Rabbi Sender Haber

Rabbi, Monsey, NY

Good Intentions

It is interesting to note that Reuvein is given credit by the Torah for saving Yosef. He really didn’t do much. He got Yosef thrown into a pit so that he could come back and save him but when he came back to save him Yosef, Yosef had been sold. According to the Gemara...

How is it Going to End?

Yosef moved to Mitzrayim when he was seventeen years old. All of the Jews in the world had shunned him and sold him down the river. He was very young and he had no support system. When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Yosef he almost succumbed. The Gemara tells us that...
Chanukah: Culture Shock

Chanukah: Culture Shock

The Medrash tells us about a man named Yosef Meshisa. He may have lived at the time of the Roman invasion, but the context of the Medrash makes it sound like he lived at the time of the Greeks. He was what we would call a traitor. He joined the Greeks, adopted their...

Jealousy

Reuvein was the least likely candidate to save Yosef. Reuvein was the rightful heir to the throne. He was the oldest and he had championed the cause of Leah too often to stand idly by while one of Rachel’s children took the reins in the next generation. Of all of the...

Surmountable Odds

Yaacov Avinu was able to uncover the well for Rachel when all of the shepherds could not. He cared for her and he wanted her to be able to water the sheep and go home. How did he do it? Rashi tells us that he had superhuman strength. He was able to lift the stone like...