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ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים...אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Vayechi

And now, your two sons who were born in Egypt… Ephraim and Menashe shall be mine like Reuven and Shimon (48:5)

Yaakov Avinu underscores the fact the Menashe and Ephraim were Egyptian-born. He could just as easily have said, “your two sons, Ephraim and Menashe,” without adding their origins. HaRav Yaakov Kamenetzky, zl, explains that Yaakov was concerned about his grandsons’ origins because of the harsh, foreign spiritual influences they might have sustained. In order to include them among the Shevatim, they had to have remained on a spiritual plateau in some way equal to the Shevatim. Yaakov intimates that he was bringing Ephraim and Menashe close because, since they were born and raised in Egypt, they needed that spiritual TLC….

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ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על אחיך אשר לקחתי מיד האמורי בחרבי ובקשתי

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Vayechi

As for me, I have given you, Shechem, one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the Emori with my sword and with my bow. (48:22)

Yaakov Avinu awarded Yosef an extra portion of land: Shechem. This was bequeathed to him for taking the initiative to inter Yaakov Avinu’s remains in Eretz Yisrael. To protect Shimon and Levi, who had gone to Shechem to retrieve their sister, Dinah, and to avenge the family’s honor, the Patriarch took up arms, preparing to battle the Emori. Hashem provided the Patriarch with a miracle, so that he would emerge triumphant. Sword and bow are figurative terms for the spiritual weaponry that our Patriarch employed. This teaches us that true strength is not physical in nature, but rather, spiritual strength…

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פחז כמים אל תותר כי עלית משכבי אביך אז חללת יצועי עלה

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Vayechi

Water-like impetuosity—you cannot be foremost because you mounted your father’s bed, then you desecrated Him who ascended my couch. (49:4)

Reuven had it all—and lost it—due to an impetuous move on his part. Make no mistake: Reuven did not mean to sin. Indeed, he thought he was acting virtuously to defend his mother’s honor. He even repented after he was informed of his own imprudence. Nevertheless, it does not change the fact that he acted impulsively. A king, a leader, a Kohen, must act with deliberation and circumspection. Thus, the birthright that had been Reuven’s was transferred to Yosef, the monarchy to Yehudah, and the Kehunah/Priesthood to Levi. A leader does not have the luxury of acting in haste. Yaakov…

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יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך .... כרע רבץ כאריה וכלביא מי יקימנו (49:8-9)

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Vayechi

Yehudah—you, your brothers shall acknowledge… He crouches, lies down like a lion, and like an awesome lion, who dares rouse him. (Bereishit 49:8-9)

Yehudah was the acknowledged king of the shevatim. He is compared to a lion, the king of beasts. This was Yaakov Avinu’s vision of Yehudah for the future. Horav Shalom Yosef Zevin, zl, expounds on these two terms: crouches; and lies down. Both are characteristics associated with the lion. A person’s emotional state affects both his physical and ethical/moral conduct and his demeanor. One who feels down or discouraged can easily fall into a state of despair, which not only affects his motivation and drive, but can also lead to ethical compromises. He simply does not care. When one feels…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5785

ויפל על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך ובנימין בכה על צואריו

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Vayigash

Then he fell upon his brother Binyamin’s neck and wept; and Binyamin wept upon his neck. (45:14)

Rashi explains that Yosef wept over the two Batei Mikdash, situated in Binyamin’s portion of Ertez Yisrael, which would be destroyed. Binyamin wept over the Mishkan Shiloh, which was in Yosef’s portion, that would be destroyed. The question is glaring: Did they have no other time to weep over these churbanos, destructions?  There is a time for everything: a time for dance; ‘a time for eulogy; a time for weeping’, and a time for joy. This was the moment for which they had both longed. It should have been filled with heightened joy-not weeping. HoRav Mordechai Pogremonsky, zl, cites the…

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ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורת לפניו גשנה

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Vayigash

He sent Yehudah ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen (46:28)

Yaakov Avinu sent Yehudah ahead of the family to make the proper arrangements for their transition to Egypt. Yehudah was the definitive leader of the brothers, having proven himself in his confrontation with the Egyptian “viceroy.” Rashi quotes Chazal, who delve into the word l’horos, to teach, that Yehudah was actually destined to establish a yeshivah, so that when they arrived they could immediately continue their Torah study. It also shows the Patriarch’s profound insight into Jewish values. Without Torah as the foundation and lodestar for navigating life, the journey is untenable. The Torah is our inspiration and guide, especially…

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ויעל לקראת ישראל אביו.....וירא אליו

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Vayigash

And he (Yosef) went up to meet his father…..He appeared before him. (46:29)

Yaakov Avinu could not wait to see his long-lost son, Yosef. Yosef had left home a boy, and now he was viceroy over the people of Egypt. He went from challenge to travail and emerged as righteous as when he left home. The image of his father had kept him holy. Now, after all this time, after all the tzaros, troubles, that Yosef had endured, he was finally going to embrace his father. This would be the script as presented by a secular author, a playwright who seeks to capture the drama of this face-to-face interaction between father and son….

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5785

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חלם והנה עמד על היאור

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day: Pharaoh was dreaming that behold! He was standing over the river. (41:1)

Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 69:3) distinguish between: the wicked who stand over their gods, such as Pharaoh, who dreamt that he was standing over the Nile River, which is the Egyptian godhead; and tzaddikim, the righteous, such as Yaakov Avinu, over whom we see that Hashem stood protectively.  Horav Simchah Wasserman, zl, explains that idol worshippers seek a god that will fit into their comfort zone, who will serve them without making any undue demands on them.  The Egyptians viewed the Nile River as their god, because it provided for their needs.  Pharaoh stood over the river, because this is their…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5785

וישלח פרעה ויקרא את יוסף ויריצהו מן הבור

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Mikeitz

So Pharaoh sent and summoned Yosef, and they rushed him from the dungeon. (41:14)

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding one’s eis tzarah, period of trouble, when the designated time for geulah, redemption/deliverance, arrives, he will not spend one extra moment in travail.    Yosef was incarcerated with no immediate hope for release, but, when the Heavenly-appointed time for his liberation was reached, he was rushed out of prison.  Likewise, explains the Chafetz Chaim, when the time for Klal Yisrael’s redemption from exile arrives, we will immediately be freed.  Nothing will impede our release. Two types of redemption exist: collective redemption; and personal redemption.  We must remember that, however bleak things may appear, this darkness will…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5785

אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Mikeitz

You shall be in charge of my palace and, by your command, shall all my people be sustained. (41:40)

How often do we attempt all avenues to resolve an issue that is plaguing us — economic, health, shidduchim —  and everything that we do leads to a solid, impenetrable wall?  All of a sudden, out of the blue, the issue is resolved in a manner that we least expected, or even thought possible.  When we take the time to relax and introspect throughout the journey from travail to deliverance, we must ask ourselves: Was this Hashem’s plan from the very onset, that nothing we attempt works, so that we ultimately recognize, realize and acknowledge that: Hashem has a plan;…

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