Hashem Melech, Hashem Malach, Hashem Yimloch Le'Olam Va'ed!!!

25 Tishrei 5786
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Bereishit - Mevarchim

From the creation of the world to its destruction in the space of one parashah - Bereishit to Noach.

From the Stone Edition Chumash Commentary on Bereishit...

We begin the study of the Torah with the realization that the Torah is not a history book, but the charter of Man's mission in the universe.  Thus, in his very first comment, Rashi cites Rav Yitzchak who says that since the Torah is primarily a book of laws, it should have begun with the commandment of the new moon (Exodus 12:2), the first law that was addressed to all of Jewry as a nation.  He explains that the reason for the Torah's narrative of Creation is to establish that God is the Sovereign of the universe:  He declared to His people the power of His works in order to give them the heritage of the nations (Psalms 111:6).  If the nations accuse Israel of banditry for seizing the lands of the seven nations of Canaan, Israel can respond, "The entire universe belongs to God.  He created it and He granted it to whomever He deemed fit.  It was His desire to give it to them and then it was His desire to take it from them and give it to us."

Here we are 5,786 years from Creation and mankind has yet to internalize or accept this eternal Truth! 

It will be only the second parashah of the Torah when already we will read (next week) the first mention of Avraham Avinu - the first Jew:  "...When Terah had lived seventy years, he begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran." 

From then until today, this man Abraham's offspring will dominate the world - for good and for ill - but one will build a dynasty that will redeem the fallen world at the end of the days of this Creation.

From the Haftarah of Parashat Breishit... 

So said the God, Hashem, Who creates the heavens and stretches them forth, spreads out the earth and what grows from it, gives a soul to the people upon it, and a spirit to those who walk on it:

I am Hashem; in righteousness have I called you [Rashi:  Israel] and taken hold of your hand; I have protected you and appointed you to bring the people to the covenant, to be a light for the nations; to open blinded eyes, to remove a prisoner from confinement, dwellers in darkness from a dungeon.

I am Hashem; that is My Name, and I shall not give over My glory to another....

* * * 

Avi, the father of Yosef Chaim Ohana, said..."I thank God for creating him strong. I would wake up in the morning and travel to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's tomb, another morning to the Western Wall, it helped me, it was also a war of faith." (Source)

Tami Breslavsky, mother of captivity survivor Rom Breslavsky, told ynet that he "was held by Islamic Jihad in a place where there were corpses, and the abuse against him intensified in recent months." According to her, "They wanted him to convert to Islam. It was important for him to maintain his Judaism, and they said they would reward him with food if he converted to Islam." She added that "as soon as he returned, he put on tefillin." (Source)

“I used to talk to a crack in the ceiling. And then we got into the tunnel and I switched to a small LED light. And then we got to a different tunnel, and then there was only darkness. And this is when I first said the word God. And from that point on, I spoke to God.” —Or Levy  (Source)

Two days after being freed from two years of brutal captivity in Gaza, 22-year-old IDF tanker Matan Angrest shared his harrowing yet deeply inspiring story of survival and faith.

Angrest, who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, after a fierce battle in Nahal Oz, described how he endured the unimaginable through constant tefillah and unshakable emunah. “It was clear to me that I’d get out of captivity,” he said. “The place I was in was bombed, but I wasn’t hurt; it was a series of miracles.”

Speaking on Wednesday from Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv, where he is being treated for severe wounds, Matan shared his story with Tzili Schneider, Founder and CEO of the Kesher Yehudi organization, who gifted him a new pair of tefillin.

...Matan refused to let go of his faith. Just a month after his abduction, still in shock, he asked for religious items to help him maintain his spiritual connection. “I insisted on putting on tefillin and getting a Sidur and Chumash,” he recalled. “I demanded from the captors to receive those things.” Remarkably, his captors complied — and a senior Hamas official personally provided him with the siddur.

From then on, prayer became his lifeline. “As part of my routine, I prayed three times a day, morning, afternoon, and night,” Matan said. “It protected me, it gave me hope.”

His words paint a portrait of extraordinary resilience — a young soldier whose courage, faith, and devotion sustained him through two years of unthinkable suffering, and who now stands as a living testament to the power of emunah and the miracles of Hashem. (Source)

 

When you put gold through the fire, it comes out completely pure.

738 Days! Hostages Return HomeWhat's Our Lesson?


~ SHABBAT SHALOM UMEVORACH ~