9th of Tevet 5784- Decemeber 21, 2023

 

A Coat of Many Colors

by Rachel Moshkovitch, Israel 

 

My son returned from battle, his duffel bursting

with things that I had not packed for him.

Socks donated by a community in Argentina

A quilted blanket smelling like someone else's home

A blue towel from a family from the Moshav

Tzitzit from Jerusalem

A fleece jacket, gifted by a high tech company

A scarf knitted by an elderly lady

Undershirts purchased by a Paybox group

A sheet that was given to him by a friend

Gloves bought by teenage girls

A jacket from the closet of someone who came and requested to give.

 

I spread out all of these garments

and weave together a new coat of many colors.

See, Yosef, your brothers were there for you.

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1.                 מְרַגְּלִים

a.               Margalim

b.              Meraglim

c.                Meragelim

d.              Mahragelim

e.               Mary Galim

 

2.               כַּסְפֵּיהֶם

a.               Kaspe’hem

b.              Kaspay’hem

c.                Kaspee’hem

d.              Kasapeh’ehm

e.               Kasbadooopie!

 

3.                הָאֲנָשִׁים

a.               Ha’onashim

b.              Ha’anasim

c.                Ha’anashim

d.              Hanashim

e.               Hanamontana

4.              כִּצְעִרָתוֹ

a.               Chee’itz’rato

b.              Cheetz’irato

c.                Kee’itzrato

d.              Keetz’rato

e.               Cheezzits-to

 

5.                וְהִשַּׂגְתָּם

a.               Va’heesagtam

b.              Ve’heesagtam

c.                Ve’heeshagtam

d.              Va’heeshagtam

e.               Va’hesajollygoodfellowthatnobodycandeny

 

6.               בְּהִתְוַדַּע

a.               Baheetevadeh

b.              Baheetvadeh

c.                Baheetvadah

d.              Baheetvoodah

e.               Basomething

 

7.                לַחֲמֹרֵיהֶם

a.               Lachmoreihem

b.              Lahamoreihem

c.                Lachamreyhem

d.              Lachamoreihem

e.               Lachnessmonster

 

8.               בַּצׇּהֳרָיִם

a.               Vetzaharayim

b.              Betzaharayim

c.                Betzahorayim

d.              Be’aharayim

e.               Betzyouabuck

 

9.               וּלְמוֹלַדְתֵּנוּ

a.               Olmolad’teynu

b.              Ulmolad’teynu

c.                Ulmoladeteynu

d.              Vemolad’teynu

e.               Oldmolditellyou

 

10.      בְּאַמְתְּחֹתֵיכֶם

a.               Be’amtochteichem

b.              Beamatoteichem

c.                Be’amtecho’teichem

d.              Bamtechoteichem

e.               Ba’wowthisislong

 

 

 

 

 

 

1)    What is the modern term for a government where a king or queen who actually rules with undisputed power?

a)     True Monarchy

b)    King by Divine Right

c)     Absolute Monarchy

d)    Inherited Monarchy

e)     There in fact are no such monarchs anymore.

 

2)    What was the fate of the last Emperor of China, Pu Yi, in his last years (born 1906)?

a)     Executed in 1949 by the order of Mao Zedong upon the Communists taking power.

b)    He was a librarian in the Asian Language section of the Royal Library in London.

c)     He led tours of the Forbidden City in Beijing, showing people the secrets of the palaces there from when he was Emperor as a boy.

d)    He was “re-educated” in prison, and spent his last  years sweeping streets and trimming trees.

e)     He escaped to the United States and lived as a critic of the cruel Communist Chinese Government.

 

3)    What is King Phillipe VI of Spain known for in connection with the Jewish people?

a)     He offered Spanish citizenship to all descendants of Jews expelled in 1492 (if they applied for it).

b)    He rejected granting Spanish citizenship to all descendants of Jews expelled in 1492.

c)     He married a Jewish woman, Hadassa Levi-Strauss, after she converted to Catholicism and changed her name to Maribel Figeroa.

d)    He refused to award the 1997 Princess of Asturias Awards to a Jewish organization,  awards celebrating Spanish achievements,.

e)     While in Jerusalem he reminded the Prime Minister of Israel that one of his titles was King of Jerusalem, and told the PM to bow.

 

4)    When a monarch is only a ceremonial head of state, that is called being a

a)     Bannister

b)    Figurehead

c)     Caesaro-papist

d)    Faux Potentate

e)     The Monarchic Scone

 

5)    How many kings are there today who are Absolute Monarchs with powers to execute people, write laws, declare war, and more?

a)     Just King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

b)    Yeah, him, and also Sultan Haitham ibn Tariq of Oman

c)     Yeah, him, and also Sultan Hassanal Bolkieh of Brunei

d)    Yeah, him, and also King Mswatti III of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland)

e)     Yeah, him, and the Pope.

 

6)    How many constitutional Monarchies,  where the king or queen has some political power,  are there in the world today?

a)     Four-  Jordan, Malaysia, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

b)    Ten-  including Tonga

c)     Sixteen-  you have to add in Bhutan and Liechtenstein

d)    Twenty-four.   Norway, Japan,  Cambodia, Thailand included

e)     There are no more constitutional monarchies.  They are either figureheads or absolute monarchs.

 

7)    Who was the last Jewish monarch who ruled over an independent Jewish nation in Eretz Yisrael?

a)     Zechariah of the house of Yehu, 743 BCE

b)    Yehoyachin of the house of David, 586 BCE

c)     Alexander Janneaus of the House of the Hasmoneans, 130 BCE

d)    Salome Alexandra/Shlomtzion of the House of the Hasmoneans, 67 BCE

e)     Jews never had any kings or queens, just prophets and judges.  

 

8)    Why did Ben-Gurion, the first PM of Israel, nearly establish Israel as a Constitutional Monarchy?

a)     Because he wanted to restore the dignity of the Jewish people by having royalty as they did in the times of the Bible.

b)    Because he wanted to replace the Arab king of Palestine until 1948, Haroun Al-Rashid.

c)     Because he thought it would get the support of the other monarchies in the world at that time.

d)    Because it would be a symbol of power to deter attacks from neighboring Arab nations.

e)     Hey, it worked for the British!

 

9)    Speaking of the British, which of the following powers does King Charles III of the UK not actually have?

a)     Knight people and grant them the title of Sir or Dame

b)    Dissolve (end) a session of Parliament (and thus prompt new elections)

c)     Dismiss the Prime Minister and Members of the Supreme Court

d)    He cannot be prosecuted for any crime, but can pardon criminals

e)     Drive without a license and exceed all speed limits

    

10)  What is the next Jewish king from the house of David not supposed to do?

a)     Establish an international court of Justice for all the world to come to

b)    Gather all the remaining Jews to the land of Israel

c)     Rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem on the space where the dome of the Rock now stands

d)    Lead the armies of Israel against all the enemies of the Jewish people and defeat them

e)     Establish all Judaism under one set of Rabbis

 

 

 

 

לב  מִפְּנֵי שֵׂיבָה תָּקוּם, וְהָדַרְתָּ פְּנֵי זָקֵן; וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֲנִי  ה’.  {ס}

32 You will stand up before the aged and honour the face of the elderly, and you shall revere your God: I am ADONAI. {S} LEV.  19:32

 

 

 Seeing a King or Queen in person (in a formal situation)

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has given of God’s glory to flesh and blood.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה  ה’ אֱלהינוּ מֶלֶך–הָעולָם שֶנָּתַן  מִכְּבודו לְבָשָׂר וָדָם.

 

 

Heschel’s Test

 “A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is easy to love children. Even tyrants and dictators make a point of being fond of children. But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture.”-  Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel

 

 

   YA’AKOV (Jacob)  GREETS PHARAOH:  GENESIS 47: 7-12-

 

וַיָּבֵ֤א יוֹסֵף֙ אֶת־יַֽעֲקֹ֣ב אָבִ֔יו וַיַּֽעֲמִדֵ֖הוּ לִפְנֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֑ה וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶת־פַּרְעֹֽה׃

Yosef then brought his father Ya’akov and stood him up before Pharaoh; and Ya’akov blessed Pharaoh.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֖ה אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֑ב כַּמָּ֕ה יְמֵ֖י שְׁנֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃

Pharaoh asked Ya’akov, “How many are the days of the years of your life?”

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יַעֲקֹב֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י מְגוּרַ֔י שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים וּמְאַ֖ת שָׁנָ֑ה מְעַ֣ט וְרָעִ֗ים הָיוּ֙ יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵ֣י חַיַּ֔י וְלֹ֣א הִשִּׂ֗יגוּ אֶת־יְמֵי֙ שְׁנֵי֙ חַיֵּ֣י אֲבֹתַ֔י בִּימֵ֖י מְגוּרֵיהֶֽם׃

And Ya’akov answered Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my journey [on earth] are one hundred and thirty; few and hard have been the days of the years of my life, and they don’t come close to the days of the years of my fathers during their journeys.”

וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֑ה וַיֵּצֵ֖א מִלִּפְנֵ֥י פַרְעֹֽה׃

Then Ya’akov blessed Pharaoh, and left Pharaoh’s presence.

וַיּוֹשֵׁ֣ב יוֹסֵף֮ אֶת־אָבִ֣יו וְאֶת־אֶחָיו֒ וַיִּתֵּ֨ן לָהֶ֤ם אֲחֻזָּה֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בְּמֵיטַ֥ב הָאָ֖רֶץ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ רַעְמְסֵ֑ס כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צִוָּ֥ה פַרְעֹֽה׃

So Yosef settled his father and his brothers, giving them holdings in the choicest part of the land of Egypt, in the region of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

 

 

 

Rashi on Genesis 47:9:1

 שני מגורי — Shenei Megurai -- means the days of my being a stranger. All my days, Jacob was saying,  I have been a stranger in other peoples’ lands.

 

The Netziv (R. Naftali Zvi Berlin) 19^th century Poland says :  “Va’yaamidu/They stood him up” -this means he did not bow down before Par’oh as Yosef had instructed his father to do when he spoke to the king.  Ya’akov considered them guests of the king, not his servants.

 

Ramban (a.k.a. Nachmandies)Spain, 13^th century  notes: “What kind of message is this,  that Jacob complains to the Monarch about his life! Why is he bothering the man as if his life is over, when he might (and does) live longer?”

Sampson Rafael Hirsch, 19^th Century German Rabbi: In his answer, Jacob distinguishes between life and existing: “You ask about the days of the years of my life? I haven't lived much, I existed on earth for a hundred and thirty years. The days of the years that I could call my life, in which I fully accomplished my tasks were only a few, and they were רעים/rah’im,  were the bitterest, most worry-filled. I had been given the task of practicing the duties of misfortune in misfortune. The content of my life is in no way comparable to the content of my fathers' lives. They lived more, every day they were here was life, and they got to solve their life's task in cheerful circumstances.”