Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
One of the last things Yosef says to his brothers is a promise: וֵאלֹהִים פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֶתְכֶם (but God remember, will remember you).
According to a midrash (Yalkut Shimoni on the Torah #64), with the words פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד (pakod yifkod, remember, will remember), Yosef was giving his brothers a secret code so that they will be able to recognize the person who eventually comes to save them. In the future, all Moshe and Aharon will have to do is say these words, and the people will know that God sent them (see Shemot 4:31).
But, the midrash says, only one person remembered the code: Serah, the daughter of Asher. That’s because she came to Mitzrayim with Yaakov all those years ago (Bereishit 46:26) and was told the code by her father, Yosef’s brother. It was Serah who persuaded all the people to believe in Moshe!
- Do you have any secret codes with your parents or your friends so you know you can trust someone or something? Or do you have any specific family traditions that only you and your family know?
- What does it say about the people that they all forgot the code except for Serah? What would have happened if Serah hadn’t been there? What does that say about Serah?
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