Vayetzeh - The 2 Messiahs
In the Torah portion Vayetzeh, we will learn about how the story of Ya'akov’s ladder relates to the Exile and the eventual Redemption from the Exile. We will learn about how Ya’akov’s weeping is related to the Exile. We will learn about how Rachel’s weeping is related to the death of Messiah, why Leah wept, and how Rachel and Leah point to the two messiahs, the two times the Messiah will come down to our world.
Genesis 28:10 is the first verse of this Torah portion, it reads:
“And Ya'akov went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.”
The rabbis teach that the words, “And Ya'akov went out” refer to the exile of the Jewish people. Ya’akov’s flight from the land of Canaan was a precursor to the eventual exile of Ya’akov’s descendants. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, “The words, ‘And Ya'akov went out’ correspond to the words in Jeremiah (15:1), ‘Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.”
On the way out of Canaan, The sun set, and Ya’akov spent the night at a place near a city in Canaan called Luz. During the night, Ya’akov dreamed, and in his dream there’s a ladder, with angels descending and ascending. The rabbis teach that the sun setting corresponds to the beginning of the Exile. The angels that Ya'akov saw ascending and descending correspond to the rise and fall of various empires that would rule over the Jewish people. As it says in Genesis Rabbah 68:14; Etz Hada'at Tov in Yalkut Moshiach V'Geulah al HaTorah:
“Ya’akov saw all the exiles and he prayed over them, and the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a surety that He would gather the exiles and build the Temple and resurrect the dead and all the things that will transpire in the last days.”
Rabbi Ya’akov Birdugo relates that Ya’akov’s dream points to the eventual redemption:
“‘He had a dream.’ this speaks of the time of the redemption when our service [of God] will be like a dream, as it says [in Psalms 126:1], ‘When HASHEM brought back those that returned to Zion, We were like unto them that dream.”
In Genesis 29:11 it states, “And Ya’akov kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.” There are many questions to ask about this verse, but the question that we’re going to ask is: Why did Ya’akov weep?
In order to answer this question, we need to see what the connection is between Rachel and weeping. The rabbis relate Rachel with weeping and the exile of the people of Yisra'el because of the prophet Jeremiah. As it says in Jeremiah 31:15:
“Thus saith HASHEM: A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; She refuseth to be comforted for her children, Because they are not.”
One explanation as to why Ya’akov wept is that he saw through the Holy Spirit that Rachel was to be buried apart from Ya’akov to intercede on behalf of his children who were to be exiled. Ya’akov wept on behalf of his children’s coming exile.
Ya’akov’s journey from the land of Canaan symbolizes the Exile, and because of what it says in Jeremiah 31, we can say that Rachel also symbolizes the Exile. When Ya’akov kissed Rachel, he foresaw the premature death of his wife, the exile of his children, and the numerous calamities that lay ahead. And so he wept, just as Rachel would weep over her children in the future.
According to Jewish belief, Rachel has wept and continues to weep for her children since the beginning of the Exile. In the future, God will reward Rachel for interceding on behalf of her children, and God will send the Messiah to gather the Jewish people back to the land of Yisra'el. As it says in Jeremiah 31:16:
“Thus saith HASHEM: Refrain thy voice from weeping, And thine eyes from tears; For thy work shall be rewarded, saith HASHEM; And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.”
Ya’akov might not have really foreseen these things, but these ideas give us an incredible connection between Ya’akov, Rachel, the Exile, and Messiah.
In Hebrew, Jeremiah 31:15 can also be read as, “She refuseth to be comforted for her children, Because he is not.” This points towards the death of Messiah.
A quote from Chayim V’Shalom further expands on the above ideas, saying that Ya’akov not only saw Rachel weeping for her children in Exile, but also Rachel weeping for the death of the Messiah:
“For Rachel our mother was buried in the way adjacent to Bethlehem so that as the children of Yisra'el passed by on the way to exile after the destruction of the Temple, their weeping would arouse her compassion at her grave, and she might arise from her tomb to intercede for them in the high heavens ... Because of this (vision of the future) Ya’akov wept with grat weeping over the entire duration of Yisra'el’s exile until they rebuild his house, the house of Ya’akov, with the coming of the righteous redeemer. Then HASHEM will fulfill his promises to Rachel (which she requests from her grave) and he will return the sons to their land.
Or we might say that Ya’akov foresaw that the Messiah son of Yosef will be killed ... On foreseeing [the death of the Messiah] Ya’akov lifted his voice to weep because he saw through the Holy Spirit the sorrows which his children would endure in their exile ... for their exile is closely connected with the death of Messiah son of Yosef.”
In Genesis 29:17 it states, “Leah’s eyes were weak” Why were Leah’s eyes weak? Jewish tradition states that Leah’s eyes were weak from weeping. She knew that she was destined to marry the wicked Esav instead of Ya’akov, so she spent her days pleading to God that he change her future. As it says in the Targum, “The eyes of Leah were drooped from weeping and praying before HASHEM that he would not destine her for the wicked Esav.” God heard Leah, and instead gave her to Ya’akov.
Leah is one of the mothers in the line of Messiah. As long as Esav had the birthright and the blessing of Abraham, Leah had been destined to marry him and bring about the line of David and the Messiah through their union. When Ya’akov bought Esav’s birthright, Ya’akov also acquired Esav’s predetermined wife, the one who’d bring about the messianic line. The Chamra Tava says:
“A good root sprouted from Ya’akov when he went out [from Canaan] to take a wife, namely Leah who would give birth to Yehuda, from whom would be born King David the anointed one. Therefore, ‘Leah’ hints toward the begetting of David, from whom the Messiah would come.”
The two sisters represent the two kingdoms of the Jewish people, Leah was the mother of the kingdom of Yehudah, Rachel was the mother of the kingdom of Yisra'el. The two sisters also represent the two messiahs, Messiah son of Yosef, and Messiah son of Yehudah.
The rabbis depict the two messiahs as serving different roles. Messiah son of Yosef suffers for the sins of Yisra'el and dies fighting for the redemption of the nation. Messiah son of David conquers his enemies and rules over the nation.
The suffering of Messiah son of Yosef fulfills the prophecies that point toward the affliction of the Messiah. According to rabbinic lore, Messiah son of Yosef will die on the battlefield while fighting against the legions of Gog and Magog, which many believe is the final war against Rome. The suffering messiah’s life is a reflection of Yosef’s own life of affliction in the land of Egypt.
Messiah son of David comes after the suffering messiah. He will complete the redemption that the Messiah son of Yosef started, and he will fulfill the prophecies that point towards Messiah’s victory in battle and the gathering of his people. He will avenge the death of Messiah son of Yosef, and according to certain legends, he will even resurrect him.
As followers of Yeshua, we believe that Yeshua is both Messiah son of David and Messiah son of Yosef. First he came as Messiah son of Yosef, and he suffered and died at the hands of Rome (aka, Gog and Magog) for the redemption of Yisra'el, Next he will come as Messiah son of David, who will defeat the enemies of Yisra'el and usher in a new era. Yeshua fills both roles, his name is Yeshua son of Yosef, from the house of David. The Besorah (Gospels), refers to the duality of Yeshua as the Messiah when Philip says to Nathaniel, in John 1:45, “We’ve found the one that Moshe wrote about in the Torah, also the Prophets — it’s Yeshua Ben-Yosef from Natzeret!”
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