Vayechi ~ And he lived

Vayechi ~ And he lived

Much like parashat Hayei Sarah, which begins with words “Vay’h’yu hayei Sarah; and it was the life of Sarah” but then speaks of Sarah’s death, parashat Vayechi begins with the words “Vayechi Ya’akov; and Jacob lived” but speaks of Jacob’s dying.  The parasha ends with Joseph’s death as a prince in Egypt.

Parashat Vayechi relate sthe last days and dying words of Jacob.  He speaks with his children, passing on blessings to some, warnings to others.  He draws a promise from Joseph to ensure his proper burial in the ancestral plot of Machpelah. 

Jacob’s death is a time for healing in the family.  Although Jacob’s words may hurt some of his sons, it is a private airing of old wounds and putting the past behind them.  After Jacob’s death, the brothers come to Joseph to once again offer heartfelt apologies.  Joseph ensures them his anger is past.  They are family.  Although they certainly cannot forget the old hurts, they do forgive. 

Death & burial is usually seen as an ending, but it can also be a healing time.  It is a time to put the past behind us, and look to what bonds us together.  It is meant as a time to remember family and roots. 

When Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a great Conservative rabbi and scholar, died, his funeral was held at the Jewish Theological Seminary with his immediate family, colleagues, and students with whom he spent his life.  Some surprising attendees were from the Hasidic community.  What was unknown to many at the funeral was that Rabbi Heschel, the closest person to a Conservative rebbe, was descended from rebbes.  Rabbi Heschel’s namesake was his great-grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt, who was the founder of the Apter hasidim. At the conclusion of the funeral service, the Apters took the aron, the coffin to bury Rabbi Heschel at their plot.  Although Rabbi Heschel was not connected to them for much of his life, the family connection was one that could not be broken.  They would provide to him the ultimate mitzvah of hesed shel emet, caring for the dead.

This remembering is important, but more important is the timing.  It is very hard to forgive when we cannot forget. Our tradition teaches that Joseph was the first of the brothers to die.  After Jacob’s death they had 70 years of forgiveness, considered a full life in tradition.  They did not wait until death to make peace.  Hesed shel emet is considered the ultimate mitzvah, one that cannot be paid back. Still, teshuvah, returning, and s’licha, forgiveness, have a much greater reach in meaning.  With it we can have an entire life together.

May this be a year of shalom, s’licha, teshuvah, and tikvah (hope).

Parashat Vayigash- Slavery Comes in Many Forms

V’atah tzuveitah zot asu. And now you are commanded to do this. (45:19)

These words in parashat Vayigash do not come from God, but from Pharaoh.  When the prophesized 400 years spent in slavery are counted, they start from the good times.  Midrash teaches that the Israelites were not enslaved by force, but by sweetness and kindness. 

How often do we find ourselves trapped in a favour or required to take on more responsibility at work.  “But you’re so good at it” starts the request.  Pharaoh promises Joseph, “I will give you the good land of Mitzrayim, and you will eat of the fat of the land…give no thought to your goods, for the good of all the land of Mitzrayim is yours.”  Joseph presents each family coming to Egypt with a wagon, provisions, and clothing.  Benjamin is given even more, and silver as well, and to his father Joseph sends pack animals laden with goods and food.  From all these riches it may seem that Joseph has been freed from slavery, freed from prison.  Certainly with all the perks of being Pharaoh’s right hand man and slaves of his own, Joseph believed he was free.  But in fact Pharaoh’s words above show us that he is just as much a slave while a prince in Egypt as he was in the house of Potiphar.  “V’atah tzuveitah zot asu.”  “And now you are commanded to do this.”  Slavery can be imposed upon us, as Joseph’s first experience was, or created of our own doing, as with the Israelites’ move to Egypt, accepted along with the kind words and gifts.

At all times, whether in prayer or through holiday observance, we remember that we Jews are who we are and do what we do because we “were once slaves in Egypt.”  We are expected to remember that condition and bring the experience of moving from slavery to freedom to our lives and to the lives of others. This can inform us to fight against oppression and for freedoms for people everywhere, or this can teach us to beware of the things to which we enslave ourselves.  As people everywhere begin to make New Year’s resolutions in honour of the secular New Year, may we all be able to perceive the thing that enslave us and work for ourselves to be free.

Rav Sean, Jesses, Gavriel, & Keren wish you all a healthy, happy, and free 2012.

Ain Somchim Al HaNes

Parashat Miketz is always read during Shabbat Hanukah. The Etz Hayim Humash points out that “just as Hanukah celebrates the victory of the weak over the powerful, the parasha begins with Pharaoh’s dream of the lean cows conquering the well-fed ones.  As the parasha begins with Joseph in prison and ends with Joseph as ruler, the story of Hanukah begins with Israel oppressed and ends with Israel triumphant and independent.” 

On Rosh Hodesh Kislev I participated in a Hanukah program.  One of the guest, Rabbi Peretz Weizman said, “We are living in the period of Hanukah.” Rabbi Weizman pointed out that from until the addition of Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, no new holiday celebrations were added to the Jewish calendar. I spoke with him afterwards about this statement.  All other holidays are biblical.  Most of the commandments surrounding celebrating biblical holidays give us the reason that we do this because God took us out of Egypt.  In all these cases, the holidays are connected to the fact that God fought for us, but on Hanukah we fought for God.

This is the irony of Hanukah.  The mitzvah of Hanukah is parsum et hanes, to publicize the miracle.  The question is what was the miracle.  The easy answer is that the oil lasted beyond the one day, but then the miracle would only be for seven days.  Why do we celebrate for eight days.  One answer passed down through our tradition is that we celebrate the first night for our victory. 

There is a Jewish belief, ain somchim al hanes, do not depend upon the miracle.  We hope and we pray for God’s help, but we act for God.  Just as Joseph had to come to the realization that he had to be brave enough to act to bring about change, this is a message for us all.

Hag Hanukah samech.

Long Live the King

I'm going to Israel in January.  Just me, without hubby or kids, sad to say.  I'll be on a Masorti Mission.

I started thinking about my favourite falafel joint.  It's Moshiko on Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem.  Then I found this: http://www.jerusalemite.net/blog/3553/the-top-five-jerusalem-falafel-joints.  It's from 2008, the Top 5 Jerusalem Falafel Joints.  Not surprisingly to be, Moshiko tops the list.  It was such a favourite of ours that Sean & I had a picture of the store on our bulletin board until our last move.

One word of disagreement with the article.  We like Melech HaFalafel.  Yes, it's cheap, greasey, fast food. To compare it to Moshiko is like comparing White Castle (forgive the treyf reference) to a fine steak house.  White Castle knows this.  They proudly call their little squares of grease covered in watery chopped onions Sliders.  You can just imagine all the reasons why.  There is a time and a place for greasy, cheap food.  Certainly my digestive system could handle that much better when we lived in Israel almost 20 years ago, but sometimes Melech HaFalafel is just what you want.  Sean & I used to get a 1/2 felafel every time we went shopping at Machane Yehuda.  There's something to be said for a quick, cheap spot of grease to hold you over until a better meal.  Here's what Go Jerusalem had to say, http://www.gojerusalem.com/discover/item_422/Melech-Hafalafel.  Long live the King.

Do as I do.

Last week I was walking with Keren & Gavi to Just Bags at Lawrence Plaza (BTW, they're a great spot to buy luggage, knapsacks, purses, lunchboxes, etc.  Wait for a sale, although there's always something.  They're great about repairs.  My kids are very hard on their stuff!)

Anyway, back to the story....

I was walking with the kids and we passed a man asking for money.  I didn't have anything with me, and I said so.  I rarely have any cash, change or otherwise, in this day of ATM, debit, and charge cards.  I did make it a point to look him in the eye and answer though.  It's a value Sean and I have tried to instil in the kids.  Eye contact- realize you are speaking to a person, a valuable human being.  We also keep change in the car to give out.  We most often encounter beggars while in the car.  I felt bad having to say no.

After a few steps, Keren stopped.  "Eema, I have some money."  She unzipped her bag, pulled out a twoonie, and went back to give it to the man.  I stood, looking on, very proud of her.  She spoke to him; looked him in the eye, and handed him the money.  She didn't expect anything back, but the satisfaction of doing a mitzvah.  (We put a twoonie in her bank, unbeknownst to her.)

Wow, kids really do learn what we do.