MIKEITZ

Happy Chanuka!!!

PARSHA IN REVIEW:

Here is something fun to do:

Print out the parsha review.  You can make one or a few copies.  Cut each line into strips.  Mix them up and give it to your kids and guests to see if they could figure out the correct order. You can leave some chumashim on the table to help them out.  We did this last week and the kids were into it!  

•  Pharoh dreams that seven fat cows are swallowed by seven lean cows.

• Pharoh has another dream, that seven healthy ears of grain are swallowed by seven skinny stalks of grain.

• Pharoh's butler remembers Yosef.

• Yosef is taken out of jail and appears before the king. 
• Yosef interprets the dreams.

• There will be seven years of plentiful food in the land, followed by seven years of famine.

• Yosef suggests to Pharoh to store the excess grains of the plentiful years, so there will be enough to eat during the famine. 
• Yosef becomes viceroy over Egypt.

• Yosef marries Osnat (Potifar's daughter) and they have two sons: Menashe and Ephraim. 
• The famine begins....

• Yaakov (Yosef's father) sent his ten sons down to Egypt to buy food.

• He keeps his youngest son, Binyamin, with him, since he is afraid for his safety.
• Yosef recognizes his brothers immediately, however they do not recognize him.

• The brothers entered the city from 10 different entrances and Yosef calls them spies.

• They are placed in jail for three days.

• The brothers are let free, but Shimon is kept in prison until the brothers return to Canaan and bring Binyamin, the youngest brother back.

• Yosef instructs his servants to place money and food into his brothers sacks, without their knowledge.

•  The brothers return to Canaan and retell the story of what happened.

• Yaakov refuses to let Binyamin go, but Yehuda promises to be responsible for his brother.

• Yaakov reluctantly lets them go and sends a gift to the Viceroy. 

• Yosef invites all his brothers to a feast.

• Yosef is full of emotions when he sees all his brothers.

• Yosef asks about their father.

• Before the brothers leave Yosef orders Menashe to fill their sacks with grain.

• Yosef orders Menashe to place his wine goblet in Binyamin's sack.

• The Egyptian soldiers stop the brothers from leaving, accusing them from stealing the goblet.

• The brothers deny the accusations.

• The goblet is found in Binyamin's sack.

• Yosef allowes the brothers to leave, but forces Binyamin to stay.

• Yehuda begs to let him take Binyamin's place.....

• What will Yosef decide?????  Tune in next week, as the saga continues....................

 PARSHA PUZZLE:

It’s Dovid’s Bar Mitzvah, there is so much to do,

The party is on Chanukah night number two.

His family is coming in from the United States,

To hear him read the Torah on Parshat Mikeitz.

He will lain at the kotel, on Thursday this week,

His father and mother would like him to speak.

He was thinking of how he could combine Chanuka,

With his name and the stories in this week’s parsha.

There must be hidden messages he was hoping to find,

A nice dvar torah that is one of a kind.

Dovid, Yosef and Yehuda Hamacabi,

Are all famous people in our history.

All of these tzadikkim believed in Hashem,

And knew that their greatness did not come from them.

They stood up for what they believed in, though they were few,

That is a good lesson for every single Jew.

We know that non pure oil in the Bet Hamikdash was forbidden,

And the Nes of Chanuka was that something was hidden,

So Dovid wants you to figure out this clue,

What is Hidden in the parsha and on Chanuka too?

Happy B-day Dovid! :-)

PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA:

Since this week is both Chanuka and Mikeitz, here is a little fun activity you can do for both.  Prepare a small gavia filled with candy and hide it somewhere near someone.  You can put it in your father’s jacket pocket and put his jacket over his chair.  During the meal, claim that you lost something precious and you cannot find it.  Have everyone look for it.  Then it will be discovered and you could relate it to the parsha and Chanuka.  Enjoy the treats at the end!

 Here are some fun Chanuka and parsha games to play:

• Pictured is a board game of Candles and Svivonim, played like Chutes and Ladders.  Everyone has to answer a parsha or Chanuka question before they take a turn.  We played it with a dreidel and therefore each letter represented a number. Nun-1, Gimmel-2, Hey-3 Pey-4.  Yes we have a Pey  on our dreidel!  :-). 
• Pin the Shamash on the Menorah 
• Play the dreidel game with chocolate chips instead of coins. In this game- Each person puts 2 chocolate chips in the pot.  Everyone takes a turn to spin.

• Nun- nothing, 
• Gimmel, you get the whole pot, 
• Hey- you get half the pot, 
• Pey- you put one in.

                    Have fun and be creative!!!!!

SHABBAT IMABBA:

Here is a great way for my father and I to learn a little bit of Parsha each week, even though we live far from each other. ( I like the play on words of Abba in the word Shabbat and Imabba meaning "with Abba" and Ima Abba written together!  Thanks Abba and Ima :-)!

Most years, Shabbat Chanuka and Parshat Miketz coincide. We can find hints in the parsha that connect Miketz to Chanuka.

 Pharoh dreams that seven fat cows are swallowed by seven skinny ones.  In the story of Chanuka the Jews are smaller in quantity and the Greek army is  stronger and larger.  Yet the Jews win.  In both cases, it is the weaker who win the stronger.

We can learn a nice lesson here.  It is not always the quantity that is important, it is the quality.  When we do good deeds, help a friend, teach our children, we should always strive to do the best we can.  Quality time is very precious.

Just like on Chanuka we light one candle and add another each night, so too, every day we should strive to do more.   

Another hint in the parsha for Chanuka, is written in the first pasuk:  "Vayehi Miketz shnatayim yamimim:
The acronym for shnatayim stand for: Smoll Ner Tadlik Yamin Mezuza.
Light the candle on the left side and on the right is the mezuza.  Be surrounded by mitzvot and by good things. 

Have a wonderful Chanuka filled with happiness and light and quality time!!

 PARSHA CAKE:

 This week's Parsha tells us the story of the seven fat cows and seven skinny cows.

The end of the parsha talks about Binyamin and the goblet that was found.

Here is what you will need:

• Any cake recipe that you like.

(please share with us your favorite and we will post it in future Parshiot!)

• bundt shaped pan
• plastic goblet
• frosting with blue food coloring added (you can just whip up a whip and add a few drops of blue food coloring..)
• 7 bars of Elite Chocolate with cow pictures on them. (your kids will love you for all that chocolate ;-)
• Candies, jelly beans, etc... to fill the goblet.

•  Bake the cake in a bundt shaped pan.  
• When cool, frost it with blue frosting (to resemble the river).
• Cut the bigger cows from the chocolate.  (this is not so easy... some might break....).
• Cut the smaller cows and place all around the cake
• Place the wine goblet in the middle and fill with candies.
• I had candies with swirl shapes and it sort of reminded me of dreams so I added it on.

So here you can have your cake and eat it too!

Answer to parsha puzzle: (The small sealed jar of oil was hidden and the Goblet was hidden in Binyamin’s sack)

           
               Have a wonderful Shabbat and Chanuka!  
                                            Ruchie