"...and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes." (Genesis 46:4) Read more...

Well I was wandering along by the banks of the river  When seven fat cows came up out of the Nile, uh-huh... Can I get a "bop-she-wah-di-wah, bop-bop-she-wah"? Thank you. I'd like to suggest that it's not an accident that Pharaoh gets one of the great solo numbers in the famous play/rock opera, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat." He gets a small, but significant solo speaking part in the biblical account, which opens this week's parashah, too. Read more...

When my kids were younger, they used to have their own version of the song that is traditionally sung during the havdalah ceremony at the end of Shabbat. After we had made the blessings over the spices, the candles and the wine we would sing: Eliyahu hanavi, Eliyahu hatishbi, Eliyahu hagiladi. (Elijah the prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah of Gilead) Here the traditional lyrics continue: Bimherah yavo eleinu im mashiach ben David (May he come to us quickly with the messiah son of David) Read more...

You can tell that Joseph loves every minute of it. He does not simply identify himself to his brothers. He drags out the process, first making them go back to get Benjamin, then treating them to a feast and free rations to take home, only to plant his silver goblet in Benjamin's bag so as to make them think that he had caught him stealing. He instructs his servant to overtake them, find the goblet, and then storm: "Why did you repay good with evil?...It was a wicked thing for you to do!" (Genesis 44:4-5). Read more...

Barely two double sided pages in the Talmud are the primary rabbinic source to the foundation of Chanuka and the laws pertaining to lighting Chanuka candles. Within the context of questioning what oils are appropriate for kindling the Shabbat lights, the Babylonian Talmud (tractate Shabbat 21b - 23a) questions the source of the holiday, the laws (no eulogies at funerals, the recitation of Hallel) and a long detailed discussion about the timing and location of the lighting of the candles themselves. Read more...