7th Shabbat Readings
According to the Jewish calendar on Chabad.org, today is the 18th of Tevet and the seventh Shabbat of the year.
The Shabbat readings for today include:
- Parashat VaYechi (and he lived) Torah: Bereshit (Genesis) 47:28–50:26
- Haftorah: Melachim Aleph (1 Kings) 2:1-12
- Brit Hadashah (New Covenant): 1 Peter 1:1–9
This post has my reflections on these readings as well as links to useful resources. So far I have only touched on the Torah and Haftarah readings for today. I am praying that I will be able to add to this post soon.
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My Shabbat Reading Reflections
Bereshit (Genesis) 47:28–50:26
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| Yakov Calls His Sons to Him - Free Downloadable Colouring Page on Chabad.org |
Important Scriptures
While all scriptures are important, the scripture that stands out for me as extremely important for today is:
Bereshit Genesis) 48:4
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| Bereshit aka Genesis 48:4 Masoretic Text From Blue Letter Bible .org |
Here Yakov recounts the words of Our Creator to him in Bereshit 35:11-12:
Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you and I will make of you a multitude of people, and will give this land(the land he was on when Yakov's hip was injured - Caanan) to your seed as a possession forever.
Many times in scripture Our Creator states that He has selected a very particular piece of land for the children of Yisrael to possess.
Another important scripture from this passage is Bereshit (Genesis) 50:25:
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| Bereshit aka Genesis 50:25 From Blue Letter Bible,org |
In Bereshit 50:25 Yosef makes the Israelites swear an oath to take his bones with them when they leave. He says this in great faith that Our Creator would come for them. Later, in Exodus 13:19 when Creator sends Moshe (Moses) to rescue His people from Egypt, they take the bones of Yosef with them. In Acts and Hebrews, the faith of Yosef is remembered. We might wonder why did Yosef not request his body be taken out of Egypt immediately after he died? It could be that it was to give the Israelites hope for the future - knowing that Yosef had prophesied that the Creator would come for them one day.
What is VaYechi All About?
VaYechi is the first Hebrew word in this section meaning "And he lived "
Ironically this passage that starts with the words "And he (Yakov) lived", is all about death and burial. This article on Chabad.org gives a thorough explanation of the importance of this as well as the tradition of chanting specific encouraging words together after the reading of this section of the Torah.
Included in this section of scripture are the deaths of Yakov and Yosef - though spaced many years apart. In both these deaths, the dying men make others swear that the final resting place for their bodies will not be in Egypt. Yosef gets permission from the Pharaoh to leave to bury his father to make the journey - they need to leave their children and animals in Egypt to make this journey, but his dad gets buried according to his wishes. Yosef - on the other hand, must wait centuries before his bones are finally taken out of Egypt.
The passing of Yakov is quite remarkable. He tells Yosef that he is making the first two sons of Yosef his own. He makes a prophecy over the two boys that takes Yosef aback, as he makes a prophecy that the family of the younger one will be greater than the older boy. He makes Yosef swear to bury him in the cave at Mamre. After this, he calls his other sons in and makes prophecies about them. The revelations about some of his sons' characters are quite shocking. The prophecy about Yehudah (Judah) is quite detailed. These prophecies and character sketches stir a curiosity in me to find out how these prophecies played out. Does it affect you this way too?
How Does this Passage Apply to My Life?
I really wanted to follow through on the wishes of my dad and brother after their deaths and I feel terrible about not being able to do as they wished. It is truly a blessing when people can follow through with your final wishes.
None of us know when it will be our time to go. There was a man who survived going over Niagara Falls in a barrel and two weeks later he slipped on an orange peel and died! If there is anything really important we want to have done with our body or belongings it is important to make a written will and tell EVERYBODY about it and update it regularly.
For some people making a will can seem a huge task as they have so many things they want to give away. This in itself can open your eyes to realize you might want to downsize. If you really care about your family don't leave them with a big mess of things to get rid of after you are gone. Every time you make a new purchase of something that you think - oh so and so might like to have one of these- you might want to add a codicil to your will. Keeping a running record by your door could be a good idea. I know that some people put a tag on everything that they want to give to someone.
Three years ago, a doctor told me I would be dead in three days if I did not fly immediately to Kingston to get a procedure done. I had to start making preparations for the disposal of my body. I had always planned to have it donated to the University of Toronto. I had come to this conclusion after reading an article in Reader's Digest many years ago when I was a teen. However, the University was not taking any donations due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This goes to show you that even though we may make plans for our physical remains - other things can happen and those plans can fall through.
I finally came to the conclusion after running into many dead ends that someone would do something with my shell and I was going to focus on getting well and doing my best to ensure my afterlife would not be spent in hell. I decided to focus forward - ignore that negative prediction, get a second opinion from my internist and believe I would be healed.
Over three years later I am still alive. It has been a rough wild ride from my comfy cozy home and teaching position to living on the streets, sleeping under trees, in ditches and camping out in parking lots. It has not been easy, but I am a survivor through my Saviour and there were people I believe I needed to meet on the streets.
VaYechi Teaching Resources for Children's Ministry
- VaYechi Quiz by Menachem Posner on Chabad.org - While this is in the children's section on Chabad.org it is better suited to teens and adults.
- This Shazach Parsha VaYechi cartoon is on Chabad.org ages 8 and up. While this is suited to younger children, you may be surprised that this retelling has elements that are not found in written scripture.
- VaYechi Lullaby for Birth and Up - This lovely VaYechi song on Chabad.org is based on the blessing of Manasseh and Ephraim. It could make a good introduction to some Hebrew words.
- Funny Puppet Video for tweens and up - This humorous VaYechi video on Chabad.org featuring a Rabbi and teen puppet swapping places for a day is based on the prophecies Yakov speaks over his sons.
- Printable VaYechi Crossword on Chabad.org ages - tween and up
- Free Printable Word Search -Tribes of Israel Word Search on Ministry to Children.com age 8 and up
Haftorah Reading Melachim Aleph (1 Kings) 2:1-12
Melachim Aleph 2:1-12 is a very appropriate reading to be paired with Vayechi as it is about the death of David. Here we find David giving final instructions to his son Solomon.
Important Scriptures
The scripture that stands out to me the most from this section is Melachim 2:2.
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| Melachim Aleph 2:2 From Blue Letter Bible.org |
Here David is telling his son that he is about to "go the way of all the earth" and to "be a man". I think this scripture stood out for me due to the way it was written on the page. However, after listening to this selection of haftorah it is the next verses that seem even more important to me.
In Melachim Aleph 2:3-4, David reminds his son Shelemoh of the conditional blessing promised to their family that if they would follow the commandments of the Creator they would be successful. and that one of David's descendants would always be on the throne. The Hebrew word "sakal" in Melachim Aleph 2:3 translated as "prosper " has several meanings given in Strong's concordance including:
- be prudent
- have insights
- act wisely
Yeshua taught that we should seek to lay up our treasures in heaven, so is it wrong to prosper? No, there is nothing wrong with prospering - what we choose to do with what we receive as we prosper is perhaps the litmus test. Can you pass the test to continue to live frugally as you prosper? This is a very difficult test to pass and may perhaps determine where we spend eternity. I believe it is important for this lesson to be taught alongside the blessing of prosperity that we can receive when we follow the commandments, statutes and laws of Moses as indicated in this scripture.
Children's Ministry Resources Melachim Aleph 2:2
Sadly, I have not been able to find any children's ministry resources yet on this chapter. This does point to a great opportunity, however! I you have created some children's ministry resources on the passing of David, please post a link in the comments below.
1 Petros (Peter) 1:1-9
1 Petros 1 is a huge relief after reading the Torah and Haftarah readings for this week. 1 Petros 1, is a letter written to foreigners unfamiliar with the Creator who have accepted Yeshua into their hearts.
1Petros 1Children's Ministry Resources
To Be Continued...
About This Author
Sister Su is grateful to God for keeping her alive. She is a Trent/Queen's Concurrent Education graduate with over 20 years of teaching experience. She writes on several blogs, has a YouTube channel and is most easily reached through Twitter @Sister_Su See her link tree for more details:@Sister_Su | Linktree
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