The Light Within Our Darkness: Chanukah: The Holiday of Faith

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Volume XVII - Issue 6

The DRS Weekly Torah Publication

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The Light Within Our Darkness


By Rabbi Elly Storch, Assistant Menahel

(Continued on page 7)

GourmetGlatt.com 516-569-2662

PARSHAS MIKEITZ
30 KISLEV, 5776
DECEMBER 11, 2015
All Zmanim are calculated by myzmanim.com for
Woodmere, NY (11598)

Earliest Mincha: 12:17 pm


Candle Lighting: 4:09 pm
Latest : 9:28 am
Ends: 5:14 pm

very Jewish child knows the Chanukah story on the basic level. The
Yevanim did not allow the Jews religious freedoms so the Chashmonaim
miraculously defeated them in a battle where they were the underdogs.
We went into the Beis Hamikdash where only one jug of oil was found which
was supposed to last one day and miraculously the oil lasted eight days.
The Mefarshim grapple with which miracle created the obligation for us
to celebrate Chanukah today. On the one hand the gemara in Shabbas 21b asks
What is Chanukah and Rashi explains the actual question is why do we celebrate
Chanukah. The gemara answers because of the miracle of the pach hasehmen.
The war is only mentioned as a means to the end. But in our Liturgy that was established for Chanukah in Al Hanisim we only mention the battle of the war and
we dont mention the miracle of the jug. It seems there are conflicting messages
as to which story creates our current obligation to celebrate.
The Maharal in two places gives a beautiful answer which explains the
theme of the day and sheds light on human reality. He posits that the primary obligation of Chanukah is to celebrate the war. One only says Hallel when he is
physically saved from danger and not when given the ability to do a Mitzvah. But
sometimes when a military victory is achieved one ascribes the victory to great

The staff of

wishes all of its readers a
Freilichin Chanukah!

Chanukah: The Holiday of Faith


By Brian Chernigoff, Editor of Student Articles, 12th Grade

egilat Antiochus, a scroll depicting the story of Chanukah, tells us that at the time the Greeks persecuted
the Jews they outlawed three mitzvos, Shabbos, Bris Milah and Rosh Chodesh. By doing so, the Greeks
hoped that they would be able to alienate the Jews from their religion and assimilate them into their culture. Yet the question begs itself why they specifically chose to outlaw these three commandments. What did they
see in these mitzvos as so essential to a Torah way of life that caused them to specifically restrict them?
The answer perhaps lies in the antithetical nature of these mitzvos in comparison to Greek culture. The
Greek culture at the time deemed philosophy as one of the greatest intellectual achievements that a man could
reach. They worshipped the idea of using ones rational observation skills to look out to the world and form ones
own beliefs. The men whom were respected the most were the great philosophers who could think extraordinarily.
Thus they saw these three mitzvos, which emphasize tradition and belief, as clashing with their attempts to assimilate the Jews to their culture which emphasized thought and belief based on rational observation.
Shabbos epitomizes the ultimate belief in the Creator of the Universe. For one day a week we enjoy a ces(Continued on page 5)

Torah Teasers
By Rabbi Moshe Erlbaum, 9th Grade Rebbe

Parshas Mikeitz
Questions
1. What in this parsha occurs after "two years"? What
else in the book of Genesis occurs after "two
years"? (2 answers)
2. Which two pieces of jewelry are in this parsha?
3. Who in this parsha is called a kohen (priest)? Who
else in the book of Genesis is called a kohen?
4. What in this parsha is compared to sand? Where
else in the book of Genesis is there a comparison to
sand? (2 answers)
5. What 3 vocations appear in this parsha, but nowhere else in the Torah?
6. What object appears in this parsha 15 times, but
does not appear anywhere else in Tanach?

Answers
1. Pharaoh has his dreams two years after Yosef
interprets the dreams of the butler and baker
(Genesis 41:1). In Genesis 11:10, Noah's son
Shem has a son, Arpashchad, two years after the
Flood. In Genesis 45:6, Yosef tells his brothers
that only two years have passed in the famine and
they all must move to Egypt.
2. Pharaoh gives Yosef "his ring" and places "a
golden chain" upon his neck (Genesis 41:42).
3. Poti-Fera, the father-in-law of Yosef, is the "the
priest of On" (Genesis 41:45). In Genesis 14:18,
Malkei-Tzedek is called a kohen.
4. Yosef gathered so much food that it was as numerous "as the sand of the sea" (Genesis 41:49).
In Genesis 22:17, Hashem promises Avraham that
his offspring will be "like the sand on the seashore." In Genesis 32:13, Yaakov prays to Hashem to save him from Esav, mentioning that Hashem promised to make his children as numerous
as the sand of the sea.
5. Yosef is called the Shalit (ruler/viceroy) and the
Mashbir (provider) (Genesis 42:6). Later on, a
Maylitz (interpreter) translates the conversation
between Yosef and his brothers (Genesis 42:23).
6. An amtachat (sack) in which the brothers carry
back the grain appears 15 times in this parsha but
nowhere else in Tanach.

By Binyamin Pleshty, 12th


Writen By Benyamin Pleshty
This Haftorah is read on Shabbat Chanukah since it contains a vision of the Golden Menorah in the Beit HaMikdash.
The golden menorah in the Chanukah story resembles the outstanding miracle that Hashem has done for us; a small jar of oil
that lasts for just one day, lasted for eight days.
This prophecy was communicated by Zechariah shortly
before the building of the Second Temple. The haftorah opens
with a vivid portrayal of the joy that will triumph when Hashem
will return to Jerusalem: "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion,
for, behold! I will come and dwell in your midst, says the L-rd."
The prophet then describes a scene in the Heavenly
Court: Satan was seeking to convict Yehoshua, the first High
Priest to serve in the Second Temple, because of the "soiled garments" (i.e. sins) he was wearing. Hashem himself defends the
High Priest: "And G-d said to Satan: The G-d shall rebuke you,
O Satan; the G-d who chose Jerusalem shall rebuke you. Is
[Joshua] not a brand plucked from fire?" I.e., how dare Satan
prosecute an individual who endured the hardships of exile?
"And He raised His voice and said to those standing before him,
saying, 'Take the filthy garments off him.' And He said to him,
'See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I have clad
you with clean garments.'"
Hashem then proceeds to outline the rewards awaiting
Yehoshua if he and his descendants follow His ways. The ultimate reward is, "Behold! I will bring My servant, the Young
branch an allusion to Mashiach, the branch of King David.
Finally, Zechariah describes a vision of a golden sevenbranched Menorah. An angel interprets the meaning of this vision: "This is the word of Hashem to Zerubbabel [descendent of
King David, one of the characters in the building of the Second
Temple], 'Not by military force and not by physical strength, but
by My spirit,' says the Lord of Hosts." Meaning that Zerubbabel's descendent, Mashiach, will have no difficulty in his task,
it will be as simple as lighting a menorah.

The complete edition of


Rabbi Moshe Atik's Torah Teasers
is available on AMAZON
(keyword Torah Teasers)

Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev

0-Minute
Halacha Shiur

Given by Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz


on yutorah.org

Transcribed by
Zachary Goldberg

Chanukah Gelt and Gifts

Right off the bat, one will not find too many halachic
sources about giving presents; however, one would find
sources pertaining to the giving of money or gelt. It would
seem that several of the reasons offered by the Acharonim as
to why we give money on Chanukah could also easily explain why one would give gifts on Chanukah too. Of course
the most obvious answer that we might suggest as a reason
we offer gifts, is in fact not such a good explanation namely, that we are imitating the customs of the non-Jews around
their holiday season. Nevertheless we find that some
Acharonim strongly disagree with the suggestion that we are
copying the non-Jews practice. Some Achronim do not believe that giving gifts is a Christian or pagan winter festival
custom that we seized from them, rather if anything, like
Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky says, they took it from us.
Strong reasons exist as to why we actually give money or gifts around the time Chanukah. (All maareh mekomos
are from Rabbi Josh Blue).

perek 7 siman 37, there exists some level of simcha on Chanukah since we are more likely to pasken like the Rambam
than the Maharam M'rotenberg, and furthermore, the gemara
says that the days of Chanukah are like days of Yom Tov.
The Shulchan Aruch exclaims that there is no mitzvah to have a seudah on Chanuka. The Rama however, adds
should one have a seudah, it is a fulfillment of a mitzvah.
To summarize, if one holds that there exists a din of
simcha on Chanukah, then one could suggest that offering
gifts or treats to children - similar to all other Yomim Tovim
- is a kiyum mitzvah of simcha. Consequently, should that be
the case, then it is not Chukas Akum either; in order for it to
be considered Chukas Akum, it must be a chok, but since
there is a kiyum mitzvah here, there is no problem.
REASON #2
The Magen Avraham writes that indigent children go
around collecting money on Chanukah. So although the Magen Avraham discusses the concept of giving money to children, he addresses it in connection to poor children specifically. Nonetheless, the Belzer Rebbe adds that it is not limited to poor children. In his sefer Chayim Sheyeish Bahem
(page 248), the author writes that the practice of giving money to children developed as a mechanism to avoid embarrassing poor children.

REASON #1
There is a gemara in Pesachim (daf 109) which describes how to fulfill simchas Yom Tov by each family member. For the wife, one would offer lovely clothing. For the
man, dining on meat and wine is simchas Yom Tov. Lastly,
for the children, one would present them with items that
make them happy. So if there is a din of simcha on Chanukah, then there is a very simple explanation why one would REASON #3
give children gifts, to fulfill the mitzvah of simcha.
The third possibility as to why we give gifts on Chanukah is found in the Emes Lyaakov on Shulchan
Is there a mitzvah of simcha on Chanukah?
Aruch. Children used to extend gifts of money to their teach
The Rambam writes in hilchos Chanukah 3:3 that the ers. The minhag developed that children were offered some
days of Chanukah are days of simcha and hallel.
money to keep for themselves.

However, the gemara in Shabbos (daf 101b) says that


Rav Yaakov explained that the minhag to give rebthese days of Chanukah are days of hallel vhodaah. The beim money evolved specifically to reward the rebbeim on
gemara did not say anything about simcha.
the holiday which is about keeping the mesorah alive with
So the Rambam holds that there is simcha on Chanu- the Torah Shebaal Peh, namely, Chanukah. Once we reward
kah while the gemara implies this element of simcha does not the rebbeim, we reward the children as well.
apply.
In fact, the Orchos Rabeinu in cheilek teaches that
The Maharam M'rotenberg has a list of seudos that the Steipler Gaon maintained the minhag of giving out Chaare a seudas reshus and not a seudas mitzvah. One such ex- nukah gelt davka on the fifth night of Chanukah. Why speample of a seudas reshus are the seudos that we have on Cha- cifically the fifth night? Answers the Orchos Rabeinu, since
nukah. The Tur therefore concludes that Chanukah is for Hal- the fifth night is the only night that cannot coincide with
lel and hodaah, but not for simcha.
Shabbos.
In his peirush to Baba Kama, the Maharshal writes in
(Continued on page 4)

The Miracle of Chanukah


By Jason Loskove, 9th Grade
One who is asked to summarize the miracle of Chanukah would probably say something like this: After the
Maccabees were victorious, they found only enough pure
oil to light the Menorah for one day, but it miraculously
lasted for eight days. This is why we light a Menorah for
eight days.
While this summary is accurate, it raises a number
of questions. Perhaps the most famous of these is asked by
the Bais Yosef . Why do we celebrate Chanukah for eight
days if the miracle of the oil burning only occurred for the
final seven days, while on the first day it was naturally
lit. There are numerous answers suggested to this question.
The summary of the Chanukah-story above raises
another lesser-known question. As the Pnei Yehoshua
asked, why did Hashem need to perform a miracle of allowing the Jews to find pure oil and have it last for eight
days, the Maccabees could have even lit the Menorah with
impure oil? There is a concept in Halacha called Tumah
Hutra bTzibur. This means that when the majority of the

Jewish people are Tamei, the services in the Beit Hamikdash may be performed in a state of Tumah. Thus, because
at the time of the Chanukah story the majority of the Jewish
people were Tamei, the Menorah could have been lit with
impure oil. If this is true, then why did Hashem see fit to
perform the miracle of the pure oil?
Some have answered this question by relating it to
the power of teshuva and Hashems love of the Jewish people. Yes, it is true that the Jewish people could have lit the
Menorah using impure oil. However, Hashem wanted to
demonstrate to the Jewish people that he had forgiven their
sins and that his love for them had not diminished. To do
this, he allowed the Jews to find the pure oil and miraculously let it last for eight days, enabling the Jews to light
the Menorah in the ideal way, and not in a less-than-perfect
way.
We must always remember that Hashem gives us
the opportunity to do teshuva. Once we do so, we will find
that Hashems love for us had never diminished at all.

Another possible approach is quoted by Rabbi Fluke,


is that our minhag after a war was for those victorious to distribute the booty amongst the soldiers and poor people. So
REASON #4
Another possible explanation of giving Chanukah distributing Chanukah gelt is a way of commemorating the
gelt or gifts is found in the Sifsei Chayim, who quotes the victory of the war.
Ponevezher Rav. In the time when Chanukah occurred, the
Greeks prohibited us from learning Torah. From the time REASON #7
that decree was abolished, when we were once again permitThe final reason offered by Rabbi Fluke is that we
ted to learn, the children were rewarded to learn Torah with learn in the Book of Maccabees, that when the Jews finally
money. To remember that time of our history, we continue made peace, Antiochas VII allowed them to mint their own
giving gifts on Chanukah.
coin. Archaeological discoveries show that those coins were
low-valued coins, so perhaps these coins were distributed to
children in the immediate years following Chanukah. This
REASON #5
The sefer Binas Yisroel suggests that there is a rela- practice would support the granting of coins/gelt, but not
tionship between the financial cost incurred for a Yom Tov gifts. Rabbi Fluke continues that in 1958, the Bank of Israel
and the love we show the Yom Tov. The author of Binas started to mint commemorative Chanukah coins. So maybe
Yisroel considers that sometimes one loves something be- there is an additional kiyum of Chanukah gifts by giving
cause one has given up more for it. So by Chanukah, since these special coins.
the costs are relatively de minimus, we artificially create adIn conclusion, we have seven possible reasons for the
ditional costs in the form of offering gifts or gelt, for sole widespread minhag Yisrael to extend Chanuka gelt of which,
objective of enhancing the connection with the holiday.
several also explain giving gifts as well. We generally do not
assume that offering gifts or gelt is Chukas Akum, but rather
we generally assume that it is mutar.
REASON #6
(10-Minute Halacha Continued from page 3)

Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev

Make it Known
By Harry Chwat

9th Grade

When it comes to Chanukah, there is a special concept of publicizing the mitzvah by lighting the menorah
near a window or facing the street. The concept is very specific to Chanukah and is not seen at all for other mitzvot during the year. We dont publicize the Korban Pesach or the Megillah Reading. Why do we publicize this
mitzvah specifically?
The Chasam Sofer brings down a very logical answer. He explains that we do this because not a lot of
people saw the miracle of the oil originally. Only the Kohanim who were in that part of the Beit Hamikdash saw
the miracle, whereas in Yetziat Mitzrayim a lot of people saw the miracles that happened then. All nations there
heard about it. By the story of Purim too, we know that the entire nation was involved. By lighting the candles
near the window, we are sharing with the world an often unknown and under-appreciated miracle.

(Brian Chernigoff Continued from page 1)

sation from labor to reconnect with our Maker. Counter to rational observation, we believe that taking a day off
once a week will actually be a source of blessing for our endeavors for the rest of week. This is what the Greeks
abhorred about this mitzvah. They thought it impossible to convince a people with such irrational beliefs to indulge in a lifestyle solely based on just the rational observations of the eye.
Bris Mila and Rosh Chodesh both exhibit a tenacity to the age old tradition of our forefathers and the further continuation of our holy mesorah. As the first mitzvah that a father is commanded to perform for his son, Bris
Mila represents the beginning of the father-son relationship that is so essential to the survival of our people. It cements the unbreakable love and commitment that a father and son must have for one another to ensure that the
flame of Judaism lives on. Similarly, Rosh Chodesh exhibits the dedication of our people to the authority of the
Beis Din and to the Torah leaders of each generation. In the times of the Temple, Beis Din was tasked with establishing the start of the new month by the testimony of witnesses, which would have important ramifications as to
when the holidays would fall out. This required a great deal of faith in the judgment of the Sages, as the people
had to trust that Beis Din had not erroneously declared the start of the new month on the wrong day resulting in
them laboring on the actual holidays and observing the holidays on regular days. It was this faith in figures of authority and connection to the past that the Greeks saw as so powerful against their idea of trusting ones own observations and thoughts that prompted them to ban it.
As we light the candles this Chanukah, we must look around to see what we are blessed to have and appreciate the gift of family and tradition that the Greeks tried to take away from us. Especially as the modern world
continues to deemphasize the importance of the familial structure, we must look to the past to find inspiration for
the future.

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The Selfless Lesson of Mitzraim and Chanukah


By Yehuda Shetrit, 11th Grade

In this weeks parsha we have the story of the


dream that Pharaoh had. The first part of the dream is
that there were seven healthy cows / beautiful of appearance who had a lot of flesh and seven cows that
did not have a nice appearance and who had very little
flesh. The story goes that the seven skinny and not
beautiful cows ate the seven cows who were fat and
beautiful. We know that this symbolized that there will
be seven years of plenty in Mitzrayim and then seven
years of famine. But the question to discuss is what exactly does it mean when it says that the cows were of
beautiful appearance and cows are not known to be carnivorous and violent animals, so what is the understanding behind this?
Rashi explains that when the pasuk says that the
cows were beautiful of appearance it means that it was a
symbol to the days of plenty, that everyone is getting
along and is happy with each other and are not jealous
of each other. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik further explains Rashi to mean that at the time of plenty and prosperity that no one was jealous of the wealth of others
because everyone had a lot. At this point everyone was
satisfied with what they had, however the issue is what
follows. Rabbi Soloveitchik explains that if during the
years of abundance the people acted in a selfish manner
towards each other and hoarded their food so that they
could sell it for ridiculously high prices because they
have a monopoly during the famine, then in a figurative
way of looking at it they are eating each other.
This is how we understand the dream of Pharaoh
where the seemingly herbivore suddenly become carnivorous. It is a representation of the way of the way the
people were going to act during the famine and
RSolovetchick now says that we can understand
Yosefs warning to Pharaoh. The warning was to watch
over the farmers and take control of the farmers and

their produce so that the greediness and hoarding of


produce to charge higher prices does not happen.
There is a halacha discussed in a separate sefer
of Rabbi Soloveitchik where he explains the mitzvah of
Ve-Ahavta Le-Reiakha ka-Mokha. The question he discusses there is whether or not this mitzvah is meant to
be taken literally. The reason one might think not is because of the Gemara which said that one has to worry
about ones survival before the survival of others. So
that contradicts the concept of loving your friend like
you love yourself.
The answer and the conclusion of R Soloveitchik is that in regard to life threatening situations you
have to save yourself first before your friend. But in all
other cases the mitzvah of Ve-Ahavta Le-Reiakha kaMokha is meant to be taken literally.
So now one might ask on our original answer to
the question regarding Pharaohs dream is that the
Mitzrim were hoarding the food to save their lives so it
should be ok. But you cant ask that because its one
thing to save up food and its another thing to be selfish
and not want to share and instead possibly charge higher prices. The latter was what Yosef was warning Pharaoh about.
As we are now in Chanukah we have to remember the selfless acts of the Maccabim who fought and
fought so that we can have the Beit Hamikdash clean
ready to use. And then we have to remember what
eneded up being the ultimate cause for the destruction
of the Beit Hamikdash which was Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred. The lesson we must with acts of selflessness
and with general acts olearn from Chanukah and Parshat
Miketz is that we have to remember that we must be
kind to each other f kindness. By doing so, we can hope
for the coming of Mashiach Bimhera Biyamenu!

(Stories of Greatness Continued from page 8)

the doorway between the main room of their barracks and the small storage area at its rear, and filled the righthand cup; together, the two Jews recited the blessings and kindled the first light, as millions of their fellows did
that night in their homes around the world.
(Continued on page 7)

Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev

Why Eight?
By Avi Bulka, 11th Grade
As the days shorten and we near Chanukah, we arrive at the age-old question - Why do we celebrate 8 days if the
miracle of the candles only lasted for 7 days? The oil was expected to last for the first day so its miraculous ability was only
to last for an additional seven days! Some attempt to answer by explaining that the one nights worth of oil was divided
into eight equal portions. Miraculously, each tiny portion lasted an entire night. Others explain that, in order for the oil to
last, they made the wicks one-eighth as thick as they usually would. Nevertheless, the flames burned just as brightly as they
would if the wicks would have been of normal thickness. Another explanation is that the text read "and there wasnt enough
(oil) to burn even one day. Although these answers seem sufficient, they are not consistent with the facts. The real, and
only true answer is as follows:
Looking back on the year of the Chanukah story, we see that since we were involved in war, we did not celebrate
Sukkos. After we defeated the enemy, the people celebrated Sukkos on the 25th of Kislev for 8 days. Hence, we have 8 days
of Chanukah. The original Chanukah was just a delayed Sukkot, resulting in our current celebration of eight days of Chanukah.
(Rabbi Storch Continued from page 1)

tactics, skillful soldiers or the great weapons. Similarly Israel after winning the 1967 war all the bumper stickers
read in Tzhal we trust and not in Hashem we trust. Hashem enabled the supernatural miracle of the Pach Hashemen to show that even the military victory was the hand of Hashem. Once one realizes that Hashem enabled the
oil to last eight days and there are no other explanations for that occurrence one must give credit for the war to the
hand of Hashem as well.
The Celebration of Chanukah always happens in the thick of winter where the days and moments of light
are the shortest. It is difficult at times to see the hand of God in moments of darkness. The lighting of the menorah
is a tremendous symbol for us today. Just like at the time of the Chashmonaim we needed the Menorah to shed
light for us that even the natural appearance of victory came though the hand of God so too today even in our moments of darkness when it is difficult to see, we light the menorah as a great testament that the hand of God is everywhere in our lives.
(Stories of Greatness Continued from page 6)

On that first night the lighting went off without a hitch, as it did on the second, third and fourth nights of
the festival. As a rule, the prisoners in the camp did not inform on each other, and their barrack-mates had already
grown accustomed to the religious practices of the two Jews.
On the fifth night of Chanukah, just as Reb Asher and Nachman had lit five flames in their menorah, a
sudden hush spread through the barracks. The prisoners all froze in their places and turned their eyes to the doorway, in which stood an officer from the camp's high command.
Eventhough surprise inspections such as these were quite routine occurrences, they always struck terror in
the hearts of the prisoners. The officer would advance through the barracks meting out severe penalties for offenses such as a hidden cigarette or a hoarded crust of bread. "Quick, throw it out into the snow," whispered the prisoners, but the officer was already striding toward the back doorway, where the two Jews stood huddled over the
still-burning flames of their candelabra.
For a very long minute the officer gazed at the menorah. Then he turned to Reb Asher. "P'yat? (Five?)" he
asked.
"P'yat," replied the chassid.
The officer turned and exited without a word.


PUBLICATION
STAFF

STORIES OF GREATNESS

Editors in Chief

TOLD OVER BY: YEHUDA BENHAMU


Chanukah is a holiday that is filled
with miracles. The candles represent the light
in the darkness and the strength that Hashem
gives us to live our lives even through the
most difficult times. This year especially we
must appreciate everything we have and
thank Hashem for protecting us every day.
Adapted from chabad.org. Have a great
Shabbos and a happy Chanukah.
One of the legendary soldiers in the
Lubavitcher Rebbe's army of teachers and
activists who kept Judaism alive in Communist Russia in the darkest years of repression was Rabbi Asher Sossonkin, who spent
many years in Soviet labor camps for his
"counter-revolutionary" activities. In one of
these camps he made the acquaintance of a
Jew by the name of Nachman Rozman. In his
youth, Nachman had abandoned the traditional Jewish life in which he was raised to join
the communist party; he served in the Red
Army, where he rose to a high rank; but then
he was arrested for engaging in some illegal
business and sentenced to a long term of hard
labor in Siberia.
Rozman was drawn to the chassid
who awakened in him memories of the home
and life he had forsaken. With Reb Asher's
aid and encouragement, he began a return to
Jewish observance under conditions where
keeping kosher, avoiding work on Shabbat,

or grabbing a few moments for prayer meant


subjecting oneself to near-starvation, repeated
penalties and a daily jeopardy of life and
limb.
One winter, as Chanukah approached,
Reb Asher revealed his plan to his friend. "I'll
get a hold of a small, empty food can -- the
smaller the better, so it'll be easy to hide and
escape notice. We'll save half of our daily
ration of margarine over the next two weeks,
for oil. We can make wicks from the loose
threads at the edges of our coats. When everyone's asleep, we'll light our 'menorah' under
my bunk...."
"Certainly not!" cried Nachman Rozman. "It's Chanukah, Reb Asher, the festival
of miracles. We'll do the mitzvah the way it
should be done. Not in some rusty can fished
out from the garbage, but with a proper menorah, real oil, at the proper time and place. I
have a few rubles hidden away that I can pay
Igor with at the metal-working shed; I also
have a few 'debts' I can call in at the kitchen...."
A few days before Chanukah,
Nachman triumphantly showed Reb Asher
the menorah he had procured -- a somewhat
crude vessel but unmistakably a "real" menorah, with eight oil-cups in a row and a raised
cup for the shamash. On the first evening of
Chanukah, he set the menorah on a stool in
(Continued on page 6)

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Rabbinic Articles

Yoni Gutenmacher
Brian Chernigoff
Student Articles

Production Staff
Jonah Loskove
Joseph Rosen
Willie Salamon
Ruvie Sturm
Directors of Production

/Authors
Yishai Attias
Moshe Benhamu
Avi Bulka
Eitan Carroll
Harry Chwat
Jonathan Crane
Andy Ebbin
Dubi Fischman
Zachary Goldberg
Jonathan Haller
Eli Hawk
Avi Kupchik
Yisroel Lebowitz
Yonah Lebowitz
Jason Loskove
Jonah Loskove
Yosef Mehlman
Jacob Penstein
Benyamin Pleshty
Chezky Rothman
Avi Samter
Dovi Schlossberg
Shlomo Shwartz
Yehuda Shetrit
Nachi Shulman
Akiva Thalheim
Adam Zahler
Maggid of DRS
Yehuda Benhamu
Menahel
Rabbi Y. Kaminetsky

Faculty Advisors
Rabbi E. Brazil
Rabbi M. Erlbaum
Rabbi A. Lebowitz

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