Back in 1996, Rabbi Finman was asked to speak to the niece of one of his students. After spending many hours answering her questions, the woman gave Rabbi Finman her e-mail address. Rabbi Finman wrote the woman a note and included in it a short insight into that week's Parsha and a short Chasidic story.
Realizing that this was something no one was yet doing,, Rabbi Finman sent the missive to his mailing list of about 30 people. Requests from recipients friends came pouring in. The next week Rabbi Finman sent the e-Parsha to 100 people. Within a year more than 2000 people were receiving it. Today, more than 14,000 receive the e-Parsha weekly and the requests keep coming in.
Vaera 5785
Shmos 5785
Vayechi 5785
Vayigash 5785
Miketz-Chanukah 5785
Vayigash 5785
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Watch the YouParsha Vayigash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms2F4Qo65Bs Stand Up for Whats Right
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In Parshas Vayigash - Genesis 44:18-47:27 - we find Jacob mourning the loss of Joseph for 22 years. The brothers were afraid that telling Yaakov that Yosef was still alive, king of Egypt and remained a religious Jew would be too much of a shock. They devised a plan for Serach bas Asher to compose a song with this information. Jacob's depression lifted immediately, he was again revisited with prophecy (Hashem only communicates with happy people) and he was able to see that Yosef was indeed still alive. He blessed Serach with long life.
There are several stories concerning Serach: At the time of the exodus from Egypt, she informed Moshe where Yosef's body was hidden in the Nile. She would have been 220 years old. King David laid siege to a city because of Shiva ben Bichri. Serach advised the city to hand him over. David also asked Serach where Yaakov had his famous angels on the ladder dream as that spot was destined for the Temple. She was 540 years old. It is believed that Serach left with the exiles to Babylon and settled in the Persian city of Isfahan where the Tomb of Serach is found. She was 950. There is a discussion in the Talmud. Rabbi Yochanon ben Zakai maintained that the Reed Sea split into 13 tunnels and the walls of the tunnels were solid. Serach approached Rabbi Yochanon and said that she was there and the walls were like glass. Everyone could see each other - which decreased their worry about entering the sea. There are opinions that Serach was still alive and would have been more than 1800 years old. Another opinion is that Serach entered the Garden of Eden alive and visited Rabbi Yochanon to correct him.
Serach lived a long life to act as an agent for disseminating G'dly information. Although none of us expect to live over 1000 years, what is expected is that we emulate her ways and be a source of G'dly information.
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Reb Elimelech of Lizensk once recovered from a life-threatening illness. His closest disciples mustered their courage to ask him what he had seen while hovering between life and death. The Rebbe said that he would tell one thing he learned:
As I walked in the Garden of Eden, I saw among the most honored souls a familiar face; Mottel the Bookbinder. Mottel was a G'dfearing Jew, but he was otherwise an undistinguished ordinary Jew, not even much of a Torah scholar. "Is it truly you, Reb Mottel?" I asked the soul as I approached him.
"Yes, it is I," called out Reb Mottel happily. "But how did you get to this exalted place?" I asked Reb Mottel quite innocently. "When I was brought before the Heavenly Court, I was asked the usual questions. I had to admit that, regrettably, I had studied very little Torah. I was apprenticed, at an early age, to a bookbinder, I explained to the Court. "They began to weigh my mitzvas and sins. On the right side of the scale, angels began putting all my good deeds. Then they pushed the scale down to make it weightier, saying this was for the joy and sincerity with which I performed the mitzvahs. But then other angels came forward and began to load my misdeeds on the left scale. Though they were small, they were adding up, till they tipped the scale.
"As I stood there before the Heavenly Court, trembling and ashamed, an angel suddenly appeared with a worn-out siddur in his hand. Behind him was a line of wagons loaded with sacks. 'I am the angel in charge of stray pages from holy books. I go to every Jewish home, every shul and every Jewish school. I look to see the condition of the holy books. Whenever I see a worn-out book, with crumpled pages and loose covers it gives me tremendous pleasure, for this is a sign that the books are in constant use. However, when I see tattered books beyond repair, I am troubled, for every holy book has a holy soul, and every page has a soul, which must be treated with care and respect. In the course of my travels, I met this man here on trial. I have never seen a book-binder like Mottel,' continued the angel in my defense. 'He never got any pages mixed up, never missed a stitch, and always used the best materials. From time to time, he would go to the shuls in his town and collect holy books that cried out for attention. He took them home and worked late into the night to restore them and give them new life. He never charged for this and never even told anyone about it. I respectfully request that the Heavenly Court permit me to unload all the sacks of worn-out holy books to which Mottel the Bookbinder has given a second life, and put them on the scale with all his other mitzvot and good deeds."'
"The Heavenly Court agreed. Long before the wagons were half unloaded, the scale with the mitzvot clearly outweighed the other side. Believe me, dear Rebbe," Mottel concluded, "I was as astonished at what happened before my eyes as you were at seeing me in this place of honor."
"I wanted to ask Mottel a few more questions," explained Rebbe Elimelech, "but at just that moment I began to recover. Reb Mottel's story speaks for itself. But let us also remember," Reb Elimelech enjoined his disciples, "that Hashem never fails to give credit and reward for any good deed, even for such a seemingly trivial act as smoothing out a crumpled corner of a well-worn page in a holy book."
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