Bonjour / Hello [nickname_else_first_name],
Table of contents
1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad -
Lasting Spiritual Accomplishments - Peninei Halacha
3) Holy Jokes!
4) For KIDS
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Vayishlah: What Was Esav’s Angel Afraid Of?
We read in Parashat Vayishlah the famous story of Yaakob’s wrestle with a mysterious person who attacked him in the middle of the night as he made his way back to Eretz Yisrael. This assailant turned out to be Esav’s heavenly angel. Our Rabbis teach that this angel came to defeat not just Yaakob, but his progeny, as well. This was, if you will, the first attempt at a "final solution," to annihilate the Jewish people. Yaakob, as we know, survived the attack, though he was badly injured, symbolizing the fact that the Jewish people, his descendants, would be "injured" over the course of their history, but they would survive every attack made upon them.
The question arises, why did specifically Yaakob Abinu come under attack? If the evil angels in the heavens wanted to prevent Beneh Yisrael from coming into existence, why didn’t they start their assault right at the beginning, with Abraham Abinu? And if, for whatever reason, they did not attack Abraham, why did they not launch an assault on Yishak? What was so special about Yaakob Abinu that Esav’s angel found so threatening, thus prompting a violent assault?
Each of the three patriarchs excelled specifically in a distinct area of religious life, and bequeathed to us that particular quality. Abraham Abinu implanted within us the quality of Hesed, kindness and generosity, the desire to help others in need. Satan and his minions did not feel threatened by Abraham because kindness alone cannot ensure the perpetuity and eternity of the nation. There are, thank G-d, many non-Jews and many non-observant Jews who also excel in this quality, who are kind, sensitive and caring. As much as we pride ourselves – rightfully so – on our nation’s excellence in this area, we must acknowledge that other people share this quality of Hesed. And thus it alone cannot guarantee our continued existence as a nation. Hence, Satan did not feel threatened by Abraham Abinu.
Yishak Abinu, our second patriarch, embodied the area of Aboda (sacrifice), as he was placed upon the altar, prepared to sacrifice himself for G-d. In the absence of the Bet Ha’mikdash, sacrifices are replaced by prayer; this is how Aboda is expressed in our times. Prayer, too, cannot guarantee the success or continuity of a nation. All streams of all faiths build and attend houses of worship. As important and vital as Tefila is in Jewish life, it cannot guarantee our future, and thus Satan was not frightened or intimidated by Yishak.
The patriarch who did frighten the evil angels was Yaakob Abinu, who embodied the value of Torah study. Intensive, rigorous engagement in sacred texts is something unique to the Jewish people, and it is what has ensured our survival for millennia. This is what frightened Esav’s angel. When he saw Yaakob Abinu’s commitment to Torah, a commitment that would be passed down to his descendants, he realized he had to act immediately. If the Jewish people would retain that commitment – which, of course, we have – they would exist forever. It was thus specifically Yaakob Abinu who came under assault.
The Torah tells that although Yaakob triumphed over the angel, he sustained a serious injury in his thigh. The Zohar comments that the blow to Yaakob’s thigh symbolizes the blow that was dealt to the supporters of Torah. The thigh is what supports the upper part of the body, and Yaakob’s injury thus represents the damage caused to the support of Torah. Indeed, it is far more difficult to raise money for a yeshiva than for Hesed organizations and for synagogues. Many people, Baruch Hashem, eagerly and generously respond to calls for funding to assist the needy or to build or expand synagogues. When it comes to supporting Yeshivot, however, people are often reluctant. This phenomenon is the result of the blow dealt to Yaakob’s thigh, which impaired the base of support for his descendants’ Torah study.
When we are approached with a request to support a Torah institution, the Satan works overtime to discourage us, planting in our minds all kinds of reasons and excuses for refusing. Satan knows that Torah learning is the Jewish people’s greatest weapon against him, and he will therefore do anything he can to interfere with our support of learning. But if we overcome this challenge and offer our generous support to Yeshivot, then we defeat Satan, and help guarantee the continued existence and growth of the Jewish nation, that despite the injury to the "thigh," we will continue to live and thrive for all eternity.
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
Lasting Spiritual Accomplishments Peninei Halacha
Despite their shortcomings, the Hasmoneans' victories had great value. Though limited, The political independence they won contributed to the prosperity of the Jewish population in Eretz Yisrael in every way. Previously, around forty percent of Judea’s produce was taken by the Greeks as a tax; now all of it remained in Eretz Yisrael, stimulating economic growth. Under the victories, Jewish settlements sprung up throughout the country, Jews immigrated from the Diaspora, birthrates rose, and the Jewish nation, which had undergone destruction and exile, rehabilitated itself, to a large degree.
Through the protection afforded by political independence, Eretz Yisrael became, once again, the national and spiritual center of the Jewish people. Houses of study grew and flourished, fully expressing the injunction of the Men of the Great Assembly: “Produce many disciples and make a fence for the Torah” (Avot 1:1). The spiritual foundations of the Oral Torah, which enabled Jewry to safeguard its faith and its Torah for 2,000 years of harsh exile, were laid in those days.
For this reason, the miracle of the oil expresses Ĥanuka more than any other symbol. Although the Second Temple was destroyed and all the political achievements of the Hasmoneans were lost, the study of the Oral Torah, which developed and crystallized during that period, endured forever. The miracle of the oil manifested the eternal dimension of the Torah, its ability to illuminate the darkness supernaturally. By the Torah, we managed to survive the long, dark exile. The miracle of the oil showed that the Jewish people are unique and different from all other nations and that it is impossible to subdue us or extinguish our faith.
It was in the merit of the self-sacrifice of Matityahu and his sons that the deep foundations of the Torah and the uniqueness of the Jewish people were revealed. But the Hasmonean dynasty, with all its problems and complexities, was short-lived, and we do not commemorate it in a particularly celebratory manner.
This explains the Sages’ statement (rh 18b) that the holiday of Ĥanuka endures because of the miracle of the oil and the rabbinic mitzvah of lighting the candles. The miracle of the oil showed that the military victory over the Greeks did not benefit that generation alone, but all generations. Therefore, the Sages determined that we should continue observing Ĥanuka even though the other holidays mentioned in Megilat Ta’anit were abolished after the Temple was destroyed. Thus, in addition to the mitzvah of lighting candles all eight nights of Ĥanuka, we recite Al Ha-nisim and Hallel, to thank and praise God for saving us and allowing us to defeat our enemies.
Over the years, it became clear that the miracle was even greater than we originally thought. Not only did we manage to survive the torrent of Hellenism that inundated the world, but Judaism shattered – through a long and complicated process – most of the pagan foundations of Hellenism. The abstract belief in one God, ethical values, and the aspiration to fix the world – all fundamental principles of the Torah – increasingly spread among the nations of the world, eventually becoming, through means both direct and indirect (i.e., via Christianity and Islam), the foundations of all the good and beneficial aspects of human culture.
The longer our exile lasted, the longer and brighter the light of Israel and its Torah shone. It will continue to illuminate the world until we merit bringing new and pure oil from the olives of Eretz Yisrael, from which we will light the Menora of the Holy Temple, and the world will be filled with the knowledge of God, speedily in our time. Amen.
Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
David Azerad
3) HOLY JoKeS!!
Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day
4) FOR KIDS
Click on the image to open the youtube video
MABROOK!!!