Parashat Vayitzei (and he left) Genesis 28:10 - 32:3
HafTorah Hosea 11:7 - 12:14
Dear friends,
Hope you had a happy, meaningful, and safe Thanksgiving holiday weekend. A reminder that Chris and I will once again be hosting our annual Pre-Hanukkah Boat Parade Party on this coming Saturday, December 7th. We will begin the evening at 6 pm with Havdalah which ends Shabbat and welcomes the new week. We will then go outside to the riverbank to enjoy potato latkes, sufganyot (traditional jelly donuts), hot chocolate and other treats and enjoy the decorated boats and each other's company as they float by. If the first quarter moon is visible, we will chant Kiddush Levanah, the blessing of the new moon which symbolizes hope and rebirth. There is seating in the park, and we have 6 additional chairs, but you are welcome to bring your own chairs as well.
Also, please consider volunteering at the Metropolitan Ministries holiday tent on Thursday, December 19th from 11 am until 2:30 pm. Once again, we will be distributing much needed food and toys for hundreds of families from throughout our region inside the big tent located on the grounds of Generations Church at 1540 Little Road in Trinity. To register to volunteer, simply click here https://vhub.at/1L1BLIK Thanks to all who have been regularly performing this important mitzvah and to all who are considering volunteering for the first time!
And please join us for Shabbat worship and study this evening at 7:30 pm and tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:30 am, both services in-person and virtually on Zoom. We continue in the Book of Bereshit (Genesis) with our 3rd triennial reading (31:17-32.3) of the portion of Vayetse. In this sedrah, Jacob gathers his entire family and leaves the house of his uncle Laban. Having tricked his father into delivering the blessing meant for his brother Esau, Jacob is in turn tricked by his uncle into marrying the wrong daughter and trapped into additional years of servitude but nevertheless continues his indentured service and accumulates wealth which he takes with him upon escaping Laban's grasp. Then remarkably, when he himself is settled, he in turn favors Joseph over all of his other sons, a favoritism with disastrous consequences. As Rabbi Stacey Rigler comments in a D'Var Torah "the power of favoritism is deep and profound, with long-lasting effects."
It is only when the children of Israel have escaped from bondage and through forty years of wandering in the wilderness, that they finally learn that there are no favorites, that we are all children of Hashem. We are all special people and as such are obligated to heal the wounds of the world rather than creating new ones through familiar conflicts.
This Shabbat's Haftorah is from the Prophet Hosea (12:13-14:10) the last part of which is also read on Shabbat Shuva, the Sabbath of Repentance preceding Yom Kippur. Hosea begs
the people of Israel who he loves dearly to return to Hashem and shed their divisive ways.
From Hosea 14:2-3:
שׁוּבָה, יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ: כִּי כָשַׁלְתָּ, בַּעֲוֺנֶךָ.
קְחוּ עִמָּכֶם דְּבָרִים, וְשׁוּבוּ אֶל-יְהוָה; אִמְרוּ אֵלָיו
Return, O Israel, unto the LORD; for thou hast stumbled in thine iniquity.
Take with you words, and return unto the LORD; say unto Him: 'Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good.
We still have much to learn in our own deeply troubled times, but if we heed the warning and yet comforting words of Hosea, we can chart a path of healing.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
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FRIDAY and SATURDAY ZOOM LINK
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