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Volume XIV - Issue 7

The DRS Weekly Torah Publication
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Thankful for the Wars
By Jeremy Teichman, 12th Grade, Editor of Student Articles
DR3\ D3"
The staff of
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wishes all of its readers a
Freilichin Chanukah!
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A
t the end of maseches Tamid, it says, If a person wants to live he should kill himself. What does this
mean?! How can life be formed through death?
The Brisker Rav says that a person will face many hardships and painful times in his life. If he fo-
cuses on this pain too much, he will never be able to get on with his life. Although the Brisker Rav was able to sur-
vive the holocaust, he lost his wife and three children. After this loss, the pain was overwhelming. The only way he
was able to get on with his life was to separate himself from the feelings of his past life and start fresh, in the present.
Rav Elyah Lopian explained that even the greatest tzadikim had a hard time making this separation. Rav
Yochanan faced immense pain when his ten sons died at a young age, but he used their deaths to help comfort others
in times of pain.
The gemara also states that Rav Yochanan said, Let moshiach come, as long as I do not have to see the suf-
fering that will come before the arrival of moshiach. Even Rav Yochanan, who was a great tzadik and gadol, could
not separate his feelings of pain from his great desire for moshiach.
(Continued on page 5)

D
uring the festival of Chanukah there is a minhag to insert into our Tefillah
and Birkhat HaMazon a passage famously known as Al HaNissim. In the
opening text of the passage, there is a very puzzling phrase. When we are
praising Hashem for the miracles, salvation, mighty deeds, victories, we unex-
pectedly add in and for the wars. Since when do we rejoice over wars? With the
exception of the final war of Gog UMagog, we dread even the thought of war, so
what are we doing praising Hashem for war?
Rabbi Benovitz tells over a fundamental explanation. He explains that the
Jewish nation is no stranger to war, and its what makes us better as a nation. It is
through wars that we build stronger relationships with Hashem, as we depend on
Him more. This doesnt apply to wars alone, but to all adversity. Adversity brings
us closer to Hashem and to our fellow Jews. This is one of the major themes of
Chanukah, as we celebrate the courageousness experienced by merely standing up
to the many Greeks. If it wasnt for the Greeks, we wouldnt have such an apprecia-
tion towards Hashem and to the Jewish culture they tried to obliterate. It is through
such adversity that we experience true growth, which is what we are praising Ha-
shem for when we say val HaMilchamos. We thank Hashem for the challenges
and battles in life.
(Continued on page 3)
Life After Death
By Benjamin Ramras, 11th Grade
+

PARSHAS MIKEITZ
1 TEVES, 5773
DECEMBER 14, 2012
All Zmanim are calculated by myzmanim.com for
Woodmere, NY (11598)
Earliest Mincha: 12:19 pm
Candle Lighting: 4:10 pm
Latest : 9:31 am
Ends: 5:15 pm
2

Torah Teasers
By Rabbi Moshe Erlbaum
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 par-
sha?
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, Yaa-
kov 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 con-
versation 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.
The complete edition of
Rabbi Moshe Erlbaums
Torah Teasers
is now available on AMAZON
(keyword Torah Teasers)
Osin was an enormous, flabby man of around 50, with small eyes and
puffy eyelids, who seemed to have long ago lost interest in everything but food.
But he was a master of intrigue who had successfully overtaken many of his col-
leagues on the road to advancement. During my brief time in the camp he had
weathered several scandals and had always managed to pass the buck to his subor-
dinates. I could see that he enjoyed his power over the zeks and liked to see them
suffer. But he never forgot that the zeks were, above all, a means for advancing
his career, and he knew how to back off in a crisis.
Osin pulled a benevolent smile over his face as he tried to talk me out of
my hunger strike. Osin promised to see to it personally that in the future nobody
would hinder me from praying, and that this should not be a concern of the KGB.
"Then what's the problem?" I said. "Give me back the menorah, as to-
night is the last evening of Chanukah. Let me celebrate it now, and taking into
account your assurances for the future, I shall end the hunger strike."
"What's a menorah?"
"Candlesticks."
But a protocol for its confiscation had already been drawn up, and Osin
couldn't back down in front of the entire camp. As I looked at this predator, sitting
at an elegant polished table and wearing a benevolent smile, I was seized by an
amusing idea.
"Listen," I said, "I'm sure you have the menorah somewhere. It's very
important to me to celebrate the last night of Chanukah. Why not let me do it here
and now, together with you? You'll give me the menorah, I'll light the candles and
say the prayer, and if all goes well I'll end the hunger strike."
Osin thought it over, and promptly, the confiscated menorah appeared
from his desk. He summoned Gavriliuk, who was on duty in the office, to bring in
a large candle.
"I need eight candles," I said. (In fact I needed nine, but when it came to
Jewish rituals I was still a novice.) Gavriliuk took out a knife and began to cut the
candle into several smaller ones. But it didn't come out right; apparently the knife
was too dull. Then Osin took out a handsome inlaid pocketknife and deftly cut me
eight candles.
"Go, I'll call you later," he said to Gavriliuk. Gavriliuk simply obeyed
orders. He was a fierce, gloomy man, and this sight must have infuriated him.
I arranged the candles and went to the coat rack for my hat, explaining to
Osin that "during the prayer you must stand with your head covered and at the end
say 'Amen.'" He put on his major's hat and stood. I lit the candles and recited my
own prayer in Hebrew, which went something like this: "Blessed are You, God,
for allowing me to rejoice on this day of Chanukah, the holiday of our liberation,
the holiday of our return to the way of our fathers. Blessed are You, God, for al-
lowing me to light these candles. May you allow me to light the Chanukah candles
many times in your city, Jerusalem, with my wife, Avital, and my family and
friends."
This time, however, inspired by the sight of Osin standing meekly at at-
tention, I added in Hebrew: "And may the day come when all our enemies, who
today are planning our destruction, will stand before us and hear our prayers and
say 'Amen.'"
"Amen," Osin echoed back. He sighed with relief, sat down, and removed
his hat. For some time, we looked silently at the burning candles. They quickly
melted, and the hot wax was spread pleasantly over the glass surface of the table.
Then Osin caught himself, summoned Gavriliuk, and brusquely ordered him to
clean it up.
I returned to the barracks in a state of elation, and our kibbutz made tea
and merrily celebrated the end of Chanukah. Naturally, I told them about Osin's
"conversion," and it soon became the talk of the camp. I realized that revenge was
inevitable, but I also knew they had plenty of other reasons to punish me.
(Stories of GreatnessContinued from page 6)
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 3

Vayehi mikeitz shnasayim yamim uparaoh cholem
It was at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a
dream (41:1)

In the beginning of the parsha, Paraoh has two dreams
in a succession. In his first dream, seven skinny cows devour
seven healthy and strong ones on the banks of the Nile River. In
the second dream, seven small stalks of grain swallow seven
large ones. What is perplexing is that when Paraoh told over his
dreams to his expert soothsayers and wisest advisors, they were
all stumped and lacked a suitable interpretation for the dream. It
is quite logical to say that the seven stalks represent years of
harvest; its not like the wisest men in the entire country should
be totally stumped by a simple dream. Why couldnt these bril-
liant Egyptians figure out the interpretation to this dream?
Reb Yehoshua Leib Diskin suggests a unique approach
as to why the wise men of Egypt were unable to interpret
Paraohs dream. The wise men of Egypt were not considered
wise just because of their brilliance, but because of their powers
in astrology predicting future events based on celestial occur-
rences. Therefore, when Paraoh told them their dream, they
looked at the stars and saw that there would not be a famine in
Egypt, or any years of abundance. The reason why they were
unable to forecast any surplus or famine is because in the end
there were no years of plenty or famine, as Yosef saved the food
from the years of plenty for the years of famine. They therefore
rejected the idea that Paraohs dreams had anything to do with
agricultural success or failure.
Now, when Yosef offered his own interpretation of the
dreams, the advisors of Paraoh mocked him, for they said that if
such events will occur famine or abundance it would most
certainly be present in the stars. To this Yosef answered, Let
Paraoh appoint a wise man. Yosef was explaining to Paraohs
advisors that the reason why the stars did not convey the inter-
pretation of Paraohs dreams was because Yosef was here to
save the effects of the hunger by rationing during the years of
plenty. In essence, Yosef was telling the stargazers, You can
only see what will happen in the end, but Paraohs dream is here
to tell us how to act so that no famine will occur. The stargaz-
ers were believers of fate, meaning that they just looked at the
stars to see their future. Yosef was teaching them to be men of
action and to be proactive in order to guide the future.
This theme has been true throughout our 2,000 year exile, but after Hurricane Sandy, we could truly under-
stand what this means. More than ever, we feel close to our fellow brothers within Am Yisrael. More than ever, we
appreciate our family and friends. More than ever, we appreciate our shelters and possessions, which many of us
have unfortunately lost. And we have learned to never more take our blessing for granted. The same is true in re-
(Jeremy Teichman Continued from page 1)
(Continued on page 5)
Vayehi miketz shnasayim yamim, uparaoh cholem.
It was at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a
dream (41:1)

Two questions can be asked on this Passuk:
1. The Passuk uses the word choleim, which means, is
dreaming (present tense), but it seems that iy should really be writ-
ten in the past tense chalam, dreamt. Why did the Passuk use
the verb choleim in the present tense and not the past tense if the
first part of the Passuk is in the past tense?
2. Besides the fact that they happened one after the other,
what is the connection between Yosef being in jail and Pharaoh
dreaming?
The Shemen Hatov says that everything has a cause and an
effect, and sometimes it is important to ask the question, What
came first, the chicken or the egg? In other words, try and figure
out what is the cause and what is the effect of any given circum-
stance.
Rabbi Yissocher Frand explains that without Torah She-
baal Peh, someone would read the story of Yosef in jail and under-
stand it on its secular level. This being that Yosef was in jail, the
king had a dream that none of his advisors could figure out, and then
one advisor remembered Yosef and that he could interpret dreams.
They released Yosef from prison, he interpreted the kings dream,
and he became viceroy. On this level of understanding, the only rea-
son Yosef was released from jail was because Pharaoh had a dream,
but otherwise Yosef would have still been sitting in jail. Cause:
Pharaoh had a dream. Effect: Yosef was released from jail.
The Rabbis explain the story a bit differently. Yosef was
supposed to be released from jail 2 years earlier, but when he asked
the butler to remember him, he showed a lack of faith in Hashem, so
two years were added to his sentence. Now his two year sentence
was up. Yosef was supposed to be released at this time. Cause:
Hashems master plan was for Yosef to be released at this time. Ef-
fect: Pharaoh had to start dreaming. If the second part of the Passuk
was written in the past tense, it would imply that the cause was Phar-
aohs dreaming, and the effect was Yosefs release from prison. The
fact that the second part of the Passuk was written in the present
tense shows us that now was the time for Pharaoh to start dreaming
because the plan was for Yosef to be released, and the effect was for
Pharaoh to dream. The connection between the first part and the
second part of the Passuk is exactly that. The reason Pharaoh was
dreaming was because Yosef was still sitting in jail for two years.
The Chicken or the Egg?
By Ari Brandspiegel, 10th Grade
Taking Matters Into
Your Own Hands
By Moshe Lonner, 11th Grade
4

Kislev 29
In 1914, Jews of Tel Aviv were expelled by the Turkish authori-
ties and sent to Egypt. Just three years later, the Turks would
order the remaining 9,000 Jews out of Jaffa, in advance of the
British military offensive. The Jews fled north, where they suf-
fered from disease and starvation. They were allowed to return
with the British ousting of the Turks in 1917.

Kislev 30
In 1970, nine Soviet Jews were convicted in Leningrad of hi-
jacking a civilian airplane six months earlier. The hijackers
were a group of Soviet refuseniks (one was a former military
pilot) who tried to escape to the West, in order to avoid harsh
Soviet discrimination against Jews. Even though the attempt
was unsuccessful, and was followed immediately by crackdown
on Jewish and dissident movement throughout the USSR, it
drew international attention to human rights violations in the
USSR and resulted in a temporary loosening of emigration re-
strictions. The accused were charged with high treason, punish-
able by the death sentence. Included in this group was Yosef
Mendelevitch, who in 1981 was released and joined his family
in Israel, where he became an inspiring figure in the movement
for traditional Jewish values.

Tevet 1
In 355 BCE, Esther, after having won a kingdom-wide beauty
pageant, was taken to King Achashverosh (Esther 2:16). Es-
ther's presence in the king's palace enabled her to advocate on
behalf of the Jews, and gain a reversal of Haman's decree to
annihilate the Jewish people. This series of miraculous events is
recorded in the biblical Scroll of Esther, and commemorated
each year on the holiday of Purim.

Tevet 2
On this date in 1947, the Arab Legion surrounded Jerusalem
and isolated its 100,000 Jews from the rest of the Israeli popula-
tion. By March 1948 the city was under full siege, and in May,
Jordan invaded and occupied east Jerusalem, dividing the city
for the first time in its history, and driving thousands of Jews
into exile. The Arabs proceeded to destroy all 58 synagogues in
the Jewish Quarter, and used Jewish gravestones on the Mount
of Olives to build roads and latrines. The Western Wall would
be off-limits to Jews (in spite of the cease-fire agreement grant-
ing freedom of access to holy places), restored again with Is-

rael's victory in the 1967 war.

Tevet 3
Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz (1902-1979), dean of the
famous Mir Yeshiva for more than 40 years, who was known
for his boundless love of God and humanity. When World War
II broke out, Rabbi Shmulevitz and his students miraculously
obtained transit visas, issued at great risk by Mr. and Mrs. Sugi-
hara of the Japanese Consulate. They travelled out of war-torn
Lithuania, via the trans-Siberian railroad, to a safe haven in
Shanghai, China. After the war, Rabbi Shmulevitz reestablished
the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, which has since grown to a stu-
dent body of 5,000. His ethical discourses, many of which have
been published in English, are considered classics.

Tevet 4
Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Joshua Isaac Shapira, a leader of 19th centu-
ry European Jewry known by the nickname Reb Eisele Charif.
The story is told that when his daughter was ready to get mar-
ried, Reb Eisel sought out the top yeshiva student. He entered
the study hall and announced: "I have a very difficult question
on a passage in the Talmud. Whoever can supply the correct
answer will have my daughter's hand in marriage." Soon a long
line formed, and one by one the students tried to provide the
answer. And one by one, Reb Eisel explained how the answers
were incorrect. This went on for days, but when no one came up
with the correct answer, Reb Eisel packed up and left. He had
just reached the edge of the city, when he heard a voice shout-
ing after him: "Reb Eisel, Reb Eisel!" He turned around to see a
young man running in his direction. The student explained: "I
know I wasn't able to satisfy the condition for marriage, but just
for my own sake, could you please tell me the correct answer?"
"Aha!" shouted Reb Eisel. "If you have such a desire to know
the truth, then you will be my son-in-law!"

Tevet 5
In 422 BCE, the prophet Ezekiel heard the news of Jerusalem's
conquest by a foreign power, as recorded in the biblical Book of
Ezekiel (33:21). In Jewish law, a period of mourning (for exam-
ple, upon the death of a loved one) can begin upon "hearing" the
bad news. Some Talmudic commentators thus recommended
that the 5th of Tevet be instituted as a public fast day.
0 2012

Taken from Aish.com
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 5

During World War II, a Jew traveled from Eretz Yisrael to England. Rav Moshe Shneider caught up with this
Jew so that he could ask him how the Jews in Eretz Yisrael were doing. When he heard that Jews were being me-
chalel Shabbos, he started to cry. The next morning he called Rav Sternbuch and told him, Who can imagine the
great anguish of the Shechinah, that there is chillul Shabbos in Yerushalayim? After hearing this I wasnt able to
sleep all night.
This story can illustrate for us the emotions that Yosef was probably prone to in Pharaohs palace, and yet he
did not give into them. Yosef was able to separate his emotions from his actions, and was able to conduct himself as
a true servant of Hashem.
Even though he felt a lot of joy when he saw his brothers, he was still able to control his feelings and his ac-
tions. Once he made up his mind to serve Hashem no matter what, he was able to overcome any obstacle.

Taken from Rav Moshe Sternbuch
(Benjamin Ramras Continued from page 1)
The Story of Chanukah is an amazing event.
Over two thousand years ago, the Syrian-Greeks con-
quered Eretz Yisroel. Though we know the basic story-
line of the wondrous miracle that followed, its im-
portant to gain a deeper understanding of Chanukah:
Who were the enemies of the Jews during this era? How
did they threaten the Jews?
Rav Soloveichik, in the Sefer Mipninei HaRav,
explains that the Greeks who lived during this era were
not bloodthirsty murderers who wanted to get rid of the
Jews, but rather, they wanted to assimilate and defile
them. The Greeks, explains the Rav, used a brilliant tac-
tic to achieve their goal. They wanted to split the Jews
beliefs. The Greeks introduced a new idea, Hellenism,
which challenged the belief in an Almighty Being. Hel-
lenism called for the glorification of man. Man was per-
fect, and his intellect was infallible. By allowing man to
think of himself as supreme, the Greeks were really re-
jecting Hashem. Unfortunately, this idea soon reached
the Jewish community and spread throughout Israel.
Hellenistic Jews began to emerge, and a rift between the
religious and Hellenistic Jews was created.
The Rav explains that this was the major enemy
in the story of Chanukah. True, there was a physical war
between the Maccabees and the Greeks, but the real war
was a spiritual one. Never before in Jewish history has a
majority of the Jews rejected their faith and followed
others, like the Hellenists. Fortunately, the war was won
and we again became united.
Its this triumph that we mention everyday on
Chanuka. We say in Al Hanisim, The Greeks stood up
against us. The Greeks who were mentioning are re-
ally the Hellenist-Jews who threatened their own exist-
ence as a Jew. Similarly, we say in the same paragraph,
Afterwards, the Jews got up. Where did they get up
from? The answer is that the Jews got up from their
bad ways. The Jews did Teshuva and created Achdus, a
force that makes the Jews indomitable.
This is the lesson of Chanukah. There are always
new obstacles pushing us and trying to separate us,
whether it be physically or spiritually. However, Cha-
nukah represents the unity we have with each other.
Even in the darkness, we can easily see the Chanukah
lights, guiding us to the proper path, united. May it be
that we internalize this idea, and walk together to grow
to even greater heights.
Achdus in the Darkness
By Moishy Rothman 11th Grade
gards to the recent war in Israel, as we regained our understanding of the tremendous significance of our enormous
blessing to settle the Land of Israel peacefully. Hashem brings adversity to us for our own good, because it is how we
grow to high levels of appreciation and closeness with Hashem, like what occurred 2,500 years ago during Chanu-
kah.
(Jeremy Teichman Continued from page 3)
6


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Weekly Torah Publication of the DRS Yeshiva High School

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STORIES OF GREATNESS
TOLD OVER BY: DAVID LAUER

PUBLICATION
STAFF

Editors in Chief
Yitzie Scheinman
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layout editor
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rabbinic articles
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Jeremy Teichman
student articles

Production Staff
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director of production
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production staff

/Authors
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Aryeh Helfgott
Uri Himelstein
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Noam Levy
Eitan Lipsky
Moshe Lonner
Benjamin Ramras
Moishy Rothman
Aaron Rubel
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Alex Selesny
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Meir Sternberg


Maggid of DRS
David Lauer

Menahel
Rabbi Y. Kaminetsky

Faculty Advisors
Rabbi E. Brazil
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Rabbi A. Lebowitz
The following story entitled Chanukah in
the Soviet Gulag by Natan Sharansky makes us real-
ize how lucky we are to be able to bh celebrate Cha-
nukah in peace and with ease. Have a good Shabbos
and a Chag Sameach! Taken from Aish.com.

Natan Sharansky was arrested in 1977 for
his Zionist activism, his insistence on the right of
Russian Jews to make aliyah to Israel. However he
was accused of the much more serious crime of trea-
son, for spying for the United States. He sat in prison
from 1977 to 1986, including eight years in a Soviet
prison camp in Siberia. After continuous public pro-
test in the West, spear-headed by his wife Avital,
Natan Sharansky was released in a spy exchange be-
tween the US and the USSR in 1986. After making
aliyah and establishing a Russian immigrant party in
1996, he became Israeli Minister of Industry and
Trade and later of the Interior. His memoirs of the
Soviet period are filled with sparkling anecdotes
about the power of the few against the many, the
power that derives from "fearing no evil" and laugh-
ing in the face of oppression. The phrase, "fear no
evil" is taken from the little book of Psalms, which he
carried with him through his long imprisonment. The
following was told over by Natan:
The holiday of Chanukah was approaching.
At the time, I was the only Jew in the prison zone, but
when I explained that Chanukah was a holiday of
national freedom, of returning to one's own culture in
the face of forced assimilation, my friends in our
"kibbutz" decided to celebrate it with me. They even
made me a wooden menorah, decorated it, and found
some candles.
In the evening, I lit the first candle and recit-
ed a prayer that I had composed for this occasion.
Tea was poured, and I began to describe the heroic
struggle of the Maccabees to save their people from
slavery. For each zek (a prisoner in the Soviet Gulag)
who was listening, this story had its own personal
meaning. At one point, the duty officer appeared in
the barracks. He made a list of all those present, but
he did not interfere.
On each of the subsequent evenings of Cha-
nukah, I took out my menorah, lit the candles, and
recited the appropriate blessing. Then I blew out the
candles, as I didn't have any extras. Gavriliuk, the
collaborator whose bunk was across from mine,
watched and occasionally grumbled, "Look at him, he
made himself a synagogue. And what if there's a
fire?"
On the sixth night of Chanukah, the authori-
ties confiscated my menorah with all of my candles. I
ran to the duty officer to find out what had happened.
"The candlesticks were made from state ma-
terials; this is illegal. You could be punished for this
alone and the other prisoners are complaining.
Theyre afraid you'll start a fire."
I began to insist. "In two days Chanukah will
be over and then I'll return this 'state property' to you.
Now, however, this looks like an attempt to deny me
the opportunity of celebrating Jewish holidays."
The duty officer began hesitating. Then he
phoned his superior and got his answer: "A camp is
not a synagogue. We won't permit Sharansky to pray
here."
I was surprised by the bluntness of that re-
mark, and I immediately declared a hunger strike. In
a statement to the procurator general I protested
against the violation of my national and religious
rights and against KGB interference in my personal
life.
When you begin an unlimited hunger strike,
you never know when or how it will end. Are the
authorities interested at that moment in putting a
swift end to it, or do they not give a damn? In a few
weeks, a commission from Moscow was due to arrive
in the camp. I didn't know this at the time, but the
authorities, presumably, were very aware of it, which
probably explains why I was summoned to Major
Osin's office two days later, in the evening.
(Continued on page 2)