<div class="gmail_default" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">This lecture is primarily based on a class by Rabbi David Fohrman:&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" href="https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/gilead-significance-in-the-bible" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/gilead-significance-in-the-bible&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1722448993116000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1yoPcanmkEeogcCeVuTxTw">https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/gilead-significance-in-the-bible</a></div>
This class was presented on Tuesday, 24 Tamuz, 5784, Parshas Matos-Masei, July 30, 2024, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

Why Is the End of Bamidbar So Anticlimactic? The Epic Mystery and Pain of Gilad

Women's Matos/Three Weeks Class

Vanquishing the Ghosts of Gilad: Confronting Our Family Secrets

The Judah-Tamar Drama

It is a fascinating story: (1) Judah has three sons, Er, Onan and Shalah. His oldest son, Er, married a woman named Tamar, but died prematurely, without children. His bereft father, Judah, suggested to his second son, Onan: "Consort with your brother's wife and enter into levirate marriage with her, and establish offspring for your brother."

Here, we are introduced, for the first time, to the concept of levirate marriages, discussed later in the book of Deuteronomy: "When brothers live together, and one of them dies childless, the wife of the deceased man shall not marry outside to a strange man; her brother-in-law shall come to her, and take her to himself as a wife, and perform a levirate marriage. The first-born son whom she bears will then perpetuate the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be obliterated from Israel." 
 
One of the great biblical commentators, Nachmanides, writes that this mitzvah embodies "one of the great mysteries of the Torah" and that even before the Torah was given, people knew of the spiritual benefits of a levirate marriage. The biblical commentators explain that the child born of the union between the brother of the dead man and his former wife -- both of whom are intimately connected with the deceased man -- is considered the spiritual son of the deceased. The Kabbalists even explain that the first-born child of the levirate marriage is a reincarnation of the soul of the first husband, bringing the deceased man, as it were, back to life.

So Judah suggested to his second son Onan to marry his brother's widow and perpetuate the legacy of the deceased brother. 
 
Now, Judah's second son also died prematurely without having any children. Judah refused to allow her to marry his third son, Shalah. This put her in an impossible situation: she could not go out and marry anyone else, because she was bound to Shalah, but her father-in-law would not allow her to marry Shalah.

Now, during those early times prior to the giving of the Torah, Nachmanides explains, other relatives, in addition to brothers, used to carry out this obligation of levirate marriages. So following the death of both of Tamar's husbands, she went and lured her former father-in-law, Judah, into a relationship with her, that impregnated her. As a guarantee that he would pay her for the relationship, Judah gave Tamar his seal, cord (2), and staff. 
 
"Some three months passed," the Torah relates (3), "and Judah was told, 'Your daughter-in-law Tamar has committed harlotry, and she has become pregnant by harlotry.'" 
 
"Take her out and have her burned," said Judah. 
 
"When she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, 'I am pregnant by the man who is the owner of these articles. Identify, I beg you, these objects; who is the owner of this seal, this cord, and this staff?' 
 
"Judah immediately recognized them, and he said, 'She is right; it is from me [that she has conceived]. She did it because I did not give her to my son Shelah.'"

A Spiritual Story

The stories in the Torah are not just tales of ancient Jewish history. They also reflect spiritual timeless experiences that take place continually within the human soul. In his commentary on the book of Genesis, Nachmanides wrote: "The Torah discusses the physical reality, but it alludes to the world of the spirit (4)." 
 
Here is a classical Chassidic interpretation on the episode of Judah and Tamar, treating the story as symbolic of the inner spiritual life of the Jew.

Betrayal and Its Consequences

The name Judah, or Yehudah, containing within it the four letters of the name of Hashem, symbolizes G-d. Tamar is the Hebrew name for a palm tree, represening&nbsp;the Jewish people and their bond with G-d (5).&nbsp;The Talmud explains (6), that "just as the palm tree has but one 'heart,' so too do the Jewish people have only a single heart, devoted to their Father in heaven."

(The heart of the date palm is its sap. Unlike the saps of other trees, like the alive or almond tree, the sap of the palm is found only in its trunk, but not in its branches or leaves.&nbsp;This is the meaning behind the Talmudic statement that the palm tree possesses only a single "heart" (7)). 
 
The intimate union between Tamar and Judah, the Jew and G-d,&nbsp;occurs during the sacred days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. During those days, G-d, or Judah, exposes Himself to His people, evoking within them a yearning to transcend and to become one with G-d. 
 
But then, some time passes, and the spiritual inspiration of the High Holy days wears off. Judah is informed that "Tamar, your Kallah (8), has committed harlotry, and she has become pregnant by harlotry." The news arrives to G-d that His bride has gone looking elsewhere for bliss.&nbsp;

At one point during our lives, we may be&nbsp;inspired to connect to the deeper Divine rhythm of life. Yet, the cunning lore of numerous other gods captivates&nbsp;our imaginations dulls our vision. We substituted the G-d of truth with the ego-god, the power-god, the money-god, the temptation-god, the addiction-god, the manipulation-god, and the god of self-indulgence 
 
What is even sadder for Judah is the news that "Tamar" is so estranged that she became pregnant by harlotry. This symbolizes the stage in life when the Jew rejects the G-d of his forefathers permanently and decides to build his future with superficial sources of gratification.&nbsp; 
 
"Take her out and have her burned," says Judah. The purpose of the Jew is to serve as the spiritual compass of human civilization, to bear witness to the truth of the One G-d, the moral conscience of the world. When the Jew loses sight of the raison d'être of his existence when he believes that his salvation lies in the fact that the word&nbsp;loves&nbsp;him, that he was praised in an editorial of The New York Times, his existence is in danger. The world will come to loathe him, and he will have no anchor.

The Truth Emerges 

The great Jewish&nbsp; mystic, the Arizal, Rabbi Isaac Luryah, writes that "the judgment that began on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is completed some three months later, during the days of Chanukah." That's why it is at this period of time, three months after the intimate union between Judah and Tamar, that Judah (the metaphor for G-d) is "informed" regarding the spiritual status of Tamar (the Jewish people) and the verdict is issued that Tamar has no future. 
 
"When Tamar was being taken out, she sent word to Judah, saying, 'I am pregnant by the man who is the owner of these articles. Identify, I beg you, these objects. Who is the owner of this seal, cord, and staff?'" 
 
During that fateful time, when the "prosecuting angels" have almost been successful in demonstrating to G-d that the Jewish people have become alienated, at that very moment, the Jew sends word to G-d, saying, "I am pregnant by the man who is the owner of these articles!" The information you received that I abandoned you, is a blatant lie! Gaze into the deeper layers of my identity and you will discover that I belong to You, that my intimacy is shared only with You, G-d. "I am pregnant from Judah and not from anybody else!" the Jew declares. 
 
"Identity, I beg you, these objects. Who is the owner of this seal, cord, and staff?" For during the festival of Chanukah,&nbsp;when the judgment of Rosh Hashanah is finalized,&nbsp;the Jew kindles each night a wick, or a cord, soaked in oil, commemorating the event of the Jews discovering a sealed single cruse of oil after the Greeks had plundered the holy Temple in Jerusalem (9). 
 
The Jew further points to the staff in his arm (10). In order to preserve his faith, he was forced time and time again, for millenia, to take the wandering staff in his arm, abandon his home, wealth and security, and seek out new territory where he could continue to live as a Jew. 
 
"Identity, I beg you, these objects. Who is the owner of this seal, cord, and staff?" the Jew asks G-d. "It is to this man that I am pregnant!" Our loyalty and commitment remain eternally to the owner of the "seal" and "cord" of the Chanukah flames; our deepest intimacy is reserved to the owner of the "staff" of Jewish wandering.

Sure, the insanity of exile and the traumas of millenia have confused so many of us. But -- as we have all seen since the last Hamas-Israeli war on October 7th, 2023 -- the Jewish heart is beating stronger than ever. The Divine holiness embedded in the core of every Jewish soul is shining.

Who Is the Traitor?

"Judah immediately recognized the articles, and he said, "She is right; it is from me that she conceived. She did it because I did not give her to my son Shelah." 
 
When G-d observes the burning flames of the Chanukah menorah, He immediately recognizes that indeed, His people have never left Him. True, the Jew does fall prey at times to the dominating external forces of a materialistic and immoral world, yet this enslavement is skin deep. Probe the layers of his or her soul and you will discover an infinite wellspring of spirituality and love. 
 
"If the Jew has, in fact, gone astray here and there, it is my fault," G-d says, not his. "Because I did not give Tamar to my son Shelah." Shelah is the Biblical term used to describe Moshiach (11), the leader who will usher in the final redemption. G-d says that for two millennia I have kept the Jewish nation in a dark and horrific exile where they have been subjected to horrendous pain and savage suffering. Blood, tears, and death have been their tragic fate for twenty centuries, as they 
prayed, each day and every moment, for world redemption. But redemption has not come. 
 
How can I expect that a Jew never commits a sin? How can I expect that a Jew never seeks a nest in the outside gentile world, when I held back for so long the light of Moshiach? 
 
"It is I, G-d, who is guilty of treason," G-d says. Not the Jew. Tamar is an innocent, beautiful palm tree, which still has only one heart to its Father in heaven. 
 
Cold Soup

Rabbi Manis Friedman once shared the following thought (12):

Three thousand, three hundred and fifteen years ago G-d asked us if we would marry him. We had an extraordinary wedding ceremony, with great special effects--we were wowed. After the wedding, He said, "I have a few things I'd like you to take care of for me so, please... I'll be right back." He hasn't been heard from since. For more than three thousand, three hundred years. He has sent messengers, messages, postcards--you know, writing on the walls... but we haven't heard a word from Him in all this time.

Imagine, a couple gets married, and the man says to his new wife, "Would you make me something to eat, please? I'll be right back." She begins preparing. The guy comes back 3300 years later, walks into the house, up to the table, straight to his favorite chair, sits down, and tastes the soup that is on the table. The soup is cold.

What will his reaction be? If he's a wise man, he won't complain. Rather he'll think it's a miracle that the house is still there, that his table and favorite chair are still there. He'll be delighted to see a bowl of soup at his place. The soup is cold? Well, yes, over 3300 years, soup can get cold.

Now we are expecting Moshiach. If Moshiach comes now and wants to judge, what's he going to find? Cold soup?

He will find an incredibly healthy Jewish people. After 3300 years we are concerned about being Jewish, which means we are concerned about our relationship with G-d.

Yes, if Moshiach comes today, he'll find that our soup is cold. We suffer from separation anxiety. We suffer from a loss of connection to our ancestors. We suffer a loss of connection even to our immediate family. The soup is cold. The soup is very cold. But whose fault is that? And who gets the credit for the fact that there is soup altogether?

We are a miracle. All we need to do is tap into it. We are the cure. Not only for ourselves, but also for the whole world. So let Moshiach come now and catch us here with our cold soup because we have nothing to be ashamed of. We are truly incredible. When G-d decided to marry us, He knew He was getting a really good deal.

A Jew is a child of G-d. A Jew is a prince. A Jew is the holiest of the holy. A Jew is truly one with G-d. And even when you look at yourself in the mirror and you feel disloyal, the truth is that your ultimate loyalty remains to G-d, to truth, to holiness, to purity.

Moshiach is ready to come. May we see him now!

(This essay is based on the writings of the Chassidic Masters (13))

___________ 
1) Genesis, chapter 38. 
2) "Pethila" in Hebrew literally means a string or a wick. Judah gave her the string that he used to bind his sheep (Sechel Tov on Genesis 38:18). Many commentators, including Rashi, translate the word to mean a wrap or cloak. 
3) Genesis 38:24-26.&nbsp; 
4) Commentary on the opening verse of Genesis. 
5) See Hoshanos recited on the third day of Sukkot. Psalms 92:13. 
6) Sukkah&nbsp;45b. Megilah 14a 
7) Rashi ibid.; cf. Ritva. 
8) In Hebrew, "Kalasecha" (Genesis 38:24). This can be translated as "your daughter-in-law," or, literally as your kallah, your bride. 
9) Shabbas 21b. 
10) The Hebrew term for "the staff," "v'hamateh" has the same numerological value as the word "Hakeli," the vessel, symbolic of the menorah in which we kindle the Chanukah flames. Hence, this verse is alluding to the three components of the Chanukah lights: the menorah, the wick, and the oil,&nbsp;all of which testify to the eternal allegiance of the Jew to G-d. 
11) Rashi Genesis 49:10. 
12) <a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2540/jewish/Cold-Soup.htm">http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2540/jewish/Cold-Soup.htm</a> 
13) Bas Ayin Parshas Vayeishev, authored by Chassidic Master of Safed, Rabbi Avraham of Avrutch (1765-1840). He was a disciple of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Bardeitchev and of Rabbi Nachum and Rabbi Mordechai (Reb Matele) of Chernobyl.

The Yehudah-Tamar story as a metaphor of our relationship with G-d. Yehuda thinks Tamar is guilty, only to find out that he is at fault. The same with Jewish history.

No, We Have Not Betrayed Our Mission: Yehudah, Tamar and a Chanukah Drama

Essay Vayeishev/Chanukah

The Jewish Heart is Beating Stronger than Ever

This class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Vayeshev, 22 Kislev, 5784, December 5, 2023, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

As He Was Cast Twice Into a Pit, Yosef Transformed his Slavery and Prison Into Greatness

Women's Vayeishev Class

Yosef’s Evolution: The Day You Let Go, You Can Begin to Live

This&nbsp;was a &quot;Shabbos Hagadol Derasha (Sermon)&quot;&nbsp;by Rabbi YY Jacobson addressing the Young Israel of Century City, CA, on&nbsp;Sunday, 8 Nissan, 5781, March 21, 2021.

Three of the four questions we ask at the Seder are answered during the night, if only indirectly. But not the fourth question. &ldquo;On all other nights, we don&#39;t dip even once. Why on this night do we dip twice? One time, karpas&mdash;a vegetable&mdash;in saltwater; the second time, maror in charoses, bitter herbs (or Romaine Lettuce) in the sweet mixture of apples, pears, nuts, and wine.&rdquo; During the entire seder, it seems, we never get an answer to this question. What is the answer? Why do we dip twice?

There are two dips that characterize Jewish history&mdash;one was the beginning of our exile, and one created the end of our exile. Both involved blood and goats. Joseph&rsquo;s brothers dipped his coat into the blood of a goat, and that is how our exile began. The Jews dipped a hyssop plant into the goat&rsquo;s blood on the eve of Passover&mdash;and that is how redemption began! What do these two dips represent? There is the dip that creates Jewish exile; and the dip that ends it.

Of all the slanders about Jews throughout history, the Blood Libel stands out as the most insane. How could have this ever taken root? The last thing a Jew would ever eat is blood. The Torah categorically prohibits a Jew from eating blood. What is more, there is a heavenly death penalty for a Jew eating blood! Reb Elchanan Wasserman suggested a daring explanation.

The Tragic Story that Came Full Circle on the Night of Pesach

Shabbos Hagadol Derasha Young Israel Century City

A Bloody Tunic: The Dip that Creates Exile; and the Dip that Ends It 

Brother’s Keeper

One day the zookeeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books, the Bible and Darwin's Origin of Species.

Surprised, he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books?"

"Well," said the orangutan, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper, or my keeper's brother."

The Contrast

Sometimes, the contrast is too conspicuous to ignore. In both stories, the Torah employs the same term: “Ish,” which means, a man. (The term is already used in Bereishis, to describe the first man, Adam.) In two consecutive portions, Vayishlach and Vayeishev, the same term is used. Yet Rashi, based on the tradition of our sages, changes his commentary from one extreme to the other.&nbsp;

In the portion of Vayishlach, we find the term “ish,” a man.

And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.

Rashi explains that this “man” was the spiritual angel of Esau. In other words, this battle in the middle of the night between Jacob and this mysterious “man,” was part of the ongoing struggle between Jacob and his brother Esau.

Yet, in Vayeishev, we have the same exact term used. But there everything changes.

Joseph was sent by his father Jacob, to go visit his brothers and seek their welfare. Despite his brothers loathing him, Joseph embarked on the journey and he got lost on the way. The Torah tells us:

Then a man found him, and behold, he was straying in the field, and the man asked him, "What are you looking for?"

And he said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me now, where are they pasturing?"

Who was this mysterious man, “ish,” who encountered Joseph at that vulnerable moment?

Rashi says it was angel Gabriel, who we see is defined elsewhere in Scriptures as Ish.

Strange. In Vayishlach it says that Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him. In Vayeishev, Joseph is alone, lost in the field, and, again, a man encounters him and asks him what he is searching for. The same exact word is used in both cases to describe this person: Ish. Yet in Vayeishev, Rashi sees him as the angel Gabriel, and in Vayishlach as Esau’s angel?

A Tale of Two Men

The Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum (1887-1979), shared the following explanation in the name of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam, the Divrei Chaim of Tzanz (1793-1876).<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" name="_ftnref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>

Context is always the key. The word may be the same, “ish,” but the question is what does this “ish,” this man, do?

In both stories, there is a person who is vulnerable. In Vayishlach, “Jacob remains alone,” in the middle of the night. He has been away from home for 34 years, and has been dealing with a world-class crook. In Vayeishev, Joseph, a young 17-year-old lad, is also lost and vulnerable. He has left his father, he was an orphan from his mother, and how he was on the way to brothers who despised him. He does not know it, but this journey would take him to slavery, prison, and complete alienation from his family.

In both stories, two people are deeply vulnerable. Father and son. Jacob and Joseph. Both of them meet a stranger. A man who appears out of the blue.

The question is what does this “ish,” this man, do?

Here is the difference. In Jacob’s case, the man sees a lonely man in the middle of the night and pounces on him. There is lonely Jacob in the middle of the night? Let me attack him.

What about in the second story? Here too Joseph is alone. And a man encounters him. But what does the man say and do?

“Then a man found him, and behold, he was straying in the field, and the man asked him, saying, "What are you looking for?"

Do you see the difference? He does not pounce on Joseph. He does not exploit his vulnerability, manipulate his moment of weakness toward his own goals. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to help. He asks the young lad: What are you looking for? You are a dreamer. I see you are searching for something. What is it that you seek? How can I help you?

And Joseph tells him: “I am searching for my brothers!”

I want a relationship. I am searching for love. For belonging. For understanding. For comradery. &nbsp;For attachment.

So Rashi is simply mirroring the context of the narrative. When a man, encountering a vulnerable person, seizes the opportunity to attack him, that man, Rashi says, is an angel of Esau. But when a man, encountering a vulnerable person, seizes the opportunity to offer a loving hand, a guiding heart, to see how he can be here for you in your search for love and family, this person, Rashi says, must be the angel Gabriel!

The Lesson

We all encounter a person, a child, a teen, an adult, who is “alone,” vulnerable, lonely, lost, confused, bewildered, pained.

We see them in their vulnerability. And we make a choice.

Some of us seize the opportunity to use exploit them. Some people even utilize the opportunity to use them in immoral ways, to abuse them, to pounce on them, to attack them, to hurt them, willingly or unwillingly. Even just to judge them.

But some of us encounter the same vulnerable people. And our response is: My dear boy, my dear girl, my dear friend, tell me what are you looking for? Let me find out what you are searching for, what you yearn for.

We each have to make a choice about what type of “man” we will be. I can either become a force of Esau, or I can become the angel Gabriel.

When the Rebbe Went to Warm Up Soup 

It was the night of Yom Kippur, the holiest night of the year.

The Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, also known as the Alter Rebbe (1745-1812), was praying. Wrapped in his talis and his kitel, he was immersed in his davening, in intimacy with G-d.

Suddenly, he removed his talis and left the shul. It was shocking.

The Rebbe went to the home of a mother who had just given birth. The rest of the family went to the synagogue to pray, so nobody was present. The Rebbe kindled a flame, warmed up a soup on the stove, and fed it to the young mother who desperately needed the food.

I once heard the Lubavitcher Rebbe share this story.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" name="_ftnref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a> And he added: The greatness in the story is not that the Alter Rebbe went on Yom Kippur to save this mother. After all, saving a life override Yom Kippur. The uniqueness of the story is the Rebbe, in the midst of his Yom Kippur prayers, experiencing oneness with the Divine, felt the pain and anguish of the young mother.

Many spiritual people, when they are immersed in transcendence, they become deaf to the cry of a mother and a baby. In contrast, the Alter Rebbe, as he spoke to G-d on the holiest night of the year, his soul could not calm down till he went to comfort a young mother who yearned for help.

______________________________________

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" name="_ftn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a> Moshian Shel Yisroel. vol. 2, p. 210

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" name="_ftn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> 19 Kislev 5744 (1983), at a farbrengen celebrating the liberation day of the Alter Rebbe, on 19 Kislev, 1798.

Sometimes, the contrast is too conspicuous to ignore. In both stories, the Torah employs the same term: &ldquo;Ish,&rdquo; which means, a man. In two consecutive portions, Vayishlach and Vayeishev, the same term is used. Yet Rashi, based on the tradition of our sages, changes his commentary from one extreme to the other.&nbsp; 

In Vayishlach, Jacob remains alone, in middle of the night, a man encounters him. Rashi says this man was the guardian angel of Esau. In Vayeishev, Joseph is alone, lost in the field. A man encounters him. Rashi says, it was the angel Gabriel.

But wait! In Vayishlach it says that Jacob remained alone and a man wrestled with him. In Vayeishev, Joseph is alone, lost in the field, and, again, a man encounters him and asks him what he is looking for. The same exact word is used in both cases to describe this person: Eish. Yet in Vayeishes, Rashi sees him as the angel Gabriel, and in Vayishlach as Esau&rsquo;s angel? That seems unfair.

But of course, context is always the key.

A Tale of Two Angels

Essay Vayishlach/Vayeishev

When You Encounter a Lost Soul, How Do You React?

In the listing of the offerings brought by the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel, in dedication of the newly erected Sanctuary, the seventh leader is from the tribe of Ephraim.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Yet here we face a fascinating question. The leaders of the tribes began offering their contributions on the first day of the month of Nissan, the day the Sanctuary was erected, which was on a Sunday. This means that Ephraim brought his offering on the seventh day of the week, on the Shabbos. But on Shabbos you are not allowed to bring an individual offering? On Shabbos you may not slaughter an animal, nor can you place meat in a fire, nor can you cook meat&mdash;all components necessary for an offering in the Sanctuary?!

The Midrash answers, that Ephraim was a son of Joseph. The tribe of Ephraim carried the genes and legacy of Joseph. Joseph observed the Shabbos in Egypt. So G-d said: &quot;Joseph! You kept Shabbos even before it was given, I will pay you back such that your descendant will offer his sacrifice on Shabbos!&rdquo;&nbsp;

Yet this is so strange. What is the logic behind saying that since Joseph kept Shabbos, and prepared for Shabbos on Friday, his great grandson would bring a sacrifice that ordinarily violates the sanctity of Shabbos?&nbsp;

I will present to you one answer, based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, presented on Shabbos Parshas Metzora, 7 Nissan, 5741 (1981) and on 19 Kislev 5721 (December 8, 1960).

An Individual Is a Community: Why Ephraim Can Bring a Shabbos Sacrifice

Essay Nasso/Vayeishev

Are You Afraid of Your Power?

This lecture was presented&nbsp;on Tisha B&#39;Av, 5779, Sunday, August 11, 2019, at 11 Forshay Road, Monsey, NY.

Sometimes when you&#39;re in a dark place you think you&#39;ve been buried, but you&#39;ve actually been planted.

Shir HaMa'alos Beshuv Hashem: A Little Seedling Nurtured by Tears

Tishah B'Av 5779

Those Who Sow With Tears: A Prayer of an Abuse Victim

This class was presented at the&nbsp;Yarchei Kallah event in honor of the Yartzeit of the Alter Rebbe, Baal HaTanya, on Tuesday, 24 Teves, 5779, January&nbsp;1,&nbsp;2019, at Khal Tzemach Tzedek, Monsey, NY

The Two Innovative & Paradoxical Ideas of the Alter Rebbe's Shaar Hayichud V'HaEmuna

24 Teves 5779 Classes

To Live In the Present and to Live in Infinity

On his deathbed Jacob speaks to Joseph: &ldquo;A charming son is Joseph, a son charming to the eye; the women strode along to see him. They made his life bitter and they quarreled with him; archers despised him.&rdquo; Rashi explains: &ldquo;The women of Egypt strode on the wall to gaze upon his beauty.&rdquo;

What is Jacob trying to bring out? Literally, that Joseph&rsquo;s beauty was dazzling. Not only was he appealing to any eye that saw him, but even the Egyptian women were enthralled by his figure. They ascended the walls and fortresses of Egypt to be able to gaze at him. But why is this so relevant on the deathbed of Jacob?

What was at the root of the conflict in the first family of Israel?&nbsp; Could it be that a multicolored coat or a favorite son&rsquo;s share of his father&rsquo;s affections should generate such profound strife? Why did Joseph&rsquo;s brothers loath him so deeply?

Joseph and Judah embodied two divergent world-views. They possessed different approaches on the meaning of Judaism, which was just beginning to bud.

There is a remarkable law in Talmud. While when the Temple existed in Jerusalem you can only eat the meat of the sacrifices within the Jerusalem walls, when the Tabernacle stood in Shilo, in Joseph&rsquo;s territory, you can eat the meat of the offerings as far as the eye could behold the Tabernacle. This law captures the magic and revolution of Joseph.

The Grand Debate Between Judah and Joseph

Essay Vayechi/Vayeishev

Does Judaism Believe in the Wall?

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Vayigash, 3 Teves, 5779, December 11, 2018, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY

Yosef Yehudah & the Split of the Jewish Monarchy: The Deeper Story

Vayigash Women's Class

To Be Or To Be Not? The Tension Woven Into Jewish History -- Part 1

This keynote lecture was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson at the INSPIRE conference in London, England, on Monday evening, 19 Kislev, 5779, November 26, 2018.

220 Years Ago, a Light was Unleashed Transforming Judaism

London Yud Tes Kislev Lecture

Yud Tes Kislev 5779 London

This event,&nbsp;a Yiddish lecture (followed by a fabrengen), on the essence and relevance of Chassidus today, took place in Stamford Hill, London, on Sunday night, Parshas Vayeishev, 17&nbsp;kislev, 5779, November 25, 2018.&nbsp;

What Is Chassidus? What Is It's Message Today?

Yud Tes Kislev/Chassidus

Yiddish: Yud Tes Kislev 5779 Lecture, London

Cum nulla ut a quia dolor ullamco velit

This class to women was presented on Tuesday Parshas Vayigash, 1 Teves, 5778, December 19, 2017, at Ohr Chaim,&nbsp;Monsey, NY

Yosef, Yehuda and Tamar: When You Discover That You Got It All Wrong

The Moment Which Transformed Yehuda

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