Vayeitzei

Before Jacob leaves B’er Sheva , God promises in Gen. 28:15 to bring him back to the Land, which God does in Gen. 31:3.  What a great foreshadowing in this section.  Here we have exile or banishment.  This is a punishment akin to being sent to one’s room.  It also is a forced wilderness experience in order to reflect on one’s deeds.  Prison system…

By the way, there are three Haftorot assigned to Parashat Vayeitzei depending upon whether one is Ashkenazic, Sephardic or the various traditional sects;  / Hosea 11:7 -12:12 and / or Hosea 12:13 - 14:10 Page 1292 or an optional reading – Ovadyah 1:1-21  Page 1329 (page numbers are from the JPS TANACH).

According to Hosea, God will call the exiled Israelites from exile to return to their Land (Hosea 11:10-11). There are all kinds of deceptions that go on in Genesis.  What can this say about the essence of humankind?   Hosea 12:8 condemns traders who deal dishonestly by using false scales to deceive other people.  So as you can see, there are a few lines that can be drawn between the Torah and Haftarah.  These connections help us focus in on larger messages of the Parasha so see if you can contemplate these macro-messages and look into your own life style to see if you can enhance or amend what you do on a daily basis.

We also find that Jacob (while in Haran with Lavan) toiled for over seven years while waiting to marry his beloved Rachel (not that he did not love Leah, he just was more attracted to the younger Rachel).  While working for Lavan he developed breading skills and management skills that allowed him to emerge stronger (on many levels).  Striking out on his own fulfills the blessing that God had said to him at the beginning of this story.  There is a deeper message here.  In Genesis 13:2 Abraham flourished in Egypt departing “very rich in cattle, silver and gold.”  In Genesis 26:16 Isaac prospered among the Philistines to the extent that their king disinvited him from the community – “Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us.”  There is no trace of animus toward material success or gain in the Torah.  On the contrary, it highlights a sign of God’s favor.  Challenging us to use our gifts as a way of expressing gratitude by helping others.  If we are blessed with the ability to amass great material wealth, we need to acknowledge the Source of that material and those people who have helped us attain, grow and manage it.

Gratitude and piety go hand in hand.  Strength and humility are sibling to the family of the righteous.

Cantor Eichaker

Toldot

This past Shabbat, we explored Toldot from Genesis, and the opening of Malachi, our assigned Haftarah.  Below is a recap of our discussion.

In Toldot, we discussed the birth of Esau and Jacob, and how we were informed from early on that there would be a struggle between the elder and the younger, and ultimately the younger would be served by the elder.  We questioned the actions of Esau, in selling his birthright for that “red stuff” – did he believe that he was really offering up his birthright, was this childs’ play,  or was he almost forced by his gut need for food.  We discussed those plays on words in the text, as well.

We then turned to Malachi and pondered the society in which he lived that would prompt such words.  We saw the connection to our Torah text in the mention of the struggles of the brothers.  We considered his words and those of our High Holy Days liturgy – what is demanded of us and how do we respond?  Do we give our best, or do we simply do what is required, or do we do less and hope no one will notice (or even not care if they do?).  We wondered if other communities recognized our god, among their gods, or if Malachi was just trying to guilt the people into action.

We returned then to our Torah text and dissected the trickery of Isaac into believing that Jacob was Esau, and thus Jacob received the blessing in place of his brother.  We had a lively discussion about responsibility, deceit, and carrying out God’s will.  Was Rebecca simply carrying out what she thought was God’s plan, or was she simply favoring one child over the other?  Why was Jacob willing to do carry this through?  Was Isaac really fooled? 

Time forced a close to our discussion, but there is much more to explore within the depths of this portion…we do not have to wait until next year… any day is a good day to study Torah.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Rabbi Shapiro

Chayei Sarah

So Sarah dies at the age of 127 in Kiriat – Arba, now known as Hevron.  Abraham buys the burial site there – the cave of Machpelah – from the Hittites.

In time, Abraham decides that a wife should be found for his son Isaac.  Abraham directs his senior servant, Eliezer, to search for this Wife, cautioning hi not to take a Canaanite woman.   The servant travels to Aram – Naharaim to the city of Nachor, the land of Abraham’s kin.  Upon arrival the servant prays to God to direct him to the woman chosen for Isaac.  Rebaccah, the daughter of B’tueil who is the son of Nachor, Abraham’s brother, comes to the well.  Through her words and deeds, Eliezer knows that she is the answer to his search  The servant is welcomed into B’tueil’s house and after conferring with B’tueil and his son Lavan, it is agreed that Rebecca will go to Canaan to become Isaac’s wife.

Abraham takes another wife, Keturah, who bears him six children.  Before dying, he wills all his possessions to Isaac and gives gifts to his other children.  When Abraham dies, Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the Cave of Machpeilah beside Sarah.  

The section closes with the naming of Ismael’s twelve sons.  Ishmaeil dies at the age of 137.

The Haftarah for this section is found in First Kings 1:1-31.

In the sedrah, Abraham is old and dying.  In the Haftarah, David is old and dying.  The once mighty and agile David is unable to keep himself warm or care for himself.  Similarly, the once well-traveled Avraham must send a servant to find a wife for Isaac; he can no longer travel.  The comparison between the two is underscored further because the same expression for “old advanced in years” is used  both in Genesis 24:1 and First Kings 1:1.

Both texts provide examples of the failure of the law of primogeniture (the right of the eldest child to inherit the leadership role in the family) in biblical times.  Solomon assumes the kingship even though he is not David’s oldest living child.  Similarly, Isaac takes over his father’s position even though Ishmael is Avraham’s oldest living child.

I asked Myra Rosenthal to offer some perspective on her preparations and presentation of last week’s Torah study so that those of you who are interested in preparing a session in honor or in memory of a loved one may do so.

“Actually there are two great resources, the cantor and the internet.  The cantor,  will email or give you a handout called Teaching Haftarah.  It contains a synopsis of the Haftarah, insights from tradition, strategies for analyzing the text, and, importantly, connects the text to the sedra.  Actually, there's a lot more, but that's basically all you need. 

There are some great resources on the internet (not that what the cantor gives you isn't great).  The Fuchsberg Center for Conservative Judaism in Jerusalem offers a commentary on the Haftarah at uscj.org.il/haftarah.  The Reform Movement's web page, Family Shabbat Table Talk, offers commentary and discussion questions.  It goes back ten years, so there's a lot to mine.  You can find that on uahc.org/shabbat.

I have fun just typing in the Torah portion and the Haftarah portion names on the internet and seeing what comes up.  That's how I got the fascinating information on Kings 1 and 2.  You have to weed through the information; some is good and others not.

There are lots of good books which offer terrific information.  Deane Thompson has a library full of them.  The library also has lots.  Some TANACHIM have great commentaries you could use.

The process isn't hard.  You read the Torah portion and the Haftarah portion and oftentimes the rest fall into place.  Once you finish summarizing each, the group can take over and search the connection.  The cantor and the rabbis are there to help you out so you are not alone.  It's a great way to remember or honor someone.  And it's a great way to learn the Torah and Haftarah.  

This Shabbat we study Parashat Toldot, Genesis 25:19 – 28:9 beginning on page 48 in the JPS TANACH and Malachi 1:1 – 2:7 found beginning on page 1405 in the JPS TANACH.

Cantor Eichaker

Welcome to our blog

Good Afternoon!  Welcome to our UH Torah Chat blog.  Each Monday, following our Shabbat morning Torah study, we will post an update on what was studied on Shabbat.  For those who couldn't attend it is an opportunity to still learn and this gives us the opportunity to address any questions that were asked that needed further thought before answering.

Our hope is that the learning will continue online through this blog and online conversation.

Last week's discussion of Vayera and it's haftarah will be posted tomorrow - sorry for the delay!

We look forward to this online learning journey!

Rabbi Rosenberg, Cantor Eichaker, and Rabbi Shapiro