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Another dispute: What did the Maccabim do when they found that 1 jar of unblemished oil? Did they put all the oil in the Menora at one time, so at least 1 day would be a "pure" & complete Mitzva? Or did they divide up the jar & place 1/8 of the oil in the Menora each night, so as to at least do some of the Mitzva?
The underlying philosophy behind both of these issues is the same: Should we try to go right to the top, shoot for immediate stardom, go for broke? Or, should we rather start small & work our way up, step by step, higher & higher, until we reach the summit?
In a world of perfection, of absolutes – like Olam Haba, which is populated by Angels & holy souls – the Halacha is indeed like Bet Shamai. But here on Earth, we mortals follow Bet Hillel’s approach, increasing light gradually, little by little, light by light.
Life is all about growth, about slow but steady progress towards a higher goal. Note how Yosef, our Sedra’s protagonist, grows significantly through the years: At first, he is an arrogant, somewhat conceited & immature lad. "V’hu na’ar," says the pasuk, he was but a "na’ar," a kid, a "work in progress." But later, after much trial & trauma, Yosef becomes a leader of men; he fulfills his destiny as the provider for his family & is a study in self-control. He has climbed the mountain from "na’ar" to "Tzadik."
Chazal tell us that the primary Mitzva which the Syrian-Greeks tried to deny to Am Yisrael was circumcision, brit mila. The Greeks worshipped beauty & the body. In their culture, a deformed child was left on a mountain-top to die, while those with fine physiques were exalted. (Thus, Helena, the goddess of beauty, was their primary deity, and their Olympics were conducted in the nude).
But we Jews believe that we are not born perfect; rather, we have the potential to reach perfection. This is signified by our very body, created "imperfectly" - until we perform the brit. By the same token, our souls – like our bodies - need a lot of work in order to reach their potential, & so we go about refining our neshamot through a daily regimen of Torah, Tefila & Tzedaka.
Life, & Chanuka, are like a sufganiya: Don’t try to swallow it all in one bite!
Rabbis in Midrash
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
