Moses asks 2 questions: Who am I? Who are You? God answers the second one but not the first. Moses was really questioning his capacity to be God’s representative. Like the prophets, he didn’t grow up with a sense of destiny, but became “heroes of the moral life against their will.” The answer to that question evolved over time.
7 different times during Bereishit, and for different reasons. The last time is when his father has died and his brothers still do not trust him, and they communicate a message from Jacob to forgive his brothers. Joseph realizes that while he holds total power over the fate of his family, yet he still yearns for their acceptance of him.
When Jacob, on his deathbed, blesses his sons, 5 of those blessings relate to foods, underscoring the diversity of resources and produce in the land of Israel. He cites Rashi in interpreting the text.
Rabbi Enkin presents an interesting dichotomy: while this week’s parashah and Talmud rulings indicate that grandchildren are to be considered as one’s actual children, Midrash states that one’s father must be honored first before the grandfather. There is considerable dialogue on this subject.
Wicked Take on Hanukkah by the Maccabeats
A Hasmonean Take by The Maccabeats!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YSOZP_M6eM
In the parasha, Judah pleads on behalf of his brother Benjamin, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, Jacob travels to Egypt, and Joseph’s leadership of Egypt saves lives while converting all Egyptians into bondmen.
Rabbi Sacks writes that in the parashah, Joseph is the object of the actions of others—the hurtful acts by his brothers against him, the actions of Potiphar’s wife–rather than his own. In contrast, the actions that are his—dreaming, running Potiphar’s house, interpreting the dreams of others—are attributed explicitly to God. In this way, Joseph is a unique figure in the Tanakh. The few times when he tried to control his own fate backfired. This is a paradox.
Rabbi Sacks summarizes an essay by Rabbi Saul Berman on the meaning of the 3 times the verb Vayigash is used in the Tanakh: when Abraham hears of God’s intention to destroy Sodom and Gemorrah, when Joseph claims Benjamin as his personal slave, and when Elijah confronts the 450 prophets of Baal.