Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Social
Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch/Ashar
STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
MIKETZ/CHANUKAH 5773[1]
“FUTILE
MASSES”
June 1942 was an ominous and perilous
time. On all fronts the Axis powers seemed unstoppable. After their successful attack
on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese conquered the Philippine islands, and then Hong Kong , Burma ,
Malaya , and French Indochina. Meanwhile, the
German blitzkrieg successfully ravaged and decimated Poland ,
Norway , Denmark , the Netherlands ,
and Belgium France collapsed, as
Operation Sea Lion threatened the survival of Britain Germany
In Northern Africa ,
Nazi General Erwin Rommel known as the Desert Fox brilliantly maneuvered his
troops as he hoisted the Swastika in country after country. As he made his way
through Egypt he set his
eyes on the strategic Suez Canal . The Allies
feared losing the canal because it was their lifeline to India Suez had far
greater implications for if the Suez would fall,
Palestine
The Jews in Eretz Yisroel trembled as
they listened to every news report. The British forces kept retreating and it
seemed clear that they would not be able to withstand the might of Rommel’s
forces.
One afternoon during this bleak
period, the Ponovezher Rav, Rabbi Shlomo Kahaneman zt’l, met Rabbi Betzalel
Zolty zt’l[2].
The Rav told Rabbi Zolty that he had just borrowed five hundred pounds and
purchased land in B’nei B’rak where he planned to establish a new Yeshiva.
Rabbi Zolty was shocked, “Is the Rav not aware of the terrible situation we are
in? In a few days all of Eretz Yisroel can be destroyed. Is this the time to
worry about building a Yeshiva?”
The Ponovezher replied by pointing out an
occurrence in Sefer Yirmiyah. The Navi describes that in the eighteenth year of
the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian army surrounded Yerushalayim.
Although the Jewish settlement of that era was about to be destroyed and the
Jews exiled, Hashem instructed Yirmiyah that when his uncle Chanamel offered to
sell him land he should purchase it. Not only did Yirmiyah purchase the land
but he wrote up a deed complete with witnesses, ensuring that the document possessed
judicial validity. Then Yirmiyah proclaimed to the Jews that in the future when
their descendants would return this land would be awaiting them.
The Ponovezher Rav continued, “The Torah
only records those prophecies that were not only relevant to that time but also
to the future. If the Navi records this transaction in such vivid detail it is
teaching us a lesson in current events. We cannot give up in the future even
when the present seems bleak. Therefore, I purchased this plot because Eretz
Yisroel will have a future and we must be ready for it.”
At the famous battle of El Arish the
British General Bernard Montgomery finally penetrated Rommel’s forces and began
to drive him back across Libya
into Tunisia
Chazal compare the culture of Greece
I always found this Medrash enigmatic. Greece boasted the philosophies of Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle, the epic Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, the magnificent
architectural advancements of the acropolis and the Parthenon, the aesthetics
of Pericles’ Athens , the military prowess of Sparta Greece
Pharaoh, the mighty monarch of Egypt Nile . They are the
most healthy and robust cows that Pharaoh has ever seen in Egypt Nile .
Their grotesque appearance is nauseating and they can hardly be looked at.
Suddenly, the seven weak feeble cows consume the robust healthy cows.
Though very upset by his dream, Pharaoh
coaxes himself back to sleep only to suffer another vivid nightmare that again
shakes him to the core. This time Pharaoh watches a similar scene unfolding
with stalks of wheat; seven weak chaff-like stalks consume seven strong stalks.
After the second dream however, Pharaoh cannot go back to sleep. He is so upset
by his dreams that he summons every advisor he has to interpret his dreams. As
the Torah describes, Yosef was the only one who could grant Pharaoh an
explanation that he felt acceptable, landing him a seat in the monarchy, second
only to Pharaoh himself.
What was it about his dreams that so shook
Pharaoh and consumed him so much that he could not relax until his dreams were
explained? It seemed like an innocent silly dream. What was the big deal?
Rav Shimon Schwab zt’l explained that Pharaoh’s
dreams undermined his entire ideology. Pharaoh - the reigning monarch of the
greatest superpower in its time - fancied himself a deity. He felt protected by
his glory, prestige, and wealth. He had the whole country believing he was
divine and that his monarchy was godly. In Pharaoh’s dreams, when the feeble
and emaciated cows/stalks consumed the powerful healthy cows/stalks it
challenged Pharaoh’s whole weltanschauung. His dream represented the notion
that supremacy, vitality, and dominion were all fallible.
Pharaoh saw in these dreams a threat to his
imagined omnipotence. It was horrific for Pharaoh to watch the weak overcame
the strong, the repulsive vanquish the beautiful, and the healthy decimated by
the famished. He desperately searched for a sagacious individual who could
reassure him that he was reading the dream wrong. He wanted to hear that there
could be a different meaning of his dreams that would not call his ideology
into question.
With this in mind, we can appreciate the
beauty of why Parshas Miketz is always read on Chanukah or just after it. The message
of Chanukah is that one should not be too impressed by military might or the
aesthetics of this world. The mighty Greek army with all of its military
training fell into the hands of a cadre of unskilled untrained ‘fighters’. The
Greek culture, with all its glamour and physical beauty, was unsuccessful in
its attempts to lure the Jews away from Torah and a life of holiness.
Rav Shimshon Pinkus zt’l quipped that the
greatest darkness in the world comes from light! He explained with the
following analogy: Let us imagine that Reuven becomes thirsty and decides to
get a drink. He goes into his kitchen and finds a glass on the counter. He
isn’t sure if the glass is clean or not so he holds it up and examines it. When
he sees that it is indeed clean he fills up his glass with water and drinks. It
doesn’t take long before Reuven is lying on the floor howling in pain. His wife
immediately dials hatzoloh as she horrifyingly realizes that Reuven used the
glass that she had filled with ammonia to clean the house. Although the ammonia
was used up there was still residue on the bottom of the glass which had mixed
with Reuven’s water.
If we had to analyze what occurred, what
would we say caused Reuven to hurt himself? When Reuven looked carefully at the
glass he surmised that it was clean because he did not see anything in the
glass. In other words, it was his eyes and ability to see that got him into
trouble.
It is undeniable that the ancient Greeks
made incredible advancements in many areas. They probed the world,
intellectualized life, and analyzed every facet of creation. However, the more enlightened
they became the more they drifted from their belief in G-d. The more
scientifically acclaimed they became, and the more of a grasp they felt they
had over the world, the more they were convinced of their own greatness and
sought to convince themselves that there was no concept of a Holy Immortal True
G-d. They believed in polytheism and that their gods have corporeal
characteristics because that posed no direct threat to their free and, often
immoral, lifestyle. So, in a sense the light of their wisdom and
progressiveness blinded them from recognizing the true light of G-d and His
hand in the physical world. That is why they are referred to as darkness.
We express our gratitude in the prayer Al
Hanisim, “You gave over mighty into the hands of the weak, the multitudes into
the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into
the hands of the righteous, the spiteful into the hands of those who engage
intensely in Your Torah.”
The miracle of Chanukah was the fruition of
Pharaoh’s nightmare. It demonstrated that there is indeed a G-d above and He
wills who possesses power and wealth and no one is above His discretion. It was
the victory of light – the light of truth – over the darkness and limits of
human logic.
“There
was darkness on the face of the deep”
“Let
there be light”
[1]The
following is excerpted from my book “STAM TORAH: Perspectives and Reflections
on Chanukah and Purim”. [It was originally Stam Torah for parshas Miketz 5766.]
[2] later
Chef Rabbi of Yerushalayim
[3] Bereishis
1:2
[4] 2:5
_____________________________________________________________________
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Miketz – 6th day of Chanukah
Rosh Chodesh Teves 5773/December 14, 2012
I love bakeries. I love the rows of pastries, each in their own shape and colors. But most of all I love the smell. When I go to the bakery and it’s my turn on line and I am asked what I would like to order, I often reply that I want ‘whatever it is that is making that smell.’
I have to also say that I like when a baker is – I guess the best word I can use is the Yiddish word - ‘zavtig’, loosely translated as ‘pleasantly plump’. I want to see a baker who appreciates what he is selling, and in fact loves it so much that he can’t stop sampling the goods. That’s the best advertising, because it tells me that these pastries are seriously delicious. When a baker is skinny on the other hand, I often think that if he won’t eat his own products maybe I shouldn’t either.
I think most people would agree with my point. You wouldn’t want to use a dentist who had rotted or crooked teeth. Nor would you use a doctor who chain smokes, drinks, or abuses drugs.
Before our wedding, when we were looking to hire a band, my father suggested a certain musician. I was surprised that he had wanted to suggest anyone. He explained that he had seen that musician play at other weddings and that he looks like he enjoys what he’s doing. At some weddings a musician may appear bored and uninterested while playing, and it is clear that he is only doing it for the money. My father was insistent that we hire someone who enjoys what he does and smiles occasionally while he plays, because you can feel it in the music.
As Torah-Jews we have a responsibility to not only observe Torah and mitzvos, but to be ambassadors of Torah and mitzvos. Simply by our behavior and conduct we want others to be inspired and to want to join our ranks.
But if we walk around with a scowl on our face and don’t seem to appreciate the greatness of what we are doing everyday, we are not being very effective ambassadors. I have heard people complain that sometimes religious people look too serious. Without a doubt there is a certain seriousness we must maintain while engaged in our spiritual responsibilities. But throughout the rest of our day we have to ensure that we appear pleasant and ebullient, that we enjoy what we do.
When we light the Chanukah candles we are symbolizing ourselves. Our mission in this world is to spread light in an unsatisfied and unmotivated world, which is full of darkness, emptiness, and misery.
That light has to shine and resonate from within us. We have to look like we enjoy what we do, so that everyone is going to want to buy what we are selling.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos/Good Chodesh
Lichtige Chanukah/Chag Orot Samyach,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
720 Union Road • New Hempstead, NY 10977 • (845) 362-2425
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