Tamar wowed me with another idea from Daniel Tropper. What is the purpose of Yehuda’s ‘recap’Â of the whole story, as he pleades for his brother Binyamin’s freedom?
First of all, it seems that Yosef has been dropping hints (whether intentionally or not) that he is not who he seems - for example, he seats them [...]
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When Yosef reveals himself to his brothers, he says (Genesis 45:3), “I am Yosef, is my father still alive?†And his brothers could not answer him, for they were taken aback. The midrash in Breisheet Rabbah comments, Woe unto us for the day of our judgment! Bilaam the prophet when rebuked by his [...]
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A Meshulach arrives at the doorstep of a wealthy baalebos in LA asking to be allowed in. The G’vir asks him what he is collecting for. The meshulach replies: “For a Kollel in Jerusalem”. The baalebos tells him that he is not interested in this cause.”
Let them go to work”, [...]
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I’m excited to welcome Keith Kleinick and www.kleinicklaw.com to our growing list of Online Marketing clients at SalemGlobal. Keith is a lawyer, and has a particular interest in Structured Settlements. This allows people who are awarded large judgements or settlements to receive their award as a tax-free annuity, rather than as a lump sum. We [...]
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On Friday, I met with my friend and fellow BNI Chapter 5 member, Logan Niles, about her catering business (Blue Nile Catering). Logan, a CIA graduate, has big plans for 2007. Now that she has established herself as a serious chef, she is expanding into gourmet retail products, cooking classes, and more.
We met at [...]
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Inspired by Ari Weiss, YCT student - read the whole thing here.
The lights of Chanuka have a dual significance. On the one hand, it represents the battle of two opposites - light vs. darkness. This is reminiscent of the creation narrative - God separates light from darkness. Viewed this way, the Maccabees represented the [...]
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At our Shabbat table this week, Tamar enlightened us about a puzzling aspect of the Yosef story - what is the significance of Yosef having the brothers’ money returned surreptitiously to their baggage, on their first trip? Tamar offered 3 explanations - the psychological, the symbolic/literary, and the plot or pshat.
From a psychological perspective (as [...]
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Inspired by the ADDeRabbi - read the whole thing here.
One of the nagging quetions about the Yosef story is, why did he not contact his father for so many years, once he was able to? While I am not sure I can answer satisfactorily, viewing the story with a new perspective may help understand this.
For [...]
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This morning my BNI Chapter 5 group hosted a nice turnout of visitors at our annual Visitors Day. Guests and new members are the lifeblood of aur group. If you would like to check us out, contact me - we meet every Wednesday morning and visitors are always welcome! Details at www.newyorkbni.com.
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At today’s Ramaz Liaision Committee meeting, the first topic up was whether the school should provide a web-based facility for parents to create 5-minute appointments with the teachers they wish to see. The hope would be to improve the process by reducing the time spent standing in line waiting to see teachers. We have used [...]
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Genesis 32:4-5 - Ya’akov sent messengers to his brother Eisav, to the land of Seir in the field of Edom. He instructed them saying, thus shall you say: “To my lord Eisav, your servant Ya’akov says, ‘I have lived with Lavan until now…”
The cantillation markings in the Masoretic text put the sentence this way: He [...]
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Many years ago I read my father’s copy of ‘The Art of Biblical Narrative‘ by Prof. Robert Alter, and was immediately hooked. Alter concerns himself with analyzing the Bible as an enduring work of literature. To my mind, his ideas are compatible with a traditional outlook and understanding of the Torah (although not presented in [...]
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A charedi man and a chiloni woman were sitting near each other on a bus. Both were dressed for the part - he in black from head to toe, and she with a somewhat more revealing outfit. The charedi fellow offers her an apple. She asks, biting into the apple, what prompted the [...]
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The word ‘beracha’ appears in two incongruous contexts in the story of Yaakov’s encounter with Esav. After they reconcile, Yaakov says to Esav (33:11), “Please take my gift which was brought to you†– but he uses the word ‘birchati’, whereas one sentence earlier the gift is referred to more typically (and consistently, through the [...]
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For the last few years I have had the privilege of bringing a few words of Torah to the esteemed DJC congregation on Friday Nights. I can honestly say that I have gained more than anyone in the congregation through this activity - and I know this because I am the only one who has [...]
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