This Shabbos, we heard a dvar torah from Rav Males. We discussed the holiday of Hanukkah, including commentary by Rav Malamed. And we discussed parsha Mikeitz, including commentary by Rav Yeager. David Schlesinger led discussion.
Rabbi Males talked about how historically Hanukkah menorahs were located outside, in front of our homes. He spoke about how, today, in Israel it is still customary to place menorahs in “fish tanks”, outside, in front of homes, and on the porches of apartments.
He talked about some of the differences between the menorah we light in shul during Hanukkah, and that which we light at home. It is a mitzvah to light a menorah at our house, so simply being at shul during a menorah lighting does not sufficient. The menorahs located within shuls are located near the southern wall. We light the candles on this menorah from west to east.
This Shabbos fell during the 8 days of Hanukkah. We discussed some of the differences between Hanukkah and Purim. Hanukkah is about our triumph over attempts to overtake us spiritually, whereas Purim is about our triumph over attempts to destroy us physically. We discussed how the Hanukkah story took place in Israel with the resurrection of the Beit Midrash, whereas the Purim story is about surviving outside of Israel.
We discussed some of the halakhah of Hanukkah. The candle light can not be used for anything other than a commemoration of the miracle of Hanukkah. Therefore, it is forbidden to use the light for reading or any other work, such as house work.
We discussed how woman, in particular, are not allowed to do work, such as housework, during the first 30 minutes the candles are lit. This halakhah makes absolutely sure the light won’t be used for anything else. Also, by only applying to woman, we remember the special role woman played in the Hanakhah story, especially the role of Judith.
We discussed the custom during Hanukah to eat foods cooked in oil. We enjoy food such as latkas, but also other types of food fried in oil. We also discussed the custom to eat dairy during this holiday, which helps us remember how Judith gave cheese to our enemies.
This Shabbos, we discussed the idea of trust, and in particular having trust in Hashem. We discussed exactly what is meant by the word trust. An example of trust we discussed, is trust by our employer that they can assign us a project, and we will get it done without the need for micromanagement. Rob pointed out that there is a difference between trust and faith.
We discussed how although we have trust in Hashem, this doesn’t mean we can simply sit around wishing for things to happen (or not happen) to us. Hashem gives us what is best for us, which may not be what we want at the moment. Also, Hashem will only do his part. I mentioned at our learning, that life requires a combination of action and prayers, action for what we can control, and prayers for what we can not.
In the parsha, Hashem did his part by giving Joseph the ability to interpret dreams, however it was up to Joseph to do dream interpretation. We discussed how the solution to Joseph’s problem of being stuck in jail, was contained within his dream that the butler would soon be let free. Although the Butler did not tell Pharaoh immediately of Joseph’s situation, eventually it came out when Pharaoh needed help interpreting his own dream. The butler told Pharaoh about Joseph, and Joseph soon found himself freed from jail, and eventually became a leader, second most powerful person in Egypt.
We discussed how Joseph did not think he was chosen to represent the continuation of Judaism that had begun with Abraham, passed down to Isaac, and then to Jacob. By not being part of the covenant, he felt that he was only subject to the laws of Noah.
We discussed one of the laws of Noah, which is the prohibition against eating the limb of a living animal. We discussed how this one law is actually more strict with non-Jews, who must wait longer with kosher animals, than with Jews who can consider the animal deceased, immediately after it has undergone shechita according to halakha.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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