תצוה/זכור פרשת ILLUMINATING MEGILLAH קימו וקבל היהודים עליהם ועל זרעם... (אסתר ט:כז)

Transcription

1 H$M HYRA TB LDNYY$ HR$ N ZL קימו וקבל היהודים עליהם ועל זרעם... (אסתר ט:כז) תצוה/זכור פרשת י ג אדר תשע ג February 32, 3012 Purim Edition Candle Lighting: 5:20 First קריאת שמע :זמן bed 9:22 :זמן קריאת שמע Second 10:18 :זמן תפלה Second Kiddush Club banned 5:39 שקיעה 6:29 :הבדלה Earliest (50 minutes) All times are for The Five Towns This week s edition of the Ateres HaShavua is sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Yosef Gesser & ל נ ר פייול בן חנינה הלוי Family whose Yahrtzeit is Shabbos, 13 of Adar This week s edition of the Ateres HaShavua ל נ רפאל יעקב בן anonymously אפרים & זלמן בן אריה לייב & אסתר בת שלום הלוי & חנה בת שמואל מאיר Inside this Jammed Packed Issue Follow the Leader Illuminating... Haalcha Corner Stories of Rebba s Page 12 Page 12 Page 34 Page 45 Purim Page 56 Random Page 67 FOLLOW THE LEADER By Efraim Benscher, 12th grade The Jews confirmed and undertook upon themselves and on their children The Gemara (Shabbos 88a) says that on Har Sinai the B nai Yisroel had a mountain put over their heads and Hashem said If you accept fine, but if you don t this will be your grave. Rav Acha says that it seems from here the Torah was forced onto the Jews, but later on by Purim they confirmed what they had already undertaken, out off happiness and love for the great Nes Hashem did for them. Tosafos asks the obvious question why did Hashem have to force the Jews to accept the Torah didn t they say just beforehand We will do and we will obey (Shemos 24:7)? Tosafos answers that the awe inspiring display of fire when Hashem came down the mountain that made their souls leave their bodies may have made the Jews regret their commitment they had already made. Therefore Hashem had to put the mountain over their heads in order for them to accept the Torah. The Medrash Tanchuma (Noach 3) gives another reason why the B nai Yisroel hade to be forced. The statement We will do and we will obey was only referring to written Torah. The Jews were hesitant to accept the Oral Law because of all the effort and toil it demands. At the Nes of Purim the Jews joyfully and willingly accepted the Oral Law. ILLUMINATING MEGILLAH (continued on page 23) By Gavriel Guttman, 12th grade What is the Torah? Ask this to the common man and you will probably get a response along the lines of The Holy Book of the Jewish People. Good answer, but we, the enlightened folk, know that it is a bit deeper than that. The Torah is the recordation of G-d s taught the greatest prophet of all time who was seen communicating to G-d by over a million people. Pretty powerful stuff. So it is only natural that any spiritually conscious Jew, when curious to know how to understand a certain occurrence in the world or wants to know what G-d wants of him, will first turn to the Torah for answers. So now let us address a dilemma and put our Jewish heads to use. The festivals of Chanuka and Purim share a lot of similar Halachos. Both Chagim were enemy. and involve the salvation of the Jewish People from a foreign מדברי סופרים Anybody who is Chayiv in Krias Megillah is also Chayiv in Hadlakas Ner Chanuka. Al Hanisim is added into Tefillah and Birchas Hamazon on both these days. In fact, the Rambam even groups Hilchos Megillah and Hilchos Chanuka together! So there are clearly many common denominators in Halacha but perhaps we can find some common ground in regards to the meaning and purpose behind each of these festive days. This year, Purim falls out on Motzei Shabbos Parshas Tetzaveh. Parshas Terumah concludes the discussion of the keilim used in the Mishkan. Parshas Tetzaveh before going on to discuss the Bigdei Kehunah, begins with the statement of the need to have a Ner Tamid in the Mishkan. This happens to be the same ner (continued on page 23)

2 Efraim Benscher (continued from page 1) Why did the story of Purim bring about the acceptance specifically of the Oral Torah? Perhaps we can answer that when the decree came out that all hade to bow to Haman. The Or Hachaim says in his commentary on Esther called Rishon Lezion that Mordechai could have avoided seeing Haman if he did not want to bow to him. Instead he would specifically go out on the street when he heard he was coming and would make sure Haman saw him standing up. Why did he do this? The Gemara (Megillah 12b-13a) says that many of the Jews of that time blamed their problems on Mordechai. Mordechai on the other hand held that even something that was only similar to idolatry was forbidden and warranted giving up ones life. Furthermore He knew that this was a punishment for the B nai Yisroel bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar s statue out of fear of him. He thought that his acts would be atonement for this sin. This along with Mordechai s tactic of mourning instead of using his connections in the palace must have frustrated the people immensely. In the end because of his prayer and convincing Esther to pray and fast before going in to Achashveyrosh was the reason for their redemption. This brought about a new wave of Emunas Chachumim (Belief in the Sages) that made the Jews want to recommit to the Oral Law. Gavriel Guttman (continued from page 1) that miraculously stayed lit for eight days after the Chashmonaim, also miraculously, defeated the Greeks. Coincidence? I think not. The Gemara in קידושין דף ל' says that the Ner of the Menorah represents Torah. One of the messages that the events in the stories of Chanukah and Purim portray is that G-d is the cause of everything; as the saying goes, man plans and G-d laughs. In the beginning of the story of Purim, Haman pretty much assumed complete mind control over King Achashverosh; it seemed as if the Jewish people were doomed. But as we all know, Haman was the one who was killed in the end and not one Jew was harmed. G-d is the creator of everything and thus everything is in His hands to control; every breath that we take is as a result of G-d. But there are certain times when we can look back and clearly see how all the events of the past which at the time seemed so terrible were really the best thing for the Jewish people. The events which we commemorate on Purim and Chanukah are examples of this phenomenon; it so clear that everything that happened was for the good. The fact that the parsha of the Ner Tamid is read right before Purim is definitely not a coincidence. Am Yisroel was formed as a result of Yetzias Mitrzayim and the purpose of Yetzias Mitzrayim was to bring the Jewish people to Har Sinai to receive the Torah. What was so important about the Torah? Well, as I mentioned earlier, the Torah is the greatest written manifestation of G- d s will that mankind has ever received. The Torah is meant to instruct us as to how to live life in the way that the Creator wills us to do. The Ner Tamid represents Torah because just as Torah is a guide, so is a candle; the Ner was only to be lit at night and was intended for the sole purpose of providing a source of light in the Mishkan. So perhaps the reading about the Ner right before Purim is to use the light to show us something else: G-d s will in Purim. The Torah is telling us to look closely at the events and to look for G-d. The name of G-d is famously not mentioned at all in the Megillah; it is our job to look for Him behind it all and the Torah is telling us to do so through the Ner Tamid. The same message can easily be applied to Chanukah; Ner Tamid does in fact refer to the fire of the menorah. So Chanukah and Purim definitely share more than a few Halachos, they share a common purpose; one just has to look a little deeper to find it. 23 עטרת השביע

3 Halacha Corner משלוח מנות Shiurim by Rabbi Moshe Sokoloff writen up by: Gavriel Sturm 1. There is a Gemara in Megillah (7.) that says Mishloch Monos is giving 2 gifts to one person. And Matonos Levyonim is giving 1 gift to 2 people. 2. The Tirumas Hadeshen (in Shaalos Uteshuvos:112) says that Mishloch Monos is to insure that every person has what to eat at their seuda. Therefore, you can only give food. (not clothing or money etc.) 3. The Monos Levi brought down by the Chasam Sofer (196) says Mishloch Monos is to increase friendship between one another because by the story of purim, friendship has decreased. 4. The Kehelos Yaakov on Mesechta Megillah (Sif:177) says if you give anonymous Mishloch Monos, according to the Tirumas Hadeshen your Yotze, because everyone is getting what to eat for their seuda. But according to the Monos Levi your not Yotze, because you re not increasing friendship. 5. Rav Elyashiv (Ashri Ha ish, Purim: 14) and Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky (Purim 20) holds one can t give Mishloch Monos anonymously. 6. Shulchan Aruch (695:4) says one can only give food while the Magen Avraham says one can also give drinks. The Shulchan Aruch holds like the Tirumas Hadeshen who holds you can only give food because the mitzvah is to make sure everyone has what to eat. The Rama, however, says if the receiver of the Mishloch Monos does not want to accept the gift, you are still are Yotze your obligation. This shows he holds like the Monos Levi because you are fulfilling your obligation of increasing friendship. Since the Rama doesn t argue on the Shulchan Aruch, it must be that the Monos Levi agrees with the Tirumas Hadeshen that you can only use food and drinks for Mishloch Monos. 7. The Maritz Chiyos asks why don t we make a bracha on Mishloch Monos? They use the Rashba who gives an answer because we don t make brachos on mitvos (like Tzedaka) that depends on the receiver (he might not accept the Mishloch Monos). 8. But didn t the Rama just say you Yotze even if he doesn t accept the Mishloch Monos? The Rama s case was when the receiver didn t need it, but this case is where the receiver won t accept it because he doesn t like you. 9. The Gemara in Megillah (7.) has a story where Rebbe Yehuda sent a cow-thigh and wine to Rav Oysheya and he replied that you re Yotze your obligation. However Rabenu Chananel says you re not Yotze with wine and meat, really, later on Rebbe Yehuda sent a different part of the cow and wine. 10. The Mikray Kodesh (Siman 38) says you re not Yotze because you can t use drinks. We don t Paskin like that, we can use drinks. (Alshish, Mishnah berura) 11. Rav Tzvi Peseach Frank says we see from the Gemara that you can send the 2 Mishloch Monos at separate times, and give almost the same exact things for both Mishloch Monos. (with a little difference- cow thigh and a full cow) 12. Most Poskim hold one should give both Mishloch Monos at the same time. The Aruch Hashulchan (695:13-14) says you can give Mishloch Monos to kids and one can be Yotze his Cheyuv. 13. Rav Shlomo Zalman says (Hilechos Shlomo Mitzvas Purim:11-12, footnote 33,35) if the receiver can t eat your Mishloch Monos you gave him, you are still Yotze because he can give it to someone else. (He also holds you can give different parts of same cow for both Mishloch Monos, like bottom and top of chicken) 14. Rav Elyashiv (Ashri Ha ish Perek 47:9) holds one can give drinks in your Mishloch Monos, besides seltzer, soda, water because it s not Chashuv. Rav Elyashiv also says your Mishloch Monos should represent your wealth accordingly. 15. Rav Elyashiv says you can give a non Tovelled item. Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky (Hilchos Purim, Mishloach Manos: 46) holds one should Tovel it himself. -Contact us at AteresHaShavua@gmail.com to receive the Ateres HaShavua weekly via e -mail- 34

4 The great Goan and tzadik, the Aderaba Rebba shlita, was once traveling through the dark and dangerous forests of Antarctica with a few of his most loyal chassidim, when he was accosted by a gang of violent Natives. The Natives had fled their more conventional habitats due to civil unrest in their native lands, and through a rather lengthy chain of events, including conquistadors, computer viruses, and the splitting of the Mississippi River. Ultimately, they ended up in the underpopulated continent of Antarctica. However, the Natives had failed to adapt to the frigid Antarctica climate, and consequently, were severely underdressed for the frigid climate. Noticing the Rebba s warm bekeshe and fur shtreimel, they were overcome with envy, and, with spears threateningly pointed, they demanded that he surrender his Rebbashe garments. Needless to say, the Rebba was most reluctant to part with his bekeshe and shtreimel. First off, he was feeling rather chilly himself, and even more importantly, the vestments had come to the Rebba as a yerusha from the great Alter Aderaba Rebba. The lining of the bekeshe had even been signed by Michael Jordan! However, the Natives were as evil and ruthless as Mordechai, hic! excuse me, as evil and ruthless as Haman himself, and they warned the Rebba that if he did not surrender his garments, he would forfeit his scalp. Ho Ho Ho, the Rebba laughed. Now we will match the Natives spears against the chachmah of the Shoiter chassidus. From the pocket of his bekeshe, the Rebba removed an ordinary handkerchief. Unwrapping the handkerchief, the Rebba revealed an unidentifiable green mush. What in gehinnom is that, the Chief exclaimed. As he opened his mouth, the Rebba rushed forward, and stuffed the mush down the Chief s throat! Before the startled natives had a chance to react, the Rebba sought refuge up in a handy tree. Listen here, the Rebba proclaimed from the safety of his perch. I have just fed your Chief shirayim, which date back over two centuries from the table of the Heilige Boich himself. These shirayim have the power to cause the eater to feel a sudden uncontrollable desire to listen to the music of Lipa Schmeltzer. (Parentheses is here for no apparent reason.) The only antidote to these shirayim is in my pocket, and I will only give it to you if you let me and my followers travel in peace. While as it were, the Natives were avid fans of Lipa s tunes, they were somewhat suspicious that under his influence, the Chief s legendary war chants would be somewhat diminished. They had no choice but to agree to the Rebba s demands. The Rebba quickly took out a piece of gefilte fish and kugel, which he offered to the Chief. Does this food meet the safety requirements of the New York City Department of Health? the Chief asked. Chas V Challilah, the Rebba answered. But never fear, the fish Stories of Rebba s had a proper chasideshe shechita, once it stopped talking. The Chief washed down his snack with a large l chaim, and was soon as good as new. Although the Natives had been rather unfriendly, the Rebba, in the true spirit of American justice, decided that it was not the Natives fault that they had turned to crime, as society had placed them in a truly unfair situation. With good intentions of helping the Natives get back on their feet, the Rebba proposed a novel business scheme. Loosely based on the Laffy Taffys of old, the Rebba suggested that the Natives go into the production of Torah Taffys, which, instead of jokes, would feature novel Torah thoughts on each wrapper. However, this venture failed miserably, as many people complained that they didn t get it. It seems that some people cannot tell the difference between a joke and a dvar Torah, especially when they re printed on the same wrapper. However, the Rebba s next eitzah was for the Natives to go into the Lag Ba omer bow and arrow business. This venture reaped great profits, and the Natives decided to give a 20% cut to the Rebba s discretionary tzedakah fund. The Chief Native proclaimed, I have acquired a true friend, who helped me in my time of need, as he embraced his new friend the Rebba, and thanked him for his sage advice. That embrace was captured on Candid Camera for posterity. Candid Camera later sold the picture to the producers of the Gedolim Album for $600. The picture of t h e A d e r a b a R e b b a embracing the Chief Native will appear as picture #190 in Vol. II of the Gedolim Album, coming soon to bookstores near you. As for the Rebba, he was so excited about his new income, that he immediately sponsored a week of Ateres HaShavua, as well as taking out a six month sponsorship of the Ateres HaShavua website. We can take several lessons from this moving episode. First, never leave home without a healthy amount of gefilte fish, especially when traveling to Antarctica. Second, never assume that anyone can tell the difference between a joke and a dvar Torah. Most important, sponsor an edition of Ateres HaShavua today, for a simcha, yahrzeit or for any other occasion. Simply send us an at AteresHaShavuagmail.com. If you don t hold of , you can contact us at the Mesivta (516) Freilichen Purim!!!!!!!!! The Rebba Shlita preaching to the Oilam SPONSORED BY: 45 Gourmet Glatt Emporium 137 Spruce Street Cedarhurst, NY, GourmetGlatt.com ואדי עיקר מצות היום: משלוח מנות, מתנות לאבונים, סעודת פורים, מקרא מגילה

5 from the :Gavriel Sturm 2: Yossi Koppel 3; Moishe Wollman 4: Yehudah Auerbach 5: Efraim Benscher 6: Binyomin Goldstein 7: Gavriel Guttman 8: Ari Halpern 9: Dovid Lesser 10: Ezra Sturm 11: Yoel Weizberg 12: Azriel Goldman 13: Eli Bienstock 14: Ariel Kadish TIPS FOR GUYS COLLECTING ON PURIM Here are some tips for the bachurim going around this Purim to collect for the Yiddishe Velt. Hopefully by following these guidelines to the utmost degree, everyone will come out very successful and really enjoy the expedition. Be sure to order the biggest limo you can. The bigger the limo, the more money you can fit into the trunk. As you ride down the streets, make sure at least two people squeeze through the sunroof, with Lipa s Gelt blasting at maximum volume. If after ringing the doorbell you realize there is no mezuzah - wait for the guy to come to the door and start singing Vinohapochu. Everyone in the group should make sure to wear a bekesha, streimel and long payis flying in all directions. It gets funnier every year! Trust me, the more Purims in a row you dress like a chassid the funnier your costume gets. Always sing at top of your lungs, especially at night since nobody s sleeping at 1:00 in the morgin. Consume a large quantity and wide variety of hamantashen. My cousins uncle s Rebbe once heard there s no such thing as a shemor es nafshoseichem (to watch your weight) on Purim. In fact, I heard it s a big segula for growing a mustache (moostache, as they say in Italy) I ve tried it and it does wonders. Interestingly enough, the gematria for Haman is Hanhala. Pass this by any Rav s house you go to and wait for an appreciative reaction. Even if you don t drink anything on Purim, pretend you re drunk anyways - it s cool. When you start to tantz in someone s house, pull the guy s kid into the circle and offer him a l chaim. The guy will be flattered. Remember to have a great Lichtig Purim - uber nisht too lichtig! Freileichin Peeeerrim Yeedin! אולי עיקר מצות היום: מיחייב איניש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע בין ארור המן לברוך מרדכי )מגילה ז:( 56

6 Think About It... לא תבוא ושתי לפני המלך אחשורוש... )א:יט( That Vashti never again appear before King Achashveirosh אחר הדברים האלה כשך חמת המלך אחשורוש זכר את ושתי ואת אשר עשתה ואת אשר נגזר עליה )ב:א( After these things, when the wrath of King Achashveirosh subsided, he remembered Vashti and what had been decreed against her ושתי do not mention at all that ושתי which talk about getting rid of פסוקים These should be killed, or that she was killed! It simply says that she should not appear before the king anymore, and that אחשורוש felt bad after he realized that s ושתי sentence was carried out. Did ושתי really die? If so, why doesn t the מגילה say it straight out? SEND US YOUR ANSWERS 131 WASHINGTON AVENUE LAWRENCE, N.Y INSIGHTS ON THE PARSHA There are three places in the Torah where we mention WNYBR H$M s greatness: The first place is VTWLEHB T$RP, which discusses the arguing between IRHA and OYRM, and how H$M breaks it up. The second place is in HKRBH TAZW, where Hashem describes WNYBR H$M s greatness before his death. The final place is in this week s H$RP, HWCT T$RP, where WNYBR H$M lowers himself for his love of the Jewish People by asking Hashem to remove him from the Torah. He is therefore not mentioned in this week s H$RP. We can prove the first two by simply reading the OYQWSP which talk about H$M, but how can we find greatness by HWCT T$RP when there s no text to base it on? We answer this by noting that WNYBR H$M s yartzeit, RDA ÊZ, always falls out during the week of HWCT T$RP! The Hidden Moshe It is known that the 7th day of Adar, which is the birthday and yahrtzeit of Moshe Rabbeinu, always falls on the week in which we read Parshas Tetzaveh. It is also well known that Moshe's name does not appear in this Parsha. In the name of the Vilna Gaon, it is brought down that Parshas Tetzaveh has 101 posukim, corresponding to the Gematria of the hidden letters in the name Moshe, i.e. the hidden (or remaining) letter in the word, OM," is also O, which equals 40 ; the hidden (or remaining) letters in IY$ are Y and I, which equal 60; and the hidden letter in AH is A, which equals 1, for a sum total of 101. Moshe's inner presence, i.e. his ruchniyus, is similar to the hidden part of his name, while his Chitzoniyus is equivalent to his full name. According to the Vilna Gaon, the hidden Gematria of Moshe's name alludes to the eternal message that even though his physical presence is no more, nevertheless his ruchniyus, which is in essence the holy Torah which he taught us, still lives with us and will always remain with us. It is the custom of the Skulener Rebbe that by Pesach he wishes everyone a Freilichin Pesach, and by Purim he wishes everyone a Chag Kosher V Sameach. His reason for this rather than the standard reverse, is because by Pesach we can get caught up in the cleaning, cooking, and all the other preparations: Freilichin Pesach! Don t forget to enjoy the holiday also. Yet by Purim, some people lose the true meaning of the holiday and tend to distort the important significance behind this Yom Tov which is greater than Yom Kippur. The Rebbe therefore would wish everyone a Chag Kosher V Sameach, to point out that everyone should enjoy themselves, but in the kosher way the holiday of Purim was meant for. Chag Kosher V Sameach. Mesivta Ateres Yaakov of Greater Long Island 131 Washington Ave. Lawrence, N.Y AteresHaShavua@Gmail.com Editorial Staff The Boss Ariel Kadish Assistant Boss Azriel Goldman Eli Bienstock People Who Want Their Name in this Publication Yehudah Auerbach Binyomin Goldstein Gavriel Guttman Ari Halpern Yonah Nisanov Ezra Sturm Gavriel Sturm Yoel Weizberg Contributing Headaches Efraim Benscher Yossi Koppel Dovid Lesser Moishe Wollman The Real Boss Admor HaRav Mordechai Yaffe Faculty Advisor Rabbi Shmuel Oratz If you would like to sponsor or subscribe to the Ateres Hashavua, please contact us at atereshashavua@gmail.com 67