Calendar

1 malka and avraham shrybman on 2008 12 19

Fantastic!
Shabbat Shalom

2 Florette Cohen-Abady on 2008 12 19

Dear Rabbi Haver,
I give a Parasha class to 5th-8th grade girls every Shabbat in the Magen David of West Deal. Your Dvar Torah has been very helpful in teaching a weekly lesson for the girls to take home, but I think this one is the best yet! So thank you and Shabbat Shalom!
Florette

3 Shimon Katz on 2008 12 19

We remember Mr. Fixler well, he was a special person. What a great lesson for all of us. May he be a Maylitz Yosher for all of us.

4 DEAN CASPER on 2008 12 19

Mr. Fixler was correct. Yosef was a bit of a tattletale & a troulbesome brother. Your insight to the parsha is outstanding. But why in latter life when Yosef was the 2nd in command did he not try to contact his father? Yosef was not part of the agreement beween the brothers.

I shall advise R. Sender Haber of your thoughts.

5 feivel peltz on 2008 12 19

Y’ysher kochachoh
Gr8 Thank you

6 phkrause on 2008 12 20

Great Post Rabbi Yaacov, but nothing was going to change the plans that G-d had put into motion. G-d gave Yosef 2 dreams that eventually came true. Its one of my favorite story’s in the Torah.

7 flixster on 2008 12 20

Can we really say that NONE of this would have happened if Reuven had come back a minute earlier?

8 Rabbi Moshe Edelman on 2011 12 16

Reb Yaacov
We met several years ago in Jerusalem. I was with my (then) wife who had worked with you
@OU.  In any case, your weekly Torah brings me much insight. I always share it b’shem omro.
This weeks VaYeshev teaching is particularly crucial to me. I shall repeat it to a shiur on Shabbes to many in search of Jewish life, Jewish values and some looking to become part of Am Yisrael
Yasher koach..

9 fred on 2011 12 17

great-as usual.have a wonderful חנכה,i think of you often.fred

10 Reuven on 2011 12 18

The egyptian exile was told beforehand to Avraham. Some say it had its reasons to be due to Am-Israel’s behavior , some say it was a gzera(verdict) whose explanation and reason of being only G-d knows and that there is no rational way to explain.
Looking at things from this perspective, Reuvens action was completely irrelevant since one way or the other -the exile was supposed to take place.
Do u aqgree?

11 Ron Lazarovits on 2011 12 19

One of the worst droshas I have ever read. No condemnation of all the brothers. That Ruven and Judah were not quite as bad as the others does not make them good. It is a shocking story and none of their reputations can be redeeemed, no matter how much you twist this around. Complete rubbish. This is a prime exapmple of overlooking the obvious to go for the obscure in an effort not to condemn the participants who are manifestly evil. <eyeroll>

12 Yaacov Haber on 2011 12 19

Ron,

The worst?! I’m wondering if you actually read the essay. I said that the brothers of Joseph caused the Roman occupation and massacre of the Jewish people.

If one learns any lesson from the story other than what you consider the obvious make it rubbish?

Yaacov Haber

13 Sarah Leah Stark on 2011 12 28

Your Mr. Fixler story made me remember him as if it were yesterday.  May it be an aliyah for his neshoma.

14 Reuven on 2012 01 03

It might help you to calm Ron’s anger -which apparently you feel very anxious about and feel a strong urge to appease- but no, the brothers hatred was not “sinat chinam”. On the contrary the Sages say thar they wanted to get rid of Yoseph because he was a “troublemaker” and they feared that he would create dissent and separation within the family.
Having this in mind the Sages say the act of getting rid of Yoseph was with the intention of doing somthg positive.
Rabbi, your need to defend yourself is making you not to be able to see the greater picture.
I trust you will give a better example in the future, and will stand more confident before criticism in the future.

15 Reuven on 2012 01 03

After having received the Rabbi’s comment I see I misunderstood him completely. I hereby apologize for having attributed to him intentions or attitudes he never had and that were product of my misunderstanding.
Thank you Rabbi for your wisdom and keep illuminating us with your wisdom.