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Power reveals character. From Joseph's restraint at the height of global authority to the Chashmonaim's uneasy legacy, Rabbi Dunner explores how Judaism measures leadership once power is achieved. Why did Chazal let the Hasmonean victories fade, but still preserve Chanukah? And what does Parshat Miketz teach us about responsibility, restraint, and the moral test of power in Jewish history today?
There seems to be a discrepancy in focus regarding the miracle that is more important, and the legacy of the righteous Chashmonaim remains slightly tarnished in light of the outcome of their dynasty
When the Chashmonaim entered the Beit HaMikdash, they had every reason to despair. It was in shambles, and it seemed like all of the oil had already been defiled. And then, one moment of extra effort changed history. They discovered one jug of pure oil. That single moment of discovery brought about eight days of light, which in turn produced thousands of years of spiritual illumination for Am Yisrael. Furthermore, they knew they had only enough oil for one day. They could have easily said, what is the point? Anyway, they were going to be without oil for another seven days until they produced more pure oil. However, they understood the value of every effort when it comes to mitzvot. We never say, why bother? Every bit of effort is precious to Hashem. When a person acts l'shem shamayim, Hashem generally blesses his efforts, allowing them to reach far beyond anything he could have imagined. A man whom we will call Joe told me that six years ago, when he was about sixty, his job forced him to relocate to a new city. He had lived his entire life completely devoid of Torah and mitzvot. But with hashgachah pratit, the new city he moved to had a large population of religious Jews. One morning, everything seemed to be going wrong, and he felt he needed to clear his head, so he went out for a bike ride. After riding four miles, a large, magnificent building caught his eye — a recently built shul. He felt it might make him feel better to go inside, so he walked in and decided to sit for a while. When he entered, he saw a minyan in progress and sat quietly in the back, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, simply observing the tefillah. His attire and the fact that he was an out-of-towner drew some attention, but most people continued naturally with their tefillah. Afterward, one man approached him with a warm smile and said hello. He then asked Joe if he would like to put on tefillin. At first, Joe resisted, but then he accepted. It was the first time he had put on tefillin since his bar mitzvah nearly fifty years earlier. He described feeling something incredibly powerful — indescribable — and he began to cry. The man then asked him if he would return the next day to put on tefillin again, and Joe agreed. Without telling him, the man went and purchased a pair of tefillin for Joe. Joe came back the next day, put them on, and once again felt uplifted. The man then introduced him to a website, itorah.com , where thousands of shiurim are available for people on all levels. Joe thanked him and said he would listen. A few weeks later, that same man saw Joe riding his bicycle, this time wearing a kippah and listening to a Torah class. It was an astonishing sight — someone who had never lived a religious life was now proudly wearing a kippah in public. Since then, Joe has learned and completed five masechtot of Gemara, and today he learns every morning for about three hours in a local yeshivah. His wife also became religious, and he says he has never been happier. He now recognizes how much his neshamah was starving for Torah and mitzvot. He sees clearly how the hashgachah of Hashem guided every step: the forced relocation to a religious city, the difficult morning that led him to ride his bike, the inexplicable pull to enter a shul despite his attire, and finally, the one individual who made a small extra effort to say hello and invite him to put on tefillin. He often wonders how different his life would have been without that moment. A little extra effort goes a very long way, especially when we are acting l'shem shamayim.
CHANUKAHWhy the Macabbees found the oil.Matisyahu and the Chashmonaim confronted a challenge that remains deeply familiar: the difficulty of being different. A Jew stands apart in a world that values what can be seen, measured, and rationally grasped, while Torah speaks in the name of Elokus that transcends human intellect. Matisyahu embodied the courage to declare loyalty to a G-d beyond reason, and his struggle reassures us that the threatening crossroads we face today were already faced—and overcome—by those before us.The turning point in the story of Chanukah came in Modiin, when Matisyahu was ordered to offer a pig on the mizbeach. His zealous response ignited a revolt led by his five sons.Though vastly outnumbered, the Chashmonaim waged a successful guerrilla war from the hills of Binyomin and Yehudah. After three years, on the 24th of Kislev, the Greek army withdrew, and the Beis HaMikdash was reclaimed and purified.
Welcome to Daily Bitachon. We continue our Rising Lion mini-series. Yesterday we quoted the pasuk in Zachariah that is read in the Haftara of Baha'alotcha that talks about the prophet seeing a vision of a Menorah . He asks what it is, and God responds, כי אם ברוחי/It's My spirit that's going to win the war. We explained yesterday that God has the power to arouse the spirit of man and switch a person's outlook and mindset, and that's how we're going to win the war. But what makes that happen? What ignites God to play with spirits? There is a a beautiful thought from the HaEmek Devar but we need some background first: In Shemot 39:37 regarding setting up the Mishkan, the pasuk says, אֶת הַמְּנֹרָה הַטְּהֹרָה אֶת נֵרֹתֶיהָ נֵרֹת הַמַּעֲרָכָה וְאֶת כָּל כֵּלֶיהָ וְאֵת שֶׁמֶן הַמָּאוֹר: There is the pure Menorah, its candles and the, נרות המערכה. The candles of Maracha. What does Maracha mean? The Hizkuni and many others say it means set up, as it says, יערוך אותו אהרן ובניו/Aharon and his sons are going to set it up (similar to שולחן ערוך, set up table),. עריכה Aricha means something set up. So therefore it's the Menorah of candles, that are set up Rabbenu Bachye has a deeper explanation of this pasuk, which is the seven lights of the menorah correspond to the seven main planets- the candles of the heavens. And the candles down here impact the candles up there. That means what we do down here impacts the world above. So the Nerot Maracha are the candles of the solar system, so to say. It might not look like it, but it is. But there's another meaning for מערכה Maracha . In Shemuel, when David Hamelech goes to fight against Goliat, the pasuk says, ותערוך ישראל ופלישתים, and they set up Israel and the Pelishtim, The term מערכה Maracha here refers to a battle (i.e.set up for battle). Based on this, the HaEmek D'var, calls the Nerot Hamarcha candles of battle . Why? Citing the pasuk we discussed, he says the Menorah symbolizes לא בחיל ולא בכח, it's not with war and with strength, כי אם ברוחי, rather with My spirit. The Menorah represents spirit. When someone passes away, we light a, Ner Neshama , a candle of the soul .. There's a soul, there's a spirit, that candle symbolizes. And Neshama and Mishna נשמה, משנה, have the same letters, so the candelabra symbolizes Torah sh'b'al Peh , which is, in the words of HaEmek D'var, Milchamta shel Torah .When you learn Torah Shbe'al peh, the Oral Law, the Gemara, that is fighting . That's what Torah shbe'al Peh is, it's a fight. You go to a Bet Midrash, and it's cooking. It's called Milchamta Shel Torah. There's a screaming and yelling back and forth. This Milchamta Shel Torah protects us from wars down here. That is why we call it Nerot Hamaracha - Like with the story of Hanukah, they won the war with a few Chashmonaim, with a few Kohanim. Why? The power of the Menorah. The Menorah symbolizes the power of spirit. And that's what we read about. Yes, God can flip the switch of a spirit, but what makes everything happen? The power of spirit down here. We need to arouse spirit, and that, so to say, empowers God to do what He has to do with the spirit. Like we said at the beginning of our series, yes, we need to have wars and soldiers and our Hishtadlut . David Hamelech took a slingshot to get Goliat. Yes, he did something, but he did something small. Ultimately it's the power of spirit י כי אם ברוח
Parshas HaShavuah Shiurim: Parshas Vayeishev - The Mesirus Nefesh of Yosef in Mitzrayim and The Chashmonaim on Chanukah- The Science Of Miracles 12/11/2022
In this special episode we sat down with Rav Shlomo Rayman. On Chanukah we talk about the military victory of the Chashmonaim, and I wanted to get Shlomo's take on some of these issues, since he has spent many months fighting in Gaza. We spoke about Torah learning under difficult circumstances, witnessing miracles, and more. To check out Shlomo's chidushei Torah from Gaza, click here. Join Our Whatsapp Group! If you enjoy Shtark Tank, you don't want to miss our Quiet Whatsapp group, which includes updates, exclusive bonus content and more. You will also get the chance to submit questions for the show itself, as we did in this episode. Click Here to join.
The Chayalim of David Hamelech, the Chashmonaim, and of Tzahal all look to an earlier warrior who fought to defend Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael: Yaakov Avinu. From the OU Daily Tehilim Call on 23 Kislev 5785 / 12232024
In our new series, we will examine the laws of Chanukah. May our learning be a merit for our brave soldiers in the IDF, full healing for our brothers and sisters in Israel, and for a safe return of ALL the hostages. In our next lesson we discuss the war against the Greeks and the victory of the Chashmonaim. Our learning is dedicated L'Iluy Nishmat Captain Daniel Perez HY"D who was killed in battle on October 7th, 2023. Today's shiur is dedicated in memory of Rav Shmuel Tzvi ben Yosef Halevi z"l by the Brickman family in observance of his 18th Yahrtzeit today. May his Neshama have an Aliyah.
What are the arguments that there's an obligation to serve in the IDF? What are the arguments that there's no obligation for someone learning Torah to join the army? What if the person is not learning, but is working or doing something else? What are the main challenges of a Chareidi boy/man joining the IDF? Can those issues be fully addressed? What initiatives are currently under way to address the concerns? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges with Rabbi Nechemia Steinberger – Program Officer, The Maimonides Fund – 17:15 with Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon – Rosh Yeshiva, Jerusalem College of Technology – 48:47 with Dr. Shlomo Black – Psychologist and Research Associate at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) – 1:16:57 Conclusion and Takeaways – 1:39:58 מראי מקומות
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Harav Yussie Zakutinsky Shlita
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Shiur given by Rabbi Bezalel Rudinsky on Parshas Vayeishev and Chanuka. Shiur recorded in Yeshivas Ohr Reuven, Monsey, NY.
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Parsha and CHannuka thoughts come together with the shoresh of a hardly thought about mitzvah to give us an important mihalech in life!
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Today's daf is dedicated by Tova and David Kestenbaum in honor of the engagement of their son, Gilad, to Noa Goldrich, daughter of Adina (ob"m) and Rafi Goldrich of Chashmonaim. Today's daf is sponsored by Manes and Silvia Kogan in honor of their children, Daniela, Ilan and Abby. יהי רצון שה׳ ימלא משאלות לבם לטובה. A number of situations are raised where judges may testify about each other in which they are not believed or it may just look like there is some untruth. If a woman says she was married but divorced or she was taken into captivity but not raped by a gentile, in what circumstances is she believed/not believed? If there were witnesses that she was married/taken into captivity, she is not believed. But if she was already remarried, we allow her to stay married. What is the source for believing her in the case that there were no witnesses and since she is the one who forbade herself, we believe her when she says she is now permitted? If a woman said she was married and then said she is single, we do not believe her, unless she can provide us with a good reason as to why she said she was married, as in the case of a woman who was trying to avoid inappropriate suitors. There is a debate regarding a case where there is contradictory testimony about whether the husband died or divorced her – if she already remarried, can she stay remarried? Rabbi Yochanan distinguishes between the case of death and divorce – why? Three different explanations are brought.