Midway Jewish Center
58 Years Going Strong: 1953-2011 !
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Shabbat	Vayeshev
Parashah	Vayeshev
Secular Date	December 17, 2011
Jewish Date	21 Kislev 5772
Shabbat Begins	4:10 PM (Long Island Time)
Shabbat Ends	5:10pm
MJCyber Shul Minyan	1554 (ken yirbu - it should only increase!)
Last Week’s Minyan	1552

TORAH READING-- ףריאת התורה

VAYESHEV

vaYEIshev means “Jacob settled” in Canaan. Jacob loved his children but loved Joseph more. The other sons were jealous. Joseph dreams of power over his brothers. The boys scheme to kill him but opt to sell him to merchants. The boys bloody Joseph’s beautiful coat and present it to their father as evidence of Joseph’s death. Brother Judah mourns the death of two of his own children. He treats his widowed daughter-inlaw, Tamar, unfairly, and unwittingly has an affair with her. The liaison leads to pregnancy and twins are born. Joseph ends up in Egypt, a servant to Pharaoh’s chief steward, Potiphar. He likes Joseph but his wife likes Joseph more. She tries to seduce him. He resists. She frames him. Joseph is jailed. There he meets Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. They dream. Joseph interprets the dreams, honestly predicting that the baker will suffer death and the cupbearer will go free. The cupbearer leaves prison and promptly forgets Joseph. 

A SHABBAT THOUGHT

You can always tell real friends:
when you make a fool of yourself,
they don’t believe you’ve done a permanent job.

Dr. Laurence J. Peter 

AURAL TORAH

Tim Tebow and our Religious Selves

Click on the picture to the left for the aural version, and on the link below for the written version
www.writingsoftherara.blogspot.com
where your comments are always welcome and invaluable

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DEAR CYBERAV… I’VE GOTTA QUESTION

THINKING ILL OF THE DEAD

Dear Cyber Rav,

Several months ago, my uncle was killed in a tragic mugging, which left our small community reeling. We never had a great deal of affection for the man, but since his death, it has become clear just how irresponsible he was, leaving our aunt (whom we love) with a mountain of bills, a house in disrepair, and what has now come to light—a credit card bill in the tens of thousands due to an apparent gambling addiction. I have found myself very angry, really hating him for all he did and didn’t do for our poor aunt. But I’m also feeling guilty, as if God is going to punish me for my hateful feelings. How do I get rid of these feelings and how does God punish those who are as sinful as me?

Hateful and Hating Being Hateful

CYBER RAV ANSWERS

Dear Hateful,

You know what’s funny…As I was reading your words about how God may punish you for your hatred, my thought was whether God would reward you for loving your aunt as much as you do! But that all goes to show you how two different people can focus on entirely different aspects of the very same situation.

Anger is not an uncommon response to death. Even when a person has died and left loved ones behind in relative security, we might feel anger toward the deceased. After all, death on some level is a very literal abandonment, a rude and unexpected departure, and when we have been depending on those people, their sudden exit can generate many strong emotions.

In your case, I think your strong emotions are connected to both your ethics and your love for your aunt. Your sense of ethics has been violated by your uncle and the love you have for your aunt, which includes an expectation that those closest to her would provide for her, has also been violated. If I were you, I’d be angry about this situation as well.

But please know this for sure—God would never punish you for your anger. God most likely understands your anger. But God might ask you just how productive a continued indulgence in your anger is. Now that we know the truth—your uncle was a spendthrift and a gambler; he was irresponsible and made poor life choices—what exactly is the effectiveness of anger itself. The question to as ask now is: how shall we use our God-given energy to begin the healing that needs to take place? Your aunt may need some temporary help financially, or she may need to get a better paying job, or she may need to sell the house and move into a less-taxing neighborhood—or all of the above! It sounds to me that you and other family members may be the key to establishing a new life for your beloved aunt.

And on this level, maybe your anger is really a blessing from God. God may be saying to you, “Hey, Hateful, look how much energy you can spend on hating your uncle. Imagine channeling that energy into doing something very positive for your aunt, whom you love!” God isn’t going to punish you. To the contrary, your thoughts of guilt at this time are really God’s gift to you. It is moving you to change direction and use all that energy toward some positive good. Good luck and let me know how things work out…

Hag Hanukkah Same'ah!

Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav

Shabbat Shalom

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