VaYeshev 5781: Yoseph & Yehudah – Healing a Rift Extending Across History and within the Individual Self

Introduction

The conflict between Yoseph and Yehudah runs like a seam across the entire history of Israel. At times Yoseph gains the upper hand, and at times Yehudah prevails, but the schism always resurfaces. In Tractate Sukkah 52 a-b, our sages even speak of two messiahs, each with a role to play in ushering in the final universal redemption, one a descendent of Yosef, Mashiach ben Yosef, and the other a descendent of Yehudah, Mashiach ben Dovid. What are the implications for the people of Israel and for the individual’s spiritual practice as well?

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Source Sheet features Genesis 35, Isaiah 11, Deuteronomy 11

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Credits
Yiscah Smith – Faculty and Host for Pardes from Jerusalem
Rabbi Adam Titcher – Lead Consultant and Producer
Arlene Harel – Faculty Coordinator

Yiscah Smith

Yiscah Smith is an adjunct faculty member at Pardes, where she teaches Hasidism and spiritual texts. A spiritual activist, educator, mentor, and meditation guide, Yiscah approaches Judaism as a spiritual practice rooted in the encounter with the Divine spark within and beyond oneself. Yiscah holds a Master’s Degree in Jewish Education from The Jewish Theological Seminary.

Yiscah’s passion is encouraging and empowering others to carve their own paths. Her work takes many forms: faculty at Pardes, Applied Jewish Spirituality, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality; founder and director of Conscious Community Nachlaot in Jerusalem; international lecturer; and author of Planting Seeds of the Divine: Torah Commentaries to Cultivate Your Spiritual Practice. As an avid gardener, Yiscah also enables her passion for growth to find expression in the natural world.

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