Chanukah: The Menorah, Pure Oil, and Our Unbreakable Bond with Hashem Through Torah

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Eizah Hashem yisbarach. I'd like to speak today, Chanukah. We just began Chanukah. Let's learn about Chanukah. What is Chanukah? Of course, there's so much in the sefarim about Chanukah. Let's take out one point, one nekudah, which I think is pretty clear what Chanukah is all about. We all know that Chanukah is the menorah. We light the menorah. It's almost the symbol of the Yom Tov, the menorah. Interestingly, we think the story was that they made the menorah tamei, and that they made the oils tamei, and that we came back and we lit the menorah after the war. It's not only the menorah and it's not only the oil. It was the whole Beis Hamikdash that they were metamei. It wasn't just people. Have the perception, and I understand why, that the menorah was the problem. That was what was tamei, the oils. And we even say, v'timu kol hashemanim, that they made all, right? We say in the Al Hanisim, v'timu kol hashemanim. It's mashma that they were metameh just the oils. The Rambam seems to say they were metameh everything. It wasn't just the oil, the whole Beis HaMikdash. They came in, u'ba'u ba'pritzim v'chileluha. The pritzim came in and they destroyed and defiled the entire Beis HaMikdash. I read you the Rambam in Hilchos Chanukah: Bayi sheni, k'shemalchu Yavan, gazru gezeiros al Yisrael, u'bitlu datam, v'lo hinichu osam la'asok b'Torah u'v'mitzvos. They didn't let them learn. U'pashtu yadam b'mamonam. They stole their money. They were robbing them. U'vivnoseihem. They were pilgriming of their daughters. V'nichnesu laheichal u'pirtzu bo pirtzos, v'timu ha'taharos. They made tamei all the pure that was in the Beis HaMikdash. The Rambam doesn't say it was only the menorah. The Rambam doesn't say it was specifically only the oils. V'timu hatahoros, general. So is it about the menorah and the oil specifically, or it was all the Beis HaMikdash, the entire Beis HaMikdash and all the keilim and all the kedushah in the Beis HaMikdash? L'choira, the Rambam seems to say clearly that it wasn't specific, the menorah and the oils. Yet we talk about v'timu kol hashmanim. Why? That's the question that needs to be asked, because he should have said, Bayisheni, they were metameh the oil, and we say v'timu kol hashmanim, rabosai, they were metameh the whole Beis HaMikdash. Yet there was something specific and special about the fact that we came back and we lit the menorah, and that there was a nes with the pach shemen and the oil. What is this about? Why specifically the menorah, and why the pach shemen, the oil? It's interesting, the Rambam writes further on in perek gimmel—actually it's perek daled—the Rambam writes as follows, Halachah yud-beis.

Mitzvas ner Chanukah, mitzvah chaviv hi ad me'od. It's a very dear mitzvah, dear. V'tzarich adam l'hizaher bah. A person must be very careful to keep this mitzvah. Why? K'dei lo yodia nes, u'lehosif b'shevach haKel v'hoda'ah al hanisim she'asah lanu. And therefore, afilu ein lo ma yochal ela min ha-tzedakah, a person only has to eat from the tzedakah, from the charity, sho'el o mocher k'suso, v'lokeach shemen v'ner. He has to sell himself. That's how important the mitzvah of Chanukah is. Chavivah. The Rambam uses the lashon chavivah. He should have said it's an important mitzvah, chashuvah. Don't say chashuv; he says chavivah. What's so chaviv? What is so dear about the mitzvah of Chanukah, huh? It's a good question? Okay. So question, the first question is a gevaldige question. The entire Beis HaMikdash was tamei, yet there's something specific about the menorah and the oil of the menorah. The menorah is the symbol of Chanukah. Yet what happened was they came back to a Beis HaMikdash that was completely, all the keilim were tamei, the menorah. And the Rambam tells us that the mitzvah of Chanukah is chaviv; it's dear. Not just it's important, it's extremely chashuv. No. Chaviv. Why chaviv? Why does the Rambam use the lashon that it's chaviv? You know, it's interesting, and of course it's not my pshat, ha'arah, this is not something that I point out, but all the sefarim speak about it. In the Al Hanisim that we say in the Shemoneh Esrei, Ul'amcha Yisrael asisa תשועה גדולה ופורקן כיום הזה, ואחר כך באו בניך... Who are the children? Who are we referring to? Are we referring to the Kohanim? Do we mean that the Kohanim came back and they're called banecha? Do we mean Klal Yisrael, and they're the ones who are here called banecha? Why here are we using the noun, the shem, the name, banecha? Why banecha? Acher kach ba'u Yisrael, עמך. Why banecha? Chavivah? Banim? Interesting. Certain dearness, certain closeness. Mitzvahs, the am Hashem. Here it's more than that. It's an expression of chavivus, of banim, of children. In your light, the menorah, this is a certain feeling and expression. Worth, closeness. Ribono Shel Olam, I'm your son, I'm your child, bonecha. And when we came back to the Beis Hamikdash to light the menorah, we came back as banim, as children, to light the menorah. So it's not just that it's a chashuv mitzvah, not just that it's an important mitzvah, but it's a mitzvah chavivah. It's very dear, close. In English we have an expression, it's close to my heart. Chanukah is close to the heart, because it's about bonecha, it's about the children. The children, Klal Yisrael, we are the children of Hashem, and the Ribono Shel Olam is our Father. But what is it about Chanukah, more than any other mitzvah, that it has this expression of we are the children of You, Ribono Shel Olam, our Father? Why? You know, the menorah, and this will already explain why the menorah is unique in the mitzvah of Chanukah, why the menorah was chosen to be the symbol of Chanukah. Why was the—

You're chosen. I mean, like I said before a moment ago, the whole Beis Hamikdash went up in tumah, so to speak. It was defiled. So why the menorah and the oil of the menorah? Remember, we'll answer both, rabosai: the menorah and the oil of the menorah. Every day we daven, Hashiveinu Avinu l'sorasecha, v'karveinu Malkeinu la'avodasecha. By Torah we use the lashon, what do we say? Avinu. Hashiveinu, Avinu l'sorasecha. Why? Why avodah is a melech, but Torah? Torah is something special. What's so special about Torah? It's Avinu. It's a relationship. It's a connection. Ribono Shel Olam, the Father, Klal Yisrael, the ben. Reb Chaim Volozhiner explains, Torah is like the keys to the inner safe. Who do you give the keys? Who do you entrust with that? Strangers? No. A son who you feel very connected to, you have a lot of closeness and trust in. You give him the inner keys to your inner... Torah is the maftechos pnimiyos. And what Reb Chaim Volozhin means to connect to the Eibishter. How does one... Bypass. You know, in the world, rabosai, there's avenues and roads on how to connect to Hashem. Even goyim, even other nations have connection to Hashem. Ki beisi beis tefillah yikarei l'chol ha'amim. Goyim can pray. Goyim can pray, but goyim don't have Torah. Something only that a Klal Yisroel. Unique. A connection that we can have with the Eibishter through Torah is a shortcut. It's a special passageway. That's the maftechos pnimiyos. We have special connection to the Eibishter, with the Ribono Shel Olam entrusted us with this. It's called the mafte... I think that's Reb Chaim Volozhin, it means the maftechos pnimiyos. We have the special connection. We're able to... The whole world is going on a highway. We have a special road. Like when you ever see when the VIP come, they open up a special... We got a special VIP. What's our pass? Bonecha. We're the children of the Ribono Shel Olam. So we connect through Torah. The Gemara says, Chachma b'goyim ta'amin, Torah b'goyim al ta'amin. We have Torah, wisdom, chachma. And we don't mean chachma that they know how to play ball well. That's not what we mean. Or chachma that they know how to give good speeches. Or chachma that they know how to make good computers, that we don't even mean that. We mean chachmas Elokim. You know, the menorah had seven kanim, it had seven rings, seven. The menorah we have for Chanukah is eight, because the miracle was eight. But in the Beis Hamikdash there were seven. What was the point? Because there's shiva chachmos, there's seven wisdoms, wisdoms of the world. There's a lot of wisdom, spiritual wisdom. Wisdom. Wisdom is not just street smart. There's chachma which is coming from Elokim, it comes from Hashem, and through it a person could see Hashem, he could see God. Yet, as the Netziv used to explain, the menorah has the seven wisdoms, but what? They were all going keneged ha'emtzai, they were all facing towards the middle one, the emtzai is Chochmas HaTorah. It's the wisdom of Torah. Every one, every one of these wisdoms, the shiva chachmos...

Pnei hamenorah. They're light. They face towards the middle, the essence of the menorah, which is Chachmas haTorah. Chachmas haTorah. The menorah represents Torah, and Chachmas haTorah and Torah shebaal peh. That's what it does. That's what it symbolizes. The Gemara tells us that when Moshe Rabbeinu had a difficult question in Gemara, in Torah, he would stand by the menorah. He would stare at the menorah, and he would take in the kedushah. And this would give him the wisdom of Torah. The menorah is semel, symbolizes Torah and the chochmah of Torah. And in that chochmah, from it, from the Torah, comes the shivah chochmos, the seven wisdoms, the seven wisdoms of the world. In English, everybody knows it, the seven wisdoms of the world. But it has to be al mul pnei hamenorah, from the Torah. But the Torah itself, that's bagoyim al tamin. They don't have that. Chochmah bagoyim tamin, Torah bagoyim al tamin. What did the Yevanim want? What did the Yevanim want? It's clear. We all know the Yevanim believed in chochmah, chochmah Yevanis. Chochmah Yevanis. They believed in Chachma. So what were they against? They were against Torah shebaal peh, the Torah part of it. The wisdom part they liked. You would go to a Greek university. You would be able to take Torah classes, Bible 203, you'd be able to take it. That they wanted. But beis medrash, yeshiva, Torah, Torah shebaal peh, the bonecho, they didn't want that. They wanted the Jews to become like them. They wanted to mix it together. You should have the Chachma, but only the Chachma. It's interesting. The osiyos haTorah is Yavan. Yafte Elokim l'Yefes, v'yishkon b'ohalei Shem. The alphabet is the Greek alphabet. The osiyos, the written, yafte l'Yefet, the beauty of Yefes. Greek is the ksiva, is the ashuris of the Torah. It's interesting, huh? Because their Chachma is in the Torah, but it's the external part. It's the osiyos of the Torah. But then there's the pnimiyus. There's what's written in the neshama, the lev, the heart of the osiyos, what the osiyos represent and what they mean and what they're teaching. That's not Yefes. That's Klal Yisroel. Yeh rabosai, listen carefully. The Greek was a very interesting culture. Yafte l'Yefes. They have very interesting—it's not just Esav, so to speak, wild beast, taivos olam hazeh. Oh, chochmah. It was a wisdom. And it was a wisdom which, if you looked carefully, you would see similarities and connection to the Torah. Yafte l'Yefes—the beauty of Yefes comes into the Torah, Ashuris. The wording that's used, the— is Yefes, yet it's not Torah. Torah bagoyim al ta'amin. And that's what Yevanim wanted. Yevanim wanted that a Jew and a Greek should sit and study together, but not study Torah. If you notice, we say this. What did they want? Bimei Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Gadol, what did they want? Malchus Yavan harasha lahashkicham Torasecha.

Sad lashkicham Torah, v'Torasecha. Your Torah. Take out Hashem from it. Take out the connection to the Ribono Shel Olam. Take out Hashem. Study it. Understand that it's wisdom, but don't connect the wisdom with the Ribono Shel Olam. You hear? Lashkicham Torasecha. And that's the pshat why the menorah is so essential in the nes of Chanukah. Do you know what the menorah represents? Chazal tell us the menorah represents shehaShechinah shruyah b'Yisrael. The Eibishter is among Klal Yisrael always, no matter what. The ner maaravi never extinguished. It was a miracle to show that the eish, the fire—you know, in every person's neshama, it's a physical thing, the heart, the soul—but there's something spiritual that burns. It's a neshama. What is that? It's a fire. It's a spark. You know, Torah is called what? Eish. Ki karovei eish. Hashem is like a fire. There's a fire. My words are like fire. You know what the neshama is? It's called ner. The neshama is called a ner. It's called a ner. Whenever we want to make a zichron, a yahrzeit, what do we do? We put a candle for the neshama. Ner Hashem nishmas adam. The neshama and the Chanukah. The neshama of the Jew is Chanukah. It is Chanukah. That's what it's all about. Ki haShechinah shruyah b'Yisrael. The Shechinah rests among us. No Yavan, no Greek, no culture can undo that. You know what the ma'alah of a ben is? What is a son? There's something very unique about a son. We're connected in a very interesting way to our fathers. Friends, we're not physically connected. We don't have the DNA of our friends. We like our friends. And we could choose to part from our friends and say, you know what? Not your friend anymore. A son remains a son. The DNA is in there. Take out the cell, you'll find the DNA of the father. This is the pshat. The DNA came out. The DNA came out. We're connected to the Eibishter. Yavan is trying to uproot that. Yavan is trying to make us that we're no different. We can both sit at the same table and study the wisdom of Torah. And the truth is, we cannot study the same, because they study the wisdom, the external, while we study pneicha. We're connected. There's an emotional connection, a spiritual connection, a physical connection. When we learn Torah, Hashiveinu Avinu, bring us back, Avinu, l'Sorasecha. That's what we're connected through the Torah. We're the children of the Ribono. You know, when Matan Torah, when Klal Yisrael said, Naaseh v'Nishma, a bas kol came out and said, Mi gilah raz ze? No, finish it. Lebanai. Mi gilah raz ze lebanai. Gilah raz ze lebanai. What does gilah mean? To uncover. To uncover is a secret. There's a secret. What is the secret? It's banai. There's a secret to Torah. It's deep inside the neshama of every Yid that we're banim laShem, naaseh v'nishma. We're ready to jump into a fire. Tell me, the Chashmonaim, what was their cheshbon? There was a small group of people. What were they thinking? What were they thinking? Did they have a plan in the war? Tell me, did they have a plan in the war? I want to know who the general of that army was. I'd like to know who was Yochanan, who was the general. He should be fired on the spot. What suicide.

You know what the answer is? Naaseh v'nishma. Naaseh v'nishma. A ben doesn't make cheshbonos. Rashi explains, banim don't make cheshbonos, li cheshbon. Rashi says it in Shabbos. Rashi explains the why: when we said naaseh v'nishma, did we become banai? Why were we called banim? Because banim are different than avadim. Avadim think if they can do it or not. Rashi says it on the spot in Maseches Shabbos, in Pei Ches. And Eved says, listen, I have to. You know, it's interesting, this week I saw it. My wife gave instructions to the ozeret, the cleaning lady: do this, do this, do this, do this, that. Okay. Well, the truth is, I even, by the second or third instructions, I thought, wow, overload, right? Ladies have a different system, a different scale, you know. She looks at it and she says, you know, I can't do all this. This is too much, the hours, the this, the that. And what did I realize? An eved comes and says, listen, I can only do this and I can't do that. I can't do it. Can't do it. A ben, Rashi says, bli cheshbon, he jumps into it. You know, when HaKadosh Baruch Hu wanted to give the Torah to Klal Yisroel, first He went to all the other umos, and He asked them, Are you interested? And what did they say? Let me see what it says. Let me see if I can do it. I'm signing a contract. Yeah, signing a contract. Well, don't steal. No, it's not for me. I can't do it. I'm sorry, I can't keep this contract. They're right. You ask me to accept some, I can't do it. They came to Klal Yisroel. What did they answer? Naaseh v'nishma, בלי חשבון. Why? Banai. A child doesn't make a cheshbon. The chashmonaim didn't make a cheshbon. They said, We're going. Jumping. We're gonna do it. Mitzvah chavivah ad meod. It came from love. It came from love, chavivah. It was dear, chaviv. Mitzvah chavivah. It symbolizes what Torah is by a Jew and the connection that the Jew has to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, his Father. That's what Chanukah symbolizes. Maybe the donuts. People think Chanukah is about donuts. Maybe because fathers give children donuts. Maybe sweet. Maybe it's chavivah, the father giving the child the Chanukah gelt and the donuts. Maybe it symbolizes HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave us also sweet, gave us Torah. It's a joke, by the way. The point being, grow up from the donut and realize Chanukah is a lot more than parties and donuts. It's a very, very dear, very dear Yom Tov. Understand the depth of what the Yom Tov of Chanukah is. Now I want to go one step further. The menorah. I finished explaining to you the menorah. How the menorah symbolizes the Torah and its avinu and the connection with the Eibishter through the Torah, a chachmah Yevanis, which is a chachmah, it's a wisdom. You can't knock it, but it's not Torah. Chachmah bagoyim ta'amin, Torah bagoyim al ta'amin. What did the Yevanim want? And now we'll understand the shemen part. Specifically the shemen. What's the shemen about? Okay, Yevanim wanted that the Jew and the goy should merge, should merge, one, to connect, to become misyavnim, right? Jews and goyim together. You know, shemen has a tremendous, tremendous ma'alah. Yeah, it's sof l'maalah. Yeah, it's not my... on my side. Okay. Shemen, v'timu kol hashemanim. It's true they had a campaign to—

Defile the entire Beis Hamikdash. But they had a specific goal and a specific plan, and the shemen. They had it. Why? Shemen represents pure. Shemen zayis zach. It's pure. It's pure to the point that there is no way to mix. Whenever you put shemen with mayim, what happens? It doesn't. It comes to the top. The shemen floats to the top. Shemen is not mesa... Even the Rokeach says in other harkavah, when you try to put two things together, you can't put— it doesn't go. It's the only thing you can make. You can make apple olives, you know. You can make all different— you have apple pears, you know, all the different orange, tangerine. You can't make olive anything else. Olive is olive. It's not shayach l'harkavah. You can't mix it together. So, v'timu kol hashmanim. They went after what? All the shemanim. There's a beautiful Rokeach that says, there's a pasuk, Bonecha... Ki shtilei zesim saviv l'shulchanecha. אתה שומע? הבנת? Bonecha ki shtilei zesim saviv l'shulchanecha. Your child, your children, says the Rokeach, they're around the table like shtilim. The— give me the right word in English. Shatil is a stems, the twigs. Of zeisim. Just like a zayis cannot be mitarev banecha, your children also should be kishtilei zeisim saviv l'shulchanecha. According to what we explained, I understand the banecha. Banecha, a child and a father is connected; you can't mix them. Banecha, and that's the Chanukah, banecha. Kishtilei zeisim saviv l'shulchanecha, that's the bonim. It all comes together now. We are bonim and we can't mix with the rest of the world. We are children. We are not just friends. Of course, there's a whole world of enemies of Hashem. Forget about the enemies of Hashem, even the friends of Hashem, those that like God. It's not us. We're banecha, banecha. Kishtilei zeisim saviv l'shulchanecha. You can't be mitarev. Now, how does that happen? And the answer is through Torah. Because of Torah, we don't mix. If we don't have Torah, we will mix. The banecha, that relationship becomes solidifying, becomes strong, unbreakable, only if and when we learn Torah. You see? The menorah was the reason why they fought, and the menorah is the reason why they were menatzeach to not become misarev with the rest of Yavan. It kept them together for 200 years. The Rambam says it continued like this for 200 years. They fought for Torah, and it was the Torah that they fought for that protected them afterwards. Shelo litavu, shelo yitbolelu ba'amim for 200 years. Because only through Torah are you able to keep the chain, the connection. Otherwise, it gets lost very quickly. Not only with taivos, with outside influence, but even with wisdom. Haskalah, haskalah. Haskalah was be a Jew and have, you know, knowledge. Torah that's learned with Hashem, with Torah secha, that keeps the Jew intact. I want to show you something interesting. Parshas Vayishlach is Yaakov fighting Esav. Yaakov fighting Esav, yeah? The sari shel Esav attacks Yaakov when? When he went back for pachim ketanim. Vayeivaser Yaakov levado, chazar...

Pachim ketanim. He went back for what? For shards. Pachim, broken. The Paneach Raza explains, when it says, the Shach brings it down as well, Vayivaser Yaakov levado, lekado. Not levado, but lekado, which means he was left alone for his kad, for that jug. What is vayivaser? I mean, it's a play on words. Vayivaser Yaakov levado, levado—no, not levado, but lekado. It's brought down, the Paneach Raza explains, that this kad is already the remez, the kad, the pach shemen, in the story of Chanukah. Because the kachim ketanim that he went back for were not just empty jugs, but there was oil inside. Chazal seem to learn that they were empty jugs. And the limud we learn from this is that tzaddikim, they love money, clean money, healthy money, money that Hashem gave them, yoser migufam, because you see Yaakov endangered himself to go back for a paper cup. It was a cup, it was nothing, it was a pach. So Chazal seem to say it was an empty paper cup, it was a jug. The Paneach Raza, it seems that this jug had significance. It wasn't just a— It looked— And when we read, it sounds like that it was just a simple cup. No. What was it? It had shemen inside. And this pachim is going to be already what? The beginning of the story and the nes of Chanukah, shematzu pach echad katan bechotamo shel Kohen Gadol. Are you listening to this? This is unbelievable. So interesting. You hear? You hear? You ever knew this? So interesting. Yaakov levado. Yaakov goes back for a jug. Oh, what was it? Puts himself in danger for a cup, for a coffee mug. Coffee mug. You see, you have to speak American English terms, otherwise everyone falls asleep. Everyone's smiling now. Okay, a coffee mug. But he couldn't have his morning mojo. Everyone's laughing. I know a little bit. I'm not that good at it. Every now and then I come up with the funny things. That's the question. Pachim means it was—see, people think it was shards. I mean, the whole thing doesn't make sense. He put himself in danger for it. So Chazal say because money that Hashem gives to a person is so special, because Hashem gave it that he's willing to put himself in danger for it. That's what Chazal said. Put himself in danger for a cup. It doesn't—so many baalei mussar speak, the importance of not throwing—you know, you have to understand, we live in a society where everything goes to the garbage. There was a time— We're a rubber bin. Really? You would throw it out. It's a rubber. Why would you throw it out? Food, good food, after a simcha, right to the garbage. Who has time to be busy with all this, right? It affects the psyche of the person, by the way. Don't think we don't live, don't think we don't live with the chisaron of, next, throw out, we move on. There's a big chisaron. We'll talk about that a different time. What's nogea linyaneinu? In sefarim, it's deeper than just the jug. This was a pach with shemen, and this is the pachim ktanim, and Yaakov goes back to fight. You see, the Chashmonaim went back to fight. And how did they go? Alone. I believe that that's what the meforshim are saying. מעשה אבות סימן לבנים. ויוותר יעקב, ויוותר יוכנן כהן גדול וחשמונאי לבדו. They were alone, and they went back to fight for the pachim. What's in the pachim? What's the story? So let me give you a little history about these pachim. Yaakov has a jug of oil. What's this jug? What is it? When Yaakov Avinu went to sleep in Parshas Vayetze...

He puts stones around his head. When he wakes up in the morning, he puts oil on these stones. Where did he get the oil from? It's a nice question. Chazal say it's a medrash that it came from Shamayim. It came from Shamayim. That's one pshat. The other pshat is it came from Shamayim. Paneach Raza says, in his stick, ki bemakli avarti es haYarden hazeh, there was oil in it. Ki bemakli avarti es haYarden hazeh. And that's pshat, avarti. I went with this makel. What was in the makel? The oil. What was the oil for? Through the nights. This is what he did. Yaakov, for 20 years in Lavan's house, 14 years in Shem v'Ever, and then later on in Lavan's house, he learned and learned and learned and learned and learned. The Rambam says those that learn at night, the Shechinah connects them. The Shechinah is with them. They're connected to the Eibishter through the night. It's the Torah in the night, the dark, the light in the darkness. It's the Torah in the times of galus. Yaakov represents galus. What lights in the time of darkness in the galus? It's the Torah. The Torah lights in the galus. Yaakov is ma'aseh סימן לבנים. He's already teaching us all this and preparing us for all this. And that's bemakli avarti. How was I able to pass? How was I able to survive this Yarden? Life is like a Yarden. It's like an ocean. It could drown you. The sea, the storms, the storms of the ocean. You survive it bemakli with his stick. What's the stick? The stick is the Torah, the night, the learning. The makli of vartinges haYarden hazeh. It's interesting. It's a whole question. How many times they passed the Yarden, they used the stick of Yaakov to pass the Yarden. Later on also, when they passed the Yarden, they used the stick of Yaakov. Be'eish uvamayim, Am Yisrael chai through Torah. How does Klal Yisrael live through be'eish uvamayim? How do they live? They live with Torah. They survive. Be'eish uvamayim, Am Yisrael chai. Why? Don't be afraid. Al tira avdi Yaakov. We say, don't be afraid. Life has so much things that can throw your way to bring galus, fear, darkness. Al tira avdi Yaakov. Why don't be afraid? Be'eish uvamayim. ... Avtorah says it clearly. We have the ability to survive fire and water. And how? B'makli, because we have the Torah. That's vayivaser Yaakov levado, not levado but lekado. And that's the pshat, it was Yarden min hashamayim, and I believe that that's the pshat, that he put it on the mizbeach. He was makriv. It says that he put up the stone, eid hagal hazeh, eid hamatzeivah. He made a mizbeach, the Medrash says. Later on, with Lavan, when Lavan runs after him, vayitzok shemen al galeid. Vayitzok shemen al rosho. What shemen? And the answer is, it's the... Shemen. It's the same shemen. He's carrying shemen with him, you see? What's the pshat? This was his korban. What was Yaakov Avinu's korban? Yaakov Avinu's korban. Avraham Avinu was makriv his son. Yitzchak was blind, living in his house doing avodah. What was Yaakov? He gave his shemen. Shemen is Torah, the shemen of Torah, the nights that he learned. That was his korban. That was his hakravah. That's what he put on the mizbeach. Hekriv atzmo balimud shel haTorah. And this is the uniqueness of the shemen in the story of the Chanukah. Chanukah, the menorah, Torah. Shemen is also the Torah. But which part of the Torah? The shemen that it's not misareif. It protected us. Bonecha, tishlilei zeisim saviv l'shulchanecha. That protected, protected, that we shouldn't become part of the influence, the influence of the Yevanim. Let me go one step further.

You hear, Vayevoser Yaakov levado. You hear, Yaakov stays alone. How does he stay alone, away from Esav? And the answer is, levado lekado, his oil, his Torah. That's how he's vayevoser. He stays separate. The koach, the ability to be able to stay separate, vayevoser Yaakov levado, through kado, through the Torah. Otherwise, mitbonenim, mit'arvim, it doesn't work. Now, rabosai, let's go one step further. Ready? Yosef is also a big part of the story of Chanukah. Everybody probably knows already, when Yosef invites his brothers to come to a seudah, and they came, before he revealed himself, he sent them on a goose chase, right? Not knowing it's his brother. So when they come, it says in the pasuk, Vayar Yosef, he sees Binyamin. They bring Binyamin and he sees it. Vayomer la'asher al beiso, hoveis ha'anashim habayso. Bring the people to my house, u'tevoach tevach v'hachen. Make a meal, sacrifice, tevichah, make us bulls, animals, steak, steak, v'hachen, and prepare it. Ki iti yochlu ha'anashim batzohorayim. Now the language is a little bit strange. Seudah, I don't know. Tevoach, tevach, hachen. Not in the Hebrew, you wouldn't write like this, right? Tavoi tevav hachein, tavoi iti lasudah. Tavoi tevav hachein. Brought down in the sefarim, brought down in Levush, Chai. I think the Levush brings it. Tavoi, u, u, u. You see, it's interesting. Again, what's the u? Tavoi tevav hachein. U is the vav. Tavoi tevav hachein, you have the osiyos of Chanukah. Tavoiach — vav, u. Ches, Chanukah. Hachein, nun. And then vavs. B'kitzur, you have Chanukah. Okay? Tavoi tevav hachein, Chanukah. That's the... What's the shaychus? Okay. Now I want to tell you something interesting. Chazal tell us that this meal was glatt kosher, tachlis mehadrin min hamehadrin, and for you guys I would say bet Yosef, bet Yosef. All right? Bet Yosef, bet Yosef. Couldn't be. They came, they're sitting there, they're looking, everything's glatt kosher — gefilte fish and all the... but it was a Jewish meal. It was a Jewish meal. Glatt kosher. Yosef gave them a meal in Mitzrayim like you would get in the Beis Hamikdash by the biggest of tzaddikim. How did he do it? How does Yosef sit in Mitzrayim and be able to have glatt kosher? And the answer, of course, is what? That was the koach of Yosef, not to get misarev, not to become mixed in. Yaakov Avinu, when he was told that Yosef was alive, when he was told Yosef was alive, he didn't want to believe it. Why? Ha'od Yosef bni chai. Yosef bni. The meforshim say he might be Yosef, but he's not bni. He might be Yosef, but he's not bni, because he remained Yaakov's son of Mitzrayim. It's impossible. He expected to see, instead of a long white beard, nice, you know, trim mustache, like with a few curls, like over here, huh? With the little, those little glasses, one, one glass as a professor. And he would come there, he would see Professor Yosef. He didn't expect to see Harav Yosef. He didn't expect to see that. Ha'od Yosef — don't say Yosef — ha'od Yosef bni. I can't believe it. Bni? My? My? Haben sheli? Ki lo he'emin lahem.

Tavoich teva vahochi was the koyach of Yosef to remain religious, a tachlis hahidur in Mitzrayim. And how did he do that, Yosef? Through learning Torah. Chazal tell us that what did he send to Yaakov Avinu to convince him to come? He sent him agalot. What are agalot? Wagons with parot leading those wagons. Chazal say that he was reminding him, eglah arufah, which was the Torah that he learnt with his father when he left. The last thing he learnt with his father was eglah arufah. What's he sending a message? He's sending a message: I didn't stop learning. Od Yosef ben chai. Somebody saw there's a lie by me. That continued in Mitzrayim. Tavoich teva vahochi. That's Chanukah. Chanukah is through the koyach of Torah. The whole galus, all the world storm around the Jew in galus, he could survive it if he has Torah. I think we could say a nice pshat. You ready, rabosai? What a beautiful pshat. I was thinking to myself, when Yosef, he disappeared, and the father finds out with the coat that's full of blood. Yaakov was not here. Something happened. Let's read the language, the lashon of the Torah. Vayaviu el avihem. Vayomru, zois matzanu. Haker na, haksones bincha hi im lo. Haksones bincha? Ksones Yosef. When you talk, when you say haksones bincha, when you tell your father about your brother something, what would you say? Your son? You say, Chaim, David, Yosef. Haksones Yosef. Is this Yosef's coat? When you talk to your father and say about your brother, third person, haksones bincha? That's strange language. So I also understood, haksones bincha, maybe they had such hatred to him they almost couldn't call him by his name. This is your son. It's like a... I always understood, maybe otherwise it's like a strange language. But let's go to the next pasuk. Vayakirah vayomer, ksones bni. Unless maybe it's like identification. You don't say Yosef, is this your son? Like you ever see when you have to identify a body, you don't say his name, it's my son, this is my... Maybe. Again, it's strange language. Here maybe bni, bincha, identification. Either pshat is they couldn't say his, but then how come it says that he repeated that, ksones bni? Unless maybe it's identification of the body. Let's go to the next pasuk. Vayikra Yaakov simlosav, vayasem sak b'mosnav, vayisabel al bno. Yad l'Rabim. What do you mean, Vayisabel Yosef? What do you mean, Vayisabel? What are you talking—what's he talking about? It's very interesting language. What happened to Yosef? He doesn't have a name, Yosef? And then it continues, Vayomer ki Erel bni, ovel she'olah. Again, bni, bni, bni. El Hashem. Now, boys, you know what I think the pshat—I think, be'ezras Hashem, I think it's emes la'amito. Taref, taref Yosef. That it does say. Vayakiru ha'kosones bni. Taref, taref Yosef. He might have even thought, in some way Yosef is alive, but it's not bni. That's it. And he was right, Tarif, tarif Yosef. They were out to destroy Yosef. Kosones bni. It's about bni, and he didn't believe that from here on in, Yosef is the ben. And don't forget, Chazal tell us, Eileh toldos Yaakov Yosef. Kol mah shelamad, everything he taught, he gave it to who? Yosef. That's ben. Eileh toldos Yaakov Yosef. Chazal say he only had one child. Eileh kol...

You like it, huh? No? Kadayaya lavo. Kol ha-tziburim, פה ושם, this party, that party, this donut, that donut. Tamid li, אפילו יעשו אלף מיני, donut custard kacha, v'donut custard kacha, v'jelly im custard, v'custard and jelly, v'v'v'. Kol ha-minei ha-taroves. So it’s not going to ... the things that we understand פה היום. It’s the best, the best donut and Chanukah present I can give you. Tishmu tov. Eile toldos Yaakov. Yosef. What’s a ben, the real ben? And he gave him Torah. Torah, Torah. What was he afraid? That what? Beni, beni, vayisabel al b'noi. Then when he sees that Yosef is still learning in Mitzrayim, oy, Yosef. It’s all about b'ni, b'ni, b'ni, b'ni. V'achar kach bou bonecha v'hishtachavu lecha. When you light the menorah tonight, feel, tap in, try to be margish. Ben, the ben, the ben, the ben. Avinu, hashiveinu Avinu l'sorasecha. Love that one could feel for the Ribono Shel Olam when he learns Torah. I wish you all a good and freilichen and kosher Chanukah. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.