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ב"ה

Vayeishev 5766 - December 23, 2005

Seasons: A Chanukah Thought

When it's dark
light a candle…
Parshah
Vayeshev in a Nutshell
Jacob makes a colored coat for his favorite son, Joseph. Joseph’s brothers are jealous; they sell him to travelling Ishmaelites, and tell Jacob he is dead. Joseph is taken to Egypt, works for Potiphar, and is thrown into jail, where he meets the baker and the butler and interprets their dreams.
Story
Life After Death: A Parable

Suddenly the world convulses. Upheaval. Writhing. A crushing, staccato pounding. One brother disappears into the turmoil. The second brother bewails the tragedy--the death of a perfectly fine fellow. Why didn't he take better care? Why did he fall into that terrible abyss?
Living
Cookies & Apples

It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true: you can never get enough of what you don't really want...
Parenting
In Defense of the Jelly Bean

Should a parent give a child a tangible reward, such as a prize or a food treat, when a child behaves properly, does his homework or helps around the house?
Jono's Psychedelic Elephant

What can we learn from dreams? Find out in this oscar-worthy, three-minute long, Jewish puppet show
The Passing of the Maggid

“Know that by the action you have taken,” said the Maggid, “you have forfeited your head . . . But this you have achieved: from now on, whenever there will be a conflict between the chassidim and their opponents, the chassidim will prevail . . .”
19 Kislev: The "New Year" of Chassidism
This day marks the “birth” of Chassidism, when the long-hidden secrets of Judaism emerged from the womb of mysticism to illuminate and transform the totality of Jewish life.
Our Rebbe revives the dead. What is a corpse? Something cold and unfeeling. Life is movement, warmth, excitement. Is there anything as frozen in self-absorption, as cold and unfeeling as the mind? And when the cold-blooded mind understands, comprehends, and is excited by a G-dly idea - is this not a revival of the dead?
— The disciples of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi
Print Magazine

It’s G-d’s world. Everything He gives is good, the sweetest good.

But it is often a good far too great for us to understand. We imagine it is not good, because that’s the only way to make sense of it with our small minds.

Yet the truth is, He gives us all the good we can handle. If we could take more, He would g...