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Chazak, chazak, v'nitchazek

Translation by Yehoshua Siskin

The creation of the world. The creation of man. The creation of Shabbat. The expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Cain murders Abel. Noah, the flood, and the ark. The call of "lech lecha" (go forth) to Avraham and Sarah. The binding of Yitzchak. The hospitality of Avraham. His struggle on behalf of Sodom. The digging of wells by Yitzchak. The generosity of Rivkah. The sale of the birthright of Esau to Yaakov. The meeting of Yaakov and Rachel beside the well. The work ethic of Yaakov as an employee of the duplicitous Lavan. The return of Yaakov's family to the Land of Israel. The sale of Yosef by his brothers. Yosef in prison, and then in the royal palace as his unique personality is revealed. The reunion with his brothers. The reunion with Yaakov. The death of Yaakov after the emotional blessings to his children and grandchildren. The death of Yosef after the request that his coffin be carried out of Egypt when the Exodus comes, to be buried in the Land of Israel.

This is a summary of the book of Genesis that we finish reading this Shabbat. We began reading the book of Genesis during the corona, immediately after the holidays of Tishrei, on Simchat Torah, and unfortunately we are finishing it with the corona still here, but in the midst of a vaccination campaign. Whenever we finish reading one of the five books of the Torah in the synagogue, we declare in a loud voice "Chazak, chazak, v'nitchazek" (Be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen one another). If only when we finish the book of Exodus, the book of liberation from our enslavement in Egypt, we will have experienced liberation from our present enslavement - from coping with confinement, isolation, and quarantine - and taste what redemption is really all about.

Chazak, chazak, v'nitchazek.

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