Chanukah and Yosef: Bitachon, Hashem’s Protection, and the Source of True Simcha

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Chanukah tonight. Then nabisel Chanukah. I want to begin with the Gemara. Gemara Shabbos, famous Gemara. The Gemara says, אמרת חנה דרש רב נתן בר מניומי משמיה דרב תנחום: נר של חנוכה שהניחה למעלה מעשרים אמה פסולה כסוכה וכמבוי. So ner Chanukah, you need to be able to see it, פרסומי ניסא. So למעלה מעשרים אמה, it's פסולה. You're not יוצא. The Gemara continues with an aggadata. ואמרת כהנא דרש רב נתן בר מניומי משמיה דרב תנחום: מאי דכתיב, והבור ריק אין בו מים? By Yosef, when he was thrown into the pit, the bor, Torah tells us, was empty. There was no water. ממשמע שנאמר והבור ריק, איני יודע שאין בו מים? It's redundant. It's pretty obvious. If it's ריק, there's no water. Says the Gemara that the pasuk is trying to emphasize that מים אין בו, אבל נחשים ועקרבים יש בו — snakes. It has in it scorpions and snakes. The connection between these two Gemaras, as you do, everybody speaks about. What's the shaychus? Why are these two Gemaras put together? ויקום תרעין. Yoisef, the boyer, the nechoshev, akrabim, in the middle of the sugya of Chanukah. Allמען דארף לערנען pashut pshat. This is the alef-beis. First you have to know pashut pshat. As they told me that the Chofetz Chaim was very makpid on pshatov. Notice a lot of his Mishnah Berurah, Likutei Halachos, is pshatov, based on a story. People don't know the story; maybe today it's already printed. And when he was a little bachurl, he got a sefer from an adam gadol, and the adam gadol let him gefregt. He asked him about a Gemara, something, about angefangen, mit the Rishonim, mit the Tos, mit the pshat. And the adam gadol was not happy. He said, Here, how do you read this word? How do you...? So the Chofetz Chaim said, From then on he was mekabel that fear lentment the pshut taich verter, the pashut pshat. And he said a yesod: madach, the embarrassment in front of this adam gadol, while I was only just yet a child, a little bachurl, could you imagine, mit kumpten himmel, the bechinah, umevaser she'afilu the pashut pshat. He was always makpid on pshatov. So in case I give you an entire shiur, I don't tell you the pshat in the Gemara; it's mekuvan on the taanos of Mishbeta. Are you tochen? So, what about pshatov? The pashut pshat, of course, is Rav Kahana. They're both memres of Rav Kahana, darshan Rav Nachman bar Amiyumi, mishmei d'Rav Tanchum. So the Gemara put together these two memras. On the Fashteitzach, stirahsach mer in the Gemara. Just randomly, we took two memras from the same Tanna and we put it together. Epes likta. And b'stam over the years, you heard different pshatim in it, and the most famous one is that it comes from the same mekor of the halacha, and that is that l'maalah mechaf amos lo shalta bei eina. When it's higher than twenty, you can't see. So Rabah bar Rav Huna was trying to save him, so why did he throw him into a pit that has full of nechashim v'akrabim, when the teretz is it was lower than twenty, and we can go through the whole cheshbon now, misa k'dei l'hamis, to throw in last twenty b'kitzur, he couldn't tell, and therefore we see. And here, even though l'choira it's going downwards twenty, and here we're talking about going up, what? Twenty amos. If it's l'maalah mechaf amos, it's pasul because you can't see. And we see the same thing by Reuven, by throwing him into the pit, he couldn't tell there was nechashim v'akrabim. Good. Tosafos developed this, this stam, this he'heren, by every drasha this Shabbos from Yerov. Okay, it's not a pilpul.

You can verify this. It takes a few moments. Good, that's a good thing. How do you know? That's okay. Chafamim, good. It's all good, rabbeisai. Lamazogin vas midil kumin dazag. What are we coming here to say? Okay, we came here to say a yesod, and that is that there's another connection between the hashlacha, the fact that Yosef was thrown into the pit, and Chanukah. It's not about Reuven not being able to see, but it's about haboer eig that he was thrown into the pit. Yosef, the ma'aseh of Yosef being thrown into the pit is connected to Chanukah. There's kumen un zagen, a ganz feine drush. Where's the connection? You got to be a darshan with a big imagination to put it together. I want to tell you an interesting Eliyahu Rabbah. The Mateh Moshe brings from the Maram, Maram miRutenberg, sheribui hasudos shemarbin b'Chanukah heim seudos hareshus. We all know that this, that we have many parties on Chanukah, it's only reshus. People don't know this because they make it into a chov mamash, al de'oraisa, more than other de'oraisas. Mimuz, mimuzgein of parties and latkes on Chanukah. Good, okay, al bin halacha nit azoi pashut. Shulchan Aruch, you'll learn, umistamas me'al mitzvos it's in learn, and okay, I don't want to scare anybody away, okay, al kol panim. Why? Because ikar is shelo kavu ella l'hallel v'hoda'ah v'lo l'mishteh ul'simchah. Umori haGaon zal kasav, dafka kert, it's a mitzvah to be mesameach, l'smoach. It's supposed to be אפי החנוכה, ומשום הכי עיקר היונטיף הן ימי שמחה. Gevaldik, ah? Good. V'chein pasken haRambam, shey. And then he brings a peledige zach from the Hagahos Mordechai, that where is the mekor to make a seudah, a simcha on Chanukah? Balishteit in this week's parsha, parshas Miketz: ותבואח תבח והכן. Yosef made a seudah for his brothers when they came down to Mitzrayim, ותבואח תבח והכן. He prepared a full catered meal, about a kosher meal, tevach was with the shechitah. And this becomes the mekor. Now how does after Shacharis Chanukah? Zogt er, ותבואח תבח והכן, ois ches mitevach, together with the word hachen is Chanukah. Outta maaseh, haRami Rutenberg, the Maharam of Rutenberg, that the party, the seudah, it's like a Chanukah party. Shein, a maaseh, hot tzutamt Yosef, that Yosef made a seudah for his brothers, macht mineichet a seudah. And then he says, גראדע, ותבואח תבח, gematria mem daled, kemo haneis. You know who brings this lahalacha? Reb Yoreb. Reb Yoreb in siman tof reish ayin yud brings this as a mekor to make a seudah on Chanukah. What's the connection between the seudah of Yosef to the seudah of Chanukah? I saw Reb David Cohen in the sefer, classic sefarim. He brings from the Megaleh Amukos that the chol nes Chanukah hu bzechusei shel Yosef, sheyosef is connected strictly to Chanukah. Yosef mit Chanukah. What's the shaychus to Yosef? So you already start seeing in the Gemara, though, that the Gemara puts together Chanukah mit hashlachas Yosef el habor. And you see the Maram Rutenberg says that Chanukah, Yosef. Megaleh Amukos says, v'al Chanukah is Yosef. See, reisha reisha Rabbei sai, right? What's the pashut pshat here? What's the pashut pshat? You know, the Rambam tells us that Chanukah is yemei simcha, days of simcha. The Rambam in Hilchos Chanukah, perek gimmel, halacha gimmel: U'mipnei zeh hiskinu chachamim sheb'oso hador sheyihyu shmonas hayamim eilu shetechilasan me'echa mishah v'esrim, yemei simcha v'hallel. What is the kvius over here of yemei simcha? So the emes is—

There's a lot of Brisker Torah on it, the Brisker said Torah on it, that Yemei Simcha means has a din Yom Tov. It's a whole shaila if it has a din Yom Tov. Volt es geven a halacha shelo tacharaynigegangen in dem, if the shehecheyanu on the hadlakah, is it on the maaseh mitzvah of the hadlakah, or is it on the yom, the Yom Tov? So mefurash in Shaarei Tziyun, the Shaarei Tziyun is me'orer already the shaila. Shaarei Tziyun will fregen, if someone misses the shehecheyanu, if he misses the shehecheyanu b'shaas hadlakah on the eighth day, when does he make the shehecheyanu, or does he bichlal make the shehecheyanu? And on the Shaarei Tziyun in the bottom he clarifies, is the shehecheyanu on the yom because it's a Yom Tov like other Yom Tovim, u'meileh omer afilu b'shuk, he could say it even in the street, o dilma maybe no, the shehecheyanu has nothing to do with the Yom Tov, and maybe there's no Yom Tov, or maybe it's on the hadlakah. Like I said, volt es geven a halacha shelo... iz nisht guter eidah, der sugya. But what does it mean that it's Yemei Simcha? Vos vil men? And be'emes in the Gemara it doesn't say the word simcha. It's the famous question. The Gemara tells us, Shekavu v'asum Yom Tovim, b'hallel v'hodaah. Where did the Rambam get the word simcha? Das is the shaila, maseches alef chet. So rabosai, till now we have our work cut out for us, so to speak. What's the shaila? We see a connection between Chanukah and between Yosef. That you see clearly in the Gemara, and you see it even more clear in the Ohr HaRabah, quoting the Maharam miRutenberg, that the seudah, the seudah that Yosef made is Chanukah, and Yosef is hot tzamt Chanukah. What does Yosef do with Chanukah? And what does it mean that it's yemei simcha? What is the l'maaseh, halacha l'maaseh, the yemei simcha? In what nekudah is it yemei simcha? What's the yemei simcha? Every Yid is very happy on Chanukah. I told the person driving me in, I didn't expect to say it over, but since he reminded me that... I once had a—my brother had a friend that was very unhappy, extremely unhappy. He was bachur shemaises. He was unhappy. So he went to Eretz Yisroel. So he asked my brother, Avrom, from Far Rockaway, he says, I'm going in to Rav Chaim Kanievsky. Can I ask a bracha about Atzvus to Rav Chaim Kanievsky? Is there such a thing? So my brother said, Why not? You can ask Rav Chaim anything you want, I guess. Chavoses. Kitzur, as a rayn, at the chanah merkaz shebachur, he doesn't speak fluent Hebrew, so it sounded pretty awkward. He tells Rav Chaim, Ani atzuv. He tells Rav Chaim. Rav Chaim opened up his eyes and looks at him, Atzuv? Haloi Chanukah hayom. It's Chanukah hayom. That's all he had to say. The person told my brother, I've met him since then at chasunas, and he told me as well he has never been depressed a day in his life since then. So you can make a rebbe shemaiseh from them, so a rebbe is... But that's not what this person saw. You know what this person saw? It's a pashtus, a Yid, simcha, Chanukah, atzvus—vos iz shayach? Nit shayach kein atzvus or Chanukah. And that's this Rambam, that the kveia yemei simcha, it's a day of simcha, of ahavah. What's the pshat, rabosai? The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yerucham Shlita, has a beautiful mussafe came out two, three years ago, speaks about the inyan of arichus, and he says a me'irdike yesod. He brings from the Chovos HaLevavos, Shaar HaBitachon, that the derech to simcha is through bitachon. If a person has bitachon, he has simcha. This will bring simcha, shleimah b'chayav. And he brings the pasuk from David HaMelech in Tehillim, Ki bo yismach libeinu, ki b'shem kodsho batachnu. So you see clearly, says the Chovos HaLevavos, simcha is connected directly to bitachon. And then he brings a peledike zach from the Chovos HaLevavos and the sefer, the Pesicha of Shaar Bitachon: What is the simcha of bitachon? V'chol inyan sheyatek elav, anything that a person turns to, v'imyeh keneged tivo...

And this is something that is against his nature. He thinks to himself, It has to be good. HaKadosh Baruch Hu will only do good. It's all good. It's all good. And that's the bitachon. When the person realizes, just like a mother who has chemlah to her child, b'chitaso, v'chitulo, u'kshiraso, v'hataraso, al kach. So what is the ultimate bitachon? To look at the Ribono Shel Olam as if a mother taking care of the child. And he brings the pasuk from David HaMelech, Tehillim kuf lamed aleph beis, Im lo shivisi v'domamti nafshi, k'gam alai imo, k'gam alai nafshi. The Gemara, it has to do with the way the mother weans the child. That's bitachon. V'ata maaseh. Undos is simcha. So the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Yerucham, wants to say that's pshat in yemei simcha. Yemei simcha is because Chanukah is very much about bitachon, as we will soon discuss. And bitachon means simcha. The person is happy. Undos is yemei simcha. Azoy zogt der Rosh Yeshiva, and he goes through a whole shmooze about bitachon and simcha. Habeisai, medem efsher kemen zagen, every year we have, so to speak, almost a minhag, that we explain a different taich. In the piyut that we say, ... ואחר כך בוא בנך לדביר ביתך, פינו את היכלך. Why בנך? What is the hadgasha? What is the emphasis on the word בנך? Why is it here, בנך? According to what we're learning, it's ganz klar, it's very clear, it's mechuver k'simla, as they say, that the bitachon was such, was rabim biyad me'atim, temeiim biyad tehorim, v'achar kach boו בנך לדביר ביתך. The only way they were able to go through the nes of Chanukah without realizing, so to speak, the odds were against them, it took a tremendous bitachon. And bitachon is, kegamal alei imo. As a father, a mother takes care of a child, and so we're madgish in the nes of Chanukah, ... ואחר כך בו בנך. There was a hadgasha that the Ribono Shel Olam, ... he does nothing, doesn't do anything. The father takes him mamash by the hand. If the child—nothing would happen. It's all the tata. The tata takes care of it from the beginning till the end. And that is the hadgasha that we're madgish in the nes of Chanukah, ... ואחר כך בו בנך לדביר. They felt, ... that the tata was taking care of it. This, chavera rabosai. Is the hadgasha of Chanukah. With this we can go back and explain the connection to Yosef, and to start with the connection that we brought to when he was thrown into the bor. What's the shaychus Chanukah to when he was thrown into the bor? And the Teretz Chabesai is, Yosef survived in the bor because of the midah of bitachon only. It's a mefurash Chazal. The Zohar says, Reuven—what was Reuven's cheshbon? L'hatzilo miyadam. Says the Zohar, I don't understand, if there was nachashim v'akrabim in it, what was he thinking? So the velt learns the pshat is because there was twenty—nu, ma cheshbon, aveisai? Kumt a lementa, yeah? The velt macht a cheshbon that he didn't know. But you see from the Zohar, from the way the Zohar asks the kasha, that he did know. Nu, aveisai, zog, pshat. You'll see every shiur the rav will get up and give you a drasha, derash tikul Torah. Now have derech eretz. Don't start throwing a Zohar. I heard it. You'll listen, because it's got the famous Torah.

I'm not giving you ammunition to attack the Rav and Shabbos, betach racham. But l'maaseh, there is a nitta zeh. The Zohar says the pshat is that he didn't know. Fakert, that he didn't know. Excuse me, that he didn't know. In fact, the Zohar says, so what's the pshat that he did it? Because he knew that they were there and he did it anyway, l'hatzila miyadam, and to put them in the hands of the Ribono Shel Olam. Niflu na b'yad Hashem, al niflu b'yad adam. Better off in the hands of the Ribono Shel Olam. The Derech Chaim speaks a little bit about this inyan. If he was chayiv, he would get it. Famous Aruch LaNer, controversial Aruch LaNer, that if it's b'yadam, they have bechirah. If it was b'yadam, they have bechirah, they could do it even if he's not chayiv. Now they put him in the hands of the Eibishter, the what? If he's not chayiv, he won't have it. Nefesh HaChaim zogt, he put it into the hands of the Eibishter. And Yosef went into the pit, from meira dika emunah bitachon. And soon I'm going to show you that this is bichlal the middah of Yosef. This is what we see throughout Parshas Miketz, that Yosef's koach was to have bitachon. I want to begin with an interesting Bnei Yissaschar, very interesting. When Yosef was thrown into the pit and when they took him out of the pit by the Midyanim, the Torah is madgish many times the word Yosef. Vayishlichu es Yosef, they threw Yosef in. So he says, we know who it is. Why does it have to repeat constantly over again and over again? This is a ma'arehdike zach. He says Yosef remained Yosef throughout the entire ordeal. The Torah is madgish, he never fell. Anander vet oysmentsh, Yiddish zogt men, is oysmentsh. Yosef's koach was that he was Yosef, and the lashon he uses is, he was mekabel it with emunah and bitachon. He was mekabel it with emunah and bitachon. And that emunah and bitachon continued with him throughout his ordeal in Mitzrayim. I first want to discuss a little bit more Chanukah, and then we'll get back to Yosef. I think with this we can explain the difference between Chanukah and Purim. We all know it's b'greid, Acharonim, what's the difference? These are two Yomim Tovim that are given to us to teach us. What are the two Yomim Tovim? They stand for different yesodos, obviously. So there's a lot of Torah, the chiluk between Chanukah and Purim: nefesh, guf, famous Torah that they tried to destroy the ruchniyus, and in Purim they tried to destroy the gashmiyus. Good. Chanukah, it was about bitachon. They went to war, they were boteach baKadosh Baruch Hu. Purim was about the fasting and the tefillah, the davening. It's different nekudos. You know, we find by the Oz Yashir, by Shiras Hayam. Matkitzaku elai, tavil Bnei Yisrael v'Yisro, daf shpringen, daf gein. Rishonim are masbir that there's two types of avodas in different situations. Lo eis, it's not the time, matkitzaku, to daven; it's a time to show bitachon. It's interesting, rabosai, that after Shiras Hayam, after the story with the Yam Suf, we have a shirah, Mi chamocha ba'eilim Hashem. It's interesting. A Chanukah also we have Mi chamocha ba'eilim Hashem. It's very, very bedoimeh. As a matter of fact, there's a Chasam Sofer in Mesechta Shabbos that wants to say that Chanukah licht is de'oraisa. It's a very big chiddush. Those that are in yeshiva, they should look into this a little bit. It's very interesting. And gradde, it's not his own chiddush. If you look at the Yereim and other Rishonim, their mekor, ner Chanukah is one of the mitzvos de'oraisa. That's according to the Yereim. According to many Rishonim, it's one of the mitzvos de'oraisa. The taryag mitzvos is ner Chanukah. How did ner Chanukah—it's the Chachamim, hainu, v'kumt ner Chanukah so we could talk, lo isasur. The Rabbanan becomes a de'oraisa so we could talk about it. It's not the right form for it. But there's a meiredige...

A sefer that says that it's a kal vachomer from Shiras Hayam. The Gemara says that there was a kal vachomer, right? Madoch, when they went, mi avdus l'cheirus, no? Amru shirah. Nisa l'chaim is like kol shekein. So he wants to say a kal vachomer is a de'oraisa. A kal vachomer is a de'oraisa. So it becomes maybe every time purim, nisa is a shtikel de'oraisa. Ayin sham there, lichsam sefer in Masechta Shabbos. But what's happening from them? I'm saying the yesod, that there's a time for shirah. Interesting, it was kovea Chanukah l'hodos u'lehallel. There's a din hoda'ah and hallel. Purim, interesting, there's no Hallel, rather. Very interesting. Talk about, it's based on a Gemara, Kri'asah zu hi Hallelah, that the actual reading of the Megillah is the Hallel. There's a famous meiri, if you don't have a Megillah, you should say Hallel. Okay. But me'ken zagn, Rabbeisai, just for time constraint, you'll work on it on your own time, as they say. Chanukah is as if shirah, because the pshat is, it's the Ribono Shel Olam. He did everything from beginning till the end; we did nothing. The hoda'ah is that it's all the Ribono Shel Olam. Kavum b'hallel v'hoda'ah. Purim, there was teshuvah, there was a lot of things that Yidden did. We did a lot of teshuvah by Purim. Divrei hatzomos. V'zeh hakosam. It had a lot to do that we davened. I don't even want to get into discussion: is davening called hishtadlus? Maybe it's even hishtadlus, because since davening works, I did it. I'm saying a lot of things, b'eisei, mehakufya. These are key words and key yesodos, and I don't have the time to go into them right now. But b'erech, more or less, mekanzogin, Chanukah is l'hodos u'lehallel, because we realize we had no hand in it. Hatznachnis b'tunus. It had nothing to do with us. It was Rambiad ma'atim, temeiim b'yad tehorim, resha'im b'yad tzaddikim, and mimeila, chas, hisa shem gadol v'kadosh b'olamecha. It was a tremendous kiddush Hashem because it had nothing to do with us. There was no way to fataytch any teva in it. Huh? Purim, teva, nes teva — we can go into that whole yesod also. Chanukah was l'maalah min hateva. Eight days, the Maharal. Chanukah is l'maalah min hateva. Az im l'taretch ein reden — if you talk himself into it that he had something to do with the nes of Chanukah, as the rebbe said, something's wrong with him. Purim, dafka narbeten that it has, you know, that it has nothing to do with you. It's not about Esther, it wasn't about Mordechai. Chanukah is l'maalah min hateva. Eight is always l'maalah min hateva, and I'm throwing out a lot of different yesodos, okay? Now, you ready for the biggest chiddush of all? Mistama on Shabbos you're going to hear from your rav, or your Rosh Yeshiva — I don't want to get into any issues here, okay, whatever it is — your ... whatever you'll hear, okay. Why eight days? Where did the eight days come from? Normally, I'm toivel seven days. I just told you a Maharal, and you'll hear this Maharal, ma'alim min hateva. Seven is teva, seven days of the week, and okay. I want to tell you a meiredike zach, peledike zach. And if you like halacha, the Chashuchim brings it down. It begins with an interesting Rimon Luniel. Rimon Luniel says, why is there eight days? Because it has to do with Sukkos. I started with Yosem, and I ain't found in Sukkos, huh? The Rokeach also. The Rokeach, the Baal HaTurim, the Baal HaTurim in Parshas Emor, Chavdaled beis, says that Vayikra eilecha shemen zayis is next to Sukkah, Sachag haSukkos ta'aseh lecha, because Chanukah has to do with Sukkos, right? ... Yeah, it's Baal HaTurim. ... How about the Rokeach in Hilchos Chanukah, that the ches yamim is keneged Sukkos? How about the Noda BYehuda? You like halacha, ... and he says this yesod. ... Here, he says, taam.

וזה מבואר בספר חשמונאי. It had to have an eisah. It has to do with what the Chashmonaim were trying to do. By the times of the Chashmonaim that the Yevanim were trying to do, שעל ידי הגזירה ביטלו עזב להקריב בחג הסוכות ובשמיני עצרת. They were trying to destroy Sukkos, yeah? This is one that very few people know, but it's an halacha, Shulchan, it's halacha. And he brings it from where? From the Sefer Chashmonaim. It's the midrashim that we have on Chanukah. ולכן לזכרון זה עשו שמונה ימים חנוכה. That's why we have eight days Chanukah, because it has to do with Sukkos. נו, אידך, כמעין פמישטא. Sukkos hatz Tammid, Chanukah, Purim, Pesach, ... Okay. One of the ikkei yesodos of Sukkos is צילא דמהימנותא. That's what it is. Sukkos is that a person knows that he's protected by the Eibishter. נו, מאי פשטא פון דעם קמען האבן? What did the Yevanim trying to destroy? And the answer is, they tried to destroy that a Yid always knows, צילא דמהימנותא, that the Ribono Shel Olam is protecting him. And what was the nes of Chanukah? It's farkert, that the Ribono Shel Olam only, only is protecting. And this is the pshat that Yosef, like we're going to speak, as much time as allows us, the inyan of Yosef is the symbol of bitachon. In a shvere matzav, in a golus, that's what Yosef is about. We begin the parsha, Vayehi miketz shnasayim yamim uParoh cholem. Interesting. Does it say uParoh chalam, or does it say uParoh cholem, is dreaming? It's a Nishmain HaArech, the Aruch HaChaim fregt this kasha. Fregt the Aruch HaChaim, it should have said uParoh chalam, he dreamt. What's meant uParoh cholem, that he is? Zogt the Aruch HaChaim a chiddush nifla. The Chaim says he was dreaming like this for two straight years. Not Paroh chalam. It didn't have Vayehi miketz shnasayim yamim, vashteit, so Paroh cholem, that he started to have a dream. No, no, no. UParoh cholem — yet, the nachtigkeit gecholemt. All of a sudden it turned into a story. It took two years for it to turn into a story. Why? What? What took two years? There's a meidige vort from the Karetser, hafla vefela, nimei Pinchas, hafla vefela, brengt a maaseh from the Baal Shem. Theinem zayn talmidim, theinem from the Maggidim, brings a story that they were traveling and they were thirsty and there was no water. So the Baal Shem tells, Hab bitachon, Rabbeinu Shlelem, the chicken דאס. Nu, tachave, they had bitachon, and some guy was passing by and he says, By the way, I'm looking for three days already, I'm looking for my donkeys, for three days. Maybe you could help me. Vu vas? You have some water? Yeah, okay. He gave them the water. Nu, zogt them the Baal Shem, hept a naifter, nu, achzogt, hab bitachon, and you'll get the water. He asked the Baal Shem, what's the pshat? He was traveling for three days like this. You're trying to tell me that the Ribono Shel Olam ... a means to bring me water. But why was he for three days? And the answer is, that are a chai. He brought this out of chai. Yeshua was already here already three days in advance. All you had to do is have the bitachon to get it, that's all. Matzmiach yeshuah. The yeshuah was here. It was already, all you needed. Now you got it. And that's ... We just needed for the time, ... to fix up the fact that there was a chesaron in bitachon by Yosef, which we have to speak about in a few minutes. Mimeila, he got the yeshuah. Now, I must tell you all about ... from Alter from Kelm. ... it's so mamash beautiful. You know, like we said, Yosef is about bitachon. Chazal tell us, Ashrei hagever asher yiftach baHashem. It's the last medrash in the parshas Vayeishev. Zu Yosef. It's Yosef. ... Yosef is the epitome, the ... like we said, of bitachon. Says the Alter from Kelm, chacham ... siman kuf zayin. You know, a person...

Finally gets his moment with the king. Gets his moment with the king, yeah. And the king asks him to be poiser the chalom. What is the one word that Yosef uses to start the conversation? Biladai. It doesn't have to do with me. Says the Altas in Kelim, HaDavar shepele. Could you imagine, for years he's sitting in a jail, and he needs that the king should be nice to him, he should find favor. So the one thing he could have told the king was, Chaklugah, you see? No, it's not me. I'm not a kluger mensh. Not at all. Biladai. Hut nisht mit mir. Root all his chances. What are you doing? It has to be the words inside. He says, ... he's sitting in Beis Pitifar in jail, and shtei shanim b'veis hasohar. B'kitzur, finally he gets out to talk to the king. And what does he tell him? Heisha loi biladai. Targum, bar min chachmasi. It's not my wisdom at all. Mi hichricha l'zeh? Who asked you to do that? What would be so bad if you just answered the question? What are you giving the information? What are you—what's the word I'm looking for—what are you offering the information for? Did Pari ask him, It's you or not you? Just give the answer. I asked you pshat in the dream. Pshat in the dream. Who asked— That's you. That's the word. Volunteer. Who asked you to volunteer the information? Zogt er, V'gam hihiska lo ki chachmasi v'lo... Who ever mentioned that has to do with chochmah, not chochmah? Did we have a discussion if it's my wisdom or it's not my wisdom? Was that even a discussion? Who asked you, in English, who asked you to open your... Okay. Who asked? Take it back. Take it back. ... What did he say already? He told the truth. ... He didn't want. Pen yit'peirishah kalah. If it brings out for one second in this situation that it's kochi v'otzem yadi, li'asi lachayil, lo sovel zois. That's nisyais. Can't take it. Bar min chachmasi. L'choireh, says, ein ze mikavod hamelech bichlal. He was even doing a derogatory thing to the king. It's not—you think that's how you talk to a king? I call you, I need you. You know, I'm really nothing. ... You make me a bizayon to the king. You're making a bizayon out of the king. Aval bishvil chash pen yachshov, ... ki im shenigaleh lichvod Hashem yisbarach v'heishiv b'bar min chachmasi. It was the kavod of the Ribbono Shel Olam. The kavod of the Ribbono Shel Olam to show it's not kochi v'otzem yadi. What do we say again in the bloshon? She'ein gadol ba'olamecha. What was the shem gadol, l'cha asisa? Shem gadol b'olamecha. When a Yid walks around, he shows that he has no shaychus to him. We're completely batel to the Eibishter and His koiches. That's l'cha asisa shem gadol b'olamecha. And that's only b'chinas banim. And I want to tell you a little more, rabosai. If you notice that when they took him out of the pit to go to the king, vayyaritzuhu min habor. What is the word vayyaritzuhu? So either vayyaritzuhu means that they did it hastily, quickly. Sforno says, Yeshuaas Hashem k'heref ayin, lo sharitzu. They rushed him. Other Rishonim, other mefarshim, fataytsh vayyaritzuhu means that they had to uproot him from the bor, which means they took him and they brought him. I saw a meirige zach from Rav David Pavarsky, tachkeven a kelem from Rav Yerucham; he was from the talmidim of Rav Yerucham. He says, what's the pshat vayyaritzuhu? He didn't run. Running means it's in his hands to go. He has now, he mezuk, he's going to do an hishtadlus. No. The Ribono Shel Olam will take him. It's a meirige dikke teretz. Chafla fela.

Vayiritzu. He's not going. Go! He didn't go on your own. You were invited. You were told to go. So now the guy already picks his rental up and he starts to run. No, no, no. I do no hishtadlus whatsoever. How about the lashon of the choves halevavos, k'gamma ala imai? Huh? When you take the child from the crib, the child doesn't move. That's called bitachon. Bitachon is, I don't even move towards it. I just lay there on the tatteh tutals. Vayigalecha yechalef simlosav. He took a haircut. Why did he take a haircut? So Rashi points out he took a haircut because k'vod hamalchus. Zeide told me over a meiredige vort. I don't remember, you know, it's been years already, but I don't know if it was from the Alter of Slabodka, from the Alter from Kelm. It's one of the baalei mussar. Voz vil Rashi? What does Rashi want? And the answer is, an ander nemt a haircut, and you know what he thinks to himself? I look good. Same. Nay. He took the haircut, and he's thinking to himself, it's not going to make a difference a ki hu zeh, v'alasda Eibishter vil, vet azayn. And I'm taking the haircut because of what? K'vod hamalchus. Let's go one step further. It's interesting, Chazal tell us, and I see the time, so we're going to end in a minute or so. It's interesting, Chazal tell us, stirahdike zachin, that Yosef had bitachon. Why didn't he have bitachon? He had bit... We all know the Beis Halevi, Lefi his koyach in bitachon. So he wasn't a baal bitachon by asking the sar hamashkim. It has to do, because otherwise you're supposed to do hishtadlus. Everybody heard this already. I'm here to tell you a meiridige zach from the Charkover. It's one of the most classic Torahs of the Charkover. The Charkover says, what's the pshat? Lo zachar sar hamashkim, vayishkachehu. Who is vayishkachehu? So pashut it's going back on the sar hamashkim. But the truth, the pasuk says already, Lo zachar sar hamashkim. He didn't remember him. But what more do you need? I gedenkt im, afilu nisht. What, he had to noch fargesen? He doesn't remember him. What's better, not to remember the guy or to remember and to forget him? Which one? That's a maaseh. It's a very nice maaseh. There were two gedolim. After the shiur, if you want, you'll come over and I'll tell you the names of the gedolim. They used to bicker by the Agudas Yisroel harbonim. So one of them was getting up and screaming, Az der anderer dafn mir maruis varfin, dafn mir... And he was getting so aggravated that that other rav that said so and so, it's so bad, they got to throw him out. So they whispered in his ear, He's not here. Iz brengt dem arayn un varft dem arois. I'm so angry with him, bring him in and throw him out. Have deista? Ilacht? What's the pasuk? Lo zachar sar hamashkim vayishkachehu. He didn't remember him, and he also forgot him. Vos darf men fargesen? You don't remember him. Is it better? No? A gutte oren? Okay. You ready for a little Chassidishe vort? A sheine vort. Charkover, a sheine vort. Charkover was big. So, the ... vayishkacheihu is not going on the sar hamashkim. Yosef made the sar hamashkim forget. He was mispallel to the Eibishter, Please, I made a mistake. I asked him I shouldn't have asked. V'lo zachar sar hamashkim, vayishkacheihu — he made him forget Yosef, because he didn't want to have anything to do with the hishtadlus of this person. Huh? You know, sometimes an avodah is good, let it be, let it. Okay. Al kol panim, what's the musar, chaveirim? What's the musar? The musar is pashut: yemei simchah. We live in difficult — everybody has difficulty. We live in difficult times. The one thing that's guaranteed to bring simchah is bitachon in the Ribono Shel Olam. And what's the bitachon? Kegam al imo — we're children and He's the Father. And with that chavivus and that warmth, we have ... it's a certain love that the Ribono Shel Olam has with us, and we feel it, and that brings us ...

And that's the avodah. That is the avodah of Chanukah, to feel the Banecha, to work on the Banecha, gam al ha'imah. And that brings the simcha of Chanukah. I wish you all a freilichen simcha di Chanukah. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.