Mark Call

Students of torah have seen for years that there are (at least) two “types and shadows,” or harbingers of the Messiah, the first of which, Mashiach ben Yosef, aka ‘the Suffering Servant,’ and the final installment of the story of his life, is described in this parsha, Yayechi (Genesis 47:28 through the End of the Book.)

First, the Erev Shabbat overview of the whole parsha:

Since this parsha completes the Book of Genesis, it’s understandable that there would be a number of elements, like the ‘death bed actions’ of the patriarch Yakov, that set up so much that is to follow.

But in the Sabbath midrash, Mark suggests that Joseph’s reaction to his brothers’ request to ‘forgive them’ – AGAIN – is one that should strike us as particularly poignant today. After all, he already did. And so did He.

“Vayechi: Already forgiven? Or a ‘Double-dog Dare’ What’s it gonna take?”