December 2016

Parashat Mikeitz - Genesis 41:1-44:17

Nearly every year Parashat Mikeitz is read in conjunction with the celebration of Hanukkah. Is there any parallel or insight we can find in this week’s Torah portion that relates to Hanukkah? A few of our rabbis (particularly Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg) have brought insight into this correlation. Our parashah tells us:

A Corpse With A Purpose?

Akavya ben Mahalalel said: Reflect upon three things and you will not come into the hands sin. Know from where you came and where you are going and before whom you are destined to give account and reckoning. (m.Avot 3:1)

Parashat Vayeishev - Genesis 37:1-40:23

And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. (Genesis 37:24)

Parashat Vayishlach - Genesis 32:3-36:43

This week’s parashah covers a lot of territory. We begin reading about Jacob preparing to meet his brother Esau after his departure from the house of Laban. From there we read about him wrestling through the night with what appears to be an angel of God. Jacob then encounters Esau and things go much better than expected. Esau is cordial and Jacob doesn’t get killed, so he skirts around his brother’s territory and heads over to Succoth. But after this we read of a sad incident in which his daughter, Dinah, is seduced and defiled by a man named Shechem.

Parashat Vayeitze - Genesis 28:10-32:2

Our parashah begins by telling us, “Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran” (Genesis 28:10). Rashi makes a keen observation on this verse. He asks a question that should be obvious to us: “Why does the Torah mention Jacob’s departure from Beersheba?” If we’ve been paying attention we should remember that the Torah had just mentioned this fact a few verses prior. Verse seven says, “Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.” Haran is located within the region of Paddan-aram. Therefore, we’ve been told twice within a few sentences that Jacob went toward Haran.