Mesorah Mag
The Weekly Magazine of the
Orthodox Community at Rutgers Hillel
In This Issue:
 Divrei Torah: Pages
1-3
 Event Recap: Page 2
November 21-22, 2014 29 Mar Cheshvan 5775 Fall 2014, Issue 7
Experiencing Life Differently
By Talia Friedman
 Parsha Summary:
Page 3
 Calendar: Page 4
Weekday Davening
Times:
Sunday:
 Shacharit &
Breakfast: 9:00 am
 Mincha/Ma’ariv:
4:15 pm
Mon.-Wed.:
 Shacharit &
Breakfast: 8:15 am
 Mincha/Ma’ariv:
4:15 pm
Next Friday Night
(11/28)...
Candle Lighting
4:14 pm
No Services Here—
It’s Thanksgiving!
Once when I was walking at a park I saw an
old man wheeling two
identical baby twins in
a stroller. The man
looked like the grandfather. The babies looked
so identical they undoubtedly were twins.
The twins were dressed
in identical clothes. One
was facing the street
and the other was facing the park.
I asked the man, “Are
you the grandfather?”
He nods. “Are these
your twins?” He puffs
out in pride. “Yes.”
“What are their
names?”
“A and B” (I am not
including the real
names).
“Which is which?” I
asked.
“Honestly?” the grand-
father asked, “I am not
sure. They look too
similar for me to tell”
After that, the man
continued proudly on
his way, and I on mine.
These two twins, indistinguishable even to
their grandfather, were
going on the same walk,
dressed in identical
clothing, living life next
to the other—yet were
having completely different experiences. One
twin was facing the
street and looking at
cars, while the other
twin was looking at
grass and watching kids
play. Two twins can
walk the same path,
have the same life experiences, and come out
completely different.
(This story was told to
me by Rabbi Rubenstein).
The ability to live similar lives and come out
completely differently is
evident in this week’s
parsha,
Parshat Toldot. In Parshat Toldot, Yitzchak
and Rivka’s twins, Yakov and Esav ,emerge
completely differently.
The Torah records them
growing up. Esav was a
hunter by mouth in the
field, while Yakov was a
simple man who dwelt
in the tents (Breishit
25:27). Both sons went
to the same places.
They both studied and
they both went to study
Torah. The difference,
according to Rabbi
Teller, is that wherever
Esav was, he was mentally in the field. Meanwhile wherever Yakov
was, he was mentally in
the tent. These differences grow more apparent as Esav prioritizes
food while Yakov prioritizes the birthright, as is
seen when Esav sells his
birthright for food. In
the sentences about
Esav, Esav is described
in action words, [Esav]
ate, drank, rose, left,
embarrassed (25:34),
while in the stories involving Yakov, Yakov is
passive and Rivka does
most of the work “she
made…she took…she
dressed…she
gave…” (27:13).
(Continued on p. 3)
Mesorah Mag
Event Recap: Love IsRael
By Aaron London
RUJFIT came in hot this semester
with a number of fun and successful events in the Rutgers community. On November 17, RUJFIT
teamed up with Alpha Epsilon Pi,
the Russian Jewish Club, and JNF,
to throw a Love IsRael event that
raised awareness about Israel. All
who came were able to learn about
the many different aspects of Isra-
el, such as Israeli inventions, ancient cities, and Middle Eastern
food. Unlike JFIT’s many other
events, this Love IsReal event was
different. Not only was the purpose of the event to spread awareness about Israel, it was also a
fundraiser to raise money for
AEPi’s Repair the World Fund.
Attendees were able to go to various booths, each featuring a different region of the country. For example, the city of Jerusalem had a
collection box in which people
could leave small notes. These
notes will be collected and placed
in the Western Wall. Netanya, a
region with a pleasant shoreline,
had a sand art activity for people
in which people could participate.
Many of the AEPi brothers came
away with a great impression of
the event. Sam Seelenfreund,
President of AEPi, said, “we pulled
in a diverse crowd and I believe
that’s why we were so successful.
We got people from all different
beliefs here for one cause- peace in
the Middle East.” The event attracted people from all different
backgrounds, which was one of the
biggest successes of the night.
Another AEPi brother, Andrew
Rosler, commented that “it’s good
to see a group of people from a
variety of places coming together
to support a single cause.” The
overwhelming sentiment at the
end of the night was a positive
one, with many students coming
away with a better understanding
of Israel.
Did Yaakov Steal the Berachos?
By Rabbi Shlomo Horwitz
Taken from ou.org
For seventeen years, I had the privilege to study one-on-one with Rav
Yaakov Weinberg, zt’l, Rosh Hayeshiva of Yeshivat Ner Yisrael of
Baltimore. Rav Weinberg was one
of the Torah luminaries of the 20th
century, and he had a profound
impact on the lives of thousands of
his students, not to mention his
students’ students and families.
Rav Weinberg had a unique approach to the story of Yaakov and
the berachos (Beraishis 17). Yaakov
understood Yitzchak’s hesitation in
bestowing the berachos on him in
the first place. Yitzchak felt that the
world’s next paradigm of evil was
Lavan, a wily adversary who would
one day pose a serious threat to the
Jewish People. To counteract Lavan, Am Yisrael would need an Av
who was a paragon of virtue and
would have a healthy measure of
cunning, to ‘beat him at his own
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game.’ Yitzchak didn’t think Yaakov had what it takes, since he was
innocent and without artifice. Esav,
on the other hand, had confrontational and disingenuous tendencies, but lacked Yiras Shamayim.
Yitzchak tried to favor him in the
hopes of winning him back. Yaakov
understood from his mother Rivka
that this was his opportunity to
prove to his father that he was indeed the proper recipient of the
blessings.
Against this backdrop, several
questions present themselves:
1. Yaakov took pains to disguise his
arms and cover them with lambs’
wool so they’d seem hairy like
his brother’s. Yet he didn’t even
make the slightest attempt to
disguise his voice. If you were
trying to be an impostor, wouldn’t you at least try to ‘do it right’
and dupe your victim completely?
2. It’s obvious that Yitzchak had
some misgivings as to the identi-
ty of the son purporting to be
Esav. So why didn’t he verify
who it was independently? He
could have simply called in one
of his many servants and said
“‘Who is this man in front of
me?” Imagine you are about to
give away a small sum of money
to a specific person. The person
walks in and there is an inconsistency with his ‘story’, one that
introduces doubt in your mind.
Wouldn’t you take that small
precaution and verify the identity, perhaps using a third party?
How much more so should
Yitzchak have performed some
basic verification when the
stakes were infinitely higher.
3. What is the meaning of Chazal’s
interpretation of Yaakov’s words
upon identifying himself –
Anochi (pause) Esav Bechorecha
– meaning: “I am (pause). Esav
is your firstborn”?
(Continued on p. 3)
Parshat Toldot
Parsha Summary
By Rabbi Aron Tendler
Reprinted from torah.org
1st Aliya: Yitzchak is 40 years old
when he marries Rivkah. After 20
years, Esav and Yakov are born.
The Parsha jumps from their birth
to Yakov's purchase of the 1st born
rights from Esav at the age of 15.
2nd Aliya: The Parsha returns to
the story of Yitzchak and Rivkah
and the famine which forces them
to settle among the Plishtim.
Yitzchak, like his father before him,
has a moral confrontation with
Avimelech, after which his fields
are uniquely prolific and financially
successful.
3rd Aliya: Yitzchak's financial success leads to jealousy with his
Plishtim neighbors. He re-digs
Avraham's wells, resulting in a
confrontation with the Plishtim
over water rights. He moves back
to Beer Sheva.
4th Aliya: Hashem (G-d), in a
dream, confirms for Yitzchak the
future of his children. Avimelech,
the King of the Plishtim, and his
General, Phicol, approach Yitzchak
to make a peace treaty.
5th Aliya: The treaty between
Yitzchak and the Plishtim is celebrated. The Parsha returns to the
story of Yakov and Esav. Esav's
marriage to two Canaanite women
at the age of 40 (2148) brings disappointment to Yitzchak and Rivkah. In 2171, when Yakov and Esav
are 63 and Yitzchak is 123, Yitzchak
blesses Yakov and Esav. The Par-
sha details the duplicity of Yakov
and Rivkah in fooling Yitzchak.
6th Aliya: Yitzchak blesses Yakov
with spiritual and material gain,
after which Esav returns to discover Yakov's plot. He receives his own
blessing for material gain, and is
determined to kill Yakov. Rivkah,
fearful for Yakov's life, convinces
Yitzchak to send Yakov to her
brother Lavan in search of a
shiduch - a wife. Yitzchak confirms
on Yakov the future of the Jewish
nation before his departure to Lavan.
7th Aliya: Yakov departs for Padan
Aram, and Esav marries the daughter of Yishmael. (his 1/2 1st cousin)
and Rivkah's era.
Rabbi Horwitz
(Continued from p. 2)
These questions show the weakness of both Yaakov’s impersonation and Yitzchak’s ‘verification’.
Rav Weinberg therefore concluded
that Yaakov was playing a charade,
and Yitzchak was fully ‘in on it’. In
keeping with Rivka’s instruction,
Yaakov was demonstrating to his
father that yes, he had what it took
to go head-to-head with Lavan. By
disguising only his arms and not
his voice, he was telling his father,
“I could easily have fooled you had
I tried. I do have a side of me that
is cunning, and I can employ it at
will”.
Why didn’t Yitzchak try to verify
his identity? Because Yitzchak
caught on right away and realized
it was Yaakov. He was astonished
by this side of Yaakov that he didn’t know existed, and made up his
mind that Yaakov was, indeed, the
most worthy recipient of the
Berachos. He now understood that
he had been wrong all along, and
this realization contributed to his
great trembling when the real Esav
came in later.
With this approach we can understand that cryptic statement of
Chazal raised in Question 3 – what
does the pause mean in Yaakov’s
statement? The answer is Yaakov
said it with the pause, to show his
father how easily he could have
fooled him. What he meant was,
“It would have been easy not to
pause had I wished to fool you.”
Understanding Each Other
(Continued from p. 1)
As we know, the Torah passes
character judgment on these twins
and accepts Yakov as righteous
while vilifying Esav as evil.
While in college it may seem that
we are living similar experiences
and facing similar challenges, we
really can never understand what
someone else is going through.
Even if we come from the same
background, we will view the same
experience differently. As Pirkei
Avos reminds us, “Yehoshua ben
Perachia said: Make yourself a
rabbi, acquire yourself a friend
and judge every person favorably.”
These three statements are all
together because you are supposed
to judge favorable a rabbi, a friend
and anyone you meet.
We never know what anyone else
has been through or is going
through, we just have to hope that
they follow Yakov. We have to
judge them favorably.
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Mesorah Mag
Editor:
Evan Finkelstein
Rutgers Hillel
9 Bartlett St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
You can reach us at:
mesorahmag@gmail.com
“Mesorah Mag is my
favorite newspaper.”
-- Andrew Getraer,
Executive Director of
Rutgers Hillel
WWW.RUTGERS
MESORAH.ORG
Mesorah Calendar
Friday Night FREE Hillel Shabbat Dinner w/ Kol Halayla— 6:30 PM @
Brower Faculty Dining Room
(11/21)
Shabbat Day Shacharit followed by Kiddush — 9 AM @ Hillel
(11/22)
Shiur with Rabbi Frieberg— 11:30 AM @ Hillel
Free Lunch (sponsored by OU-JLIC) — 12:30 PM @ 76 Jefferson Ave (Walking Group Leaves Hillel @ Noon)
Mincha (followed by Seudah Shlishit) — 4:10 PM @ Hillel
Ma’ariv and Havdala — 5:20 PM @ Hillel
Kol Halayla Winter Concert — 8 PM @ Van Dyck Hall 211
SNL (Saturday Night Learning) — 8:30 PM @ Hillel
Sunday
(11/23)
Pre-Thanksgiving Football — 11 AM @ Buccleuch Park
Annual Turkey Bowl — 7 PM @ Hillel
Monday
JLIC Special Women’s Shiur & Dinner — 8 PM @ TBD
Tuesday
Thursday Classes
JLIC Gentlemen’s Club Shiur — 8:30pm @ 44 Huntington
Wednesday
Friday Classes
Thursday
Thanksgiving
Birthdays!
Friday 11/21 Dahlia Schudrich
Thursday 11/27 Lucy Matata
Thursday 11/27 Laura Faiwiszewski
Saturday 11/29 Allie Jacobson
Tuesday 12/2 Emily Saka
If you would like to
help with or contribute to Mesorah Mag,
please speak to Evan
Finkelstein.
Jewish Joke
An elderly man in Miami calls his son in New York and says,
"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough."
"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. "We
can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man
says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about
this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her," and he
hangs up. Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on
the phone, "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts,
"I'll take care of this." She calls her father immediately and
screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced!
Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back! , and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't
do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife.
"Okay," he says, "They're coming for Passover and paying
their own airfares."
(Taken from http://www.haruth.com/jhumor/)
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