Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

The 10th of Tevet is the anniversary of the Babylonians laying siege to Jerusalem, the beginning of the end of the 1st Temple. The reason for the destruction was the mistreatment of Jews to the fellow Jews.

Simon & Levi come under criticism for their actions in defending their sister Dina. But Jacob understands that they did not commit their deeds our of malice but due to their love of their family.

Before his death, Jacob blesses his sons and gives us insight on the future of the Jewish people. Especially Judah. He notes that the royalty will stem from Judah. We have to remember that Judah’s name infers that we should be humble before God. Especially our leaders.

The portion hints at the love of a parent by pointing out that Jacob only truly lived the 34 years he was with Joseph. 17 before Joseph was sold into slavery and the 17 years Jacob lived in Egypt.

Jacob makes a special effort to bless Joseph’s sons because they were born and raised in the capital of Egypt. Joseph was able to raise them so that they were not influenced by Egyptian culture.

Jacob blesses Ephriam over Menashe, even though Menashe is the oldest. This is to teach that leadership is earned, not given, Just because one is the son of a leader, does not mean that they will inherit the leadership. They have to earn it.

When the family arrives in Egypt Joseph has them settle in Goshen, away from the center of Egyptian society. He does this so that they can build a Jewish society without the Egyptian culture affecting them.

Greek culture regarded beauty above all, regardless of behavior. The torah emphasized moral and ethical behavior about all else. It is not surprising that the two would eventually clash.

Halel is a prayer that we recite on days that we acknowledge God’s help. We say it on Hanukah, Israel Independence Day and Jerusalem but on Purim. The reason is that at the end of the story of Purim our status did not change, we simply survived. On the other days our status changed.

We usually overlook the things that are done routinely. The truth is that is what is most important. The routine should be viewed as special. Without the routine we could not live a normal life.