With this you will know that I am HaShem

(Exodus 7:17)

Tevet 29, 5777/January 27, 2017

Back in the day before internet, social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp; long before the smartphone, the cellphone, the cordless phone, the dial phone; thousands of years before television, radio, newsreels, telegraphs, the pony express or the printing press, when G-d wanted to deliver a message to the world He would write it boldly in the heavens, shake the foundations of the earth, and cause the oceans to rise or fall, according to His will. Actually, G-d continues to communicate with His creation in the very same way today. Only today, who's listening?

The Robber and the Strong Man

Moses came like burglar breaking into a strong man's home, assaulting the homeowner, tying him up, and taking away all the homeowner's possessions.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Va'era (וארא | I appeared)

Torah: Exodus 6:2-9:35

Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25-29:21

Gospel: Matthew 12:1-14

Moshe, Moshe!

(Exodus 3:4)

Tevet 22, 5777/January 20, 2017

The book of Exodus (Shemot) begins and all the people we used to know, they are gone. Yosef and his brothers and their entire generation... gone. A new reality greets us, a darker reality. The shift in the fate of the children of Israel is swift and shocking. From welcomed VIPs in Egypt they have suddenly become personae non gratae. Worse than that, the male newborns are marked for death.

The Golden Handcuffs

Success, prosperity, and a comfortable life can become a spiritual prison of materialism from which it is difficult to escape. Are you wearing the golden handcuffs?

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Shemot (שמות | Names)

Torah: Exodus 1:1-6:1

Haftarah: Isaiah 27:6-28:13, 29:22-23

Gospel: Luke 5:12-39

And Yosef died at the age of one hundred ten years

(Genesis 50:26)

Tevet 15, 5777/January 13, 2017

In the beginning the earth was full of darkness, chaos and void. G-d said "Let there be light," and G-d created Man and man bore sons and brothers were filled with envy and enmity. Brother killed brother and brother mocked brother and brother fought with brother and brother took from brother. Brother spoke evil of brothers and brothers sold brother into slavery. And then brothers reconciled, forgave and embraced. And the light that G-d created on the first day shined at last upon the brotherhood that G-d had been seeking ever since He put an end to the darkness.

And then "Yosef died at the age of one hundred ten years, and they embalmed him and he was placed into the coffin in Egypt." (Genesis 50:26)

Waiting for Salvation

Maimonides says that a person who does not believe in Messiah and await His coming denies the Torah.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Vayechi (ויחי | He lived)

Torah: Genesis 47:28-50:26

Haftarah: 1 Kings 2:1-12

Gospel: Luke 4:31-5:11

And he fell on his brother Binyamin's neck and wept

(Genesis 45:14)

Tevet 8, 5777/January 6, 2017

In this week's parashat Vayigash, the story of Yosef and his brothers comes to a dramatic climax. Shock, disbelief, confrontation, conciliation, and the shedding of many tears all mark the Vayigash narrative. One of the most poignant moments is when Yosef reveals to his brothers his true identity and tearfully embraces his brother Binyamin: "And he fell on his brother Binyamin's neck and wept, and Binyamin wept on his neck." (Genesis 45:14) Our sages tell us that their tears were not only tears of joy, but they were also tears of grief, as united in their embrace they both received a prophetic vision of the future destruction of the Tabernacle at Shiloh and the two Holy Temples in Jerusalem. The Tabernacle at Shiloh was located in the inheritance of Ephraim, the son of Yosef, and the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was located in the inheritance of Binyamin, hence their mutual prophecy and grief.

What Pharaoh Heard

When someone wrongs you, its natural to want to tell others about the culprit's awful behavior, but Joseph took a higher road—the path of discipleship.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Vayigash (ויגש | He approached)

Torah: Genesis 44:18-47:27

Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28

Gospel: John 5:1-47

Preparing for the Lean Years

How's your retirement plan looking? Have you stored up "treasure in heaven" for the lean years ahead?

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Miketz (מקץ | From the end)

Torah: Genesis 41:1-44:17

Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14-4:7

Gospel: Luke 4:16-31

Now Yosef recognized his brothers

(Genesis 42:7)

Tevet 1, 5777/December 30, 2016

"Now Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him." (Genesis 42:7) Recognition, or the lack of it, plays a consistent role in the story of Yosef and his brothers. We recall that the first time a call to recognition is employed is when the brothers bring Yosef's blood-stained tunic to his father Yaakov, and say to him, rather coldly, "We have found this; now recognize whether it is your son's coat or not." (ibid 37:32) This sounds more like a police detective asking a next of kin, and not like brothers inquiring of their brother's splendidly unique and recognizable coat to their beloved father. But of course they are covering up their crime, and by doing so, they are, ironically, expressing their own devastating lack of recognition to the heinous transgression they have committed. Yaakov, naturally "recognized it, and he said, "It is my son's coat; a wild beast has devoured him; Yosef has surely been torn up," (ibid 37:33) and so the tragic tale takes another heartwrenching turn.