A FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well and starting to enjoy Chanukah.

A BIG MAZAL TOV TO HIRSHEY FOR PASSING HIS FINAL NURSING HURDLE AND IS NOW A REGISTERED NURSE BH! Amazing achievement Hirshey. I know that you have been dreaming about this since at least the time that you got married. And you have pushed through and overcome so many obstacles, and have now actually achieved your goal (or at least one of them). I am sure that your victory must be very sweet and full of light!

Mazal Tov to Leora on her birthday next week on Rosh Chodesh. Wishing you to have a sweet and happy year Leora.

Mazal Tov to Naomi on your upcoming birthday. Wishing you a happy year with many celebrations.

Mazal Tov to Avi on the birth of a nephew from his brother Aron. Wishing you many simchos!

We wish Claude and Joy long life on the yohrtzeit of Greg. Wishing you only celebrations in the future.

As we know Channukah is the Festival of Light.

Connected to a different type of light in this week's Sedra Vayeshev, we read (39:3) '(Joseph's master, Potiphar) saw that Hashem was with him (Joseph), and that Hashem granted SUCCESS to him (Yosef) IN EVERYTHING THAT HE DID."

Now why did Potiphar tribute the success of Yosef to Hashem? It could very well have been from Yosef's own talents!

And Rashi comes to explain: "The Name of Hashem was constantly on his (Yosef's) lips"- (So that even a non-Jew could recognise that Yosef's success was connected to Hashem.)

In an extract from a Sichah from the Rebbe, he explains:

(Yosef was a 17 year old boy, and he had everything in the world to be upset about, and to feel sorry for himself.

His brothers hated him and were jealous of him, tried to kill him, and then instead sent him into slavery, where he found himself in a foreign country - Egypt.

He had to deal with the seductions of Potiphera, and was thrown into prison for many years.

Yet he rose out of all of that to become second in charge of the whole of Egypt, with only Pharaoh above him!!)

"How did he do this?

One would think that Yosef would have been inclined to either escape to solitude, or at least seek revenge from all his oppressors.

Yet he did no such thing, and instead REMAINED FOCUSED ON DOING HIS WORK FAITHFULLY, THEREBY SHOWING THE WORLD THAT BELIEF IN G-D MAKES A PERSON GENIAL, RESILIENT, IDEALISTIC, AND RELIABLE.

Yosef became and remained capable of such seemingly superhuman behaviour by studying Torah. Throughout his years in Egypt, he constantly reviewed the teachings that he had studied with his father.

The spiritual fortitude he acquired through studying the Torah, enabled him to overcome every hardship.

It allowed him to bring LIGHT INTO THE WORLD, despite the disappointments and seeming injustices that life had presented him with, and to be a positive influence, inspiring others to tap into the source of his energy and optimism.

We too can maintain a consistent schedule of Torah study despite our other commitments, and similarly play a positive role in the world."

Wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah and a gut Shabbos, with much light.