47- Equal Measure For Equal Measure
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בייה Genesis 47 – Measure For Measure Dear family and friends, Genesis 47 discusses Israel and his descendents’ transition from Canaan to Egypt. Scripture States, ‘They brought everything with them.’ That was a huge move! They did not want to leave the land of Canaan so Jacob sought guidance from HaShem. (Genesis 46.1 – 4) says, ‘And Israel took his journey with all that he had, came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. And God Spoke to Israel in the visions of the night and said, ”Jacob, Jacob.” And [Jacob] said, ”Here am I.” And [God] Said, ”I am God, the God of your father; fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation; I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again, and Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes.” The drought / famine was about to worsen once the Tzaddik Jacob took his family and all they had to live in Egypt. A colossal vacuum occurs when a Tzaddik, like Jacob, leaves a country with all their possessions. It is like a portion of Ha Torah, Torah teaching and learning, spirituality, righteousness, blessings, goodness, and lovingkindness left with the Tzaddik. What happened in 1656 From Creation when Methushelach died? Seven days later, the devastating worldwide flood began. See (Genesis 8.22 – 23). Rabbi Avrohom Davis, The Mesudah Chumash A New Linear Translation Bereishis (Hoboken New Jersey, KTVA Publishing House, Inc., 1991) p73 The famine caused people of neighboring countries serious concern. Desperate refugees from these countries took all their wealth and poured into Egypt. The famine caused a constant stream of refugees to flow into Egypt, making it difficult for the Egyptian people. Dear Ones, we can focus on the difficulty or the solution. HaShem Guided Joseph in preparing the Egyptian people to feed themselves and the people of the world while also stockpiling enormous wealth for Pharaoh. It was evident to Pharaoh that Joseph was doing an outstanding job of taking care of his country and fellow citizens while at the same time making him enormously wealthy. (Genesis 47.1). Informs us, ‘Joseph came and told Pharaoh, ‘My father and my brothers, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, have come from the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.’ What do we suppose came along with the Tzaddik Jacob? Ha Torah, Torah teaching, learning, spirituality, righteousness, blessings, goodness, lovingkindness, Et cetera came with the Tzaddik. (Genesis 47.7) says, ‘Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh entirely, [i.e., with health, success, wealth, and with a long distinguished glorious reign as is customary for the pious elder of the house of Jacob.] Then Pharaoh asked Jacob, ‘How old are you?’ And Jacob answered Pharaoh, ‘The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years.’ [STOP!] Jacob continued with his private synopsis, ‘The days of the years of my life have been little [tiny few] and evil and have not attained [up to the level] of the days of the years of my father’s and grandfather’s pilgrimages. Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh [a second time] and left.’ Dear Ones, unfortunately, Jacob’s private synopsis of his life was bemoaning the Lord God, King of the Universe, to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. We must understand that we are the clay and God is the potter. We are the work of God’s Creation. See (Isaiah 64.) Who saved Jacob from Esau and Laban? Who returned Dinah and Joseph to Jacob? Jacob spouted off! Even though he was a Prophet, he could not see the entire picture. He should not have uttered words against his Creator. The point is that Jacob could not correctly ‘Measure for Measure.’ The Talmud uses the term מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה – midda-keneged-midda – meaning an equal measure for an equal measure, i.e., an eye for an eye. Jacob sold himself SHORT! In doing so, he criticized his Creator. Occasionally one may feel disappointed with themselves or feel like they failed to attain an important goal. One may feel like a failure but, in reality, be a great success. Jewish wives / mothers often face enormous anxiety, pressure, and stress when trying to handle all their many responsibilities on Eruv Shabbat or a High Holiday. So many things can happen that may cause a righteous praiseworthy wife / mother / hostess to feel sad, depressed, angry, or embarrassed when preparing the Sabbath meal, cleaning the house, Et cetera on preparation day, yet everything is a great success. What human can measure their self with equal measures? As the author of many books, it is easy to fill unfulfilled and lacking. We MUST give ourselves some grace. God is the ONLY ONE that measures equal measure for equal measure. Our Sages point out that (Genesis 47.7,8) consists of 33 Hebrew Words. Abraham lived 175 years, and Isaac lived 180 years. If we deduct 33 from 180, we get 147, the age at which Jacob died. This correlates to (Genesis 47.5 and 6) where the word אָבִיךָ – Aw Vee Chaw – meaning ‘Your Father’ is written. The Gematria for אָבִיךָ is 33. God Judged equal measure for equal measure. (Genesis 47.11 – 12) says, ‘And Joseph placed his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in Rameses’ land, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, his brothers, and all of his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.’ Remember that Joseph stored the excess grain during the seven years of plenty. Then, when the famine began, Joseph directed selling bread until everyone’s money was gone. The Egyptians ran out of money and could no longer afford grain. What did they do during the years of plenty? Obviously, they did not know the severity of the coming years of famine! (Genesis 47.15) says, ‘And when their money was all spent in the land of Egypt and Canaan’s land, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, ”Give us bread; for why should we die in your presence? For the money is gone.” And Joseph said, ”Give your cattle, and I will give you food for your cattle if your money is gone.” And they brought their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and the asses; and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.’ The inhabitants of Egypt were fortunate that The Lord God of Israel Prepared Joseph for that place and time. As Viceroy, Joseph carefully planned and prepared for the depression. Joseph was the only one who prepared correctly for those challenging times. The world was fortunate that Joseph was at the helm. Even with Joseph at the helm, the desperation continued. (Genesis 47.18 – 21) says, ‘When that year ended, they came to [Joseph] the second year and said to him; ”We will not hide it from my lord that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of cattle; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands; Why shall we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land is not desolate.” And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; the Egyptians sold every man his field because the famine prevailed over them; so the land became Pharaohs. And as for the people, [Joseph] moved them to cities from one end of Egypt’s borders to the other.’ Then Joseph gave life to the people of Egypt. Joseph gave them hope for a better tomorrow. He guided them to lives of prosperity. (Genesis 47.23 – 25) says, ‘Then Joseph said to the people, ”Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh; lo, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass at harvest time, that you shall give the fifth part to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for the seed of the field, and your food, and for them of your households, and food for your little ones.” And they said, ”You have saved our lives; let us find grace in my lord’s sight, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” The world then, around 2178 From Creation, was in desperate straits because of the severity of the famine, yet we do not read of fighting, rioting, murdering, stealing, and terror in the cities and streets of Egypt. Why? Joseph cared for the people. He led them out of desperation. Our world is experiencing an evil title wave of rottenness perpetrated by elected officials that do not care for their people. We have the power to change that, and I hope we prayerfully do so. Dear Ones, My wife, Revi and I forgive anyone who has wronged us this past year or in the past. We are sorry for any word or deed either of us has done to you or any other this past year and throughout our lifetime. We ask for forgiveness. לְשָׁנָה טוֹבָה תֵּכָּתֵבוּ וְתֵחָתֵמוּ Lih Shaw Naw Toh Vaw – Tay Caw Tay Voo – Vih Tay Chaw Tay Moo ‘May you {continue to] be inscribed and sealed in The Book of Living’ Shabbat and Rosh HaShannah share The Seventh Day. Let’s make Shabbat and Rosh HaShannah Prayerfully count! Good Sabbath and Yom Tov. Dr. Akiva Gamliel & Brachah Rivkah Belk http://www.jewishpath.org/bookpage.html |
