Parashat Vayiggash
Tevet 11, 5781 / December 25-26, 2020
Torah: Genesis 44:18 - 47:27
Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:15-28
Candle-lighting for Friday: 4:32 PM PST - Sherman Oaks, CA
This week's Cyber Torah is offered in honor of my wonderful life partner Lynn Kronzek, as we celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary (!) on Monday, December 28. Happy Anniversary, my dear!
Our Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing List can be found at:
Our Refuah Shleimah/Prayer for Healing List can be found at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iT0tdp45ITSU6o1tykah41m3IXBxBwLxe8FORSIXzDo/edit?usp=sharing
If you would like to have a name added or removed from this Prayer for Healing list, please write to me at: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
This week's Yahrzeit list can be found at:
A list of all of our on-line activities can be found below.
All our services and programs are available at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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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
TBH/CBM
TBH/CBM
הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO!
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO!
All our services and programs are available at: https://www.facebook.com/BnaiHayim
Kabbalat Shabbat Evening Service with Reb Jason Van Leeuwen tis Friday evening at 6:30 PM PST.
Shabbat Morning Service with Reb Jason Van Leeuwen this Saturday at 10:00 AM PST.
Kabbalat Shabbat Evening Service with Reb Jason Van Leeuwen tis Friday evening at 6:30 PM PST.
Shabbat Morning Service with Reb Jason Van Leeuwen this Saturday at 10:00 AM PST.
Downloadable and printable Siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat Ma'ariv, Shabbat/Festival Morning, and more, including the weekly Parashah and Haftarah, all available at:
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/form-download-e-siddur-0
Fill out the form - the download is free.
David Silon’s class “Jewish History” meets every Sunday at 11:00 am PST.
Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PST for Lunch and Learn, a 60-90 minute study session. We're learning Hasidic teachings on the weekly parashah. NOTE: Lunch and Learn will be on hiatus until January 5, 2021, as Rabbi Flom will be on vacation.
Some excellent on-line Jewish resources are available at:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/
You can subscribe to the Conservative Yeshiva’s weekly Torah Sparks via email here:
https://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/torahsparks/
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/form-download-e-siddur-0
Fill out the form - the download is free.
David Silon’s class “Jewish History” meets every Sunday at 11:00 am PST.
Join us every Tuesday at 12:30 pm PST for Lunch and Learn, a 60-90 minute study session. We're learning Hasidic teachings on the weekly parashah. NOTE: Lunch and Learn will be on hiatus until January 5, 2021, as Rabbi Flom will be on vacation.
Some excellent on-line Jewish resources are available at:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/
You can subscribe to the Conservative Yeshiva’s weekly Torah Sparks via email here:
https://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/torahsparks/
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, and receive Cyber Torah every week in your mailbox, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
