CHANUKAH AND R. LEVI YITZHAK OF BERDICHEV

CHANUKAH AND R. LEVI YITZHAK OF BERDICHEV

(Courtesy: Lee Glasman, Jerusalem)

Several years ago I was in a shiur about Channuka. The rabbi was telling the crowd of about 150 how the Romans wanted to kill the Jews but the Greeks were really trying to assimilate us.

"You…, young man…" he said, pointing at me.

"Me?" I replied.

"Yes, you. What's your name?"

"Lee."

"and Lee, what's your family name?"

"Glassman" I responded.

"Tell me Lee Glassman, do you have a middle name?"

"Yes sir, it's `Yates.'"

"Yates?...vee kumptze Yates?"

"Well, I'm from Scranton, Pennsylvania and my mother actually named me Levi Yitzchak, but she didn't think that name would go over so well in a mining town so she took the lamed and made it `Lee' and she took the yud and made it `Yates.""

"Nice. Hmm….'Levi Yitzchak'? You know we have a pretty famous rabbi with that name?"

"Yes sir," I replied. "I'm named for my great-grandfather and he was named for his…, who was from Berditchev."

"Just a minute…" he exclaimed, "you're from `The Berdichev'?"

"Yes sir."

"Ladies and gentlemen, here we have a young man named for one of the most famous and wonderful rabbis of the Jewish people and he walks around the streets of Jerusalem calling himself…..'Lee Yates!' …….. Somewhere…., Antiochus is smiling."

And on that note he bid us all a chag sameach and stepped down from the podium.

Last night my daughter Kim and I were just exiting a furniture store when we noticed the staff gathering quickly to light the menorah. We stopped out of respect for the lighting and, while speeding through the brachot and "hanairot halalu" after lighting 3 candles, just as he was about to light the next candle, the shamas went out. The lighter's hand moved a centimeter toward one of the lit candles to catch the flame and re-light his shamas when he realized the words he had just that exact moment come to:

"haneirot halalu kadosh hem…these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them…"

He nodded to himself, pulled out his cigarette lighter, relit the shamas and continued lighting the menorah without a word or so much as a glance to anyone.

As we walked from the store, Kim turned to me with tears in her eyes and said…"Look at this country you brought us to!"

And somewhere, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev is smiling.

http://www.berdichev.org/chanukah_and%20r_levi_yitzhak_of_berdichev.html

 

Kol Tuv,
R' Tal Moshe Zwecker
Director Machon Be'er Mayim Chaim
Chassidic Classics in the English Language
www.chassidusonline.com
chassidusonline@gmail.com
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Kedushas Levi on Channukah

From the upcoming MeOros Kedushas Levi on the Moadim

Why is Channukah Eight Days Long and Not Seven?

In Meseches Shabbos (21b) the question is asked "What is Channukah? . . . They only found one flask of oil which contained only enough [to light the menorah] for one day. And a miracle happened that they lit from the flask for eight days. The next year the sages established eight days to praise and thank Hashem [for this miracle]."

The Beis Yosef (O.C. Siman 670) asked (Rav Yosef Karo author of the Shulchan Aruch in his commentary Beis Yosef on the Tur) why did the sages establish the holiday for eight days? If there was already enough oil in the flask to last one day, the miracle was only seven days long. Study his answers there.

However in my humble opinion it seems to me if I answer different questions this can also answer the Rav Beis Yosef's aforementioned question as well. We should ask the following question: Why do we slaughter the paschal lamb on the fourteenth of Nissan and we consider that day a festival. (Yerushalmi Pesachim 4:1 cited by Tosfos in Pesachim 50a) However the primary reason for the festival of Pesach is to commemorate the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt which occurred on the fifteenth of Nissan, so shouldn't we slaughter the Pesach offering on the fifteenth as well? Why did the Torah command us to slaughter it on the fourteenth?

It seems to me that the answer is, based on the following parable: A great and mighty king gave several people gifts. Those who received the gift were divided into two groups of people. There was one group who did not care about the fact that this was a gift given by the king, however they were happy to receive a free gift. The second group who were on a higher level than the first group and were intelligent and wise received twice as much delight and pleasure when receiving their gifts. Firstly they were delighted in the gift itself, and secondly they were delighted at the very fact that the great and mighty king should desire their affection [and give them a token].

The parable means that the King of all Kings the Holy One, Blessed is He did a great favor for us for which we cannot possibly thank and praise Him enough by taking us out of Egypt as the Midrash testifies (Shemos rabbah 21:7; Zohar II 170b) that the Satan prosecuted against us arguing that "these and those are both idolaters," [so we were unworthy] and we had no self awakening at all, rather it was solely His free gift to us to take us out of Egypt.

Therefore is it not proper for us to enter into the gates of wisdom and to act as the wise do by rejoicing in all manner of joy? We should rejoice firstly over this great gift itself and secondly that such a great and awesome King took us out from Egypt as the author of the Haggadah says "I and not an angel etc."

This is due to His great love for us and for the King's desire for us. As a rule, "we do not mix one joyous occasion with another," (Moed Katan 8b) and therefore the Torah commands us to slaughter the Pesach offering on the fourteenth. This is sufficient for those who understand.

And it is known that our sages said (Pesachim 30b) that all the enactments of the rabbis are enacted similarly to Torah laws, so that also regarding the miracle of Channukah there were two forms of joy, and therefore they constructed it as a similar celebration and we must therefore make two forms of commemoration and joy. So that although the miracle was only seven days long, the sages added an additional day to commemorate the second reason for rejoicing [over the fact that it was Hashem's love for us that was demonstrated by His giving us the gift of this miracle besides the joy over the gift of the miracle itself].

 

Kol Tuv,
R' Tal Moshe Zwecker
Director Machon Be'er Mayim Chaim
Chassidic Classics in the English Language
www.chassidusonline.com
chassidusonline@gmail.com
Phone: 972-2-992-1218 / Cell: 972-54-842-4725
VoIP: 516-320-6022 / eFax: 1-832-213-3135
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I am never going back there again! - A Tale About the Berditchever

From the upcoming MeOros Kedushas Levi on Moadim

 

Rav Mordechai of Slonim related that he heard the following from a wagon driver who once spent Yom Kippur in the presence of Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev:

"One year as I was working as a wagon driver I was delayed late on Erev Yom Kippur and I ended up in Berditchev.

 

I was so late that I missed the normal services in most other shuls and they told me the only place I could still catch Kol Nidrei would be at Rav Levi Yitzchak's shul since there they had not yet started. I entered and sure enough services had not yet begun.

 

The hour was late and I was tired and irate. I stood there impatiently waiting for the services to begin and end so that I could rest my weary aching body after a hard back breaking day of labor. But that was not be! The holy tzadik entered the shul and began the Kol Nidrei service in a loud sweet voice. Until the prayers ended and the Berditchever had chanted the Shir HaYichud liturgical poems which conclude the evening davening the hour was late at night."

"As was the custom there was straw and hay spread out on the shul's dirt floor and we all lay ourselves down to bed for the night on the shul floor.

 

I too, lay down among the congregants trying to get some needed sleep.

 

However before I could grab no more than a few moments rest the door opened and everyone stood.

 

In came Rav Levi Yitzchak and not being rude I too had to stand on my weary two feet.

 

We all stood listening to his impassioned explanations of what the Kohen Gadol would do during this time on Yom Kippur and how he was awake the entire night and other things he did and reviewed that night in the past when the beis hamikdash still stood. When he finished, again we all lay down to rest."

The wagon driver continued, "After about an hour the door again opened and there stood Rav Levi Yitzchak, his fresh spirit full of enthusiasm and passionately he began to continue painting the picture of the Kohen Gadol's avodah!

 

The entire assembly stood in reverence listening with unabated dveykus to his sweet words.

 

This scenario repeated itself over and over agaon, over the course of the entire night till dawn broke!

 

At that point everyone rose to begin the Yom Kippur services for the rest of the day and they prayed that way all day long without any break at all!

 

When they finished Neilah it was late into the night after Yom Kippur!"

Then the wagon driver turned and concluded his story saying, "I am not going back there again! I do not have the strength to endure such avodah!"

 

 

Kol Tuv,
R' Tal Moshe Zwecker
Director Machon Be'er Mayim Chaim
Chassidic Classics in the English Language
www.chassidusonline.com
chassidusonline@gmail.com
Phone: 972-2-992-1218 / Cell: 972-54-842-4725
VoIP: 516-320-6022 / eFax: 1-832-213-3135
join the mailing list here: http://groups.google.com/group/beermayimchaim
Noam Elimelech, Kedushas Levi, Pirkei Avos more!
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