As Jacob blessed his children for the last time

The Torah says he asked them to Gather Round

To tell them how in the end the World would be

 

Because maybe he knew that good times with the ruling Pharoahs were not going to last

And he knew the promise made by the Almighty to Abraham that his family would sojourn for hundreds of years before they would come back and rule in Israel!.

 

I was in the hospital this week and we were three guys in the room with the same doctor and the same hernia operation

And we all three woke up about 2 AM and decided to have some tea or coffee

 

One of the guys broke out some rice cakes and we shared some thoughts on this week's portion.

 

I had picked up a book one evening this week that told the story of a follower of Yisrael the Rizhiner Rebbe

 

You know hard times had come when the Rebbe was about to be thrown in jail by the Czar (he did escape later)

 

So the follower asked if things were ever going to get better?

The Rebbe pointed to this week's portion

 

Where Jacob says to the kids "Gather Round (so) I (can) tell you what will happen in the "end of Days".

 

The Rizhiner Rebbe said – you will be saved from the travails of the future of the world if you just get together and gather round the people the family the ones you love…

 

One of the other guys spoke about his testimony that helped a woman to convert to Judaism (the Rabbis in Israel are sometimes very hard on would-be converts).

 

The third guy spoke about how the Shema Yisrael prayer is defined to bring the mercy of the Almighty into the world.

 

Eventually we all went back to sleep and woke up for the Morning Minyan in the hospital.

 

So try this week to gather round the souls you feel close to;

Help someone who is trying to improve themselves; and

Pray for the mercy of the Almighty to reveal itself more in this world – and also for healing for all those stuck in hospitals and rehabs and nursing homes or home bound

 

Shabbat Shalom