Friday, Kislev 22, 5782 / November 26, 2021

B"H

Friday, Kislev 22, 5782 / November 26, 2021

Yesterday was Thanksgivings in the USA. Although, Thanksgivings is not a Jewish holiday, the spirit behind giving thanks is a Jewish concept.

The holiday of Chanukah, which begins this Sunday night, when we celebrate the miracle of the oil in the Holy Temple, is also a holiday of thanksgivings. In the special Chanukah prayer, called Al Hanisim, which we recite in the Amida prayer three times daily during the eight days of Chanukah, we say that the eight days of Chanukah, “were instituted to give thanks and praise to Your great name.”

The hero of the Chanukah miracle was Yehuda HaMacabee. The name Yehuda means to give thanks. Leah called her fourth son, Yehuda, because, as the Torah tells us, she gave thanks to G-d for giving her a fourth son.

Each day we recite a special Psalm which is called, Psalm of the Thanks-offering. Also, one of the eighteen blessings in the daily Amida prayer is called Modim. It is a blessing of thanks, in which we thank G-d for ALL the wonderful things He does for us daily.  

Here is the translation of the Thanks-offering Psalm: “A Psalm for the thank-offering. Let all the earth sing in jubilation to Hashem. Serve Hashem with joy; come before Him with exultation. Know that Hashem is G-d, He has made us, and we are His; His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with gratitude, His courtyards with praise; give thanks to Him, bless His name. For Hashem is good. His kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness is for all generations.”

This week’s Parsha, Vayeishev, is about the story of Joseph being sold by his brothers and he ends up in Egypt. One can only imagine what went through Joseph’s mind, who came to visit his brothers upon his father’s request and ends up as a slave to an Egyptian in Egypt.

The Torah describes the hardships and trials which Joseph endured. But in the end, as the Torah tells us, it was all for the good. It was for Joseph’s benefit, for his family’s benefit and for the welfare and benefit of all the Egyptians.

When Joseph, his father and brothers were reunited twenty-two years later, Joseph tells his brothers that it was not they who sold him to the Egyptians, it was G-d Who caused it to happen so as to save the people during the famine years.   

It is the same with each and everyone of us. We do not always see the ultimate benefit which comes from adversity. But we do believe that everything comes from G-d and as a result, there is a reason for it all and it is all for the ultimate good.

Remember: Sunday night we light the first Chanukah candle.

SHABBAT  SHALOM

Montreal Shabbat candle lighting time: 3:57 / Shabbat ends: 5:03

Tuesday, Kislev 19, 5782 / November 23, 2021

B"H

Tuesday, Kislev 19, 5782 / November 23, 2021

On Chanukah we celebrate two miracles; the miracle of the oil in the Holy Temple and the miracle in which the small army of the Macabees were victorious over the great armies of their Syrian-Greek-Hellenistic enemies.  As we recite in the Al Hanisim prayer, "Strong fell in the hands of the weak; many into the hands of the few."

Q. How does lighting the Menorah celebrate the miracle of winning the war against their mighty enemies? 

A.  The decrees against the Jewish people at the time of Chanukah were of spiritual nature.  Jews were prohibited to study Torah and observe the mitzvot which connect us to G-d.  The war which the Macabees fought against the Hellenists was to protect and save the Jewish soul; i.e. for the observance of Torah and Mitzvot. 

The soul is compared to a candle, as is written, "The candle of G-d is the soul of man."  Torah and mitzvot are also compared to a candle and light. 

As a result, the sages established to celebrate Chanukah with the lighting of candles.  For it not only celebrates the miracle of the oil in the Beth Hamikdash, it also commemorates the victory of the war which was against the Jewish soul (candle) and the victory of Torah and mitzvot, which are compared to a candle and light.

The Chanukah candles enlighten us to know and believe in the power of miracles.  For miracles do happen all the time, it is only a matter of recognizing them.  Some miracles are obvious, while most are hidden, for they are concealed in what we call "nature." 

A more accurate term for what is commonly known as "nature" would be, constant miracle.  Miracles are usually defined as something which is out of the ordinary, unexpected, cannot be explained and challenges the laws of nature.  Things which happen continuously, and thus, have come to expect them, we call nature.

But in truth nature is the greatest miracle of all.  The very fact that G-d makes these things happen so normally, regularly, and so naturally, is the most wonderful miracle.

"A small amount of light drives away much darkness," say our sages.  The holiday of Chanukah, through the spiritual illumination of the Chanukah candles enlighten us to recognize G-d's miracles that constantly accompany us every minute of every day.

Today is the 19th of Kislev.  It is a very important day in the Chassidic calendar, especially for Chabad-Lubavitch. In the year 1798, Rabbi Schneur Zalmen, founder and first Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, was liberated from prison.  He was imprisoned by the Czarist government for spreading the teachings of the Kaballah and Chassidus.  Rabbi Schneur Zalmen's life was in grave danger.  After 53 days of imprisonment, he was released on the 19th of Kislev. 

Like the Chanukah candles which illuminate the darkness, so too, Rabbi Schneur Zalmen's teachings have illuminated Jewish souls through the darkness of this exile, for over 200 years.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

Monday, Kislev 18, 5782 / November 22, 2021

B"H

Monday, Kislev 18, 5782 / November 22, 2021

This week's Parsha, Vayeishev, describes the special relationship that Yaakov (Jacob) had with his son, Yosef (Joseph).  The Torah says, "Israel [Yaakov] loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son born to him in his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors." 

Yaakov's special relationship with Joseph caused jealousy and rift between the brothers and Joseph.

We read about Joseph's dreams which he told his brothers, for which they hated him even more.

In his first dream, he and his brothers were out in the field binding sheaves when his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his. In the second dream, the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed to him. The eleven stars refer to his eleven brothers, further increasing their jealousy and hatred for him.

Later, when their father, Yaakov, sends Joseph out to the field to check on his brothers, they sell him to a caravan of merchants and Joseph ends up in Egypt as a slave to Potifar. When Joseph refuses the advances of Potifar's wife and runs out of the house, she later complains to her husband that it was Joseph who wanted to force himself upon her, which results in Joseph being imprisoned.

At the end of the Parsha, Joseph properly interprets the dreams of the king's butler and baker who were also in prison. In next week's Parsha, Mikeitz, Joseph is summoned to interpret King Pharaoh's dreams, and as a result, Pharaoh appoints him ruler over Egypt.

All these years, Yaakov thought that Joseph was devoured by a wild animal, and he mourned after him. Only later did Yaakov come to Egypt where he was re-united with his beloved son, Joseph.

Q.   How many years were Yaakov and Joseph separated?

A.   22 years. Joseph was sold when he was 17 and reunited with Yaakov at 39.

Q.   What did Yaakov do to deserve such harsh punishment for 22 years?

A.  It was measure for measure for the 22 years which Yaakov was away from his parents. He spent 20 years with his father-in-law and two more years on the road returning home. For those 22 years that he was away from his parents, his son Joseph was away from him.

Although it may have been a punishment, yet Joseph's ending up in Egypt was ordained by Divine Providence to benefit Yaakov and his family.  G-d told Abraham, many years earlier, that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign land.  By Joseph being sold to the Egyptians and eventually becoming the ruler of Egypt, it made Yaakov’s transition to Egypt much more pleasant.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY