Dvar Torah for Chanuka

AIMeM wishes all its subscribers a wonderful Chanuka!

       

       We are told that the origin of the name “חנוכה” comes from the phrase, “חנו-כה” “they rested on the 25^th”, referring to when the Jews in the desert finished working on the Mishkan (Tabernacle) on the 25^th of Kislev, the same day that the miracle of Chanukah took place one thousand years later. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev in his sefer, Kedushas Levi, asks why this is worthy to name a holiday after? If this is the reason, why didn’t they call Purim “חנו-יד” since the Jews rested on the 14^th day of Adar?

       Reb Levi Yitzchak explains that first we must understand what the purpose of a chag is. There is a concept in kabbalah that time does not go in a straight line, but rather in a circle. This means that whenever Rosh Hashanah comes around, the events and miracles that happened on previous Rosh Hashanahs are brought to light again. The same is true with Chanukah, Purim, Pesach, and the rest of the chagim. Whenever we light the Chanukah candles, all the miracles that happened to the Chashmonaim are “revealed” to us.

       So how come certain miracles were picked as holidays and not others? For instance, why didn’t the Rabbanan decide to commemorate the miracle of Sancheireb (see Sanhedrin 94) or Sisrah (see sefer Shoftim Perek 3)? The answer is that only miracles which had an effect on our good character were picked. These miracles are the ones strong enough to be renewed by us every year on their anniversary. However, these other miracles happened without us having to undergo any major character changes, so they won’t have as much power.

       This, by the way, will answer a halachic question. The brachah, “שעשה ניסים לאבותינו בימים ההם בזמן הזה” “…who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, in these times”, is a little strange. How come it sounds as if the miracle is still continuing? It should read, “ובזמן הזה” “and in these times”? According to this, the reason is because the miracles are still in effect until this very day!

       In summary, every year on the anniversary of an important miracle, we celebrate because in reality, that day is really the renewing of the same miracle many years later. Based on this, the Kedushas Levi answers that since Chanukah is the first chag after Rosh Hashanah (and Succos, but he includes all the Tishrei- Chagim together), it has an additional point of renewing the entire year full of miracles. The word “חנוכה” is the same as “חנוכת”, which means dedication or inauguration. Because this chag dedicates the whole year of holidays, it is called “חנוכה”.

       May we all work this Chanukah to make it truly the beginning of a new year of miracles, where the anniversaries of these great events are renewed nowadays and we will have the same hashgachah today as we did then.

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Chanuka

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeishev

       Some weeks I like to give a Dvar Torah which shows the thought process of the commentaries as they commented on the Chumash. I like to call these “How the Meforshim Work”. This is one of those weeks.

“וַיְהִי אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה חָטְאוּ מַשְׁקֵה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם וְהָאֹפֶה לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶם לְמֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם” “It came about after these events that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned against their master, against the king of Egypt.” (Bereishis 40:1)

       Parshas Vayeishev tells the famous story of how Yosef was sold as a slave by his brothers and ended up in Egypt. After being falsely accused of a crime, he winds up in jail for a total of three years. After his first year in jail, he is joined by the chief steward and baker of King Paroh. Rashi explains on this pasuk that the reasons they were imprisoned were that the steward served a cup of wine to Paroh with a fly in it while the baker served him a loaf of bread full of rocks.

       Interestingly, if you look in the very next pasuk, these two individuals are afforded a bit more respect than in the first one. “וַיִּקְצֹף פַּרְעֹה עַל שְׁנֵי סָרִיסָיו עַל שַׂר הַמַּשְׁקִים וְעַל שַׂר הָאוֹפִים” “And Paroh was angry at his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.” (40:2) How come in this pasuk the baker and steward are called by their official titles while in pasuk 1 they are just known by their jobs? The explanation to this question shows us how much thought and logic really goes into a commentary’s explanation.

       Rashi’s explanation on pasuk 1comes from a medrash in Bereishis Rabbah. That same medrash provides us with another possibility as to the sin of these two men which is that they approached Paroh about marrying his daughter, the princess. Why did Rashi pick his explanation over this one?

       The Kli Yakar answers both our questions by examining the wording in pasuk 1. Pasuk 1 is the one which mentions that the steward and the baker sinned while not mentioning their titles, only their jobs. The sins which Rashi says happened-- that there was a fly in the wine and rocks in the bread-- are actions that would be considered bad if done to people of any station or prestige. Therefore, they have nothing to do with the fact that these two people were at the top of their professions and serving the king, just the fact that they were in these positions allowed this to happen. However, the only way they could have even had a possibility of marrying the princess was because of their high positions. However, as we mentioned, the pasuk which mentions they sinned does not include their titles, only their jobs! Says Rashi, it must be that their sins had no connection to their high positions and therefore it must be that they let a fly fall in the wine and rocks fall in the flour. This, says the Kli Yakar, is how Rashi knew to pick this explanation from the medrash and not the other.

       It is very easy for us to read a commentary and assume any number of things; that they either made up their explanation, or we do not understand how the explanation makes sense, or we do not understand how commentaries can argue on each other. Reading Divrei Torah like this gives us a deeper understanding and insight into the words of Chazal and perhaps make it a little easier for us to understand and accept their words for what they are, Toras Emes.

Shabbat Shalom!

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeishev 

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No Dvar Torah this week

Sorry, but due to unforseen circumstances, there is no new Dvar Torah for this week. Please enjoy last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayishlach by clicking here.

Shabbat Shalom!

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeitzei

       Parshas Vayeitzei opens with Yaakov heading towards Padan Aram and the house of his uncle, Lavan. The pasuk tells us that during his journey, he happened upon “the place”. “וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא” “And he (Yaakov) arrived at the place and lodged there since the sun had set, and he took some of the stones of the place and placed (them) at his head and he lay down in that place” (Bereishis 28:11). Rashi explains that this “place” is none other than the future location of the Beis Hamikdash. Chazal explain that Hashem wanted Yaakov to stay in His most special place and leave his mark on it with his tefillos and Torah study. Therefore, he arranged that Yaakov should arrive there just as night fell and would be forced to sleep there.

       The Kli Yakar points out how the word “מָּקוֹם”, “place”, appears three times in this pasuk when once would suffice. We see this same repetition later in the pesukim after Yaakov wakes up. “וַיִּיקַץ יַעֲקֹב מִשְּׁנָתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אָכֵן יֵשׁ יְהֹוָה בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי… וַיִּירָא וַיֹּאמַר מַה נּוֹרָא הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה אֵין זֶה כִּי אִם בֵּית אֱלֹהִים …וַיִּקְרָא אֶת שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא בֵּית אֵל” “And Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Indeed, Hashem is in this place and I did not know’…and he was frightened and he said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of G-d’…and he called that place Beis-El” (Bereishis 28:16-17, 19). Again, in the various pesukim, emphasis is placed on repeatedly calling this location “the place”. What is the reasoning behind this?

       The answer is simple and is consistent with this place’s purpose. The Kli Yakar explains that the three mentions of the word “מָּקוֹם” represent the three Batei Mikdash (Holy Temples). The first Beis Hamikdash was home to Hashem’s Shechinah in its purest sense. Incredible miracles happened every day while it stood from which it was clear that Hashem existed and was in control. In the end, it was destroyed since the Jewish People could not stay away from Avodah Zara. The first mention of “מָּקוֹם” in each set in the pesukim represents the first Beis Hamikdash. Immediately when Yaakov arrived at “the place”, the sun set before its time and he went to sleep. Similarly, the first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed before its time. When Yaakov wakes up, he says, “וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי” “And I didn’t know”. Many times when the word “אָנֹכִי” is used in the Torah, the commentaries say it is in reference to when Hashem uses that same word by Har Sinai by the prohibition of idols, “אָנֹכִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ”… When Yaakov uses this same word here, it is in connection to the first Beis Hamikdash which was destroyed when Bnei Yisrael did not listen to that commandment.

       The second Beis Hamikdash was a beautiful structure, Chazal called it the most beautiful building ever built, but it was lacking in an area where the first Beis Hamikdash was not. Several key elements which were present in the first Beis Hamikdash were not present by the second such as the Aron, the heavenly fire on the Alter, and the complete presence of Hashem’s Shechinah. Yet, in spite of all this, the entire world recognized Hashem as the ruler of the world through this Mikdash. When Yaakov takes “from the stones of the place”, it is referring to the absence of the two Luchos which were stored in the Aron and were therefore not present in the second Beis Hamikdash. In the second set, Yaakov refers to the place as “בֵּית אֱלֹהִים” and does not use the four-letter name of Hashem since because of the lower level of Shechinah present in the second Mikdash, Hashem’s four-letter name was not used.

       The final mention of “the place” is in reference to the third and final Beis Hamikdash, which will never be destroyed. The pasuk says that Yaakov called the name of the city, Beis-El, which had originally been known as Luz. Even though the Beis Hamikdash has been destroyed twice, the next time it is built, it will be forever, just as Yaakov named the city, “The House of G-d” forever. The fact that he chose that place to go to sleep is also symbolic of the eternity of the Third Temple. As long as the Beis Hamikdash has not been rebuilt, we cannot rest from our enemies’ destruction of it. Yaakov’s sleeping in that spot shows us that soon we will be able to rest peacefully as the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt and will last forever.

       This explanation is obviously not the simple one, but the lesson from it is very true. We see several times by our Avos that they visited certain places in which important events would occur in the future to their descendants in order to daven that they should turn out well. Two examples are Avraham davening in the city of Shechem and Yaakov davening in the city of Chevron. So when we hear this vort of how Yaakov acted and spoke in a certain way in this place, we can be sure that he had these thoughts and intentions in mind. Based on that, we can be certain that the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt and it will last eternally. May it be soon!

Shabbat Shalom!

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeitzei

For any questions, comments, or to subscribe to our email list, please email us at AIMeMtorah@gmail.com.

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