"Brit-Am Now"-31
Contents:
1. Judah in Need of Joseph
Date: 06/09/2002 2:35:11 AM Central
Daylight Time
Judah in Need of Joseph
In the Book of Numbers it relates how
the Israelites after coming out of
Egypt were about to conquer the Land
of Canaan. They sent spies into the
Land to spy it out. The spies brought
back a report that giving the
impression that the natives of the
Land were too powerful to be conquered.
The people on hearing this bad report
became demoralized and tried to rebel
against Moses. God punished them by
declaring that they would not be
allowed to enter the Land immediately
but would have to wander in the
wilderness for forty years until all
the generation that rebelled had died
out. After that their children would
inherit the Land. Our story picks up
from there but first we will go back
to the Blessing given to Joseph by his
father Israel:
[Genesis 49:22] JOSEPH IS A FRUITFUL
BOUGH, EVEN A FRUITFUL BOUGH BY A
WELL; WHOSE BRANCHES RUN OVER THE WALL:
"BY A WELL" in Hebrew: "ali ayin" which
can also mean "above ("al") the eye
("ayin").
Rabbi Haim Dynovisz in a weekly tract
in French ("Lev p'tit Hebdo. Thora et
Info" Num 56/28 Sivan) gave certain
insights that have been paraphrased and
adapted below:
When the spies (Numbers 13) went into
the land of Israel they went after
their eyes and reported what their
eyes saw:
<<AND THERE WE SAW THE GIANTS,
THE SONS OF ANAK, WHICH COME OF THE GIANTS:
AND WE WERE IN OUR OWN SIGHT AS GRASSHOPPERS,
AND SO WE WERE IN THEIR SIGHT
[Numbers 13:33] .
<<NEVERTHELESS THE PEOPLE BE
STRONG THAT DWELL IN THE LAND, AND THE CITIES
ARE WALLED, AND VERY GREAT: AND MOREOVER
WE SAW THE CHILDREN OF ANAK THERE
[Numbers 13:28].
They were confounded by what they saw
and spread dismay to the rest of
Israel. For this reason the incident
of the Spies is followed by the
commandment concerning tassels whose
purpose is to teach us to guard our eyes:
<<AND IT SHALL BE UNTO YOU FOR
A FRINGE, THAT YE MAY LOOK UPON IT,
AND REMEMBER ALL THE COMMANDMENTS
OF THE LORD, AND DO THEM; AND THAT YE
SEEK NOT AFTER YOUR OWN HEART
AND YOUR OWN EYES, AFTER WHICH YE USE TO GO
A WHORING. [Numbers 15:39].
It was because the spies went after their eyes that the People of
Israel were unable to immediately conquer
the Land but had to wander in the
Wilderness for forty years. When they
finally did go in to conquer the Land
they were led by Joshua. Joshua was
of the Tribe of Ephraim and descended
from Joseph. Joseph had received the
blessing to be "ali ayin" i.e. "above
the eye". This quality enabled him
not to be impressed by what he saw but
to transcend historical logic.
<<Israel is always confronted
with the problems that according to "human
vision" have no real solution. It is
only the "Joshuas" who are capable of
seeing that which the eye cannot see
and that permit us to attain the
"impossible". The scouts ("spies")
failed because they were guided by their
eye. They were pragmatic. It was because
of this fault that we have been
exiled amongst the seventy nations.
[Seventy sons of Noah are mentioned in
Genesis 10 and it is from these 70
that all nations of the earth descend].
There are seventy nations because they
too are under the domination of the
"eye" [i.e. of practical considerations
according to apparent reality].
Seventy is the numerical value in Hebrew
of the letter "ayin" whose name
means "eye" in Hebrew. [The English
word "eye" is derived from the Hebrew
"ayin" meaning "eye"].
Ever since Israel [i.e. the Jews of Judah in this context] lost
the power of Joseph who was above the
"eye" [and above the seventy nations]
they have been in Exile.>>
The above observations are derived (as we mentioned above) from
the thoughts of Rabbi Haim Dynovisz.
It is doubtful if the Rabbi had the
Lost Ten Tribes in mind when he put
these thoughts down. Nevertheless, the
point holds. Ever since Joseph departed
from Judah and Judah-aspect of
Israel lost the power of Joseph the
Jews have been oppressed by
non-Israelite nations. The establishment
of the State of Israel and its
stabilization began the process of
"normalizing" the Jewish status and
enabling the Jews to work towards national
self-expression in their own
land. This process was made possible
and supported by the forces of Joseph,
at first through Britain and then the
USA.
Judah is in need of Joseph whether
he likes it or not BUT it works both
ways. Joseph also needs Joseph to realize
himself. Joseph in Egypt was the
de-facto ruler of the country but that
was all. Only when he was reconciled
to his brothers was Joseph enabled
to express his complete personality.
PLEASE SEND THIS MESSAGE ON TO OTHERS
http://www.britam.org/
http://www.geocities.com/hiberi
For a subscription of
four issues of BRIT-AM
send $36 (8 issues for $65,
12 issues for $90) to:
Yair Davidiy
POB 595
Jerusalem 91004
Israel.
"Ephraim. The Gentile Children
of Israel" (Revised Version) is available
for $30.
"Joseph. The Israelite Destiny
of America" may be obtained for $30.
Both books together may be bought for
$50.
All prices include postage by airmail
and handling.
Help us through contributions and purchasing
our products.
We believe this work is very important
and a source of blessing.
"And I will bless them that bless you"
(Genesis 12;15).