As we enter a new book of the Torah, the history of our people will take a dramatic turn due to the destiny shift of one man - Moshe.  From a royal upbringing to shepherding the wilderness of Midian, one man will hurl himself from all the comforts of the known world to search the depths of his soul and embark on a spiritual quest that will not only transform himself, but lead to the ultimate salvation of his people.

"I was not looking for my dreams to interpret my life, but for my life to interpret my dreams."  - Susan Sontag

During this time of the year all over the upper Northern Hemisphere, everything is hidden. A shell of white encases much of this part of the world, forcing it to rest and wait, until days of verdant spring force the snows to disappear and reveal the earth's potential.  In this week's parasha, the snows of Yosef's life are starting to melt away and reveal his future.  It is in guiding Mitzrayim through its national crisis that he begins to see the true meaning in the dreams of his youth.  The events unfolding around him begin to actively interpret his dreams as his brothers arrive in Mitzrayim and stand before him in search of relief from famine.  It is by interpretation through living, and not the reverse, that dreams show their true purpose: they are hidden keys in our lives that lie dormant, beckoning gently for us to walk forward, revealing our destinies at the proper time.

by Rebbetzin Malkah

There is an aggadah (legend) in the Midrash that the Roman Emperor Hadrian asked how man would be revived in the World to Come;  Rabbi Joshua Ben Hananiah replied that it would be "From Luz, in the back-bone." "Prove this to me," said Hadrian. Then the Rabbi took Luz, a small bone of the spine, and immersed it in water, but it was not softened; he put it into the fire, but it was not consumed; he put it into a mill, but it could not be pounded; he placed it upon an anvil and struck it with a hammer, but the anvil split and the hammer was broken. (Ecclesiastes Rabbah xii / Genesis Rabbah xviii).

"Yaacov arose early in the morning and took the stone that he place around his head and set it up as a  pillar; and he poured oil on its top.  And he named that place Beth-el; however Luz was the city's name originally."  Bereishis 28:18-19