Shabboom! Weekly Announcements

Energize your week with Ohev Sholom                                      December 26, 2019

Shabbat Times and Announcements

Erev Shabbat, December 27: Chanukah (Kislev 29)
6:30a Shacharit
4:34p Candle Lighting
4:35p Kabbalat Shabbat

Shabbat, December 28: Chanukah, Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Miketz (Kislev 30)
9:15a Shacharit with a D'var Torah by Rabbi Akiva Herzfeld
3:15p Daf Yomi
3:45p Chaim Fruchter's Shiur
4:15p Mincha followed by Seudah Shlishit with a D'var Torah by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld on Daf Yomi Massekhet Niddah and completing the Daf Yomi cycle 
5:36p Havdalah

Upcoming Kiddush Schedule
12/28: No Kiddush/
​​​​​​​No food served
​​​​​​​1/4: Dessert Kiddush (sponsorship available)

Comments on the Portion, Haftorah & Morning Prayers, Contributed by Rabbi Ben Mintz

This week's parsha, Miketz, continues the dramatic story of Yosef and his brothers. The drama lasts until the end of the book of Bereshis.
Yosef interprets the pharaoh’s  dream and presents a sound strategy to the King for dealing with the famine that the king's dream has foretold. In response, the King appoints Yosef as viceroy of the country.  As a sign of Yosef's authority, the King removes the signet ring from his own hand and places it on the hand of Yosef (Bereshis 41:42). Significantly, the same action and the same words appear in the Book of Esther, when King Achashverosh places his ring on the finger of Mordecai, after Haman is deposed with the assistance of Mordecai. (Esther 8:2). The midrash compares the giving of the ring to Mordecai to the giving of the ring to Yosef, noting that both Yosef and Mordecai descended from our Mother Rachel. Yosef, of course, was Rachel's son, and the Book of Esther identifies Mordecai as a "Yemini"-- from the family of Benyamin (Esther 2:5). We may suggest that Rachel merited that her descendants would be leaders in the redemption of the Jewish people because of her passionate loyalty to her people. As Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) says, "A voice is heard in Rama, the sound of bitter weeping. Rachel is crying for her children. She has no comfort, because her children are gone." (Jeremiah, 31:15). The passage comes from the haftorah of the second day of Rosh Hashana.
 
The story of Yosef and his brothers continues. The famine comes to the land of Canaan, and Yaakov sends his sons, except the youngest, Benyamin, to Egypt, where food is plentiful as a result of Yosef's management. The brothers appear before Yosef, and the Torah tells us that Yosef recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him ("... ve'hem lo hikiruhu").
 
Of course, he looks very different from the teenager they threw into the pit. However, the midrash explains these words as meaning that when Yosef fell into his brothers' hands on the day they threw him into the pit, the brothers did not recognize him. That is, they did not treat him as a brother. But now, when the brothers come before Yosef seeking help, he recognizes them; he treats them as brothers. Exactly how does Viceroy Yosef treat his brothers? Those events are detailed in the parsha. Yosef insists that Benyamin also come to Egypt.  Ultimately, Yosef manipulates the facts and demands that his younger brother remain in Egypt because he allegedly stole the viceroy's cup. The brothers know that the loss of Benyamin, Yaakov's "ben zekunim" -- "son of his old age" -- would be very painful to Yaakov. In the next parsha, Vayigash, we have the denouement of the story, when Yosef finally reveals himself to his brothers. 
 
Since this Shabbos is Shabbos Chanukah, there is a special haftorah. It is from the prophet Zechariah (one of the Twelve Prophets, the Trei  Asar):
"Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, for I come and will dwell in your midst, says the Lord.  Not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.” (Zechariah, Chs. 2 and 4)

TFILOT: From the Morning Prayers: 
"These are the commandments for which a person enjoys the fruits in this world, while the principal remains for him or her in the world to come: Honoring father and mother, acts of kindness, early attendance at a house of study, welcoming guests, visiting the sick, providing for a bride, accompanying the dead to the grave, earnest attention to prayer, making peace between individuals in dispute.  But the study of the Torah is "ke'neged kulam." The rabbis interpret this to mean that the individual must engage in the study of Torah at the same time as he or she engages in one of these desirable qualities.

Haftorah Video, by Hal Brodsky z"l

A video about this week's Haftorah can be viewed here: Zech. 2:14–4:7

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