Shabbat Shalom GRJC

Weekly Emails to the Congregation

Parshat Toldot 2008

Happy Thanksgiving and an early Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family,

This Friday night we will light our Shabbat candles at 4:11.  We’re closing in on the earliest candle-lighting time of the year (which will be 4:10)!  Friday night services will be at 8 pm, and Saturday services will be as usual at 9 am.

I first want to extend to everyone an invitation to join us Wednesday evening at 8 pm at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving service.  This is a wonderful event that brings together residents of Glen Rock of all religious backgrounds.

I also want to wish everyone safe travels as you visit with family and friends for Thanksgiving.  We will be heading out of town Wednesday night, and I will be available by cell phone during this time.

Thank you in advance to all those who will be volunteering to read Torah and lead services this Shabbat while I am away.

The Torah reading for this Shabbat brings us a dramatic story in which Rebekah persuades Jacob to disguise himself as his brother Esau and to pursue his father’s blessing.  He succeeds in convincing Isaac that he is Esau, but Isaac himself is not so sure, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”  Isaac, though he may be going blind and is unsure of himself, is skeptical of the situation.

Jacob goes one step further though since he tells an outright lie.  Isaac asks him if he is Esau, and Jacob says, “I am.”  Earlier he had lied in saying, “I am Esau your first-born son.”  He has now repeated and thus confirmed his earlier lie.  It is in this moment that Jacob and Rebekah’s ruse turns ugly.  Are we to take from this story that deception is the pathway toward blessing?

Jacob will later wrest a blessing from an angel with whom he will have a wrestling match.  In that case both parties participate in the struggle.  Jacob “wins” and so appears to deserve a prize, but here, with his father Isaac, Jacob is taking advantage of a weaker person.

Apart from the moral and ethical issues raised by Jacob taking advantage of his disabled father, there is also the spiritual question raised of whether we can actively set our destiny or has it been already decided by God?  When the boys are born, the prophecy is made that, “The elder [Esau] shall serve the younger [Jacob].”  Does Jacob decide that he must alter the course of events in order to fulfill that prophecy, or does he simply wish to better his status by all means necessary?

As we ponder these questions, let us remember to share our own blessings this Thanksgiving season.  We can give to a food pantry.  We can tell our friends and family how much we appreciate them.  We can lend a hand to someone in need.

And in the spirit of the season… A bit of “Thanksgiving Hebrew”:  A Hebrew word for turkey is “ho’doo”.  The same Hebrew word also means “Give thanks!”  Notice how the word related to giving thanks and the word for turkey are the same.

With blessings,
Rabbi Tow

UPCOMING EVENTS:

WEDNESDAY, NOV 26, 8 PM – INTERFAITH THANKSGIVING SERVICE – AT GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH (ROCK RD. AND S. HIGHWOOD).  Please consider bringing non-perishable food donations to the service.

SUNDAY, NOV 30, 7-8:30 PM – WOMEN’S ROSH CHODESH GROUP, CELEBRATING THE NEW
MONTH OF KISLEV.

SAVE THE DATE:

SATURDAY NIGHT, DEC 6, SPORTS-MEMORABILIA-ART AUCTION, 7:30 PM

ONGOING EVENTS:
Rabbi’s Adult Education Classes – Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah class and the Haftarah chanting class are still open for new students.  Please email Rabbi Tow to get the latest class schedule and join in:  rabbi@grjc.org.

 

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