Torah Thoughts, Stories, and Inspiration on the weekly Parsha
Take a look at a hundred-dollar bill. Who wouldn’t want a fresh, crisp one-hundred-dollar bill? I am pretty sure that if I offered you one hundred dollars you would gladly take it. How about if I crumple it? You will still take it. If I threw the crumpled bill on the floor, and stepped on…
Read More “It’s Never too Late – An Incredible Chanukah Story!” »
Shabbos Chanukah typically falls out on Parshas Miketz. In Miketz we read about Pharaoh’s dream of the weakly, thin cows that devour the strong, healthy cows. Yet, astoundingly, the weak cows didn’t look different. They didn’t gain any physical weight. This unique phenomenon is symbolic of Chanukah. Rav Yitzchok Fingerer explains that the “weak” Jews…
As Chief Rabbi of the city of Tzvas and a proficient mohel (circumciser), Rav Shmuel Heller zt”l was constantly in demand to perform circumcision on the baby boys in his city. However, he always begged off attending the festive meal afterward, claiming that he had many important needs to attend to. In truth, R’ Shmuel…
The Number Eight It is interesting that the root of the word shemen, oil, is the same as shemonah, eight. Is it a coincidence, then, that we celebrate eight days of Chanukah due to the oil that lasted eight days? Of course not! The number eight has great significance. It is considered I’ma’alah min hateva,…
What is Chanukah? The Rabbanim learned… (Shabbos 21b) Although there are many lessons learned from the miracles that occurred on Chanukah, the Sefer Torah Tavlin Al HaMoadim quotes the Nesivos Shalom, Rav Shalom Berezovsky zt”l, who writes that the essence of Chanukah is simchah (happiness). He notes that it is customary for Jews to wish…
