The Jerusalem Prayer List – December 21, 2023
by Joseph Shulam
I am sending this a day early. Please review the prayer request section at the end of the email. (Barry Shulam)
The last weeks of readings in the book of Genesis deal with the relationship between Joseph and his brothers. The story of Joseph is one of the longest sagas in the Hebrew Bible.
Our Torah reading this Shabbat is Vayigash:The reading is from Genesis 44:18 – 47:27. Some of the most dramatic events in the book of Genesis come from this week’s reading in the Torah.
From the prophets the reading is Ezekiel’s 37:15-28 This is a very dramatic reading and filled with prophetic predictions that my generation and in fact most of the world ought to have no problem identifying with in this long and laborious book.
From the New Testament the reading comes from the last chapter of the book of Luke 24:30-48.
So dear prayer partners there is a common thread in the tradition of Torah reading for this upcoming Shabbat.
I would like to dive directly into the text of Genesis chapter 44. The chapter starts with the trick and entrapment that Joseph is setting for his brothers and specifically for his younger brother Benjamin so that Joseph would have a good excuse to keep Benjamin close and not send him back to the land of Canaan with his brothers. I believe that Joseph does it for the protection of Benjamin and for no other reason. Yes, Joseph is suspicious of his brothers. In his mind is this question, have they really changed? Will my brothers do the same to Benjamin, my younger brother from our mother Rachel? Are they still as bad as they were when they wanted to kill me and then sold me as a slave to the band of Midianites? Remember that Joseph has not yet revealed himself to his brothers. They still don’t know who this Egyptian high-level politician really is. The brothers don’t know that Benjamin didn’t take that silver cup without permission. They probably believe that Benjamin did take the cup and all of them will be in deep trouble stealing a silver cup from the Table of the Second in command in the Royal court of Pharaoh. By Joseph’s behavior, and his Egyptian high society dress and his office there is no reason that they would believe this would be Joseph their brother whom they hated and persecuted years ago, maybe still hate.
The next thing we see and hear is that Yehuda, the same brother who many years earlier prevented the brothers from killing Joseph and suggested that they sell him to the Israelites, is now offering to stay in the Egyptian jail house in place of Benjamin his younger brother. Something must have changed in Yehuda’s heart. He changed enough that he didn’t want to allow his younger brother Benjamin to be in jail in Egypt and was willing to take Benjamin’s place and go to jail. This was actually a major change in Yehuda’s character. When in Genesis chapter 37 the brothers wanted to kill Joseph and Yehuda intervened and convinced his brothers not to kill Joseph but to sell him, Christian commentators suggest that the suggestion came about in order to pocket the money, and not in order to save his brother Joseph’s life. At least most of the Church fathers from the 2nd century CE onward stereotyped Yehuda after Judah Iscariot. As a Jew who would sell their own family for money, Gold or Silver. However in our reading this Shabbat we see a totally different Yehuda. A Yehuda who says: I am willing to stay in Egypt in Jail in place of my brother Benjamin. I will take the punishment for Benjamin.
Yehuda tells the story of the family, and how the loss of one of their own brothers caused their father much sorrow, and who still continues to grieve for Joseph his lost son. He begs Joseph to allow him to take the place of Benjamin and stay in Egypt in jail in Benjamin’s place. This melts the heart of Joseph and we have one of the most dramatic scene in the whole Bible. Joseph asks all the Egyptians to leave the room with eyes watering and a heart so wounded with sorrow for his father’s sorrow. Joseph breaks down with and says: “I am Joseph your Brother!” - I don’t know a more dramatic moment in the whole Bible. Joseph was playing it cool as a stranger to his brothers up to this point, but when Joseph heard and saw the changes in the character of Judah and his willingness to stay in Egypt in jail in order not to cause grief to Jacob his father, Joseph also melted, and he began to cry. From this point the narrative changes and Joseph gives the land of Goshen to his family, of course with the permission and blessing of Pharaoh himself.
The encounter and revelation of Joseph to his brothers, the same brothers that at one point wanted to kill him and finally agreed to sell him… And now years later after Joseph was himself 20 years in the Egyptian jail and suffered the sorrow that comes from your own brothers betrayal and the cause of such deep grief to your own father.
It seems that the happy ending of the book of Genesis renders everything under God’s economy fixable and even a scandalous family like Jacob’s restorable.
The good news from this story of Jacob, Joseph and his brothers is the following:
1. There is always room for forgiveness, even after many years and even in such horrible sinners as Joseph’s brothers.
a. What makes the forgiveness possible is the fact that Judah tells the truth and confesses the sorrow and grief that Jacob their father was suffering grieving for the loss of his beloved son Joseph for many years not knowing and thinking that Joseph is dead.
b. The second reason for the change of heart of both Joseph, Judah and the other is Judah’s personal example and willingness to sacrifice for his younger brother Benjamin.
2. Joseph’s confession and forgiveness for all his brothers was a breaking point for all and a healing point for all. If even one of the brothers had been hard-nosed and refused to confess the whole story would have ended in a very different way. Joseph would not have forgiven his brothers so easily. There is power in a public confession. The confession and crying of all the brothers melted Joseph’s heart. You see my dear brothers, doing good and confessing our sins one to another is infectious. Confession of sins in front of the community of saints is also contagious and if one turns and comes forward usually this opens the door to others and mass confessions have been experienced with the encouragement of others to muster the strength to say, “Lord I am a sinner please forgive me.
Sin is infectious and can take a good child away from his home or focus. The same is true for confession. It is electrifying and inspiring and people who would normally never get up and confess their sins in public will do so after the encouragement of someone else that walks down to the front of the congregation and confesses. Judah’s confession is the pivotal point that changes Joseph enough to start crying with tears in his eyes and falls on the shoulders of his brothers and says: “I am Joseph your brother!” Yes, he looks like an Egyptian Nobleman. Yes, Joseph is an all-powerful leader, next to Pharaoh himself, but under his tailor-made clothing, Joseph is the son of Israel, and after all the years that Joseph administers the Egyptian economy he didn’t delete his faith in God or his love for his people and even for those of his brother that had conspired to kill him.
3. In Judaism there is a development in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE a sense of Joseph as a messianic figure. An archetype of a savior that is at first feared and distant, and in the end becomes the redeemer of his family and a redeemer of the Hebrew nation. The figure of Joseph becomes a messianic figure, first rejected and persecuted by his own brothers, and in the end becomes their savior. First Joseph is accused as a foreigner and stranger and in the end, Joseph is hailed as the provider of life for all his family.
Here are some texts from Rabbinical Literature on The Messiah Son of Joseph!
“Apropos the eulogy at the end of days, the Gemara asks: For what is the nature of this eulogy? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis disagree concerning this matter. One said that this eulogy is for Messiah ben Yosefwho was killed in the war of Gog from the land of Magog prior to the ultimate redemption with the coming of Messiah ben David. And one said that this eulogy is for the evil inclination that was killed.”
The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that the lament is for Messiah ben Yosef who was killed, this would be the meaning of that which is written in that context: “And they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son” (Zechariah 12:10). However, according to the one who said that the eulogy is for the evil inclination that was killed, does one need to conduct a eulogy for this? On the contrary, one should conduct a celebration. Why, then, did they cry?
The Gemara answers: This can be understood as Rabbi Yehuda taught: In the future, at the end of days, God will bring the evil inclination and slaughter it in the presence of the righteous and in the presence of the wicked. For the righteous the evil inclination appears to them as a high mountain, and for the wicked it appears to them as a mere strand of hair. These weep and those who weep. The righteous weep and say: How were we able to overcome so high a mountain? And the wicked weep and say: How were we unable to overcome this strand of hair? And even the Holy One, Blessed be He, will wonder with them, as it is stated with regard to the eulogy: “So says the Lord of hosts: If it be wondrous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, it should also be wondrous in My eyes” (Zechariah 8:6).(Babylonian Talmud,Tractate Sukkah page 52a-b.)
In these texts is a very interesting discussion dealing with the text of Zechariah 12. Here is the core text of the issue:
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;”. (Zechariah 12:10-12 NKJV) Notice in these texts that there are two messiahs mentioned in the discussion. There is Messiah son of Joseph who is killed and the people mourn and cry for him because he was pierced. There is also Messiah son of David, and he will be fighting in the plain of Megiddo (Har-Maggedon) and in this battle there will be mourning and crying each family on his own.
The Messiah son of Joseph is the archetype to focus on in our Torah reading on Shabbat. The Messiah son of Joseph will be killed. He will be pierced, and they will mourn for him like God’s only begotten son! These texts correspond with the text of the prophet Zechariah in Chapter 12, but also with the Rabbinical texts that correspond with the Rabbinical texts in the Babylonian Talmud. The Rabbi’s discussions are interesting in these contexts. 1) They have two messiah’s or two comings of the Messiah. In the first coming the Messiah is the suffering Messiah son of Joseph. In the second coming the Messiah is coming as the son of David, a warrior Messiah that will come to execute judgment. I realize that this kind of Jewish literature seems strange to most of our readers, but it is important in my opinion to see that there are ideas of two messiahs or as for us the disciples of Yeshua – we have one messiah who comes twice with different functions. The first time, the Messiah son of Joseph will come and die and be pierced for us. The second messiah will come as the son of David and he will come to execute judgment on the Earth.
The story of Joseph has some of the same elements of the life and mission of Yeshua:
1. Both are rejected by his own brothers.
2. Both have families that desire to kill them, and are purchased by gentiles who enslave them and they do not die.
3. Both return as a savior and redeemer of his people and family.
I hope that I didn’t get you all confused with all this rabbinical stuff. The main point dear brother and sisters is that Joseph is a type of a messianic figure, first rejected and hated and then alienated and ultimately becomes the savior of his family. This is the main point of this teaching about Joseph and the dramatic revelation of who he really is. I somehow foresee that when Yeshua returns many might not recognize him, and he with tears in his eyes will say, “I am Yeshua son of David your brother!”
Our dear brother Elhanan Ben -Avraham wrote a booklet on the life of Joseph son of Jacob and the life of Yeshua the Messiah and their relationship and parallels. You can order this book from the www.Netivyah.org website and enjoy a full narrative and comparison between the story of Joseph and the life and teaching of Yeshua the Messiah.
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For updates or request please email us at: Prayer@netivyahinternational.org
Pray for faithful brothers and sisters in Israel.
Joseph Shulam is going to the hospital for an out patient series of tests on Thursday Dec 21 at 8:30 AM Israel time (Tonight midnight Chicago).We want to determine the cause of pain in the back and pain while taking deep breaths.
We have confidence in the power of our God creator of heaven and earth and his answer for prayer and healing.
We are praying for the results to show it is not cancer. For comfort and calmness for the Shulam family. (thanks, Barry Shulam)
Your prayers for brothers and sisters whom you don’t know personally is a pure love and pure building of the Body of the Messiah. It is really Agape Love since you are doing this without any selfish interests and casting a vote in heaven for someone who is your brother but you don’t know him or her, and God looks at these prayers that are unselfish and true expression of love and care for another link in the long chain of love and faith that binds us together even though we might not know each other in this world. When we all get to heaven what a joy it will be to meet people that we prayed for and sometime even cried for brothers and sisters who are physically strangers, but spiritually a part of the same body of Christ that one day we will have the privilege to seat together and share: “I remember praying for you to be healed!” “I remember praying for you to be safe when you were fighting in Gaza to free the hostages from the cruel hands of the terrorists of the Hamas in Gaza
Serious prayers for our war with Hamas to end soon and all the hostages to be returned safe and in one piece home to their loved ones!
Pray for our soldiers and especially for the soldiers that we know and appreciate: Yuda, Emanuel the son of Victor and Ayala, Amiel and Solomon and Ezekiel Intrater, Reuven and Clil Kovner, and any other children of Believers and of course for all of the men and women serving this country.
I hate that our boys, the men of our congregation, still serve in the Army and most of them in reserves have to fight and use weapons and do war to protect the civilian population of Israel from terrorism driven by hate and blindness.
Please pray for the Middle East and for the world to see and understand what the reality is here in this part of the world. The lands that provided King David, the prophets, and Yeshua the Messiah – want peace with our neighbors.But they don’t want the hand that is stretched out in peace. They want to kill all the Jews and take their land, which is flourishing and a blessing for all the world, and make it a dump like their own place in Gaza and in the Arab countries.
In Jerusalem pray for the following brothers and sisters who need divine grace and the gentle touch of the hand of God for healing and strength.
Ilana Ahijervie, is a dear sister who is 98 years old and suffering from memory problems.
Please pray for our dear sister Lea Kurkey.
Sarit, a sister born in Jerusalem, over 88 years old, lives alone. Has no close family, and suffers from several old-age illnesses.
Please keep praying for Marcia Shulam my wife. Pray that Marcia’s memory will stop weakening, that her arthritis will be healed and stop being active, and her strength to return to where she can take more care of herself.
Also, ask prayer for me and my family and for all the sick and needing healing and grace from our Heavenly Father!
Your prayers for Alexander, Sarah, and Andrew, who were raised as believers and have left their faith behind, have been answered, the Divine Shepherd guided these members of the same family gently back to the fold, please keep praying for their general and spiritual welfare!
Pray for Adam’s father and mother, Barry and Dalia. They too have some health problems and challenges.
Pray for Miriam and for Hannah her daughter. Miriam is a dear sister and has lost her husband recently.
Pray for Daniel S. and his children.
Our dear leader in the Ro’eh Israel congregation, Gary, and his health, and for his wife Melanie and their family.
Pray for Um Mahmud Abu-Eid and Jimmy Abu-Eid and all of the family. This is a dear family of old friends that needs healing and wisdom for the children and for their work.
Please pray for the Romero family who live deep in the Negev desert. It is hot there and they are far from our congregation and we miss them.
Please pray for Shannon’s father, Michael McGoff, Michael had heart surgery and we need to pray for his full recovery.
Pray for brothers and sisters in the U.K.
We bless our dear sister Celestine with health and blessings from Heaven for her life and her family. We pray for the Lord to be her comfort and provide sister Celestine with all her physical spiritual and social needs with His grace.
Pray for Deborah Isaiah. I pray for the Lord to find Deborah Isaiah and lead her to a blessed life and family and a solution to her problems.
Pray for our dear brother Dennis D’Costa and his family, as they find their way and have a clear vision of what and where God wants them to live and serve and grow their family. Lord open the right doors for Dennis D’Costa and his family.
Pray for brothers and sisters in Australia
A dear friend from Hong Kong, Bonnie, asked that we pray for her brother who lives in Australia. Bonnie’s brother’s name is Ray Chen. Please mention the name Ray Chen and ask God to show this man the grace of God and God’s powerful healing of body and soul and restoration of faith and life of holiness and sanctity.
In Finland, we have some precious and dear brothers and sisters who need our prayers:
Pray for Keijo and Salme, our dear partners and fellow workers in God’s flock. Both Keijo and Salme have some challenging heart issues.
Sipra, our dear sister in Nokia is a widow with some health issues.
Satu-Maria, Sinni Tuuli, Anne Mirjami, our dear sisters, and all our other brothers and sisters in Finland who need our prayers: Eva H., Patty, Andrea, Julia and Victor, Aaron Tani, and Hillel.
Please don’t forget to pray for the health of Kari Antilles in Finland. He is a dear brother and supporter in prayer for Netivyah for many years.
In Brazil
Pray for the congregations related to Netivyah in Brazil, to have the strength and stamina to face the challenges in front of them with courage and strength of faithfulness to the Lord, and to the vision of the restoration of the church and Israel.
Pray for the millions of victims of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition who have been forced to convert to the Catholic church, and now want to return home to the land of Israel and to the faith of our fathers.
Pray for the state of Israel to open the doors for these lost Jews to be able to return and fulfill God’s promises to the prophet Ovadyah:
“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau, For the Lord has spoken. The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, And the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the South. Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” — Obadiah 1:17-21 [NKJV]
Pray for a dear young man, Paulo, from Curitiba, Brazil, who seriously needs our prayers for sanity and mental health.
Pray for Rita Sassai, from Vitória, ES.
Please pray for a dear sister with the name: Claudia Rita Souze Arau. She has cancer and needs God’s healing hands to touch her with healing.
Fatima Maria Docarmo Guimararaes - pray for her health and her granddaughters' twin babies.
Pray for Livia Schnell Nothen, she has some issues with her physical health and a growth in her adrenal gland. And other health issues.
Guilherme Antonio Nothen Becker is suffering from back problems.
Aratuza de Oliveira his wife. Pray for this 3-year-old child that has serious problems with his eyes and ask the Lord to give healing to his eyes. This child’s name is Caique de Oliveira Becker.
Please pray for Bruno Henrique Cardoso Jr. for his studies and his health.
A 70-year-old Pastor Paulo C. Pereira Braga Dias, is the father of a dear sister in Brazil and suffers from diabetes.
Pray for Roberto Morias, a dear brother who is going through heart surgery and an angiogram.
In Asia, we have several brothers and sisters who need our prayers.
Please pray for a dear 71-year-old sister called Bee Kim. She lost consciousness on February 26, 2023. She has not regained her consciousness after a massive stroke.
Pray for pastor T.J. in Taiwan.
Brothers and sisters in China
Pray for Deborah Ruth a dear sister from China
Pray for sister Reiko Ishiida and Elder Takeo and his wife Tomoko from Tokyo, Dr. Yuizawa, Pastor Yushida, and his family.
Pray for Sister Yoko Nagumo in Japan.
In India, Pastor Isaac, from Chennai, needs our prayers. Pastor Isaac is suffering from kidney problems and has to have dialysis several times per week.
Tony Tam and his wife Luisa and son Marco need special prayer for their situation.
We continue to pray for Zhou Wenrian, the Abe family, Toru San, Yumi Ohara, and her family. Deborah Ruth, Ayla, and Daniel and their daughter. Dr. Song, and his wife Sister Harriet Kim.
Please pray for Ruby K. from Hong Kong. Ruby has gone through a very complicated surgery for multiple cancers in her body. The surgery was very long, and Ruby is back home now recovering. Please lift Ruby K. and ask the Lord to heal and deliver Ruby from Hong Kong.
Pray for family and friends and dear brothers and sisters in the United States of America.
update: Bill Culwell bleeding has stopped.
Please continue to pray for the daughter of Bill Culwell, who is very sick with cancer she is receiving a second round of treatment. Please pray for success and healing.
update: Jonathan Bernis is in recovery from a liver transplant. We thank God for this match. Please pray for this new liver to function and provide much needed function. Please pray for Elisangela and the girls and also for the doctors and nurses that are attending our dear brother Jonathan Bernis.
Andrew Huffines, he has complications from long term covid.
Please pray for my family in the United States: Barry my son and his wife Beth, and for Joey my grandson. Pray for their divine protection and health.
Pray for Danah my daughter's health issues. I pray for the Lord to give Danah wisdom peace and calm in life and in her work.
Pray for Noaam my granddaughter. She is working two jobs now and needs good health and wisdom to make the right choices and plans for life, education, immigration to Israel, and just general protection from all harm.
Pray for David Young the preacher in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who is back to preaching after recovering from medical issues. Please keep David in your prayers.
Aaron Hook, Nancy Hook’s oldest son, needs our prayers for wisdom and healing from past issues of life.
Lift for blessing and healing Jonathan B. and his wife Aviva and their new baby, his mother, and his brother Daniel. Pray for these very important men of God: Rabbi Salt, his family, and Rabbi Hasselblad. They are both older and need protection and blessings.
Also, pray for Ilana Avramov who is married to my cousin Nissim and lives in New York City. Ilana has fallen and in now in rehab learning how to walk again. We pray for her full recovery. She and Nissim both need our prayers.
Steve Mock - His cognitive condition has declined, and we ask for the grace of God and His Healing and strength. Steve and Josie’s son Joseph- named after Joseph Shulam – has received a wonderful and glorious report. After the last bone marrow transplant the report is that the doctors didn’t find any leukemia in his body! Praise the Lord!
Pray for three women of God in Canada who need healing, Lynda, Sandy, and Joanne.
I am asking a special prayer for a dear brother and friend who is now doing greatly important work in a very dangerous and precarious part of the world. Just mention DadyLion in your prayers, and ask for divine protection and angelic accompaniment for this man of God.
For updates or request please email us at:Prayer@netivyahinternational.org
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