Weekly Parsha

Pray for Refuah Sheimah: Ariel ben Tovah, Yossefa (Josie) bat Sharon, Rafael ben Gladis and Esther Bracha bat Sarah.

Continue Praying for: Teddy Welz, Miriam (Mariana) bat Zulay, Adina (Heidi) bat Sarah and Yosefa (Josie) bat Sharon.

Vayechi

Genesis 47:28 - 50:26

When Jacob blesses his children before he dies, he says about his son Yissachar:

"And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulders to bear" (Genesis 49:15).

What does this mean?

The tribe of Yissachar was noted for its devotion to Torah study. Yissachar "knew that rest was good" and peace of mind were necessary to master the Torah. What did he do? "He bowed his shoulder to bear" -- by training himself to bear any difficulties, he was able to reach the highest levels of peace of mind in all situations.

People seek peace of mind by trying to obtain physical peace, to seek comfort. This is exactly what creates so much stress and tension in people's lives. A person who becomes used to having peace of mind only when nothing is missing in his life is more inclined to be stressed by unusual circumstances. A person who seeks peace of mind by having physical comforts is similar to a person who drinks salt water to quench his thirst. For a moment it appears that he is quenching his thirst, but very soon his thirst will be stronger than ever.

When a person experiences one stressful situation after the other, they add up and can become overwhelming.

How can one develop peace of mind?

Be aware of your ultimate goals in life -- developing your character, doing acts of kindness, emulating the Almighty and cleaving to Him. When you are aware of what life is really about and keep your focus on this, you are constantly in one situation: traveling towards your goal. When you internalize this awareness you will never be overly disturbed or distressed. The person who views all life situations as a means to reach his ultimate goals experiences less stress and will be able to cope with difficulties.

Soldiers are trained for battle. A prerequisite is to have peace of mind though they are in danger and in chaos. They are trained by removing all comforts -- to cope with situations when all the comforts of home are missing -- to ignore difficulties and to focus on their goal to win. Likewise, for peace of mind, we need to focus on the goal and to know that physical comfort is neither the goal nor the means.

The fastest way to lose an argument is to lose your temper.

Life is fragile...Handle with prayer.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukkah!

R. Tank

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Rabbi Tank is a professor at American Jewish College where he teaches classes on Talmud, Jewish History and Contemporary Jewish Law. Rabbi Tank is dedicated to finding modern usefulness and meaning in ancient wisdom texts and he is happy to provide spiritual, cultural, social and educational programming for communities around the world. 

Rabbi Tank was educated in Chabad Yeshivas in New York and Miami. He has got a Degree in Biblical Archeology from Bar Ilan University and a Harvard Degree in Judaic Studies. He got his Bachelor's in Business Administration and he also earned a degree in International Economic Development from the University of Oxford. 

Rabbi Tank works with active involvement in peace negotiations and humanitarian relief operations an he is a Member of the National White House Faith Leaders, an Executive Office of the President of the United States.

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