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
The Torah Portion of Vayishlach
"...I have sojourned with Lavan..." (Bereisheet 32:5)
Rashi explains this to mean that "I kept the 613 commandments", since the Gematria of the Hebrew word "Garti" (in English: "I have sojourned") is 613. This presents a difficulty, since there are many Mitzvot such as the laws relating to a Cohen and the laws related to Leprosy, etc., that Yaakov did not fulflll, so how was it possible for him to say that he observed the 613 Mitzvot? In answer to this, it has been explained in Kiryat Sefer (in the Introduction, Chapter 7), that it is possible for every person to fulfill all the 613 Mitzvot, by means of reading and learning about each and every Mitzvah in the Torah, for learning about the Mitzvot is equivalent to performance of the Mitzvot. This is similar to what is written by the Sifrei (on the Torah Portion of Shalach) about the verse "and you will remember and do all the Mitzvot of Hashem"; from this verse we see that remembrance of the Mitzvah is similar to performing the Mitzvah. That is to say, that by reading about them and accepting upon himself that if he had been commanded to do them he would fulfill them, it's thought of as if he did perform them.
"And Yaakov was very frightened and he was distressed..." (Bereisheet 32:8)
Rashi says that he was frightened that perhaps he would be killed, and he was distressed that perhaps he would kill others. The Sages say that Rebbe Meir is referred to as "others". Since Rebbe Meir came from the Caeser Niron, who was a descendent of Eisav, Yaakov was afraid that he would kill Eisav and Rebbe Meir would not come out from Eisav.
"Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav..." (Bereisheet 32:12)
It is written in the Zohar that someone who prays needs to explicitly specify the matter he is praying about, and the proof is that Yaakov specified "from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav". Even though the Holy One Blessed Be He knows everything, it is still necessary to be explicit.
The Torah Portion of Vayishlach has 145 verses. Haftora: "Chazon Ovadiah" (Ovadiah 1:1 in Trei Eser).
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 Vayeitzei
"...and he took from the stones of the place..." (Bereisheet 28:11)
It is written in the beginning that "he took from the stones of the place", in the plural, and afterwards it is written "..and he took the stone.." (Bereisheet 28:18) in the singular. The reason for this is that the stones began to argue with one another; one said "on me the Tzaddik (Righteous Man) will lay his head", and another one said "on me he will lay it". Immediately the Holy One Blessed Be He made them all into one stone. And the difficulty with this explanation is that also now the head of the Tzaddik would be resting on only one place, and if so, what is the benefit if they are all made into one stone? But the answer is, that if they are united together and there are no arguments, then there will not be any complaints from anyone at all.
"...and He will guard me on this way..." (Bereisheet 28:20)
The Sages say that Yaakov requested from the Holy One Blessed Be He that he should not stumble in the sin of Lashon Hara (forbidden speech). And see the Introduction to the book "Chafetz Chaim", that by sinning in Lashon Hara it is possible to transgress 17 negative commandments, 14 positive commandments, and 3 curses.
"...and she said 'This time I will give thanks to Hashem'; therefore she called his name Yehudah..." (Bereisheet 29:35)
The Sages say that from the Creation of the World there wasn't anyone who thanked Hashem like Leah. And it has been asked, weren't there many Tzaddikim (Righteous People) before her, and certainly they gave thanks to Hashem? The explanation is that Leah wanted to give thanks constantly, and therefore called her son Yehudah, which can be explained as thankfulness without interruption. (Translator's note: The name Yehudah is related to the word for thankfulness in Hebrew.) When she saw Yehudah she immediately began to thank Hashem, and at every time that Yehudah would come and go, and eat and sleep, she would always give thanks.
"...therefore she called his name Yehudah, and she stopped giving birth." (Bereisheet 29:35)
It has been asked, isn't thankfulness a good thing, yet in this verse the meaning seems to be that because she gave thanks to Hashem, she ceased to give birth? The explanation is that everyone needs to give thanks about the past and to pray about the future. Therefore when a man is asked "How are you?", he answers "Baruch Hashem V'yeracham Hashem" (Bless Hashem and may Hashem have mercy). But Leah only gave thanks about the past and didn't request on the future, and therefore she stopped giving birth.
The Torah Portion of Vayeitzei has 148 verses. Haftora: "Vayivrach Yaakov" (Hoshea 12).
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 Toldot
"And these are the generations of Yitzchak, Avraham's son -- Avraham begot Yitzchak." (Bereisheet 25:19)
Why is it necessary to say "Avraham begot Yitzchak", since it was already stated that "these are the generations of Yitzchak, Avraham's son"? Rashi explains that Yitzchak was similar to Avraham in his facial features. And the Abarbanel explains that everything that happened to Avraham happened also to Yitzchak. Both of them took a wife from within their families. Avraham and Yitzchak both suffered with problems of infertility. They both had two children, one of whom was righteous and one of whom was wicked. In both of their times there was a famine; as a result of which Yitzchak went in exile to Gerar and Avraham went in exile to Mitzrayim (Egypt). Both of them said about their wives "she is my sister". Both of them were blessed with many cattle. Both of them dug wells which the Philishtim plugged up.
"...And Yaakov was a man of simplicity (or wholesomeness)..." ( Bereisheet 25:27)
Rashi says that someone who doesn't know how to deceive is called simple (or wholesome). (Translator's note: the word in Hebrew "Tam" can be translated as either simple or wholesome.) Apparently, however, we see that when he was with Lavan, Yaakov knew how to deceive. Rather, Rashi's intention is that someone who doesn't know how to deceive is called simple. In contrast, Yaakov was not "simple", but rather, a man of simplicity (or wholesomeness), who ruled over his simplicity and knew when to be straightforward and when not to. The Masters of Mussar (Ethics) say that Yaakov represents the aspect of Truthfulness, as it is said "Give Truth to Yaakov..." (Micah 7:20), yet we see that several times he acted in a cunning manner: 1) he took the birthright of the firstborn son, 2) he took the blessings, and 3) with Lavan, he used the sticks (to increase his flocks). For we don't know what is "Truthfulness", but the Tzaddik (Righteous Man) knows when to act in a straightforward manner and when to act cunningly.
"And Yitzchak loved Eisav..." (Bereisheet 25:28)
The Gaon R' Yosef Chaim Zonenfeld ztz"l explains why Yaakov is called the "select one of the Patriarchs", in connection to the verse "and Yitzchak loved Eisav". If the Torah writes this verse, that means that the love of Yitzchak for Eisav was a true and recognizable love. In spite of that, when Yaakov and Eisav were going out in the morning, each one went on his path; Yaakov went to serve Hashem by making an effort in Torah and prayer while Eisav went to do evil deeds. In the evening when they returned Yitzchak showed love to Eisav and didn't pay any attention at all to Yaakov, and so it was for the duration of a long period of time. And because of this, Yaakov of necessity would have thought that certainly since Yitzchak was the greatest person of the generation and he gave emotional support only to Eisav, perhaps his (Yaakov's) way of serving Hashem wasn't appropriate. But in any event, he didn't pay attention to that and stayed with strength and persistency on his path, even though he saw that Yitzchak related only to Eisav. Therefore he is called "the select one of the Patriarchs", since he was in a constant state of living with a very difficult challenge, and in spite of it all, he remained steadfast in his wholesomeness.
"...I am sick of my life on account of the daughers of Chait, if Yaakov takes a wife from the daughters of Chait like these, from the daughters of the land, why do I need life?" (Bereisheet 27:46)
Why didn't she say to Yitzchak that Eisav wants to kill Yaakov, like she said to Yaakov? The Ohr HaChaim HaKodesh says that because of the prohibition of Rechilut (Gossip) she gave another reason to Yitzchak, but by revealing it to Yaakov, she fulfilled a Mitzvah (from Vayikra 19:16) of "do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor".
The Torah Portion of Toldot has 106 verses. Haftora: "Masa D'var Hashem" (Malachi 1:1).
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 Chayei Sarah 5773
"...the years of Sarah's life." (Bereisheet 23:1)
Rashi explains that "they were all equal in goodness". And behold, in truth Sarah had much anguish and suffering in her life. Until the aged of 90 she didn't have children, and she was also taken into the house of Pharoah and the house of Avimelech, and she also suffered from famine. And in spite of all that, she accepted everything with love, and that is the explanation of what Rashi said that "they were all equal in goodness". Even the difficult days were thought of in her eyes as good.
"And Avraham was old, coming with days..." (Bereisheet 24:1)
The commentators on the Torah say that he filled all the days of his life with Torah and with Mitzvot, and that Avraham came to the Next World with all the days (of his life), for there was no defect in any of them.
"...and Hashem had blessed Avraham with everything." (Bereisheet 24:1)
What is the blessing to Avraham "with everything"? If it's good for everyone and not just for himself, that was regarded as a blessing by him. (from Mayana Shel Torah)
"...drink and I will also give water to your camels..." (Bereisheet 24:14)
The commentators on the Torah ask, what was so special about that? Behold, also today we see that the daughters of Israel do much kindness similar to that. The explanation is that Eliezer arrived with many servants and Rivkah could have thought to herself that kindness is something that one should do only if it's needed, but in this instance Eleazer, who was very wealthy and also had a lot of servants, why should he bother a small girl of three years old? And even so, Rivkah didn't make any calculations like that and immediately acted kindly. And this is called an act of kindness without any excuses or calculations, because if an opportunity to perform a Mitzvah comes to your hands you shouldn't miss the opportunity because of various answers and excuses. And this is similar to someone who sees a diamond on the ground, that he shouldn't tell someone else to pick it up.
The Torah Portion of Chayei Sarah has 105 verses. Haftora: "V'hamelech David" (Melachim 1:1).
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
