Summary:
In our portion this week, Judah pleads with Joseph to free Benjamin and offers himself as a replacement. At that point, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and forgives them for selling him into slavery. Although the famine still rages, Pharaoh invites Joseph's family to "live off the fat of the land." Jacob learns that Joseph is still alive and, with God's blessing, goes to Egypt. Pharaoh permits Joseph's family to settle in Goshen. With the famine increasing, Joseph designs a plan for the Egyptians to trade their livestock and land for food. The Israelites thrive in Egypt
Lesson from our Haftarah Portion – Ezekiel 37:15-28
As if quite common with the prophets of the bible, themes from the Torah are enlarged upon and transformed. In our Torah portion we read of the reunion between Joseph and his brothers. Ezekiel transforms this narrative from a family story to a national one in which the 10 tribes of the north are brought back together and unified with the two tribes in the south.
Just as a good teacher uses visual aids to demonstrate a lesson, so too with Ezekiel. In our haftarah, Ezekiel tells an allegory about two sticks. He holds them up as two separate entities and then holds them together as one. He declares that just as the sticks are united so too will God bring together our people into one strong and united nation. The message must have resonated deeply for the people during a time when they were separated and ruled over by the Babylonians.
Ezekiel’s themes of unity and permanence may not have come true in his time. He may have envisioned an immediate ingathering of the people to the land, and a return of the 12 tribes to one kingdom – neither of which came true. Yet within his narrative echoes a messianic vision and hope. God’s promise to unify our people and create an everlasting kingdom was “spiritualized” into a message of an everlasting unity between God and the Jewish people. Through beautiful imagery and dramatic words, our haftarah implants within us the hope for a better future in which we are restored to our land and our God.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Don Goor