Parashat Vayyigash (Genesis 44:18 - 47:27)

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

We are now in Parashat Vayyigash, Genesis 44:18 - 47:27. The Torah here shows its sense of timing and drama. We ended last week with Joseph just about to confront his brothers. This week he does it. He tells them that he forgives them for what they did to him because he knows that they were just participating in a plan that God had laid out.

Were you in Joseph's place would you have been as forgiving as he? Would you have put your brothers through as much torment as he did? Do you think the brothers learned some kind of lesson from what he made them go through?
In Genesis 45:3 Joseph says, "I am Joseph. Is my father still well?" That is the first thing he says to his brothers after putting them through the trials. What does that question say about Joseph? What might you have said as your first official words to your brothers in this situation?
The brothers cannot speak when he reveals himself to them, as a matter of fact the Torah does not record them saying anything. Why? What do you think they were thinking when they understood what was going on?
When Jacob hears that Joseph is still alive we are told, "...his heart went numb, for he did not believe them." What does that mean? In the ancient world the heart was the home of intelligence. Now what does that statment mean to you?
The Torah of course is in Hebrew; what language was Joseph using when he spoke to the Egyptians employees? What language did he use when he spoke to his brothers? What language does Pharaoh speak in all of the conversations that are recorded in the Torah?