Chaburat Taryag: Parshas Vayeshev

Hello, dear children! It's Saba Kadisha. Oy, oy, oy! Last week, Yaakov made peace with Eisav. And this week? We'll meet Yosef, Yaakov's son, and his dreams. But first, we learn! Sunday after school, the four friends came like every week to Saba Kadisha's room. This week we read Parshas Vayeshev, and it has three things every kid needs to know. Three? Star-counter ready. A star for each one. Easy! Number one: Yaakov loved his son Yosef very much, and he made him a special garment: a striped coat, colorful and beautiful. And when the brothers saw it, they were jealous of Yosef. And Yosef dreamed a dream: in the field there were bundles of wheat, and the brothers' bundles bowed down to Yosef's bundle. And in a second dream, the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. Yosef told his brothers the dreams, and their jealousy grew and grew, until the brothers couldn't speak to him peacefully anymore. One day, Yosef came to see how his brothers were doing. Reuven and Yehudah didn't want anything bad to happen. But in the end, the brothers sold Yosef to merchants going down to Mitzrayim. And even on the way, Hashem took care of him: the camels carried spices with a good smell. That means: we don't envy anyone, and we only speak good about everyone. One star! Number two: in Mitzrayim, Yosef was a servant in the house of Potiphar, a great minister of Pharaoh. Far from his father, in a strange land. But Yosef didn't give up. He worked honestly and trusted in Hashem. And the Torah says: Hashem was with Yosef, and everything he did succeeded. Later, Yosef ended up in prison. There too, he didn't get angry or complain. He kept trusting Hashem and helped everyone, and the prison warden put him in charge of everything. Children, even when it's hard and we don't understand why, Hashem is with us. Like Yosef, we do good and trust in Hashem. So even when it's hard for me, I don't give up. Hashem is always with me. Two stars! Number three: one day, two of Pharaoh's ministers arrived there, the chief butler and the chief baker, because Pharaoh was angry with them. In the morning, Yosef saw that their faces were sad, and he asked them: Why do you look so bad today? Why are you sad? The butler dreamed of a vine with three branches and grapes. And Yosef told him: In three more days you'll go back to serving Pharaoh. The baker told a dream too, but for him, it didn't end well. And the butler went back to work for Pharaoh, just like Yosef said. Yosef asked him: Remember me. But the butler forgot. So we need to pay attention to our friends, and if someone is sad, we ask him what happened. Three stars! The counter is full! And just then, Tanchum came in with news: he won a prize in the Chumash test: a new Chumash with a gold cover! So here's this week's mission: be happy in a friend's happiness, without jealousy, trust in Hashem even when it's hard, and notice who is sad. Easy! My gadget will check if there's jealousy here. Honestly, I want a prize too. Why does he always get one? Wait. Remember Yosef's brothers? A little jealousy became big. Let's be happy for Tanchum. And Yisrael went over to Tanchum first. He shook his hand and said to him with all his heart: Mazel tov! You deserve it! Thanks, Yisrael. Let's learn together from the new Chumash! And my gadget says: zero jealousy, one hundred percent happy! And the friends made Tanchum a big card with kind words, and the first star lit up. On Wednesday, the friends came to play soccer at the neighborhood field. But the field was closed for repairs. Never mind. Even when it's hard, we trust in Hashem. Maybe it's for the best. You're right, Gadi. So we'll play in the building's yard. And the friends didn't get angry or complain. They said: This is for the best too. And the second star lit up. And in the yard, the friends saw a new boy sitting alone on the bench, looking very sad. Hi, I'm Tanchum. Why are you sad? What happened? His name was Moishy. He just moved into the building yesterday, and he doesn't have friends yet. So the friends invited him to play with them, and Moishy gave a big smile. And the third star lit up. The closed field brought us a new friend! And since then, Moishy plays with the friends every day, and Tanchum learns with him from the new Chumash. Friends, today we did just like in the parsha: we were happy in a friend's happiness, we didn't give up, and we noticed who was sad. Three stars! The mission is complete! On Shabbos night, at the Shabbos table, the friends told the whole family about Yosef and about the new friend, Moishy. And Abba said: Fortunate are you! Dear children, this week you were happy in a friend's happiness, you trusted in Hashem even when it was hard, and you noticed who was sad, like Yosef HaTzaddik. And that's a very big message. And now, thank you for watching with us, and Shabbat shalom! And next week, in Parshas Miketz, Pharaoh dreams very strange dreams, and nobody knows what they mean. Will anyone remember Yosef? We'll find out next week!