Is Bechirah A Good Thing

The Gemarah Sotah (36b) says באתה דיוקנו של אביו ונראת לו בחלון.  Yosef had a glimpse of Yaakov's face and that is what stopped him from sinning.  If Yosef had an external experience which stopped him from sinning why is he given credit for withstanding the test of Potiphar's wife?  

One approach of some seforim is to say this was not an external revelation of the face of Yaakov being conjured up before him but was a reflection of an internal resolve on the part of Yosef not to sin.  Yosef looked within himself and saw that he bears a resemblance to the holy face of Yaakov, etched on the כסא הכבוד and he realized it is not worth throwing it all away to do a sin.  That is the חלון that Chazal mention, a window can reflect that face of the one who looks into it.  Yosef saw a reflection of his potential face, of the face of kedusha that he will obtain if he refrains from sin.  When Yosef had this thought process, he received the fortitude to abstain from sin (from sefer הגיון לבי.)   

The Sfas Emes (5636) has a chiddush which he uses to explain this problem.  As an introduction, one school of thought (I think the common understand,) is that bechirah is a positive quality of man (as some understand לם אלוקים means,) a reflection of the Godliness within mankind.  Choice is what elevates mankind over animals who act purely based upon instinct.  Mankind is endowed with the girt of choice, one is given the ability to control their natural tendencies and choose a path of action.  The Sfas Emes here says the total opposite is the truth.  In the thought of the Sfas Emes, bechirah is an outgrowth of golus.  "עיקר הגלות הוא תוס' הבחירה כי אם לא הי' הבחירה כלל לאדם הי' ממש בן חורין"  In other words, naturally man should be like a malach, automatically programmed to do the desire of Hashem.  It is the sin of Adam that brings bechirah into the world and man is thrust into a life of choice, a life of distinguishing good from bad, of peeling away layers of falsehood to try to reach the truth.  The Sfas Emes says the test of Yosef was such that it was not humanly possible to overcome.  The only way Yosef was stopped from sinning was "רק ע"י רצון ולב אמת וצדק שיש להצדיק. זוכה שיקחו ממנו הבחירה שיצא מהנסיון. ופי' שיסייענו משמים." a removal of bechirah.  The removal of bechirah from Yosef is a harbinger of the geulah from the golus of Mitzraim and the geulah from all of the goliout which occurs when bitachon is removed.  The Sfas Emes (Bo 5638) says that was the message of bechirah being removed from Pharoah.  The message is that bechirah, the darkness of golus, is also under control of Hashem and can only go so far as Hashem allows it.  The Sfas Emes does not quote this Chazal in this piece but it fits in light of his approach.  Yosef did not have it within himself to withstand sin and indeed it was only through an external removal of his bechirah that he was able to avoid sin (see Sefer שערים אל הפנימיות Chapter 4.)  

See another approach in Likutay Moharan (#72 and volume 2 #150,) I'm not sure what he means. 

Internal Beauty

Zechariah (9:13)  כִּֽי־דָרַ֨כְתִּי לִ֜י יְהוּדָ֗ה קֶשֶׁת מִלֵּ֣אתִי אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְעֽוֹרַרְתִּ֚י בָנַ֙יִךְ֙ צִיּ֔וֹן עַל־בָּנַ֖יִךְ יָוָ֑ן וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְ כְּחֶ֥רֶב גִּבּֽוֹר.  Why are the conquerors of יון referred to as the people of ציון specifically?  The Alshich says since the battle of Chanukah was waged by the Chasmoniam who were the bearers of the Torah which is associated with ציון as in כי מציון תצא תורה.  And it is the Torah which the possuk concludes is the great sword which will be used to smite Javan.  

However, even though the Alshich notes the beginning of the possuk notes Yehuda and Efraim and then continues to the בני ציון indicating a third group, there are seforim that point out a connection between ציון and יוסף.  The word ציון itself can be broken into צ יון in which the צ stands for צדיק, Yosef is called tzaddik.  Closer to the point, the gematria of יוסף and ציון is exactly the same, 156, see much ado about this in Kol Hator.  Why is the power of Yosef used to defeat יון and what is its connection to ציון?  

Yosef is the only man in Chumash described as יפה תואר ויפה מראה.  Rashi tells us in Vayetzeh when the same expression appears in the Torah's description of Rachel, that תאר is צורת הפרצוף and מראה is זיו קלסתר.  In other words, תאר refers to the actually form of the face, how everything comes together to create a beautiful image and מראה refers to the internal shine that radiates of the face.  חכמת אדם תאיר פניו, the face expresses the internal wisdom that exists within the individual.  The תאר is an external beauty but it is even deeper when accompanied by מראה, a reflection of an internal purity. Why is it significant to know that Yosef was handsome and why is he the only man in Chumash given this description?  צִיּוֹן כְּלִילַת יֳפִי or as the possuk (Tehillim 50:2) says מציון מכלל יפי.  Zion is also called יופי, why? 

In its purest form יופי is an expression of the heavenly dimension meeting earth.  Zion is the meeting place of heaven and earth.  Yosef is the midah of yesod, כל כל בשמים ובארץ, the midah which combines heaven and earth.  The beauty is a reflection of the gashmi being used for the proper designated, ruchni purpose.  When the gashmi is inline with the ruchni purpose it was created for the internal purity shines though.  The יופי is not a maaleh on its own accord but is a mirror of the internal beauty of something being used for its designated purpose.     

The Greeks were known for their appreciation of aesthetics.  The beauty of Yefes is meant to adorn the אהלי שם.  It is a means to accentuate the spiritual usage of Shem.  However, they appreciated beauty but not as a means to an end but rather as an end in of itself.  The root of such a mistake shares the same roots as the origins of the sin of idolatry.  They also started with noble intensions to serve Hashem through His messengers but in the end they worshipped the means, they viewed that as an end in its own right an missed the bridge to the connect back to Hashem.  They got stuck in יפה תואר but it was not יפה מראה, there was no reflection of an inner, genuine truth shining through.  (This part is based upon shiurim from Rav Moshe Shhapira.)     

Rav Kook writes (see as an example his letters volume 4) that Zion refers to Yerushalayim as the capital of the nation of Klal Yisrael.  It is the term used to describe the seat of the malchus of Yisrael, of the mundane power of government.  Yerushalayim refers to the place of kedusha, the place of the Mikdash, the place that parallels the spiritual realm above.  That is why, as Rav Kook explains in the letter, he wished to move away from Mizrachi, and Zionism to form דגל ירושלים, a movement devoted to bring kedusha to the settling of Zion.  

This is why Zion is called יופי.  Its יופי is a mirror of the usage of the mundane force of the government body to facilitate the kedusha of Yerushalayim to to shine.  This midah is embodied by Yosef.  It is precisely because Yosef had the capability to live in the depths of Egypt, the טומאת הארץ, that he did not get lost in the externalities of beauty, that he is described as being handsome. 

Of Admitting And Thanking

Harav Hagaon Binyamin Cohen Shlita

In this week’s parashah, Yehudah publicly admits that Tamar was innocent, and as a result, the beis din did not have Tamar executed. This courageous admission of Yehudah’s is what prompted Reuven to make a public admission as well, Chazal say (Makkos 11b). The Midrash teaches that Yehudah’s gevurah in making this admission came from his mother, Leah, who declared when he was born, הַפַּעַם אוֹדֶה אֶת ה'. Yehudah was her fourth child, which was more than she expected to have, and Rashi explains that she gave thanks to Hashem because she felt she had received more than her share. Because she gave thanks, says the Midrash, she merited to have children who were also baalei hoda’ah: Yehudah, who said צָדְקָה מִמֶּנִּי, and Dovid Hamelech, who said הוֹדוּ לַה' כִּי טוֹב.

The connection between Leah’s hoda’ah and that of her descendant, Dovid Hamelech, is obvious. But what connection is there between Leah’s giving thanks to Hashem and Yehudah’s admission of what he had done? How can both Dovid and Yehudah be termed baalei hoda’ah?

Rav Hutner explains that the word hoda’ah has two meanings. It means giving thanks, as in the phrase modeh ani, and it also means admitting, as in the phrases hoda’as baal din, modeh b’miktzas, modeh b’knas. Rav Hutner explains that there’s a connection between giving thanks and admitting. In order to thank someone, you have to admit that you received or benefited from them. Since Leah “admitted” the good Hashem had given her, by giving thanks, she merited to have a son who possessed this middah of hoda’ah and was able to make a difficult admission.

Rav Nosson Wachtfogel expresses a similar idea, using slightly different wording. He explains that when someone gives hoda’ah, he becomes “shuldig” — obligated or indebted to another person. When you thank someone, you are indebted to them, and when you admit that you wronged someone else, you become obligated to them as well.

Now, we find that after Leah gave hoda’ah, she stopped having children, as the passuk says, וַתַּעֲמֹד מִלֶּדֶת. ThTur al haTorah says that because she thanked Hakadosh Baruch Hu for the past but she didn’t daven for the future, to have more children, she stopped having children for a while. It sounds like she was punished — but why? It seems polite not to ask for more! Why would that make her deserving of punishment?

Rav Avraham Erlanger zt”l explains that when we give hoda’ah to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, we are admitting that everything comes from Him, that we need Him, and that on our own we would have nothing. We are utterly dependent on His goodness. Once a person achieves that recognition fully, he automatically turns to Hashem and davens: “I need more, I’m dependent, I can’t go further without You, Hashem.” If a person does not take this next step of davening, then the hoda’ah is incomplete.

This idea can explain why, in Hallel — which is composed of pirkei Tehillim that give thanks to Hakadosh Baruch Hu — we make requests like אָנָּא ה' הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא אָנָּא ה' הַצְלִיחָה נָּא. How do these requests fit into Hallel? The answer is that in Hallel, we thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu and admit that everything comes from Him. Once we recognize that He is the kol yachol and we are utter dependent on Him, then automatically, we are spurred to ask Him to save us and give us hatzlachah.

Every Yom Tov, we know, has its own purpose and goal. Pesach is Zman Cheiruseinu, Shavuos is Zman Mattan Toraseinu, Succos is Zman Simchaseinu, and Chanukah is a time l’hodos u’lehallel. True, we say “Modim” three times a day all year long, but on Chanukah the mitzvas hayom is specifically to give praise and thanks. It’s a time for us to contemplate, acknowledge, and admit to all the good that Hakadosh Baruch Hu does for us personally and for all of Klal Yisrael.

In Al Hanissim, we begin with “Bimei Mattisyahu Kohen Gadol,” but, as Rav Nosson Wachtfogel points out, we don’t follow with any mention of how Mattisyahu and his sons led the battle and won the war. All we say is that when the evil Greek Empire sought to obliterate Torah, Hashem fought on our behalf: רבת את ריבם, דנת את דינם, נקמת את נקמתם. We don’t talk about any people leading or winning the war, because we realize it was all from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. That’s the hallel v’hoda’ah that we give: the realization that everything comes from Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Perhaps this also explains why, in Al Hanissim, we discuss only the war, and we don’t even mention the nes of the pach shemen. The nes of the pach shemen was obviously Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s doing. But we need to stress that the military victory, which could be mistakenly attributed to kochi v’otzem yadi, was also entirely from Hashem. That’s the hoda’ah, the admission and thanks that we’re giving.

A Yid, we know, is called a “Yehudi,” which comes from the root hoda’ah — thanking Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Interpreting the passuk יְהוּדָה אַתָּה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ, in Parashas Vayechi, the Targum Yonasan ben Uziel writes: יְהוּדָה אַנְתְּ אוֹדֵיתָא עַל עוּבְדָא דְתָמָר בְּגִין כֵּן לָךְ יְהוֹדוּן אֲחָךְ וְיִתְקְרוּן יְהוּדָאִין עַל שְׁמָךְ — because you, Yehudah, admitted to your actions in the incident with Tamar, your brothers will acknowledge you as a melech, and Jews will be named after you.

The title “Yehudi,” then, is a reflection of Yehudah’s admission of wrongdoing. We learn from this that the underlying root of giving hoda’ah, thanks, to Hashem is admitting to the good He has done for us.

A Yid recognizes the massive gift that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has given us by separating us from all other nations and choosing us as the am hanivchar. The more we acknowledge our uniqueness, and Hashem’s great kindness in choosing us as His people, the more we’ll be filled with hallel v’hoda’ah to Him. And the more we acknowledge the goodness we receive from Him, the more complete our hoda’ah to Him will be, and that will cause us to experience true inner joy.

The Battle Of The Ego

Why does the story of Yehuda and Tamar interrupt the narrative of Yosef?  The Gemarah Sotah (13a) says כָּל הָעוֹשֶׂה דָּבָר וְלֹא גְּמָרוֹ רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר אַף מוֹרִידִין אוֹתוֹ מִגְּדוּלָּתוֹ דִּכְתִיב וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִיא וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר אַף קוֹבֵר אִשְׁתּוֹ וּבָנָיו דִּכְתִיב וַתָּמׇת בַּת שׁוּעַ אֵשֶׁת יְהוּדָה וְגוֹ׳ וּכְתִיב וַיָּמׇת עֵר וְאוֹנָן.  Why is Yehuda worthy of such punishment, at least he advised not to kill Yosef?  And what is the middah kineged middah?  

The Midrash says that since Yehuda said to Yaakov הכר נא הכתונת בנך היא therefore he was embarrassed by Tamar saying הכר נא למי החתמת והפתילים והמטה.  What is the connection between these two episodes besides the shared words? 

Many books say that the parshiot of Yosef and Yehuda are the two battling over the malchut of Klal Yisrael. 

The yesod of malchut is לית ליה מגרמיה כלום.  Malchut is a reflection of the people.  A melech does not have his own essence, he is a vessel to channel and funnel the light, ideas and opinions of others.

The brothers heard saw Yosef as an egoist who was trying to seize power for himself.  Therefore, they viewed him as unfit and in fact a threat to the malchut and determined to get rid of him.  Yehuda, the melech, should have put a stop to that idea and realizes that their cheshbon was not 100% honest but was tinged by their own jealousy.  However, Yehuda's judgement was clouded by his own ego and therefore he did not entirely halt the effort to do away with Yosef and only stopped him from being killed.  Since Yehuda was not a mere reflection of the truth but he thrust his own self into the equation he lost them malchut (Rashi on Chumash says the brothers demoted him, on the Gemarah he says שמים demoted him, see Maharsha.)  The same type of averah is what his children did.  They did not want to produce children for it was not beneficial for them.  They were continuing in the mistake Yehuda made by selling Yosef (see Maharsha Sotah says they were אוחז מעשה אבותיהם בידיהם, maybe that is the explanation.)  Therefore, Yehuda's children were taken away from him for they were also not acting worthy of their status (based upon Bishveley Haparsha by Rabbi Shmuel Divar.) 

The tikkun of Yehuda was to admit that he impregnated Tamar and face his own personal embarrassment.  He put aside his own chesbon and did what was right.  The הכר נא was giving him the opportunity to correct the הכר נא he said to Yaakov.  In the first instance, he let his own well-being get the better of himself but the second time he put himself aside before others.  Furthermore, the very items that הכר נא was about allude to this tikkun. The garment which Yaakov was told הכר נא was the כתונת פסים which was a symbol of the malchut of Yosef.  The brothers tried to rip away any claim of Yosef to the malchut and they removed his כתונת פסים.  The siman of Yehuda's malchus was in his חותם, פתיל ומטה (see Ramban,) and he had to literally take back his malchut by nullifying himself for someone else (based upon Birchat Yitzchak.) 

The malchus comes from Yehuda for the Yehuda recognized his mission to be nullyified before others.  That is why his name is made of the name of Hashem plus a ד which stands for דל for he recognizes that he has nothing and everything is from Hashem.  That is part of the celebration of Chanukah.  Even as we feel uplifted with הלל, at the same time it comes with הודאה, the acknowledgement that the celebration is not due to our own accomplishments but due to Hashem allowing us to be victorious (based upon Or Gedalyahu Chanukah oas 13.)

The Holy Mission

Rashi brings from Chazal that what stopped Yosef from sin was the דמות דיוקנו של אביו.  The Maggid (who's yom hilulah was this week, יט כסלו, says it means that Yosef saved himself by looking at the source of his desire for אשת פוטיפר and that was the middah of teferes, the middah of Yaakov.  This is a manner advised by the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid to resist physical temptations is instead to put one's focus on its source, where it is rooted in holiness and that will remove one's temptation for the sin.  The Tanya  (Ch. 28) says this method is not for 'regular people' who this will not help for but only need them to sin, this method is only for tzaddikim.  This was not a one time event where Yosef used this mindset to get through the situation but it was his mindset for his life.  How did he survive all the terrible events that occurred to him, from bad to worse, from being sold by his brothers as a slave, to being thrown in jail?  How could he have not sought revenge when the opportunity arose?  Because he understood that everything came from a place of kedusha.  He did not view it as a descent into a abyss but instead saw it all as part of a holy mission.  That lesson is indeed even for the 'regular people.' 

דמות דיוקנו של אביו

From the Mir parsha sheet from the Mashgiach, Rav Chadash zatza"l.

איתא בגמ' (יומא ל"ה:) ת"ר עני ועשיר ורשע באין לדין: לעני אומרים לו מפני מה לא עסקת בתורה, אם אומר עני הייתי וטרוד במזונותי, אומרים לו כלום עני היית יותר מהלל. אמרו עליו על הלל הזקן שבכל יום ויום היה עושה ומשתכר בטרפעיק, חציו היה נותן לשומר בית המדרש וחציו לפרנסתו ולפרנסת אנשי ביתו, פעם אחת לא מצא להשתכר ולא הניחו שומר בית המדרש להיכנס, עלה ונתלה וישב על פי ארובה כדי שישמע דברי אלוקים חיים מפי שמעיה ואבטליון וכו', עשיר אומרים לו מפני מה לא עסקת בתורה, אם אומר עשיר הייתי וטרוד הייתי בנכסי, אומרים לו כלום עשיר היית יותר מרבי אלעזר, אמרו עליו על רבי אלעזר בן חרסום שהניח לו אביו אלף עיירות ביבשה וכנגדן אלף ספינות בים, ובכל יום ויום נוטל נאד של קמח על כתיפו ומהלך מעיר לעיר וממדינה למדינה ללמוד תורה וכו. רשע אומרים לו מפני מה לא עסקת בתורה, אם אומר נאה הייתי וטרוד ביצרי, אומרים לו כלום נאה היית יותר מיוסף, אמרו עליו על יוסף הצדיק בכל יום ויום היתה אשת פוטיפר משדלתו בדברים וכו'. נמצא הלל מחייב את העניים, רבי אלעזר בן חרסום מחייב את העשירים, יוסף מחייב את הרשעים.

למדים אנו מכאן שאין הקב"ה בא בטרוניא עם בריותיו ואינו שואל את הרשע 'מדוע הינך רשע', אלא שואל אותו הקב"ה 'למה לא עסקת בתורה'? וכלום יתכן שאין טרוניא על הרשע מדוע הוא רשע? אלא ע"כ הכוונה היא שאם היה לומד תורה כראוי לא היה רשע.

ובילקוט שמעוני (בפרשתנו רמז קמ"ה): מטרונא שאלה לר' יוסי אפשר יוסף בן י"ז שנה היה עומד בכל חומו ולא היה עושה את הדבר הזה? הביא לפניה ספר בראשית התחיל קורא מעשה ראובן ומעשה יהודה ותמר, א"ל ומה אלו שהם גדולים וברשות אביהם ולא כיסה עליהם הכתוב, זה שהיה קטן וברשות עצמו על אחת כמה וכמה.

וכתוב בפסוק (לט,ו) "ויהי יוסף יפה תואר ויפה מראה", ופירש רש"י: כיון שראה עצמו מושל התחיל אוכל ושותה ומסלסל בשערו, אמר הקב"ה אביך מתאבל ואתה מסלסל בשערך מגרה אני בך את הדב, מיד "ותשא אשת אדוניו".

ועל הפסוק "ויהי כהיום הזה ויבא הביתה לעשות מלאכתו" מפרש רש"י רב ושמואל חד אמר מלאכתו ממש, וחד אמר לעשות צרכיו עמה אלא שנראית לו דמות דיוקנו של אביו.

ובילקוט (בפרשתנו קמ"ו): נראה לו דמות דיוקנו של אביו אמר: יוסף עתידין אחיך שיכתבו על אבני האפוד ואתה עמהם, רצונך שימחק שמך מביניהם ותקרא "ורועה זונות יאבד הון" (משלי כ"ט), מיד "ותשב באיתן קשתו" וכו'.

ועוד איתא שם: "ולא שמע אליה" אמר רבי: שמע לה, אלא שהביא הקב"ה איקונין של אביו ונתבייש וברח. פעם שניה נכנס, נטל הקב"ה אבן שתיה א"ל אם תגע בה הריני משליכו ואחריב את העולם, הה"ד "ויפוזו זרועי ידיו מידי אביר יעקב משם רועה אבן ישראל".

ולכאורה קשה איך אומרים לרשע "כלום נאה היית יותר מיוסף", וכי אפשר להשוות רשע זה הנאה וטרוד ביצרו שגובר עליו ליוסף שניצל משום שהיתה לו דמות דיוקנו של אביו, ומפני שנטל הקב"ה את אבן השתיה ואיים להחריב את העולם?

אלא שלימדתנו התורה שכל אחד ואחד צריך תמיד להיות נגד עיניו את דמות דיוקנו של אביו או דמות דיוקנו של רבו שלמדו תורה הנחשב כאביו, ועי"ז האדם יוצר לעצמו דמות דיוקן אשר תשמור עליו מן היצר הרע ומן החטא.

Your Kodesh Kodashim

Why did the only jug of oil found have to be sealed by the Kohan Gadol? The Maharal explains out that the numerical value of the word היכל is 65 and יון is 66 because יון was able to win against the power of kedusha.  However, in the word היכל there is a צירי which is like a hidden י.  That represents the hidden kedusha found deeper than the היכל and that is the kodesh kadashim.  The Kohan Gadol is able to tap into the power of the kodesh kadoshim as he can enter there.  That is why the numerical value of כהן is 75, 10 more than 65 because the כהן has the kedusha of the hidden י, a number that represents kedusha and that hidden level is inaccessible to the Greeks.  That is why what was found was a jug of oil with the Kohan Gadol's seal for that was the power that the Greeks could not defeat.  

What does it mean that the Greeks were able to win over the level of היכל but not over the kodesh kadoshim?  Although the היכל is kodesh, it is an outer layer of kedusha.  It represents the kedusha that a person acquires through learning Torah, doing mitzvot etc.  In Kabbalistic jargon, it is the לבושין of a person.  On this level יון is able to win.  The counter to such kedusha is the external beauty of the Greeks.  The Greeks appreciated aesthetics, they also agreed that לבושין are very important.  However, they replaced the לבושין of kedusha with that of tumah.  However, the innate kedusha that exists within a person, the kodesh kedoshim, the חכמה שבנפש is not something the Greeks could match up against.  They have no counter for this level of kedeusha.  The kodesh kodashim of the soul cannot be blackened out by the tumah of יון.  The Sfas Emes shtelztzu the Gemorah in Pesachim (7b) חיפוש מחיפוש וחיפוש מנרות ונרות מנר that the ner Chanukah can seek out the depths of the soul and bring it forth.  The ner Chanukah has a magnetic pull to bring out the kodesh kodashim of the person.  With this idea we can understand why Hashem made a miracle that the menorah should last.  Why the need for the miracle?  The numerical value of the name of אדנות is also 65.  The name of אדנות is used outside the Mikdash, where there is a covering up of  kedusha.  On that level יון was able to win.  However, when one taps into the kodesh kodashim, מקום ארון אינו מן המדה, there are no boundaries and hence miracles happen.  The miracle came to signify that how the miracle happened by tapping into the power of the kodesh kodashim.  (That is why the miracle started on the 26th day of כסלו, for it is connected to the name of הויה  above nature.)   

 In Megillas Taanis it says ומה ראו לעשות חנוכה שמונה ימים, והלא חנוכה שעשה משה במדבר לא עשה אלא שבעה ימים, שנאמר (ויקרא ח, לג): "וּמִפֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֹא תֵצְאוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים וְגוֹ'", ואומר: (במדבר ז, יב): "וַיְהִי הַמַּקְרִיב בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן אֶת קָרְבָּנוֹ וְגוֹ'", ובשביעי הקריב אפרים. וכן מצינו בחנוכה שעשה שלמה, שלא עשה אלא שבעת ימים, שנאמר: (דה"ב ז, ט): "כִּי חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ עָשׂוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, וְהֶחָג שִׁבְעַת יָמִים". מה ראו לעשות חנוכה זו שמונה ימים? אלא – בימי מלכות יון נכנסו בני חשמונאי להיכל, ובנו את המזבח, ושׂדוהו בשׂיד ותקנו בו כלי שרת והיו מתעסקין בו שמונה ימים.  It says that the holiday is 8 days because that was the length of time it took to do the חנוכת הבית.  (This answers the question of the Beis Yosef.)  The היכל had to be repaired from the damage of יון.  We celebrate restoring the kedusha to its place, understanding what are proper לבושין (see more about this here.)  

וַתִּתְפְּשֵׂ֧הוּ בְּבִגְד֛וֹ לֵאמֹ֖ר שִׁכְבָ֣ה עִמִּ֑י וַיַּעֲזֹ֤ב בִּגְדוֹ֙ בְּיָדָ֔הּ וַיָּ֖נׇס וַיֵּצֵ֥א הַחֽוּצָה.  Yosef was grabbed by his בגדים, his external garments.  Sunk into the tumah of Egypt, there was a chink in the armor.  However, when the need arose, he shed the external garments that had been infiltrated by Egyptian culture (see Divrei Yechezkal,) and was able to connect with his own kodesh kadoshim (see also Sichos HaRan #101.)   

Window Of Opportunity

In his formidable adolescent years, Yosef in thrust into a pit, soled into slavery, tempted by his master's wife, thrown into jail  and endures plenty of other hardships.  After such events, one would expect Yosef to become jaded with life.  However, we don't see that at all, quite the contrary, he remains faithful to his family and never shows any signs of depression.  How was Yosef able to maintain his feelings for life after going through such hard times?

The Gemorah in Sanhedrin (99b) says ת"ר (במדבר טו, ל) והנפש אשר תעשה ביד רמה זה מנשה בן חזקיה שהיה יושב ודורש בהגדות של דופי אמר וכי לא היה לו למשה לכתוב אלא (בראשית לו, כב) ואחות לוטן תמנע ותמנע היתה פלגש לאליפז (בראשית ל, יד).  Why is it this possuk specifically that he makes fun of, there are plenty of pessukim of names at the end of Vayishlach?

The Meor Einayim explains that there is a specific message in this possuk that Menashe picked up on and was bothered by.  He says that תמנע is related to the word מניעה, if a person says that I can't keep the Torah because I have too many difficulties, that is a פלגש לאלפז, it is just an opening to the evil forces.  Menashe felt that his many מניעות were indeed an excuse for his evil actions.  Hence, he was very bothered by this possuk.  He is mistaken, says the Meor Einayim, for the מניעות aren't there to derail a person, they are there to bring the person even closer to Hashem.  The extra effort isn't meant as a deterrent, its meant to raise a person's commitment to Hashem,.  It is up to the individual to see the window of opportunity that God is opening up for him/her.  As someone once said, "when God closes a door he opens a window."

When Yosef is talking to his brothers Vayigash (45:5,) he says וְעַתָּה אַל תֵּעָצְבוּ וְאַל יִחַר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם כִּי מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי לְמִחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי אלקים לפניכם.  He views his journeys in Egypt not as a slave sentence placed upon him because of his brothers actions, he views it as a mission of Hashem, as a שליחות.  Yosef understood that all the roadblocks placed in his path weren't there to derail him from being Yosef Hatzaddik, it was to make him into Yosef Hatzaddik.  It was this attitude that gave Yosef the power to survive through all of his journeys. 

Zerach And Peretz: Two Types Of Tzaddikim

The possuk (38:30) says  וְאַחַר֙ יָצָ֣א אָחִ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־יָד֖וֹ הַשָּׁנִ֑י וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ זָֽרַח.  Rashi says אשר על ידו השני – ארבע ידות נכתבו כאן, כנגד ארבעה חרמים שמעל עכן שיצא ממנו.  Why would the possuk hint to the sins of עכן, the descendant of זרח, right as זרח is born?!  Says the Maharal (its based upon the Ramban): כנגד ד׳ חרמות. בב״ר (פה, יד.). ואם תאמר ומאי בא לרמוז כאן ענין עכן שמעל בד׳ חרמות, ויש לך לדעת כי לא היו אלו הבנים - בנים דעלמא, אבל היו בנים נולדו בגזירת השם יתברך, ויש בהם דברים נעלמים המורים על עניניהם, והיה ראוי להיות מן פרץ מלכות בית דוד ומן זרח מצד עצמו ראוי לצאת ממנו עכן שמעל בחרמות, ושינוי תולדה בזרח מורה זה, כי היה חידוש שיוציא העובר את ידו ולהשיבה, וזה מורה על עניני הבנים מה שהיה בעצמות כל אחד ואחד מן הבנים. וענין זה דבר גדול כי האחד שהוא פרץ - ממנו המלכות, שהמלך מושל לוקח במשפט, כמו שכתוב בפרשת המלך, והשני גם כן לוקח בכח היד, אבל הוא מעילה במה שאסור לו. כי שני הבנים פרץ וזרח דומים ללבנה וחמה, ששניהם הם מושלים ומלכים בעולם, וכל מלך פורץ גדר לעשות לו דרך במשפט (סנהדרין כ ע״ב), אבל אינו פושט יד ולוקח דבר שאינו שלו בממשלת יתירה. ולכך ישראל מונים לירח המאור הקטן, וזכה פרץ להיות ממנו מלכות בית דוד, ופורץ גדר לעשות לו דרך ויצא תחלה. אבל זרח הוא כנגד החמה, שגם הוא מלך, ופושט יד ביותר לתקפו יותר מן הראוי למלך, ולכך אין ראוי למלך, ויצא ממנו עכן פושט יד ליקח שאינו ראוי לו מועל בחרמות, וזה היה מורה מה שנתן יד לפשוט בדבר שאינו ראוי לו. ומפני שכח זה הוא לו מן השמש, שהרי נקרא ״זרח״ על שם זריחת השמש (רמב״ן פסוק כט), מעל בד׳ חרמות, נגד כח השמש שנתלה ביום הרביעי (לעיל א, יז). ובפרק נגמר הדין (סנהדרין מג ע״ב) סבירא ליה למאן דאמר בג׳ חרמים מעל ולמאן דאמר בה׳ חרמים - ד׳ בימי משה ואחד בימי יהושע, נטה רש״י אחר ב״ר (פה, יד) מפני שהוא יותר מסתבר, שכן מצאנו שהיה גם כן ד׳ דברים שמעל בימי יהושע, ועיין בב״ר, והטעם מבואר למעלה. ויש לומר עוד בב״ר לא חשיב רק אותם שהיו בימי משה, כי אותו שהיה בימי יהושע שקול בעצמו כארבע, שהיו בו ד׳ דברים, ועיין שם בב״ר:

What does this mean?  Zerech is like the sun, it constantly gives the same amount of light and doesn't change.  This is the way of the straight path of the tzaddik, he constantly remains faithful to his Creator and doesn't deviate.  However, ultimately this isn't the greatest power.  It is the בעלי תשובה that rise above the tzaddikim.  That is Peretz, he is connected to the moon that waxes and wanes, he has high points but also stumbles and has to get up again.  This is the path that Mosiach will teach.  מלך פורץ לו גדר, even after the fence is broken, he teaches the path of teshuva.  Zerach attempts to mimic this path and that is why Zerach tries to get out before Peretz.  That was the intent of Achan as well.  However, it is Zerach's job to be the straight tzaddik.  It isn't in his DNA to be able to to sin and overcome it.  That is the job of Peretz and that is why Mosiach will descend from him for it is only in his capability to be able to return all those that have gone wayward (based upon Rav Tzvi Einfeld and Likutay Sichos volume 30.)

The Soul Of The Sole

Hashem tells Moshe to take off his shoes because he is standing upon holy ground.  Why must one remove their shoes to walk on holy ground?  The siddur of the Shla asks why is the morning blessing of שעשה לי כל צורכי referring to wearing shoes, where is the reference to shoes?  He explains that shoes are generally made from animal skin and therefore by wearing them man shows his dominance over even the highest of all creatures.  כל צורכי means that he has placed me above everything else.  Therefore, the Be’ar Yosef says, when one is standing in front of Hashem, one must be humbled before Him and can't show his dominance over anything. 

The Bechai (see also Kli Yakar and Nitziv) explain that removing one’s shoes is symbolic of removing one’s self from physicality. The Ruch Chayim at the beginning of Pirkai Avos says that the shoe is representative of the body of the person.  Just like the shoe holds only the very end of a person so too the body only contains the lower levels of the neshama.  This idea is the reason for chalitzah where the shoe represents the body of the dead brother (see the Zohar by chalitza.)  [The Zohar may even have an application in halacha, the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch rule that after untying the shoe it should be thrown to the ground and the Gra cites this Zohar as the source to demonstrate that the body is settled in the ground and the neshama is released.] 

The haftora of Vayeshev tells us that the brothers sold Yosef for shoes.  Where the brothers walking barefoot and figured let’s sell our brother to purchase shoes?  Explains the Oftrasfe Gaon that Yosef is the middah of yesod, he is the one ring that binds all the brothers together.  Before the sale, kedusha was present with the unity of the brothers, wherever they walked it was admas kodesh, however after the sale the kedusha evaporated now that Yosef was gone, and they could wear shoes. (I do believe this is in a spiritual sense, not that they went barefoot.)  [See Eretz Tzvi explains that the debate between Yosef and the brothers was that Yosef held one must purify the body as well, so one has no evil urge.  The brothers held it was better to have a yetzer harah and conquer it (see there how he reads this into their debate.)  Now based upon the Zohar we understand that by getting rid of Yosef the brothers could follow their view of having a physical body separate from the neshama, that is represented by the shoes.  This idea could be the explanation of the Gur Aryeh in Devarim (8:5) who writes that clothes are called מאני דמכבדותא by the Gemorah but shoes aren’t.  What’s the difference, why are shoes worse than clothing? Based upon these sources we can suggest that clothes are the garments (כמו שנקרא בלשון הקבלה לבושין,) the expressions of the soul.  Shoes however, function just to protect the physical, coarse body.

The Shem M'Shmuel has a slightly different approach.  In his view the ground is this lowly world and it is the shoes that connect the ground to the person that reaches towards the heaven.  The removal of the shoe in the chalitzah process represents removing any connection the dead brother has to this world and allows his neshama to go up to its proper place.  Chazal say that on every stitch of making shoes, Chanoch was miyachid yechudim.  Why do we have to know he was a shoemaker, just tell us in all his endeavors he had lofty intents (ואכמ"ל  about what the Michtav MeEliyahu cites from Rav Yisroel Salenter about this and the letter of the Mictav’s son-in-law.) The shoemaking is symbolic of his capabilities to unite the lower and upper worlds.  Chazal are mentioning that he was a shomaker for that is part of the description of what he was accomplishing.

Based upon what the Shem M'Shmuel, we can understand the Bechai in a different light.  For a regular person one must have shoes to join the spirituality of the person to the physical ground and elevate it.  However, Moshe Rabbenu was completely above the physical realm and had to remove his shoes (Eyun Haparsha.)

There is a Zohar cited in Chassidus that a malach called sandal ties the prayers of Klal Yisroel to the crown of Hashem.  It seems that there is a connection between shoes and the prayers.  What is the connection?  Tefilla is called in the Zohar the time of war (this idea can is also in Unklos and Rashi in Vayechi (48:22) that the sword and bows of Yaakov are referring to his prayers.)  What is the battle of prayer?  The battle is between one’s Godly soul and one’s animalistic soul.  At the time of prayer, one’s Godly soul is trying to overpower the animalistic soul and it fights back (see Likutay Torah beginning of Ki Setzah.)  That’s why it is the malach called the shoe (sandal) which takes the prayers up to the heavens.  It is through the refinement of the animalistic qualities of the human represented by the foot that allow the prayers to soar up to the heavens.

The Light Of Chanukah

By the Grace of G d

On the eve of Chanukah, 5741 [1980]
Brooklyn, N.Y.

To all Participants in the Public
Lighting of the Chanukah Menorah
in the U.S.A.

Greeting and Blessing!

Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, recalls the victory—more than 2100 years ago—of a militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people over the mighty forces of a ruthless enemy that had overrun the Holy Land and threatened to engulf the land and its people in darkness.
The miraculous victory—culminating with the rededication of the Sanctuary in Jerusalemand the rekindling of the Menorah which had been desecrated and extinguished by the enemy—has been celebrated annually ever since during these eight days of Chanukah, especially by lighting the Chanukah Menorah, also as a symbol and message of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness.
It is a timely and reassuring message, for the forces of darkness are ever present. Moreover, the danger does not come exclusively from outside; it often lurks close to home, in the form of insidious erosion of time-honored values and principles that are at the foundation of any decent human society. Needless to say, darkness is not chased away by brooms and sticks, but by illumination. Our Sages said, “A little light expels a lot of darkness.”
The Chanukah Lights remind us in a most obvious way that illumination begins at home, within oneself and one’s family, by increasing and intensifying the light of the Torah and Mitzvos in the everyday experience, even as the Chanukah Lights are kindled in growing numbers from day to day. But though it begins at home, it does not stop there. Such is the nature of light that when one kindles a light for one’s own benefit, it benefits also all who are in the vicinity. Indeed, the Chanukah Lights are expressly meant to illuminate the “outside,” symbolically alluding to the duty to bring light also to those who, for one reason or another, still walk in darkness.
What is true of the individual is true of a nation, especially this great United States, united under G d, and generously blessed by G d with material as well as spiritual riches. It is surely the duty and privilege of this Nation to promote all the forces of light both at home and abroad, and in a steadily growing measure.
Let us pray that the message of the Chanukah Lights will illuminate the everyday life of everyone personally, and of the society at large, for a brighter life in every respect, both materially and spiritually.
With esteem and blessing in the spirit of Chanukah,
[Signed] M. Schneerson

I have seen many Rabbis and laymen discuss the halachik ramifications of a public lighting and should the blessings be recited.  Now while there zealousness for protecting the name of Hashem being uttered in vain is appreciated, I can't stop thinking that they lose the forests for the trees.  The Gerrer Rebbeim down the line all say that the word שכם is an acronym for the words שם כבוד מלכותו.  Yaakov told Yosef to see his brothers in Shechem, to increase כבוד שמים.  The response of Yosef is recorded as ויאמר לו הנני.  Normally when the response is הנני the Torah doesn't say the extra word לו, so why does it say it over here?  The Ohav Yisroel says that לו is referring to the missing words, לעולם ועד.  Its very nice to say ברוך שם, that the glory of Hashem should be increased in the heavens but it must be drawn down into this world, לעולם ועד.  These Rabbis and laymen are very worried about the שם כבוד מלכותו but what is there input when it comes to  לעולם ועד?  Are they worried about the light of mitzvot and Torah to be spread through the world?  Are they worried if their non-religious neighbor is lighting a menorah?  According to the Meire the war with the Greeks ended on the 24th.  There are 24 letters in the line of ברוך שם.  The remez is that ברוך שם is the level of יחודא תתאה, where the world's presence is subjugated to the will of God but still is acknowledged as a separate presence.  Once the world can be acknowledged as a מציאות separated from God, then there is room for rebellion against God.  On the 24th there is a presence of the world so strong to the point that there was an opposing force to the will of Hashem that had to be crushed and demolished.   The Pnei Menachem says that Yaakov said at the time of his death  ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד.  The parsha of Vayechi is closed, there are times when there is darkness, when the כבוד מלכותו is covered over because the world can't see its Creator, but we have the power to fight through it via Torah and prayer.  Some people are stuck in the  כבוד מלכותו of the heavens but are forgetting that it can't be seen on this earth!  How do you expect this to happen?  

Mystery Man

This week was the anniversary of the release of the Alter Rebbe from prison in Russia and was celebrated worldwide, including hundreds of places in Russia itself.  One of the questions asked to the Alter Rebbe by one of the officials while he was in prison, was what is the meaning of Hashem's question to Adam (Berashis 3:9), "where are you", איכה, Hashem knew where he was?  The Alter Rebbe told him the explanation of Rashi, but the official persisted that he wanted the Alter Rebbe's own explanation.  The Alter Rebbe told him that Hashem was asking Adam, where are you holding in life, where are you going?  This is a lesson for every individual, there are times where Hashem asks where are you going, are you on the right path?  Of course many of us don't have God appearing to us directly but there are many messengers of God.  My sister was once asked on a Shabbos morning by someone "where are you going?"  She responded "from the kiddush to lunch."  My father said that this man (of unidentified character) may have been no other than Elijah himself asking this very question "where are you going."  Obviously this might be a stretch, but you get the point.
In this week's parsha, Yosef is met by the mysterious man who asks him "what do you want?"  The mysterious man is in essence asking the same question, what are you searching for, what is occupying your mind, are you searching for riches or Godliness.  This question I believe, goes hand in hand with the question posed to Adam.  Where one is going is defined by what they are searching for.  If one is searching for the right thing, s/he may stumble along the way, but they are traveling along the right road.  If however, one isn't looking for what they should be, then they are obviously not headed in the right direction.

Talk To The Yetzer Harah

Two week's ago the Torah tells us about Yaakov's exit from Lavan's household.  Ultimately, the reason why Yaakov decided to leave was because he received a prophecy from Hashem that it was time to leave.  However, when Yaakov is relaying the message to  his wives he gives a whole justification as to why they should leave.  He explains how he has worked so hard for their father and all Lavan has done is trick him and then finally at the end of his speech he adds that God has told him to leave (Vayetzeh 31:5-13.)  Why the need for a whole explanation, just cut to the chase, Hashem said to leave?  Rav Neeman (Darchei Mussar) explains that we see from here that one of the tactics to fight against the temptation of the yetzer harah not to fulfill the word of Hashem is to give logical reasons for the commandments.  He extends this principal to our parsha as well.  When Yosef refuses to listen to the wife of Potiphar, he tells her "how can I do this treacherous deed against my master who has done so much for me (39:8-9)."  Why didn't Yosef just say simply "I can't sin against God?"  Because a rational explanation is something that speaks to the yetzer harah, it is an argument which  must be considered and therefore is an important weapon to use against the yetzer harah.   
This approach seems to be contrary to the approach of the Shem M'Shmuel.  He points out that the first response of Yosef is וימאן.  The first thing he does is to stop himself, he stops in his tracks and refuses to do the averah.  The explanation comes only afterward, it is a mere afterthought in order to give an explanation to the wife of Potiphar as to why he won't listen to her.  However, there are no reasons necessary to be given to fulfill the word of God, it should be kept because of the command alone.
 Are these two approaches a major schism in the worldview of the baal mussar vs. the chassid, or are they just arguing as to what's the respond to the yetzer harah, with the talk to the hand approach or through the power of reason?         

The Straight And Crooked Path

One of the most difficult parshios to understand in the Chumash is the episode of Yehuda and Tamar.  As my sister likes to say, when we learnt it in school they didn’t teach us the real story, they made it a G-rated movie.  Obviously, what Yehuda was doing with a strange woman needs to be explained.  Furthermore, how can it be that such a relationship, which is strange to comprehend in the first place would foster Moshiach?  And how great is the contrast between Yehuda and Yosef, who has a tremendous battle and fights against his yetzer harah to not succumb to the temptation of arious, yet Moshiach descends from Yehuda, not from Yosef, why?  We will try to explain a little bit based upon the teachings of the Shla, Maharal, Rav Yosef Engel, Rav Tzadok and Rav Tzvi Einfeld.  If I am in error, may Hashem forgive me.

The נחש is synonymous with all evil that exists in the world, especially those that are students of the Kabbalah know that it is the snake that is always raising its head again wherever evil is to be found. The נחש is known as "the crooked one."  In order to fix up this spirit of crookedness in the world it is necessary to use this power for good.  That means ultimately the rules of right and wrong have to be bent in order to accomplish this.  The Gemorah says that a king can break through a fence and no-one can stop him.  This isn't just a legal ruling, it is a summation of the power of a king.  The king is not bound by the normal rules, he has the power to violate the rules.  A regular person that breaks through the fence, violates the rules is subject to be being bitten by a snake (Koheles 7:14,) he is open to the powers of evil.  However, the king is different.  Why?  The sefirah of malchus is completely nullified, it functions as a tunnel to allow the "Godly light" to shine through.  The Kings of Israel are supposed to be a reflection of the sefirah of malchus and are completely nullified before Hashem.  They have no sense of self, there whole existence is only to bring out the true "I", Hashem.  Therefore, the King's actions aren't bound by the normal rules, for his actions are spurred on by the desire to glorify the name of Hashem and instead of being bitten by the snake, he transforms it.  How does the King know it’s not his own temptation convincing himself to bend the rules?  The midrash says that Yehuda was steering away from Tamar but a maalach pushed him forward against his will.  It is when he has no desire to do the action that isn't in line with the rules, yet he is pushed to do it anyway that shows it is a directive from Hashem to fix the evil.  Specifically, because the King is disgusted and repulsed by evil, that he is given the opportunity to fix it.  This is the mode of the "crooked tzaddik."   

Then there is the role of the straight tzaddik, the one who follows every rule to the nth degree.   This tzaddik has a strong sense of self.  His sense of “haughtiness” allows him to rise above the powers of evil.  Such a tzaddik isn’t involved in fixing evil, he rises above evil. The Gemorah says in Yoma (35b) that the wife of Potephar threatened Yosef in numerous ways in order to force him to live with her.  One of the threats was that she would bend his spine and he responded Hashem straitens the bent (Tehillim 146:8.)  Why was this the threat that she chose to say?  Rav Yosef Engel explains based upon the works of the Kabbilists that say naturally a person should walk on all fours and face downward like an animal.  What keeps a person up is because s/he has a holy spirit, a neshama which faces up, it faces its source above.  The wife of Potiphar was trying to bend Yosef, to get him to sin and detach his connection to above.  However, Yosef refused and said Hashem, meaning the Godliness within me, straitens the bent, meaning won't allow me to sin, is attached to its source above.  Yosef refuses to be bent, he is the straight tzaddik that goes on the straight path and rises above all the temptations of the evil side.  This is the underpinnings of the clash between Yosef and Yehuda, of the two reigns in Klal Yisroel, which is the rout to be followed.   

It is ultimately through Yehuda that Moshiach will emerge for it is only through the ability to use crookedness for good that will lead to the ultimate tikkun, to straighten out all the evil in the world.  However, there is the concept of the Mashiach ben Yosef who blazes the trail for the Moshiach that descends from Yehuda.  There first must be a complete nullification of the forces of evil before it can be eradicated.  In in the meantime, there is a need for both roles, those that wear the hat of the straight tzaddik and those that wear the (possibly furry) hat of the crooked tzaddik.

Renewal

What happened right after the sale of Yosef?  The midrash says Yosef was brought down to Egypt, Reuven was doing teshuvah, the brothers were still discussing the sale, Yehudah was getting married and Hashem was preparing mashiach.  What is the point of this midrash and what lesson is it teaching us, is it just giving us a historical record of what was happening?  Rav Simcha Bunim (and the teaching is explained by the Gerrer Rebbeim) explains that the lesson is that when all seems lost one must not give up but rebuild.  Yosef was lost, Yaakov was upset, it seems things were going for a downward spin.  However, Yehuda (whether knowingly or not) was starting anew.  Even if all seemed lost, he was prepared to fulfill the first mitzvah, peru u’rvu and continue giving over the mesorah of the Avos to his children.  He was picking up the broken pieces and trying to start again.  It is this rebuilding of Yehuda that leads to the light of Moshiach being formed as the midrash says Hashem was preparing the light of Moshiach.  The lesson is that one must not bemoan his/her faith but be willing to move forward.  This idea is found as well in Likutay Moharan #261 in a general sense, but he adds that the whole reason why one was distanced from Hashem in the first place is in order to have the opportunity to restart a fresh, stronger and more vibrant connection to Hashem.   

This theme of course is one of the lessons in the fast approaching holiday of Chanukah.  Most would think of spring as the time of renewal, when plants and trees come to life again, hibernation is over etc. And of course, that is true.  However, Chanukah teaches us that even in the cold, dark, bleak days of the winter there can be of feelings of energy and renewed fervor.  The Sfas Emes explains that haragil be’nar means one who lights up his regilus with hischadshus.  עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק, Chanukah is the time to remove the regilus that so often overtakes us.   

Seeing Is Not Believing

I recently have been reading the book 9 1/2 Mystics by Rabbi Herbert Weiner.  On pg. 16 he shares an insight that the Nazir, Rav Dovid Kohen told him.  The Nazir explained that the Western world holds truth to be what can be seen and perceived.  The word theory or theoria in Greek, he said, comes from the Greek word, theatria which means which means to look at, view and see (see here.)  On the other hand, we proclaim the ultimate truth in Shma Yisroel, through listening, the identification of truth with what can be seen is the beginning of idolatry.  This goes hand in hand with the insight he quotes from Rav Avrohom Chein on pg. 276 "the phrase 'saw the voice' [by Mattan Torah] isn't an accident nor does it speak of a miracle.  It points to a deep and great Torah...what humans usually only hear about- out of books and through faith-it was this that they saw clearly."  Mattan Torah was a one-time event where everything was crystal clear-the unity of God, Israel and the Torah was apparent to the entirety of existence.  However, in Judaism such a level of clarity is not the norm, it is the exception.  We are supposed to live with a deeper sense of clarity, that which isn't sitting obvious is front of our eyes, rather that which must be given attention to, that which must be searched for.  What keeps us going is the listening, the focus and attention to what "the voices of the soul" say.  Chazal are filled with references various forms of voices-bas kol making announcements into the world.  What is the point of all these unheard messages?  The answer is that the attentive ear will hear the "voices."  It is the voice speaking to the soul willing to listen.
Rashi cites the Chazal that what held Yosef back from slipping was the image of his father appearing to him.  How did this image appear, was there some form of a magical connection?  I don't believe Yosef was saved by a magical image of his father appearing in the nick of time.  Yosef's soul was torn as to what is the proper conduct in this situation.  As he was about to make the wrong decision, he was able to tap into the "voices" of the depths of his soul, he could hear and see his father's directives as to the proper conduct in such a situation.  The midrash connects when Yosef says שמעו נא to the admonishing of the prophets using the language of שמעו.  Is it possible that Yosef's soul was echoing these same warnings in his life?  וישמע ראובן, Chazal give different interpretations as to what does it mean Reuvain heard, he was standing right there, obviously he heard what was being said?  According to this approach it could mean that Reuvain heard the "voices", he had the clarity to recognize that the decision to kill Yosef was a wrong, reckless and damaging decision. 
I believe the idea sheds 'light' on the holiday of Chanukah.  The Greeks were men of theory, they only understood what could be seen.  They were the antithesis of Judaism which believes that which can't be seen is greater that that which is not seen.  Chanukah is the battle of the eyes vs. the ears. 
I don't like books that "prove" the existence of God or Judaism.  Yes, such books may be great and necessary for some but for one who has been privileged to study for many years in yeshiva, to see the radiant faces of great Torah scholars such books aren't speaking the right language.  The books are speaking the language of "see, it must be so".  Anyone who has breathed the holiness of the great study halls, has bonded with minds attempting to understand a Tosfos, a Rashba, a Rebbi Akiva Eger, a Ketzos  etc. should be hearing the "voices" of Judaism pouring forth from his soul.  To a soul with such a clarity it is repulsive to see these books that just give intellectual proves but to not speak the language of the soul.  As the quote attributed to Hellen Keller beautifully puts it, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."

Yosef, The Dreamer

Why are dreams so essential to the story of Yosef?  His whole life seems to revolve around dreams, from being the cause of his sale into slavery, to his ticket to freedom and greatness.  And the obvious question, why did the brothers want to kill Yosef, were these holy men willing to kill their brother because they were jealous?

The Sfas Emes writes in many maamarem that Yosef is connected to tosefes - additional.  Yosef is the embodiment of tosefes Shabbos, which is the ability to bring kedusha into the chol.  That’s why Yosef is called the offspring of Yaakov,  for he had the ability to bring out the kochos of Yaakov into the world.  Yaakov was complete kedusha, his face carved onto the merchava.  Yosef has the ability to bring this kedusha of Yaakov into the world.  With this idea, the Sfas Emes explains why the dream of Yosef is about gathering sheaves from a field. The bundles of wheat follow only after a lot of work was put into the field.  When one sees the bundle of wheat, he understands the point of all the work.  Shabbos is the point of all the work of the week, when one sees Shabbos he understands the what all the days of the work led to.  Yosef is the Shabbos of the week, he was able to bring out the kedusha that exists in the mundane.  He was able to bring out the point of all the work.  That’s why it’s specifically Yosef that’s able to go down to Egypt, for he wasn't affected by his surroundings, even in the most corrupt land he was able to bring the kedusha of Yaakov .

 As discussed here, Yaakov felt it was necessary to set up boundaries between Klal Yisroel and the other nations.  There was an effort made to stop outside influences from penetrating into Klal Yisroel.  The brothers saw Yosef's willingness to go out into the world, to step over the boundaries as putting the sanctity of Klal Yisroel in jeopardy.   See Hoshea 7:8 where it says "Efraim (Yosef) mingles with the nations."  This presents a great challenge, how will this mingling not lead to sin?   Specifically, Shimon and Levi, who were so concerned about the sanctity of Klal Yisroel that they were willing to wipe out an entire city for it, were very worried about the message of Yosef.  They believed that the existence of Klal Yisroel was at stake and therefore deemed Yosef worthy of being killed.  Yehuda was not far off from their view, but elected to spare Yosef's life.  

These two opinions are reflected by the method of temple worship of both Yosef and Yehuda.  Yosef is the mishkan man, the mishkan Shilo was built in his portion of Eretz Yisroel.  The mishkan is the temple of spreading kedusha, it’s portable, it can be moved to spread kedusha to other places.  It's kedusha is not limited by walls, as long as the mishkan could be seen, kodshim could be eaten.  Yehuda on the other hand, is the mikdash man.  He is the champion of contained kedusha, the mikdash is built in his portion of Eretz Yisroel.  The mikdash is a walled, permanent structure.  It is built to contain the kedusha within and as a result kodshim may only be eaten within its walls (Harav Kook.) 

I would suggest that that’s why Yosef’s life revolves around dreams.  A dream is where opposites are able to coexist.  (See Torah Or on this week’s parsha.)  Yosef had the ability to bridge what seemed opposites together.   The tumah of Egypt, seemingly the opposite end of the spectrum in comparison to his upbringing in the house of Yaakov, was not a contradiction.  Not only was Yosef not influenced by Egypt, he ruled over it.  He was able to bring Yaakov down to Egypt and infuse the land with kedusha.   

Rav Kook connects his idea to the story of Chanukah.  The Greeks told Klal Yisroel to write on a horn of an ox that they have no connection to Hashem.  The ox represents Yosef (beracha in V'zos Haberacha.)  The Greeks said follow in the ways of Yosef and intermingle with us, become like us.  Of course, they missed the boat.  Yosef teaches us not how to be like the gentiles, rather how to live amongst them but infuse them with kedusha.  It is a oneway street, we give to them but don't receive.  

Yosef and Rav Yosef

See here for where my father wrote about the first of the "5 derashos" of Rav Soloveitchik, where Rav Soloveitchik  reads into this week's parsha what would seem to be his own hashkafa.  Obviously, Rav Yosef Dov, cast aside by all the other Roshei Yeshiva in America was viewing himself in the place of Yosef, cast aside by his brothers.  The main thrust of the derasha seems to be that although the position of his zeideh, Rav Chaim was legitimate and possibly even correct in his stance against the Zionists, Hashem has ruled otherwise.  History has proven that it was the State of Israel that fueled the rebuild after the Holocaust, and gave Jews in America a cause to stand for and a reason to be proud.  Of course, the derasha raises the question of at what point do we say, "obviously this isn't working out.  Clearly, what we believed in is wrong."  We sometimes build towers of Torah to explain how what we believe in or want to believe in must be true, the only צ"ע is that reality seems to contradict it.  At what point must a person acknowledge the facts, see that his tune doesn't fit with the music and admit he was wrong?  Or should a person continue to insist that the facts are just an illusion, a test to your true faith, a מעשה שטן or whatever דוחק answer you can come up with to get the facts to jive with the Torah?  I leave that for you to decide.

What Not To Teach

The Baal Haturim says that Yaakov gave over to Yosef 5 out of the 6 sidrei mishna.  He derives this from the word זקנים, which has the ראשי תיבות of all of the sedarim besides taharos.  The obvious question is why did taharos get a tough bargain, why didn't Yaakov give that over to Yosef?  We understand that when Yaakov learnt the mishnaios with Yosef, he wasn't just explaining the simple meaning of the text.  If Rav Zusha would interpret every line of a mishna as a lesson in the service of God, obviously Yaakov was able to do the same thing.  To study taharos would be to life a life on the level of tahara.  The adage is you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.  Yaakov could teach Yosef all the way up to the waters of tahara, but he couldn't make him drink the waters.  The holy Gerrer Rebbe, the Beis Yisroel explains that a person must acquire taharah by themselves.  Yaakov could give Yosef all the preparations to be able to obtain the level of tahara, but at the end of the day it was up to Yosef himself to determine if was willing to take the plunge into the waters of tahara.
See more about this from my father, here.

Yosef: Breslov Or Litvok And A Personal Chanukah

The verse says (39:3) וירא אדניו כי ה' אתו.  How did Potiphar know that Hashem was with him?  Rashi says that Yosef was constantly mentioning the name of Hashem.  The source of Rashi is a midrash Tanchuma which says that Potiphar saw Yosef whispering and assumed Yosef was using witchcraft until Yosef explained he was praying to Hashem.  The Ramban challenges the explanation of Rashi (but he doesn’t explain what’s bothering him.)  He interprets that Potiphar realized the success of Yosef must be from G-d.

The midrash Rabba seems to have a different interpretation from that of the Tanchuma.  The two midrashim have the same story line but the Rabba adds that Yosef ended up forgetting (doesn’t say what) and brings a support from the verse (41:51) of why Yosef called his son Menasha because he forgot all his amal.  What does this part of the midrash mean, what did he forget and what does it have to do with how Potiphar knew Hashem was with Yosef?  The meforshim explain based upon a previous midrash in Vayishlach which explains the verse (33:18) ויעקב בא שלם to mean he was complete in his Torah.  The midrash contrasts between Yosef who forgot his learning in Egypt and Yaakov who didn’t forget his learning in the house of Lavan.  The midrash there cites the same verse about Menashe as proof.  It’s apparent in the light of this midrash that the midrash in our parsha understands amal to mean the work of Torah.  Clearly the midrash Rabba understands that Yosef wasn’t praying to Hashem but rather reviewing his learning.  It seems that the two midrashim have a different understanding as to what Yosef did in the house of Potiphar.  According to the Tanchuma, Yosef was praying to Hashem as he was doing his work (see Rav Shimshon Pinkus,) which is the Breslov approach but according to the Rabba he was learning even as he was working like the Nefesh Hachaim delineates, the Litvish approach.

Two questions come to mind when reading the midrash.  1.  Why is it that Yosef forgot his learning, especially if he was reviewing?  How does this fit with Rashi in Vayigash (45:27) that Yosef sent wagons as a sign that he remembered they had been learning eglah arufah?  2.  Why would Yosef name his son after the fact that he forgot his learning?  The Chosom Sofer (Shabbos 21b) explains that because Yosef was subject to such oppression, he forgot the learning that he was taught by his father.  Despite all his hardships, in jail Yosef started to learn again anew.  Yosef named his son after his forgetting to demonstrate that even though he forgot his learning still he was able to rebuild and continue learning.  It’s the Torah that’s learnt under hardship that sticks with the person, not the Torah that one learns when its easy.  The midrash says in the beginning of parshas Mikatz says  קץ שם לחושך Hashem makes an end to the darkness, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  The Pittsburger Rebbe points out thatחשך  has the same letters as שכח.  The midrash is indicating that at the time of Yosef’s exit from prison, not only was he free of his physical bondages, he was free of his spiritual bondages as well.  In jail, Yosef’s time of forgetting stopped and now he received the Torah of difficulty.  The Torah that he acquired in his time of difficulties is the Torah that stuck with him.  (See the Netziv on parshas Mikatz for a different approach.)

Chazal say about the story of creation that חשך corresponds to the golus of Yavan.  Yavan tried to get Klal Yisroel to forget the Torah.  What saved Klal Yisroel was to learn and stand up for Torah with mesiros nefesh.  We learn from Chanukah that even if the Torah of our youth- the Torah learnt in times of ease doesn’t hold up, a person must have his own, individual Chanukah to learn when times are hard.  It is the Torah that’s learnt when times are difficult, and the pressures of life are at their highest that a person will end up remembering.  It is that Torah that proves one is a true עבד השם

The Ramban also brings the end of the Rabba which says that the Shechinah came to prove to Potiphar that Yosef wasn’t using witchcraft, rather Hashem was helping him.  As opposed to the Tanchuma which understands that Potiphar figured it out for himself, the Rabba says that the Shechinah came to prove the righteousness of Yosef.  This seems to be other debate between the Rabba and the Tanchuma will the Shecinah appear to a rasha to prove the righteousness of a tzaddik.  The Tanchuma seems to hold it is not fitting for the Shechinah to appear to a rasha even for the sake of the tzaddik.  Therefore, it concludes that Potiphar understood on his own accord that Hashem was helping Yosef.  Rav Ozban (Rosh Yeshiva of Telz, Riverdale) points out that if even a rasha like Potiphar realized the success of Yosef came from Hashem for sure we should realize that our success comes from Hashem and not from our own endeavors.