Torah Tidbits Issue 1399 Mikeitz by Orthodox Union

‫ב"ה‬

ISSUE 1399 DEC 19TH '20 ‫ד' טבת תשפ"א‬

‫פרשת מקץ‬

PARSHAT MIKEITZ

Torah Tidbits Expresses a Special 'Thank You'! p.36 -37

ALIYA-BY-ALIYA SEDRA SUMMARY

Rabbi Reuven Tradburks page 6

TURN DREAMS INTO REALITY

Rabbi Shalom Rosner page 24

‫שבע שבלים‬ ‫עלת בקנה אחד‬ ‫בריאות וטבות‬ '‫ פסוק ה‬,‫בראשית פרק מ"א‬

YERUSHALAYIM IN/OUT TIMES FOR SHABBAT PARSHAT MIKEITZ Candles 4:03PM • Havdala 5:19PM • Rabbeinu Tam 5:56PM OU ISRAEL 02-560-9100 |

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WEEKLY INSPIRATION Yosef developed the ability to enhance his inner soul and was not affected by all of the powers around him that strove to cause him to deviate from the path of wholeness and justice. He recognized his inner integrity...therefore, no one else could have an adverse affect over him, as he had chosen the right path. Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook zt"l, Ein Aya, Berachot Chapter 3, Note 37

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Torah Tidbits Family 04Dear Rabbi Avi Berman Mikeitz Sedra Summary 06Parshat Rabbi Reuven Tradburks 12AnRabbiEndDr.to Darkness Tzvi Hersh Weinreb Approaches to Dreams 16Three Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l Probing The Prophets 22Rabbi Nachman Winkler Dreams into Reality 24Turn Rabbi Shalom Rosner Connection 26Constant Rebbetzin Shira Smiles Thank You! 28Rabbi Judah Mischel Israel 32OUVirtual Schedule Shmuel 38Simchat Rabbi Sam Shor

of Cooking Sharp Food 40Applications Rabbi Ezra Friedman 42Forgiveness Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider the Real Man Stand Up? 48Will Menachem Persoff Outside with Gloves 50Davening Rabbi Daniel Mann Genes in Halacha 52Using Rabbi Gideon Weitzman ‫ויברך‬ Zemira Ozarowski 54‫דוד‬Rebbetzin And Ma’aserot: Table Olives Rabbi Moshe Bloom 57Terumot Ashreinu 58Yeshivat Rabbi Gotch Yudin 4 Teens By Teens 60Torah Lia Manning // Avi Diamond

KIDDUSH LEVANA ASARAH BE'TEVET - FAST DAY Earliest Kiddush Levana - 3 Days After Molad - 5 Tevet/ Motzei Shabbat Dec. 19 7 Days After Molad - 8 Tevet/ Tues. night Dec. 22 Last Opportunity To Say Kiddush Levana Until: 15 Tevet/ Tues. night Dec. 29, 9:56 pm The fast of Asarah Be'Tevet is observed on Friday December 25 The fast begins at 5:19 am. The fast ends at 5:02pm. (Jerusalem) We wait until we recite kiddush to break the fast. (Please consult a rabbi if one needs to end the fast earlier). 2

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

CANDLE LIGHTING

OTHER Z'M A N I M

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MIKEITZ

HAVDALA

VAYIGASH

Candles

Havdala

4:03 Yerushalayim / Maale Adumim 5:19 4:06 5:23 4:21 Aza area (Netivot, S’derot, Et al) 5:22 4:24 5:26 4:21 Beit Shemesh / RBS 5:20 4:25 5:24 4:18 Gush Etzion 5:19 4:22 5:23 4:18 Raanana/ Tel Mond/ Herzliya/ K. Saba 5:20 4:22 5:23 4:18 Modi’in / Chashmona’im 5:20 4:22 5:23 4:18 Netanya 5:19 4:21 5:23 4:21 Be’er Sheva 5:22 4:24 5:25 4:19 Rehovot 5:20 4:23 5:24 4:03 Petach Tikva 5:20 4:06 5:23 4:17 Ginot Shomron 5:19 4:21 5:22 4:06 Haifa / Zichron 5:18 4:10 5:22 4:17 Gush Shiloh 5:18 4:20 5:22 4:19 Tel Aviv / Giv’at Shmuel 5:20 4:22 5:24 4:18 Giv’at Ze’ev 5:19 4:21 5:23 4:19 Chevron / Kiryat Arba 5:20 4:22 5:24 4:21 Ashkelon 5:22 4:24 5:25 4:19 Yad Binyamin 5:20 4:23 5:24 4:09 Tzfat / Bik’at HaYarden 5:15 4:13 5:19 4:14 Golan 5:16 4:18 5:19 Rabbeinu Tam (J'lem) - 5:56 PM • next week - 6:00 pm TImes According to My Zmanim (20 min. before sundown in most cities, 40 min. in Yerushalyim and Petach Tikva, 30 min. in Tzfat/Haifa)

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RANGES 11 DAYS WED - SHABBAT 1 TEVET - 11 TEVET (DEC. 16 - DEC 26) Earliest Talit and Tefilin Sunrise Sof Z'man Kriat Shema

5:37 - 5:42am 6:32 - 6:37am 9:03 - 9:08am

Sof Z'man T'fila

9:54 - 9:59am

(Magen Avraham: 8:24 - 8:29am)

(According to the Gra and Baal HaTanya)

Chatzot (Halachic noon) Mincha Gedola (Earliest Mincha) Plag Mincha Sunset (counting elevation)

11:34 - 11:39am 12:04 - 12:09pm 3:34 - 3:39pm 4:42 - 4:47pm

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DEAR TORAH TIDBITS FAMILY Rabbi Avi Berman Executive Director, OU Israel One of the themes I find myself reflecting on since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic is the beauty of celebrating the Chagim without the distractions I usually have over the holidays. I can’t emphasize enough that I wish the world wasn’t suffering, but we all know that Hashem has a plan and one of our tasks is to try and internalize the lessons from our challenges. This Chanukah gave me the opportunity to focus on the beauty of the holiday and sit around the candles reviewing the Chanukah story and learning Torah with my kids. I follow the Gra’s Halachic ruling of lighting Chanukah candles at Shekiyah. In regular years, I find myself praying to get home before Shekiyah as I sit in traffic on my way back to Givat Ze’ev. It is beautiful to see everyone leaving Yerushalayim at the same time to get home to light, but it also means that my usual 30 minute commute takes an hour, sometimes even an hour and 45 minutes, to get home. Professionally, I am generally running

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TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

from OU Israel Youth Center to Youth Center participating in as many candle lightings as I can with our 21 clubs throughout the country. For many years, we have had the Mayor of Dimona light candles in our OU Israel Youth Center in Dimona on the first night. We have friends from Yerushalayim and around the world as well as VIPs light candles at The Pearl & Harold Jacobs Zula Outreach Center. This year we were honored to have Minister Rav Rafi Peretz join us at the Zula the first night of Chanukah. We also usually run numerous OU Israel Center and L’Ayla Chanukah programs, which have shifted to virtual programming this year, including the Facebook Live raffle drawing this past week for the Torah Tidbits Appreciation Campaign. On a personal level, we also have a community Chanukah party, one with our Shul, and several others with our extended families. This year we weren't rushing about like we did year’s past. We reviewed the Chanukah story, discussed what it must have been like to see the Menorah lit in the Beit HaMikdash, shared Divrei Torah the kids learned in school, and had an interesting discussion about Yehudit and the vital role women played in the Chanukah story. We also had the opportunity to think a little bit outside of the box and welcome people into our home via Zoom. While not the same as in-person, it was special

for us to have a Zoom gathering with NCSYers and to see pictures of OU Israel’s virtual Havdalah and Candle lighting that Rabbi Shor and Chana Spivak ran for our network of active older single Olim. While it is always important to reach out to friends and relatives living on their own and daven for people searching for their Zivug or struggling with infertility, the Chagim are a reminder that all of us enjoy being included in each other's celebrations and prayers. This year I was blessed with helping distribute Chanukah Gift packages to OU Israel Center members and friends, some of whom are at-risk for corona and have been home for many, many months. (Thank you to our friends at Iriyat Yerushalayim and to an anonymous donor for partnering on this initiative with us.) It was wonderful to see so many faces that I’m used to seeing at the OU Israel Center regularly and have not seen in a long time. Over and over again the people I delivered packages to thanked the dedicated OU Israel team for Torah Tidbits and our ongoing virtual Shiurim. Their feedback made me realize that in addition to the priceless value of Torah learning, providing people who are otherwise stuck at home with something productive to keep busy with is also a very worthwhile cause. It has not been easy continuing to pay salaries for these Shiurim and programs while not bringing in our regular income, but we feel very strongly that the Shiurim and online programs continue, particularly during challenging times. We

also feel truly blessed that virtual Shiurim are enabling Jews around the world to learn Torah with OU Israel, something that will definitely serve as credit to get out of COVID. I pray that as we move forward from Chanukah, we take it’s light with us for the rest of the year. B'ezrat Hashem next year, we will be able to celebrate again in person. Yet, I pray that a part of this corona Chanukah stay with me for future Chanukahs.

Avi Executive Director, OU Israel OU ISRAEL CENTER

KI TEITZEI MIKEITZ ALIYA-BY-ALIYA SEDRA SUMMARY Rabbi Reuven Tradburks Director of RCA Israel Region In our Parsha Yosef ascends from jail to complete control of Egypt. Paro has a dream. The Butler remembers Yosef in jail. Yosef tells Paro of 7 impending years of plenty followed by 7 of famine. Yosef is appointed to manage the hoarding of food in the good years. When the famine begins, the whole world turns to Yosef for food. Including his family. Yosef recognizes his brothers; he accuses them of spying. Shimon is kept in jail, the brothers

In loving memory of

Miriam Korenstein

‫מרים בת שמואל יעקוב ז''ל‬ on her 5th yahrzeit ‫ה' טבת תשפ"א‬ and

Manfred Korenstein ‫משה ניסן בן יצחק ז''ל‬

whose 21st yahrzeit was on

‫י"ח מרחשון תשפ"א‬

Both greatly missed by their family and all who knew them May the learning from this issue of TT be

‫לעלוי נשמותיהם‬

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

return home to bring Binyamin. When the need for food forces them back to Egypt, Binyamin is brought with them. Yehuda guarantees his return to Yaakov. Yosef plants his goblet with Binyamin, punishes him with remaining a slave in Egypt. 1st Aliya (41:1-14) 2 years later (after the Butler’s return to serve Paro), Paro dreams. 7 healthy cows emerge from the water, devoured by 7 skinny ones who emerge after. Paro is not satisfied by the dream interpretations of his wise men. The Butler remembers Yosef, tells Paro of him. Yosef is shaved, dressed and rushed to Paro. Dreams aplenty. Yaakov dreamt of the ladder and the angels. Yosef had 2 dreams. The Butler and Baker had dreams. Now Paro has 2 dreams. But there are subtle differences in who, when and how many. Yaakov had one dream; one man, one dream. Yosef had 2 dreams, but not on the same day. He told his brothers of the sheaves bowing to him and they weren’t happy. Then he had another of the sun, moon and stars and told to Yaakov and the brothers. So with Yosef; 1 man, 2 dreams, 2 nights. The Butler and Baker; 2 men, 2 dreams, 1 night. And Paro; 1 man, 2 dreams, 1 night. When Yosef is successful in interpreting both the Butler and Baker and Paro’s dreams, does he wonder about his dreams? Does he think his dreams may still come true? Or does he assume his don’t match the pattern; the others were 2 dreams, one night. His were 2 dreams, 2 nights. Or perhaps 2 nights is a sign that

they will take a long time to occur. Maybe even over 20 years. 2nd Aliya (41:15-38) Paro relates the dreams to Yosef. Yosef tells Paro that the 7 years of plenty will be followed by 7 years of famine. Now, Paro you shall appoint a wise person to hoard food during the plenty, to avoid the lands collapse during the famine. Paro responds: could one like this be found who has G-d’s spirit in him? Dream interpretation is a rich subject. If the dream is of plenty and famine, I get healthy stalks being devoured by sickly ones. But stalks don’t eat. And what do cattle have to do with agriculture? Why cows walking out of the Nile? Ok, cows can eat each other, whereas stalks can’t. But stalks are agriculture, cows aren’t. The name Elokim appears 7 times in this exchange between Yosef and Paro. When a word is repeated 7 times, it is a signal – take note, this is central. The story of Yosef’s sale, his descent to Potiphar’s home, his being framed by Mrs. Potiphar, thrown in jail, is a downward spiral designed by the hands of man. But all that is about to change, for G-d’s Hand is entering the story. 3rd Aliya (41:39-52) Paro appoints Yosef over all of Egypt; he receives the signet ring, the royal clothes, rides the royal chariot, receives the Egyptian name Tzafnat Paneach and marries. He gathers the grain in the years of plenty. His 2 sons are born; Menashe, G-d has allowed me to forget my fathers home and Ephraim, G-d has made me prosper in Egypt.

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In an instant, Yosef has gone from the foreign lad in jail, to the number 2 man in the land. But. The wrong land. Aren’t we supposed to be settling the land of Israel? In our absorption in a wonderful story of twists and turns, we forgot that the story of the Torah is the promise to Avraham: Your children will inherit the land. Of Israel. Not Egypt. The shift of the story of the Jewish people has moved entirely from Israel to Egypt right under our noses. And don’t we all love the Midrash that the Jews were redeemed from Egypt for not changing their names, their clothing or language. Yosef is given new clothes, and a new name in a new language. Yosef seems to have become the quintessential Egyptian. 4th Aliya (41:53-42:18) The famine begins. Paro instructs his people to go to Yosef, for Yosef has opened the storehouses. Yaakov sends his sons, save Binyanim, to Egypt to get food. When the brothers bow to Yosef, he recognizes them. He remembers his dreams. Yosef challenges the brothers, claiming they are spying Egypt. To prove

May the Torah learned from this issue of Torah Tidbits be in loving memory and ‫ לע"נ‬of

LILY BIBER z"l

‫לאה ביבר בת אשר זעליג ז"ל‬ On her 1st Yahrzeit ‫ז טבת‬ Dearly missed every day by her devoted children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren Biber and Frankfurter Families 8

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

they are not, he demands they bring Binyamin. And puts them in jail for 3 days. What did Yosef think when he saw the brothers? All the commentators grapple with Yosef’s response. Why not say hello to them? Why hide? Varied are the responses. But on the level of metaphor or drush – what an image. The Jew, successful, wildly successful, in the highest offices of his new land, with his new language, his new name, his new clothes; is unrecognizable to his brothers. And he himself, so comfortable in his new world, cannot find the words to bridge the gap. 5th Aliya (42:19-43:15) Yosef tells the brothers that one should stay behind while the rest return home and bring Binyamin to him. They respond to themselves; this has occurred because of how we treated Yosef. Yosef cries upon hearing this. Shimon is jailed. Yosef places their money with their grain. When they discover this, they wonder why G-d is doing this. Yaakov is distressed at the thought of Binyamin leaving him. But when the food runs out, there is no choice. Yehuda guarantees Binyamin’s safe return. They return and stand before Yosef. The brother’s feelings of guilt for the sale of Yosef are inescapable. Over 20 years later, in Egypt, buying food – when things turn into a crisis, with Yosef demanding they bring Binyamin, the brothers immediately blurt out: we are getting our due for selling Yosef. They have been waiting for calamity to befall them, knowing it will surely come. But of course, they mean this is G-d meting out a form of punishment

to them. When really, it is Yosef who is manipulating them. So, it isn’t G-d, it’s Yosef. Or is it? Maybe they are right. Yosef is repeatedly described as successful in Egypt; in Potiphar’s home, in the jail, and now as number 2 in the Land. He is efficient and definitive. Yet, here, he is capricious; puts them all in jail, says they should all remain in jail and one return, then changes his mind, one stay in jail, all return. Either Yosef is beside himself and winging it, not really knowing what to do. Or maybe the brothers are not the only ones being manipulated. Maybe Yosef too is a puppet in the Divine Hands – he makes a move, and He puts into his head something different. In order to bring the Jews to Egypt. 6th Aliya (43:16-29) The brothers receive a royal welcome from Yosef upon their return with Binyamin. They apologize for the money they found in their grain sacks. Yosef tells them not to worry for their G-d has given them a gift. The brothers are treated to a fine dinner. Yosef inquires of their father and sees Binyamin. Binyamin is Yosef’s brother, the only other born from Rachel. Binyamin was very young when Yosef was sold. This is 22 years later. Yosef would not recognize Binyamin. The aliya ends on a pregnant note – he sees Binyamin – and then what? The next aliya begins with Yosef crying. Yosef does a lot of crying in the story. At the same time, for the brothers, they swing up and down. Nervous as to how he will react. Relieved at the banquet he serves them. But then crashing down when in the next aliya the goblet is

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planted with Binyamin. 7th Aliya (43:30-44:17) Yosef sits the brothers in the order of their birth. They are surprised. Their sacks are packed with grain, their money returned. And Yosefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goblet planted in the sack of Binyamin. No sooner had they left, Yosef orders the guards to pursue. The goblet is found in the sack of Binyamin. They return to Yosef. Yehuda offers that they all stay as slaves. Yosef demurs; the thief along shall be a slave. The rest of you return home in peace to your father. The swings of fortune for the brothers is dramatic. Accused of being spies, yet their money returned with their grain. Treated royally upon their return, money again returned with their grain. Yet, accused of theft. And the stage is set for an even more

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

dramatic swing; Yosef finally revealing himself to them.

STATS 10th of 54 sedras; 10th of 12 in B'reishit; Written on 254.6 lines, ranks 6th. Mikeitz is a one Parsha P'tucha (open)(the longest parsha in the whole Torah) Contrast this parsha's 2022 words with the shortest parshiyot with 2 words 146 p'sukim - rank: 8th (5th in B'reishit) tied with B'reishit (the sedra) 2022 words - ranks 3rd (2nd) 7914 letters - ranks 2nd (first) Mikeitz's p'sukim are unusually long for a big sedra. That's why it is so high in the rankings for words and letters. On the other hand, with no parsha breaks, the "number of lines rank" drops a bit.

MITZVOT No mitzvot are counted from Mikeitz. One of 17 sedras without mitzvot.

HAFTORAH 1 KINGS 3:15 - 4:1 This week’s haftorah begins with the words, “And Shlomo awoke, and behold it was a dream,” which clearly reminds us of this week’s Torah portion which opens with the dream of Pharaoh. The haftorah proceeds to tell a famous episode that made all of Israel aware of their new king’s astounding wisdom and insight. Two women who lived together in the same house had each given birth to infants just days apart. One night, one of the infants was found dead and it seemed that accidently one of the mothers had crushed the baby. One of the mothers accused the other of switching the infants in order to now have the live baby. Each mother claimed that the live child was their own. King Shlomo asked that a sword be brought in order to cut the live baby in half and that each mother would receive half the baby. At that moment, the mother of the living infant cried out to the king and asked that the child be given to the other woman so that it may live.

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An End to Darkness

ypically, this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Mikeitz (Genesis 41:1-44:17), is read during Chanukah. This year is an exception. This Shabbat, we read Mikeitz on the day after Chanukah. Since my early childhood, I’ve associated the day after Chanukah with sad feelings, feelings of loss. After all, for eight consecutive days, we celebrated with hallel v’hodaah, with praise and thanksgiving, with special foods and songs, and gifts. We lit candles every night, culminating in the night before last when we lit eight candles. Then, suddenly, abruptly, we cease all celebration—no more candles! I recall the first time I was conscious of these sad post-Chanukah emotions. I was five years old, old enough to have heard the Chanukah story and to have learned Chanukah songs. My uncle Yossel, one of

my father’s younger brothers, had just returned from serving in the United States Army during World War II. He returned with military souvenirs, including helmets and flags. To me, he was more than just a war hero. He was the embodiment of Judah the Maccabee. It was a special holiday for our family, and we celebrated accordingly. I had my own little menorah and still remember my mother’s words of caution as I lit the last candle on the eighth night. But the next night, I felt deprived and experienced what I now realize was a sense of anti-climactic loss. I remember another Chanukah, about ten years later, in my early teenage years. Earlier that year, just before Rosh Hashanah, I had been contacted by a rabbi in another neighborhood, who was assembling a small group of selected yeshiva high school students to join him in a special “club for spiritual advancement.” That rabbi, now long gone, eventually became, and remains, quite famous and influential. I refer to the late Rabbi Avigdor Miller, whom I consider one of my first mentors. There were about ten or twelve young boys in the group, and we would assemble in his synagogue, the Young Israel of

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

Rugby in Brooklyn, once every three weeks. We would briefly study a classic work of Jewish ethics, or mussar, and were given an assignment designed to foster our spiritual development. We returned three weeks later to report about our progress. Several weeks before Chanukah, we were introduced to what is now referred to as “mindfulness meditation.” We were asked to spend some time in front of the lit menorah, gazing at the candles and monitoring the thoughts that came to mind and the emotions we were feeling. On the “ninth day,” we were to sit before the unlit menorah and again reflect upon our thoughts and feelings while sitting in utter darkness. That experience made a lifelong impression upon me, and I well recall that cold winter evening, sitting in the darkness, and sobbing in sadness. Fast forward some thirty years to Chanukah 1984, when my wife’s late uncle came to visit the city of Baltimore, where we were his hosts. My wife’s uncle was a Hasidic Rebbe, the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Taub, of blessed memory, who had settled in Israel before the Holocaust. That Chanukah, he was visiting the United States and spent the seventh and eighth day of Chanukah in our home. There, throngs of local Jews came to consult him and heard his inspiring words of Torah and charming melodies. He departed on the morning of the “ninth day,” which was sad in itself.

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Sadder, however, was the fact that soon after he returned to Israel, on the fourth day of Iyar, not long after Passover, he passed away. My wife and I were never to see him again. And so, from a very personal perspective, you can understand the sadness that I associate with the day after Chanukah. This year, however, the day after Chanukah falls on a Shabbat, this Shabbat. This is a special blessing for me, and for all who feel somewhat let down after the Chanukah holiday. The Shabbat day thankfully dispels whatever sadness we might otherwise be feeling. Upon further reflection, it dawned upon me that it is not only the Shabbat itself that dispels the “darkness” that we feel postChanukah. Rather, dispelling darkness is the very theme of this week’s Torah portion. Last week’s parsha, Parshat Vayeshev, ended on a very dark note. Joseph was interred in a deep and dark dungeon. His desperate, and only, hope was that his once

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fellow prisoner, Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, would remember his plea: “But think of me when all is well with you again, and do me the kindness of mentioning me to Pharaoh, so as to free me from this place.” (Genesis 40:14) But the discouraging final verse of last week’s Torah reading still rings in our ears: “Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him!” (Ibid. verse 23) This week, our parsha begins with the very next verse: “At the end, Mikeitz, of two years’ time, Pharaoh dreamed...” We gradually come to know the details of Pharaoh’s dreams. We become aware that they dramatically lead not only to Joseph’s freedom from the dungeon, but to his elevation to the position of viceroy, the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. The word ketz means “the end.” Thus, the Midrash links our verse to the words of Job: “Ketz sum lachoshech, He sets an end to darkness; to every limit that man probes, to rocks in deepest darkness.” (Job 28:3)

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The Midrash continues, “The Almighty assigns limits to times of darkness,” to which the commentaries suggest that even times of darkness have a purpose. Thus, Joseph’s imprisonment, dark as it was, was the setting for his encounter with the royal cupbearer, which eventually led not only to his freedom but to his rise to power. We can begin to understand the purpose of darkness only when the darkness is finally lifted. I hasten to add that this lesson is intrinsic to the very procedure of Chanukah candle lighting. We follow the custom of the great Hillel. His custom was opposed to that of Shammai, whose school kindled eight lights on the first night of the holiday, and then kindled one less light each night until they were left with but one candle on the final night. With one candle left, there is nowhere to go except to zero. Hillel on the other hand began with but one candle and increased the number of candles each night until there were eight. He was, as the Talmud puts it, mosif v’holech, always increasing the number of candles, always increasing the amount of light. His lesson is clear. When one encounters the darkness of the ninth day, he must continue to increase the amount of light. He must, figuratively of course, light a “ninth candle.” He dare not succumb to darkness or despair. He must continue on the path of mosif v’holech, constantly moving forward. Ketz sum lachoshech. An end to darkness. An apt prayer for our current circumstances.

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on the Weekly Parsha from COVENANT & Thoughts RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS ZT"L CONVERSATION

Former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

May the learning of these Divrei Torah be ‫לעילוי נשמת‬ HaRav Ya'akov Zvi ben David Arieh zt"l The following dvar Torah was submitted to Torah Tidbits from Rabbi Sacks before his passing.

‫לעילוי נשמות‬ ‫פנחס בן יעקב אשר וגולדה בת ישראל דוד אייז ע״ה‬ ‫עזריאל בן אריה לייב ומעניה בת יצחק שרטר ע״ה‬ Dedicated by Dr. Robert Sreter DDS., M.S.

Three Approaches to Dreams

n one of the greatest transformations in all literature, Joseph moves in a single bound from prisoner to Prime Minister. What was it about Joseph – a complete outsider to Egyptian culture,

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

a “Hebrew,” a man who had been languishing in jail on a false charge of attempted rape – that marked him out as a leader of the greatest empire of the ancient world? Joseph had three gifts that many have in isolation but few in combination. The first is that he dreamed dreams. Initially we do not know whether his two adolescent dreams – of his brothers’ sheaves bowing down to his, and of the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing down to him – are a genuine presentiment of future greatness, or merely the overactive imagination of a spoiled child with delusions of grandeur. Only in this week’s parsha of Mikketz do we discover a vital piece of information that has been withheld from us until now. Joseph says to Pharaoh, who has also had two dreams: “The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon” (Gen. 41:32). Only

Second, like Sigmund Freud many centuries years later, Joseph had a gift for interpreting the dreams of others. He did so for the butler and baker in prison and, in this week’s parsha, for Pharaoh. His interpretations were neither magical nor miraculous. In the case of the butler and baker he remembered that in three days’ time it would be Pharaoh’s birthday (Gen. 40:20). It was the custom of rulers to make a feast on their birthday and decide the fate of certain individuals (in Britain, the Queen’s birthday honours continue this tradition). It was reasonable therefore to assume that the butler’s and baker’s dreams related to this event and their unconscious hopes and fears.1 In the case of Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph may have known ancient Egyptian traditions about seven-year famines. Nahum Sarna quotes an Egyptian text from the reign of King Djoser (ca. twentyeighth century BCE): I was in distress on the Great Throne, and those who are in the palace were in heart’s affliction from a very great evil, since the Nile had not come in my time for a space of seven years. Grain was scant, fruits were dried up, and everything which they eat was short.2 1 Ibn Ezra 40:12 and Bechor Shor 40:12 both make this suggestion. 2 Nahum Sarna, Understanding Genesis,

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in retrospect do we realise that Joseph’s double dream was a sign that this too was no mere imagining. Joseph really was destined to be a leader to whom his family would bow down.

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Joseph’s most impressive achievement, though, was his third gift, the ability to implement dreams, solving the problem of which they were an early warning. No sooner had he told of a seven-year famine then he continued, without pause, to provide a solution: “Now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” (Gen. 41:33-36) We have seen Joseph the brilliant administrator before, both in Potiphar’s house and in the prison. It was this gift, demonstrated at precisely the right time, that led to his appointment as Viceroy of Egypt. New York, Schocken, 1966, 219.

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TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

From Joseph, therefore, we learn three principles. The first is: dream dreams. Never be afraid to let your imagination soar. When people come to me for advice about leadership, I tell them to give themselves the time and space and imagination to dream. In dreams we discover our passion, and following our passion is the best way to live a rewarding life.3 Dreaming is often thought to be impractical. Not so; it is one of the most practical things we can do. There are people who spend months planning a holiday but not even a day planning a life. They let themselves be carried by the winds of chance and circumstance. That is a mistake. The Sages said, “Wherever [in the Torah] we find the word vayehi, ‘And it came to pass,’ it is always the prelude to tragedy.”4 A vayehi life is one in which we passively let things happen. A yehi (“Let there be”) life is one in which we make things happen, and it is our dreams that give us direction. Theodor Herzl, to whom more than any 3 One of the classic texts on this subject is Ken Robinson, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (New York: Penguin Books, 2009). 4 Megillah 10b.

other person we owe the existence of the state of Israel, used to say, “If you will it, it is no dream.” I once heard a wonderful story from Eli Wiesel. There was a time when Sigmund Freud and Theodore Herzl lived in the same district of Vienna. “Fortunately,” he said, “they never met. Can you imagine what would have happened had they met? Theodore Herzl would have said: ‘I have a dream of a Jewish state.’ Freud would have replied: ‘Tell me, Herr Herzl, how long have you been having this dream? Lie down on my couch, and I will psychoanalyse you.’ Herzl would have been cured of his dreams and today there would be no Jewish state.” Fortunately, the Jewish people have never been cured of their dreams. The second principle is that leaders interpret other people’s dreams. They articulate the inchoate. They find a way of expressing the hopes and fears of a generation. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech was about taking the hopes of Black Americans and giving them wings. It was not Joseph’s dreams that made him a leader; it was Pharaoh’s. Our own dreams give us direction; it is other people’s dreams that give us opportunity. The third principle is: find a way to implement dreams. First see the problem, then find a way of solving it. The Kotzker

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Rebbe once drew attention to a difficulty in Rashi’s writing. Rashi (Ex. 18:1) says that Yitro was given the name Yeter (meaning, “he added”) because “he added a passage to the Torah beginning [with the words], “Choose from among the people...” (Ex. 18:21).This occurred when Yitro saw Moses leading alone and told him that what he was doing was not good: he would wear himself and the people to exhaustion. Therefore he should choose good people and delegate much of the burden of leadership to them. The Kotzker pointed out that the passage that Yitro added to the Torah did not begin, “Choose from among the people.” It began several verses earlier when he said, “What you are doing is not good.” (Ex. 18:17) The answer the Kotzker gave was simple. Saying “What you are doing is not good” is not an addition to the Torah - it is merely stating a problem. The addition consisted in the solution: delegating. Good leaders either are, or surround themselves with, problem-solvers. It is easy to see when things are going wrong. What makes a leader is the ability to find a way of putting them right. Joseph’s genius lay not in predicting seven years of plenty

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

followed by seven years of famine, but in devising a system of storage that would ensure food supplies in the lean and hungry years. Dream dreams; understand and articulate the dreams of others; and find ways of turning a dream into a reality – these three gifts are leadership, the Joseph way. Questions (Around The Shabbat Table) •

Dream dreams: How big are the ideas you dream up for your life?

•

Understand the dreams of others: Do you ever listen to other people’s aspirations, and help them to visualise them more clearly?

•

Find ways of transforming them: How can you turn these dreams into realities?

Covenant and Conversation 5781 is kindly supported by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation in memory of Maurice and Vivienne Wohl z”l. These weekly teachings from Rabbi Sacks are part of the ‘Covenant & Conversation’ series on the weekly Torah reading. Read more on www.rabbisacks.org.

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RABBI NACHMAN (NEIL) WINKLER PROBING BY Faculty, OU Israel Center THE PROPHETS l

“

Vayikatz Shlomo -v’hineh chalom”

the two readings is obvious to all.

“Vayikatz Par’oh -v’hineh chalom”

It’s all about dreams!

Throughout the years that I have been sharing my thoughts about the weekly haftarah, I have never had the opportunity to discuss this week’s reading from Sefer M’lachim A (3; 15- 4; 1). The reason is simple: 90% of the time, Parashat Mikeitz is read on Chanukah, whether in the middle of the holiday or on the last day, as the second Shabbat of the chag. This is the first time in years that Parashat Mikeitz occurs after Chanukah ends and, therefore, the first time that I have the privilege of commenting on this episode in the life of Shlomo HaMelech. Despite the fact that this haftarah is rarely read-I’m sure that its content is well-known to most of us. The very opening words of the haftarah tell us that Shlomo HaMelech woke up from his dream, “Vayikatz Shlomo -v’hineh chalom”. The pasuk goes on to relate that he goes to Yerushalayim, stands before the Holy Ark, offers sacrifices to Hashem and makes a feast for his servants. He celebrated the message he received in his dream. When we read the parasha of Mikeitz we hear almost the exact same expression: “Vayikatz Par’oh -v’hineh chalom”, Pharaoh also awoke from a dream. The connection between 22

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

Or is it? The Torah proceeds to tell us that Pharaoh did not understand the meaning of the dream-nor did his necromancers or his wise men. It is only Joseph who can interpret the dream. And the rest of the parasha is very much based on those dreams and their interpretations. Not so the haftarah. The selection from Sefer M’lachim begins in the middle of the perek and doesn’t even include the dream itself! Shlomo celebrates that dream and has no problem understanding-without “necromancers” or wise men to help him. The dream episode that seems to be the connection to our parasha takes up only one verse and, as I mentioned, it doesn’t even let us know what the dream is!!?? It is a seemingly unimportant detail that Chazal chose to omit from the haftarah, while the dream(s) of Pharaoh are described and repeated and interpreted and acted upon. The dreams do not seem to be a connection between the two readingsthey seem to stand in contrast to each other! So, perhaps, it’s not all about the dreams.

When we take a look at the haftarah we realize that 14 out of the 15 psukim are seemingly unconnected to the dream itself. The haftarah is about the story of the two women, both of whom claimed to be the rightful mother to the same infant. The problem reaches the king who uncovers the identity of the true mother by threatening to halve the baby and then, based upon the reaction of the respective women, would learn who the true mother was. We all know the story. But its importance for our purposes is to understand what message Chazal were trying to impart to us by choosing this story for this parasha. I would suggest that the Rabbis were not so interested in the dream itself as much as the reaction to the dream. Shlomo awoke from his dream and thanked Hashem for granting his wish (by offering sacrifices) and then celebrated that promise with his servants. But only after he resolves the case of the two women does Shlomo realize-as do we, the readers, that even as a youth, his understanding of a mother’s inexplicable connection to her child, was granted to him by G-d. And that sensitivity reflected divine wisdom. And, similarly, he understood that the gift of wisdom that Hashem granted would remain with him all of his life and make him the kind of King he hoped to be. Par’oh also dreamed but its message required divine wisdom to understand. The Egyptian regent calls upon Yosef who properly interprets the dream(s) and then he appoints Yosef as his Viceroy. But understand that Yosef told the Pharaoh

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(mamad), sukkah balcony, dreams view, elevator, 3,400,000 that he does not interpret but NIS Katamondoes : 4-room apartment, 90 sqm, well split, br G-d does. Yet, Old Par’oh not react. sukkah balcony facing a magnificent panoramic view, 3 exp. S Yosef explains the dreams’ meaning and elevator, parking, 3,290,000 NIS tells the King “G-d has told Pharaoh thatin a very qui Old Katamon : Spacious 3-room apartment sqm, sukkah balcony facing a green and pastoral view, 3 exp. which He is planning” again,2,690,000 there elevator, privateand, parking, storeroom, NIS is no response by Pharaoh. Finally, after completing his interpretation, Joseph again adds that E’lokim has decided these things and E’lokim will bring them about quickly. The regent finally reacts by saying that there are none as Yosef who has the spirit of E’lokim within him. He credits Yosef-but not G-d. He gives Yosef the power but never shows appreciation to or recognition of Hashem as one Who has saved his land. He leaves the responsibility of carrying Hashem’s message to Yosef while he continues to rule with no sign of change.

Yes, both Par’oh and Shlomo had dreams, but their reactions were quite different. And that is what Chazal were emphasizing in establishing this reading for this parasha. We all have hopes and dreams-but how do we react when they come true? It is not about dreams. It is about what we do with them! OU ISRAEL CENTER

RABBI SHALOM ROSNER

Rav Kehilla, Nofei HaShemesh Maggid Shiur, Daf Yomi, OU.org Senior Ra"M, Kerem B'Yavneh

Turn Dreams into Reality

he parsha opens with Pharaoh dreaming – literally! Rav Zalman Sorotzkin in Oznayim LaTorah points out that the word the Torah uses is not ‫( ופרעה חלם‬chalam)– that Pharaoh dreamt in the past tense, but rather ‫ופרעה‬ ‫( חולם‬cholem) with a ketiv maleh (with the letter vav), which depicts an action taking place in the present. He was currently dreaming. Perhaps this is to highlight that Pharaoh was immersed in a constant dream. He lived a life that was far from reality. In a sense, we may even refer to it as being “spaced out”. As the leader of Egypt, he felt as if he was a God. There was no greater being on earth. The midrash tells us that Pharaoh used to attend to his bodily needs at the Nile early in the morning so that people would think he was a God and that he did not need to relieve himself throughout the day. Pharaoh’s entire life was one long dream. He imagined that he was God and he acted accordingly. The world revolves around him. He is the center of the world’s existence. The ministers were appointed solely to serve Pharaoh. We are informed 24

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

of the Sar Haofim (minister of Pharaoh’s food) and Sar Hamashkim (minister of Pharaoh’s beverages). Pharaoh’s perception is that the people exist to serve him. The king has no responsibility to his people. There was no minister of welfare, or minister of housing. Only servants to attend to Pharaoh’s needs. Perhaps this is why Pharaoh accepted Yosef’s interpretation of his dreams over the interpretations provided by his advisors. Yosef’s interpretation taught Pharaoh something totally new. It was a “wake-up call”! Your power is not to be used solely for your personal benefit. A true leader is empowered to serve his people. The famine will not just affect you, Pharaoh, but it will impact the entire country and region. You have the ability to take precautionary measures to ensure the well-being of your nation. This message resonated with Pharaoh. He finally recognized that living the “dream” meant reaching out to others not just being concerned with oneself. It made sense to Pharaoh that he would receive a celestial message that placed the responsibility of saving the world on him. The mighty Nile, which was also viewed by his people as being a God, could not prevent the famine. If he adopted Yosef’s plan, he would be more powerful than the Nile. His arrogant

vision remained, but he realized he had to act for the welfare of his nation. Yosef himself learned this lesson through his own dreams. After Yosef shared his dreams with his brothers, boasting of his potential dominion over them, he experiences a downfall. First to the bottom of a pit, then to a prison cellar. After he focuses on other people’s dreams (Sar Haofim, Sar Hamashkim and Pharaoh) he rises to become viceroy of Egypt. It was this lesson that Yosef was transmitting to Pharaoh. When one is in a position of power, they should use it not for their personal benefit, but to benefit others. If modern day politicians would understand this responsibility, society would benefit tremendously. When one achieves success, or attains a

leadership position in a company or organization, one should understand his or her obligation. I recall when I was receiving smicha at YU, one of the senior Roshe Yeshiva offered a powerful message to the young new ordained Rabbis. He said – “take your position seriously, but don’t take yourselves too seriously.” It was important that we conduct ourselves in a way that would enable us to earn the respect of our congregants, but we should not let the honor they bestow upon us get to our heads. We are there to teach, assist and inspire others. Pharaoh mistakenly perceived reality as an imaginary dream, with himself at the center. Yosef taught him that a true “leader” is someone who cares for, empowers and serves the best interests of his “followers”. A leader is someone who can help others turn dreams into reality.

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REBBETZIN SHIRA SMILES Faculty, OU Israel Center

Constant Connection

“

Baruch Hashem”. It is our automatic response when asked how we are. What exactly does this refrain mean? Do we even think about what we are expressing when saying it? Yosef Hatzadik is paradigmatic of one who used this phrase in a real and meaningful way. Chazal teach that Yosef would always have ‘the name of Hashem on his lips’ in whatever he did (Rashi, Bereisheet 39:3). The commentators explain how Yosef would turn to Hashem requesting assistance before initiating any activity. When he accomplished what he set out to do he would then thank Hashem for his success. Indeed, Rav Friedlander in Siftei Chayim exhorts all of us to follow Yosef’s

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example. He notes how people tend to daven for help when faced with major decisions in life, whether finding a job, choosing a life partner or a place to live. The key is to train oneself to ask Hashem for help in the small things as well. Before going to the store to buy bread, for instance, ask Hashem for there to be fresh bread and that no obstacles should get in the way of this purchase. The Chazon Ish once told a bachur, the key to emunah is exactly this; when looking to buy a pair of shoes, ask Hashem for success to find good shoes at a good price and then be mindful to thank Hashem when the purchase is completed. Rav Wolbe in Shiurei Chumash explains that many people use phrases that reflect awareness of Hashem, yet much of the time it is merely lip service. One may say, “Baruch Hashem I finished this deal”, and go on to praise his brilliance and ingenuity for being so successful. Someone once quipped, EGO stands for easing G-d out; although we say we are indebted to Him for our successes, we often take the credit and accolades as if we are solely responsible for what we have done. Rav Wolbe emphasizes that Yosef Hatzadik felt Hashem’s presence in real time and was keenly aware of the direct hasgacha that regularly surrounded him.

Rav Matisyahu Salomon in Matnat Chayim shows us to what extent Yosef Hatzadik took himself out of the equation and was truly connected to Hashem. For twelve years Yosef Hatzadik languished in prison not knowing when or if he would be released. Finally, the day came when he was brought to Paroh who extolled his dream interpretations in glowing terms. Immediately Yosef Hatzadkik corrected him making clear that it was Hashem who interpreted the dreams, not his own insight or skill (Bereisheet 41:15). Rav Simcha Zisel of Kelm comments that Yosef did not want Paroh to believe even for a moment that the greatness was his own. Here Yosef Hatzadik displays mesirut nefesh to generate a great kiddush Hashem; acknowledging Hashem’s distinction is his first and highest priority. Fascinatingly, Paroh responds in kind; he recognizes that it is Hashem who has made Yosef Hatzadik a receptacle for Divine wisdom (Bereisheet 41:38). Chidushei Rav Yosef Nechemiah shares that using Hashem’s name or expressions such as “baruch Hashem” and “im yirtzeh Hashem” without thinking or meaning is not to be taken lightly. It may even transgress an auxiliary prohibition of mentioning Hashem’s name in vain, “lo tisa et shem Hashem lashav”. Yosef Hatzadik teaches us to connect with what we are saying, thereby reaching a place of feeling Hashem’s presence in all we attempt to achieve.

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RABBI JUDAH OU-NCSY MISCHEL Mashpiah, Executive Director, Camp HASC Dedicated L'Iluy Nishmas HaChaver Shlomo Michael ben Meir z'l

Thank You!

fter many years of yearning, a couple was blessed with a child, however he was born very prematurely. Their miracle baby was in the neonatal ICU for a few months before they could welcome him home. After the festive homecoming, the grateful parents wanted to express their appreciation for the tireless efforts of the medical professionals that cared for their infant throughout so many days and nights. Of simple means, unsure how to show their gratitude, they consulted their Rebbi, Rav Elya Svei, Rosh Yeshiva of Philadelphia. Should they buy flowers for the whole ward? Perhaps they should bring them candy and balloons? The Rosh Yeshiva advised a different route altogether, suggesting that the couple return to the hospital each year on the child’s birthday to offer personal thanks

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and celebrate together with the medical staff. The family followed his advice, and year after year they returned to the hospital, thanking the nurses, doctors, administrators and custodial staff. Before their son’s bar mitzvah they personally delivered invitations to each one. Soon thereafter, the family received a reply from the head nurse at the neonatal unit: “Congratulations on your family milestone. We wanted to let you know how much your visits have meant to us over the years. We work in a high risk setting never knowing if things will turn out alright. Even after a child leaves our care we have little or no idea of whatever became of our efforts. I wasn’t even at the hospital when your child was treated here but you should know that when we train for this difficult and often thankless task your son has become the poster child of what’s possible. We mention again and again that the infant that you are currently caring for may turn out like your son. “Many people send us flowers, balloons, and candies. The flowers eventually wilt, the balloons deflate, and the candies are eaten up... but the gift that you have given us has been

proven valuable beyond comparison, and will last forever.”

This week in our sedra, Yosef haTzadik becomes a father: “And Yosef called the name of the first-born Menashe, ki nashani Elokim, “for Hashem has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house” (41:51).

Every expression of todah, whether hakaras ha-tov for an individual or an event, also thanks Hashem The implicit message expressed in the naming of Menashe and the basic understanding of the pasuk is challenging. Can it be that Yosef is thanking Hashem for having ‘helped’ him forget where he came from, his family, and all that had happened to him?

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Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch offers an alternative p’shat. Rather than using the literal translation, “has made me forget”, he borrows meaning from a similar word, nosheh, ‘creditor’. A creditor, by definition, remembers all his transactions in detail. Nashani, then, can suggest the opposite of forgetting; it is Yosef’s memory and appreciation of what he had experienced that allows him to reach this moment in his life. In naming his son Menashe, Yosef is acknowledging the challenges of a difficult childhood as well as the fact OU ISRAEL CENTER

that the tragedy, pain and struggle of those experiences are the foundations upon which his current flourishing and happiness have been built. Blessed with his first born child, Yosef seizes the opportunity to look back and express hoda’ah, gratitude, and to give thanks for all that he had survived.

to include the Ribbono Shel Olam. Every expression of todah, whether hakaras ha-tov for an individual or an event, also thanks Hashem.

Rav Dov Zinger, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva of Mekor Chaim, and founder of Beit Midrash L’Hitchadshut has addressed the challenge of translation from Lashon haKodesh — and in particular, the most common word used for gratitude, todah.

Chanukah is a time l’hodos u-l’halel, thanking and praising — the headquarters of hakaras hatov. It is a festival of cultivating gratitude and appreciation to Hashem for the astounding victories and miracles of the light that shines in the darkness of the world. Each year we have eight days to fully relive the miracles in our lives, ba-yamim ha-heim, bi-z’man hazeh, “(as) in those days, in this time.”

In hebrew, todah is translated into two words: “thank you.” In the English colloquial, ‘thanks’ is a more informal expression of appreciation, and lacks the same earnestness as todah.

Then, the days after Chanukah can be hard. There can be a sense of let down, as we abruptly return to the long, dark nights unadorned by candles or celebrations; we face the cold winter ahead.

Saying todah, an expression that is not addressed to anyone in particular, leaves open an space for the hoda’ah, gratitude, to go beyond the specific individual being addressed. Thus it includes more than just the person we are thanking; it steps aside

On the other hand, sweeter than sufganiyot, more filling than latkes, and perhaps even more inspiring than the holy lights of those special days is the awareness that we have cultivated, that all we have is from Hashem. Even when the oil runs out, and our menorahs are put away, we can keep the inner lights of Chanukah burning bright by continuing to find every opportunity to express appreciation, and deepening our commitment to a life of hallel and hodaah.

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(P.S. On that note, Thank You to Rabbi Yechiel Spero for sharing the above story and letter… and thank you for reading!)

Attention all Chidon HaTanach lovers!! Wednesday, Dec. 23rd, 8:00PM

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your chance to become an online CHIDON COACH!!! Help children from around the world to prepare for the Chidon this year! Join OU Israel and the Jewish Agency for a zoom information session. Open to all levels of Tanach proficiency/ Knowledge of foreign languages helpful Register at: www.ouisrael.org/events/chidonhatanach

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From Holocaust to Redemption

A special virtual commemoration of 10 Tevet/Yom HaKadish HaKlali THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2:00 PM, ISRAEL TIME & 7:00 AM EST

Mrs. Rena Quint Holocaust survivor and Yad VaShem lecturer will share her incredible personal story of her horrific childhood and wonderful life. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87672080006?pwd=LzdiWFRMRC9xbExCWE5hYitqcER0dz09#success Passcode: ouisrael

In memory of Joe Polansky z”l whose Yarzheit is the 11th of Tevet ‫לע”נ ישראל יוסף מאיר בן יעקב שלמה ז”ל‬ OU ISRAEL CENTER

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All classes on Thursday, December 24, are dedicated in memory of

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Regular Morning Class Schedule

Special Afternoon Shiurim 1:00 pm Why are We Still Fasting? Special 10 Tevet shiur and personal reflections from Rabbi Neil Winkler

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OU ISRAEL CENTER

SIMCHAT SHMUEL

BY RABBI SAM SHOR

Program Director, OU Israel Center

ur Sedra this week revolves around the ascent of Yosef to the position of chief advisor to Paraoh, his brothers appearing before him, and Yosef orchestrating that the brothers will return to bring his youngest brother Binyamin to Egypt as well. When the brothers returned together with Binyamin, the Torah tells us that Yosef had a feast prepared for him and the brothers.

‫ָמ֛ן‬ ִ ‫ׂ ַא֧ת ִּבנְ י‬ ‫ַת ֶ֜רב ַמ ְש‬ ֵּ ‫ׂאֹ֜ת ֵמ ֵא֣ת ָּפנָיו֮ ֲא ֵל ֶהם֒ ו‬ ‫ׂ֨א ַמ ְש‬ ‫(לד) ַו ִּי ָּש‬ ‫ת ּו ַֽו ִּיְׁש ְּכר֖ ּו ִע ּֽמוֹ׃‬ ֥ ּ ‫ֻּל֖ם ָח ֵמׁ֣ש ָיד֑וֹת ַו ִּיְׁש‬ ָּ ‫ׂאֹ֥ת כ‬ ‫ִמ ַּמ ְש‬ Portions were served to them from his table; but Binyamin’s portion was several times that of anyone else. And they drank their fill with him. Rashi offers an interesting insight on our verse:

ֹ‫ ְואוֹתו‬,‫ׁש ָתה ַי ִין‬ ָ ‫ׁשת ּו ַי ִין ְולֹא ה ּוא‬ ָ ‫ׁש ְּמ ָכר ּוה ּו לֹא‬ ֶ ‫ּו ִמ ּיוֹם‬ ‫ׁשת ּו‬ ָ ‫ַה ּיוֹם‬ From the day they sold him they had not drunk wine nor had he(Yosef) drunk wine. That day, however, they drank wine. What is the significance of the brothers and Yosef all having refrained from drinking wine for the many years since Yosef had been sold into slavery, and why now, were they all drinking wine? 38

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

The Yismach Yisrael, the Rebbe of Alexander zy’a, asks that Yosef may have consumed the wine because he recognized his brothers, but since the brothers clearly did not recognize Yosef, how are we to interpret this sudden change in their long standing behavior? The Rebbe suggests that since that tragic moment years before, when the brothers sold Yosef as a result of their envy and jealousy toward him, they had struggled to remove the character trait of envy from their hearts. As they sat at this seudah, they witnessed as Binyamin was served a portion five times the portion served to each of them, and despite this fact, they were not jealous or angry, but were simply appreciative of the portion that each one of them had received. Realizing they had finally managed to overcome this character trait of envy, they finally were able to let go of some of the guilt and angst they had been holding onto for so many years, and allowed themselves to enjoy the wine that was served to them as well. Yehi Ratzon, may each of us heed this beautiful insight from the Rebbe of Alexander, and may we merit to rid our hearts of any envy or jealousy that all too often serve as an impediment to happiness and spiritual growth.

OU ISRAEL CENTER

OU KASHRUT RABBI EZRA FRIEDMAN PAGE BY Director, The Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education

Applications of Cooking Sharp Food

trong flavor released from sharp food has various ramifications in halacha. As explained in previous articles, a utensil that has not been used for twenty-four hours does not prohibit food subsequently cooked in it, since the flavor is undesirable. The utensil is known as eino ben yomo. The flavor becomes distasteful and as a result is not halachically significant. This rule, which is known as notein taâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;am lifgam, is not applicable regarding sharp foods. If a sharp food is cooked in a nonkosher pot, even if twenty-four hours have passed since its previous use, the sharp food would become non-kosher. The accepted custom (at least amongst Ashkenazim) is that all sharp foods fall under this category. The law regarding sharp foods is also relevant when discussing meat and milk. For example, an onion (a sharp food) that was mistakenly cooked with butter in an eino ben yomo meat pot is prohibited. Due to the fact that the distasteful meat flavor has become 40

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

tasteful because of the onion, and since the onion was cooked with dairy, everything becomes prohibited. The onions must be thrown away since they have been mixed with milk and meat, and the pot has also had fresh meat and milk flavor mixed and must be koshered (see Sefer Hakashrut 10:107-113). If the food was not sharp, the halacha ruling would be different. The uniqueness of sharp food affects every type of cooking. There is no difference between heating sharp foods in an oven, frying pan, grill or microwave. Sharp foods change the status of the flavor inside these cooking utensils from eino ben yomo to ben yomo. Cooked sharp foods Later authorities discuss whether there is room to be lenient regarding cooked sharp foods. Responsa Panim Meirot (1:64) maintains that once a sharp food has been cooked it loses the sharpness and therefore would no longer have the unique halachot of sharp food. Responsa Beâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;er Yaakov (103) cites opinions who disagree with the ruling that cooked sharp foods do not have the same law as raw. It would seem that there is really no disagreement between the two opinions. Panim Meirot was referring to onions and similar vegetables that lose their sharpness after cooking or frying (see Teshuvot Chayei Halevi 5:62),

The OU Israel Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education was created to raise awareness and educate the public in all areas of Kashrut in Israel. Rabbi Ezra Friedman, a Rabbinic Field Representative for the OU is the Center's director.

while Be’er Yaakov was discussing very sharp foods like jalapeño peppers which maintain their “bite”. Later authorities (see Darchei Teshuva YD 96:45 accept both opinions; less-potent sharp foods (onions, garlic, and pickles) lose their sharpness once cooked, while very sharp foods keep their sharpness even after being cooked. However, it should be noted that a sharp food that was initially cooked in a dairy or meat eino ben yomo utensil retains the dairy or meat status, and must be eaten with only the type of flavor it has absorbed. In short, alreadycooked sharp foods may not have the unique status of making undesirable tastes edible.

cooked, it is considered to be dairy/ meaty (or parve) based on the utensil it was cooked in, regardless of how long ago the utensil was used (ben-yomo or eino ben yomo). •

Whenever a question involving sharp foods arises, a Rav should be informed of the details.

Kashrut Questions in Israel? Call or Whatsapp Rabbi Friedman at 050-200-4432

To summarize: •

Sharp foods can change the status of meat or milk eino ben yomo utensils and can even become a factor in the prohibition of basar b’chalav (cooking milk and meat together).

•

Cooked medium-sharp foods, when cooked again may not have the sharpness to change an eino ben yomo utensil to ben yomo.

•

Extremely sharp foods are not affected by cooking; they maintain their status-changing potency.

•

When a sharp food is initially OU ISRAEL CENTER

RABBI AARON Editor, Torah Tidbits GOLDSCHEIDER

Forgiveness

n unforgettable moment unfolds in the dramatic episode of Yosef and his brothers. Many years after the fateful day when Yosef was sold to merchants journeying down to Egypt, the brothers, amazingly, now find themselves standing face to face with their estranged brother once again. The brothers do not recognize Yosef. Yosef has grown a full beard. His appearance has dramatically changed (Rashi 42:8). However, Yosef immediately recognizes them. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik zt”l noticed a peculiarity in the text. Not once, but twice, the Torah states the fact that ‘Yosef recognized his brothers’ in back to back verses’: “And Yosef saw his brothers and recognized them…(42:7) “Now Yosef recognized his brothers... (42:8). The first time this is mentioned it is needed. But why the second time? The Rav suggested that the repetition represents Yosef reacting to the encounter in two distinct ways. At first he perceived his brothers based on his past experience. The memories of the past years, all the pain, all the mistreatment were 42

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

awakened within Yosef. At that moment his inclination was to treat them harshly: “And he saw his brothers and recognized them, but he made himself a stranger to them” (42:7). A Change of Heart But then something happened. Something changed in the heart and mind of Yosef. He suddenly realized that the ten people standing in front of him were not the same people who had sold him into slavery. His feelings of animosity subsided. The Rav painted a picture in his mind’s eye of Yosef’s changed outlook: “Studying their faces, however, he [Yosef] discovered a change. Levi and Shimon’s faces softened; they did not reflect the same ferocity. They had a different look; the steely gray eyes turned blue, dreamy. Yehuda’s face had matured; there was firmness and determination in his features. The brothers looked depressed, as if they lacked inner peace, as if some grisly fear haunted them. They came with a contrite heart” (Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Bereishis, p. 312). Initially, as recorded in verse 7, Yosef had intended to punish them for their past. How did Yosef find the sympathy in his heart to forgive his brothers? Surprisingly, the answer may be that it was a direct result of his supreme faith in

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If you could not attend the series, you can purchase for 75 NIS the three audio lectures on 1) Selichot 2) Rosh Hashana and 3) Yom Kippur. To be sent to you and heard by computer. Contact Nachum.

bestowed upon the tribe of Yosef the title Moreover, it is Yosef’s exquisite kindness of saintliness - Nezir (Devarim 33:16). and desire to bring about a reconciliation which prompts the Sages of the Talmud to (Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Bereishis, p.333). bestow the title tzaddik upon him. Yosef is often referred to as Yosef HaTzaddik In an essay penned by Rabbi Lord Sacks z’’l (An example of this title can be found in he spotlights Yosef’s heroic act of forgiving Yoma 35b). Likewise, Rabbi Soloveitchik _nachum@jewishdestiny.com 0544-54-36-18_ his brothers. Theor late Rabbi identifies this posited that because Yosef did not display particular episode as ‘the first recorded act vindictiveness towards his brothers, of forgiveness in literature’ (“What It Takes Moshe, in his blessings before his death, To Forgive, Vayechi 5778). OU ISRAEL CENTER

SHIUR SPONSORS Sunday, Dec 13 - Rabbi Breitowitz’s shiur was sponsored by Miriam Schwimmer Haber & Family upon the 4th yahrzeit of her dearly beloved father - - ‫לעילוי נשמת‬ ‫( ר זלמן טוביה בן יעקב שוימר ז”ל‬Schwimmer), 28 Kislev - May his neshama have an Aliya, amen! Sunday, December 13 - Rabbi Breitowitz’s shiur was sponsored by Vera Schwarcz in loving memory of her husband Dr. Jason Wolfe, Yosef Shimon ben Avraham Isaac and Rivka z”l Monday, Dec 14- Rebbetzin Pearl Borow’s shiur is sponsored by the Sunshine, Weiss, Weintraub and Cherrick families in loving memory of Noni Weiss’s father, Dr. Herb Sunshine -‫חיים דוד בן ישעיה אלטר ז”ל‬ on his fourth yahrzeit -‫כז כסלו‬-‫נר שלישי של חנוכה‬ Tuesday, Dec 15 - Rabbi Goldin’s shiur was sponsored by Kenny & Debra Kodish and family on the occasion of yahrzeit of Kenny’s father, Shmuel Velvel ben Liberman haLevi z”l The special Chanukah Broadcast Shiur with Rav Asher Weiss on Tues. Dec. 15 was sponsored ‫ציון הלוי ז”ל‬-‫לע”נ אברהם בן בן‬ on his 21st yahrzeit, 21 Kislev by Andrew & Leah Lewis and family Wednesday, Dec 16 - Rabbi Manning’s shiur is sponsored by Hannah and Shmuel Treistman We offer thanks to Hashem for letting us reach our 60th anniversary Sunday, Dec 20 - Rabbi Breitowitz’s shiur is sponsored by Dr. Joseph and Terry Bensimon in memory of Terry’s mother, Dina (Dorothy) bat Shmuel a”h whose yahrzeit is 1 Tevet and Joseph’s sister Sarah ben Sa’adia a”h, whose yahrzeit is 6 Tevet two kind and generous women who were much-loved by their families and are still sorely missed Monday, December 21 - Pearl Borow’s shiur is sponsored by Chana Karp in loving memory of her Father Moshe ben Avraham Itzchak ‫משה בן אברהם יצחק ז”ל‬ on his 25th Yahrzeit, 6 Tevet Monday, December 21 - Pearl Borow’s and Rabbi Goldscheider’s shiurim are sponsored in memory of our dear Mother on her 12th yahrtzeit, December 18, ‫ תשפ”א‬,‫ג’ טבת‬ Molly Tobiansky Andelman ‫מלקה בת חאנא ומנוחה ע”הּ‬ by Dov and Elayne Greenstone 44

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

Yaakov’s Dour Fear Yosef’s act of forgiveness also plays out in a significant way later in this dramatic story of reunion and reunification. Ultimately the brothers return to Canaan with the astonishing news that Yosef is alive and he is living in Egypt. The words the brothers utter to their father Yaakov are most memorable: “Od Yosef Chai”. They exclaim, “Yosef is still alive and that he rules over the entire land of Egypt, and his heart fainted, and did not believe them” (B’reishit 45:26) What is the meaning of the words “his heart fainted?” Seemingly this is to be understood that Yaakov was overwhelmed when hearing the astonishing news and he momentarily lost consciousness (Rashi). Rabbi Soloveitchik perceived an additional layer of meaning. He interpreted the verse in the following way: Needless to say Yaakov was ecstatic to learn that his beloved son was alive. But immediately another thought flashed through his mind. He wondered, “Could it be that his son Yosef was the Prime Minister in Egypt and at the same time remained true to his heritage? Was he still the beloved Yosef who he remembered learning with and transmitting his most precious way of life?” “His heart fainted”, these words capture a moment of trepidation for the father of Israel. “My son has been found alive physically - but is he still alive spiritually?” Only after the brothers share with Yaakov the words of Yosef is Yaakov assuaged. “And they told him all of Yosef’s words... and the spirit of their father was revived

(46:27). What ‘words of Yosef’, or message, did they convey to their father? The Rav suggested that the brothers recounted the kind and conciliatory words that Yosef used in addressing them after he revoked his identity. Only an offspring of Avraham, only someone who had maintained his faith and the Jewish way of mercy and chessed, could have so completely forgiven his brothers after all he had been through (Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Bereishis p. 336). The Rav added that Yosef had another primary role model and inspiring figure who also exhibited the mida of chesed and reconciliation with a sibling, Yosef’s mother Rachel. Rachel engages in an almost superhuman act of kindness in allowing her sister, Leah, to take her place under the brutal canopy with Yaakov. Her sensitivity to Leah’s needs and minimizing her very self to the honor of her sister at the expense of her own position and perhaps her own happiness in life, surely had an influence on Yosef’s merciful and appeasing character trait (Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Bereishis, p. 333). Yosef offering his hand in peace to his brothers who had acted so cruelly to him is an astounding gesture of compassion and tenderness in the history of the first family of Israel. Yosef’s act of appeasement exemplified a trait that he absorbed from his ancestors. Moreover, it may be said of Yosef that he raised the bar even higher by extending extraordinary mercy and love to those who were unquestionably guilty, in order to achieve unity and lasting peace within the family.

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OU ISRAEL CENTER

Real Life Rescues Using Memories And A Miracle To Save A Life

1221

Yehezkel Gabay is a United Hatzalah volunteer EMT hailing from the city of Tzfat (Safed). A few weeks ago, Yehezkel was learning Talmud in his local synagogue when he received an alert from his communications device, notifying him about a medical emergency occurring right near his location. Although Yehezkel rarely gets a chance to catch up on his learning, the dedicated volunteer closed his book and rushed outside to his ambucycle. While Yehezkel was on his way, another United Hatzalah volunteer contacted Yehezkel and explained to him that he was at the location of the incident. Passers-by told him that they saw a woman fall from a window at the top floor of an apartment building, but there was no body on the ground. Recognizing the address and the description of the building, Yehezkel sped up and arrived in less than 3 minutes. Upon arrival, Yehezkel met the EMT already on scene and found a crowd of confused and terrified people gathered around the building. Yehezkel, who is a building and construction contractor by trade, knew the layout of the building well and recalled that there was a protruding porch a few floors down from where the woman jumped. With no time to spare, Yehezkel quickly grabbed his medical bag and began climbing up the building walls and over railings until he reached the porch of one of the apartments. Sure enough, there lay the young victim, a bloodied and semi-conscious 25-year-old woman who had suffered severe injuries to her hands and face due to the fall. Yechezkel immediately radioed to dispatch the exact location of the victim, saving precious response time so that other responders and the ambulance crew could arrive more quickly at the scene. Yehezkel then immediately began treating the woman’s multiple injuries, as other United Hatzalah responders arrived to help. The team bandaged wounds, affixed a neck brace, and opened up an IV line as part of the trauma treatment protocol. When one of the EMTs brought a backboard, Yechezekel directed the careful stabilization and placement of the patient onto the board and directed as the team carried her off of the porch to the intensive care ambulance. The woman was then transported to Ziv Medical Center of Tzfat for further emergency care. Afterward, Yehezkel came back to the porch to find out what had transpired above during the woman’s fall. Upon close observation, it became clear to Yehezkel that the woman survived due to what can only be described as a miracle. The woman, who had fallen out of one of the top stories of the building landed 5 stories below on a sheet metal roof that covered a porch. The relatively thin metal roof buckled under the woman’s weight, effectively mitigating the impact and saving her from near-certain death. The woman then rolled off the roof and dropped one more story to the porch below, where Yechezkel had found her. Yechezkel recalled that about 10 years ago, he had built that very roof himself. “When I get to a location of a medical emergency, I do whatever I can to act quickly because I know that time is of the essence and every second count,” said Yehezkel. “I followed my instinct and scaled the building even though it isn’t usual to see an EMT climb up the side of a building carrying a medical bag. I hadn’t realized that I was accessing an old memory of building to that very same metal roof that I had built a decade before. Something inside of me knew she had fallen there, and even though I wasn’t consciously aware of it at the time my instinct told me to scale the building. That is how I used time and memory to my advantage and I ended up saving a life.” (United Hatzalah ambucycle- illustration — photo credit: Larry Brandt) 46

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

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DIVREI MENACHEM

BY MENACHEM PERSOFF

Special Projects Consultant, OU Israel Center mpersoff@ou.org

Will the Real Man Stand Up?

hen we think about the Hebrew term “Ish” )‫(איש‬, what do we conjure up in our minds? Perhaps we think of the word “Man.” But what kind of man is that? For we have seen the term employed for angels as if to remind us that we have the potential to raise ourselves to ethereal heights beyond this torpid world. And believe it or not, the word “Ish” is also used to refer to God, as in “Hashem is Master of War )‫( ”(איש מלחמה‬Shemot 15:3). That should certainly stir us to recall that we are partly dust and partly soul. To cite the Tanya, that part of our soul that is “uniquely Jewish” is a part of God above: ‫היא חלק אלוה ממעל‬ ‫ממש‬.1 The term “Ish” differs from the Hebrew word “Adam,” which refers to the human-being created from the earth, in contradistinction to the animals. However, when the biblical narrative employs the 1 Adapted from Y. Wineberg: Lessons in Tanya, Kehot Publication Society, Chapter Two, p. 47. 48

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

term “Ish,” it talks of a purposeful being going about his daily tasks. In our Parsha, Mikeitz, the word appears endless times.

When we just happen to meet an individual, those happenstances might be lifechanging. We never really know One interesting occurrence of the term “Ish” appears in the unfolding saga of Yosef in Egypt. Pharo’ speaks of the need to find someone to take charge of the upcoming famine, employing the phrase: “Could we find another like him – a man (‫ )איש‬who has the spirit of God in him?” So here, “Ish” is a man of stature, with knowledge, acumen, and understanding. Later, when the brothers return to their father in Canaan, twice when recounting their story to Yaakov, they call Yosef “The Man )‫(האיש‬, the lord of the land” (Bereishit 42:30). And in the following narrative, three times, they refer to Yosef only as ‘The Man.’ That man, it seems, becomes more amorphous and abstract as the sad story unfolds among Yaakov’s famished family. Yosef, the governor of Egypt, becomes more mysterious and unapproachable as

the time elapses. The ‘Man’ becomes very similar to that unknown individual who encountered Yosef when he went looking for his brothers (in what must have seemed to him like a lifetime ago). The ‘Man’ has become an instrument of Hashem. We would say, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.” Yosef’s story appears, like the Megillah that spoke of “Mordechai, Ish Yemini )‫(איש ימיני‬,” to be a series of events, somewhat causal, somewhat random. In hindsight, we see the Hand of G-d in all these episodes. Perhaps what we are seeing is that each of us can be an object or a subject. When supposedly random events occur along our journey, when we just happen to meet an individual, those happenstances might be life-changing. We never really know. But, as we tread along life’s paths, it might be worth reflecting on the meaning of our “accidental” encounters with “men” – and then to act upon conclusions drawn. Shabbat Shalom!

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FROM THE VIRTUAL DESK OF THE

OU VEBBE REBBE RAV DANIEL MANN

Davening Outside with Gloves Question: I daven in an outdoor minyan due to Corona. Is it permitted to wear gloves while davening in cold temperatures? Answer: First, I am proud to be in the same nation as a person as sincere as you. The Bach (on Orach Chayim 91), an early Acharon, is the first major source to raise a problem of wearing gloves during davening. The Magen Avraham (91:5) and Mishna Berura (91:12) cite the Bach without opposition, so your question has merit, A look into the root of this ruling will help us apply it to your case. The Bach’s statement is cryptic and he cites a harsh pasuk as applying to wearing gloves during davening. Most tefilla/clothing rules relate to the body being insufficiently covered (Shulchan Aruch, OC 91:1, 3-5). It is unusual that covering too much could be a problem. Some understand (see Halichot Shlomo 2:18) that the Bach viewed wearing gloves during davening as haughty, which fits the cited pasuk. This is surprising, considering 50

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

that “dressing up” is usually desired for davening (Mishna Berura 91:12). However, it is possible that some types of overdressing go beyond nice and are haughty. The Netah Sorek (OC 6) connects the Bach to a gemara (Pesachim 57a) that roundly criticized the kohen gadol, Yissachar Ish Kfar Barkai, for wearing gloves while working with korbanot. This was forbidden due to chatzitza (a disqualifying break) but also was a sign of haughtiness (Rashi ad loc.). There is clear room to distinguish between the contexts. A kohen’s mitzva includes serving with his hands, and for it to be beneath his dignity to touch things is disgraceful. Tefilla is carried out with one’s mind, heart, and mouth. Is it necessarily a disgrace if, at the same time, his “handwear” is haughty? His logic is apparently that since clothing for tefilla is important, just as insufficient is offensive, so too excessive fanciness can set the wrong balance when approaching Hashem. Several Acharonim make the simple argument that if one wears gloves because of the cold, there is no haughtiness (Be’er Moshe IV, 39; Halichot Shlomo ibid.). While the Neta Sorek (ibid.) agrees to the concept, he argues that it is only permitted regarding gloves that are clearly worn due to cold (which I have to believe is your case).

The Orthodox Union - via its website - fields questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of them are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmel and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt”l, to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and OU Israel’s Torah Tidbits.

The Magen Avraham (ibid.) presents the Bach’s problem with gloves as their being clothes that travelers wear, and Kochvei Yitzchak II, 20 attributes this idea to the author of the Terumat Hadeshen. While one may daven on the road when needed (Mishna Berura 90:11), it is best to daven indoors (Shulchan Aruch, OC 90:5) and wellsettled there (see similar idea, ibid. 20). It is unclear if the Magen Avraham means that gloves are road-related because outside it is cold, and one should look different inside. If so, the Aruch Hashulchan (OC 91:6) allowing to wear an outer coat during davening when it is cold is instructive. If he means that travelers wear them as a type of work glove (which the Halichot Shlomo says is one of the things the Bach objects to), this should not apply to gloves made to protect from the cold. In short, we believe, like Halichot Shlomo and Ishei Yisrael (10:4) that in the context of clear protection from the cold, it is permitted to wear gloves, even without extenuating circumstances (like Corona). If someone would want to be machmir (which, again, is not indicated from the sources) as a matter of valor, something

would have to give. One of the hardest things in Halacha is, in a situation where something less than ideal is necessary, how does one decide which option is least objectionable. Halacha forbids selfinflicted suffering (see Bava Kama 91b), and it also detracts from kavana, a factor which is behind many halachot of tefilla. The option of davening indoors without a minyan is certainly far less desirable than an unnecessary stringency. Our biggest concern is that chumra could be a tipping point (for someone) toward davening in an indoor minyan. Currently in your location, that could be a deadly mistake. Therefore, one should not entertain stringency on the matter. Eretz Hemdah has begun a participatory Zoom class - "Behind the Scenes with the Vebbe Rebbe" - an analytical look at the sources, methodology, and considerations behind our rulings, with Rav Daniel Mann. Contact info@eretzhemdah.org to join while places are open.

Having a dispute? For a Din Torah in English or Hebrew contact ‘Eretz Hemdah - Gazit’ Rabbinical Court: 077215-8-215 • fax: (02) 537-9626 beitdin@eretzhemdah.org OU ISRAEL CENTER

Puah for Fertility and RABBI GIDEON Machon Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha WEITZMAN

Using Genes in Halacha

e discussed the case of the child who was born looking female but with a male genotype. We have seen that halachically the definition of gender follows the external organs and not genetics. This is the case when the external organs are clearly one or other gender. In this specific case the child appeared to be female but even this was unclear. In other words, the child was â&#x20AC;&#x153;more femaleâ&#x20AC;? than male, but was not clearly one or other. We could claim that, in such a case, genetics would be a deciding factor. Since the external organs do not give a clear image of gender we can, and must, rely on the next best indicator, i.e. the genes. Rabbi Asher Weiss disagreed with this premise. He suggested that the halacha would still follow the phenotype, how the child appears, and the genotype would not determine the halachic gender of the child. We have seen that this sad case raises difficult halachic issues. Do we always define gender by how a person looks? How much does genetics play a role? We could argue that in the past genetics was never 52

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

a factor determining gender since no one knew that genes existed. The concept that there can be a distinction between genes and external expression is a modern one. As our knowledge of the significance of genes and the role they play in our lives increases, they become more substantial in the halachic field as well. Utilizing genetic knowledge in cases of conversion, parenthood and identifying a corpse, are all areas where genetic testing has been used to arrive at a halachic decision. This may soon become the case in areas of halacha as well, such as the case that we have been discussing over the past few weeks. The end of this particular story is a tragic one; before the parents were able to make a decision as to whether to operate or not, the child died. Despite the unfortunate conclusion to the case, the halachic discussion is important and presents one case of the many that we see in PUAH on a daily basis. There is not always an easy answer, the poskim do not always have a consensus of opinion, but there is always room in the halacha for a rich and enriching discussion. The Puah Institute is based in Jerusalem and helps couples from all over the world who are experiencing fertility problems. Offices in Jerusalem, New York, Los Angeles & Paris. Contact (Isr) 02-651-5050 (US) 718-336-0603 www.puahonline.org

OU ISRAEL CENTER

TOWARDS MEANINGFUL REBBETZIN ZEMIRA OZAROWSKI TEFILLA BY Director of OU Israel L’Ayla Women’s Initiative

‫ויברך דוד‬

he Gemara (Taanit 25) relates the following story about Rebbi Chanina ben Dosa. One Shabbos, Rebbi Chanina’s daughter accidentally lit the Shabbos candles with vinegar instead of oil. When she realized her mistake, she became very upset. Rebbi Chanina told her not to worry. He explained that just as Hashem makes oil burn, He can also make vinegar burn. And so it was - the candles burned throughout the entire Shabbos, all the way through Havdala!

The message that we learn from this story is very important. We tend to take for granted whatever we’ve become accustomed to. When we hear that vinegar was used to make a fire, we are astounded! But when we see oil burning, we are uninterested. Here Rebbi Chanina is telling us that in actuality both are equally remarkable miracles, it all just depends on our perspective. The Alter of Kelm learns a similar message from Chanukah. He explains that the reason why we celebrate Chanukah for 8 days is as follows – During the last 7 days we celebrate the supernatural miracle, the fact that the oil lasted for an extra seven days; on the first day we celebrate the miracle of nature itself, the very fact that oil is able to light at all. Both are the direct hand of Hashem and should be recognized as such. How does this connect to ‫?ויברך דוד‬ We mentioned in a previous article that we are very careful during Pesukei dZimra to try and focus on the everyday “natural” acts that Hashem performs each day and not to focus on the “supernatural”. This is to enable us to focus on those hidden miracles that we don’t normally pay attention to, and to realize how miraculous they really are. This is especially crucial because we live in a mundane world, where Hashem’s hand is “hidden” and we

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

don’t normally see supernatural, out-ofthis-world miracles. Once we’ve laid that foundation in Pesukei dZimra, we can move on to the supernatural. As much as Hashem’s hand can be found everywhere we look (if we are paying attention), there are certain miracles in Jewish history that really cemented to the world the fact that Hashem runs the show. These acts were very necessary at certain fundamental points in Jewish history in order to lay the foundation properly. In ‫ויברך דוד‬, we begin to focus on some of those “bigger” miracles.

‫ ויברך דוד‬is made up of three sections: The first section is taken from Dovid Hamelech’s tefilla in Divrei Hayamim I 29:10-13. In these 4 pesukim, we continue the praise of Pesukei dZimra but specifically emphasize Hashem’s unlimited strength. We say the very famous verse (and song) - ‫ּרה‬ ָ ‫ְה ְּג֒בו‬ ַ ‫ֻלה ו‬ ָּ ‫ְל ָך ה' ַה ְּג֒ד‬ ‫ְההוֹד‬ ַ ‫ְה ֵּֽנ ַצח ו‬ ַ ‫ְה ִּת ְפ ֶֽא ֶרת ו‬ ַ ‫ ו‬in which we describe Hashem’s characteristics, which actually represent the 7 kabbalistic ‫ספירות‬. We go on to say - ‫ׂא‬ ‫ַש‬ ֵּ ‫ְה ִּמ ְתנ‬ ַ ‫ׁש ַֽמיִם ו ָּב ָֽא ֶרץ ְל ָך ה' ַה ַּמ ְמ ָל ָכה ו‬ ָּ ‫ִּכי־כֹל ַּב‬ ‫ֹאש‬ ׁ ‫ ְלכֹל ְלר‬: - Hashem, everything is the world is Yours, and You rule over everyone ‫ָד ָ֒ך‬ ְ ‫ְבי‬ ‫ַדל ו ְּל ַח ּזֵק ַל ּכֹל‬ ֵּ ‫ ו ְּבי ְָד ָ֒ך ְלג‬,‫ ּֽכ ַֹח ו ְּגבו ָּרה‬. - You possess all the strength in this world and have the ability to give over strength to others. These verses are used as an introduction before we begin to discuss Hashem’s astounding miracles. In the second section, we quote six intermediary pesukim from Sefer Nechemia (9:6-11) We begin with ‫אתה הוא‬

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‫ׁש ַֽמיִםְׁש ֵמי‬ ָּ ‫ת־ה‬ ַ ‫ית ֶא‬ ָׂ ‫ ַא ָּתה ָע ִֽש‬,‫בה לבדך ַא ָּתה־הוּא ה' ְל ַב ֶּֽד ָך‬ ‫יה‬ ָ ‫ֲשר ָע ֶֽל‬ ׁ ֶ ‫ל־צ ָב ָאם ָה ָֽא ֶרץ ו ְָכל־א‬ ְ ‫ׁש ַֽמיִם ו ְָכ‬ ָּ ‫ ַה‬, Hashem, You alone created the sky and the land and everything in it. We go on to list different miracles Hashem performed throughout history – He chose Avraham Avinu and saved him from the ‫( כבשן האש‬the fiery furnace). He saved the Jewish people from Egypt with the miraculous plagues and took them out with His mighty hand, eventually leading to Keriyat Yam Suf. This section is a transition between the first section with praises of Hashem’s might and the third section which focuses solely on the splitting of the sea. The third section is taken from Sefer Shemot and is the preamble to Az Yashir.

‫ׂ ָר ֵאל‬ ‫ׂ ָר ֵאל ִמ ּיַד ִמ ְצ ָֽריִם ַו ּי ְַרא ִי ְש‬ ‫ֹשע ה' ַּב ּיוֹם ַההוּא ֶאת־ ִי ְש‬ ׁ ַ ‫ַו ּֽיו‬ ‫ת־ה ּיָד‬ ַ ‫ׂ ָר ֵאל ֶא‬ ‫ ַו ּי ְַרא ִי ְש‬:‫ׂ ַפת ַה ּיָם‬ ‫ת־מ ְצ ַֽריִם ֵמת ַעל־ ְש‬ ִ ‫ֶא‬ ‫ֲמינ ּו‬ ִֽ ‫ִיר֒א ּו ָה ָעם ֶאת ה' ַו ּיַא‬ ְ ‫ׂה ה' ְּב ִמ ְצ ַֽריִם ַו ּי‬ ‫ֲשר ָע ָש‬ ׁ ֶ ‫ַה ְּג֒ד ָֹלה א‬ ‫משה ַע ְב ּדו‬ ׁ ֶ ‫ּבה' ו ְּב‬ ֹHashem saved Bnei Yisrael from Mitzrayim on that day. Bnei Yisrael saw the Egyptians dead at the edge of the sea. Bnei Yisrael saw

Hashem’s great Hand that fought again Mitzrayim, The nations feared G-d and believed in G-d and Moshe His servant. This final section is really the main point of the entire Tefilla. We needed the introduction of the praise and the transition of the history. But now we’ve reached our main message and that is as follows – there are certain junctures in time, where big light-and-sound show type of miracles are absolutely imperative. A perfect example is the beginning of our nationhood, just as we left slavery and were feeling a bit insecure. We needed to see a black-on-white proof of Hashem’s involvement in our lives and the extent of His power. In addition, the world was still learning about monotheism and needed some solid proof as well. And so, Hashem decided to go all out and do this crazy miracle of splitting a sea. The story of this event indeed has been passed down for generations, cementing the belief and faith of the Jewish people throughout Jewish history.

Cut and paste into your siddur During Pesukei dZimra, we focus on the everyday “natural” acts that Hashem performs and not on the “supernatural”. This enables us to focus on those hidden miracles that we don’t normally pay attention to, and to realize how miraculous they really are. Once we’ve laid that foundation in Pesukei dZimra, we can move on to the supernatural. As much as Hashem’s hand can be found everywhere we look (if we are paying attention), there are certain miracles in Jewish history that really cemented to the world the fact that Hashem runs the show. These acts were very necessary at certain fundamental points in Jewish history in order to lay the foundation properly. In ‫ויברך דוד‬, we begin to focus on some of those “bigger” miracles.

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

TORAH VEHA'ARETZ RABBI MOSHE BLOOM INSTITUTE BY en.toraland.org.il

Terumot And Ma’aserot: Table Olives At what stage should I separate terumot and ma’aserot from table olives: after bringing them inside or after pickling? Gemar melacha Terumot and ma’aserot (t&m) should be separated only after gemar melacha. Gemar melacha (lit. “completion of work”) is the stage after produce is gathered from the field and prepared to bring home or sell (Mishnah, Ma’aserot 1:5–8). The Mishnah lists the gemar melacha stage for certain types of produce, but does not make an explicit reference to table olives. The question here is about produce not generally eaten raw, but only after being cooked, pickled, or salted. Radbaz maintains that gemar melacha comes only after the pickling stage is completed, since the olives are bitter and inedible prior to this point (even if some individuals eat them while bitter, this is not the conventional way to eat them). The Sefer Charedim writes, quoting Rabbi Yosef Karo, that gemar melacha

for table olives is the same as all other types of produce—even before they are pickled. Rabbi Yisrael of Shklov, in Pe’at HaShulchan, rules accordingly. Purchasing table olives from non-Jews when pickling is performed by Jews The main question facing the Sefer Charedim is purchasing raw olives from non-Jews and Jews performing the pickling process. If the gemar melacha occurs only after pickling, and a Jew pickles them, then t&m should be separated from the pickled olives. However, the prevalent widespread custom was to buy raw olives from non-Jews and eat them without separating t&m (since if gemar melacha is performed by non-Jews, the produce is exempt from tithing)! Conclusion Optimally, t&m should be separated after pickling, in order to satisfy all halachic opinions. If one separated terumot and ma’aserot before pickling, however, there is no need to do so again. Some are stringent, and separate a second time without a blessing after the olives are pickled (Hilchot Ha’aretz, Terumot and Ma’aserot 11:17). The Bloom children harvesting olives, Binyamina, winter 5779. Photo: Rabbi Moshe Bloom OU ISRAEL CENTER

DIVREI TORAH FROM YESHIVOT AND SEMINARIES Torah Tidbits is proud to highlight the many outstanding Rabbis and teachers that lead the various Yeshivot and Seminaries here in Israel.

YESHIVAT ASHREINU, BEIT SHEMESH Yeshivat Ashreinu instills a lifelong love and commitment to Torah, Am Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael in our students. This is accomplished through our unique curriculum that combines dynamic Torah study, meaningful Chessed internships, and intensive and educational Tiyulim. Ashreinu provides a warm and caring environment where our knowledgeable and relatable Rebbeim are dedicated to the development and growth of each and every student.

Rabbi Gotch Yudin Rosh HaYeshiva We find in Parshat Mikeitz that Yosef successfully interprets the dreams of the butler and the baker. We are then informed that the butler tells Pharoah “I may know someone that can interpret your dreams”. The Torah then tells us

able to get out of prison so quickly? What message is the Torah trying to convey to us with this detail? Explains the ‫חפץ חיים‬, the Torah is showing us the concept of

‫ישועת ה' כהרף עין‬‎ which means; salvation from Hashem has the ability to happen as quickly as the blink of eye. Yosef has been stuck for the last two

‫ויריצהו מן הבור‬‎ which means that they quickly took Yosef out of the prison. We all know how much bureaucracy is involved (especially living in Israel) to get someone out of prison. In fact, ‫להבדיל‬, it took Michael Schofield 5 seasons to finally get out of prison in Prison Break. So how is it that Yosef was 58

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years all alone in prison not knowing from where his salvation would come, and out of nowhere he is rushed out of prison, interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, and ultimately becomes the Viceroy of all of Egypt.

We say in the Bracha of “‫שהחיינו בימים ההם‬ ‫ ”בזמן הזה‬As in those days ...... In the days of Chanukah the Jewish people experienced terrible darkness. They were totally outnumbered by the Greeks, spiritually down. Out of nowhere, with the help of Hashem, a few good men and women turned everything around so quickly for the Jewish people.

-‫ בזמן הזה‬‎ Unfortunately, we have all been through such challenging times for the last three quarters of a year. However, Yosef’s story and the story of Chanukah must give us all hope that Hashem can cause things to turn around like the blink of an eye. May Hashem’s salvation come ever so speedily in the days to come. Shabbat Shalom! OU ISRAEL CENTER

TORAH 4 TEENS BY TEENS NCSY ISRAEL Lia Manning Gush Chapter Director What’s Worse: Ambivalence or Estrangement? Imagine being faced with your longlost brothers, years after they sold you off to a strange people, never to see your family again. I’m sure you could think of one or two emotions that might bubble up inside you. Decades after that troubled youth of family tension, Yosef got a “lucky break” and gained wealth and fame in Egypt. One day, as he deals with the food supply for the many foreign visitors who have come to escape the famine, he comes across the men he once called family. In Perek 42, Pesukim 7-8 state that Yosef recognized his brothers and pretended not to know them. What does it mean that Yosef pretends not to know his brothers? Is he not fuming inside from what they did to him? Or even glad to have found his family again? How can he be so cold and ambivalent about the situation?

TORAH TIDBITS / MIKEITZ 5781

Rav Hirsch explains that the root ‫ נכר‬does not mean to be estranged in the sense of being indifferent to something. It is in fact the complete opposite of that. You have to acknowledge someone in order to see them as different from yourself. The brothers portray the “other”, those who are distanced and detached from Yosef because of all they put him through in the past. He wasn’t pretending not to know them and lacking emotion, rather he was so filled with opposition to them that he had no choice but to have his guard up. He couldn’t possibly let them in emotionally after all they had done. From this Parasha’s conflict we learn a fundamental lesson about indifference. There is nothing more hurtful than being ignored. If you don’t even acknowledge someone as an entity you can’t possibly have positive or negative feelings towards them. The other is simply irrelevant. It’s acceptable to be troubled by things in life as long as we don’t ignore them. When we have issues with other people in our life, we have to deal with them instead of ignoring them. May we be zoche to see

people as worthy of our attention and never fall into the pit of ambivalence.

Avi Diamond, 12th grade, Efrat Deja Vu or Something New Parashat Mikeitz begins with Pharaoh having two similar dreams with repeating motifs. In telling Pharaoh what the dreams mean, Yosef explains the reason for the repetition: ‫“׃‬the matter has been determined by God, and that God will soon carry it out. (41:32)” The theme of repetition reappears in the Torah readings that we just finished this past week of Chanukah, ‫פרשת הנשאים‬. On each day of the Mishkan’s dedication, one ‫ נשיא‬brings an offering identical to those of his fellow ‫ נשיאים‬offered on the other days. The Torah repeats the description of the offerings twelve times. Why this repetition? Why not just write it one time, and say that everyone brought the same offering?

spread over the verses of the first few ‫ נשיאים‬rather than writing it only on the first one. By doing so, Rashi teaches us that each ‫ נשיא‬gave from his own volition, and not from a sense of obligation or imitation of his peers. These past few months might have felt like Groundhog Day, living the same day over and over again. It’s very easy to see one day as the next, and feel that today is no different from yesterday and will be just the same as tomorrow. The lesson we learn about repetition from both Mikeitz and the ‫ נשיאים‬is to recognize the hand of God in each day, and to bring our own unique purpose to our day-to-day life. -----------------------------------NCSY Israel is the premier organization in Israel, dedicated to connect, inspire, empower, and help teen olim with "Klita" to the Land of Israel by encouraging passionate Judaism through Torah and Tradition. Find out more at israel.ncsy.org

One of Ramban’s explanations is that although the contents of the offerings were identical, each ‫ נשיא‬had his own unique understanding of its significance. Rav Eliyahu Lifshitz picks up on the theme of uniqueness in explaining why Rashi’s comments on the offerings are

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