VaYishlach

You may be an only child, or you may have siblings.  If you are an only child, you probably think sisters and brothers always get along well.  If you have siblings, you know this is NOT the case!!  In this week's parasha we read about a meeting between the two brothers, Jacob and Esau, who have not seen each other in years.  When they were together the last time, they had a horrible fight - so horrible that Jacob ran away afraid for his life.  (If you don't remember what they fought about, go back and read chapter 27)  Time has passed, both brothers have been successful as adults, but you have to wonder how they feel about seeing each other after such a long time.
Here's what it says in the text:

Genesis, Chapter 32  verse 4) And Jacob sent messengers ahead to Esau his brother...  5) [And he told them to give Esau this message,  "This is your servant Jacob's message - 'I have been living with Lavan.  6) and I have oxen, and donkeys, and sheep and servants, and I sent them ahead to give you this message so you will be happy to see me.

• How do you think Jacob feels?  

And the messengers came back to Jacob, and this is what they said:

7)...We came to your bother Esau, and he's coming to meet you with four hundred men

• How do you think Jacob feels now?

Some arguments are simple - you have them and then they are over.  But some are much more serious.  Did you ever have an argument like that?

• Why was the argument between Jacob and Esau so serious?  Do you think it can be solved?
• What advice would you give Jacob now?
• What advice would you give Esau? 

What do you do when you have a serious argument with someone?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog

Vayetze

Rachel and Leah in this story are sisters.  Like most sisters, they probably love each other.  And like most sisters, they are probably jealous of each other from time to time.  Their jealousy is more complicated than most - since according to the text they are married to the same man - Jacob.  That couldn't happen today in our world... or could it?  In this article from Kenya, read what actually happened in one family.

From an article at the site www.torah.org there is an explanation of the rule in Judaism against one man marrying sisters.

we see how important it is in the eyes of the Torah for children to get along with one another. The Torah bans two sisters from marrying the same person for the simple reason that the Torah does not want siblings to fight with each other. Whether we are ourselves siblings or whether we are parents who have children who are siblings, we all know that this is indeed a very big challenge.

What do you think about this idea?  

In the United States and in Israel (and in most modern countries today) no person is allowed to have more than one wife or husband at the same time.  In your opinion, why do you think the rules were different in the past?  What changed?

Toldot

Do you have any sisters or brothers?  Do you ever think your parents are not being fair?  Here are two verses from this week's Torah portion.

Genesis, Chapter 25, verse 27: And the youths grew up, and Esau was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, whereas Jacob was an innocent man, dwelling in tents.  28  And Isaac loved Esau because [his] game was in his mouth, but Rebecca loved Jacob.

What's going on here?  Is it possible that the Torah says that Isaac, their father, loves one son more and  Rebecca, their mother, prefers the other?  How can that be?  Aren't parents supposed to love their children equally?  Or maybe it just feels that way to them!


What if the text read this way:

So the kids grew up, and one was really good at sports - captain of the soccer travel team, champion tennis player, fastest runner on the track team.  The other one wasn't so good at sports - but did really great in school - all advanced classes, on the honor roll every quarter, bringing home 100's on practically every test.

Do you think these two kids could possible be siblings?  I bet they could, and they probably are!


Which kid are you most like - Jacob or Esau?
How can you be the best possible Jacob?  the best possible Esau?
How can you help your siblings (or friends) be the best people they can be?
What would you like to say to Isaac and Rebecca if you had the chance to talk to them?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog

Hayei Sarah

In this week's Torah reading we hear the story of how Avraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son Yitzhak.   You can read the whole story in Chapter 24 of the book of B'Reisheet - aka Genesis.  After you read it, try to imagine what was going through Rivka's mind as the story unfolded.  You might also imagine  what was going through the minds of the other characters - Eliezer, Avraham, Lavan, Betuel, Rivka's mother, the nanny.
Become one of the characters in the story and think about how you would be updating your status on Facebook.

• What does your profile look like?
• Who are your "friends"?
• What are you thinking?
• What do you want your friends to know?
• What are you excited about?
• What are you worried about?
• What thoughts might you NOT want to share on your fb page?  Why?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog

Vayera

This portion begins with a lovely description of Abraham's hospitality to visitors who arrive unannounced at his door.  Of course, in today's world if strangers arrive at our home we would almost certainly NOT invite them in, but there are other ways in which we invite new people into our lives.  According to Will Rogers, a famous American humorist, "A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet."

1. What do you think Will Rogers meant by that statement?
2. What does that tell you about the kind of person he probably was?
3. Where do you meet most of your friends?
4. How do you decide whether someone you meet will become a friend or not?
5. In what ways do you reach out to make new friends?
6. Is a 'friend' on Facebook the same as a 'friend' in real life?  Explain your answer.
7. How is the internet a good place to meet new people?
8. How is face-to-face a good way to meet people? 

Abraham's guests turned out to be very important.  You never know if the people you meet are going to play a role in your future or not.  It's a good thing Abraham welcomed the strangers to his home - and it can be a good thing for you to welcome new people into your life.

What do you think?

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Lech Lecha

This is the part of the story where God tells Abram to leave his family and go to the place God will show him.  Here's what it might have said if it were being written now:

Now Adonai said to Abram:  Get out of town, leave your friends, your parents, and go to the place I'll show you [but I'm not showing you yet!!  You'll have to trust me on this one]

And if you do what I'm telling you, you'll be successful.  You'll have thousands of friends (on Facebook, at least), everyone will want to 'friend' you, and anyone who isn't nice to you is gonna be in serious trouble.

How does this sound?  Why do you think Abram believed it was God who was talking to him?  Do you think you would have done what Abram did?  Who do you listen to?  Whose advice do you follow?  How do you decide important things?

What do you think?

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Noah

At the end of the story of Noah and the flood, there is a small story about how Noah planted a vineyard, made some wine, got drunk, went into his tent, and was naked.  Pretty embarrassing, but after all, he was inside his own tent, not walking around outside.  One of his sons came in and saw him lying there - then told his brothers about it.  They decided to cover their father up.

Something to think about:  If someone is in his own room, is he entitled to privacy?  If someone is doing something inside his house, is it anyone else's business?  If we know something about another person that might embarrass him or her, do we have the right to tell other people?

Social networks make it easy to share information.  How do we decide if what we share is appropriate?

What do you think?

Be sure to share your answers by commenting on this blog