In Memory of Mr.

Max Glass

Likutei Ohr
Volume VI : Issue VII
Editor-in-Chief:
Jesse Hyman 16
Senior Editors:
Noam Gershov 17
Jack Levkowitz 17
Managing Editors:
Noah Hyman 18
Gidon Amsellem 18
Shawn Partovi 19
Layout Editor:
Eitan Tennenbaum 17
Distributors:
Yair Isaacs 16
Nathan Silberberg 16
Avishai Zarifpour 16
David Silverman 19
Mickey Piekarski 16
Nathan Bentolila 16
Benyamin Tarko 18
Staff Advisor:
Rabbi Arye Sufrin

The Flame of
Our
Ancestors
If I am not for
myself, who will be for
me? And if I am only
for myself, what am I?
And if not know,
when?

- Pirkei Avot 1:14

Tefillah Gems
Eytan Merkin 18

In Memory of Mr. Jack Gindi

The Pamphlet of Light

Parshat Miketz

A publication of YULA Boys High School

Putting an End to the Darkness

Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

In honor of Avrham Uriel Etshalom on the occasion of his Bar-Mitzvah

This weeks Parsha, Parshat Miketz, nearly always coincides with the celebration of Chanukah. This
year, those of us privileged to study Daf Yomi have a third concurrent celebration the conclusion of our study
of Masechet Sotah. Remarkably, there is a consistent recurring theme in the Parsha, the celebration, and the
volume of Talmud.
Parshat Miketz sits at the center of the Yosef story, a story replete with examples of the great subtextual message of Bereshit Midah KNeged Midah, commonly translated as poetic justice. The brothers plot
to kill Yoseph (at first) such that we will see what becomes of his dreams (Bereshit 37:20), and their actions
lead to those dreams being realized on a distant throne. The brothers deceive their father with goats blood
(itself a stark example of irony), masking what they had done to Yosef; they are subsequently deceived by the
one whose identity they tried to mask. In one of the most remarkable expressions of this form of irony, the
brothers fall before the Egyptian viceroy and declare their fealty: Behold we are your slaves (Bereshit 50:18).
Yet the viceroy is none other than their brother, to whom they angrily responded after his first dream, Do you
think to be king over us, to rule over us? (Bereshit 37:8).
The principle of poetic justice, both commanded and Providential, is a major theme in Masechet Sotah.
The famous dictum, By the measure that a person metes out, this is how he they measure for him (Sotah 1:7).
The Mishnayot continue with many examples of both punishment and reward allotted to match the persons
actions. Indeed, the final chapter of Sotah presents the laws of the Eglah Arufah, the calf whose neck is broken to
generate expiation for an unsolved homicide. Rav Yochanan Ben Shaul homiletically explains the symbolism of
the ceremony: The [animal] which never reproduced should be killed in a spot which produces nothing to
atone for the one who was killed without being allowed to continue his productive life (per BT Sotah 46a).
Surprisingly, perhaps, the theme of Midah KNeged Midah also plays a key role as in Chanukah both in
the history of the holiday as well as the mode of our celebration. The oldest work of Halachah that we have are
called Megilat Taanit essentially, a list of 35 days/periods in the year during which we may not fast (or, on
most, eulogize) due to great military or religious victories that happened on those days during the
Chashmonaim period. Megilat Taanit (MT) is one of our earliest sources for the celebration of Chanukah
and its date. MT marks several dates earlier than Kislev 25 that evidently mark victories of the Chashmonaim
over the Greeks in the Temple precincts and demonstrate that we had full control over the Mikdash weeks
before that first re-dedication on the 25th. Why, then, did the Chashmonaim wait for several weeks before reinaugurating the Divine Worship? The answer is found in the apocryphal second book of Maccabees from c.
120 BCE. In chapter 10, we read, Now upon the same day that the strangers profaned the temple, on the very
same day it was cleansed again, even the five and twentieth day of the same month, which is
Kislev (Maccabeem 10:5). In other words, they waited for the exact same day when, three years earlier, the
Greeks had rendered the Mikdash Tamei to re-start the proper worship. However, Midah KNeged Midah goes
further than that. Throughout Midrashic literature, the Greeks are presented as bringing great darkness to Am
Yisrael. See, for instance, Bereshit Rabbah 2:4, where the darkness of pre-light Bereshit hints to the Greeks. This
is itself a "slap in the face of the Greeks, who endeavored to bring the light of Hellenes to the barbaric
east. Indeed, how do we celebrate our great victory over these bringers of dark? With light! The principle
that what you endeavor to bring into the world comes back to haunt you or, under better circumstances, to
enrich you is central to the narratives we enjoy, the volumes we study, and the holiday we celebrate! Chag
Urim Sameach!

The Gemara teaches us in Brachos 32b that when the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, all the gates of prayer were sealed. However, the
Gate of Tears exclusively remained open. Unfortunately, people sometimes find that their prayers go unanswered, even when they cry during
prayer. How can we resolve this ostensible discrepancy between the Gemara and the reality?
An answer to this problem can be found in Devarim (29:28). The Torah tells us, Hanistarot LeHashem Elokeinu, VeHaniglot Lanu
UleVanynu,- The hidden things are known to Hashem, and the revealed things are known to us and our children.
As humans, we can only see the revealed things, the obvious instances when God watches over us and answers our prayers. Therefore,
we tend to think of our prayers as answered only when there is a discernible cause-and-effect relationship between our prayer and an
improvement in our lives. It is important to remember that we cannot always understand the way God watches over us and operates the world.
Although we sometimes cannot see it, God always answers our prayers. The true test of our faith is whether we can trust that God is answering
our prayers to our benefit, even if He does so in a hidden way.

Emunah in Hashem
Avishai Zarifpour 16
At the end of last weeks Parsha, Parshat Miketz, Yosef
interprets two dreams of Pharaohs servants who were with him
in prison. Yosef requested that the servants mention his
interpretations to Pharaoh when they leave the jail, but
unfortunately, they forget. Chazal tell us that because Yosef had
a lot of trust in the servants, his sentence was extended. What
had Yosef done wrong? Are we not supposed to do our best to
help ourselves and only then rely on Hashem? The Chazon Ish
teaches us that there are many levels of trust in Hashem. Yosef
HaTzaddik was so righteous and always remained faithful in
Hashem even though sinful Egyptians constantly surrounded
him. The reason he remained a Tzaddik was because he was
always aware of Hashems presence, not for a moment forgetting
that Hashem was constantly watching over him. For a Tzaddik
like Yosef, he should have relied completely on Hashem to bring
him out of prison. We say that Yosef did Teshuva when Pharaoh
asked him if he could interpret dreams. Yosef answered that,
Hashem rather knows dreams, and he will respond with your
welfare (Bereshit 41:16). It seems that if Yosef would leave
prison just to interpret dreams, he would have had better
freedom by remaining silent; rather, by Yosef interpreting the
dreams of the servants himself, he was demonstrating to
Pharaoh that Hashem was the real interpreter of dreams.

The Brisker Rav, Rabbi Yosef Zev Soloveitchick, achieved
a very high level of trust in Hashem, similar to Yosef. When
someone would come to him with a concern about Winancial
issues, the Brisker Rav would always respond, When you really
need it, it will be there. At one point in his life, the Brisker Rav
was taking two medication pills a day that were transported
from the other side of Europe. When he only had one left and
another pack was set to arrive in a few days, he said with
complete faith in Hashem, Dont worry, it will get here. No
matter the situation, one should always have complete trust in
Hashem and feel His presence at all times. We should know that
according to the Brisker Ravs words, When you really need it,
it will be there.

Yosefs Worthwhile Punishment

Halachic Illuminations

From Rabbi Nachum Sauer

The most known mitzvah of Chanukah is the
lighting of the Menorahs candles. Both men and women
are obligated in this Mitzvah. Women are usually not
required to perform time-bound Mitzvot, but since they
were also involved in the many miracles of Chanukah,
they must also light candles. According to some
Rishonim, women were saved along with the men, and
that is how they participated in the miracle. According
to other Rishonim, a woman named Yehudis was a major
protagonist in the battle against the Greeks and was
responsible for the defeat of the Greek army. Children
over the age of Chinuch, those who understand the
essence of the Mitzvah, should also light candles. At the
bare minimum, the Baal HaBayit, or the head of the
household, should light one candle each night on behalf
of the whole household. The Mehadrin practice is to
enhance the Mitzvah by having each person light one
candle per night. However, the best way to enhance the
Mitzvah differs for Ashkenazim and Sephardim. For
Ashkenazim, the best manner is for every person to light
the number of candles corresponding to that night of
Chanukah; for example lighting Wive candles on the Wifth
night. However, Sephardim hold that the best way is for
the Baal Habayit alone to light the number of candles
corresponding to the particular day of Chanukah. On a
separate note, when one sets up the Chanukiah, he
should place the candles starting from the right side of
the Chanukiah. He should light the candles starting from
the left-most candle, the newest candle, and move
towards the right. If one has a window facing the street,
he should light candles in that window to publicize the
miracle of Chanukah in the most effective manner.

Compiled By Ari Willner 19

Zevi Gersten 19

Everything that happened to Yosef, both good and bad, helped him become the ruler of Egypt. He was sold as a slave multiple times until Potifar
bought him and was even sent to jail, all before Yosef became viceroy of Egypt. We learn from this chain of events that Hashem was helping Yosef every step
of the way. However, some argue that Yosefs experiences in Egypt were punishments.
The Torah states, [Potiphar] left all that he had in Yosef's hand, and [Potiphar] did not know anything of his own affairs, except the bread he ate.
And Yosef was handsome (Bereshit 39:6). Potifar trusted Yosef with everything, yet Yosef abused this control as Rashi teaches, "Since Yosef saw himself in
command, he began to eat and drink and curl his hair. Hashem responded to Yosef, 'Your father, Yaakov, is mourning over you, and you curl your hair?! I
shall set a bear upon you.' The bear referenced in Rashi refers to Potiphars wife, who acted viciously, like a bear. Immediately following this Pasuk, the
Torah states, It was after these things, and the wife of his master lifted her eyes to Yosef and she said to him, Lie with me' (Bereshit 39:7).
Some Rabbis say that because of Yosefs abuse of this power, he was sent to jail. However, even those who say that Yosef was sent to jail as a
punishment agree that everything that happened after Yosef was sent to jail happened in order to make Yosef viceroy of Egypt. His time in jail was only a
small punishment for not having empathy for his fathers suffering.
When Pharaoh sought council with Yosef so that Yosef could interpret his dreams, Yosef did something very strange. Contrary to what a lowly slave
who was sent to jail would do, Yosef began telling Pharaoh what to do for the next 14 years. It is here that it becomes evident that Yosef was being audacious.
Now one can ask the question, Why did Yosef carry out this specific plan?
The Abarbanel explains that Ruach HaKodesh, the divine spirit, fell upon Yosef, and he could not stop himself from speaking. Another answer is that
Yosef fulfilled a concept called, "Ma'aseh Avot Siman LaBanim. This phrase means that Yosefs actions foreshadowed the future of the Jewish people. Yosef
teaches us that in order to change the world spiritually, we must ensure that the world can change on a simpler, more physical level first. Chazal explain this
concept with the following proverb: if there is no flour, there is no Torah (Avot 3:21). We can learn from here that Hashem enabled Yosef to become viceroy of
Egypt only by first punishing him, which is a physical means. So, too, we must first make the world better on a physical level before we can make the world
better on a spiritual level.

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