B"H
Tuesday, Kislev 12, 5776 / November 24, 2015 – Hakhel Year
Question & answers based on the Parsha of the week, Vayishlach.
Q.Yaakov and his family are returning to his parents’ home in Canaan. How many years was he absent from his parents?
A.He spent fourteen years at the Yeshiva of Eiver. Twenty years at his father-in-law, Lavan and almost two years on the way. He was away for a total of 36 years.
Q. How old was Yaakov when he left his parents and how old was he when he came back?
A. He was 63 when he left and was 99 when he returned.
Q. Yaakov married four wives (Leah, Rachel, Zilpa, Bilha). With how many children did he return?
A.He left his father-in-law with 11 sons and one daughter. On the way home, as he came into Israel, his wife Rachel gave birth to his youngest son, Binyamin. He was his only son to be born in Israel.
There is an opinion in the Talmud that with each of Yaakov’s sons, a twin sister was born.
Q. On his way home, what problems did Yaakov encounter?
A. His way back was difficult. First, his father-in-law, Lavan, chases after him and wants to harm him. But G-d came to Lavan in a dream and warned him not to harm Yaakov. Then, Yaakov encounters a “man” (Esau’s guardian angel) who struggles with him. Yaakov overpowers him, but he causes Yaakov to limp. Then, his brother, Esau, comes toward him with 400 men to prevent him from returning to Israel (Canaan). G-d sent angels to frighten Esau and he abandons his plan. Then Yaakov’s daughter, Dina, is kidnapped by the ruler of Shchem and is violated. When Yaakov finally comes to Israel, his wife, Rachel, gives birth to Binyamin, but she passes away at childbirth. He buries her at the side of the road in Bethlehem.
Q. Why did Yaakov bury her at the side of the road? Why didn’t he bury her in the family’s burial plot in Hebron which was close to Bethlehem?
A. We are told that Yaakov did this because he knew that one day Jews would be exiled from Jerusalem and would pass by this road. He wanted them to pass by their mother’s grave, so she would invoke her prayers on their behalf.
Q. Did Yaakov see his parents when he returned?
A. His mother, Rivkah, passed away while he was travelling home. His father, Yitzchak, was 160 when Yaakov returned and lived to 180. Thus, Yaakov and Yitzchak lived together for another twenty years.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
.B"H
Friday, Kislev 8, 5776 / November 20, 2015
This week's Parsha, Vayeitzei, begins, "And Yaakov went out of Be’er Sheva and went to Charan." On the way Yaakov passed by the place where his father, Yitzchak, was bound on the altar many years earlier and where, many years later, the Holy Temple would be standing. Yaakov didn't intend to stop there, but G-d made the sun set so that he would stay overnight.
The Torah tells us that before going to sleep; Yaakov, "Took from the stones of that place and placed them around his head and lay down to sleep."
He had a dream in which he saw a ladder standing firmly on the ground and its top reaching into heaven. He saw angels going up and down the ladder. In this dream G-d promised to give to him and his descendants the Land of Israel. He also promised him that his descendants will spread to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south.
Q.Yaakov took the stones and put them around his head for protection. Why did he protect only his head, not his entire body?
A. Yaakov wasn’t worried about physical danger. He was concerned about a spiritual danger. Yaakov was a quiet person who, until now, "sat in the tents" – he was occupied with study and spiritual matter.
All his life he was involved in learning Torah and serving G-d. Now that he was going to his uncle Lavan he feared the unknown. His uncle, was known as "Lavan the swindler." Yaakov knew that in his new environment he needed extra protection not to lose his spiritual attachment.
By taking, "From the stones of that place and building a fence around his head, Yaakov demonstrated that, although he will now have to be involved in material matters, he will keep his head, i.e. his mind and thoughts, protected with "the stones of the place" where his father Yitzchak offered his life to G-d and where in the future the Holy Temple will be built.
Yaakov's strong commitment to G-d during his twenty years at his father-in-law helped him not only spiritually but also in his material success. He came out much wealthier spiritually and materially. The secret to success for a Jew is to always stay connected to G-d. This is the secret of that special ladder he saw in his dream, which stood on the ground, but whose top reached into heaven.
Another point: Ladder in Hebrew is Sulam, which has a numerical value of 136. The Hebrew letters for Mamon (money) also equals 136. Our sages tell us that money is compared to a ladder through which a person can attain great heights. However, one must remember that just like the ladder's sole purpose is to help a person reach higher, so too money should not be viewed as an end in itself, but as a tool and ladder through which the owner, by performing acts of charity and kindness, can attain greater heights.
SHABBAT SHALOM
MontrealCandle lighting time: 4:01 / Shabbat ends 5:07
.B"H
Thursday, Kislev 7, 5776 / November 19, 2015
“It was only a dream,” is a common expression which indicates that something is not very significant. However, in the Torah we do find that dreams played an important role and foretold important events.
The first mention of a dream in the Torah is in this week’s Parsha, Vayeitzei, when Yaakov was on his way to his uncle’s home. The Torah tells us that on the way, he came upon Mount Moriah and the sun set. He slept there for the night and he had a dream.
In his dream he saw, “A ladder which was set on the ground and the top of it reached into heaven and the angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it. He saw G-d standing over him and G-d tells him, ‘I am the L-rd, the G-d of Abraham and Yitzchak, the land upon which you are lying upon it, to you I will give it and to your children. And your children will be as the dust of the earth and you shall spread to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south. I will be with you and I will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land.”
At the end of the Parsha, which took place twenty years later, Yaakov has another dream in which an angel tells him that the time has come for him and his family to return home.
Other famous dreams in the book of Genesis (Breishis) are Joseph’s dreams and Pharaoh’s dreams. All of the above dreams came true and they shaped the history of our people.
There are various opinions about the significance of dreams in the Talmud. On one hand, it states that dreams are one-sixtieth of prophecy, but at the same time the Talmud also writes that no dreams are without nonsense. Rabbi Simon ben Yocḥai says, "Just as there is no grain without chaff, so there is no dream without vain things in it." Thus, dreams are a mixed bag of truth and nonsense.
The Talmudic sage Rabbi Bana’ah says, “There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams residing in Jerusalem. Once I dreamt a dream and I went to each of them to ask for its interpretation. Each one gave me a different interpretation. I received twenty-four interpretations for the same dream. Yet, all of these interpretations came true for me.”
The Talmud also says that dreams are the result of what we think during the day, as the following story in the Talmud illustrates: A Roman emperor asked Rabbi Yehoshua what he (the Emperor) was going to dream. Rabbi Yehoshua replied: "You will dream that the Persians will vanquish and ill-treat you." Reflecting on this the whole day, the emperor dreamed exactly that.
There is a special prayer we recite when the Kohanim bless the congregation, in which we ask G-d to reverse our negative dreams into positive ones.
The Talmud states, “Dreams are influenced by their interpretation. A dream can have either a good or a bad interpretation. Positive thoughts and positive interpretations bring positive results.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL DAY
.B"H
Thursday, Kislev 7, 5776 / November 19, 2015
“It was only a dream,” is a common expression which indicates that something is not very significant. However, in the Torah we do find that dreams played an important role and foretold important events.
The first mention of a dream in the Torah is in this week’s Parsha, Vayeitzei, when Yaakov was on his way to his uncle’s home. The Torah tells us that on the way, he came upon Mount Moriah and the sun set. He slept there for the night and he had a dream.
In his dream he saw, “A ladder which was set on the ground and the top of it reached into heaven and the angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it. He saw G-d standing over him and G-d tells him, ‘I am the L-rd, the G-d of Abraham and Yitzchak, the land upon which you are lying upon it, to you I will give it and to your children. And your children will be as the dust of the earth and you shall spread to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south. I will be with you and I will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land.”
At the end of the Parsha, which took place twenty years later, Yaakov has another dream in which an angel tells him that the time has come for him and his family to return home.
Other famous dreams in the book of Genesis (Breishis) are Joseph’s dreams and Pharaoh’s dreams. All of the above dreams came true and they shaped the history of our people.
There are various opinions about the significance of dreams in the Talmud. On one hand, it states that dreams are one-sixtieth of prophecy, but at the same time the Talmud also writes that no dreams are without nonsense. Rabbi Simon ben Yocḥai says, "Just as there is no grain without chaff, so there is no dream without vain things in it." Thus, dreams are a mixed bag of truth and nonsense.
The Talmudic sage Rabbi Bana’ah says, “There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams residing in Jerusalem. Once I dreamt a dream and I went to each of them to ask for its interpretation. Each one gave me a different interpretation. I received twenty-four interpretations for the same dream. Yet, all of these interpretations came true for me.”
The Talmud also says that dreams are the result of what we think during the day, as the following story in the Talmud illustrates: A Roman emperor asked Rabbi Yehoshua what he (the Emperor) was going to dream. Rabbi Yehoshua replied: "You will dream that the Persians will vanquish and ill-treat you." Reflecting on this the whole day, the emperor dreamed exactly that.
There is a special prayer we recite when the Kohanim bless the congregation, in which we ask G-d to reverse our negative dreams into positive ones.
The Talmud states, “Dreams are influenced by their interpretation. A dream can have either a good or a bad interpretation. Positive thoughts and positive interpretations bring positive results.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL DAY
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