Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
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- The Meaning of Hanukkah
- Torah Portion and Tanach
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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!
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
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Various Events FOR WHOM NOT TO VOTE
Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook stressed that Israeli politics is G-dly, so I have no problem answering this common question on a Torani blog. Also, Free-Will is a G-d-given right and obligation, to "destine one's fate" (R. Soloveichik, Kol Dodi Dofek, 67), so I obviously don't tell others how to vote. But once not a few (especially young) have already asked, a couple of personal words from experience and thoughts from chazal & Rav Kook which may be of help to others, mainly for whom NOT to vote.
Vayera IDIOTS: UNITE ALREADY! – parshat Vayera
Parshat VaYera, as well as the outcome of Israel's recent elections, teach us how we must inevitably act. The class suggests that the way to unity is what Chazal teach: "whomever veers from the norm, the burden of proof is upon him".
