This portion begins with two verses that set forth exactly who is part of the rebellious group: “Now Korach the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.” (Numbers 16:1-2)
This week we read the final chapters of Genesis. Jacob is approaching the end of his life. We are told that he lived until the age of 147 and that he spent the last 17 years of his life in Egypt. Just before his death, he blesses his grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe, and then blesses each of his sons.
This week’s Torah portion begins with Jacob’s preparation for his confrontation with Esau. He has just returned from years in the home of his uncle Laban, he has four wives and 12 children, a great deal of sheep and other animals, but he remains concerned as to whether Esau is still intent on killing him.
This week’s Torah portion is dedicated to the sojourn of Jacob in the house of Laban. It begins with his departure from Beersheva (Genesis 28:10) and ends with his entrance into the Land of Israel at Machanayim (Genesis 32:3).
With this week’s Torah reading, we move on to the life of Isaac, the second patriarch of the Jewish people. The portion begins in Chapter 25 verse 19 and continues through Chapter 28 verse 9. Indeed, it is the only Torah reading that deals with Isaac as an independent adult.
We are encouraged to think about what we want to accomplish in our lives and then write it down, refer to it and continue to strive to reach those goals that we have set for ourselves. It is a Biblical principle that once we have recorded these dreams and aspirations, something supernatural will happen to help us attain them. You begin to see them in your mind, and then they start to come to pass in your life.
January 2008 The weekly Torah portion that is read in the synagogue every Shabbat morning is actually a section of the Five Books of Moses that becomes part of a Jew’s entire week. Even Elitzur, still in nursery school, has a Rabbi come in every week to give his group of 4 year olds … Read more