Episodes

  • Shmos, 1st Aliya

    Shmos, 1st Aliya
    Jan 12 2025
    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”LTo sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.comNew Pharaoh in EgyptThe parsha begins with a counting of all of Yaakov’s children who had come into Egypt, totaling 70 people and relates that they passed away.The fact that they were counted both during their lifetime and after they passed away, highlighted how endeared they were to G-d. For similarly does G-d count the stars in the sky as they come out and night and then leave. So the sons were as follows:Reuven, Shimon, Levi and YehudaYissaschar, Zvulun and BinyaminDan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher andYosef, who stayed faithful to his family’s ways in spite of becoming a powerful ruler in Egypt.So the sons indeed pass away along with that entire generation.The Israelites grow significantly in number, with every pregnancy bearing six children and the Israelites filled the land of Egypt.A new era begins in Egypt and it is up for debate whether this involved a new Pharaoh coming to power or if it was the same Pharaoh who ruled with different laws.If it was a totally new Pharaoh, he was unfamiliar with Yosef. If it was the same king with new laws, he merely pretended to not be familiar with Yosef.Whatever the case, this “new” Pharaoh says to his people “The Israelites are greater and more numerous than us! If we are attacked, what if the Israelites join our enemies? They will then leave us and we will no longer have them as slaves. Let’s outsmart their G-d by afflicting the Israelites with water, for after the flood, G-d promised that he would never again send a flood to destroy the world, so if we afflict them with water, their G-d will not take revenge on us in kind.” This king made such an assumption for he knew that G-d usually punishes “measure for measure”. What he failed to realize was that while indeed G-d had promised that he would not destroy the entire world through a flood, this did not preclude him from hurting a specific area with water.So Pharaoh decrees that there shall be “tax collectors” that ensure that the Israelites must pay a “tax” in the form of building storage houses in the cities of Pitom and Ramses. These cities were not originally fit for storage, however the Israelites made them strong and fortified so they now were.Yet the more the Egyptians afflicted the Israelites, the more G-d blessed the Israelites and they continued to prosper. The Egyptians became disgusted and saw the Israelites as thorns. They enslave and embitter the Israelites with backbreaking labor involving mortar and bricks and working the land in every way.Pharaoh summons the Israelite midwives to him - Shifra (from the same root as meshaperet , “to beautify” since she beautified the babies during birth) and Puah (meaning to “cry”, since she cried with the crying babies and soothed them with sounds and words. Alternatively, it is an allusion to a woman “crying out” in childbirth). The real name of these women were respectively Yocheved and Miriam (Yocheved’s daughter).Pharaoh’s astrologers had foretold that there would be a boy who had yet to be born who would save Israel.So Pharaoh commands the midwives to kill any Israelite boy who is born. Girls, however, do not have to be killed at birth.The midwives disobey Pharaoh and not only do not kill the boys but sustained them with water and food. Get full access to Sarede’s Substack at sarede.substack.com/subscribe
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    5 mins
  • Vayechi, 7th Aliya

    Vayechi, 7th Aliya
    Jan 10 2025

    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

    To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

    Yosef's Final Words

    Yosef comforts his brothers saying that they have nothing to fear and he will not harm them.

    He reassures them by relating to them that before the brothers arrived, all of the Egyptians referred to Yosef derogatorily as a slave and then with the arrival of his brothers he suddenly became perceived as a free man. So if he would now kill them, the Egyptians would think that Yosef was lying about them being his brothers for the sake of his reputation, for what brother would kill his brothers?

    Additionally, Yosef points out to them that the fact that the brothers were unable to extinguish Yosef when they tried to is evidence that Yosef would not be able to exinguish them even if he tried. This is because the deeper reason behind why the brothers wanted to get rid of Yosef is because they thought that he was like Esav and unfit to be part of the holy nation of Israel. However the fact that Yosef survived in spite of this was proof that they were wrong and demonstrated that "10 candles" (i.e. the 10 brothers) could not extinguish "1 candle" (i.e a holy person like Yosef). So all the more so would Yosef not be able to extinguish them.

    Yosef lives the rest of his life in Egypt and dies at the age of 110. Yosef witnessed three generations being born through Ephraim and raised Menashe's son's Machir's sons.

    Right before he dies, Yosef tells his brothers that his life is coming to an end but that the brothers will be brought to the land that was promised by G-d to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. He says that G-d will remember the brothers and asks them to move his bones out from Egypt.

    Yosef dies and he is embalmed and buried in Egypt.



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    4 mins
  • VaYechi, 6th Aliya

    VaYechi, 6th Aliya
    Jan 10 2025
    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”LTo sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.comYaakov Blesses BinyaminYaakov now relates his last prophecy concerning his son, having to do with Binyamin:BinyaminYaakov says that Binyamin will be like a wolf who brings it's prey to it's lair before eating it. So too shall Binyamin be "grabbers", specifically of women/wives, as per the later incident in Shoftim 21:21 where the people who lived in the Binyamite city raped the concubine Levi brought into the city with him. This "grabbing" is also alluding to King Saul (descendant of Binyamin) who waged war against everyone around him.Yaakov says that Binyamin will devour spoils in the "morning" and distribute plunder in the "evening". The "morning" is a reference to King Saul, as he was the first king over Israel and he will devour and divide up its spoils. The "evening" refers to exile (i.e. darkness like evening) of Nevuchadnezzar and Yaakov says that even then, the tribe of Binyamin will distribute plunder, through Mordechai and Esther (descendants of Binyamin) distributing the plunder of Haman.Alternatively, this plunder is referring to the offerings of the Cohanim in the Beis HaMikdash. The Beis HaMikdash was located in the territory of Binyamin so Binyamin was in charge of distributing the offerings to the Cohanim.The text now says that here Yaakov concluded giving blessings to his sons. Although some of the prophecies were stated more obviously as overt "blessings", even the prophecies of rebuke (as with Reuven, Shimon and Levi) were all blessings as well. All of the sons were included in all of the blessings (as alluded to by the text saying that each one in accordance with his blessing did Yaakov "bless them" rather than the more seemingly obvious "bless him"), and in addition, Yaakov prophetically gave each son a blessing that was tailer made specifically to him.Yaakov then instructs the sons to bury him in the Meharat HaMachpela where his forefathers are buried. Yaakov details that this cave is to be found in the land of Canaan, facing Mamrei and is in the field of Ephron the Hittite which Avraham purchased along with the cave from Ephron.Yaakov lists all of the people that are buried in that cave: Avraham, Yitzchok, Sara, Rivkah and Leah (whom he buried).After giving these instructions, Yaakov draws his feet onto the bed and passes away and is brought to his people. Since Yaakov's entire life was completely spiritually oriented, Rashi quotes the gemara (Taanis 5b) in stating that "Yaakov didn't die". His body and soul were so intertwined during his life that in his soul leaving his body after life it was as if he was merely removing a garment of clothing.Yosef falls on his father's face crying, and kisses him. He then orders his servant physicians to embalm his father and they do so. The embalming took 40 days and then the Egyptians mourned Yaakov for 30 more days (70 days total). The Egyptians mourned Yaakov as they recognized that blessings came from him in that the famine subsided and the Nile had more water as soon as Yaakov arrived.Yosef approaches Pharaoh and says that he would like to fulfill his father's wish of burying him in the Meharat HaMachpelah and says that he will return to Egypt afterwards.Side note: fom this verse where Yosef quotes Yaakov as saying that he had "dug the cave for himself", Rashi understands that Yaakov had gathered all of the money he had accumulated from Lavan's house and gave it to Esav as payment to buy Esav's portion of the cave, so now it is entirely Yaakov's.Pharaoh says he will allow Yosef to fulfill the oath he made to his father in this regard. If not for the oath, Pharaoh would not have conceded, however Pharaoh was worried that if he would have insisted on Yosef violating his oath to his father, Yosef would have violated the oath he made with him, namely to keep it a secret that Pharaoh did not speak or understand Hebrew, whereas Yosef knew Hebrew in addition to 70 other languages.So Yosef sets off to bury his father and is joined by all of Pharaoh's servants, the elders of his household and of all of Egypt as well as Yosef's entire family, aside from the young children and cattle and flocks which stayed behind in Goshen. He does bring chariots and horsemen with him and the result was a pretty intimidating group.They reach Goren HaAtad* (literally "the threshing floor of the thorns") which is across the Jordan and Yosef delivers a very great and intense eulogy for his father and imposes a seven day mourning period.*Side note/back story to the name Goren HaAtad: ...
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    10 mins
  • VaYechi, 5th Aliya

    VaYechi, 5th Aliya
    Jan 9 2025
    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”LTo sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.comYaakov's Final Words and Blessings to His Sons cont'dYaakov continues speaking prophecies about each of his sons:GadAll of Gad's troops will return (with no man amongst them missing) to their land on the other side of the Jordan.AsherThe food that comes from the land of Asher will be rich, abundant with olives that produce a lot of oil.NaftaliRashi brings down three interpretations of the verse associated with Naftali:1)The portion of Naftali will include a very fertile valley called The Valley of Ginossar which will extend inland from the northwest shore of the Kinneret. This valley will ripen its fruit as fast as a deer runs. And people will give thanks and blessings for this fruit.2)Alternatively, the speed referred to as compared to a deer running could be Yaakov prophesying about the war of Sisra about which 10,000 men from Naftali arrived speedily to fight. And in this case, the thanks and blessings mentioned in the previous paragraph were not for the fruit but rather were Devorah and Barak singing praise to G-d.3) A third interpretation concerns the day Yaakov was buried and Esav tried to claim that the Mearat HaMachpela belonged to him and Naftali sped to Egypt to get the deed that proved that it belonged to Yaakov's family.And Onkelus translates the part of the verse about giving thanks as saying that Naftali will express his gratitude for his portion with beautiful praises.YosefYaakov speaks of Yosef's charm and how the Egyptian girls would step up to gaze upon his beauty.Onkelos gives an alternate translation to the girls (AKA daughters) gazing and says the "gazing" (עלי שור) is referring to the two tribes will come forth from Yosef (i.e. Ephraim and Menashe) and the "daughters" (בנות צעדה) are referring to the daughters of Tzlaphchad who came from Menashe's lineage. (Side note, the daughters of Tzlaphchad were important in that they spoke up in order to inherit their father's land since he had no sons and received land on both sides of the Jordan).Onkelos also gives an alternate translation to the word translated as "Yosef's charm" (פּרת יוסף) above and instead translates it to mean that he was "fruitful".Rashi links these different translations by relating a Midrash that talks about how when all of the brothers met with Esav, Yosef was the only one who walked in front of his mother Rachel to shield her from Esav's gaze to prevent him from setting his eyes on her. Since he so protected his mother from Esav's "gaze", he was granted to grow (i.e. be fruitful and multiply) "over the eye" of Esav and also to have beauty such that Egyptian women would step up to gaze at. He was also granted that the evil eye should not have affect over his offspring, as Yaakov blessed Yosef's sons (see earlier in parsha).Yaakov continues, relating how Yosef's brothers and Potiphar's wife embittered Yosef's life. Nevertheless. Yosef stayed strong and kept G-d's commandments and in return G-d granted him that Pharaoh should give him his ring and put him in such a high position of power and eventually having the dreams he had fulfilled in the form of him being a shepherd over his brothers.Yaakov also praises Yosef for restraining himself in regards to Potiphar's wife when he saw an image of his father appear to him and he dug his fingernails into the earth so that the physical discomfort from that would suppress his desire.Yaakov tells Yosef that this strength that he had in overcoming the temptation of Potiphar's wife came from the G-d of his forefathers and in the merit of him withstanding that, his offspring will be totally fertile, with the males having every drop of their semen be fit for conception and the females never miscarrying.Yaakov continues and tells Yosef that the blessings he received from his father Yitzchak became greater than the blessings Yitzchak received from Avraham as they had no bounds and kept growing and extended to the four corners of the earth. Avraham's blessing was only "northward" to the land of Israel. And to Yitzchak he gave a blessing for all of his children to have those lands. Whereas the blessing given to Yaakov was open ended saying that his offspring should burst forth "east, west, north and south".Yaakov concludes that all of the blessings should come to be for Yosef, the one who was "separated" from his brothers. Get full access to Sarede’s Substack at sarede.substack.com/subscribe
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    7 mins
  • VaYechi, 4th Aliya

    VaYechi, 4th Aliya
    Jan 8 2025
    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”LTo sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.comYaakov's Final Words and Blessings to His SonsYaakov calls all of his sons over with the intention of revealing to them when the end of all Jewish exiles will be, but the Divine Presence departs from him just as he is about to speak, so he continues with other things, namely different prophecies told in a poetic manner about each of the sons and their lineages as follows:Reuven:Yaakov praises him for being his "strength" and "vigor". He is implying that Reuven is the "firstborn" in not only the literal sense but in the sense that Yaakov was so holy that Reuven was the result of the first emission of seed he ever had in his life.He continues, saying that Reuven was meant to be greater than his brothers and have the priesthood, however because he acted hastily and tampered with his father's bed (see earlier parshas), he lost this privilege.Shimon and Levi:Yaakov speaks of their close relationship, how they worked in concert regarding attacking Shchem as well as with instigating the brothers to want to kill Yosef.Yaakov continues and says that Shimon and Levi had stolen this "craft of murder" from Esav and used this violence in the land in which they were sojourning.Due to this, Yaakov distances himself from them and warns the other tribes to distant themselves from them by alluding to a few times in the future:* Regarding Shimon's decendents: In recounting the story of Zimri ( the head of the tribe of Shimon at that time who approached Moshe mockingly asking if a jew is allowed to marry a Midianite woman. And before waiting for an answer, says "If you say it's not allowed, how can you justify your marriage to the daughter of Yisro (who had been a Midianite priest)?), the Torah does not include Yaakov when it writes out Zimri's name. It is written as "Zimri son of Salu, leader of a father's house of the Shimonite" (Bamidbar 25:14)* Regarding Levi's decedents: Yaakov warns the other brothers not to join in with the rebellion of Korach (who was from the tribe of Levi). And there too, in the Chumash's recounting of this story (Bamidbar 16:1) Yaakov is omitted from Korach's name as it is spelled out in the text: "Korach son of Yitzhar son of Levi" (however in Divrei HaYamim (Divrei HaYamim 1, 6:22-23), Yaakov's name is added and it reads "Korach son of Yitzhar son of Levi son of Yisroel (AKA Yaakov)".Yaakov reiterates that the other brothers should not unite with Shimon and Levi since:* They killed "a man" (referring to Chamor and all of the people of Schem who were considered like "one man" in relation to Shimon and Levi to whom they were no match for.* They wished to kill Yosef (referred to poetically here as a glorious ox).Yaakov curses their rage (he is specific in cursing only their "rage" and not them) and says that he will divide them from one another by Levi not inheriting land like the other tribes.He also says that G-d will disperse them across the land. Shimon, by his descendants becoming poor people, scribes or children's teachers, all of which need to travel to make a living. And Levi, by his family becoming those who thresh the ground in preparation for Terumah.Side note, Levi's lot was not as severe as Shimon's in that he wouldn't have to beg to make a living the way Shimon did. This is a consequence of the fact that Shimon was a more active participant in wanting to kill Yosef.YehudaWhen Yehuda sees how his father rebuked Shimon and Levi, he was worried that he would receive similar treatment over his incident with Tamar and begins backing away. Yaakov reassures him that it is not the same thing and beckons him to come closer.Yaakov tells him that his enemies will be at his mercy (his "hand will be at their nape") and that the rest of his brothers (called here his "father's sons" instead of "mother's sons" since his father had a few wives) will prostrate themselves to him.He foretells that King David will come from him (referring to him as a cub (during the time of King Saul) who grew into a lion).He says that Yehuda elevated himself from being like "prey" in two incidents:* Whereas Yaakov suspected Yosef of being torn to bits by "prey" (related to a lion, which is what Yehuda is likened to), in fact, Yehuda proved him wrong by protesting his brother's original intentions saying, "What will we gain by killing him?"* With the incident with Tamar, Yehuda redeemed himself by admitting that Tamar was right that it was he who had been with her.Because of these acts, Yaakov blesses Yehuda to lie down like a lion, ...
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    11 mins
  • Vayechi, 3rd Aliya

    Vayechi, 3rd Aliya
    Jan 7 2025

    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

    To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

    Yaakov Blesses Yosef and His Sons cont'd

    Yosef sees that Yaakov had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head and was unhappy about this, he moves Yaakov's hand to Menashe's head and says to his father, "No, this is the firstborn".

    Yaakov replies that he knows, and that indeed Menashe will give birth to a great nation (Gideon, who wiped out the Midianite army of 135,000 soldiers with only 300 men), Ephraim's lineage will be even greater, with Yehoshua coming from him. (Yehoshua's greatness was that he divided up the land for the tribes, taught Torah to the Israelites and he became known across the globe when he made the sun stand still in Gibeon and the moon stand still in the Valley of Ayalon.)

    So Yaakov blessed them that day, saying that when Jews bless their children in the future, they will bless them to be like Ephraim and Menashe.

    Yaakov mentions Ephraim before Menashe to indicate his superior position in terms of his location in the desert (The tribe of Menashe camped under The tribe of Ephraim's banner in the desert) and the princely offerings (the prince of the tribe of Ephraim brought his offering before the prince of the tribe of Menashe's did).

    Yaakov then turns to Yosef telling him that he (Yaakov) is about to die and that G-d will be with Yosef and bring him back to his forefather's land (Canaan/Israel).

    Yaakov says that in return for Yosef taking care of Yaakov's burial, he is giving Yosef a place for him to be buried, namely "Schem", which Yaakov acquired with his"sword and bow" from the "Amorite" (AKA Esav - this was Esav's portion of the land which he rejected). With this, Yosef well have an extra portion of land than the rest of the brothers.

    Rashi gives a few explanations as to what this last part of the blessing might mean:

    Shchem means any of these things:

    * Literally means the town of Shchem which Yaakov and the brothers conquered

    * An "additional portion"

    * The birthright of the firstborn who gets a double portion, the way Yosef got two portions through Menashe and Ephraim.

    With his "sword and bow" is referring to any of these three things:

    * Seven years after Shimon and Levi took over Schem, the nearby Canaanites rose up in retaliation and Yaakov defended his family with a "sword and bow"

    * The reason why the Canaanites did not immediately pursue Yaakov and his family is they saw Yaakov girded for war and fear came upon them.

    * "Sword and bow" are figurative references to Yaakov's "wisdom and prayer"

    Esav is called the Amorite because

    * He acted in an Amorite (the most sinful of the Canaanite nations) way.

    * He trapped his father with the sayings of his mouth (the root of sayings in Hebrew is אמר, the same as the root of Amorites).



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    5 mins
  • Vayechi, 2nd Aliya

    Vayechi, 2nd Aliya
    Jan 6 2025

    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

    To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

    Yaakov's Blessing to Yosef and His Sons

    Yaakov's eyes had become heavy with age, making it difficult for him to see, so he beckons Yosef and his sons closer and kisses and hugs them.

    Yaakov exclaims to Yosef, "I did not dare imagine that I would ever see you again, and here G-d has granted me to see your offspring!"

    Yosef removes his sons from Yaakov's knees and places them seated in front of Yaakov in preparation for them to receive his blessings and bows down to Yaakov out of respect. He places Menashe to Yosef's left, which was Yaakov's right and Ephraim to Yosef's right, which was Yaakov's left. Menashe was the firstborn so it was befitting for him to be to the right (the more honored position) of Yaakov.

    Although Yaakov was aware of the birth order of his grandsons, he consciously places his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Menashe.

    Yaakov proceeds to bless Yosef, praising G-d before whom Abraham and Yitzchok walked, and who has served as Yaakov's shepherd his entire life.

    Yaakov then blesses Ephraim and Menashe, summoning the angel who is regularly sent to him during difficult times. He says that this angel should bless Ephraim and Menashe that his and Avraham and Yitzchok's names should be declared upon them and that they should have many offspring, like fish (and similar to fish, they should be sheltered from the evil eye).



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    3 mins
  • Vayechi, 1st Aliya

    Vayechi, 1st Aliya
    Jan 5 2025
    Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”LTo sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.comYaakov Prepares for the End of His LifeIntroductory note: Usually, the parshas are divided from one another by a number of blank spaces. In this case, this new parsha of VaYechi is only separated from the previous one by one space. When this happens, the parsha is called סתומה (i.e "Closed"). Rashi brings two reasons as to why this is the case here:1)This is the parsha in which Yaakov dies, at which point the enslavement of the Israelites began (while the official physical enslavement only really began later after all of Yaakov's son's died, the death of Yaakov was the start of it, in the sense that the Egyptians began cajoling the Israelites). This change happened so suddenly, that it was as if the Israelites eyes were "closed" to it.2)Alternatively, according to the Breishis Rabbah, this parsha is "closed" because Yaakov wanted to reveal the end of all exiles to his family, but the ability to do so was "closed off from him"And now back to the story:Yaakov resides in Egypt for 17 years and at the age of 147, prepares for his death*.*side note: this is written in the text as "the time approached for (Israel) to die". This wording of the "time approached" is only used when a son does not outlive his fathers (his father Yitzchak lived to be 180). This is why similar wording is not used when describing the death of Yitzchak (who outlived his father Avraham) and Avraham (who outlived his grandfather Nachor.He calls Yosef over to him and asks him to place his hand under his thigh so that he can bless him. He specifically picks Yosef as he knows that due to Yosef's authority in Egypt, he'll be able to fulfill what is being asked.Yaakov asks Yosef to bury him outside of Egypt, in Maharat HaMachpela with his fathers. This is for a few reasons:1)Yaakov foresaw the 3rd plague of lice and knew that the soil in Egypt would turn to lice2)At the time of the resurrection of the dead, anyone who was buried outside of Israel will have to roll through tunnels to get to Israel and emerge there.3)He did not want the Egyptians to deify him after he died.Yosef agrees that he will do as Yaakov asked. Yaakov tells Yosef to swear on this and Yosef does.Yaakov turns around and prostrates himself towards the head of the bed. This is for a few possible reasons:* Yaakov was bowing to Yosef as an acknowledgment that he needed him* Alternatively, Yaakov not bowing to Yosef but rather towards the head of the bed because:* The Divine Presence rests at the head of a sick person's bed.* This was an indication that Yaakov's bed was "Complete". i.e. none of his children were wicked. Even Yosef who was held captive in Egypt for so many years, didn't sink into their ways and remained righteous throughout.After a little while, a messenger (some say it was Yosef's son Ephraim), came to Yosef to inform him that his father was getting very sick. Yosef brings his two sons to Yaakov so that Yaakov can bless them.Side note: Yaakov was the first human to ever be sick. Yosef prayed for his father to become sick before he died so he would have some warning and be able to get blessings from him for his children.A messenger (this time definitely not Ephraim) announces to Yaakov that Yosef has arrived. Out of respect for Yosef's royal status, Yaakov exerts himself and sits up in bed.Yaakov relates to Yosef how G-d (called in this instance by the name "E-l Sha-dai" appeared to him during his travels in Luz, Canaan and blessed him with numerous progeny that will become a "nation" (from Binyamin) and a "congregation of nations" (from Yosef - who's tribe split into two via his two sons Ephraim and Menashe). He also relates how G-d blessed him that that land of Canaan would be given to his family to have eternally.Yaakov continues and says that Yosef's two sons whom he begot after being separated from Yaakov will be considered as Yaakov's own sons and will inherit land on par with the rest of the brothers. However any further sons which Yosef may have will not be considered as such. I.e. they will be considered as part of either Ephraim or Menashe's tribe, not be leaders of their own tribes.Side note, other than the firstborn, who received a double portion, all of the tribes received land in equal measure in accordance with their number. So it would seem that there would not be a practical difference in terms of land inheritance whether a son was considered a tribe head or not. However a key difference was that each tribe received certain geographical features such as ...
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    9 mins