Parshas Vayigash 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Dec 25, 2025
- 2 min read
ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורת לפניו גשנה ויבאו ארצה גשן ... (מו-כח)
Yaakov sent Yehudah ahead to Goshen to open a yeshivah (Rashi). Although this year, Shabbos Chanukah fell out on Parshas Mikeitz, it can also fall on Vayigash. The sefarim tell us that Chanukah is indeed merumaz here, as the letters גשנה are the same letters featured on a Chanukah dreidel. What is the connection between opening a yeshivah and a dreidel?
We may explain as follows: The Sefas Emes zt”l writes that the four sides of the dreidel allude to the four malchuyos, and that they all revolve around one central axis - Klal Yisroel. Now, in the sefer Maalos HaTorah, it is brought down in the name of the Zohar HaKadosh that the merit which preserves Klal Yisroel in our long exile, and will eventually lead us out of it, is the Torah HaKedoshah. Accordingly, it is the yeshivah, the makom of Torah learning, which, in the words of R’ Chaim (Brisker) Soloveitchik zt”l, is the“festung”(fortress) of Torah and mitzvos, which preserves us in galus.
The Gemara sets forth that Beis Shammai holds the Chanukah lecht are to be lit in decreasing order - the first night 8, the second 7, and so on, just as the 70 bulls brought as korbanos over Sukkos were brought in decreasing numbers each successive day of the Yom Tov. Chazal say that these 70 bulls correspond to the 70 nations of the world. R’ Shimshon Pincus zt”l explains their decreasing numbers as signifying the avodah of slowly banishing the gentility, the goyishkeit, from our homes and ourselves. Thus, says Beis Shammai, that is the avodah of Chanukah as well. However, Beis Hillel holds farkert - we increase the amount of candles we light each night, rather than decrease. For Chanukah grants us the ability to take a different approach to distinguishing ourselves from the goyim, where even when we cannot separate ourselves entirely from our surroundings in galus בקום ועשה, we still light our candle of Torah and mitzvos, steadily increasing until the goy is burnt out of us, mimeila! This is the avodah of our tekufah, “to establish a yeshivah in Mitzrayim,” to focus on increasing and intensifying our learning until there is no room left for the goyishe gass to penetrate. And indeed - הלכה כבית הלל!