Weekly Story: Just One More Light
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
One of the points that the Rebbe often stresses on Chanukah is that while on the first and subsequent six evening/nights of Chanukah, we fulfilled the mitzvah in the best manner possible, meaning we can’t do it any better, yet the following evening/night we are told that the perfect of yesterday, is not sufficient, we must add another light, meaning we must strive to do even better. And that message repeats itself for the entire week, from the second evening/night through the eighth!
The Rebbe then notes that this lesson is not just a guidance for the eight days of Chanukah, but it is a directive for the entire year.[1] In this week’s post I will give a homiletical explanation of what we could glean from this guidance.
As always, your feedback and comments are most welcomed and appreciated.
During Chanukah I reached out to numerous people that I have contact with and tried to encourage them to continue their good deeds. One of them (whose real name is Avi) thanked me for the call and informed me about the progress of his oldest son, whose Bar Mitzvah was last year Chanukah. He proudly related that he has been reading the Torah every Shabbos afternoon by Mincha, so this week he has read every Parsha in the Torah until Sheini.
He then added every time his son reads the Torah, and every morning when the children run to yeshiva with a desire to learn, and Boruch Hashem they all are doing extremely well in their learning, I think it’s all because of what happened between you and me on day of my wedding more than 16 years ago.
I used to visit him in his store almost every Friday afternoon on my mivtzoyim route, as a bochur and then I continued doing so for quite a few years after I was married.
When he informed me that he is engaged and getting married I spoke to him about the importance of placing Mezuzos on the doorways of his new apartment, as well as that it is time that he should have his own pair of Tefillin and begin putting them on every day.
He agreed to purchase Mezuzos for the apartment and then he asked me how much the Tefillin cost.
I told him that presently [meaning at that time], a kosher pair is around 450 dollars, however, I want him to buy a one that is a better quality.
He asked me if I could buy one that is Kosher for 450 dollars, why should I spend $200 more?
How much are you spending on the flowers that are going to last only for one evening, I asked him? And how much are your family members going to spend on their shoes, suits, dresses and accessories which are going to be worn only once, I asked? You know that they’re going to spend a lot more than $450 and even $650, and that’s only for one evening. In fact, you have some very nice dresses in your store, why don’t they wear one of them? But the answer is simple, for the wedding you need a dress that is more than nice and beautiful.
So when we are discussing Tefillin that are supposed to last you for your entire life, and you will be using them tens of thousands of times, of course they should be something that you consider very valuable. If you’re going to buy the cheapest pair, that means you’re not considering it important, so you just want to put on the tefillin for that one day, just as you put them on one day a week, when we meet.
You know what, if money is a problem, I’ll save you even the $450. I will lend you my pair for that special day and you can use my tefillin.
After thinking it over, a week and a half before his wedding, he told me, you are right, and I should buy him the better (more mehudar) pair. However, he won’t be in the store the following week, so I could mail it to him.
However, I decided that if I mail it, who knows if he will get around to put it on, so being that he gave me an invitation, I decided I am going to bring it to him on the day of the wedding to the hall.
The drive to the hall each way was over an hour and a half but being that it was a summer wedding I had time. So around five in the afternoon I got into my car and drove to the fancy hotel hall where the wedding was taking place. I arrived at the hotel at around 6:30 shortly before the reception was going to begin.
When Avi saw me walking in, he was astounded. The invitation was a courtesy, and he never expected me to show up, and he for sure didn’t expect me to be coming just to bring him his new pair of tefillin that he should have it available for every day from now on.
Opening the bag, I pulled out the Tefillin and asked him to put them on, and say Shema and whatever other tefilla (prayer) he wishes to say before the Chuppa begins. To everyone’s amazement he rolled up his sleeve, put on the Tefillin and davened his Tefilla. Being that he did so, his father and father-in-law did so as well.
Then he emotionally said, Sholom, “By driving from Brooklyn all the way here, you showed me how important Tefillin is, therefore, I will begin putting them on every day. That changed his life. Once he began putting tallis and tefillin on at home before going to work, his wife, who was raised in a much more traditional Sephardic home, encouraged him to stop going to the store on Shabbos, because we have to give the children that Hashem will bless us with, a clear message of what Judaism is and he did so.
Going back to our conversation on Chanukah, after wishing hima freilichen Chanukah, I asked him how everything is going.
He proudly replied, my oldest son became Bar Mitzvah last Channukah, and every Shabbos by Mincha, he reads the beginning of the next weeks parsha. So this Shabbos, he completed reading the beginning of each Parsha of the Torah. Sholom, you don’t know how much happiness our children give us every day, from that and from their enthusiasm in Yiddishkeit. They are eager to go to yeshiva, and are Boruch Hashem getting excellent marks.
Every day I thank Hashem for this this amazing Brocha He gives us, and it all came about because you brought me the pair of Tefillin to my wedding. That showed me how important a Mitzvah is!
Hearing this got me thinking. Very often when I and probably many of you hear the Rebbe’s words to add on an additional light, do another mitzvah, we think the message is. We should give more tzedoka, say an additional chapter of Tehillim, learn for a longer period of time, etc. In other words we think in the prism of quantity.
But Avi was telling me, that quantity is not always the solution, it is the quality in which it is done that often makes a stronger impression. I came to him almost every Friday for a frew years. While he always willingly put on Tefillin, that didn’t impress him, but when I went out of my way to bring him his new pair, that inspired him to realize that Tefillin means a lot more than five minutes of our day.
I then began thinking about other people on my mivtzoyim route, that I know I had a strong impact on them, and I realized that with each one, there was a special friendship, between us, something more than was the norm.
Perhaps this is the meaning of what our sages teach us that the lights of Chanukah will never stop being lit and shining, as even when Moshiach comes and we will be lighting the menorah in the Beis HaMikdash, nevertheless we will also light the candles of Chanukah.
The commentaries ask why specifically when it comes to the mitzvah of lighting the candles of Chanukah are we taught that they will be done even when Moshiach is here, while by other other Yomim Tovim we are taught that they will have certain changes to them?
But perhaps they are teaching us, that when we go beyond our obligation and do any and every mitzvah with enthusiasm, not as an obligation, but with happiness knowing that at this moment Hashem is gaining satisfaction that His will is being fulfilled, that feeling will be sensed by others and then the light you kindled in them, including your associates, students and even children, will shine brightly forever.
A Taste of Chassidus VaYigash Eiluv Yehudah Torah Ohr 43C
In many maamorim, the Rebbeim discuss concepts in their spiritual context (or source).In this maamar, we will learn about the spiritual difference between stones (earth) and vegetation (trees). To some, while it is intellectually stimulating, however, they don’t see how it is relevant to a person’s personal avodah (service) to Hashem.
A brief historical overview of this week’s maamar will illustrate and clearly demonstrate, that the Rebbeim were not discussing it in a spiritual sense, but their primary objective was that it should affect our conduct and avodah in this world. In other words the maamorim were often driven by real life situations.
There is a well-known story about the Alter Rebbe’s granddaughter, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the wife of the Tzemach Tzedek. A few years after their marriage, The Alter Rebbe asked her to bring to him some of her husband’s writings. A few months later, when the Tzemach Tzedek found out about this he was quite upset at her, as he felt that halachicly she shouldn’t have given his writings to their grandfather.
In her defense, she replied, not only is he also your grandfather but he’s the one that raised you [after your saintly mother passed away before your third birthday) but he is the one that taught you Torah, so if he would have asked you for them, you would have had the obligation to give them to him. In essence I did nothing wrong.
But HaRav Menachem Mendel disagreed and for almost two months they were separated. When the Alter Rebbe heard about this situation, he said this maamar, and it was the concept in this maamar that reestablished the peace in their house. So we see that these seemingly lofty Concepts are supposed to be borne out into our everyday life.
Just as it is seen in this maamar, so too you should try to apply the concepts of every maamar as well as every aspect of the Torah into our day-to-day life.[2]
The maamar begins with the words that Yehudah went over to Yosef, in order to request from him that he should release Binyomin. Being that Yehudah is requesting something from Yosef, that proves that Yosef is the benefactor, and in practical terms that means that he is on a higher level than Yehudah.
Yet, we know that Moshiach is a descendant of Yehudah and not Yosef, which demonstrates that Yehudah is higher than Yosef. Additionally, the Mishkan which was a temporary dwelling place for Hashem, was in the property of Yosef, while the Beis Hamikdash, which is a more permanent dwelling place for Hashem, was in the territory of Yehudah.
The Alter explains that by understanding some basic differences in the construction (materials used) in the Mishkan and Beis HaMikdash, we will understand the difference between Yehudah and Yosef, as well as answering the first question of ultimately understanding who was greater.
The Mishkan was comprised of two basic components; the walls were built from Cedar Wood, while the coverings (roof) were skins from various animals. The only part of the Mishkan that was inanimate was the floor, which was the earth it stood on. While the Beis Hamikdash was built from Stone and a few places that there was would use, the wood was covered by mortar (or something else) so that the wood is not seen.
This contrast is similar to the contrast between Yosef and Yehudah. Yosef was given the name by Rochel with the request that Hashem should add on and grant me another child. In essence the name Yosef represents growth [and cedar is the tallest tree – the epitome of growth]. ts growth.
While Yehudah was given his name, as his mother wished to express her tremendous thanks to Hashem. Giving thanks is an expression of showing humility. And the possuk states that after she gave that name, for a temporary period she stopped giving birth. In other words, there was no longer any growth.
As is known, there are four levels in the pyramid of life, man, animals, vegetation and fossil (dirt and stone – inanimate items).
We say Friday night in Lecho Dodi the words Soif Maaseh B’machshova Tichila – what is created last, was the original thought.
Hashem desire is that His Shechina be revealed in this physical world. The most physical of the above-mentioned four levels is the earth. But in Seder Hishtalshilus, man is the highest. But at the end when Moshiach will be here, then we will all recognize the inherent supremacy of earth.[3]
So in the Mishkan which is only a temporary dwelling place for Hashem, it was built from the higher aspects of animals [for the roof] and wood [for the walls], with earth on the floor. However, the Beis Hamikdash that accomplished some permanence of bringing His Shechina to the earth, was made from stone (something inanimate).
Therefore, in this world we see that Yosef was higher than Yehudah, while in the days of Moshiach, the quality of Yehudah will be apparent, and he will be above Yosef.
The Alter Rebbe explained in the maamar, that earth is represented by the sefira of malchus, while growth is represented by the sefiros of Chagas Nehi. So while presently, a woman is seemingly a support to her husband, but when Moshiach comes, a woman will be the crown of her husband, and she will be higher than him.
Hearing this and discussing the entire situation with their grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek recognized the greatness of a woman more clearly and especially the qualities of his Rebbetzin and readily forgave her. Peace was restored.
So you see how Chassidus has to be taken and implemented into our actual life, and it is not just some thoughts.
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their Chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com.
[1] As the Rebbe expressed that every day, he thinks about the Alter Rebbe’s explanation on the word Ay’yeika to mean what have you accomplished in your life until now and is there something more I can accomplish today?!
[2] This is described in greater detail in our biography on the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek.
[3] As explained a few weeks ago, that this is why vegetation, animals and man, receive their sustenance from the earth and without that they wouldn’t survive. That demonstrates that they need the earth, while the earth will survive without them.
