Friday, December 30, 2011

I am Yosef

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

The Temple Institute?

That through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

"I am Yosef"
(Genesis 45:3)
Tevet 3, 5772/December 29, 2011

The French poet, Arthur Rimbaud, (1854-1891), said the following: "Je est un autre" - "I is an other." This observation, "I is an other," artfully encapsulates the message and moral of our current Torah reading, Vayigash. It is in this Torah reading that Yosef and his brothers nearly come to a confrontation concerning the well-being of the youngest brother, Binyamin. Yosef, of course, knows that he is dealing with his brothers. This was first established in their earlier meeting, "And Yosef saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but he made himself a stranger to them... " (ibid 42:7) As of the opening moments of parashat Vayigash, then, the brothers do not know that they are dealing with Yosef. They do not yet recognize him, but they have long recognized the fact that they did a terrible deed when they sold their brother into slavery. They have been attributing all their unfortunate mishaps in Egypt to a kind of well-deserved retribution for their heinous crime. So while they still do not recognize Yosef, they most certainly have arrived at a great self-recognition. Full of remorse, Yehuda sees the current dilemma in which they find themselves as a last ditch opportunity to effect a measure of teshuvah - repentance.

So when Yosef is no longer able to restrain himself, and sends all the Egyptians away, and reveals his true identity to his brothers, the brothers are struck dumb, and understandably so. But what about Yosef? It is true that Yosef never lost sight of his origins. He always referred to himself as a Hebrew. He never forgot his father. But he most certainly estranged himself from his brothers, ("he made himself a stranger to them"), and by doing so he also made himself a stranger to himself. Yosef's situation could be described as more desperate, more unfortunate that that of his brothers, Despite all his worldly success, by estranging himself from his brothers, Yosef had also become a stranger to himself.

This is Yosef's fourth encounter with his brothers. Twice the brothers descended down to Egypt in search of food and each time, upon their departure, Yosef had them followed and brought back. Yosef recognized them the minute he first saw them. His elaborate machinations are evidence that he, Yosef, fully understood the Divine intention that informed the arc of his own life. He fully comprehended G-d's plan. Yet, he himself was not yet ready to reunite with his brothers. Yes, it is true that he wanted to test them in order to make certain that they had really repented, had really turned over a new leaf. But he was also putting off his own recognition and reconciliation with himself. Yosef was one of twelve. Indeed, his dreams led him to greatness and the arrival of his brothers confirmed the veracity of his dreams. Yosef the Hebrew was a superstar in Egypt. ButYosef the son of Yaakov was one of twelve, no better and no worse than his brothers. Until Yosef could recognize and accept this truth, true brotherly reconciliation was not possible, no matter how regretful and changed his brothers were.

"I am Yosef." "I is an other." Who is the real Yosef? Yosef the Hebrew, viceroy of Egypt, or Yosef the son of Rachel and Yaakov? This is the moment of truth for Yosef to once and for ever remove the mask that separates him from his brothers, and Yosef from himself. By opening himself up to the "I" of his brothers, their angst, their remorse and their zealous protection of their youngest brother and their common father, Yosef at last owns up to his own "I." "I am Yosef." But which Yosef is he? Even at this critical moment it is for Yosef a two staged self-recognition:

"'I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?' but his brothers could not answer him because they were startled by his presence. Then Yosef said to his brothers, 'Please come closer to me,' and they drew closer. And he said, 'I am your brother Yosef.'" (ibid 44:3-4) At first Yosef only evinces concern for his father. But then he takes the fateful step and allows himself back into the embrace of his brothers.

From this moment on we see Yosef's temporal stature begin to diminish. No sooner does he recognize his own true identity that he begins to admit of hitherto unheard of trepidations concerning Pharaoh. A distance and formality between the two is introduced. And, in fact, we soon witness Pharaoh giving specific instructions to Yosef. Yosef is no longer granted a carte blanche to rule Egypt.

"I is an other" and that other is my brother. We cannot become ourselves, we cannot even see ourselves or make ourselves be seen by others, until we allow that without the other, we do not exist. This is the great lesson of the book of Genesis: It is not good for man to be alone, and we are all our brothers' keeper. The "I" of our own identity has been granted us by G-d. If we sever ourself from our brother, we sever ourself from G-d and therefore lose our "I." Want to find yourself? Look for yourself in others. Not how they perceive you, but how you perceive them. It took Yosef some time to achieve this, but in the end he did. As a result, his day as celebrated savior of Egypt has concluded. But he has re-found himself amongst his brothers.

The dark night of slavery and exile will soon descend upon Israel. We will learn in the opening verses of the book of Exodus that a new Pharaoh "did not know Yosef." (Exodus 1:8) But that is the price to be paid for self recognition. The reconciliation of self and brother, of me and him, of I and thou, will bring the redemption. I is indeed an other, and that other (my brother) is me.

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven together bask in the reunion of Yosef and his brothers, here in the penultimate Torah portion of the book of Genesis, broadcast on the penultimate day of the joyous holiday of Chanukah. Together they explore the parallels between that schism and all the modern-day divisions that are manifest in Israel today. Are we heading towards a reunion? What was really behind the brother's enmity, and why didn't they recognize the man standing in front of them? All the masks come off in this weeks' edition of Temple Talk, shining with the light and meaning of Chanukah for our generation.

Sealed with a (Divine) kiss, an exclusive scoop: Some intimate, inside information behind this week's press conference and announcement of the stunning archaeological discovery unearthed from the Temple Mount Sifting Project, an original clay seal bearing the words "Pure to G-d" and used to procure ingredients for bringing an offering in the Holy Temple. What's that got to do with Chanukah? Absolutely everything!

Holy Temple Clay Seal Discovered: A Sweet Chanuka Gift from G-d: As in recent years, a major Holy Temple remnant was again revealed this year during the eight-day Chanuka celebration. Actually discovered just prior to Chanuka but kept under wraps until an official press conference was called on the fifth day of Chanuka, (December 25th), this year's find was truly the first of its kind. Discovered was a small, (one centimeter by one centimeter - .4x.4 inch), clay seal. Written upon the seal were the two Aramaic words, "Da-kee l-ya," "Pure to G-d." Aramaic was the spoken language during the late Second Temple Period, the time of the origin of the discovered stamp. Click here to learn more about the Temple stamp, its discovery and its origin.

Due to repeated technical difficulties, we are not able to post a new Return of Prophecy teaching this week. We hope to be able to post a new teaching within the coming days. The current teaching by Rabbi Avraham Sutton, is entitled, "The Big Picture: The entirety of all creation, from the furthest galaxy to the tiniest grain of sand, is writ large in the first words of Torah, which describe the six days of creation." Click here to view.

His brothers were in shock when Yosef said "I am Yosef," thereby removing from their eyes the blinders preventing them from seeing G-d's presence in every moment and in every action. So startled were they that they could not respond, they could not comprehend. Their souls left them. How much greater would be the shock were G-d to reveal His presence to us in one single moment. Therefore He reveals His great light one glimpse at a time, even as the Geula redemption marches ever forward. Click here to view Rabbi Richman's teaching on parashat Vayigash (Genesis 44:18-47:27).

Twenty five years ago the Temple Institute was established. Its expressed purpose,which has never changed, has been to educate both Israel and the nations as to the importance of the Holy Temple. The centrality of the Holy Temple is not just an artifact of our distant past. It continues to be an integral part of our experience today, and will be of ultimate significance in the future of all mankind. The Institute's second task has been to do everything within our means to make physical preparations for the renewal of the Divine service in the Holy Temple. We have chosen the holiday of Chanuka, the holiday of the rededication of the Holy Temple in the days of old, and the rededication of Israel to the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in our days, to kick off our Silver Jubilee year of celebration. We express our gratitude to HaShem for allowing us to arrive at this date. We hope to celebrate with all of you our quarter century of accomplishments, even as we work, steady as ever, toward the goal of all humanity: The rebuilding of the Holy Temple. Your support for our work is not merely important to the success of our mission: It is essential. Please join with theTemple Institute to insure that our goals can be accomplished.