Vayigash

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Vayigash resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Vayigash: A Pilot Trip

Rabbi Jay Kelman

"And he [Yaakov] sent Judah ahead of him l'horot, to make preparations, in Goshen (Breisheet 46:28). With great fear and trepidation, Yaakov, along with 68 of his descendants, began the long trip down to Egypt. Despite his tremendous…
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Vayigash: Painful Reunion

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Etiquette and diplomatic niceties are the hallmarks of the world of politics. Political leaders are trained to speak ambiguously and in a way that can allow for future re-interpretation (misinterpretation?) as the need arises. It is only in private…
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Vayigash: An Egyptian Education

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“And you shall surely know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs for 400 years” (Breisheet 15:12). The Jewish people were destined to form their cultural identity in a foreign land. The Torah never…
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Vayigash: Family Feud

Rabbi Jay Kelman

"Your servant, our father, said to us: You know that my wife bore to me two sons" (44:27).  It is assumed by many that Yehuda made this quote up to help gain the mercy of the Egyptian Viceroy who held the power of life and death over…
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Vayigash: Thank You for That

Rabbi Jay Kelman

"And Joseph could not restrain himself" (45:1). After 22 years, Joseph and his brothers were to be reunited. In probably the most emotional scene of the Torah, Joseph absolutely stuns his brothers, telling them, "I am Joseph" (45…
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Vayigash: Below the Surface

Rabbi Jay Kelman

“He kissed all his brothers and wept on their shoulders, and afterwards his brothers spoke with him” (45:14). What a change from twenty-two years earlier when “they hated him and could not speak to him in peace” (37:3). Even while they…
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Vayigash: Simple Faith

Rabbi Jay Kelman

After twenty-two difficult years, Yaakov was informed that his beloved son Yosef was the Viceroy of Egypt. Overcome with joy and disbelief, Yaakov hurried to travel to Egypt to be reunited with his long-lost son. Surely Yaakov could not have been…
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