Parashat Hashavua

Portion Me Kates: The End

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 03 דצמבר 2021 12:08
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 775

Portion Me Kates:  The End

End of What?
End of the line at the pharmacy like today? But why fume about it ?
ITS FUNNY - but there is always someone that gets on line behind you ...!

So while waiting at the pharmacy this morning while the pharmacist went somewhere
I was trading Talmud thoughts with the guy behind me

And another guy – with a big red clown's nose comes behind us
and recognizes the page we are talking about – and quotes the 2 lines following

How Elijah the Prophet pointed out to some Rabbis that a certain 2 people in the market
were guaranteed a very High Honor in Heaven!

And why was that? Because they were jokesters and made people laugh!

And this guy reminds us how THIS SHABBAT CHANUKAH is the COMPLETION
Of the High Holidays – and special "in the eyes of the Almighty"
For getting Holy Prayers answered (forget about that Mercedes)

So what's the connection between Chanuka and comedians and Joseph in the Portion? 
So Joseph is in prison waiting for –something? Anything? - to happen
And it's 2 YEARS since he asked the Chief Butler to remember his skills to Pharoah

But at a PARTY (there must have been CLOWNS – like in the Broadway song)
The Butler remembers, and they call in Joseph to interpret Pharoahs dreams, and

In a minute Joseph is free
And in a minute he is Viceroy – assistant to king Pharoah!

And later when he blesses his kid brother Benjamin – he uses the word Chanukah

It is called an "unclear prophecy" -
 that Chanukah will be the re-dedication of the Holy Temple
Which was located in Israel in the Portion (of Israel's land) of Benjamin

A JOYOUS CHANUKAH
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenhz

 

Portion VaYayShev: Joseph and the brother (on the bus) or the hidden angel?

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 26 נובמבר 2021 09:51
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 1041
 
Portion VaYayShev:  Joseph and the brother (on the bus) or the hidden angel?
 
 
Basically, Joseph gets lost and someone unknown - maybe the angel Gabriel - directs him
 
JOSEPH Then  ends up in Egypt and in trouble - and
he never again sees his homeland

 

DID JOSEPH GO TO EGYPT ON HIS METROCARD?
No - he was taken as a slave -
 
AND IF ALL JEWISH HOLIDAYS AND PRAYERS CELEBRATE OUR GETTING OUT OF BONDAGE
 
so why is there so much anti-semitism?
is it pushed by
control-freakiness - or jealousy - or greed? (read - hatred and politics?)
 
Why do some fools fan the flame of hatred - AND NEVER SEE THEM SELVES ?
 
(I should maybe ask bob dylan to add that to his 
"how many times must a ....look up?" song...)
 
Modern Day Jews DO need a - what? A transit card? OIY! (Transit to Israel maybe?)
 
WHO NEEDS A METROCARD  (in Israel it's called a RAV-KAV -means "for all public transit lines")
 
In Israel the inspectors some times throw people off the bus and give out fines for cheats ...
 
SO - I am on a bus at night in Jerusalem - and A twenty-something guy is asking people to take his cash and dip for his fare
because his card ran out of pre-pay
 
AND NOBODY HELPS  (not mean - just students and seniors cannot swipe for adults because we get discounts)
 
so I offered him MY SPARE REGULAR CARD (always good to have one)
and we begin talking about Maimonides and about the Kabala (guy turns out to be a Canadian student)
 

Through the ages our Master Rabbis taught that Angels are Messengers

-But when Jacob sends Joseph     and he gets lost    was it an
Angel (in disguise) or just a holy brother out to help ?
In Kabala-

Zohar says – joseph always acted like a brother - even when the siblings were not

Zohar says - what kept Joseph the Slave on the right path to - YES
JOSEPH THE RULER OVER EGYPT 
 
was not his  dreams 
 
but his SEEING BEFORE HIM THE FACES OF HIS FATHERS
(who taught him how to be a Holy Brother to others -
even when his brothers were truly not nice to him (see next 2 portions)
 
SO
 
WE GOTTA BE A JOSEPH WHEN THERE ARE NO ANGELS AROUND 

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion VaYishLach: Asahel, Angels, and the Lie of the Prophet Elisha

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשבת, 20 נובמבר 2021 22:24
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 848

Portion VaYishLach:  Asahel, Angels, and the Lie of the Prophet Elisha

In this portion Jacob (a MAJOR Prophet) returns from Syria with the family (like many, his kids were "angels", okay maybe not ALL the Time)

Hearing (from scouts – remember this is the dangerous Middle East) that his brother Esau is "on the warpath" – Jacob sends G-dly Angels to his brother. With what message?

Through the ages our Master Rabbis taught that Angels are Messengers

Do you remember Jacob's dream last week about the Angels on the Ladder? This week's ZOHAR section continues its related discussion about :

"The Shechina" – presence of the Almighty – versus the "Holy Manifestation of Angels"

Keeping things somewhat brief – I ask: where do the Prophets fit in here? Are Prophets manifesting "Shechina" or are they Messengers like Angels – or just "Holy People"?

Last week I came across how the "Story of Syria" was interfering with the "Story of Israel". Elisha the "Regional Prophet" shows up in Damascus. The King (no friend of Israelites) sends gifts in order to bribe Elisha (for sake of argument I say) for a healing blessing. The gifts are brought by Asahel, the Chief Minister, and Elisha says "Tell the King he will Live!"

BUT then he cried! Asahel asked him "why"? And Elisha says "He will die, and you will reign", and sadly, you will not be good to my Israelites." So Asahel kills the king, and becomes king!

 What level of holiness was Elisha speaking from (telling a lie)? ZOHAR says "outside of Israel" even prophets cannot expect to be at the highest level – despite their holy messages.

What Message was Jacob sending to Esau? Jacob had the power of Shechina and sent peace   messages to his warring brother, a power precisely because he was returning to Israel!

What messages are WE sending out?

We always need to check and see if we are sending out good vibes/messages.

Lesson of the portion? We need angels, and to be angels, for one another, to ease The pain of Israel's exile, AntiSemitism ... can only be eased when we are angels to one another,

And facing towards Israel.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion VaYeytzey: was Jacob a refugee:

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 12 נובמבר 2021 12:05
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 738
Portion VaYeytzey: was Jacob a refugee:
Read Zohar - and the Laban War
 
 
Do you remember any wars?
 
Most Israelis have lived through a few.
 
My father in law - of blessed memory - today is his first Yahrzeit - fought in a few
 
But his attitude was always POSITIVE
 
And he ALWAYS acted POSITIVELY
 
But No , most Palestinians dont remember the 6 Day War (1967, 54 years ago)- 
Or starving under Jordanian conquest...
They 
certainly do not the Israeli Independance war of 1948 and capture by Jordan
 
So the Torah says 
 
Laban and His Gang chased after Jacob and family who 
Were just going home to
The Other Grandparents
 
Why His Gang? The Zohar explains,
To Make War with Israel/Jacob
 
Would the UN have given Jacob
Refugee assistance like 
It does to Arabs who claim to be refugees?
 
Or to my father in law and
800000 other Jews
Who fled from Arab lands in 1948?
 
Now, it is  80 years later ,
And this week the US decided to keep paying UNRWA to make believe that
 3rd generation Arabs in Israel are refugees
 
Why?
 It is not just stupid and stealing from   taxpayers
 
But also promoting terrorism and
Sadly
Making War instead of HEALING RIFTS
 
Israelites like Jacob later -were fleeing drought to Egypt - and then enslaved there
 
Would the US have given  aid to Israelites? Actually we were enslaved for 210 years
 
But we came out with G-ds help,
And brought others with us - the eruv rav
 
And today
No other people solvd the "covid mysteries" like israeli researchers - 
FOR THE WHOLE WORLD
and 
The POSITIVE THINKERS at Pfizer
 
To heal the world
 
We need an Anti Hatred Vaccine today
 
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
 

Portion Toledot :Then Who Was That Hairy Guy?

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשבת, 06 נובמבר 2021 19:02
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 728
Portion Toledot :Then Who Was That Hairy Guy?
 
 
So why did Rebecca play this Practical Joke on Isaac her husband - who was blind,
sending Jacob disguised as Esau - to bring Isaac's Dinner - and hang out -
 
 So that The blessings from Isaac went to Jacob and not Esau?
(was it simply for the best chance of the Israelite Nation's survival?)
 
If you read the text you don't enjoy the DRAMA until you read ZOHAR.
 
The Zohar explained the kanguage "me zeh ayfoh" of Isaac, that he said when Esau comes and asks for the Blessings of the Firstborn
(even though he and Jacob were twins - AE note - if they were friends,
like maybe in the END OF TIMES - they could have shared?) AS
 
"How did I get Tricked? was it a G-dly Angel - or the "Angel of Death"?
 
A lot of stories in the Torah have many layers of meaning.
 
And they ALL have RAMIFICATIONS:
 
(in this story Yakov is punished with temporary exile for abusing his relationship with his father (even though his mother designed the game)
 
AND SO ON THROUGH THE AGES
because parents don't always agree
BUT THEY MUST AGREE TO DISAGREE PLEASANTLY
 
Hashem blessed JACOB WHEN HE LEFT Laban and returned to israel
 
 
Today in the Kolel in the Jerusalem Great Synagogue
Rav Hirshler explained the end of the portion
 
THAT JACOB TRIED TO FOLLOW THE WISHES
 
of  BOTH PARENTS who had CONFLICTING DESIRES for him.
 
In a couple of weeks we see Jacob did his own version of their plans
 
And came back to Israel with 12 sons and a daughter -
 
bought some land -
 
AND BEGAN THE SAGA OF ISRAEL'S PLACE IN THE WORLD
 
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion Chayei Sara - Answer to Woke, SILLY!

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 29 אוקטובר 2021 10:00
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 931
 Portion Chayei Sara - Answer to Woke, SILLY!
 
 
In the Portion this week are stories - and DEEP MEANING from them.
 
 
Sara dies, and Abraham buys (more land in Israel)
 
And Isaac needs a Good Woman-
Because Abraham is not impressed by the locals-
 
so he sends his right-hand trusted Manager -to
 
find a SOUL PARTNER for Isaac (his half brother Ishmael already 
had a few wives by this time).
 
I don't want to ignore the MANY MANY learnings from each part of the portion
 
But it's time this week to focus on the ZOHAR
the spiritual underpinnings of "Everything Torah".
 
No it's not outdated at all - ancient maybe, down to earth maybe, in a 
way that sometimes hits you in a modernism-aint-everything way.
 
So just one point this week, about:
 
Souls - do we have one? The Zohar says YES
 
In a homiletical way, the Zohar (on a later portion) says,
 
The Almighty CREATED EVERY SOUL AT CREATION EQUAL
 
And he showed all SOULS to Adam - and they even
ALL LOOKED ALIKE!
 
They even Looked Like ANGELS!
 
And Adam reviewed their future histories - to all their end of days
 
Then they all looked to  G-d (for their "marching orders"!
 
So like ANGELS they/we were ALL Given a Task before 
being sent down here - to START OFF EQUAL -
 
and the Angels teach them/us Torah,
 
then "Kiss each soul" to forget most of it - 
except WHAT WE CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO,
 
And THEN the Angels send us off to this world -
not to make money -
BUT TO MAKE G-DLINESS!
 
and we all start to look and think differently ...
 
So the portion gives us lessons in BELIEF, in ACTION,
in HONESTY (not like the liar Laban), in humility,
AND IN FAMILY,
 
Abraham gives gifts and blessings - and then the SAGA continues
 
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion VayayRa : The Angels are Back

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 22 אוקטובר 2021 11:54
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 886
 
 Portion VayayRa : The Angels are Back
 
 
When did you ever meet an angel? 
 
Angels are a theme in this portion and in some others.
 
In the daily prayers we say
"L-rd: the Angels praise you"
 
And this Shabbat Portion starts with Abraham running to feed a few Angels disguised as Arabs!
 
So what do we learn about here - about Our forefather Abraham?
 
Or his kindness -Chesed - to three weary drop ins?
 
Hey -Thats the J.jewish way of life -
but Moslems practice that Abrahamic Mitzva of inviting guests too!
 
Maybe We are supposed to learn
 
How to be angels and help Angels do their work!
 
So last night I am getting off the bus at 10 PM
and at the rear door,
there is a lady with lots of shopping bags - and a kid sleeping on the sidewalk
 
(Foolishly?) I ask if she needs help.
I said "How are you going to carry the kid and all those bags?"
 
She answered, "He fell asleep on the bus and i don't know what to do.
I live across the street"
 
So I scooped up the bags (my knapsack wasn't too heavy), 
she scooped up the kid, and I followed her across the street.
 
"Uh oh," she said, "Those three Arabs coming up the street frighten me. Let's go this way"
and she started off tp the right.
 
I'm thinking, "Maybe they are really 3 angels?" - but I don't know where we are going.
 
I followed her around the 2 buildings - for about 4 blocks -
 until we came to just below where the bus stop was!.
I put the bags in front of her door and said good night.
 
Walking back up the hill I saw the three young Arabs, and said "Hello" - and
they answered "Good Night".
 
So who were those three? Arabs or Angels? 
(I mean in the portion! So read the portion and find out!).
 
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Portion Lech LeChah - Weddings and Warriors

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 15 אוקטובר 2021 10:54
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 972
Portion Lech LeChah - Weddings and Warriors
 
 
 
 
I Went to a Moroccan Persian wedding this week.  Last night the couple came by because I am letting them store their gifts in my storage room for a month until  they can move into the apartment they rented.
 
I had to also speak to them a bit - aboout communication and communicating feelings. Also always a good review for me!
 
As to the portion - so Abraham - how did he get so many friends,
 after moving to a new country - enough to raise his own army?
 
And an old man at that! 75!
 
He made friends - NOT with Pharoah or the Philistines,
but Aner Eshkol and Mamre - 
whose names are preserved forever around Hebron - to this day!
 
This was a tough week for me, attending
A memorial for an old friend who passed away- 
after nearly half century of marriage
 
And This Morning after prayers an
Other guy mentioned he got divorced this summer 
after 50 years of marriage - but the 2 years of CORONA were hard!
 
Corona has left a path of "destructed" people and families!
G-d protect us from any more!
 
SO - Why was I invited to tha t wedding?
 
My job was to connect some estranged people ... and
 
It seemed to work!
Besides that a couple of 55-60 year old guys were amazed - and
ASKED ME How I Was Dancing with the mostly 20-25 year old guys
(the women were dancing on the other side of the room...)
 
But I still was able to motivate some of the older  ? (Old 50-60's) 
semi drunk crowd ...to keep dancing as long as the music played!
 
So the 75 year old Abraham has to go rescue his kidnapped nephew who was hanging out with some nasty characters - too much for most people?
 
So he raises a posse - do you think they were all 75 year old geezers?
 
They were BELIEVERS and followers and friends!
 
Rebbi Nachamn of Breslav teaches :
Never Be Old
Dont act old
Dont think old
JUST
Keep dancing ... and helping to rescue the world
 
Think of all the ways to keep 
YOUR MIND THINKING YOUNG -
BECAUSE you have some holy work to do ALL YOUR DAYS!
 
I was wearing a cap on the bus, and this lady says to me
 
What teams do you follow?
She says "me and my husband are from Chicago 
and we are 91 year old 
CUBS fans.
 
I don't even know if the team still exists - but she ceratinly does!
 
Shabbat Shalom - stay healthy and think POSITIVE
 
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
 
 

Portion Noach - Facebook and the Flood (not IDA)

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 08 אוקטובר 2021 11:43
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 985
Portion Noach - Facebook and the Flood (not IDA)
 
Actually I had a good friend named Ida, a neighbor-friend -
and Armenian whose family escaped the Turkish murders in the 1900's.
 
Bless her soul - from her and her family and Armenian friends,
 I learned one part of the Noah's Ark story:
that even if you are living simply or creating beauty -
cruel hating people are creating horrific violence - anywhere allowed!
 
Another part of the story:
Mount Ararat is where the Ark landed ,
and there are those that believe they found some of the beamsof that SHIP high up in the Mountains!
 
So too ALL the Torah stories are not really removed from reality - 
they just depict a PART of the STORY - and LESSONS for ALL to learn.
 
And what about the COLLAPSE of the FACEBOOK and its "story "?
This week we learned how a single company can MANIPULATE -
AND FAIL US ALL!
(And we don't even know,
 what part of those billion users' lives it controls!)
 
Need a ferry ? An Ark? Umbrellas dont work in hurricanes.
 
MAYBE WE ALL NEED TO SPEND MORE TIME LOOKING AT
THE GOOD BOOK!
Reading between the Armenia story, the Canaanite story, 
the AFGHANISTAN story -
 
and BUILDING AGAIN the MIRACLE of all the JEWISH STORIES
that so many ignore or take for granted?
 
This is a GOOD WEEK TO START
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz

Portion BuraySheet - Starting the Torah Year Differently

פרטים
קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
פורסם בשישי, 01 אוקטובר 2021 09:10
נכתב על ידי Super User
כניסות: 1192
 
 
Portion   BuraySheet - Starting the Torah Year Differently
 
The Creation Stories in this week's portion (Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, etc.)
 
begs a response:
 
How do we Examine the beginnings of Human History from a Spiritual Analysis in 2021
 
The Yalkut May Am LoAyz brings Midrashic and other explanations of:
 
Heaven, Earth, Angels, and G-d's Creations - which may be a bit much to modern people.
 
So then it says:
 
Dont waste more time than these statements-
 
because you will never know what's really in Heaven, etc.
 
But then it explains some of the history of the world -
starting with Adam and the fig leaves!
 
After eating from the tree of knowledge the Almighty gives Adam and Eve some CLOTHES.
 
The Yalkut May Am LoAyz brings  an explanation: 
 
It connects all the names presented ... from Adam thru Abraham...
and I give just a taste of it here.
 
The clothes from G-d aren't like our regular clothes - they are IMMORTAL G-dly clothes!
 
Adam passed them down to be used for a good purpose - 
 
but they were stolen by Cham son of Noah
 
who passed them down to Nimrod - the bad king who used them for War
 
When Abraham started to teach about G-d - Nimrod got worried - and tossed
Abraham into a fire - but Abraham escaped,
and he and Terach his father had to leave town -
 
AND MOVE TO ISRAEL - AND KEEP TEACHING ABOUT G-D!
 
So it's not the CLOTHES that make you IMMORTAL -
because Nimrod and his cronies aren't here -
 
It's the 
TEACHING ABOUT G-D!
 
 
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem
 
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
 
 

מאמרים נוספים...

  1. Portion Haazinu - Moses' Great Song Tops the Charts
  2. Portion VaYay Lech - Joshua takes over ... and With Yizkor coming up ...
  3. Portion Nitzavim - Standing (on line?) Before the Almighty
  4. Portion Key Tavo ... of Curses and Songs
  5. Portion Key Tay Tzay: the Warrior and the Woman
  6. Portion Shoftim – Judges? Need Judges OR - ?
  7. Portion Ru-aiy : Is the Torah Speaking to ME?
  8. Portion Aykev in the Park Hotel
  9. Portion VaEtChaNan : Praying at Dawn
  10. Portion Devarim - Tisha B'Av - burning Jews in England - or California?