Kislev 30, 5783 / December 23-24, 2022
Parashat Miketz (Shabbat Hanukkah; Shabbat Rosh Chodesh)
Torah: Genesis 41:1 - 44:17 (Aliyot 1-6)
Shabbat Rosh Chodesh: Numbers 28:9-15 (Aliyah 7)
Maftir: Numbers 7:42-47 (Shabbat Hanukkah)
Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7 (Shabbat Hanukkah); Sephardim add: Isaiah 66:1, 23 (Rosh Chodesh) and 1 Samuel 20:18, 42 (Machar Chodesh)
Maftir: Numbers 7:42-47 (Shabbat Hanukkah)
Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7 (Shabbat Hanukkah); Sephardim add: Isaiah 66:1, 23 (Rosh Chodesh) and 1 Samuel 20:18, 42 (Machar Chodesh)
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This d'var torah is offered in honor of my wonderful wife/life partner Lynn Kronzek, on the occasion of our 42nd wedding anniversary on Wednesday, December 28. It seems like only yesterday!
This d'var torah is offered in honor of our son, Robert Flom, who will be observing the 15th anniversary of his bar mitzvah by chanting his haftarah this Shabbat at Temple B'nai Hayim.
In Honor of Both Occasions, Lynn and I are sponsoring kiddush lunch at Temple B'nai Hayim this Shabbat. If you can join us for services and lunch, please RSVP to the Temple office no later than Thursday, December 22, so we can be sure to have sufficient food for everyone.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Chanah Bella bat Kreina and Devorah bat Feigel.
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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.
On January 3, we'll be at BT Shabbat 32a - page 127 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 - "וגברי היכי מיבדקי?" - "And when are the sins of men investigated?” NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON DECEMBER 27. Meet again January 3.
Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
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Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
On January 3, we'll be at BT Shabbat 32a - page 127 of Ein Ya'akov Volume 1 - "וגברי היכי מיבדקי?" - "And when are the sins of men investigated?” NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON DECEMBER 27. Meet again January 3.
Ein Ya'akov is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
-----------------------------------------------
Rabbi Van Leeuwen has a blog which you should read at:
https://rebjasonblog.wordpress.com/blog/
Dr. Steve Pearlman writes up the "Midrashim of the Week", which you should read at:
https://midrashsrp.wordpress.com
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Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
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DESPAIR AND HOPE IN THE CORN
"Now Jacob saw that there was food (shever) in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, 'Why are you looking at each other?' And he said, 'Behold I have heard that there is food (shever) in Egypt. Go down there and buy (shivru) for us from there, and we will live and we will not die.'" Gen. 42:1-2
The Midrash goes to great lengths, using multiple puns and misspellings, to teach us that Jacob was prophetic. The word "shever" means both "food" and "brokenness" (literally, "rupture"). "Shivru" comes from the same root as "shever". And the Hebrew word "sever" (spelled with the letter "sin" rather than "shin") means "hope". In an unpointed Hebrew text, such as a Torah scroll, "shever" and "sever" are identical.
"Now Jacob saw that there was food (shever) in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, 'Why are you looking at each other?' And he said, 'Behold I have heard that there is food (shever) in Egypt. Go down there and buy (shivru) for us from there, and we will live and we will not die.'" Gen. 42:1-2
The Midrash goes to great lengths, using multiple puns and misspellings, to teach us that Jacob was prophetic. The word "shever" means both "food" and "brokenness" (literally, "rupture"). "Shivru" comes from the same root as "shever". And the Hebrew word "sever" (spelled with the letter "sin" rather than "shin") means "hope". In an unpointed Hebrew text, such as a Torah scroll, "shever" and "sever" are identical.
"It says that Jacob saw brokenness (and hope) in Egypt. There was brokenness, that was the famine. There was hope, that was the plenty. There was brokenness, that Joseph had gone down to Egypt. There was hope, that Joseph was in charge. There was brokenness, that there would be slavery and poverty. There was hope, that afterward they would come out with great wealth... For it had been revealed to Jacob that Joseph was alive." Midrash, at B’reishit Rabbah 91
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream - Jean Adrien Guignet, 1848
Jacob is not only prophetic; he also gives a valuable lesson. One can find hope even in despair. Both despair and hope somehow arise in the same place, as a kernel within our souls. The result, despair or hope, really depends on how we nurture the seed. Even when we think there is no hope – there is hope.
Shabbat Shalom! Hanukkah Sameach!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
TBH/CBM
.אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם? הַלוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם
Who is wise? One who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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