Parashas Vayeishev

Jacov settles in Chevron with his twelve sons. His favorite is seventeen-year-old Yosef, whose brothers are jealous of the preferential treatment he receives from his father, such as a precious many-colored coat that Jacob makes for Joseph. Joseph relates to his brothers two dreams of his which foretell that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred towards him.

Shimon and Levi plot to kill him, but Reuven suggests that they throw him into a pit instead, intending to come back later and save him. While Joseph is in the pit, Jehudah has him sold to a band of passing Ishmaelim. The brothers dip Yosef’s special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son was devoured by a wild beast.

Jehudah marries and has three children. The oldest, Er, dies young and childless, and his wife Tamar is given in levitate marriage to the second son, Onan. Onan sins by spilling his seed and he, too, meets an early death. Jehudah is reluctant to have his third son marry her. Determined to have a child from Jehudah’s family, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and seduces Jehudah himself. Jehudah hears that his daughter-in-law has become pregnant and orders her executed for harlotry, but when Tamar produces some personal effects he left with her as a pledge for payment, he publicly admits that he is the father. Tamar gives birth to twin sons, Peretz (an ancestor of King David) and Zerach.

Yosef is taken to Egypt and sold to Potifar, the minister in charge of Paroh’s slaughterhouses. G‑d blesses everything he does, and soon he is made overseer of all his master’s property. Potifar’s wife desires the handsome and charismatic lad; when Yosef rejects her advances, she tells her husband that the Hebrew slave tried to force himself on her, and has him thrown in prison. Yosef gains the trust and admiration of his jailers, who appoint him to a position of authority in the prison administration.

In prison, Yosef meets Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker, both incarcerated for offending their royal master. Both have disturbing dreams, which Joseph interprets; in three days, he tells them, the butler will be released and the baker hanged. Joseph asks the butler to intercede on his behalf with Paroh. Yosef’s predictions are fulfilled, but the butler forgets all about Yosef and does nothing for him.

Mishpatim 2

“He sent the young men of the children of Israel and they offered burnt-offerings... ‘This is the blood of the covenant that G-d has made with you...’”

-Mishpatim 24:5-8

The Jewish people entered the covenant of the Torah by three rites, the third of which was the above mentioned offering. In the words of Maimonides: “Israel entered the covenant by way of three rites: circumcision, immersion, and a sacrifice. Circumcision was performed in Egypt ... immersion was performed in the desert (Yitro 19:10) ... and also the sacrifice (Mishpatim 24:5) ...” This procedure remained the requirement for all future conversions to Judaism. With the destruction of the Holy Temple, which precludes the offering of a sacrifice, there remained but circumcision and immersion. When the Holy Temple shall be rebuilt, however, these converts from the time of the galut will have to offer that sacrifice as well.

Offhand, the present procedure raises a question: how can we presently accept a convert as a full-fledged Jew without the sacrifice? There is, however, a basic distinction between circumcision and immersion on the one hand, and the offering on the other hand. The convert enters the fold of Judaism by means of the first two. Circumcision removes the impurity of his former state, while immersion infuses the holiness of Jewishness. The sacrifice does not add anything essential to his entry into Judaism.

A sacrifice is an offering and a gift to G-d which establishes the profound and intimate bond between the Jew and G-d, analogous to the relationship between a child and its parent. Indeed, the Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban, which comes from the root of karov, meaning “close” or “near.” A convert, therefore, will offer this sacrifice after having entered the covenant, to mark this special bond between G-d and himself.

The Holy Temple demonstrated a manifestation of the Divine Presence. In that time, the profound bond between G-d and Israel was also manifest. It is not the same in the era of the galut. At present, the observance of Torah and mitzvot is essentially in a mode of simple submission to the “yoke of Heaven,” and it is difficult to sense fully the special bond which existed during the time of the Holy Temple. Thus, one can become and remain a full-fledged Jew even without the sacrifice.

Nonetheless, when the Holy Temple shall be rebuilt, that offering will have to be made up to achieve its unique effect. For the Messianic era will reestablish the special bond between Israel and the Almighty in a fully manifest and revealed way as in the most idyllic times before, and even more so. Thus it is written: “Behold, days are coming, says G-d, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt... But... I will put My teaching in their inward parts and in their heart I shall write it; and I will be their G-d and they shall be My people...” (Jeremiah 31:30ff.)

Mishpatim 1

“When you acquire a Jewish bondsman, for six years he shall work and in the seventh year he shall go free...”

-Mishpatim 21:2

“Six years,” an allusion to the 6000 years of the world’s normative existence, “he shall work”.

That is, during this period, in the present time of this existence, there is the opportunity of serving G-d with Torah and mitzvot. By virtue of this service:

“In the seventh year,” i.e., in the seventh millenium, “he shall go free...”-we shall be released and be free of all the obstacles and hindrances that presently are dominant in the world, and we shall merit the sublime manifestations of the Messianic future.

parashas naso

The Parshah begins with the completion of the census (counting of the population) that moshe started in last week's Parshah (Bamidbar). Here, hashem tells moshe to count the the leviim from ages 30 to 50, because they're the ones who will do the service of carrying the parts of the Mishkan, and he gets a total of 8,580 men. (Like we said last week, the family of Gershon carries the curtains, the Mishkan's coverings and the screens for the courtyard; the family of Merari carries the planks and pillars of the walls; and the family of Kehat carries the vessels.)

We also read about a nazir--a person who wants to be extra holy and so agrees to keep away from certain things, even though they are allowed. The nazir is not allowed to cut his hair, drink wine or grape juice, or become tuma through contact with a dead person.


Next hashem tells Moshe about a special mitzvah that Aaron and his sons have: to give a bracha to the People of Israel. We still do this in the shul, at the end of holiday services--it's called Birkhat Kohanim.

The last thing the Parshah tells us is about how each nassi brings an korban for the inauguration of the altar. The korban brought by each of them is exactly the same, but the Torah repeats every one to show that hashem values each offering as special.

parashas emor

The Parshah begins by telling us that a kohen must always be careful to remain tahor, pure, so that he can serve in the Holy Temple. In order to do this, he must make sure not to come in contact with a dead body because that would make him impure. He is only allowed to become impure by going to a funeral or cemetery if a close relative of his passes away. That means his father, mother, son, daughter brother, or unmarried sister. A kohen is also not allowed to marry somebody who was married before and got divorced.

The kohen gadol--the "high priest" or "head kohen," is never allowed to become impure, even if a close relative passes away. Also, he's not allowed to marry anybody who was married before at all.

When an animal (a cow, sheep, or goat) gives birth (to a calf, lamb, or kid) nobody is allowed to take the newborn away for seven days. Also, an animal and its offspring may not be killed on the same day.

The Jewish Calendar

The Torah then tells us about the special times of year on the Jewish calendar

First it discusses Shabbat. For six days we do work and the seventh is a day of rest.

Next is Passover, in the Hebrew month of Nissan. For seven days we eat matzot, and the first and last of those days are days of rest on which we're not allowed to do any work.


Next is the Counting of the Omer, which begins on Passover and counts down until Shavuot.

The fiftieth day of the Omer is the festival of Shavuot.

Next comes Rosh Hashanah, the "head of the year" on the first day of Tishrei. This is when we blow the shofar.

Ten days later is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, a fast day when we pray for forgiveness for our sins.

Next is Sukkot, a joyful festival when we eat in a booth called a sukkah and make a blessing on four types of plants gathered together.

The Parshah ends by telling us about somebody who cursed G-d. Moses asked G-d what his punishment should be and G-d said that he must be killed. We also read that somebody who kills a person is punished with death and that somebody who hurts a person or animal must pay money to compensate for the cost.

vayigash

yehuda comes to yosef and begs him to free binyamin he even offers himself as a slave yes he offers to stay in egypt as yosef yosef`s slave instead of binyamin! as long as binyamin is set free and allowed to return to his father`s home in canaan at this point when yosef sees how much his brothers care about another he can no longer hold back his feelings he sends all his servants and guards out of the room when he and his brothers are left alone he cries and says "i am yosef is my father still alive?" the brothers are silent they are shoked and terrified is this man the second to most powerful man in all egypt really their brother? and so yosef begs them to come closer and repeats himself "iam yosef!" the brothers finally realize that it is true this is their brother but they are so ashamed at what they have done to him that they sold him into slavery but yosef comforts them and makes them feel comftorbale telling them that it was hashem`s will that he end up in egypt so that he would become powerful and have a chance to save his entire family from the terrible famine wich was still going on at that time yosef then sends his brothers home to tell yakov that he is alive as well as to invite him to come to egypt where he will able to live in peace paroy sends along carriages to help yakov move when yakov sees the wagons and hears the good news he is overjoyed and stops the long 22 years of mourning for his beloved son yosef yakov travels to egypt together with his entire family exactly 70 people(the 70th is born as they enter the city gates the newborn is yocheved mother of moshe ) on his way too egypt hashem promises yakov that he will make yakov`s children into a great nation and that he will take them out of egypt yosef goes out to meet his father as he gets closer to egypt and when they met each other yosef hugs and kisses yakov they then go to meet paroy who gives the land goshen to yakov wich is where yakov and his family will live throughout the next generations yakov gives a brocha to paroy

parshas vayetzei

in last parasha we heard how yakov ran away from eisav this parasha he decided to rest and he put twelv stones and if they became one stone it means that the shvotim are gonna be good but if they stayed twelv it means they are gonna be bad yakov had a dream of malochim climbing up and down a ladder to shomaim and it was the malochimwh where saving him from his trip when he woke up he saw that the stone was one stone before he continued on his trip he made an mizbeach so he continued on his trip and he went to his uncle lavan and yakov had to be a sheperd for seven years and he wanted to marry rochel but lavan said in another seven years so he worked another seven years but instead lavan put lea so lavan went on a trip for three days and then yakov left with lea and rochel and they left with a idol someone told lavan about it then he chased after them and hashem or a malach warned him not to the end if i wrote a mostaik or please write it as a comment