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Category Archives: Breishis
Vayeitzei – 5781
Vayechi 5781
HEAVY PACK, NO SLEEP, GESHMAK!
Before our father Yaakov passes, he blesses his 12 sons, each one with their unique blessing that fits their destiny. To Yissocher he says “Yissocher is a large bone donkey (able to carry heavy loads) and rests between the boundaries (along the road with the loads on his back). And he sees that tranquility is good and lowers his shoulder to take on more burden.”
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Vayigash 5781
THE SAFETY LINE
This week’s Parsha, Vayigash, opens at the climax of the drama playing out between Yosef and Yehudah. In last week’s Parsha Benyomin was implicated in stealing Yosef’s goblet for which Yosef committed Benyomin to be his slave. The Parsha ended in the middle of a dialogue between Yehudah and Yosef in which Yehudah offered to serve as a slave instead of Benyomin and to allow Benyomin to go home to his father. Yosef, however, would not budge. He insisted that Benyomin serve as his slave and Yehudah return home. Our Parsha begins with the continuation of that dialogue as Yehudah tries to shake Yosef’s decision. The Torah’s opening verse states “And Yehudah approached him…” We must ask, Yehudah was already standing before Yosef and was already engaged in speaking with him, what is the intent of this additional “approach”?
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UNDERSTANDING YOUR BALANCE SHEET
This week’s Parsha, Mikeitz, begins with the Torah informing us that Yosef’s freedom from prison was delayed two years. Our Sages explain that this was the con-sequence of Yosef’s lack of bitachon (trust) in HaShem. In last week’s Parsha, after Yosef deciphered the butler’s dream he asked the butler to please remember him to Pharaoh and to get him out of prison. This slight reliance on the butler’s assistance demonstrated an ever so slight shortcoming in Yosef’s bitachon. He should have said nothing to the butler and allow HaShem to bring about his freedom with no assistance at all.
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Rosh Hashanah – 5781
Vayishlach – 5781
Vayishlach 5781
THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
In this week’s Parsha, Vayishlach, HaShem tells Yaakov “The Land that I gave to Avraham and to Yitzchok I will give it to you and to your children after you I shall give the Land.” The redundancy jumps out at us. Why does HaShem indicate giving the Land to Yaakov and his children twice?
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains “if HaShem did not repeat the second giving, the implication would be that Yaakov will receive the Land for the sake of giving it to his children. With the additional giving, HaShem is telling Yaakov that He is giving it to Yaakov for himself and He is also giving it to Yaakov’s children.”