Yosef through the Eyes of HaRav Yosef-Timeless Recipes for National and Personal Greatness This past year, at the advice of a friend, I began learning Chumash through the eyes of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik one of the great legal, philosophical, theological minds of the 20th century. Each week, my eyes have been enlightened through his teachings on the parsha. Using the powerful narrative of the Yosef saga, his discussions in the past three weeks’ readings are timeless lessons for each of us--both in our individual strivings and in how we work with others to work toward greatness. Through Yosef’s dreams and Yaakov’s vision, the Rav teaches and how to bring holiness into the “real” world. Yosef’s Two Dreams : R. Soloveitchik writes, “How did the Torah portray Joseph? His first dream involved bundles of wheat: he was an individual with a prosaic practical vision. There was another dream, however, of stars in the heavens. Both dreams were found in Joseph’s personality. He was
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Showing posts from December, 2018
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Chanukkah: The Holiday of For , the Holiday of That and the Singular Holiday of “Thanks” In his most famous work, the Pachad Yitzhak, Rabbi Yizhcok Hutner (1906-1980), points out that the term, hodaah, usually defined as “thanks” ( הודאה or להודות ) has two separate meanings -- appreciation and acknowledgement. Hodaah is an expression of appreciation of goodness received, as in the morning tefilah of modeh ani. There we thank God for the blessing received-- restoring life in order to face the new day. R. Hutner calls this hodaah al ha’avar, על העבר --thanking for a kindness that has been done--it is a thanking for. Hodaah is also an acknowledgement. it is an acknowledgement or admission of the position of the other side. When I realize the validity of your position, I am modeh to it. Hodaah is also an understanding one’s place in the world. It is an internalization of who we are in relation to others, whether it be realizing our place as Jews, as Americans, as parents, as