1. ``
pg. 1
‫מקץ‬ ‫פרשת‬-‫חנוכה‬
This adaptation is dedicated in honor
of my dear wife, Devorah,
and our dear son, Moishe.
) "...‫ימים‬ ‫שנתים‬ ‫מקץ‬ ‫"ויהי‬‫א‬ ,‫מא‬(
“It happened at the end of two years…”
Yosef had been destined to be incarcerated for
ten years because he spoke ill of his ten brothers.
But, since he asked the Cupbearer, “If only you
would think of me with yourself … and mention
me to Pharaoh”1 – and placed his trust in human
hands, two more years of captivity were added to
his sentence, as it says: “it happened at the end of
two years.”2
) "‫זלפה‬ ‫בני‬ ‫ואת‬ ‫בלהה‬ ‫בני‬ ‫את‬ ‫נער‬ ‫"והוא‬‫ב‬ ,‫לז‬(
“but he was a youth with the sons of
Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah”
What was the secret of Yosef Hatzaddik that
earned him five full parshiyos concentrated on
his life? “He was a youth with the sons of Bilhah
and the sons of Zilpah” – they were the children
of the maidservants, the lesser families of the
Jewish people – yet Yosef bent himself to them so
as to draw them near.3
The greatest act is to be mekarev people, to
bring them back in teshuva – to draw them
near to their Father in Heaven. This is what
Hashem wants more than anything else. That is
the greatest expression of Hashem’s Glory – that
those who are most distant pull close to His
service. That publicizes His G-dliness in the
world, spreads His light. It is such a crucial,
tremendous and amazing phenomenon that it is
essentially what connects the generations and
allows our continuity.
1
(‫יד‬ ,‫)מ‬ ‫פרעה‬ ‫אל‬ ‫והזכרתני‬ ... ‫אתך‬ ‫זכרתני‬ ‫אם‬ ‫כי‬
2
‫רבה‬ ‫מדרש‬
3
‫טז‬ ,‫ד‬ ‫הבוקר‬ ‫השכמת‬ ‫ליקו"ה‬
We influence others. Every single one of us.
In small and seemingly insignificant ways:
with a smile, with a kind word, with patient
conversation and with our daily conduct.
Others observe us, we observe others and we
receive from each other.
“Yosef was seventeen years old.”4 Seventeen is
the numerical value of good (‫.)טוב‬ Yosef was
good to everyone, he found positive aspects even
in the worst-of-the-worst and thereby brought
them closer to Hashem. The very act of looking
at others with positive eyes, offering a nice word,
illuminating our countenance, smiling at them –
is how we bring people close.
What do people want? People want to be happy.
True joy is yiddishkeit. Every mitzvah is a song
and praise of HKB”H. We are fortunate – the
light of yiddishkeit is joy! So are the lights of
Torah and mitzvos. When a person learns
Torah, when a person serves Hashem – his
face brightens like the sun – “A man’s wisdom
makes his face shine.”5 When people see such
light, such satisfaction, such delight on our faces
– they return in teshuva. When people see that
joy resides with people who learn Torah – they
too want it. Rebbe Nachman said that the reason
it is a mitzvah to constantly be happy is so as to
attract others to Torah. When people notice
4
(‫ב‬ ,‫)לז‬ ‫שנה‬ ‫עשרה‬ ‫שבעה‬ ‫בן‬ ‫יוסף‬
5
(‫א‬ ,‫ח‬ ‫)קהלת‬ ‫פניו‬ ‫תאיר‬ ‫אדם‬ ‫חכמת‬

2. pg. 2 ‫מקץ‬ ‫פרשת‬-‫חנוכה‬
someone with a yarmulke looking depressed –
the signal to those who are still distant from
Hashem is that there is no great benefit to being
a religious Jew. “Look, he is religious and he is
miserable – we are not interested.” We must be
overjoyed by every little thing we manage to
accomplish … we are performing the will of
Hashem after all, even if it is only a minor thing.
Even if we have descended into someplace
awful, G-d forbid, we get up and begin anew.
Rebbe Nachman testified, regarding himself, that
even if he would have transgressed the worst sin
possible, he would not have lost any of his level
at all, he would have continued to serve Hashem
with joy and only afterwards would he have done
teshuva. When we serve Hashem with glee – we
give Hashem such pleasure and it entices other
people as well.
The greatest honor for HKB”H is when we
bring those who are farthest away close to
Him. A perfect example is Yisro. Yisro was at
the lowest level a person can fall to, he served
every type of idol imaginable, there was no
greater expert in idolatry in the world – and
precisely because of the depths to which he had
sunk – he was able to sanctify Hashem’s name
publicly like no other - and so many others
followed him. In that merit, he was rewarded
with a son-in-law who was the teacher of every
Jew in every generation, no less than Moshe
Rabbeinu himself, and an entire parsha in the
Torah is named after him.
There are no evildoers in Klal Yisroel. Even if
we were to observe a completely wicked person,
we must know that what we are seeing are
merely the husks that envelop him. These husks
are only so strong and dark because of the great
light that is embedded within him. Even the
most brazen and crass people are merely like
that superficially, only skin deep to the depth
of a fraction of a millimeter. In an instant,
they can shed the shell and reveal their inner
light. They contain such powerful light – that
is why the yetzer hora fights so diligently with
them – to try to conceal that great light. As
soon as we can break through to them and return
them in teshuva, masses of people will follow on
their heels.
We must pray for all of the Jewish people – for
them to all return in teshuva. We must draw
them near and exhibit a shining face. That is the
only way to bring the Redemption. Rebbe
Nachman warned us not to be like dried out
trees. What did he mean? Like trees that do not
bear fruit, the fruit being more Jews that we
bring close to Hashem. That is of primary
importance. No one is exempt from this mission
– each person in his own unique manner. We
meet Jews who appear to be so far gone, yet,
in their hearts, there burns strong emuna.
We must persist, we must turn to them, be
nice to them, dedicate time to them. “Our
main purpose, in all of our travels, is to connect
with new people, talk to them about the true goal
and engage in Torah learning with love and
harmony, in a way so that all will recognize the
ultimate truth and return to Hashem sincerely. It
is only for this reason that Hashem causes a
person to have to travel.”6
It is such an incredible matter to bring
another Jew close to Hashem. It is the
greatest kindness you can do for anyone.
When people become close to Hashem, they
begin to live, begin to experience joy, they are
no longer alone, life has meaning. Everything
is with Divine Providence, everything is for
the best - is there any thought that is more
soothing and reassuring than that? We must
show people the beauty of Torah, how relevant it
is. We are constantly influencing others. Even
saying hello to someone who is far away can
break down walls that have unfortunately
been erected. The Gemara tell us that R’
Yochanan would always be the first to say
hello to anyone who he encountered, Jew and
non-Jew alike. The Creator of the World had
mercy on us and allowed us to recognize Him
and come close to Him – if only out of
gratitude, we must try to help others do the
same.
The most important part of learning Torah is
6
‫יט‬ ,‫ה‬ ‫פקדון‬ ‫ליקו"ה‬

3. pg. 3 ‫מקץ‬ ‫פרשת‬-‫חנוכה‬
teaching others. As soon as a person knows
some Torah, he must teach it to others. The
amount of Torah a person learns is measured in
accordance to how much chesed and self-sacrifice
he is willing to do to teach others. R’ Ovadiah
Yosef was once scheduled to give a shiur before a
large audience. At the last moment, the shiur
was cancelled. His assistant thought that the Rav
would be happy to have additional time to learn
on his own. But, instead, the Rav asked him to
find him someplace else to give a shiur. After he
gave the replacement shiur, his assistant asked
why he hadn’t simply taken advantage of the
freed up time to learn alone. R’ Ovadiah
answered, “I had agreed to give a shiur tonight so
tonight’s Torah learning no longer belonged to
me - it belonged to the public.”
Kiruv must begin at home, with our spouses and
our children. A child who is raised in a home in
which the parents are elated to be Jewish and the
home is filled with warmth and love is very well
protected. Courtesy and manners are learned
at home! Children demonstrate what they
absorb at home. One’s home protects him! Only
the home! A child naturally loves his parents
and when he sees them happy, excited, alive –
he wants to be like them. But, if he realizes that
his parents are superficial and he does not
observe any light – no matter how many times
they yell at him to learn, do mitzvos and daven
and no matter how much we chase him and
threaten him – nothing will help – he has not
received any light.
Even a child who has no real desire to learn –
if we raise him with love and show him the
joy of yiddishkeit –will, at some point, be
awakened! We must be careful not to extinguish
his yiddishkeit! We must never hit him or
humiliate him! He may not be a talmid chochom
right now but he will be - if he loves yiddishkeit –
one day he will be inspired to learn as well! But,
if we snuff out his light with our constant
criticisms, with humiliation …
Education (chinuch) is all gratitude and
acknowledgement! We must train our children
to thank Hashem for everything – for the pillow
and the blanket that they sleep on at night. The
same is true for peace in the home. If we
constantly criticize our spouses – we are
killing them! Every criticism adds cracks to the
foundation of the home. They may not be readily
visible, but, eventually, the cracks in the home
add up until the house is destroyed. The evil
inclination to criticize derives from arrogance
– we think that we are so perfect that we can
constantly correct others. We must pray for
peace in the home every day. “Master of the
World, help me cherish my wife, respect and
love her! Grant me the wisdom to say the
right things to her today! I know well that
without her I am worthless. Help me merit
the ability to give her the feeling that I know
that I am nothing without her - that I need
her – that all of my joy is from her!”
“You open Your hand and satisfy every living
thing with its desire.”7 Hashem grants people
their desires. If a child is lacking desire – we
must ask Hashem for it: “Master of the World,
grant him desire!” Pray for it: “Grant him desire
to learn Torah, grant him the desire to get up
early.” Whatever desire is lacking, pray for:
“Master of the World, You satisfy every living
thing with its desire – if he has no desire, what
can I do? I cannot force the desire on him. That
never works. Please instill the desire within
him!”8
The menorah is lit outside in the street or in the
window facing the street – shining to the street.
We are not allowed to keep the light for
ourselves – we must share it with those who
find themselves in complete darkness. This
light of Chanukah, the light of Torah, the light of
gratitude – they cannot be lit alone in the house.
They must shine outwards. We light below ten
tefachim – for those who find themselves so
low, so distant. They too are Hashem’s
children. Hashem never gives up on a single one
of His children. Redemption will arrive when
everyone returns to Hashem. Therefore,
anyone who has enjoyed the illumination of
7
‫רצון‬ ‫חי‬ ‫לכל‬ ‫ומשביע‬ ‫ידך‬ ‫את‬ ‫פותח‬
8
‫בשלום‬ ‫ישראל‬ ‫עמו‬ ‫את‬ ‫המברך‬

4. pg. 4 ‫מקץ‬ ‫פרשת‬-‫חנוכה‬
the lights of Torah and tefilla must brighten
others with them –be mekarev them, share
the truth.
We are so often ensconced in darkness. We
chase fantasies, illusions, things that lack
substance. Only the light of Hashem can dispel
this darkness. There is no one who is unfit of
bringing others close to Hashem just as there is
no one unworthy of coming close to Hashem. A
little drop of light disperses a lot of darkness.
That is the light of Chanukah - pure and clean
light - light that emanates from a transcendent
place – a light that will never be extinguished,
even in the World to Come - a light that invites
those walking in the streets and the
marketplaces to come inside to witness the
beauty of simple yiddishkeit, the beauty of the
Jewish home.
A person can have everything, every possible
material advantage, but, if he is missing a
bond with HKB”H – he is missing the main
ingredient. Yiddishkeit is love, it is knowing
that Hashem exists in Heaven and it means
constantly searching for Hashem in our
hearts.
We always read the parshiyos about Yosef
Hatzaddik on Chanukah because the role of the
tzaddik is to descend to below ten tefachim to
illuminate for those who are lost there and bring
those who are stuck there to the light of emuna.
Yosef was named Yosef because Rochel said,
“May Hashem add on for me another son”9 – a
request for yet another son and another son.
Students are also called sons. We must add on
sons for Hashem in this generation of lost souls.
They have tremendous latent powers that need
only be awakened. Even those who have found
Hashem must continuously reawaken
themselves.
9
‫כד‬ ,‫)ל‬ ‫אחר‬ ‫בן‬ '‫ד‬ ‫לי‬ ‫יוסף‬(
‫תפילה‬
Master of the World! Help me remember that every person is Your child, even those who appear to be distant from Torah
and mitzvos. When I encounter people who are so far away, I recoil, I disassociate myself, it seems to me as if they look at us as
if we are aliens, as if we have nothing in common and they convey foreign and sometimes hostile attitudes towards us.
Help me, Father, to remember that they are all Your children – that is how we must view all people – and we can easily find
something we have in common with them, speak warmly to them, even words of emuna. Help me remember that most of
them, no matter how distant they are, seek a bond, they want to come close, they can see the beauty in yiddishkeit.
Master of the World! I want to live with the knowledge that You see me constantly, that nothing is concealed from You, that I
should be ashamed before You if I do anything unacceptable instead of before other people, as I usually am. But because I am
not on such an exalted level, I should at least remember that people observe me, that we have an impact on each other in the
most seemingly inconsequential ways, like eating or drinking in a crass manner. Help me, Father, that everything that I do
should sanctify Your name and not the opposite, G-d forbid.
Master of the World! Help me be the best and most upright person I can be when I am at home. When I am outside my home,
it is very important for me to be respectable, that others think well of me, that they say good things to me – but it is not always
like that when I am at home – at home I tend to do as I please. Help me, Father, to merit being happy, to forego, to forgive, to
do everything for my family, even when I do not have the strength. At home, our true faces are revealed – teach us that
peace and love in our homes are the most important things to You, Father.
Have an awesome, uplifting and wonderful Shabbos,
Dov Elias
Notice: The foregoing is based on my limited understanding of the Parsha Sheet, Ohr Ha’Emuna, disseminated by Harav Menachem Azolai Shlita and is not a
complete or exact adaptation of Ohr Ha’Emuna and is not necessarily even a reliable interpretation of the ideas presented therein. Ohr Ha’Emuna is published
in Hebrew; in translation, accuracy is always compromised. Rav Azolai has not reviewed this material - any inaccuracies, omissions or confusion should be
attributed exclusively to me. I still hope you enjoy and it provides some chizuk. Thank you Mordi Blass for your help with some of the Hebrew expressions.
©Dov Elias 5775. ‫כסלו‬ ‫כ"א‬"‫תשע‬‫ה‬ – December 13, 2014
For previous issues and/or to receive this adaptation by weekly email, visit www.tloe.us or email me at LightofEmuna@dovelias.com