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Home -> Vayechi -> 5778

ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על אחיך אשר לקחתי...בחרבי ובקשתי

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Vayechi

And as for me, I have given you Shechem – one portion more than your brothers, which I took…with my sword and my bow. (48:22)

B’charbi u’b’kashti, with my sword and with my bow. Rashi interprets sword and bow as: sword – sharp wisdom; bow – prayer. Targum Onkelos translates it as tzalusi u’b’bausi; with my prayer is my supplication. Thus, Yaakov Avinu’s strength lies not in his physical prowess, but rather, in his spiritual potency. Yaakov’s prayer was much more effective than his physical strength. This is true for all of us. Our strength is in our spirituality. We vanquish the enemy with our supplications, not with our guns. Horav Shimon Pincus, zl, observes that during an eis tzarah, period of tribulation, when the numbers…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5778

ויקרבו ימי ישראל למות

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Vayechi

And the days of the death of Yisrael drew near. (47:29)

The “days” of Yaakov’s death drew near.  A person does not die over a period of days; he dies in a moment. The Zohar wonders what is the meaning of the “days of death”? The Zohar explains that when the time for a person to pass from this world arrives, all of his days (which he has lived) are calculated and assessed. Each day that was spent in the service of Hashem, committed to mitzvah observance, Torah study and performance of acts of lovingkindness – is considered a day worthy of being counted. Other days, which are found lacking in…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5778

ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Vayechi

Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt. (47:28)

There is a general rule concerning the placement of a new parshah/sidrah in a Torah scroll: The new Sidrah either: begins on a new line, or it is separated from the previous parshah by a nine-letter space. Parashas Vayechi is unique in that no extra space exists between it and Parashas Vayigash – the preceding parshah. Thus, Rashi calls Parashas Vayechi a parshah setumah, closed parshah. Since nothing happens in a vacuum, Rashi explains why Vayechi is “closed.” It teaches us that at the time of his passing, the mood of Yaakov Avinu’s children was “closed.” They were acutely aware…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5778

לינו את השנה הזאת לטובה

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Vayigash

Bareich aleinu…es ha’shanah ha’zos…l’tovah. Bless on our behalf… this year… for the best.

Obviously, Hashem blesses the year for the “best.” Otherwise, what kind of blessing is it? The word l’tovah is seemingly superfluous. Siach Yitzchak explains that it happens, at times, that the produce is blessed with a high yield, but, regrettably, a shortage of money precludes customers from purchasing their needs. Indeed, it is worse when produce is selling at a low price, but the buyer has no cash, than when the opposite is in effect (the person has money, but there is no produce to be found). We pray to Hashem that food should be available and that people have…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5778

וילקט יוסף את כל הכסף הנמצא בארץ מצרים. ויבא יוסף את הכסף ביתה פרעה

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Vayigash

Yosef gathered all the money that was to be found in the land of Egypt…And Yosef brought the money into Pharoh’s palace. (47:14)

  The Talmud Pesachim 119A teaches that Yosef HaTzadik hid three treasures in Egypt. One was revealed to Korach; the second to Antoninus; and the third is waiting for its revelation to the righteous in Olam Habba, the World to Come. Obviously, Chazal are not talking about material treasures, since Yosef did not have the right to hide treasures for himself. All of the funds that were deposited in the country in return for grain belonged to Pharaoh. Yosef was not a thief. Every penny that came in went through a strict accounting process. Second, the third treasure, which was…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5778

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, 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 arrival. The Midrash focuses on the word l’horos, to prepare, which also means to teach. This implies that Yaakov sent Yehudah to Goshen to establish a yeshivah, a house of study. This set the priority for every Jewish community to first and foremost have a makom Torah, a place where Torah will be studied. A community that does not revolve around Torah is missing its soul. I think the word l’horos, to teach, imparts a lesson concerning the type of yeshivah that Yaakov wanted to…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5778

ולאביו שלח כזאת עשרה חמרים נשאים מטוב מצרים

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Vayigash

And to his father, he sent the following: ten he donkeys laden with the best of Egypt. (45:23)

  We often neglect to acknowledge that we are pawns in a cosmic chess game, all of us part of a Divine plan. Each and every one of us has his/her designated place as the various moves are made, until the ultimate move, when the advent of Moshiach Tzidkeinu takes place. Commentators express this idea time and again as they address the story of Yosef HaTzaddik: his alienation from his brothers; his sale as a slave, which led him to Egypt; his descent to Egypt as the precursor for his family’s departure from Eretz Yisrael in order to be reunited…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5778

ולא יכלו אחיו לענות אתו כי נבהלו מפניו

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Vayigash

But his brothers could not answer him because they were left disconcerted before him. (45:3)

  The Midrash notes the difficulty individuals experience in accepting rebuke. Bilaam ha’rasha, the evil pagan-prophet, could not stand up to the criticism of his donkey. The Shivtei Kah, the sons of Yaakov Avinu, were overwhelmed with fear when Yosef merely uttered the two words: Ani Yosef, “I am Yosef.” Imagine, says Abba Kohen Bardela, when we come before the Heavenly Tribunal and each and every one of us will be rebuked lfi mah she’hu, according to what he is, (or what he could have been). How will we stand up to this Heavenly remonstrance? In the Talmud Berachos 4b,…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5778

ברך עלינו... את השנה הזאת

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Mikeitz

Bareich aleinu… es ha’shanah ha’zos. Bless us…this year

B’zeias apecha tochal lechem, “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread” (Bereishis 3:19). Is this a curse – or a blessing? Horav Yitzchak Kirzner, zl, explains that people would now have to work to earn a living. The idyllic state of living in Paradise had come to a quick end. As a result of their sin, Adam and Chavah had plummeted from their original spiritual perch to a life filled with challenges. Had they remained on their exalted spiritual level, earning a livelihood would have had a negative connotation. Why waste so much precious time? Now, however,…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5778

כולנו בני איש אחד נחנו

Roberto Szerer
In 5778, Mikeitz

All of us, sons of one man are we. (42:11)

The Egyptian viceroy (Yosef) had a hard time believing that ten brothers, an entire family, were required to come down to Egypt to purchase food. If it was a question of assistance, one or two brothers could have gone with a few servants. Why did all of the brothers leave their individual families if the job could have been carried out by a few brothers? Ramban explains that, being brothers, their father, Yaakov Avinu, wanted them to remain together. It was not a matter of strength in numbers; it was just that Yaakov did not want the members of his…

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