Vayetzei D'var Torah

As he was travelling, Jacob had a dream about a ladder, and God spoke to him, which made him realize that God was helping him and he was in a holy place. Later, he ran into his cousin Rachel, who took him to his uncle, Laban (Rebekah’s dad). Laban had two kids, Rachel, who was beautiful, and Leah, who was not (in Jacob’s opinion). Jacob then agreed to serve seven years for Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel, and the seven years went by fast. Once the time was up, Jacob asked Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is fulfilled, that I may cohabit with her.” So Laban gathered all of his people for a feast, and then he gave Leah to Jacob to spend the night together. Apparently, Jacob somehow didn’t realize that he was given Leah until the morning, and so he asked Laban why that happened (when Jacob asked for a wife, he meant Rachel). Laban replied, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the older. Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven years.” Therefore, after a week, Jacob was given Rachel as well, they were intimate, and Jacob served Laban another seven years. God saw that Leah was “unloved” and he “opened her womb,” but Rachel was barren. Leah had four kids, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.

Rachel was jealous of Leah, so she told Jacob to, “give me children, or I shall die.” Rachel gave Jacob her maid Bilhah to have a child, and they had two children together, Dan and Naphtali. Then, Leah gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob, and they also had two children together, Gad and Asher.

Some time later, Reuben came across some mandrakes (plants) and brought them to Leah. Rachel asked Leah for some, but Leah complained, “Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son’s mandrakes?” So Rachel allowed Leah to sleep with Jacob for a night in return for the mandrakes. Leah had two more kids after this, Issachar and Zebulun. She also had a daughter, Dinah. God remembered Rachel, and opened her womb. She had another kid, Joseph. After this, Jacob and Laban agreed to split up Laban’s sheep as payment for everything Jacob had done for him, and so Jacob became increasingly prosperous. Then, Jacob took all of his possessions, and Rachel and Leah, and ran away from Laban. Laban chased after him, and was warned by God to not do anything to Jacob on the way there. Previously, Rachel had stolen Laban’s idols from his house, and so he went searching from them in Jacob’s camp. Rachel hid them under her and made an excuse that she couldn’t stand up. After this, Laban and Jacob made an agreement that Laban wouldn’t try to harm Jacob and Jacob wouldn’t take any wives besides Rachel and Leah. Laban then left Jacob’s camp.

Toldot D'var Torah

Isaac and Rebekah eventually got married and had kids named Esau and Jacob. Isaac liked Esau more, he was into hunting and outdoorsy stuff, and Rebekah liked Jacob more, he was more mild and stayed in camp most of the time. Jacob was cooking a stew, and Esau came in very hungry. Esau asked for stew, but Jacob made Esau give up his birthright to eat.

There was a famine, so Isaac went to Abimelech, who was the king of the Philistines. However, Isaac pretended that Rebekah was his sister, so that the men wouldn’t kill him so that they could have Rebekah. After some time passed, Abimelech looked out his window and saw Isaac and Rebekah having relations, and he realized that they were married. He sent for Isaac and asked him why he lied, and after Isaac explained, Abimelech made it so that anyone who did anything to Isaac or Rebekah would be put to death. During the rest of the time Isaac spent with the Philistines, he continued to become wealthier and wealthier, until Abimelech kicked him out, since Isaac had become too good for them.

When Isaac was old and mostly blind, he asked Esau to go out and hunt him something good to make something to his liking, so he could give Esau his “innermost blessing” before he died. Rebekah overheard this and told Jacob to get her some sheep from their own flock so she could make a good meal and give it to Jacob. They also covered Jacob in animal skins to make him hairy, like Esau, so Isaac would be fooled. Isaac ate and then blessed Jacob, and right after that, Esau came and made his own meal. When he brought it to Isaac, they realized that Jacob had taken the blessing, which was irreversible. This made Esau sad, and then mad. He decided that he wanted to kill Jacob. Rebekah then told Jacob to run away from Esau to protect himself, and he did.

Israel affairs November 15 2020

November 15 2020

Like in the United States, Israel is also going through the covid 19 pandemic. Since school has started they have been doing mostly in person school. Recently, in an attempt to make school more accessible for everyone they have approved filming classes under strict guidelines. Some of the guidelines that teachers and school faculty have to follow when using a video is: it has to focus on the teacher, they can’t make a recording unless they notify all parents and the school principal and the recording has to be deleted no more than a week later and they have to try not to focus the camera on students unless they need to for class conversation and then it is at the teacher’s discretion.

Chayei Sarah D'var Torah

To start this portion, Sarah died and Abraham buried her. Then, Abraham asked his servant to go to the land that Abraham was from to get Isaac a wife, but not to bring Isaac there and to bring the woman to Isaac. The servant went to the city of Nahor, Abraham’s birthplace, and found a spot to try to find a good wife for Isaac. He encountered a woman, Rebekah, who offered him and his camels water, and then allowed them to spend the night at her house. The servant told Rebekah and his family his story, and they allowed him to take Rebekah with him. They went back to Isaac, and Isaac loved Rebekah. After this, Abraham and Ishmael both died.

D' var torah of Vayera

     

   The Torah potions of Vayera are about Abraham and Sarah, Issac, and Lot and his family. Abraham and Sarah are approached by three visitors, who announce Sarah will soon have a son. Soon after, Abraham argues with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Meanwhile, Lots home is attacked by the people of Sodom and he escapes with his two daughters. Lot and his family had instructions not to look behind him while escaping, but his wife did not listen and got turned into a pillar of salt. At the end of the portions, Abraham and Sarah have their son Issac, and God tests Abraham by telling him to sacrifice Issac.

The haftorah of Vayera includes the profit of Alyshia. The story contains two miracles. The first miracle started with a widow who was in debt, dealing with creditors threatening to take her two children into slavery due to her little amount of money. Elisha asked what the widow had at home and she responded by saying she only had a vile of oil. Elisha then told her to gather as many empty containers as possible, she did as told borrowing many from neighbors and friends. He then told her to pout oil into each of the vessels. When the widow did this, each vessel started to fill with oil. She sold the oil and made a hefty profit, and was able to save her children from slavery.

The second story of Elisha started off when Elisha was visiting the city of Shunam. He was welcomed into the home of a hospitable couple, who made a guest room for him to stay. In return, the profit blessed the couple with a child. Years later when the child was working, he complained he had a headache and died shortly after. The couple layed his body on the guest bed where Elisha once slept and the mother of the child went on her donkey to get Elisha. Elisha quickly went to the house when he heard the news, and miraculously brought the child back to life. The child sneezed three times before waking up.