My daughter, joy and peace are coming. Soon I will come again and bring food for the world. No longer shall one thirst, no longer shall one hunger, no longer shall one die in war or natural disasters. I will bring gifts to everyone, to the world. No one will not have something, whether it is a promise for them, a promise for their family, or a gift or promise for their country. No one will be excluded from this party.

Not all will receive all of my gifts; indeed, many will not, but it will be known that they were offered it, and they shall have no excuse. When it seemed impossible to believe, I showed them it was real. When it was too awkward to believe, I made it more natural. When it seemed too strange to believe, I showed you it could be strange but true. Even when it was possible to believe, even when it was natural to believe, even when it was strange but true, you rejected what I had. This is what you wanted, this is what you prayed for, but even when I appear and tell you I am there, you reject me. No one who rejected will not understand; they will know, and the world will know what they rejected.

I will come to every corner of the world. I will bring golden gifts which will be filled with peace, joy, love, food, water, and many more. Each country will be beautiful, with new forests, clean currents, flowers of God, sunsets of mercy, and rainbows of love. I give you, my people, the earth and its creatures as a sign of my love and my power.

By praying, you come closer to me, and I listen to your prayers. Even though you do not see me or hear me or feel me, I am very close to you when you pray. I listen to your prayers and I honour them. People do not understand the importance and power of prayers; they do not know the value. Prayers are like diamonds, whether they are the prayers of a child or an adult. You are never too old to ask things of me; you are never too hardened to come to me. My children, how I love you! How I want you to come to me, and I want to give you gifts. Adults are my children; their prayers are no less important than the child’s. The child is innocent and in need of caring. The young adult is wanting independence from care, even though they need it most. The older adult is often wiser but also often going into the depths of evil.

The young adult must be guided by his/her parents and cared for and nurtured, so when/if the child chooses to go astray, and runs away, the child will stay away from evil and follow their conscience more carefully, and one day, the child will return (if he/she ever went away).

[What about Venezuela?]

Justice will come, even though it is nowhere to be seen. Even though it is almost beyond imagination (for some), it is coming. I am coming, the giver of peace, the Prince of Peace. Poverty will go away; food will be available to all. No one will stop people from getting food; neither money nor location will stop the people from getting food, and no one will steal food. The corrupt governments will crash down, and fall down the cliffs. These are my people, and I have heard their cries. It is very displeasing to me (how the current situation is). I will bring them food and water. I will give them new birds and new animals; the old animals (insects etc.) will disappear and the new animals will take their place. Plums will be gone, but a new fruit, a fresh orange fruit, will replace it, which will be more tasty.

[What will happen to the USA?]

It will also be greatly changed. Its influence on other cultures will not be the same: it will not influence other cultures in a bad or displeasing way, and it will not influence them so greatly. The culture will not be so modern and cool as it is now. The internet will be of less importance: it will not distract people from me, and many things on it will go. The websites, the apps, and the articles are very displeasing to me. Hollywood will not exist; another place will be there instead. The corrupt leaders will be removed and the injustice will go. The weaponry will not be used and will be destroyed. The Americans and the Mexicans will not be divided. Any wall between two nations will crumble and turn to dust, for the Americans and the Mexicans are both my people, my children whom I love.

[What about Mexico?]

There will be food for all who hunger and drink for all who thirst. The deserts will flourish and be green, the sun will not kill, and the will air not be so hot and without breeze. The country will have peace and victories. Poverty will perish. They are blessed, for they are my people. It will be a safe and peaceful country, and it will also have new animals to replace old ones. There will be no natural disasters, and Mexico will be very beautiful.

[What about Spain?]

This country’s corrupt government will also be destroyed and replaced. “The unjust rulers will come down from their thrones and the unheard shall reign.” Catalonia will stay part of Spain and the Catalan and the Spanish will be one but both unique. The protest/ers will not be ignored or pushed away, for I hear their calls for victory and justice. It will be a very beautiful European country, as well.

[What about China?]

The culture of China will change greatly. The traditions will change also, for the old and young are equal. The old are not always wiser than the young. Woman and man: both are of equal importance and without one would not be the other. The Chinese will have just rulers. The religious/traditional beliefs will be changed and corrected. The Chinese will have many children, like other countries. The country will become beautiful and the way it should be. They are my people — my children, as all peoples are, and my children will be blessed.

[What about Ukraine?]

This will be a beautiful independent country. It will have peace. The war shall cease and people will return to their homes. The villages will be fully restored, as well as nature and harvest fields. Children will not be scared or frightened; they will be able to play without worry, and people will be able to walk in the evenings and in the day. The signs/remains of war will disappear and the damaged buildings will regain their old beauty. The disappeared will be found and the lost will come home into the arms of those who love them. The prisoners will be set free and any mistreatment (while in prison) will be undone; they will be restored. The soldiers will return home to their families, and the families will be reunited again. The families of the deceased (of those in the war) will have joy as well, a joy that will be understood later. The Russians and the Ukrainians will not clash or have tension. They will be able to be happily together. Friends will be able to be friends without feeling like they are betraying their country. The wrongdoings of the Russian leaders will not be forgotten, and they will be punished. Ukrainian leaders who acted wrongly will also be shown. There will not be tense ties between the countries, for both nations are my people. No nation is completely bad.

The countries suffering from war, poverty, hunger, thirst, destruction, injustice, crime, or cruelty will be vindicated, and the prayers, calls, and cries will be heard and heeded. There will no more be suffering from these things, and I will bring joy, food, drink, reparation, justice, peace, and vindications and victories.

When you are in pain come to me, and I will give you rest.

My daughter, rejoice. A time of peace is near. Do not be afraid to believe. Do not prepare yourself to be disappointed. The Father never leads his children into regret and sorrow; he leads his children closer to him and closer to their home in heaven. He will make everything come true; you do not have to try to do anything humanly.

I have many gifts I want to give the world. I want to bring love and peace into the hearts of the wicked; I want them to not harden their hearts. As a mother follows and watches her child (even) as the child turns away from her and runs away, your Father in heaven watches and follows you. He watches the evil trick you and lead you astray, he watches you follow them away, he calls to you to tell you to stay near him, and you do not care; you do not listen. He watches you as you do wrong, he watches you hurt what is good and as you become like those who led you away from him. I called you, but you ignored me, I loved you but you hated me, I followed you and you ran away. I watch you as a parent watches his child. You run away from me and hurt me when I come to save you. But (even) as a father is pushed away by his child, how can he abandon his child? For the Father remembers when his child was young and needed and loved him; he remembers when his child was weak and without defence. How can he leave his own child?

I speak through your conscience. Never ignore it, for I speak to you through it to call you out of sin. Your conscience is like a sheepdog: it barks to its master telling him the wolves are near and the shepherd can then heed the calls and barking of his dog, or ignore them and tell the dog to quiet. This is like your conscience. It should be heeded, for it is my voice and meant as a guide.

My daughter, do not worry about the future. I will fulfill my promises and give to you what you want. I know what you want even when you are unsure; I know the way even when you do not understand. Trust in me, for I am your Father, I know what my children desire.

Justice is coming! Victories and vindications for all (who need them). I will sow new seeds and I will make the world anew.

The Righteous will be blessed and the wicked revealed. All will be seen in new light. Lies will be broken, truth shall reign. The love of God will be known. Intentions will be shown, feelings and actions shall be recognized.

One does not have to be a Christian to do good, and one does not have to be of a pagan religion to do worse evil than some. When the Christian ignores his conscience, it is worse than when the atheist does, for the Christian is closer to God and should recognize his Shepherd’s voice. The atheist has not made promises to love me, or keep my commandments. All people, regardless of religion or belief or culture, are my children, whom I love.

Let the earth rejoice, for your Redeemer shall return and bring world peace.

My daughter, follow me and you will always be guided. Trust in me and you shall never be deceived. Love me and you will always be loved. You are my daughter and my child, whom I love.

The Father loves his children unconditionally. The Father gives his children many gifts: the earth, the oceans, the air, and animals. He made these gifts for you, for you to see his love and his power. He wants you to look up in awe at the sunset; he wants you to dance in his gardens, like little children. He made you these things to increase your joy and happiness. I do not want you to worry about the earth being hit by an asteroid; I do not want you to worry about the ocean’s uncleanness; I do not want you to worry about the air or the animals. I will make new animals. I will make new eagles and owls, whose eyes are no longer so pointed, but vultures will go [vanish], for they are signs of death. I can make the ocean clean, and the air fresh. The earth will change, but it will not be destroyed.

Honour your Creator; do not give credit to evolution or any other belief of how man came to be. I will make the world anew. I will clean human evil when I come again. Everyone will have clean water. The good and the wicked deeds will be recognized throughout the world.

Repent now. Change your actions now. For the time is near when the world will be healed.

Mary, your mother — she too will come. The angels of heaven, the guardian angels, and the archangels will all be visible to all. When the day comes, all shall be there, everyone on earth. Every land and valley (those who live there) will see the glory of God.

My daughter, tell those in FTR what I told you. For they wanted to know what plans I have for them, which I have partly revealed. Tell them, if they want these gifts and accept them, they shall receive them. If they do not believe them or do not want the gifts or FTR, they will not receive them. All who want my gifts can have them, and I will give them to anyone who accepts them.

O my children, prepare your hearts! A time of great joy is coming.

 

BLOGGER: My assistant told me that you have come to say goodbye.
JACOB: Indeed, we have come to say goodbye, and to thank you once again for your assistance many years ago.
BLOGGER: So, you will tell me where you are going?
JACOB: Egypt. We go to Egypt.
BLOGGER: Oh! To Egypt!
JACOB: This is where my son is. Joseph is there! He is not dead! All of this time, he has been alive!
JUDAH: We saw him ourselves! We all saw him!
BLOGGER: You did?
JUDAH: Not my father — he hasn’t seen him yet — but he also will!
BLOGGER: What happened?
LEVI: We met him again. We met him when we went the first time, and then we met him again. The second time we dined with him at his own house!
REUBEN: Levi, start from the beginning!
GAD: Tell her about when I found the money in my bag even though we thought we gave it!
LEVI: That isn’t the most important part!
BENJAMIN: Tell about how Joseph wanted to see me, and how you had to leave Simeon behind as a ransom.
SIMEON: Indeed! And why don’t all of you tell her how it took you forever to come back to get me?
JUDAH: No quarrelling! Remember what he told us?
BLOGGER: Who?
JUDAH: Joseph told us not to quarrel when he sent us back to get our father.
BLOGGER: Joseph wanted you to bring Jacob, your father, back to him?
BENJAMIN: Joseph cannot leave because he’s in charge of Egypt.
SIMEON: He’s not in charge. The Pharaoh is in charge.
BENJAMIN: Well, practically, our brother is running everything.
SIMEON: But the Pharaoh is in charge, still the leader.
BENJAMIN: But Joseph is the one who gives all the orders.
SIMEON: Joseph is the governor; he’s not the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is almost a god for the Egyptians.
REUBEN: Alright, alright. We all understand the idea.
JACOB: My son is a very powerful man in Egypt.
BENJAMIN: Second only to the Pharaoh.
SIMEON: Here we go again.
JACOB: And he manages everything, including the stores of grain.
LEVI: Egypt has massive piles of every kind of food that can be stored.
ZEBULUN: The Pharaoh had a dream in which the Lord showed him to store the grains.
REUBEN: The dream did not tell him what to do.
ZEBULUN: It basically did.
LEVI: The Pharaoh did not understand what the dream was telling him to do at all. That’s how Joseph got involved.
SIMEON: The Pharaoh was looking for someone to interpret the dream.
LEVI: And Joseph told him that the dream meant that there was going to be a famine after the years of plenty, so Joseph told him that he should store grain in order to prepare.
ZEBULUN: That’s basically what I said.
REUBEN: Not quite.
ZEBULUN: Basically.
REUBEN: No.
LEVI: So Joseph was storing up grain even before anyone realized that there was going to be this famine.
DAN: And the famine will continue for five more years from now, according to our brother.
BLOGGER: Joseph said there will be five more years of famine?
DAN: Yes.
BLOGGER: Tell me about how it was when you realized that Joseph was Joseph.
LEVI: Oh! It was —
GAD: He started crying!
ASHER: Really loudly!
GAD: Everyone would have been able to hear him!
REUBEN: We were all in shock!
LEVI: He cried, “Everyone leave my presence!” and all of his attendants left the room. Then he said, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?”
JUDAH: But none of said anything. We were too frightened, too confused.
SIMEON: Especially me! I had seen him more than my brothers, because I was held prisoner there, and yet I never recognized him.
JUDAH: I was dumbfounded. I thought he was Egyptian. He spoke perfect Egyptian.
LEVI: Yes!
ASHER: Not that YOU could know whether his Egyptian was perfect.
JUDAH: How can you say that? He spoke really smoothly. Everyone understood him and did what he said.
ASHER: That doesn’t mean it was perfect, though.
JUDAH: It was probably flawless.
LEVI: Look. He lived in Egypt long enough to learn it, surely?
SIMEON: He has been in Egypt since he was 17, and now he’s 37.
BLOGGER: He’s spent more than half his life in Egypt, then.
JACOB: His sons were born there. He has an Egyptian wife and two sons.
BLOGGER: And how did you feel, Benjamin, once you realized that he was your brother, and not a stranger?
BENJAMIN: What can I say? Even now, I don’t know how to describe it. I thought he had died, and now he was alive.
ZEBULUN: You should have seen how much food he gave him! Plates all over the table, with no space extra, each plate piled like this.
BENJAMIN: I didn’t understand it.
BLOGGER: But you understand now?
BENJAMIN: He missed me.
ASHER: And what about all the gifts he gave you?
BENJAMIN: He gave all of us gifts.
ASHER: But he gave you extra. He gave everyone one set of new clothes, but he gave you five sets of clothes, and three hundred shekels of silver.
GAD: Ha! It’s clear who he favours!
ASHER: Who needs five whole outfits?
REUBEN: Don’t be envious. We are but half-brothers. Benjamin is his full brother. And besides, our mothers are alive, and their mother is gone.
JACOB: But at least I have Benjamin back, and soon I will lay my eyes on Joseph too.
ZEBULUN: I cannot wait to return. The food!
IS’SAHAR: Pharaoh’s household has as much meat as it wants, because some people are starting to sell their livestock to him in exchange for rice and grains.
ZEBULUN: Not just meat! Everything! Fresh fruit! Wine!
IS’SAHAR: You’re always thinking of food.
ZEBULUN: And you do not?
JACOB: We will load up the carts after two days and depart.
GAD: Joseph gave us the carts!
ASHER: So that we could all travel there.
LEVI: That’s actually how we were able to convince our father that Jacob was alive.
JUDAH: When he saw all the carts, he finally believed what we were saying.
JACOB: What they say is true. When they returned, the eleven, they said to me again and again, “Joseph is alive!” but I thought they were deceiving me, or that they were somehow mistaken.
JUDAH: Your were shaking your head, no, no.
JACOB: What they said, it was too much.
LEVI: And so we were pointing to all of the donkeys.
GAD: Ten male donkeys and ten female donkeys!
LEVI: These were presents from Joseph.
GAD: Carrying all kinds of grains and dried fruits!
ASHER: And all sorts of other gifts!
LEVI: We were asking him to look, to understand that it was real.
JACOB: I could not comprehend, not at first.
LEVI: We told him, look Father! Joseph has sent all of these to you, and he wants us to all return.
ZEBULUN: The famine is going to continue for five more years. That’s what Joseph told us.
LEVI: He wants us to settle in Egypt, so that he can take care of us.
REUBEN: And those were his words to us. He said “It was to save lives that the Lord sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But the Lord sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
JACOB: The Lord has shown his goodness to us!
BLOGGER: What else did Joseph say?
REUBEN: He said, “Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.”
JUDAH: He said, “Tell my father about all the honour accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. The Lord has made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.”
BLOGGER: And you all understood that it was really Joseph, and not a stranger?
REUBEN: Yes, we believed. We could see that it was really Joseph.
JUDAH: Not a stranger. He said to us, “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you.”
BLOGGER: And then what?
JUDAH: We all just wept. Twelve brothers. We were all weeping and embracing him. He embraced Benjamin, and wept more, and we were all overcome with emotion.
BLOGGER: Wow.
JACOB: How I wish I had been there as well!
REUBEN: We will bring you there swiftly. Only two days and we will leave!
JACOB: I will not let my old age prevent this meeting!
BLOGGER: Of course! So who is going? Is everyone leaving?
JUDAH: All of us. We will bring our wives, our sons, our daughters, our grandsons and grandchildren, just as he said. We will bring our livestock and everything we might need.
LEVI: Though Joseph did say, “Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.”
SIMEON: Joseph said to us, “You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there.”
BLOGGER: Yes. And how long will you stay?
(Silence.)
REUBEN: We will stay as long as we must. With Joseph in power, no harm will come to us.
JACOB: Where my sons are, I will be also. We shall never again be separated.

The stories of those who wait are rarely told.
Part of the reason is that those who wait are often forgotten.
They are in the background.
They are not active, catching everyone’s attention.
So often, they are the women.

When I think of Jacob waiting, I think also of the women.
What about Dinah, the sister and half-sister of these brothers?
What about the wives of the men?
What would become of them if their husbands did not return?
Surely they had their fears as they counted the days and rationed the food.
When will my husband return?
When will they be back?
Will my husband be among them?

And what of the mothers?
Leah, Bilhah and Zilphah
Would they not wait as well?

Who considers the waiting of a woman?
Yet to be a woman is to wait
To be a woman is to wait

A man remembers the time he waited
But it is not his very existence
It is not his strength

A man recounts the time he waited
But is not his very existence
It is not his strength

A girl learns early that she must wait
As her cycle begins, runs its course, and finally
Finally
Ends

And again
Her cycle begins, runs it course, and finally
Finally
Ends

Waiting
I claim it for woman
It is our life

It is our life
To such an extent
That we forget
The ways in which we wait

A woman wants a man
She waits for the man to notice her
Modernity has not changed everything
A man wants to think he chooses the course of his life

A woman waits for the man
To pursue and to propose
The story of the woman who proposed
Is a story
This proves my point

A woman who wants to conceive
Waits for the man to begin and to end
And then she waits again
Will this month be the one?

Ah no,
Not this time
Maybe the next

A woman has conceived
At first, it is her secret alone
Later everyone knows
That she waits

But they forget
How she waits
Oh, how she waits!
She waits to feel the kick
She waits for the pains to begin
She waits for the pains to end
The birth

The newborn babe wakes
And sleeps
— Finally!
The newborn babe suckles
(The new mother’s toes curl with pain)
And is done
— Finally!
Bless the mother with twins

Which man can understand?
No man can understand.
This I can say for sure.
How I wince when a priest describes childbirth.
Leave that analogy alone.
Please.

To wait is difficult.
Watch people who are waiting and you will remember
The feeling of life in suspense
Outward inaction because of inward unease
Flip through the magazine if you will
Flip through your phone if you will
You can do nothing better
Conversation is halted
Cannot get traction
Why?
Because we wait
The weight of waiting is underestimated
And misunderstood
Study any waiting room anywhere
Study the lobby of an airport
A person in line
Is a person in limbo
To wait is difficult
What is purgatory if not waiting?
To wait is not in our nature
We want fulfillment
We want solutions
We want happy endings

But this difficult thing
Belongs to women
Before it belongs to men
It belongs in two senses
First, even in the world we call modern
We do it more often
Indeed
So often that we do not realize how often
Second, we do it better
And yes, this is a comparison
A contest we win
Women do it better than men
A man who says otherwise
Talks nonsense

Jacob waits now
He waits for his sons
For Benjamin, his son by Rachel
For Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Is’sahar and Zebulun, his sons by Leah
For Dan and Nephtali, his sons by Bilhah
For Gad and Asher, his sons by Zilpah
Eleven sons, because long ago, he learned not to wait for twelve

Each of these he knew from birth
Each of these he held
Each of these he has loved from birth
Now each a man
Will all return?

Jacob waits now
Like many others have before him
Like many others will after him

What does he see?
Today, nothing
Like yesterday

What does he see?
Today, again, nothing
Like yesterday

When he was younger,
He too covered vast distances
Where has he not gone?
He has been everywhere
But not Egypt

They will return
Will they not?
Could he lose them all?

How foolhardy to send them all!
What folly especially to send Benjamin!
What use is Benjamin to that man?
Yet to me he is everything!
All that I have left of Rachel
The man will be merciful, will he not?
My sons will speak on my behalf
If only he will hear them!

Let the story not end thus!
It cannot end with me like this!
Surrounded by the sons and wives of my sons
The four sons of Reuben
The six sons of Simeon
The three sons of Levi
The three sons and two grandsons of Judah
The four sons of Is’sahar
The three sons of Zebulun
The seven sons of Gad
The four sons and two grandsons of Asher
The ten sons of Benjamin
The son of Dan
The four sons of Naphtali
Yet unable to provide for them
Unable to provide for anyone
A failed patriarch
Watching his entire family fall into ruin
Languishing
At the mercy of a foreigner

Let the story not end thus!

Our food dwindles
But I cannot eat anyway

The sun sets and the house becomes quiet
But I cannot sleep anyway

Dear Blogger,

Because of the famine, my brothers came to Egypt.
O Egypt, My Egypt!
Country of paradox
Cultivated yet wild
Lush yet barren
Ancient yet new
My prison, my refuge, my kingdom
My home
My sons have known no other place.
To my firstborn I gave the name Manas’seh, to mean:
The Lord has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.
To my second born, I gave the name E’phraim, to mean:
The Lord has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction

What do my brothers know of this place?
They arrive confused
Bewildered by the sights
Dazzled by what is cosmopolitan and vast
Puzzled by the language
The crush of people from every nation
Overwhelmed and afraid

To them, my heart goes out
I know them
I see them
But they cannot imagine I am here

Their security is in my hands
And I am fiercely watchful
I know their comings and goings
They shall receive everything I can give them
And as for Benjamin
Fully my own flesh and blood
My brother
What will I not do for him?

Everything they see
Everything they touch
Everything they hear
This is all within my control
My thoughts and my wishes become the reality
Which surrounds them

But they see me not
They know nothing of my care
Who was it who directed that their sacks be filled nearly to bursting?
Who was it who directed that all their money be returned untouched?
They know nothing of my love

They cannot imagine the depth of the love
In the heart of the one they condemned to death
The one they sold into slavery
As if worthless

Part 2

And now
Now they enter my city
They are tired and they are hungry
My stewards invite them to my home
And they are frightened at being so directed
They speak among themselves
“Now the man will seize us!”
“He thinks we stole from him!”

My steward reassures them
And brings Simeon into their presence
Yet still they tremble to know that I will arrive at noon
Ah! To them, I am “the Man”
I am nameless
Yet they bow to me
When I arrive

I survey them
Here is Benjamin
He dares not look me in the eye
Benjamin, do you not know me?
We have the same mother!
We were born of the same womb!
But he knows me not

I say to them,
Is this the one?
Is this the youngest of whom you spoke?
Why do I ask?
I pretend to not know my own flesh and blood
They answer that he is
Yes, this is Benjamin, your servant

I say
God be gracious to you, my son
But it is too much

It is too much

I excuse myself

I weep for Benjamin
I weep for myself
I weep for the past
Our long separation
Our broken youth
He was but fifteen when I was taken
Oh Benjamin!

Part 3

They are seated now
But not at my table
An Egyptian man does not dine with a Hebrew man
As if the blood which runs through me is not as theirs

But to their table
From my own,
Food is carried again and again
They are amazed by the richness of the dishes
Meats, breads of fine flour, and every delicacy
Fruits familiar and exotic
During a time of famine
Each has his fill
And Benjamin is given five times the portions
As if I can feed him food enough for our twenty lost years

The wine flows
And my brothers begin to lose their fear
They talk with me
And I pretend that I need my interpreter
As if we did not learn to speak under the same roof

I speak Egyptian to my steward
Fill their sacks to the brim with as much as they can carry
Return their money
It will be with the grain

And while they are asleep
I direct something else
Take my silver cup
Place it into the sack of Benjamin

Blogger, you will say that I was deceitful
You will say that my plan was wrong
But can you understand?
How could I bear to see him leave?

To my steward, I speak thus:
Tomorrow, after they leave,
Overtake them
Charge them with the theft of my cup
Direct that the thief must stay with me

Such was my plan

Part 4

My plans always achieve fulfillment
And I had imagined how I would speak
Full of consternation, my brothers returned to me
I had not seen them as stricken with terror
As when they returned to me
Confused by their guilt

One brother and the next
Protesting and tearing at his clothes
Weeping and asking for mercy

Did I not weep like this
Once?
Did I not beg for mercy like this
Once?

Was I not innocent too?
Blogger, was I wrong to do this?
I fear you will say that I was

But I have already suffered,
And all of Egypt has heard my weeping.

I listened as Judah spoke
He spoke of my father
My father, whom I have not seen for twenty years
And as he filled my ears with the words spoken by my father,
I could not contain myself

“My wife bore me two sons
One left me
Torn to pieces in a field
I have never seen him since
If you take
If you take this one
This one
If harm befalls him
Him too
Then to Sheol I will go
In sorrow”

It is too much!

But I cannot even excuse myself

With a loud cry
Such as is heard through the house of Pharaoh himself
I begin to weep

I am no longer the governor
I am only Joseph
Joseph
Joseph son of Jacob

BLOGGER: It’s nice to see you again.
JACOB: We wanted to say hello. It has been so many years.
BLOGGER: So many.
JACOB: You have not aged.
BLOGGER: Thank you. People tell me that, but I know I have.
JACOB: You live a good life, I think.
BLOGGER: I am very blessed, yes.
JACOB: Your family is well?
BLOGGER: Yes, thank you.
(Silence.)
BLOGGER: Judah was telling me — it’s Judah, am I right?
JUDAH: Yes.
BLOGGER: Judah was telling me as you were walking in that you have been to Egypt once already, and that you are going to leave again in a few days?
JACOB: Not me. No, I haven’t been, but they went. And they will soon depart again.
BLOGGER: Egypt.
JACOB: Yes, to buy more food. We are running low again.
BLOGGER: I understand. Provisions are low everywhere.
REUBEN: And also there is the matter of Simeon.
BLOGGER: Simeon?
REUBEN: We left him in Egypt.
BLOGGER: Your brother? You left your brother Simeon in Egypt?
REUBEN: Not because we wanted to.
BLOGGER: Why? What happened?
REUBEN: The man there — he forced us to leave Simeon.
BLOGGER: What man?
REUBEN: The man in charge of the grain distribution.
BLOGGER: In Egypt?
REUBEN: Yes.
BLOGGER: Who?
REUBEN: The Egyptian man. He didn’t believe us, and he had Simeon taken prisoner.
LEVI: He made us, and we saw Simeon being bound up right before our eyes and carried away.
BLOGGER: Oh no!
REUBEN: He wanted to keep Simeon until we returned with Benjamin.
BLOGGER: Benjamin wasn’t with you?
REUBEN: No, he didn’t accompany us to Egypt. Our father wouldn’t let us take him.
JACOB: He’s the youngest one!
BLOGGER: But he’s not so young now? He’s, what, thirty years old?
BENJAMIN: I am thirty-five.
JACOB: But if anything happens to him, I will have none of my sons from Rachel. His brother has already died. I cannot lose Benjamin too.
BLOGGER: So you stayed behind on the first trip?
BENJAMIN: I remained here in Canaan with my father.
BLOGGER: So why was the man asking for Benjamin? How did he know about Benjamin if Benjamin wasn’t there?
REUBEN: The man asked us to tell him about our family. He asked about our father, and if we had other siblings.
BLOGGER: So you told him that you had a sibling at home, Benjamin.
REUBEN: Yes, of course.
BLOGGER: And what did he say?
REUBEN: Well, he didn’t seem to like us very much from the beginning, even though we were very respectful to him. He spoke very gruffly to us, and the interpreter told us what he was saying. There were many interpreters there, because there were so many people from so many countries coming to buy grains and rice. He said, “Where do you come from?” We said, “We are from the land of Canaan, and we are here to buy food.” He said to us, “You are spies. You have come to discover the weakness of our land.”
BLOGGER: He thought you were spies?
REUBEN: Yes, he didn’t believe we were ordinary men. Perhaps because there were so many of us, and we don’t all look very much alike, but we explained, we said, “We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”
BLOGGER: You called yourselves “his servants”?
REUBEN: Yes! He was very severe, and we wanted to appease him in any way that we could. We bowed very low, and we spoke with deference.
BLOGGER: What else?
REUBEN: We said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no longer living.”
BLOGGER: “No longer living” — as in, Joseph.
REUBEN: Yes.
BLOGGER: Did he believe you then? I guess he didn’t.
REUBEN: No, he didn’t believe us, and he said, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”
BLOGGER: Oh my.
REUBEN: So he made a rule that nine of us would remain in prison, while one of us went back to fetch Benjamin.
BLOGGER: But didn’t you say that —
REUBEN: He changed the rule. After we were in prison for three days, he came to us and said that he would let all of us go, except for one. He said: “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined in your prison, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”
BLOGGER: So you chose Simeon to stay in his prison?
REUBEN: We didn’t have a chance for discussion. He ordered his men to take Simeon, and right then and there, Simeon was bound and taken out of our sight.
JUDAH: That’s the last time we saw him.
BLOGGER: The last time you saw Simeon?
JUDAH: Yes.
BLOGGER: So you haven’t been back to Egypt since then?
JUDAH: No.
BLOGGER: How long ago was that?
REUBEN: It was almost eight months ago.
BLOGGER: Simeon has been there, imprisoned, for eight months?
REUBEN: We have been too frightened to return.
BLOGGER: But what about Simeon?
(Silence.)
JACOB: You see? This is how I lose another son!
(Silence.)
BLOGGER: But you are going back?
REUBEN: Yes, we are going back. We have run out of food. Our household is very large now, with wives and children and servants, and so even though the amount of food was large, we need to act soon.
BLOGGER: So you did receive food from Egypt.
REUBEN: Yes, we received a great amount of food.
GAD: And we received it without payment!
BLOGGER: Without payment? How did this happen?
REUBEN: How should we know?
BLOGGER: You don’t know?
JUDAH: Each of us brought our own small bags of money, and we each gave them the money in exchange for the grains, but when we were on our way home, Gad went to feed his donkey, and he found his bag of money at the mouth of the grain sacks!
REUBEN: And for each of us it was likewise: in each of our bags of grain, was our money again, untouched.
BLOGGER: Why? What happened?
REUBEN: We don’t know.
JACOB: It will be all the worse for us, for the man will accuse them of thievery! I will lose all my sons!
BLOGGER: It is dangerous, then. Did someone make a mistake? I guess things were very busy there, but then I don’t know why the money would be in with the grains, and it was like this for all of you.
REUBEN: We don’t know.
BLOGGER: So what will you do?
JUDAH: We will return. My father has suggested —
JACOB: I said to them, “take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man a present, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Take double the money with you; carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.
BLOGGER: You hope to avoid his wrath.
REUBEN: Indeed.
BLOGGER: And you will also bring Benjamin this time?
JUDAH: Yes. This time, we will bring Benjamin.
BLOGGER: And Jacob, you allow them to take Benjamin this time?
REUBEN: We have no choice!
JUDAH: The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’
JACOB: Why you needed to reveal you had a younger brother, I don’t understand.
REUBEN: Father, we already explained! He questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, “Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?” We were merely answering his questions. How could we have predicted that he would say, “Bring your brother down”?
JACOB: Now I risk losing another one!
REUBEN: We have promised you, Father!
JACOB: You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come upon me.
REUBEN: We have promised you father! We will not lose another one!
JUDAH: I said to my father, “Send Benjamin with me, and we will arise and go. We must have food, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones.” I said to him, “Look, I will be surety for Benjamin; of my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame for ever.”
REUBEN: And I too, have said the same. I said to my father: “Slay my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”
BLOGGER: Wow.
(Silence.)
BLOGGER: Is this enough for you, Jacob? You will let them take Benjamin to see the man?
REUBEN: We are running out of food!
BLOGGER: Jacob?
JACOB: I said to them, you can go. I said, “Go again to the man. May the Lord grant you mercy before the man, that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
BLOGGER: That’s how you feel?
JACOB: Yes, that’s what I said.
BLOGGER: You are prepared for the worst?
JACOB: Can anyone be prepared for the worst?
(Silence.)

Dear Blogger,

I think you will begin to suspect that I am writing you imaginative tales, but I assure you that these letters are the true stories of my life!
God’s mercy has been shown to me in very mysterious and entirely unforeseeable ways.

When I wrote to you last, I wrote to you from the prison. I am not in prison anymore, by an amazing turn of events.
This is how it happened.
As I mentioned, I was put in charge of all of the other prisoners. Two of my prisoners had worked for the Pharaoh himself. One was a baker and one was a butler.
One morning, when I was greeting each of the prisoners, I noticed that these two were upset. Their problems were the same: both had had dreams, and they could not understand them.
I said to them, “Why are you upset?” and each of them said, “I have had a most unusual dream, but I have nobody to interpret the dream.”
I responded, “Do interpretations not belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
So they told me their dreams. I will not repeat all of it here, for I have so much else I wish to say, but as they described the details, I immediately understood the meanings. I knew that the butler would be restored to his position, but that the baker would be executed. When I had interpreted both of their dreams, I made my request of the butler. (I did not request this of the baker, for I knew that his days were ending.) I said to the butler: “Remember me, when it is well with you, and do me the kindness, I pray you, to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this place. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into prison.”

Later I received word that everything had happened as I had said. The baker was hung, and the butler was restored to his position. However, I languished in prison for a further two years. It became clear to me that the butler had not mentioned me to the Pharaoh, or else that the Pharaoh was not interested in my case.

But lo and behold, one day, soon after my 30th birthday, several of the Pharaoh’s officials came down to the prison and asked me to prepare to meet the Pharaoh. I washed and I changed my clothing. (They provided me with better garments.) They told me that the Pharaoh had found no one who could interpret his dreams, even though he had summoned all of the wise men and magicians of Egypt to assist him, but that the butler had then remembered me, and had said that two years prior, I had correctly interpreted his dream and the dream of the baker.

I came before the Pharaoh and he said to me: “I was standing by the Nile, and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows sleek and fat, and they fed in the reed grass. And behold, seven other cows, gaunt and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. And the gaunt and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. And then I awoke. When I fell asleep, I dreamed a second time. Behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears.”

I tell you the details of his dreams to show you how mysterious they were, and how disturbing. Indeed, his spirit was greatly troubled, for he sensed an omen.

But I knew that the Lord, in his goodness, was providing a warning to him which would enable him to protect his people. I understood the dreams, and I spoke immediately. I said, “The dream of Pharaoh is one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one. The seven lean and gaunt cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land, and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of that famine which will follow, for it will be very grievous. And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.”

However, I said more than this. I advised the Pharaoh, for I said: “Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land, and take the fifth part of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine which are to befall the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

I was pleased to provide the Pharaoh with my assistance. My heart was gladdened that the Lord was using me as his servant to assist him. The Pharaoh is not an evil man. His desire to preserve his people was pleasing to the Lord.

After I spoke, the Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”

Then he pointed at me, and said, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” He said to me, “Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

And at this moment, he stood up, and removed the signet ring from his finger to put it on my own.

I was almost speechless in the moment. Was it not this morning that I awoke in a prison? And now I was given charge of the entire land of Egypt! You cannot imagine all of the sensations I felt at that time.

Since that day, I have executed my duties, and each day is rewarding with good work. The Pharaoh is almost like a brother to me. He calls me Zaphenathpaneah, and I ride in his second chariot when we are procession. I wear garments of fine linen and a gold chain upon my neck, a gift from him. He delights in giving me both power and privileges. He says, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, no man shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” He gave me a wife as well. Her name is Asenath. She is the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. She accompanies me as I travel throughout Egypt, directing the storage of provisions.

Forgive the length of this letter. I take comfort, somehow, in writing to you, as if you are a tie to my former land and kin. I have not forgotten your kindness, and I keep you in my prayers. May the Lord keep you safe.

Warmest regards,
Joseph son of Jacob

P.S.: I know that you will receive this letter in good time, for I have access to messengers who are both speedy and reliable, one of the benefits of my position.

P.P.S.: If the famine extends beyond the borders of Egypt, you may do well to set aside provisions now, enough to provide for many years.

Dear Blogger,
So much has happened since I last wrote to you.
I am hoping that you received my previous letter.
In that letter, I mentioned my master, Potiphar, whom I began to serve after my brothers sold me into slavery to the Mid′ianite traders, who, in turn, sold me to Potiphar.
So much has happened since then!

I am writing to you from prison, but let me explain how I came to be here.

After I wrote to you, things improved even more for me.
Potiphar put me in charge of all of his affairs, because everything that I did was blessed by the Lord,
And all of my decisions added to the prosperity of his household.
I was watchful and diligent, and I continually considered how to improve everything for Potiphar.
I was not unhappy.
The only difficulty for me was the wife of Potiphar.
She began to notice me, and this was the beginning of my trouble.
Whenever her husband was absent, she found me.
She said to me, “Lie with me.”
She said this not once, nor twice, but many times.
Finally, I said to her, “Potiphar has placed me in charge of his entire household, and in everything he has made me equal to himself, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
But she would not relent, and it was a torment to me.
Finally, a day came when there were no servants nearby, and she took hold of my cloak to pull me towards her.
I ran out of the house, leaving behind my cloak.
I was in shock at her brazenness, but at the same time, I was relieved to have escaped.

My relief was short-lived, however, because within a few hours, I was arrested and put into prison with no chance to explain or defend myself.
It is said that I attempted to seduce the wife of my master, when the opposite is true.
When I reflect on her treachery and lies, I burn with anger, but I will not fully express my thoughts about her, out of respect for my master.
And my main thought is for him, for Potiphar, for I am grieved by the thought that he believes these lies about me. I am powerless to convince him that I am innocent, and I can only pray that somehow he discovers that he has been deceived.
I have been here for four and a half years already. It is the king’s prison.
You need not worry for me, however, because my situation is not what you would expect.
I became friends with the guards of the prison, and they began to trust me, in the way that Potiphar did.
They gave me tasks, which at first were small, but which later became more important.
I never betrayed their trust, and they found that they could trust “the Hebrew man.”
Eventually, they made me the keeper of the prison, and I manage all of the prisoners and everything needed for the prison.
I enjoy a fair amount of freedom now (hence I am able to send you this letter), and sometimes I scarcely feel like a prisoner.
In fact, in some ways, it is not entirely different from managing Potiphar’s estate.
Once again, the Lord protects me and keeps me safe.

I hope you are well.
I think often of home, and my life with my family.
Despite everything, I miss them, and I hope they are faring well.
Sometimes I have dreams that I am with them again, and that we are happy to be together.

Warmest regards,
Joseph son of Jacob