Rabbi Sacks comments on the fact that Moses implies the people will leave for 3 days to worship Adonai, when in fact the intention is to leave entirely. He recalls Jacob, who left Laban behind his back, and made an excuse not to travel together with Esau later on. Jacob was also misleading in the situation with the Shechemites when he proposed circumcision. Abraham and Isaac pretended their wives were sisters when leaving home because of famine.
Rabbi Fohrman compares the opening verses in Exodus to verses 46:8-27, which is almost the same. Why the repetition? He quotes Rashi, who wrote that the names of Bnai Yisrael were repeated because God wanted to hear them again.
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.
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.
Why is Jacob the father of our people when it was Abraham who started the journey, Isaac with his supreme faith, Joseph who saved the clan from famine, Moses the great leader…Most of our image of Jacob comes from Midrash, which views the narrative in black and white. Rabbi Sacks cites Deuteronomy 4:25, “when you have children and grandchildren, and have been established in the land for a long time, you might become decadent;” namely, Israel must never forget its past.