The Weekly Sedra – Vayeishev

This week’s section begins on a wonderful note; the story of Joseph and his brothers.

Rashi (the foremost elucidator of the Torah) compares the perfunctory listing of all the kings of Esav in the end of last week’s section to the exquisite detail here with two similes:

Just as one sifts through tons of sand to find one small diamond so the Torah sifts through the Kings of the nations and stops when it comes to Josef and his brothers.

And, just as a huge pile of chaff can be set aflame by one spark so the kings of Esav will be consumed by the spark of Josef.

The Weekly Sedra – Vayishlach

In this weeks portion we read about the confrontation between of Jacob and his brother Esau.

At first glance this is not very important.

Who cares what happened some four thousand years ago between two brothers in an isolated spot in the Middle East? Important events are things like Napoleon at Waterloo or the Japanese at Pearl Harbor!

But in fact our story is much more important. As famous as these occurrences were, they brought no significant change in the nature of man.

But the meeting of Yaakov and Esau refers to the battle of man for meaning and identity.

The Arrest and Liberation of Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch

Rabbi Pinchas Reizes was a chassid of the second Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Dovber of Lubavitch (known as the “Mittler Rebbe”). When Rabbi Pinchas passed away, his only heir was a nephew, who unfortunately was a complete scoundrel.

Among the items that came into the nephew’s possession was a letter written by the Rebbe to his uncle, asking Rabbi Pinchas to serve on a special committee to disburse funds for charity. The sum cited in the letter was 4,000 rubles.

The Weekly Sedra – Vayeitzei

This week’s section tells the story of how Lavan; the arch-evil charlatan, duped the holy founder of Judaism, Yaakov into working non-stop for twenty years.

Interestingly the Torah tells us that instead being punished for this crime, Lavan is left in peace while Yaakov after wasting twenty years of his life has to settle for a mere fraction of his due.

This does not seem fair, and certainly not very Biblical. Where is the divine retribution? Where is the justice? How could Yaakov get such a raw deal and why does the Torah tell us about it? What is the point? Why didn’t G-d just do a few miracles?

The Weekly Sedra – Toldot

This week’s section introduces us to the struggle between the holy patriarch Yaakov and his evil twin brother Esav.

This eventually would become the eternal conflict between the Jews and gentiles (i.e. the Church, the athiests etc.) that will be resolved only by the Moshiach himself.

But interestingly, the works of Chassidut and Kabala explain that the way that Moshiach will settle it is by revealing the fact that, in his essence, Esav is really holier that Yaakov!

The Weekly Sedra – Chayei Sarah

This week’s section deals mostly with the difficulties of Abraham.

First, those that he had in buying a grave for his wife and then the even greater ones finding a bride for his son Yitzchak (Isaac).

If you think about it, this seems to makes no sense. Abraham wasn’t just an ordinary person. He was a Biblical character, the father of Judaism, devoted every instant and with every fiber of his being to serving the Creator.

Why didn’t G-d make life easy for him?

The Weekly Sedra – Vayeira

This week we continue to live with Abraham, the father of Judaism. in an action-packed portion.

One of the most bizarre episodes here is how G-d annihilates an evil cluster of cities called “Sadom and Amora” through an Angel. But equally as strange; before sending the Angel He says to Himself….

“Can I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do?” (18:17)

The Torah then tells us in length how Abraham unsuccessfully pleaded and bargained with G-d for mercy on the cities with no results.

This apparently makes no sense.

Recycling and All That Garbage

Glass, paper, plastic, aluminum. Many cities throughout the United States and countries around the world have instituted environmentally beneficial recycling. Put out your bottles, cans, jars (sorted or unsorted – depending on location) and bundle your newspapers and magazines. Earn extra “goodie points” if you reuse shopping bags, “throwaway” aluminum pans, and scrap paper..

Just like adult children who have recently begun caring for their elderly parents, we’ve gotten serious about caring for “mother” earth. And though it takes some getting used to, and perhaps even “infringes” on our freedom, we need to do it all the same.

Take a quick look in the garbage can (your own – we’re not suggesting you look in trash around Hollywood in the hopes of writing a book about celebrity rubbish.) What you’ll find, of course, is that which you don’t need.

The Weekly Sedra – Lech-Lecha

The end of this week’s portion tells us about the Covenant (Brit) of Circumcision that G-d made with Abraham almost four thousand years ago.

Since then Jews have been making the same sign in the flesh of all their male children as an eternal reminder that we too are G-d’s people. The G-d of Abraham.

As we say in the blessing before performing the circumcision:

“Blessed are You G-d…….who commanded to bring him (this Jewish child) into the Covenant of AVRAHAM our patriarch”

The Weekly Sedra – Noach

This week’s section is probably the strangest story ever told.

The entire human, animal and bird population of the world (save a few that got into the ark) got drowned by the Creator of the universe! Because they got Him angry!

But even stranger is; what is this story doing in the Torah? The Torah is the book of the Jews and the flood story contains no commandments or Jewish messages or even one Jewish characters. Indeed, the first Jew, Abraham, was born three hundred years after the flood!

Chabad.org on Shabbos Bereishit

The Shabbat after Simchat Torah is Shabbat Bereishit — “Shabbat of Beginning” — the first Shabbat of the annual Torah reading cycle, on which the Torah section of Bereishit (“In the Beginning”) is read.

The weekly Torah reading is what defines the Jewish week, serving as the guide and point of reference for the week’s events, deeds and decisions; Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi called this “living with the times.” Hence the theme and tone of this week is one of beginning and renewal, as we launch into yet another cycle of Torah life. The Rebbes of Chabad would say: “As one establishes oneself on Shabbat Bereishit, so goes the rest of the year.”

The Weekly Sedra – Succot

The holiday of Succot is the only holiday in Judaism that doesn’t celebrate a particular historical date.

Even Rosh HaShanna and Yom Kippur commemorate the dates Adam was created and when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies.

Rather Succot commemorates G-d’s constant protection of the Jews with ‘clouds of glory’ all the forty years they wandered in the desert. Something we must remember each time we sit in the Succa.

But surprisingly, in our prayers make no mention of this! Rather Succot is called ‘Zman Simchatenu” The holiday of Joy.

What have we got to be happy about on this holiday in particular?

The Weekly Sedra – Haazinu

This Shabbat is the happiest of the year. It is the one that prepares us for Succot “The Holiday of our Joy”.

Not only that, but this week’s portion is the ‘song’ of Haazinu designed to inspire Jews in all generations to serve G-d.

But anyone who reads the words of Haazinu probably won’t be very happy. Most of it is telling the Jews off for the sins they will do and justifying the resultant tragedies that will befall them.

There are just a few sentences in the end that hint at a future redemption.

What is this telling us?

The Weekly Sedra – Vayelech

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Tshuva (Sabbath of Repentance) because it is one of the “Ten days of Repentance” from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.

But really the term “Tshuva” implies much more than just repentance.

Here is a story that I hope helps to explain this, and also its connection to Parshat VaYailech.

Rabbi Mendel Futerfass was a very active Chassid (follower) of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, in the most oppressive years of Stalin’s regime. Years earlier, Stalin had declared war on all “counter-revolutionary forces” in Russia, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe and his Chassidim, who secretly encouraged and spread Judaism, were considered public enemy number one.

The Weekly Sedra – Nitzavim

Try to remember the first time you ever heard the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah? There are millions of Jews throughout the world that cannot. They never heard the Shofar in their lives. In fact they do not know that they are Jewish … or they simply don’t care. But the Baal Shem Tov taught in a parable that every Jew, without exception, feels the same strange awakening when he hears the Shofar, (he just has to know that it is something Jewish).

Here is the Baal Shem’s parable: Once there was a great king that had a mischievous ten-year-old son. The young price had requested from his father several times to let him play with the town children outside of the castle wall but his father refused each time saying, ‘Soon you will be King, and a King must be different’. But eventually the son decided that he was bored and he planned an escape.