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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בראשון, 22 נובמבר 2020 16:53
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Portion of Vayayshev - Jacob Back in Israel - and - OIY VEY what Happens!
I still have these 2 stories I want to tell you - but I woke up 5AM in NY and - like Rav Kook wrote -
when you leave Israel (even for a holy purpose) - some of your spirit goes back to G-d the first night you sleep abroad - and it only comes back when you come back to Israel - and get to sleep in that holy Land!
So my "extra Israel soul" left me and I woke up worrying!
Jacob comes home to Israel - and his sons are FURIOUS with Joseph - and SELL him as a slave!
Judah becomes depressed, marries a girl - and his kids are SO bad - that - oh -you can read the portion!
And here's the sad part about losing my extra-Israel-soul - because I think -
What should Jacob expect?
Abraham had Ishmael (still giving US trouble),
and Isaac had Esav - whose FIRST 2 wives were no hit with the family-
and then he marries a THIRD - a daughter of Ishmael no less!
Where's my sympathy? My feelings for our forbear Yakov (Jacob) Avinu?
Joseph - OIY Yosele - HE ends up in PRISON - for doing the RIGHT THING!
So I quote - or paraphrase - to you from what my friend Rabbi Sholom Brodt (student of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach) wrote:
Hashem Yisborach please open my heart, please help us to open our hearts..... to Yakov Avinu..... to Yosef and his brothers......
on one very special level
these stories are about opening our hearts to our children
opening our hearts to our brothers and sisters
it’s the story about what happens when
‘chas v’shalom’... may Hashem protect us and Bless us with ‘shalom’
when we close our hearts and ....
(and forget) the part of me which is an essential
“cheilek Elokah mi’ma’al, mammash”..... part of Hashem "
So I went to visit a sick person this morning after 6:30 AM prayers,
did a few mitzvas - and now pray my "extra shabbos spirit" comes back tonight !
Because I know that what happened to Jacob and OUR family worked out well in the end - as Joseph tells them later on in the Torah "it was the All-mighty" that PLANNED all this - so that WE CAN SAVE THE WORLD"
SHABBAT SHALOM
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בראשון, 22 נובמבר 2020 16:53
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Vayishlach (send it out - like Jacob) - Really our Purpose here
Aish Hatora reported this week about a Rabbi in Concecticut who found $98000 in a desk he bought second hand - and he returned it immediately.
Rabbi Sholom Brodt wrote about a story told by the Kloisenberger Rebbe (who lost his family in the holocaust and re-settled in New Jersey).
In the portion of the week Jacob is moving his family and belongings across the river - and alone has to fight someone for "some little items". This "someone" is the evil angel protector of Jacob's brother Esav.
Jacob believed the "little items were his".
The Rabbi in Connecticut knew the money he found was NOT his.
The Kloisenburger Rebbe explained from a Bal Shem Tov story - that before leaving an argument he had lost with the Holy Bal Shem, the Satan made one last attempt at knocking the Baal Shem Tov off – by trying to seduce his students with haughtiness - telling them "how great they were" - but he failed.
And this too was the intention of Eisav's arch-angel. Seeing that he was not able to overcome Yaakov, he made one more attempt at knocking him off with haughtiness, by telling him, "You are so awesomely holy – you will from now on be called "Israel".
It was already known in the supernal realms that "No longer will your name be spoken of as Yaakov, but as Yisrael, for you have contended with God[ly beings] and with men, and you have won." But Yaakov Avinu did not succumb to his attempt at tricking him to haughtiness - he just took care of his "little items" and went on.
May we know what is ours, and keep what is ours, and sanctify G-d's name by helping others hold what is theirs - and teaching others that is the way of G-d and the Jewish people.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בראשון, 22 נובמבר 2020 16:52
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Vayetze - this week's portion as viewed by our Holy Mothers
Jacob is sent by his Mom (Rebecca) to her brother's home, and when he gets to town he inquires of the locals "how is Lavan (his uncle) doing?".
One of the ideas the Ohr Hachaim (who lived in Israel in the 1700's) discussed about this question is: why did they answer Jacob "Shalom lo" (peace is by him) “and here comes his daughter Rachel, tending his flock of sheep”.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach used to say "you know the sheep LOVED Rachel and were prancing around her" – not like your ordinary shepherdess. She had something special. And the Ohr Hachaim implies that the other shepherds were afraid to start up with her (not like the story later where Moses rescues the 7 daughters of Yisro who had to tend the flocks together. Moses had to protect the girls from the other shepherds - but not Rachel)!
Rambam – Maimonides - tells us (Mishne Tora) that the Greeks abused us AND OUR DAUGHTERS and our torah - and the Chanuka story happened because WE NEEDED TO PROTECT OUR FAMILIES.
Today we ALSO NEED TO PROTECT OUR FAMILIES - From twitter ABUSE and from internet and other abuse
How?
So we need to learn from Mother Rachel to get to our innermost feelings and overcome competitiveness and the petty parts of our lives- and get ready with that strength to bring a new Holy Chanuka to our families and protect our children from the kinds of abuses that could G-d Forbid happen from over exposure in this internet-connected world.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בראשון, 22 נובמבר 2020 16:52
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Parsha of Toledot
I really want to tell over the Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach coffee joke -
but how to explain to even my closest friends about the holiness of Isaac our forefather.
Today on the radio Rebetzin Yemima Mizrachi of Jerusalem was teaching how Isaac never complained about his son Eisav - even though he was not growing up according to "the plan". Isaac blessed him "see my son whose scent is the scent of the fields.(the nature)..". Just as things grow and develop – so to our children grow.
Rabbi Carlebach used to say that “from Eisav were descended people who made trouble for Israel – but ALSO many great sages and leaders – like Rabbi Akiva – were descendants from Eisav who converted to Judaism!” So gotta try to fit into G-d’s plan and then look to the future.
Last Shabbat was the portion about Abraham buying the “Double Cave” in Hebron – a Jewish Holy Place where we were forbidden to pray by the Arabs until 1967!
Very few people in history have ever even been it the cave – but there is a story about Rabbi Avraham of Gaza (yeah – Jews always lived there too!) who was ordered by the nasty sultan to go down into a hole in the floor of the great shrine built over the cave to find something – because any of his soldiers who went down there never made it back alive! Rabbi Avraham went down – and met some people praying there – our forefathers and foremothers who are buried there!
They gave him back the sultan’s sword! But they said to him– you’ll be with us soon and we can expound on the Torah together and pray together for the people of Israel …and soon after getting the sword back to the sultan – and saving the Jewish Community of Israel – he passed on and was buried nearby…
So remember – our holy previous generations – from Abraham and Sarah on down – are connected to our souls and are praying for us and all Israel to grow and follow as close as.possible to G-d’s plan.
Maybe next week the coffee joke and a French Resistance story.
Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
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קטגוריה: Parashat Hashavua
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פורסם בראשון, 22 נובמבר 2020 16:51
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Life and Death of a Mother – Sarah/Rebecca
Why does the Torah tell us about Sarah’s burial but not her marriage to Abraham?
Why does the Torah tell us about Rebecca’s marriage to Isaac but not about her passing?
My friend Rabbi Josh Hoffman points out in his discourse this week that the Torah-as usual-is teaching us the universal mission of the Jew and his unique character within the family of nations.
Sarah dies in Hebron/Kryat Arba (where Jews have lived for thousands of years – only kicked out by the British in 1929 for a while) – and Abraham has to dicker with the local rich guy in order to buy a burial plot. Abraham does NOT get angry – just pays “top dollar” – in front of the whole town – who are won-over by his patience.
(Remember – Abraham and his troops had just defeated a group of kings (see earlier in the Torah) and could have taken over Hebron easier than in the Magnificent Seven). It's a tough act - but Abraham is the role model here.
Then Abraham sends his servant Eliezer to find a good wife for Isaac. The servant – who believes in G-d too- is the go-between to bring Rebecca’s family (idolaters) to a recognition – that God is behind all events.
Really Eliezer in those days could have just BOUGHT any bride – and the family would have been happy! But Abraham taught us that G-d wants PEACE in the FAMILY OF NATIONS – and hopes that the world will eventually drop their idols and become G-dly.
And as Rabbi Carlebach used to say at weddings – when the groom places a veil over his bride before the Chuppa ceremony that the Jewish wedding goes back to a soul connection- remonding us of Rebecca and Isaac. It teachesus that our connections are ALL from a time “before the time that we ever saw each other in this world … “ and is “deeper than anything that can be seen in this world…” and (is a) “heavenly connection.”"
May the world learn these points from us in order to bring us all closer to a G-dly world.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz
