Stranger In a Strange Land
STUDENT
SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
Parashat
VAYECHI
SICHA OF HARAV
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With gratitude and
in honor of the bar mitzvah,
this year b'ezrat Hashem, of our twin sons,
Michael and Joshua - Steven Weiner and Lisa Wise
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Dedicated
in memory of Jack Stone, and Helen and Benjamin Pearlman, z"l,
and in honor
of Mrs. Esther Stone.
By
Gary and Ilene Stone of Teaneck, NJ
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Dedicated
by Aaron and Tzipora Ross and family in memory of their grandparents
Shimon
ben Moshe Rosenthal, Shmuel Nachamu ben Shlmo Moshe HaKohen Fredman, and Chaya
bat Yitzchak David Fredman,
whose yahrtzeits are this
week.
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Stranger
in a Strange Land
Summarized
by
In
the first section of our parasha there is a striking discussion between
Yaakov and Yosef. Yosef approaches
Yaakov as a son to his father he speaks to him with reverence, and at the same
time Yaakov bows to Yosef. Yaakov
is Yosefs father, and Yosef labors to give his father the proper respect. At the same time Yaakov bows to Yosef
because Yosef is the ruler in
This
encounter repeats itself in the next section, where Yaakov calls for Yosef
again. Again Yaakov is deferential
to Yosef and again Yaakov is in control of this timeless exchange. However, this time Yaakov asks Yosef,
concerning the latters sons, Who are they? These are the same sons Yaakov will hug
and kiss one verse later! Yaakov is really asking Yosef whether they are worthy
of a blessing. Are they worthy of
entering into Klal Yisrael, or are they Egyptian children?
These
interactions illustrate the dynamic between Yaakov and Yosef at this point. Yosef is the current ruler of
The
names Yosef gives his sons represent two different views of Yosefs stay in
When
Yaakov meets Yosef in our parasha he asks, Who are these? Are they part
of Mitzrayim or Yisrael? Yaakov
asks Yosef, how do you see yourself, as the ruler of
Yaakovs
order to Yosef is along these lines as well. Yaakov tells Yosef not to bury him in
Yosef
internalized this message as well.
Yosef was the controller of
(This
sicha was delivered at seuda shelishit, Shabbat Parashat Vayechi 5766
[2006].)
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