I hope you all had a great week. This week Krav Maga got underway and we had a solid group learning the Israeli Art of self defense. A special thank you to Ilan Danjoux who not only connected us with Jesse from Krav Maga Maleh but was truly a driving force behind this program.
If you have any programs of any kind that you want to participate in, let me know and we'll see what we can do!
For now, I'm looking forward to Chanukah, including another program with Bryna and Tikki, the Chanukah Party, and just celebrating the light of the holiday. Did you know that Chanukah is the only major ancient Jewish holiday that has a story that took place in Israel?
Looking forward to seeing you soon! SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE PROGRAMMING AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION!
Parshat Vayishlach - Becoming Israel
Parshat Vayishlach tells us about a famous scene where Yaakov wrestles all night with an angel. When the morning comes the angel says it has to go, but Yaakov won't let go until the angel gives him a brachah.
The angel gives Yaakov a new name - Yisrael - Israel. According to the angel the name comes from the Hebrew "שרית עם אדם ואלקים ותוכל - sarita im adam v'elokim vatoochal - you struggled with man and God and did so successfully".
The angel never tells Yaakov that he won't have to struggle, but he gives him another, more powerful, brachah. The angel tells Yaakov that no matter what challenges and struggles he faces in life, whether with people or spiritual challenges with God, he will be able to face the challenges head on and ultimately navigate the situation successfully.
For us too, being Yisrael means never being scared of a challenge and always remembering that, as Yaakov's great great great...grandchildren, we too can face any challenge and do so successfully.
Discussion Questions:
1. Eisav wanted to kill Yaakov and Yaakov was about to see Eisav when the angel gave him his new name. Why do you think the name Israel was helpful?
2. Why do you think Yaakov always faces challenges in his life?
3. Why do you think the angel had to leave in the morning? Rabbi David's Answers (from last week): 1) What does it feel like to go through a big change in your life, like moving to a different house or country? It is unsettling. That is, there is so much that we don't know about the future, sometimes it can be scary.
2) Why do you think Yaakov made a deal with HaShem to come back home? Yaakov left Israel to go to Charan because his parents sent him. When he got back home, it was a sign that he would see his parents again and that his troubles with Eisav would be finished.
3) How can having a goal help you get through very difficult challenges? A goal is something to work toward. If I face a challenge and don't have a goal, there is no purpose to the challenge. I can't grow from it because it doesn't matter to me. A goal is something that matters and the more we care, the easier it will be to do even the hardest things.
For more information about what is happening at Beth Emeth go to: www.beby.org
Rabbi David, Director of Ritual and NEXTgen Community rabbidavid@beby.org
Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue 100 Elder Street Toronto, ON M3H 5G7
