Vayechi D'var Torah

Vayechi

Jacob was getting pretty close to dying, so he asked Joseph to bury him where his ancestors were buried, not in Egypt. Some time after, Jacob was ill, so Joseph went to see him. Jacob told him that Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons, would be treated just like Jacob’s sons and that they would be fertile and numerous. Jacob then blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, but he placed his right hand on Ephraim, the younger brothers’ head, and his left hand on Manasseh, who was older (this was backwards, apparently the right hand is supposed to go on the older one’s head). Joseph saw this and tried to switch Jacob’s hands to the right way, but Jacob said that it was on purpose, and although Manasseh would become a people and he would be great, Ephraim would be greater and his offspring would be plentiful enough for nations.

Jacob called all of his sons in to tell them what would happen to them after he died. According to Jacob, Reuben, his first-born, would no longer continue to excel, and that he was unstable as water. He decided that Simeon and Levi would not be counted in his council, because “For when angry they slay men, And when pleased they maim oxen.” He promised to divide them in Israel. Jacob then praised Judah, and said that good things would happen to him and he would continue to rule. Jacob continued to go through his sons, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, and Naphtali. He then gives Joseph many blessings, and ends with Benjamin. His last words instructed his sons where to bury him, in the same place as Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah were buried. At the age of 147, Jacob then died. His sons buried him, and at the end of the portion, Joseph died as well.

December SATO Snap

     Now, more than ever small businesses are struggling through the lockdown. With stay-at-home orders and everyone buying things online, it’s hard to know who you’re supporting. Buying from big corporate companies can’t always be avoided, but as much as you can, try to buy from smaller, more ethical businesses, even if it means paying a few more dollars. Big sites like Amazon have the option to only search products that are sold by local and small businesses, so you can still support them through big websites. Many restaurants are also struggling through the pandemic and don’t get enough support. A great thing to do is get takeout from local restaurants instead of getting fast food like pizza hut and taco bell. Another huge plus about supporting smaller businesses, is a lot of them tend to be more ethical and better for the environment. An easy way to tell if a company is ethical is by looking at the “about” section of their websites. Almost all companies that go out of their way to be more ethical are proud of it and write about it online. It’s a huge red flag when businesses do not state where their materials are sourced. However, you don’t have to spend money to support struggling small businesses. Many of them have social media pages that you can follow and support as well!

Vayigash D'var Torah

This portion finishes the story of Joseph. At the beginning of the portion, there was a famine, so Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to ask for food. Joseph asked them to bring their youngest brother, Benjamin with them. So his brothers went back to Jacob and asked to take Benjamin with them, and he allowed them to, as long as they promised to return him safely. When they returned, Joseph couldn’t contain himself anymore, and so he started crying and made them leave the room. He then called them back and told them that he was their brother (who they thought to be dead), Joseph. Joseph then gave them lots of provisions and told them to bring Jacob to him. His brothers returned to Jacob, and they brought all of their kids and Jacob’s grandkids, for a total of 70 people travelling with them. Joseph told them to settle in the land of Goshen, and Jacob decided that he was ready to die having seen Joseph alive.

Miketz D'var Torah

 In this parsha, Pharaoh has his famous dreams about 7 fat cows and 7 plump ears of corn eating 7 skinny cows and 7 skinny ears of corn. He calls on Joseph to interpret these dreams, and Joseph does, telling Pharaoh that the land will be stuck with 7 years of bountiful harvest before 7 years of famine, and that Egypt should save up their food for 7 years to have enough to eat during the famine. Pharaoh appoints Joseph to a high advisory position, and Joseph goes around the land preparing the people for the famine. When the famine hits, Egypt has plenty to eat, but Joseph's brothers do not, so they go to Egypt to ask for food. When Joseph sees them, he plays a trick on them, as they do not recognize him, and sends them away, telling them to return with their younger brother, Benjamin. When they come with Benjamin, Joseph sneaks a goblet into Benjamin's bag, and takes Benjamin as a prisoner.

Israel affairs December

 December 11 2020

Just like in the US Israel is making plans to distribute the covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer. Israel is planning to start distributing vaccines on December 27 and their goal is to administer 60,000 vaccines per day once they start. The Israeli government is also giving people who are vaccinated green passports and are letting them move around freely. Hopefully the vaccine will be able to be distributed safely to Israeli citizens on December 27.

Vayeshev D'var Torah

Jacob loved his son Joseph more than all the others, so he made him a special “ornamented tunic.” Joseph also had a couple dreams that made him seem superior to his brothers. Due to this, his brothers were not happy with him. They were plotting to kill Joseph, but before they did, Reuben stepped in and suggested that they just leave him in a pit in the wilderness, so they did that. However, before they left, Judah saw a group of Ishmaelites and suggested to instead sell Joseph to them as a slave, and so they did. When Reuben came back to the pit and saw Joseph was missing, he got scared, so they dipped Joseph’s tunic in blood and brought it back to Jacob, which conveyed that Joseph may have been killed by a wild animal. This devastated Jacob, so he mourned Joseph. Meanwhile, Joseph had been sold in Egypt to Potiphar, a courier of Pharaoh.

After some time, Joseph had risen to be in charge of his masters’ household, because his master saw that God was with Joseph. Subsequently, his masters’ wife decided that she liked Joseph and asked him to sleep with her. Joseph refused, but she continued to try to convince him. After many attempts at trying to lure in Joseph, his masters’ wife framed Joseph and pretended that he was trying to seduce her and that he ran away before she could call for help. Joseph was sent to jail for his supposed crime.

Some time later, Pharaoh sent his chief cupbearer and chief baker to the jail where Joseph was. One night, they each had a dream, and Joseph was willing to help explain them, since God was with him. The cupbearer told Joseph his dream, and Joseph interpreted it to mean that Pharaoh would free him in three days. Joseph also asked the cupbearer to mention him to Pharaoh when he gets freed, to maybe help free Joseph. Then, the baker told Joseph his dream, and Joseph interpreted it to mean that he would be executed in three days. Sure enough the dreams came true, the baker was killed and the cupbearer was released. However, the cupbearer didn’t remember Joseph as he was asked. 

Vayishalach D'var Torah

 Esau was about to come visit Jacob, so Jacob split up his possessions, he got presents ready for Esau, and he sent himself and his family across a river to protect them from Esau. That night, when Jacob was alone, a divine being came and wrestled him all night. In the morning, as the divine being left, he said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.” 

When Esau came the next day, they were very happy to see each other and Jacob gave Esau a present.

Jacob and his children travelled to Shechem, another city. One day, Shechem, who was the chief of the land Shechem, abducted and raped Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter. Shechem’s father, Hamor, went to Jacob to speak with him. He requested that Dinah marry Shechem, and he said that if Shechem could marry Dinah he would let Jacob’s sons marry the women of his city. Jacob responded with a deal: their families could intermarry but only if every male in the city of Shechem got circumcised. 

All the men got circumcised, but since they were adults, it was probably very painful. So, while they were all in pain, Simeon and Levi (two of Jacob’s sons) killed every adult male in the city, including Shechem and Hamor. They retrieved Dinah and then the rest of Jacob’s sons went throughout the city, collecting all of their possessions. Jacob then got mad at Simeon and Levi for ruining his reputation and increasing the possibility of them being attacked, but they answered, “Should our sister be treated like a [prostitute]?”

As Jacob continued his travels, God blessed him and said, “You whose name is Jacob, You should be called Jacob no more, But Israel shall be your name.” This is when Jacob’s name is officially changed by God to Israel. Soon after, Rachel became pregnant again, and had another boy, but she died in childbirth. The boy was named Benjamin. Overall, Jacob had 12 sons- Leah’s sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; Rachel’s sons, Joseph and Benjamin; Rachel’s maid Bilhah had Dan and Naphtali, and Leah’s maid Zilpah had Gad and Asher. After the birth of Benjamin, Jacob returned to Isaac, who was 180 years old, and he died.