7 Tevet 5779 / 14-15 December 2018
Parashat Vayiggash
Torah: Genesis 44:18 - 47:27
Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28
Parashat Vayiggash
Torah: Genesis 44:18 - 47:27
Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28
Calendar and dedications follow below. For more
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ONE
BUT NOT THE OTHER?
"And
they told him, saying, 'Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the
land of Egypt.' And Jacob's heart fainted, for he did not believe
them." Genesis 45:26
The Kotzker Rebbe, Menachem Mendel (d. 1859) teaches: When one says a person is "alive", the implication is that he is righteous - for only that path is true living. Thus, Jacob was told that Joseph was both righteous and the ruler of Egypt. To Jacob, those were mutually exclusive.
The Kotzker may have been drawing upon a well-known teaching of the Rabbis: "Even in their lifetime, the wicked are called dead." (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 18) My question is: why would Jacob think that righteousness and rule over Egypt were contradictory?
In much of his teaching, the Kotzker emphasizes the search for truth, the need for humility, and constant self-examination and self-criticism - all of which he might characterize as righteousness. If indeed Joseph is the ruler of Egypt, with unimaginable power and ostentatious wealth, this could well prevent him from following the paths of righteousness.
An answer, according to Rabbi Chaim Sofer (d. 1886), is found in the next verse: "And they told him all that Joseph had spoken to them". He says that Jacob was revived, and he believed his sons, only after hearing that Joseph had said, "God has made me lord over all Egypt." (Gen. 45:9) Jacob knew that, so long as Joseph recognized that all he had had come from God, he truly could be both powerful and righteous.
May we all have the wisdom and righteousness of Joseph.
Shabbat Shalom!
The Kotzker Rebbe, Menachem Mendel (d. 1859) teaches: When one says a person is "alive", the implication is that he is righteous - for only that path is true living. Thus, Jacob was told that Joseph was both righteous and the ruler of Egypt. To Jacob, those were mutually exclusive.
The Kotzker may have been drawing upon a well-known teaching of the Rabbis: "Even in their lifetime, the wicked are called dead." (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 18) My question is: why would Jacob think that righteousness and rule over Egypt were contradictory?
In much of his teaching, the Kotzker emphasizes the search for truth, the need for humility, and constant self-examination and self-criticism - all of which he might characterize as righteousness. If indeed Joseph is the ruler of Egypt, with unimaginable power and ostentatious wealth, this could well prevent him from following the paths of righteousness.
An answer, according to Rabbi Chaim Sofer (d. 1886), is found in the next verse: "And they told him all that Joseph had spoken to them". He says that Jacob was revived, and he believed his sons, only after hearing that Joseph had said, "God has made me lord over all Egypt." (Gen. 45:9) Jacob knew that, so long as Joseph recognized that all he had had come from God, he truly could be both powerful and righteous.
May we all have the wisdom and righteousness of Joseph.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Temple B'nai
Hayim/Congregation Beth Meier
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face
of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 88a
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CALENDAR
Candle lighting: 4:27 pm
Friday – Shabbat Evening
Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Breakfast and
Torah study - 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service - 9:30 am. Kiddush
luncheon follows.
Sunday – Religious
School – 9:30 am. Religious School on break after this until January 6.
Tuesday – Lunch and Learn
– 12:00 noon. NO Lunch and Learn 12/25 and 1/1 – Federal holidays. Resume 1/8
Friday, December 21 – Shabbat Evening
Service – 7:30 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, December 22 - Breakfast
and Torah study – 8:45 am. Shabbat Morning Service - 9:30 am. Kiddush luncheon
follows.
Next time you come to
TBH/CBM, please bring some non-perishable canned and packaged foods and
personal items (no glass) for SOVA.
TBH Religious
School and TBH Pre-school have open enrollment. Enroll your
children now! Contact the TBH office for information.
And be sure to tell your
neighbors, friends, and relatives about our warm and welcoming community and
our programs!
We are looking
for volunteers for services: chant Torah or Haftarah, daven, lead
English readings, and have aliyot and other Torah/bimah honors. Training
available! Contact Rabbi Flom by e-mail for details and to sign up!
This d’var torah is offered
for a refuah shleimah for Elisheva bat Malkah, Ze’ev ben Adeline, Liora bat
Sarah, Eilite bat Miriam, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks,
Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan
ben Gittel), Annabelle Flom (Chanah Bella bat Kreina), Bernard Garvin, Leah
Granat, Brandon Joseph, Gabor Klein, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek (Zlata Malkah
bat Sarah Emanu), Barbara Levy, David Marks, Debra Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat
Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), Irwin Silon, William
Sragow, and Jonathan Woolf.
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.
My weekly divrei torah are
available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail
list. No salesman will call!
Cyber Torah list
management:
To subscribe to
Cyber Torah, send an e-mail from the receiving address to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading
“Subscribe Cyber Torah”.
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To dedicate a
Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah in memory of a loved one or for a refuah
shleimah, send an e-mail to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net with the heading “Dedicate Cyber Torah” and provide details
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