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Audio & Outline Notes for Parashat Vayeishev & Yeshua in Hanukkah

Bereshit (Genesis) 37:1 - 40:23

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I. Introduction

1. Jacob settles in Hebron with his twelve sons. His favorite is 17-year-old Joseph, whose brothers are jealous of the preferential treatment he receives from his father, such as a precious many-colored coat that Jacob makes for Joseph. Joseph relates to his brothers two dreams he has which foretell that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred towards him. Bereshit 37:1- 10
2. Shimon and Levi plot to kill him, but Reuben suggests that they throw him into a pit instead, intending to come back later and save him. While Joseph is in the pit, Judah has him sold to a band of passing Ishmaelites. The brothers dip Joseph's special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son was devoured by a wild beast. Bereshit 37: 12- 36
3. Judah marries and has three children. The eldest, Er, dies young and childless, and his wife Tamar is given in levirate marriage to the second son, Onan. Onan sins by spilling his seed and he, too, meets an early death. Judah is reluctant to have his third son marry her. Determined to have a child from Judah's family, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and seduces Judah himself. Judah hears that his daughter-in-law has become pregnant and orders her executed for harlotry, but when Tamar produces some personal effects he left with her as a pledge for payment, he publicly admits that he is the father. Tamar gives birth to twin sons, Peretz (an ancestor of King David) and Zerach. Bereshit 38:1ff
4. Joseph is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, the minister in charge of Pharaoh's slaughterhouses. G-d blesses everything he does, and soon he is made overseer of all his master's property. Potiphar's wife desires the handsome and charismatic lad; when Joseph rejects her advances, she tells her husband that the Hebrew slave tried to force himself on her and has him thrown in prison. Joseph gains the trust and admiration of his jailers, who appoint him to a position of authority in the prison administration. Bereshit 39:1- 23
5. In prison, Joseph meets Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker, both incarcerated for offending their royal master. Both have disturbing dreams, which Joseph interprets; in three days, he tells them, the butler will be released and the baker hanged. Joseph asks the butler to intercede on his behalf with Pharaoh. Joseph's predictions are fulfilled, but the butler forgets all about Joseph and does nothing for him. Bereshit 40:1- 23

 B. The concept of Messiah ben Yosef and Messiah ben David and
      Hanukkah
         1.Yosef ben Ya’akov comes from the family of Yosef 
         2.Yeshua ben David comes from the family of David
         3.Yeshua is both Messiah ben Yosef and Messiah ben David

 C. History of Hanukkah

1. 339 BCE Alexander the Great defeats Persia, conquers Israel
2. 333 Hellenistic culture is introduced to Israel; Jews retain distinct   practices and beliefs in Israel and throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
3. 323 BCE    Death of Alexander; Emergence of Ptolemaic and Seleucid control over Israel
4. 268 BCE    Rome gains control of Southern Italy
5. 175 BCE    Hellinization of Israel: Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Seleucid ruler of Syrian, enforces Hellinization of Israel.
6. 167 BCE    Maccabean Revolt The Maccabees, the priestly family of the Hasmoneans, head the rebellion against the Seleucids and Hellenistic Jews.
7. 164 BCEThe festival of Hanukkah celebrates the successful revolt and the rededication of the Temple.
8. 141- 70 CE Hasmoneans rule over Independent State of Judah
9. 29 – 32 CE? CE Yeshua’s Hanukkah Discourse John 10:22- 42

II. Parashat VaYeishev – Yeshua’s Hanukkah Discourse
A.    Hanukkah is modeled after Sukkot – Cp.1 Kings 8:2,12
B.The main Hanukkah themes in the first century were miracles and
     Messianic redemption

1. The miracle of the victory over the Syrians
2. The light of the Hanukkiah is symbolic of the light of the Messiah – Maharal cp. Yochanan 8:12 (Sukkot)
3. The days of Chanukah are symbolically the ‘door’, the beginning of the ultimate redemption – Sifsei Tzaddik cp. Yochanan 10:7

C.    Yeshua’s Hanukkah Discourse – Yochanan 10:22-42

1. Dedication /Enkainia – Yoch. 10:22 cp. Num. 7:10-11; 1 Kings 8:63; Ezra 6:16
2. Solomon’s Colonnade – Yoch. 10:23 – a sheltered area on the east side of the Bet HaMigdash.
3. Is Yeshua the Messiah? –  Yoch. 10:24 - 30
   a. A warrior messiah like David?
   b. A Judah Maccabeus who would liberate the Jewish people from Rome?
   c.  Yeshua is like David in that he is the Shepherd- Warrior – King – Yoch. 10:27-29, cp. Ezekiel 34:1,11,16, 22-24,25-31
4. Is Yeshua the Son of God?
   a. The Father and I are one – Yoch. 10:30 cp. 2 Cor 5:19
   b.  Yeshua  like Yosef is rejected by his brothers – Yoch. 10:31
   c.  Yeshua accused of blasphemy – Yoch. 10:31-33
   d.  Yeshua responds by quoting Psalm 82:6 – Yoch. 10:34-36

i. Psalm 82 associated with Sukkot – Sukkah 55a
ii. Your Law refers to your Midrashim on Exodus 22:8, In Exodus 22:8 Elohim is used for judges – Radak
iii. אני אמרתי אלהים אתם ובני עליון כלכם
iv. The reason that the judges could be called gods was because they were vehicles for the Word of God
v. If this is so then how much more should Yeshua be called God because he is the one whom the Father consecrated to be the unique Son of God?
     a. Kal V’ Chomer- from less important to more Important
     b. Yeshua was consecrated by his Father to be The Davidic Judge and King Messiah cp. Is.11: 1-10
     c. Consecrated/ hagiazein cp. Num. 7:1
     e. Miracles affirm the truth of Yeshua’s Hanukkah message

III. Conclusion
A.    Miracle # 1
B.    Miracle # 2
C.    Miracle # 3

*  Adapted from www.chabad.org