Vayigash

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Vayigash (ויגש – Hebrew for “and he went up” or “then he went up,” the first word of the parshah) is the eleventh weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 44:18–47:27. Jews in the Diaspora read it the eleventh Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December or January.

Joseph Reveals His Identity (painting by Peter von Cornelius)

1 Summary
2 Commandments
3 Haftarah
4 Further reading
5 External links

[edit] Summary

Main article: Genesis

Joseph’s brothers showed themselves fearful and penitent. Judah offered himself as a slave in place of Benjamin. Joseph revealed his identity, forgave his brothers the wrong they had done him, and promised to settle both them and his father in Egypt.

Jacob brought to Egypt his whole family, numbering 66 persons, this making 70 persons in all when Joseph and his sons were included. Pharaoh received them amicably and assigned them the land of Goshen.

Joseph administered the land during the famine, collecting on behalf of Pharaoh in turn all the Egyptians’ money, livestock, land (except for the priests’), and persons in exchange for food.

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no commandments in the parshah.

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is Ezekiel 37:15–28.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah is cited or discussed in these classical sources:

Josephus, Antiquities 2:6:9–2:7:7.
Tosefta Berachot 4:18; Sotah 10:9.
Babylonian Talmud: Berachot 56b, 63b; Pesachim 119a; Beitzah 16a; Megillah 16a–b; Chagigah 4b; Nazir 3a; Baba Kama 92a; Baba Batra 120a, 123a, 143b; Avodah Zarah 9b; Chullin 60b; Nidah 31a.
Qur'an 12:80–101.
Genesis Rabbah 39:12; 40:6; 55:8; 63:3; 79:1; 80:11; 82:4; 84:20; 89:9; 90:1, 6; 93:1–96.
Exodus Rabbah 3:3, 4, 8; 15:16; 18:8; 40:4.
Leviticus Rabbah 32:5.
Numbers Rabbah 3:8; 8:4; 12:2; 13:3, 20; 14:7, 8, 12; 19:3; 22:8.
Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:13.
Esther Rabbah 7:20.
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:56; 4:25; 6:20.
Ruth Rabbah 4:1.
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:6, 33; 9:12.
Zohar 1:93b, 119a, 149b, 153b, 180b, 197a, 205a–211b, 216b, 222a, 226a; 2:4b, 16b, 53a, 85a; 3:206a.