MAZEL TOV!
DECEMBER 2 • 2021 | 41
Noam David Kantor will be called to the Torah
as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, at
Congregation B’nai Moshe in West
Bloomfield. He is the beloved son of Shana
and Rabbi Shalom Kantor and an amazing
brother to Rena and Ari. Noam will be joined
in his celebration by his grandparents and their spouses
Beth and Michael Alderman, Margie and Joel Teig, and
Laura and Bob Kantor, in addition to extended family.
Noam is a student at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan
Detroit in Farmington Hills. He is working with the Jewish
Family Service Adopt a Family program to help collect
toys and other gifts, helping to ensure that other children
can have a happy holiday season.
Raminick 90th
C
laire Raminick
celebrated her 90th
birthday on Nov.
24, 2021. Her children,
grandchildren and great-
grandchildren wish her good
health and happiness for many
years to come.
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SPIRIT
Joseph And His
Brothers
T
his Torah portion con-
tinues the story that
began with the sale of
Joseph by his brothers. At one
point, the brothers discuss the
possibility of murdering
Joseph.
A superficial reading
seems to indicate that the
brothers were overcome
with jealousy due to the
special garment that their
father Jacob had given to
Joseph. The problem with
that simplistic approach
is that Rashi, the fore-
most commentator on
Torah, quotes the Talmud
that when the brothers
returned to the (future)
land of Israel from Lavan’s
house they were all righteous.
(Shabbos 55B) Suggesting that
a group of righteous brothers
were scheming to kill or sell
their brother due to jealousy
over a coat cannot be taken at
face value.
One answer put forth is based
on our belief that together with
the freedom that everyone has
to make proper (or improper)
moral and ethical decisions, we
are also guided by a compo-
nent of Divine Providence that
steers us in a certain direction.
Concerning the sale of Joseph
by his brothers, the Talmud
states that this was all part of
the Divine plan to bring Jacob’s
family to Egypt (Sota 11A ).
The brothers certainly made
some miscalculations and a
price was paid for their conduct;
but considering that a Divine
plan was being played out, they
remain tzadikim in the eyes of
Torah.
This Torah portion generally
is read on Chanukah. The battle
waged between the Greeks and
the Jews was an outgrowth of
a battle between two cultures.
The Greeks believed that every-
thing in life should be subser-
vient to the egocentric
needs of man. They even
believed that all heavenly
spirits were secondary to
them. Jews, on the other
hand, serve Hashem
by insuring that in all
areas of life the spiritual
dominates the material.
Judaism is based on
the belief that there is
Divine Providence that
guides our every step.
Unfortunately, many of
the Jews at the time of
Chanukah embraced a
Hellenistic lifestyle.
Today’s secular society is
really built on the culture of
Hellenism of old: Belief that
Hashem is a factor or player in
one’s life is, for the most part,
non-existent.
The story of Chanukah is that
a small group of believers was
able to maintain its dedication
to the ideals of Torah against all
odds. It is the story of the light
of Divine Providence overcom-
ing the emptiness of a Godless
culture.
Chanukah is the time to
reveal the light of our souls that
has the power to reignite our
lives and to enjoy a meaningful
relationship with the Almighty,
which, in turn, will enable us to
have proper relationships with
all we encounter.
May we all be blessed
with a luminous and joyous
Chanukah.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg is a rabbi
at Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center
in West Bloomfield.
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi
Elimelech
Silverberg
Parshat
Miketz:
Genesis 41:1-
44:17; I Kings
3:15-4:1. (Rosh
Chodesh &
Chanukah 7)