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Chanukah-Mikeitz
5764 (2003)
Seasons of
the Soul
What is Chanukah?
Seasons of
the Soul
Seeing Lessons
Some history... What's a miracle? ... Power of the
individual... The Greeks and the Jews... The mind
and beyond... Chanukah today...
Hedonism and ascetics are two sides of this same
Hellenic coin: when the soul (flame) meets the
body (wick), either the flame gutters out, or it consumes the wick leaving only formless soot behind.
Judaism offers another model - the lamp
Eight Shades of Light
Seasons of the In the beginning, darkness and light were one.
Then G-d separated between revealed good and
concealed good, challenging us to cultivate the
Soul
day and transform the night
Seasons of the
Soul
Eight Chanukah Stories
139 BCE... Heaven, 25 Kislev, 3622 from creation... Mezhibuzh, 18th Century... France, 1942...
Kharkov, 1995... Los Angeles, 2003…
What is Chanukah? When the
Greeks entered the Sanctuary,
they contaminated all of its oil.
When the royal Hasmonean family overpowered and was victorious over them, they searched and
found only a single cruse of pure
oil that was sealed with the seal
of the Kohen Gadol (High
Priest), enough to light the
menorah for a single day. A miracle occurred, and they lit the
menorah with this oil for eight
days. The following year, they
established these [eight days] as
days of festivity and praise and
thanksgiving to G-d
(Talmud, Shabbat 21b)
Exposing the Light
Parsha
All the world's problems stem from
light being withheld.
Vayeishev — Genesis 37:1–40:23
What was the cause of the rift between Joseph and
his brothers? What forces conspired to bring together Judah and Tamar? Who was Potiphar's wife, why
was Joseph forgotten in prison, and why are there so
many dreams in the book of Genesis?
Our job then, is to correct this.
Wherever we find light, we must rip
away its casings, exposing it to all,
letting it shine forth to the darkest
ends of the earth.
Especially the light you yourself
hold.
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seasons of the soul
What is
Chanukah?
by Tzvi Freeman
Did Chanukah happen years ago? Or is it happening now? Was there ever a time when it was not happening? The story of a little candle pushing away the
monster of frightening darkness is ever-alive within
each of us — and in the world outside of us.
You might call it the cosmic mega-drama. Watch
it happen at the dawn of each day and at every winter solstice, with every breath of life, every cry of a
newborn child, every blade of grass that breaks out
from under the soil, every flash of genius, every
stroke of beauty, every decision to do good in the
face of evil, to build where others destroy, to move
humanity forward when others pull us toward chaos.
All those and more are Chanukah.
Some History
You would have thought the Jewish people and
the ancient Greeks would get along. After all, they
had so much in common. Both valued wisdom and
beauty. Many Greek philosophers even acknowledged a single, great Mind behind all the cosmos,
similar to Jewish monotheism.
Well, they did manage somewhat — at first. The
Jews tolerated Greek rule from the time of
Alexander of Macedonia. Many Jews studied
Hellenist philosophy and King Ptolemy had the
Jewish Torah translated into Greek. But when King
Antiochus attempted to force Hellenism down our
throats, we rebelled.
Antiochus forbade ritual circumcision. Mothers
openly circumcised their infant boys in defiance.
Antiochus forbade the keeping of the Sabbath. Jews
were forced to leave Jerusalem so they could keep
the day of rest holy. Antiochus forbade the study of
Torah as a sacred text. Jews found ways to teach
classes of children and adults in secret. When the
Greeks raised up idols in the cities and towns and
demanded that the Jews worship them, all-out war
ensued.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
It was the first time in history that a people had
fought not for their country or their lives, but for their
beliefs and their right to religious freedoms.
Problem was, the Syrian-Greek army was the most
powerful in the world. Their soldiers marched in a
compact formation of overlapping shields and long
spears, almost invincible in those times. They had
advanced weapons, were highly trained and even
brought elephants to the battlefield. The Jewish
resistance, on the other hand, began with a handful of
brothers of the priestly class, calling themselves the
Maccabees.
There were many acts of courage, but the
Maccabees firmly believed that their victory came
from Above. Eventually, they received a sign that it
was so: When they took back Jerusalem and the
Temple, they searched and found a single flask of
undefiled olive oil — just what was needed to light
the sacred menorah. Although the flask held only
enough for a single day, the light of the menorah
miraculously burned for eight complete days, providing just enough time to prepare new oil. To the
Jewish people, this was like a nod from Above, that,
yes, He was with us all along.
Chanukah Insights:
Miracles
Without miracles, we might come to believe that
the laws of physics define reality. Once we witness
the inexplicable, we see that there is a higher reality.
And then we look back at physics and say, “This too
is a miracle.” The miracle of a small flask of oil burning for eight days was this sort of miracle.
Then there are those small miracles that occur
every day. Those acts of synchronicity we call ‘coincidence’ because, in them, G-d prefers to remain
anonymous. But when we open our eyes and hearts,
we see there is truly no place void of this wondrous,
unlimited G-d. These were the sort of miracles the
Maccabees saw in their battles against the mighty
Greek army.
The Power of the Individual
Chanukah was a victory of few over many. Each
Maccabee was a hero, essential to the victory.
One could think that, in those days, when the population of the world was so much smaller, a single
individual would have more power to change the
world. In fact, just the opposite is true. Technology
and information has put enormous power in the
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seasons of the soul
What is Chanukah?
hands of whoever wants it.
Just over fifty years ago, one madman came to the
verge of destroying the world. His failure to develop
atomic weapons on time is still inexplicable — it can
only be attributed to the great mercies of the One
Above who takes care of His world and promised it
would always stand. Today we have seen that not
even an army is needed, nor warheads or missiles —
but only an obsessive will to destroy.
Such is the power of darkness.
A thousand times over is the power of light, of any
one of us to transform the entire world to good. A
small child kissing the mezuzah on the door of her
house, an act of kindness asking nothing in return, a
sacrifice of convenience to benefit another-each of
these things are as bursts of light in the nighttime
sky. True, they make less noise. Rarely are they
reported in the daily news. But while darkness passes as the shadows of clouds on a windy day, this light
endures, accumulating until it leaves no room for
evil to remain.
extreme, it can produce a Stalinist Russia or a Nazi
Germany.
A healthy mind is one that recognizes that there
will always be wonder, because G-d is beyond the
human mind. And a healthy society is a balanced
one, whose soil nurtures human accomplishment but
whose bedrock is the ethical standard of an Eternal
Being.
Last Word
Some people are waiting for a final, apocalyptic
war. But the final war is not fought on battlefields,
nor at sea, nor in the skies above. Neither is it a war
between leaders or nations. The final war is fought
in the heart of each human being, with the armies of
his or her deeds in this world. The final war is the
battle of Chanukah and the miracle of light.
By Tzvi Freeman; [email protected] see
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=3009 for bio, info
and more articles by this author as well as to order his book,
"Bringing Heaven Down to Earth".
The Mind and Beyond
Today’s Western society is built on the foundations of these two cultures: the Jewish and the Greek.
Both treasured the human mind. The Greeks reached
the pinnacle of intellect at their time. But the experience of Mount Sinai had taught the Jew that there is
something greater than the human mind. There is a
G-d, indescribable and inexplicable. And, therefore,
a world could not be built on human reason alone.
The idea annoyed the Greeks to no end. While
they appreciated the wisdom of the Torah, they
demanded that the Jews abandon the notion that it
was something Divine.
Ethics, to an ancient Greek, meant that which is
right in the eyes of society. To a Jew, it means that
which is right in the eyes of G-d. The difference is
crucial: Ethics built solely on the convenience of the
time can produce a society where human beings are
treated as numbers in a computer or where the central value is the accumulation of wealth. At its
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Seasons of the soul
Seeing Lessons
by Shlomo Yaffe
We’ve all heard of music lessons and driving lessons, as these are skills that need learning. But seeing
lessons? Seeing is something that a healthy person is
born with the capacity to do automatically; why
would one need lessons?
But learning to see is just what the primary observance of Chanukah asks us to do. In HaNeirot Halalu
— the short prayer sung immediately after the lighting of the Chanukah lights — we say: “These lights
are holy... We’re not allowed to make practical use of
them; they are only to be seen.”
This is actually quite curious, inasmuch as the
other types of lights we are asked to kindle as a mitzvah — i.e., the Shabbat and Festival lights — are
specifically designed to be used for illumination.
With Chanukah, we are forced to do nothing with the
lights except to look at them.
Every Jewish holiday carries a lesson that has the
capacity — if absorbed — to enhance our lives
throughout the year. A key component of Chanukah is
to teach us to see in a completely new way.
If we look at a Chanukah lamp or candle, we will
see that it has three mandatory components: 1) a wick
2) fuel (e.g. oil or wax) 3) the flame carried by the
wick and fed by the oil. An electric light or a burning
pool of flammable liquid do not fulfill the mitzvah of
kindling the Chanukah lights.
To have a clear, enduring flame all three components are necessary. A wick ignited is soon extinguished in an uncontrolled and smoky blaze to oblivion. Oil or wax without a wick will not burn in an
illuminating manner and is very hard to ignite, as it is
a cold and inert substance under normal conditions.
And of course, without the flame there is no chance
of light.
During the historical period leading up to the
events commemorated on Chanukah, the challenge of
the Hellenists to the Jews committed to their beliefs
was: Why do you insist on proclaiming the supreme
purpose of doing mitzvot with certain objects and
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
certain places in certain times? Symbolism is fine, but
do you really think that there is intrinsic value in
these practices? Can you not have great spiritual
experiences without all these physical details?
Philosophize, meditate, but why the tefillin? Why
the Shabbat? Why the brit? Be spiritual or be physical, but who are you kidding by straddling the fence
and pretending that physical activity has intrinsic
spiritual value?
The Jewish response is that the soul and body are
indeed dichotomous and struggle with each other.
The body desires the transient and tangible, the soul
desires the eternal and ethereal. When the upwardly
striving flame of the soul meets the inertial and cold
wick of the body they struggle and smoke. Either the
body wins and the flame gutters out, or the soul wins
and consumes the body, leaving only formless soot
behind. The Western traditions of hedonism and ascetics are two sides of this same Hellenic coin. In the
dichotomous model, one side can only assert itself at
the expense of the other.
Judaism offers another model — the lamp. The
flame does not consume the wick; it is the source of a
clear and enduring light. The oil mediates between
the wick and the flame, slowly being consumed
whilst the flame and wick maintain their integrity at
peace with each other. The oil is the mitzvot — the
precepts of Judaism. These are physical things within
which G-d asks us to find Him. The physical also
flows from G-d’s essence. The challenge of the physical is finding the G-dliness in it, as the physical is
darkness and concealment, concealing the creative
force within it rather than revealing it as the spiritual
does.
However, when we surrender ourselves to the
divine will and say, “Show us where You are in the
physical world,” we are guided to the mitzvot — the
physical actions G-d creates as doorways to the infinite within our finite world. When our body (the
wick) is immersed in this “oil” and the flame of the
soul is applied to our bodies, action expresses the Gdly and the body is illuminated and at peace with the
light of the soul. We see that there is no dichotomy in
life, only possible harmonies.
G-d is truth, and truth is that which is always the
same under all circumstances. If G-d is less present or
available in the physical realm, then that is not truth.
How is G-d available in the physical? By opening the
doors that are the practice of the mitzvot, which are
G-d’s presence in the fact that He is requesting these
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Seasons of the soul
Seeing Lessons
things of us.
These are the “seeing lessons” the Chanukah lights
teach us. Never see the physical as a contradiction to
the G-dly, but as a necessary ingredient to an illumined and just world. G-d is only real to us when He
can be present everywhere under all circumstances.
Never see the physical as the enemy or the spiritual as
impossible to attain. See them as the ingredients of a
lamp that just need to be drawn together as one to
shine.
See the lights of Chanukah, and nothing will ever
look the same.
Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe is rabbi and spiritual leader of
Congregation Agudas Achim of West Hartford, Connecticut,
[email protected]
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seasons of the soul
governing its observance.
Eight essays on the essence of Chanukah
The Flame discusses the uniqueness of the lamp as
a metaphor for the soul of man, which the Torah
describes as ner Hashem, “a lamp of G-d.”
Light, Purity and Spirituality
INTRODUCTION
Chanukah—the eight-day festival of light that
begins on the eve of Kislev 25—celebrates the triumph
of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of
spirituality over materiality.
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land
was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who
sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel.
Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the
Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.
When they sought to light the Temple’s menorah, they
found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped
contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the oneday supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be
prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate these miracles, the sages instituted
the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is
the nightly menorah lighting: a single flame on the first
night, two on the second evening, and so on till the
eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled. On Chanukah we also recite Hallel and the Al
HaNissim prayer to offer praise and thanksgiving to Gd for “delivering the strong into the hands of the weak,
the many into the hands of the few... the wicked into the
hands of the righteous.” Customs include eating foods
fried in oil—latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot
(doughnuts); playing with the dreidel (a spinning top
on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel,
hei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham,
“A great miracle happened there”); and the giving of
Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children.
The Transparent Body examines the concept of
spirituality. Why is Chanukah the most spiritual of the
festivals? What lesson is there in this to the great
majority of us, whose lives are of a decidedly material
nature?
Nightlight focuses on the significance of the
Chanukah menorah as a generator of light, and its similarities and differences with its predecessor, the menorah in the Holy Temple.
Who were the Greeks, and what was the nature of
the challenge they posed to the purity of Israel? That is
the question addressed in The Mudswamps of Hella.
The following essay, The Miracle, probes the nature of
heroism and self-sacrifice, while Compromise discusses another of Chanukah’s themes—education—
and includes the surprising revelation that the primary
miracle of Chanukah was completely unnecessary.
The Lamplighter offers an insight into the character of the shamash, the “servant candle” who ignites the
Chanukah lamps and stands watch over their light. Our
eighth and concluding essay, Accumulating Lights,
discusses the specialty of Zot Chanukah—the eighth
day of Chanukah and the only day of the festival distinguished by a name of its own. We learn of the unique
perspective on Chanukah offered by the sages of Hillel
and the challenge of making the most spiritual festival
in the Jewish calendar a real and actual force in our
lives.
Our exploration of the soul of Chanukah consists of
eight essays—one for each of the eight flames of
Chanukah—which examine the various themes of the
festival, the miracles it commemorates, and the laws
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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seasons of the soul
The Flame - 1
st
Light
How, indeed, can something as agitated
as the flame radiate such peace?
We can sit and gaze at it for hours.
It’s luminous, it’s warm, it’s romantic; but most of
all it’s spiritual. (In what way spiritual? We can’t
really say, but it is spiritual.) A yellow droplet of
light, laced with red, bright-white at the edges, and
blue at the core as if dirtied by its contact with the
material wick. But we didn’t see all those colors
until we counted them—the flame itself is a perfect,
integral whole, emanating calm and tranquility.
How, indeed, can something as agitated as the
flame radiate such peace? For the flame is a clash of
forces pulling in opposite directions. Look closely:
see how it strains upward, striving to tear away from
the wick which tethers it to the candle or lamp and
lose itself in the great expanses of energy that gird
the heavens. But look again, and see how it clings to
the length of braided cotton that spears its heart and
supplies it with the fuel that sustains its luminance
and life. Back and forth, up and down it strives, vacillating between being and naught, between presence
and oblivion.
“The soul of man is a candle of G-d” (Proverbs
20:27). For the soul of man, too, is a clash of divergent forces and contrary strivings.
We yearn to tear free of our “wick”—of the body
that anchors us to the physical reality and sullies us
with physical needs and wants. We strive upwards,
yearning to transcend the physical, the human and
the particular, and fuse with the universal and the
divine. At the same time, we cling to the body, to the
bit of matter that sustains us as dynamic and productive participants in G-d’s world.
commitment to inhabit it, develop it and sanctify it
that makes us spiritual beings.
We can sit and gaze at the flame for hours,
because we are gazing at ourselves.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
It is this perpetual up-and-down, this incessant
vacillation from selfhood to selflessness and back
again, that we call life. It is this eternal tension
between our desire to escape the physical and our
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seasons of the soul
The Transparent Body - 2
nd
Light
“What is Chanukah?” asks the Talmud, and encapsulates the essence of the festival in the following lines:
When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they contaminated all of its oil. When the royal Hasmonean family
overpowered and was victorious over them, they
searched and found only a single cruse of pure oil that
was sealed with the seal of the Kohen Gadol (High
Priest)—enough to light the menorah for a single day. A
miracle occurred, and they lit the menorah with this oil
for eight days. The following year, they established these
[eight days] as days of festivity and praise and thanksgiving to G-d.
What is striking about the Talmud’s description is that
there is only the merest passing reference to the miraculous military victories that preceded—and enabled—the
Hasmoneans’ liberation of the Holy Temple. While mentioning that “the royal Hasmonean family overpowered
and was victorious over [the Greeks],” the Talmud says
nothing of the fact that this was a battle in which a small
band of Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on
earth. The focus is wholly on the miracle of the oil, as if
this were the only significant event commemorated by
the festival of Chanukah.
Contrast this with the Al HaNissim prayer, recited on
Chanukah to recount “the miracles ... that You have done
for our ancestors in those days, at this time”:
In the days of Matityahu... the Hasmonean and his
sons, when the wicked Hellenic government rose up
against Your people Israel to make them forget your
Torah and to make them violate the decrees of Your will;
You, in Your abounding mercies, stood by them in the
time of their distress.... You delivered the mighty into the
hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few...
the wicked into the hands of the righteous... and you
effected a great deliverance and redemption for Your
people Israel.... Then Your children entered the house of
Your dwelling, cleansed Your Temple, purified Your sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courtyards, and instituted these eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and
praise to Your great name.
Here, it is the miracle of the oil that is ignored. While
the Al HaNissim speaks of “lights” kindled in “Your holy
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
courtyards,” this is most probably not a reference to the
lights of the menorah—whose appointed place was not in
the courtyard of the Holy Temple but inside the
Sanctuary—but to lights kindled in celebration throughout the Temple compound and the city of Jerusalem
(which explains why Al HaNissim speaks of “courtyards,” in the plural). In any case, even if the lights in
question are those of the menorah, there is no mention of
the miracles associated with its lighting.
In other words, there seems to be a complete separation between the “physical” and “spiritual” miracles of
Chanukah, to the extent that the mention of one precludes any mention of the other. When the physical salvation of Israel is remembered and we thank G-d for
delivering the “mighty into the hands of the weak, and
the many into the hands of the few,” we make no reference to the miracle of the oil; and when we relate to the
spiritual significance of Chanukah—the triumph of light
over darkness—it is free of any association with the
physical victories that accompanied it.
The Spiritual Festival
The struggles and triumphs chronicled by the Jewish
calendar are always more than a struggle for physical
survival. Exodus, commemorated reexperienced each
Passover, was a people’s liberation from slavery to freedom; it their extraction pagan Egypt receive Torah at
Sinai enter into covenant with G-d as His “nation of
priests holy people.” On Purim we remember that
Haman wished annihilate Jews because “they singular
people... whose laws different those all other nations”;
thus celebrates not only salvation existence Jew, but
Jew’s identity way life.
Yet the battle waged by the Hasmoneans against the
Greeks was the most spiritual battle in Jewish history.
The Greeks did not endeavor to physically destroy the
Jewish people, or even to deprive them of their religion
and way of life; they merely wished to Hellenize them—
to “enlighten” their lives with the culture and philosophy
of Greece. Keep your books of wisdom, they said to the
Jew, keep your laws and customs, but enrich them with
our wisdom, adorn them with our art, blend them into our
lifestyle. Worship your G-d in your temple, but then worship the human body in the adjoining sports stadium
we’ll build for you. Study your Torah, but integrate it
with the principles of our philosophy and the aesthetics
of our literature.
The Hasmoneans fought for independence from
Hellenic rule because the Greeks sought to “make them
forget Your Torah and make them violate the decrees of
Your will.” They did not fight for the Torah per se, but
for “Your Torah”—for the principle that the Torah is G8
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seasons of the soul
The Transparent Body - 2
nd
Light
d’s law rather than a deposit of human wisdom which
might be commingled with other deposits of human
wisdom. They did not fight for the mitzvot as the
Jewish way of life, but for the mitzvot as “the decrees
of Your will”—as the supra-rational will of G-d, which
cannot be rationalized or tampered with. They fought
not for any material or political end, not for the preservation of their identity and lifestyle, not even for the
right to study the Torah and fulfill its commandments,
but for the very soul of Judaism, for the purity of Torah
as the divine word and its mitzvot as the divine will.
The spirituality of Chanukah is emphasized by the
festival’s principal mitzvah, the kindling of the
Chanukah lights. We are physical beings, enjoined to
anchor our every experience to a physical deed: on
Passover, we celebrate our freedom with matzah and
wine; on Purim, we read the Megillah, give money to
the poor, send gifts of food to our friends, and feast
and drink. Chanukah, too, has its “ritualistic” element,
in which a physical act and object embody the festival’s significance. But here the vehicle is the most
spiritual of physical phenomena—light. On Chanukah,
the overriding emphasis is on the spiritual essence of
our struggle, so that even its physical face is an ethereal flame dancing in the night.
Separation of Miracles
So when the Talmud replies to question, “What is
Chanukah?” it defines festival solely in terms of its
spiritual miracles—the discovery pure, undefiled cruse
oil and rekindling divine light which emanated from
Holy Temple. Since this commemorates our most spiritual battle, its spiritual content predominates to the
extent that it completely eclipses its physical aspect.
Although military miracles preceded made possible
lighting menorah Temple, they are ignored we speak
miracle essence Chanukah.
This is also the reason that the prayer instituted by
our sages to give thanks to G-d for the military victories omits all mention of the miracle of the oil. For
only when they are regarded on their own can the military miracles be emphasized and appreciated. Were
they to be discussed in relation to the miracle of the
oil, they would fade to insignificance. Within the
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
supra-spiritual context of Chanukah’s central miracle,
they are reduced to a minor detail scarcely worthy of
mention.
The Lesson
Man is comprised of a soul and body: spiritual
essence that the Chassidic masters call “literally part
G-d above” physical vehicle via which it experiences
impacts world.
The body was designed to serve the soul in its mission to develop the world in accordance with the
divine will. Of course, man has been granted freedom
of choice. The body might thus rebel against the
dominion of the soul; it might even subject its rightful
master to its own desires, making the pursuit of material things the focus of life and exploiting the soul’s
spiritual prowess to this end. But in its natural, uncorrupted state, the body is the servant of the soul, channeling its energies and implementing its will.
There are, however, many levels to this submission,
many degrees of servitude of matter to spirit. The body
might recognize that the purpose of life on earth lies
with the soul’s aspirations, yet also entertain an “agenda” of its own alongside the greater, spiritual agenda.
Or it might selflessly serve the soul, acknowledging
the spiritual as the only goal worthy of pursuit, yet its
own needs remain a most visible and pronounced part
of the person’s life, if only out of natural necessity.
Chanukah teaches us that there is a level of
supremacy of soul over body that is so absolute that
the body is virtually invisible. It continues to attend to
its own needs, because a soul can only operate within
a functioning body; but these are completely eclipsed
by the spiritual essence of life. One sees not a material creature foraging for food, shelter and comfort, but
a spiritual being whose spiritual endeavors consume
his or her entire being.
For all but the most spiritual tzaddik, it is not possible, nor desirable, to perpetually maintain this state;
indeed, it is Chanukah for only eight days of the year.
But each and every one of us is capable of experiencing moments of such consummate spirituality.
Moments in which we so completely “lose ourselves”
in our commitment to our spiritual purpose that our
material cares become utterly insignificant.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
9
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seasons of the soul
Nightlight - 3
rd
Light
The mitzvah of kindling the Chanukah lights begins
at sunset.... They are to be placed in the outer doorway
of one’s home; if one lives on the second floor, one
should place them in a window which looks out to the
street.
Talmud, Shabbat 21b
Evening comes early in winter, filling the streets
with darkness and cold. One by one the lights come on.
Amid the electrical glare, a warmer, purer glow asserts
itself. It is the last week of Kislev, and from the doorways and windows of Jewish homes, Chanukah lights
illuminate the night.
“For a mitzvah is a lamp, and Torah, light” (Proverbs
6:23). The essence of our mission in life is to shed
light: every time we fulfill a mitzvah we are lighting a
lamp, illuminating a world darkened by ignorance and
strife with the wisdom and harmony of the Creator.
Every mitzvah is a lamp, but there are two mitzvot
whose actual form mirrors their quintessential function.
These are the two mitzvot whose fulfillment involves
the generation of physical light: the lamps of the menorah, which the Torah instructs to be lit each afternoon
in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; and the Chanukah
lights, kindled at nightfall each evening of the eightday festival of Chanukah.
For the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was the epicenter of
G-d’s manifest presence in the life of man, the point,
says the Talmud, “from which light went out to the
entire world.” In their endeavor to supplant the spirituality of Israel with the paganism of Hellene, the Greeks
invaded the Temple, defiled it with their decadent
images and rites, and contaminated the oil designated
for the kindling of the menorah.
But one family refused to yield to the darkness.
Matityahu the Hasmonean and his sons (the
“Maccabees”) rallied a small but determined group of
fighters and drove the Greeks from the land. After liberating the Holy Temple and rededicating it to the service of G-d, they searched for ritually pure oil with
which to light the menorah. They found a single cruse
of oil that had survived defilement by the Greeks.
Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight
days, until new pure oil could be prepared.
Every winter of the more than 2,100 winters since,
we remember and reenact the triumph of light over
darkness with the eight flames of the Chanukah menorah.
A DIFFERENT MENORAH
There are, however, several marked differences
between the Chanukah menorah and the menorah in the
Holy Temple:
a) The Temple menorah was lit during the day (no
later than 1-1/4 hours before sunset) and burned
through the night. The Chanukah lights are kindled at
night. (Immediately after sunset according to the custom of some communities, or after three stars come
out, according to the custom of other.)
Indeed, the Chanukah lamps are the offspring of
those of the menorah. The mitzvah of lighting the
Chanukah lights was instituted by our sages to commemorate the miraculous rebirth of light in the Holy
Temple after its suppression, in the 2nd century bce, by
the Hellenist rulers of the Holy Land.
b) The original menorah stood well indoors, in the
inner sanctum of the Holy Temple (called the Heichal).
The Chanukah menorah is placed at the perimeter of
the home, “on the outer doorway of one’s home” or, “if
one lives on the second floor... in a window overlooking the street.”
The Temple’s menorah was a five-foot high, seven
branched-candelabra made of solid gold and topped
with seven oil-burning lamps. Its seven flames, fueled
by premium olive oil prepared under special conditions
of spiritual purity, were the physical expression of the
spiritual light which emanated from the Holy Temple.
c) Seven flames burned in the Temple menorah. The
Chanukah menorah holds eight lamps, all of which are
kindled on the eighth and culminating night of the festival.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
Why these dissimilarities? In Torah law, there is a
rule-of-thumb that “All rabbinical institutions are mod10
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Therein lies the significance of Chanukah, when
the menorah moves from within the Holy Temple out
into the street, and from the daytime to the evening.
Chanukah transforms the menorah from a tool that
disseminates the light of day into a tool that extracts
the luminous essence of darkness itself.
seasons of the soul
Nightlight - 3
rd
Light
eled after their biblical prototypes.” So why, in instituting the practice of kindling the Chanukah lights,
did our sages so differentiate between them and the
lights they come to commemorate?
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
G-d saw the light that it is good, and He separated between the light and the darkness. And G-d
called the light “day” and the darkness He called
“night”; and it was evening and it was morning, one
day.
Genesis 1:4-5
In the beginning, darkness and light were one—a
single, seamless expression of the goodness and perfection of their Creator. But G-d wanted contrast and
challenge in His world. So He separated between
light and darkness, between revealed good and concealed good, challenging us to cultivate the day and
sublimate the night.
On the most fundamental level, our task is to harness the light of day so that it extends to illuminate
the night. We strive to preserve and develop all that
is good and G-dly in our world, and to direct these
positive forces to overcome and transform the evil
and negativity of the “dark side” of creation. This
process was exemplified by the menorah in the Holy
Temple: kindled in the light of day, its rays reached
deep into the night; kindled in an inner sanctum
brimming with divine light, it radiated its glow to the
mundane world without.
But there are times when this “standard operating
procedure” is no longer operative. Times when darkness invades the divine lighthouse, extinguishing the
menorah and defiling its oil. Times when we can no
longer draw from the day to illuminate the night.
At such times, we must turn to the night itself as a
source of light. We must search for the hidden “single cruse of pure oil,” for the undefiled and undefilable essence of creation. We must delve below the
surface realities of “day” and “night” to unearth the
primordial singularity of light and darkness.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
[More specifically, the lighting of the Temple and
Chanukah menorahs, together with the third lightgenerating mitzvah, the lighting of the Shabbat
lights, chart a three-phased progression of light
through space and time.
[The Temple menorah stood in the holiest place on
earth, in the edifice that was the seat of G-d’s manifest presence in the physical world. The Shabbat
lights find a source of light in a less sacred environment—in the home, a place that embraces both our
holy endeavors (Torah study, prayer, acts of charity,
etc.) as well as our more mundane activities. Yet the
home is our private sanctum; here we are in control,
making the task of achieving harmony between the
spiritual and material components of home life, if not
always easy, then within reasonable reach. The
Chanukah lights, however, test the very limits of our
light-generating capacities. Placed in the doorway or
in a window, they straddle the private and public
areas of our lives, the boundary between the home
and the street.
[In terms of their placement in time, the Temple’s
menorah was kindled in early afternoon, the Shabbat
candles are lit eighteen minutes before sunset, and
the Chanukah lights are kindled at or after nightfall.
This also corresponds to the sequence of their
appearance on the macro-historical level. The
Temple menorah came first, in the luminous years
when G-d still communicated openly with man;
commanded by G-d at Sinai, the mitzvah to kindle
the Temple menorah was written into the Torah
(Exodus 27:20-21). The Shabbat lights came in later,
spiritually darker times, a rabbinical institution
designed to foster harmony in the home on the holy
day (Jewish women, beginning with Sarah and
Rebecca, kindled the Shabbat lights from the very
beginning of Jewish history—see Midrash Rabbah
on Genesis 24:67; Likkutei Sichot, vol. XV pp. 168173; but as a halachic obligation they date from the
time they were instituted as a rabbinical decree).
Most recent in linear time are the Chanukah lights,
instituted 21 centuries ago in commemoration of the
miracle of Chanukah.
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seasons of the soul
Nightlight - 3
rd
Light
[So goes the journey of light: a journey through
time and space to ever duskier vistas, to increasingly
alien environments; a journey from midday in
Jerusalem to the darkest reaches of a world awaiting
redemption.]
CYCLE AND CIRCUMFERENCE
This is also the significance of the difference
between the number of lamps in the Temple and
Chanukah menorahs.
Seven is the number of creation. G-d created the
world in seven days, employing the seven divine
attributes (sefirot) which He emanated from Himself
to serve as the seven spiritual building blocks of the
created reality. Seven is thus the dominant number in
all natural cycles and processes. Hence, the “standard operating procedure” to bring light to the darker corners of creation is associated with the sevenbranched menorah of the Holy Temple.
If seven is the cycle of nature, the number eight
represents the “circumference” (shomer hahekef)
that defines and contains it, the pre-creation reality
that both transcends and pervades the created reality.
If the seven lamps of the Temple menorah embody
the normative process of overriding darkness with
light, the eight lamps of the Chanukah menorah represent the endeavor to access a higher reality—a
reality in which darkness is but another ray of divine
truth.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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seasons of the soul
The Mudswamps of Hella -
4th Light
And He raised me from a tumultuous pit, from the
Yavanite mire.
Psalms 40:3
“Yavan” means mud.
Rashi, ibid.
Chanukah celebrates the victory of Judea over
Greece, of a small band of Jews over those who sought
to subvert their faith and profane the sanctity of their
lives.
In the course of the four millennia of Jewish history,
many ideologies and cultures have sought to compromise our allegiance to G-d and His Torah. But there is
something unique about the challenge posed by the
Hellenists 21 centuries ago—something that marks
Chanukah as the ultimate triumph of spirit over matter
and of light over darkness.
SOIL AND WATER
In general, the factors that might undermine the
integrity of a Jew’s faith and his commitment to G-d
fall into two categories.
Most blatant are the challenges of a material sort.
The Jew living in Middle-Ages Europe had a choice:
cleave to your faith and suffer humiliation, poverty, frequent expulsion and outright slaughter, or submit to the
faith of your “hosts.” Twentieth-century America
offered the same choice, albeit in more humane terms,
beckoning to the Jew to shed Shabbat, tefillin and
kashrut for smoother distillation in the melting pot and
enhanced access to the American dream. On the individual level, we are daily challenged by the choice of
devoting our lives to serving our Creator and fulfilling
the purpose of our creation, or to the pursuit of physical gratification and material gain.
More subtle are the ideological challenges: doctrines
and philosophies that lay claim to virtue and truth, and
might even espouse altruistic behavior and transcenSeasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
dent aims, but are utterly alien to the Jewish soul. A
Jew disconnected from his roots and ignorant or unappreciative of his heritage is ready prey for the foreign
waters that offer to quench his spiritual thirst.
But infinitely more noxious is a third category: doctrines that blend the soil of materialism and the fountains of reason into a lethal muck.
A person buried in corporeality can claw and dig his
way out to sunlight. A person sinking in a sea of spurious reason can struggle to the surface and swim to
shore. But he who adds water to his soil—who saturates his materialism with intellectual fluid—creates a
morass from which it is infinitely more difficult to
extricate himself. When his soul is moved to reach
beyond the mundanity of the material, a host of rationalizations rise to still its yen; and when his mind begins
to wake to the fallacy of the alien creed, the grasp of
earth pulls him down. The person is thus steadily
sucked down, as his efforts of mind and will to rise
above his mired state are counteracted by the bog of
idealized hedonism.
Such was the challenge that faced our forefathers
during the Greek domination of the Holy Land. Yavan,
the Hebrew word for the Hellenic culture, means
“mud” (as in Psalms 40:3—see Rashi and Metzudat
Zion commentaries on verse). The Hellenic “reformers” did more than entice and coerce the people of
Israel to embrace the body-worship of Greece—they
also sought to indoctrinate them with a philosophy that
exalted the physical and made its worship a virtue and
an ideal. The Greek was not merely pagan; his was a
paganism aestheticized by art, glorified by poetry and
hallowed by reason. The Greek was no mere materialist, but one who kneaded his earthiest wants with the
subliminal waters of his intellect to form a mucilage
that fastened on the soul and drew it, inch by inch and
limb by limb, into the quagmire of Yavan.
The deadliness of the mudswamp is further illustrated by the very form of the Hebrew word Yavan, (éåï )
whose three letters are three lines, each descending an
increment lower than its predecessor. Unlike water, in
which one might sink swiftly to the bottom but can
also, equally swiftly, pull himself out, the mud of
Yavan works slowly, drawing the person down bit by
bit, step by step. At first, it only demands a slight, bare13
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seasons of the soul
The Mudswamps of Hella -
4th Light
ly discernible departure from one’s convictions and
morals. But its downward pull is steady and all but
irreversible—indeed, all efforts to extract oneself by
the means of one’s conventional faculties are
doomed to failure—except by the extremely potent
power of faith, as explained in the text.
HOLY MUD
Mud can be made with the putrid water of
sophism. But even water from the most pristine well
turns to mud when mixed with soil.
Thus, our sages have said: “If the student of Torah
is meritorious, the Torah becomes an elixir of life for
him; if he does not merit, it becomes a death-potion
for him” (Talmud, Yoma 72b). The Hebrew word
zechut (“merit”) also means “refinement”; so the
above statement can also be read, “If the student of
Torah refines himself, the Torah becomes an elixir of
life for him; if he does not refine himself, it becomes
a death-potion for him.” If a person does not refine
his soul, cleansing his character from the soil of its
baser instincts, the pure waters of Torah become for
him a mudpit of depravity: instead of buoying and
nourishing his soul, his wisdom and knowledge only
feed his ego, justify his iniquities, and aid his manipulation and distortion of the truth.
This is the eternal lesson of Chanukah: intellect
might be man’s highest faculty, but it can also be the
instrument of his degradation to the lowest depths.
Chanukah celebrates the cleansing of the Holy
Temple from Hellenic corruption, the triumph of the
pristine essence of the Jewish soul—represented by
the “small, pure cruse of oil” that burned in the
menorah for eight days—over the “mud” of Greece.
We each possess such a “small, pure cruse of oil”
in the pith of our souls—a reserve of supra-rational
commitment to our Creator, with the power to illuminate our lives with a pure, inviolable light. A light
that ensures that our search for water does not leave
us mired in mud.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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seasons of the soul
The Miracle -
5th Light
What is Chanukah? ... When the royal Hasmonean
family overpowered and was victorious over [the
Greeks], they searched and found only a single cruse of
pure oil... enough to light the menorah for a single day.
A miracle occurred, and they lit the menorah with
this oil for eight days.
On the following year, they established these [eight
days] as days of festivity and praise and thanksgiving
to G-d.
Talmud, Shabbat 21b
Many miracles, great and small, accompanied the
liberation of Israel from Hellenic dominance and the
reclaiming of the Holy Temple as the lighthouse of Gd. But there is one particular miracle, the Talmud is
saying, that is the sum and substance of Chanukah: the
miracle of the small cruse of pure oil that burned for
eight days.
The challenge faced by the Jewish people at that
time was unlike any that had confronted them before.
Hellenism, a noxious blend of hedonism and philosophy, could not be resisted by the conventional tools of
Jewish learning and tradition. Only the “cruse of pure
oil”—the supra-rational, supra-egotistical essence of
the Jewish soul, from which stems the Jew’s intrinsic
self-sacrificial loyalty to G-d—could illuminate the
way out of the mudswamps of Hella. Only by evoking
this inner reserve of incontaminable oil were we able to
banish the pagan invader from G-d’s home and rekindle the torch of Israel as a “light unto the nations.”
The miracle of Chanukah was that “they lit the
menorah with this oil for eight days”—that the flame of
selfless sacrifice blazed beyond a moment of truth,
beyond a day of reckoning. That the “small pure cruse
of oil” burned beyond its one-day lifespan for an additional week, illuminating the seven chambers of the
soul (Kabbalistic teaching enumerates seven middot or
basic character traits—love, restraint, harmony, ambition, devotion, bonding and receptiveness—from
which stem all feelings and motivations of the heart).
This was no mere flash of light in a sea of darkness, but
a flame destined to shed purity and light for all generations, under all conditions.
Thus the Talmud relates that it was only on “the following year” that these eight days were established as
the festival of Chanukah. A year is a microcosm of
time, embodying all of time’s seasons and transmutations. So it was only on the following year, after it had
weathered all fluctuations of the annual cycle, that the
victory of Chanukah could be installed as a permanent
fixture in our lives.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
But this was oil sufficient for only a single day. By
nature, man’s highest powers flare brightly and fleetingly, soon receding to the supra-conscious, suprabehavioral place from which they have come. When a
person’s deepest self is challenged, the essential “oil”
of his soul is stimulated, and no force on earth can still
its flame; but then the moment passes, the cataclysmic
levels off into the routine, and the person is left with his
ordinary, mortal self.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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seasons of the soul
Compromise -
6th Light
The mitzvah of Chanukah is [fulfilled with] a single
light for each household. Those who do more than is
obligatory, kindle a single light for each individual.
Those who do more than those who do more than is
obligatory ... kindle one light on the first day and add
an additional light on each succeeding day.
Talmud, Shabbat 21b
The miracle of Chanukah was completely unnecessary.
Every Jewish schoolchild knows the story: the
Greeks had defiled the Holy Temple’s store of olive oil.
So when the Maccabees liberated the Temple, they
could not find ritually pure oil with which to kindle the
menorah. Then, a single cruse of uncontaminated oil
was found, enough to keep the menorah lit for a single
day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, until
new oil could be prepared.
Strictly speaking, none of this was necessary. The
law which forbids the use of ritually impure oil in the
Temple would not have applied under the circumstances which then prevailed. According to Torah law,
“The prohibition of impurity, if affecting the entire
community, is waived”—if the entire community, or all
the kohanim (priests), or all the Temple’s vessels, are
ritually impure, it is permissible to enter the Temple
and conduct the Temple services under conditions of
impurity. Nevertheless, G-d wished to show His love
for His people: He suspended the laws of nature in
order to enable them to rededicate the Temple without
any compromise on its standards of purity—even if it
be a perfectly legal and permissible compromise.
GOING OVERBOARD
Every Chanukah, we reciprocate in kind. How many
lights must be kindled on the Chanukah menorah?
Most would reply: one on the first night, two on the
second, and so on. The law, however, is otherwise.
According to the Talmud,
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
The mitzvah of Chanukah is [fulfilled with] a single
light for each household. Those who do more than is
obligatory, kindle a single light for each individual.
Those who do more than those who do more than is
obligatory ... kindle one light on the first day and add
an additional light on each succeeding day.
There are those who buy the least costly tefillin on
the market, who give the absolute minimum that the
laws of charity mandate, who employ every halachic
exemption and loophole they can lay their hands on.
But when was the last time you saw a single light in the
window of a Jewish home on the sixth night of
Chanukah? On Chanukah, we all “do more than those
who do more than is obligatory”—after all, G-d did the
same for us.
FANATICAL EDUCATOR
The name “Chanukah” comes from the word chinuch, which means “inauguration.” Chanukah celebrates the renewal of the service in the Holy Temple
after it was liberated from the Greek defiler, purified,
and rededicated as the seat of the divine presence in our
world.
Chanukah thus serves as a model for all inaugurations, including the most significant inauguration of
all—education, a child’s inauguration into life (indeed,
chinuch is also the Hebrew word for “education”). The
uncompromising insistence on purity and perfection
which Chanukah represents holds an important lesson
regarding the essence of the educator’s task.
Compromise is anathema to education. To a mature
tree, a gash here or a torn limb there is of little or no
consequence. But the smallest scratch in the seed, the
slightest nick in the sapling, results in an irrevocable
deformity, a flaw which the years to come will deepen
rather than erase.
Virtually every life is faced with demands for compromises—some tolerable, others not. The educator
who wishes to impart a set of values and priorities that
will weather them all, must deliver, in word and example, a message of impeccable purity, free of even the
slightest and most “acceptable” compromise.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
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seasons of the soul
The Lamplighter - 7
th
Light
Why doesn’t the shamash count?
As every child knows, if you want to know which
night of Chanukah it is, just count the lights in the
menorah.
“But there are four flames in your menorah, Daddy,”
says my child, “not three.”
“Four flames? Oh, the one up on top is the shamash.
He doesn’t count.”
“Why doesn’t he count?”
Why, indeed, doesn’t the shamash count? It is he,
after all, who kindled the other flames. It is he who
stands watch over them, should one of them falter and
require a fresh boost of light.
But isn’t it always that way? The one who cooks and
serves the meal is never really part of the party, even
after he removes his apron and joins the others at the
table. The tour guide isn’t in any of the pictures (she
took the pictures). The shadchan is the most unwanted
guest at the wedding.
Only the Chanukah menorah seems appreciates the
significance of the “servant candle,” placing it high,
high above all the others.
“Why doesn’t the shamash count, Daddy?” my child
asks again.
I look at the shamash as he burns at his post, alone,
forgotten, ignored. Somehow I get the feeling that he
wouldn’t want to be anyplace else.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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seasons of the soul
Accumulating Lights - 8
th
Light
Why doesn’t the shamash count?
The House of Shammai says: On the first day, one
lights eight lights; from here on, one progressively
decreases.
The House of Hillel says: On the first day, one lights
a single light; from here on, one progressively increases.
Talmud, Shabbat 21b
Unlike most other mitzvot, which can be (and usually are) performed indoors, the laws governing the kindling of the Chanukah lights stipulate that they be
placed within the doorway or window of the home, so
that their luminance should radiate outward to the
street. The night may be dark, the street may be teeming with alien and commonplace elements, but if there
is a Jewish home in the vicinity, the street will know
that it is Chanukah.
It will also know which night of Chanukah it is. On
each of the eight nights of Chanukah, a different number of flames are kindled, expressing that night’s particular place in the festival. On the first night of
Chanukah, there will be one flame illuminating the
street; on the second night, two flames; and so on.
Actually, the Talmud records two opinions on how
each Chanukah night should identify itself and cast its
unique light upon the world. This was one of the
halachic issues debated by the two great academies of
Torah law, the House of Shammai and the House of
Hillel: the sages of Hillel held that the Chanukah lights
should increase in number each night, in the familiar
ascending order; the sages of Shammai were of the
opinion that eight flames should be lit on the first night,
seven on the second, and so on in descending number,
until the eighth night of Chanukah, when a single flame
should be lit.
The Talmud explains that the sages of Shammai saw
the Chanukah lights as representing the “upcoming
days” of the festival—the number of days still awaiting
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
realization; thus, the number of lights decrease with
each passing night, as another of Chanukah’s days is
“expended.” The Hillelian view, on the other hand, saw
the lights as representing Chanukah’s “outgoing days,”
so that the ascending number of flames reflect the
accumulation of actualized milestones in the eight-day
quest for light.
In practice, we follow the opinion of the school of
Hillel, and an ascending number of lights chronicle the
progress of the festival. This is even alluded to in the
very name of the festival: the Hebrew word
“Chanukah” forms an acronym of the sentence Chet
Neirot V’halachah K’veit Hillel—”Eight lights, and the
law follows the House of Hillel.”
Our acceptance of Hillel’s perspective on Chanukah
is also expressed by the name traditionally given to the
eighth day of Chanukah—the only day of the festival to
be distinguished by a name of its own—“Zot
Chanukah.”
The name “Zot Chanukah” is based on a phrase from
that day’s Torah reading, and literally means “This is
Chanukah.” This is in keeping with the Hillelian vision
of Chanukah, in which the final day of Chanukah—the
day on which all eight days of light have been actualized—marks the climax of the festival: only on the
eighth day can we say, “This is Chanukah. Now we
“have” the entire Chanukah.” (From the Shammaian
perspective, the first day of Chanukah would be “Zot
Chanukah.”)
What is the basis for these two visions of Chanukah?
And why is the view of the House of Hillel so decisively embraced, to the extent that it is implicit in the
very name “Chanukah” and in the name given to its
culminating day?
The Debate
There are two basic ways in which one might view
something: in light of its potential, or by the its actual,
manifest state. We might say of a certain person: “He
has tremendous potential, but his actual performance is
poor.” The same can be said of a corporation, a relationship, an experience, or anything else. Or we might
say: “There’s potential for disaster here, but it can be
contained and prevented from actualizing.”
Some of us are potential-oriented, which means that
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seasons of the soul
Accumulating Lights - 8
th
Light
Why doesn’t the shamash count?
we would admire the person, invest in the company,
stick it out with the relationship and treasure the
experience—depending upon its potential. Some of
us are more actual-oriented, viewing things in terms
of their “bottom line”—their actual, tactual impact
upon our reality.
This is a recurring theme in many of the disputes
between the schools of Shammai and Hillel. For
example, the sages of Shammai consider the moment
of the Exodus to be the eve of Nissan 15, when the
people of Israel were free to leave Egypt, while the
sages of Hillel place the moment at midday of the
following day, when the Jews actually exited Egypt’s
physical borders. (The question of the precise
moment of the Exodus has certain halachic repercussions, such as the procedure for reciting Hallel on
the seder night.) In another debate, the sages of
Shammai consider a fish susceptible to ritual impurity from the moment the fisherman pulls his catch out
of the water, since at this point the fish has been
removed from the environment in which it might
possibly live; the sages of Hillel disagree, contending that as long as the fish is actually alive (though
its potential for continued life has been destroyed), it
is immune to contamination, as are all other living
plants and animals.
This is also the basis of their differing perspectives on Chanukah. The House of Shammai, which
views things in terms of their potential, sees the first
day of Chanukah, with its potential for eight days of
light, as the point in which all eight days are “there”;
but after one day has “gone by” and passed from
potential into actuality, there are left only seven days
in their most meaningful form—the potential form.
The sages of Hillel, on the other hand, see the actual
state as the more significant; to them, the eighth day
of Chanukah, when all eight dimensions of the festival have been actualized, is when the festival is at its
fullest and most “real.”
G-d’s Reality
We are creatures of the actual. We cannot live on
potential nourishment, or be emotionally satisfied by
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
potential relationships; on the whole, we judge people by their actual conduct, as opposed to their
potential to behave a certain way. Reality, to us, is
what is, not what might be.
This is largely due to the fact that we are physical
beings. It is a most telling idiosyncrasy of our language that “immaterial” means “insignificant”: if we
cannot touch it or see it, it’s not real to us. Also,
because of our finite and limited nature, we possess
potentials that we will never actualize because we
haven’t enough energy, resources or willpower to
carry them out, or simply because we won’t live long
enough to do so. So the existence of a potential or
possibility for something is not enough, for how do
we know that it will amount to anything? Indeed, we
often judge a thing’s potential by the actual: if this
much has been actualized, this “proves” that there is
potential worthy of regard.
Envision, however, a being who is neither physical nor finite; a being not limited by space, time or
any other framework. In such a being, potential does
not lack actualization, for everything is “as good as
done.” On the contrary: potential is the purest and
most perfect form of every reality—the essence of
the thing, as it transcends the limitations and imperfections imposed upon it when it is translated into
physical actuality.
For G-d, then, the potential is a higher form of
being than the actual. This is why we say that, for Gd, the creation of the world did not constitute an
“achievement” or even a “change” in His reality. The
potential for creation existed in Him all along, and
nothing was “added” by its translation into actuality.
It is only we, the created, who gained anything from
the actual creation of the world.
So when the sages of Shammai and Hillel debate
the question of which is more significant from the
perspective of Torah law, the actual or the potential,
they are addressing the more basic question: Whose
Torah is it—ours or G-d’s? When Torah law enjoins
us to commemorate the Exodus, when it legislates
the laws of ritual impurity, or commands us to kindle
the Chanukah lights, does it regard these phenomena
from the perspective of its divine author, in whom
the potential is the ideal state, or from the perspective of its human constituency, who equate real with
actual?
The Torah
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Light
Why doesn’t the shamash count?
Whose Torah is it, ours or G-d’s? Both Shammai
and Hillel would agree that it is both.
The Torah is the wisdom and will of G-d. But as
we proclaim in the berachah (benediction) recited
each morning over the Torah, G-d has given us His
Torah, for He has delegated to mortal man the
authority to interpret it and apply it. Thus, He did not
communicate His will to us in the form of a detailed
manifesto and a codified list of instructions. Instead,
He dictated a relatively short (79,976-word)
“Written Torah” (the Five Books of Moses), together with the “Oral Torah”—a set of guidelines by
which the Written Torah is to be interpreted, decoded, extrapolated and applied to the myriads of possibilities conjured up by the human experience.
So while the entire body of legal, homiletic, philosophical and mystical teaching we know as “Torah”
is implicit within the Written Torah, G-d designated
the human mind and life as the tools that unlock the
many layers of meaning and instruction contained
within its every word.
Torah is thus a partnership of the human and the
divine, where a kernel of divine wisdom germinates
in the human mind, gaining depth, breadth and definition, and is actualized in the physicality of human
life. In this partnership, our human finiteness and
subjectivity become instruments of the divine truth,
joining with it to create the ultimate expression of
divine immanence in our world—the Torah.
Which is the more dominant element of Torah—
divine revelation or human cognition? Which
defines its essence? What is Torah—G-d’s vision of
reality, or man’s endeavor to make his world a home
for G-d? At times the Torah indicates the one; at
times, the other. Thus we have the rule that “The
words of Torah are not susceptible to contamination”
(Talmud, Berachot 22a). A person who is in a state of
ritual impurity (tum’ah) is forbidden to enter the
Holy Temple; but there is no prohibition for him to
study Torah. Why is he forbidden to enter a holy
place but permitted to think and speak holy words?
Because the Torah is not only “holy” (i.e., an object
subservient to G-d and receptive to His presence)—
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
it is divine. It is G-d’s word, and the divine cannot be
compromised by any impurity.
On the other hand, another law states that “A
teacher of Torah who wishes to forgive an insult to
his honor, can forgive it” (Kiddushin 32a). This is in
contrast to a king, who if insulted, has no right to forgive the insult, and no recourse but to punish the one
who insulted him. For a king’s honor is not his personal possession, but something that derives from
his role as the sovereign of his people; one who
insults the king insults the nation, and this is an insult
that the king has not the authority to forgive. Yet
does not one who insults a Torah scholar insult the
Torah? How does the scholar have the right to forgive the Torah’s insult? The explanation given is that
“the Torah is his.” He who studies Torah acquires it
as his own; G-d’s wisdom becomes his wisdom.
Whose Torah is it—ours or G-d’s? Both descriptions are valid; both are part of the Torah’s own selfperception. In certain laws and circumstances, we
find the divinity of Torah emphasized; in others, its
human proprietorship.
Thus, in a number of laws, the schools of
Shammai and Hillel debate which definition of Torah
is the predominant one. The sages of Shammai
believe that in these particular applications of Torah
law, the divinity of Torah predominates: the Torah’s
perspective is synonymous with G-d’s perspective,
meaning that the potential of a thing is its primary
truth. The sages of Hillel see these laws as belonging
to the “human” element in Torah, so that Torah’s
vision of reality is the human, actual-based perspective.
The Human Festival
In the great majority of disputes between the
schools of Shammai and Hillel, the final halachic
ruling follows the opinion of the House of Hillel.
Halachah is the application of Torah to day-to-day
life. In this area of Torah, it is the human element
which predominates; here, reality is defined in terms
of the actual and tactual, rather than the potential.
But nowhere is the supremacy of the Hillelian
view more emphasized than in the debate on
Chanukah, where the very name of the festival, and
the name given to its final day, proclaim that “the
law follows the House of Hillel.” For Chanukah is
the festival that, more than any other, underscores
the human dynamic in Torah.
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Why doesn’t the shamash count?
As noted above, the Torah consists of two parts:
the divinely dictated words of the Written Torah, and
the Oral Torah, also communicated by G-d, but delegated to man. In the Oral Torah, G-d provides the
guidelines and principles, while man follows these
guidelines and applies these principles to derive and
express the divine will.
The Oral Torah has two basic functions: to interpret the Written Torah, and to legislate the necessary
laws, ordinances and customs required to preserve
the Torah and Jewish life through the generations.
Most of the festivals are explicitly ordained in the
Written Torah. This is not to say that there is no
“human element” involved: the Oral Torah is still
required to clarify each festival’s laws and observances. For example, the Written Torah commands
us to dwell in a sukkah and take the “Four Kinds” on
Sukkot, but the Oral Torah is needed to interpret the
oblique biblical allusions that tell us how a sukkah is
to be constructed and which plant species are to be
taken. Still, the festivals themselves were instituted
by direct divine revelation.
more “human” than Purim. Purim was instituted during the Era of Prophecy, when G-d still communed
directly with the greatest individuals of the generation. The story of Purim was written down and incorporated within the Holy Scriptures that are appended
to the Written Torah. Thus, while Purim is technically an “Oral Torah” festival, it is closely related to the
Written Torah.
Chanukah, however, occurred several hundred
years later, when prophecy had ceased and the canon
of the twenty-four books of the Tanach (Bible) had
been closed. It thus belongs wholly to the Oral
Torah—to the predominantly human element of the
partnership. So Chanukah is the environment in
which the Hillelian perspective on Torah—Torah as
it relates to our tactual experience of the world in
which we live—reigns supreme.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe;
rendered by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
There are two festivals, however, that are rabbinical institutions: Purim and Chanukah. These belong
to the second function of the Oral Torah: to institute
laws and observances that derive not from a verse in
the Written Torah, but which arise out of the historical experience of the people of Israel.
These, too, are Torah, for they were enacted in
accordance with the principles revealed at Sinai.
Before reading the Megillah on Purim, or kindling
the Chanukah lights, we say: “Blessed are You, Gd... Who has sanctified us with His commandments,
and commanded us to read the Megillah... to kindle
the Chanukah lamp.” G-d is commanding us to
observe these mitzvot, for it is He who granted the
leaders of each generation the mandate to institute
laws, ordinances and festivals. Yet in these festivals,
it is the human element of Torah which predominates, while the divine element is more subdued.
Of the two rabbinical festivals, Chanukah is even
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soul
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eight
A Small Cruse of
Oil
by Nissan Mindel
Twenty-two centuries ago, the land of Israel was
part of the Hellenist Syrian Empire, dominated by
the rulers of the Seleucid dynasty.
Antiochus III, who reigned from 222 to 186 BCE,
had waged war with King Ptolemy of Egypt over the
possession of the Land of Israel. Antiochus III was
victorious and the Land of Israel was annexed to his
empire. At the beginning of his reign he was favorably disposed toward the Jews and accorded them
some privileges. Later on, however, when he was
defeated by the Romans and compelled to pay heavy
taxes, the burden fell upon the various peoples of his
empire who were forced to furnish the gold that was
required of him by the Romans. When Antiochus
died, his son Seleucus IV took over, and further
oppressed the Jews.
Added to the troubles from the outside were the
grave perils that threatened Judaism from within.
The influence of the Hellenists was increasing.
Yochanan, the Kohen Gadol (“high priest”), foresaw
the danger to Judaism from the penetration of
paganism, and opposed the attempts on the part of
the Jewish Hellenists to introduce Greek and Syrian
customs into the land. The Hellenists hated him.
One of them told the King’s commissioner that in
the treasury of the Temple there was a great deal of
wealth.
The wealth in the treasury consisted of the contributions of “half a shekel” made by all adult Jews
annually. That was given for the purpose of the sacrifices on the altar, as well as for maintaining and
improving the Temple building. Another part of the
treasury consisted of orphans’ funds which were
deposited for them until they became of age.
Seleucus needed money in order to pay the Romans.
He sent his minister Helyodros to take the money
from the treasury of the Temple. In vain did
Yochanan beg him not to do it. Helyodros entered
the gate of the Temple. But suddenly, he became
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
pale with fright. The next moment he fainted and fell
to the ground. After Helyodros came to, he did not
dare enter again.
The Madman
A short time later, Seleucus was killed and his
brother Antiochus IV began his reign over Syria (174
BCE). He was a tyrant of a rash and impetuous
nature, contemptuous of religion and of the feelings
of others. He was called “Epiphanes,” meaning “the
gods’ beloved.” Several of the Syrian rulers received
similar titles. But a historian of his time, Polebius,
gave him the epithet Epimanes (“madman”), a title
more suitable to the character of this harsh and cruel
king.
Desiring to unify his kingdom through the medium of a common religion and culture, Antiochus
tried to root out the individualism of the Jews by suppressing all the Jewish Laws. He removed the righteous High Priest, Yochanan, from the Temple in
Jerusalem, and in his place installed Yochanan’s
brother Joshua, who preferred to call himself by the
Greek name of Jason. For he was a member of the
Hellenist party, and he used his high office to spread
more and more of the Greek customs among the
priesthood.
Joshua or Jason was later replaced by another
man, Menelaus, who had promised the king that he
would bring in more money than Jason did. When
Yochanan, the former High Priest, protested against
the spread of the Hellenists’ influence in the Holy
Temple, the ruling High Priest hired murderers to
assassinate him.
Antiochus was at that time engaged in a successful war against Egypt. But messengers from Rome
arrived and commanded him to stop the war, and he
had to yield. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, a rumor
spread that a serious accident had befallen
Antiochus. Thinking that he was dead, the people
rebelled against Menelaus. The treacherous High
Priest fled together with his friends.
The Martyrs
Antiochus returned from Egypt enraged by Roman
interference with his ambitions. When he heard what
had taken place in Jerusalem, he ordered his army to
fall upon the Jews. Thousands of Jews were killed.
Antiochus then enacted a series of harsh decrees
against the Jews. Jewish worship was forbidden; the
scrolls of the Law were confiscated and burned.
Sabbath rest, circumcision and the dietary laws were
prohibited under penalty of death. One of the
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A Small Cruse of Oil
respected elders of that generation, Rabbi Eliezer, a
man of 90, was ordered by the servants of Antiochus
to eat pork so that others would do the same. When
he refused, they suggested to him that he pick up the
meat to his lips to appear to be eating. But Rabbi
Eliezer refused to do even that and was put to death.
There were thousands of others who likewise sacrificed their lives. The famous story of Hannah and
her seven children happened at that time.
Antiochus’s men went from town to town and
from village to village to force the inhabitants to
worship pagan gods. Only one refuge area remained
and that was the hills of Judea, where faithful Jews
hid in caves. But even there did the Syrians pursue
the faithful Jews, and many died a martyr’s death.
Mattityahu
One day, the henchmen of Antiochus arrived in
the village of Modin where Yochanan’s son, the old
preist Mattityahu, lived with his five sons — Simon,
Elazar, Judah, Yochanan, and Jonathan. The Syrian
officer built an altar in the marketplace of the village
and demanded that Mattityahu offer sacrifices to the
Greek gods. Mattityahu replied, “I, my sons and my
brothers are determined to remain loyal to the
covenant which our G-d made with our ancestors!”
Thereupon, a Hellenistic Jew approached the altar
to offer a sacrifice. Mattityahu grabbed his sword
and killed him, and his sons and friends fell upon the
Syrian officers and men. They killed many of them
and chased the rest away. They then destroyed the
altar.
Mattityahu knew that Antiochus would be enraged
when he heard what had happened. He would certainly send an expedition to punish him and his followers. Mattityahu, therefore, left the village of
Modin and fled together with his sons and friends to
the hills of Judea.
Many loyal and courageous Jews joined them, rallying under Mattityahu’s battle cry, “All who faithful
to G-d, follow me!” They formed legions and from
time to time they left their hiding places to fall upon
enemy detachments and outposts, and to destroy the
pagan altars that were built by order of Antiochus.
The Maccabees
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
Before his death, Mattityahu called his sons
together and urged them to continue to fight in
defense of G-d’s Torah. He asked them to follow the
counsel of their brother, Simon the Wise. In waging
warfare, he said, their leader should be Judah the
Strong. Judah was called “Maccabee,” a word composed of the initial letters of the four Hebrew words
inscribed on his banner, Mi Kamocha Ba’eilim
Hashem, “Who is like unto Thee amongst the
mighty, O G-d.”
Antiochus sent his general Apolonius to wipe out
Judah and his followers, the Maccabees. Though
greater in number and equipment than their adversaries, the Syrians were defeated by the Maccabees.
Antiochus sent out another expedition which also
was defeated. He realized that only by sending a
powerful army could he hope to defeat Judah and his
brave fighting men.
An army consisting of more than 40,000 men
swept the land under the leadership of two commanders, Nicanor and Gorgiash. When Judah and
his brothers heard of that, they exclaimed: “Let us
fight unto death in defense of our souls and our
Temple!” The people assembled in Mitzpah, where
Samuel, the prophet of old, had offered prayers to Gd. After a series of battles the war was won.
The Miracle
Now the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to liberate it. They entered the Temple and cleared it of
the idols placed there by the Syrian invaders. Judah
and his followers built a new altar, which he dedicated on the 25th of the month of Kislev, in the year
3622 from creation (139 BCE).
The golden Menorah had been stolen by the
Syrians. Lacking the means to replace it, the
Maccabees now made one of cheaper metal. But
there was no pure, sacred olive oil to light it with, for
everything had been defiled by the enemy. Finally,
they found a small cruse of pure olive oil bearing the
seal of the High Priest Yochanan. It was sufficient to
light only for one day. By a miracle of G-d, it continued to burn for eight days, until new oil could be
obtained, demonstrating to all that G-d had again
taken His people under His protection. In commemoration, our sages established these eight days as the
annual festival of lights, Chanukah.
Excerpted from by Dr Nissan Mindel, published Kehot
Publication Society, www.kehotonline.com
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The Menorah Files
———Begin Forwarded Message —————
Subject: Contract Tender, Menorah Miracle
Date: Kislev 24 3:29:15.036 PM
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]
Background: In direct consequence to the overwhelming success of the Maccabee project and as a
sign of appreciation to the courageous Maccabees who
made that success possible, the administration of
Heaven Inc. has decided to provide yet another wondrous manifestation of the truth behind the cosmos,
a.k.a. a miracle.
As is well known, the Maccabees yesterday
regained control of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem from
the Greek Army, and spent most of today sweeping
away the broken beer bottles and associated mess. In
answer to the sincere search of the Maccabees for ritually appropriate Menorah oil, Heaven engaged the
services of Hidden Surprises Inc., who were successful in engineering yet another miracle, the discovery of
a flask of pure olive oil hidden in the ground and
sealed with the seal of the High Priest.
Now, another miracle is needed. The flask discovered contains only one days worth of oil. Although it
will take eight days to prepare new olive oil, nevertheless, the Maccabees have decided to go ahead and use
this oil immediately. In response to this inspiring display of alacrity, zeal and devotion, the administration
has been instructed to perform one more miracle and
insure this oil will burn for all eight days.
We are presently accepting proposals on the implementation of this miracle. All applicants should prepare a detailed description of the mechanics of their
proposed implementation, as well as their qualifications to perform such services.
Note that requirements surrounding this miracle are
quite stringent:
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
1. Eight Days: All applicants must demonstrate that
their proposal will not just burn for eight days, but also
provide a miracle on each of the eight days. Since the
flask found by the Maccabees already contains enough
oil for one day to begin with, some creativity will be
necessary to provide this effect.
2. Fair Compensation: In consonance with a longstanding policy on all heavenly matters, often known
as the measure-for-measure policy, the miracle should
reflect the attitude and acts to which it is resultant.
Applicants should insure their proposal blends
smoothly with the general theme of the Maccabee vs.
Hellenist episode and the no-compromise strategy of
the Maccabees.
3. Halachah: At least the fundaments of halachic
requirements for the Menorah of the Holy Temple
must be taken into consideration, with extra points for
fulfilling all requirements, and bonus points for extracompulsory details.
Please submit your proposals and all correspondence to this address. Adjudication of presentations by
all bidders will commence today at 3:29:15.536 PM.
AV equipment for presentations will be provided by
Heaven Inc.
————- End Forwarded Message ———
LIGHT II: THE CONSULTANT
The scene up there is far beyond the capacity of our
earthly imaginations, since we imagine everything in
coarse material terms. Perhaps I can attempt to explain
it in whatever terms we share, as long as you promise
to keep in mind that in truth, it is something far
abstracted from any of what I might say.
On the appointed day, an angel of wisdom, known as
a maggid, stood in still reverence, waiting for the
assembly to be called to order.
His eyes scanned the 70 members of the Heavenly
Supreme Court. They stood (nobody sits up there—its
just not in the repertoire) at a semi-oblong table,
allowing all to see one another. But the central position
of this table is not locatable, beyond dimension or
place, since it is the (un)space of The Chief Magistrate
of All Things.
To the right hand of The Chief stood the ChairAngel
(a.k.a., Av Beit Din), a powerful radiance about his
face and magnificent robes flowing down from his
shoulders. To the left stood the next wisest of the
angels and from that point on, in either direction, the
remainder of the esteemed judges stood solemnly by
rank in G-dly wisdom.
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The Menorah Files
On cue, the maggid made his case.
“My lords, esteemed masters of justice and righteousness,” he spoke, moving his hands gracefully.
“Today you convene to discuss a matter of serious,
practical implications for every generation of the
Jewish people from now unto eternity. Indeed, whereas the lights of other festivals may at times of darkness
be all but extinguished, and eventually are destined to
be entirely absorbed within the great light of the World
to Come, the lights of Chanukah are constant and eternal—as per the talmudic gloss of Nachmanides and his
commentary to parshat Behalotecha.”
“We are well aware of the gravity of our meeting
today,” patiently interjected the ChairAngel. “Is there
anything in particular you feel has not been taken into
account in our planned adjudication?”
The eyes of the maggid widened. “As you know, I
am the maggid appointed to instruct an illustrious student, one by whos light all the Community of Israel
shall proceed through the thick darkness of the last leg
of their exile until the final redemption. He is none
other than Yosef Karo, illustrious author of the Beit
Yosef as well as the Shulchan Aruch, the most authoritative code of Jewish Law.”
Angels are an excitable group. At the mention of
that holy name, heartbeats accelerated, ethereal wings
began to flutter and amidst the scattered exclamations
of “Yosef Karo!”, “The Beit Yosef!”, a spontaneous
chorus of audio-oriented beings burst into harmonious
accolades of praise and appellations upon the aforementioned.
Eventually, the court was called to order.
“My illustrious student,” continued the maggid,
“will write about the very issue we are gathered here
today to discuss in his halachic gloss, Beit Yosef—the
House of Joseph. Indeed, the matter will from that
time on be known by his name, the Difficulty Posed
By the Beit Yosef. It is only appropriate therefore, that
he be invited to sit in on our proceedings as an outside
consultant.”
The ChairAngel scanned quickly the faces of the
assembled heavenly judges, noting their unanimous
approval. “Clerk!” he called, “Bring us Yosef Karo!”
The clerk looked back, bewildered. “But, your
honor, Yosef Karo does not live for the better part of
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
another two millennia!”
“Bring us Yosef Karo,” the ChairAngel commanded
firmly. “This is heaven. And we need him now.”
An Angel of Sympathy who stood near the clerks
post read his confused face, leaned over and whispered, “If we dont consult with him now, eventually
were going to have to retro-write history according to
his decision anyway.”
The clerk shrugged and walked out the door, still
shaking his head. But he was back in no time.
Trumpets blasted in royal fanfare and drums rolled as
the entrance of Yosef Karo, was announced. The entire
heavenly court rose in awe and glowed in neon colors.
The vocal ensemble once again joined together in
celestial chorus.
Then he entered. In jeweled turban and flowing
robes, his piercing eyes shining like sapphires, he
walked forth in all humility, yet with the elegance and
majesty of a mighty king. A heavenly court clerk
rushed him a portfolio and a nametag and led him to
his place at the consultants desk.
The proceedings commenced.
LIGHT III: QUALITY
Quality Miracles is known for their high-end, lavish
presentations. This one was no let-down. The upbeat,
surround-sound music came on, the lights dimmed,
and in a sprinkle of sparks, a sales associate dramatically appeared at stage center cupping in his hands a
small golden unlit lamp.
“Brother angels, behold with your eyes!”
His hands opened and the lamp came in full view of
all the court. The enlightened beings gasped in unison.
“Yes, you all recall! It is the holy lamp that was lit
by those most transcendent and magnificent of beings,
the Matriarchs of the Souls of Israel, Sarah and
Rivka!”
Now the 3D video came on. The image of Sarah
leaning her shining countenance of beauty over the
Shabbat lamp in the pre-twilight of the Negev brought
tears to the eyes of the Angels of Sensitivity. The
hearts of the most judgmental beings were captured as,
with breathtaking focus and inspiration, she uttered the
words as though counting golden coins,
Blessed are You, ______ our All-Pervasive Force,
Master of the Cosmos, Who has made us wholly transcendent through His mitzvahs and enjoined us to light
the lamp of the Holy Shabbos.
Then, as she waved gently her hands over the flame,
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The Menorah Files
serene light flashed out in all directions, illuminating
upper and lower worlds.
“And so,” the agent from Quality continued, “you
must remember the great and wondrous miracle that
occurred then, how the Natural Order of Things was
transcended so the pure light of this magnificent being
could illuminate all the worlds for an entire week,
every week, for her entire life, and for the life of her
heiress Rivka, as well! To this day, that miracle
empowers every Jewish woman and girl to light up her
world just the same!”
In a brilliant twist of suspense, the music found its
way to a sudden silence, the video halted on a still
frame. “And who engineered that miracle?” The sales
reps voice echoed through the marble hall.
With eye-riveting form, the still image morphed into
the logo of Quality Miracles as the multitude of highres amplifiers burst forth with “Quality! Quality
Miracles! The natural solution to all your miracle
needs!”
The music ended on a sharp climax, the video faded
away, and the crowd burst into applause as the lights
came back up.
The Quality Miracles VP of Development strutted
forth. Riding on the excitement in the air, he began
promptly. “Of course, the Chanukah Miracle project
presents certain features that were not present in the
Sarah and Rebecca scenario. We’ve noted the two
most significant: The Sarah and Rebecca lamp only
burnt for seven days—this miracle must occur for
eight. Secondly, the Shabbat Lamp was a single miracle spread over an extended duration of time, whereas,
in our case the Menorah must be rekindled every
afternoon, thereby providing eight distinct miracles.”
The wise members of the court stroked their silvery
beards and nodded their heads in heedfulness. Rabbi
Yosef Karo only stared intently, as though precipitating every word.
“We believe our previous implementation can be
easily extended to fill these requirements. And now,
here is our senior engineer for an explanation of the
technology behind this amazing accomplishment.”
A complex chart appeared at the presenters position
as the senior engineer stepped forward. It was one of
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
those charts that only an angel could read, describing
in multiple dimensions the links and chains that serve
as the backbone of created entities.
“Over here,” the engineer pointed, “we see the letters, or combination of forces that form the word shemen—meaning oil. This connects with the Divine
source of olives, as we see in this link, here. Note the
intimate connection with the sphere of Wisdom of the
World of Emanation, which is preserved throughout
the creative process. As this linkage descends below,
olive oil is manifested in each of the worlds, in each
according to the parameters of that world. Finally, as it
descends into the lowest world, the World of Action
and Physicality, it becomes an actual material substance, derived by the crushing or squeezing of physical olives.
“As you are well aware, most miracles are performed by invasive fiddling with the mechanics of
such links and letter combinations. Turning water to
blood, dust into lice, vinegar into oil are all examples
of such rearrangements of the system.
“Our strategy is far less invasive: Youll notice there
is quite a bit of leeway in the quality dimension of this
particular linkage. This explains why every olive produces its own quality of oil, with a wide margin of
variety, especially in combustibility. Our technique is
to hyper-extend that quality margin, thereby manifesting in the target olive oil down there an enormous
capacity to burn—even to eight times the original
average power.”
It was obvious the judges were impressed with the
professionalism, thoroughness and high entertainment
value of the presentation. Heads turned towards each
other, sharing comments and nods of approval. The VP
of Development strutted back on stage and opened the
floor to questions.
Yosef Karo alone appeared unmoved. He looked
about him, shook his head almost with disdain, and
spoke assertively at the VP. “Being from a practical
world, where nitty-gritty details matter, I am still
unclear on your proposal.”
The engineer got out his charts again, preparing to
explain things in greater depth.
“No, I dont mean your schematics, or your software
code or any of that. I’m talking about the human interface. How does this actually get implemented?”
The Quality Team members looked a bit shaken.
They were experts in high tech solutions. Humans
were a necessary component in implementation, but
not one that got a lot of attention.
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“To be specific,” continued Yosef Karo, “what
exactly are the Maccabees supposed to do with this oil
on the first afternoon they light it?”
“Well,” answered the VP slowly and cautiously as
though sensing a trap, “They put the oil in the cups of
the Menorah, like they always used to do, and they
light it.”
“And how much oil do they put in?”
The engineer jumped in. “One eighth! Why should
they put in any more? They only need one eighth, so
thats how much theyll put in!”
Now one of the judges took a stab. “But how are
they supposed to know that one eighth is going to last
through the entire night?”
The VP was struggling to hold his cool as murmurs
were heard throughout the assembly. An employee
rushed up to whisper something in his ear. “Yes, we’ve
taken that into consideration,” he continued. “There’s
a contingency allowance to sub-contract Echo
Communications, a firm that deals in supplying earthly beings with minor levels of prophecy, sometimes
known as Ruach Hakodesh. Youll find that clause on
page...”
The employee who had done the whispering could
no longer contain himself and interjected, “Actually,
theyll probably figure it out on their own. They’ll say,
look, if the Almighty only gave us one flask of pure oil
and of course He knows we can’t get any replacement
for eight days, it must be this is super-eight powered
oil.”
Most of the judges were not impressed with this
response, being rather skeptical of the mental capacity
of most earthly beings. The VP glanced over his shoulder at his employee with a biting cold stare, then
turned back to his audience swiftly donning a warm
smile. “By the way,” he noted, “you’ll observe that
with this solution there is a separate miracle each of
the eight days. Each night only a little bit of oil burns
an entire night. Every night a new miracle, for eight
nights just as the contract tender required.”
“The eight days is just wonderful and some minor
prophecy is fine with me.” The voice of Yosef Karo
broke through the confusion, commanding silence. “I
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
have a different problem with your solution.” The VPs
neck was outstretched as Yosef Karo continued.
“As you know, the Torah does not state a precise
quantity of oil to be placed in the Menorah for each
lighting, only that there should be enough to last for
the longest nights of the winter. Our sages determined
this amount to be a little over six fluid ounces. Just so
happens, thats the amount found in that little flask
down there. Which means, they’re going to have to put
the whole thing in.”
“Aha,” the ChairAngel spoke now, “that would be
true in general, but here, remember, with this oil, one
eighth is the appropriate amount for the longest nights
of the winter! On the contrary, putting more would
mean a violation of the halacha you just cited!”
“With all due respect to his honored chair, I’ve yet
to finish,” continued Yosef Karo, calmly, “There is
another halacha that applies to all the vessels in the
Holy Temple. Out of respect for their sanctity, whenever they are filled they must be filled entirely.”
The VP beamed, oblivious to the trap laid for him.
“So we will have them fill the entire thing the first
night! And then, only an eighth will burn the first
night, another eighth the second...”
Karo pounced like a tiger. “But didn’t the
ChairAngel just declare that to be a violation of the
halachah!!! You’ll have eight times the established
amount the first night, seven times on the second, and
so on.”
The hall burst into an uproar of debate. The brilliant
counter-offence of Yosef Karo had the entire heavenly
court ignited. With Qualitys solution there seemed no
way out: You could fulfill one requirement or the other
—but there was no way to fulfill both.
Above the confusion, another judge yelled out,
“Filling the vessel to the brim is an non-compulsory
requirement! Let them fill up only an eighth, since
that’s all they can do!”
“First of all,” Yosef Karo replied, commanding
immediate silence, “the whole thing is non-compulsory to begin with. The Maccabees really could light
with impure oil. When the entire community is in a
state of impurity, such as they are after a war, impure
offerings are permitted as per the Babylonian Talmud,
Pesachim, folio 80a..”
“So whats the whole deal with this contract tender
for a miracle?!” The VP waved a paper in exasperation.
“Think for a minute,” Karo reasoned. “Why did they
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search so hard for ritually pure oil when they could
have used any old oil given the circumstances? And
why did the Almighty contract the previous miracle of
providing a hidden, untouched flask? Wasn’t it all in
order that they should perform the Menorah lighting in
the most perfect way, not just so-so and get it over
with?
“And that is the job of Heaven, inc.”, he declared.
“To perform a miracle that allows the Maccabees to go
beyond the letter of the law, as they have committed
themselves to do, for the sake of the eternity of the
Jewish Nation!”
The judges were enthralled with the insights of
Yosef Karo. Fascinated, they took in every word.
Lowering his voice mischievously, Karo continued.
“Furthermore, who says they are allowed to fill the
Menorah only partially each day, when they could fill
it to the brim?”
The VP from Quality timidly ventured, “And with
what will they fill it to the brim each day if they only
have one flask?”
“With impure oil!” shot back Yosef Karo. “Since
that is perfectly permissible under these conditions.”
The entire court exploded into animated debate,
reviewing, shaking their heads and waving their wings
frantically. Once again, the ChairAngel called for
order.
“I humbly propose,” he advised his colleagues, “we
consider another proposal.”
LIGHT IV: QUANTITY
Official Report Card: Quality Miracles Proposal.
Pros:
• Excellent multimedia presentation, esp. audio
effects.
• Provides a miracle for each of the eight days.
• Elegance: Supernatural miracle produced without disturbing the natural order.
• Fulfills most halachic requirements, such as use
of authentic olive oil and natural burning of oil to produce flame.
Cons:
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
• Lack of coordination between team members.
• Actual implementation not well conceived. Little
consideration given to human interface issues.
• One major halachic concern: The Menorah regulations require that precisely the amount of oil to burn
through one winter night be placed in the cups of the
Menorah. It is also preferable that the cups all be completely filled. With Qualitys proposal, there is no way
both these conditions can be mutually fulfilled. It has
even been proposed that, under such conditions, the
use of impure oil in proper quantities would be preferable over using the limited amount of pure oil that was
miraculously discovered.
Rating: 3.5 wings
The man from OutaNowhere appeared from out of
nowhere pushing a trolley cart with coffee and
Danishes. “Your esteemed judges have been having an
intense session here,” he announced. “Let’s all take a
break for refreshments!”
The judges noticed coffee mugs on their desks. The
sales rep held only a tiny coffeepot, but proceeded to
fill cup after cup with heavenly coffee—not stopping
for a single refill.
Continuing to pour, he started his spiel: “Yes,
esteemed judges, I’m sure you’ll agree weve got a
supernatural, nifty technology here. But don’t imagine
this is some useless gimmick! As a matter of fact,
OutaNowhere technology was originally developed to
fulfill a real need. To fill you in on the history of our
product, just listen to this testimonial from our first
successful client, none other than the prophet, Elisha!”
All eyes turned to the 3D video are, now filled with
the scene of an agent of OutaNowhere sitting on the
edge of a sofa in the Garden of Eden, interviewing
Elisha who sat across the coffee table from her.
“Elisha, you are well known for your compassion
and wonderful acts of kindness in the earthly realm.
Much of your good work was possible due to your
ability to transcend the present tense and see matters
from a higher time-definition. You also developed an
amazing and unique repertoire of record-breaking miracles. But there was one time you turned to
OutaNowhere technologies for assistance. Why?”
“Truthfully, everything I know I received from my
teacher, Elijah. But then came a very difficult case, a
woman whos husband had been a member in good
standing of the Professional Prophets Association until
his premature passing. The poor woman was left with
two little boys to support, no pension, no real source of
income. Neither her landlord nor the rental board had
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any sympathy. By the time she came to me, she had in
her hand a notice that if she didnt pay the rent fast, her
two boys would be seized as payment!”
“Thats horrifying! But couldnt you just co-sign on a
long term loan or something?”
That wouldn’t be professional. I’m a prophet. My
job is to help people discover their own inner wealth,
not breed dependence, as you suggest. So I followed
standard case analysis technique and asked the lady to
describe her assets.”
“Which were two boys...”
“Which I understood as a reflection of the love and
sense of awe within her. This, however, was apparently in real danger—as reflected by the collection notice
mentioned earlier.”
“So all these material concerns and details were all
merely reflections of a higher, spiritual drama?”
“You’re with me now. She also had a small flask of
olive oil, reflecting her essential spiritual self. I needed some way for this inner spiritual wealth to release
itself to the point of becoming manifest in her earthly
domain.”
“Now, how could you do that?”
“Well, that’s when I remembered a business card I
had been handed just the day before, while wandering
about the higher spheres. I checked my pocket, and
there it was, OutaNowhere Technologies, inc..”
“Was OutaNowhere responsive when you needed
them?”
“Their tech support was fantastic. Immediately, we
put together a plan whereby all the lady had to do was
visit her neighbors and borrow their jugs, pots, pans—
any types of physical-realm vessels and containers. We
realized this was basically what she was missing—tangible, practical ways to express her inner soul. She
gathered all this stuff in her house, closed the doors, let
down the blinds and then started filling everything up
with her little flask of oil.”
“That must have been an exciting scene.”
“It certainly was. The little boys were running back
and forth, back and forth, bringing containers and
more containers, while the oil just kept pouring and
pouring out of the flask. Finally, she asked for one
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
more pot and her boys told her there wasnt a single one
left. And neither was there any more oil.”
“And what happened to that nefarious landlord?”
“With sales from the oil, she was able to pay him
off, with enough left over that she could just live off
the interest.”
“So, thanks to support from OutaNowhere, another
great act of compassion was accomplished in the physical realm.”
“Not only that. This episode was reported and discussed in all the major prophetic journals. It was
recorded as a classic for all times in the Book of Kings.
You see, it wasn’t just that lady who was helped. Since
that time, anyone that is in a dire state of spiritual
poverty is able to overcome his or her situation by
doing the same as she did—but in spiritual terms. By
temporarily ignoring their state of spiritual poverty
and just collecting vessels of mitzvahs and acts of
kindness and allowing that essential self to pour into
them, unlimited—eventually all those deficiencies are
spontaneously overcome. I’ll challenge everyone in
our audience to just try it out and see.”
“And that message to the world is all thanks to
OutaNowhere.”
“That’s right. Like another cup of coffee?”
The shot of Elisha pouring a cup of coffee for his
host spun out to make way for an animated
OutaNowhere logo, accompanied by a snappy
“OutaNowhere—there when you need us” jingle.
As the judges were sipping their heavenly coffee,
Yosef Karo was busy taking notes. Once in a while, he
stopped to shake his head. It was obvious something
about the presentation was bothering him.
LIGHT V: PROZAC
OutaNowhere had learned their lesson from what
had occurred with Quality. You could tell that from
their presentation.
“We’re not going to bore you with all the technical
details behind this tremendous feat of spiritual engineering,” continued the sales rep. “After all, we’re an
end-user oriented company. Weve put a lot of thought
into the practical, nitty-gritty—the things that count in
the physical world where our target user resides. Heres
our human interface expert to discuss ground level
implementation.”
The H.I. expert stepped up in front of the 3D-video
display area. “Actually, we’ve got two options to present. The first option youve seen a demo of already, but
heres a short animation that will demonstrate how far
weve gone into the details. You’ll also observe the vir29
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tual model of the Temple Menorah here next to me.”
A life-size image of a Hasmonean Cohen holding a
jug of olive oil in front of the Menorah appeared. This
being heaven, with more than 3 dimensions available,
the image displayed that the jug was full.
“Here’s the initial state. Now observe what happens
as the Cohen fills the cups of the Menorah on the first
day.”
As the Cohen filled each cup, the jug became successively emptier. But then, just before the last drop
poured out, the flask suddenly refilled itself. The
Cohen froze for a moment, puzzled, stared into the
jug, and then ran out of the Holy Chamber yelling, “A
MIRACLE! A MIRACLE!”
“Note,” the HI expert commented, “that as this scenario occurs each of the eight days, we have in effect
eight separate miracles. This is in direct contradistinction to certain other solutions that offers only one
miraculous state-change of the olive oil, which then
remains consistent over the next eight days.
Obviously, you can see the superiority of our...”
“You call that superiority?” yelled a snide voice
from the back of the room. It was the VP from Quality.
All this time he had been sitting in a back row, arms
folded, waiting for his chance to jump back into the
ring. Now, completely out of protocol, unable to contain himself any longer, he grabbed it.
“Why, with your solution, the only ones who ever
see a miracle are those who are there at the time of the
lighting! After that, its just everyday burning of olive
oil. Our solution provides any witness at any point in
time a clear view of a miraculous state, every day, at
every moment!”
“But you must agree,” replied the OutaNowhere
expert, smugly, “that the actual miracle only occurs
once in your solution. Once your oil is set to its high
quality level on the first day, it just remains there.
Here, every day, a miracle must occur for new oil to
appear!”
“What does that have to do with the project requirements?” shot back Quality’s VP.
The Chair Angel called for order, chiding Quality’s
VP for his disruption of protocol. But the HI expert
was delighted his competition had provided the opporSeasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
tunity for him to fully present his thesis.
“The success of a miracle,” he explained, “must be
measured by the end user experience. Consider here
the impact upon the human psyche. A continuous state
of miracle would become accepted as natural routine
within a single day. The sense of wonderment would
rapidly wear out. By calling for spaced, intermittent
miracles, we hope to sustain the wonderment factor for
a much longer period. This, after a careful study of
human psychology...”
“Psychology shmykology!” shot back the Quality
VP. “Who are you kidding? What do you know about
human psychology? What do any of us know? We’re
angels, for heavens sake!”
“That’s right!” replied the expert. “We were on the
design team.”
“Design team? Design team?” mocked the VP.
“Haven’t you read the ? If it were up to us, the Earthly
Human Project would never have gotten beyond the
World of Emanation stage!”
The judges were enjoying the entertainment, but the
ChairAngel finally had to interfere. “We have a human
subject right here,” he remarked. “Why don’t we ask
him?”
Rabbi Karo was reluctant. “I believe your test would
be more meaningful if performed on a more skeptical
specimen,” he suggested. “Perhaps you have a
Hellenist about here somewhere? Or maybe even an
authentic Ancient Greek?”
“Your honor,” ventured one of the lesser judges.
“Perhaps we could call in the Sar Shel Yavan?”
The ChairAngels face glowed with delight, as did
the faces of the others. “Yes!” they cried out, one to the
other. “The Sar Shel Yavan! Who else could we call to
test end user experience?”
In the data processing protocol of heaven, there are
only seventy nations. Over each of these is appointed
a sar or officer, somewhat lower than a full-fledged
angel. Yavan is the name by which the Ancient Greeks
are known. Thus the Sar Shel Yavan—the officer
appointed over Ancient Greece.
He came hobbling on crutches, covered with
wounds of war. His substance was as the walls of the
chamber, that heavenly version of marble. You could
still see the beauty and gracefulness for which he had
been known, but military defeat and shame had taken
its toll.
We won’t get into the details of the user testing, at
least in this edition. Suffice it to mention that the Sar
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refused to acknowledge any miracles, attributing
everything to natural causes. When pressured, he
began to accuse all the heavenly court of being no better than those superstitious Jews, believing in things
that make no sense, relying on empirical evidence
rather than the truth of the natural sciences.
At any rate, he stayed to audit the rest of the hearings.
“Truthfully,” the ChairAngel commented to Yosef
Karo, “We’ve never had much success with end user
experience. On occasion, we went through ten iterations of miracles before achieving our goals—and
even then only with partial success.”
The other judges nodded, resignedly.
“We even,” the Chair Angel hesitated, “had to...
drown the test subjects at the end of that procedure...
to cover up the data.”
Yosef Karo took over. “I would like to go back to the
scenario presented in your detailed animation,” he
continued. The OutaNowhere expert was relieved,
feeling he was back on a more solid cloud.
“On the first day, that is the afternoon of the 25th, a
miracle occurs, correct?”
“A very startling miracle, your honor. At least, certainly to the Maccabees for whom it is performed.”
“And on the second day, the afternoon of the 26th,
the same miracle?”
“That’s correct.”
“And so on, all the way until the eighth afternoon?”
“Precisely.”
“And then what happens?”
“On the ninth?”
“No, on the eighth. What miracle occurs on the
eighth? Remember, there are eight days of Chanukah.
Or are you proposing to change that?”
“Well, just the same as the seven days before could
occur.” The human interface expert passed a quick,
nervous glance over to the other members of his team.
“I’m sorry,” countered the ChairAngel. “But we
have a policy concerning such matters. Miracles must
always serve a practical function. Nobody, not even
Heaven Inc., is allowed to make miracles just for the
heck of it. And in this case, since new oil will be arrivSeasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
ing on the ninth day anyway, there is no need for your
miracle on the eighth. The Cohen can just empty out
his entire jug on the eighth day, with no need for your
miraculous auto-refill out of nowhere.”
The sales rep from OutaNowhere was motioning
wildly to the HI expert. All those dealings with earthly beings had dulled his angelic intellectual brilliance.
But finally the puzzled expression on the experts face
resolved into glee, as he exclaimed, “Yes! Oh yes!
Thats why we have solution #2. Here it goes:”
Another animation began. The initial state was the
same, but this time, the jug emptied entirely. The animation collapsed the next 12 hours into a few nanoseconds, during which the oil progressively decreased in
quantity. Then, just as it hit the last drop, oil returned
suddenly to the cups of the Menorah. A Hasmonean
Cohen entered the Holy Chamber that morning—technically day two of Chanukah—to prepare the Menorah
as per Temple ritual. He looked in the cups, saw the oil
and ran out waving his arms and yelling, “A MIRACLE! A MIRACLE!”
“Now, you’ll observe in this scenario,” concluded
the expert, “since the miracle occurs the day after,
instead of immediately, the miracle must also therefore
occur on the 8th day of Chanukah, in order that the
Menorah may be lit on that afternoon!”
“You’ll also notice,” pitched in the sales rep, “that
we’ve provided all of you with auto-refilling coffee
mugs to demonstrate this wonderful application of our
technology. We’re not limited to refilling the source—
we can even cause the recipient vessel to auto-refill!”
Yosef Karo sat poker-faced, astonished by the trap
OutaNowhere had laid for itself. “And what about the
first day?” he softly queried.
“The first day?”
“Yes. You said the miracle doesn’t occur until the
day after. What miracle do we celebrate on the first
day then?”
The expert was by now searching his pockets for his
Prozac. His team members had their heads practically
between their knees. The CEO of OutaNowhere could
no longer take it. He jumped up there in a last ditch
attempt to save his company.
“Gentle Angels,” he said, feigning suave and good
humor. “I’m sure you yourselves have realized the
most obvious solution, so simple we didn’t feel need
to mention it!”
LIGHT VI: MIRACLE WHIP
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Yosef Karo helped him out, in an understanding
voice. “You’re going to tell us you are willing to let
Hidden Surprises Inc. take credit for the miracle of the
first day of Chanukah, right? You want the Heavenly
Court, as well as the Court of the Maccabees below, to
recognize that the discovery of a jug of oil sealed with
the seal of the High Priest and obviously untouched
was also a miracle, and one to be celebrated.”
The CEO was charmed to have found a friend. Of
course, they could also count their miraculous victory
over the Greek army, he added. e’ll be glad to share
credit with Underdog Miracle Services, as well.
“Hold it!” A furious Angel of Bureaucracy was
asserting himself. “Who in heavens name is Underdog
Miracle Services?”
“Why, they’re the team that engineered the miraculous victory over the Greek-Syrian army.”
“Just a minute. We’re talking miracles here. Big
time miracles. Oil miraculously appearing out of
nowhere. Coffee mugs that never empty. Total disregard for the standard conventions of the natural order.
And you want to compare that to a natural event of one
army winning over another in war?”
“A very miraculous war.”
“They used guerilla tactics. They knew the territory
well. They had higher morale and greater conviction.”
The people from Underdog had been sitting in the
wings ready for just this situation. Deftly, one of them
leaped onto the stag”How about we take a look at what
actually happened, he suggested, and then determine
just how conventional it really w.”
Before the judges of the court could nod or shake
their heads, the lights dimmed and a 3D image of the
Maccabee brothers appeared in the projection area.
They didn’t look like guerilla freedom fighters at all.
In fact, they looked a lot more like sedentary yeshiva
bachurim in ancient garb, hunched over their scrolls
by an oil lamp, waving their thumbs and arms in a
heated discussion of talmudic cases of damages.
“Now, let’s say someone just rolls a rock by a hillside, and the rock rolls and causes some heavy property damage along the way. Maybe like even an avaSeasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
lanche or something...”
“Well, his liability depends on this: Did the rock roll
due to his rolling of the rock, or was his roll of the rock
only an indirect cause of the rock rollin”g?
“I told you last time. A rolling rock is similar to fire,
and concerning fire we have a Torah edict...”
“But Rabbi Eliezer says...”
“Why do you always bring up that same Rabbi
Eliezer?! I’ve told you a thousand times his statement
is irrelevant to this matt!”
“Please don’t yell at me. My ulcer, you know.”
As the heavenly court shook their heads in pity and
compassion, the agent from Underdog continued his
narrative, “Now let’s take a look at the enemy forces.
You decide who you think will be more successful in
battle.”
The judges were thrown out of their seats by the
wild beat of raunchy Hellenist music, as thousands of
fierce warriors danced in wild frenzy about huge bonfires, swinging their swords recklessly, guzzling gallons of beer, hollering and laughing at the top of their
lungs.
“Stop!” the judges screamed. “Who gave you permission to bring those hoodlums up here?!”
The presentation ground to an abrupt halt, and the
agent asked the judges for their respected opinion:
Rate each side for its ability to win a battle of arms and
bloodshed.
The Greeks rated 95. Maccabees, 0.05.
“Now let’s observe what actually ensued.”
The scene was now the top of a Judean Hill. The
Maccabee brothers stood about a large boulder, clumsily holding bows and arrows that may have been
bought in a cheap toy store, awaiting the approaching
Greek army.
“Look, here’s a good example of just the sort of rock
we were discussing last night. Just the sort of rock
Rabbi Eliezer would have...”
“I told you: Rabbi Eliezers statement has nothing to
do with this sort of damages! How can you compare
damage due to fire to...”
“Brothers! The Greeks are coming! The Greeks are
coming!”
“It’s obvious. This is a case of indirect damage.
Thats exactly what Rabbi Eliezer is discussing!”
“The whole army! Thousands of them!”
“You’re already assuming this is indirect damage!
But its not!”
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“Oh yes it is!”
“NO IT ISN’T!!”
“Tens of thousands of footmen! Cavalry! Theyve
sent the largest army in the world against us!”
“Brother! I dont understand how you can ignore the
reality of all this! Its just such a classic case of indirect...”
“ELEPHANTS! THEY’VE GOT ELEPHANTS!
WHOOOOOEEEEEEY!!!”
“Direct liability! That’s what it is!”
“They’ve almost entirely entered the valley right
now.”
“INDIRECT!”
“DIRECT!”
“Yes! The entire army is in the valley below us!
Theyll find us soon!! WE’RE MACCABEE PURÉE!”
“INDIRECT!”
“DIRECT!!!!!!”
With that last assertion, the Maccabee brother
pounded his talmudic fist down upon the boulder. As
their debate continued, the boulder began its descent
down the hill, gathering more and more rocks to join it
on its mission. Within moments, a cataclysmic avalanche was in action.
“BUT RABBI ELIEZER....”
The leading flank of the Greek army was crushed in
a matter of seconds. The central flank turned to retreat
in panic, screaming at those behind to turn back. In the
stampede Greek fought Greek—the rear flank pressing
forward, certain the enemy was ahead, the mid-flank
desperate to get the *%*&#^!! out of there.
“BUT RABBI ELIEZER NEVER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH ROCK & ROLL DAMAGES!!”
Within an hour or so, the Greek army was demolished. Those not buried under the rock and soil or
killed in battle by their own troops simply ran home in
utter confusion and trauma, with no idea how to
explain any of this to their king, their people or their
wives.
The Maccabees eventually determined the liability
issue was more complex than it had originally seemed.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
The Underdog reps were all slapping the back of the
team angel that had played the boulder in that episode.
And the heavenly court determined that, yes, this
indeed was a great miracle.
But Yosef Karo was not finished. He was up from
his desk, examining the virtual model of the Temple
Menorah.
“What’s that oil made of?” he asked.
“Why, that’s olive oil,” the CEO answered.
“From olives?” Karo persisted.
“Olive oil comes from olives, right?”
“I thought you just told us its miracle oil. So it didn’t come from olives, then.”
“Well,” the CEO looked a bit perplexed, “I’ll have
one of my engineers explain.”
An engineer came up in his OutaNowhere sweatshirt and laivees (as they are known up there), with all
the charts needed to explain the technical stuff the
team thought they wouldn’t need to explain.
“As you are all well aware,” he began, “the physical
world is the ultimate in finite creation. This is actually
only a crystallization of the finitude which begins in
the higher, spiritual realms. What OutaNowhere has
discovered, through close observation of the workings
of the cosmos, is quite astounding. Apparently, the
energy source of this finite creation is 100% infinite.
And that infinite force is continually invested within
the finite, sustaining its existence and vivifying it.”
“We all know,” interrupted one of the angelic
judges, “that The Boss, Blessed Be He, is infinite in
every way. And we know that everything comes from
Him. But, how could an infinite energy source power
something finite—all the more so, be invested within
it? Simple logic dictates that a large thing cannot fit
into a smaller one, never mind infinite within finite.
The energy within the cosmos must therefore be
finite.”
“That was our original hypothesis,” explained the
engineer. “And I’m sure that’s what the Sar Shel Yavan
still believes, and is one of the reasons he has such difficulty accepting the supernatural. However, the data
we collected overwhelmingly points to an infinite
energy source within the finite creatio”n.
“Some examples?” asked a wide-eyed angel.
“As the Talmud states clearly, there is no evidence
of the forces of the cosmos weakening over time, or of
the sum whole of the mass of the universe diminishing. Furthermore, we see infinite wisdom in each finite
detail of the creation. When we saw earthlings tapping
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into this infinitude by means of the mitzvahs, we were
convinced. There are many other pointers, but let’s get
to our implementatio”
The engineer shone a narrow light beam on his
chart, which looked vaguely similar to those the engineer from Quality had show”Here, you’ll recall, is the
source of olive oil. It produces light, does not mix with
other liquids and yet permeates everything—all this
due to its close link with the Sphere of Wisdom, as my
colleague before noted. Whereas their strategy was to
increase the quality property of this node, we are able
to unleash the power of the infinite that creates the
quantity factor of this element.”
There was no doubt the judges were in awe.
Unleashing the Infinite was heavy stuff to throw
around up in heaven. OutaNowheres stocks were rising rapidly. Rabbi Karo, however, was unimpressed.
“You’ve yet to answer my question. So is it olive oil,
or is it Miracle Whip?” he reiterated.
“It’s olive oil! It comes straight from the same place
that olive oil comes from, just the same way!” The
engineer was exasperated. The CEO jumped in to help.
“Look, it tastes like olive oil, feels like olive oil, has
all the spiritual and physical properties of olive oil.
Because it is olive o” he pleaded.
Rabbi Karo didn’t flinch. “As I understand, in my
very simple, mortal-being, non-angelic terms, olive oil
is that which comes out of an olive. Not oil that comes
out of a miracle.”
The OutaNowhere team members were holding
their heads in their wings again. Rabbi Karo continued, “But this oil comes out of nowhere, as your very
name suggests.”
“But everything comes out of nowhere!” cried the
engineer. “You and I and olive oil and everything that
exists all come out of absolute nothingness at every
moment!”
“True,” admitted Karo, “but that’s not the end-user
experience. The user-experience is induced by a
facade of a natural order, by which trees grow, olives
develop, and then they are squeezed by live human
beings to extract their oil. In my meek understanding,
th’s the sort of oil the Torah requires be used in the
Menorah.”
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
The entire assembly-on-high was utterly floored.
Finally, one of the judges spoke up.
“We are at a loss,” he complained. “We fail to understand what Rabbi Karo is demanding. We’re here
today to plan a miracle. He seems to be demanding
preservation of the natural order. Rabbi Karo, please
make up your mind!”
“I also wish to see a very great miracle,” Yosef Karo
replied, his confidence unshaken. “I’m only requiring
that all halachic considerations be fulfilled. Is that too
great a miracle for the Heavenly Court?”
The question dropped like lead on the heads of the
court.
“No,” very softly replied the ChairAngel. “Nothing
is too great for heaven. Why, we have the Power of the
Infinite. Is that not correct, my fellow” He looked
about both at his colleagues and at the engineering
teams. They were forced to nod.
Finally, an erudite-looking angel, positioned not far
from center, cleared his throat and spoke. “If it is
halachic compliance you deman” Rabbi Karo, “then I
believe we can settle this matter quite simply with no
modifications to the design under review. I had actually imagined these fellows had taken this into consideration when I noted the refill action...excuse m” he gestured to the H.I. expert from OutaNowhere, “could
you play that second animation sequence again. Stop
just before the oil refills.
The OutaNowhere engineers eagerly fast-forwarded
the animation to the frame where the oil was down to
the last drop.
“Yes, stop there!” the erudite judge motioned.
“Now, move ahead frame by frame...yes, so you see,
there are a few drops left when the new oil appears! It
is not appearing out of nowhere. It is simply an extension of the oil that was there from before.”
“And just what difference does that make?” his
neighbor turned to him impatiently.
“A world of a difference!” he replied. “You see,
there is a general principle applied in various circumstances throughout the Talmud that”...
“An outgrowth is classified with its source!” piped
in an excited younger angel, proud to display his
Talmudic knowledge.
“And liquid which comes into another liquid
acquires the same considerations as the original liquid!” joined in another.
The angels were getting excited again. Talmud is a
hot topic up there. They have always been jealous that
such abstract matters were officially the domain of
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coarse earthly beings. Once again, debate and discussion exploded in all directions.
“So, whats with the name, OutaNowhere?” demanded one angel above the commotion. “If it’s out of
nowhere, its not olive. If its only an outgrowth of the
original olive, then weve got you for misrepresentation.”
All eyes were once again on the OutaNowhere team.
The CEO was already on his cellular, talking with his
lawyers. The sales rep leaped forwar “Actually, we
were going to take the name, Miracles Unlimited, but it
was copyright already, and since the user experience”—
In a bolt, before he could put his foot in his mouth,
the CEO had his sales rep off the floor. “Gentleman,”
he announced, “it’s all settled. It will take a few days
for the paper work, but our company name is now officially, Miracles Unlimited. Now if we could just get
around to the terms of the contract, I have my attorney
on the phone...”
“I’m sorry to say, esteemed judges, but this is not
what I expected.” It was the voice of Yosef Karo, once
again, and all were stilled as it echoed through the hall.
“I cannot hide that I am deeply disappointed. Here,
my fellow Jews, the Maccabees went far beyond the
letter of the law to challenge the mighty Greek army. I
might add, if they had asked a competent halachic
authority whether they were obligated, nay, permitted
to put their lives and those of all the Jewish people in
definite danger on the highly improbable chance they
might win, the answer would have been a resounding
No!
“Furthermore, they refused to compromise with the
apparent reality to light the Menorah with impure oil,
although, as stated earlier, this would have been perfectly permissible considering the circumstances. They
searched every nook and cranny for pure oil, and the
Almighty showed his appreciation and endearment to
them, providing them with such. Everything until now
has been a striving for the most immaculate service of
G-d which reaches beyond intellect and reason.”
He paused. And then with a biting irony in his powerful voice, like a mighty sword piercing metal, “And
you are requiring that they rely on a flimsy kvetch and
twist of the Talmudic thumb to burn oil on the second
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
day that did not come out of an olive? This you call
this the Power of the Infinite?! This you call the
Kingdom of Heaven?”
His voice resounded through the Marble Chamber,
pounding upon the ears of its court members. The very
walls shook, and the most exalted of the angels looked
for somewhere to hide in shame.
“As for the issue of whether this is to be a miracle
or a natural event, did the Maccabees ask that question
when they went to battle against skilled men of war
riding upon elephants? Did they say, ‘Well, if the
Almighty wants miracles, let Him perform miracles
without us, and if He wants us to fight, then what are
these elephants doing here?’ No! They knew a G-d to
whom miracle and nature are one, a G-d who wishes
His world to know that physics, too, is miraculous!
“You engineers!” the rabbi pointed sharply towards
the sweatshirts and laivees in the OutaNowhere-nowknown-as-Miracles-Unlimited-tea. “Didn’t your eyes
open to this when you discovered that the world He
made is an impossibility, a marriage of the finite and
the infinite? Then why is it so absurd to require that
power here?
“If He wanted only an open miracle with no trace of
physics, then why did He require the Maccabees to
search for a flask of oil? Let it simply fall from the
heavens! And if He wanted just vanilla physics, without any miracle, then let them find eight days worth of
oil!
“But no, He, in His masterful scheme of things
desires both. He desires harmony of the natural and
the supernatural. He desires that the lighting of the
Menorah be performed by natural means, with natural
olive oil—from olives, and yet be a miracle by burning for eight days. That is not my requirement, that is
His. And you as His agents are charged with fulfilling
it.”
The ChairAngel struggled to speak the words out of
his throat. “I believe we have one more bidder to hear
out. Apparently, they plan to use only the pure, natural
olive oil with no miraculous additives. They also purport to keep the cups of the Menorah full for all eight
days. I move we hear them out.”
The motion was passed and Flaming Wonders began
their presentation.
LIGHT VII: BATTLE
Official Report Card: OutaNowhere Proposal
Pros:
• Strong precedent.
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“But, Rabbi Karo!” pleaded a stunned senior judge.
“You insisted that the oil not be consumed, and these
angels are providing just that. What could now be
lacking?”
“Moses said clearly that the bush was not burning,”
answered Rabbi Karo. “No combustion of its carbon.”
“And that’s just what you wanted,” countered the
sales rep.
“So if the bush is not burning, then where is the
flame coming from?” demanded the Rabbi.
“It’s just there!” the sales rep exclaimed, obviously
having lost his cool already. “What do you care where
its coming from?! Do we really need a whole new
technical discussion with the charts and schematics
and more talk about infinite light and spiritual engineering? It works. It has worked in the past. It fulfills
everything you’ve talked about until now! It even provides a constant miracle at every moment! So just go
with it!”
Yosef Karo took a deep breath and replied, “The
Torah states, ‘...pure olive oil, crushed in order to be a
luminance, to raise up an everlasting flam’ That irrevocably implies that the flame must be produced by the
combustion of the oil.” Now his voice rose again.
“But, in your case, as Moses clearly stated, there is no
combustion at all!”
“But that’s what you asked for!” exclaimed a row of
angels in unison.
“I asked for halachic compliance, and I have not
budged!” was the firm reply.
Now the whole court was in an uproar.
Consternation and bewilderment were on the faces of
many as they waved their wings to each other in frantic discussion. Some, such as the ChairAngel, tried to
justify Rabbi Karo’s position, but in vain.
How could you please such a man? they argued.
First he tells us the cups must be full each day with the
very same oil as was originally placed in them. Then
he demands that the oil be burning. Burning. That
means being consumed. It’s mass diminishing as it
produces heat and light. So is the oil to burn or is the
oil not to burn?! The man has to make up his mind!
That’s when the Sar Shel Yavan saw his chance.
Amidst the commotion, he crept surreptitiously forth
towards Rabbi Karo. At about two meters, he began
his attack.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
• Consideration of human factors.
• New miracle on each day.
• Superb coffee.
Cons:
• Lack of coordination between team members.
• First day of Chanukah provides no oil miracle.
Forced to rely on lower-level miracles for that day.
• One major halachic concern: The oil in the Menorah
is required to be oil squeezed from an olive. This proposal
provides a substance that has all the qualities of such oil,
but is actually produced overtly ex-nihilo.
Rating: 4 wings
Flaming Wonders knew they had two tough acts to follow. But they figured their presentation had it made.
A flurry of high-distortion, heavy-metal sound, a blinding flash of light and the whole of heaven was on fire.
Hollywood-style flames were dancing out of the coffee
mugs of every member of the court. With a mighty
whoosh, one giant flame appeared at center-floor. A sales
rep stepped out. Elegantly, he stepped over to a solid gold
Menorah (real, physical gold), squeezed oil from olives
into the cups (natural, earth-grown olives), and with a
flourish of his wings set flames dancing across the cups.
And then, in the 3D-projection area, appeared an image
for which all the angels rose in reverence and awe. It was
the image of none other than Moses himself, staring at one
of the Flaming Wonder flames dancing within a bush. In
utter awe, he could be heard whispering to himself, “I must
turn from my present, humanist mind-set to attain cognizance of this new obsvation, that this bush is aflame yet
there is no combustion of its carbon!”
As the ear-ringing music reached its apex, all the flames
in the chamber rushed together over the heads of the audience and in magnificently choreographed motion converged into the Flaming Wonders logo, with a subtitle, Do
We Have Your Attention Now
The entire heavenly court applauded, ecstatic to see that,
yes, there was a solution, and one that could satisfy even
their hyper-rigorous human consultant. Or so it seemed.
The sales rep, remained there, smiling. “Need I say
more? I believe you have seen with your eyes, we have
filled all the requiremen”
“No,” sighed an exasperated Yosef Karo. “You need say
no more. You have already said it. Or at least, we have all
heard Moses himself say “it.
“And what better authority on Torah-compliance than
that?” ventured the sales rep.
“Quite correct,” added Yosef Karo. “And since he clearly acknowledged that you fail to fill a basic requirement, I
suppose you can take your little presentation and go back
to your desk.”
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“This,” he stabbed, “is precisely the attitude that has
gotten you stubborn Jews into all your trouble until
now. Cannot you relent and see? If the stick is too long
to hold at both ends, then grasp one end alone!”
His eyes began to shine, the polish of his marble
glistening in the sharp light of the Chamber. One
moment he was a dramatist, the next a
philosophe”Even I would be ready to accept what you
call a miracle. It would take some convincing and
explaining, but as long as there is some semblance of
internal logic—albeit not the logic of our world, perhaps the logic of a higher realm—I am always open to
hear anything that could make sense.
“But you,” he pointed accusingly at Yosef Karo,
“you Jews will not suffice with common sense!”
He paused. His tone became more civil. “You profess wisdom and rationality. Yes, I have admitted
many times that your Torah is full of jewels of insight
into human nature, a marvelous system of critical
analysis that—although quite distinct—nevertheless
compliments our own. It is, as stated within, ‘...your
wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the
nation’”
His tone suddenly changed. “We could have blended so beautifully together!” He began to cry. “A JudeoHellenist Ethic! Your spiritual wisdom, coupled with
our Science of Nature...”
The power of Greek drama in its pristine source now
unleashed in all fury.”But no! Like the olive oil we discuss today, you refused to mix! You refused to recognize your Torah for the marvelous pinnacle of human
wisdom that it is, clinging to this archaic, primitive
doctrine that it is something G-dly, something that
defies—as if it were at all possible—the very Laws of
Logic that set the parameters of the universe, of nature,
of the gods and of all that is.
“When I saw your rituals, I learned many things
from their wisdom. But there were those I could not
fathom. When I inquired about them, your reply
always boiled down to the same irrational, ‘Because
our G-d, the G-d of Israel has so commanded.’
“I begged you to describe for me this G-d we could
not see, a G-d who commands things beyond the intellect of his subjects. You told me He has no description.
No explanation. He just is, you said.
“‘That which cannot be described and cannot be
explained cannot exist!’ I exclaimed. And you persisted. You claimed that existence cannot be explained
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
either—despite all I had taught you of science and philosophy.
“When I saw those things, I felt moved to enlighten
you. I had mercy upon you by abolishing those commandments that perpetuated this crude, backward doctrine of yours. But, like little children, you couldnt
swallow the medicine the doctor prescribed for your
own well being! You forced me to take an extreme
position. I decreed upon you, ‘Engrave upon the horns
of your oxen that you have no portion in the G-d of
Israel!’
“But that drove you only further. You abandoned
logic and good common sense, as though all this Torah
of yours had nothing to do with that, as if it were no
more than an irrational bond between you and something that cannot exist. You sacrificed your very lives
and the lives of your loved ones as though nothing else
mattered but this nonsensical, blind vision!
“So you see, I too sincerely desire that your light
should shine forth! Let the oil of your wisdom burn
and illuminate the entire world! But first we must
ensure that it complies with human reason. At the very
least, it must fit neatly within the realm of logic, and
not step beyond.”
Yosef Karo’s eyes widened. The Sar had enlightened him. “So you defiled the oil on purpose,” he
uttered.
The Sar smiled. Karo went on. “You wanted the
Maccabees to light the Menorah with impure oil, as a
symbol of Torah compromised with human intellect.
This would have been your underhanded victory!”
“And tell me,” the Sar countered, “not using the oil
simply because a soldier may have touched it with a
ten foot pole makes sense?”
“Reality does not require the approval of your common sense!”
“THERE YOU GO AGAIN!!”
“Excuse the interruption.” A hand waved from
amongst the engineers bench, accompanying the polite
Danish accent. “My job is empirical science, especially in the area of quantum physics, and I must say I am
forced to agree with the rabbi.”
LIGHT VIII: DARKNESS SHINES
The Sar turned with an imposing glare, but the scientist meekly continued.
“We don’t use philosophy. We are empiricists.
Meaning that we accept the data, whether it fits our
current conceptions or not. Once we have the data, we
try to make sense of it—not the other way around.
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“As a matter of fact,” the scientist grinned slightly,
“we have observed certain phenomena very basic to
the common reality that appear to counter common
sense altogether.”
“But they are measurable, nonetheless.”
“Yes, but with a caveat. You see, as soon as we start
measuring anything, the reality is impacted by our act
of measurement. After all, just by saying that we are
going to measure something, we are already bifurcating the reality. Were saying, theres us, and theres the
thing we are measuring—and then, of course, theres
our act of measurement, which is a third thin”
“So therefore?”
“So nothing can really be known in an absolute
sense. That leaves a lot of room for what they call miracles—when you are dealing with unknowable states,
well just anything could happen. Theres no absolute
rule of cause and effect, as you Ancient Greeks like to
believe.”
The Sar now demonstrated his mastery of sophistry,
able to debate even on another’s ground. “But it is
measurable nonetheless—perhaps not precisely, but
measurable.”
“Everything, to be a something, must have some
sort of measure to it,” the scientist conceded.
“Idiot!” The Sar shouted. “Is then what these Jews
believe empirically observable in measurable terms?”
The scientist was unperturbed. “A scientist’s job is
to measure according to what he is able to perceive
with the tools available to him, he observed. The job of
the rabbi is to heighten the consciousness of the
observer so that the inner world also becomes perceptible.”
“And therefore?” insisted the Sar.
“In a strictly material world it is true there is no perception of ritual impurity or purity in the oil. But up
here, in the inner wor...”
“But they believe in things that are inherently
immeasurable!! Not in their world and not in any
world! Because they implicitly deny measurement!”
“Such as?”
“They themselves admit that this G-d of theirs is
immeasurable. And they believe in a Beginning!
Creation ex nihilo! Now, go ahead, tell me you can
measure and observe that the entire cosmos came out
of nothing!”
“Nothing is immeasurable.”
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
“Precisely. And now, have him tell you about the
Holy Ark they claim to have, that is 2.5 cubits wide
but takes up no space whatsoever in the Chamber of
the Holy of Holies.”
The court members looked at each other with
widened eyes. They knew about that chamber, and on
occasion certain beings were permitted entry. But they
were never allowed to measure. That place was strictly His territory.
That chamber was twenty cubits wide. The Holy
Ark, measuring 2.5 cubits sat in the middle of it. The
measurement from the left wall of the chamber to the
left side of the Ark was 10 cubits. The measurement
from the right wall of the chamber to the right side of
the Ark was also 10 cubits. With the width of the Ark,
the distance from one wall to the other should have
come to 22.5 cubits. Yet, when measured, it came to
only 20 cubits. The Ark took up no space. Yet it measured 2.5 cubits. It took up space and it did not take up
space. This, the Sar Shel Yavan could not accept. And
the members of the heavenly court were entirely
bewildered.
“But you have lost!” retorted Yosef Karo. “The
Maccabees did not fall for your ploy! They refused to
do the rational and searched instead for the impossible—for an untouched flask of pure oil!”
“One more small defeat in battle,” the Sar sighed.
“But the war I shall still win. For you have gone too
far. You are attacking the very basis of logic, and that
battle you cannot win.
“Let me explain something,” he continued, “since it
is I who is the master of mathematics and logic. In our
world, one plus one is two. I am ready to accept that a
world could have been created where one plus one
could be three, or five, or seventeen, or whatever its
Creator wishes it to be. I can even accept a world
where two conclusions, or even more could be drawn
from one equation, as your friend the quantum physicist here wishes to posit. As I said, as long as there is
a logic, whatever that logic might be. As long as there
are true statements and false statements, there is logic
and there is reality.
“But what I cannot accept is that one plus one
should equal two and the same one plus one should not
equal two. That a statement should be both true and
false at once. That is a denial of logic. If that could be
so, then you and I and all our world and all that exists
has no true substance!”
Now he began to scream again, in a maddened, desperate shrill tone. “And that is precisely what you are
demanding! You want that oil should burn, yet not be
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burning! That the laws of nature be preserved, yet a
miracle occur! You are demanding darkness to shine
and yet remain darkness! But it cannot be!! You cannot defy the very binary foundation of reality, of
being”!
“Yes,” the scientist piped in. “Reality is definitely
binary. The whole cosmos is built on is and isn’t. If the
Rabbi wants us to abrogate that to have his miracle,
well, it just cant be done. Not even by Heaven, Inc..”
Yosef Karo swung around in royal form to face and
command the court. “Esteemed masters of judgement!” he declared. “Empowered to do the work of the
Infinite Master of All Being! Could it be that the hand
of heaven is limited in any way? Perform the Miracle
of Chanukah in utmost perfection as the Torah so
demands!”
Silence was all he received in response. Quietness,
the echo of his own voice and a room of pale faces. His
eyes flashed from one angel to the next, to the next,
this one in tears, anothers face covered with shame,
some shaking their heads in sorrow, wings drooping,
the glow of heaven all but gone from their countenance. Finally, the ChairAngel spoke up.
“Illustrious Rabbi.” He forced out his words, as
though reading from a script, a glistening tear rolling
over his cheek. “We thank you very much for coming
today, and enlightening us with your unique perspective. It is with deep regret, however, that we inform
you we are unable to process your request. We refer to
the advice we have received that for a flame to both
burn and not burn, for the same oil to be consumed and
not be consumed, to preserve the laws of nature and
defy those very same laws at once, abrogates the very
basis of reality. We in heaven can make anything be.
Or we can make it not be. But nothing can both be and
not be at once. However, we assure you we will do our
best to hire the applicant who comes closest to fulfilling the requirements you have laid out before .”
For a moment, Karo was still. He bit his lip, perhaps
he shivered—it would be hard to tell. Then he turned
ever so deliberately towards the center of the assembly
and stepped in awe and trembling towards that point in
the epicenter that transcended place, time and consciousness. The Divine Spirit of the Infinite Light And
Beyond overcame and enveloped him, as he raised his
hands and cried out in a piercing, mighty voice, like
the massive waves of a storm crashing upon the shore:
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
“You Who dwells in darkness as You do in light, Who
is found in concealment as in revelation! Beyond
Being and Not Being, You who unites all things and
for Whom all things are one!”
And then, even louder, unbearably, tortuously...
“Almighty Father in Heaven, have compassion upon
your children who have given their lives to the slaughter for the sake of Your Great and Awesome Name!”
The echo of his voice pounded the walls of the
chamber, shaking them to the ground. The supernal
beings of the heavens stood in their places as though
stunned. All mouths were closed, all wings held their
place in readied stillness.
And then the glory of the Holy One, Blessed be He
rose in all worlds. A light that shone with equal intensity in all places, in all realms, for it knows no place or
time.
“It is the Ohr haGanuz!” exclaimed the ChairAngel
in reverence. “The light of the first day of Creation
that was hidden until the Time to Come! We must all
descend below to see whence comes this light!”
So it was that the entire Supreme Court of the
Heavens descended into the Holy Chamber of the
Temple in Jerusalem—the physical one on this earth—
to witness the miracle of the Menorah, as the oil
burned to produce a flame, but did not burn; combustion occurred, but did not occur; oil was consumed and
none was consumed; transforming darkness into light
while remaining darkness.
Silence reigned. And the silence was also Light.
“This is my G-d,” whispered Yosef Karo. “This is
my G-d and I will praise Him.”
And all the heavenly court and the whole host of
heaven, indeed all of G-ds creation and infinite emanations burst into the song of Hallel, the praise of the
Ultimately Infinite.
Including, noted Rabbi Karo, the Sar Shel Yavan.
Darkness shone.
Sources: See the thesis Mai Chanukah, based on the
Lubavitcher Rebbe’s examination of the miracle of Chanukah
(Kehot Publication Society, NY, 1994)
By Tzvi Freeman; [email protected] see
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=3009 for bio, info and
more articles by this author as well as to order his book,
"Bringing Heaven Down to Earth".
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
Judith
It is not clearly known when the story, which we
are about to tell, actually took place. The story first
appeared in a very ancient book named after the
heroine, Yehudit (Judith). However, the original
Hebrew text was lost, and only a Greek translation
remained, and not a very accurate one at that.
The story was retold in different versions.
According to one version, it happened during the
time of the Maccabean revolt against Syrian oppression (which resulted in a miraculous victory and
gave us the festival of Chanukah). According to this
account, Yehudit was a daughter of Yochanan the
High Priest, father of the Hasmonean family.
At any rate, the heroic deed of Yehudit has
inspired faith and courage in the hearts of Jews
throughout the ages.
The town of Bethulia, in the land of Judea, came
under siege by Holofernes, a mighty Syrian-Greek
general, at the head of a huge army.
Holofernes was notorious for his cruelty in suppressing rebellions. When he captured a rebel stronghold, he showed no mercy to the men, women, and
children sheltered there. Now he was determined to
crush the rebellion of the town of Bethulia, whose
inhabitants refused to recognize the oppressive rule
of the Syrians.
The men of the beleaguered town fought bravely
and desperately to repulse the repeated assaults by
the superior enemy forces. Seeing that he couldn’t
take the fortified town by force, Holofernes decided
to starve the inhabitants into submission. He cut off
the food and water supply, and before long the town
was indeed brought to the verge of surrender.
Hungry and thirsty and in utter despair, the townspeople gathered in the marketplace and demanded
that, rather than die of hunger and thirst, they should
surrender to the enemy.
Uzzia, the commander of the defense forces, and
the Elders of the town, tried to calm the populace,
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
without success. Finally they pleaded, “Give us five
more days. If no salvation comes by the end of five
days, we will surrender. Just five more days...”
Reluctantly the people agreed, and slowly they
dispersed. Only one person, a woman, remained in
her place, as if riveted to it, and she addressed Uzzia
and the Elders, who had also turned to go. Her voice
was clear and firm.
“Why do you test G-d, giving Him five days in
which to send us His help? If you truly have faith in
G-d, you must never give up your trust in Him.
Besides, don’t you know that surrender to
Holofernes is worse than death?”
So spoke Yehudit, the noble daughter of Yochanan
the High Priest. She was a young widow. It was several years since she had lost her beloved husband
Menashe, and had devoted all her time to prayer and
acts of charity ever since.
Yehudit was blessed with extraordinary charm,
grace, and beauty, but she was particularly respected
and admired for her devoutness, modesty and loving
kindness.
Yehudit’s words made a deep impression on Uzzia
and the Elders.
“You are quite right, daughter,” they admitted,
“but what can we do? Only a downpour of rain that
would fill our empty cisterns could save our people,
but it is not the rainy season. We are all suffering the
pangs of hunger and thirst. Pray for us, Yehudit, and
perhaps G-d will accept your prayers.”
“We must all continue to pray, and never despair
of G-d’s help,” Yehudit said. “But I have also
thought of a plan. I ask your permission to leave
town together with my maid. I want to go to
Holofernes.”
Uzzia and the Elders were shocked and dismayed.
“Do you know what you are saying, Yehudit? Would
you sacrifice your life and honor on the slim chance
that you might soften Holofernes’s heart? We cannot
allow you to make such a sacrifice for us.”
But Yehudit persisted. “It had happened before
that G-d sent His salvation through a woman. Yael,
the wife of Heber, was her name, as you well know.
It was in her hands that G-d delivered the cruel
Sissera.”
Uzzia and the Elders attempted to discourage
Yehudit from such a dangerous mission, but she
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
Judith
insisted that she be allowed to try. Finally, they
agreed.
Yehudit passed through the gates of Bethulia,
dressed in her best clothes, which she had not worn
since her husband passed away. A delicate veil all but
hid her beautiful face. She was accompanied by her
faithful maid, who carried on her head a basket filled
with rolls, cheese, and several bottles of old wine.
The sun had already begun to hide behind the
green mountains when Yehudit and her maid wound
their way toward the enemy’s camp, their lips whispering a prayer to G-d. Presently they were stopped
by sentries, who demanded to know who they were
and who sent them.
“But how will I know when the defenders of the
citadel will begin to eat unkosher food, as you say,
so that I can then storm the walls and capture the
city?” the commander of the besieging army asked.
“I had thought of that,” Yehudit answered confidently. “I have arranged with the watchmen at the
city’s gates that I would come to the gate every
evening to exchange information: I will tell them
what’s doing here, and they will tell me what’s doing
there.”
Holofernes was completely captivated by the
charming young Jewish widow who had so unexpectedly entered his life and was now offering him
the key to the city. “If you are telling me the truth,
and will indeed help me capture the city, you will be
my wife!” Holofernes promised. Then he gave
orders that Yehudit and her maid were to have complete freedom to walk through the camp, and anyone
attempting to molest them in any way would be put
to death immediately. A comfortable tent was prepared for the two women, next to his.
“Who are you, and why are you here?” Holofernes
asked, his eyes feasting on his unexpected, charming
visitor.
The two women, veiled and wrapped in their
shawls, could now be seen walking leisurely through
the armed camp at any time during the day and
evening. Fearful of the commander’s strict orders,
everyone gave them a wide berth. Soon they attracted little, if any, attention. Yehudit could now walk up
to the city’s gates after dark, where she was met by
a watchman.
“I am but a plain widow from Bethulia. Yehudit is
my name. I came to tell you how to capture the town,
in the hope that you will deal mercifully with its
inhabitants...”
“Tell Uzzia that, thank G-d, everything is shaping
up according to plan. With G-d’s help we shall prevail over our enemy. Keep your trust strong in G-d;
do not lose hope for a moment!”
Yehudit then told Holofernes that life in the beleaguered town had become unbearable for her, and she
bribed the watchmen to let her and her maid out. She
went on to say that she had heard of Holofernes’s
bravery and mighty deeds in battle, and wished to
make his acquaintance. Finally she told Holofernes,
what he already knew, that the situation in the
besieged town was desperate, that the inhabitants
have very little food and water left. Yet, she said,
their faith in G-d remained strong, and so long as
they had faith, they would not surrender. On the
other hand, she added, before long, every scrap of
kosher food would be gone, and in desperation they
will begin to eat the flesh of unclean animals, and
then G-d’s anger will be turned against them, and the
town will fall....
Having delivered this message for the commander of the defense force of the city, Yehudit departed
as quietly as she had appeared.
“We have an important message for your commander, the brave Holofernes,” Yehudit said. “Take
us to him at once.”
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
The following evening she came again to the
city’s gate and repeated the same message, adding
that she had won Holofernes’ complete confidence.
In the meantime, Holofernes, having nothing special to do, spent most of his time drinking, with and
without his aides. When he was not completely
drunk, he would send for Yehudit. She always came
to his tent in the company of her maid. On the third
day he was already getting impatient.
“Well, gracious Yehudit, what intelligence do you
bring me today? My men are getting impatient and
demoralized doing nothing; they cannot wait to cap41
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
Judith
“Come quickly,” she said to her maid, “but let us
not arouse suspicion.”
The two veiled women walked leisurely, as usual,
until they reached the gates of the city. “Take me to
Uzzia at once,” she said to the sentry.
Uzzia could not believe his eyes as he stared at the
gruesome prize Yehudit had brought him.
ture the city and have their fun...”
“I have very good news, general. There is not a scrap
of kosher food left in the city now. In a day or two,
famine will drive them to eat their cats and dogs and
mules. Then G-d will deliver them into your hands!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! This surely calls for a celebration. Tonight we’ll have a party, just you and I. I
shall expect you as my honored guest.”
“Thank you, sir,” Yehudit said.
“There is no time to lose,” she told the commander. “Prepare your men for a surprise attack at dawn.
The enemy’s camp is not prepared for it. When they
run to their commander’s tent, they will find his
headless body, and they will flee for their lives...”
This is precisely what happened. The enemy fled
in confusion and terror, leaving much booty behind.
Excerpted from the Complete Story of Chanukah, by Dr
Nissan Mindel, published by Kehot Publication Society,
www.kehotonline.com
That evening, when Yehudit entered Holofernes’
tent, the table was laden with various delicacies. The
general was delighted to welcome her and bade her partake of the feast. But Yehudit told him she brought her
own food and wine that she had prepared especially for
that occasion.
“My goat cheese is famous in all of Bethulia,”
Yehudit said, “I’m sure you’ll like it, general.”
He did. And he also liked the strong, undiluted wine
she had brought. She fed him the cheese, chunk after
chunk, and he washed it down with wine. Before long
he was sprawled on the ground, dead drunk.
Yehudit propped a pillow under his head and rolled
him over on his face. Then she uttered a silent prayer.
“Answer me, O L-rd, as You answered Yael, the wife
of Heber the Kenite, when you delivered the wicked
general Sissera into her hands. Strengthen me this once
that I may bring Your deliverance to my people whom
this cruel man vowed to destroy, and let the nations
know that You have not forsaken us...”
Now Yehudit unsheathed Holofernes’ heavy sword,
and taking aim at his neck, she brought the sword down
on it with all her might.
For a moment she sat down to compose herself. Then
she wrapped up the general’s head in rags, concealed it
under her shawl, and calmly walked out and into her
own tent.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
The Vanishing Flame
It was the first night of Chanukah. Outside a snowstorm raged, but inside it was tranquil and warm. The
Rebbe, Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuz, grandson of the
Baal Shem Tov, stood in front of the menorah, surrounded by a crowd of his Chassidim. He recited the
blessings with great devotion, lit the single candle,
placed the shammash (“servant candle”) in its designated place, and began to sing HaNairot Halalu. His
face radiated holiness and joy; the awed Chassidim
stared intently at him.
The flame of the candle was burning strongly. Rebbe
and Chassidim sat nearby and sang Maoz Tsur and
other Chanukah songs. All of a sudden, the candle
began to flicker and leap wildly, even though there
wasn’t the slightest breeze in the house. It was as if it
were dancing. Or struggling. And then, it disappeared!
It didn’t blow out, there was no smoke, it just was
not there anymore. It was as if it flew off somewhere
else. The Rebbe himself seemed lost in thought. His
attendant went over to re-light the wick, but the Rebbe
waved him off.
He motioned to the Chassidim to continue singing.
Several times, between tunes, the Rebbe spoke words
of Torah. The evening passed delightfully, and the
Chassidim present had all but forgotten about the disappearing Chanukah candle.
It was nearly midnight when the harsh sound of carriage wheels grating on the snow and ice exploded the
tranquility. The door burst open and in came a Chassid
who hailed from a distant village. His appearance was
shocking. His clothes were ripped and filthy, and his
face was puffy and bleeding. And yet, in stark contrast
to his physical state, his eyes were sparkling and his
features shone with joy.
He sat down at the table, and with all eyes upon him,
began to speak excitedly. “This isn’t the first time I
came to Mezhibuz by the forest route, and I know the
way very well. But there was a terrible snow storm this
week, which greatly slowed my advance. I began to
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
worry that I wouldn’t get here in time to be with the
Rebbe for the first night of Chanukah. The thought
disturbed me so much, I decided not to wait out the
storm, but to plod ahead and travel day and night, in
the hope that I could reach my destination on time.
“That was a foolish idea, I must admit, but I didn’t realize that until too late. Last night, I ran into a
gang of bandits, who were quite pleased to
encounter me. They figured if I was out in this
weather, at night, alone, I must be a wealthy merchant whose business could not brook delay. They
demanded that I surrender to them all of my money.
“I tried to explain, I pleaded with them, but they
absolutely refused to believe I had no money. They
seized the reins of my horses and leapt on my
wagon. They sat themselves on either side of me to
keep me under close surveillance, and then drove me
and my wagon off to meet their chief to decide my
fate.
“While they waited for their chief to arrive, they
questioned and cross-examined me in great detail,
searched me and the wagon, and beat me, trying to
elicit the secret of where I had hidden my money. I
had nothing to tell them except the truth, and that
they weren’t prepared to accept.
“After hours of this torture, they bound me and
threw me, injured and exhausted, into a dark cellar. I
was bleeding from the wounds they had inflicted,
and my whole body ached in pain. I lay there until
the evening, when the gang leader came to speak
with me.
“I tried to the best of my ability to describe to him
the great joy of being in the Rebbe’s presence, and
how it was so important to me to get to the Rebbe by
the start of the holiday that it was worth it to endanger myself by traveling at night.
“It seems that my words made an impression on
him, or else he was persuaded by my adamancy even
under torture. But whichever it was, thank G-d he
released me from the handcuffs, saying:
“I sense that your faith in G-d is strong and your
longing to be with your Rebbe is genuine and
intense. Now we shall see if this is the truth. I am
going to let you go, but you should know that the
way is extremely dangerous. Even the most rugged
people never venture into the heart of the forest
alone, only in groups, and especially not in a storm
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
The Vanishing Flame
and at night. You can leave and try your luck. And I am
telling you, if you get through the forest and the other
terrible conditions safely, unharmed by the ferocious
wild beasts or anything else, then I will break up my
gang and reform my ways.
“If you actually reach the outskirts of the city, then
throw your handkerchief into the ditch next to the road,
behind the signpost there. One of my men will be waiting, and that is how I will know that you made it.
pure as if it had just been lit.
Biographical note: Rabbi Baruch was born in
1753 in Mezhibuz, the town from which his illustrious grandfather, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, led the
Chassidic Movement which he founded. Rabbi
Baruch was the son of the Baal Shem Tov’s daughter, Adel, and her husband, Rabbi Yechiel
Ashkenazi. He was one of the pre-eminent Rebbes in
the generation of the disciples of the Maggid of
Mezritch and had thousands of Chassidim.
A master storyteller with hundreds of published stories to
his credit, Rabbi Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder of ASCENT
OF SAFED, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the
www.ascent.org.il and www.kabbalaonline.com websites
“I then became terrified all over again. The hardships I had already endured were seared into my soul,
and now even more frightening nightmares awaited
me. But when I thought about how wonderful it is to
be with the Rebbe at the menorah lighting, I shook off
all my apprehensions and resolved not to delay another moment. My horse and carriage were returned to me
and I set off on my way.
“There was total darkness all around. I could hear
the cries of the forest animals, and they sounded close.
I feared that I was surrounded by a pack of vicious
wolves.
“I crouched down over my horse’s neck and spurred
him on. He refused to move in the pitch blackness. I
lashed him. He didn’t budge.
“I had no idea what to do. At that moment, a small
light flickered in front of the carriage. The horse
stepped eagerly towards it. The light advanced. The
horse followed. All along the way, the wild animals
fled from us, as if the tiny dancing flame was driving
them away.
“We followed that flame all the way here. I kept my
end of the bargain and threw my handkerchief at the
designated place. Who knows? Perhaps those cruel
bandits will change their ways, all in the merit of that
little light.”
It was only then that the Chassidim noticed that the
Rebbe’s Chanukah light had returned. There it was,
burning in the elaborate menorah, its flame strong and
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
It Should Again See Light
Several years ago, a physician from southern France
contacted me. His granddaughter had taken ill with a
disease that baffled the physicians there. He called after
reading several of my articles on disorders of the autonomic nervous system. His granddaughter’s symptoms
seemed to match those I had described, and he asked me
if I could help. I readily agreed, and for many months, I
collaborated with the child’s French physicians by telephone and by fax, directing their diagnostic testing. At
last we came to a diagnosis, and I prescribed a course of
therapy. During the next several weeks, the child made a
seemingly miraculous recovery. Her grandparents
expressed their heartfelt thanks and told me to let them
know should I ever come to France.
In the summer of 1996, I was invited to speak at a
large international scientific meeting that was held in
Nice, France. I sent word to the physician I had helped
years before. Upon my arrival at the hotel, I received a
message to contact him. I called him, and we arranged a
night to meet for dinner.
On the appointed day we met and then drove north to
his home in the beautiful southern French countryside. It
was humbling to learn his home was older than the
United States. During the drive he told me that his wife
had metastatic breast cancer and was not well, but she
insisted upon meeting me. When introduced to her, I saw
that despite her severe illness, she was still a beautiful
woman with a noble bearing.
After dinner, we sat in a 17th-century salon, sipping
cognac and chatting. Our conversation must have
seemed odd to the young man and woman who served us
because it came out in a free-flowing mixture of English,
French, and Spanish.
After a time the woman asked, “My husband tells me
you are Jewish, no?” “Yes,” I said, “I am a Jew.” They
asked me to tell them about Judaism, especially the holidays. I did my best to explain and was astounded by
how little they knew of Judaism. She seemed to be particularly interested in Chanukah. Once I had finished
answering her questions, she suddenly looked me in the
eye and said, “I have something I want to give to you.”
She disappeared and returned several moments later
with a package wrapped in cloth. She sat, her tired eyes
looking into mine, and she began to speak slowly.
“When I was a little girl of 8 years, during the Second
World War, the authorities came to our village to round
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
up all the Jews. My best friend at that time was a girl
of my age named Jeanette. One morning when I came
to play, I saw her family being forced at gunpoint into
a truck. I ran home and told my mother what had happened and asked where Jeanette was going. ‘Don’t
worry,’ she said, ‘Jeanette will be back soon.’
“I ran back to Jeanette’s house only to find that she
was gone and that the other villagers were looting her
home of valuables, except for the Judaic items, which
were thrown into the street. As I approached, I saw an
item from her house lying in the dirt. I picked it up
and recognized it as an object that Jeanette and her
family would light around Christmas time. In my little girl’s mind I said ‘I will take this home and keep it
for Jeanette, till she comes back,’ but she and her
family never returned.”
She paused and took a slow sip of brandy. “Since
that time I have kept it. I hid it from my parents and
didn’t tell a soul of its existence. Indeed, over the last
50 years the only person who knew of it was my husband. When I found out what really happened to the
Jews, and how many of the people I knew had collaborated with the Nazis, I could not bear to look at it.
Yet I kept it, hidden, waiting for something, although
I wasn’t sure what. Now I know what I was waiting
for. It was for you, a Jew, who helped cure our granddaughter, and it is to you I entrust this.”
Her trembling hands set the package on my lap. I
slowly unwrapped the cloth from around it. Inside
was a menorah, but one unlike any I had seen before.
Made of solid brass, it had eight cups for holding oil
and wicks and a ninth cup centered above the others.
It had a ring attached to the top, and the woman mentioned that she remembered that Jeanette’s family
would hang it in the hallway of their home.
It looked quite old to me; later, several people told
me that it is probably at least 100 years old. As I held
it and thought about what it represented, I began to
cry. All I could manage to say was a garbled “merci.”
As I left, her last words to me were Il faudra voir la
lumiere encore une fois — “it should once again see
light.”
I later learned that she died less than a month after
our meeting. This Chanukah, the menorah will once
again see light. And as I and my family light it, we
will say a special prayer in honor of those whose
memories it represents. We will not let its lights go
out again.
ByDr. Blair Grubb , M.D. Medical College of Toledo Ohio
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
The Fifth Night
One of the legendary soldiers in the Lubavitcher
Rebbe’s army of teachers and activists who kept
Judaism alive in Communist Russia in the darkest years
of repression was Rabbi Asher Sossonkin, who spent
many years in Soviet labor camps for his “counter-revolutionary” activities. In one of these camps he made
the acquaintance of a Jew by the name of Nachman
Rozman. In his youth, Nachman had abandoned the traditional Jewish life in which he was raised to join the
communist party; he served in the Red Army, where he
rose to a high rank; but then he was arrested for engaging in some illegal business and sentenced to a long
term of hard labor in Siberia.
Rozman was drawn to the chassid who awakened in
him memories of the home and life he had forsaken.
With Reb Asher’s aid and encouragement, he began a
return to Jewish observance under conditions where
keeping kosher, avoiding work on Shabbat, or grabbing
a few moments for prayer meant subjecting oneself to
near-starvation, repeated penalties and a daily jeopardy
of life and limb.
One winter, as Chanukah approached, Reb Asher
revealed his plan to his friend. “I’ll get a hold of a
small, empty food can — the smaller the better, so it’ll
be easy to hide and escape notice. We’ll save half of our
daily ration of margarine over the next two weeks, for
oil. We can make wicks from the loose threads at the
edges of our coats. When everyone’s asleep, we’ll light
our ‘menorah’ under my bunk....”
“Certainly not!” cried Nachman Rozman. “It’s
Chanukah, Reb Asher, the festival of miracles. We’ll do
the mitzvah the way it should be done. Not in some
rusty can fished out from the garbage, but with a proper menorah, real oil, at the proper time and place. I have
a few rubles hidden away that I can pay Igor with at the
metal-working shed; I also have a few ‘debts’ I can call
in at the kitchen....”
a somewhat crude vessel but unmistakably a “real”
menorah, with eight oil-cups in a row and a raised
cup for the shamash. On the first evening of
Chanukah, he set the menorah on a stool in the doorway between the main room of their barracks and the
small storage area at its rear, and filled the righthand cup; together, the two Jews recited the blessings and kindled the first light, as millions of their
fellows did that night in their homes around the
world.
On that first night the lighting went off without a
hitch, as it did on the second, third and fourth nights
of the festival. As a rule, the prisoners in the camp
did not inform on each other, and their barrackmates had already grown accustomed to the religious practices of the two Jews.
On the fifth night of Chanukah, just as Reb Asher
and Nachman had lit five flames in their menorah, a
sudden hush spread through the barracks. The prisoners all froze in their places and turned their eyes to
the doorway, in which stood an officer from the
camp’s high command.
Though surprise inspections such as these were
quite routine occurrences, they always struck terror
in the hearts of the prisoners. The officer would
advance through the barracks meting out severe
penalties for offenses such as a hidden cigarette or a
hoarded crust of bread. “Quick, throw it out into the
snow,” whispered the prisoners, but the officer was
already striding toward the back doorway, where the
two Jews stood huddled over the still-burning flames
of their candelabra.
For a very long minute the officer gazed at the
menorah. Then he turned to Reb Asher. “P’yat?
(Five?)” he asked.
“P’yat,” replied the chassid.
The officer turned and exited without a word.
Originally published in the Hebrew weekly Sichat
Hashavua; translation/adaptation by Yanki Tauber, [email protected]
A few days before Chanukah, Nachman triumphantly showed Reb Asher the menorah he had procured —
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
Kharkov, 1995
American children are taught never to ride with a
stranger. America is technologically advanced;
America is on the cutting edge of craziness. The former
Soviet Union is lagging behind; people still hitchhike.
I watch and learn. Taxis are more expensive, and
they don’t take cigarettes as payment. You put your
hand out, and a car quickly slows down. You say a
street name, the driver says two bucks, you say one, he
says forget it and drives off. You stop the next car and
say the same street name. He says get in; you do. If you
don’t settle on a price beforehand, you take the risk of
hearing a wordless grunt when you get out.
a Menorah in Russia. Or The Menorah That Was
Made from Snow. In Ukraine you don’t ask, “Where
did it come from?” If you have it, you use it. And
tonight the Menorah stands tall, facing every street
in the world, starting with Ulitsa Pushkinskaya.
Tonight the Chief Rabbi and the Minister of
Religion will arrive on time, and with a rented cherry picker, the two will light the five kerosene
lanterns. The glass cover will keep the flame alive
all night, and the warmth will melt the frozen heart
of man. That was the plan.
That is what was supposed to happen. That’s what
we advertised. That’s what the hundreds gathered
came to see. But Russian life is what happens when
you have plans.
It was a cold morning, and I couldn’t wait to be sitting in a warm car. I put my hand out. A small blue car
stops, and at once, as if it is an old friend of the family,
I get into the car without asking or telling. We drive in
silence down Pushkinskaya street towards the shul.
Tonight Yossi is inside the shul, trying to get the
frozen lanterns to start. Outside hundreds are waiting
in the cold. The Russian crane driver is angry and
wants to leave. My fingers are frozen and smell like
gas.
In my haste I have forgotten to set a price. When I try
to pay, my driver refuses to take the amount shown. He
refuses any payment for the ride. I am confused, and it
is too early in the morning to argue. What don’t you
understand? he says. Look at me. I’m a Jew; my name
is Cohen, I should charge a Yeshiva boy to get to shul?
I thanked him and later bought a coke with the money.
I run to see how the lamps are doing, but a short
man stops me. Do you have a shovel? He offers to
clear the snow off the shul stairs. I tell him it is a
good idea, but I can’t help him with a shovel. Do you
remember me? He points to a small blue car. Cohen
has come to celebrate, to be amongst Jews. Cohen
wants to do his part, but he already has. He came.
Snow falls and stays. Flake after flake, the earth
foams with clouded slush. Sincere snow trucks make
rounds. The ice hardens. The sidewalk slips into an
endless street. The venders and beggars surf the cold
with grace.
Now Yossi and Yefim have three lanterns working
in the office. But how can we light only three lamps
on the fifth night? We need a Chanukah miracle, the
miracle of lights.
Tonight is one of those nights when all I want to do
is cuddle up with my cat. But that would be impossible.
First, tonight is the fifth night of Chanukah. Second, I
have no cat.
Tonight hundreds of Russian Jews will publicly celebrate religious freedom. Tonight Kharkov’s Minister
of Religion, Vladimir Voldovsky, will join Kharkov’s
Chief Rabbi, Moshe Moskowitz, for the lighting of the
giant Chanukah Menorah. Tonight we will celebrate the
victory of light over darkness. Or at least w’ell try.
Where did the Menorah come from? Who built it?
Maybe the Maccabees themselves?
Kharkov’s Menorah was created by students, the
first group of Lubavitch students to come to Kharkov.
What do young yeshiva boys know about constructing
a giant Menorah from less than scratch? But I’ll save
that for another story. Like One Hundred Ways to Build
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
The minister speaks a few words in Russian; the
rabbi places the first working lantern, then the second, then the third. He then slowly tries lighting the
fourth and fifth. I close my eyes for the miracle, but
there is none. The music starts to play, and the Jews
dance in the snow. The crane drives off. Minutes
later two lights go out; only one lamp remains shining brightly. I join hands and start to dance, to celebrate, to be amongst Jews. Mr. Cohen smiles and
claps his hands.
It is time to go home. I put my hand out, and a car
stops. We drive a little, and then I look back through
the frosty window and see the miracle of lights.
Seventy years of communism, and one flame still
burns. Russian Jews still know how to dance. And
hitchhiking is still safe. Well, at least tonight.
From Chicken Kiev, by Shmuel Marcus (to purchase the
book email [email protected])
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
A Long Day for Morgenstern
“Don’t even try it, old coot!” The woman in the convertible Cadillac stepped on the gas, thwarting
Morgenstern’s latest attempt to merge into traffic.
“That wasn’t very nice,” muttered Morgenstern. He
had been trying to proceed for ten minutes, but no one
wanted to let an 80 year old man in an old Dodge Dart
in front of them. Eventually a red light stopped the
parade of vehicles long enough for him to edge onto S.
Vicente Boulevard. “Everyone is in such a hurry” he
said as honking and cursing drivers passed him like he
was standing still.
Morgenstern wasn’t having a very good morning. It
was only 10 am, but already he had been yelled at by a
movie producer who didn’t like how long Morgenstern
was taking to order his non-fat latte and nearly run
down by a fast-walking new mom with a jogger
stroller.
Now he was carefully pulling into the library parking lot. A space loomed in front of him. In the moment
it took to put on his turn signal, a car zoomed into the
spot from the other direction. The young man got out of
his BMW and rushed towards the door without a look
back at the white-haired gent he had just cut off.
Inside, Morgenstern mustered up his courage to confront the man. “That was my parking space,” said
Morgenstern. “Bite me,” said the man. Before
Morgenstern could answer, he was gone. Morgenstern
shook his head.
Of course, Morgenstern wasn’t really 80 years old.
He wasn’t even a man. He was an Aklusian. And not
just any Aklusian. A high-ranking Aklusian Planet
Evaluator, sent to Earth to determine if it was a threat
to the Aklusian colony on Mars. So far all signs pointed to “Yes”.
Aklus was a small planet on the other side of the
Milky Way. Over the centuries, the Aklusians had
found it necessary to colonize uninhabited celestial
bodies across the galaxy. One of the most spectacular
colonies was Le Chateau Du Glaxtinshpiel on Mars.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
The gardens alone would leave you breathless.
Obviously you could never see these gardens
because the colony is invisible to the human eye.
Not even an invisible colony can stay hidden for
long. Would-be attackers with the proper instruments could expose Le Chateau in all its glory. The
Aklusians knew it was only a matter of time before
Earth sent another rover to Mars and discovered one
of their Olympic-sized swimming pools or prize
winning rose bushes. If Earthlings were generally a
warring people, they would soon be pointing their
missiles towards the sky.
The best defense is a good offense, so the
Aklusian High Council called upon Morgenstern. If
he found that Earthlings act primarily out of aggression, he would simply sneeze without covering his
nose.
The virus in his sneeze was so lethally concentrated that the entire world population would be dead
in hours. The gardens of Le Chateau Du
Glaxtinshpiel would be safe for future generations to
enjoy.
Morgenstern shuffled up the stairs to the library’s
second floor. He was the best at what he did. He
knew all the warning signs of an angry planet. Yet he
was never one to rush to judgement. The annihilation of a global population was nothing to sneeze at.
He would wait until the end of the day to make his
decision.
He sat down at a computer and punched the word
“peace” into a search engine. The search results
revealed 1587 sites for peace. He then typed the
word “war” and hit the return key. 4221 sites were
found. Not a good sign. A loud voice behind him
made him jump. “Hey Mister, you gonna be there all
day?” He turned to face a teenage boy with pierced
eyebrows. “Yeah you, old guy.” Observing the
actions of a child was one of Morgenstern’s favorite
ways to predict a planet’s future. He suddenly felt
his nose getting itchy.
Morgenstern drummed his fingers on the steering
wheel as he drove towards the ocean. The sky was
alight with streaks of orange and yellow. “Sure is
nice here,” he sighed. In his mind he saw a sprawling invisible Aklusian resort and tennis club atop the
S. Monica mountains.
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Seasons of the soul - eight chanukah stories
A Long Day for Morgenstern
Sarah’s father answered him. “And also to let
everyone who passes by see the light that comes
from freedom, and from truth.
“What truth?”
“That good will always triumph. That light will
always conquer darkness.”
Dusk was approaching. Morgenstern drove slowly,
carefully surveying the suburban neighborhood. Night
was when a creature’s true colors were revealed. If they
were a predatory species, these humans would use the
cover of darkness for their darkest deeds.
Suddenly a flickering light caught his eye.
Morgenstern turned his head. Someone had placed two
lit candles in their front window. A few doors down,
another pair of candles glowed from a mantle next to an
open door. He pulled over to the curb. This hadn’t been
in the scouting report.
He walked gingerly towards the door, keeping an eye
peeled for pit bulls, muggers and mothers pushing jogger strollers. He reached the porch safely and pressed
the doorbell.
A young girl came to the entryway. “Can I help
you?”
“I saw the candles in the window. Are they for decoration?”
“That’s our Menorah. It’s the first night of
Chanukah.”
“Chanukah?”
“The Festival of Lights. It celebrates the Maccabees’
victory over the Greeks.”
“Victory, eh?”
A voice came from inside the house. “Who’s that,
Sarah?”
“A nice man,” said Sarah, smiling. It was the first
smile Morgenstern had received all day.
Her mother came to the door. “Oh hello. Would you
care to join us?”
Two hours, three helpings of brisket and a dozen
latkes later, Morgenstern had heard the whole story of
Judah and the Maccabees. But what interested him the
most was the Menorah. “So you place it near the doorway to publicize the Chanukah miracle?”
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
Morgenstern’s voice grew quiet. “But there’s so
much darkness here.”
Sarah’s dad smiled. “Yes, there is a lot of darkness
in the world, but without darkness there would be
nothing to illuminate. I believe darkness exists only
to be turned into light.”
Morgenstern turned to little Sarah. “What do you
think, Sarah?”
She replied, “Candles are pretty. They’re little
lights of love.”
A sneeze rang out across the table. It was Sarah’s
mom.
“Bless you,” said Morgenstern. He stood up to
leave graciously thanking his hosts.
Just before midnight, a barefoot Morgenstern
stood at the ocean’s shore. The pellet of anti-matter
in his hand would find a wormhole in the sea foam
and expand it long enough for him to make the timeleap safely back to Aklus. He took one last look at
the starry skies of planet Earth and dove into the cold
water.
Ten milliseconds later, he was standing at attention before the Aklusion High Council. Their fearless leader, Gloria, addressed her favorite Planet
Evaluator.
“So, what’s the verdict on these Earth people?
Warmongers or peacemakers?”
“They’re more than peacemakers. They’re lightmakers.” Morgenstern removed his human skinsuit,
saluted and left. He had a date to take his kids to the
invisible zoo.
By Mike Indigin, originally published in Farbrengen
Magazine
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PARSHAH in a nutshell
Mikeitz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
Joseph’s imprisonment finally ends when Pharaoh
dreams of seven fat cows that are swallowed up by
seven lean cows, and of seven fat ears of grain swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams
to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by
seven years of hunger, and advises Pharaoh to store
grain during the plentiful years. Pharaoh appoints
Joseph governor of Egypt. Joseph marries Asenat,
daughter of Potiphar, and they have two sons,
Menasseh and Ephraim.
Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can
be obtained only in Egypt. Ten of Joseph’s brothers
come to Egypt to purchase grain; the youngest,
Benjamin, stays home, for Jacob fears for his safety.
Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him; he accuses them of being spies, insists that
they bring Benjamin to prove that they are who they
say they are, and imprisons Shimon as a hostage.
Later, they discover that the money they paid for their
provisions has been mysteriously returned to them.
Jacob agrees to send Benjamin only after Judah
assumes personal and eternal responsibility for him.
This time Joseph receives them kindly, releases
Shimon, and invites them to an eventful dinner at his
home. But then he plants his silver goblet, purportedly
imbued with magic powers, in Benjamin’s sack. When
the brothers set out for home the next morning they are
pursued, searched, and arrested when the goblet is discovered. Joseph offers to set them free and retain only
Benjamin as his slave.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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In his first dream, Pharaoh sees himself “standing over the
River.”
And, behold, there came up out of the River seven cows,
handsome and fat of flesh; and they fed in the reed
grass.
Mikeitz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
And, behold, seven other cows came up after them out
of the River, ugly and lean of flesh; and stood by the
other cows upon the brink of the River.
And the ugly and lean cows ate up the seven handsome
and fat cows.
“And it came to pass at the end (mikeitz) of two years, and
Pharaoh was dreaming...”
Thirteen years after Joseph’s own dreams got him sold into
slavery, and two years after his interpretation of the Chief
Butler’s and Chief Baker’s dreams failed to get him out of
prison, the saga of Joseph is moved along by another pair of
dreams—these dreamt by Pharaoh the king of Egypt.
Commentary
Pharaoh wakes, but immediately falls asleep to dream again:
Behold, seven ears of grain came up on one stalk, plump
and good. And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted by
the east wind, sprang up after them.
And the seven thin ears devoured the seven plump and
full ears.
prison; that morning, he woke up and remembered it.
AND IT CAME TO PASS...(GENESIS 41:1)
(Midrash HaGadol)
The three Torah sections (Vayeishev, Mikeitz and Vayigash) that relate the
story of Joseph and his brothers... are always read before, during or immediately after the festival of Chanukah.
Since “to everything is its season, and a time for every purpose”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1), certainly the arrangement of the festivals of the year,
which are the “appointed times of G-d” (Leviticus 23:4), as well as the festivals and fasts instituted by the Sages, all have a special connection to the
Torah readings in whose weeks they fall, since everything is masterminded
by G-d. Thus the story of Joseph is destined to be repeated with the royal
Hashmona’i family in the Greek era...
BEHOLD, HE STOOD OVER THE RIVER (41:1)
The wicked see themselves as standing over their gods, as it says, “And
Pharaoh dreamed; and, behold, he stood over the river” (the Nile being the
arch idol of Egypt). But as for the righteous, their G-d stands over them, as
it says (regarding Jacob’s dream), “Behold, G-d stood over him (Genesis
28:13)
(Midrash Rabbah)
THE RIVER (41:1)
(Shaloh)
I.e., the Nile. The verse refers to it as the yeor (lit., “the canal”), because the
whole country was full of artificially constructed canals which the Nile
flows filled with water, since rain does not regularly fall in Egypt.
Every affliction to befall man has a set time to end; as it is written, “An end
He set to darkness, and every limit He investigates” (Job 28:3). This is said
regarding Joseph, who was ten years in prison [when he asked the chief butler to intercede for him] but G-d investigated and saw that it is necessary for
him to be imprisoned for another two years...
(Rashi)
AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THE END OF TWO YEARS (41:1)
“In every sorrow there is profit” (Proverbs 14:23). This, too, is said in
regard to Joseph, who suffered in prison and then profited from it [in
becoming] ruler over Egypt...
Pharaoh saw the cows and sheaves coming out of the River, for sustenance
comes to Egypt only from the Nile, and famine, too, comes only from the
Nile.
(Midrash Rabbah)
(Midrash Tanchuma)
AND HE SENT AND CALLED FOR ALL THE MAGICIANS OF EGYPT, AND ALL HER
WISE MEN... BUT THERE WAS NONE THAT COULD INTERPRET THEM TO
PHARAOH (41:8)
Should it not say, “and Pharaoh dreamed”? But this is to teach us that for
those two years Pharaoh would see this dream each and every night, but
would not remember it, until the time came for Joseph to come out of
There were indeed interpreters of the dreams, but “none that could interpret
them to Pharaoh”—their interpretations were unacceptable to him. They
said: the seven good cows mean that you will beget seven daughters; the
seven ill-favored cows, that you will bury seven daughters; the seven full
ears of grain, that you will conquer seven provinces; the seven thin ears, that
AND PHARAOH WAS DREAMING (41:1)
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The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven
good ears are seven years; the dream is one.
And the seven thin and ill-favored cows that came up
after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears
blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of
famine...
Mikeitz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
None of Pharaoh’s soothsayers can offer a satisfactory interpretation, until the Chief Butler remembers the young Hebrew
slave who so accurately interpreted his and the Chief Baker’s
dreams. So Joseph is summoned from the dungeon to the
palace.
The Rise of Joseph
“I have heard say of you,” says Pharaoh, “that you can understand a dream to interpret it.” “It is not me,” says Joseph. “Gd shall give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”
Pharaoh relates his dreams, and Joseph offers the following
interpretation:
The dream of Pharaoh is one; G-d has declared to
Pharaoh what He is about to do.
Commentary
seven provinces will revolt against you..
(Midrash Rabbah)
THEN SPOKE THE CHIEF BUTLER TO PHARAOH... “THERE WAS THERE WITH
US A LAD, A HEBREW, A SLAVE... AND HE INTERPRETED TO US OUR DREAMS”
(41:9-12)
Accursed are the wicked, for they never do a kindness thoroughly. In mentioning Joseph, the Chief Butler speaks of him in disparaging language: “a
lad”—unwise and unfitted for a high position; “a Hebrew,” who does not
even know our language; “a slave,” and it is written in the bylaws of Egypt
that a slave may neither become a ruler nor dress in princely robes..
(Rashi)
AND IT CAME TO PASS, AS HE INTERPRETED TO US, SO IT WAS: I WAS
(41:13)
RESTORED TO MY OFFICE, AND HE WAS HANGED
Said Rabbi Banaah: There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams in
Jerusalem. Once I dreamt a dream and I went around to all of them and they
all gave different interpretations, and all were fulfilled, thus confirming that
which is said, “All dreams follow the mouth.”
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise after them
seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt...
As for the repetition of the dream to Pharaoh twice: it is
because the thing is fast determined by G-d, and G-d will
shortly bring it to pass.
Joseph proceeds to advise Pharaoh on how to prepare for the
coming events. Pharaoh should “seek out a man, understanding and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt”; this
viceroy should oversee the collection and storage of the surplus food that will be produced in the seven years of plenty,
for use during the years of famine.
“Since G-d has shown you all this,” says Pharaoh to Joseph,
“there is none as understanding and wise as you. You shall be
over my house, and according to your word shall all my people be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than you.”
A woman came to Rabbi Eliezer and said to him: “I saw in a dream that the
loft of the upper story of my house was split open.” “You will conceive a
son,” he told her. She went away and it happened so. Again she dreamed the
same and came and told it to Rabbi Eliezer, who gave her the same interpretation, and it happened so. She dreamed this a third time and repaired to
him but did not find him, so she told her dream to his disciples. “You will
bury your husband,” they told her, and this did happen. Rabbi Eliezer, hearing a cry of wailing, asked what was amiss, whereupon they related to him
what had occurred. “You have killed the man,” he upbraided them. “Is it not
written, ‘And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was’”?
Rabbi Yochanan said: All dreams are dependent on the interpretation given
to them, save a dream about wine. Sometimes a dream of drinking wine
bodes well, and sometimes it spells misfortune. When a scholar drinks, it is
a good sign; when an ignoramus drinks, it spells misfortune.
(Midrash Rabbah)
AND PHARAOH SAID TO JOSEPH: “IN MY DREAM, I AM STANDING ON THE
BANK OF THE RIVER. AND, BEHOLD, THERE COME OUT OF THE RIVER SEVEN
COWS...” (41:17-18)
In contrast, Joseph saw in his dream (recounted in the beginning of the previous Parshah) that, “We were binding sheaves in the field...”
Said Rabbi Eleazar: Whence do we know that all dreams follow the mouth?
Because it says, “And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was.”
Raba said: This is only if the interpretation corresponds to the content of the
dream: for it says, “To each man according to his dream he did interpret.”
Both Pharaoh and Joseph behold the future in their dreams, but with a significant difference. To Pharaoh life is a river, with himself standing on the
riverbank-outside of its flow, a passive bystander to what transpires. To
Joseph life is a field within which he toils, laboring at “binding sheaves”—
gathering its diverse stalks and binding them into an integral whole..
(Talmud, Berachot 55b)
Many are seduced by the enticements of Pharaoic life. “We remember the
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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bread... And all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy
grain; because the famine was so severe in all the earth.”
The Brothers in Egypt
Mikeitz
The Land of Cannan, too, is afflicted by famine. Jacob, hearing that food is to be had in Egypt, sends his ten older sons
there to purchase grain. “But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother,
Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, ‘Lest misfortune
befall him.’”
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
Pharaoh gives Joseph a new name-Tzaphnath Paaneach
(“Decipherer of Secrets”)-and a wife, Asenat, who bears him
two sons: Menasseh (“Forgetting”), so named “because G-d
has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house”;
and Ephraim (“Fruitfulness”), “because G-d has made me
fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Joseph oversees the implementation of his plan, so that when
the years of famine commence, “there was hunger in all the
lands [of the region]; but in all the land of Egypt there was
The brothers arrive in Egypt and come before Joseph; “and
they bowed themselves down before him with their faces to
the ground.” Joseph remembers his dreams.
Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him...
And he made himself strange to them, and spoke harshly
to them; and he said to them, “Where do you come
from?”
Commentary
AND JOSEPH... PASSED THROUGH ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT (41:43-45)
fish that we ate in Egypt for free,” the children of Israel grumbled (Numbers
11:5) when G-d had stripped them of the shackles and security of slavery.
Life is a free lunch in Pharaoh’s Egypt; there are no choices in your life, but
neither is there the anxiety and responsibility they entail. You simply stand
on the riverbank and watch the cows and years follow and consume one
another.
What is the meaning of the verse (Genesis 49:22), said in regard to Joseph,
“The daughters strode upon the ramparts”? As Joseph rode in the chariot
across the land of Egypt, the daughters of Egypt were walking atop the
walls and throwing golden rings to him, hoping that he would look at their
beauty...
Pharaoh’s vision may be every vegetable’s utopia, but there is little satisfaction and no fulfillment in his free fish. It is only in the toilsome labor in
the field of life that the most important freedom of all is to be found: the
freedom to achieve and create.
(from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)
AND ALL THE PLENTY SHALL BE FORGOTTEN IN THE LAND OF EGYPT...
(41:30)
This is the interpretation of the fact that, in the dream, the lean cows (and
ears) swallowed up the fat.
(Rashi)
AND PHARAOH SAID TO JOSEPH...THERE IS NONE AS UNDERSTANDING AND
WISE AS YOU (41:39)
“Understanding” (navon) is one who can deduce one thing from another;
“wise” (chacham) is one who possesses wisdom. A navon who is not a
chacham is like a mighty warrior who is unarmed; a chacham who is not a
navon is like a weakling with armaments; a navon and chacham is a strong
and armed warrior.
(Midrash)
[PHARAOH] MADE HIM TO RIDE IN THE SECOND CHARIOT WHICH HE HAD...
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
(Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer)
AND HE GAVE HIM TO WIFE ASENAT THE DAUGHTER OF POTI-PHERA (41:45)
Most commentaries identify Poti-Phera with Potiphar, Joseph’s former master.
According to a Midrashic account cited by a number of the commentaries,
Asenat was the daughter of Dinah from Shechem. Banished from Jacob’s
house, Asenat wandered to Egypt and was raised by Potiphar and his wife.
When the daughters of Egypt threw their jewelry at Joseph (see above),
Asenat threw a golden amulet which identified her as a granddaughter of
Jacob, and Joseph took her as his wife.
AND [JOSEPH] COLLECTED THE FOOD... THE PRODUCE OF EACH CITY’S SURROUNDING FIELDS HE PLACED WITHIN IT (41:48)
Each part of the land preserves its own produce; one mixes from the local
dust into the grain and this keeps it from spoiling.
(Rashi’s commentary)
Also the produce of man requires some “local dust” as a preservative, lest
it rot.
The greater a person’s achievements, the more susceptible they are to corruption. A fruitful yield in life—material or spiritual—may breed an arrogance that corrodes all that is good and G-dly in it. The solution is a dose of
dust. One who saturates his successes with humility and self-effacement,
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the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no
more.”
Joseph challenges them to prove the truth of their words. “By
the life of Pharaoh,” he swears, “you shall not go out of here
unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you,
and let him fetch your brother, and you shall be kept in
prison, that your words may be proved...”
Mikeitz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
And they said: “From the land of Canaan to buy food...”
And he said to them: “You are spies; to see the nakedness of the land you have come.”
And they said to him: “No, my lord, but to buy food have
your servants come...Your servants are twelve brothers,
the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold,
Commentary
guarantees their preservation as positive and constructive forces in his own
life and the lives of his fellows.
(from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)
AND TO JOSEPH WERE BORN TWO SONS... (41:50)
In galut (exile), a person is deprived of his “home”—of the environment
that preserves his faith, nourishes his growth and spurs his achievements.
But precisely because it deprives him of the support of his natural environment, the state of galut compels the person to turn to the inner reaches of
his soul and extract from there reserves of commitment and determination
never tapped in more tranquil times.
This is one positive function of galut. In addition, exile broadens a person’s
horizons, bringing him in contact with things and circumstances he never
would have encountered at home. Many of these are negative things and circumstances, contrary to the values of his homeland and tradition; but everything in G-d’s world possesses a positive potential. When a person learns to
resist and reject the negative aspects of these alien things, he can then
redeem the “sparks of holiness” they harbor at their core by utilizing their
essence toward good and G-dly ends.
Joseph in Egypt experienced these two stages in the positive exploitation of
galut. In naming his first son Manasseh (“forgetting”), Joseph referred to
his struggles in an environment intent on eradicating all memory of home
and roots, and how his battle against forgetting and disconnection uncovered his deepest potentials. His second son, Ephraim, so named “because Gd has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction,” represents the
second dividend of galut—the manner in which the “land of affliction”
itself is exploited as a source of growth and productivity..
(from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)
AND THE PEOPLE CRIED TO PHARAOH FOR BREAD; AND PHARAOH SAID TO
EGYPT “GO TO JOSEPH; WHAT HE SAYS TO YOU, DO” (41:55)
He throws them all into prison, but three days later he releases all except for Shimon, to be detained until they bring
Benjamin to Egypt.
Remorse
“But we are guilty,” say Joseph’s brothers to each other, when
faced with this new, unexpected trouble, “concerning our
brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he
pleaded to us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress
has come upon us.”
When the famine in Egypt became severe, the Egyptians went to Joseph,
crying, “Give us bread.” “Woe to me that I must feed the uncircumcised,”
he exclaimed; “Go and circumcise yourselves,” he said to them.
So they went to Pharaoh and cried out before him. “Go to Joseph,” he bade
them. “We have gone to him,” they answered, “and he commands us to circumcise ourselves. Did we not tell you originally that he is a Hebrew and it
is not fitting for a Hebrew to wield authority over us?”
“Fools,” said Pharaoh, “did not a herald continually proclaim before him
during the seven years of plenty, ‘A famine is coming, a famine is coming!’
Why then did you not keep in reserve the produce of a year or two?”
Bursting into tears they replied, “Even the grain which we have left at home
has rotted.” “Has no flour been left from yesterday and the day before?” he
asked. “Even the bread in our baskets has gone moldy,” they told him.
“Fools,” he answered. “If the grain rots at his decree, what if he decrees
against us and we die! Go rather to him, and even if he tells you to cut off
something of your flesh, obey him and do all that he bids you.”
(Midrash Rabbah; Rashi)
JACOB SAW THAT THERE WAS GRAIN IN EGYPT. AND JACOB SAID TO HIS SONS:
“WHY SHOULD YOU DISPLAY YOURSELVES?” (42:1)
I.e., why should you give the impression to the children of Ishmael and the
children of Esau that you are sated? For at that time they still had food.
(Rashi)
Our Rabbis have taught: If one journeys from a place where they’re not fasting to a place where they are fasting, he should fast with them... If he forgot and ate and drank, he should not make it public, nor may he indulge in
delicacies, as it is written: “And Jacob said to his sons: ‘Why should you
display yourselves?’”
(Talmud, Taanit 10b)
ALL
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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On the way back to Canaan, one of the brothers discovers
that the money he paid for the grain he bought has been
placed back in his sack; this greatly alarms the brothers, who
worry what new libel is in store for them. (When they reach
home, they all find that their money has likewise been
returned)
Mikeitz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
To which Reuben responds: “Did I not speak to you, saying,
‘Do not sin against the child,’ and you would not hear?
Therefore, behold, his blood is being claimed.”
And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he
spoke to them by an interpreter. And [Joseph] turned
himself about from them, and wept.
Commentary
At first Jacob refuses to let Benjamin go to Egypt. “You have
bereaved me of my children,” he cries. “Joseph is gone, and
Shimon is gone, and you will take Benjamin away...” But
when the food they purchased in Egypt runs out, Judah
makes the following appeal to his father:
“Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we
may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones.
“I will be his guarantor, of my hand shall you claim him;
if I bring him not to you and set him before you, then I
shall be guilty towards you for all eternity.”
Joseph took his cup, struck it, and exclaimed: “You are spies.”
AND JOSEPH’S TEN BROTHERS WENT DOWN TO BUY GRAIN IN EGYPT (42:3)
“We are upright men,” they replied.
Why are they called “Joseph’s brothers” and not “Jacob’s sons”? In the
beginning they did not treat him with brotherly love but sold him; subsequently, however, they regretted it. Every day they would say, “Let us go
and inquire about him and restore him to his father.” And when Jacob bade
them go down to Egypt, they all resolved to show him brotherly love [and
seek to find him].
“So why did you not all enter through one gate?”
(Midrash Rabbah)
BUT BENJAMIN, JOSEPH’S BROTHER, JACOB SENT NOT WITH HIS BRETHREN;
FOR HE SAID, “LEST MISFORTUNE BEFALL HIM” (42:4)
Jacob feared that Rachel’s children were destined to perish on the road. He
said to himself: their mother died on the road; Joseph I sent on the way, and
he never returned; perhaps Benjamin would meet the same fate?
(Midrash HaChefetz)
AND THE SONS OF ISRAEL CAME TO BUY GRAIN, AMONG THOSE THAT CAME...
(42:5)
Joseph knew that his brothers were coming to Egypt. What did he do? He
placed guards at the ten gates of the city and ordered them to record the
names of all who entered. In the evening they brought him their lists. One
read, “Reuben the son of Jacob”; another, “Shimon the son of Jacob,” and
so on. He ordered that all the storehouses be shut down except for one, and
he gave their names to the official in charge of that storehouse, instructing
him: “When these men written down here come, bring them to me.”
Several days passed but they did not come. He sent his men to search for
them and they found them in the street of harlots. What were they doing
there? They thought: “Maybe because Joseph was of handsome appearance
he was set in a [harlot’s] tent.” They were arrested and brought to Joseph.
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
“Our father bade us do so.”
“And what business had you in the street of harlots?”
“We have lost something and were searching for it.”
“I see in my cup that two of you destroyed a great city and that you sold
your brother to Arabs,” he told them.
They were immediately seized with trembling and exclaimed: “We are
twelve.”
“Where then are the other two?”
“One is dead and the other is with our father.”
“Then go and bring him to me.”
He took Shimon and bound him before their eyes, because it was he who
had pushed him into the pit, and separated him from Levi, lest they devise
a plot against him.
Said Shimon to his brothers: “So you did to Joseph, and so you wish to do
to me.”
“What can we do?” they replied. “Are the members of our household to die
of famine?”
“Do as you wish,” he told them. “Now I will see who will put me into
prison.”
Joseph then sent to Pharaoh with the request, “Send me seventy of your
mighty men, for I have found robbers and desire to put them in chains.”
When he sent them, Joseph’s brethren looked to see what he would do.
“Throw this man into prison,” Joseph ordered them. But as they approached
him, Shimon cried out aloud at them; on hearing his voice they fell on their
faces and their teeth were broken...
Now Manasseh was sitting before his father, and his father said to him:
“You rise.” Immediately Manasseh arose, gave him one blow, threw him
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When Joseph arrives at the house,
Mikeitz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
Jacob reluctantly gives his assent, and advises them to take
along a gift for this mysterious stranger who is causing them
so much trouble. The brothers journey to Egypt with
Benjamin.
In Joseph’s House
In contrast to their prior experience, a most genial reception
awaits them in Egypt. Joseph has left instructions that they
be honored with an invitation to his home for the noonday
meal; Shimon is restored to them; and they are told by the
manager of Joseph’s household not to worry about the money
they found in their sacks-”Your money has come to me,” he
reassures them.
Commentary
into prison, and put him in fetters. Said Shimon: “This is a blow from our
family.”
(Midrash Rabbah; Tanchuma)
AND JOSEPH’S BROTHERS CAME, AND BOWED THEMSELVES DOWN BEFORE
AND JOSEPH REMEMBERED THE DREAMS WHICH HE HAD DREAMED
ABOUT THEM, AND HE SAID TO THEM, “YOU ARE SPIES...” (42:6-9)
HIM...
Many of the commentaries raise the question: Why did not Joseph notify his
father, in all these years, that he was alive? Perhaps there was no way he
could have done this in the thirteen years that he was a slave and a prisoner, but certainly it was within his power, as viceroy of Egypt (a position he
assumed nine years before his reunion with his father), to send a message
to Canaan?
Several commentaries cite the Midrash Tanchuma, which describes an
“oath and curse” (cherem) which the nine brothers who sold Joseph pronounced to forbid anyone to reveal their deed to their father. Needing a tenth
participant to effect the cherem (Reuben was not present at the selling of
Joseph), they made G-d a partner to their oath. And G-d collaborated with
them, for the sale of Joseph was integral to His “awesome plot” to bring the
Children of Israel to Egypt. (Rashi explains that this was why Isaac, who,
being a prophet, knew what happened, did not reveal the truth to Jacob, reasoning, “How can I reveal it, if G-d does not wish to reveal it to him?”).
Since disbanding a cherem requires the parties who imposed it, Joseph had
to first reveal himself to his brothers and be reconciled with them.
The “Sages of the Tosafot” commentary also gives the following explanation: Joseph was afraid that if he informed his father of what happened to
him, his brothers would disperse and scatter to the north and to the south out
of shame before their father and fear of Joseph’s vengeance; that would
have spelled the end of the Jewish nation. So Joseph first had to reconcile
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
he asked them of their welfare, and said: “Is your father
well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
And they answered: “Your servant our father is well, he is
still alive.”
He lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his
mother’s son. And he said: “Is this your younger brother,
of whom you spoke to me? ...”
And Joseph made haste, for his affection was kindled
towards his brother; and he sought where to weep. And
he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
And he washed his face, and went out, and restrained
himself, and said: “Set on bread.”
And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who did eat with them, by
themselves; because the Egyptians cannot eat bread with
the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
Joseph astounds them by seating them around the table in the
order of their birth and exhibiting additional knowledge about
himself with them, and convince them and his father that it was all ordained
from Above.
Nachmanides writes:
Joseph had had two dreams — one in which his eleven brothers’ sheaves
bowed to his, and a second dream in which the sun, moon and eleven stars
bowed to him. He knew that they were both ordained to be fulfilled exactly as foretold, and in the order in which the dreams appeared to him..
This explains why Joseph acted as he did. For one might wonder: since
Joseph was already established in Egypt for many years, and was a high
official and a minister there, why did he not send a single letter to his father
to notify him and comfort him? Hebron is just a six-days’ journey from
Egypt! Certainly his father would have ransomed him for any sum of
money. But the dreams dictated that they would bow to him—something
which Joseph understood would take place in Egypt, the place where he was
gaining sovereignty and power. The dreams also dictated that, at first, only
his brothers will bow to him, and that only on a second occasion will his
entire family, including his father and (adoptive mother) Bilhah, do so. Had
Joseph notified his father, Jacob would certainly have immediately come to
him—contrary to how things were ordained in his dreams.s.
So Joseph waited for his brothers to come to Egypt to purchase food. But
when they came and bowed to him there were only ten of them, so he knew
that the first dream had not yet been fulfilled. He therefore had to devise a
ploy that would compel them to bring Benjamin—without revealing his
identity. Only after Benjamin had come and bowed together with his other
brothers could Joseph notify his father and cause the second dream to be
fulfilled as well..
Also the other ploy he devised—by planting the goblet in Benjamin’s
sack—was not to cause them suffering, but to be certain that his brothers
did not harbor any jealousy toward Benjamin because of their father’s preference of him, as they had towards himself. He therefore had to test their
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Canaan; would we then steal out of your lord’s house silver or gold?”
“With whomever of your servants it be found,” they boldly
proclaim, “he shall die; and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”
Mikeitz
Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the
ground, and opened every man his sack.
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
And he searched, and began at the eldest, and ended at
the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
them (which he claims to divine by means of his magic goblet).
They eat and drink together, and Joseph bestows many gifts
on them. In the morning they set out to return to Canaan,
but not before Joseph’s steward, acting on his master’s
instructions, plants the “magic” silver goblet in Benjamin’s
sack.
Soon Joseph’s steward is chasing after them. “Why have you
rewarded evil for good?” he accuses them. “Why, this is [the
goblet] from which my lord drinks, and whereby indeed he
divines. You have done evil in so doing.”
And they said to him: “Why does my lord say these
words? Far be it from your servants to do a thing like
that. Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’
mouths, we brought again to you out of the land of
Commentary
love and devotion towards Benjamin before he could allow him to go with
them.
AND JOSEPH’S BROTHERS CAME, AND BOWED THEMSELVES DOWN BEFORE
HIM... AND [JOSEPH] MADE HIMSELF STRANGE TO THEM... (42:6-7)
This was the moment, foretold by Joseph’s dreams, which his brothers had
resisted and fought against so bitterly. Had they been aware that the person
whom they were bowing to was Joseph, they would have experienced a profound sense of defeat. This is why Joseph did not immediately reveal himself—he could not bring himself to subject them to such humiliation..
(Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev)
JOSEPH RECOGNIZED HIS BROTHERS, BUT THEY DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM
(42:8)
Because when he left them they were already bearded, whilst he had not yet
grown a bread.
(Rashi)
They rent their clothes, and loaded every man his ass,
and returned to the city.
When Joseph confronts them with their deed, Judah says:
“What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak, or
how shall we clear ourselves? G-d has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord’s slaves,
both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.”
To which Joseph responds:
“Far be it from me that I should do such a thing. The
man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my
slave; and as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
And with this test of the brothers’ loyalty the section of
Mikeitz concludes.
They could not understand how Joseph can be a man of the world, a “fortuitous achiever” in commerce and politics, and at the same time remain
completely bound to G-d in his every moment and every endeavor.
(Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi)
AND HE SAID TO THEM: “YOU ARE SPIES” (42:9)
There is a Midrash that says that the brothers plotted to kill Joseph in order
to prevent the birth of Jeroboam ben Nebat—one of the most sinful and
destructive personalities in Jewish history (cf. I Kings ch. 10 ff.)—who was
a descendent of Joseph.
So when Joseph accused them of being spies—an accusation they were
innocent of, but which portended the sin of the “Spies” of which their
descendents would be guilty in the time of Moses—they realized their
error.....
(This also explains why Jacob would not accept Reuben as a guarantor for
Benjamin’s safety, only the guarantorship of Judah. If the brothers were
being made to pay for the sin of the Spies, the only one who could save
them was Judah, since Caleb, the spy from the tribe of Judah, did not join
in the Spies’ conspiracy.)
BUT THEY DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM (42:8)
The brothers could not comprehend Joseph’s manner of serving G-d. Like
their fathers before them, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were
shepherds—a vocation which takes a person far from the tumult and vanities of society to a life of seclusion and communion with nature. As such,
they could turn their backs on the mundane affairs of man, contemplate the
majesty of the Creator, and serve Him with a clear mind and tranquil heart..
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
(Meloh HaOmer)
WE ARE ALL THE SONS OF ONE MAN (42:11)
A spark of prophecy was enkindled in them and they said to him, unwittingly: You and we are the sons of the same man.
(Midrash Rabbah)
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The Midrash says that the reason why the famine was ordained, causing all
the wealth of the world to flow to Egypt, was to bring about the fulfillment
of the Divine promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:14), “And afterwards they
(the children of Israel) will go out (from Egypt) with great wealth.”
Mikeitz
Hence Joseph ordered the money returned to them: why take money from
them, if the money is being collected for them?
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
This is the true meaning of the statement, “Your money has come to me”the money coming to me from all over the world is, in truth, your money.
Commentary
(Rabbi Menachem of Amshinov)
AND HE PUT THEM ALL TOGETHER INTO CUSTODY FOR THREE DAYS (42:17)
Corresponding to the three days in which they had plotted and executed the
destruction of Shechem.
They had convinced the inhabitants of Shechem to circumcise themselves
in order to kill them; Joseph had done the very opposite: he compelled the
Egyptians to circumcise themselves and then proceeded to sustain them and
save their lives.
(Zohar)
AND [JOSEPH] TOOK SHIMON FROM THEM, AND BOUND HIM BEFORE THEIR
(42:24)
“IS YOUR FATHER WELL, THE OLD MAN OF WHOM YOU SPOKE? IS HE STILL
ALIVE?” (43:27-28)
Rabbi Chiyya the Elder (who had moved from Babylonia to the Holy Land)
met a Babylonian and asked him, “How is my father”? Replied he, “Your
mother has inquired about you.” (Thus he gently intimated that Rabbi
Chiyya’s father was dead.)
By the same token, when Joseph asked, “Is your father well?” he was
inquiring after Jacob; “The old man of whom you spoke?” was a reference
to Isaac. To which they replied: “Your servant our father is well, he is still
alive.” (Isaac had died ten years earlier, a year before Joseph was released
from prison).
EYES
Only before their eyes did he bind him; but as soon as they left, he brought
him out, gave him to eat and drink, and bathed and anointed him.
(Midrash Rabbah)
AND JUDAH SAID TO ISRAEL HIS FATHER: “... I SHALL BE GUILTY TOWARDS
YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY” (43:8-9)
A decree of ostracism (nidduy), even if self-imposed, and even if made on
a condition that is not fulfilled, requires absolution. From where is this
derived? From Judah. For it is written, “And Judah said to Israel his father:
‘... If I bring him not to you, and set him before you, then I shall be guilty
towards you for all eternity.’” Because of these words, all through the forty
years that Israel remained in the wilderness Judah’s bones were jolted about
in their coffin, until Moses stood up and supplicated for mercy on his behalf
(despite the fact that Judah did bring back Benjamin alive and well).
(Talmud, Makot 11b)
[AND JOSEPH] SAID TO THE OVERSEER OF HIS HOUSE: “BRING THESE MEN
HOME, AND SLAUGHTER A BEAST, AND MAKE IT READY; FOR THE MEN SHALL
DINE WITH ME AT NOON” (43:16)
“Slaughter a beast”-uncover for them the neck (to show them that it has
been properly slaughtered); “and make it ready”-remove the sciatic nerve in
their presence.
(Midrash Rabbah)
AND HE ENTERED INTO HIS CHAMBER, AND WEPT THERE (43:30)
He wept also after Isaac, whom he did not pay his final kindness.
(Midrash HaChafetz)
THE EGYPTIANS CANNOT EAT BREAD WITH THE HEBREWS, FOR THAT IS AN
EGYPTIANS (43:32)
ABOMINATION TO THE
Because the Hebrews eat the animal (the sheep) which is worshipped by the
Egyptians.
(Onkelus)
AND THEY SAT BEFORE HIM, THE FIRSTBORN ACCORDING TO HIS
BIRTHRIGHT, AND THE YOUNGEST ACCORDING TO HIS YOUTH; AND THE MEN
MARVELED ONE AT ANOTHER (43:33)
When they came to recline [at the meal] he took the cup, struck it, and
declared: “Reuben, Shimon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun are the sons
of one mother. Where are they? Bring them and let them sit together. Dan
and Naftali are the sons of one mother; bring them and let them sit together. Gad and Asher are the sons of one mother; bring them and let them sit
together.” Thus Benjamin was left. Said he: “He is motherless and I am
motherless, so he and I will sit together.”
(Midrash Rabbah; Rashi)
(Talmud, Chulin 91a)
“YOUR MONEY HAS COME TO ME” (43:23)
This seems to be other than the truth, since Joseph had, in fact, returned the
money to them?
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
AND BENJAMIN’S PORTION WAS FIVE TIMES AS MUCH AS ANY OF THEIRS. AND
(43:34)
THEY DRANK AND BECAME INTOXICATED WITH HIM
From the day that Joseph departed from his brothers he did not taste wine,
and they too did not taste wine, until this occasion.
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“BEHOLD, THE MONEY, WHICH WE FOUND IN OUR SACKS’ MOUTHS, WE
CANAAN; WOULD WE THEN
STEAL OUT OF YOUR LORD’S HOUSE SILVER OR GOLD?” (44:8)
BROUGHT AGAIN TO YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF
Mikeitz
This is one of the ten instances of kal vachomer (a priori) arguments to be
found in the Torah.
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Torah Reading for Week of December 21-27, 2003
(Rashi)
AND THE CUP WAS FOUND IN BENJAMIN’S SACK (44:12)
(Talmud, Shabbat 139a)
Why did the brothers, who had no way of knowing that they were united
with their lost brother, drink?
But when they saw that they had no feelings of envy toward Benjamin, who
had received preferential treatment from Joseph, they understood that they
had overcome the root cause of Joseph’s sale and had fully repented their
sin.
When it was thus found they exclaimed to him: “What! You are the thief
and the son of a thief! (i.e., Rachel, who stole Laban’s idols)” To which he
retorted: “Have we a he-goat here? Have we here brothers who sold their
brother!”
AND JUDAH SAID: “...WHAT SHALL WE SPEAK, OR HOW SHALL WE CLEAR OURSELVES? G-D HAS FOUND OUT THE INEQUITY OF YOUR SERVANTS” (44:16)
We know that we have not sinned in this matter, but this has been brought
about by G-d; our Creditor has found from where to exact His debt.
(Rashi)
(Kav Chen)
AND HE COMMANDED THE STEWARD OF HIS HOUSE, SAYING: “... PUT MY CUP,
THE SILVER CUP, IN THE MOUTH OF THE SACK OF THE YOUNGEST” (44:1-2)
Joseph wished to test his brother’s love for Benjamin his brother, to see if
they would be ready to sacrifice themselves for his sake.
(Midrash)
AS SOON AS THE MORNING WAS LIGHT, THE MEN WERE SENT AWAY... (44:3)
A person should always leave the city by ki tov (“because it is good”-a reference to the light of day) and enter it by ki tov, as it is written: “As soon as
the morning was light, the men were sent away.”
(Talmud, Taanit 10b)
There was once a certain innkeeper in the South who used to arise in the
night, put on his clothes and say to his guests, “Arise and go out, for a caravan is passing.” They would go out, whereupon a robber band would fall
upon and kill them, and then enter the inn and share the spoil with him.
On one occasion Rabbi Meir came there and was received as a guest. [The
host] arose, dressed, and said to him, “Arise and go out, as a caravan is passing.” “I have a brother for whom I must remain here and wait,” he
answered. “Where is he?” he asked. “In the Synagogue.” “Tell me his name,
and I will go and call him,” he urged. “His name is Ki Tov,” he replied. The
innkeeper went and spent the whole of the night calling out “Ki Tov!” at the
door of the Synagogue, but none responded. In the morning Rabbi Meir
arose, put his baggage on his ass and was about to go, when the innkeeper
asked him, “Where is your brother? “Behold, here it is,” he told him, “for
it is written (Genesis 1:4), ‘And God saw the light ki tov (“that it was
good”).’”
(Midrash Rabbah)
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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FROM THE CHASSIDIC MASTERS
THE COSMIC FANTASY
A significant part of our Parshah is taken up with a pair
of dreams dreamt by the king of Egypt. These dreams are
actually recounted not once, but three times: first we read
an account of the dreams themselves; then comes a more
detailed version, as we hear them described by Pharaoh to
Joseph; and then comes Joseph’s reply to Pharaoh, in
which he offers his interpretation of the dreams’ various
components.
And these are but the last in a sequence of dreams
detailed by the Torah in the preceding chapters. Joseph is
in Pharaoh’s palace interpreting his dreams because of
another set of dreams, dreamt two years earlier in an
Egyptian prison. Back then, Joseph was incarcerated
together with two of Pharaoh’s ministers, each of whom
had a dream which Joseph successfully interpreted.
And why was Joseph in that Egyptian prison in the first
place? Because eleven years before that, his repeated
retelling of his own two dreams had intensified his brothers’ envy of him, provoking them to sell him into slavery.
Indeed, Joseph carries every detail of his two dreams with
him wherever he goes, and they serve as the basis for his
seemingly strange treatment of his brothers and father
many years later, when he is ruler of Egypt and his brothers come from famine-stricken Canaan to purchase food
(see Nachmanides commentary on Genesis 42:9).
The result of all this dreaming was the Egyptian galut
(exile)—the first galut experienced by the Jewish people
and the source of all their subsequent exiles. The Children
of Israel settled in Egypt, where they were later enslaved
by the Egyptians, and where they deteriorated spiritually
to the extent that, in many respects, they came to resemble their enslavers. When G-d came to redeem them, He
had to “take a nation from the innards of a nation,” entering into the bowels of Egypt to extract His chosen people
from the most depraved society on earth.
In the 3,300 years since, we have undergone many
more centuries of galut, as we came under the hegemony
of Babylonians and Persians, Greeks and Romans,
Christians and Communists. We are still in galut today.
We may be free, on the whole, of the persecutions and
hardships we experienced in earlier generations, but the
Jew is still a stranger in the world, still deprived of the
environment that nurtures his soul and feeds his aspirations. And galut in all its guises, our sages tell us, is the
outgrowth of our first galut in Egypt. Rabbi Schneur
Zalman of Liadi explains that galut was born out of a succession of dreams because galut is the ultimate dream. A
dream is perception without the discipline of reason. Here
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
are all the stimuli and experiences we know from real
life—sights and sounds, thoughts and action, exhilaration and dread. Indeed, everything in a dream is borrowed from our waking lives. But everything is topsyturvy, defying all norms of logic and credulity. In a
dream, a tragedy might be a cause for celebration, a parent might be younger than his child, and a cow may jump
over the moon.
Galut is a dream—a terrible, irrational fantasy embracing the globe and spanning millennia. A dream in which
crime pays, the good die young, and G-d’s chosen people
are slaughtered with impunity. A dream in which what is
right and true is seldom “realistic,” and nonentities such
as “ignorance,” “death” and “evil” are potent forces in
our lives. The surreality of galut pervades our spiritual
lives as well. Only in galut can a person arise in the
morning, purify himself in a mikvah, pray with ecstasy
and devotion, study a chapter of Torah, and then proceed
to the office for a business day of connivance and deceit.
“Hypocrisy” is not an adequate description of this phenomenon—in many cases, his prayer is sincere, and his
love and awe of G-d quite real. But he inhabits the
dream-world of galut, where antitheses coexist and
inconsistencies are the norm.
In the real world, such absurdities were impossible.
When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem and bathed the
world in Divine daylight, no man with a residue of spiritual impurity (tum’ah) could approach G-d until he had
undergone a process of purification. That G-d is the
source of life and that sin (i.e., disconnection from the
Divine) is synonymous with death was no mere conceptual truth, but a fact of life. In the real world that was, and
to which we will awake when the dream of galut will
evaporate, the spiritual laws of reality are as apparent and
as immutable as—indeed more apparent and immutable
than—the physical laws of nature.
However, says the Lubavitcher Rebbe, there is also a
positive side to our present-day hallucinatory existence.
In the real world, a true relationship with G-d can come
only in the context of a life consistently faithful to Him;
in the dreamworld of galut, the imperfect individual can
experience the Divine. In the real world, only the impeccable soul can enter into the Sanctuary of G-d; in the
dreamworld of galut, G-d “resides amongst them, in the
midst of their impurity.”
We daily await the Divine dawn that will dispel the
cosmic fantasy which, for much of our history, has crippled us physically and spiritually. But in the moments
remaining to the dream of galut, let us avail ourselves of
the unique opportunity to be “inconsistent” and “hypocritical” in the positive sense: by overreaching our spiritual capacity, by being and doing more than we are able
by any rational measure of our merit and potential.
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week at a glance
s u n d a y Kislev 19 | December 14
ROSH HASHANAH
OF
CHASSIDISM
On This Date: Passing of Maggid (1772)
Rabbi DovBer, known as "The Maggid of Mezeritch",
was the disciple of, and successor to, the founder of
Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi DovBer
led the Chassidic movement from 1761 until his passing
on Kislev 19, 1772.
Links: Knowledge; www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=58209
The Traveler www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=64417
Ezra, head of the Sanhedrin and the leader of the Jewish
people at the time of the building of the Second Temple,
made an historic address to a three-day assemblage of
Jews in Jerusalem, exhorting them to adhere to the teachings of the Torah and to dissolve their interfaith marriages
(the Jewish people were on the verge of complete assimilation at the time, following their 70-year exile in Babylonia).
Links: a Dialogue on Intermarriage
www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=52730
Tanya published (1796)
The first printing of the "bible of Chassidism", the Tanya, the
magnum opus of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of
Chabad.
Links: The Longer Shorter Way;
Beggars at a Wedding
www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=63843
www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=53104
Lessons in Tanya (includes an English translation of the
Hebrew text plus explanatory commentary in English);
Liberation of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1798)
www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=63852
On the 19th of Kislev of the year 5559 from creation
(1798), Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi -- a leading disciple of Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch (see previous entry)
and the founder of Chabad Chassidism -- was released
from his imprisonment in the Peter-Paul fortress in
Petersburg, where he was held for 52 days on charges
that his teachings threatened the imperial authority of
the Czar. More than a personal liberation, this was a
watershed event in the history of Chassidism heralding
a new era in the revelation of the "inner soul" of Torah,
and is celebrated to this day as "The Rosh Hashanah of
Chassidism."
28 Teachings www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=63852
Links: About Kislev 19
www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=63817
Laws & Customs: "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism";
begin Tanya study cycle
Chassidim joyfully celebrate this day as the Rosh
Hashanah ("new year") of Chassidism (see "On This
Date" above), with farbrengens (Chassidic gatherings)
and an increased commitment to the ways and teachings of Chassidism. Tachnun (supplication) and similar
prayers are omitted. We begin anew the yearly cycle of
the daily study of the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman's
major Chassidic work (as part of the "Chitas" daily study
program.)
Links: The Longer Shorter Way; www.chabad.org/arti-
Liberation of R. Schneur Zalman (1798) [see entry for
Kislev 19]
f r i d a y Kislev 24 | December 19
Kindle one Chanukah light before sunset, followed by
Shabbat lights
The 8-day festival of Chanukah begins tonight. Because of
the prohibition to kindle fire on Shabbat, the first Chanukah
light must be lit before lighting the Shabbat candles, and
must contain enough fuel to burn until 30 minutes after
nightfall.
LIGHT SHABBAT & FESTIVAL CANDLES
BEFORE SUNSET
www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.asp
s h a b b a t Kislev 25 | December 20
1st Day Chanukah
KINDLE
TWO LIGHTS AFTER NIGHTFALL
Torah reading: Vayeishev (Genesis 37:1-40:23)
Haftarah: Roni V'simchi (Zachariah 2)
cle.asp?aid=63843
Today's Tanya Lesson
On This Date: Cain kills Abel (3720 BCE)
www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp
The first murder of history occurred on the 25th of Kislev in
the year 41 from creation (3720 BCE), when Adam and
Eve's eldest son, Cain, killed his younger brother, Abel, as
recounted in the 4th chapter of Genesis.
m o n d a y Kislev 20 | December 15
On This Date: Ezra's address (347 BCE)
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
Link: From the Midrash http://www.chabad.org/magazine/calendar/default.asp?AID=99064#
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week at a glance
end of Shabbat. For instructions on how to light the menorah click here.
Special prayers of thanksgiving -- Hallel (full version), Al
HaNissim, and Ya'aleh V'Yavo -- are added to the daily
prayers and Grace After Meals.
Mishkan completed (1312 BCE)
The vessels, tapestries, wall sections and other components of the Mishkan (the portable sanctuary or
"Tabarnacle" built under Moses' direction to house the
Divine Presence during the Israelites' journeys through
the desert) were completed on the 25th of Kislev in the
year 2449 from creation (1312 BCE). The Mishkan was
not assembled, however, until 3 months later, when,
beginning on Adar 25 of that year, it was erected and
taken down daily for a 7-day "training" period prior to its
dedication on the 1st of Nissan. Our Sages tell us that
the day of Kislev 25 was compensated 12 centuries
later, when the Maccabees dedicated the Holy Temple
on Kislev 25, 3622 (139 BCE -- see below).
Links: The Mishkan described in the Torah and commentaries; http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=2682
from
the
Chassidic
masters
on
the
Mishkan
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=1314
Chanukah miracle (139 BCE)
On the 25th of Kislev in the year 3622 from creation, the
Maccabees liberated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem,
after defeating the vastly more numerous and powerful
armies of the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV, who had
tried to forcefully uproot the beliefs and practices of
Judaism from the people of Israel. The victorious Jews
repaired, cleansed and re-dedicated the Temple to the
service of G-d. But all the Temple's oil had been defiled
by the pagan invader; when they sought to light the
Temple's menorah (candelabra), they found only one
small cruse of ritually pure olive oil. Miraculously, the
one-day supply burned for eight days, until new, pure oil
could be obtained. In commemoration, the Sages instituted the 8-day festival of Chanukah, on which lights are
kindled nightly to recall and publicize the miracle.
It is customary to eat foods fried in oil -- i.e., latkes (potato
cakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts) -- in commemoration of
the miracle of the oil.
It is customary to eat dairy foods in commemoration of the
Judith's heroic deed.
It is customary to play dreidel -- a game played with a spinning top inscribed with the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimmel, Hei
and Shin, which spell the phrase Nes Gadol Hayah Sham,
"a great miracle happened there."
Gifts of Chanukah gelt ("Chanukah money") are given to
children.
Blessing the new month
This Shabbat is Shabbat Mevarchim ("the Shabbat that
blesses" the new month): a special prayer is recited blessing the Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the Month") of upcoming
month of Tevet, which falls on Thursday and Friday of next
week. Prior to the blessing, we announce the precise time
of the new moon's "birth" -- Tuesday night, 6:39:24 pm]
(Jerusalem time). It is a Chabad custom to recite the entire
book of Psalms before morning prayers.
Links: On the Significance of Shabbat Mevarchim
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=54766
Links: A Small Cruse of Oil;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=98991
The Lightness of Being
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99291
s u n d a y Kislev 26 | December 21
2nd day Chanukah
KINDLE
THREE LIGHTS THIS EVENING
On This Date: 2nd day of Chanukah miracle (139 BCE)
R. Chizkia Medini (1904)
Kislev 25 is the yahrtzeit (date of passing) of Rabbi
Chaim Chizkiah Medini (1832-1904), author of the
Halachic encyclopedia Sdei Chemed.
Laws & Customs: Chanukah observances
The Chanukah menorah is kindled each evening with
the number of lights corresponding to the day of
Chanukah that is now beginning (in the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall; this evening, then, commences the 2nd day of Chanukah). Because of the
sacredness of the Shabbat, the menorah lighting this
evening is done after the Havdalah service marking the
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
On the 25th of Kislev in the year 3622 from creation, the
Maccabees liberated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, after
defeating the vastly more numerous and powerful armies of
the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV, who had tried to forcefully uproot the beliefs and practices of Judaism from the
people of Israel. The victorious Jews repaired, cleansed
and re-dedicated the Temple to the service of G-d. But all
the Temple's oil had been defiled by the pagan invader;
when they sought to light the Temple's menorah (candelabra), they found only one small cruse of ritually pure olive
oil. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days,
until new, pure oil could be obtained. In commemoration,
the Sages instituted the 8-day festival of Chanukah, on
which lights are kindled nightly to recall and publicize the
miracle.
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On This Date: 4th day of Chanukah miracle (139 BCE)
[see above]
Laws & Customs: Chanukah observances [see above];
Chanukah gelt
Raavad's passing (1198)
Rabbi Avraham ben David of Posquieres (Provence),
known by the acronym "Raavad", wrote the famed
hagaot critical notations to Maimonides' Mishnah Torah.
Born approximately 1120, he passed away on the 26th
of kislev of the year 4959 from creation (1198).
Link: The Lubavitcher Rebbe's analysis of a famous
dispute between Maimonides and Raavad on the subject of free choice.
It was the custom of the Rebbes of Chabad to distribute
Chanukah Gelt ("Chanukah money") to their children and
other family members on the fourth or fifth night of
Chanukah. More recently, however, the Rebbe encouraged
the giving of Chanukah Gelt on each night of Chanukah.
Links: The Vanishing Flame;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99422
The Eighth Sphere
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99444
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=54492
Laws & Customs: Chanukah observances [see
above]
Links: The Menorah Files;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99419
The Flame http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99442
w e d n e s d a y Kislev 29 | December 24
5th day Chanukah
KINDLE
SIX LIGHTS THIS EVENING
On This Date: 5th day of Chanukah miracle (139 BCE)
[see above];
liberation of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1800)
m o n d a y Kislev 27 | December 22
3rd day Chanukah
KINDLE
FOUR LIGHTS THIS EVENING
On This Date: Flood rains cease (2105 BCE)
The forty days and nights of rainfall which covered the
face of earth with water in Noah's time ended on Kislev
27 of the year 1656 from creation (2105 BCE. The flood
itself lasted a full year, as related in Genesis 6-8).
Links: Chronology of the Flood;
http://www.chabad.org/Magazine/calendar/default.asp?AID=9
9456&refresh=94925#
The Torah's account (Parshat Noach);
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=9168
The 40-Day Mikvah
Two years after his arrest and liberation in 1798 (see entry
for "Kislev 19" and here), Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi
(founder of Chabad, 1745-1812) was arrested a second
time; again, the charges were that his teachings undermined the imperial authority of the Czar. His second incarceration was less severe than the first; yet Chassidim mark
the anniversary of his release on the fifth day of Chanukah
with farbrengens (Chassidic gatherings) and the study of
his teachings.
Laws & Customs: see above
Links: It Should Again See Light;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99423
The Mudswamps of Hella
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99445
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=61320
3rd day of Chanukah miracle (139 BCE) [see
above]
t h u r s d a y Kislev 30 | December 25
6th day of Chanukah; Rosh Chodesh
KINDLE
Laws & Customs: [see above]
Links: Judith; http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99420
The Transparent Body
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99443
T u e s d a y Kislev 28 | December 23
4th day Chanukah
KINDLE
FIVE LIGHTS THIS EVENING
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
SEVEN LIGHTS THIS EVENING
On This Date: 6th day of Chanukah miracle (139 BCE)
[see above]
Laws & Customs: Rosh Chodesh [open];
Today is the first of the two Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the
Month") days for the month of Tevet. (When a month has 30
days, both the last day of the month and the first day of the
following month serve as the following month's Rosh
Chodesh).
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week at a glance
LIGHT SHABBAT CANDLES
BEFORE SUNSET
www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.asp
Special portions are added to the daily prayers: Hallel
(Psalms 113-118) is recited -- in its "partial" form -- following the Shacharit morning prayer, and the Yaaleh
V'yavo prayer is added to the Amidah and to Grace After
Meals; the additional Musaf prayer is said. Tachnun
(confession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted.
Many have the custom to mark Rosh Chodesh with a
festive meal and reduced work activity. The latter custom is prevalent amongst women, who have a special
affinity with Rosh Chodesh -- the month being the feminine aspect of the Jewish Calendar.
Links: The 29th Day;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=2764
The Lunar Files
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=1209
Chanukah observances [see above]
s h a b b a t Tevet 2 | December 27
Torah reading: Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17)
Haftarah: Vaya'as Chiram (I Kings 7:40-50)
On This Date: 8th day of Chanukah miracle (139 BCE)
[see above]
Laws & Customs: Zot Chanukah
The eighth day of Chanukah is also known as Zot
Chanukah (lit., "this is Chanukah"), after the opening words
of the special Chanukah Torah reading for this day
(Leviticus 7:54-8:4). For the deeper significance of this
name, see link to "Accumulating Lights" below. For
Chanukah observances, see text and links for "Kislev 26"
above.
Links: A Long Day for Morgenstern;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99426
Accumulating Lights
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99449
Links: The 5th Night;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99424
Compromise
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99446
f r i d a y Tevet 1 | December 26
7th day of Chanukah; Rosh Chodesh
Kindle eight lights before Shabbat [how to];
On This Date: Esther made Queen (362 BCE)
"And Esther was taken to King Achashverosh, to his
palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet,
in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved
Esther more than all the women, and she won his favor
and kindness more than all the virgins; he placed the
royal crown on her head and made her queen in Vashti's
stead" (Book of Esther 2:16-17). This set the stage for
the miracle of Purim six years later, of the 13th and 14th
of Adar of the year 3504 from creation (356 BCE).
Link: Love in the Ice Age
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=2822
7th day of Chanukah miracle (139 BCE) [see above]
Laws & Customs: Rosh Chodesh [see above];
Chanukah [see above]
Links: Kharkov, 1995;
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99425
The Lamplighter
http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=99447
Seasons of the Soul | Parshah | Week at Glance
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