Shabbat

Portion VaYeeGash - or Love and Listening

Portion VaYeeGash - or Love and Listening
 
If Joseph loved his father why did he not contact him when he became Viceroy in Egypt?
 
If Joseph loved his brothers why did he arrest them and not tell them who he was until this portion?
 
The WORLD could learn a lot about LOVE from Joseph - and from Maimonides!

How close are you really to those you love?

Did Adam love Eve?

How about Noah and the Mrs?

In this portion we see the love of Joseph for his brothers- despite everyrhing they did years before.
And we see the love of Jacob for Joseph - so that even an old father took the dangerous trip to Egypt to see him.
And in next weeks portion the love of Joseph for his two boys
And last week Jacob revealed his great love for his wife Rachel

So where is the Torah going with all this?

Maimonides wrote so much - including "The Book of Love!" It has many chapters but in a nutshell
 
Just by the Headings of the Sections we learn (I extrapolate from them):

Reciting Shema - love is listening
 
Holy Writing like Tefilin Mezuzas and Torahs- writing a little note can bring us close to a loved one
(Years ago I should have fired an employee but I found work for him ...
which gave him confidence to eventually get a better job and get married ...
and years later I bumped into him and he gave me a big hug to thank me - and told me how his wife would write little love notes and put them in his lunch sandwich for when he went off to work! They were a happy loving couple!)

If you love someone you do sily things to make them happy.
 
If you love someone you are willing to experience pain that sometimes happens in life.
 
Etc from Maimonides
 
Joseph was the genius of his generation - and he saved the world.
Maimonides was the genius of his generation - and protected his people under the Egyptian Caliphate.

All the Mitzvot are to show the love between us and the Almighty
 
Joseph did everything to re-set the family love between the boys and the Dad (Jacob)

The Shabbos is the Mitzva that teaches us to take time off....

Love from Israel

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz