Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days,[5] starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from November 28 to December 27 in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shammash (שַׁמָּשׁ, "attendant"). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shammash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival.[6]
Other Hanukkah festivities include singing Hanukkah songs, playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot (similar to jelly donuts), and dairy foods. Since the 1970s, the worldwide ChabadHasidic movement has initiated public menorah lightings in open public places in many countries.[7][8]
Originally instituted as a feast "in the manner of Sukkot (Booths)", it does not come with the corresponding obligations, and is therefore a relatively minor holiday in strictly religious terms. Nevertheless, Hanukkah has attained major cultural significance in North America and elsewhere, especially among secular Jews, due to often occurring around the same time as Christmas during the festive season.[9]
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Table of contents
1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad
May One Pray Minĥa after Accepting Shabbat?-Peninei Halacha
3) Holy Jokes!
4) For KIDS
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Hanukah and the Story of Yosef
Every year, without exception, the story of Yosef and his brothers is read during or just before the celebration of Hanukah. It is always at this time of year that we read about the very first instance of Sinat Hinam (baseless hatred) among the Jewish People – the hatred shown to Yosef by his brothers, who ended up selling him into slavery, banishing him from their family. Is this just a coincidence, or might there be some connection between the story of Yosef’s being sold as a slave, and the festive celebration of Hanukah?
In truth, we have proof that a connection exists between the story of Yosef and the story of Hanukah. The Kabbalistic work Megaleh Amukot (by Rav Natan Shapiro, Poland, 1584-1633) noted that the Gematria (numerical value) of the name "Yosef" equals that of the name "Antiochus" – the Greek king who enacted the edicts against the Jews. Moreover, the Midrash writes that the Greeks forced the Jews to write upon the horns of their oxen a formal declaration that they renounced their allegiance to their G-d. Some Rabbis noted that this edict was intentionally associated with Yosef, who is compared to an ox ("Bechor Shoro Hadar Lo" – Debarim 33:17).
The question, then, becomes, what is the point of connection between Yosef and Antiochus; between the story of the cruelty suffered by Yosef at the hands of his brothers, and the story of the cruelty suffered by the Jews at the hands of the Greeks?
The answer is that the Greek persecution came because the Jews of the time repeated the mistake of Sinat Hinam which was first made by Yosef’s brothers. The entire story of Hanukah was all about strife among the Jews and the decision to cure this ill through unity and peace. Indeed, the war against the Greeks was led by the Hashmonaim, a family of Kohanim. The Kohanim, the descendants of Aharon, carried his unique legacy of "Oheb Shalom Ve’rodef Shalom" – living as a "lover" and "pursuer" of peace. They embodied the ideal of peaceful relations among people, and thus it was specifically they who led the campaign to restore peace and harmony in Am Yisrael and thereby put an end to the Greek persecution.
Additionally, the Mishna (Middot 2:3) teaches that when the Greeks stormed the Bet Ha’mikdash, they made thirteen breaches in one of the walls surrounding the structure. Thirteen is the numerical value of the word "Ehad" ("one"), and thus represents Jewish unity, the ideal of Jews working and living harmoniously together as one. The thirteen breaches symbolize the breach in unity that wrought the campaign of oppression launched by the Greeks against the Jews.
For good reason, then, "Antiochus" has the same Gematria as "Yosef." If we repeat the mistake made by the brothers in their mistreatment of Yosef, then we suffer the oppression of Antiochus.
This is why we always read the story of the sale of Yosef around the time of Hanukah – because Hanukah is the time for us to focus our attention on eliminating Sinat Hinam from our midst, to correct the mistake made by Yosef’s brothers, the mistake which, unfortunately, we continue to make even today. We read this story as a somber reminder of the devastating consequences of strife among Jews, and the need to work towards peace and harmony – especially during the time of Hanukah. It is perhaps for this reason, we might add, that people customarily make special parties with relatives, friends and neighbors during the Hanukah holiday. Celebrating together with our fellow Jews in joy and camaraderie is an effective way of strengthening the bonds between us and thereby combating strife and fighting.
Please G-d, we will succeed during the upcoming Hanukah celebration to strengthen our love for all our fellow Jews, eliminate hatred and contention from our homes, from our communities, and from our hearts, and increase the level of peace and unity in our nation, so we will earn the merit of witnessing and experiencing miracles like those which were performed for the Hashmonaim, Amen.
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
May One Pray Minĥa after Accepting Shabbat?-Peninei Halacha
There are shuls where the weekday Minĥa on Friday is finished after shki’a, so that if the participants wait to accept Shabbat until after Minĥa, Shabbat has, in fact, already begun, and they are unable to fulfill the mitzvah of tosefet Shabbat. Thus, the question arises: may one accept Shabbat but then pray the weekday Minĥa?
According to some authorities, one who has accepted Shabbat may no longer pray the weekday Minĥa, because one may not pray a weekday Minĥa after Shabbat has begun (and one may not pray Shabbat Minĥa, because that is to be said only on Saturday). Therefore, in their opinion, one who mistakenly accepted Shabbat before praying Minĥa has lost the opportunity to pray Minĥa, and during Ma’ariv, he should pray the Amida twice. The first time serves as the regular Ma’ariv of Shabbat, and the second time is to compensate for the Minĥa that he missed (SA 263:15; MB ad loc. 60). This applies to women as well, and thus a woman may not pray Minĥa after she has lit candles – how can she pray a weekday Minĥa after she has accepted Shabbat? If she wishes to compensate for missing Minĥa, she should pray the Amida twice at Ma’ariv (MB ad loc. 43). The only alternative is to pray Minĥa earlier, while it is still day, and to accept Shabbat afterward. Where Minĥa is prayed after shki’a, one must pray Minĥa earlier on his own so that he will be able to add tosefet Shabbat. The mitzva of tosefet Shabbat is a Torah law, while praying with a minyan is a rabbinic requirement (SSK 46:5).
Several authorities maintain, however, that even after one has accepted Shabbat, he may still pray the weekday Minĥa. They reason that tosefet Shabbat only requires that one not transgress any Torah prohibitions of Shabbat, but does not extend to the realm of prayer; thus, one may still pray the weekday Minĥa. Just as in the service of a mitzva one may do things that are rabbinically prohibited during tosefet Shabbat, so too he may pray the weekday Minĥa then. Only one who accepted Shabbat with the congregation may not pray the weekday Minĥa. Therefore, if one has still not prayed Minĥa and it is very close to shki’a, he should accept Shabbat verbally and then pray the weekday Minĥa (Tzitz Eliezer 13:42; Minĥat Yitzĥak 9:20). Still others maintain that in such a case one must be careful to accept Shabbat only mentally. On the one hand, one may accept Shabbat this way; on the other hand, since it was only in his head, he may still pray the weekday Minĥa (Yabi’a Omer 7:34).
The widespread custom is that if shki’a is approaching and one has still not prayed Minĥa, he accepts tosefet Shabbat – whether verbally or mentally – and then prays the weekday Minĥa. Be-di’avad, women too may pray Minĥa after lighting candles. If one knows that the minyan is going to pray Minĥa late, he should preferably fulfill his obligation in conformity with all opinions by praying Minĥa on his own and accepting Shabbat before shki’a. Suppose he is sure that he will be able to accept Shabbat during the repetition of the Amida. In that case, he should pray with the minyan and accept tosefet Shabbat during the repetition.
Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
David Azerad
3) HOLY JoKeS!!
Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day
4) FOR KIDS
Click on the image above to open the youtube video
Vayeshev art (click on image to go to site)
LIFECYCLE EVENTS
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2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad
Laws Of One Who Accepts Shabbat upon Himself -Peninei Halacha
3) Holy Jokes!
4) For KIDS
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Vayishlach- Jewish Photosynthesis
We read in Parashat Vayishlah of the angel that attacked Yaakob Abinu as he made his way back to Eretz Yisrael from the home of Laban. The Rabbis teach us that this angel was Satan himself. Every nation has a heavenly angel that advocates on its behalf, so-to-speak, in the heavens. Satan "volunteered" for the job of being the angel of the nation established by Esav, which represents evil and the antithesis of everything that Am Yisrael is meant to represent. Satan’s attack on Yaakob Abinu was launched in order to prevent Yaakob Abinu from establishing Am Yisrael, the nation that would, for all eternity, struggle against the evil of Esav. Fortunately, Yaakob Abinu won this battle, and although he was injured, symbolizing a diminution of Am Yisrael’s power, nevertheless, he triumphed over Satan and indeed we, his descendants, are still able to wage this struggle against the evil spiritual forces in the world.
Rav Elhanan Wasserman (1874-1941) raised the question of why Satan waited until the emergence of the third of our patriarchs before launching this assault. Why did he not try to attack Abraham Abinu, who founded the nation that was destined to be Satan’s nemesis? Wouldn’t it have been wiser for Satan to try to "nip it in the bud," to cut off Am Yisrael at its very root, the moment Abraham Abinu came onto the scene? And even if, for whatever reason, Satan deemed it unwise to launch this assault against Abraham, why did he not attack during the time of Yishak? Why did he wait until the time of Yaakob?
Rav Wasserman answered this question by analyzing the particular points of strength of the three patriarchs. They were all towering spiritual figures, but each had his own "specialty," his unique forte, if you will. Abraham excelled especially in the area of Hesed, loving kindness. But although he bequeathed this quality to his descendants, and Am Yisrael has always distinguished itself through its generosity, charity is not a uniquely Jewish quality. Many gentiles are also selfless and giving, as are many non-observant and unaffiliated Jews. Satan did not launch his attack against Abraham, because a nation that is defined primarily by Hesed is not guaranteed to endure. He did not feel threatened by Abraham, because a nation built mainly around loving-kindness, as important as this quality certainly is, will not likely last.
Yishak, too, did not pose an immediate risk to Satan. Yishak, who was offered as a sacrifice, signifies the quality of prayer (which is associated with sacrifices). Prayer, like Hesed, is a crucial aspect of religious life, but does not guarantee Am Yisrael’s survival. Many synagogues here in the United States and elsewhere were unable to continue past the first generation after their establishment. Satan did not feel threatened by Yishak because he knew that praying is not enough to produce another loyal generation of God-fearing Jews.
Yaakob Abinu, however, posed a grave threat to Satan. Yaakob is described as a "Yosheb Ohalim" ("tent-dweller"), a devoted student of Torah. His outstanding quality was Torah learning. Once Yaakob came onto the scene, Satan realized he was in trouble. A nation that devotes itself to learning and education is guaranteed to endure. If there are yeshivot where children are trained and educated to follow the nation’s laws, values and customs, the nation will continue to reproduce itself, generation after generation. And this is why Satan launched an attack against Yaakob. Seeing Yaakob’s commitment to Torah, Satan realized that Yaakob is indeed capable of producing an eternal nation that will hinder his attempts to promote evil. He therefore attacked Yaakob, and although he succeeded in inflicting an injury, making it more difficult for Yaakob and his descendants to fulfill their mission in the world, Yaakob prevailed.
Needless to say, every aspect of Judaism is critically important and may not be ignored. But we can learn from Satan that Torah education is what holds the key to Jewish survival. Satan can handle packed synagogues on Shabbat and charity events, but Torah learning is his kryptonite. It is our greatest weapon against him.
In nature there is a process called photosynthesis which is vital for life. Plants receive energy from the sun, and they process this energy in order to produce oxygen. Without this process, of course, we would not be able to live. In Judaism, we have another kind of "photosynthesis," which occurs not in plants, but within our precious children. The children receive the "energy" from the Torah, and with this spiritual force they produce our "oxygen" – the key to our survival. When we send our children off to school to learn Torah, we are doing our part to produce our nation’s "oxygen," ensuring our continued existence.
Torah study is the ammunition we need to fight the Satan. The more we invest in Torah education, the more successful we will be in this ongoing battle, and ensure that Kedusha will prevail and triumph over evil.
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
Laws Of One Who Accepts Shabbat upon Himself -Peninei Halacha
From the time one accepts tosefet Shabbat, he must refrain from all melakhot forbidden by Torah law. Rabbinically prohibited actions are also forbidden at this point, unless the melakha to be done is for a mitzva, for a Shabbat need, or for some other great need, because in such situations the Sages did not intend for their prohibitions to apply. For example, if one forgot to tithe produce and wishes to eat it on Shabbat, he may tithe it even if he has already accepted Shabbat, because tithing produce on Shabbat is only prohibited rabbinically.
One who has already accepted tosefet Shabbat may ask a fellow Jew who has yet to accept Shabbat to do melakha on his behalf. Women generally light candles and accept Shabbat at the time listed on calendars. Men, in contrast, go to shul to pray the weekday Minĥa (which usually begins shortly after candle lighting), and only then accept Shabbat. In the intervening period, a woman may ask her husband to do melakhot such as turning on a light or adjusting the oven, even though she has already accepted Shabbat (SA 263:17; MB ad loc. 64). Similarly, on Saturday night, one who has not yet made havdala may ask one who has to do melakha for him.
Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
David Azerad
3) HOLY JoKeS!!
Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day
) FOR KIDS
Click on the image above to open the youtube video
Vayishlach Game (click on image to go to site)
LIFECYCLE EVENTS
Celebrate a lifecycle event with us by sponsoring a Kiddouch
4) FOR KIDS
) FOR KIDS
