Yosef
Balak – Final Refinement
Why does Hashem lead the Jewish people to a place where they will sin? What is the significance of the waters of Shittim that the Jews drank of, which was also the spring that the people of Sodom drank from? Why does the midrash seem to make a clear connection to Abraham, sodom and the…
Read MoreKedoshim – Tzion, Yosef and Kedusha
What is the concept of Kedusha-holiness? Are we to separate ourselves completely from this world? Why does the verse seem to say that we are to be holy because Hashem is holy? Why is the concept of kedusha connected to Tzion, which is Jerusalem and the Temple? Why do the blessings of redemption come from…
Read MoreBeshalach – Stages of Redemption
Why do the sons of Efraim try to leave Egypt thirty years early? Why is the verse which speaks of moshe taking Yosef’s bones out of sequence? Why is the depth of the idea of Moshe ‘grabbing a commandment?’ Why is there a double oath to take Yosef’s bones out of Egypt? Why does Yosef…
Read MoreVayeshev – Free Will Spectrum (Yosef vs. Yehuda & MBY vs MBD)
What is the difference between Yosef and Yehuda’s approach to free will and our level of involvement in doing God’s will? Why did the brothers say that there was a difference between the dreams of Jacob and Joseph? What character attributes did they work on to receive prophetic dreams? Where does one cross the line…
Read MoreVayishlach – Distorted Reflections
Why are the three locations that the midrash says clearly belong to the Jewish people all currently being claimed by the Arabs? When we do not understand a word in Hebrew, why do we turn to other languages to understand that word? What is the significance of the city of Shechem? Why is it given…
Read MoreYosef & Yesh Tikvah
It was recently that I remembered that two different important events for me were connected. In 2011, I was zoche to visit Kever Yosef three times. The last time I went was on December 27, 2011, which was Rosh Chodesh Teves. Here’s a little clip from that day. It was exactly two weeks later at…
Read MoreVayigash – Joining As One
What is the significance of Judah’s stepping up to Joseph? How does that affect and parallel future events that occur to the Jewish people? Why is the separation needed? Why is this parsha always read this time of year at the beginning of the month of Teves and after Chanukah? What is the concept of…
Read MoreMikeitz – The End of Time
What is the concept of the ‘keitz’ – the end of time? How does that relate to the end of Yosef’s incarceration, and the end of the exile? What is the connection between the keitz (end) and the kotz (crown)? How does one access the transcendent temporal realm and draw it down ‘faster’ so that…
Read MoreStep by step
Quote of the Day – Charles Atlas – “Step by step and the thing is done.” This popped up on top of my screen in my gmail. We want it now. …or yesterday. nah, rather it now. We want our way, and we know what’s best. And we have no idea. We think that we were wronged. We…
Read MoreDovid, Yosef, the sixth hour and the seventh hour
I thought that title would get your attention. And, to boot, this is post number 607. Cool. Someone recently left a comment on the blog that they miss my moshiach messages. I wrote back that the messages are still there, you just have to know how to hear them. I don’t need to say too…
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