Beresheeth / (Genesis) 37:1 – 40:23

By Matthew Moshe Nolan

Beresheeth/Genesis 37:1: Vayeshev Ya’akov be’eretz megurei aviv be’eretz K’na’an.

Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s residence, in the land of Kenaan.

² This is the history of Yaakov:  Yosef, at the age of seventeen years, would tend the sheep with his brothers, and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives.  Yosef brought back bad reports about them to their father.  ³ Yisrael loved Yosef more than any of his sons for he was the son of his old age, and he made him a long, colorful cloak.  ⁴ His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him.  They could not speak to him peaceably.  ⁵ Yosef had a dream and he told his brothers, and they hated him even more.  ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamt.  ⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field.  Behold my sheaf rose and stood up straight; and behold your sheaves surrounded it and prostrated themselves to my sheaf.”  ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Will you then be a king over us?  Will you indeed rule over us?”  They hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.  ⁹ He had another dream and told it to his brothers.  He said, “Behold!  I dreamed another dream.  The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were prostrating themselves to me.”  ¹⁰ He told it to his father and to his brothers.  His father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you dreamed?  Shall I, your mother, and your brothers come and prostrate themselves on the ground to you?”

Beresheeth 37:31: And they took Yoseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the dahm.  ³² And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their abba and said, This have we found:  and we don’t [do you? / haker na / identify please] know whether it be your son’s coat or not.  ³³ And he knew it and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast has devoured him.  Yoseph is without a doubt torn in pieces [tarof tarof Yoseph].  ³⁴ And Yaakov tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.  ³⁵ And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted [Why?  There are laws on grief – shiva, sheloshim.  There is no such thing in Torah as endless grief.  YHWH admonishes one who weeps beyond the appointed time: “You are not more compassionate than I.” Yaakov refuses to be comforted:  One can be comforted for one who is dead but not for one who is still living.  Herein lies the mystery and connection between the accounts of Yoseph, Tamar, and the torot of property:  Yaakov refused to be comforted because he had never given up hope of Yoseph’s being alive!] and he said, For I will go down to Sheol mourning my son.  So his abba wept for him.

Shemot/Exodus 22:10: If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast to guard; and it dies, or is hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:  ¹¹ Then shall an oath of YHWH be between them both that He has not put his hand to his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept it and he shall not repay.  ¹² And if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it.  ¹³ If it is torn in pieces (tarof yitaref), then let him bring it for a witness, and he shall not repay that which was torn.

Yahudah and Tamar

Beresheeth 38:24: And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Yahudah saying, Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; and also see, she is with child by whoredom.  And Yahudah said, Bring her out, and let her be burned [the punishment for a Cohen’s daughter – Vayikra/Leviticus: 21:9] ²⁵ When she was brought out, she sent to her abba-in-law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Please discern [haker na], whose are these:  the signet, bracelets, and staff.  ²⁶ And Yahudah acknowledged them and said, She has been more tzadik than I, because I gave her not to Shelach my son.

The responsibilities of the shomer (guardian):

• Cain and Abel, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
  • Yaakov to Laban, “ I didn’t bring you animals torn by wild beasts, I bore the loss myself.”
  • The question to Yaakov by the brothers, “ Haker na” / “discern please” – this is a legal request:  examine the evidence.  Bring the remains as evidence, if the evidence points to “tarof yitaref” / “torn to pieces,” then the person or persons must be held innocent … regardless!

Just as a jury may have to acquit the accused based upon the evidence even though they may believe him to be guilty, Yaakov had to render the appropriate judgment and acquit the brothers based upon the evidence even though he didn’t believe them.  Thus “He refused to be comforted.”

Later, Yahudah is petitioned by Tamar with the same legal request – “haker na” / “identify please” – and he reflects upon the differences of his legal request to Yaakov and Tamar’s legal request to him and judges.  “She is more tzadik (righteous) than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.”  (I did not give her that which was legally hers).

Yahushua is the guardian of Yisrael, the tov shepherd.  He didn’t apply the torot of property to the lost sheep of Yisrael.  We’ve been torn to pieces by grieveous wolves in the nations – they sprung up from amongst our own selves (the church fathers).

Maasesh Shlichim /Acts 20:28: Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, over which Ruach Ha’Kodesh has made you overseers, to feed the congrega­tion of Yisrael in YHWH which He has purchased with His own dahm.  ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.  ³⁰ Also from among your own selves shall men arise.

Yahushua bore the loss Himself, on the eytz chaiym and brought us back and comforted His people.  He did what the 11 brothers could not do:  bore the loss Himself.  He finished the work that Tamar shadowed:  Just as Tamar took upon shame and used it to avoid shaming Yahudah.  Yahushua took upon our shame and used it to avoid shaming us.

Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 31:15: This says YHWH; a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children; refusing to be comforted for her children, because they were not found.

Lost – but not dead – in the nations.  YHWH refuses to be comforted for that which is still alive, even if religion wants to pretend that the sect of Natzeret Yisrael is dead and been devoured in the nations.