Hale’s 5-Star Weekly Newsletter
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Parshat Vayeitze 9 Kislev 5776 21 November 2015
Service Times Page No.s
Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat
15:50
(Candle Lighting)
15:50
Shacharit
09:15
Leining
10:15
Leining Haftarah
Artscroll Gutnick Hertz
144 180 106
1139 1386 118
Mincha follows kiddush Shabbat terminates
16:59
Ma’ariv
17:15
Thought For The Week
Weekday Shacharit
Ma’ariv Only
Sun
09:00
19:30
Mon
07:00
19:30
Tues
07:00
19:30
When Yaakov falls asleep, he dreams of a
insignificant. It is up to each of us to
Wed
07:00
19:30
Thur
07:00
19:30
ladder whose base is fixed to the ground
decide in which direction we are moving
Fri
07:00
15:40*
and whose top reaches heaven. (Bereishit
on the ladder which represents our lives.
Stairway To Heaven
28:12) The Rabbis teach us that what
Candle Lighting 15:40 *Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat
Chayim Arukim
to Karen Abramson on the loss of her sister
and to all those who have Yarzheit this week as follows שבת
21 November 9 Kislev
Sonya Bower
Father
Mon
Jeremy Hart Michael Gould Harvey Burman
Mother Sister Father
24 November 12 Kislev
Fiona Berg
Father
Thurs
Jonathan Koslover Mother
23 November 11 Kislev
Tues
26 November 14 Kislev
Fri
27 November 15 Kislev
שבת
28 November 16 Kislev
Lynda Arron
Husband
Louise Burman
Father
Murray Patt
Father
Hashem was showing Yaakov in the dream
But a ladder is only usable if it is standing
was the nature of the nation who would
firmly and will not fall. Just as the ladder
descend from him.
in Yaakov’s dream was ‘mutzav artzah’ – fixed in the ground - so we must be
The Gemara (Megilah 16a) says that the
firmly rooted in the ground of our lives:
Jewish people are compared to dust and
the everyday rituals of relationships, work,
to stars – referring to a previous proph-
and responsible citizenship. We cannot be
ecy to Avraham. When the Jewish people
totally spiritual and self-obsessed, sitting
are on a downwards path they descend to
meditating on a mountain top. We must
dust, but when they go up they ascend all
have our feet firmly on the ground in order
the way to Heaven.
to have our head in the clouds, so that we can reach the great things we strive for
A ladder is the perfect representation of
without falling.
the Jewish people. No one ever remains standing on a ladder – its purpose is to
Mazeltov
enable us to travel up or down to reach
Gaby Klepper on the occasion of her engagement to Dan Rodden
something. That is what the Jewish people
Suzy & Howard Klepper on the occasion of Gaby’s engagement to Dan Rodden
Rabbi Joel Portnoy
are all about. We are a nation that cannot
Shabbat Weather
remain stagnant. We can either ascend to
AM Sunny
greatness or we will fall away and become
4o High -2o Overnight Low
Parsha
verview
First Aliyah - 13 verses Jacob heads towards Charan, to his uncle Lavan. While traveling, Jacob encounters the Temple Mount and lays down to sleep. He sees his famous dream with a ladder reaching up to heaven. G-d informs him that He will bequeath the entire land to his descendants. Second Aliyah - 17 verses Jacob arrives at a well located in the outskirts of Charan. He sees Rachel arriving with her father’s sheep. Jacob helps give water to the entire flock. Lavan rushes out to greet Jacob. Jacob spends a month with Lavan and is offered the job of tending to his herds. Third Aliyah - 31 verses Jacob serves Lavan for seven years in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Lavan gives Leah instead of Rachel. Lavan offers to give Rachel for another seven years of service. One week later Jacob marries Rachel, and begins serving seven more years. Leah has four children, Reuven, Shimon, Levi, and Judah. Rachel and Leah give their handmaids as concubines, and they give birth to Dan, Naftali, Gad and Asher Fourth Aliyah - 14 verses Leah gives birth to Yissachar and Zevulun, and one daughter, Dinah. Eventually, Rachel gives birth to Joseph. At that point, Jacob asks Lavan for permission to return to Canaan. Fifth Aliyah - 32 verses Lavan deceives Jacob with his wage payment, and after a further six years, Jacob is finally able to leave. Sixth Aliyah - 26 verses Jacob and his family slip away from Lavan but he pursues them. Rachel steals one of his idols. Seventh Aliyah - 15 verses Lavan and Jacob make a peace treaty, signified by a stone monument. Lavan returns to Charan, and Jacob continues on his journey towards Canaan.
If Esav had been ould righteous he w ah Le d have marrie 12 e th and split b Tribes with Jaco
S L E W
JE
M S I DA
U J F O
Delve into the deeper side of Judaism This week we focus on the first time Jacob met his future wife, Rachel
Speed Dating When Jacob arrived in Charan, he noticed the shepherds were gathered around a well whose opening was blocked by a tremendous stone. The well had been purposely covered with a big boulder because at that time, all the other water sources of the city were contaminated, and the entire city was dependent on this well for water. The inhabitants therefore decided to place a stone over its opening so that access should be limited. It was only possible to procure water at certain hours, after the stone was rolled off by the united efforts of all the shepherds. The shepherds explained that they were waiting for everybody to arrive so that they could roll the stone off the well. While they were waiting, Rachel appeared with Lavan’s sheep. It was Hashem who had sent Rachel out to meet Jacob, since she was destined to become his mate.
find her. But no matte which way it occurs, they must meet if it has been decreed by Heaven.
In some cases, the wife travels to meet the husband. In other instances, the husband travels to
After the Rabbi left, the noblewoman formed rows of servants and maids, a thousand in each row, and
A Roman noblewoman asked Rabbi Yossi bar Chalafta, “How long did it take Hashem to create the world?” “Six days,” he replied. “And what has He been doing since then?” she
There is no G-d like your G-d! Your Torah is truthful, beautiful and praiseworthy. inquired. “He matches husbands and wives,” Rabbi Yossi informed her. “I could do that too! I possess a great number of male servants and maid servants and would be able to marry them off to each other in no time!”
started pairing them off as she walked down the line. They were all married in one night. But when they returned to work the next morning, they were a sorry sight to see! One came with an injured head, another’s eye was missing, the foot of another was broken. None of the matches had been successful! The noblewoman immediately sent for the Rabbi. When he appeared before her, she admitted, “There is no G-d like your G-d! Your Torah is truthful, beautiful and praiseworthy. When you explained to me that Hashem is busy making matches, you spoke wisely!” The noblewoman originally thought that the world is able to exist without Hashem’s Providence, but at the end she had to admit that the world needs Hashem’s constant guidance. Based on ‘The Midrash Says’ by Rabbi M. Weissman
Parsha Stats Vayeitze is the 7th of 54 sedras 7th of 12 in Bereshit Written on 235.3 lines in a Torah (ranks 12th) 148 verses - ranks 6th (3rd in Bereshit) 2021 words - ranks 4th (3rd in Bereshit) 7512 letters - ranks 5th (3rd in Bereshit)
Did You Know There are 17 Parshiyot in the Torah that do not contain a single mitzvah. Vayeitze is one of them. However there are plenty of lessons about developing character. Vayeitze is the longest, single paragraph in the whole Torah. This fits with the fact that it is a continuation of the story from Parshat Toldot.
QA &
Jacob only waited one week after marrying Leah, before being able to marry Rachel. He served his extra seven years after the wedding.
Read through the Parsha in English and find answers to the questions. LOLLIPOPS WILL BE AWARDED TO ANYONE WHO READS THROUGH IT, AND TELLS RABBI NICK THE CORRECT ANSWERS!
What was the original name of the place where Jacob spent the night? How many flocks of sheep were waiting by the well when arrived in Charan? How many different types of sheep were part of Jacob’s salary? Where was Jacob when Lavan caught up with him? Who stole the idol from Lavan? Can you name the 12 Tribes in order of their birth?
Although we understand the place that Jacob spent the night as being the Temple Mount, the Torah only refers to it as “the Place”.
Just For Fun Question: How do you know Lavan’s sheep were terrible at playing hide and seek? Answer: Because every time he looked for them, they were spotted!
L
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