Vayigash
Dear Friend,
Chanukah is called the Festival of Lights, so let’s think about light for a moment.
Upon entering a dark room, light doesn’t shout, “Darkness: You’re bad, you obscure and you’re negative, so I’m gonna chase you out of here!”
Light simply shines—quietly, brightly and steadily—as if the darkness is not even there. And you know what? It isn’t. It disappeared. Or maybe it was converted to light. Now, that’s a timeless lesson we can all apply when dealing with the issues that come our way.
Even though Thursday is the last day of Chanukah, the message is eternal.
Wishing you a light-filled last few days of Chanukah,
The Chabad.org Editorial Team
In his daily life, the Jew must be a Joseph; but his education must be provided by a Judah.
Nancy called my father, complaining that the school van never came to pick up her kids. It didn’t take long for my father to realize what I had done . . .
Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, who are overcome with remorse. They return to Canaan and bring their father, Jacob, to be reunited with his son after 22 years. Joseph becomes wealthy, and Pharaoh gives his family the fertile land of Goshen as their own.
Nearly three years ago I decided to drop Judaism entirely. I was fed up with the entire venture.
The light I speak of is not harnessed through modern technology nor emitted through halogen bulbs. It is a spiritual light.
It’s easy for me to cook and clean, arrange for things and do the shopping, make phone calls and give baths, but it’s not so easy for me to be present while I’m doing these things.
Chanukah is not specifically mentioned, since the story happened after the Torah was written. Nevertheless, G‑d, who is above the limitations of time, included in the Torah allusions to Chanukah.
Why does this specific prayer depend on a secular date rather than a Jewish one?
“One by one, the pawnbroker weighed the items to discern their value. But when he picked up the heart necklace—Momma suddenly let out a shout, ‘No!’”
Sitting in front of a classroom year after year challenges teachers to bring new enthusiasm to their students. Rabbi Yechiel Malov often found himself dealing with this difficulty.
Jewish teens and young adults worldwide are sharing the light of Chanukah on social media sites like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook this year, using the hashtag #sharethelights.
Sand menorahs, ice menorahs, a tiki menorah in Hawaii … unique, to be sure. But here comes the 5.5-foot-tall robot named “Isaac" who will light the menorah on Wednesday night in trendy San Francisco.
The world is a place of constant change and unrest.
Each point in time is distinct from the point before and the point after.
Each point in space is its own world, with its own conditions and state of being.
It is a world of fragments, a perpetual rush of traffic and noise.
Look at your own life: You do so ...
