Parashat Vayechi
Torah: Genesis 47:28 - 50:26 (Chazak, chazak v'nitchazeik!)
Haftarah: 1 Kings 2:1-12
Tevet 14, 5782 / December 17-18, 2021
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for
Feigel bat Kreina and D'vorah bat Feigel.
Torah: Genesis 47:28 - 50:26 (Chazak, chazak v'nitchazeik!)
Haftarah: 1 Kings 2:1-12
Tevet 14, 5782 / December 17-18, 2021
Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We’re continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya’akov.
A link to
the reading is here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jt-NLamlIiAGpBhU7WNrCVZGBYhHHWCN/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jt-NLamlIiAGpBhU7WNrCVZGBYhHHWCN/view?usp=sharing
On December 21, we’ll be continuing from the middle of page 32, "V'amar Rabbah bar Chinena saba mishmeih d'Rav" - "Rabba b. Chinena, the Senior, in the name of Rab, said further:"..
NO Lunch and Learn on December 28.
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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DOES OUR FATHER YET LIVE?
Rabbi Yitzchak taught in the name of Rabbi Yochanan:
"Jacob our father did not die." He [Rabbi Nachman] objected: “Was it
for nothing that he was bewailed and embalmed and buried?” The other replied:
“I derive this from the verse, as it is said – ‘Therefore do not fear, O Jacob,
My servant, says the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel, for, lo, I will save
you from afar and your seed from the land of their captivity.’” The verse
likens him [Jacob] to his seed [Israel]; as his seed will then be alive so he too
will be alive.
In response to the other rabbi’s objections, Rabbi
Yitzchak explains that just as Jacob's descendants are living, so too is
Jacob still living (citing Jeremiah 30:10). This is the message of the
song Jewish children learn: "Am Yisrael Chai! Od Avinu Chai!"
- The People of Israel live! Our father yet lives!
The question we must ask ourselves is: what are we doing
to assure that this sentiment will always be true? Do we study Torah
regularly? Do we observe Shabbat, keep kosher and perform other
mitzvot to the best of our ability and understanding? Do we serve as good
Jewish role models for our children?
We are the ones who have the power to fulfill (or not)
the promise of God's deliverance of the People of Israel. If we live
Judaism, the ancestral inheritance of the community of Jacob (morashah kehillat
Ya'akov), in a meaningful way, then indeed, Jacob our father still
lives. If we do not, then our descendants will not be the people of
Israel.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
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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הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
-----------------------------------------------
Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, 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
