Heirlooms

 Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

 

December 18-19 2020 / 4 Tevet 5781

 

Shabbat Miketz

 

Torah: Genesis 41:1-44:17

Haftarah: I Kings 3:15 - 4:1

 

“Heirlooms”

 

Dear Friends,

 

When Joseph was elevated as assistant to Pharaoh, the king gave Joseph a ring.  It symbolized the new title, authority, and power which had been bestowed upon Joseph.

 

An item like a ring has meaning and often conveys a sense of history. Think about the heirlooms that you might have from family members.  Think of the items that were once cherished by those before you and were passed on to you and other relatives – rings, watches, pins, broches, bracelets, and necklaces – jewelry of all kinds.  Do you know of silverware, candlesticks, dishes, Hanukkah menorahs, a tallit, a kippah, a shofar, or seder plate that have been passed to you?  As the winter comes upon us and we spend more time indoors, take some time to visit your family’s heirlooms.  Tell the stories to future generations.  One day these cherished items will be theirs.

 

Zay a mentsch – Be a good person.

 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

We are Jews

 Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

 

December 11-12, 2020 / 26 Kislev 5781

 

Shabbat Vayeshev - Hanukkah

Torah: Genesis 37:1-40:23

Maftir: Numbers 7:18 - 7:29 | Hanukkah (Day 2)

Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14-4:7 | Shabbat Hanukkah

 

“We are Jews”

 

Dear Friends,

 

Hanukkah is our festival of Jewish identity.  This week’s Torah portion carries that lesson as well.  Joseph was sent by his brothers to Egypt as a slave.  Even though he served in the house of Potiphor, was falsely accused and locked up in prison, and later interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he never forgot who he was.  He was Joseph, the Hebrew.

 

Likewise, with us in our time.  Even though we live in America, far from the Land of Israel, at a time thousands of years after the Bible, we are still focused on our enduring sense of peoplehood.  In the candles of the Hanukkah lamp, we connect with the generations of our past ancestors and future descendants.  We are Jews – members of a proud people and followers of a grand heritage and life affirming tradition.  The simplest lesson of our Hannukah celebration is that we are Jews!

 

Zay a mentsch – Be a good person.

 

Shabbat Shalom.

 

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow