Halachot Parshat Vayeshev, Shanah Alef
"U'vagefen sheloshah sarigim, ve'hi ke'porachat altah nitzah, hivshilu ashke'loteha anavim."[The wine steward told Yosef that in his dream] he saw a grapevine with three tendrils which ripens, buds and yields fruit. . Genesis 40:10
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Although soft and weak, the three-branched grapevine produces exceptional
fruit that provides food and drink, Israel is like the grapevine. Although
compared to other nations, Israel is soft and weak, her fruit, the Jewish
people, excel through studying Torah and performing mitzvot, the food and
drink that sustains the physical and spiritual world. Halachically, the
grapevine is planted away from other trees due to the prohibition of kilai'im,
and historically, Israel sits solitary among the other nations. The grapevine
contains three tendrils; each represent nefesh, ruach and neshamah
respectively. The Jewish people possess all three attributes, the people of
other nations possess only the nefesh. The Jewish people perfect themselves
via: a) hirhurei teshuvah, the desire to repent, b) teshuvah mi'yirah,
repentance out of awe and the highest level c) teshuvah mei'ahavah, repentance
out of love. Each stage is similar to a grapevine's growth which first
ripens, then grows buds and finally produces fruit. Our verse states that the
fruits of the grapevine hivshilu (ripen, lit: cooked) -- a sinner successfully
repents when he gradually increases his steam, much like cooked entree. When
a pot's lid is covered, its contents cook faster. Containment by "putting a
lid on it" helps the sinner and the serving. The number three is a recurring theme of Chanukah. The three tendrils represent a person's ability to think, speak, and act. All are required to study Torah and perform mitzvot. The miracle of Chanukah was based on the collective thoughts, speech and action of the Jewish people. The Assyrian Greeks tried to prevent the Jewish people from declarating the new moon, keeping the Sabbath and performing circumcision. However, the Jewish people's strength lay in our Torah which contains five books. The rashei teivot of chameish (five) is the first letter of those mitzvot which the Greeks wished to abolish. The word, rearranged, spells me'shach, the Aramaic word for oil. The miracle of Chanukah lasts for eight days, transpires over the Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh and therefore symbolizes these three mitzvot. For this reason, we make three distinct blessings on the first night of Chanukah to remember this evil edict.. While the Torah is compared to ohr, a mitzvah is likened to a neir. A neir contains three parts: its flame, wick and oil -- if one element is missing, light cannot emanate. A tzadik merits and produces light in his life. Proverbs teaches us that "the light was seeded (zarua) for the righteous." Zarua shares the same letters as the word ozer (help). The light helps the tzadik and the tzadik, in turn, fosters the Light.
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