Lead Tidbit

When will we learn?!?

Vayeishev - Yosef’s brothers are jealous of him. The jealousy led to hatred. The hatred led to plotting against Yosef. Kill him. No, dump him in a deep pit. No, sell him to a passing caravan. Yaakov’s grief, Yosef’s experiences. Yosef still in prison.
Mikeitz - Yosef taken from prison and elevated to viceroy of Egypt. Famine. Yosef’s brothers go down to Egypt. Go back to Canaan. Go down to Egypt. Yosef’s guiding events. Binyamin on the block.
Vayigash - Yehuda confronts the as yet unrevealed Yosef. Yosef reveals himself to his brothers. They are incredulous and fearful. Yosef tries to reassure them. Yaakov and family go down to Egypt. The family grows by leaps and bounds.
Vaychi - Yaakov blesses his children and Yosef’s. Yaakov dies. The brothers are fearful again (still?) of retribution from Yosef. Yosef and his brothers die. The family is nation-size and will become one after the Egyptian slavery and oppression coming in the Book of Sh’mot.
Have the children of Israel learned lessons from Yosef and his Brothers?
The haftara of Vayigash told us that there will continue to be “problems” between the tribes, and between Jew and fellow Jew, throughout Jewish History. Only the prophecy to Yechezkeil gives us hope for the future.
And look what comes on the calendar either Erev Shabbat Parshat Vayigash or between Vayigash and Vaychi - Asara b’Tevet. A fast day that commemorates the beginning of the Churban. However you want to analyze the Churban and its causes, continued enmity among Jews is a major factor. If we are one people with one heart, then we are worthy of standing at Har Sinai to receive the Torah. If we are not, then we have problems.
Fast-forward through Jewish History. Stop at our time. Press play.
The latest form of brother vs. brother is the fanatic fringe (tiny fraction of) chareidim vs. everyone else (it seems), flamed by the reprehensible, totally non-halachic, totally G-d’s name disgracing behavior of some fringe elements in the chareidi world. Further exacerbated by the vulgar, obscene, no-excuse- or-justification-EVER-EVER behavior of these fringe chareidi protesters, who in adorning themselves and their children in Holocaust garb and yellow Jude stars - in doing so, aside from disgracing the memory of Holocaust victims and deeply hurting many survivors, they are also painting swastikas on those of us who disagree with the way they conduct themselves.
No Jew should EVER - no matter what the issue - portray himself as a Holocaust victim to any other Jew’s portrayal as the tormentors of the Jews. The is a RED LINE that must never be crossed - no matter what.
Perhaps worst of all is the telling silence of many in the chareidi world who must know that what is happening is very wrong, but won’t/don’t speak out.
B"H, the OU and the RCA have spoken out. See http://www.ou.org for their joint statement on the violence in Beit Shemesh.
The Torah and halacha teach us that we should encourage and inspire increased Torah and Mitzvot observance and attitude in the most gentle and pleasant ways possible. Spitting, cursing, throwing rocks, burning trash… are NOT among the D’RACHEHA DARCHEI NO’AM - its (the Torah’s) ways are ways of pleasantness.
A final thought: How can a religious Jew be a sexual predator or a thief or one who sells non-kosher meat as kosher… (etc.)? The answer is they only SEEM to be religious or chareidi - but they are not really.

• Other Lead Tidbit
• It's Not a Sin, but...
• Remembering in Tandem
• The Middle Matza