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Parashat Miketz (Chanukah): Dreams

Many years ago, a school friend told me something I've never forgotten, and it's directly related to the start of this week's Parasha. He said he'd heard that a recent archaeological expedition had made an astounding discovery in Egypt. Apparently, they had found the skeletons of seven cows buried one next to the other and had dated the remains to around the time of Joseph's sojourn in the land. My eyes almost popped out in excitement. He waited a moment and then with a wry smile added: 'but it was a dream, remember?' To my amusement (which should really be 'shame'), I've subsequently repeated the same joke to many other people and everyone falls for it!   This week's Parasha of Miketz tells us that: Two years passed. Then Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing by the Nile when seven handsome, healthy cows came up out of the river and grazed among the reeds. Then seven other cows came up from the river after them, ugly and gaunt and stood

Parashat Veyeishev - Hats and Coats

 It is one of the most memorable quotes in a film brimmed with them. Having sung the mournful ‘Anatevka’ the villagers look at each other. Golde says, “Eh, it’s just a place.” Mendel, the Rabbi’s son adds, “And our forefathers have been forced out of many, many places at a moment’s notice.” At which point, Tevye shrugs his shoulders and says philosophically, “Maybe that’s why we always wear our hats.” I have always felt a deep level of sympathy for Jacob.   It seems to be that whenever he thinks he’s managed to find contentment, it evades him.   In Parashat Toldot, he was given no option by his mother but to deceive his father in order to receive the blessings that had been promised by Gd to both his grandfather Abraham and his son Isaac.   In doing so, he incurred the murderous wrath of his brother.   He finds true love in Rachel and is himself deceived by his uncle when poor Leah is substituted under the veil.   Last week, we learned how his beloved Rachel died in child

Parashat Vayishlach - Livin' on a (Jewish) Prayer

 For those of us of a certain age, the soundtrack of the 1980s is indelibly embedded into our psyche.  Unlike the 1960s where they say that if ‘you remember it, you weren’t really there’, 1986 was a particularly vintage year in my adolescence.  It was the time of Paul Simon’s Graceland, when you couldn’t go to a party without hearing it on the Hi Fi (remember those?); watching Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’ video with its then state-of-the-art animation and singing one of the greatest rock anthems that ever ruled the airwaves – Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’. Who can forget the catchy refrain? Wo’ah, we're halfway there Wo’ah, livin' on a prayer. Take my hand, we'll make it I swear Wo’ah, livin' on a prayer. Written by Desmond Child, John Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora – once heard, was forever cherished in our hearts and stored in our minds. When Richie asked Jon whether he thought it would be a hit when he was writing it, John famously replied ’not at all’.  The

Parashat Toldot: Failure To Communicate

 It’s a memorable but disturbing scene from one of my favourite films. Luke, a decorated war hero, has escaped from the brutal penitentiary where he has been incarcerated for two years.   His original crime? Decapitating parking meters during a drunken spree.   He has tried to escape and has been recaptured.   He is standing on an embankment overlooking his fellow prisoners who are clearing a dust track in the baking sun.   They stop to look at him being fitted with leg irons (to accompany his handcuffed hands).   The sadistic captain who oversees the prison tells Luke that he needs to “get used to wearing them chains after a while, but you never stop listening to them clinking, cos they are going to remind you of what I’ve been saying for your own good.” Luke responds sarcastically saying, “I wish you’d stop being so good to me, Captain!” at which point the captain replies, “Don’t you ever talk that way to me.” and sharply hits Luke across the collarbone with his truncheon causi

Parashat Lech Lecha – A Lesson for 2022

I’ve lost count of the times someone has told me that they find it hard to relate to the events that took place in the Torah.   After all, here we are over three thousand years after the fact.   Times have changed.   People have different attitudes and the last time I looked, none of my neighbours spent their time living in tents.   Admittedly, there are some who enjoy camping out, particularly during the summer festival season (and many of them cheat by ‘glamping’), but this is for a very limited time.   Yes, it’s fine if you are an army-type or wish to achieve a DoE award…but living a nomadic life, such as that practised by Avraham, Sarah and their entourage, is strictly off the scale of many people’s idea of habitation. On the surface, as 21 st Century citizens, how can we connect to the many episodes that are vividly described in this week’s Parasha? Avram (later to be renamed Avraham by Gd), a 75-year-old man is told by Hashem to leave his entire life behind, namely his ‘la

Parashat Noach - The Righteous Man

 What kind of man was this week's cover star, Noach?  This is the question that I am posing today as the first verse in the Parasha appears to be very complimentary of our protagonist. This is the story of Noach - Noach was a righteous man; a person of integrity in his generation; Noach walked with Gd. Rashi, as usual, enables us to look beyond the simple translation to glance at another view of Noach and how the Rabbis understood the term 'in his generation' : Some of our Rabbis explain it (this word) to his credit: he was righteous even in his generation; it follows that had he lived in a generation of righteous people he would have been even more righteous owing to the force of good example.   Others, however, explain it to his discredit: in comparison with his own generation, he was accounted righteous, but had he lived in the generation of Abraham he would have been accounted as of no importance (cf.   Sanhedrin 108a). Before the flood, it appears as th

Parashat Bereshit - Version 1.0

  Dedicated to my grandfather R’ Yechezkel Shraga ben R’ Moshe zl, whose Yartzheit is today I wrote this Drasha on Isru Chag, the day following Simchat Torah.   A new year has begun and we are returning, as I wrote last year, ‘to our roots’. You might be interested to note some technical details about the production of this sermon.   I am using Windows 10 Version 22H2 which is the brand-spanking-new update to the Operating System.   The edition of Microsoft Word I am utilising is Version 2209 which is the very latest one available to the non-beta-testing public.   Do you remember the early versions of Windows and Word? They were very different, weren’t they?   I still recall my first computer which my parents purchased for me to complete assignments for my Undergraduate Degree at the start of the 1990s.   It ran Windows 3.1 alongside the Disk Operating System (otherwise known as DOS).   It was only with the introduction of Windows 95, if you recall, that the entire operating