Bo – January 15th, 2016
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 4:49 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 5:48 pm
Torah Message:
At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Moshe and Aharon warn Pharaoh that a plague of locusts will descend on Egypt the following day. Moshe and Aharon leave, but Pharaoh’s servants, fearing the total destruction of Egypt, convince Pharaoh to bring them back. The Torah relates the following exchange between Moshe and Pharaoh: “So Moshe and Aharon were returned to Pharaoh and he said to them, ‘Go and serve G-d, your G-d; which ones are going?’ Moshe said, ‘With our youngsters and with our elders shall we go; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flock and with our cattle shall we go, because it is a festival of G-d for us.’ He said to them, ‘So may G-d with you as I will send you forth with your children. Look! The evil intent is opposite your faces. Not so; let the men go now. Serve G-d, for that is what you seek.’ And he drove them out from Pharaoh’s presence.” (Shemot 10:8-11)
Shemot – January 1st, 2016
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
- Kid’s Disneyland Trip
- Teen Big Bear Shabbaton
- Teen Nessah Shabbaton
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 4:37 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 5:26pm
Torah Message:
Pharaoh’s Daughter Hides Moshe’s Identity
The narrative that describes the infant Moshe’s rescue by the daughter of Pharaoh and his being raised by her in the palace of Pharaoh presents numerous difficulties. Firstly, how could Pharaoh’s daughter even think of raising this child under the very noses of Pharaoh and his advisors? Wouldn’t they be suspicious of a Hebrew in the very palace of the king, especially since they might very well have been aware of the prophecy that the eventual savior of the Hebrews was born at that time? It is likely that they would think to themselves, “How can we allow this Hebrew child to grow up being exposed to and ultimately learning all the strategies and tactics of the ruler and his advisors?” Secondly, the verse (Shemot 4:11) tells us that, “It happened in those days that Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens…” How did Moshe know that he was a Hebrew himself, that they were his brethren? Ordinary Egyptians avoided any contact with these lowly Hebrews. Certainly a prince raised in the palace of the king would have had nothing to do with them.
Miketz -December 11th, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 4:26 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 5:15pm
Torah Message:
The dreamer is about to be saved by dreams, albeit not the ones that he dreamt but rather those of an unlikely stranger – the Pharaoh of Egypt himself. But dreams are dreams and often times they do not coincide with human reality. What makes Yosef so extraordinary in the eyes of Pharaoh was his ability to, so to speak, dream along with Pharaoh, interpret his dreams and translate them into practical life-saving action.
Vayishlach – November 27th, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 4:27 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 5:25pm
Torah Message:
This Parsha contains one of the most famous and enigmatic narratives of the lives of the Patriarchs: “Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he perceived that he could not overcome him, he struck the socket of his hip; so Jacob’s hip-socket was dislocated…Then he said, ‘Let me go, for dawn has broken.’ And he said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘Jacob’. He said, ‘No longer will be said that your name is Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with the Divine and with man and have overcome.’ Then Jacob inquired, and he said, ‘Divulge if you please, your name.’ And he said, ‘Why do you inquire of my name?’ And he blessed him there. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, ’For I have seen the Divine face-to-face yet my life was spared.’ The sun rose for him as he passed Penuel and he was limping on his hip. Therefore the Children of Israel are not to eat the displaced sinew on the hip-socket to this day, because he struck Jacob’s hip-socket on the displaced sinew.” (Ber. 32:25-31)
Yayeitzei – November 20th, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 4:29 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 5:16pm
Torah Message:
Warned that his brother Esav is seeking to kill him, Yaakov flees and settles down for the night. “And he dreamed, and behold!, a ladder was set earthward and its top reached heavenward, and behold!, angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it. And behold!, G-d was standing over him, and He said, ‘I am G-d, the G-d of Abraham your father and G-d of Yitzchak” (Ber. 28:12-13)
Abarbanel lists eight different interpretations of this enigmatic dream that are mentioned in other commentaries. Although he acknowledges that each of them is valuable, he notes that none of them connects the dream with Yaakov’s immediate circumstances, the fact that he “stole” his father’s blessing from his brother Esav and was now fleeing for his life. The eight interpretations are as follows:
Toldot – November 13th, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 4:32 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 5:20 pm
Torah Message:
In this Parsha is the famous narrative of Esav’s sale of his birthright (bechora) to his younger brother Yaakov for a pot of lentils. Abarbanel finds numerous difficulties with the whole story. What exactly were the special rights of the first-born? If they were truly significant, why would Esav give them up for a mere pot of lentils? If they were not significant, why was Yaakov so anxious to obtain them, and why did he take advantage of his brother’s physical weakness at the time to purchase these rights for a ridiculously low price? He should have given his brother food without asking for anything in return; wasn’t Yaakov supposedly the paragon of honesty and virtue? If we want to say that the firstborn receives a double inheritance, this rule does not take effect until later, after the Torah is given. If we want to say that the firstborn is entitled to the honor and respect of his younger siblings, why does Yaakov want to take this away from Esav in such an underhanded manner? Finally, if the firstborn privileges are to be understood in a spiritual, not material sense,G-d could of course see to it that those advantages were bestowed on whomever He wished, as we see later on in the case of Ephriam supplanting his older brother Menashe, and David being elevated over his older siblings.
Chayel Sara – November 6th, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 4:37 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 5:25 pm
Torah Message:
At the end of this Parsha, Avraham takes another wife named Keturah who bears him six additional sons. Rashi explains that she was actually Hagar, whom he was essentially remarrying after having sent her away years before. According to Abarbanel it was understandable for him to remarry her after the death of Sara. Abarbanel is puzzled, however, by the fact that the Torah tells us explicitly that there were children from his concubines (plural), to whom he gave gifts. This is a clear indication that Hagar and Keturah were not the same person. What need did Avraham have for an additional wife besides Hagar?
Vayera – October 30th, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 5:44 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 6:31pm
Torah Message:
The beginning of this Parsha describes Avraham’s interaction with three men who are referred to as ‘Malachim’, a word that is commonly translated as ‘angels’, or messengers of G-d, who are sent to perform a particular task.
It is difficult to describe this encounter in terms of a normal prophetic experience during which the prophet is either asleep or in some other semi-conscious state. Here, Avraham was clearly fully awake. They also end up interacting with Lot in Sodom and it is clear that Lot was not a prophet like Avraham.
In order to explain this unusual interaction, Abarbanel notes that the commentators fall into two categories. Ibn Ezra and Ralbag are among those who say that theMalachim were actual men sent by G-d. Others, including Rashi, Ramban and Rashbam, describe them as spiritual entities, which were miraculously provided with a physical human body.
Lech-Lecha – October 23rd, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 5:51 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 6:38pm
Torah Message:
Abarbanel offers three reasons why Avram had to leave Haran. First of all, the region was full of heretics who did not recognize G-d’s existence. Secondly, these idolaters — who were his friends, neighbors and relatives — were opposed to his “proselytizing”. They saw what had happened to him in Ur Kasdim, where he was miraculously saved from a fiery furnace, and forbade him from continuing his teaching. Thirdly, Avram was reluctant to correct the behavior of his father and brother who were manufacturers of idols. G-d does not tell him explicitly where to go, in order to prevent his family from following him.
Noach- October 16th, 2015
S.T.A.R.’s upcoming exciting events:
This Shabbat:
- Friday Candle Lighting: 5:59 pm
- Shabbat Ends: 6:46pm
Torah Message:
The Great Flood
At the end of Parshat Bereishet the Torah states, “And Gd saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth… I will blot out man, whom I created, from the face of the ground.” (Ber. 6:5-7) G-d is stating clearly that man’s evil nature is the cause of the destructive flood. However, in Parshat Noach, at the conclusion of the flood,G-d says, “I will not continue to curse again the ground because of man, since the nature of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I continue to smite every living being.” (Ber. 8:21) Here G-d is saying that man’s evil nature is the reason for notbringing another flood.