He said, "I will do as you have said."

^47:31He said, "Swear to me," and he swore to him. Yisra'el bowed himself on the bed's head.

^48:1It happened after these things, that someone said to Yosef, "Behold, your father is sick." He took with him his two sons, Menashsheh and Efrayim. ^48:2Someone told Ya`akov, and said, "Behold, your son Yosef comes to you," and Yisra'el strengthened himself, and sat on the bed. <sup>48:3</sup>Ya`akov said to Yosef, "El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kana`an, and blessed me, <sup>48:4</sup>and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.' <sup>48:5</sup>Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and Menashsheh, even as Re'uven and Shim`on, will be mine. ^48:6Your issue, who you become the father of after them, will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ^48:7As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Kana`an in the way, when there was still some distance to come to Efrat, and I buried her there in the way to Efrat (the same is Beit-Lechem)."

^48:8Yisra'el saw Yosef's sons, and said, "Who are these?"

^48:9Yosef said to his father, "They are my sons, whom G-d has given me here."

He said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them."

[ Top ]

Sheni [2nd]
^48:10Now the eyes of Yisra'el were dim for age, so that he couldn't see. He brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. ^48:11Yisra'el said to Yosef, "I didn't think I would see your face, and, behold, G-d has let me see your seed also." ^48:12Yosef brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ^48:13Yosef took them both, Efrayim in his right hand toward Yisra'el's left hand, and Menashsheh in his left hand toward Yisra'el's right hand, and brought them near to him. ^48:14Yisra'el stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Efrayim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Menashsheh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Menashsheh was the firstborn. ^48:15He blessed Yosef, and said, "The G-d before whom my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak did walk, the G-d who has fed me all my life long to this day, ^48:16the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak. Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

[ Top ]

Shlishi [3rd]
^48:17When Yosef saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Efrayim, it displeased him. He held up his father's hand, to remove it from Efrayim's head to Menashsheh's head. ^48:18Yosef said to his father, "Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."

^48:19His father refused, and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations." ^48:20He blessed them that day, saying, "In you will Yisra'el bless, saying, 'God make you as Efrayim and as Menashsheh'" He set Efrayim before Menashsheh. ^48:21Yisra'el said to Yosef, "Behold, I am dying, but G-d will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers. ^48:22Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amori with my sword and with my bow."

[ Top ]

R'vi'i [4th]
^49:1Ya`akov called to his sons, and said: "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.

 ^49:2Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Ya`akov;
      Listen to Yisra'el, your father.

 ^49:3"Re'uven, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength;
      The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.

 ^49:4Boiling over as water, you shall not have the pre-eminence;
      Because you went up to your father's bed;
      Then defiled it. He went up to my couch.

 ^49:5"Shim`on and Levi are brothers;
      Weapons of violence are their swords.

 ^49:6My soul, don't come into their council;
      My glory, don't be united to their assembly;

 For in their anger they killed a man,
      In their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

 ^49:7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
      And their wrath, for it was cruel.

 I will divide them in Ya`akov,
      Scatter them in Yisra'el.

 ^49:8"Yehudah, your brothers will praise you:
      Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
      Your father's sons will bow down before you.

 ^49:9Yehudah is a lion's cub.
      From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

 He stooped down, he crouched as a lion,
      As a lioness.
      Who will rouse him up?

 ^49:10The scepter will not depart from Yehudah,
      Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

 Until he comes to whom it belongs.
      To him will the obedience of the peoples be.

 ^49:11Binding his foal to the vine,
      His donkey's colt to the choice vine;

 He has washed his garments in wine,
      His robes in the blood of grapes:

 ^49:12His eyes will be red with wine,
      His teeth white with milk.

 ^49:13"Zevulun will dwell at the haven of the sea.
      He will be for a haven of ships.
      His border will be on Tzidon.

 ^49:14"Yissakhar is a strong donkey,
      Lying down between the saddlebags.

 ^49:15He saw a resting-place, that it was good,
      The land, that it was pleasant;

 He bows his shoulder to the burden,
      And becomes a servant doing forced labor.

 ^49:16"Dan will judge his people,
      As one of the tribes of Yisra'el.

 ^49:17Dan will be a serpent in the way,
      An adder in the path,

 That bites the horse's heels,
      So that his rider falls backward.

 ^49:18I have waited for your salvation, LORD.

[ Top ]

Chamishi [5th]
^49:19"Gad, a troop will press on him;
      But he will press on their heel.

 ^49:20Out of Asher his bread will be fat,
      He will yield royal dainties.

 ^49:21"Naftali is a doe set free,
      Who bears beautiful fawns.

 ^49:22"Yosef is a fruitful vine,
      A fruitful vine by a spring;
      His branches run over the wall.

 ^49:23The archers have sorely grieved him,
      Shot at him, and persecute him:

 ^49:24But his bow abode in strength,
      The arms of his hands were made strong,
      By the hands of the Mighty One of Ya`akov,
      (From there is the shepherd, the stone of Yisra'el),

 ^49:25Even by the G-d of your father, who will help you,
      By Shaddai, who will bless you,

 With blessings of heaven above,
      Blessings of the deep that lies below,
      Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

 ^49:26The blessings of your father
      Have prevailed above the blessings of the ancient mountains,
      Above the bounty of the age-old hills.

 They will be on the head of Yosef,
      On the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.

[ Top ]

Shishi [6th]
^49:27"Binyamin is a ravenous wolf.
      In the morning he will devour the prey.
      At evening he will divide the spoil."

^49:28All these are the twelve tribes of Yisra'el, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his blessing. ^49:29He charged them, and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of `Efron the Chittite, <sup>49:30</sup>in the cave that is in the field of Makhpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Kana`an, which Avraham bought with the field from `Efron the Chittite as a burial place. <sup>49:31</sup>There they buried Avraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Yitzchak and Rivka, his wife, and there I buried Le'ah: <sup>49:32</sup>the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Chet." <sup>49:33</sup>When Ya`akov made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the spirit, and was gathered to his people.

^50:1Yosef fell on his father's face, wept on him, and kissed him. ^50:2Yosef commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Yisra'el. ^50:3Forty days were fulfilled for him, for that is how many the days it takes to embalm. The Egyptians wept for him for seventy days.

^50:4When the days of weeping for him were past, Yosef spoke to the house of Par`oh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Par`oh, saying, ^50:5'My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I am dying. Bury me in my grave which I have dug for myself in the land of Kana`an." Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come again.'"

^50:6Par`oh said, "Go up, and bury your father, just like he made you swear."

^50:7Yosef went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Par`oh, the elders of his house, all the elders of the land of Egypt, <sup>50:8</sup>all the house of Yosef, his brothers, and his father's house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. <sup>50:9</sup>There went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. <sup>50:10</sup>They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Yarden, and there they lamented with a very great and sore lamentation. He mourned for his father seven days. <sup>50:11</sup>When the inhabitants of the land, the Kana`anim, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians." Therefore, the name of it was called Avel-Mitzrayim, which is beyond the Yarden. ^50:12His sons did to him just as he commanded them, ^50:13for his sons carried him into the land of Kana`an, and buried him in the cave of the field of Makhpelah, which Avraham bought with the field, for a possession of a burying-place, from `Efron the Chittite, before Mamre. ^50:14Yosef returned into Egypt--he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

^50:15When Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Yosef will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all of the evil which we did to him. ^50:16They sent a message to Yosef, saying, "Your father commanded before he died, saying, ^50:17"So you shall tell Yosef, 'Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.' Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the G-d of your father." Yosef wept when they spoke to him. ^50:18His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." ^50:19Yosef said to them, "Don't be afraid, for am I in the place of G-d? ^50:20As for you, you meant evil against me, but G-d meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive.

[ Top ]

Shvi'i [7th]
^50:21Now therefore don't be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones." He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.

^50:22Yosef lived in Egypt, he, and his father's house. Yosef lived one hundred ten years.

[ Top ]

Maftir [Concluding]
^50:23Yosef saw Efrayim's children to the third generation. The children also of Makhir, the son of Menashsheh, were born on Yosef's knees. ^50:24Yosef said to his brothers, "I am dying, but G-d will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya`akov." ^50:25Yosef took an oath of the children of Yisra'el, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here." ^50:26So Yosef died, being one hundred ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

The Blessing After Torah
Ba-rooch ah-ta Adonai, eh-lo-hay-noo meh-lech ha-oh­lahm, ah-sher na-tahn la-noo toe-raht eh-met, v’cha-yaye oh-lahm na-ta b’toe-chay-noo. Ba-rooch ah-ta Adonai,  no-tain ha-torah. Blessed are you, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has given us a Torah of truth, and has planted eternal life in our midst. Blessed are You, O Lord, Giver of the Torah.	Click here to listen to this sung by Cantor Kenneth B. Cohen of Temple Sholom, Greenwich, CT

^1:1Kefa, an emissary of Yeshua the Messiah, to the chosen ones who are living as strangers in the Diaspora in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ^1:2according to the foreknowledge of G-d the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Yeshua the Messiah and be sprinkled in his blood: Grace to you and shalom be multiplied. ^1:3Blessed be the G-d and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, ^1:4to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn't fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ^1:5who by the power of G-d are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ^1:6Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, ^1:7that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah--^1:8whom not having known you love; in whom, though now you don't see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory--^1:9receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Additional B'rit Chadashah readings:

Acts 7:9-16

^7:9"The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Yosef, sold him into Egypt. G-d was with him, ^7:10and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Par`oh, king of Egypt. He made him governor over Egypt and all his house. <sup>7:11</sup>Now a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Kana`an, and great affliction. Our fathers found no food. ^7:12But when Ya`akov heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers the first time. <sup>7:13</sup>On the second time Yosef was made known to his brothers, and Yosef's race was revealed to Par`oh. ^7:14Yosef sent, and summoned Ya`akov, his father, and all his relatives, seventy-five souls. <sup>7:15</sup>Ya`akov went down into Egypt, and he died, himself and our fathers, ^7:16and they were brought back to Shekhem, and laid in the tomb that Avraham bought for a price in silver from the children of Chamor of Shekhem.

Messianic Jews 11:21-22

^11:21By faith, Ya`akov, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Yosef, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. ^11:22By faith, Yosef, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Yisra'el; and gave instructions concerning his bones.

Kefa Alef 1:3-9, 2:11-17

^1:3Blessed be the G-d and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who according to his great mercy became our father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, ^1:4to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn't fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ^1:5who by the power of G-d are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ^1:6Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials, ^1:7that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah--^1:8whom not having known you love; in whom, though now you don't see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory--^1:9receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

^2:11Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; ^2:12having good behavior among the nations, so in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify G-d in the day of visitation. ^2:13Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; ^2:14or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to those who do well. ^2:15For this is the will of G-d, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: ^2:16as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of G-d.

^2:17Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear G-d. Honor the king.

The Blessing of the Messiah
Ba-rooch ah-ta Adonai Eh-lo-hay-noo, meh-lekh ha-oh-lahm, ah-sher keed-sha-noo beed-va-reh-kha v'na-tahn la-noo et Yeshua M'shee-khay-noo, v'tzee-va-noo l'he-oat oar la-oh-lahm. O-mein. Blessed are You, O Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us in Your Word, and given us us Yeshua, our Messiah, and commanded us to be a light to the world. Amen.