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Sheva Berachos #5 – Chomah

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The Week of Sheva Berachos, Day #5 – Chomah[1]

במערבא אמרי…בלא חומה…דכתיב נקבה תסובב גבר
In the West they say: [Any man who doesn’t have a wife lives]…without fortification…as it is written[2]: “A woman shall go around a man”[3]

As part of the Jewish wedding ceremony[4], seven blessings known as sheva berachos are recited under the chuppah. As well, our Sages tell us[5] that once a couple gets married, they are to spend the first week of their marriage rejoicing. During these seven days, the sheva berachos are again recited, at the end of a festive meal. Some say[6] that these seven blessings correlate to the seven things[7] that a man acquires[8] when he gets married. Our Sages inform us[9] that until a man gets married, he doesn’t have joy, blessing, goodness, Torah, fortification, peace, nor is he a complete Man[10]. As such, it would be appropriate during this week to elaborate on each of these seven qualities, and how they relate to marriage.

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Sheva Berachos #4 – Torah

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The Week of Sheva Berachos, Day #4 – Torah[1]

במערבא אמרי בלא תורה…דכתיב האם אין עזרתי בי ותושיה נדחה ממני
In the West they say: [Any man who doesn’t have a wife lives] without Torah…as it is written[2]: “Is it that I have no help in me, and that sound wisdom is driven from me?”[3]

As part of the Jewish wedding ceremony[4], seven blessings known as sheva berachos are recited under the chuppah. As well, our Sages tell us[5] that once a couple gets married, they are to spend the first week of their marriage rejoicing. During these seven days, the sheva berachos are again recited, at the end of a festive meal. Some say[6] that these seven blessings correlate to the seven things[7] that a man acquires[8] when he gets married. Our Sages inform us[9] that until a man gets married, he doesn’t have joy, blessing, goodness, Torah, fortification, peace, nor is he a complete Man[10]. As such, it would be appropriate during this week to elaborate on each of these seven qualities, and how they relate to marriage.

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Sheva Berachos #3 – Tovah

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The Week of Sheva Berachos, Day #3 – Tovah[1]

אמר רבי תנחום א”ר חנילאי כל אדם שאין לו אשה שרוי…בלא טובה…דכתיב לא טוב היות האדם לבדו
Rabbi Tanchum said in the name of Rabbi Chanilai: Any man who doesn’t have a wife lives…without goodness…as it is written[2]: “It is not good for Man to be alone”[3]

As part of the Jewish wedding ceremony[4], seven blessings known as sheva berachos are recited under the chuppah. As well, our Sages tell us[5] that once a couple gets married, they are to spend the first week of their marriage rejoicing. During these seven days, the sheva berachos are again recited, at the end of a festive meal. Some say[6] that these seven blessings correlate to the seven things[7] that a man acquires[8] when he gets married. Our Sages inform us[9] that until a man gets married, he doesn’t have joy, blessing, goodness, Torah, fortification, peace, nor is he a complete Man[10]. As such, it would be appropriate during this week to elaborate on each of these seven qualities, and how they relate to marriage.

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Sheva Berachos #2 – Beracha

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The Week of Sheva Berachos, Day #2 – Beracha[1]

אמר רבי תנחום א”ר חנילאי כל אדם שאין לו אשה שרוי…בלא ברכה…דכתיב להניח ברכה אל ביתך
Rabbi Tanchum said in the name of Rabbi Chanilai: Any man who doesn’t have a wife lives…without beracha…as it is written[2]: “To leave beracha towards your house”[3]

As part of the Jewish wedding ceremony[4], seven blessings known as sheva berachos are recited under the chuppah. As well, our Sages tell us[5] that once a couple gets married, they are to spend the first week of their marriage rejoicing. During these seven days, the sheva berachos are again recited, at the end of a festive meal. Some say[6] that these seven blessings correlate to the seven things[7] that a man acquires[8] when he gets married. Our Sages inform us[9] that until a man gets married, he doesn’t have joy, blessing, goodness, Torah, fortification, peace, nor is he a complete Man[10]. As such, it would be appropriate during this week to elaborate on each of these seven qualities, and how they relate to marriage.

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Sheva Berachos #1 – Simcha

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The Week of Sheva Berachos, Day #1 – Simcha[1]

אמר רבי תנחום א”ר חנילאי כל אדם שאין לו אשה שרוי בלא שמחה…דכתיב ושמחת אתה וביתך
Rabbi Tanchum said in the name of Rabbi Chanilai: Any man who doesn’t have a wife lives without joy…as it is written[2]: “You shall rejoice, you and your household”[3]

As part of the Jewish wedding ceremony[4], seven blessings known as sheva berachos are recited under the chuppah. As well, our Sages tell us[5] that once a couple gets married, they are to spend the first week of their marriage rejoicing. During these seven days, the sheva berachos are again recited, at the end of a festive meal. Some say[6] that these seven blessings correlate to the seven things[7] that a man acquires[8] when he gets married. Our Sages inform us[9] that until a man gets married, he doesn’t have joy, blessing, goodness, Torah, fortification, peace, nor is he a complete Man[10]. As such, it would be appropriate during this week to elaborate on each of these seven qualities, and how they relate to marriage.

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Bo 5779

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The conditional promise[1]

דבר נא באזני העם וישאלו וגו’ כלי כסף וכלי זהב
Please tell the people to borrow…silver and gold vessels [2]

Just before the Exodus was about to take place, Hashem made an unusual request of Moshe. He told him to please ask the Jewish people to borrow valuables from their Egyptian neighbors. The usage of the word “please” indicated to Chazal that there was some special purpose to this request. They explain[3] that Hashem was concerned (so to speak), that that righteous one, meaning Avraham, will have complaints against Him. Hashem gave[4] Avraham a prophecy that his children will be strangers in a strange land. They will be oppressed and enslaved. However, the consolation is they will leave Egypt supremely wealthy.
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Va’eira 5779

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The vicious cycle of anger[1]

ויט אהרן את-ידו על מימי מצרים ותעל הצפרדע ותכס את-ארץ מצרים
Aharon held out his arm over the water of Egypt, and the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt[2]

The second of the ten plagues was the plague of frogs. The frogs were everywhere. They were in the Egyptians’ households, including their kitchens and bedrooms[3]. Miraculously, they even entered the Egyptians; bodies and croaked in their digestive tracks[4]. The verse that introduces the plague has a grammatical oddity. It says that the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt. Why is this word in the singular? The simple explanation[5] is that sometimes things that are great in number are described in the singular. This is because when they are on-mass, they appear to be one giant force to be reckoned with. This is what happened in Egypt.

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Shemos 5779

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Decreeing their future salvation[1]

ויקם מלך חדש על-מצרים אשר לא-ידע את-יוסף
A new King arose over Egypt that did not know Yosef[2]

As we begin the book of Exodus, the Torah describes how a new Pharaoh became the ruler over Egypt, after Yosef and his brothers had died. The Torah says that this Pharaoh didn’t know of Yosef. Some say[3] what this really means is he annulled the decrees of Yosef. What does this refer to? Yosef, while he was viceroy in Egypt, decreed that all the Egyptians had to become circumcised[4]. This was their prerequisite to get food to eat during the ravaging famine. Yosef’s intention was that he that knew his family would be exiled to Egypt, and he didn’t want his circumcised brethren to feel alienated. With this decree, everyone would be the same. After Yosef died, Pharaoh annulled this decree[5]. While this may be an interesting historical fact, why is it placed in the middle of the story which describes the beginning of the Egyptian slavery?

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Vayechi 5779

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The weapon of prayer[1]

ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על-אחיך אשר לקחתי מיד האמרי בחרבי ובקשתי

I have given you one portion[2] over your brothers, which I took from the Amorites[3] with my sword and my bow[4]

As Yaakov realized his time on this Earth was almost at an end, he had some final messages to share with his son Yosef. He was rewarding him with an extra portion in the land of Israel over his eleven brothers. Yaakov described his conquering this land using his sword and his bow. However, Targum Onkelos translates[5] the words “sword” and “bow” as בצלותי ובבעותי, my prayer and my supplication. What is the difference between prayer and supplication, and how are they implied by the words “sword” and “bow”?

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Vayigash 5779

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Careful judgement[1]

ויאמר אליהם אל תרגזו בדרך
…[Yosef] said to [his brothers]: “Do not quarrel on the road”[2]

After Yosef revealed to his brothers that he was now the viceroy of Egypt, he requested they bring their father from the land of Canaan. The seven-year famine was still ongoing, and their family was starving. Yosef had secured enough food to last through the famine, and was offering his family safe haven in Egypt. Before they departed on their journey, Yosef warned them against quarreling on the road. The simple meaning of the verse[3] is that Yosef was concerned that his brothers would discuss their sale of Yosef as a slave. Now that Yosef was in a position of power, and he was their savior, they might argue about whose fault it was that Yosef was sold. This discord could prove dangerous on their long journey home. He therefore cautioned them against discussing such matters.

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