The Torah Portion of Shemot
Sefer Shemot (The Book of "Names")
This week we are beginning a new Chumash, the second of the five books of the Torah, Sefer Shemot. The Ramban calls Sefer Shemot "The Book of the Redemption", because within it the Redemption from Mitzrayim (Egypt) is discussed. And there are those who call it "The Book of the Wars of Hashem".
"And these are the names of the children of Israel..." (In Hebrew: "V'aileh Shemot B'nei Yisrael" -- the beginning four words of the first verse of the Torah Portion of Shemot, Shemot 1:1)
The letters of the Hebrew words "V'aileh Shemot B'nei Yisrael" are: Vuv Aleph Lamed Hey Shin Mem Vuv Taf Bait Nun Yud Yud Shin Raish Aleph Lamed. These letters, taken in order, are the initial letters (in Hebrew : Roshei Teivot) of the following message in Hebrew: "V'adam A'sher L'omaid H'aseder Sh'naim Mikra V'achad T'argum B'kol N'aim Y'shir Y'chyeh Sh'anim R'abot A'ruchim L'olam". In English, this means "And a man that learns the weekly Torah Portion twice in the Hebrew text and one time in the Aramaic translation with a pleasant voice, singing, will live for many long years forever". (from the Ba'al HaTurim as brought in ancient Chumashim)
"And these are the names of the children of Israel who came..." (In Hebrew: "V'aileh Shemot B'nei Yisrael Habaim" -- the beginning five words of the first verse of the Torah Portion of Shemot, Shemot 1:1)
The last letters of the Hebrew words "V'aileh Shemot B''nei Yisrael Habaim" are Hey, Shin, Yud, Lamed, Mem. These letters spell the word "Tehillim", Psalms. With the book of Tehillim (Psalms), it is possible to get out of all narrow straits, and that is the meaning of the word "Mitzraima". (Note: "Mitzraima" is the next word in this Torah verse. "Mitzraima" literally means, "to Egypt", but the root letters of the word for Egypt are related to the word for "narrow straits"). This is also a hint that for the period of time known as SHOVAVI"M (the time period when the first six Torah portions of the book of Shemot are read), one needs to say a lot of Tehillim (Psalms).
"The Egyptians made the Children of Israel to serve with crushing labor." (Shemot 1:13)
The word for "crushing labor" in Hebrew is "B'parech". The Sages gave an alternative interpretation of the word "B'parech"; that this word is composed of two words "B'peh Rach". In English this literally means "with a gentle mouth", that is to say that the Egyptians at first convinced us to serve them with gentle words. In the beginning the servitude was accepted willingly by the Jews, and afterwards it was forced. As a symbol of that, it was established to eat Maror (Bitter Herbs as exemplified by Romaine Lettuce) on Passover that in the beginning of their growth are sweet and afterwards are bitter. This raises a question, for why was a symbol established to remember a period of time which was gentle, that is to say, when we willingly served? It seems that if we were serving willingly, that was not a difficult decree. And the Katav Sofer explains that when a man is forced to work against his will for someone who was once his friend, this is an extremely difficult situation. For a servant who works for someone who was always his enemy, knows that he is his enemy and that he is enslaved to him. But in the case in which someone behaved toward him with friendliness and love and suddenly changed his heart to become his enemy, and at this time he needs to be enslaved under him, this is a very difficult thing. And therefore the fact that it was at one time with a "gentle mouth", is also a difficult decree.
"And Pharoah's daughter went down to bathe at the river..." (Shemot 2:5)
Teachers of Mussar (Ethics) say that when Pharoah's daughter went down to the river, Moshe's sister certainly thought and prayed that Pharoah's daughter would not see him and was greatly distressed about what would be. And afterwards when Pharoah's daughter took the basket she certainly was already entirely giving up hope and in great fear. And in the end, Pharoah's daughter herself saved him, and from that came the salvation of all of the people of Israel. We see from this that it is impossible to know from where salvation will come.
"...and she sent her maidservant..." (Shemot 2:5)
The word for "her maidservant" in Hebrew is "Amata". This same Hebrew word can alternatively be translated into English as "her arm". Rashi brings an explanation that her forearm lengthened, and it is written in the Midrash that it lengthened by 60 Amot (in English: cubits). It has been asked, if Moshe's basket was so far away in the river, why did she think at all to extend her arm? The explanation is that a man needs to do everything that is within his capability and to rely upon Hashem that He will help him. Similarly, Pharoah's daughter extended her arm and didn't think about how her arm would reach the basket which was far away, and Hashem helped her. [from Teachers of Mussar (Ethics)]
The Torah Portion of Shemot has 124 verses.Haftora: "Haba'im Yashreish" (Yeshayahu 27 until "V'nilkadu", and then we skip to Chapter 29:22-23)
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom.
This is the beginning of the days known as SHOVAVI"M
(Translator's Note: The term SHOVAVI"M is made up of the the initial letters of the names of the Torah Portions for this week and the next several weeks: Shemot, Va'eira, Bo, Beshalach, Yitro, Mishpatim. The initial letters of these Torah Portions are: Shin, Vuv, Bait, Bait, Yud, and Mem, and together those spell the word SHOVAVI"M. The period of time known as SHOVAVI"M is an auspicious time for repentance. Note that the word for repentance in Hebrew is Teshuvah, and the root of this word is linguistically related to the word SHOVAVI"M.)
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
The Torah Portion of Vayechi
"Vayechi Yaakov..." (In English "And Yaakov lived...") (Bereisheet 47:28)
The Hebrew word "Vayechi" has the Gematria (numerical value of the letters) of 34, for the main point of Yaakov's life was when he was together with Yosef, 17 years before the sale of Yosef, and in Mitzayim (Egypt) another 17 years. Together this adds up to 34 which is the Gematria of the word "Vayechi".
"Vayechi..." (In English: "And he lived...") (Bereisheet 47:28)
This Torah Portion speaks of the deaths of Yaakov and Yosef, and in spite of that the Torah Portion is called "Vayechi" ("And he lived"). Similarly, the Torah Portion of "Chayei Sarah" (in English: "The life of Sarah") speaks about the death of righteous people and the Torah Portion is called "Chayei..." ("The life.."). The reason for this is that Tzaddikim (Righteous People), even when they are deceased, are still considered to be alive.
"...And Yisrael strengthened himself and sat up on the bed." (Bereisheet 48:2)
The Baal HaTurim says that it is written about Haman that he "fell on the bed" (Megillat Esther 7:8) and regarding Yaakov it is written "And Yisrael strengthened himself and sat up on the bed". The reason for this is that Tzaddikim (Righteous people), even when they are weak, strengthen themselves as it is written "And Yisrael strengthened himself", and Wicked people, even when they are in their full power fall, as it is stated, "and Haman fell on the bed".
"...May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe..." (Bereisheet 48:20)
Why does every father bless his sons "May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe"? The B'nai Yisachar says that Ephraim didn't hold himself proudly as being superior and act arrogantly toward Menashe, even though he was more important than his brother who was the firstborn. Also, Menashe was not envious of his brother who was younger than him yet had been given more privileges and Yaakov had put his right hand on him. Therefore every father blesses his sons that one of them should not act arrogantly toward the other, nor should one of them be envious of the other.
"...May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe..." (Bereisheet 48:20)
Another reason why the father blesses his sons that they should be like Ephraim and like Menashe, is that they were raised in Mitzrayim (Egypt) which was a place of impurity, and in spite of that they held onto their righteousness. And thus the father blesses his sons that even if G-d forbid his sons will have difficult times, they will strengthen themselves and hold onto their righteousness like Ephraim and Menashe did.
"...By you shall Israel bless saying, 'May G-d make you like...' " (Bereisheet 48:20)
The Baer Yosef asks, what is the meaning of saying "By you"? He explains that this is referring to Yosef, for from Yosef we can learn that even though he was in the lowest of circumstances he was still able to ascend to the highest of heights. Thus every father is able to bless his son that in any situation whatesoever, his son will still be able to ascend to the highest of heights.
"...Which I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow..." (Bereisheet 48:22)
Rashi explains that this refers to wisdom and prayer. Why doesn't Rashi explain this according to the simple meaning of the text, with a sword and with a bow? The reason is that the way of war is to first shoot with an arrow from a distance, and afterwards when one gets closer to the enemy, to fight with a sword. But in this verse it is written in the opposite order, first the sword and then the bow. There are those who explain why prayer is likened to a bow. Just as in the case of a bow, the more that a person draws it closer to himself, the further the arrow goes when it is shot; also in the case of prayer, the more a person has Kavana (intention or concentration) and makes an effort in prayer, the higher the prayer rises in the Upper Realms. Another explanation of "with my sword and with my bow" is that it refers to the war against the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination). First it is necessary to do battle with it from close up because it is is present in your heart, and afterwards to battle it from a distance so that it doesn't get close to you at all.
"...with my sword and with my bow..." (Bereisheet 48:22)
An explanation of this is, with prayer and with requesting. A sword hits immediately and a bow only hits afterwards (because it takes time for the arrow to reach the target). So too it is with prayer. Sometimes a prayer is answered immediately, and sometimes it is answered only after a period of time. In the writings of the Gri'z (the Rav Yitzchak Ze'ev HaLevi Soloveitchek) on the Torah, he clarified that there are two kinds of prayer. The first is the fixed Nusach (version) such as the Shemoneh Esrei which was established by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (Men of the Great Assembly), which has the strength to act and the Segulah (effectiveness) to be accepted like a sword because in and of itself it is sharp like a sword which can kill. The second, is the private request of every single individual. The Segulah (effectiveness) of this type of request being received depends on the strength of the prayer and the righteousness of the individual who is praying, and this is simllar to a bow and arrow, which in and of itself doesn't kill except by means of the man who is drawing the bow.
"...'Gather yourselves and I will tell you what will befall you in the End of Days.' " (Bereisheet 49:1)
The expositors of the Torah say that this comes to teach us that before the end, we need to gather ourselves and be unified and that will bring closer the coming of Mashiach, and that is the explanation of the words "End of Days".
"Yehudah, you, your brothers shall thank..." (Bereisheet 49:8)
The Tirgum Yonatan be Uziel says that he blessed him that the children of Israel would be called by his name, the children of Yehuda (i.e., Yehudim or Jews, based on Yehudah's name). And there are those that add that the sign of a son of Israel is that he always gives thanks to Hashem, and this is the name of Yehuda which is from the word Hebrew word "Hodia" (in English: "thankfulness"), and also he has within his name the letters of the name of Hashem.
"...He stooped down, lied down like a lion...' (Bereisheet 49:9)
There are those that explain that even if a man has all kinds of times and occasionally he is in a situation of stooping down and lying down, a period of decline, G-d forbid, he needs to regard himself as a lion and a strong person, and to strengthten himself in every kind of situation.
"And he saw a pleasant resting place, that it was good...and he bent his shoulder to bear..." (Bereisheet 49:15)
Someone who wants a life of pleasantness and restfulness, should accept upon himself to bear a burden, and should not be strict but rather give in to everyone.
"For Your Salvation do I long, Hashem." (Bereisheet: 49:18)
When it says "For Your Salvation", this apparently means for Hashem to be saved. Since "I am with him in his suffering" (Tehillim 91:15) (that is to say that Hashem is together with us in our suffering), we pray, as it were, for Hashem to be saved, and then we also will be saved speedily in our days, Amen.
"...Pehaps Yosef will hate us..." (Bereisheet 50:15)
The Baal HaTurim says that at the time that they returned from the funeral of Yaakov Avinu, in the middle of the journey Yosef saw the pit which he had been thrown into and said the blessing about Hashem doing a miracle for him at that place. Therefore the brothers were apprehensive that feelings of hatred would be aroused in Yosef about the sale and perhaps he would punish them. Because of that, they said to him afterwards that their father requested that he would forgive them.
"Although you intended me harm, G-d intended it for good..." (Bereisheet 50:20)
This is similar to a case of someone pushing his friend into a pit of mud and dirt, and the person finds a very valuable diamond inside the pit. When he comes up he says to his friend, thank you for throwing me into the pit because I've made a lot of money because of it. So Yosef said to his brothers, you thought to do to me evil, but from that came out a great goodness for all of us. (from Masters of Mussar, ethical teachings)
"...'please forgive the spiteful deed of your brothers and their sin for they have done you evil'...." (Bereisheet 50:18)
Rabeinu Bachya says that when the brothers of Yosef requested forgiveness from him, he didn't answer them explicitly that he forgave them. Rather, he only said to them that they didn't do anything, and that everything was from Heaven. And because Yosef didn't say that he forgave them the children of Israel were punished afterwards with the Eser Harugai Malchut (Ten Martyrs who were killed by the Roman Kings). And this is a lesson for the generations, that when one person asks another for forgiveness he should answer him explicitly that he is forgiven.
The Torah Portion of Vayechi has 85 verses.Haftora: "V'yikrivu Y'mai David" (Malachim 1:2).
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom.
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
The Torah Portion of Vayigash
"And Yehudah approached him and said, 'please...' " (Bereisheet 44:18)
The Alshich HaKodesh asks, what was Yehudah's complaint? Didn't he himself say that all of them would be slaves to Pharoah, so why did he change his mind and complain? All the moreso, Yosef had made it easier for them and said that only Binyamin would be taken as a slave. And the Alshich HaKodesh explains, that in the beginning Yehudah thought that they deserved all the suffering because of the selling of Yosef, but since he saw that the man only wanted to take Binyamin, he therefore decided that this was probably a false charge since Binyamin wasn't involved in the sale, and because of that he came to Yosef with complaints.
"For how can I go up to my father and the youth is not with me..." (Bereisheet 44:34)
There are those that explain this according to Mussar (Ethical Teachings), "how can I go up" after 120 years to Our Father in Heaven to give a judgment and accounting "and the youth is not with me", that is, the days of my youth have not been rectified and I damaged them? And it is necessary to learn from this to be concerned about guarding the days of youth when one is still young and able to correct everything easily.
"...I am Yosef..." (Bereisheet 45:3)
The Chafetz Chaim says that the brothers had many questions about the difficult behavior of Yosef towards them and about the imprisonments, but when he said "I am Yosef" they immediately understood everything that had happened previously. So it will be in the future to come when the Glory of Heaven will be revealed, and the Holy One Blessed Be He will say "I am Hashem", then all of the hardships and sufferings that happened to the people of Israel during all the generations will be immediately understood.
"...I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?..." (Bereisheet 45:3)
It is written in the Midrash Saichel Tov, "Abba Kohen Bardela said 'Woe is us on the Day of Judgment, Woe is us on the Day of Reproof. If in the case of Yosef who was younger than the other brothers, his brothers were not able to answer him; in the future to come when Hashem judges every individual according to his deeds, all the moreso.' " It has been asked, what is the meaning of the words (in the preceding Midrash) "according to his deeds"? The explanation is that when a man will be asked in the Heavenly Court why he didn't give charity, and he will answer that he didn't have enough money, it will be said to him "Behold, for other things and even for inconsequential things you had money to waste, and only for charity not." Or if he will be asked in the Heavenly Court why he didn't learn Torah as much as he should have, and he will answer that he didn't have enough time because he was busy with his work, it will be said to him "Behold, on Shabbos and Yom Tov you had enough free time so why didn't you learn then?" And this is the explanation of "according to his deeds" -- for each and every individual it will be according to his situation and his level. And this is the meaning of the reproof that Yosef said to them "I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?" Behold, they were speaking all the time about their father, so doesn't it seem a strange question to ask them if his father were still alive? The explanation is that Yosef was rebuking them, as if to say, "If you are so worried about Father's welfare, why didn't you worry about him when you sold me, for behold you knew that Father loves me very much? And only now you are worried about him." And there are those that give another explanation, that Yosef thought that it was possible that in truth Yaakov had died, and they only wanted to arouse his mercy on them so that he would release Binyamin, and therefore they told him to release Binyamin because of the suffering of their father. Therefore he said to them, "I am Yosef, now tell me the truth, Is my father still alive?"
"With whomsoever you find your gods, he shall not live..." (Bereisheet 31:32)
The Chafetz Chaim says that Yaakov said to Lavan "WIth whomsoever you find your gods, he shall not live", and because of that Rachel was punished and died on the way. And behold, we see that when Yosef's brothers came from Mitzrayim (Egypt) and told their father that the ruler of the land thought that they were spies and in addition commanded them to bring Binyamin, at that time Yaakov Avinu did not curse the ruler. On the contrary, he commanded to bring him presents, a little bit of honey, etc. And he prayed for them that they would find favor in the eyes of the man. And if Yaakov had brought out from his mouth words of cursing against the man that had spoken to them harshly, he would have killed his son Yosef whom he loved more than all his other sons. From this we see how we need to be careful not to express words of cursing from our mouths.
"And Yaakov said to Pharoah, 'The days of the years of my sojourning have been 130 years, few and bad have been the days of the years of my life...' (Bereisheet 47:9)
There are those that explain that because Yaakov came to Mitzrayim (Egypt) there was a blessing on the Nile River and the famine ceased. And Pharoah saw that Yaakov appeared to be a very old man and worried that he was going to die and the blessing would end, and therefore Pharoah asked Yaakov how many were the days of years of his life. And on this Yaakov answered him that the fact that he appeared old was only because of suffering, but with the help of Hashem he would live more years which would be good, and so it was that he lived another 17 years. [Translator's note: Note that the Gematria of Hebrew word for "good" (that is, "Tov") is 17.]
THE FAST OF THE TENTH OF TEVET
On the eighth day of Tevet, Talmei the king of Yavan (Greece) forced the Sanhedrin to write the Torah in the Greek language and the world was darkened for three days. The ninth of Tevet is the Yahrzheit of Ezra and Nechemia. On the tenth of Tevet the king of Bavel (Babylonia) besieged the city. It is written in the Abudaraham that if the tenth of Tevet fell on the day of Shabbat, they used to fast also on Shabbat, since it it written "specifically on that day". In the Chatam Sofer it is written that every year on the Tenth of Tevet it is judged in Heaven whether the exile will continue or whether the final redemption will come.
The Torah Portion of Vayigash has 106 verses.Haftora: "Vayehi D'var Hashem" (Yechezkel 37).
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom.
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
The Torah Portion of Mikeitz
"And it happened at the end of two years of days..." (Bereisheet 41:1)
The Sages say that in every place where it says "Vayehi" (in English: "And it happened") it is a language of suffering, with only a few exceptions. The reason it uses this language of suffering here is to tell us that if G-d forbid we find ourselves in a time of suffering, then we are advised to fulfill Tz'om (fasting), K'ol (voice), and M'amon (money), since these three words have the Roshei Teivot (initial letters) of Tzadi, Kuf, and Mem, which spell the word "Mikeitz" (the name of this week's Torah Portion, which in English means "at the end of"). Tzom (fasting) refers to Teshuvah (repentance); Kol (voice) refers to Tefillah (prayer); Mamon (money) refers to Tzedakah (charity). And (as it says in the prayers of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) by means Repentance, Prayer, and Charity, the evil decree is removed. And in will be that "at the end of two years of days", in the end, the days will be changed for the good. Mikeitz ("At the end") is a language referring to the endpoint, and "two years" is a language which refers to changing (since the word for two years in Hebrew is similar to the Hebrew word for changing).
"And now let Pharoah seek out a discerning and wise man..." (Bereisheet 41:33)
It is written in the Holy Books that this is not just an instruction to Pharoah on how to prepare himself before the coming of the famine in Mitzrayim (Egypt), but it is a teaching for every man when he is still healthy, Baruch Hashem, and able to open a Gemara and learn and pray, that he needs to be wise and discerning, and to know that today he is in the years of plenty. But also there will arrive for him G-d forbid the years of famine, which are the days of old age. Therefore, he needs to fill for himself treasurehouses by struggling to learn the Torah and doing good deeds now. For the wise man has his eyes in his head to fix this matter at the very beginning. Who is wise? The one who sees the outcome.
"...has given you a hidden treasure...And he brought Shimon out to them." (Bereisheet 43:23)
There is a hint in this verse that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai will reveal a hidden treasure, and this is the Holy Zohar which are the secrets of the Torah.
"And Reuven said to his father , 'You may slay my two sons...' " (Bereisheet 42:37)
The Midrash says that because of these words, Datan and Aviram, who were the descendents of Reuven, died. And from this we see how much we need to be careful about every word that comes out of our mouths.
CHANUKAH
At the end of every Torah Portion, we record the sum of the number of verses that are present in the Torah Portion. But for the Torah Portion of Mikeitz, we also record the sum of the number of words, which are two thousand and twenty-five (2025). The Gr"a explains that this is because the Torah Portion of Mikeitz usually falls during Chanukah, and during Chanukah we light candles for 8 days. The Gematria (numerical value) of the word for candle in Hebrew (Nair) is 250. 8 multiplied by 250 comes out 2000. And the explanation for "25" is that we begin on the 25th of Kislev. So that is why we record the count of the 2025 words (in the Torah Portion of Mikeitz).
"Zot Chanukat HaMizbeiyach" (in English: "This is the dedication of the Altar") (Bamidbar 7:84)
The eighth day of Chanukah is called "Zot Chanukah" (in English: "this is Chanukah"). And even though this is not mentioned by the Rishonim (early Torah scholars), in any event, since it is called that by the majority of Israel, there is certainly a source for that in the words of the Torah. And even moreso, we find that it is mentioned in the Gemora, that is to say, that men spoke about it and there are words of Torah about it in the Shas. And the source of the name is because we read on it the section of Torah which contains the words "Zot Chanukat HaMizbeiyach" (In English: "This is the dedication of the Altar"). And most likely this has a connection to the Holiness of the day. (from R' Tzadok HaCohen of Lublin)
"You push man down until the crushing point..." (Tehillim 90:3)
It is written in Holy Books that Chanukah is the conclusion of Elul and the Days of Awe. And that is hinted at in the verse: "You push man down until the crushing point..." (Tehillim 90:3). The word "Daka" (in English: "the crushing point") has the Gematria (numerical value) of 25. This is a hint to the 25th of Kislev, and the real end is on "Zot Chanukah" which is the conclusion of Chanukah. [Translator's note: "Zot Chanukah" literally means "This is Chanukah". This refers to the last day of Chanukah, on which the Torah Portion containing the phrase "Zot Chanukat Hamizbeiyach" is read.] And a hint to this is the verse "With this Aharon will enter into the Holy Place" (Vayikra 16:3) [Translator's note: that particular verse is a reference to the Kohen Gadol coming into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, and it also contains the Hebrew word "Bazot" which is grammatically related to the Hebrew word "Zot".]
It was often said by our early Rabbis that on Chanukah there is an opportunity to awaken mercy on those who are childless (i.e., to have them blessed with children), similar to Rosh Hashanah. The main matter, the main Segulah (propitious opportunity) is on the last day which is called "Zot Chanukah". (from B'nei Yissachar)
The happiness of Zot Chanukah (the last day of Chanukah) is like that of a Siyum (party made on the completion of a body of learning), the happiness of completing a Mitzvah.
The Torah Portion of Mikeitz has 146 verses, and it has 2025 words.
Haftora: "Rani V'Simchi" (Zecharia 2).
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat and Chanuka. Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah.
"Bnei Vina Y'mai Sh'monah Kavu Shir U'r'nonanim"
("The sons of understanding, eight days, fixed for singing and rejoicing")
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
The Torah Portion of Vayeishev
"And Yaakov dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Yaakov, Yoseph..." (Bereisheet 37:1-2)
The Alshich says that in the land of his fathers sojournings, with all of the chiefs (of Eisav) and also with Eisav, Yaakov was able to manage, and he was in a situation of dwelling with a feeling of being settled and tranquil. But when his sons were not in unison that made him suffer more than anything else, and that began a new situation as described by: "These are the generations of Yaakov, Yoseph."
"..and the pit was empty, there was no water in it." (Bereisheet 37:24)
Rashi says "but there were snakes and scorpions in it". This can be seen by means Roshei Teivot. The Hebrew letters of the words "Ain Bo" (in English: "was not in it") which appear in this verse, are Aleph Yud Nun Beit Vuv. These form the first letters (Roshei Teivot) of the Hebrew words "A'val Y'eish B'o N'achashim V'Akravim" (in English:"but there were snakes as scorpions in it"). The Masters of Mussar (Ethics) explain that water is likened to Torah. And this is the meaning of "there was no water in it": if there is no Torah within a person but he is empty of it, then immediately come the bad Middot (character traits) which are likened to snakes and scorpions. And apparently this presents a difficulty, for if there are snakes and scorpions in the pit, then it is not empty. However, the Gaon HaRav Povorski ztz"l said that the whole purpose of the pit is that it should have water in it, and all the time that it doesn't have water it is thought of as empty even though it has other things in it. And in this way he explained the verse (from Shir HaShirim), "like a slice of pomegranate is your forehead", even the empty ones among you are filled with Mitzvot like a pomegranate. And apparently, if they are full of Mitzvot why are they empty? But the explanation is that it is not sufficient for a man to do Mitzvot, but the Mitzvot need to be his purpose and the main point of his aspirations, so that this can be seen in all his ways and deeds. And if this is not the case, he is called empty even though he is full of Mitzvot.
CHANUKAH
It is written in the Rambam that the Mitzvah of Chanukah is a very beloved Mitzvah, and this language is found only regarding Chanukah.
"And when he tortured it (the people of Israel) so it would increase and so it would spread..." (Shemot 1:12)
The Yavanim (ancient Greeks) wanted to cancel out, in principle, three Mitzvot: the Chodesh (Month), the Shabbat, and Brit Milah (Circumcision). And in Chanukah we find all three of these things, for in Chanukah we have Rosh Chodesh Teivet (the beginning of the Month of Teivet) which is during the days of Chanukah, Shabbat, and the 8 days needed to fulfill the Mitzvah of Circumcision for a boy who is born on the first day of Chanukah.
"There are Yavanim (ancient Greeks) and there are Chashmonayim."
A famous head of a Yeshiva said once at a Chanukah party for students at a Talmud Torah, that in every generation "there are Yavanim and there are Chashmonayim". Those who interfere with the learning of the Torah are the Yavanim in our generation, and you, the young students who are learning Torah, are the Chashmonayim in our generation. You need to strengthen yourselves in the Torah and overcome the evil.
The Torah Portion of Vayeishev has 112 verses. Haftora: "Ko Amar Hashem" (Amos 2).
May you all have a light-filled and happy Shabbat and Chanuka. Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah.
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772
