Bo Text message

Parashat Bo (Come to Pharaoh)                

Moses wants to go to the desert to worship Hashem. He wants to take everybody and everything they had.

Pharaoh answers: “Go! Worship the Lord! Only your flocks and herds need to stay behind. Even your children can go with you.”

Moses answers: "No, we need all our animals! We won’t know which to use to worship the Lord until we get there.”

Sometimes we need to wait until the last moment to make a decision.

Moses didn't have all the answers handy and he knew he had to wait until he got there to choose.

This teaches us that sometimes it is okay to take some extra time to choose correctly.

Why are you rushing? Take more time to choose correctly!!!

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Vaera Text message. Freedom

Parashat Vaera (Hashem appeared)

We do not have time. We are busy almost all the time. Working, studying, running errands.

It seems there is no freedom. It feels sometimes we are like in Egypt; we are slaves.

We read in Exodus 6:8 "I’ll bring you into the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I’ll give it to you as your possession. I am the Lord.” Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn’t listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor."

They were not even able to listen to the good news.

Why is this so? Because sometimes we believe that freedom happens when we are on vacation, when we can relax...

The lesson we need to learn is that we are free people also during work, during errands, during the times of distress; otherwise, we will always feel like slaves.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Parashat Shemot. Text Message

Parashat Shemot (Names)

The second book of the Torah starts with the following words: These are the names of the Israelites who came to Egypt with Jacob...

All the names we will hear are names we already know (with the exception of the midwives who saved the Jewish boys...)

But the second chapter tells us a story without names... A man from the house of Levy (no name) married the daughter of Levy, they had a baby (no name), and his sister (no name) took care of him. Pharaoh's daughter (no name) saved him and called him MOSES.

There are names and names... Names who will be secondary actors and names who will make the difference.

As the famous Israeli poet Zelda wrote, Lechol ish yesh shem, every person has a name.

It is our task to decide what type of actor we want to be.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Text message Miketz

Parashat Miketz (At the end of two years)

Pharaoh dreams two dreams. Easy to interpret, but none of his magicians were right in the interpretation.

Then comes Joseph, who has the correct interpretation. Pharaoh says: That is the right one.

How did Pharaoh know that was "the one"?

One nice explanation is that when Pharaoh dreamed, together with the dream he got the explanation of the dream. When he woke up he only remembered the dreams but not the explanations.

Joseph's explanation coincided with the explanation Pharaoh already knew but forgot.

Sometimes reminders are as good as new explanations.

We need to be thankful with those who teach us and to those who refresh our memory, too.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukah 

Text message Vayeshev

Parashat Vayeshev (and he sat down)

Jacob gives Joseph a wonderful garment, a Ktenonet pasim.

Many interpretations were given to that word. A tunic with stripes, a tunic with long sleeves, a colorful tunic.

Was this what Joseph needed?

Jacob's family was a family of cowboys. They had cattle; therefore, the tunic was not really appropriate to working in the field. And, in fact, Joseph ends up dreaming about stalks of grain and not about cattle.

Jacob's intention was, probably, to "help" Joseph to become the firstborn without suffering as he did.

Sometimes we have to understand that what we want is not what our kids need...

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Vayishlach Text message

Parahsat Vayishlach (and Jacob sent)

The Torah speaks about a character who will only appear in this section and will not appear again.

Dvorah was the wet-nurse of Rivkah.

The Torah tells us that she died and was buried in a place called Alon Bachut, the oak of weeping. That is all the information we have.

Why do you think the Torah is telling us this?

Great question, because most of the commentators do not have a good answer.

Dvorah was important when Rivkah was a little girl and Rivkah didn’t forget. Imagine what a wet nurse could have done in those days after she got old? Probably nothing.

The verse that speaks about Dvorah teaches us we never have to forget those who helped us in our life.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L

Vayetze Text Message

Parashat Vayetze (And Jacob left)

Jacob leaves Beer Sheva in order to go to Haran. He sleeps on the ground, and Hashem speaks to him and says: " I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying."

A simple reading of the text will mean that Jacob and his descendants will receive the land of Israel.

I strongly believe there is a deeper message. Jacob will be receiving 6 square feet of land like everybody else. We will all receive the same piece of "land."

The difference is what we can accomplish in life so those who come after us will be able to remember the person who rests in that piece of land.

In memory of my beloved mother and teacher Miriam Rachel bat Israel Itzchak Z"L