JOSEPH AND TIKTOK In the Talmud (Berachot 20a), we find the fascinating statement: “The descendants of Joseph are not subject to the Evil Eye.” This is quoted by Rashi in explaining the blessing given to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Menashe in this week’s parasha. Is the concept Ayin HaRa, or the Evil Eye still relevant today? Many people, despite their sophistication, still turn to amulets or red cords to ward off the Evil Eye. But what is the “Evil Eye,” and how can we really protect ourselves from it? The late Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, one of the most influential...
SEEING THE LIGHT There is a remarkable law quoted in the Talmud (Shabbat 23a) and codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 767:3) Someone sees a Chanuka light. They know they are not going to be able to light a Menora themselves that night, and no-one else is going to do it on their behalf. (E.g., they are travelling.) Nevertheless, they should make the following blessing on simply seeing the Chanuka lights: “Blessed are You HaShem…She’asa Nisim La’avotenu, Bayamim Hahem Bazman Hazah – Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days, at this time.” Normally, a person kindling the...
PLAN B Our parasha this week begins with the words, Veyeishev Yaakov Be’eretz Megurei Aviv, “Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as a stranger” (Bereishit 37:1) The word Vayeishev “he settled” has the connotation of wanting to create a permanent home. As Rashi explains, Jacob thought he could now live in peace. He had resolved the conflict with his brother, Esau. He had raised 12 sons. Unlike his father who ‘lived as a stranger’ in the land, which implies a lack of rootedness, Jacob thought he was entitled to live as a proper resident. But why?...
FAST AND SLOW Earlier this week, Google announced the launch of Willow, its latest and greatest quantum computing chip. It performed a calculation in under five minutes that would have taken the best of other supercomputers 10 septillion (that’s 10 followed by 24 zeroes) years to perform! Obviously, we are still a long way from this new chip having practical applications, but it is an indication of the continued speed of innovation we see in the technological world. What applies in technology does not apply in ethics or morality, especially Jewish ethics. Issues need to be considered, evaluated and given...
NO GAPS If you get the chance this Shabbat to observe closely the Hagbaha – the lifting up of the Sefer Torah after leining, you will notice something very unusual. This week’s parasha, Vayeitzei, is written in the Sefer Torah as a continuous piece of Torah text of more than five columns. There are no gaps, no paragraph breaks. Neither open paragraphs, which begin on the next line (known as petuchot), nor closed paragraphs which begin, after a break of nine letters, on the same line (known as setumot). There is only one other sidra in the Torah that shares...
