PARACHAT VAYCHLAH
5 DÉCEMBRE 2020/ 19 KISLEV 5781
Ce samedi soir, dans la Amidah de Arbit, nous changeons de Barékhénou à Barekh Alénou
Hanoucca commence ce jeudi soir 10 décembre , on allume la première bougie le jeudi soir
La tradition libanaise est de se servir d’une bougie supplémentaire pour allumer les bougies et non pas le shammash
Prières spéciales pour Hanoucca
À Hanoucca , nous lisons le Hallel au complet et la Torah pendant les 8 jours, pas de Moussaf. Nous ajoutons Al Hanissim dans la Amida et Birkhat Hamazon
Nous souhaitons à tous nos membres et amis une fête de Hanoucca joyeuse C’est la fête du miracle. Prions pour un miracle qui nous sortira de cette pandémie
Bon anniversaire à Michael Sidel et Henri Romano
Hazkara de Simantob Daewiche, père de Isaac Darwiche
PARACHAT VAYCHLAH EN BREF :
Jacob retourne en Terre Sainte après 20 ans passés à ‘Haran. Il envoie des anges messagers vers Esaü dans l’espoir d’une réconciliation, mais les messagers lui rapportent que son frère vient dans sa direction accompagné de quatre cents hommes armés. Jacob se prépare au combat, prie, et adresse à son frère un important don de bétail dans l’espoir de l’apaiser.
Au cours de la nuit qui précède leur rencontre, Jacob fait traverser la rivière Yabbok à sa famille et à ses possessions. Lui, cependant, reste en arrière et rencontre un ange qui représente l’esprit de d’Esaü, avec lequel il lutte jusqu’à l’aube. Bien qu’atteint à la hanche, Jacob est vainqueur. L’ange lui donne alors le nom d’Israël, « Car, dit-il, tu as combattu contre des puissances célestes et des hommes et tu es resté fort ».
Jacob acquiert un terrain près de Sichem dont le prince (qui s’appelle également Sichem) enlève et viole Dina, fille de Jacob. Ses frères, Simon et Lévi la vengent en passant tous les hommes du lieu au fil de l’épée après les avoir rendus vulnérables en les convainquant de se circoncire. Jacob leur en fait le reproche.
Jhel meurt en donnant naissance à son second fils, Benjamin. Elle est inhu
acob reprend son voyage. D.ieu lui apparaît à nouveau et le bénit. Il lui dit « ton nom désormais ne sera plus Jacob, ton nom sera Israël ».
Rac
mée au bord de la route, près de Bethléem. Reuben perd son droit d’aînesse pour avoir interféré dans la vie maritale de son père. Jacob rejoint son père Isaac à Hébron, qui décède plus tard à l’âge de 180 ans (Rebecca est décédée avant l’arrivée de Jacob).La paracha s’achève par l’énonciation détaillée de la famille d’Esaü, ses femmes, ses enfants et petits-enfants, et les lignées familiales des habitants de Séïr parmi lesquels Esaü s’est installé.(Chabad.org)
Un peu d'histoire
Le mot hébreu 'Hanoucca signifie «inauguration». Au 2ème siècle avant l’ère chrétienne, au temps du Second Temple, le régime gréco-syrien d’Antioches a cherché à éloigner les Juifs de leur judaïsme, dans l'espoir de les assimiler à la culture grecque. Antioches avait interdit l'observance des lois juives - y compris la circoncision, le Shabbat, et l’étude de la Torah - sous peine de mort. De même, beaucoup de Juifs – dits ‘’hellénisants’’ - ont commencé à s’assimiler dans la culture grecque, prenant des noms grecs et épousant des non-juifs. Ce qui commença à saper les fondements et les pratiques de la vie juive.
Lorsque les Grecs défièrent les Juifs de sacrifier un porc à un dieu grec, quelques juifs courageux s’enfuirent dans les collines de Judée, en signe de révolte ouverte contre cette menace à la vie juive. Dirigée par Matitiyahou, et plus tard son fils Judas Macchabée, ce petit groupe de juifs pieux mena une guérilla contre l'armée gréco-syrienne. Antioches envoya des milliers de troupes armées pour écraser la rébellion, mais au bout de trois ans, contre tout espoir, les Macchabées réussirent miraculeusement à chasser les étrangers de leurs terres. La victoire à l'échelle d'Israël revenait à vaincre en combiné les superpuissances d'aujourd'hui.
Les combattants juifs entrèrent à Jérusalem et trouvé le Saint Temple en ruines, et profané avec des idoles. Les Maccabées purifièrent le Temple et le re-dédièrent, le 25 Kislev. Quand fut venu le temps de rallumer la Ménorah, ils fouillèrent le Temple de fond en comble, mais ne trouvèrent qu’une fiole d'huile pure portant le sceau du Grand Prêtre. Un groupe de croyants alluma malgré tout la Ménorah et furent récompensés par un miracle: cette petite fiole d'huile brûla pendant huit jours, jusqu'à ce qu'un nouvel arrivage d’huile fut amené.
Depuis, les Juifs observent une fête huit jours durant, en l'honneur de cette victoire historique et du miracle de l'huile. Pour faire connaître le miracle de 'Hanoucca, les Juifs ajoutèrent des louanges spéciales au le service de Cha'harit – le Hallel, et allument une Ménorah pendant les huit nuits de 'Hanoucca.
Instructions pour l'allumage
Dans la tradition ashkénaze, chaque personne allume sa propre Ménorah. Dans la tradition séfarade, on utilise une Ménorah par famille.
The name change from Yaakov to Ysrael
The names Yaakov and Yisrael are practically contradictory, and represent different aspects of the father of B’nei Yisrael. Yaakov, derived from the word eikev, heel, represents his lowly state, his problems with his brother, his being taken advantage of by his uncle, even his children deceiving him. At every stage of his life, there was somebody to step all over him, somebody to take advantage of him. The name Yisrael, on the other hand, was given to him because “You have become great before G-d and man. You have won” (32:29). Despite his trials and tribulations, despite the fact that “the days of my life have been few and hard” (47:9), Yaakov truly did win. He became a man of integrity (“give truth to Jacob”) who, despite numerous setbacks, succeeded in raising the men who would become the twelve tribes of Israel. He was no longer a heel, an ekev, to be stepped on, but was the prince of G-d (sar el).
Significantly, Yaakov's name change to Yisrael came about only after a struggle through the night with a stranger whose name he did not even know. The growth necessary to become a servant of G-d is only possible if we struggle and meet the challenges of the world head-on. Yet despite being chosen for a great mission, despite defeating all enemies, one must never forget where one comes from. Too often, people who have made a success of their life forget their roots, their humble beginnings, and their obligation to help those who are still downtrodden. Perhaps it is for this reason that the Torah continues to use the name Yaakov interchangeably with Yisrael. The greatness of Yisrael is that he never forgot that he was born Yaakov. Yes, like Yaakov, the struggle may cripple us, but that is the only way to become great before G-d and man. We may not win every battle, but by continuing to struggle to do what is right, we take our rightful place as B’nei Yisrael.
(Rabbi Jay Kelman
OU ÉTAIT DINA
Et Jacob prit ses deux épouses, ses deux servantes et ses onze fils et il traversa le gué de Yabok. » (Genèse 32, 23).
Et Rachi de demander : et qu’en est-il de sa fille ?
Où était Dina ? Jacob l’avait placée dans une caisse et l’y avait enfermée de peur qu’Ésaü ne jette ses yeux sur elle. Pour cela, Jacob fut puni car s’il ne l’avait pas cachée de ses yeux, peut-être aurait-elle ramené Ésaü sur le bon chemin. [La punition fut qu’]elle tomba entre les mains de Chkhem.
En d’autres termes, c’est le fait que Jacob avait isolé Dina – et non la propension de Léa et de Dina à sortir – qui fut la cause de la détresse de Dina. Elle n’aurait pas dû être cachée des yeux d’Ésaü. Sa rencontre avec le « grand et méchant » monde n’aurait pas dû être empêchée ; en fait, elle aurait été positive. Jacob craignait qu’elle ne soit corrompue par son mauvais oncle ; il aurait dû réaliser qu’avec ses solidesbases morales et son intégrité absolue, elle était plutôt prête à influencer positivement Ésaü.
NAISSANCE DE BENJAMIN
D’origine hébreu : Benyamîn ce qui se traduit comme fils de la droite (côté favorable) ou encore fils des vieux jours étant donné la souffrance endurée par la mère lors de son accouchement. Jacob nommera finalement son dernier fils Benjamin, fils de mes vieux jours, dans le verset suivant avant que Rachel ne décède suite à la naissance.
Genèse 35, 16. « Ils partirent de Béthel. Il restait un bout de chemin pour arriver à Éphrata quand Rachel accoucha. Ses couches furent pénibles. 17. et, comme elle accouchait difficilement, la sage-femme lui dit : « Rassure-toi, c’est encore un fils que tu as ! » 18. Au moment de rendre l’âme, car elle se mourait, elle le nomma Ben-Oni, mais son père l’appela Benjamin. 19. Rachel mourut et fut enterrée sur le chemin d’Éphrata - C’est Bethléem. 20. Jacob dressa une stèle sur son tombeau ; c’est la stèle du tombeau de Rachel, qui existe encore aujourd’hui. »
Genèse 48,7 « Lorsque je revenais de Paddân, ta mère Rachel est morte, pour mon malheur, au pays de Canaan, en route, encore un bout de chemin avant d’arriver à Éphrata, et je l’ai enterrée là, sur le chemin d’Éphrata - c’est Bethléem ».
La Tribu de Benjamin est également l’une des douze tribus d’Israël issue de ce fils de Jacob. Elle formera, avec la Tribu de Juda, le Royaume de Juda.
Ce nom est à l’origine du nom commun benjamin, qui désigne le dernier enfant d’une fratrie.
Dans la bénédiction de Jacob mourant à ses fils, Benjamin est associé au lion
How many wives did Ya’akov have? 2 or 4?
This question is not so clear from the text. From this week’s parasha we read: “And he
rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.” From this verse it seems that he has 2 wives: Rachel and Leah, and 2 handmaids: Bilhah and Zilpah. It is interesting that in this verse the Torah describes them this way even though they are the matriarchs of four of the tribes. In fact, they each had 2of the Jacob’s sons, which is just as many as Rachel. One would think that they should be as much a matriarch as Rachel is. Many people today name their daughter Rachel and Leah, few name their daughter Bilhah and Zilpah. Traditionally we have 3 patriarchs and 4 matriarchs, Bilha and Zilpah not being included. I always wondered if a man or woman from the tribe of Naphtali
for example at the Pesah seder would sing that we have 3 fathers and 4 mothers and not include their own mother in the 4. It should be noted however that in 37:2 it describes that Yosef was: “being still a lad even with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives” referring to them as full wives.
It is also interesting to note that a document found with the Dead Sea scrolls, The
Testament of Naftali (Dan and Naftali are Bilhah’s sons) describes that a man named Ahiyot was taken captive, but then freed by Lavan. Lavan gave Ahiyot a wife named Hannah who gave birth
to Bilhah and Zilpah. The Midrash however teaches that Lavan was the father of Bilhah and
Zilpah making them half-sisters (from another mother) with Rachel and Leah. It is also interesting to note that Bilhah and Zilpah don’t get to name their children, rather Rachel and
Leah name the children that Bilhah and Zilpah give birth too. It seems that the children that Bilha and Zilpa bear in a way belong to Rachel and Leah.
How many daughters did Ya’akob have?
a) 1
b)13
c)14
d)none of the above
e)all of the above
The midrash tells us that Binyamin was born with two twin sisters and that the other sons
were all born with one twin sister each. That would mean he had 12 sons and 13 or 14 daughters (and I thought I had it bad with 4 daughters). 11 of his sons each had a twin sister, the 12th son
had 2 twin sisters, and he had Dina (it is not clear if she is one of the twins). Either way, this is midrashic and there is no indication of any daughter other than Dina in the Torah.
It is possible that in reality Ya’akov did have several daughters and the Torah does not
mention them as they are not necessary for the story. Dina, is necessary because it explains to us why Shimon and Levi are scolded and Shimon later loses his status as a full tribe. However, it also may be argued that Ya’akov did not have any other daughters other than Dina, since no other daughters are mentioned in the 70 people that go to Egypt with the entire family. If there were other daughters there is no mention of what happened to them, although it is possible that
they simply married out and did not continue with the family, but it does seem to describe in the
Torah that they took everyone with them including the female descendants.
It is interesting that Abraham and Isaac both have no daughters and Yaakov only has 1
out of 13. We are also not told that Adam and Chava had any daughters and many others
similarly. The question then becomes, did they have daughters that are not mentioned because
they are not significant and were not part of the family. It is well known that in those days, the
daughter would leave her father’s house and join the other family, while the son would marry and stay with the family. As an example, we are commanded not to mix with the other nations as it
may lead us to give them our daughters and for us to take their daughters to us. This was
Shechem’s proposal as well. So, it is possible that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. all had more daughters they are not mentioned as they are not significant to the story and do not continue with the family.
The Midrash prefers the view that there were other sisters so that we avoid the issue of
the brothers marrying Canaanite women. They therefore explain that the brothers married these half-sisters. Other commentaries read the text at face value that the brothers did marry Canaanite
and Egyptian women, who become the ‘mothers’ of the twelve tribes. Ibn Ezra writes that Ya’akov only had one daughter, Dina, and the reason it says daughters is possibly because she had
maidservants that were in the house with her and considers them his ‘daughters’ as well.
What is interesting to note is that sometimes when the midrash is trying to solve one
problem (such as who did the brothers marry, since the midrash prefers not to have the mother
of the tribes being Canaanite women) it creates other problems or needs to rewrite and reinterpret
the text in order to solve the issue. Another approach is to read the Torah as it is written and
simply accept that it creates certain difficulties.
Vayishlach Quiz
1) Q. Who were the messengers that Ya’akov sent to Esav?
A. They were servants of Ya’akov. The Midrash teaches that they were angels, not human
messengers. Maimonides explains that any messenger (whether animal, human, wind, fire, etc.)
sent to perform a task is called a “mal’ach” which is sometimes mistranslated as angel.
2) Q. In 32:8 Ya’akov finds out that Esav is coming with 400 men. Why was Ya’akov both “afraid”
and “distressed”?
A. Literally, it is simply stating the extant of his emotions, however the midrash comments that
he was afraid he would be killed and was distressed that he might have to kill others.
3) Q. With whom did Ya’akov wrestle?
A. One Midrash explains that he wrestled with Esav’s guardian angel. Maimonides explains
that he didn’t really wrestle with anyone and this entire story including the wrestling and speaking
with the angel took place in a prophetic vision and never took place in actuality. After he sent his
family and was left alone he had this prophetic vision and inner struggle with his conscience.
During this inner struggle Ya’akov may have been worried about his actions that he had done in
his life of tricking his father and Esav (possibly Lavan as well) and resolved to change his ways.
After he completes his self-reflection he can become a new person and a new leader having his
name changed to Yisrael.
4) Q. What injury did Ya’akov sustain, and what law comes from here?
A. Sine his hip was injured, we do not eat that part of an animal called the Gid Ha’nashe.
5) Q. Why did the guardian angel of Esav dislocate Ya’akov’s hip?
A. The Baal HaTurim explains that Ya’akov bought the birthright from Esav in order to serve
as a Kohen and bring sacrifices to Hashem (initially first-borns functioned this way and only after
het ha’egel was it changed ot the tribe of levi). There is a midrash that the angel was the guardian
angel of Esav and Esav’s guardian angel wished to dislocate Ya’akov’s hip because this is one
of the blemishes that disqualifies a Kohen from bringing sacrifices. He also points out that the
Gematria (numerical value used as mnemonic to remember things) of “Bekaf yerecho” is equal to
“Leposlo Mikehuna” - to disqualify him from the Kehuna.
6) Q. What was the angel forced to do before Ya’akov agreed to release him?
A. According to the midrash cited above that the angel was Esav’s guardian angel, he had to
admit that the blessings given by Yitzchak rightfully belongs to Ya’akov. This is however obviously
not recorded in the text.
7) Q. Why did Esav embrace Ya’akov?
A. His pity was aroused when he saw Ya’akov bowing to him so many times.
8) Q. What did Shimon and Levi do wrong when they killed the people of Shechem?
A. They took the law into their own hands by killing without first consulting Ya’akov. In
addition, they killed many innocent people who had no part in the crime against their sister.
9) Q . Which two kings were from the tribe of Binyamin?
A. Shaul and Ishboshet.
10) Q. How old was Ya’akov, when Yosef was sold?
A. One hundred and eight.
11) Q. Which three categories of people have their previous sins pardoned?
A. One who converts, one who is elevated to a position of leadership, and one who marries.
What this Midrash is explaining is that these three people experience a major life-changing event
with this change in status. These events such as getting married significantly change how a
person acts and how he leads his life. Although his life prior to these events, obviously creates
the person he is, after getting married life changes so significantly that those prior actions are
much less important and he is judged by his new course of actions in his new life. It seems unlikely
however that they are really forgiven for their sins without doing teshuva first.
PROVERBES DU ROI SALOMON :
L'âme du paresseux a des désirs qu'il ne peut satisfaire; Mais l'âme des hommes diligents sera rassasiée.
La justice garde celui dont la voie est intègre, Mais la méchanceté cause la ruine du pécheur.
C'est seulement par orgueil qu'on excite des querelles, Mais la sagesse est avec ceux qui écoutent les conseils.
La richesse mal acquise diminue, Mais celui qui amasse peu à peu l'augmente.
Celui qui fréquente les sages devient sage, Mais celui qui se plaît avec les insensés s'en trouve mal.
Mieux vaut peu, avec la justice, Que de grands revenus, avec l'injustice.
Le coeur de l'homme médite sa voie, Mais c'est l'Éternel qui dirige ses pas.
Mieux vaut être humble avec les humbles Que de partager le butin avec les orgueilleux.
Les paroles agréables sont un rayon de miel, Douces pour l'âme et salutaires pour le corps.
Une femme vertueuse est la couronne de son mari, Mais celle qui fait honte est comme la carie dans ses os.
L'oreille qui entend, et l'oeil qui voit, C'est l'Éternel qui les a faits l'un et l'autre.
LE SOURIRE DU CHABBAT
C'est un homme qui va chez un medecin, il lui demande :
- J'ai le cafard et des fourmies dans les pied, pouvez-vous faire quelque chose pour moi ?
Le médecin lui répond :
- Je vais vous prescrire un insecticide !
Le patient à son médecin :
- Ecoutez docteur, je vais être franc ; avant de vous consulter, je suis allé voir Mathieu, le guérisseur...
- Et quelle idiotie vous a racontée ce charlatan?
- Heu... Il m'a conseillé de venir vous voir...
Comment un informaticien tente-t-il de réparer sa voiture lorsqu'elle a un problème?
Il sort de la voiture, ferme toutes les fenêtres, retourne dans la voiture, et essaie de redémarrer.
Un gars va voir son médecin et lui demande :
- Est-ce que je vais devenir centenaire, docteur ?
Le médecin lui répond :
- Est-ce que vous fumez, prenez de la drogue ou buvez ?
- Non, répond l'autre
- Est-ce que vous sortez souvent, allez en boite, jouez au casino ?
- Ben non, répond l'autre
- Est-ce que vous roulez vite, faites des sports extrèmes ?
- Bof non, répond l'autre
- Non, rien de tout cela, répond l'autre
- Alors, lui dit le médecin, qu'est-ce que vous voulez vous faire chier a devenir centenaire
JEWISH QUOTES
The liar’s punishment is that even when he speaks the truth, no one believes him (Sanhedrin 89b).
No two minds are alike, [just as] no two faces are alike (Berachot 58a).
There is no community where everyone is rich; neither is there a community where everyone is poor (Jerusalem Talmud, Gitten 3:7).
Do not say something that should never be heard, because ultimately it will be heard (Hillel the Elder, Avot 4:2).
Do not appease a person while he is still angry (Avot 4:18).
Just as you are obligated to speak when your words will be heeded, you must remain silent when you know your words will be ignored (Yevamot 65b).
Even a poor person who subsists on the charity of others should perform [acts of] charity (Gittin 7a).
THE SHABBAT SMILE
A person’s true character is ascertained by three parameters: his cup (i.e., his behavior when he drinks), his pocket (i.e., his financial dealings), and his anger (Rabbi Ilai, Eruvin 65b).
The census taker comes to the Goldman house.
“Does Louis Goldman live here?” he asks.
“No,” replies Goldman.
“Well, then, what is your name?”
“Louis Goldman.”
“Wait a minute–didn’t you just tell me that Goldman doesn’t live here?”
“Aha,” says Goldman. “You call this living?”
At the funeral of the richest man in town, a stranger saw a woman crying very loudly. The stranger said, “Are you a relative of the deceased?”
“No.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“That’s why!”
The rabbi was angry about the amount of money his congregants were giving to charity. He prayed that the rich should give more charity to the poor.
“And has your prayer been answered?” asked his wife.
“Half of it was,” replied the rabbi. “The poor are willing to accept the money.”
CHABBAT CHALOM
MAGHEN ABRAHAM
David Hasson
