“Yaakov, our ancestor, did not die. Just as his descendants are alive, he is alive;” True life stemming from a connection with Torah; The existence of such a connection within every Jew, even when his outward appearance does not reflect it; The encouragement this message gives the Jewish people after they conclude the Book of Bereishis.
2. The tragedy of the error in criticizing people who do not observe the Torah at present; How such an approach is contrary to the truth and reflects a lack of respect both for G-d and for the Jewish people.
3. Our Sages’ directive, “Do not utter words which empower the Satan”.
4. The legacy of self-sacrifice left us by the martyrs of the Holocaust; Heaven forbid that we say that their death came as a punishment for sins; rather, it is an unfathomable Divine decree.
5. The positive dimension in the commemoration of the Tenth of Teves, the day which “the King of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem”; the observance of the Fast as reflected in the themes of (a) the preciousness of every Jew and (b) the imminence of the Future Redemption.
אודיו