Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar and Daily Aliyah. As
always, you can Order The Daily Aliyah and receive your hard copy of these
daily practical and relevant Torah thoughts (all proceeds go to Daily
Giving), or join this Whatsapp group to receive one per day. I hope you
connect with this...
The Parsha describes the story of Yosef’s deteriorating relationship with
his brothers and their resulting plot to kill him. The brothers ultimately
settle on selling him to Ishmaelites—as soon as they finish their lunch.
While they callously break bread away from the pit where Yosef was begging
for mercy, a gang of Midianites come by, see Yosef, pull him out, and sell
him to the Ishmaelites before the brothers can (37:28). If the brothers
neither killed Yosef nor sold him to Egypt, what was their crime?
Rabbi David Fohrman explains that the brothers’ insensitivity to Yosef’s
cries as they broke bread was their main infraction. Conversely, much later
in the story, when Yosef is in jail, he notices that two of his fellow
inmates are distraught and asks them why they seem sad (40:7). This act of
compassion leads to his eventual release and ultimate redemption arc. Our
parsha seems to be demonstrating to us the dangers of indifference and,
conversely, the value of empathy. A single act of kindness can change the
course of history.
Shlomo Ressler
Quotation of the week:
“Treat people with kindness, not because they are nice, but because you
are.”
Welcome to the short, practical Lelamed Weekly Dvar and Daily Aliyah. As
always, you can Order The Daily Aliyah and receive your hard copy of these
daily practical and relevant Torah thoughts (all proceeds go to Daily
Giving), or join this Whatsapp group to receive one per day. I hope you
connect with this...
_______________________________________________
The Parsha describes the story of Yosef’s deteriorating relationship with
his brothers and their resulting plot to kill him. The brothers ultimately
settle on selling him to Ishmaelites—as soon as they finish their lunch.
While they callously break bread away from the pit where Yosef was begging
for mercy, a gang of Midianites come by, see Yosef, pull him out, and sell
him to the Ishmaelites before the brothers can (37:28). If the brothers
neither killed Yosef nor sold him to Egypt, what was their crime?
Rabbi David Fohrman explains that the brothers’ insensitivity to Yosef’s
cries as they broke bread was their main infraction. Conversely, much later
in the story, when Yosef is in jail, he notices that two of his fellow
inmates are distraught and asks them why they seem sad (40:7). This act of
compassion leads to his eventual release and ultimate redemption arc. Our
parsha seems to be demonstrating to us the dangers of indifference and,
conversely, the value of empathy. A single act of kindness can change the
course of history.
Shlomo Ressler
_____________________________________________
Quotation of the week:
“Treat people with kindness, not because they are nice, but because you
are.”