Dvar Torah
Giving back happiness
(בראשית מו:כט) וַיֶּאְסֹר יוֹסֵף מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ וַיַּעַל לִקְרַאת־יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִיו גּשְׁנָה וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו וַיִּפֹּל עַל־צַוָּארָיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עַל־צַוָּארָיו עוֹד:
Finally, the great reunion of Yaakov with his dearest son, Yosef is about to take place. The Torah tells us, that Yosef, at the time of meeting his father after 22 long years away from his cries. Rashi (46:29) points out that the Pasuk only tells us that only Yosef was crying, and it tells us nothing about Yaakov’s emotions. Rashi explains, that at the time of this great reunion Yaakov was reciting Kriyat Shema and therefore could not cry on his son’s shoulder. The question is, Yaakov knew he would be meeting his son, could he not have recited the Shema earlier?
The Shema is a way for us to declare Hashem as our King. In Shema we say, “and you should love Hashem your G-D with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your money (possessions).”
In truth, Yaakov could have recited the Shema at any other time but when a person does a Mitzvah they should do it to their fullest ability. Part of doing Mitzvot fully is doing them happily with all our heart. For the last 22 years of Yaakov’s life, his joy was cut down since he had not seen his beloved son. At this great moment of reuniting with Yosef, his heart became filled with the greatest joy he had ever felt. He then grasped that happiness to fulfill the Mitzvah of declaring Hashem's mastery over the world. "And you should love Hashem your G-D with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your money (possessions)” to an even greater level than imaginable.
From here we can learn, how important it is for us to give it our all when doing a Mitzvah.
Shabbat Shalom, stay warm and have an AMAZING winter break!
Parsha Questions
1) What manner was יהודה going to be speaking to יוסף in? (רש"י מד:יח)
2) What was יהודה‘s speech to יוסף about? (מד:יח-לד)
3) What did יוסף hear that made him unable to hold back anymore? (רש"י מד:לב)
4) Why did יוסף ask all the מצרים to leave before he revealed himself? (רש"י מה:א)
5) What was יוסף’s first question after he made himself known? (מה:ג)
6) How did his brothers react? Why? (מה:ג ועוד עיין רש"י)
7) How did יוסף prove to his brothers that he was really יוסף? (רש"י מה:ד)
8) Why did יוסף and בנימין cry on each other’s shoulders? (רש"י מה:יד)
9) What was the proof that finally convinced יעקב that יוסף was alive? (רש"י מה:כז)
10) Who was sent ahead of the family to “settle into” ארץ מצרים? (בראשית מו:כח)
11) Explain להורת לפניו. (רש"י בראשית מו:כח)
12) When יעקב and יוסף finally met, who was unable to speak? Why? (רש"י בראשית מו:כט)
*13) Explain who was unable to speak and why according to the רמב"ן (בראשית מו:כט). How does he prove his point?
14) How did יוסף instruct his brothers to answer פרעה when asked “מה מעשיכם”? Why?
( בראשית מו:לא-לד)
15) How old was יעקב when he came to מצרים? (מז:ח-ט)
16) What did יעקב do when he met פרעה? (מז:י)
17) What was this blessing? (רש"י מז:י)
Extra Credit: Why did יוסף make his family (יעקב, בנימין, and his ten brothers) go through all of this aggravation? (עין מלב"ם בראשית )
Classroom Check-in!
Questions about what we are learning in class
1) If one has an unplastered roof, how can they use that room as a Sukkah? (3-way Machloket)
Torah Math
When יהודה is telling צפנת פענח that if בנימין does not return home יעקב would die, he uses the words ונפשו קשורה בנפשו (his soul is attached to his soul). What was it that made this father and son attached? The word קשורה equals 611, the same as the wordתורה. They were connected by the תורה that they had studied together!
So AWESOME how these secrets are all over the Torah!
TORAH TRIVIA!
Super Stumper Question:
This a question to ask others and discuss the answers.
Answer to last week’s Question:
Last week’s question: What was Mrs. Poteefar’s name???
Answer to last week’s question: Mrs. Poteefar’s name (besides Mrs.) was Zulaicha.
Question of the week: What is the ONLY Mitzvah that can ONLY be done when sitting down?
Answer….
Kollel Quiz
#1 Who Am I?
1. I am not Avraham’s father.
2. My father is not “a share”.
3. My music got me long life.
4. I was the first news reporter.
#2 Who Am I?
1. I am for the order.
2. The old like the old.
3. I am for Kiddush.
4. I am for the lots day.
FOOD Section!
Can you guess what this recipe connects to this week’s Parsha?
Healthy Trail Mix
1 cup combination diced dried fruit, such as prunes, apricots, pears, and apples
1/2 cup raisins and/or dried cherries or cranberries
1 1/2 cups unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts (or honey-roasted peanuts, chopped walnuts or unsalted almonds)
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