Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

G-d instructs Moshe to command Aaron and his sons regarding their duties and rights as kohanim (“priests”) who offer the korbanot (animal and meal offerings) in the Sanctuary.

The offering burned on the altar throughout the night — are to be removed from the area by the kohen after he changes his special linen clothing.

The fire on the Altar must be kept burning at all times. In it are burned and consumed all kinds of offerings; peace, sin and guilt, and meal offerings. The kohanim eat the meat of the sin and guilt offerings, and the remainder of the meal offering. The peace offering is eaten by the one who brought it, except for specified portions given to the kohen. The holy meat of the offerings must be eaten by ritually pure persons, in their designated holy place and within their specified time.

One may not eat a korban when he is ritually impure. Blood and chelev (forbidden animal fats) are prohibited to be eaten.

Aaron and his sons remain within the Sanctuary compound for seven days, during which Moshe prepares them into the priesthood.

“ Dvar Torah “

This week’s Parsha is dedicated to the duties of the Kohanim (Priests) in the Mishkan, which was carried on in the Temple in Jerusalem later on in time. One of the prestige jobs for a Kohen was to perform the sacrifice ceremonies. At the beginning of the Parsha, the Torah commands that every morning, the Kohen in charge of performing the sacrifices, had to remove the ashes from the altar, which were left behind from the night before. He had to remove his priesthood garments and put on a more common clothes and take the ashes to the outside of the camp. He then had to come back, put on his priesthood garments again and start to do the sacrifices for that day.

The question that the Chachamim ask is, why does the cleaning of the altar had to be done by the same person who performed the sacrifices? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to assign a  “cleaning person” to do the job? Why should the physical job of cleaning the altar be given to the person who performs one of the most spiritual tasks in the Mishkan? Surely, there were many Levites, even Israelites, who would have gladly volunteered to do any work in the Mishkan, even if it had to be the dirty job of cleaning the ashes!

“Chovot HaLevavot”, one of the classic works on Ethics and Jewish philosophy written by  Ibn Paquda who lived in spain in the 11th century, says that the rational behind this is that the Torah is particularly careful that people should not let things go to their head, lest they become “ba’alei ga-avah” and become “haughty”. Here, the Kohen might think he is someone special — who in fact, IS someone special. He is among the selected few who were chosen to do the holy work of sacrificing in the Temple. The Torah, nevertheless instructs him to “Take out the ashes first!” Lest he come to think too much of himself, the Torah tells him to begin his day by the lowly task of taking out the ashes. Only then, when he realizes that he is only a servant of Hashem, only then, he is allowed to continue with the holy task of performing the sacrifice ceremonies!

The Torah is very sensitive to the idea of haughtiness. As much as Hashem loves humility and modesty, he despises haughtiness. The Torah tells us that Moshe Rabeinu was the greatest prophet of all times, only because he was the most humble person on the face of the earth. And the reason why the Torah despises Ga-avah is quite simple. A person should know that whatever he possesses, whether it is beauty, intelligence, wealth, honor or a high ranking position, it’s all because Hashem wanted him to have all these and he blessed him with them. So, when a person becomes haughty, he thinks that he has achieved all these on his own, and he forgets that these are all Hashem’s blessings which he has been showered with. And that’s why Hashem dislikes ga-avah so much!

Yes my friends, when we are blessed with affluence, power and fame, there is always a chance of air of superiority getting into our head. We might rightfully think that we are someone special. But the Torah is teaching us not to let these things get into our head. Who we are and what we have are all G-d’s decisions and not ours. That’s why we should never look down on anyone and see ourselves above them. We should respect everyone around us, even if they are poor, unattractive or unintelligent. Because everyone is made in the image of G-d and they deserve to be respected. We are all children of G-d, and Hashem loves his children equally!

So, the next time your wife asks you to take out the garbage, there is no need to get upset. There is no need to boost up your ego and say to yourself: ” I’m a successful businessman….. This is not my job to do! The maid should do it! ” On the contrary, you should jump at the opportunity and grab the garbage and take it out. Not only you’ve pleased your wife, but you’ll look good in the eyes of Hashem too!

Shabbat Shalom and Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Parashat Vayikra begins with Hashem calling Moshe into the Mishkan where he will be taught many mitzvot, to be ultimately passed on to the Jewish people. The first half of the parsha describes the various “optional” korbanot (sacrifices) brought by individuals. They consist of the following: the korban olah (elevation offering) which is completely consumed on the altar; the korban minchah (meal offering) which, because of its inexpensive contents, is usually brought by someone of modest means; and the korban shelamim (peace offering) partially burned on the altar, with the remainder divided between the owners and the Kohanim.

The second half of the portion discusses the “required” chatat (sin) and asham (guilt) offerings to be brought in atonement for unintentional transgressions.

The sin offering is brought to atone for transgressions committed negligently by the High Priest, the entire community, the king, or the ordinary Jew.

The “guilt offering” is brought by one who is in doubt as to whether he transgressed a divine prohibition, or who has committed a “betrayal against G-d” by swearing falsely to defraud a fellow man.

” Dvar Torah ”

In this week’s Parsha and in the most parts of the book of Vayikra, the Torah talks about the sacrifice ceremonies performed in the Mishkan which would be carried out in the Holy Temple later on in time. The Torah goes into great detail describing different kinds of sacrifices. There were optional sacrifices and there were required sacrifices.

At the beginning of the parsha, the Torah talks about the laws of the Korban “Olah”, a volunteered offering with a variety of options, depending on one’s financial status. The wealthier individual could bring cattle, a less wealthy person, sheep, an even poorer individual could bring a turtledove. For the most destitute individual who would like to offer something but has no money for even a turtledove, the Torah commands: “When a nefesh, a soul, offers a meal-offering (Korban Mincha) to Hashem, his offering shall be of fine flour; he shall pour oil upon it and place incense upon it”. But in connection to animal offering, the Torah says: “When a person (adam) from among you will bring an offering to Hashem from the animals…”

The Chachamim ask the following question. Why does a man who just brings some flour and oil (meal-offering) is referred to as a soul, while the one who brings an animal is just called a person?! For who is it that usually brings a meal-offering? The poor man! The Talmud says that Hashem is saying, as it were, ”I will regard it for him as though he brought his very soul as an offering”. It seems that the offering of the poor man is more dear to G-d than the offering of the rich person. But why?

Rabbi Chaim Goldberger from Atlanta gives the following explanation. Although, the offering that the poor man brought, could have been at little or at no cost to him, since he probably made the flour from the grain left behind in a field. But, it can be assumed that to one who is impoverished, the act of parting with fine flour which he might otherwise eat to silence his hunger is an even greater act of sacrifice than that of the rich man giving up an expensive animal. To the poor, the flour is more than a large chunk of his possessions; his life depends on it! The Torah is teaching us that it is not the size of the gift that determines the magnitude of the sacrifice; rather the importance lies in the giver’s intentions.

Out of all our daily prayers, the one that is the shortest is the Mincha, the afternoon service. It contains neither the long introductory and closing segments of the morning service (Shacharit), nor the Shema and the other paragraphs of the evening service (Arvit). It is basically just the Amidah (the silent prayer), yet the afternoon service is the only one which we call by the name “mincha”. Why is that? Because, as impoverished as this service appears, it is the only one that comes right in the middle of our workday; it is the only one that asks us to drop whatever we are busy doing and remind ourselves that we are merely subjects of our great Almighty master. Mincha is the only prayer service that asks us to disconnect ourselves from our mundane and worldly mindset and try to connect with our Creator. It may take just fifteen minutes, but it is a mincha — an prayer which is as dear to Hashem as your soul!!

Yes my friends, when it comes to donating to the house of G-d, it’s not the quantity that matters, but rather, it’s the quality! Hashem does not assess contributions and commitments based on monetary value. As long as you put in your best effort, that’s all that matters to G-d.  The Torah tells us that when you assess the gift of a poor man, or anyone who gives, don’t look at the quantity — look at the quality. Don’t look at the person — look at his soul!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

The people of Israel are told to each contribute exactly half a shekel of silver to the Sanctuary. Instructions are also given regarding the making of the Sanctuary’s water-basin, anointing oil and incense. The people are once again commanded to keep the Shabbat.

When Moses does not return when expected from Mount Sinai, the people make a Golden Calf and worship it. G-d proposes to destroy the sinful nation, but Moses intercedes on their behalf. Moses descends from the mountain carrying the Tablets of stones engraved with the Ten Commandments. Seeing the people dancing around their idol, he breaks the Tablets, destroys the Golden Calf and has the primary culprits put to death. He then returns to G-d to say: “If You do not forgive them, blot me out from the book that You have written.” G-d forgives, but says that the effect of their sin will be felt for many generations. .

Moses prepares a new set of tablets and once more ascends the mountain, where G-d reinscribes the ten commandments on these Second Tablets. On the mountain Moses is also granted a vision of G-d’s glory! So radiant is Moses’ face upon his return, that he must cover it with a veil, which he removes only to speak with G-d and to teach His laws to the people.

” Dvar Torah ”

Leaders can fail in many different ways. It may depend on the outside factors; the timing may not be right; the conditions may be unfavorable; and there may be no one on the other side to talk to. Or it may depend on the internal factors. A leader can simply lack the courage to lead. Sometimes leaders have to oppose the crowd. They have to say No when everyone else is crying Yes. That can be terrifying. Crowds have a will and momentum of their own. To say No may be to put your career, even your life, at risk. That is when courage is needed, and not showing it can constitute a moral failure of the worst kind.

In this week’s Parsha, unfortunately, leadership failure was the fate of Aaron HaKohen. This is how the Torah describes to us what happened: When the people saw that Moses was taking too long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us a god who will go before us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ Aaron answered them, ‘Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.’ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took it from their hands and bound it up in a cloth, and fashioned it into a molten calf. Then they said, ‘This is your G‑d, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.

G‑d became angry. Moses pleaded with Him to spare the people. He then descended the mountain, saw what had happened, smashed the tablets of stones he had brought down with him, burned the idol, ground it to powder, mixed it with water and made the Israelites drink it. Then he turned to Aaron his brother and said, “What have you done?”

“Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how inclined these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us a god who will go before us. As for this man Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

Aaron blamed the people. It was they who made the illegitimate request. He denied responsibility for making the calf. It just happened. “I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” This is the same kind of denial of responsibility we recall from the story of Adam and Eve. The man says, “It was the woman.” The woman says, “It was the serpent.” It happened. It wasn’t me. I was the victim not the criminal! Not accepting responsibilities is a moral failure on it’s own!

The odd thing is that Aaron was not immediately punished. According to the Torah he was condemned for another sin altogether when, years later, he and Moses hit the rock instead of speaking to it. It was only later still, in the last month of Moses’ life, that Moses told the people a secret that he had kept from them until now: …. “And the L‑rd was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.” G‑d, according to Moses, was so angry with Aaron for the sin of the golden calf that He was about to kill him, and would have done so had it not been for Moses’ prayer.

It seems that tradition dealt kindly with Aaron. He is portrayed as a man of peace. He was given the position of the highest Priest. But Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has an interesting view about Aaron. He says, the fact that Aaron was not a leader in the same mold as Moses does not mean that he was a failure. It means that he was made for a different kind of role. Yes, Moses might have smashed the tablets and grinded the calf to dust, but that’s Moses character, not Aaron’s! Moses and Aaron were different types. Aaron failed when he was called on to be a Moses, but he became a great leader in his own right in a different capacity. There are times when you need someone with the courage to stand against the crowd, others when you need a peacemaker. Aaron and Moses complemented one another and both of them were successful in their own fields.

Yes my friends, Hashem has given everyone a different character and capabilities in this world. Not everyone can be a leader, not everyone can be a Rabbi, not everyone can be a doctor, and not everyone can be a businessman. Each person can be good in one thing and not in the other. If someone fails in one field, it does not make him a failure; it just suggests that he hasn’t found the right field that he is good in yet! We learn from the Torah that Aaron was a man of peace and not a commander in chief. He was great in bringing peace between two people, but he had no idea how to control the mob!

So remember my friends, to fall does not make you a failure, you might just not be in the right field! The famous phrase says: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder……. yet failure is in the eyes of the participant! You are a failure only when YOU believe that you’ve failed. Don’t let it happen to you!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

G-d tells Moshe to command the Jewish People to supply pure olive oil for the menorah in the Mishkan(Tent of Meeting). He also tells Moshe to organize the making of the bigdei kehuna(priestly garments): A breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, a sash, a forehead-plate, and linen trousers. Upon their completion, Moshe is to perform a ceremony for seven days to consecrate Aharon and his sons. This includes offering sacrifices, dressing Aharon and his sons in their respective garments, and anointing Aharon with oil. G-d commands that every morning and afternoon a sheep be offered on the altar in the Mishkan. G-d commands that an altar for incense be built from acacia wood and covered with gold. Aharon and his descendants should burn incense on this altar every day.

” Dvar Torah ”

“Clothes”, they say, “makes the man”! They cover our body but reveal our soul! They enhance our character, beautify our body, camouflage our deficiencies, and even tailor us to a whole new identity. Jobs have been won and lost, relationships have established and ended, all based on the clothes they wear. From a nurse’s outfit to a soldier’s uniform, from the Chassid’s long black coat to the bride’s long white dress; clothes play an important role in people’s character and identity.

In this week’s Parsha, the Torah also talks about the importance of “clothes” and the purpose of wearing them. It discusses the priestly garments worn in the Temple by both the common kohen (priest) and the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), but the main topic of discussion is about the clothes worn by the High Priest. The garments of the High Priest consisted of eight different vestments and were very complex. They needed highly skilled artisans to make them. They included, among others, a jewel-studded breastplate, a honeycomb-woven tunic, an apron-like garment and a specially designed overcoat that was adorned with gold bells and woven pomegranates. The Kohen Gadol wore these clothes once a year to perform the Yom Kippur services for the entire congregation. With all these glamorous clothing, he had to enter the “Holy of the Holies”, which is the holiest place in the Temple that no one else was ever allowed to enter.

And the Torah gives us the following reason for all these glamorous and expensive garments worn by the Kohen Gadol: “And you shall make garments of sanctity for Aaron your brother, for honor and for glory.”

Wow, did I understand this correctly? The clothes that was worn by the Highest Priest on the holiest day of the year, in the holiest place on earth, was for prestige and self-respect?! Doesn’t Judaism, particularly in a ritual sense, usually focus on the inner qualities and promote humility, rather than to encourage glory and splendor?! Shouldn’t the Torah at least say that these clothes were to bring holiness to the Kohen and the entire congregation?

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky gives the following interesting explanation: In order to achieve holiness, you need to have honor and glory! When the Kohen Gadol wore these beautiful and glamorous clothes, he felt the importance of his job and he stood up to his task. Through dressing in special garments, the priest is constantly reminded of his special role, and the sanctity of his calling. The glorious garments makes the High Priest realize that he is standing on holy grounds and he should act accordingly! For example, when the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices enter the court, they do not enter in jeans and sneakers and sit on folding chairs! They put on their black robes and they sit in plush leather chairs. The aura of those robes and those chairs has an effect on them. They are thereby constantly reminded that they are presiding over the highest court in the land and what they are doing is amazingly important. The garb and surroundings have a profound effect on them!

But the Kohen has to remember that all the glamour and the attention that he gets is not for his own honor, but rather, its all for honoring the Almighty. As later on in the Parsha, Hashem says to Moshe to relate the following message to the artisans: “You shall speak to the wise-hearted people whom I have invested a spirit of wisdom with them, to make for them holy vestments to sanctify and minister for ME.”!!! So, we see that the ultimate goal for all these garments was to honor Hashem!

Yes my friends, clothes may or may not make the man, but they sure make him stand up to his task. A surgeon wearing a surgical outfit, when entering the operating room realizes the importance of his job and understands that a person’s life is depended on him. A Chasid wearing his long black outfit when goes out in the street realizes that he’s been looked upon as G-d’s Chosen people and needs to act accordingly. A college graduate at his graduation ceremony wearing his rope and the hat, makes him appreciates his hard work and makes him feel proud of his accomplishments. And the bride wearing her white dress standing next to her groom under the Chupah, realizes the importance of her task, which is to stay pure and holy to her husband, till death do them apart!

When we all go to Kanissas on Shabbats dressed in our best glamorous clothes, they also make us feel the sanctity of the day and the holiness of Shabbat. We put on our best clothes for honor and glory, but we have to constantly remind ourselves that we are not honoring ourselves, but rather, the whole idea is to honor Hashem. When we enter a sanctuary, we have to keep in mind that it’s a holy place and although we are encourage to wear our best clothes, we still have to dress modestly since it’s a house of G-d. If the Kohen Gadol can wear eight layers of clothing when entering the “Holy of the Holies”, we should at least be able to wear one layer of modest clothing when entering a Holy Sanctuary!

Unlike the western society which believes that the body is part of nature’s beauty, with slogans such as — If you have a nice body, why not show it off to everybody?–, we think of it as more of a holy entity, which has to be covered in modesty and respect, and with glory and splendor! When the rest of the world think of “clothes” as a tool to enhance their bodies, we the Children of G-d, think of it as a tool to enhance our souls!

Shabath Shalom, Happy Purim and Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

G-d commands Moshe to build a Mishkan (Sanctuary) which would serve as a “resting place” for Hashem’s presence amongst the Jewish people.

The Children of Israel are asked to contribute precious metals and stones, fabrics, skins, oil and spices. In the Mishkan’s outer courtyard are an altar for the offerings and a basin to wash these sacrifices. The Tent of Meeting is divided by a curtain into two chambers. The outer chamber is accessible only to the kohanim. It contains the table of showbreads (the 12 loaves of bread placed every Sabbath on a table as an offering by the priests to God), the menorah, and the golden altar for incense. The innermost chamber, the Holy of Holies, may be entered only by the Kohen Gadol, and only once a year, on Yom Kippur. In this section, the Ark is held which contains the Ten Commandments inscribed on the two tablets of stone that G-d gave to the Jewish nation on Mount Sinai.

All of the utensils and vessels, as well as the construction of the Mishkan, are described in great detail.

“ Dvar Torah “

“Mishkan”, G-d’s mobile sanctuary, is the main topic of discussion in this week’s Parsha and the following four Parashiot. The Torah describes in great details the way it was built, the way each vessel was made and the exact location of each object. The materials used in the Mishkan were of the finest quality; pure Gold, finest cloth for the curtains, best quality wood were among some of the materials used to built the glorious Mishkan. And the Torah tells us that the way they gathered all these materials were by “donations” only.

But you may ask yourself, why does Hashem dedicate so much of its Torah space to describing the Mishkan? Even our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob didn’t get as much airtime as did the Mishkan! The Torah who is so careful with the use of words, why does it elaborate so much about building the Mishkan? The Chachamim give the following explanation. Building the Mishkan was the only time that the Benei Israel lived in total tranquility. It was the only time that the people didn’t complain to Moshe, and Moshe didn’t complain to G-d, and G-d wasn’t angry at the people! It was the only time that the Benei Israel lived in total harmony with Moshe and their Creator! And because Hashem loved this period of time so much, He dedicated so much of Torah’s airtime to building the Mishkan. It seems that donation and building a house for G-d brings out the best in people!

At the beginning of the Parsha, the Torah describes to us how everybody was welcomed to donate whatever they could to build the Mishkan. Hashem says to Moshe: ” Speak to the children of Israel and let them take for Me a portion, from every man whose heart motivates him you shall take my portion.” Once again, the Chachamim are puzzled by the wording of the phrase, “let them TAKE for me a portion”? Shouldn’t it say ” let them GIVE to me a portion”? Isn’t it true that when you are donating something, you are “giving” rather than “taking”?!

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky gives the following beautiful explanation. When one gives to the Mishkan — or, when one donates to a House of Worship or a Torah institution, for that matter, — he is not really ‘giving’, but rather, he is actually ‘taking’ or benefiting himself. More precisely, he is taking more than he is giving. You see, for building a house for Hashem, or for doing any other holy tasks, G-d picks his agents. Only if you have the great “Zechut” (merit) and you are worthy of the task, then you’ll become an agent of G-d. And the reward for being G-d’s agent far exceeds the amount of your donations. That’s why Hashem says “take for me a portion”, because when you give to the Mishkan, you are actually taking far more for yourself.

Later on, in Parashat Vayakhel, we read about the donations of the Princes of each tribe to the Mishkan. They, very generously, offered to make up the deficit, after everyone else brought their contributions. According to Rashi, the Torah was unhappy with their offer. But you may ask yourself, why? What was wrong with their generous offer? Any fundraiser for an institution would jump at this offer! So why doesn’t the Torah appreciate the individuals who guarantee any shortfall in collecting funds for building a House for G-d? Well, financially, it may have been a great idea, but ideologically, it was a wrong concept. When the Princes saw that they have the opportunity to take part in this great cause, they should have snapped at it and offered their donations up front! What were they thinking when they raised the issue that the Mishkan is going to have a ‘deficit’? Did they think that the Mishkan might not be built without their coming to the rescue? That was a wrong way of thinking. G-d has no deficits!! G-d did not need their help to build the Mishkan, since later on, we see that Moshe asks people to stop bringing donations because they have too much already. They were given the privilege to take part in this great cause, but unfortunately, they missed the opportunity. And that was their big mistake!

Yes my friends, when you donate to a house of Worship or a Torah Institution, you are actually not giving, but rather, you are gaining a lot more for yourself. It’s a great privilege to be able to donate to a House of G-d. You have been given the Zechut to take part in this great mitzvah. Hashem says to Moshe to take anything from anybody to build the Mishkan, whether it’s gold, silver, copper, goat hair, oil or even spices, not because they have a deficit, but in order to give EVERYONE the opportunity to take part in this great cause. Hashem wants everyone to take part in this great mitzvah, because Hashem wants to give back to all his children and not just to a few individuals. Hashem loves all his children the same.

Well, I’m proud to announce that our Mashadi Community follows the same tradition when it comes to building a House for G-d. All our Synagogues are built by donations! Everyone tries their best to participate in this wonderful cause. It seems that everyone knows already that they are not just giving, but they are actually taking back a lot more! And as far as the affluent ones of our community, they never repeated the same mistake as the Princes of our tribes. They are always the first ones to step forward and make their generous donations. May G-d bless them and everyone else who donates to the house of G-d!

In English language “give” and “take” are two contradictory words which tend to oppose each other. But when it comes to donations however, they do live in perfect harmony!

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov and Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

The Jewish People receive a series of civil laws concerning social justice. Topics include: Proper treatment of Jewish slaves/servants; a husband’s obligations to his wife; penalties for hitting people and for cursing parents; rules governing the conduct of judges and leaders; financial responsibilities for damaging people or their property; payments for theft; for not returning an object that one accepted responsibility to safeguard; the right to self-defense of a person being robbed.

Other topics include: Prohibitions against seduction; witchcraft, relationship with animals and sacrifices to idols. The Torah warns us to treat the convert, widow and orphan with dignity, and to avoid lying. Lending money to get interest is forbidden and the rights over collateral are limited. Payment of obligations to the Temple should not be delayed, and the Jewish People must be holy, even concerning food. The Torah teaches the proper conduct for judges in court proceedings. The commandments of Shabbat and the Sabbatical year are outlined. Three times a year — Pesach, Shavuot and Succot — we are to come to the Temple. The Torah concludes this listing of laws with a law of kashrut — not to mix milk and meat.

The people of Israel promise to do and listen to everything that G-d says. Moshe ascends the mountain to remain there for 40 days in order to receive the two Tablets of the Covenant.

” Dvar Torah ”

The main topic of discussion in this week’s Parsha is the “Jewish Civil laws”, the laws between man and his fellow. Parashat Mishpatim immediately follows Parashat Yitro, where the highlight of the Parsha was the Ten Commandments, when the Benei Israel reached their highest level of spirituality, and they had their closest encounter with the Almighty! The sequence of these two Parashiot bothers the Chachamim and raises the following questions. Why did the Benei Israel have to learn the civil laws immediately after they reached their spiritual peak? Why does the Torah connect spirituality with earthly matters? Shouldn’t the sequence after the Ten Commandments be about building the “Mishkan”, the Temple for G-d, where the people can continue with their spiritual bliss, rather than to teach the nation about the civil laws?

The Chachamim give the following explanation: Unlike the western society where they make a separation between “Church and State”, Judaism does exactly the opposite. In Judaism, “Religion” is our “State”!! The Torah is telling us that you cannot reach holiness without acting just and compassionate towards your fellow human beings. Spirituality or holiness should not be limited to Temples or places of worship only, but rather, the ultimate closeness to G-d can only be achieved when you would bring holiness to your courtrooms, boardrooms and even to your bedrooms! Unlike the gentile nations, where they measure their level of holiness by only looking at the relationship between man and G-d, Judaism looks at the relationship between man and man to find holiness. That’s why the civil laws are given immediately after the revelation at Sinai, since to be holy we need to learn how to treat our brother justly first!

So, out of more than 50 civil laws given to us in this week’s parsha, which one do you think was the first law that the Torah introduce to us? The parsha starts with discussing the laws of “Eved Ivri” [Hebrew slave, or obligated servant].

A very strange choice of a law if you may ask me?! The Jews just spent the last 210 years as slaves. Judaism started when the Almighty felt compassionate towards the Hebrew slaves and decided that it is time to FREE his people. Why would the Torah even introduce the idea of taking slaves again? Shouldn’t the first laws start with teaching about compassion for other human beings and equality among people? Out of all the laws dictated to a newly liberated people, shouldn’t the concepts of masters and servants be discouraged to them? Why are those laws given first?

Well, first we need to understand how does a Jew become a slave? One way is if someone steals and cannot afford the restitution that the Torah mandates, then the Bet Din sells the thief to reimburse the victim of the theft. So now, a new question arises; Why do we even need to learn about the laws concerning the rights of a slave who in turn was a thief anyway?!

Rabbi Frand gives a beautiful answer to this question. He says the following. The Torah is teaching us how one must treat another human being. Which human being does the Torah choose to illustrate this point first? The thief! The mere word brings up the image of a despicable character. This person, who in other societies is thrown into jail to rot away, is not to be so treated in a Jewish society. He, too, is a human being whose respect we must maintain. Although the Torah punishes a thief by taking away his freedom, but it does not take away his pride and honor!

Our Sages tell us that when one acquires a Jewish slave, it is as if he has acquired a master for himself. For starters, his maximum period of indenture is six years. It is forbidden to give him demeaning labor such as putting shoes on his master. His master must share whatever food he has with his slave. If the master eats white bread, he may not give his slave dark bread. If he drinks wine he may not give his slave water. If he sleeps on a soft bed he may not give his slave straw on which to sleep. And if the master only has one pillow, the slave gets the pillow. So, if we need to go so much out of our ways to preserve the thief’s dignity and pride, then how much more we should treat someone with respect who is not a thief, but rather, is our peer, our equal, and our friend!!

Yes my friends, the Torah is teaching us a great lesson. Our civil laws start by teaching us to have respect for our fellow human beings. Whether it’s the President, a Minister, a Rabbi, a doctor, a businessman, a housewife, a maid, a beggar in the street or even a thief, they ALL need to be respected! Because we have all been made in the image of G-d, and anyone who has the image of G-d needs to be respected! We should never look down on other people and see ourselves as superior. The Torah is telling us that we are allowed to have employees, maids and servants, but we have to make sure to treat them with respect, dignity and honor!

Remember that to be respected, is not something you can buy, but rather, it’s something you have to earn. And the best way to earn your respect is by respecting others first!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Hearing of the miracles G-d performed for Benei Yisrael, Moshe’s father-in-law Yitro arrives with Moshe’s wife and sons, reuniting the family in the wilderness. Yitro is so impressed by Moshe’s detailing of the Exodus from Egypt that he converts to Judaism. Seeing that the only judicial authority for the entire Jewish nation is Moshe himself, Yitro suggests that subsidiary judges be appointed to judge smaller matters, leaving Moshe free to attend to larger issues. Moshe accepts his advice.

Benei Yisrael arrive at Mt. Sinai where G-d offers them the Torah. After they accept, G-d charges Moshe to instruct the people not to approach the mountain, and to prepare for three days. On the third day, amidst thunder and lightning, G-d’s voice emanates from the smoky mountain and He speaks to the Jewish People, giving them the Ten Commandments:

1. Believe in G-d
2. Don’t worship other “gods”
3. Don’t use G-d’s name in vain
4. Observe Shabbat
5. Honor your parents
6. Don’t murder
7. Don’t commit adultery
8. Don’t steal (kidnap)
9. Don’t testify falsely
10. Don’t covet

After receiving the first two commandments, the Jewish People, overwhelmed by this experience of the Divine, request that Moshe relay G-d’s word to them. G-d instructs Moshe to caution the Jewish People regarding their responsibility to be faithful to the One who spoke to them.

“Dvar Torah ”

In this week’s Parsha, there are two important topics which are discussed. One is the  establishment of the judiciary system by Yitro, Moshe’s father in law, a Midianite priest, and the second one is when G-d reveals himself at Mount Sinai, makes a covenant with the Israelites and gives them the Ten Commandments. The Chachamim say that the topics discussed in each Parsha are always related to one another. So, what’s the connection between an advice of a Midianite in regards to judiciary system and receiving the world’s most famous code of ethics, the Ten Commandments given by the G-d Almighty himself?

Well, in the first episode, Yitro arrives to visit his son in law and finds him leading alone. He says, “What you are doing is not good”. This is one of only two instances in the whole Torah in which the words “lo tov”, not good, appears. The other is in the book of Bereshit where G-d says, “It is not good [lo tov] for man to be alone.” We cannot live alone; We cannot lead alone! To be alone is not good. Yitro then proposes the following delegation. ‘You must be the people’s representative before G-d and bring their disputes to him. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear G-d, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.’

This is a very demanding proposal. It means that among every thousand Israelites, there are 131 leaders (one head of a thousand, ten heads of a hundred, twenty heads of fifty and a hundred head of tens). One in every eight adult male Israelites was expected to undertake some sort of a leadership role. And we see later on that Hashem approves Yitro’s proposal.

In the next episode, prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, G-d commands Moshe to propose a covenant with the Israelites first. In his statement, Hashem relates the following to the Jewish people: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

A very powerful statement. It means that Israel was to become a nation that every one of whose members was to be a priest; each of whose citizens was called on to be holy, since Hashem was talking to every single Jew!

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks makes an interesting discovery. What Yitro’s advice and the revelation at Sinai have in common is namely, the distribution of leadership. In both episodes, he says that ALL the Benei Israel are asked to act as leaders or priests! Although we have designated leaders and the Kohanim who act as our Priests, but every Jew is expected to take part in leadership in one way or another. And this is what distinguishes us from the other nations! We are all holy; we are all priests; we are all leaders! Only G-d can rule alone. For the rest of us mortal human beings, it’s much better for the leadership to be distributed among its people!

Yes my friends, we learn from Yitro that it’s good to distribute leadership among the people, and we can see a good example of it in our own community. We have quite a few Rabbanim and the religious committee who are in charge of the religious matters of our community. We have the Central Board, the Kanissa Boards, the Sisterhood Committee, the Youth Committee, the Gabbayim and many other committees and individuals who help in the leadership of our community. But the system of ‘distribution of leadership’ only works if we respect our designated leaders! The people who voluntarily and without a pay run for a communal work position deserve to be respected! They put in so much of their precious time and effort, just to help the community! Let us give them the respect they truely deserve.

Moshe Rabeinu and the leaders of our community have on thing in common. They do their jobs because of the love they have for their people. And that’s why they all succeed in their leaderships!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Soon after allowing the Children of Israel to depart from Egypt, Pharaoh chases after them to force their return, and the Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s armies and the sea. G-d tells Moshe to raise his staff over the water; the sea splits to allow the Israelites to pass through, and then closes over the pursuing Egyptians. Moshe and the Benei Israel sing a song of praise and gratitude to G-d.

In the desert, the people suffer thirst and hunger and repeatedly complain to Moshe and Aaron. G-d miraculously sweetens the bitter waters of Marah, He causes manna to rain down from the heavens before dawn each morning, and quails to appear in the Israelite camp each evening.

The Children of Israel are instructed to gather a double portion of manna on Friday, as none will descend on Shabath. Aaron preserves a small quantity of manna in a jar, as a testimony for future generations.

The people of Israel are attacked by the Amaleks, who are defeated by Moshe’s prayers and an army raised by Joshua.

” Dvar Torah ”

Parashat Beshalach starts off by saying that when Pharaoh sent out the Jewish people, G-d did not lead them by the way of Phillistines, because it was too near, for G-d said, “Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see a war, and they will return to Egypt.” Instead, G-d turned the people towards the desert and the Red Sea.

Then interestingly, the Torah says, “And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled”…….. as if he didn’t know!! And the heart of Pharaoh and his servants changed regarding the nation, and they said, “’What is it that we have done to send Israel from serving us?”

Then Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: “Speak to the Children of Israel and let them turn back and encamp before Pi-hachiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-Zephon; you shall encamp opposite it, by the sea.” Now, Baal-Zephon was an Egyptian idol!

There is something strange about the above text. It doesn’t make sense! Why does Pharaoh think that it was him who granted freedom to the Benei Yisrael? Everyone knows by now that Pharaoh didn’t “send them out.” The country of Egypt was suffering through ten terrible plagues; which brought the Egyptians to their knees with its final Plague– killing of the First Borns. By this point it was well established that this was the Hand of G-d and that Pharaoh had no choice in the matter but to let the Jews go! So, how could he say “WE sent them out”?

Rav Yakov Kamenetsky, zt”l, gave an interesting explanation to this question. He says that there are two things that can influence the human mind; one is emotions and the other is intellect or logic. And whenever there is a conflict between the two, emotions will overcome the logic and takeover the control of the mind. Emotions are so strong that they override any common sense and make the mind of a person do the illogical thing.

Pharaoh had a good thing going. The free labor was an economic boom for Egyptian society. Their desire, more than anything else, was to re-enslave the Jewish people. Pharoah, seeing the Jews encamped in front of Ba’al Tzefon, reasoned as follows: “G-d was victorious over all our other gods, but now that I see that they are encamped in front of Ba’al Tzefon, the G-d of Hebrews has met his match.” Even though, any rational person would have concluded after all that had happened, that Hashem is the only true G-d, Pharaoh was so desperate to find a justification to re-enslave the Jews that he let his emotions take control of his mind and do the foolish thing– chasing after them.

When Pharaoh came to the Red Sea and saw that the Sea was miraculously split, with the Jewish people marching through in the middle, he did not draw the conclusion that would be obvious to every rational person — that this must be the Hand of G-d. What kind of fool would chase after the Israelites under these circumstances? People are afraid to walk under a ladder because it may fall on them — so how could he do such an insane act as to follow them into the middle of the sea? He again, went after his emotions and came up with irrational reasoning. He thought that it was a “strong easterly wind” that caused the sea to split, and not the hand of G-d.  The emotion says, “it must be the east wind”. Rational reasoning says, “it must be the Hand of G-d”. But unfortunately, Pharaoh let his emotions take control of his mind in order to satisfy his own desire!

Yes my friends, emotions and passions can be terribly blinding! It made Pharaoh lose everything he had, including his life! But you would have thought that people would learn their lesson from the mistake of the others. Throughout the history, we clearly see that any nation who have assaulted the Jews, have been destroyed and vanished from the face of the earth. The Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans eventually vanished because they bothered the Jews. Not so long ago, the Nazi regime of Germany lost everything because they killed more than six million Jews. And because of them, the Jews returned to their land and became a strong nation again. Today Israel has one of the strongest armies in the world, while Germany has no army! But the reason for the fall of all these nations was because they went after their emotions. The emotion says “we can destroy the Jews”, but the logic says “G-d is with the Jews and they are indestructible!” But unfortunately, to this very day, the enemies of the Jews continue to do the same mistake. They think that they can destroy the Jewish nation, while they are the ones who will be perished!!

Mark Twain said it in his famous quote about the Jews that: “All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”……….. Well, we know the answer, but the question is if the rest of the world knows?!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

The last three of the Ten Plagues are visited on Egypt: a swarm of locusts devours all the crops and greenery; a thick, tangible darkness envelops the land; and all the firstborn of Egypt are killed at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nissan.

G-d commands the first mitzvah to be given to the people of Israel: to establish a calendar based on the monthly rebirth of the moon. The Israelites are also instructed to bring a “Passover offering” to G-d: a lamb to be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts of every Israelite home, so that G-d should pass over these homes when He comes to kill the Egyptian firstborn. The roasted meat of the offering is to be eaten that night together with matzah and bitter herbs.

The death of the firstborn finally breaks Pharaoh’s resistance and he literally drives the Children of Israel from his land. So hastily do they depart, there is no time for their dough to rise, and the only provisions they take along are unleavened bread (Matzah). Before they go, they ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold, silver and garments, draining Egypt of its wealth.

The Children of Israel are commanded to sanctify all firstborn and to observe the anniversary of the Exodus each year by removing all leaven from their possession for seven days, eating matzah, and telling the story of their redemption to their children. They are also commanded to wear tefillin on the arm and head as a reminder of the Exodus and their resultant commitment to G-d.

” Dvar Torah ”

This week’s Parsha, starts with stating the final 3 plagues that G-d brought upon the Egyptians before the Salvation of the Jewish nation. The last plague which was by far the most devastating one, was the killing of the Egyptians’ first born. The difference between the last plague and all other nine plagues is that, all other nine plagues destroyed the Egyptians’ livelihood and their economy, while the last plague destroyed their actual lives!

So, prior to the plague of the first born, Moshe told Pharaoh, “So says Hashem: ‘ At around midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt. Every first born in Egypt shall die,…”.

Once again, the Chachamim pick up a strange word used in Torah which needs explanation. They are bothered by Moshe’s use of the word, “around” midnight. Why did Moshe need to approximate? Of course G-d can be precise and execute his mission at exactly midnight, 12:00am. Why didn’t Moshe declare the exact time? Well, Rashi, the famous Torah commentator, explains that Moshe did not want to be precise in his declaration, lest the advisers of Pharaoh err in their calculation and attribute their mistake to G-d’s inaccuracy or Moshe’s inability to be exact. This was obviously before the days of clocks and certainly before the days of calculating the exact time with minutes and seconds. Telling time was usually an estimated calculation.

But you may ask yourself, what is the big deal if the Egyptians thought that Moshe wasn’t exactly accurate? What if they would have thought that the time was 12:05, for example? Hadn’t the Egyptians experienced a series of nine plagues before? Hadn’t Moshe been correct and accurate every single time about every single detail? Moshe had a flawless track record. Do you think a little inaccuracy in time would have damaged Moshe’s reputation?

Rabbi Yissachar Frand has an interesting insight to answer this question. He says that Moshe wasn’t concern about his own reputation at all, but rather, he was worried about the Honor of Hashem. If G-d said that he would be there at midnight and people were waiting and thinking that it was midnight already and G-d is not here yet, that would be a Chillul HaShem (a desecration of G-d’s Name), even though it only lasted perhaps for a minute. By now, the Egyptians knew that the G-d of Hebrews is the true G-d. They knew that He was perfect and they expected His agent, Moshe, to be perfect too. That’s why Moshe approximated the time, in order not to give them any reason for suspicion. He didn’t want the people to doubt his prediction even for a minute. Moshe knew that it’s not good enough for the people to think that he’s right most of the time; he had to be right ALL of the time, since he represents G-d. It’s like comparing it to the top A-grade student of the class getting a 90% in a test. While for others it’s consider a high score, for the top student, it’s might seem as a failure.

Yes my friends, G-d is perfect and so is expected from his agents too! G-d has chosen us to be his “Chosen People” and we act as Hashem’s representatives in the eyes of other nations. Anything we do publicly wrong is considered Chillul Hashem, a desecration of G-d’s name. The way we conduct our businesses, the way we treat other people, the way we dress, the way we eat, the way we drink and the way we socialize are all being carefully observed and judged by other people. Something which might be normal for other nations to do, might be a disgrace to be done by a Jew. For example, for the President of United States to be engaged in immoral activity might be acceptable by the nation, but if a Rabbi is involved in a sexual misconduct, it’s considered an outrage and is not accepted by the society. The Torah is telling us that we need to be at our best behavior at all times, because it’s not only our own reputation which is at stake, it’s Hashem’s honor which we are jeopardizing too ! For us Jews to be good people 90% of the time is not good enough; we have to be good at ALL times in ALL places!!

In science and mathematics, perfection and accuracy are the key elements to find the right solution; in Judaism however, perfection is the only solution to be a good Jew!!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear friends;

I hope you’ll enjoy the following parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

G-d reveals Himself to Moshe. He promises to take out the Children of Israel from Egypt, deliver them from their enslavement, redeem them and acquire them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai; He will then bring them to the Land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.

Moshe and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G-d, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Moshe’s staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers. G-d then sends a series of plagues upon the Egyptians.

The waters of the Nile turn to blood; swarms of frogs overrun the land; lice infest all men and beasts. Hordes of wild animals invade the cities, a pestilence kills the domestic animals, painful boils afflict the Egyptians. For the seventh plague, fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go; as G-d had said to Moshe.”

” Dvar Torah ”

The theme of this week’s Parsha is, “Miracle”. It is packed with miracles, plagues and supernatural events. Sticks transforming into snakes; water turning into blood; hail pellets with a core of fire; dreadful plagues of frogs, lice, wild beasts, pestilence and boils. G-d through Moshe, performs miracles for the Jews, for Pharaoh and all the Egyptian population. He brings plagues upon the Egyptians that have never been seen before. But as you read carefully through the text, it seems that the miracles made little impression on Pharaoh, the Egyptians and above all, on the Jewish slaves. Towards the end of last week’s parsha, Moshe was performing miracles for Pharaoh and his people and they seemed to pay no attention to his feats. And Moshe got frustrated and started to complain to Hashem: “Why have You done evil to this people… From the time I came to Pharaoh … he has harden the situation for the Jewish nation”.

Even in this week’s Parsha, Pharaoh is not impressed by the plagues because his own professional miracle makers were able to replicate the first three plagues. He therefore attributes all of the later plagues to forces of nature or superior professional magical powers that Moshe has somehow employed.

But what is more mind boggling is that the Jewish people themselves are, relatively speaking, little impressed by the miraculous plagues. You would have thought that by seeing all these miracles, the Jews should have believed in Hashem and his servant Moshe, wholeheartedly. But the Chachamim say that after all these supernatural events, at the time of the exodus, some Jews still didn’t want to leave! They needed persuasion! They still didn’t have enough faith in Moshe?! So the question that bothers the Chachamim is why did the greatest miracles of all times had little impact on the Jews? By seeing all these wonders, why did the Jews still have lack of faith in Hashem and Moshe? When we read the story of the 10 plagues which took place more than 3000 years ago, we still get mesmerized by it! So why didn’t it have the same effect on the Benei Yisrael? How can you explain their lack of appreciation and their lack of faith?!

Rabbi Berel Wein gives a beautiful explanation. He says that the Jews were too busy thinking about their slavery and their harsh living conditions that they hardly took notice of the miracles which took place around them. A slave mentality is the feeling of hopelessness, which is so hard to change even by performing supernatural miracles! When you are a slave, your work becomes your whole life. You don’t have time for anything else. That’s why when Moshe tells the Benei Yisrael that G-d had sent him to save them, they did not listen to him because of the shortness of breath and from the hard labor. In order to strengthen their belief, the Jews didn’t need miracles, but rather, they needed “free time” for themselves to think, to look around them and to see the hand of G-d, but because of the hard labor, they didn’t have the luxury of spare time! And this is why the miracles had little impact on the Jews; because they were too busy being slaves!

Yes my friends, slavery can blind a person! The greatest miracle can pass right by a slave and he won’t even notice it. Although B”H, we live as a free nation today, but unfortunately the slave mentality has remained in many of us. Everyday we see miracles happening around us, but unfortunately, they have little impact on us. Most of us are so busy with our work that we don’t notice the miracles around us. In Judaism, a miracle does not necessarily need to be an extraordinary event, but any act of G-d that we benefit from, should be considered a miracle! When we wake up in the morning and we are still alive, is a miracle; when we see our spouse and our children being healthy and running around us, is a miracle; when we live in a luxury of a home and we have enough food to feed our family and live a comfortable life, is a miracle! But do we have the time to acknowledge all these and be grateful to the Almighty?! How many of us in the mornings, rush in putting on the tefillin and taking them off quickly in order to run to work?! How many of us spend quality time with our families everyday?! And above all, how many of us truly appreciate what our spouse does for us and are thankful to Hashem?! If you ask me, we may think that we live a free life, but we are all slaves to our work and to the society we live in!

So my friends, let us enjoy our freedom by creating the time to appreciate the miracles around us. Miracles don’t just happen in fairy tale stories, it happens in our everyday life! All you need to do is to open your eyes and see the hand of G-d!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Joseph’s imprisonment finally ends when Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows that are swallowed up by seven lean cows, and of seven fat ears of grain swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of hunger, and advises Pharaoh to store grain during the plentiful years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph governor of Egypt. Joseph marries Asenath, daughter of Potiphar, and they have two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can be obtained only in Egypt. Ten of Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to purchase grain; the youngest, Benjamin, stays home, for Jacob fears for his safety. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him; he accuses them of being spies, insists that they bring Benjamin to prove that they are who they say they are, and imprisons Shimon as a hostage. Later, they discover that the money they paid for their provisions has been mysteriously returned to them.

Jacob agrees to send Benjamin only after Judah takes personal and eternal responsibility for him. This time Joseph receives them kindly, releases Shimon, and invites them to an eventful dinner at his home. But then he plants his silver goblet, pretending to have magical powers, in Benjamin’s sack. When the brothers set out for home the next morning they are pursued, searched, and arrested when the goblet is found in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph offers to set them free and to keep only Benjamin as his slave.

“ Dvar Torah “

Parashat Miketz starts off by telling us that  Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, has two dreams. In the first, Pharaoh sees himself standing over the Nile River, and behold, there came up out of the River seven cows, handsome and fat of flesh, and they fed in the reed grass. And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the River, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood by the other cows upon the bank of the River. And the ugly and lean cows ate up the seven handsome and fat cows.

In the second dream, Pharaoh sees seven thin, dried ears of grain swallow seven fat ears of grain.

None of the wise men of Egypt can offer Pharaoh a satisfactory interpretation of his dreams. Then, the “young Hebrew slave,” Joseph, is summoned from the dungeon to the palace. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty, symbolized by the fat cows and fat grain, will be followed by seven years of hunger, reflected by the lean cows and the shriveled ears. The seven years of famine will be so powerful that they will “swallow up” and wipe out any trace of the years of plenty.

Joseph then advises Pharaoh how to deal with the situation: “Now Pharaoh must seek out a man with insight and wisdom and place him in charge of Egypt.” A rationing system will have to be set up over Egypt during the seven years of surplus, Joseph explains, in which grain will be stored for the upcoming years of famine.

Pharaoh is blown away by Joseph’s vision. “Can there be another person who has G‑d’s spirit in him as this man does?” Pharaoh asks his advisors. “There is none as understanding and wise as you,” he says to Joseph. “You shall be over my house, and according to your word shall all my people be ruled; only by the throne will I outrank you.” Joseph is thus appointed viceroy of Egypt.

At this point, there are some questions that comes to mind. Following his interpretation of the dreams, Joseph proceeded to give Pharaoh advice on how to deal with the impending famine. How dare does a newly liberated slave offer the king of Egypt, the most powerful man on the face of the earth, unsolicited advice? Pharaoh summoned Joseph from the dungeon to interpret his dreams, but not to become an advisor to the king?! And why was Pharaoh so mesmerized by Joseph?! What was so genius about Joseph’s advice?! Joseph’s interpretation seems simple and obvious. When are cows fat? When there is lots of food. When are they lean? When there’s no food. When is grain fat? When there is a plentiful harvest. When is grain lean? During a time of famine. And you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to suggest that if you have seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, you should store food during the time of plenty for the time of hunger. So why could nobody else come up with the same interpretation?!

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, has given a beautiful explanation to our questions. He said that the Pharaoh’s advisers did indeed come up with the same interpretation as Joseph, but they rejected it instantly because they could not make sense of one part of the dream. The Torah says: “ And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the River, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood side by side of the other cows upon the bank of the River…….”. In other words, there was a moment during which both sets of cows coexisted simultaneously! It was this detail of the dream that caused the wise men of Egypt to reject the interpretation that Joseph would later offer to Pharaoh, for how is it possible that plenty and famine should coexist? You can either have abundance of food or you can have no food, but you can’t have them both together!

This is where Joseph’s brilliance was revealed. When Joseph proceeded to tell Pharaoh how to prepare for the upcoming famine, he wasn’t offering an unwelcoming advice to the King on how to run his country; but rather, the advice was part of the dream’s interpretation!

Joseph understood that the coexistence of the two sets of cows contained the solution to the approaching famine: During the years of plenty, Egypt must “live” with the years of famine as well, as though they were already present. Even while enjoying the abundance of the years of plenty, Egypt must experience in its imagination the reality of the upcoming famine, and each and every day store away food for it. The seven lean cows ought to be very much present and alive in people’s minds and in their behavior during the era of the seven fat cows. And this is what impressed Pharaoh so deeply about Joseph —— one little detail of the dream that no other wise man could see it!

Yes my friends, there is a great lesson to be learned from Joseph’s dream interpretation! In the times of plenty, we should always think and prepare for the times when there would be less plenty. B”H, when the times are good, when we are making a good living, we all live life to the fullest. We buy the best houses, we get the best cars, we wear the best clothes and we go on the best vacations. But what if, G-d forbid, the things turn around one day and it becomes hard to make a living. How many of us have saved from the time of plenty? And this is the essence of Joseph’s wisdom: You must never detach the years of plenty from the years of famine; they can coexist together. At the time of plenty we should save up for the time of need. Unlike the western mentality which believes in “live each day to the fullest”, us Jews, believe in securing the future. for us, living in the future is as important as living today!

So don’t forget, a little less fun today can make tomorrow a lot more brighter!

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov, Chanukah Sameach & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

The Children of Israel multiply in Egypt. Threatened by their growing numbers, Pharaoh enslaves them and orders the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill all male babies at birth. When they do not comply, he commands his people to cast the Hebrew babies into the Nile.

A child is born to Yocheved, the daughter of Levi, and her husband, Amram, and placed in a basket on the river, while the baby’s sister, Miriam, stands watch from afar. Pharaoh’s daughter discovers the boy, raises him as her son, and names him Moses.

As a young man, Moses leaves the palace and discovers the hardship of his brethren. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and kills the Egyptian. The next day he sees two Jews fighting; when he disapproves, they reveal his previous day’s murder, and Moses is forced to flee to Midian. There he rescues Yitro’s daughters, marries one of them – Zipporah – and becomes a shepherd of his father-in-law’s flocks.

One day when Moses was watching the herd, G-d appears to him in a burning bush at the foot of Mount Sinai and instructs him to go to Pharaoh and demand: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.” Moses’ brother, Aaron, is appointed to serve as his spokesman. In Egypt, Moses and Aaron gathered the elders of Israel to tell them that the time of their redemption has come. The people believe; but Pharaoh refuses to let them go, and even intensifies the suffering of Israel.

Moses returns to G-d to protest: “Why have You done evil to this people?” G-d promises that the redemption is close at hand.

“ Dvar Torah “

Parashat Shemot starts off by telling us that Joseph, his brothers and their entire generation died in Egypt. The Torah continues by telling us that “A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know of Joseph”…….. A very strange statement if you ask me. Is it really possible that anyone – let alone a king – would be unaware of all that Joseph had done for the country? This happened not too long after Joseph died. How could anyone in Egypt ever forget the vital role he played in its survival? Joseph, as second in command and sole architect of making Egypt the richest country on Earth, should have been immortalized for eternity. It defies logic that anyone could forget the one person who single-handedly saved Egypt and the entire world from famine.

After a little research, I came across an interesting explanation given by Adam Lieberman from Aish HaTorah. He says that Joseph wasn’t forgotten in the sense that no one “remembered” him. Rather, the significance of his life-saving contributions had simply faded from everyone’s memory. Joseph’s insights and wisdom clearly saved the lives of every man, woman, and child. But as soon as the necessity of his contributions were no longer needed, then the appreciation for Joseph ceased as well. When the pain of Egypt’s experience ended, so did their memory of Joseph.

During the massive famine that spread throughout the entire world, Joseph was at the center of it all. Every country was dependent upon Egypt for their survival. But when the famine ended, then Joseph’s help was no longer valuable or even needed. When a person’s contributions are no longer needed, the memories of when they were so desperately needed becomes smaller and smaller! And after an entire generation passed away, the people of Egypt simply did not remember Joseph’s valuable contributions.

But even if Pharaoh and the Egyptian people forgot about Joseph, unintentionally, it does not not give them any justified reason to put the Jews into slavery and kill their children. And that’s why Hashem brought upon the Egyptians the ten plagues, and took the Benei Israel out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched out arm.

Yes my friends, the Torah is teaching us an important lesson once again. It’s important to have a sense of gratitude, but more important is that we should not let it fade away. It’s not that hard to show appreciation toward someone right after he’s done something for you, but the whole challenge is to still show the heartfelt gratitude long after the fact. It is very easy to forget people who were there for us, because once their assistance is no longer needed, our appreciation for what they did can easily fade away True gratitude is not defined by a person who doesn’t forget; it’s defined by the one who always remembers!

We also had great leaders similar to Joseph who had done a lot for our community, who are not among us anymore. Let us not do the same mistake as Pharaoh by letting their memories fade away. We should not forget what they did for us back in Iran, in Queens and in Great Neck. Let their memories live on by telling our children about them and how amazing they were. We still appreciate what they have done for us in the past. May they all rest in peace.

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Jacob lives the final 17 years of his life in Egypt. Before his passing, he asks Joseph to take an oath that he will bury him in the Holy Land. He blesses Joseph’s two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, elevating them to the status of his own sons to be among the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jacob desires to reveal the end of days to his children, but is prevented from doing so. Jacob blesses his sons, assigning to each his role as a tribe: Judah will produce leaders, legislators and kings; priests will come from Levi, scholars from Issachar, sea-merchants from Zebulun, schoolteachers from Shimon, soldiers from Gad, judges from Dan, olive growers from Asher. Reuben is rebuked for “confusing his father’s marriage”; Shimon and Levi for the massacre of Shechem and the plot against Joseph. Naphtali is granted the swiftness of a deer, Benjamin the ferociousness of a wolf, and Joseph is blessed with beauty and fertility.

A large funeral ceremony consisting of Jacob’s descendants, Pharaoh’s ministers and the leading citizens of Egypt accompanies Jacob on his final journey to the Holy Land, where he is buried in the Machpeilah Cave in Hebron.

Joseph, too, dies in Egypt, at the age of 110. He, too, instructs that his bones be taken out of Egypt and buried in the Holy Land. Before his passing, Joseph tells the Children of Israel not to lose hope and faith in the Almighty in the difficult years to come: “G-d will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

” Dvar Torah ”

“Blessings” played a major role in the lives of our Patriarchs. Each one of our Forefathers had the ability to pass down powerful blessings to their children before they passed away. Their blessings were so powerful that their children would have done anything in their power to get them. Jacob himself had to steal his father’s blessing from his brother Eisav, risking his life. All the twelve sons of Jacob, each received a blessing from their father before his death. But you may ask yourself, what was so special about their deathbed blessings that their children desperately seek to get them?! After all, we all know that ultimately, ALL the blessings comes from the heaven above, from the G-d Almighty Himself! The Chachamim explain that Hashem protects and blesses a Tzadik throughout his lifetime, and because of his “zechut”, merit, his children are blessed and protected too. Once the Tzadik leaves this world, his merit to protect his family leaves with him too. So, it’s only the blessings that he leaves behind which continues to protect his children!!

In this week’s Parsha, we can see a fine demonstration of giving and receiving a deathbed blessing from one generation to another.  When Joseph heard that his father, Jacob, is ill and his days are numbered, he immediately takes his two sons, Ephraim and Menashe, and go together to give him the final respect and to receive a blessing from him too. Once they arrived, they informed Jacob that Joseph is here. So he raises himself in bed and after identifying the two accompanying children to be Joseph’s sons, he blesses Joseph saying: “G‑d before Whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac walked, G‑d who sustained me as long as I lived, may the angel who redeemed me from all harm bless these youth…”. And he then blesses the grandchildren with the following blessing:  “With your (names) will the Jewish people bless (their children) saying: May G-d make you be like Ephraim and Menashe…”

On the surface, the blessing seems very strange. Jacob started off to bless Joseph, but from the continuation of the blessing he seems to totally ignore his son and concentrate instead on his grandsons. Surely Joseph had a reason to complain. Where were his promised blessings? Also, the blessing that Jacob gave to his grandsons seems a little odd?! Usually, you bless someone with health, prosperity, happiness and things like that. But Jacob did not actually bless Ephraim and Menashe with anything?! He just says that every Jew should wish their children to be like Ephraim and Menashe. It seems that Ephraim and Menashe have been blessed already, and Jacob just wants to pass on the blessing to the future generations!

So, the main question is, what were Ephraim and Menashe already blessed with? What was so special about them that we should all want our children to be like them? What special characteristics did they have that Jacob could not find it in his own children? After all, why didn’t Jacob want us to wish our children to be like “Shimon and Levi”, or “Joseph and Binyamin”?

After a little research, I came across a beautiful explanation given by Rabbi Yissachar Frand. He says that the answer can be found in the way Jacob blessed Ephraim and Menashe. At the time of the blessing, Jacob specifically crisscrossed his hands and put his right hand on the younger child Ephraim, giving him the preference. Joseph, noticing his father’s action, tells him that he has his right hand on the younger son by mistake. Menasheh is the older son and he should get the preferred blessing. Jacob says: ” I know my son, I know. He will be a great nation too, but the younger will be greater…”. Yet Menasheh, the older son, did not utter any words of complaint. He did not turn around and complain to his father. He did not issue any words of protest to his grandfather. And above all, he did not feel any jealousy towards his brother who was getting the preferential treatment. He accepted his brother’s superiority with a cheerful attitude. He respected his grandfather’s blessing and he accepted it wholeheartedly.

But let’s not give all the credit to Menasheh. After all, we want our children to be like Ephraim too. So what did Ephraim do that was so special? The answer is, when a person receives a preferential treatment, such as a higher status, he might flaunt it. He might think that he’s a more important person now and he might look down on others. He might even think that he has got to this position because of his own strength and intelligence. He might boost his ego and become haughty. But we see that Ephraim received his blessing with humility and modesty. He didn’t take a pride in himself for his superiority. He didn’t come up with a dream that his brother is bowing down to him! He still considered Menasheh as his older brother, and he continued to give him the respect that he deserved for the rest of his life.

Given the sibling rivalry that Jacob witnessed with himself and his brother, and with his own sons, when he saw such good behavior in his grandchildren, he was thrilled that they got along so well with each other. So he could not find any better blessing to give them other than what they are blessed with already. So all he could say was that every Jew should be inspired to have them as role models for their own children.

Yes my friends, ” May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe” is the greatest blessing we can give to our children. It means that they should not be jealous of one another, and they should get along and respect each other. No two children are the same. Some succeed more in life, financially. Some succeed more spirituality. Some are more intellectual and some are more athletic. Some are more beautiful and some are more charismatic. But the children must learn to respect each other for what they are. Being jealous of one another can only mean that you are not happy with what Hashem has given you! To respect one another, on the other hand, is a sign of humility and faith. It means that not only you are happy with what Hashem has given you, but you are happy with what Hashem has given to your brother too!

So tonight, after you say the kiddush on the wine, take a moment of your time and bless your sons with the greatest blessing that you can ever give them: “Yesimcha Elokim Ke Ephraim VeChi Menashe…………”

Shabbat Shalom and Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Judah approaches Joseph to plead for the release of Benjamin, offering himself as a slave to the Egyptian ruler instead of Benjamin. Upon witnessing his brothers’ loyalty and the love for one another, Joseph reveals his identity to them. “I am Joseph,” he declares. “Is my father still alive?”

The brothers are overcome by shame and remorse, but Joseph comforts them. “It was not you who sent me here,” he says to them, “but G-d. It has all been ordained from Above to save us, and the entire region, from famine.”

The brothers rush back to Canaan to tell their father the good news of Joseph being alive. Jacob comes to Egypt with his sons and their families — seventy souls in all — and is reunited with his beloved son after 22 years. On his way to Egypt he receives the Divine promise: “Fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again.”

Joseph gathers the wealth of Egypt by selling food and seed during the famine. Pharaoh gives Jacob’s family the fertile county of Goshen to settle, and the children of Israel prosper in their Egyptian exile.

” Dvar Torah ”

Probably, the most dramatic reunion in the history of mankind is recorded in this week’s parsha. Jacob reunits with his beloved son, Joseph! After twenty two years of living in misery and sorrow, thinking that his favorite son is dead, Jacob is suddenly informed that Joseph is still alive and well. Although, he was hesitant at the beginning to believe such an unimaginable news, but after seeing all the chariots and the entourage for his honor, his spirit was revived and he said “my son Joseph is still alive. I shall go and see him before I die”. So he rushed down to Egypt to meet Joseph face to face. The scene of their close encounter is every writer’s dream to write about. Any good writer has the ability to revive the scene for us by describing in detail their inner feelings, their facial expressions, their emotional reactions and their exchange of words at the time of their encounter. How loud did they cry? How long did they embrace? Who said the first word? Who was more happy? If only I was a writer………..

Well, let’s see what our holy Bible, the Torah, has to say about the most affectionate reunion of all times?!

Yet, strangely enough, the Torah doesn’t talk much about this dramatic scene. It just says that at the time of their close encounter, Jacob, apparently, remained unemotional and silent while Joseph wept. Rashi, the famous Torah commentator, explains that Jacob was reciting the “Shema” or was having a conversation with the Almighty at the time. He explains that in all the years of their separation, Jacob was in a depress mood and the Divine Spirit had departed from him and he was therefore unable to communicate with G-d. Now that he saw Joseph in front of his eyes, alive and well, the joy of the moment allowed the Holy Spirit to return to him once again and he used the opportunity to communicate with the Almighty.

But even if we tend to accept Rashi’s commentary, it still doesn’t justify Jacob’s lack of emotions. Surely, he could have recited the Shema, and at the same time, he could have shown a sign of joy on his face, or even let a few drops of tears run down his cheeks. I have a hard time controlling my tears now, just writing about it!! How could Jacob show no signs of affection?!

What is more mind boggling, is that Jacob never reveals any emotions later on either. He never asked any questions regarding Joseph’s disappearance from Joseph or his brothers?! So many unanswered questions needed to be asked! How did Joseph end up as ruler of all Egypt? Why didn’t Joseph come and visit his father when he was in power? And above all, how did Joseph disappear in the first place? Jacob’s lack of emotions raises a bigger question. Was Jacob, G-d forbid, a heartless person who didn’t care about his children??

Well, after searching for an answer for a while, I came across an explanation given by Rabbi Frand, quoting Sforno, which really touched my heart. He says that Jacob was well aware of the tensions that existed between Joseph and his brothers. He also realizes that his sons mislead him when they showed him Joseph’s bloody gown. And being a prophet, he probably knew what exactly had happened between Joseph and his brothers, since later on, on his deathbed he says to Joseph: ” I know, my son, I know.”

But he chose to be silent, since he saw that his sons are all reunited again, and that was all that mattered to Jacob; to see his children living in peace and harmony together! He didn’t show any emotions to Joseph, because any sign of emotions would have revealed the painful years that Jacob had to go through, which Joseph would have blamed his brothers for. He knew very well that any show of emotions or asking questions will only rip open a scab on a wound that has to healed slowly and carefully. He realized that sometimes you have to let the bygones be bygones, and you need to focus on the future rather than to concentrate on the past. He knew that his children are going to be the heads of the Jewish nation, and the secret to Jewish survival is “UNITY”. So he didn’t ask any questions, since any question would have ended up blaming one party or the other, and would have created friction or separation between them again. He didn’t want to play the “blame game”, but rather, he wanted to play along with their “unity”!

Yes my friends, once again, the Torah emphasizes the importance of “unity” among brothers, or among all the Jews for that matter. For the sake of unity, sometimes you have to hide your emotions. For the sake of unity, sometimes you have to keep silent. And for the sake of unity, not every family secret needs to be publicly revealed nor every family dispute needs to be brought up, constantly. Sometimes you have to let go of the past in order create a better future!!

Everyone does mistakes in their lives. But if we are not willing to forgive and forget, then relationships can be very fragile. Family relationships are based on forgiveness. The Torah commands us not to hold a grudge, because holding a grudge will create separation and that’s not what Hashem wants from us. He wants us to get along with one another, even with those who have done us wrong. He wants us to forgive in order to be united. If Joseph could find it in his heart to forgive his brothers and if Jacob can let go of 22 years of misery and suffering for the sake of unity, then why can’t we??

Nothing gives more pleasure than to see your children living in peace and harmony together. David HaMelech with all his power, unfortunately, couldn’t get his children to get along with each other, and longed to see the day when they would be united. All he could do was to inspire the future generations by putting down his dream onto the paper: “Hiney matov u’manayim, shevet achim gam yachad”…….. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, when the brothers dwell together in unity!”

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Joseph’s imprisonment finally ends when Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows that are swallowed up by seven lean cows, and of seven fat ears of grain swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of hunger, and advises Pharaoh to store grain during the plentiful years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph governor of Egypt. Joseph marries Asenath, daughter of Potiphar, and they have two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can be obtained only in Egypt. Ten of Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to purchase grain; the youngest, Benjamin, stays home, for Jacob fears for his safety. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him; he accuses them of being spies, insists that they bring Benjamin to prove that they are who they say they are, and imprisons Shimon as a hostage. Later, they discover that the money they paid for their provisions has been mysteriously returned to them.

Jacob agrees to send Benjamin only after Judah takes personal and eternal responsibility for him. This time Joseph receives them kindly, releases Shimon, and invites them to an eventful dinner at his home. But then he plants his silver goblet, pretending to have magical powers, in Benjamin’s sack. When the brothers set out for home the next morning they are pursued, searched, and arrested when the goblet is found in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph offers to set them free and to keep only Benjamin as his slave.

“ Dvar Torah “

In Parashat Miketz, the exciting story of Joseph continues. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, has two dreams.  In the first, Pharaoh sees himself standing over the Nile River, and behold, there came up out of the River seven cows, handsome and fat of flesh, and they fed in the reed grass. And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the River, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood by the other cows upon the bank of the River. And the ugly and lean cows ate up the seven handsome and fat cows.

In the second dream, Pharaoh sees seven thin, dried ears of grain swallow seven fat ears of grain.

None of the wise men of Egypt can offer Pharaoh a satisfactory interpretation of his dreams. Then, the “young Hebrew slave,” Joseph, is summoned from the dungeon to the palace. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty, symbolized by the fat cows and fat grain, will be followed by seven years of hunger, reflected by the lean cows and the shriveled ears. The seven years of famine will be so powerful that they will “swallow up” and wipe out any trace of the years of plenty.

Joseph then advises Pharaoh how to deal with the situation: “Now Pharaoh must seek out a man with insight and wisdom and place him in charge of Egypt.” A rationing system will have to be set up over Egypt during the seven years of surplus, Joseph explains, in which grain will be stored for the upcoming years of famine.

Pharaoh is blown away by Joseph’s vision. “Can there be another person who has G‑d’s spirit in him as this man does?” Pharaoh asks his advisors. “There is none as understanding and wise as you,” he says to Joseph. “You shall be over my house, and according to your word shall all my people be ruled; only by the throne will I outrank you.” Joseph is thus appointed viceroy of Egypt.

At this point, a few questions comes to mind. Following his interpretation of the dreams, Joseph proceeded to give Pharaoh advice on how to deal with the impending famine. How dare does a newly liberated slave offer the king of Egypt, the most powerful man on the face of the earth, unsolicited advice? Pharaoh summoned Joseph from the dungeon to interpret his dreams, not to become an advisor to the king! And why was Pharaoh so mesmerized by Joseph?! What was so genius about Joseph’s advice?! Joseph’s interpretation seems simple and obvious. When are cows fat? When there is lots of food. When are they lean? When there’s no food. When is grain fat? When there is a plentiful harvest. When is grain lean? During a time of famine. And you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to suggest that if you have seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, you should store food during the time of plenty for the time of hunger. So why could nobody else come up with the same interpretation?!

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, gave an interesting explanation to this matter. He said that the Pharaoh’s advisers did indeed come up with the same interpretation as Joseph, but they rejected it instantly because they could not make sense of one part of the dream. The Torah says: “ And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the River, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood by the other cows upon the bank of the River…….”. In other words, there was a moment during which both sets of cows coexisted simultaneously! It was this detail of the dream that caused the wise men of Egypt to reject the interpretation that Joseph would later offer to Pharaoh, for how is it possible that plenty and famine should coexist? You can either have fat cows alone or you have lean cows alone, but you can’t have them both together!

This is where Joseph’s brilliance was revealed. When Joseph proceeded to tell Pharaoh how to prepare for the upcoming famine, he wasn’t offering an unwelcoming advice to the King on how to run his country; but rather, the advice was part of the dream’s interpretation!

Joseph understood that the coexistence of the two sets of cows contained the solution to the approaching famine: During the years of plenty, Egypt must “live” with the years of famine as well, as though they were already present. Even while enjoying the abundance of the years of plenty, Egypt must experience in its imagination the reality of the upcoming famine, and each and every day store away food for it. The seven lean cows ought to be very much present and alive in people’s minds and in their behavior during the era of the seven fat cows. And this is what impressed Pharaoh so deeply about Joseph; that one little detail of the dream that no other wise man could see it!

Yes my friends, the Torah is teaching us an important lesson once again! At the time of plenty, we should always think and prepare for the times when there won’t be so much plenty. B”H, when the times are good, when we make a good living, we all live life to its best. We buy the best houses, we get the best cars, we wear the best clothes and we go on the best vacations. But what if, G-d forbid, the things turn around one day and it becomes hard to make a living. How many of us have saved from the time of plenty? And this is the essence of Joseph’s wisdom: You must never detach the years of plenty from the years of famine; they can coexist together. At the time of plenty we should save up for the time of need. Unlike the western mentality which believes in “live each day to the fullest”, us Jews, believe in securing the future.

So my friends, remember that a little less fun today can make tomorrow a lot more brighter!

Shabbat Shalom, Chanukkah Sameach & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Jacob settles in Hebron with his twelve sons. His favorite is seventeen-year-old Joseph, whose brothers are jealous of the preferential treatment he receives from his father, such as a precious colorful coat that Jacob makes for him. Joseph relates to his brothers two dreams he has which foretell that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred towards him.

Jacob sends Joseph to check up on his brothers who are tending the flock away from home, and upon seeing him approaching they plot to kill him. Reuben convinces the brothers not to kill Joseph, but is unable to totally save him as the brothers sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt. The brothers dip Joseph’s special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son was devoured by a wild beast.

The Torah deviates from Joseph’s story to relate the story of Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar.

The narrative then returns to Joseph in Egypt, where he becomes an extremely successful slave and is placed in charge of his master Potiphar’s household. Potiphar’s wife repeatedly tries to seduce Joseph, and when he refuses her advances, she screams and claims that he tried to rape her. Joseph is thrown into prison where he is once again placed in a position of leadership, this time being put in charge of the prisoners. Ten years later, Pharaoh’s chief butler and baker are thrown into the same prison. One night they each have a perplexing dream which Joseph accurately interprets, and the portion concludes as the butler is returned to his former post and the baker is executed, just as Joseph had predicted. But the butler forgets all about Joseph and does nothing for him.

” Dvar Torah ”

“Joseph” is surely everyone’s favorite biblical character! The most dramatic story of the bible, if not of all times, which brings tears to everyone’s eyes, year after year after year, with no doubts, belongs to our beloved Joseph. Although, Joseph was not considered to be one of our Patriarch, yet he has more Torah portions designated to him than any of our Forefathers. Four Parashiot to be exact, does the Torah dedicate to our beloved Joseph. Although he was famous for his charm and beauty, but our sages give him the title of “Yosef HaSadik”, Joseph the righteous. Joseph earned his title of righteousness (HaSadik) because he had control over his desires, and because he was trustworthy and honest. His honesty, gained him the full trust of his master, his prison warden and the King Pharaoh himself. But the name “Yosef HaSadik” wouldn’t have been sealed, if he wouldn’t have forgiven his brothers for the cruel act of selling him into slavery and separating him from his father for so many years. Because of this unexpected act of forgiveness, not only Joseph is adored by everyone, but he became the symbol of righteousness!

But it seems that even the best of us are not flawless. The Torah reveals to us that Joseph didn’t go through life mistake free either. At the beginning of the parsha the Torah says: “Joseph at the age of seventeen, was a shepherd with his brothers, but he was a “Na-ar” among the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah,…..”

The word “Na-ar” means a young lad, a teenager, but Rashi explains that when the word Na-ar is used in the Torah, it’s a sign of immaturity. Rashi says that Joseph used to fix his hair and touch up his eyes so that he would look handsome, and that was the immature act that labeled him as a Na-ar. Although the majority of the Chachamim agree that Na-ar is a sign of immaturity, but some Chachamim disagree with Rashi’s explanation. Just because Joseph was fixing his hair, is this enough evidence to call a Sadik immature?! Yosef was 17 years old at the time, and fixation of hair is not unusual behavior for a 17 year old to do. For some of us, it’s a dream to be able to run a comb through our hair or use a gel once in a while! I would even do it at this age, if I had the opportunity!!

Rabbi Shimon Schwab has a very interesting insight about this matter. He says that Joseph’s immature act wasn’t about his hair at all, but rather, it was something else. The Torah uses the term “Naar”, once again, in last week’s parsha (VaYishlach) in reference to Shechem, son of Chamor. “And the ‘naar’ did not delay to carry out the matter (of circumcision) because he desired Yaakov’s daughter.” At this point in time Shechem son of Chamor was not a teenager. He was in fact one of the most prestigious people in the city. So why does the Torah refer to him as a ‘naar’? Rav Schwab explains that Shechem may have been an adult, he may have been a respected individual, but he still acted immaturely because he rushed into the agreement proposed by Shimon and Levi without thinking it through. And that is the definition of a ‘naar’ or immaturity; someone who rushes into making a decision without thinking it over!

Rav Schwab says, Yosef knew that he would be a leader over his brothers. Yosef foresaw this, prophetically, in his dreams. He, rightfully, envisioned that they would bow down to him and that he would be a King one day. One of the laws of monarchy is that the King has to be physically prominent. The Talmud states that a King must groom his hair daily. He represents the people and he must have the type of handsome appearance that people can respect. So, when the Torah says that Yosef acted as a ‘naar,’ he explains that Yosef’s mistake was that he already saw himself as the King at the age 17– it was not an adolescent fixation of the hair! He saw himself as the ruler over his brothers before the proper time for that relationship has developed. He wanted to be a king so badly that he forgot that he is still a “na-ar’, a young lad who is not mature enough yet!!

Yes my friends, the Torah is telling us that rushing into making decisions is an immature behavior, while patience and thoughtfulness is a sign of wisdom and maturity. Unfortunately, many of us still act like a “Na-ar”! We all want everything to be done for us, ‘yesterday’. We all want to get rich quickly. We all want to find our soul-mate in no time. When we are faced with a problem or a misfortune in our lives, we quickly become impatient and we wonder why is this thing happening to us. Remember that Joseph went through a lot of hardship in his life, until finally, he became the ruler of Egypt. We should not rush into making decisions. We should think things over and weigh things out before making a decision. Marriage relationships have been lost over a simple disagreement. Lifetime friendships have been lost over a feud.  And all because they made a quick irrational decisions!

So my friends, those of you who have hair, you can proudly run that comb through it and still be considered mature and wise, but those of you who fix your hair, but don’t have the patience to think things over, I’m afraid that you are not behaving any differently than a young but a good looking “kid”!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah.

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Jacob returns to the Holy Land after more than 20 years stay in Charan, and sends messengers to Esau in hope of a reconciliation, but his messengers report that his brother is on his way with 400 armed men. Jacob prepares for war, prays, but decides to go in peace and sends Esau a large gift (consisting of hundreds of sheep and cattle) to appease him.

That night, Jacob ferries his family and possessions across the Yabbok River; he, however, remains behind and encounters the angel, with whom he wrestles until daybreak. Jacob suffers a dislocated hip but triumphs the supernatural creature, who bestows on him the name “Yisrael”, which means “He who prevails over the Divine.”

Jacob and Esau meet, embrace and kiss, but part ways. Jacob purchases a plot of land near Shechem, whose crown prince — also called Shechem — abducts and rapes Jacob’s daughter Dinah. Dinah’s brothers Simon and Levi avenge the deed by killing all male inhabitants of the city after rendering them vulnerable by convincing them to circumcise themselves.

Jacob journeys on. Rachel dies while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin, and is buried in a roadside grave near Bethlehem. Reuben loses the birthright because he interferes with his father’s marital life. Jacob arrives in Chevron, to his father Isaac, who later dies at age 180.

Our parshah concludes with a detailed account of Esau’s wives, children and grandchildren, and the family histories of the people of Se’ir among whom Esau settled.

” Dvar Torah ”

In this week’s Parsha, we learn about a very tragic story. Dina, Jacob’s one and only daughter, leaves the safety of home to go out to “look at the daughters of the land.” She is raped and abducted by a local prince, Shechem, son of the king of the town known as Shechem. The Torah then tells us that Shechem loved Dina and asked his father, Chamor, to take Dina for him as a wife.

Jacob learns of this fact but does nothing until his sons return. Shimon and Levi, Dina’s brothers, immediately realise that they must act to rescue her. It is an almost impossible mission. The hostage-taker is no ordinary individual. As the son of the king, he cannot be confronted directly. The king is unlikely to order his son to release her. The other townspeople, if challenged, will come to the prince’s defence. It is Shimon and Levi against the town: two against many. Even if all of Jacob’s sons came to the rescue, they would still be outnumbered.

Shimon and Levi therefore came up with a plot. They agree to let Dina marry the prince but under one condition. The members of the town must all be circumcised. The Shechemites, seeing long term advantages to an alliance with Jacob’s tribe, agree. The men of the town are weakened by the obligatory surgery, and the pain is most painful on the third day. That day, Shimon and Levi enter the town and kill the entire male population. They rescue Dina and bring her home.

Jacob is horrified. “You have made me look shameful in the eyes of the people of the land,” he says. “What then were we supposed to do”, ask the two brothers? “Should we have left our sister to be treated like a prostitute?” The episode ends and the narrative moves elsewhere. But Jacob’s rage does not end there. Even on his deathbed, he criticises them and curses them: “ Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel! “

This is an extraordinary passage. It seems to lack any kind of moral message. No one comes out of it well. Shechem, the prince, would seem to be the chief villain. It was he who abducted and raped Dina in the first place. Chamor, his father, fails to condemn his action or order Dina’s release. Shimon and Levi are guilty of a horrendous act of violence. The other brothers engage in looting the town. Jacob fails to take charge. He neither acts nor instructs his sons on how to act. Even Dina herself seems at best to have been guilty of carelessness in going out into the town in the first place.

The overall effect is a story with no indisputable villains and no obvious heroes. Why then the story is told at all? Stories do not appear in the Torah merely because they happened. The Torah is not a history book. It is silent on some of the most important periods of time. If a story is told, it’s because it has a significant. Torah means “teaching, instruction, guidance.” So, what teaching does the Torah want us to draw from this narrative out of which no one emerges well?

Well, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has an interesting insight on this episode. He says that in situations where there are power and violence involved, unfortunately, all the parties involved are the losers. Because, sadly, power and violence can only be stopped by power and violence! In the case of Dina, if the brothers wouldn’t have reacted, the Shechemites would have exercise their power and would have probably raped more Israelite girls and would have became their masters. And what Shimon and Levi did ended up killing many innocent people who were not involved in the plot in the first place. What the episode of Dina tells us is not that Jacob, or Shimon and Levi, were right, but rather in situations where power and violence are involved, there is no right course of action; where whatever you do is wrong; where every option involves the abandonment of some moral principle!

Yes my friends, it’s so unfortunate that violence can only be stopped by violence! A successful defence method against a violent aggressor requires a society to become more like the society that threatens it. This is so apparent in the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. If Israel sits back and do nothing in her defense when she is attacked, the Palestinians will continue their aggression until they wipe out Israel out of the map.The only way to stop them is to attack back! But that will involve killing innocent people. Israel has no more desire to be engaged in this kind of warfare than did our ancestor Jacob. But what else can they do?! You can only make peace with a nation who desires peace —- not with a nation who provokes violence! In a situation where one side seeks peace and the other power and violence, sadly, violence will eventually prevail.

Violence defiles us all. It did then. It does now!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parasha in a Nutshell ”

Isaac marries Rebecca. After twenty childless years their prayers are answered and Rebecca conceives. She experiences a difficult pregnancy; G-d tells her that “there are two nations in your womb,” and that the younger will prevail over the elder. Eisav emerges first; Jacob is born clutching Eisav’s heel. Eisav grows up to be “a hunter, a man of the field”; Jacob is “a wholesome man,” a dweller in the tents. Isaac favors Eisav; Rebecca loves Jacob.

Returning exhausted and hungry from the hunt one day, Eisav sells his birthright to Jacob for a pot of red lentil stew.

Eisav marries two Hittite women. Isaac grows old and blind, and expresses his desire to bless Eisav before he dies. While Eisav goes off to hunt for his father’s favorite food, Rebecca dresses Jacob in Eisav’s clothes, prepares a similar dish, and sends Jacob to his father. Jacob receives his fathers’ blessings for “the dew of the heaven and the fat of the land” and mastery over his brother. When Esau returns and the deception is revealed, all Isaac can bless his weeping son with is to predict that he will live by his sword, and that only when Jacob falters, his supremacy over the him will vanish.

Jacob leaves home to flee Eisav’s wrath and to find a wife in the family of his mother’s brother, Laban. Eisav marries a third wife — Machlat, the daughter of Ishmael.

” Dvar Torah ”

“Love” is such an ambiguous word. Oxford dictionary describes it as “a feeling of passionate affection for another person”. It also means “a feeling of warm personal attachment towards someone”, such as parent, child or a friend. The feeling of love is expressed in every culture and society and it’s being used by all different kinds of people. Lovers use it, couples use it, parents use it, children use it, friends use it, writers use it and poets abuse it!  And believe it or not, our Torah is not shy in using it either! In last week’s parsha, the Torah talked about the love between Isaac and Rebecca. The Torah says, “Isaac married Rebecca and then he loved her.” In next week’s parsha, however, the Torah talks about the love before marriage. It says, “Jacob loved Rachel. So he worked seven years for her and they seemed to him like a few days because of his love for her.” So we see that the Torah acknowledges that there has to be love in a healthy relationship.

In this week’s parsha, the Torah also talks about love. But this time, it talks about the love between parents and their children. The story goes as follows: Isaac married Rebecca. After 20 years of marriage, Hashem gave them twin sons, Eisav and Jacob. And it says that Eisav grew up to be a man of the field, a hunter, and Jacob grew up to be a wholesome man, residing in tents. And then the Torah says: “Isaac loved Eisav for the game [food] was in his mouth; but Rebecca loves Jacob.” Immediately, our Chachamim notice a grammar mistake in this verse: The love of Isaac for Eisav is described in the past tense “Isaac loved Eisav…” The love of Rebecca for Jacob, however, is portrayed in the present: “Rebecca loves Jacob.” So, accordingly, the following question is asked by our commentators: If the Torah is a heavenly book given by the Almighty himself, shouldn’t it perfect in every sense, including grammar?!

I read an interesting insight from Rabbi Sinclair from Ohr Somayach Yeshiva based on the Ramban. He says that the grammar mistake was done intentionally. The Torah wants to show us the difference between the two loves. The love that Isaac had towards Eisav was a love that depended on an outside factor: He loved Eisav because the “game was in his mouth.” He loved hunted fresh meat and Eisav used to bring it to him. But when the hunting stopped, the love ceased too, hence it’s described in past tense. Rebecca’s love, on the other hand, was a love that was unconditional, it needed no reason, and thus the Torah describes it in the present tense, for it never came to an end. Any love that depends on a reason will evaporate when the reason is no longer there. If you love someone because they are young and beautiful, then their old age will not appeal to you. Love that depends on any condition isn’t true love. But, the love which has no strings attached to it, has no reason to end. That love will last forever!!

Yes my friends, a true love is an unconditional love! You should love someone for what they are, and not for what they can accomplish! This is especially true in regards to our children. Yes, we all want the best for our kids. We want them to get the best grades, we want them to be the best at sports, we want them to have the best friends, we want them to go to the best colleges and we want them to have the best jobs. But what if they can’t achieve all of the above?? Should that make us love them less?! The answer is, Of course NOT!!! We should love our children unconditionally, regardless of their achievements and what they do for us! We love our children because they are our children, and that’s all the reason we need to love them! We have to remember that each child is different and each one has different abilities and potentials. We should love them for what they are, and not for what we want them to be! Always try to remember how Rebecca loved Jacob, unconditionally. Jacob was a simple man. He wasn’t much of an outgoing person, he wasn’t among the most popular and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t among the best athletes either. But Rebecca loved him anyway, and that’s why their love lasted forever, and eventually, Jacob became a great person and the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Love, is one of the greatest feelings anyone can posses. It creates attraction, compassion, attachment and kindness between the people. And if you want it to last, you have to do it the right way……. the unconditional way!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” The Parsha in a Nutshell ”

Sarah dies at age 127 and is buried in the Machpeilah Cave in Hebron, which Avraham purchases from Ephron the Hittite for 400 shekels of silver.

Avraham’s servant, Eliezer, is sent with gifts to Charan, Avraham’s hometown, to find a wife for Isaac. At the village well, Eliezer asks G-d for a sign: when the maidens come to the well, he will ask for some water to drink; the woman who will offer to give his camels to drink as well, shall be the one destined for his master’s son.

Rebecca, the daughter of Avraham’s nephew, appears at the well and passes the “test”. Rebecca returns with Eliezer to the land of Canaan, where they encounter Isaac. Isaac marries Rebecca, loves her, and is comforted over the loss of his mother.

Avraham takes a new wife, Keturah (Hagar) and fathers six additional sons, but Isaac is designated as his only heir. Avraham dies at age 175 and is buried beside Sarah by his two eldest sons, Isaac and Ishmael.

” Dvar Torah ”

Parashat Chayei Sarah starts off by saying that Sarah’s lifetime was 127 years, and Sarah “dies” in Hebron in the land of Canaan. The parsha continues with the purchase of a cemetery plot for her, and the marriage of her son, Isaac. The Chachamim ask the following question. Why is the parsha called “Chayei Sarah”, the Life of Sarah, whereupon the parsha only speaks about the death of Sarah and the life of Isaac? Usually, when the parsha is named after someone, the parsha talks about that person’s life. For example, Parashat Noach is about Noach; Parashat Yitro talks about Yitro; Parashat Balak is about a king called Balak, and so on. So why is the parashat Chayei Sarah not about Sarah?! Why does the portion dedicated to “Sarah’s life” only talks about her death?!

Rabbi Wizman from Orthodox Union has an interesting explanation to this dilemma. He says that a person’s life can be seen through his or her achievements. And Sarah’s greatest achievement in life was to bear Isaac. Sarah, raised a son who would continue going in the path of G-d, and would willfully sacrifice his life for the sake of G-d. Sarah did not just raise a child, she raised a future Patriarch for the Jewish nation. The story of Isaac’s life is, in essence, the story of Sarah’s life. And that’s why Parashat Chayei Sarah talks about Sarah’s death rather than her life, because Sarah’s death reflects the accomplishments of her life! Now we can understand why the main topic of discussion in the parsha is about Isaac, and not about Sarah. Because Sarah’s legacy lives through Isaac.

We could see Sarah’s determination in raising a good child in last week’s parsha. Worried about Ishmael’s bad behaviors that could corrupt Isaac and pull him away from the path of G-d,  she asked him and his mother to leave their house. Although, Avraham was upset  at the beginning, but Hashem told him that Sarah is right and he should listen to her. In raising Isaac to be a G-d fearing person, Sarah played a more important role than Avraham did. And that’s why Sarah merited to have a Parsha named after her, since she raised her only son, in the best possible way she could. Sarah dedicated her entire life to Isaac after he was born!

Yes my friends, our greatest accomplishments in life are our children! We all live a relatively short period of time in this world and then, sadly, we have to leave everything behind. Our legacy, however, lives through our children. How we raise them and present them to the society is the reflection of our own beliefs and behaviors. And in raising the children, mothers play a much more important role than the fathers do.

But you may ask yourself, why did Hashem give such an important task to women rather than to men?! Well, the answer is quite simple. Not to our surprise, the Chachamim say that women have more patience and understanding. They are better decision makers, and believe it or not, they are more spiritual than men too. They are more caring and although not proven scientifically, but many Chachamim believe that they are more intelligent too! If our sages show so much appreciation for Sarah’s uprising of Isaac by naming a Parsha after her, then we should surely show our appreciation to our wives for raising our children too! After all, they are the ones who are in charge of taking care of our greatest assets, which they do such a fine job. We raise our hats to them all!

So my friends, the lesson of the parsha is quite simple. When you own a very valuable possession, you keep it in a safe place. So if you know that  your greatest assets are your children, where else can you leave them other than in the hands of your dear wife……

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

G-d reveals Himself to Avraham three days after his circumcision at age 99; but Avraham rushes off to prepare a meal for three guests who appear in the desert heat. One of the three guests — who are angels disguised as men — announces that, in exactly one year, the barren Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah laughs.

Avraham pleads with G-d to spare the wicked city of Sodom, but did not succeed. Two of the angels arrive in the doomed city to overturn the place, and to save Lot and his family. Lot’s wife turns into a pillar of salt when she disobeyed the command not to look back at the burning city as they flee.

While taking shelter in a cave, Lot’s two daughters get their father drunk, lie with him, and become pregnant. The two sons born from this incident father the nations of Moab and Amon.

Avraham moves to Gerar, where the Philistine king Avimelech takes Sarah — who is, once again, presented as Avraham’s sister — to his palace. In a dream, G-d warns Avimelech that he will die unless he returns the woman to her husband.

G-d remembers His promise to Sarah and gives her and Avraham a son, who is named Isaac (meaning “will laugh”). Isaac is circumcised at the age of eight days; Abraham is 100 years old, and Sarah 90, at their son’s birth.

Hagar and Ishmael are banished from Avraham’s home and wander in the desert; G-d hears the cry of the dying lad and saves his life by showing his mother a well.

G-d tests Avraham’s devotion by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The Parsha concludes with Avraham receiving the news of the birth of a daughter, Rebecca, to his nephew Bethuel.

” Dvar Torah ”

In this week’s parsha, we read about the famous story of “Akeidat Yitzchak”, the binding of Isaac. We all know the story by now: Hashem wanted to test Avraham’s faith, the tenth and the final time. So one day, G-d tells Avraham to take his only son, the one he loves, Isaac and bring him to the top of a mountain and sacrifice him to G-d Almighty. Immediately, without any hesitation, the next morning, he takes him up the mountain, binds him down, lifts the knife up and was ready to slaughter his son. At that point, an angel of G-d tells him to stop and not to harm his son, for now Hashem knows that he truly believes in him.

Wow, what a story! Every time I read the story of Akeida , it gives me the chills. What a great person Avraham was. Who can kill his own son, specially the one and only son from his true love which Hashem gave to him after 100 years?! How can someone go against his own principles and logic? Avraham was preaching others his entire life about how wrong it is to bring human sacrifice for idols and gods, and now he had to do it himself! Not even once he questioned G-d for this commandment! He only did it because he believed in G-d wholeheartedly. The act of Akeida was so great that we still benefit from it to this very day. In our prayers on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, when we ask Hashem for forgiveness, we ask Him to remember what Avraham did and we use his zechut (merit) as a defense mechanism for our sins. Because what our forefather Avraham did, I don’t think anyone else would have had the heart to do it!

Yes, when we read about the Akeida, we all think of Avraham’s greatness, but what about Isaac? Nearly all of the commentators praise Avraham for his act of bravery, but we hardly see any praises for Isaac. According to the majority of our Chachamim, Isaac was 37 years old at the time. He wasn’t a child anymore and he was fully aware of what was going on. He lay down on the alter and allowed his father to bind him down and raise the knife to kill him. He was a full grown up man who went through the Akeida also accepting G-d’s decision. Although killing your son can be more difficult than killing yourself, but killing yourself at a young age when you still have your whole life ahead of you is not a simple act either! So, are there any commentaries about Isaac and the Akeida?!

After searching for a while, I came across an explanation given by Rabbi Frand quoting Chatam Sofer, another great scholar. He says that Isaac also went through a test and in a sense, his test was even greater than his father’s. You see, Avraham heard it directly from G-d Himself, to sacrifice Isaac. But who told Isaac that he was to be a sacrifice? Isaac heard it from his father, Avraham! Isaac must have considered it awfully strange that G-d, who values life, wants a human sacrifice. Such ritual was against all the values and believes that his father had taught him in the past. At this point, Isaac had all the rights to question his father’s decision. Keep in mind that Avraham was quite old at the time, 137 to be exact, and could have easily made a mistake in his judgement. Just before the Akeida, Isaac could have asked his father:  ” Are you sure father that you heard G-d telling you to sacrifice me? Maybe you just had a bad dream? Don’t you want to ask him one more time just to make sure?”  But he never questioned his father. He had full trust in his father Avraham. The respect that he had for his father didn’t allow him to doubt his decision! And this was the greatness of Isaac that stands out and makes him one of our forefathers. Avraham obeyed G-d’s word; but Isaac obeyed his father’s! Giving the same respect to your father as you give to the G-d Almighty deserves all the praises in the world!

Yes my friends, from the episode of Akeida, we learn that respecting parents and listening to them is as important as respecting G-d himself. Respecting parents and respecting Hashem go hand in hand. You cannot do one and not the other. That’s why, on the two tablets of Ten Commandments, honoring parents is placed on the same side as believing in G-d. Remember that Isaac was ready to give up his life in order not to be disrespectful to his father’s decision. If Isaac was willing to do such a sacrifice, the least we can do is just to listen to them.

As the parents get older, they tend to be more demanding and test our patience. Although this test is not as difficult as the Akeida, but nevertheless, it’s still a test. Could there be a point that we are allowed to lose our patience with our parents? The answer is obviously not! Whatever they do or whatever they say, we can never be disrespectful towards them. We should love and respect them till the end. This is what Hashem expects from us, and this is what our hearts should desire!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin