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BATHING IN WINE FOR GOOD LUCK
Dear Rabbi
I attended a full on Sephardic Shabbat recently and observed several strange customs beyond just normal ritual. At the end of the Shabbat when reciting the special prayer over wine (Havdalah) I noted how they took the wine afterwards, and put it on their eyes, in their pockets, on the back of their necks, all for good luck. I’ve seen this nonsense elsewhere. It makes me wonder, if I bathe in a tub full of Kedem wine will I have super luck?
Alex
Dear Alex
It’s easy to mock and often funny how the ones with the most to say often know the least. But often people have a basis for their custom – and sometimes that basis is a lot closer to home than you think. The custom to dip one’s fingers in the Havdalah wine and to then place the drops upon one’s eyes is actually cited in Code of Jewish Law. The custom is brought in the name of Rav Amram Gaon (9th century) and also traces its roots to Pirke D’Rebi Elezer (approx. 100 C.E.). The basis for the custom is because the wine was used for a mitzvah, and in addition, is used to extinguish the candle which was also used for a mitzvah. We thus demonstrate how mitzvot are so precious to us in keeping with the verse in Psalms (19:9): “The command of the Lord is clear enlightening the eyes.”
I believe it is a particularly Sephardic custom to place the wine on the back of the neck. This is brought in later sources and is based on the tradition that there is a special bone called the luz and it is from this that the body will be reconstructed at the resurrection of the dead (see Bereishis Rabbah 28:3). The suggestion is that this bone is located at the back of the neck (specifically, at the top of the spinal column - the seventh cervical vertebra – or the protrusion where the knot of the head tefillin goes) and at least one source (Maavor Yabok, Rabbi Aaron Berechiah, d. 1630) suggests that this luz is nourished from the Havdalah wine. Other opinions (Rashi etc.) maintain this luz is the vertebra at the base of the spine (the coccyx) hence in accordance with that view one would not put wine at the back of the neck.
What should be appreciated is that whereas Jewish law is derived from the Talmud and is binding upon all Jews, there have always been local customs that emerged over time as well. Some of these customs were eventually adopted universally (e.g. wearing a yarmulke) or almost universally (e.g. monogamy). Others are observed by some major segments of Jewry but not by others (e.g., not eating rice on Pesach). Within this, there are ancient customs which date back to the time of the Talmud and earlier. Such ancient customs that are deeply rooted, even if not adopted by all, shouldn’t be mocked. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the ancient Rabbis. But be careful, because those same Rabbis are often responsible for a lot of the things that you might do. For example, the same Sage to whom the eye/wine custom is attributed to is also the one who was the first to arrange a complete liturgy which forms the foundation of liturgies used in Synagogues today. Besides, there are other things you might do that are essentially only customs as well – such as the oldest recorded custom which is the ‘beating of the willow branches’ on Hoshanah Rabbah, dating back to the era of the Prophets!
And yes there is disparity in custom also based on origin. Jews of Middle-Eastern and African descent tend to follow a variety of customs that can differ from Jews whose ancestors lived in Central Europe in the Middle Ages. Within these broad categories there are also subgroups (e.g. Lithuanian, Polish, German and indeed Anglo-Jewish customs), and there are sect customs, (e.g. Hungarian based Chasidim will follow different customs than Chabad Chasidim). Families and even individuals might keep to specific customs not followed by others.
Beyond custom there is also something called segulah – or a spiritually propitious act. These are already more specific and personal, as well as less binding than a custom. One such segulah is placing one’s wine-dipped fingers into their pockets, as a good omen for financial security. My father once jokingly observed to someone: “Then you shouldn’t be doing it into your Shabbat trouser pockets, rather the ones you’d be wearing during your working week.”
Of course it is not the droplets of wine going into your pockets that is going to make you wealthy. But if the correlation between the mitzvah of Havdalah - which marks the onset of your working week, and your livelihood, focuses your mind on the reality that you are ultimately dependent on a Higher Order for whatever blessings you will receive in the coming week, then that can only be a good thing – and indeed a good omen.
So live and let live and learn before you mock.
HOW CAN I COPE?
Dear Rabbi
I’ve heard it said, “G-d will only give you what you can handle.” Judging how my life is going at the moment I think He’s made me an exception to that rule.
Claudine
Dear Claudine
Or, you just haven’t dug deep enough to determine how to handle it. I’m not saying that life cannot be testing and I am sorry for whatever it is you may be going through at the moment. But know this: Every challenge that comes your way is another opportunity to discover a newer, deeper you. There is something you can do that no one else can do. There is someone you can become, that no one else can become. Here’s the bottom line: What you can become, that is preordained from above; whether you become it that is down to your free choice, to how you maximise your potential, to the extent that you grab life with both hands and run with it. So keep calm and move on!
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Pirkei Avot
For a refuah Shalema for Yitzchak Refoel Chaim ben Rifka Perek 2: Mishna 3
Beware of those in [positions of political] power, for they only bring a person close to them for their own needs. They appear as friends when it benefits them, but they aren’t there for the person when he is in trouble.
Perhaps more than ever before, living in today’s times we can see the value of this Mishnah. Politics dominates front pages around the world on a daily basis, and it is clear to see how words from politicians are often valueless. We were told last week it would be inhumane to lock people down again and a few days later its done. They cannot be trusted to be your friend in a time of need as people in power care solely for themselves. Look how they treat their own friends, sacking them at will when it suits them.
There is a story told in the Weiss edition of Pirkei Avot of the Malbim, who needed to speak to some important government officials regarding a communal matter. Before he left for Paris, he asked his local mayor to write him a letter of recommendation to help him with the officials.
On the trip he suddenly thought to himself that he need not rely on human beings, Hashem runs the world of course! He took out the letter and tore it to pieces.
His accompanying students were eager to see what the mayor had written, so they took the pieces and put them back together. To their surprise they saw that the mayor had spoken of the Malbim in very disparaging terms, even advising the officials to throw the Malbim out! The words of our sages are truly timeless!
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Did the Avot Study Torah? Why Does it Matter?
BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN
The situation has become dire. An elderly One of the distinctive aspects of Judaism is its emphasis upon Torah study. Unlike other religions in which study is generally relegated for “men of the cloth”, in Judaism the study of the word and will of G-d – as distilled in His Torah, is incumbent upon everyman. It is the tri-part balance between belief, study and commandments which lends Judaism its durability. Yet, hundreds of years before G-d conveyed His word to man our Avot, the founders of our people, discovered G-d’s presence. In a confusing pagan world of immorality and violence, they discerned the presence of a One Creator and carved out lifestyles based on the Divine will. How did these great men and women uncover the presence of G-d in this confusing world?
Firstly, they were able to perceive a Divine artist of the grand masterpiece called the universe. The midrash describes Avraham as observing our world as a sprawling “city” noticing its order, proportion and symmetry. Convinced that there must be an architect for this city he searched for G-d’s presence. The world we inhabit bears the imprint of G-d’s intelligent design: some people are able to sense Him in the science of our universe, while others are more awakened to the Divine presence by the beauty of creation. Either way, our Avot peered at their world and traced it back to G-d.
However, they didn’t just sense G-d in “cold science” or even in the radiant beauty of our universe. Additionally, they identified a moral energy to our world. Rational science is emotionless and “morally blank” but our world bristles with moral spirit. Our universe is built upon science and math in a manner which supports life and human welfare; our world is a delicately balanced system which enables human existence. Without this balance the world would be inhabitable, even though it would still exhibit scientific order. There is moral spirit which created a world of life and welfare. Moreover, these great founders of our nation didn’t just detect moral spirit to this world- they fashioned their lives and their societies in the image of this moral Creator. They introduced bold new ideas into the human experience: justice, ethics and respect for the human condition. Our Avot noticed the moral underpinnings of G-d’s world and re-landscaped the human realm based on the Divine image peering at them.
Finally, our Avot detected G-d through history. They appreciated that that human experience isn’t static but that history is, instead, directly impacted by human behavior. History is adversely affected by human malfunction and misconduct just as it is redeemed by human virtue and moral heroism. History has a beginning and a definite endpoint- the perfection of Man in a kingdom of G-d. At the center of this historical struggle between good and evil are the Jewish people- tasked with redeeming humanity and teaching G-d to Man. This mission would be fiercely and violently opposed by enemies of G-d, but G-d would always protect his people and assure their survival. Sensing this historical journey, the Avot were able to detect the Divine author of history.
However, despite their remarkable ability to detect G-d in Nature and History our Avot also studied Torah. The midrash stresses that all Avot studied Torah, but the more famous images portray Ya’akov’s Torah study. Initially, Ya’akov is presented as a “tent–dweller” and the midrash identifies these tents as study halls of Torah. Subsequently, the midrash reports that Ya’akov studied Torah for fourteen years in a yeshiva, prior to journeying to join Lavan and his family. Finally, in parshat Vayigash, the midrash describes Yehuda’s advance mission prior to the family’s descent: to assemble a yeshiva in Goshen to assure serious Torah study in Egypt. These are the more well-known sources; beyond these portraits of Ya’akov’s Torah study, the midrash also describes Avraham and Yitzchak as students of Torah.
These midrashim about the Torah study of our Avot raise very interesting questions. Firstly, what exactly were the Avot studying, if the text of Torah as we know it had yet to be delivered? It is difficult to determine precisely what form of Torah text predated the actual delivery of Torah at Sinai. As Torah is the will of G-d, it obviously predates human history and Torah certainly existed prior to its delivery at Sinai. Additionally, there are many different “ways” to read the Torah, beyond the actual form which was delivered to us. Torah letters and words can be recombined in countless permutations, yielding numerous additional layers of meaning. Having received our version of the Torah at Sinai, we must read “our version”, but it is altogether possible that our Avot had access to different versions unbeknown to us.
In addition to studying the sections of Torah which had been delivered to them, our Avot intuited the Divine logic of Torah even without an explicit or precise text. The midrash describes Avraham’s “kidneys” as pulsing with Torah knowledge; Avraham lived in such harmony with G-d that his
very being sensed and lived Torah and its logic. Even without organized texts of G-d’s word, our Avot were able to “feel” the will of G-d and implement that will in their actions and lifestyles.
Why does all this matter? Why is it significant that our Avot studied Torah before it was delivered to us at Sinai? Why is this a recurring theme in the midrash?
Firstly, their Torah study was their gateway to the Divine presence in Nature and Science. As Torah contains an “approximation of G-d” and His will it is a portal to understanding the entire universe, all of which is the handiwork of G-d. Ideally, and by definition, all science and all wisdom can be accessed through the study of Torah. As science is G-d’s system and Torah G-d’s will, Torah is, by definition, a blueprint for all science and all creation. Sadly, most mortals cannot ever hope to understand Torah well enough and deep enough to access science, math or music solely through this blueprint; those who seek to study other elements of G-d’s world must study it frontally. However, hypothetically all reality can be accessed through Torah. If the Avot discerned G-d in their universe, they were aided by Torah and the revealed will it contains. Deciphering G-d through Nature alone without the “codes” which Torah provides would be imperfect and deficient. Secondly, by studying Torah, we create a greater Divine presence in our world. The more that human beings understand Torah the closer humanity is to Him. The more we study the more we know of Him; both rationally and supernaturally the presence of G-d is augmented the more that His creatures understand Him. The Avot viewed themselves as builders- they were laying a spiritual foundation for humanity; they imagined a world of G-d’s presence and laid a platform for this reality. It is inconceivable that they structured this platform without interacting at some level- cognitively or intuitively- with G-d’s Torah.
Finally, the Torah study of the Avot was crucial in introducing a vital aspect of Judaism- observance of commandments. Again, it is unclear what form and what level of mitzvah observance our Avot adhered to; however, it is abundantly clear that their lives were, at the very least, synced to the general halachik system. Perhaps they adhered to the entire system, but, minimally, their lives were harmonized with halachik fundamentals gleaned from Torah study. Judaism is predicated upon a belief system, but also upon the concept of subservience to Divine commandments. Without a life of submission to commandments the religious platform our Avot were constructing would have been inadequate.
Rabbi Moshe Taragin is a rabbi at Yeshivat Har Etzion/Gush, a hesder yeshiva. He has smicha and a BA in computer science from Yeshiva University as well as a masters degree in English literature from the City University of New York.
30 JUDAISM
Vayigash
RABBI DR RAYMOND APPLE
WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE ARE THE JEWS? The story of Joseph and his brothers becomes especially dramatic when Joseph reveals his identity and promises to introduce his brothers to Pharaoh.
There are however 11 brothers. Why does he only present five of them to the king?
The Midrash says he did this deliberately, choosing only those brothers who were shepherds. He wanted the king to get the impression that the family were hard-working agriculturalists, not soldiers who might have plans to overthrow the regime.
There is something symbolic of Jewish history in this episode.
What sort of people are the Jews?
Peace-loving, dedicated to the constructive use of time and talents.
Unfortunately it also became necessary for Jews to be warriors, to defend themselves and fight for G-d (though there is no truth in the antisemitic canard that Jews want to conquer the world).
Fighting is not a Jewish ideal – it is an interim ethic which will become less necessary as time goes on, until the world reaches the messianic age which the prophets describe so eloquently.
LEARNING FROM JOSEPH Commenting on Psalm 80:2, the Yalkut The Chovat Halevavot now proceeds to list the five benefits - spiritual and material - of one who has Bitachon. In the previous segment we explained the attitude to money of one who trusts G-d. This itself has its benefits, whether one is tested with wealth or poverty.
The first of this list is “Menuchat haNefesh” - peace of mind. One who trusts in G-d doesn’t constantly worry, nor do they obsess about what they lack in this world. They live in tranquility, as we recite multiple times per day, “Baruch Hagever Asher Yivtach B’Hashem”.
The second is: they don’t feel a need to travel far to obtain their livelihood. Travel has always contained an element of danger, not only from the actual journey but also due to what foreign countries “offer” its guests in term of illnesses and viruses (as we unfortunately all now know too well).
Chovat Halevavot now brings a fascinating story in which a devout Jew took Shimoni boldly asserts that G-d learns from Joseph.
What it states is that Joseph stored corn in the period of plenty so that there would be food when the famine came, and in the same way the Almighty stores up the record of our good deeds so that blessings will abound in the future world when the Mashi’ach comes.
We wonder how anyone can suggest that G-d doesn’t have His own ideas – isn’t it impertinent to say that He needs to learn from human beings?
The Yalkut Shimoni has no intention to say literally that G-d needs a human example to follow. It is an effective piece of ethical homiletics. Its aim is to teach that human beings need to plan for the future, which is a G-dly virtue which HaShem endorses as wise and essential.
PLEASE, MY LORD Several times the brothers address Joseph as Adoni, “My lord” – like the English “Milord”.
Of course the English translations of “HaShem” address the Almighty as “The Lord”, though the term really means Merciful One, He who exercises middat harachamim, the attribute of Mercy.
But there is a problem in Tehillim. Psalm 110:1 says, “The Lord said to my lord”. Christian interpreters think the second mention of lord refers to Jesus. Radak (R. David Kimchi), denies that this is possible or valid.
Apart from rejecting Christian theology, Radak points out that since Christianity ascribes divinity to Jesus, the Christian view of the verse implies that G-d speaks to Himself, inspiration from no less than an idol-worshipper! Once, a pious Jew, whom we will call Pinchas the pious, travelled to a faraway land to earn a livelihood. He met a non-Jew whom he chided: “How blind you idol worshippers are, serving idols!” The nonJew turned to Pinchas and said, “And whom do you worship, pray tell?” Pinchas answers: “I serve an all-powerful G-d who can support and sustain the entire world and to Whom no one compares.”
The idol-worshipper replied: “Your actions contradict your words! If you truly believed in such a G-d why on earth would you travel the earth to obtain your livelihood? Couldn’t G-d feed you more locally?!”Pinchas the pious had no answer and returned home, never traveling far again for his income.
We must reflect on our belief in G-d and ensure that it is not mere lip service. If G-d can find us an income in China, He can also do so closer to home. or at least one part of Him speaks to another.
The most that Radak will say is that the second lord in the verse is David the psalmist.
THREE TYPES OF BREAD There is a verse in this week’s portion which reminds me of a caterer’s menu.
Such menus often say, “Three types of fish”, “Three types of meat”, “Three types of cake”. What the sidra says seems to be “Three types of bread”.
The context is the famine which sent Jacob’s children to Egypt in search of food. After a whole series of dramatic events, they discover that the Minister of Food is their own long-lost brother Joseph.
What Joseph now does is to send them home to their (and his) father Jacob bearing bar, lechem umazon; one translation renders the words “corn, bread and victual” (Gen. 46:23), but the three words are almost synonyms, and it would be possible to translate them as “Three types of bread”.
The first of the three Hebrew words is the only one, however, which definitely means grain. In the Bible, lechem sometimes means meat.
Ibn Ezra defines mazon as “beans, peas, lentils, millet, spelt, figs, raisins and dates”. He does not agree that lechem in this context means meat, possibly because meat can go bad on a long journey. But on the other hand bread can also go mouldy.
In some ways meat is an easy food to preserve, and it is likely that the ancient Egyptians knew how to use salt as a preservative.
Writing about the problem of the three Whilst a pot is still on the flame (or electric ring or Halachic equivalent) it is forbidden to place any food item inside it. This is whether the food item is: (1) fully cooked, semi-cooked or raw, (2) wet or dry, (3) to be cooked properly or merely to warm up.
If a pot is adjacent to a flame, or if the flame is fully covered, one can put any of the above food types (even uncooked) inside the post or on top of the flame cover, so long as it will not reach the “Yad Soledet Bo” temperature previously mentioned.
We will now address the topics of the “Keli Rishon” and “Keli Sheni”. These have been explained in an earlier column in types of bread, the late Rabbi Louis Rabinowitz suggests (but doubts) that Ibn Ezra might have been a vegetarian who did not like the idea of people eating meat.
He adds that if the Torah had wanted to talk of meat it would have done so explicitly, since the Joseph story unambiguously says that Joseph commanded his servants, “Kill the beasts and prepare the meat” (Gen. 43:16).
The truth might well be that Joseph wanted Jacob to have ample supplies of bread and the ingredients for bread-making.
There is a well-known idea that bread is the staff of life, and in Jewish tradition it is not a full meal without bread..
Rabbi Apple served for 32 years as the chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia’s oldest congregation. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem. Rabbi Ap-
Chovat Halevavot Hilchot Shabbat
ple blogs at http://www.oztorah.com relation to making hot drinks but will now be explained in further detail.
Two introductions are needed.
1. Not only does a pot have the ability to cook whilst it sits on a flame, it likewise is also capable of doing so once the pot is removed from the flame. This means that a pot (or any cooking container such as a pan or similar) which has been removed from the stove stop is capable of cooking. 2. There is a difference in the laws of cooking on Shabbat between solids and liquids. (Mostly dry) solids which have been fully cooked (meaning, baked before Shabbat) do not involve the prohibition of reheating on Shabbat.
Liquids, on the other hand, do involve the prohibition of cooking if they have cooled down. So, if a pie needs reheating on Shabbat, one can do so in a Halachically-permissible manner (as will be explained in a future column), whereas if a soup has cooled down, one cannot reheat it on Shabbat.
Therefore, a pot which has just been removed from a flame may not have the following placed into it: (1) Uncooked dry food and (2) liquid food which has cooled down even if it was fully cooked before Shabbat.
Weekly Dvar Torah FROM ERETZ YISRAEL
Mutual Responsibility – The Seal of Leadership
BY RABBI DORON PEREZ
We encounter, in this week’s Parasha, one of the remarkable acts of self-sacrifice and in the process the formation of a great leadership quality - the seal of the House of Judah. The tribe of Judah, as a result, would become the tribe where the leading kings of Israel would emanate from, King David, his descendants, culminating in the ultimate leader – the Mashiach himself.
Judah’s defining quality was a deep sense of personal responsibility for his brother. Joseph is yet to reveal himself to his brothers and has threatened to imprison Benjamin for life while allowing the other brothers to return home. Judah springs into action with remarkable self-sacrifice offering himself in place of Benjamin and prepared to suffer life imprisonment and rot in an Egyptian dungeon in order to free his brother.
“For your servant assumed responsibility for the boy from my father… So now, please let your servant stay instead of the boy” (Bereishit 44:32-33).
The reason Judah is prepared to do this is RABBI GOODMAN Although talk of transgression and its consequences fails to earn the respect of “high-society,” and on the contrary, spells disaster for the undiscerning pulpit Rabbi, if we are to accept the axioms of free choice, responsibility and ultimate reward, we cannot afford to ignore the “other side.”
In connection to this week’s Parsha, the Bais Halevi (Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik 1820 – 1892), a Rabbi who was not afraid to expound upon the subject of punishment and retribution, broadens our view of misdeeds and their repercussions in a direct and no-nonsense way.
The Midrash explains that when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, uttering those electrifying words, “Ani Yosef, Haod avi chai?” – ‘I am Yosef, is my father still alive?’ he was not simply inquiring after his father’s health; instead he was delivering stern words of rebuke.
Moments before, Yehuda had passionately informed Yosef that were he to in order to fulfill a promise made to his father. He promised Jacob that if he releases Benjamin to go down to Egypt with them – as was the request of Joseph – he will take full responsibility for him and personally guarantee his return.
“I will be a personal guarantee for him... if I don’t bring him back… I will have sinned before you forever” (Bereishit 43:9).
This remarkable trait of taking full and personal responsibility for Benjamin is a great rectification of Judah’s original role in the sale of Joseph. It was Judah himself who led the brothers to sell Joseph into slavery and in the process relinquished all responsibility for him. Here, Judah comes full circle, rectifying his sin as a complete Ba’al Teshuva, faced with a similar situation with Benjamin. Here he does exactly the opposite and takes full personal responsibility for him to the extent of being prepared to sit in his place in prison until enslave Binyamin in Egypt, he would in effect be killing their father, an outcome which Yehuda was not prepared to tolerate at any cost. Yosef, however, was not prepared to tolerate Yehuda’s hypocrisy and therefore responded with “I am Yosef, is my father still alive?” meaning, “I am Yosef who you sold into slavery without concern for our father’s well-being and yet, he is still alive.”
Cries the Midrash, “Woe is to us on the on the day of judgment and woe is to us on the day of rebuke. Yosef was the youngest of the brothers and yet they had no answer for his claims and were embarrassed. When Hashem comes to each one of us and judges him according to what he is, all-the more-so that we will be ashamed.”
The Bais Halevi explains that “the day of judgment” referenced by the Midrash refers to the classical judgment of our actions while the “day of rebuke” refers to the judgment of the excuses for those actions. Every act we perform, whether good or bad, carries a justification of the end of days.
Rav Huna learns from this a specific type of responsibility knows as ןלבק תוברע - unlimited guaranteeship - where a person acts as a personal guarantor (Tractate Baba Batra 173). The Gemara continues that this is deeper than regular guaranteeship – known as םתס תוברע. Here, the guarantor is not considered third party in a borrower-lender agreement, but rather acquires the same status as the borrower himself, and the lender may claim from them both equally. In short - full personal responsibility.
Furthermore, this case regarding Judah is the first time that the concept of mutual responsibility appears in the Torah. In time, it will become one of the most fundamental halachic and moral principles in Jewish life – “All of Israel are responsible for each other” (Tractate Shevuot 39). This important principle has far-reaching halachic some kind. Although we might not be consciously aware of this “justification process,” the fact that we can inevitably provide an excuse for anything proves that it exists.
The Bais Halevi adds that the judge of our excuses is in fact our actions themselves. In the same way the sale of Yosef smashed the brother’s justification for Yosef sparing Binyamin, so too our ten day cruise will smash our excuses for not giving tzedakah; our academic qualifications will smash our excuses for not learning Torah; and our time playing solitaire will smash our excuses for not spending time with our children.
Free choice is an awesome responsibility, fraught with danger but the key to eternity. By familiarizing ourselves with the way our brains work, and particularly with our process of justification, we have a greater chance of making the right choice. By pinpointing our excuses and preempting them with the truth of our actions we will save ourselves a lot of aggravation in the World to Come!
ramifications. We’ll bring one example - a Jew who has already made Kiddush may make the same blessing again for someone else even though he has already previously fulfilled the mitzvah. This halacha seems illogical. How can someone who has already performed a mitzvah and thus fulfilled their obligation, then make Kiddush for someone else who has not yet fulfilled the mitzvah? The Shulchan Aruch Harav explains (Orach Chaim 8:11 and 167:23) that this halacha is derived from the principle of mutual responsibility. If another Jew hasn’t fulfilled their obligation, then on some level neither have I. Our destinies are intertwined as we are mutually responsible one for the other.
In facing the challenges ahead, every Jewish leader ought to learn this fundamental quality from Judah. The ability to feel full and personal responsibility for the destiny of those we have the privilege to lead.
Rabbi Doron Perez is the Executive Chair-
A Torah bite for the Shabbat table Cut the excuses
man of the Mizrachi World Movement. A project of My Dvar Torah, Torah Bite is your resource for a short, dynamic, and meaningful Dvar Torah to share at the Shabbos table. Originally from London, Rabbi Ben Goodman has spent 20 years in Jerusalem, teaching and inspiring students from all backgrounds and from all over the world. He is the director of My Dvar Torah, providing tailor-made Divrei Torah for all occasions. www.mydvartorah.com. He encourages feedback & ideas: ben@mydvartorah.com
