This Weeks Issue of the

CHAZAQ Weekly
is Dedicated in Loving Memory of

Yosef HaCohen ben Chevtzi & Uriel ben Yaffa

In this weeks Parsha, Pharaoh dreamt of 7 fat cows grazing by the Nile River being swallowed up by 7 skinny cows. Yet, the skinny cows remained as skinny as they were before having consumed the fatter cows! Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dream and Yosef was summoned to the palace to give his insight on the matter. Yosef explained that the dream hinted to 7 years of plenty in Egypt followed by 7 years of intense hunger. He then suggested appointing a wise person to gather and store grain during the 7 years of plenty in order to be prepared for the upcoming years of hunger. One can ask a logical question; why did Yosef offer suggestions to Pharaoh? Pharaoh didnt ask him for advice! All he asked for was an interpretation of the dream! Why would Yosef risk his life to give the king a piece of his mind? Rabbi Avraham Pam offers a beautiful insight. Yosef understood that if Pharaoh does not take advantage of the 7 years of plenty and save it up for the seven years of hunger, the plenty years would be worthless. If one did not utilize the years of plenty, what good would it be when the 7 years of famine will come along? Yosef foresaw this effect and decided to speak it out to Pharaoh. Yosefs foresight has practical implications for many of us. Most people take their years of plenty-their allotted time in this worldfor granted and dont value it for the years of hunger, the World to Come. They dont value their time in this world, and when the time comes to years of hunger, they have nothing to show for it. With this being said, what good were the years of plenty?

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How bitter will it be when one arrives to the Next World, realizing how many spiritual diamonds he/she left behind. We have so many ChazaqWeekly@gmail.com opportunities to gather up Mitzvot in this world and benefit from them in the next, yet we waste our time on nonsense! It is no coincidence that this weeks Parsha is almost always read on Chanukah. A regular jug of oil was not valued at times of plenty. But when it was a single jug that was found in the times of need and desperation, it was met with happiness and a commemorating holiday for the following two millennia. We must all take a moment and try to ponder at every opportunity life affords us, and keep in mind that the years of plenty have little value if we dont prepare for the years of hunger.'

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