“But Joseph said to them, ‘Fear not, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ Thus he reassured them and comforted them” (Genesis 50:19-21).
These verses from the E-book of Genesis are situated on the finish of the e-book — and are the conclusion of the story of Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, as Rabbi Akiva Block informed Fox Information Digital.
Block is non secular chief of Kehilat Kesher, The Neighborhood Synagogue of Tenafly and Englewood, a modern Orthodox congregation, in New Jersey.
He’s additionally a member of the Judaic Research college at SAR Excessive College in Riverdale, New York.
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Authorship of the E-book of Genesis is historically attributed to Moses — and Genesis is the primary e-book of the Bible.
Whereas Genesis 50:19-21 depicts Joseph as reunited with his family and eventually at peace, “so many years of family strife and sorrow are not easily erased,” Block stated.
Rabbi Akiva Block of New Jersey and New York shared ideas with Fox Information Digital about Genesis 50:19-21 and the significance of household. (iStock; Rabbi Akiva Block)
“Once their father Jacob dies, the brothers worry that Joseph will exact revenge for their past deeds. They plead for mercy and throw themselves at his feet, offering to be his slaves,” he stated.
Joseph assured his brothers that he had no plans for revenge — and as an alternative, sought “to comfort his brothers and heal their very hearts,” stated Block.
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“He is not content to merely wax poetic about God’s providence and about caring for the universal well-being of all peoples; these are important truths, and Joseph indeed devotes virtually his entire adult life to these values,” he stated.
Nonetheless, Joseph acknowledged “the imperative to reach out even further to his own brothers, precisely because they are his own flesh and blood,” Block stated.
Somewhat than search revenge, Joseph as an alternative reconciled together with his brothers, saying that he would care for his or her households regardless of how they handled him. (iStock)
Block informed Fox Information Digital that he and members of his synagogue lately traveled to Israel — and the message of those verses struck a chord.
“We want to bring strength and support to the people of Israel,” he stated.
“We spoke with troopers, families of hostages, the bereaved and abnormal residents of Israel, to inform them, ‘We are with you. We are one family.’”
Just like Joseph within the verses, he stated, “we, too, got down to ‘keep a great many people alive,’ to make the world a better, more just, place.”
The Book of Genesis, along with Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, are believed to have been authored by Moses. They are collectively referred to as the Torah or the Pentateuch. (iStock)
“But if these last few months have taught us anything, particularly for those of us who have had the privilege of spending time in Israel, it’s that our look after the world ought to by no means be on the expense of our personal neighborhood, our family,” he stated.
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As a substitute, “family first,” stated Block.
“Joseph is a faithful servant on behalf of the common good, but he holds the well-being and destiny of his own brothers and his own people especially close to his heart,” he stated.
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“In these trying and difficult times, we should do no less.”
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