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Weekly Words of Torah goes PC (Parashah and Chesed) – Parashat Miketz 5780

Weekly Words of Torah goes PC (Parashah and Chesed) – Parashat Miketz 5780 – Rosh Chodesh Tevet – Chanukkah (Shabbat 12/28/19)
To inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, Executive Director, Women’s League For Conservative Judaism

Parashat Miketz begins with Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s two dreams and predicting a famine. He offers practical suggestions regarding the future food shortage. Therefore, Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of saving for the future famine. Joseph gets married and has two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph’s prediction comes true – seven years of surplus are followed by a famine. Jacob sends ten of his sons to buy food in Egypt, keeping Benjamin safe at home. Joseph’s brothers do not recognize Joseph, but Joseph does recognize them. Without providing his true identity, Joseph tricks his brothers, and returns their gold and demands that they bring their youngest brother back with them. When they return with Benjamin, Joseph plants a goblet in Benjamin’s bag and tells the brothers whoever has stolen the goblet will be thrown in jail.

A Chesed project for Parashat Miketz is to create small care packages that can be carried around, and easily distributed, with some sort of small snack, to give to someone who needs some quick nutrition. For example, a zip lock with a small bottle of water, a box of raisins, and some sort of nut-free bar that can give someone sustenance, and one can hand out the bags to those in need. Walking through the streets of New York, any time of year, but especially in the winter, it is all too apparent how many people have a shortage of food, housing, and a warm place to sleep.

Weekly Words of Torah is a brief paragraph prepared weekly by our Executive Director, Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, presented in our “This Week @ Women’s League.” WWOT will provide meaningful thoughts related to the Weekly Torah Portion, an event on the Calendar, a Prayer, or something of Jewish interest, to inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women. If you have any particular interest in future topics, or want to send Rabbi Wolintz-Fields an email, you can contact her at ewolintz-fields@wlcj.org. Read previous Weekly Words of Torah here, and stay up-to-date with the latest WWOT theme, Chesed, here.