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Category Archives: Breishis
Vayechi – 5777
Vayechi – 5777
Vayechi 5777
NOT MOTHER NATURE BUT HER FATHER
In this week’s Parsha, Vayechi, we find our father Yaakov on his deathbed surrounded by his 12 sons as he is about to reveal the date when his people will finally achieve their destiny. It was a divine inspiration by which he knew this date. However, before he shared it with them the inspiration stopped and he could not recall the date. Yaakov suspected that perhaps the date alluded him because one or some of his children were not steadfast in their commitment to HaShem thereby causing the divine connection to terminate. Even worse, perhaps that destiny would never be achieved. He therefore asked his 12 sons if there was anyone in the room whose commitment to HaShem was wavering. In response to this question all his children proclaimed, “Hear O Israel (Yaakov’s name was also Israel) HaShem is our God, HaShem is One!” Upon hearing these words Yaakov understood that the reason the information alluded him was because HaShem wanted it to remain a mystery.
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Vayechi – 5777
Vayigash 5777
THE CLOUD
In this week’s Parsha, Vayigash, Yaakov and his family make their fateful move to Egypt to be with Yosef because of the famine that ravaged the land of Israel. It was fateful on account that this would be the beginning of a 210 year exile which would include over 80 years of bitter enslavement and would conclude with the Exodus. Before the making this move Yaakov sent his son, Yehudah, to establish an academy of Torah study so that when the family would arrive the Yeshiva would already be set up.
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THE STRUGGLE
As we currently stand in the middle of Chanukah I would like to look past our weekly Parsha, Mikeitz, and keep our focus on Chanukah.
HaShem designed the human being with the capacity to train himself to do difficult activities that with enough practice those activities become easy. For example, anyone who changes their daily routine to wake up at 4:30 am will find this quite difficult and yet once it becomes routine the difficulty diminishes if it does not become natural for him. Similarly, this is true with learning a new discipline. A person can train himself to hear the fine differences between the various notes and octaves until it becomes second nature. This is truly a blessing.