Friday

6:15 PM

Shabbat Evening Services

In person and live-streamed

Saturday

9:30 AM

Shabbat Morning Services

followed by Kiddush Luncheon

sponsored by Miriam & Bruce Waltzer in honor of their 65th wedding anniversary

In person and live-streamed

Saturday

10:30 AM

Children's Services

Sunday

9 AM

Shul School

Sunday

9:15 AM

Minyan with Men's Club

followed by breakfast

In person and available on Zoom

Sunday

10 AM

"Living Fully" Workshop with Rabbi Daniel Kripper

Click here to view the full flyer.

Click here to register.

Sunday

4:30 PM

Teen/Tween Learning

at Rabbi Hoffman's home

Monday

11 AM

Memorial Service for Joyce Ellis

In person and live-streamed

followed by Burial at Tikvat Shalom Cemetery

11316 River Rd, St. Rose, LA 70087

For the Talmudic sages, there was no value greater than that of Torah study. Not only did this guide their lives, but they also managed to “see” this fidelity to Torah study in earlier Jewish figures, retrojecting their values onto the patriarchs, the prophets, and assorted righteous individuals. 



It comes as no surprise, then, that the sages used any opportunity possible to prove their theory, even if it involved some creative license on their part. Take the following phrase from this week’s portion, Vayetze, for example: “Jacob awoke from his sleep (mi-shnato) and said, ‘Surely the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it.’” (Genesis 28:17) By reading – or, more properly, misreading – the word mi-shnato, “from his sleep”, it could be read as mi-mishnato, “from his learning.” Indeed, mishnato here is probably not referring specifically to the study of the Mishna (c. 200 CE), but rather to a method of reciting teachings over and over in order to commit them to memory. In a world in which written texts were scarce, memorization was the equivalent of “Professor Google.”

The theme of studying Torah in portion Vayetze was expanded in a midrash known as Tanchuma Buber, an 8^th century CE collection transcribed by Solomon (Shlomo) Buber in 1885 (for the curious, the philosopher Martin Buber was one of his grandchildren). Here is the comment on our verse:

• When you walk, it (your father's and your mother's Torah) will guide you. This refers to Jacob, who had been occupied with Torah when he set out from his father's house, and he did not leave it behind. Thus it is stated (Proverbs 6.): “In your lying down, it (Torah study) will watch over you.” When? (in Gen. 28:11) “Then he took one of the stones of the place, and set it down under his head”.

In other words, Torah study served as an apotropaic. If you haven’t heard this word before, rest easy – it’s one of those arcane terms they teach you in rabbinical school. Apotropaic means “warding off evil”, and applies to use of amulets, spells and the like. Did you have a red ribbon tied around your crib as a child to ward off the “evil eye” (yes, I had one) ? But for the sages, there was only one way to ward off evil – the study of Torah. Naturally, when Jacob fled his brother Esau, journeying all alone, sleeping in a strange place, he needed G-d’s protection. 

And the only way to ensure that was through Torah study, the best “amulet” money could buy.

- Rabbi Scott Hoffman

Parashat Vayetze

Torah: Genesis 28:10 - 30:13

Maftir: Genesis 30:9-13

Haftarah: Hosea 12:13 - 14:10

The Torah reading for this week is in the panel above. If you do not have a Chumash at home, you can find it on the link below. We are reading Triennial Year 1, but you might like to read the full portion (“Full Kriyah”).

Our Shabbat brochure with yahrzeits and simchas for this week is attached. You might wish to take special notice of those who are sick, and take a moment to direct your thoughts towards them.

Thank you to all those listed below who performed the mitzvah of supporting our community the past two weeks.