"Whisper it in my ear so I can hear it." These are the instructions that my children give me every Friday night when I bless them.
When it is time to bless my sons I utter the words "May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menasheh." This blessing, however, has a slight fault to it. Yaakov himself feared the reprocutions of "stealing" the blessing of his older brother Aisav. Why then would he take away Menasheh's blessing and give it to Ephraim (Menasheh was the older brother of the two)? Furthermore, why would Yaakov decree that this "stolen blessing" should be recited by an entire nation on a weekly basis?
The answer to the first questions is fairly simple. Yaakov switched the order of Ephraim and Menasheh because he understood that one son would be greater than the other. This is similar to Rivkah - his mother - allowing him to take Aisav's blessing. Rather than "learning from his mistake" in taking Aisav's blessing, Yaakov learned from the success. Perhaps if Yaakov hadn't been allowed by his mother to take the blessing, he would think it was inappropriate to bless Ephraim first - even though he knew Ephraim was meant to be greater. The fact that Rivka not only allowed but instructed him to take Aisav's blessing taught Yaakov that sometimes age is not a "right" - sometimes we have to look deeper into a situation.
The answer to the second question is much more profound. While we may now understand why it was ok for Yaakov to bless Ephraim first, that still doesn't explain why he would decree that all fathers would do this for the rest of eternity!!
Let us - once again - reflect back on the incident between Yaakov and Aisav. When Yaakov took Aisav's blessing, Aisav became furious! At the same time, Yaakov was hesitant and unsure about taking the blessing. However, we don't see any of this by Ephraim and Menashe. Neither of them seems to care about the order in which they are receive their blessing. Ephraim is not arogant about the fact he is being blessed first and Menashe is not angry about the fact he is being blessed second. Both brothers are content with the blessing they are receiving.
THIS is the blessing that Yaakov decrees should be given throughout the nation. When he instructs a father to bless his son saying "Hashem should make you like Ephraim and Menashe", he doesn't mean in greatness. The blessing a father is giving to his son is that, like Ephraim and Menashe were, the son be content with whatever he receives in life and that he never desires more. Indeed, if one were to achieve this level of Ephraim and Menashe, they would achieve true happiness!
Shabbat Shalom!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
A Father's Love (Parashat Vayigash)
This week's parasha begins with Yehuda pleading with Yosef not to enslave Binyamin. Yehuda recounts for Yosef all of the events that led up to their present discussion: Yaakov sent his sons to seek out food from Egypt, upon meeting them Yosef inquired about their family and insisted they bring their younger brother back to him, when they returned to Yaakov with this message he refused to release Binyamin so Yehuda pled with his father and convinced him to send Binyamin. Yehuda's final statement to Yosef is "how can I return to my father if the youth is not with me?" Upon hearing all of this, Yosef orders everone but his brothers to leave his presence. He then lets out a cry, reveals his identity to his brothers and asks "is my father still alive?"
This seems a bit strange. Yehuda had just gotten through speaking about Yaakov and made a clear statement that indicated the fact that he was still alive - why did Yosef still need to ask??
I once heard Rabbi Label Lamm give the following explanation:
There was once a boy who came from a broken home. At a young age his father had left him and his mother. His mother, unable to raise him alone placed him in the care of his grandparents. Unfortunately, they too were unable to handle this rambunctious young child so they placed in him a Yeshiva. The child passed through Yeshiva rather quietly - always sitting in the back and not participating much.
One day, when the child was in 3rd grade his Rebbe presented the class with the famous question - why did Yosef need to ask if his father was still alive? Suddenly, this boy raised his hand.
Hesitantly, the Rebbe called on him and the boy gave the following profound answer : "maybe his wasn't asking if Yaakov was still physically alive, but if HIS father was still alive - the father that loved and cared about him, or was that man gone?"
WOW!!
Yosef knew that Yaakov was still living and breathing because Yehuda had just told him so. What he wanted to know what if HIS father was still alive. Did Yaakov remember him, did he ever ask or talk about him anymore or had he forgotten Yosef? Baruch Hashem, we know that not only was Yaakov still alive, but so was Yosef's father!
Wednesday marked 10 months since Yitzchak ben Nachum was niftar. However, I know that my father still lives on...
Shabbat Shalom!
This seems a bit strange. Yehuda had just gotten through speaking about Yaakov and made a clear statement that indicated the fact that he was still alive - why did Yosef still need to ask??
I once heard Rabbi Label Lamm give the following explanation:
There was once a boy who came from a broken home. At a young age his father had left him and his mother. His mother, unable to raise him alone placed him in the care of his grandparents. Unfortunately, they too were unable to handle this rambunctious young child so they placed in him a Yeshiva. The child passed through Yeshiva rather quietly - always sitting in the back and not participating much.
One day, when the child was in 3rd grade his Rebbe presented the class with the famous question - why did Yosef need to ask if his father was still alive? Suddenly, this boy raised his hand.
Hesitantly, the Rebbe called on him and the boy gave the following profound answer : "maybe his wasn't asking if Yaakov was still physically alive, but if HIS father was still alive - the father that loved and cared about him, or was that man gone?"
WOW!!
Yosef knew that Yaakov was still living and breathing because Yehuda had just told him so. What he wanted to know what if HIS father was still alive. Did Yaakov remember him, did he ever ask or talk about him anymore or had he forgotten Yosef? Baruch Hashem, we know that not only was Yaakov still alive, but so was Yosef's father!
Wednesday marked 10 months since Yitzchak ben Nachum was niftar. However, I know that my father still lives on...
Shabbat Shalom!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover (Parashat MiKeitz)
In this wek's parasha, Pharaoh has a dream that nobody is able to interpret for him. Finally, the bartender informs Pharaoh of a man he met while in prison (Yosef) who interpreted his dream. Yosef is summoned and interprets Pharaoh's dream. Pharaoh then names him Viceroy over Egypt.
A great famine hits (as Yosef had predicted) and nobody has grain but him. Everyone travels to Yosef to purchase food so that they can survive. Yaakov sends his sons (minus Binyamin) to Egypt to purchase grain as well - not knowing that Yosef is the one selling it.
When his brothers arrive before him, Yosef recognizes them right away but they do not recognize him. He then begins accusing them of being spies, etc. He treats them cruely, threatens to imprison them and insists that they bring him their youngest brother. In between doing all of this - he weeps! If Yosef was upset about his actions or if he was happy to see his brothers, why not embrace them and reveal his identity immediately??
Raabi Yaakov Kamenetzky explains the following:
On Channukah, we light a menorah for 8 days because Hashem gave us a miracle and oil that only should have lasted one day lasted eight. When the Kohanim first found this container of oil, they were certain that it was only enough for one day - but they were wrong.
When Yosef's brothers made the decision to sell him as a slave, they were certain that they were making a wise choice. Now, when they were face to face with a man whom everybody in the land revered as being brilliant, they were certain that he was crazy!!
Yosef put his brothers through this ordeal to teach them a very valuable lesson - Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover! Just like we learn from the Kohanim with the oil, sometimes you may look at a situation and think that you have it all figured out. In the end, however, we see that things may not be as simple (or difficult) as they appear.
With this lesson in mind, let us not be afraid (or too eager) to approach different situations in life - they may not me quite how they seem.
Shabbat Shalom!
A great famine hits (as Yosef had predicted) and nobody has grain but him. Everyone travels to Yosef to purchase food so that they can survive. Yaakov sends his sons (minus Binyamin) to Egypt to purchase grain as well - not knowing that Yosef is the one selling it.
When his brothers arrive before him, Yosef recognizes them right away but they do not recognize him. He then begins accusing them of being spies, etc. He treats them cruely, threatens to imprison them and insists that they bring him their youngest brother. In between doing all of this - he weeps! If Yosef was upset about his actions or if he was happy to see his brothers, why not embrace them and reveal his identity immediately??
Raabi Yaakov Kamenetzky explains the following:
On Channukah, we light a menorah for 8 days because Hashem gave us a miracle and oil that only should have lasted one day lasted eight. When the Kohanim first found this container of oil, they were certain that it was only enough for one day - but they were wrong.
When Yosef's brothers made the decision to sell him as a slave, they were certain that they were making a wise choice. Now, when they were face to face with a man whom everybody in the land revered as being brilliant, they were certain that he was crazy!!
Yosef put his brothers through this ordeal to teach them a very valuable lesson - Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover! Just like we learn from the Kohanim with the oil, sometimes you may look at a situation and think that you have it all figured out. In the end, however, we see that things may not be as simple (or difficult) as they appear.
With this lesson in mind, let us not be afraid (or too eager) to approach different situations in life - they may not me quite how they seem.
Shabbat Shalom!
Friday, December 7, 2012
It's All Part Of The Master Plan (Parashat Vayeishev)
Starting from the very beginning of the parasha, we see that a lot of events occur in Vayeishev - each of them having a domino effect on the next one. We see from this that, though we may not always realize it, Hashem has a plan and there is a reason for everything that happens in life.
The Parasha starts out by telling us that Yaakov loved Yosef more than his other children. Yosef's siblings noticed this as well and, as a result, they hated Yosef. Yosef has two dreams which he interprets to mean that his brothers will one day bow down to him. He shares these dreams with them and, needless to say, it only strengthens their hatred towards him.
Yosef's brothers had gone to tend to Yaakov's flock in Shechem ( although Rashiexplains that in reality they were tending to themselves - not the flock) and Yaakov sends Yosef to check on them. Upon seeing Yosef approaching them, his brothers conspire to kill him! Reuven, however, convinces them not to kill Yosef but simply to throw him into a pit.
Afterwards, the brothers take a break to eat some food (sibling rivalry can certainly work up an appetite) and, while doing so, a caravan comes and takes Yosef from the pit to sell him to Egyptians as a slave. When his siblings realize what had happened, they dip Yosef's tunic in blood and return it to Yaakov claiming that their brother was attacked by a wild beast and killed.
Yosef's "master's" wife accuses him of trying to seduce her (thought it was really the other way around) and so the master throws him in Pharoah's prison. While in prison he meets the "bartender" and "baker" who have also been arrested. Each of them shares a dream they had with Yosef and he interprets them correctly. Upon interpreting the bartender's dream, Yosef told him that in three days he will be reinstated to his previous position and released from jail - Yosef asked that when this happened the bartender should please remember Yosef and mention him to Pharoah.
It's truly amazing how each of the above mentioned incidents impacted the next one!! Had Yosef not related his dream to his brothers, they may not have wanted to kill him. Had they not wanted to kill him, they wouldn't have thrown him in the pit. Had they not thrown him in the pit, he wouldn't have been captured by the caravan. Had he not been captured by the caravan, he wouldn't have been sold to Potiphar's husband. Had he not been sold, she wouldn't have accused him of seduction. Had he not been accused, he wouldn't have been arrested. Had he not been arrested, he wouldn't have interpreted the bartender's dream. Had he not interpreted the dream, the bartender never would have mentioned him to Pharoah - which eventually led to Yosef's freedom and appointment as a ruler over Egypt - AMAZING!!
Yosef's one BIG mistake in all of this is a mistake that we make all too often - he failed to realize that Hashem had a plan! When interpreting the bartender's dream, he asked that that bartender remember him when speaking to Pharaoh - for this, Hashem punished him with another two years in prison. Yosef should have realized that it wasn't the bartender who needed to remember him, it was Hashem!
Often we get caught up in our day-to-day activities and forget that their is a greater force running the world. I remember when I was a Freshman in college my brother taught English in a Yeshiva in Boro Park where he would often get me jobs as a substitute. It happened once that I was completely broke and needed some cash ASAP. I got a call from my brother's boss asking if I was available to work the following day - EXCELLENT!! Foolishly, I failed to acknowledge that this was a gift from Hashem and instead went around exclaiming "I'm so lucky". Sure enough, the Principal called me the following morning to apologize - he didn't need me, the teacher was able to come in...
We should all learn a lesson from the game of dominos that is this week's parasha and from the mistake that Yosef (and I made) - everything happens for a reason in life and, though we may not always realize it - It's All Part Of The Master Plan
Shabbat Shalom!
The Parasha starts out by telling us that Yaakov loved Yosef more than his other children. Yosef's siblings noticed this as well and, as a result, they hated Yosef. Yosef has two dreams which he interprets to mean that his brothers will one day bow down to him. He shares these dreams with them and, needless to say, it only strengthens their hatred towards him.
Yosef's brothers had gone to tend to Yaakov's flock in Shechem ( although Rashiexplains that in reality they were tending to themselves - not the flock) and Yaakov sends Yosef to check on them. Upon seeing Yosef approaching them, his brothers conspire to kill him! Reuven, however, convinces them not to kill Yosef but simply to throw him into a pit.
Afterwards, the brothers take a break to eat some food (sibling rivalry can certainly work up an appetite) and, while doing so, a caravan comes and takes Yosef from the pit to sell him to Egyptians as a slave. When his siblings realize what had happened, they dip Yosef's tunic in blood and return it to Yaakov claiming that their brother was attacked by a wild beast and killed.
Yosef's "master's" wife accuses him of trying to seduce her (thought it was really the other way around) and so the master throws him in Pharoah's prison. While in prison he meets the "bartender" and "baker" who have also been arrested. Each of them shares a dream they had with Yosef and he interprets them correctly. Upon interpreting the bartender's dream, Yosef told him that in three days he will be reinstated to his previous position and released from jail - Yosef asked that when this happened the bartender should please remember Yosef and mention him to Pharoah.
It's truly amazing how each of the above mentioned incidents impacted the next one!! Had Yosef not related his dream to his brothers, they may not have wanted to kill him. Had they not wanted to kill him, they wouldn't have thrown him in the pit. Had they not thrown him in the pit, he wouldn't have been captured by the caravan. Had he not been captured by the caravan, he wouldn't have been sold to Potiphar's husband. Had he not been sold, she wouldn't have accused him of seduction. Had he not been accused, he wouldn't have been arrested. Had he not been arrested, he wouldn't have interpreted the bartender's dream. Had he not interpreted the dream, the bartender never would have mentioned him to Pharoah - which eventually led to Yosef's freedom and appointment as a ruler over Egypt - AMAZING!!
Yosef's one BIG mistake in all of this is a mistake that we make all too often - he failed to realize that Hashem had a plan! When interpreting the bartender's dream, he asked that that bartender remember him when speaking to Pharaoh - for this, Hashem punished him with another two years in prison. Yosef should have realized that it wasn't the bartender who needed to remember him, it was Hashem!
Often we get caught up in our day-to-day activities and forget that their is a greater force running the world. I remember when I was a Freshman in college my brother taught English in a Yeshiva in Boro Park where he would often get me jobs as a substitute. It happened once that I was completely broke and needed some cash ASAP. I got a call from my brother's boss asking if I was available to work the following day - EXCELLENT!! Foolishly, I failed to acknowledge that this was a gift from Hashem and instead went around exclaiming "I'm so lucky". Sure enough, the Principal called me the following morning to apologize - he didn't need me, the teacher was able to come in...
We should all learn a lesson from the game of dominos that is this week's parasha and from the mistake that Yosef (and I made) - everything happens for a reason in life and, though we may not always realize it - It's All Part Of The Master Plan
Shabbat Shalom!
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