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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Parsha Vayeishev – Signet Ring, Cloak and Staff The soul when it descends into our physical world to inhabit a body is no longer “attached” to its heavenly source. The soul, detached though it may be down here, possesses a superior strength that it receives from the soul’s very essence. When in its heavenly abode, the soul does not need that powe Parsha Vayeishev – Sit Down and Eat a Meal Before we decide to do something drastic that may distance another Jew from us, we must be deliberate in our judgment. This action can either get us more ensconced in exile or get us closer to Redemption/ We must sit down and “eat bread”, i.e. thoroughly learn and digest all of what the Torah says a Parsha Vayeishev – Superficial Supernatural Reuben “suffered” from a syndrome from which we all suffer: we are often content with our good intentions and a minimal amount of effort to make these good intentions materialize. We often lack the determination and preparation to facilitate complete success in our endeavors. The Chanukah message is Parsha Vayeishev – Tarmodian Feet One cannot fight rebelliousness using conventional means of education and persuasion. There was no rational basis for the handful of ill-trained priests to start a rebellion against the Syrian Greek Empire. But, a rebel does not necessarily limit himself to logic. It takes chutzpah to do what the Ma Parsha Vayeishev – The Soul’s Metaphor According to the Ba’al Shem Tov all of our material ambitions should never be construed as being no more than just a desire for more material wealth. When we crave physical “things” it is actually the soul using figurative language. It says one thing, but it really means something entirely different Parsha Vayeishev – The Two Components of the Messianic Age Torah is called “Torah Or”-the Torah of Light, because Torah, as G-d’s wisdom, does not “suffer” from the same opaqueness that characterizes nature. Parsha Vayeishev – Upward and Onward Joseph and Chanukah are intertwined concepts. The word Joseph implies increasing in one’s spiritual life. Similarly, Chanukah captures the ideal of “continually increasing” and “rising in matters of holiness” as we add another candle each night Parsha Vayishlach – Being Alone and the Lone Jug of Oil When you are all alone in your struggle for good, you are not truly alone. There is a G-dly flame that burns in the heart of every Jew that accompanies us in all of our positive efforts. We are never alone. Parsha Vayishlach – Don’t Lose Your Staff When we start to strengthen our trust, the forces of evil and negativity look for our vulnerable spaces hoping to drag us down even more. They find that vulnerability in loneliness. Esau’s guardian angel waited for Jacob to be alone and at that moment he attacked him. As soon as we remove ourselves Parsha Vayishlach – Humility When a person is exposed to something so much greater than himself, it engenders a natural sense of insignificance and humility. When a relatively tall person stands next to a much taller person, he will somehow feel short. And the more good we experience then, the more humble we become, and the mor Parsha Vayishlach – In Transit During the brief “intermission” between levels and worlds, the souls of the righteous become disoriented. In the words of Kabbalah, they then are characterized as being in a state of “katnus-lowness.” True, their state of “lowness” is higher than their former state of “highness,” nevertheless, becau Parsha Vayishlach – In Unity There Is No Fear Instead of understanding the division of Jacob’s entourage into two camps as a consequence of fear, the Chassidic translation reverses it. Jacob’s fear was actually a consequence of the division of his entourage. Jacob was well aware of the fact that when the Jewish people are united they are invinc Parsha Vayishlach – Is This How We Celebrate a Bar Mitzvah?! The lesson for a Bar and Bas Mitzvah, the day a Jewish boy or girl is initiated into the Jewish community, is that a Jew has to feel an intense sense of connection to every other Jew. This feeling must also be accompanied with readiness to sacrifice one’s own comfort and convenience. Parsha Vayishlach – Moshiach for Dummies and Beyond It is axiomatic in Judaism that a Jew must not only believe in Moshiach’s coming but he or she must also yearn for and eagerly anticipate it. We must want, pray and even “demand” Moshiach’s arrival. The importance of desiring Moshiach and Redemption is dramatically expressed in our daily prayer, the Parsha Vayishlach – Name Dropping The preference Jacob had for the name Benjamin-Son of the South (Israel) over Rachel's’ choice, Ben Oni-the Son of My Pain, for their last son, reflects the way Jacob viewed life in general. Never forgetful of the travail that he lived through, he was committed to the “Land of Israel” mentality of o Parsha Vayishlach – Preparations for Moshiach We cannot allow the temptations and compromises of Galus to gain mastery over us. This is a continuing struggle and we cannot go into it with our eyes closed. But, even as we prepare to do battle with the forces of Galus, we must base that preparedness on the confidence that we will be victorious. W Parsha Vayishlach – Reprogramming Sometimes the threat to our existence comes from the right; sometimes from the left. Sometimes it comes from secularists and sometimes from religious fanatics. Frequently the assault is directed against our bodies and sometimes the attack is geared to undermine our soul. Be prepared for all forms of Parsha Vayishlach – Returning with Light and Joy The ultimate goal of Teshuvah, of return to G-d is “good deeds.” The process of Teshuvah should not engender a desire to escape reality and responsibility but rather it should serve as a force of positive energy that will lead to more and more good deeds; more and more positive engagement with the p Parsha Vayishlach – Self Respect We are witness to unprecedented, almost universal, opposition to our rights to the Land of Israel, coming not only from our most implacable enemies in the far-right or far-left, but even from the most “sophisticated” leaders in the academic world. Many of those, who we felt were the most tolerant an Parsha Vayishlach – The Three Instruments of Perfection Contrary to the popular myth that Jews are pacifists and do not believe in self-defense, Jewish law, as stated in the Talmud, makes it clear, “One who comes to kill you, wake up early to kill him.” This is enshrined in Jewish law regarding individuals who find themselves threatened by others and it