Minyan Replay with Rabbi Steven — Parashat Vayigash

Every weekday at 8:00 am, Mishkan Chicago holds a virtual Morning Minyan. Our Thursday sessions are hosted by Mishkan's Founding Rabbi, Lizzi Heydemann. You can join in yourself, or listen to all the prayer, music, and inspiration right here on Contact Chai.

https://www.mishkanchicago.org/series/morning-minyan-summer-fall-2023/

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Produced by Mishkan Chicago. Music composed, produced, and performed by Kalman Strauss.

Transcript

Transcript

Unknown Speaker  
Hello, and welcome to this half hour dose of weekly Jewish spirituality brought to you by Mishcon Thursday morning minion. Jews have a tradition of praying three times a day and it Mishcon, we have a daily virtual minion at 8am Central to get your day started. folks join us from across the country and across the world as we begin each day with words and songs of gratitude, inspiration, healing, and Torah. If you miss us in the morning, join us here every week for the replay of our Thursday minion hosted by me, Rabbi Lizzi Heitmann during my sabbatical. I know you'll enjoy hearing from the voices of Rabbi Steven and guests leaders. Without further ado, I invite you to breathe a little deeper, connects a little more with yourself, with God with Torah, with this community, and with the world around you, wherever you are, whatever your time zone, we are nearing the very end

Unknown Speaker  
of the book of Baray sheets. We've had a great kind of reveal of Joseph to his brothers. Up until this point, his brothers did not realize that Joseph was still alive. They had been traveling down to Egypt to secure food for their families during this time of famine. He finally reveals Himself to them, they are in disbelief that he's still alive. They have a tearful reunion. And then he sends them back up on their way to get their father and bring their father down to Egypt. And so I was curious actually about this particular scene. But before we dive in, we'll say the blessing over a setting toward together which is less so Look, buddy Ray Torah, but at times I don't die Aloha new Melaka a share crescendo Mitsotakis, Bitsy Vanu last. So it could be the very Torah, bless it or use source of all things who brings holiness into our lives through our actions, asking us to busy ourselves with words of Torah.

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We're going to be reading from Genesis chapter 45, verse 25, today.

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So the question I have for you, as you read these verses, is Jacob, the father, Joseph and his brothers is going to decide to go down to Egypt, to see his son to dwell down there for a while, and then suddenly gets a vision from God, promising what the future is going to hold.

Unknown Speaker  
And it seems like a vision of reassurance, or else seems like a vision of command, telling him to go down to Egypt, but at this point, Jacobs already decided to go down to Egypt. So my question for you is, why does God appear to give him a vision saying go down to Egypt, even though Jacob's are decided to go down to Egypt, and in fact, this vision happens when they're on the road to Egypt. So what's up with this blessing? Because as you know, I'm always interested in these moments that seem redundant or superfluous or trivial, but I always think there's maybe a deeper meaning to unlock their

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gum or a law by yourself? Yeah sheet yeah door

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a ninth

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grade English here.

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So the brothers went up from Egypt and came to the father Jacob and the land

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Land of Canaan and they told to Joseph is still alive. In fact, he's the ruler over the whole land of Egypt or he's vice Pharaoh at this point.

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Jacob's heart went numb, for he did not believe them.

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And when they recounted all the Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had said to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived at enough he said, his name now Israel, my son Joseph is still alive, I must go and see him before I die. And so Israel set out with all that was his, and he came to bear Sheva, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac's house. And God called Israel in a vision by night Jacob, Jacob and he answered, He Nene, I am here.

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And God says, I am the God of your father's house. Fear not, to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will also bring you back and Josef's hand shall close your eyes.

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So the question again is why this vision I see some people popping some thoughts into the chat.

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I think it'll take a moment to when we sing a song for peace while you think and they'll come back together and share some thoughts or say Shalom beam Roma love who say Shalom Malay new knew they Ouko yes

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they mevrouw man Oh say Shalom beam Roma who yet a Sesha alone Marley new velco Israel they are caught yes vetiver they he Maru

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or say shalom, beam Roma for say shalom, lay a new they call us right now. That a mevrouw.

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So I guess Susanna said, how do we know Jacob isn't harboring doubts, even though he's already in the road? That God is attempting to light now? Good question, right? Maybe Jacob is actually feeling a lot of trepidation when it says his spirit is revived and it says like he's kind of like shows an excitement to go but I mean, he might actually have a lot of fear.

Unknown Speaker  
Jacob is somebody who has been displaced multiple times throughout his life so absolutely. And Nicole love the mirroring in the moment when Abraham hears God and says he Nene. Right and that's why actually I was really called this moment because uh, he named the moment which is really powerful, right, this moment of like, like, I am here, right? And God appears

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Yeah, the lie Jacob, Jacob and mirrors Abraham, Abraham.

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I think it's I think it's wrenching Any other thoughts? I gladness your hand. I thought that God was giving him actually a different commandment, in the sense that Jacob said, I want to go down there and see,

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Joseph before I die, the brothers had originally gone down there to get food to survive the famine. And then what God is saying is, you're going down there, and you're going to stay there, actually.

Unknown Speaker  
Because you're going to become a great nation, as opposed to you're gonna go down there stay for a little bit. Joseph is going to, I mean, Jacob is going to die fairly soon. We know he's old. And and then you'll all leave again that, you know, God's giving a different commandment, which is stay there.

Unknown Speaker  
So absolutely, absolutely. It's, it's interesting, because that actually is like, in a way parallel to what Joseph says to his brothers, right? When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers Hurrican

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can share, share my screen here. When Joseph is revealed to his brothers, or angry brother, Joseph, who sold Egypt, he says, Don't be distressed, or reproach yourselves because you sold me to slavery. It was to save life that God sent me ahead of you. Right, there's been a famine, and God sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on Earth, man to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance. Right? So there's actually a sense of like, God is actually kind of bringing the rest of Joseph's family via Jacob into the process of like, actually, this is not just about like a family reunion tonight. This is actually about kind of a history history making moment. Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker  
I'm also noticing at the end of what you read, there's some symmetry between what

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It Hashem is telling Joseph to expects on his or Jacob to expect on his deathbed, versus what Jacob and Isaac and Esau experienced as Isaac was dying with the usurpation of Esau as

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birthright. And I think that there may be a sense in here that it's catharsis, in a way, it's not exactly closure, because we're not seeing a repair between Jacob and Isaac, obviously, or Jacob and Esau in this scene. But the way that Hashem is promising Joseph or Jacob, that Joseph is going to be with him when he dies.

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feels to me like a call in response to the scene.

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The scenes around Isaac's death.

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Mm hmm. That's interesting, you know, I also hadn't really thought of and what you're

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the thought You're provoking me is that

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this is also God kind of telling Jacob who his successor is going to be like, we don't really have as much focus on a particular Patriarch in the following generations. But, you know, in the same way that God intervenes through degree with

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Isaac, right and say, like Isaac is actually right, the successor to Abraham, not Ishmael. And then Jacob and his mom kind of take matters into their own hands and actually designate Jacob as the successor to Isaac and not Isa. This is awesome regards kind of saying like actually like Joseph really, you know, the Son whom you love so much is is truly in some ways your successor he's the one who's going to close your eyes not your eldest sons right remember Joseph is 11th in line he's but yet he somehow becomes

Unknown Speaker  
he hits it becomes right the kind of the patriot and family okay, but where this was a be a great nation. It's interesting where they transform into a great nation right the pivotal moment of moving from a family story into a national story happens right in Egypt, right through slavery, and the liberation

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and Susan yet, maybe another question is Who besides Jacob needs God's reassurance right? Is this actually for the benefit of the reader? Am I being might be a good question, as well or really kind of a a

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promise that was meant not only for Jacob but for all those who would succeed him right. His successors should read this story.

Unknown Speaker  
Yes, this is what our peoplehood Yeah, begins Exactly. Another young super that bear Sheva ambition was an interesting place. Okay, so here we go. It's connected with Abraham and Isaac, they both dig a well and do peace treaties with Avi Malak at that site.

Unknown Speaker  
So receives his name twice, actually, both from Abraham and Isaac

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is also connected to Shall I suppose alter Jacob, Jacob's dream of a stairwell stairway is that Verichip? I was I thought, so that's the one I was thinking of in particular, it was my apartments proportion. So I was like, I think he goes to bear Sheva. But he's on his way to Iran. So I was like, oh, for which one of those two

Unknown Speaker  
was where he had the dreams is interesting. Actually. He gets encounters right God twice at Bear Sheva.

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Then, which is really fascinating.

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Amazing. Any other thoughts about this?

Unknown Speaker  
Book? It's pretty. Morris. Yeah, just gonna say I'm gonna raise a question or I think Kevin Hatcher. I mean, why? I mean, these these things I'm included in the Bible

Unknown Speaker  
are included because obviously the Jews felt this was important in terms of identifying who they were.

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And why do they need to include this story?

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Why is it that

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you know, his separation in the family? Family comes together? After all, it wasn't what could you say in modern sociological sense. It was a somewhat dysfunctional family, right? The brothers tried to kill the younger one.

Unknown Speaker  
Maybe a lightsaber with reason, but I just tossed that out. I mean, I'm not sure I'm an answer to that. But obviously, this is very important.

Unknown Speaker  
In terms of the Jews, thinking about who they were,

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why they were what happened and because this led to the Exodus, and so forth, I just toss that out. I don't have an answer to that one. But obviously, this is this is very important and it

Unknown Speaker  
Who's Who wrote this thought about it obviously considered very important in terms of establishing who they were.

Unknown Speaker  
Absolutely. I mean, I think there's many, many answers and probably more questions to your to your question. When we will, we'll pause here with a few thoughts, which is one, right, it tells the story of how we get down to Egypt to set the stage right for the emergence of the Jewish people. And the transition from a family story, as I said, to a national story, which is a really important moment within our biblical text, in terms of forming Jewish identity, because we're not just a family, and we're not just a tribe, right, we become a people. And this is that moment where we really leave one

Unknown Speaker  
form of identity behind to take on this new form of identity. And then really the project of nation building, right the creation obviously, through the receiving of Torah of our cultural norms and values of laws and right again, moving away from family structure to more of

Unknown Speaker  
a national structure, and the task of building a society. You also think in these texts, which I really love

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is a sense of, of the Jewish identity of the underdog of people who

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talked about this a little bit actually, last Shabbat, Rabbi Zohar Atkins came and shared a really interesting term, reflecting on last week's Parsha, of idea that we as Jews are people narrative violation.

Unknown Speaker  
And it's embedded in our text. And what he meant by that is that we are a people who really actually believe in like the impossible, and that we don't just take what is given to us as what can only be, but only one version of what could be, you see embedded in as our greatest stories where the axis itself is a moment of impossibility, Hanukkah, poram, like all of us, so many of our holidays are about really the impossible happening, and not just taking what is for what has to be. But you see that in also our family narrative, right? That the second the you know, the second son is the one receiving the blessing, right? This family's itinerate, right, all of these

Unknown Speaker  
obstacles, they overcome these, really getting by, by the skin of their teeth,

Unknown Speaker  
I think defines our sense of peoplehood, right? We're not We're not the the firstborn, we're not the dominant and right we're not

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the one for whom everything comes easy. There is a sense of, of, I think, what it means to be Jewish there, and then I'll kind of end on I think the

Unknown Speaker  
the thing I love most about the dysfunction of the first family of Judaism, is that the heroes of our

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of our narrative identity, right? This is a detour really is a narrative of identity and identity formation. And I love that the heroes of that story are fallible. Imagine if they were all perfect beings, right? Imagine if they're all

Unknown Speaker  
faultless that that was actually what we had to strive for. Right? That was the model of what it meant to be, you know, a Jew in the world was this kind of faultless, you know, paragon of human virtue? And actually, we love that the Torah is like, no, no, the heroes of our story are very human, right. And they're capable of both great things and they're capable of actually immense harm as well. They make mistakes, and even in their fallibility, they still have the opportunity to connect with the divine, and they still have the opportunity to kind of unlock that stairwell, right that ladder to heaven, and experienced these moments of transcendent awe. I think it's a really beautiful lesson for all of us that we don't have to be perfect, right to, to have that connection to the divine and to our sense of a greater purpose in the world. And to actually be on that journey towards a greater purpose doesn't mean shedding our faults, or abrogating the parts of ourselves that a human it actually means you know, we can make the journey because we are human not despite our humaneness. Why don't we end with will do two prayers to end we'll take a moment to think of those who are in need of healing.

Unknown Speaker  
I think channeling channeling the blessing of learning Torah together into prayers for healing.

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The tradition is a tradition for our people as well. So if you're thinking of studying need of healing, or their mind or body of spirit, you want to put their name in the chat and their holder name and your heart when we send this blessing to each and every one of them.

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Rare

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rare

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rare

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nulla

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ref

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X and blessings were foolishly mom to each and every one of those folks we've named the chat this folks we hold their hearts

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on the road to recovery days of comfort nights of peace and tackling say A Main. We're going to turn now to the mourners Kaddish to close out our time together. Is there anybody remembering somebody today who'd like to share their name aloud or in the chat?

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Thank cottage for my mother, Uriel corn.

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Katusha my father David Rose is married before blessing Elizabeth

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was he in the chat? No, no one of your buddies ladies so it's hard to lose a pet to

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holding you as well.

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In this moment,

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many others

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if you're observing the current state we're in a period of mourning and wait to rise as you're able for Khadija Tom more Scottish youth good doll VT Kadesh Shan Mei Rebecca they are mindI rocker Tave Emily Mahood stay behind a home of your home with high yields a heartbeat Israel bug Allah with his man Caribbean row man yeah hey she may rob them of Iraq little lamb or may or may use Barak reach to bath people RV Drumond Vina se v Tada VT la vita launcher make good a sharp break. Whoa, la ala Miko beer Heartsaver Shirota touche Bahasa Vanessa Mata damn Iran Belmond V Maru. Amen. Hey Salam Arabba mean Shemaiah the time la nouvelle coisa l VM Rue Amen. We'll say Shalom be aroma of who yes say Shalom Lincolnville coisa El Valle koi fish potato femural Amen. He's economic Abraham May their memories I'll be for a blessing.

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You've been listening to contact Hi a production of Mishkan Chicago. If you are inspired or informed by this episode, please leave us a five star rating on Apple podcasts so that others can encounter our work. And if you appreciate what Mishkan is doing, I invite you to join as a builder or make a donation on our website at Mishcon chicago.org Shabbat shalom.