Parasha – Vezot Haberakha: (Deuteronomy) Deut. 33:1–34:12 | Historical Context: Creation Time: 2487 (1407 bce or 1274 bce according to Seder Olam). After a 40-year desert journey Bene Yisrael are encamped in the plains of Moav, awaiting the entry to the Holy Land. Parashort: On Simḥat Torah we conclude and begin anew the annual Torah-reading cycle. First we read the Torah section of Vəvot Habərakha, which recounts the blessings that Moses gave to each of the twelve tribes of Israel before his death. Echoing Ya’aqov's blessings to his twelve sons five generations earlier, Moses assigns and empowers each tribe with its individual role within the community of Israel. Vezot Haberakha then relates how Moses ascended Mount Nevo from whose summit he saw the Promised Land. The Torah concludes by attesting that "There arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom G‑d knew face to face... and in all the mighty hand and the great awesome things which Moses did before the eyes of all Israel." Immediately after concluding the Torah, we begin it anew by reading the first chapter of Genesis, which is part of next Shabbat's Torah reading, describing G‑d's creation of the world in six days and His ceasing work on the seventh—which He sanctified and blessed as a day of rest. |
Haftara - Vevot Haberakha: Yehoshuwa’ (Joshua): 1: 1- 9 | Haftit: Hashem appears to Yehoshuwa‘ and after encouraging him to be strong, urges him to remind Bene Yisrael to learn Torah constantly and consistently. Yehoshuwa’ does so and then he prepares the nation for war. He also reinforces the promise that was made by Hashem to the tribes of Reuven, Gad and half of the tribe of Menashe that they can live on the other side of the Jordan River if they fight with Bene Yisrael. The Haftara concludes with the Jews affirming their loyalty to Hashem and to Yehoshuwa’. Connection to the Parasha: The Torah reading on Simhat Torah deals with the death of Moshe. This Haftara talks about the story of Yehoshuwa’, Moshe’s successor. On Simḥat Torah, we complete reading Dəvarim, the fifth and final Book of Moses. As a symbol of continuation, we read from the next book in the Tanakh, which is the first book of the Prophets, Yehoshuwa’. Some commentators have even gone as far as to say that Yehoshuwa’ is considered the sixth book of Moses. |
Speechless in the Parasha - Vəvot Habərakha | Read the blessings Yisrael gave to his sons. Which of the blessings would you most want to get? Who did not get a blessing? |
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‘Am Yisrael Ḣazaq Ḣai VeQayam | The Tequma War is now in its 25th month. Our hearts and prayers are with the IDF and all security forces who are fighting and guarding us at all 9 fronts. May Hashem protect you and bring you back home safely!  |
What’s in a Name... - Simḥat Torah | The name Simḥat Torah was not used until a relatively late time. In the Talmud (Meg. 31b) it is called Shemini Atseret. The Darkhe Moshe (OC 669:3) cites a responsum from R' Joseph Colon (#26) who found a Geonic responsa mentioning the custom of dancing on Simḥat Torah, thus dating the current practice of dancing on Simḥat Torah to the 1st century CE. In the 9th century, some European Jewish communities assigned a special reading from the Prophets to be read on this day. In the 14th century, the reading of Genesis was added immediately upon the completion of Deuteronomy, as mentioned in the Shulhan Arukh (1565). In the 16th century, the practice of taking out the scrolls and filing solemnly around the bimah on the night of the 23rd of Tishre became customary; and on the same evening, after the procession, a number of passages from the Torah were read. (wiki) |
Riddle Solved | The original masculine form is Ushpizin in plural and Ushpiz is in singular. In the Talmud the word was used at first to describe the owner/s of inn/s or host/s. Later on, in the Zohar, it received the meaning of guest/s. Today we can use the Hebrew form of Ushpizim (masculine plural) and Ushpiz (masculine singular) along with the feminine form of Ushpizot (plural) and Ushpiza (singular).
So, originally as the Talmud Bavli tells us, Ushpiza meant a motel or an inn (אוּשְׁפִּיזָה), and Ushpiz meant a host or the inn’s owner (אוּשְׁפִּיז), then we got the word Ushpizin for guests (אוּשְׁפִּיזִין), and in recent decades the feminine form Ushpizot (אוּשְׁפִּיזוֹת).
And what is the connection between inn/host/guest and hospitalization? From the Latin word hospitium, words denoting a hospital, a place of accommodation for the sick, such as the English word hospital, have evolved into European languages. Hence also hospitalization - bringing a patient to the hospital, receiving a patient to the hospital. Inspired by these words, the verb Eishpez (אִשְׁפֵּז) was created in modern Hebrew, and hence we also use Meushpaz (מְאוּשׁפָּז) to mean “hospitalized”. This usage is attributed to two innovators of the Hebrew language: the doctor Yosef Ibn-Odam and the linguist Hillel Har-Shoshann. It is possible that each of them innovated the word independently of the other.
Either way, may it be used bli ’ayin hara’ :)
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My 7 picks are: Sara, Rivqa, Leah, Rahel, Bitya, Devora, Esther. |
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