Not On Bread Alone

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Anatomy Of Exile

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

When Yosef entered, Pharaoh tested him – he said hello to him in Dutch, Greek, and Danish and each time Yosef conversed with him fluently in each language and ascended another step until finally he was on the top 70th step together with Pharaoh.

A White Lie

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

There is no question that they lied, but incredibly, the Gemara above says that they were right to lie because there is a special circumstance when one is permitted to lie and that is to make peace, what is known in English as a white lie.

The First Impression

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

After Yosef reveals himself to them and they get over their initial shock, the Midrash says – they wanted to kill him! Kill him? Just a few hours earlier they were intent on rescuing Yosef, and willing to pay any price to do so. Now that he is standing in front of them, they want to kill him?

Abominable Bread

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Where grains abound, so does baking knowledge and Egypt was also the first baking superpower. Much of our modern baking science is derived from the ancient Egyptians.

The Soul of Israel: Owning the Land with Favor

Mourning Malfunction

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Yaakov knew even before Yosef was sold that he and his family would go down to Egypt. If not, why would he buy a future burial plot for Yosef – the first thing he did before settling in Eretz Yisrael?

Do We Create Our Own Enemies?

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Let us assume for a moment that the Avot knew for certain what the repercussions of rejecting Timna would be and that they were faced with a dilemma. If they accept her as a convert, it would conflict with the halacha, because she had an agenda.

Blindsided

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

If you think Lavan was an arch-villain swindler, he had nothing on the serpent. The serpent was the inventor of swindling, using wiles and deception to trick Chava into eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

Money In The Right Hands

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

If the rest of the world is to survive, you cannot bequeath the blessing of wealth to evil people. Only if you place it in the custodianship of Am Yisrael, will the rest of the world prosper – because of Am Yisrael.

Proof Of Ownership

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The field of Efron had a bad reputation; it was said to be haunted. Anyone happening to wander into the field reported encountering a demon wielding a sword. As viable real estate it was worthless.

Roped In

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Who said anything about tying Yitzchak up? Hashem certainly didn’t tell Avraham to tie Yitzchak up, He told him to offer Yitzchak as an olah.

Divine Sense Of Humor

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The former kind of humor that simply makes one laugh, without denigrating anyone or anything is OK and more than that, it is encouraged.

Evil Personified

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Why did G-d decide to bring a flood? Why not an earthquake, a tornado, a solar flare?

Joy

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

We all know the verse "Serve Hashem in joy" (Tehillim 100:2), which seems to indicate that there is a positive commandment to serve G-d in joy. However, if you search Sefer HaChinuch, which lists and discusses all 613 mitzvot, for this specific mitzvah, you will not find it.

All For One And One For All

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

This successful symbiotic cohesion between the “all,” the “one” and the “One” – the collective, the individual and G-d – was the real secret formula of the Ketoret.

The Power Of One

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The concept of the Twelve Tribes and mutual responsibility is a “collective” concept, in which the individual appears to be secondary, however the opposite is the case.

Fat And Kicking: Rosh Hashana, Ha’azinu

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

When Moshe uses this phrase to rebuke Am Yisrael in parshat Ha'azinu, he states this as a fact, not as a conditional statement...Moshe is saying – it is for sure going to happen!

A Peace Offering – Parshat Re’ei

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Unlike all the other types of Korbanot that are offered to atone for a sin, the Shelamim is offered purely out of love for Hashem.

Honey

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Eretz Yisrael is blessed with seven species of food. One of the joys of living in Eretz Yisrael is having the privilege of eating these special foods.

Dancing In The Vineyard

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The Sforno says that the essence of the sin of the golden calf was the dancing, without the dancing the sin would not have been so severe.

Expectation Of Redemption

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Many of us have lost it because we don’t see the true value of it. What would having the Beit HaMikdash add to my life that I don’t have already?

Pursuing Peace

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The last time the Torah mentions Aharon actually saying anything of his own volition, is when Miriam speaks lashon hara against Moshe. Aharon’s words are a plea for Moshe to pray to G-d to heal their sister.

Differential Enemies

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

An Egyptian whose ancestors committed genocide against our people may be accepted as a convert after three generations, but a Moabite and Amonite – who never gave us bread and water, they may never be accepted?

Moshe’s Lost Book

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Parashat Balak is a very interesting parasha in that it relates an incident that none of Am Yisrael observed directly.

Red Lights And The Four Stages Of Exile

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

When Moshe saw two Jews (Datan and Aviram) fighting and tried to stop them, they went and informed to Pharaoh that he had killed an Egyptian guard. Moshe then said, Now I realize why Am Yisrael are in exile in Egypt – it is because they speak lashon hara.