Parshas Vayechi begins with Yaakov asking his son Yosef to swear a specific kind of oath to him, that he will take him out of Egypt and bury him in the land of Israel. The only other time we see such an oath applied is when Avraham obligated Eliezer to do the same, to swear to him that he would not allow Yitzchak to intermarry, that he was to take a wife only from his own people and that he would not take Yitzchak out of Israel. Both oaths were applied when Avraham and Yaakov were nearing their end. Of Avraham it says, VeAvraham Zaken Ba Bayamim. And Avraham was aged in years. Of Yaakov it says, VaYikrevu Yemei Yisrael Lamut. And the time had come for Yisrael to die. Both of the fathers of the Jewish people, when nearing their end, looked to preserve their legacy and their heritage. To unite the past with the future. And though both men were nearing their end, the oaths are applied in Parshas with the word Chai in their title. Avraham causes Eliezer to swear to him in Chayei Sarah....

Parshas Miketz sees Yosef finally released from prison, given power over all of Egypt and what does he do with all that power? He prepares for a vast regional famine, yet seems to give no thought to his family. When his father finally sends his brothers down to Egypt to buy food, he puts them through a prolonged psychological torture session. Was it a need for revenge or something else? Did Yosef need to make the dreams come true so badly that he put his brothers and his father through hell? What was he really after? When Yosef first encounters his brothers in Egypt, it tells us twice that he recognized them, and once that they did not recognize him. Why repeat that he did not recognize them twice? First it says, וַיַּרְא יוֹסֵף אֶת-אֶחָיו, וַיַּכִּרֵם And Yosef saw his brothers and recognized them. First he saw them then he recognized them. He saw his brothers, but he did not yet recognize them as brothers. His first reaction was emotional. They had sold him into slavery in a far-...

At the very end of Parshas Vayetzei, Lavan confronts Yaakov and warns him that it is in the power of his 'hands' to do him harm, but G-d of your father 'spoke' to me and warned me against speaking to you for good or ill. The obvious question is, if G-d had warned Lavan, then why did Lavan claim that it was in his power to do Yaakov harm. Lavan appears to be making a distinction between doing Yaakov physical harm through his "hands", and another sort of harm involving speech. Why then does G-d only warn Lavan against speaking to Yaakov, and not against physically harming him? In the last Parsha, Yaakov disguised himself as his brother Esav and went to his father seeking his blessing. The disguise went smoothly, until Yaakov mentioned that he had come so quickly through the aid of G-d. Then Yitzchak became skeptical, wondering why he felt the "hands of Esav", but heard of the "voice of Yaakov". Nevertheless Yitzchak gives him the blessing of ...

Parshas Ki Sisa begins with the commandment to raise up the heads of the people of Israel by having them contribute a half shekel of silver. How does this contribution raise them up? The phases of the Mishkan had involved first raising up Aharon as the Kohen Gadol, then the Kohanim as a whole, then the sons of Levi, each Kiper uplifting the designated group to a new higher state. This was the turn of the Jewish people as a whole. As the Kohanim were analogous to the Kodesh HaKedeoshim, the Leviim were analogous to the interior of the Mishkan whose vessels they bore on their shoulders, the people of Israel were analogous to the walls of the Mishkan itself, creating the border and boundary of the House of G-d. So the Jewish people were raised up by contributing the half-shekel of silver. This silver was used to form the sockets that held the beams that formed the wall of the Mishkan. So while the Kohanim and Leviim might minister within it, it was the Jewish people who were its wal...

Parshas Tetzaveh begins with the words, וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית--לַמָּאוֹר לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר, תָּמִיד And you will command the children of Israel, that they will bring you pure olive oil, pressed to be burned, to be lit, eternally. Why first of all is the entire Jewish people being directed in the performance of the mitzvah of providing oil for the menorah, which is lit by the Kohanim. Secondly, why do we need Shemen Zayit Zach Katit, pure olive oil of only the first drop of oil squeezed from the olive, if it's only going to be burned anyway. The answer to that is in the rest of the pasuk. Lehaalot Ner Tamid, we need only the purest oil for it to create a truly eternal light. The Kohanim were expected to set an example in the purity of their behavior, down to the smallest of details. That is why their elevation is described as Kaper, a word usually used for atonement, because their elevation requires them to achiev...

Parshas Bo begins with a command, now the urgent time has come when events will come together to finally bring Israel's Egyptian slavery to an end. Yet before they leave, the Jews are expected to slaughter a sheep, the Korban Pesach. Unlike the Matza, which resulted when unleavened dough did not have time to leaven because of the speed with which the Jews had to leave Egypt, the Korban Pesach was eaten at leisure. In fact it was forbidden to eat it quickly. What is the difference between the Korban Pesach and the Matza, both of which were obligations that one had to perform on the Seder night of the first day, or one had not fulfilled his paschal obligation. During the Haggadah we say, "Korban Pesach Zu Al Shum Ma, Al Shum shePasach Hakadosh Baruch Hu..." What is this Paschal regarding, because the Holy One Blessed Be He passed by our houses when he came to slay the Egyptian first born. What is the significance of the entire event. Why the first born and why the lamb ...

Parshas Vaeira begins with G-d informing Moshe, in response to Moshe's agonized appeal that his attempt to speak to Pharaoh had only worsened conditions for the Jewish people, that he is Hashem; וָאֵרָא, אֶל-אַבְרָהָם אֶל-יִצְחָק וְאֶל-יַעֲקֹב--בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי; וּשְׁמִי יְהוָה, לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as El Shaddai, but by My name Hashem I did not reveal to them The question commonly asked of course is that we see many times when G-d did indeed address Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov as Hashem. Furthermore how does G-d answer Moshe by telling him this. To answer this we need to look at why Moshe is upset. Yes conditions have gotten worse for the Jews, but to our way of looking at it, this is only a temporary phenomenon soon to be relieved by the Exodus. Did Moshe Rabbeinu have so little faith that he had to challenge G-d on this score? To understand Moshe's problem, we have to remember that he had a different timetable...

Parshas Shemos begins with an increasingly paranoid and oppressive Egyptian Pharaoh who does not know Yosef and proceeds to enslave and then attempt to exterminate the Jews. The germ of the problem can be found in the statement "Asher Lo Yada at Yosef", the new Pharaoh did not know Yosef. Could it really mean that he had no idea who Yosef was? That seems unlikely, given that Yosef had died not that long ago, that he had been Egypt's second most powerful man, and that he had overseen the physical salvation and political and sociological transformation of Egypt. But rather it was a Pharaoh who did not know Yosef, his Hebrew name, only his Egyptian one, Tzafnat Paneach. What was so significant about Yosef's hebrew name? The significance, as I said last week, is in the meaning. Yosef means to increase. And what is the source of that increase, the source is Godly. In his dealings with Pharaoh, Yosef had always stated that his achievements were achieved through God. It ...

At the sunset of Yaakov's life he begins making the final arrangements for his burial and the future of his descendants. First he asks his son Yosef to bury him in the Maarat HaMachpelah, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron. And then unexpectedly the father bows to the son. To understand why Yaakov bowed to Yosef we need to take a step forward first. As his father Yaakov has fallen ill, Yosef brings his sons, Menashe and Ephraim, to Yaakov for a blessing. And famously, their grandfather places his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the younger son, and his left hand on the head of Menashe, the elder son. Yosef objects, but Yaakov tells him, "Yaadati Bni, Yaadati. I Know My Son, I Know." Why is Yaadati repeated twice? Yaadati Bni, Yaakov tells Yosef. Just as I knew you were my special son and gave you a special place, so too I know that Ephraim is the special son, and I have given him a special place as well. What is the parallel between Yosef and his son Ephraim? W...