At the end of the life of our forefather Yaacov, his son Yosef came to his bedside with his two sons, Menashe and Efraim. Yaacov proclaimed that these grandchildren, Efraim and Menashe, will each be a tribal head among the ranks of his own children. Yaacov then spread out his hands to bless Efraim and …
Tag: Vayechi
Sep 26
Fasts Usually Go Slow
(Torah Portion Vayechi) Fasts Usually Go Slow Friday, December 17th is the public fast of Asarah B’Teves ? The Teenth day of the Hebrew month of Teves. Our prophets established it as a day of fasting to commemorate the tragic event that took place on this day. We are all aware that the Temple Mount …
Sep 26
Staying Alive
(Torah Portion Vayechi) Staying Alive! This week’s portion tells us that our forefather Yaakov lived the last years of his life in Egypt. The title of this week’s Portion is Vayechi – and he lived. The Torah draws our attention to the word “and he lived” to indicate that during the final seventeen years of …
Sep 26
Hand in Hand
(Torah Portion Vayechi) Hand in Hand At the onset of my recent trip to Israel, the El Al security detail at Newark airport asked me a list of standard questions. His final question was, “Are you carrying a weapon of any type?” I said, “Yes.” He was quite surprised by my response, and before he …
Sep 19
Lift the Spirits
(Torah Portion Vayechi) Lift the Spirits! The legendary Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Berdichiv would regularly inquire about the condition of all the ill people in his town. He once paid a visit to an ailing person and found him in a very worried state of mind. The Rabbi asked him what was weighing on his …
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