11 Tevet 5781
December 26, 2020

Parashat Vayigash
“And He Drew Near”

Here are the Torah, Haftarah and suggested Brit Chadasha (New Testament) and Tehillim (Psalms) readings for this week.

• Genesis 44:18-47:27
• Ezekiel 37:15-28
• Luke 6:12-16
• Psalm 48

The seven aliyot readings from the Torah begin at these verses:

1. Genesis 44:18
2. Genesis 44:31
3. Genesis 45:8
4. Genesis 45:19
5. Genesis 45:28
6. Genesis 46:28
7. Genesis 47:11

Maftir: Genesis 47:25

Great is Adonai, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God—His holy mountain. A beautiful height—the joy of the whole earth—is Mount Zion, on the northern side of the city of the great King.
(Psalm 48:2-3 TLV)

In Vayigash

The Key People include Y’hudah (Judah), Yosef (Joseph), the brothers, Ya’akov (Jacob), Par-oh (Pharaoh), and the sons (66 people in all).

The Scenes include Goshen, Mitzrayim (Egypt), C’na’an (Canaan), B’er Sheva (Beersheba), and the district of Rameses.

The Main Events include Y’hudah drawing near to Yosef to take Binyamim’s place, Yosef revealing his identity, brothers returning to get Ya’akov, God reassuring Ya’akov on trip to Egypt, sons listed, Par’oh giving family the best land in Goshen, the famine continuing with the Egyptians selling Yosef their livestock and land … till all are indebted to Par’oh and Yosef.

Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph to show him the way to Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen, Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he appeared before him, he fell upon his neck, and wept on his neck for some time.
(Genesis 46:28-29 TLV)

The Haftarah

Say to them, thus says ADONAI Elohim: ‘Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph—which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel joined with him—and I will put them together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick. They will be one in My hand.’
(Ezekiel 37:19 TLV)

The Brit Chadasha

And it was during these days that Yeshua went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent all night in prayer to God. When day came, He called His disciples, choosing from among them twelve whom He also named emissaries—
(Luke 6:12-13 TLV)

Torah Portion readings and the associated Haftarah readings generally follow the Stone Edition Chumash and/or the Complete Jewish Bible. Verse numbering generally follows the Hebrew tradition, and where modern Christian traditions differ those verse numbers are shown in parentheses (). Haftarah readings generally follow the Ashkenazi tradition. Where the Sephardic tradition differs, the Haftarah portions are designated as (A) and (S). Suggested New Testament readings are taken from various sources. Suggested Psalm readings are from the Messianic Siddur for Shabbat by Daniel Perek. The Key People, The Scenes, and The Main Events are taken from the Walk! series of Messianic Devotion Commentaries by Dr. Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg. Scripture taken from the Tree of Life Version (TLV) © 2015 by the Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. Used by permission of the Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.