wow, it's starting to feel like old times. Hi there UAJ.

Thoughts on Parshas Toldos
Never give up.
Rashi says that Yaakov was entitled to the bechor since if you put two balls in a narrow tube the one going in first will come out last. One could wonder whether this is accurate since babies move around in the womb. Moreover Rashi already commented that there had been attempts by Yaakov to leave (when Rivka passed a Yeshiva). It would seem from Rashi that while Yaakov attempted to get in the front position his efforts were always prevented by Eisav. Yaakov never gave up. His name Yaakov defines that struggle and that he never gave up. The kochos the avos obtained by withstanding their own nisyanos were imbued within us. So the next time you are faced with a struggle and you don't succeed don't give up because you are Bnei Yaakov and Bnei Yaakov don't give up.

Thank you Hashem for helping me through all of my struggles and for helping me get up even if I slip or fall.

Thoughts on Parshas Mikeitz and Chanukah

Reb Yeruchum explains the Torah's use of the word "mekeitz" as opposed to simply saying "And it was two years" based on the midrash which quotes the possuk "keitz some lchosech" an end he placed for darkness as referring to the two year period during which Yosef sat in the darkness of jail. Explains Reb Yerucham that darkness has a "keitz" it is a finite creation that has an end. In contrast stands Hashem's greatness about which the possuk says "v'legedulso ain chayker." The Torah is teaching us that there is a light at the end of every tunnel because the tunnel of darkness necessarily has an end. And once the end comes -- in Yosef's case after two years -- of necessity there will be light because once the darkness ends nothing more is needed for light. We all have moments of darkness that we think will never end. But the Torah is teaching otherwise.
Perhaps this is why we celebrate 8 days of chanukah even though there was enough oil for one day. The first light alludes to the fact that darkness and golus are not without an end. There always will be a pach shemesh a light at the end.
Thank you Hashem for taking me from darkness to light. May we quickly be zoche to Your Ohr Gadol. A wonderful Shabbos, Rosh Chodesh and Chanuka to all.

beautiful! thank you rebbe reb uaj
i expect the publishing houses to start lining up outside your door..
a good shabbos, a good chodesh and a freilichen chanuka to you

Thoughts on Parshas Vayechi

Yaakov personified the כח of קדושה. Thus, Yaakov told Reuvain "Kochi v'reishis oni" complete שמירת הברית. This could also explain why Yaakov had Yosef swear with his yerech. Rashi says why with respect to Avrohom but not Yaakov. Perhaps it was the chavivos for shemiras habris. Yaakov's excellence in this מדה is also reflected in the fact that מטתו שלימה. Also, Yaakov corresponds to the third brocha of shemona eisrai, the brocha of Kedusha. Yaakov passed on this koach to Yosef. (Could be Reuvain was supposed to get it until he was "chilell yutzai oviv", notice also that Reuvain's other cameo appearance in the Torah is by the דודאים. Which also relate to the מטה of Yaakov; next in line would have been shimon and Levi they would seem appropriate after all they cried out הכזונה יעשה את אחותנו. But as explained by Reb Hirsch their methods were wrong. Shechem and his father deserved death. not an entire innocent city. I heard recently from Rav Aharon Feldman in the name of The Maharal that לא תנאף leads to לא תרצח. It could be the opposite is true as well. Hence they were not ראוי either. Yehuda too had the מעשה תמר). It is Yosef who stood out. By not succumbing to אשת פוטיפר in essence Yosef became an "av" to klal yisroel in inyanai kedusha. Thus, I would suggest, Yaakov told Yosef "amusa hapam.... ki odecha chai" Now I can die because this koach hakedusha lives on in you. This can also explain Yaakov's request אל נא תקברני במצרים. Don't let קדושת כלל ישראל get buried in mitzrayim, the country that was the anti-thesis of Kedusha. They were שטופי זמה. Reb Hirsch too sees in Yaakov's request not to be buried in Mitzrayim a deeper message: "pharaoh and the Egyptians would not have taken it kindly had Yakov and his family left and emigrated from Egypt. So, too, the transfer of Yakov's remains to Canaan would not make a good impression, it would clearly show that Yosef's family still did not consider themselves citizens of the land and that they were still emotionally attached to their former country. But the motivation for Yakov's request may be more profound than that. during the 17 years that Yakov lived in mitzrayim he would have seen the powerful influence of האחזו בה on his descendants; he must have seen that they began to regard the Nile as their Jordan, that they had ceased to regard their stay in mitzrayim as an exile. This was indeed sufficient reason for Yakov's entreaty that they should not bury him in mitzrayim." In other word, the mitzrayim saw in Yaakov not being buried in mitzrayim that klal yisroel was not submitting to their corrupt lifestyle. Yosef is the Av who can get us through golus. Even when we are surrounded by a society that is שטופי זמה Yosef has bequeathed us the power to withstand these temptations. And ultimately we will withstand and that is perhaps why chazal say Yaakov Avinu לא מת.
Thank you Hashem for another sober day.

Thoughts on Parshas Shmos

There are no stories in the Torah for story's sake. So if the Torah tells us ויקם מלך חדש אשר לא ידע את יוסף the Torah is teaching us a lesson. The meforshim explain that each Yid has his own personal obligation to go from מצרים. That is we each have little of מצרים within us. Yosef essentially sustained מצרים and saved מצרים from oblivion, yet in this weeks parsha we find that ויקם מלך חדש על מצרים whether he was literally new or he made himself out as new, it is inconceivable that he didn't know Yosef. Instead, he made himself out "as if" he didn't know him. The RBSO sustains us too and saves us from oblivion. Yet, we (certainly I) make ourselves like פרעה, "as if" we don't know Hashem. Intellectually we know we are reliant on Him, but we conduct ourselves "as if" He doesn't exist. Like פרעה we think הבה התחכמה לו we can outsmart מושיען של ישראל that is we build ערי מסכנות security nets for ourselves seemingly thinking that we don't have to be reliant on the RBSO. The Torah teaches us that know that these ערי מסכנות are not ראויות מתחלה לכך they are not meant as a substitute for the reliance we need to place on Hashem. And, if we don't learn this lesson, the RBSO says I will bring you to a situation where you will bring about your own downfall. You will nurture the one who will bring the מכות upon yourself. And ultimately, even פרעה will come to say: חטאתי הפעם ה׳ הצדיק ואני ועמי הרשעים
May we be Zoche to recognize the easy way how to truly "know" the מלך העולם. Thank you Hashem for a wonderful and sober week.

Nice vort.

And it's interesting that Paraoh himself actually used those very words...
‫לֹא יָדַעְתִּי אֶת ה'

great stuff (as usual)
thank you!

Thoughts on Parshas Bo

Continuing with the line of thoughts from Parshas Shmos, that the Torah is teaching us a lesson on the Pharoah within us. Hashem tells Moshe to tell Pharoah עד מתי מאנת לענות מפני which רש״י explains "until when will you refuse to be humbled before me". This is a question we all need to ask ourselves, if we want to effectuate change it can only start by humbling ourselves.
It's a necessary prerequisite since at some point we recognize that our own actions are killing us הטרם תדע כי אבדה מצרים. But without humbling ourselves there is a problem. Because we say okay Hashem we agree to change BUT it has to be on our terms. מי ומי ההלכים? And, when Hashem responds that Torah is all encompassing: בנערינו ובזקנינו וכו׳, we balk. It has to be our way we argue or it can't be. Moreover, we insist that our way is the right way, if we go with Your way, ראו כי רעה נגד פניכם. Hopefully, we all wake up before the final makka.
Thank You Hashem for another wonderful week. A wonderful Shabbos to all.

My press agent told me that I have to keep posting. It's been way too long. And the truth I see that unless I work on active growth I am not where I should be.
Fortunately, my last post was about Pharoah in Mitzrayim so I can just pick up with a belated thought from the Hagaddah.
Reb Zilberstein Shlita asks what was Pharoah thinking when he decided to chase after the Bnei Yisroel. His land has just been decimated by ten makkos, he forced the Bnei Yisroel to leave because he feared for his own life. Now he is chasing after the Bnei Yisroel and into the split sea as well. Did he really think the Yam Suf would remain split for him?
He answers with a teretz from Reb Chaim Kanievsky Shlita. The Yerushalmi says that if someone gets overcharged more than a shtus, the sale is bottul. The question is why can't the seller simply return the overcharge to the purchaser and let the sale go through. The gemara explains that if we permit the sale to go through everyone will say about this person, here's the sucker that will fall for anything. To avoid that embarrasment we are mevatel the sale completely. The same pride factor says Reb Chaim is what motivated pharoah to chase the Bnei Yisroel. Had he not run after them everyone would have said you see that Pharoah, anyone can take advantange of him. Just look the Bnei Yisroel "borrowed" from him all of mitzrayim's wealth , and look they are gone now. Pharoah would prefer to run into the yam suf then to bear that shame. In short, pride and the inability to admit that we were wrong can cause us even to run into a sea that is waiting to drown us.
What does this have to do with us? The Chovos Halevovos says that the inability to change comes from gayvah. One of my rabeeim explained that when a person changes he is effect making a statement, what I was doing until now was wrong. That acknowledgement is too much for the baal gayvah. So he prefers to remain complacent with his life rather than admit defeat. We eat matza "lechem oni" or "humble bread" to inbibe within ourselves a healthy dose of humility so that we can work up the courage to actually change.
Thank You Hashem for the all the good you have done for me and my family

the press agent thanks you

Beutiful thought, and true too . Thank you UAJ for posting again! And a special thanks to your press agent as well .

Hi UAJ!

Thoughts on Parshas Tazria-Metzora

When describing negaim for houses the Torah says you will come to Eretz Yisroel and "v'nosati" I will place such negaim on your houses. The meforshim are bothered by this word since it implies that Hashem is telling us it will happen. Rashi explains that the goyim stored their riches in the walls of their houses and Hashem was telling us that I will give you negaim on your houses to enable you to discover those riches. Many of the meforshim are troubled by Rashi's pshat since negaim comes from sin and here this person seems to receive an award, and various answers are given.
Rav Pam in addition to answering the question makes an insightful observation with a tremendous lesson. He says you see from here the concept of the "poor millionaire." Imagine a couple they are living with a house full of kids in a one room hovel. Every month they scavenge around to scrap together some food, they run from one gmach to the next trying to pay their ever mounting bills. Meanwhile, in their walls unbeknownst to them is sitting two million dollars there for the taking. They are millionaires but they are poor. Sometimes it takes a tragedy like negaim for them to find out about their wealth.
Says Rav Pam there are spiritually "poor millionaires" too. Someone can have within himself tremendous kochos but he is unaware of them. He is a gibbor but he is clueless to it. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring it out. You see great mosdos that were established by someone who was a regular person who went through a tragedy and decided to act on it and found within himself kochos he never knew existed. You look at an organization and find that it was one man who build it. Rav Pam is teaching us through the parsha of negai battim that we don't have to wait until chas v'shalom a tragedy happens to realize that we are millionaires. You don't have to wait until your wife finds out about your addiction to realize that you can stay sober. Look at people who have been sober for years on end, sometimes being forced to separate from their wives for months or longer. If you ask them now whether their lives are richer they will say definitely so notwithstanding the hardship. If you had asked them when it all started whether they thought they could be where they are now they would say it's impossible. Yet here they are now. The reality is they were millionaires and they didn't know it.
We all have kochos within is that are waiting to be tapped into. Don't wait for c"v the tragedy to come to discover them. Thank you Hashem for allowing me to hit rock bottom while still relatively speaking on top.

Beautiful!