<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Rabbi Yehuda (Leonard) Blank MS, BCC
Vice President of Professional Development and External Affairs
Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim
917-446-2126 rablenblank@gmail.com
***Thursday December 14, 2023, Teves 2, 5783***
CHANUKAH
<><><><><><><><><><>><<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Chanukah, a time for celebration of our heritage, our faith, of having a
relationship with our Creator, H Yisbarach through our prayers
and our personal bakashos.
Umeiolam Vead Olam Atah Keil-
And from this world to the World to Come You are G.
Our relationship with H and what we convey to our children and to ourselves.
How we are to each other.
Blessing Each Other and The Ordinary Blessing.
The importance of knowing any and all brachos is up to the Ribono shel Olam.
Happy Chanukah wishes from strangers.
=====================================================
From Tefilas Hashelah A parent’s timeless prayer-composed by
Rabbi Yeshayah Halevi Horowitz Of Prague by Yisroel Besser.
Artscroll Series Mesorah Publication Ltd.
“Umeiolam Vead Olam Atah Keil- And from this world to the World to Come You are G. If we are able to invest ourselves, and by extension, our children, with the awareness that this world is temporary, then we will perceive the pain ahead with greater clarity.
Two angry litigants stood before Rav Chaim Volozhiner, each one of them convinced of his own righteousness. The dispute revolved around a piece of property, and Rav Chaim listened to the arguments of both sides.
Suddenly, the Rav stood up and crouched to the ground, placing his ear on the floor.
Both men were alarmed and hurried over to help, but Rav Chaim assured them that he was feelings fine him murmuring to himself. “Reuven says that the land belongs to him, and Shimon says that the land belongs to him… and what does the land itself say?”
Rav Chaim tilted his head slightly, as if listening for an answer, and said, “The land is saying, ‘Reuven, with all his certainty and conviction, and Shimon, with his indignation and assurance that he is right, are both wrong- for they will both belong to me one day!’”
With that, Rav Chaim rose to his feet, the tension and anger suddenly dissipating from the room as both men reflected on their ultimate destiny and how unimportant this piece of land would be at the time of judgment.
Then Rav Chaim sat back down and calmly continued with the din Torah.
When a person arrives at the realization of what the point of having children is- what the point of life is! – by contemplating the ultimate destination of every single person, then making wise decisions becomes that much easier.
“Atah Keil”- You are G.” “Before we turn to the tefillah itself, we contemplate the greatness and grandeur of the One Whom we are beseeching.
Rav Shlomo Elyashiv was one of the great mekubalim of Yerushalayim, mechaber of the sefer Leshem Shevo V’Achlama. The Leshem, as he was known, shared a story with his talmid Rav Aryeh Levin, one that he had found deeply moving. It appeared in a sefer written by a talmid of Rav Chaim Volozhiner named Reb Yisroel Isser, a tzaddik who would travel from town to town peddling merchandise. One year, he himself spent the Shabbos of selichos in a tiny village. It was so small that it had no formal minyan, so on Motzei Shabbos, as kehillos everywhere were gathering in shul to offer the first tefillos of the Yamim Noraim, he stood alone, with no minyan in which to daven.
Heartbroken, he took his selichos, opened it up, and began to say the words by himself.
He read the opening words, Lecha H Hatzedakah Velanu Boshes Hapanim, To You, H, is the righteousness, and to us is the shamefacedness (Daniel 9:7), and he was unable to continue. He was overcome by the truth of the words: we are completely and utterly dependent on His kindness and we have embarrassingly little to show in return.
He stood there, the words filling him with humility and awe, feeling a level of connection that he had never before experienced. For years following that incident, he tried to recapture the emotion of that night, when he had been standing alone in a tiny village, but he could not.
The Leshem, master of hidden and revealed parts of the Torah, retold this story with great feeling, for this is the essence of addressing H. Beyond all the secrets and mysteries is the simple awareness that we are so very small, and He is so great.
With that, we can begin to pray.”
Chanukah is a time to reflect the essence and meaning of having a relationship with H through our Torah, our tefillos, our mitzvos, our maysim tovim and our gemilus chasadim. The lighting of the Menorah, the brachos, the many songs, are truly uplifting and takes us to another level of our kesher with H. Today, of all times takes us back to the years that brought us to the miracles of Chanukah. We cannot forget the years of oppression, when observing our traditions and our mitzvos were suppressed and forbidden until the Macabees and the Chashmanaim with the support of the Ribono shel Olam fought back and the Benei Yisrael were victorious. They were once again able to observe their faith in freedom. Klal Yisrael need each other with true and sincere achdus. In addition to our bakashos to H, we need each other’s blessings and sincere care for each other. A husband and wife can say they love and care for each other, two friends can express how much their friendship means, but their feelings and their blessings should truly be sincere and truthful.
From Praying With Fire Volume 2 by Rabbi Heshy Kleinman Uplifting the Power of Your Tefillah. Artscroll Series. Mesorah Publications Ltd. “Blessing Each Other” Pages 181-183. “A young man who had been married for many years and was still childless approached Rav Yecheskel Levenstein for a blessing to have children. Rav Levenstein asked, “Do you want a boy or a girl?” The young man answered that he would like both. With a hint of a smile on his lips, Rav Levenstein responded, “Nu Nu!”
Within that year, the young man and his wife celebrated the birth of twins. The topic of conversation among Rav Levenstein’ students was the encoded blessing: the first “nu,” they surmised, was for the boy, and the second was for the girl. (Reb Chatzkel by Rabbi Yitzchok Kasnett (Artscroll/Mesorah Publication p 347.
A person’s blessings are not “just words.” But are a practical, concrete reality that has impact in the world. Blessing another person with sincere words carries the power of a prayer. ( Chadashim Gam Yeshanim on Berachos Vol. 1, p204). The simple nicety an individual expresses to others is, in actually, a prayer to H to ease his friends way- through his daily chores and challenges- or to grant him a successful day. In effect, he has testified to his belief that H controls everything. The blessings, greetings, and encouraging words that pepper everyday conversation are actually potent prayers that H hears and to which He responds.
When asked to give a blessing to someone about to enter a new business deal, Rav Moshe Feinstein would respond, “G does not begrudge anyone, but rather he sustains the world and will surely grant much material possession.”( Bastion of Faith by Rabbi Avrohom Fishelis, Preface p. 20).
Not only does one have the power to bless a fellow Jew, but it is to one’s great advantage to do so, for the Torah teaches that blessing other people brings blessings upon oneself. The first time H spoke to Avraham, He commanded him to leave his father’s home and travel to Canaan. H reassured Avraham with the promise. (Bereishis 12:2-3).
And I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.
When the Torah states that H “will bless those who bless you,” it refers not only to Avraham but also to his descendants. (See Chullin 49a; Tosafos ibid., Va’avarechecha.).
The return blessing that H bestows is far greater than the blessing that inspires it. Rav Yechezkel Levenstein comments upon this concept in a return letter to a correspondent. The writer had greeted Rav Levenstein with a warm blessing, to which the rav responded (Ohr Yechezkel, Michtavim, Letter 5) that the greeting was indeed a profitable deal for the writer, for in exchange for those few words of blessings, H would grant him abundant blessing.
Thus, the Torah not only gives us the power to bless one another, but also urges and encourages us to do so. Of all the benefits that this draws into the world, the most precious of them is the emunah we gain by performing this simple act. In calling upon H to help our friends and loved ones, we confirm our recognition of the “hand” that guides the world. ( See Chapter 4, Day 34, “Baruch).”
“The Ordinary Blessing” “The Manchester Rosh Yeshivah once confided to Rav Sholom Schwardron that his license to confer blessings was the dictum, “A blessing given by an ordinary person should never be unimportant in your eyes (Megillah 15a). He took this license very seriously; his blessings were conferred in the way that he offered a tefillah-slowly, with intense concentration, and with all his heart (The Manchester Rosh Yeshivah by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman with Rabbi Yosef Weiss Artscroll Mesorah Publication Ltd p182).
No matter how insignificant a person may consider himself to be, the impromptu personal greetings, blessings and brief prayers he says on another person’s behalf are never insignificant. In fact, Chazal recommends that one (Berachos 7a) seek out the blessing of an ordinary person(Semichas Chachahim, quoted by Shita Mekubetzes Hechadash on Berachos 7a). Rav Moshe Feinstein comments: (Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah, Vol.4, Siman 51).
Even prayers and blessings that were not included in the standard prayer requirements [established by] the Men of the Great Assembly can be recited by all people since it is possible for prayers and blessings of all people to be accepted, even from those who may feel unworthy.”
At a recent bris of a grandson when I was the Sandik, I stood near the Baal Simcha receiving mazel tovs and requests for brachos whether it be for shidduchim, refuos, parnasah and other requests for themselves or their loved ones. As I mentioned in the paragraphs above we can all give brachos to each other, but it was another opportunity for the zechus at that time. It was important not to Heaven Forbid feel special, but to give brachos with sincerity and kavanah. But, everything is up to the Ribono shel Olam.
I have always received friendly good wishes for a happy holiday from my neighbors. Recently I have been greeted by complete strangers wishing me a happy Chanukah. This reminds me of the importance of Kiddush H for we are all in the limelight.
May the remainder of Chanukah be as wonderful as the first days. May everyday be filled with blessings and the doughnuts, if there are still doughnuts available, filled with anything and everything that is delicious. May there be Shalom al Yisrael, Chaveirim kol Yisrael and Am Yisrael Chai.
Sincerely, Rabbi Yehuda Blank.