Shabbos Parshas Vayeshev - Chanukah • For the week ending 26 Kislev 5757 •Dec. 7, 1996 • Vol. 4 No. 9

THE OHR SOMAYACH TORAH MAGAZINE ON THE INTERNET PARSHA INSIGHTS The division of the tribes was a mirror theme “Ultra-Realism.” Some of the DIFFERENCE & DEFERENCE of the uniqueness of the Jewish soul paintings were so life-like as to be “And Yisrael loved Yosef more and its individuality. almost frightening. However, there than all his sons...” (37:3) Yosef was Shabbos to the tribes. was one painting by a famous artist OOnce there was aHR Jew who was NET O H RHe represented theN power to thatE was so life-like that itT almost took shipwrecked on a desert island. After bring all the Jewish People together the ‘virtual’ out of ‘virtual reality’! many years, he was finally rescued by — just as Shabbos brings all the days The painting depicted a man hold- a passing ship. Before he left the of the week together under its sway. ing a bowl of fruit. Such was the island, he insisted on showing his res- However, when the brothers verisimilitude of this work, that birds cuers the three synagogues that he started to hate him, he was no longer in the park actually descended and had built able to unify them. Their divisiveness tried to peck at the fruit and eat it. The “Three synagogues?” asked the deepened, until they sold Yosef into artist was furious and demanded that captain of the ship. “Why does a cast- slavery, at which point they decided plate glass be installed in front of his away on a deserted island need three masterpiece. synagogues?” A national newspaper reported The Jew replied “In this one I the story, and a bright spark in the cir- daven (pray) Shacharis — the morning “The division of the culation department suggested that prayer. And in this one I daven Mincha the newspaper run a competition, giv- — the afternoon prayer. And this tribes was a mirror ing a hefty prize to anyone who could one, I wouldn’t be seen dead in!” of the uniqueness of spot a flaw in the painting’s virtual At the beginning of time, the six reality. days of Creation were like nomads all the Jewish soul and A lady from Leeds wrote into the traveling in different directions. Each paper: “I must admit that the pieces was separate from the other. its individuality.” of fruit in the bowl are indeed palpa- Removed and divided. Solitary. Like bly real. However, the man holding parts of a body floating, disjointed and the bowl has not been so fortunate. disparate. that each should go his own way. He certainly lacks the breath of life. With the advent of the first For the more a person identifies For if it were not so, surely, the birds Shabbos of Creation all the parts of himself with the group, the stronger would have never descended to Creation were unified. Shabbos the group is, and the less he identifies, attack the fruit in the first place. They breathed a soul into them all. From the weaker it becomes, until it must would have been far to fearful of the then on, all parts of Creation sensed eventually disintegrate. Thus, with man!” the power of the force that unified the selling of Yosef, the power of unity Some days later, the lady from them. was exiled to Egypt and necessarily Leeds was happy to receive a hefty The same was true of the Tribes of the tribes divided one from the other. check in the post. Israel. Each brother regarded himself • Adapted from Shem MiShmuel When the baker described to as a separate entity, a complete unit Yosef that in his dream the birds by himself. No two people think descended and ate bread from the exactly alike. And certainly no two VIRTUALLY REAL baskets on his head, Yosef realized Jews! However, this isn’t because of “In another three days, Pharaoh will lift your that no bird will approach a living man an intellectual lacking, rather our dis- head from you, and hang you on a tree, and in this way. birds will eat your flesh.” (40:19) parity is a hallmark of the reverse. Thus, he deduced that the man on What did Yosef see in the baker’s Not even the greatest of our enemies whose head these baskets rested was dream that led him to conclude that the have accused us of being a stupid as good as dead — not even a living baker would be hanged? people. Rootless cosmopolitans, yes. scarecrow. Communists, Capitalists, Bohemians, There once was an open-air com- • Based on Rabbi Meir Shapiro in Mayana shel Torah puter-art exhibition which took as its Conservatives. Everything but stupid. continued on page four

1 PARSHA OVERVIEW

aakov Avinu settles in the land of Chamberlain of the Butchers. In the Parsha’s Canaan. His favorite son, Yosef, brings sub-plot, Yehuda’s son Er dies as punishment for him critical reports about his brothers. preventing his wife Tamar from becoming preg- Yaakov makes for Yosef a fine tunic of nant because he feared that she would lose her multi-coloredYY woolen strips. Yosef exacerbates beauty. Onan, Yehuda’s second son, then weds his brothers’ hatred by recounting prophetic Tamar by levirate marriage. He too is punished in dreams — of sheaves of wheat bowing to his circumstances similar to those of his brother. sheaf, and of the sun, the moon and the stars When Yehuda’s wife dies, Tamar resolves to have bowing down to him — signifying that all his fam- children through Yehuda, as this union will found ily will appoint him king. The brothers indict the Davidic line, culminating in the Mashiach. Yosef and resolve to execute him. When Yosef Meanwhile, Yosef rises to power in the house of comes to Shechem, the brothers relent, and his Egyptian master. His extreme beauty attracts decide, at Reuven’s instigation, to throw him into the unwanted advances of his master’s wife. a pit instead. Yehuda persuades the brothers to Enraged by his rejection of her, she slanders take Yosef out of the pit and sell him to a caravan Yosef, falsely accusing him of attempting to of passing Yishmaelim. When Reuven returns to seduce her, and he is imprisoned. While in jail, find the pit empty, he rends his clothes in anguish. Yosef successfully predicts the outcome of the The brothers soak Yosef’s tunic in goat’s blood dream of Pharaoh’s wine steward, who is re- and show it to their father Yaakov, who assumes instated; and the dream of Pharaoh’s baker, who that Yosef has been devoured by wild animals. is hanged. In spite of his promise, the wine stew- Yaakov is inconsolable. Meanwhile, in Egypt, ard forgets to help Yosef after he is released, and Yosef has been sold to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s Yosef languishes in jail.

SING MY SOUL INSIGHTS INTO THE SHABBOS ZEMIROS THEO OHR SOMAYACHH TORAHR MAGAZINEN ONE THE INTERNETT Published by OHR SOMAYACH TANENBAUM COLLEGE POB 18103, Jerusalem 91180, Israel BARUCH KEIL ELYON General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman ”BLESSED IS G-D...” Editorial & Web Advisor: Rabbi Reuven Lauffer Web Production: “In all your dwelling places captures the essential difference Lev Seltzer - Michael Treblow you shall do no work.” between Shabbos and the Contributing Editors: Festivals. In order to come into Weekly Daf, Sing My Soul: Rav Mendel Weinbach contact with the ultimate spiritual- e are reminded in the Ask the Rabbi: ity of the three festivals, a Jew had Rabbi Moshe Lazerus, Torah (Vayikra 23:1) that Rabbi Avrohom Lefkowitz, to make an aliya laregel pilgrimage Rabbi Reuven Subar “It is Shabbos to Insights, Overview, Haftorah: to the Beis Hamikdash. On Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair HashemWW in all you dwelling Shabbos, however, the holiness of places.” This description of Produced and Designed by the day comes to the Jews in every the Office of Communication Shabbos, observes the Sfas Emes, Rabbi Eliezer Shapiro, Director one of their dwelling places.

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2 PARSHA Q&A ? 1. “These are the offspring of Yaakov: Yosef....” Give three 11. Who was Tamar’s father? reasons why Yosef is considered Yaakov’s main off- 12. Why did Tamar not tell Yehuda that she was pregnant spring. with his child? 2. Yaakov rebuked Yosef for telling his brothers the 13. In what merit did Tamar deserve to have kings as her dreams. Why? descendants? 3. How do we see from the dream about the sun, moon 14. Why is the word “hand” mentioned four times in con- and stars that all dreams contain some untrue element? nection to the birth of Zerach? 4. How did Reuven plan to save Yosef? 15. Why does the Torah relate the incident with Potiphar’s 5. What did Ishmaelites usually transport? wife immediately after the incident of Yehuda and 6. Who brought Yosef down to Egypt? Tamar? 7. Where was Reuven when Yosef was sold? 16. In what way was Hashem “with” Yosef? 8. In addition to the brothers, who else knew that Yosef 17. Why were the butler and the baker imprisoned? was alive? 18. How long were the butler and the baker in prison? 9. How long did Yaakov mourn the loss of Yosef? 19. How did the baker know that Yosef had correctly inter- 10. Verse 37:35 states “his father wept.” To whom does preted the butler’s dream? (40:16) this refer? 20. How was Yosef punished for asking the butler for help?

BONUS QUESTION? “Yehuda said to his brothers, ‘...We should not kill him, for he is our brother, our flesh.’”(37:26-7) A person is a combina- tion of elements inherited from his mother and his father. According to the Talmud, a person inherits his flesh from his mother and his bones from his father. If so, why did Yehuda refer to Yosef as ‘our brother, our flesh?’ Since Yehuda and Yosef had the same father, but not the same mother, Yehuda should have referred to Yosef as ‘our brother, our bone.’

I DIDN’T KNOW THAT! “Yosef was seventeen years old... and Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons, for he was his ‘wisdom son’....” (37:2-3) “Yaakov taught Yosef everything he had learned from Shem and Ever.” (Rashi) This hints to the custom to teach a child to read Hebrew when he is three years old. How so? Yaakov studied in the Academy of Shem and Ever for fourteen years. Yaakov taught this wisdom to Yosef by the time Yosef was seventeen. If it took Yaakov fourteen years to teach it, just as it had taken him to learn it, we see that Yaakov began teaching Yosef at age three! • See Rema, Orach Chaim Yoreh Deah 245:8

HAFTORAH: ZECHARIAH 2:14 - 4:7 memorate that miracle we kindle the lights of Chanukah SHABBOS CHANUKAH for eight days. But if you think about it — really we should only light The festival that we call Chanukah is really the fourth the lights for seven days, because on that first day the Chanukah. lights burned completely naturally — after all, there was The word ‘Chanukah’ means ‘dedication.’ The first of enough oil for one day! So why do we light candles for the three previous dedications was in the desert when eight nights, since it seems that one of those nights was no Moshe dedicated the Mishkan — the Tent of Meeting. miracle at all? The second was the dedication of the First Beis One answer is that eighth candle is to remind us of a Hamikdash (Holy Temple). The third Chanukah is the sub- miracle that is constantly with us. The problem is that a ject of our Haftorah. It refers to the times of the Second lot of the time we don’t see it as a miracle at all. We don’t Beis Hamikdash and the inauguration of the Menorah at call it a miracle. We call it ‘Nature.’ the time of Yehoshua, the Kohen Gadol, and the nation’s In this week’s Haftorah, the prophet Zechariah is leader, Zerubavel, who is referred to in Ma’oz Tzur — the shown a vision of a Menorah made entirely of gold, com- traditional Chanukah song. plete with a reservoir, tubes to bring it oil, and two olives trees to bear olives. A complete self-supporting system. The symbolism is that Hashem provides a system MOTHER NATURE’S FATHER which supports us continuously. However, we have to fter a small band of Jews had beaten the might of open our eyes to see from where that support is coming. Greece, one small flask of oil for the Menorah was And that’s the reason we light the eighth candle — to discovered in the Holy Temple — one small flask, celebrate the miraculous in the mundane. To remind our- Aun-defiledA by the Greeks... selves that Mother Nature has a Father. That flask contained enough oil to last just one short • Based on the Beis Yosef and the Artscroll/Stone Chumash day. But it burned and burned for eight days. To com-

3 Insights, explanations and comments for the seven pages of Talmud studied in the course of the worldwide Daf Yomi cycle. WEEKLY DAF CHULLIN 103 - 109 kosher species we are guilty of violat- The initial assumption of the HICH IS ORSE ing a positive command to restrict Talmud is that Rabbi Hamnuna had W W ourselves to kosher ones, in addition The importance of washing hands not washed his hands before eating, to violating the negative command to before eating bread is dramatized by and Rabbi Huna was nevertheless avoid such animals which appears in our Sages with an account of how the feeding him bread because he knew the very next passage. failure of a Jew to observe this mitzva that Rabbi Hamnuna was extremely The practical ramification of this of rabbinic origin led him to violate a careful in his observance of mitzvos observation would be a case where much more serious Torah command. and could be relied upon not to someone’s life is in danger and the A Jewish innkeeper had a clientele touch the food placed in his mouth. only food available to save him are of Jews and non-Jews. When a Jew This would lead to the conclusion neveilah and swine. Following the entered he prepared kosher food for that if one is careful not to touch the rule stated in Mesechta Yoma (83a) him, and when a non-Jew appeared that we must try to use the food with bread placed in his mouth there is he served him non-kosher meat. One the least severe prohibition attached no need to wash. day a Jew entered and failed to wash to it, the choice in this case would be But this assumption is rejected for bread. Assuming him to be a non- the neveilah with just a negative com- and an alternative scenario is sug- Jew the innkeeper served him non- mand rather than swine meat with its gested. Rabbi Huna would never kosher meat. double prohibition. have fed Rabbi Hamnuna unless he There are two versions in the • Chullin 106a assumed that he had washed. Since Talmud as to the nature of this non- he knew, however, that Rabbi kosher meat. One is that it was the Hamnuna was more than careful meat of a kosher animal whose death and was even zealous in his obser- was not by shechita and was therefore WHICH IS BETTER? vance of mitzvos, he felt he could prohibited as neveilah (Devarim Is someone required to wash his 14:21). Another view is that he was safely assume that Rabbi Hamnuna hands before eating bread even if he served swine meat. had taken the precaution of washing does not touch the bread but is Rashi points out that the conse- before their encounter. quence of the Jew’s failure to wash his being fed by someone else? Rashi comments that the zeal- hands was more serious if it was Before reaching its conclusion ousness of taking precautionary swine meat rather than neveilah that washing is required in such a measures to avoid getting into because in such a case he is guilty of case as well, the Talmud attempts to problematic situations is a greater two violations rather than one. prove the opposite from a particular virtue than the carefulness demon- The background for this comment incident. strated when faced with such a situ- is the Midrash Toras Kohanim which Rabbi Huna bar Sechora put ation. This is why Rabbi Pinchas ben Rashi cites in Parshas Shmini (Vayikra some meat and bread into the Yair (Mesechta Avodah Zarah 80b), 11:3) on the passage which com- mouth of Rabbi Hamnuna. “If you in his ladder of virtues which serves mands us to eat only those animals were not Rabbi Hamnuna (a man of as the outline of Luzzato’s classic which have the proper identifying great wisdom – Rashi),” he said to “Mesilas Yesharim,” states that signs of cud chewing and split hoof. him, “I would not feed you this “carefulness will bring one to zeal- This is the Torah’s way of telling us way.” ousness.” • Chullin 107b that if we eat the meat of a non- continued from page one PARSHA INSIGHTS this necessarily forces the other chil- mate terms, comparatively they were SPEAKING BETWEEN dren to conform to that example. not on Yosef’s level. And the others will be judged lacking, And comparison always makes the THE LINES to the degree that they fall short of lesser seem inadequate. “...and Yosef would bring evil reports their sibling. Next to Everest, even K2 pales. about them [his brothers] to their father” (37:2) “Why can’t you be like your If this was the case, and Yosef didn’t Can it be that Yosef HaTzaddik — brother — now that’s the way a per- actually accuse them, then why was the righteous person — could have son should behave!” he punished? spoken lashon hara (lit. ‘evil tongue’) It wasn’t that Yosef actually spoke The greater the righteousness of a about his brothers? evil about his brothers; rather that his person, the greater is his obligation to When a father looks at his children excellence was like a silent accusation conceal it — even from his father. • Based on Admor Rabbi Menachem and remarks that one is exemplary, against them. For, however elevated the brothers may have been in ulti- MiAmshenov in Iturei Torah

4 ASK the RABBI

tence on him, acting as a legal Jewish But if you’re riding with your family in RING M court. A number of reasons are offered a car or plane the entire night — and B ‘E for this: there’s nobody residing in your home — • Joseph was guilty of false prophecy in his you’re exempt from lighting Chanukah BACK ALIVE dreams. candles. • Joseph’s dreams advocated a monarchy, Sally Barton wrote: which based on their experience, the In-Tents Chanukah brothers felt would be destructive to the Dear Rabbi, spiritual nature of the Jewish people. Alan Shear If the pit that the brothers threw They had witnessed Nimrod, Avimelech Joseph into was full of snakes and and the Pharaohs — all of them despotic If a person finds himself camping scorpions, so how could Reuven dictators who set themselves up as demi- out in a field during the time of think he was saving Joseph by gods. The brothers felt that Joseph’s Chanukah with a group of many throwing him into a pit full of snakes dreams advocated a monarchy of that other people (perhaps 200), and all and scorpions? Doesn’t it say that type. will be camping outside in tents, Reuven was trying to save Joseph The brothers thought that attempting what would be the best possible way and bring him back alive to their to kill Joseph held no risk: If he were a of fulfilling the mitzva of Chanukah father? true prophet, G-d would protect him, but lighting? if they succeeded in killing him, it would Dear Sally Barton, be evidence of his evil nature. Dear Alan Shear, Yes, Reuven wanted to save Joseph. Reuven argued that this would prove As we wrote above, someone not The Torah describes Reuven’s response to nothing, since G-d lets human free-will based in a home is exempt from the light- his brothers’ plan as follows: take its course. The brothers accepted ing Chanukah candles. A tent is not a this argument and instead threw Joseph in home, unless it’s big enough to be consid- And Reuven said to them, “Don’t the pit, leaving his fate to Divine ered a halachic ‘house’ (approximately shed blood. Throw him into this pit Providence. seven feet by seven feet by three feet in the desert, and you won’t have to high). lay your hands upon him.” This was However, if there are family members in order to save him from their hands CHANUKAH IN who don’t go on the camping trip but and return him to his father ... The pit remain at home, they should light on was empty, there was no water in it. PEN PACES behalf of their family member who went (Genesis 37:22,24) O S Italian Chanukah camping. Rashi comments: “The pit was empty of water, but there were Nathan Novelli snakes and scorpions in it. (ibid.) I’m a student of Chief Rabbi of So how could Reuven hope to save Triest, Italy. My Rabbi ask me to YIDDLE RIDDLE Joseph by throwing him into a snake/scor- send this question: A family want pion pit? Good question. travel in return from USA to Europe in the 8th evening of Chanukah; The well-known Kabbalistic work, the Last Week we asked: Zohar, poses the exact same question, they have to leave New York at and answers: ”In a place of snakes and 3:00pm — which is before the time “On one historic Yom Kippur, the scorpions, if a person is righteous G-d will to light. They plan to arrive at home entire Jewish people ate and drank do a miracle for him and he will be saved; only in the morning of the next day. and were praised for it by however, once a person is in the hands of At home there are nobody to made Hashem.” agent for lighting. What is the cor- his enemies there are very few who will When did this occur? be saved.” rect way for a fulfillment of mizvah? Snakes and scorpions are ‘robots’: I’m sorry for my terrible english, they are ‘programmed’ to behave in spe- thankyou for the answer. Answer: cific ways. If a person is especially right- When King Solomon built the eous G-d will protect him by ‘re-program- Dear Nathan Novelli, Temple, Yom Kippur occurred dur- ming’ the snakes not to bite and the scor- I asked your question to Rabbi Shlomo ing its seven Inauguration Days. pions not to sting. Fisher, shlita. He ruled that in your case there is no obligation to light Chanukah The Sanhedrin decided that not Humans, on the other hand, have free only must the Inauguration Sacrifices will; and rarely does G-d interfere with lights. human free will. So sometimes a right- This can be explained as follows: The for the Temple be offered, but, eous person is allowed to suffer because Talmud describes the mitzva to light moreover, the people must cook, G-d doesn’t want to hinder free will. Chanukah lights as “a candle for a person eat, and drink on Yom Kippur or and his home” (Shabbat 21b). The obliga- else the happiness of the tion to light Chanukah candles applies only The commentaries maintain that Inauguration would be incomplete. Joseph’s brothers decreed a death sen- if you are based in a home at the appropri- ate time for fulfilling the mitzva. (See Mo’ed Katan 9a.)

5 PARSHA Q&A! Answers to this Week’s Questions! All references are to the verses and Rashi’s commentary unless otherwise stated.

1. 37:2 - (A) Yosef was the son of Midianites. motives, so did Potiphar’s Rachel, Yaakov’s primary wife. 7. 37:29 - He was attending to wife. (B) Yosef looked like Yaakov. Yaakov. 16. 39:3 - Yosef mentioned (C) All that befell Yaakov befell 8. 37:33 - Yitzchak. Hashem’s name frequently in Yosef. 9. 37:34 - Twenty-two years. his speech. 2. 37:10 - Because Yosef aroused 10. 37:35 - Yitzchak, who wept 17. 40:1 - The butler was impris- the hatred of his brothers. because of Yaakov’s suffering. oned because a fly was found 3. 37:10 - The moon represented 11. 38:24 - Shem. in the king’s goblet, and the Rachel. Since she had already 12. 38:25 - She did not want to baker was imprisoned because died, it was impossible for that embarrass him in public. a pebble was found in the element of the dream to come 13. 38:26 - In the merit of her king’s bread. true. modesty. 18. 40:4 - Twelve months. 4. 37:22 - He intended to return 14. 38:30 - To allude to his descen- 19. 40:5 - The baker dreamed the to the pit and pull Yosef out of dent, Achan, who sinned with interpretation of the butler’s it. his hand by taking four things dream. 5. 37:25 - Tar and Kerosene from the spoils of Jericho. 20. 40:23 - He remained in prison (Itran and Nepht). 15. 39:1 - To teach us that just as an additional two years. 6. 37:28 - A caravan of Tamar acted with pure

BONUS ANSWER! Yosef had two mothers: Rachel and Leah! Originally, Leah conceived Yosef and Rachel conceived Dinah. But Leah saw with Divine inspiration that if she were to bear Yaakov’s seventh son, Rachel would bear only one son, and thus be less than even the handmaids, Billah and Zilpah, who had two sons each. Therefore, Leah prayed, and Hashem swapped her fetus with Rachel’s. Thus, Leah was in fact one of Yosef’s mothers. •Meshech Chochma

RECOMMENDED READING LIST SFORNO RAMBAN 37:2 The Evil Report 37:2 The Evil Report 37:3 Yosef’s Coat 37:10 The Moon 37:18 The Brothers’ Concern 38:24 Tamar’s Punishment 38:1 Yehuda’s Punishment 39:19 Why Yosef was Imprisoned

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