Parashat Vayigash
Torah: Genesis 44:18 - 47:27
Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28
5 Tevet 5778 / 22-23 December 2017
Calendar and dedications follow below. For a
full calendar of events and other info about Temple B’nai Hayim/Congregation
Beth Meier, check out: www.bnaihayim.com
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend,
and please cite the source.
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SAME AS HE EVER WAS
‘And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me,” and they came near; and he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.”’ Genesis 45:4.
Menachem Mendel, the Kotzker Rebbe, interprets our verse in this way: “I am the same Joseph that I was when you sold me into Egypt. I did not change in this corrupt country, and you do not have to be afraid that you caused me to become corrupted. I am Joseph your brother, the son of Jacob, just as then, when ‘you sold me into Egypt.’”
Joseph appeared to be an Egyptian. He spoke the language. He dressed like Egyptian royalty. He had power equivalent to that of Pharaoh. In order to do his job properly, he had to be more than passingly familiar with and sensitive to Egyptian religion, culture, politics, etc. He was an Egyptian. And yet, in his essence, he was the same Joseph he had always been - the son of Jacob, loyal to the God of Israel.
The United States is not Egypt, thank God.
But there is no question that America creates danger for Jews in terms of
total assimilation and the end of Jewish identity. However, one can be a
serious and practicing Jew and still actively take part in the larger secular,
non-Jewish culture. But it requires fortitude and an awareness of
boundaries, as well as education in Judaism. The Midrash tells us that Joseph
thought constantly of his heritage, of his father and of his God. By doing
so, Joseph maintained his identity (and his sanity!), despite being a stranger
in a strange land.
Shabbat
Shalom!
Rabbi Richard
A. Flom
Visit me on
Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה
כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
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Candle lighting: 4:30 pm
Friday – Shabbat Evening Service at 7:30
pm, followed by Oneg Shabbat.
Saturday – Breakfast and Torah study -
8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service – 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday – NO Religious School or
Adult Hebrew until January 7 – Winter Break
Monday – TBH office closed – Federal holiday
Tuesday – NO Lunch and Learn – Resume January 2
This d’var torah is offered in honor of my wonderful loving life
partner, Lynn Kronzek, as we observe
our 37th wedding anniversary on Thursday, December 28th.
Thank you, my dear, for all you do!
This d'var
torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella,
Ze’ev ben Adeline, HaRav Chana Rivka bat Doronit, Yaakov Rani Ben
Margalit, Eilite bat Miryam, HaRav Tzvi Hersh ben Frimet, Sarah bat
Devorah, Hiroe Andriola, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Jerry Daniels, Maya
Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard
Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Bernard Garvin, Myra Goodman,
Leah Granat, Simon Hartmann, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya
Kronzek (Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Lyndia Lowy (Leah bat Sarah), David
Marks, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya
Feiga bat Kreina), Jonathan Woolf, and Meagan Yudell.
Please let me
know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is
anyone who may be removed from this list.
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