01 Dec PARSHAS MIKETZ

In his dream Paro saw seven beautiful, healthy cows grazing in a marsh (achu), alongside the Nile River. Then, seven other cows came. These were ugly and thin, and they stood next to the first seven cows. The Torah writes, “The bad-looking and thin cows devoured the seven good-looking and healthy cows.” Paro had another, similar dream, with stalks of wheat. No one was able to explain the meaning of his dreams. Yosef, who had proven his ability to interpret dreams, was taken out of jail and he told Paro that there will be seven years of bounty and then seven years of famine. The famine will be so severe that they will devour the memory of the good years… After interpreting the dream, Yosef added some counsel: “Paro should appoint an ish navon vechacham (an understanding and intelligent man) over Egypt,” and this person should be in charge of gathering the produce during the seven prosperous years, so there would be food available for the seven years of famine… Reb Elyah Lopian zt”l asks, why is “understanding and intelligence” (ish navon vechacham) needed for the task of gathering wheat? It seems that any good manager can do the job. One doesn’t need to be a genius to store grains. The answer is, one needs to have a clear vision of the approaching devastation to do the job correctly. We will explain this, using the painful reality that we see by many Holocaust survivors. During those horrifying years, they experienced extreme hunger. They remember when there wasn’t enough food to eat, when every morsel was precious. As a result it is hard for them to throw away food or to see others discarding food. As far as they are concerned, every drop of food is precious. Such is the wisdom and the foresight that was needed, to gather the grains for the hunger years. People accustomed to abundance (especially during the seven years of abundance) do not understand the value of every morsel of food. Yosef advised Paro to find someone who is an ish navon vechacham (understanding and intelligent) because only someone who is extremely wise and can foresee and understand the dreadful hunger of the future, will value the importance of each grain. Only such a person can do the job correctly. Reb Eliyahu Lopian teaches: Almost every year, we read parashas Mikeitz on Chanukah and we study about how Mitzrayim stored the produce from the prosperous years for the hunger years. This reminds us that on Chanukah, when there is an abundance of spirituality, we should pack our bags with holiness, so the spiritual influence of Chanukah will remain with us for the rest of the year. A parable is told about a very poor person who couldn’t make a living; whatever he tried failed. He decided to visit the sar hamazalos (the angel appointed over mazel) and ask him where he should go and what he should do to find his mazel. As he was walking to the sar hamazalos, he met a beautiful, large tree, but the tree had no fruit on it. The tree requested, “When you meet with the sar hamazalos, tell him my name as well. Ask him why my mazel is so bad, why can’t I grow fruit.” “No problem,” the man replied. “When I meet with the sar hamazalos, I’ll ask him.” The man walked further and met a princess who was banished from her palace. She also requested, “When you meet with the sar hamazalos, ask him why my mazel is to be cast out of the castle. Ask him what I should do to return to my greatness.” “I will do so” the man replied, and he walked further. Then he met a lion. It was lying on the ground, ill and in pain. The lion said, “When you meet the sar hamazalos, ask him what I can do to cure myself.” “I will do so,” the man promised, and he went to the sar hamazalos. When he returned, he saw the tree and he said, “The sar hamazalos told me that near your roots lies a box filled with gold and diamonds. This blocks the nutrients in the ground from reaching you. When someone will dig up the treasure, you will bear fruit.” The tree pleaded, “Please dig up the treasure. You will become wealthy and I will be cured.” “No! No!” the man said. “I don’t have time for that. I am too busy looking for my mazel.” He walked further and found the princess. “I spoke with the sar hamazalos,” he told her. “He said that you will return to your greatness when you marry, because your husband will become the king and you will be the queen.” The princess pleaded, “Please marry me. I will return to the palace, and you will become king and very wealthy…” “I’m really sorry,” the man replied, “But I am too busy for that. I need to find my mazel.” Then he met the lion. “Did the sar hamazalos tell you what I should do, to be cured?” the lion asked. “Yes he did,” the man replied. “Your remedy is to eat the brain of someone who throws away every good opportunity that comes his way.” The lion quickly gobbled him up. Let’s not be like the fool in this parable. The opportunities are right here, in front of us. It is Chanukah, and we can gain so much. Let’s take advantage of these days, and attain all the greatness that Chanukah offers.

Gedolim who were Happy with their Chanukah Lecht

After the Yesod HaAvodah of Slonim zy”a was niftar, the chassidim were debating who should take over the chassidus. There were many great people among the chassidim who were fitting for the position. In the end, the Yesod HaAvodah’s grandson, Reb Shmuel (the Divrei Shmuel zy”a) was chosen, because of the following incident: The Divrei Shmuel was extremely devoted to the mitzvah of Chanukah lecht. Throughout the year, he was occupied with preparing the finest olive oil. Also, when he prepared the wicks, he made them with all his heart and soul. He was an expert in the halachos of Chanukah. In short, Chanukah lecht was a mitzvah that he loved, and he put all his heart and soul into doing the mitzvah in the best possible way. Once, on Friday, Erev Shabbos Chanukah, the Divrei Shmuel prepared his menorah. Before lighting it, he went to his grandfather’s home (to the Yesod HaAvodah) to watch him light Chanukah lecht. The Divrei Shmuel returned to his apartment, and saw that someone else had already used the menorah that he had prepared, and lit his candles. The other people in the apartment were amazed at the Divrei Shmuel’s tranquility. He sought another menorah and some more olive oil, but all that he could find was a single candle made from animal fat (cheilev). Shabbos was fast approaching, so the Divrei Shmuel lit that one candle and people were amazed to see how happy he was with his mitzvah. He wanted to do the mitzvah in the best way, and it is definitely preferred (Mehadrin) when one can light candles according to the nights of Chanukah (on the fifth night, to light five candles, on the sixth night, to light six, etc.) and olive oil is preferred over cheilev (animal-fat-candles) but he realized that this night, he couldn’t get better than this, and so he was happy with what he could do. After the Yesod HaAvodah was niftar, the elderly chassidim remembered this story and said, “For that alone, he deserves to be rebbe.” They didn’t choose him for his devotion and perfection in the mitzvah of Chanukah lecht, they chose him for the time that he lit a single candle, when he didn’t permit his anger and disappointment to disrupt his joy, but lit the candle with love and joy for the mitzvah. A similar amazing story happened with the Divrei Shmuel’s son, the Beis Avraham of Slonim zy”a. One year, on Friday afternoon, the rebbe was ready to light the Chanukah menorah, when his son ran by and accidentally knocked over the menorah and spilled the oil. There wasn’t enough time before Shabbos to prepare the menorah again and to light it. The Beis Avraham didn’t become angry. He was calm. With a smile he said, “The same Creator who commanded us to light, commanded that we shouldn’t become angry.” Every year, the Tolner Rebbe zy”a (of Yerushalayim) would rejoice immensely in front of his Chanukah lecht. One year, as he was dancing and rejoicing in front of his candles, his grandson ran by and knocked over his menorah. The rebbe said, “My dear child, how grateful I am to you. Now for the first time in my life I can keep the mitzvah, ‘kavsah ein zakuk lah — if the candles blow out before the half-hour passes, one isn’t obligated to light them again.’ How often do I have the opportunity to keep this Chazal?” Instead of being angry at his grandson for spilling the menorah, he rejoiced that he could carry out a statement from Chazal. At a time when others may become frustrated, the rebbe found the good in the situation, and rejoiced with the mitzvah that he performed.