Weekly Sidra: Vayigash (and he drew near)
Torah Portion: Bereshit / Genesis 44:18-47:27
Haftorah: Yechezkel / Ezekiel 37:15-28

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come forward to me.” And when they came forward, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, he whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me hither; it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you. (Bereshit (45: 4, 5)

In this week’s reading Yosef finally reveals his true identity to his brothers. His brothers are dumbfounded and cannot speak. They are in utter shock and disbelief! Can this really be Yosef our brother whom we took for dead?

Yosef is a representation of the Mashiach and just as Yosef was hidden from his brothers so Mashiach is hidden from our understanding.

Rav Shaul states in I Cor 13:12 “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” This applies to our understanding of the Torah and the Mashiach.

Christianity does not know Him fully because they only know “Jesus”, not Yeshua the Jewish Messiah and do not wish to follow the precepts of Torah such as keeping Shabbat and eating Kosher. Jews on the other hand maintain closer ties to the Torah, but they have been blinded to Rabbi Maran Yeshua as the Mashiach.

Even those of us who know Yeshua and try to keep Torah can only do so partially. This is because the full revelation of Torah and Mashiach has not been made known to us. Now we know in part, but when Mashiach is fully revealed then we shall fully know Him.

So what can we do as talmidim (followers) of Rabbi Yeshua? We must strive to continue following Yeshua by obeying the mitzvot. Shaul says “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Yeshua, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews / Ivrim 12 1, 2)

If we strive to follow the example which our Rabbi sets for us then we will become more like him and the more we follow Him the more He reveals himself to us.

Yosef was hidden from his brothers even though he was right in front of them. Yeshua too has been in front of us all this time, and the time will be when we can exclaim with Yochanan “Come quickly Maran Yeshua!!” so that He may be fully revealed.