DECEMBER 31 • 2020 | 25
SPIRIT
Speak To The Heart
I
n Vayechi, the last Torah
portion of the Book of
Genesis, the story of Joseph
comes to an end.
The most remarkable part
of the story is that he forgave
his brothers even though they
sold him into slavery in
Egypt and lied to their
father, Jacob, telling
him that Joseph was
dead.
Upon returning
to Egypt after bury-
ing their father, his
brothers worried that
because of Jacob’s
death, Joseph would no
longer deal kindly with
them. The brothers
bowed before Joseph,
and the Torah tells us that
Joseph said, “Fear not. I will
sustain you and your children”
(Genesis 50:21.) The next part
of that verse says, “Joseph
comforted them and spoke
into their heart.
” This phrase,
vayidaber al libam, is often
translated as “he spoke kindly
to them.
” But the Hebrew
means “he spoke into their
heart.
”
This turn of phrase stands
out to me, as it is not some-
thing that I’ve heard before;
so I went to the Talmud for a
better understanding. Tractate
Megilah 16b:7 gives the expla-
nation that “Rabbi Binyamin
bar Yefet said that Rabbi
Elazar said: ‘This teaches that
he spoke to them words that
are acceptable to the heart and
alleviated their fears.
”’ Joseph
spoke to his brothers compas-
sionately and with words they
could really hear.
This is such a good lesson
for us. We sometimes have to
change the way we speak so
that the people receiving our
words can really hear them,
instead of building a defense
or shutting down. Joseph had
to speak to his brothers in a
way that cut through the deep
fears they had that they would
be abandoned in a foreign
land and left to starve or
worse. They knew how
they treated Joseph, and
they feared he would kill
them.
Instead of seeking
revenge after his father’s
death, Joseph chose
to love and forgive his
brothers. He spoke to
them with deep kind-
ness; at once, he alle-
viated their fears in a
way that each of them
could hear. It’s remarkable that
Joseph was able to exercise this
forgiveness. That he was able
to let go of any anger toward
his brothers that would be
completely understandable to
hold onto, considering what
they did. His ability to show
this ultimate kindness says so
much about his character.
After detailing the rest
of Joseph’s life, this parshah
comes to a close and with it
the Book of Genesis. At the
end of each book of Torah that
we finish, we say chazak, chaz-
ak, v’nitchazeik, be strong and
let us strengthen one another.
What we learn from the end
of Joseph’s life is that there
is strength in vulnerability,
in relying on community, in
compassion and in forgive-
ness.
As we forge ahead in this
new year, may we take after
Joseph and speak to the hearts
of the ones we love.
Rabbi Alicia Harris is rabbi of
Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy.
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi Alicia
Harris
Parshat
Vayechi:
Genesis
47:28-50:26;
I Kings 2:1-12.
Click. Call. Give Now.
www.hfldetroit.org • 248.723.8184
Hebrew Free Loan Detroit
6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301
@HFLDetroit
Zach Berg and William Werner became
friends as children at Tamarack, and remained close
through childhood and adulthood, coming together
over a love of what makes a great meal.
Zach spent his time in kosher catering, restaurant
kitchens, learned about cheese with Bi-Rite Markets
and Zingerman’s, and became a cheese authority.
Will became a geologist, but always was interested
in catering and meal prep.
“Good eating is a passion for both of us, Zach said.
“Whenever we saw each other, we both seemed to
have a love for cooking, catering and food in general.
We even brought a group of friends together and
catered Will’s wedding. It was such a memorable
event, we didn’t want that to end.”
Then, Will’s cousin Gayle asked him to come help
manage her Royal Oak chocolate operation. Will and
Zach created a cheese pop-up in the chocolate shop,
becoming such a popular draw that they knew there
was traction to the idea of cheese and chocolate.
“What we ended up doing was putting a permanent
pop-up into a shop in Ferndale, founding Mongers’
Provisions in 2017
, and offering specialty cheeses,
craft chocolate and charcuterie,” said Zach.
In order to follow that success and launch their own
Detroit location, the partners approached Hebrew
Free Loan’s Marvin I. Danto Small Business
Loan Program, and now they also have a dedi-
cated shop in Midtown Detroit.
“Food never tastes better than when you share it with
people,” Zach said. “Hebrew Free Loan helped us bring
more of it to a wider audience, and we will forever
be grateful. We got here because we refined our plans,
expanded our knowledge, and went for what we really
wanted. I never get tired of being here, and I get to do
this great thing with my friend.”
Community donations help Hebrew Free Loan give
interest-free loans to local Jews for a variety of personal,
health, educational and small business needs.
STORY
Our
STORY
Our