In Memory of Mr.

Max Glass

Likutei Ohr
Volume VI : Issue X
Editor-in-Chief:
Jesse Hyman 16
Senior Editor:
Noam Gershov 17
Jack Levkowitz 17
Managing Editors:
Noah Hyman 18
Gidon Amsellem 18
Shawn Partovi 19
Layout Editor:
Eitan Tennenbaum 17
Distributors:
Yair Isaacs 16
Nathan Silberberg 16
Avishai Zarifpour 16
David Silverman 19
Mickey Piekarski 16
Nathan Bentolila 16
Benyamin Tarko 18
Staff Advisor:
Rabbi Arye Sufrin

The Flame of
Our
Ancestors

Those who conceal

their sins do not
prosper, but those
who confess and
renounce them find
mercy.
-Proverbs 28:13

Tefillah Gems
Eytan Merkin 18

In Memory of Mr. Jack Gindi

The Pamphlet of Light

Parshat Shemot

A publication of YULA Boys High School

Because They Feared Hashem

Rabbi Joseph Schreiber

But the midwives feared Hashem and they did not do as the king of Egypt
spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live (1:17).
If we consider the fact that the king of Egypts decree essentially ordered
infanticide, it is really not so startling that two Jewish midwives would not kill
innocent Jewish baby boys. In fact, we could assume that most people would not
commit such a heinous crime, even if it was commanded by a king. If this is so,
then what was so unique about the two Jewish midwives behavior? Why does
the Torah find it necessary to relate and mention their actions and deeds?
Rav Elya Meir Bloch ztl offers the following explanation:
In reality, the great accomplishment of the two Jewish midwives was not
necessarily the fact that they, did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them.
Instead, their true greatness is emphasized in the first half of the Pasuk rather
than the second But the midwives feared Hashem. The midwives could have
rationalized the murder of certain baby boys with the intent of saving the greater
part of the Jewish nation. However, they would not, and did not, do so. Why
not? Because they feared Hashem! We are taught that the only guiding
principle of truly righteous individuals is Yiras Shamayim, the fear of Heaven.
When one is faced with situations that are intellectually, morally, or ethically
unjust, the tenet that must guide ones ultimate decisions and actions is Yiras
Shamayim. We have, unfortunately, witnessed in our lifetime, unspeakable crimes
and atrocities committed by a nation of enlightened and intellectual people.
Many of their doctors and medical personnel, who swore and adhered to the
Hippocratic oaththe medical oath of ethicsperformed horrific experiments
on innocent men, women and children. They were able to somehow rationalize
their wicked and immoral actions in the name of science. Without Yiras Shamayim
as ones guide, even those challenges or situations that seem to be wrong on such
a basic level may sometimes become permissible!
This fear, then, was the true greatness of the two Jewish midwives; they had no
rationalizations and no excuses. Nothing could sway them or cloud their
judgment because they feared Hashem!

The most known Mitzvah of Chanukah is the lighting of the Menorahs candles. Both men and women are obligated in this Mitzvah. Women are
usually not required to perform time-bound Mitzvot, but since they were also involved in the many miracles of Chanukah, they must also light candles.
According to some Rishonim, women were saved along with the men, and that is how they participated in the miracle. According to other Rishonim, a woman
named Yehudis was a major protagonist in the battle against the Greeks and was responsible for the defeat of the Greek army. Children over the age of
Chinuch, those who understand the essence of the Mitzvah, should also light candles. At the bare minimum, the Baal HaBayit, or the head of the household,
should light one candle each night on behalf of the whole household. The Mehadrin practice is to enhance the Mitzvah by having each person light one candle
per night. However, the best way to enhance the Mitzvah differs for Ashkenazim and Sephardim. For Ashkenazim, the best manner is for every person to light
the number of candles corresponding to that night of Chanukah; for example lighting five candles on the fifth night. However, Sephardim hold that the best
way is for the Baal Habayit alone to light the number of candles corresponding to the particular day of Chanukah. On a separate note, when one sets up the
Chanukiah, he should place the candles starting from the right side of the Chanukiah. He should light the candles starting from the left-most candle, the
newest candle, and move towards the right. If one has a window facing the street, he should light candles in that window to publicize the miracle of
Chanukah in the most effective manner.

The Foreshadowing Juxtaposition

Avishai Zarifpour 16
And the Israelites were fertile and prolific; their population increased
greatly. They became so numerous that the land was filled with
them (Shemot 1:7).
The Torah mentions this increase in Jewish population
immediately before going into our enslavement from Egypt. What is the
connection between these two events?
We know that any time Hashem needs to censure the Jewish
people, He always prepares the solution before the problem (Megilah
13b). In this Parsha, the huge surge in Jewish birth rates immediately
prior to the pain and humiliation of the Jewish enslavement was the
solution to their predicament. The solution was the growth in population,
and the problem was the Jews becoming slaves in Mitzrayim.
Reb Natan of Breslov introduces the following concept in Likutei
Halachot: the more Jews there are, the more sacred Daat, G-d awareness,
there is; the more sacred Daat there is, the sooner the Geulah arrives. How
does this work?
We know from personal experiences, as well as from history, that
pain is a major feature of exile. The exile-pain, whether inflicted by others
or by us, is misguided thinking. When non-Jewish concepts and values
influence us, the inevitable results are a decline in faith. Misconceptions
about what Jews do or think, whether entertained by Jew or gentile, lead
to mental, emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual slavery.
When Moshe Rabbeinu saw that so many Jews were freed from
Egypt and on their way to receive the Torah, he thought that the Geula
was tangible. He thought that there were enough Jews with kosher
thoughts and attitudes to induce the rest of the worldstarting with the
Erev Rav from Egyptto accept the notion that Hashem was the one
taking them out of Egypt. However, conditions were not ripe then. The
Eruv Rav proved incorrigible and ended up harming the Jews.
So, we continued our history though later Egypts, always
accompanied by some great Tzaddik reprising the role of Moshe Rabbeinu,
always trying to correct the damage done by the Eruv Rav. The damage is
undone when every Jew is born and grows up thinking and behaving as
a Jew should. The damage is undone when each of us gets reborn, from
day to day and hour to hour, thinking and behaving a bit more Jewishly.
May we be Zocheh to the final Geula that will take place with the arrival of
Moshiach Tzidkeinu and the Beit HaMikdash!

The Redundant Recounting

Halachic Illuminations

From Rabbi Nachum Sauer

Brachot can be divided into three main categories.
The 3irst is Birkas HaShevach, or praise of
Hashem, such as on thunder and lightning. Birkas
HaNehenin, the Brachot made before eating,
drinking or smelling come next. Finally, Birkas
Hamitzvot are the Brachot made before
performing a Mitzvah. While they share many
Halachot, there are some key differences in the
Halachot of each type of Bracha. For now, we will
focus mainly on Brachot before eating. To start,
one should have nothing in his mouth before
reciting the Bracha in order to praise Hashem
properly. Also, a man must wear a Kippah while
saying a Bracha. In an unusual circumstance, in
which he does not have a Kippah, he should cover
his head with his hand and sleeve. Alternatively,
another person can cover his head with his hand.
One should be dressed properly when saying any
Bracha, especially when saying Birkat Hamazon
after eating bread. One should know the Bracha
he will say before beginning the Bracha. This is to
make sure that he has the proper Kavanah, or
concentration, while saying the Bracha, Also to
make sure that there is no Hefsek-interruption,
between the Bracha and the action, he should
make sure that the food is ready to be eaten and is
present. Also, if one can hold the food in his hand,
such as a fruit, he should hold the food in his
dominant hand when reciting the Bracha.
However, if he did not hold it while saying the
Bracha, it is not necessary to repeat.

Compiled By Ari Willner 19

Menachem Kornreich 19

In the beginning of Parshat Shemot, the names of Yaakov's sons are enumerated. Rav Zalvan Sorotkin asks why the Torah repeats that
the sons "were coming" to Egypt when they already descended there hundreds of years earlier. This question is answered in the Shemot Rabbah,
which says that the Jewish nation felt as if it had just come to Egypt because, when Yosef died, they became slaves. Originally, the Jews arrived
as princes and were helped by their relative, Yosef, who could do anything he wanted; now, however, they became slaves and increased in
population. It was like a second group of people had arrived, a group of slaves. Hence, the Pasuk says that the people were coming to Egypt.
Another question that can be asked is why Hashem needed to recount the Jews if they were already counted during their lifetimes.
Rashi writes that the redundant counting expresses Hashem's love for the nation. The reason that counting represents Hashems love is that
Avrahams children are compared to the stars, and a different Pasuk in Yeshayahu states that Hashem counts the stars by number and by name.
Thus from this Pasuk, it is crucial to note how beloved and important we all are to Hashem. A second answer is that the reiteration of the sons
names demonstrates their importance by reminding us that Yaakov's sons never assimilated and changed their names in the new environment
of Egypt.
Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky suggests a different approach, pointing out that the sun is so powerful that it dwarfs all the other stars in
the heavens, but at night, the stars become visible. During their father's life, Yaakov's sons greatness was unnoticed. They were essentially
dwarfed by his magnitude. But, after his death, their importance was revealed, and they were counted again. The Chafetz Chaim elaborates and
says that during Yaakov's lifetime, the sons were great because of Yaakovs influence; however, after Yaakov passed away, they became their
own people and were counted as these new people.
At the end of the Chafetz Chaim's life, he decided to move himself and his family to Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski asked
the Chafetz Chaim not to make Aliyah because in the Chafetz Chaims absence, all the Yeshivot would have their quality decreased. This anecdote
is a parable to what the Chafetz Chaim wrote. Just like Yaakov's sons were great as a result of Yaakovs influence, so too, the Chafetz Chaims
presence caused the Yeshivot at that time to be greater. It is important to follow and support our leaders because without them we are lost.

YULA Boys High School Nagel Family Campus 9760 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 Tel: 310.203.3180