1/2 minute video I found on You Tube and a fun way to let the children visualize the story of Jacob and Esau. Shabbot Tov, Bradley Avi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGmfxRNdauY

Toledot- Generations

Toldot
Genesis 25:19-28:9

This Torah passage is covers a very well known Bible story.

It is the birth of Jacob and Esau, their relationship with their parents, their growing up, the taking of the birthright from Esau, and the blessing. In the end, Jacob runs off to the north and will get married while Esau marries a third wife the daughter of Ishmael.

Many messages have been written about these stories, and in fact they are worthy of a great deal of study, but I will center in on just a couple items of note; specifically the character of the two.

Esau-

These two are twins (as our story reveals). I have always held a fascination for me. The identical twin is God’s equal vent of a human photocopy produced at the same time. It was this concept of identical twins that inspired the medical possibility of cloning. Identical twins are born identical and are generally born into the same home, so they are raised in the same environment. These twins will often find different ways to differentiate each other. One might become successful in sports while the other in music. One might become and introvert while the other an extrovert. They often find ways to adjust their appearance so people recognise them from their sibling. Yet, their lives are walking experiments about how the same person (genetically) can live out two different lives.
The non-identical twins are also interesting. These non-identical twins are the same as siblings who would have grown up in different environments separated by years except that their birth happened at the same moment. My eldest son, grew up with a couple of parents in their twenties. It was just us 3. I was a grad school student living on a Seminary campus. We lived in a trailer, which was a very modest home for the three of us. Today, my wife is expecting with our 8th child. This child will enter a world with 5 brothers and 2 sisters. His father will be 39 before he/she is born. I am retired, and we live in a mortgage free home in a small town in Saskatchewan. Josh and baby 8 are raised in two very different worlds. This is understandable. Siblings separated by years don’t grow up in the same environment.
Now, back to our story. These people will be two separate nations. Jacob (Yisrael) and Esau (Edom). These nations will be antagonistic. These babies did not look alike.
When I first taught this story to my own family the first year we became Torah observant, I grabbed a couple of my children’s’ to act as my “babies”. The first one, I used Elmo (from Sesame Street) and that was my Esau. The second one was a plastic baby doll (they used to call these Kewpie dolls) that was Jacob. Now years later, I still see them that way and I think my children do as well.
Esau was the first born. He became a the big strong outdoorsmen. He was a hunter, and man’s man! No doubt, Isaac favoured Esau.
The sages also have something else to say about Esau:

Isaac loved Esau because [his] game was in his mouth (25:28)
Esau would deceive him with his mouth. He would inquire of him: "Father, how does one tithe salt? Father, how does one tithe straw?" And Isaac would muse: "This son of mine, how diligent he is in the fulfillment of the commandments!"
(Midrash Tanchuma; Rashi)

Now, I can’t confirm that this is actually the way Esau was, but this is the way he is cast among the ancient scholars.

His actions of throwing away his birthright for some food, choosing his own wives against the family custom, desiring to kill his brother after his father dies, paint a character of the basest quality. He is almost seen as a mass of selfishness. His is a victim of his own hypothalamus. He is the opposite of “self control”. He is the picture of self gratification. His is in stark contrast to the man who would become “Israel”.

Jacob-


Now Jacob is a different cut. He is a quiet (or innocent) man (depending on your translation), who lived among the tents. I have to admit when I first read this I didn’t admire him much for this. What, he’s some sort of wimp? (no, he really wasn’t, he’ll later wrestle with an angel). I actually sort of saw him the way people talk about their neighbours when they found out the neighbours are being arrested as an axe murder. “yes,” they would say, “nice fella, but definitely a quiet man pretty much kept to himself.” (not a pretty image)

Yet, my perspective on this changed a few years ago as I did some math.

Gen 21:5 And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

Gen 25:7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, a hundred threescore and fifteen years. (175 years)

Gen 24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age

Gen 25:26 And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's
heel. And his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. (60 years)

From these last few passages you can see that Jacob, if he were the kind of man who “hung around the tents” would have had the chance to hear and learn from Abraham who would have still been alive until he was about 15.

Esau would not. He’s out in the forest doing manly things.
However, the story get better.

There is another character who is still alive as well.

The entire direct line of descent from Noah down to Abraham's father was still alive up until Abraham was 49 years old, and Noah did not die until Abraham was 60 years old. Abraham left Haran with Lot only 15 years after Noah died, and Shem was still alive when Abraham finally died 100 years after that. Shem did not die until Jacob (Israel) was 50 years old. Here we find a very important bit of information. Abraham may have received historical information directly from Noah while Jacob could have gathered historical facts directly from Shem. This leaves us with Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel, as having only third-hand knowledge, second-hand knowledge, first-hand knowledge or direct eyewitness knowledge of all the history of mankind from the creation through to his day

Where was Esau? Hmmmmm, I guess he must have been out in the fields. Too bad. That’s not a chance he’d ever get back the learning opportunity.

This contact with these people I believe shaped completely different characters.

Jacob, understood the work God was doing. He saw the importance of the “firstborn”, and he also knew History that biology is not the only criteria for this spiritual lineage. (Shem was the second born, and Isaac had at least one older brother). He could usurp his brother in this, and in fact, it was his duty an honour to be a part of the Godly lineage. It would be terrible to let the centuries of God’s work fall into someone who had no regard for it. (quoted from the electronic Biblical Commentary)

Now the taking of the birthright:

The ancient sages believe that there is something important about what Jacob was doing

Jacob cooked pottage (25:29)
That was the day on which Abraham died, and Jacob made a broth of lentils to comfort his father Isaac.
Why lentils? Just as the lentil has no mouth, so is the mourner speechless... Just as the lentil is round, so mourning comes round to all the inhabitants of this world.
(The Talmud)

It is uncertain how this bit of knowledge is arrived at but if it is true then it makes the event all the more dramatic.
Into this scene of kindness and sorrow for the death of the great patriarch walks the brash
Esau. Is he mourning? No, he’s hunting. He sees the lentils and broth (still popular in the Mideast) and asks for it. Jacob sees this as the opportunity to usurp his brother.

It is assumed that Esau knew what he was doing. The right of the firstborn would mean that he would receive a double portion of the inheritance at the death of his father. It would also mean that there would be a higher level of responsibility to care for surviving family members. The firstborn was seen as the “future leader” of the household (dynasty). Esau had no regard for this. In fact, he hated this whole situation. In fact, the Bible says, “…So Esau despised his birthright.”

Esau, says he’s no need for the birthright because he was dying. I have never read anywhere that anyone seems to believe this. Jacob asks him to swear to his loss of the birthright. The author of the passage makes it clear. Esau swears, not after he gets the meal, but before. He’s so quick to be rid of the birthright, but just so that you can see the contract is complete, Jacob gives him some bread and the lentils. Jacob has seen that he (who had much higher regard) for being a part of the lineage of God’s work, now was placed in that lineage. If he could take the blessing of the firstborn, that would make it complete.

The next chapter is really about Isaac’s adventures, but it does end with a section about Esau. He’s 40 years old now, apparently later then when he lost his birthright (I suggested 15 years old he lost the birthright).
Gen 26:34 And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

Just the wording of this verse, without the next sentence shows us that Esau is on his own path. He wants a wife. He takes one. He wants two, no problem. Supposedly, he knows the story of how his mother and father met. He knows that Abraham did not want his family to marry among the locals. Great effort was made to make sure Isaac didn’t marry one of those. Yet, Esau has a desire and he acts. Are his parents involved? Not according to this passage. Anyone who knows anything about ancient mid-Eastern culture knows that this is outside the norms. Even today, marriage is a family event.

Although, I am not completely sold on the modern Christian courtship concept, I have to acknowledge that is much more closely matches what we see among God’s people in marriage. Esau has no regard for this.

This concept is punctuated by the last verse of the passage.

Gen 26:35 And they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

The Blessing of the Firstborn

Isaac is old. He doesn’t see well. He is roughly (within 5 years) of the age his mother was when she died. For some reason, he thinks this event could happen very soon, and he calls his favourite son to do a duty for him and then Isaac can bless him.

A question should be asked here. It’s pretty well established the character of Esau. Why would Isaac bless this base character who has so little regard to the things which are important to the family? Specifically, their God, their history, and their promise? Also, you see from the blessing given that it’s a dramatic blessing. It’s a good one. He is not obligated
To bless the oldest. In fact, he actually doesn’t bless the oldest. Why?

In truth, we really don’t know. Some have speculated that Isaac, was acting against God’s will. Isaac still saw Esau as his favourite, and was going to act regardless whether God was his choice of not. Some suggest, that Isaac may have found common ground in Esau’s pleasure seeking style. The word choice does almost suggest that. Perhaps, Isaac thought that a good blessing would put Esau back on the straight and narrow. We don’t have the information.

Rebecca, overhears this offer and is quick to help her son steal this blessing. She is so sincere in her desire for this that she is willing to accept a curse instead of Jacob just to be sure her son get’s this blessing. She gets Jacob to dress as Esau. She cooks the food. She disguises Jacob. She tells him what to do and calms his fears and protests. In no other passage is Rebecca seen as so intent to carry on the theft. Her life (and the future of the kingdom of God) so it would seem depends on her success.

Jacob arrives dressed so only a blind man could be fooled. Isaac senses this isn’t right. How could this happen so fast? Jacob answered in his best Esau attempt “Because Jehovah thy God sent me good speed.” Esau did not have this God as his, so Jacob attempts to talk that way. Of course, when Esau does arrive he never mentions this God. He’s married to a couple of idol worshippers. Isaac still seeks to confirm which son he really has. He feels and smells his son. The moment of truth. Isaac believes it is Esau.

The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau (27:22)

"The voice is the voice of Jacob" -- no prayer is effective unless the descendants of Jacob have a part in it. "The hands are the hands of Esau" -- no war is successful unless the descendants of Esau have a part in it.
(The Talmud)
The blessing:
See, the smell of my son Is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed.
Gen 27:28 And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine.
Gen 27:29 Let peoples serve thee, And nations bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be every one that blesseth thee.

So, what is the importance of a blessing? We live in a Western culture which doesn’t have the same regard for blessings and I think that is to our own shame. From my earliest days as a father, I have regularly tried to “bless” my children (and I have 7, very soon to be 8). I pray benefits into their lives. I ask God to shape and mold them into the people that he desires. At the start of every Sabbath, the children know that there will be a time of blessing for each of the children before each other and by name individually. In all honesty, I can’t tell you whether it does do anything. Time may tell that, but our Biblical fathers did it, and I think we miss an opportunity if we chose not to act in the same path. If God intended this to be a way of passing on eternal benefits, it would be a terrible shame to miss that opportunity and walk as practical atheists.

Jacob leaves and Esau arrives. The deception is revealed. Esau begs for some sort of blessing. Isaac offers some “weak blessing”. In fact, it’s almost a curse. This, by the way, would have been the only blessing he would have offered for Jacob. Isaac says his blessing to Jacob left no room for any benefit to the other son.

Esau decides that he’ll wait and then just kill Jacob. Rebecca again intercedes and has Isaac send him off to find a wife from the place where Rebecca (and Abraham) would be from. Isaac again blesses Jacob. This time knowing who he is blessing and you get the impression that he understands the “why” Jacob would pull this deception. In fact, the tone of this final departure shows no sign of anger. Jacob is God’s man. Esau is not. Isaac charges him and sends him away.

Esau, still not understanding the situation, but seeing his wife choice did not please his family he seeks his uncle and takes a 3rd wife. This one is Ishmael’s daughter. Still no sense that this pleased Isaac or Rebecca.

Toldot-generations

From Congregation Melech Yisrael- Toronto, Ontario




Parashat HaShavua Toldot / Generations

This Week's Reading List:
BeReshit / Genesis 25:19-28:9
Mal'achi / Malachi 1:1-2:7
Romim / Romans 9:6-13

Bereshit {25:27} The boys grew. Esav (Easu) was a skilful hunter, an ish (man) of the field. Ya'akov (Jacob) was a quiet man, living in tents. {25:28} Now Yitzchak (Issac) loved Esav, because he ate his venison. Rivkah (Rebekah) loved Ya'akov. {25:29} Ya'akov boiled stew. Esav came in from the field, and he was famished. {25:30} Esav said to Ya'akov, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom (Red) {25:31} Ya'akov said, "First, sell me your birthright." {25:32} Esav said, "Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?" {25:33} Ya'akov said, "Swear to me first." He swore to him. He sold his birthright to Ya'akov. {25:34} Ya'akov gave Esav bread and stew of lentils. He ate and drank, rose up, and went his way. So Esav despised his birthright.

How hungry could Esav have been so as to be at the point of death? We are not told that he was brought in from his hunting trip on a stretcher by the paramedics. Rather we are told that he walked in from hunting under his own power. So how close to death could he have been? Yet Esav says to Ya'acov that he is so hungry that he was about to die.

Now, I do not know how long Esav went without food while out on his hunting trip, but I have been on a forty day fast and my wife, I have gone on many one, two and three week fasts and we have never come anywhere near the point of death. I could understand if Esav had gone without water for an extended period of time, because three days without water could have serious consequences, under normal circumstances, but food, Esav could have made it forty days with no problem.

There is no mistaking it, the passage I quoted above tells us that by exchanging his birthright for food in order to satisfy his hunger Esav despised his birthright; however, after he realized what he had done, after the reality of what it is that he sold hit him, he accuses his brother Ya'acov of scamming him.

Bereshit {27:34} When Esav heard the words of his abba (father), he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said to his abba, "Bless me, even me also, my abba." {27:35} He said, "Your brother came with deceit, and has taken away your blessing." {27:36} He said, "Is not he rightly named Ya'akov? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. See, now he has taken away my blessing." He said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

But the question still is, “how hungry could Esav have been?” I think that Esav's statement of being at the point of death was a hyperbole. I am sure, like me, you have said these words in your life time, “I am starving to death.” You were not really at the point of death, but you used the words to express that you were extremely hungry. Esav, I believe, was expressing the same thing. It is amazing what one will do for food, what one will do so as to satisfy their hunger, if they are not disciplined. I know that when I fast it takes a lot of discipline, self control and an amazing amount of faith in G-d for me to make it through. Why faith in G-d; because I am always fasting for a specific purpose, either for a personal need, a prayer request or as intercession on behalf of someone else. Without the faith that what I am doing will move G-d to respond I would never be able to succeed in my fast, my appetite and flesh would always have the better of me.

Today when we think of a birthright we think of an inheritance, perhaps of cash or property, but G-d, although He cares for our financial wellbeing, is more interested and concerned with our spiritual wellbeing and our relationship with Him. Therefore, when the Bible speaks about a birthright, as it does in this week's Parasha, it is speaking about Esav's spiritual condition and his personal relationship with G-d. What Esav sold was his spiritual relationship with G-d. Ya'acov may have been a schemer, but at least he was spiritual and had a relationship with G-d, which is what Scripture means when it says that, “Ya'akov was a quiet man, living in tents.” Esav was G-dless and that was his problem.

A believer's inheritance is G-d, He is our birthright. When Esav rejected his birthright he rejected G-d, something that is very evident even to us today as we experience his descendants worshipping a false god. The writer of Ivrim (Hebrews) puts it well when he says:

Ivrim {12:15} See to it that no one comes short of the grace of G-d; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; {12:16} that there be no immoral or godless person like Esav, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

Ask yourself today, “how important is G-d to you, and what price it would take for you to sell Him out of your life!”

*********************
Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber

Chayei Sarah- The Life of Sarah

Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18)

I always find the start of this Torah portion ackward. It is the “life of Sarah”, and then the passage starts by telling us she is dead…Yes, that’s right, ladies and gentlemen, she will have no speaking parts in this Bible passage. She has left the building.
However, we do find one item of note in that. First, she is the only female who’s age is mentioned when she dies in the Bible. With men, this happens all the time, but only this one time for any women.
Next, we find the very first “invasion” of the promised land. Abraham actually owes a small piece of the promised land. Granted, it was a for a tomb, but it was still a piece of ownership. Amazingly enough, this place is still in existence. You can know a bit more about the Tomb of the Patriarchs by going to:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/hebron-tombs-of-the-patriarchs.htm



A photo from the Cenotaph of Sarah. It’s really more of a monument, their actual bones are believed to be buried in a subterranean cavern under the complex.

Any rate, the section starts off with Sarah dying, which seems at first a bit silly that we start a section of the life of Sarah with her death, but then one has to think a moment. Generally, we don’t reflect significantly on one’s life until their death. We don’t read biographies on average people until we read them in their paper in a section called “obituary”. It is at that point in time that one’s life is complete. It is at that point that people are no longer keeping the same secrets. Generally, at that point a lot (but not always all) old sins and grievances are forgiven. We tend to put a positive twist on someone’s life, in part, I think because we hope others will look to us with the same kind of gracious posture when we are gone.
So, we have the life of Sarah, and the longer picture of her life is seen through the life of her son, Isaac.

The basic chronology of the passage is as follows:
1. Death of Sarah and the purchase of the field Ephron.
2. Abraham gets his elder servant to go find a wife from among his own people.
3. The servant’s adventure in finding Rebecca.
4. Isaac and Rebecca are married.
5. Concluding comments and the death of Abraham.

Much has been written about Abraham and buying a field while grieving for his wife and how he paid way too much for this field. Even though I have been a financial advisor, I am going to avoid the temptation to write on this story.
I did receive an email this week from a rabbi talking about how this passage among others is a good argument for “not cremating” a body at death. This is not found in Scripture and “burning bodies” is generally only associated with idol worship.
There is also the passage (Gen 25:1) which I must confess has some personal importance to me. Abraham had another wife, that we know almost nothing about. He had several children that we know very little about. I ran across this passage years ago, and found it a bit amazing.
Although most people will know that I am not particularly emotional or led by charismatic visions, I have had a few. One of these was while I was in Bible college (actually Seminary). I was praying and felt distinctly that God was calling me a son of Abraham. As you can imagine, I was honoured with such a title. I had suspected this as a statement in the New Testament context when Jesus referred to a person who believed in him (having faith) as being a true son of Abraham. Just for the record, I didn’t think, nor do I think now that I am gifted with an unusual gift of Faith. I am like any other follower of the Messiah, stumbling around and wishing that God would speak more clearly, or that I would be able to understand more clearly what God is doing.
Any rate, I found this passage while studying for a Sunday School class I was teaching, and fell in love with it. There were children of Abraham who we know almost nothing about. We know about Ishmael (the father of the Muslim nations). We know about Isaac (or at least I thought I understood about Isaac), the founder of the Jewish nation (actually the father of the Children of Israel, but at the time I heard these two expressions as identical). I knew I wasn’t a Jew, now was I from Muslim stock. I was a paste white (sometimes called ghostly white) European. So, I knew that I was not genetically related to Abraham, until I saw these children.
I confided this to one brother (former Mennonite pastor) almost 9 years ago. I mentioned this communication from God and how that inspired me, and then how in Genesis, we find that there were other children of Abraham and maybe I really am one of them. He introduced me to an understanding of the “Two House” concept. That, among the kingdom of God there are many who are children of Abraham (Children of Israel) who have been scattered among the nations and the prophecy is that they would someday return. Supposed Gentiles, who will one day return to the faith of their “Fathers” (Abraham means Father). This was revolutionary to me, and sent me on a serious study path, and eventually to try to settle this question a DNA test, to find that, yes, we may very well be “Children of Abraham” in the spiritual sense and in the physical sense.

However, the part of this story that I really wanted to capture is the whole idea of setting a test for God to show His will. This is an awkward story. We have the Senior servant of Abraham with an amazing assignment. He’s going to go someplace where he knows no one (supposedly), and announce that Abraham (who people may or may not even remember) has had a son and needs a wife, and he’s going to convince her that she should leave everything for this “mysterious son”. The wedding is site unseen. She doesn’t even know if he’s a monster, but this young lady is going to trust someone she just met with one of the most important decisions of her life. Let us not forget as well, that the servant also has to use his “best judgement” to find a wife for his master’s son. How does he know he hasn’t bumped into a bridezilla?
To be honest, the task is really impossible. Can you imagine doing this in today’s age? How much more so in a world where women were not held in the same regard, where mobility (leaving a bad husband) would be almost impossible?
Yet, this is the servant’s task.
So, he arrives at the town, and of course, has no one to meet him. He goes to the well. I guess it would be a place you might bump into a young lady, and he seeks a sign from God.
The servant is there with multiple servants (Gen 24:23, and 54) we don’t know how many, but they are standing around the well, and the servant asks for someone who would give him a drink and offer to water all the camels as well. I don’t have a reference to how many camels were there. The Rabbis I have heard generally tell me 10. They always have an answer whether one can find it in the text or not.
There is also an interesting item about the water. Although the text in Hebrew says that she “drew it out for the camels”. It actually has a different phrase when she gets water the water for the servant. This is the way the KJV reads:

Gen 24:16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her. And she went down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

It is this phrase “and came up” which is a bit difficult to tag. In the Talmid, it is believed that it was not Rebecca that came up (as our English reads) but the water itself that came up. If this reading is more correct, then we have the servant watching a miracle as the water bubbles up to refresh the servant. She did have to draw the water up for the camels, but there is definitely different wording about the water for the men.

Gen 24:20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

My Hebrew is not good enough to comment as to whether I agree with the Rabbis or not, but it is easy to see that different words are used.

Now back to the idea of seeking a “sign from God”. Most of the Christian community today is not fond of the idea. It is what Gideon did to know with certainty the will of God. The children of Israel used this during the temple age, it was called the Urim and Thummim. It is what the disciples did when they replaced the office that Judas held (Ac 1:26). Some may argue that this sort of decision making was something prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit. That would be true. Yet, the reason for this is when a decision had to be made. We need information from God and we want clarity. This action was taken.
What about today? Do we ever find ourselves in a position where we lack clarity. Is there ever a time when an action has to be taken (or not taken) and no one has a clear sense of God’s leading? Why not seek a sign? Why not cast lots, throw dice, draw straws, flip a coin, or whatever.
We do believe in God’s desire to communicate his will to us. We are his servants. We have gotten used to acting based on “I feel” God’s will is such and such. If this works out, then we can say, well obviously we were following the will of God. That may or may not be true. Following God’s will is not a matter of whether it worked out or not. Maybe God intended something which on the surface would look like a failure, but would teach some incredible truth. God has done things like that. Also, what if the decision doesn’t look like it works out. Many things in my life have not worked out. Does this mean we did not hear the will of God? Does this mean we are false prophets? Does this set a crisis of faith? In truth for many people it does exactly that. I have many pastors confide with me their struggle when they had convinced themselves that they had “God’s blessing” and in fact they were chasing their own vanity.
Not that I am proposing this for every decision, but I think there are times when we should pray for God to lead through a clear “sign”, make sure there is no room for misinterpretation, and then wait…get the sign… and then act (no questioning, no turning back). I sincerely believe there is a lot more Biblical basis for this then a democratic voting system that we have decided the will of God from in most of the churches I have attended.
A dear brother of mine (Dr. Carl Hinderager) was asked about the possibility of using this sort of “sign seeking” to know direction, and he paused a moment and looked thoughtful and then said, “if it was me, I would pray that the sign would be given from my parents. I would ask God to give direction from my parents. I would commit that to prayer and then when ready call them and ask the question you are struggling with. Whatever advice they say, you accept this as God’s will. The reason for this is two fold. First, you would be seeking a sign and getting the signal, but second, you would be obeying one of the commandments “Children obey your parent’s in the Lord for this is right.” I thought that was a fair counsel on the question.

Shabbot Tov (or in English, Have a Good Sabbath “Saturday”)

Jewish Rabinical Torah Teaching

Now I know many of you won't necessarily be excited about this, but I did get a chance to listen to a few of these. I found them interesting and insightful to the passage espicially if I wanted to know what had been taught historically on a given passage. I thought I would share as well. It is "Virtual Torah Teaching"
http://www.naaleh.com/index.html

Va Yera

podcast, thought you might like to listen to. Not me, david Levine from Jacksonville FL.

http://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail?pid=5265

Va Yera

Va Yera:

2 Peter 2:6-9 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned
Them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live
ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked
(for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his
righteous soul from day to day with their lawless deeds):
the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;

The Prince of the Apostles. The great “Rock” Peter commented on this very Torah passage, and what is most amazing is that we still have those words today.
Peter was writing to the persecuted church. His words were intended to encourage them, about God’s ability to preserve and care for his people even in some of the toughest times. I thought this might be a nice place to start.
In this Torah passage, we have some key Bible stories from the Old Testament. Sometimes in the Torah portions we find places that we are very unfamiliar since they don’t get a lot of messages taught in traditional Sunday school classes or Sunday morning church services in which most of us have been familiar. This passage is different. Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac is very familiar. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah very familiar stories.
A personal comment here: When I read the story of Lot, I am a bit tempted to heap some abuse on the poor guy. He spent his days with Abraham. He was already an old man when the events of this passage happened. When he and Abraham parted company, it was he who got to choose which land to go to, and he chose what looked to be the more lush area leaving Abraham to the wilderness. Strangely enough, he doesn’t stay in the country. He finds himself in the city of Sodom, which he knew was a bad city. When the men of Sodom swarm his house…he offers both of his daughters to them?!? What kind of father would do such a thing?!? He doesn’t listen well to the angels. He too much of a wimp to even go to where the angels tell him to go, and it looks like his story ends stored away in some cave in the mountains. Sometimes, I sort of feel…well, his sad end of his days is likely his due.
Fortunately, you have an author like Peter, who helps us put things in perspective. One of the tools I learned in Seminary was “whenever possible in rendering a passage, it is always safest to have Scripture interpret Scripture.” The reason for this is simple. If we believe that God’s word is “God Breathed” (what we call inspired), you never run the risk of just tossing your own ideas into the mix.
Peter, in writing “God’s word” says that Lot was a Zadok. In fact, he is intentional about how troubling it was for him to live in that world. If you read that story again, you do see the men of Sodom have no difficulty heaping abuse on Lot. (Gen 19:9) In fact by their own words they would deal worse to him then with the travellers. He wasn’t just “one of the boys”.
Of course, like I said, with Peter’s understanding of the passage. Lot was a desperate man. A Zadok who was trying to do right and was “vexed” a good choice in English. The word is a lot more then troubled. It is the idea of being torn apart, tortured relentlessly by living among the “lawlessness” Greek word anomos (“a” means negation. “without” “law” the same word is the one which is translated often in the New Testament and in the LXX as “Torah”) The lived as people without God’s Word.
Lot offered his own daughter. I still don’t have to like this, but it is technically better from a standpoint of righteousness. I am willing to do as Peter did and give him the benefit of the doubt. He was a desperate man, who was likely to die anyway, who was likely to fail in the simplest rules of hospitality, and his daughters were likely to be taken as well. He could not fight off the crowd. His choice was terrible by my perspective, but if he was left to his own devices, what other choice did he have. He obviously tried reasoning with them.
The overall theme is that “God had no problem protecting Lot”. In fact, had there been just a few more people who were like Lot in the town, that city would stand.
It reminds me of what I read the other day with my children from the book of Matthew.

Mat 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day.

Remember, many people have noted, during Yeshua’s time, Capernaum was the northern home base, and yet, the great symbol of destruction for sin would have repented even if Capernaum seemed to have ignored Yeshua and the apostles.

Back to our story with Lot. The angels provide a temporary solution and buy lot some time. They pull him into the house and strike the men all blind. He’s commanded to get his whole family together and flee. His son-in-laws ignore him. (His girls were engaged, but not really married, according to Lot’s own words). He seems to have become shell shocked and the angels have to drag him out of the city. He begs to go to some tiny little town and the angels because he’s too weak to make it to the mountains. The angels allow it. He is told not to turn back, and obviously his wife does. She becomes a pillar of salt.



I always thought it strange that she dies for looking back. I remember thinking, maybe it was an accident. Maybe she wasn’t last in line and looked back to check on her daughters. It is amazing to find what efforts the mind will take to try to make God the bad guy in the story. The truth is she was told “don’t even look back”, and she did. She disobeyed. That was reason enough for her death. We also don’t know what her heart was like. Perhaps, there was longing for things that would be lost or pity for the city. She is not called “righteous”, only Lot. It never says she was troubled by living there, only Lot. It is an argument from silence, but she may very well have been a completely different cut then Lot. I think the strongest proof is that God’s judgement for her was the loss of her life. We do believe the judge of the world does what is right.
As they made it to the tiny town of Zoar. God destroyed Sodom. Just so you note, seeing the destruction did not necessarily bring punishment humanity. Abraham saw the destruction and he didn’t become a pillar of salt.
For some reason Lot feared living in Zoar and escaped to the mountains (like the angels had said) and after the incidents with his daughters, that is the last we hear of Lot. A very sad end to this “Righteous man”.
Back to the original theme. God doesn’t have problems taking care of his own.
As many of you know, on May 29, we lost our house in a complete fire. This was only a couple weeks after a dear brother and true prophet announced that “no fire would touch our home”. We had abuse heaped on us from the local fire department. Evidence was found that suggested the fire was deliberately set by someone who wanted to “kill us” (their own words. The fire investigators do not feel as if they want to look any further into what happened. In fact, they never did. The RCMP were told about the evidence of ill intent and have chosen to ignore it. “the case is closed”, they told us.
So, we have taken this as far as we can easily. For months we wandered not sure what was going to happen to us, but we began to see that our world was more complete then ever before. God promised protection of our ‘home’. The buildings and the stuff inside was just the house. It really didn’t matter that much. The home. The stuff that really matter were all perfectly safe. I had Julie, Josh, Sera, Sasha, Noah, Shamus, Shimone, Shemiel, and a new baby (due at the first part of January). None were lost. None were even damaged. (you might argue some emotional damage, but not physically). We lost stuff…but now we are starting to see that was a blessing. We pack lighter and live lighter. Praise God.
I remember, when we were part of the mission WEC (World Evangelization for Christ) we read of fellow missionaries, including the founder, who would pray for their basic needs, including food, and sometimes, there would not be enough. Those men and women would rejoice, and say…”that means that God says we just don’t need that right now.” The truth is, that much of what we have we don’t need. For years I surrounded myself with things that made me feel comfortable and safe. From our experience, I sincerely believe God helped us to see that much of that is unnecessary.
I couldn’t really say that this life and lifestyle is “for everyone”. Who am I to judge another man’s servant? But I thank God that he cared enough about us to destroy our house by fire and allow us to flee to a tiny community. I hope unlike Lot, this is not the final chapter in our story.

May the grace of God and the Peace of Yeshua be with you and yours, Bradley Avi

Va Yera

sent by e-mail from Rabbi Jack Farber: some good comments

"פרספקטיבה נכונה וחשיבותה"
"Proper Perspective Matters"


Parashat HaShavua VaYera / And He Appeared

This Week's Reading List:
BeReshit / Genesis 18:1-22:24
Melachim Bet / 2 Kings 4:1-37
Kefa Bet / 2nd Peter 2:4-11
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Bereshit {18:1} HaShem appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. {18:2} He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, {18:3} and said, "My L-RD, if now I have found favour in Your sight, please do not go away from Your servant. {18:4} Now let a little water be fetched, wash Your feet, and rest Yourselves under the tree. {18:5} I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh Your heart. After that You may go Your way, now that You have come to Your servant." They said, "Very well, do as you have said."

There has been much controversy over this passage, and it is all because of where to place one nikkud (Hebrew vowel point). Christian and Messianic translators place the vowel point one way while Jewish translators place it another. This one vowel point, this one little slash by Messianics or dot by traditional Jews, changes the whole context of the passage that I just quoted above.

First, for those who do not understand the Hebrew language and how it is written, allow me to explain. Originally, Hebrew was written without any vowels, like our English vowels (a, e, i, o and u). Hebrew writing back then, as it is now, is written with consonants only. There are 22 consonants in the Hebrew language. The Torah, in its original form, did not have any nikkudot (plural for nikkud). This leaves room for mistranslations because, as I said above, one dot or dash improperly placed can change the whole meaning of a word. Now, before you start worrying about the accuracy of the Word of HaShem, remember that under the vast majority of the cases this would not be a problem, especially when you know the context and know the language. The nukkudot were not added until the early Middle Ages. This was done so as to facilitate the reading and thus the understanding of words and their sentences. The most widely used Hebrew vowel points that are used today were developed by the Masoretes of Tiberias, which is from where we get the Masorettic text of the Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures). However, as with anything man puts his hands to, the interpretation of the original text by the placing of the vowel points becomes subject to human error and personal prejudice. This is the case with our above text.

The original Hebrew word that is in question in this passage, the word that can change the whole context and understanding of the passage, is אדני. It can, by the placing of a different vowel point under the נ, change the reading of the word from “Adonai” (G-d or L-rd) to “adoni” (sir or lord). Needless to say this difference has been the subject of many debates over the ages. Was Avraham (Abraham) greeting G-d or was he just being respectful and addressing three mortals as sir or lord? Jewish translators, as I said, see it one way while Christian and Messianic translators see it another way; I suppose you can understand why. Was this encounter a theophany (a physical appearance of G-d) or was it not? The implications for either theology could be far reaching.

Let us take a closer look at our passage of Scripture and attempt to determine, by the context of the text, whom it was that Avraham was greeting, G-d or man?

Most Jewish commentators use this passage to say that Avraham was a hospitable man. After all, they say, he was sitting and relaxing at the door of his tent just waiting for passer-bys so that he could offer them rest and refreshment on their journey. This, they say, explains why he jumped up so abruptly and hastily greeted these three men as they were passing him by. Thus they imply the word אדני to mean “sirs or lords” . However, is this really the right interpretation of this passage? In jumping up to greet these three passer-bys Avraham runs, bows before them and says “...if now I have found favour in your sight...” If these so called “men” were perfect strangers who were just passing by then why would Avraham say such a thing? Why would Avraham refer to himself as “your (singular) servant?” Why did he not just ask them to rest with him a while and join him in a meal before continuing on their journey? “Finding favour” implies a relationship of some kind, which could imply that Avraham understood that he was greeting G-d. Rendering the passage this way also agrees with the other passages in this Parasha.

Bereshit {18:10} He said, "I will certainly return to you when the season comes round; behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.

In their conversations with Avraham, one of the men make this incredible prophecy, a prophecy that will change the events of the world; the birth of Yitzchak (Isaac).

Bereshit {18:22} The men turned from there, and went toward S'dom, but Avraham stood yet before HaShem. {18:23} Avraham drew near, and said, "Will you consume the tzaddik (righteous) with the wicked?

There is no mistaking this text, vowel points or not. It is clearly written that Avraham was speaking toיהוה (Yud Hay Vav Hay), HaShem, the G-d of Heaven and earth. As it happens HaShem was on His way to judge Sodom and Gomorrah. So the only other question that could cause a loophole in our conclusion is, “Did HaShem just all of a sudden appear or was He actually one of the three all along? Well the text does not seem to indicate the former so the latter must be true, He must have been apart of the original three.

Finally, but certainly not the least of our proofs that Avraham was greeting G-d in the flesh, is this passage.

Bereshit {18:16} The men rose up from there, and looked toward S'dom. Avraham went with them to see them on their way. {18:17} HaShem said, "Will I hide from Avraham what I do, {18:18} seeing that Avraham has surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the goyim of the earth will be blessed in him? {18:19} For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of HaShem, to do tz'dakeh (righteousness) and justice; to the end that HaShem may bring on Avraham that which he has spoken of him."

Even though this passage comes before the one I quoted directly above I have placed it after because of the implication it presents. Again, in the Hebrew where we have translated it as HaShem it is written יהוה, which is explicitly G-d. There is no doubt, therefore, that one of the three so called “men” Avraham greeted was a physical manifestation of G-d (G-d in human form).

Do you see the implications here? Yeshua HaMashiach is G-d in human form, something Judaism denies and rejects. So is it any wonder that Jewish translators have manipulated the vowel points in this passage of Scripture that I quoted at the beginning of this drash (commentary)? They are protecting their anti-Messianic Jewish, anti-Yeshua theology