This weeks Parsha really gets into some interesting things about Moshiach ben Yosef. It begins with the statement of Yaakov that he will tell you the secrets of the end. It starts there and simply gets more exciting the more we learn. Let's begin with Rashi and get firm in our P'shat of the passuk regarding Moshiach ben Yosef.
Rashi begins " Until Shiloh arrives. Shiloh is the king Moshiach for the kingship is his and thus did Onkelos interpret it." We also know this from the Talmud Sandhedrin 98B quotes this passuk as a place that will give the name of Moshiach as it states that until Shiloh comes is a way we know the name of Moshiach. There is something very interesting about this Passuk- if we start with שילה ולו יקהת עמים if we take the ר״ת of this passage we can get an exact anagram of ישוע. When Sanhedrin is showing the name of Moshiach to be Shiloh do not read there Shiloh but instead ישוע as this is the secret meaning of the Talmud, Shiloh is ישוע based on this Passuk from which they derive the name of Moshiach ben Yosef. It is also interesting to note here as well that another name מצרע talks of the suffering to be endured by Moshiach ben Yosef. This has some very interesting ramifications moving forward. Rashi continues "An aggadic Midrash explains שילה as a contraction of שי לו "gift to him" as it says They will deliver a gift to the revered one." The place of where this is taken in Psalm 76:12 "All who surround him will deliver a gift to the revered one. He will cut down the arrogance of the nobles He is awesome to the kings of the earth" as it is said of Moshiach Yeshua "Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh" and also to the kings of the earth both in Psalm 72:10 "So let all kings bow down before him, and all nations serve him" as it is said of the king at that time and Moshiach "Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child. And when you have found Him, bring word back to me so that I may come and worship Him as well.” Rashi continues again "He ties his he donkey to the vine. Yaakov prophesied about Yehudah that it will draw forth wine as from a spring" it say in two places about Moshiach ben Yosef "“Go into the village before you. Right away, you’ll find a donkey tied up and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Master needs them.’ And right away he will send them.”This happened to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying,“Say to the daughter of Zion,‘See, your King is coming to you, humble and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” and also about him drawing forth wine from a spring " Now there were six stone jars, used for the Jewish ritual of purification, each holding two to three measures. Yeshua said to them, “Fill the jars with water!” So they filled them up to the top. Then He said to them, “Take some water out, and give it to the headwaiter.” And they brought it. Now the headwaiter did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. As the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, he calls the bridegroom and says to him, “Everyone brings out the good wine first, and whenever they are drunk, then the worse. But you’ve reserved the good wine until now!” The water used for purification comes from a spring. Rashi continues "a man of the tribe of Yehudah will tie to a vine one he-donkey and load it up from one vine, and from one vine branch he will load up one foal of a she-donkey"
Rashi continues " אסרי this has the same meaning as he ties It is of the same form as מקימי in he raises up the needy (weak, lowly) one from the dirt". It is known of Moshiach ben Yosef that he both rose from the dirt as well as rose others from the dirt. Rashi continues "he who dwells in the heavens..... Onkelos interpreted our verse as being about the king Moshiach" Rashi notes one last thing about this which also points to Yeshua being Moshiach ben Yosef he states "He launders his garment in wine is rendered by Targum Onkelos as may his garments be of fine purple cloth whose color resembles wine" This is stated of Moshiach ben Yosef " They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe around Him. And after braiding a crown of thorns, they placed it on His head and put a staff in His right hand. And falling on their knees before Him, they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”.
This would almost be enough to see Moshiach in this Parsha but there is more from our sages, I will continue with a great Remez from Baal Haturim.
The Baal Haturim states much later in this Parsha some amazing things. The Baal Haturim states that the phrase "Shiloh will arrive. The gematria of this phrase (358) is equal to that of the word Moshiach. " The Baal Haturim in Bereshis 50:24 brings out about the Guelah some important mysteries which are worth noting "I am dying, but G-d will surely remember you. Yosef was saying I am flesh and blood. Today I am here ; Tomorrow in the grave. But the Holy One Blessed be he, is the King, the living and Eternal G-d he will remember you and redeem you. " It is important to note that Hashem is the one who redeems us through Moshiach's work. But never forgetting that it is always Hashem who redeems us. The Baal Haturim shows a secret about reducing the Golus "Alternatively: the word פקדי he will remember can also indicate a lack or reduction as in the verse and not a man of us is missing. Thus by saying פקד יפקד Yosef intimated פקד (190 years will be missing from the sum of 400 years which the offspring of Abraham were to have spent in servitude., and then only 210 years of servitude will remain." I remind you of my blog in Parsha Vayeshev that 190 also correlates to Yosef's robe made from the names of Hashem, and the word for that coat where we derive 190 from also correlates to palm of his hand, which is stated of Moshiach "Eight days later the disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Yeshua comes, despite the locked doors. He stood in their midst and said, “Shalom aleichem!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe!” and also " Yeshua said to Him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed? Blessed are the ones who have not seen and yet have believed!” and also the word is related to lots where it says "And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothing among themselves by casting lots." This is all related to the Baal Haturim's understanding of this Parsha and how it can relate to making the Guelah come ever quicker.
Finally I will finish with Ramban who gives an interesting view of how the righteous live after they die. It is not directly related to Moshiach ben Yosef, but if it is true for Yaakov Avinu how much more so for Moshiach ben Yosef. Ramban finishes the Sefer Bereshis with "And he expired, and was gathered to his people. But the word death is not mentioned in this case, Our Rabbis therefore said Yaakov, our father did not die. This is the language of Rashi. Now according to the opinion of our Rabbis the difficulty arises. Now Yaakov applied the term death to himself, as it is written Behold I die, but G-d will be with you! Now perhaps he did not know it himself, or it may be that he did not want to pay honor to himself. Similarly, with the respect to the verse, and When Yosef's brethren saw that their father was dead, we must say that to them he was dead, or it may be that they did not know this. Now the purport of this Midrash which states that Yaakov our father did not die. is that the souls of the Righteous are bound in the life of life with the Eternal, and his soul covereth him all the day, wearing a scarlet garment so that she not be stripped naked as Yaakov's soul was privileged to do continually.... This matter will be understood in light of what is told in Tractate Shabbos and Tractate Kesubos" He died and yet is still alive. He speaks through those who have placed Emunah in Hashem that he in fact is Moshiach ben Yosef, drawing them to Hashem, keeping of the Torah both the written and the Oral, and attaching themselves to Moshiach ben Yosef and in his Merit the bringing the Guelah. In fact the Chassam Sofer makes a note of this as well "Yosef consoled his brothers by reminding them of the enormous power of Teshuvah, especially if one repents out of love for Hashem rather than fear of punishment. Their spiritual return to Yosef and to Hashem was undertaken lovingly, with pleas for harmony among Klal Yisrael. Such repentance was so potent that their sin was converted to a good deed. Hence, Yosef assured his brothers Hashem viewed my sale as a noble event., enabling the Jewish people (ad the world) to endure a relentless famine.
Additionally, Yosef assured his brothers that Hashem admired the zealotry which had led them to assume that Yosef deserved to be sold.He explained withholding your fraternal instinct to spare a sinful sibling You DEEMED ME TO BE EVIL. THAT ALONE-your assumption of my guilt was considered by Hashem to be a good deed indicative of sincerity." I point you back to the need for Teshuvah though, even though Hashem counts it a good deed that Moshiach ben Yosef should be considered to be sold, and treated as dead, treated as an evil sibling, Teshuvah needs to be done to come back to Hashem, to return to the place of border of Guelah, and to see those deeds finally fully transformed into the Kingdom of Moshiach. One of the ways this is done, is by recognizing Moshiach ben Yosef not as Evil, but embracing him as brother.