And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; is my father still alive? And his brothers could not answer him because they were terrified at his presence. (45:3)Instead of simply stating, “I am Joseph,” he added “Is my father still alive?” Anyone following the story knows that he had been talking to the brothers until […]
[While Joseph is still in prison, Pharaoh dreams of cows and sheaves and demands that someone interprets his dreams. The wine steward remembered Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams, mentioned it to Pharaoh, and Joseph was freed and brought before Pharaoh, who acknowledges the truth of Joseph’s interpretation (about the impending famine) and raises Joseph to be […]
…Joseph at the age of seventeen years was a shepherd with his brothers…and Joseph brought back evil reports about them to their father (Jacob). (37:2)This week’s Parsha tells the story of one of the early events that led to the Jewish people’s bondage in Egypt. Joseph spoke lashon hara (slander; evil reports) to his father about his brothers. This led to a […]
Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think. Thomas A. EdisonThinking must be a very hard thing if so, few people do it. Marx called religion the opiate of the masses, implying that people who believe in G-d don’t think. […]
Peanut Butter and Jelly When Leah gave birth to her fourth son, she named him Yehuda (Judah), meaning “thanks.” And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time, I will thank G-d. Therefore, she named him Yehuda… (Gen. 29:35). The Talmud (Brachot 7b) makes a remarkable comment on Leah’s thanks: From the creation of […]
