Strange things happen to people when they look in a mirror. Their normal expression becomes contorted. An eyebrow is raised. Lips are pursed. The head is turned ever so slightly to the right and then to the left.

When we look in the mirror, we see ourselves not so much as we really are, but as we'd like to be: Head held a little higher, the posture more erect and holding in our breath so that clothes don't betray the evidence of one too many slices of chocolate cake.

When we look at other people, however, our perspective changes radically. Rather than emphasize the positive, we tend to scrutinize their defects and lay the stress on what's wrong with them. What we see in ourselves as prudent, in others becomes stingy. Where we are vivacious, others are loud.

In this week's parsha, when Jacob blessed Joseph's children Ephraim and Menashe, Jacob crossed his hands. He placed his right hand, his stronger hand, on the younger son Ephraim, and his weaker left hand on Menashe, the elder son. But wouldn't it have been easier for Jacob to have told Ephraim to stand opposite his right hand and Menashe opposite his left? That way there would have been no need for him to cross his hands.

The right side symbolizes strength and importance. The left symbolizes weakness and insignificance. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, our right hand is reflected on the right side of the mirror. In other words, our strengths are reflected as being important. Our left hand, the hand that characterizes weakness, corresponds to our left hand in the mirror. Meaning that we see our weaknesses as insignificant. However, when we stand opposite someone else, our right hand corresponds to their left hand, meaning we emphasize their shortcomings. Our left hand is opposite their right -- we play down their strengths.

This is what Jacob was teaching the two brothers Ephraim and Menashe. When you look at each other, use the eyes that you use for yourself. See the other person's weakness as secondary, and his virtues as being his essence.

Not long ago, in the midst of the various terrorist attacks in Israel, a Jewish person at the rush of a bustling Dizengoff intersection in Tel Aviv alerted those surrounding him that the bag he just brought there contained a live bomb!

After the squad disconnected the explosive, the person was investigated by the police. The man explained that earlier he was at the beach; and meaning to steal the contents of a good-looking bag, he picked it up, escaped the security and opened it at the Dizengoff intersection.

To his dismay, inside, instead of finding something of value -- he found a bomb!

Apparently that bag had been planted at the beach by terrorists earlier that day. Through his intention to steal, this "bag-picker" saved a hazard. If, G-d forbid, that bag had exploded a minute earlier in the midst of a bustling intersection, what would the world have thought about this man? Would anyone have let his imagination drift and thought: "That guy probably stole the bag, and it just so happened to contain a bomb?"

Many times, what seems to be imagination proves to be reality. So let's follow the directive of the Torah and judge favorably.

Dear Phil and Stanley,

The Talmud states: "48 prophets and 7 prophetesses prophesied to the People of Israel." The prophetesses are identified as Sarah, Miriam, Debra, Chana, Abigail, Chulda and Esther.

The Talmud goes on to explain that, although there were actually thousands of other prophets, these were the ones whose prophecy was written down to teach repentance and give direction to future generations.

Both Rachel and Leah were prophetesses. For example, Leah foretold that Reuven would lose his birthright to Joseph, and that Reuven would try to save Joseph's life. Rachel knew prophetically that Jacob would only have twelve sons; thus when she bore Joseph, Jacob's 11th son, she prayed only for "another son" and not for "more sons."

Dear Eliezer,

A soul is like a chain with one end linked into the brain and the other to a certain spiritual source. There are five levels of the soul like the five links in a chain, each one parallel to the spiritual sphere where it exists. However, we only relate to the three bottom links as we have no understanding about the two top ones. The three are 1) Nefesh 2) Ruach 3) Neshama. The nefesh is the spiritual existence which resides in the body and keeps the physical metabolism working and the person alive. The ruach is a connection between the neshama and the nefesh. It is the cause of feelings and personal qualities. The neshama is the spiritual existence which pulls the man towards G-d, to the performance of good deeds, to be pious and humble and to seek knowledge and achievement in spiritual fields. It resides around the head.

When a person dies, it takes seven days before the parts of the soul understand that it's all over and leave the body. Until then they hover around the grave and travel to and fro between the grave and the house of the deceased, waiting for the body to start functioning again. The nefesh does not completely leave until the body is decomposed.