Hello and we hope you had a meaningful Chanukah...or Hanukah...or...well, you get the idea. No matter how you spell it the holiday brings us light, history and meaning. We trust you enjoyed that and...Latkes. Here we are at our home with daughter Hunter and brother Yoni doing the cooking and they were good...really, really good. They taught me a great lesson...less heat...less spatter and smoke. In a way our Torah Portion is also a bit like that.
This Week's Torah Portion
This week we read from Genesis 44:18 through 47:21 it is Shabbat Vayigash (which means "he drew near" or "he approached"). We are coming to yet another dramatic story in the Torah. In this first sentence we are told, "Then Judah approached him (Joseph) and said, 'If you please, my lord, may your servant speak a word in my lord's ears and let not your anger flare up at your servant - for you are like Pharaoh.'"
Judah was coming face to face with his brother following the arrest of Benjamin the youngest of the family. The words "in my lord's ears" means that Judah was trying to make a heartfelt plea to spare Benjamin who had been caught red-handed with a stolen goblet. Judah was willing to take the place of his youngest brother and become a slave. At the same time he knew he was also in deep trouble.
Joseph had intended to keep his identity secret however the conversation here convinced him that indeed his brothers had changed their ways and now spoke of their devotion to Jacob and their love for Benjamin. This meeting proved to be pivotal in bringing the family back together.
There is a great lesson here for our time. That Judah said he wanted to "speak softly" to Joseph tells us that if we really are sincere and if we really wish to solve a problem the best way to be heard is to speak softly rather than yell and scream our intentions. Shouting is a giveaway that your argument is weak and rather than hear you the person to whom you are speaking is formulating a rebuttal.
King Solomon said, "The gentle words of the wise are heard above the shouts of a king over fools" (Ecclesiastes 9:17). A soft voice can actually drown out a shout.
This Torah Portion is such an emotional journey. We hope you'll spend some time this Shabbat and read it carefully.
We'll be holding our regular service on 19 January and our Midrash (Study Session) on the 20th. Mark your calendar and may you have a peaceful Shabbat. Candle lighting, by the way is tonight 4:30PM and Shabbat ends tomorrow at 5:35PM.
Shabbat Shalom!
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