Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Have you ever been misunderstood? Or maybe had your words completely turned around on you? Maybe you know what you need to say, but for some reason, the words just don't come out the way you intended. If that's you, I've got a secret that will help. Even if you aren't the most eloquent communicator, there's a guaranteed method that will ensure others will hear you and take to heart what you have to say. What is this tried and true secret? Let's take a look together in this week's Baba net Torah.
[00:00:35] This week we are studying the portion of Vayeki Genesis 47 28 through 50 26. And here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one, a Sabbath tradition, the blessing of Ephraim and Manashe. Every Friday night around the Sabbath table, fathers place their hands on the heads of their sons and blessed them with the blessing, may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh. Many people know about Jacob crossing his hands when he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, placing his right hand on Ephraim the younger and his left hand on Manasseh the older. But not many people know that Jacob himself began this tradition of blessing one's sons like we do on Friday nights, when he told them, by you, Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, God make you as Ephraim and Manassa. Genesis 48 20 it's a tradition we can all participate in, as it says, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations. Genesis 40 819 number two, the scepter of Judah. Tribal blessings from Jacob. Each of the twelve sons of Jacob received a blessing from their father on his deathbed. He speaks to each of them according to their need. For some it sounds more like a curse than a blessing. But sometimes we need correction so that we can steer away from the path that we are on and head in the direction that will make us the person we are destined to become. Among the brothers, Judah and Joseph definitely receive the lion's share of the blessings from the father. Through this, Judah is established as the kingly line with a statement, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until tribute comes to him. And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Genesis 49 ten number three, a time of mourning. The death of Jacob and Joseph. Jacob dies at the ripe old age of 147 and is mourned by all of Egypt for 70 days. Just as he had promised his father Joseph returns his body to Canaan and buries him in the cave of Mahbela. Joseph went with a great entourage, including, quote, all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. Genesis 50, verses seven through nine well, Joseph returned to Egypt and lived until he was 110 years old. Before he died, he made his family swear to bury him in Canaan also, but for whatever reason, his family doesn't take his body to Canaan. The last line of our Torah portion tells us so. Joseph died being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. This week's tour commentary is called from my heart to yours and comes from my book, five minute Torah, vol. Two. For the last three tour portions, we have seen the story of Joseph unfold. Up until now, we have learned the main events of Joseph's life. We learned about Joseph's descent into Egypt through the seemingly unfortunate circumstances initiated by his brother's hatred toward him. But then we saw how God used this for his own purposes, placing Joseph in a strategic position to be the savior of not only his own family, but also of the world. We read about the reunion of Joseph and his family and how he moved his father and all of his brothers down to Egypt so that he could take care of them. Now, in our final portion from the Book of Reishit, or Genesis, we learn about the final days of Jacob and his desire to bestow his blessings upon his children before his passing. The focal point of this Torah portion is the individual blessings he gives to each of his sons with the adoption and blessing of Joseph's sons, Ephraim and manashe being an unexpected turn of events. From a detailed reading of the text, we can learn numerous lessons from this narrative. One lesson is tucked away toward the end of the portion and may easily be glossed over by a service reading. After Jacob dies, Joseph's brothers realize that up to this point, Jacob may have been the only buffer between them and their brothers'vengeance. They knew how bad they had treated him and fully expected retaliation after the father's passing, so they devised a plan. They told Joseph that before Jacob died, he told them to convey a message to Joseph that he was not to harm the brothers or take revenge on them. When Joseph heard the message, however, he wept. It hurt him to realize that his brothers believed he had malicious intent toward them. He quickly cleared up the matter, but Joseph said to them, do not fear, for am I in the place of God. As for you, 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. So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 5019 through 21 we're told that Joseph quote comforted them and spoke kindly to them in verse 21. However, our english translations don't fully capture what the Torah is saying here. Virtually all english translations say that Joseph quote spoke kindly to them. However, the phrase the Torah uses is avaidaber al libam. A more literal reading of the Hebrew is that Joseph quote spoke to their hearts. What does it mean to speak to a person's heart? It means to connect with them intimately. It means to speak to them from one's own heart. An oft repeated jewish expression says, words from the heart enter the heart. When we speak from our hearts, others are receptive to our message and enters their hearts. However, a heart that is full of darkness will also spread that darkness to others. Depending on what is in our hearts, others will receive from us either light or darkness. Yeshua tells us that, quote, what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. Matthew 1518 he also warns us, quote if then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? Matthew 623 our hearts are reservoirs from which our lips draw. Whatever is in our hearts will naturally pass out through our lips and into the hearts of others. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure, produces evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks. Luke 645 how do we ensure that our hearts are spreading light rather than darkness? If our hearts are filled with Torah and the teachings of our master, then we will be filled with light. We will need to have a constant diet of these things in order to illuminate our hearts. Otherwise, darkness will overtake us. When we speak to others, are they hearing our words or hearing our hearts? We should be speaking from one heart to another. From my heart to your heart. Only then will our hearts be one united for the purposes of the kingdom. Well, as a parent, there have been many times when, in my frustration, I lashed out at my children and told them exactly what they were doing wrong and what they should be doing. And, well, it went over about as well as you can probably imagine. But then I started holding my tongue until I could try and relate to what they were dealing with and speak from my heart to theirs, not trying to control their actions, but to speak life to their situation. It made all the difference in the world and became a healing bomb in our relationship.
[00:08:41] Can you remember a time when you tried so hard for someone to hear you, but you simply couldn't get through because you were trying to change their circumstances or speak logic to their brains rather than speaking to their heart? If so, I would love to hear your story as well. Well, that's all for this week. As a reminder, if you enjoyed this video and want others to enjoy it as well, please hit the like button to let YouTube know that this video is worth watching. And if you haven't subscribed yet, I would love for this channel to be next subscription last if you'd like to help support the work that goes on behind these videos, please feel free to hit the super thanks button or make a contribution using one of the links below. Thanks in advance. I'll see you soon with another messianic insight to the eternal Torah of God. Blessings from Ahmed Hatorah.
