Vayigash - ויגש : “And came near”
Torah : Genesis 44:18–47:27
Haftarah : Ezekiel 37:15–28
Gospel : John 5:1-47

Thought for the Week:

Joseph did not retaliate. Instead, he broke the cycle by offering complete forgiveness. He told his brothers not to be remorseful for selling him to Egypt. How was Joseph able to offer his brothers such a gracious and total pardon? He did so on the basis of his confidence in God’s goodness. He saw that, though the brothers had meant his sale into slavery for evil, God meant it for good. Everything had worked according to God’s plan and wisdom.

Commentary:

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. (Genesis 47:7)

When Pharaoh saw Jacob, he was amazed at how old the man looked. He dispensed with any pleasantries and immediately asked him, “How many years have you lived?” (Genesis 47:8).

The years had worn heavily on Jacob. For twenty years he had served Laban. “By day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes,” he had complained to Laban (Genesis 31:40). He was harried by four wives, and he had lost the only wife he had eve...