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Kehilat Shalom's D'var & Discussion Blog

We want to make the Kehila's website as responsive to your needs as possible. Feel free to comment regarding anything pertinent to shul and shul matters. e.g. Feedback on the website, questions on issues of Judaism, Kashrut, Jewish law, the Parsha or weekly Torah portion, ideas for what the Kehila can do to improve our services, etc. are all fair game.
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Dvar Torah - VayigashRabbi- Leonard Cohen

12/27/2020

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Friday, December 25, 2020 happens to coincide with the Jewish fast day of Asarah b’Tevet - the tenth day of the month of Tevet. On this day, in 587 BCE, Babylonian armies under the reign of the evil King Nebuchadnezzar surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege to the city. This event marked a tragic milestone leading eventually to the conquest of Judea and Israel by the Babylonians, and the first forced exile of our people from our Holy Land. The day is marked with fasting from sunrise to sunset, and is one of the rare occasions where a Jewish fast day occurs on a Friday.
In this week’s parsha, Vayigash, Joseph and his brothers are reconciled. As Egyptian viceroy, he sends his brothers back to Canaan in chariots to come gather their father Jacob to bring him down to Egypt. “When they [the brothers] told him [Jacob] all of Joseph's words that he had said to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob was revived” (Bereshit 45:27). Rashi comments that the chariots (agalot) were an allusion to the laws of eglah arufah (the broken-necked heifer) - the very Torah laws that Jacob studied with Joseph prior to his being sold into slavery and sent to Egypt. When Jacob saw the chariots, it signalled to him that Joseph had never forgotten his Jewish learnings even in all his time in Egypt.
Upon their arrival in Egypt, Joseph invites several of his brothers along with their father Jacob to present themselves to the Pharaoh. Pharaoh asks Jacob his age (“how many are the days of the years of your life?”) and Jacob answers that he is 137 years old, and astonishingly adds that the days of his life were “few and unhappy” and that he did not — and would not — reach the age of his fathers before him.
Years ago, my rabbi, Ronnie Cahana, shared with me his insights on this section. Jacob had just experienced the elation of reuniting with his beloved son and the reconciliation of his family, so how could he portray his life in such a negative light? According to Rabbi Cahana, although the Pharaoh showed goodness to Joseph and his family, he nonetheless tended to be highly acquisitive of wealth and power. When he saw the evidently aged Jacob, Pharaoh sought to find out how he could acquire the one thing — great old age (length of years) — that eluded his control. Jacob’s response was intended to show Pharaoh that the attainment of old age can prove meaningless, and that one’s years can indeed seem “few and unhappy”, if one lives their life in vain pursuits.
While Jacob may have provided an instructive lesson to Pharaoh, the Chachamim (Jewish Sages) note that he missed an opportunity as well. Jewish insight holds that a person is meant to be thankful to Hashem for bad events in their life as well as good ones, for all such happenings have their universal purpose. The Midrash says that after Jacob spoke, Hashem reminded Jacob of the ordeals he survived: “Did I not enable you to survive your brother Esau’s threats, to endure the cunning of Laban, to return your daughter Dinah to you, and to reunite with Joseph?” Jacob’s answer to Pharaoh focused on the travails of life — but failed to sufficiently acknowledge Hashem’s presence throughout.
As we today continue hunkering down in protection against the current pandemic, the Chachamim’s insight remains crucial. We can mire ourselves in the frustration of what we are missing — or we can reframe our experience to discern Hashem’s light. Right now, by adhering to strict protections, Jews and people around the globe are rallying to save one another’s lives. We can choose whether to view this as frustrating, or inspiring. I encourage us all to recognize the remarkable gift we show one another in striving to preserve human life and safety.
Shabbat Shalom!

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Parashat Mikeitz - Appearances can be Deceiving- December 18, 2020  Guest Posting by Sharon Batshaw- in memory of her mother Miriam bat Yaacov whose yaretziet is 7th of Tevet (Dec 22nd)

12/23/2020

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In studying the stories of our forefathers in the book of B’reshit, there are numerous patterns and themes that occur throughout the this first book of the Torah.  One of these is the theme of sibling rivalry, which never ends well.  Sibling rivalry results in the first murder in the story of Cain and Abel.  The sibling rivalry between Itzhak and Ishmael as well as their mothers Sara and Hagar results with Hagar and Ishmael being forced out of their home and coming close to death in the desert.  Then there is the rivalry between Jacob and Esau which results in Jacob being forced to flee his home out of fear for his brother’s anger towards him at his stealing of Esau’s birthright.  Our next example is the hatred and jealousy that Joseph’s brothers have towards him as he is his father’s favorite son, and of course this situation is made worse when Joseph tells his brothers that he dreams of a time in the future when they are bowing down to him.
Another theme that occurs throughout the stories of our forefathers is the theme of deception, and it is interesting to note that clothing is used in the deception in every case.   Our first example is Rebecca dressing her son Jacob in Esau’s clothing to trick the blind and aging Itzhak into thinking that Jacob is Esau and giving him the blessing for the first born.  Then there is the time when Laban tricks Jacob into marrying his daughter Leah instead of Rachel by having Leah cover her face with a heavy veil.  Next, the brothers dip Joseph’s colourful coat in blood to deceive their father into believing the story that Joseph was killed by a wild animal.  We then have the story of Tamar, removing her widow’s dress and covering herself with a veil to make herself look like a prostitute in order to entice her father-in-law Judah to make love to her so that she can have a child.  Then there is the time when Joseph left his robe behind while escaping Potiphar’s wife who was attempting to seduce him. It was this robe that Potiphar’s wife later used to substantiate her false claim that Joseph attempted to rape her which resulted in Joseph being thrown into prison.
In this week’s parasha Joseph who is now a high-ranking official in the Egyptian government is dressed in a robe of fine linen and wearing a gold chain and a signet ring.  When his brothers come to Egypt in search of food, they have no idea that the important Egyptian official they are speaking to is none other than their brother Joseph.  They also have no idea that when bowing to this important Egyptian official they are actually bowing down to Joseph, just as he foresaw in his childhood dream.
There is even a connection between the Hebrew word for clothing, begadim which is from the same root as betrayal as is used in the Yom Kippur confessional prayer begadnu meaning we have betrayed you.
It is often that we judge people by appearances but miss the true essence of the person as appearances are often deceiving.  The Torah actually contains very little descriptions of what any of the characters looked like.  The focus in Judaism seems to be more about what we hear than what we see.  Hashem has no physical presence and cannot be seen but can be heard.  That is why one of our most important prayers is the Shema, “Hear o Israel, Hashem is our god, Hashem in one.” and in reciting this we cover our eyes to focus on what we are hearing and not what we are seeing.
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    Rabbi Leonard

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