Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Sometimes the Torah reveals truth not by what it says, but what it leaves out. And in Joseph's story, that silence speaks loudly. The Torah gives us just enough information to uncover a terrifying truth, adding a strange, unnecessary detail that flips everything on its head. Beneath it lies a spiritual warning for us, hidden in plain sight. Join me to discover why in this week's five Minute Torah.
[00:00:31] Shalom and Blessings. Blessings from Shalom Macon, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect and grow. I'm Darren, and before I get into the five minutes of my five Minute Torah commentary, let's cover a few quick facts about this week's Torah portion. This week we are studying the ninth portion of the new Torah cycle. We are in the portion of Vayushev Genesis 37:1 through 4023 and here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one the dreamer introducing Joseph it was clear to everyone that Joseph was Jacob's favorite son. Matters only worsened when God gave Joseph dreams and he chose to share them. Tell your family you dreamed they all bowed down to you and see how well that goes over. His dreams stirred deep resentment among his brothers. Eventually, their jealousy boiled over and they plotted to kill him. Judah intervened, persuading them to sell Joseph into slavery instead. They then deceived their father, using Joseph's coat and the blood of a goat, they leading Jacob to believe his beloved son was dead. Their schemes spared them from their father's rage, but set the stage for Israel's future exile and bondage in Egypt. Number two Judah and Tamar A taste of humble pie in one of Scripture's most unusual narratives, Judah marries a Canaanite woman and fathers three sons, Er Onan and Shelah. Er marries Tamar but is soon struck down by the Lord because of his wickedness. Onan suffers the same fate with Shelah. Still too young to fulfill the family obligation, Judah secretly withholds him, fearing Tamar is some kind of black widow of sorts. After Judah's wife dies, he later encounters what he believes to be a prostitute, unaware that it's Tamar in disguise, still seeking to raise offspring for her deceased husband. When her pregnancy is discovered, a scandal erupts. Judah finally acknowledges his wrongdoing, declaring Tamar more righteous than he. She eventually gives birth to twins Peretz and Zerah.
[00:02:30] Joseph in Egypt what goes down must come up. After being sold by his brothers, Joseph is taken to Egypt and becomes a slave in the house of Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials. Potiphar's wife attempts to seduce him. When he resists, she falsely accuses him, resulting in his imprisonment. There, Joseph meets Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker, each troubled by a dream. Joseph interprets both the baker will be executed, the cupbearer restored. Joseph pleaded with the cupbearer to remember him when he returns to Pharaoh. But once restored to his power, the cupbearer forgets Hanukkah is just around the Corner if you want to have a great family experience with Hanukkah, be sure to pick up your copy of Eight Lights, my Hanukkah how to and devotional that will make each night of Hanukkah a night to remember. It has over 155 star reviews on Amazon and has consistently been in the top 10 bestsellers for Messianic Judaism in the weeks heading up to Hanukkah, and it's available on Barnes and Noble as well. So if you want to have fun and learn to be a better disciple of our Master Yeshua, then check out my book 8 lights using the link below. This week's Torah commentary is called what's in your pit? And comes from my book 5 Minute Torah and Volume 1 Parashat Vayushev begins the story of Joseph. When we first encounter him, he is a 17 year old young man. We learn that his father Jacob had a special love for him above all of his 11 brothers. He was so loved that his father gave him a special and highly recognizable garment that distinguished him from among his brothers. This disproportionate love stirred up jealousy from his brothers and fostered the resentment toward him. That resentment eventually turned to a genuine hatred of Joseph and caused his brothers to plot to do away with him. As the story goes, one day Jacob tells Joseph to go to the land of Shechem where his older brothers were watching over the flock. He was to check in on them and see how they were doing and then report back to his father. His father knew he would give him the scoop on what his other sons were really doing while they were away from home with the flock. His brothers probably called him the Little Snitch and and being his father's spy didn't earn Joseph any brownie points with his brothers, it only stirred up more hatred toward him. When Joseph finally tracked down his brothers, his presence was not well received. As a matter of fact, when they saw him coming in the distance, they conspired on how they could kill him. Fortunately, Reuben, the oldest brother, dissuaded his brothers from actually killing Joseph and instead convinced them to throw him into a pit until he would come up with a plan for what to do with him. The description of their throwing Joseph into the pit, however, is a little interesting. The Torah says, and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it. This is Genesis 37:24. Since the Torah tells us that the pit was empty, why does it have to follow up by letting us know that there's no water in it? Why isn't it sufficient to simply let us know that the pit was empty? The word the Torah uses for pit here is the Hebrew word bor. It can refer to a pit, a well, or a cistern. Therefore, it would be natural to assume that there would have been water in the bore. However, since there was no water in it, we must ask what was in it. The majority of Jewish commentators on this passage agree that the Torah specifically declares that there was no water in the bore in order to let us know that in place of water it was filled with snakes and scorpions. If this is the case, being in the pit was no pleasant experience for Joseph. But if this is true, why didn't the Torah just tell us that there were snakes and scorpions in the pit rather than leaving it up to deduction for us to figure out? The answer is that sometimes it is only when we realize what is missing that we can discover something else has taken place. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual matters. Torah is compared to water as it is said, come everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, implying the Torah. This is Isaiah 55:1. Each person has a bore within them. It is our head. No one is truly empty headed. Our minds are always packed to the max. However, it may not be filled with the proper materials. We should be pouring into ourselves the water of Torah and spiritual matters every day. When we don't, we'll easily find that our minds are consumed with the matters, the influences and the values of the world will wake up one day and realize our minds have been drained of the water of Torah and are a home only to the snakes and the scorpions of the world.
[00:07:06] So here's my question. What's in your pit? You heard me say it before. If you love exploring the weekly Torah portion with me, you're going to really appreciate something created especially for the little ones in your life. It's called Socks on your Table. A children's series where Rabbi Shmuley Socks brings in each Torah portion to life in a fun, faith filled, messianic Jewish way. Each short episode helps kids connect Scripture to real life moments, planting seeds of wonder, wisdom, and love for God's Word. So after this video, hop on over to our Socks on your Table playlist and share it with your kids, your grandkids, and your Shabbat group. Let us help the next generation fall in love with Torah one sock at a time.
[00:07:49] Sam.
