Miketz Excerpts

מקץ

Shabbat Shalom vChanukah Sameach

Paroh's dream is not necessarily good. Kind of like the dream I had about the Chanukah party at the shul this year, with no band. And somebody broke the dreidel...And the kids woke up and no good gifts. As if the sisterhood did not care anymore, and the men's club gave up on educating the children about gambling and how to place a bet...Dreidel roulette is meaningful. It is tradition Bernie.

The brothers come again to Egypt and Binyamin is with them. Once Yosef sees them, he tells the head of his house to invite them for a meal. That is what you do when you see family. You don't ask the rabbi if they can crash at his house.

(43:18-23) The brothers are worried that Yosef will turn them into slaves, because they took the money. That is what happens when you invite people in this congregation. They always think there is ulterior motive. Can't just have people over for a decent choolante...Yes, you should pay dues. Sorry if that conversation came up, Markowitz.

They tell the man about the mistake of the money in their bag, and the man tells them not to worry. The man then brings out Shimon. Sometimes you have to confess your mistakes. My dream, like Yosef's, with his brothers seeing him as a ruler, and Paroh's of the famine, came true. The Shul Hanukah Party was a nightmare. The no band turned into a talent show...There is no...You play guitar with practice. The Friedbergs, Feldenheims, Frankawitz, all thought their kids had talent. Talent is a skill. Things don't just come. Gifts don't just come. We know that, as the Shul's secret Santa was the worst Chanukah idea ever.

My nightmare came true...

(43:27-30) He asks about Yakov and they say that their father is alive...You ask about people. You show care. You give a decent gift. You put thought into the Chanukah party. Ask people what they want.

And now when he sees Binyamin close, he asks if this is their younger brother, Yosef's only maternal brother. He couldn't contain himself, and he runs into the room to cry. He wasn't ready to show his brothers his emotion. When we housed the Freidberg's cousins, I ran into my room and locked the door...

It is with this care and love, this state of emotion, that I come to you today with a heavy heart, a heart that has not had one decent latke this year. The dream came true. My heart is aching. My wife will not allow me to have saturated fats. I do not mean to shock you. I do believe she has lost her faith in H.' Does she care about me? I do not know. We, at this congregation, are always open for a secret Santa during the holiday season. We believe in the miracles of Chanukah...You do have to worry when you visit my home, now that the dietitian says I am pre-diabetes. You may not get Jewish food. The love of the Jewish home is gone, along with the shul's pole dreidel.

I am broke because of this eating healthy thing, and my secret Santa gift was the worst thing ever. A paddle with a ball on the end, which will not help pay for my home...forget about parsonage. Always parsonage with you...A decent gift and somebody at least telling my wife I can eat latkes and sufganiot. Tradition.