-Ha-Melitz Holy Spirit so comforting! Just when I thought I was about to fall apart....The Word of G-d spoke.(I apologize for the re-post but as I looked into it I found that my little loaf of bread link did not bring you right to the rest of the commentary so I wanted to post the rest of it on here!....
Also...As I continued on with my own reading I found myself to be doubly blessed as I read from the "TorahBites" They have the same scriptures from Torah but chose a different passage to do their thought of the week on and it spoke deeply to me as well. So I thought I would pass it along too!)
It may seem like a bit of reading but well worth it!!!
If you find yourself blessed by it...you can click on the little loaf of bread link and sign upi for your FREE weekly emails!!
As I woke this weary Monday morning here in Ohio
I will share only a small portion here, as you can simply *click* on the upper left hand corner of my blog where you see the little loaf of bread and continue to read the rest.
I WILL ADD this…a simple reminder remember to pray always, stay close to the foot of the throne and be still before His Majesty Our Lord G-D the G-d of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and know that it is not by anything you have done but because of the Mercy and Grace of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach you are able to do just THIS!
weekly e-dreash
First Fruits of Zion
Signet , Cord and Staff
Parasha: Vayeshev
Tags: Judah, Judah's staff, messiah, Peretz, staff, tribe of Judah
Vayeshev - וישב: "And he dwelt"
Torah : Genesis 37:1-40:23
Haftarah : Amos 2:6-3:8
Gospel : John 2:13-4:42
Torah : Genesis 37:1-40:23
Haftarah : Amos 2:6-3:8
Gospel : John 2:13-4:42
Thought for the Week
As Tamar's pregnancy began to be obvious to others, she would confidently "tap her stomach and declare, 'I am big with kings and redeemers.'" (Genesis Rabbah 85:10) So may Messiah be fully formed within us, and may we never forget who dwells within.
Commentary
In Genesis 38:18, as Judah negotiates with Tamar (whom he assumes to be a prostitute) he asked her "'What pledge shall I give you?' And she said, 'Your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.' So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.'"
The Rabbis of old saw messianic revelation in Genesis 38's story of Judah and Tamar. As we look at their comments, we are afforded a wonderful opportunity to observe a typical example of classic midrashicallegory. A midrash is a form of biblical interpretation developed by the ancient Rabbis. Its goal, derived from the Hebrew root for the word drash — "seek, search" is to attempt to find the deeper inner, often hidden meaning of the Torah by use of the allegory and word associations.
After agreeing to the price, Tamar demanded that Judah leave a pledge as a guarantee just in case he was to forgo his payment to her. The pledge she demanded was Judah's personal identification articles: his name signet (probably a cylinder seal with his name on it), the cord which held his cylinder around his neck and his personal walking staff.
The sages of old, practicing classic midrash, saw much more in these verses than what most of us would be able to see. Without negating the literal, most obvious sense of the words, the rabbis went "deeper" and said, "'Thy signet' alludes to royalty (citing Jeremiah 22:24); And 'thy cord'...alludes to the Sanhedrin (citing Numbers 15:38). And 'Thy staff' alludes to the royal Messiah, as in the verse, 'The staff of thy strength the LORD will send out of Zion.'" (Psalm 110:2) (Genesis Rabbah 85:9)
The first thing to note is that the rabbi who developed this midrash connected the reference to "the signet" and Numbers 15:38 because this Torah reference was to wearing blue in the fringes of your four-cornered garment. This alludes to the Sanhedrin because, the Sanhedrin wore fringed cloak, (talit). Second, notice, most importantly that in Judah's staff the rabbis saw the Messiah. Perhaps they connected the passage in Genesis 49 which places the staff of kingship in the tribe of Judah. Lastly, when the Rabbis cited Psalm 110 as a proof-text for their interpretation concerning the staff of Judah, they betrayed the fact that they also considered Psalm 110 to be a Messianic Psalm-as we also do. Psalm 110 is the most frequently quoted Psalm in the Apostolic Scriptures.
To what end do these things betoken Messiah? The offspring of Judah and Tamar is Peretz, the father of the Davidic line through whom Messiah would ultimately be born.
Truly, Messiah may be found throughout the Torah.
The Rabbis of old saw messianic revelation in Genesis 38's story of Judah and Tamar. As we look at their comments, we are afforded a wonderful opportunity to observe a typical example of classic midrashicallegory. A midrash is a form of biblical interpretation developed by the ancient Rabbis. Its goal, derived from the Hebrew root for the word drash — "seek, search" is to attempt to find the deeper inner, often hidden meaning of the Torah by use of the allegory and word associations.
After agreeing to the price, Tamar demanded that Judah leave a pledge as a guarantee just in case he was to forgo his payment to her. The pledge she demanded was Judah's personal identification articles: his name signet (probably a cylinder seal with his name on it), the cord which held his cylinder around his neck and his personal walking staff.
The sages of old, practicing classic midrash, saw much more in these verses than what most of us would be able to see. Without negating the literal, most obvious sense of the words, the rabbis went "deeper" and said, "'Thy signet' alludes to royalty (citing Jeremiah 22:24); And 'thy cord'...alludes to the Sanhedrin (citing Numbers 15:38). And 'Thy staff' alludes to the royal Messiah, as in the verse, 'The staff of thy strength the LORD will send out of Zion.'" (Psalm 110:2) (Genesis Rabbah 85:9)
The first thing to note is that the rabbi who developed this midrash connected the reference to "the signet" and Numbers 15:38 because this Torah reference was to wearing blue in the fringes of your four-cornered garment. This alludes to the Sanhedrin because, the Sanhedrin wore fringed cloak, (talit). Second, notice, most importantly that in Judah's staff the rabbis saw the Messiah. Perhaps they connected the passage in Genesis 49 which places the staff of kingship in the tribe of Judah. Lastly, when the Rabbis cited Psalm 110 as a proof-text for their interpretation concerning the staff of Judah, they betrayed the fact that they also considered Psalm 110 to be a Messianic Psalm-as we also do. Psalm 110 is the most frequently quoted Psalm in the Apostolic Scriptures.
To what end do these things betoken Messiah? The offspring of Judah and Tamar is Peretz, the father of the Davidic line through whom Messiah would ultimately be born.
Truly, Messiah may be found throughout the Torah.
Thought of the week from TorahBites
Va-Yeshev
For the week of November 27, 2010 / 20 Kislev 5771
Torah: Bereshit / Genesis 37:1 - 40:23
Haftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8
For the week of November 27, 2010 / 20 Kislev 5771
Torah: Bereshit / Genesis 37:1 - 40:23
Haftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8
God Is in Charge
Now Israel
The story of Joseph is one of the most mind-blowing stories in the entire Bible. It is the story of how God uses a most dysfunctional family for his plan and purposes. Not only did he use jealousy and hatred to preserve the nation of Israel, but also of Egypt and the surrounding region. Joseph's understanding of how God was involved in his difficult circumstances are summed up by his words to his brothers some time after the whole clan moved to Egypt, when he said, "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Bereshit / Genesis 50:20; ESV). There is no doubt in Joseph's mind that God's good intentions for Israel, Egypt, and many others were carried out through his brothers' evil intentions.
Let's look at some of the details of what happened. Joseph, the eleventh of twelve sons, was his father's favorite. Jacob had no qualms about broadcasting his feelings about Joseph in public in that he gave Joseph the gift of an extraordinary outer garment. Joseph had no qualms about speaking badly about his brothers to their father. This all would be sufficient to cause significant problems between Joseph and his brothers, We read "But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him" (Bereshit / Genesis 37:4; ESV).
Then we read that Joseph had two dreams that predicted that he would rule over his parents and brothers. We do not know Joseph's motivation in sharing his dreams with his family, since the Torah provides no behind-the-scenes commentary on what he was thinking. All we know is that his older brothers hated him all the more to the point of wanting to kill him. One day when Jacob sent Joseph to check up on them, they were about to murder him. The eldest brother, Reuben, convinced the others to hold off in hopes of rescuing him. While Reuben was away attending something, the nine brothers sold him to slave traders on their way to Egypt. They then deceived their father into thinking that Joseph was killed by wild animals. Do note if it wasn't for Reuben's intervention, Joseph would have been killed.
Joseph served as a slave in Egypt. Yet God made him successful in his work. Even when he resisted his master's wife's advances, which ended up in his going to prison, there too God was with him, resulting in his being put in charge of the other prisoners. It was due to his accurate interpretation of some dreams of his fellow prisoners that he was eventually called up to interpret some of Pharaoh's dreams, thus resulting in his release and promotion to second in command in Egypt. This was the set up for the fulfillment of Joseph's earlier dreams concerning him and his family.
In the midst of all the human intrigue, jealousy, hatred, and lust, God's was at work for good. The Torah in no way excuses the evil just because God used it for his own good purposes. Also, there is no impression given that God made the bad stuff happen. The people did the bad. Yet the bad stuff served the overall purposes of God.
People also did the good stuff. Joseph was faithful to God in the midst of his terrible circumstances. It was not as if he was a passive spectator as God manipulated the situation to accomplish his purposes. He actively trusted God and worked hard. At the same time, it was not as if Joseph had the ability in himself to make things work out as they did. God did that. The Torah gives no impression that people are mechanically controlled by spiritual forces. Human responsibility in the affairs of life is not an illusion, but a reality. But whatever effect our actions have, God's plans and purposes cannot be thwarted. That's why we can trust him no matter what happens to us. While we cannot understand how this works, it is comforting to know that God is in charge.
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