Vayeishev (And He Dwelt) B’resheet (Genesis) 37-40
Torah Portion: Vayeishev (And He Dwelt) B’resheet (Genesis) 37-40
Haftorah Reading: Amos 2:6-3:8
Tonight we take a long look at Joseph’s life from his teen years to adulthood. Through these years we can see many things in his life that can speak to us directly. In the beginning we see a boy, the favorite of his father, who was given a beautiful coat. We see a boy who was not very perceptive about how to relate to his brothers. All this caused his brothers to hate him.
Vayeishev (And He Settled) B’Resheet (Gen) 37-40
Torah Portion: Vayeishev (And He Settled) B’Resheet (Gen.) 37-40
HafTorah: Amos 2:6-3:8
This Torah portion is taken almost completely with the life of Joseph and his struggles until he become the second in power in the land of Egypt. There are several points that can be made from these verses about how Joseph dealt with his misfortunes. One amazing observation is how he was able to hold onto G-d’s purpose in his life, to not give up, or become discouraged. This trait speaks to me and I hope to each of you.
Vayeishev (He settled) Gen 37-40
Torah Portion: Vayeishev ( He settled) Genesis 37:1-40:23
HafTorah: Amos 2:6-3:8
Tonight we cover a large part of Joseph’s life from his seventh year until he is in an Egypt prison sentenced for something he did not do. We follow him from a somewhat difficult teenager to when he has had more than his share of difficulties in his life.
I want us to look at his story from the aspect of Kidush Hashem (sanctify the Name) and see what we can see that might help us in our daily walk with the L-rd. How do we translate Kidush HaShem? Sanctifying G-d’s name is kidush HaShem. What does that mean? Kidush is from the same root as Kadosh or holy. Holy means to set apart, as for us to be set apart. How can we set apart G-d’s name? Let’s see how Joseph did or did not do this in his life.
Ki Tisa (When You Take)
Weekly Torah Section: Ki Tisa (When You Take) Exodus 30:11-34:35, Haftorah: I Kings 18:1-39
We begin with the Haftorah reading in I Kings 18. To orient ourselves these events happened in the 9th century BCE during the reign of King Ahab. Ahab married a princess of Tyre named Jezebel. She introduced the worship of her god, Baal to Israel. Baal was supposed to be the god of rain and storms. She also sought to kill all the prophets of the L-rd. Many of the people in Israel followed both Baal and the true G-d of Israel. Deut. 11:16-17 says that if the people turn to other gods, G-d will shut the heavens and there will be no rain and crops will fail. So here G-d sends Elijah with this message, a direct challenge to this so called god of rain.