B"H
Friday, Kislev 20, 5778 / December 8, 2017
This Shabbat we read Parshat Vayeishev. In this Parsha, the Torah tells about Yaakov's special love for Joseph and the jealousy it caused among the other children. Although Yaakov justified this love with the fact that Joseph was orphaned from his mother Rachel, yet, our sages tell us that one must not favour one child over the others.
The jealousy that resulted caused the brothers to sell Joseph to the Egyptians. This Parsha also contains many of the trials which Joseph endured in Egypt, including how he spent years in an Egyptian jail. With Joseph's arrival in Egypt, G-d paved the way for the exile of the Jewish people there, which lasted for 210 years.
Also, as mentioned yesterday, the 19th and the 20th of Kislev are especially festive days in the Chabad Chassidic community. On these days in 5559 (1798), Rabbi Schneur Zalmen, the first Rebbe of Chabad, was liberated from prison. Imprisoned by the Czarist government of Russia and threatened with a death sentence for his teachings of Torah and Chassidus, he was released after being jailed for 53 days.
The Russian Minister of culture was well versed in the Bible (Torah) and was impressed with the wisdom of Rabbi Schneur Zalmen. Although not Jewish, he would often visit Rabbi Schneur Zalmen in prison and had many discussions with him concerning the teachings of the Torah.
Once he asked Rabbi Schneur Zalmen the following question, "The Torah relates that after Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit he tried to hide from G-d. G-d then asked Adam 'Where are you?' (Genesis 3:9). What is the meaning of the question 'Where are you?'" the minister asked. "Doesn't G-d know everything? He surely knew where Adam was."
Rabbi Schneur Zalmen replied, "Do you believe that the Torah is everlasting and that its teachings apply in every generation?" "Yes, I believe this," answered the minister.
"As descendants of Adam this question is directed to each and every person in every generation," said the Rebbe to the Minister. "G-d asks every person, Where are you in your accomplishments in life? Where are you in the fulfillment of your obligations and purpose of your creation? This is G-d's continuous and eternal question to mankind, doyou know where you are."
The Chanukah candles, which are to illuminate the darkness, also serve to illuminate our purpose and mission in this world. They remind us of this important message. They shed brightness and light in the confusion of darkness and the hustle bustle of our tumultuous life. They enlighten us to stop, remember, and see "where we are in this world." Thus, reminding us to stay focused and to fulfill our special G-dly mission in life to our family, community and the world at large.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montrealcandle lighting time: 3:53 / Shabbat ends: 5:01
Monday, Kislev 23, 5778 / December 11, 2017
The Chanukah holiday begins tomorrow night, Tuesday evening, December 12.
Chanukah celebrates a miracle which took place in the Second Temple. When the Maccabees overpowered and were victorious over the Greeks, who defiled the contents of the Holy Temple. When they entered the Temple, they searched and found only a single cruse of pure oil, with the seal of the High Priest, barely enough to light the menorah for one day. But the menorah had to be lit every day. A miracle occurred, and the oil lasted for eight days. This is why we celebrate Chanukah eight days.
Q.People ask me, “Why do the Jewish holiday dates vary from year to year? For example, Chanukah will come at the end of December in some years and in other years in the middle of December, as this year?”
A.Chanukah, as all Jewish holidays, is always on the same day of the month - on the Hebrew calendar month.
Our calendar is a lunar based calendar, which dates back thousands of years. The Hebrew calendar usually has 354 days. In a leap year it can have over 380 days. This is the reason why the two calendars do not conform. On the Hebrew calendar, Chanukah is always on the 25th day of the month Kislev.
Q. The miracle of Chanukah was that the oil lasted for eight days. Why did the oil have to last exactly eight days, not more or less?
A. According to Halacha (Jewish law) one becomes "Tamei" - "spiritually impure" when coming into contact with a dead body. The person who touched a body must then wait seven days before becoming "Tahor" - "spiritually clean."
Due to the battles which the Maccabees fought, they came into contact with dead bodies and were considered unclean. Any oil which they would have produced during these seven days would not have been considered fit for the Holy Temple. Therefore, only on the eighth day were they able to begin producing "pure oil" fit for the Holy Temple. As a result, they needed a miracle for the original oil to last eight days.
Another reason given is that the best quality oil produced in Israel was in the territory of the tribe of Asher, which was a four day journey from Jerusalem. Thus, to bring fresh oil they required four days to go and four days to return, for a total of eight days.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Wednesday, Kislev 25, 5778 / December 13, 2017
HAPPY CHANUKAH
Q. The Macabees were the heroes of Chanukah. What does the word "Macabee" mean?
A. Macabee is an acronym for the following words of the Torah: "Mi Kamocha Ba'elim Hashem" - "Who is like you among the powerful O' G-d."
It was with this banner and slogan that Matisyahu, the High Priest, and his sons, fought against their enemies who defied the Holy Temple. Although they were only a handful fighting against a huge army, it was due to their tremendous faith in Hashem and the justice of their cause, that they were victorious.
Macabeealso stands for: Matisyahu Kohen Ben Yochanan - Matisyahu the Priest, son of Yochanan. Matisyahu (the High Priest) and his five sons were the leaders of the revolt against the occupying forces.
Q. The candles are placed in the Menorah from right to left, but are lit from left to right – lighting the new candle first. Why?
A. In most cases Mitzvot are connected with the right. For example, the Shofar is blown from the right side of the mouth. We hold a Kiddush cup and kiss the Torah with the right hand. For this reason, the Chanukah candles are placed on the right side of the Menorah. But since the new candle on the left represents the new day of Chanukah, we honor the new day of Chanukah by lighting it first.
Another reason for placing the Chanukah candles on the right side of the menorah and lighting from left to right: One of the decrees during the story of Chanukah was the ban against studying Torah.
The Torah is read from right to left. Yet, when each individual letter is written by the scribe the letter is started on the left and continued to the right! Similarly, when we place the candles on the right side of the menorah and then light them beginning from the left side, we are also expressing our thanks to Hashem that through the miracle of Chanukah, we are still able to study Torah.
Q. Chanukah and Purim are two rabbinic holidays in which a great miracle is celebrated. The entire Hallel prayer is recited on Chanukah yet not on Purim. Why?
A. Hallel is recited to commemorate a miracle which took place in Israel. The miracle of Chanukah took place in Israel whereas the miracle of Purim happened in Persia.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY & HAPPY CHANUKAH
B"H
Thursday, Kislev 26, 5778 / December 14, 2017
Happy second day of Chanukah. One of the lessons of Chanukah is that a person, especially a Jew, must keep on going up and up in matters of holiness, goodness and kindness. This is expressed by the amount of candles we light. Each day of Chanukah we ADD an additional light.
We light the Chanukah candles by the door or window, to bring this message to the world at large, that it is our duty to go from light to more light and from strength to more strength spiritually.
Good deeds bring light to the world. Thus, each additional candle represents additional good deeds which we perform.
Today, the second day of Chanukah is unique in that the amount of candles today are double than the day before. Every other day of Chanukah we add one candle, but it will not be double than the day before. Only the second day of Chanukah we have DOUBLE than the previous day. In terms of increase it is the day which represents the greatest level of increase by comparison to the day before.
Q. What is the origin of the Dreidel?
A. The Greek-Syrians and their Hellenistic sympathizers prohibited Jews from performing many mitzvot, including teaching Torah to Jewish children. Any teacher or child caught learning Torah was severely punished. However, the Jewish teachers and students devised a way around this ban. They would gather to study and when the one on the lookout would spot a Greek soldier he would warn them. The children would hide their books and begin playing with the Dreidel.
Q. What is the significance of the four Hebrew letters on the Driedel; Nun, Gimel, Hay, Shin?
A. The four letters on the Dreidel stand for: "Nes, Gadol, Haya, Sham" - "A great miracle happened there." These were the four letters on the Dreidels used in the Diaspora – “there” referring to Israel.
In Israel, the letter "Shin" (which stands for “there”) is substituted with the letter "Pay." It stands for the Hebrew word "Poh", "Here" ("A great miracle happened here"), for the miracle took place in Israel. To honor the self-sacrifice of these young Jewish students and to encourage our children to study Torah, we distribute "Chanukah Gelt" (“Chanukah money”) to our children, so they too, will follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and make every effort to excel in the study of Torah.
On the lighter side: Rabbi Gershon Henech Leiner of Radzin once developed a bad toothache on Chanukah and the dentist had to pull the tooth. The rabbi wanted to pay the dentist but he refused to accept, saying, "It's a custom to give the Rabbi a Chanukah Gift, so let this be my Chanukah gift."
"I'll accept it on the condition that you won't tell anybody about this," answered Rabbi Gershon Henech in jest. "I'm afraid that if people find out they, too, will want to give me the same gift!"
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY & HAPPY CHANUKAH
|
Torah Fax is published daily (except Shabbat & Sunday) so you can learn something new every day |