Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev

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Volume XIV - Issue 9

The DRS Weekly Torah Publication
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Gam Zu Letova
By Yitzie Scheinman, 11th Grade, Editor in Chief
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Come together and listen, sons of Yaakov; listen to Yisrael your father. (49:2)

T
here is a mashul to illustrate an idea about this passuk. A wealthy man was once traveling to a distant vil-
lage. He bought four very expensive and beautiful horses to pull his wagon during the voyage. Not far into
the trip, the wagon driver lost control. The wagon swayed off course, and it fell into a muddy lake. The
driver tried pulling on the horses reins and even tried whipping them, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't get
the horses to pull the wagon out of the lake.
After many hours of failed attempts, a farmer drove by in his own wagon, which was pulled by two sturdy
horses. Seeing the current situation the first driver and his horses were in, the farmer offered to hitch up his two
horses to the wealthy mans wagon and pull it out. It will only take a minute or two, he said confidently to the
wealthy man.
The wealthy man almost laughed. While I appreciate the offer, what makes you think your two horses can
(Continued on page 4)
T
owards the end of this weeks parsha, Yosefs brothers plead with him to not take revenge
or otherwise punish them for what they had done to him. Yosef responds that although
their intentions were bad, since Hashem intended for it to happen for a good purpose,
namely to keep everyone alive, he would not consider harming them at all.
Very often something which we consider an absolute tragedy occurs, and only years later,
when looking back and placing all events into the proper perspective, do we realize that the trage-
dy was not at all a tragedy, but rather a means of enabling something wonderfully good and mar-
velous.
In Parshas Miketz (42:36), Yaakov Avinu is so distraught; his whole life is falling apart:
Yosef is gone, Shimon is gone, and now theyre taking away his beloved Binyamin. The medrash
comments on the passuk there that Hashem was sitting in heaven above and chuckling at Yaakovs
distress. Yosef is gone? Hes the prime minister of Egypt and is on top of the world! Shimon is
gone? Hes roaming about, freely touring Egypt! Yosef only imprisoned him as long as the broth-
ers were there. And now Binyamin too will be lost? Nothing at all happened to Binyamin, just like
nothing at all happened to Yosef or to Shimon. Yaakovs perception was that he had experienced
tragedy upon tragedy, while in truth nothing had gone wrong at all.
The Gemara in Berachos (60b) tells us that when we experience a tragedy, we must recite
a special blessing, Baruch Dayan Haemes, and that blessing should be accompanied by ac-
ceptance of the tragedy with great simcha based on the belief that everything that Hashem allows to
happen is always for the good.
When the Torah commands us to wipe out the nation of Amalek in Sefer Devarim, the
expression used is that they should be wiped out mitachas hashomayim from under the heav-
(Continued on page 2)
The Power of Achdus
By Shmulie Reichman, 12th Grade, Editor of Student Articles
PARSHAS VAYECHI
15 TEVET, 5773
DECEMBER 28, 2012

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Seemingly, both of these explanations are related. Both
Dan and Gad felt alone and distant from Hashem. Dan was the
farthest back of Bnei Yisrael, and they were the most distant
from the Mishkan and the rest of Bnei Yisrael. Therefore, Yaa-
kov is blessing them that they should always remain close to
Hashem in spite of the lonely situation. On the other hand, Gad
felt alone in that they were above Hashem. They felt that they
didnt need Him, and this was what Yaakov was addressing.
For that reason, Rashi and Rashbam are both very connected to
the other Rishonim because they are both stressing the im-
portance of never feeling distant from Hashem, no matter what
the situation is.
(Jeremy Teichman Continued from page 4)
Torah Teasers
By Rabbi Moshe Erlbaum


Questions

1. Yaakov lived in Egypt for 17 years. Where else
in the book of Genesis is 17 years referred to?
2. What similar ailment occurs to both Yitzhak
and to Yaakov?
3. Where is a bed mentioned in this parsha? (4
answers)
4. Which two pairs of brothers are mentioned in
the same verse?
5. Where in this parsha does one person place his
hand upon the head of another? Where else in
the Torah does it say explicitly that one person
places his hand on another? (2 answers)
Answers

1. Parshas Vayeshev begins when Yosef is 17
years old (Genesis 37:2).
2. Both Yitzhak and Yaakov had trouble with
their eyesight during old age (Genesis 27:1,
48:10).
3. At the beginning of the parsha, Yaakov's bed is
mentioned three times: Yaakov bows by the
head of the bed (Genesis 47:31); Yaakov
strengthens himself to sit up on the bed
(Genesis 48:2); in that same verse, Yaakov
gathers his legs to the bed before dying. The
fourth time a bed is mentioned is in the blessing
given to Reuven, in reference to his moving of
Yaakov's bed after the death of Rachel (Genesis
49:4).
4. Ephraim and Menashe, and Reuven and
Shimon, are all mentioned in the same verse
(Genesis 48:1).
5. Yaakov places his hands on the heads of
Ephraim and Menashe when giving them a
blessing (Genesis 48:14). In Leviticus 24:14,
witnesses who heard someone curse Hashem
place their hand on his head before executing
him. In Numbers 27:23, Moshe rests his hands
on Yehoshua to transfer the leadership.
The complete edition of
Rabbi Moshe Erlbaums Torah
Teasers
is now available on AMAZON
(keyword Torah Teasers)
stant watchful eye of his mother.
This is the machlokes of R Yochanan and Reish Lak-
ish: R Yochanan thought that the Avos, despite all their amaz-
ing righteousness, still needed the helping hand of Hashem to
guard them, just like sheep need their shepherd to prevent them
from harm. However, Reish Lakish thought differently. He
says that the Avos were able to support themselves without the
helping hand of Hashem to constantly protect them. They were
like elders that walk before a prince, not because they need the
prince for support, but rather out of the true love they feel for
the prince.
The Maggid then explains the Nekudat Hamachloket,
the root of the dispute. R Yochanan went through his life in a
state of righteousness and holiness. Therefore, he used
Hashems help to keep him on the right path because he never
knew what kinds of Yetzer Harahs there were on the wrong
path. This is in stark contrast to Reish Lakish. Reish Lakish
used to be a bandit. Only after R Yochanan was mekarev him,
(Baba Metziah 84a) did he begin to live a holy lifestyle. There-
fore, Reish Lakish , as a Baal Teshuva, was constantly guarding
himself. This yesod explains the final statement of the medrash.
The medrash want us to follow both opinions because they are
both applicable: One needs to be able to help himself when it
comes to shemirah; yet, in order to truly be righteous, most peo-
ple still need the help of Hashem.
(Uri Himelstein Continued from page 6)
ens. The implication is that only from our perspective should Amalek be
wiped out, as they are the physical embodiment of evil. However, from
Hashems perspective, which takes into consideration the totality of all
events, even Amalek embodies some good. This is what the rabbis in the
Gemara in Gittin had in mind when they pointed out that some descendents
of Amalek and other evil individuals converted to Judaism and learned and
taught Torah. Although we view Amalek as the ultimate symbol of evil, his-
tory has proven that even they had some redeeming value.
(Yitzie Scheinman Continued from page 1)
(Continued on page 5)
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 3

Tevet 16
In 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant was instructed to re-
voke Order No. 11, which had called for the expulsion
of all Jews from Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi.
During the Civil War, smugglers were illegally selling
southern cotton to the northern textile factories. Grant,
commander of U.S. Army forces, believed that Jews
were primarily behind this illegal cotton trade, and he
decided to expel all Jews from southern territory. Grant
wrote: "No Jews are to be permitted to travel on the rail-
road southward from any point... The [region] must be
purged of them." Based on Grant's orders, Jews were
expelled from their homes, including 20 families from
the town of Paducah alone. Some Jews were denied rail
transportation and had to flee northward on foot. Those
who did not cooperate were thrown into prison. Jewish
community leaders immediately arranged a meeting at
the White House with President Lincoln, who cancelled
the expulsion order. Grant, who would later become
U.S. president, never offered any explanation or apolo-
gy.

Tevet 17
In 1728, Congregation Shearith Israel purchased a plot
of land in lower Manhattan, site of the first structure
ever designed and built as a synagogue in continental
North America. At the time, New York had the only
Jewish community in the country; it would be some two
decades later before organized Jewish settlement began
in Philadelphia, Lancaster and Charleston. Shearith Isra-
el was the only Jewish congregation in New York City
from 1654 until 1825, having been founded by Brazilian
Jews of Spanish and Portuguese origin. Governor Peter
Stuyvesant, known for his anti-Semitic views, had ini-
tially denied Jews the right to worship in a public gath-
ering; these Jews fought for their rights and won per-
mission. Today, Shearith Israel occupies a grand struc-
ture at 70th Street and Central Park West.


Tevet 19
In 1901, the Jewish National Fund was founded for the
purpose of purchasing settlement land in Israel. JNF had
the idea of placing a collection box in every Jewish
home, and by the 1920s about one million of the famous
"Blue Boxes" were in Jewish homes throughout the
world. Besides purchasing land throughout Israel, JNF
expanded into afforestation, water projects, agricultural
innovation, roadworks, schools, and immigrant services.
JNF operates under the principle that the Land of Israel
belongs to the entire Jewish people; based on this, the
Israeli Knesset later adopted a law stating that JNF
lands cannot be sold, but only leased for periods of 49
years at a time. Over the past century, JNF has planted
over 220 million trees throughout Israel -- the only na-
tion in the world to end the 20th century with more trees
than it had at the beginning.

Tevet 20
Yahrtzeit of Maimonides (1135-1204), also known as
the Rambam (an acronym for his name, Rabbi Moses
ben Maimon). Maimonides was born in Spain, but was
forced to flee due to a radical Muslim regime that gave
the Jews a choice of accepting Mohammed or leaving.
Maimonides finally settled in Cairo, where in addition
to leading the Jewish community, he was a top physi-
cian who served in the royal court of the Sultan of
Egypt. Maimonides' magnum opus is Mishneh Torah, a
comprehensive 14-volume code of Jewish law which
has since been the subject of more than 300 commen-
taries. Maimonides' great philosophical treatise, Guide
for the Perplexed, explains Jewish theology in light of
Aristotelian philosophy and science. A popular saying is
that "from Moses [of the Torah] to Moses
[Maimonides], there has never been one like Moses."
Maimonides is recognized today as the greatest medie-
val Jewish philosopher. He is buried in Tiberias, Israel.
0 2012

Taken from Aish.com
4

In between the blessing Yaakov gives to Dan and the blessing he gives to Gad, Yaakov makes a seeming-
ly spontaneous remark. Yaakov says unprompted, Lshiuasecha kevisi Hashem (for your foundation I do
yearn). What is this tefillah doing here, and what is Yaakov praying for? The Rishonim offer a variety of under-
standings as to what this means.
Rashi explains that the entire blessing of Dan was referring to Shimshon, and upon explaining the passuk
of lshiuasecha, he sources the story of when Shimshon was about to be killed by the Plishtim and he prayed
for strength to kill them. Rashi explains that Yaakov was praying on behalf of Shimshon in this fatal event.
The Rashbam argues on Rashi that it cant be that the blessing for the entire tribe of Dan is involving one
person alone. Rather, it is because Dan was the back tier of the tribes while traveling through the desert, and they
would push everyone to keep up. Accordingly, they needed extra yeshuah since they look after other tribes, as
they were the measeif kol hamachane. Therefore, the Rashbam explains that when Yaakov says Lshiuasecha
he is giving a special prayer specifically to Dan in their extra guidance over the rest of the tribes.
Both Rashi and the Rashbam understand that the passuk is part of the blessing of Dan, but other Rishonim
explain that Yaakov was referring to Gad. Yaakov prophetically foresaw that in the future they were going to ask
Moshe for permission to settle in the Eiver Yarden, a land that was certain to bring agricultural wealth. Although
their request seemed justified, it was clear that their true intention was that they didnt want to live under the di-
rect control of Hashem by living in a land of unreliable agriculture, but rather they preferred land that would
bring guaranteed wealth. This is evident from the fact that they didnt mention Hashem once in their claim, and
Moshe responds to them by saying Hashems name 6 times as a rebuke.
(Continued on page 2)
accomplish what four horses couldn't? With the same confident look, the farmer asked, Whered you buy this
group of horses from?
I bought them from the best dealers around. Each one was the best horse the dealer had to offer. They
were very expensive, too!
Exactly, replied the farmer. Each one of your horses was the one horse that was chosen from that deal-
er. Each one therefore thinks that its the best. Therefore, it is impossible for them to work together as a team.
They will always be trying to out do one another. When one of them gets whipped the other three rejoice. On the
contrary, my two horses work as a team. They know each others strengths and weaknesses, and when one is
down, the other understands that it is his job to put in the greater effort to help him. Through teamwork they suc-
ceed. And that was exactly what happened. It took only a few minutes before the wealthy man was on his way
again.
R Chaim Volozhiner explained that this is why before he passed away, Yaakov Avinu called all of his
sons together. He told them that they must stay unified, and if they did they would be unstoppable. The other na-
tions of the world are all spread out, and they each do their own thing. It is because of this that so much chaos
occurs. However, we, the Jewish people, live in unity and harmony, and we are therefore invincible. May we all
try to improve on our own achdus between our fellow Jews in order to improve the national unity of the Jewish
people.

Adapted from Torah Tavlin
(Shmulie Reichman Continued from page 1)
Realizing That Youre Not Alone
By Jeremy Teichman, 12th Grade, Editor of Student Articles
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 5

In Parshas Vayechi, Yaakov blesses his sons
while he is on his deathbed. In addition, Yaakov bless-
es Yosefs sons, Ephraim and Menashe, thereby form-
ing two shevatim which will descend from Yosef. Why
should Yosefs shevet be split in two?
Rav Yaakov Galinsky answers this question by
looking back to the birth of the sons of Yaakov. All
four of our matriarchs, the Imahos, knew that there
would be twelve shvatim. Leah logically figured that
each of the four wives of Yaakov would be entitled to
three of these shevatim. However, when she gave birth
to Yehuda, her fourth child, she realized that the divi-
sion of the shevatim among Yaakovs wives was not
destined to be equal. Leah initially assumed that by
having more than three sons, she was only detracting
from the shevatim who would come from the concu-
bines, Bilhah and Zilpah. However, Bilhah and Zilpah
both gave birth to two sons. Afterwards, Leah gave
birth to Yisochar and Zevulun. This left Rachel with
only two of the twelve shevatim. Then, Leah became
pregnant with a seventh child. She made a critical cal-
culation. She realized that if she would have a seventh
son, she would be leaving Rachel with only one of the
shevatim and even less than the concubines. Leah did
not want her sister to be embarrassed and therefore
davened for the child to be a girl. This way, Rachel
would be able to have the last two shevatim. Her tefil-
los were accepted and she gave birth to Dinah.
One would think that as a reward for such a
kind act, Leah would have nachas from her daughter.
However, this was far from the case. Dinah was cap-
tured by Shechem ben Chamor. The Midrash ex-
pounds that from this impure relationship, Dinah had a
daughter. This daughter was such a disgrace to the
family that Dinahs brothers even thought of killing
her. However, Yaakov prevented this from happening
and gave the girl a special necklace with the name of
Hashem on it and sent her away. It seems that Leahs
prayers to help her sister resulted in a shameful trage-
dy.
The Midrash recounts the story leading to
Leahs reward. Dinahs daughter was brought to Egypt
by Michael Hamalach and was raised by Potiphar, who
called her Osnat. Yosef, who was sold as a slave to this
family, took Osnat as a wife after he saw the special
necklace on her indicating her devotion to Hashem.
Osnat was the mother of Menashe and Ephraim. From
their mothers side, Menashe and Ephraim are de-
scendants of Leah. In Parshas Vayechi, Menashe and
Ephraim are made into shevatim. Because Leah sacri-
ficed having one additional shevet, so as not to hurt her
sister, she was rewarded doubly for this caring act
when these two great-grandchildren became two
shvatim.
It often seems that when one does something
good for someone else, it goes unrewarded. One only
has to be patient and Hashem will repay him. This is
what the Gemara in Yuma means. The Gemara states
that if one wants to do bad, the opportunity to do so is
granted. However, if one wants to do a good deed, Ha-
shem helps him towards that goal. The Gemara com-
pares it to a salesperson that carries kerosene, a foul-
smelling liquid, and persimmon, which is a pleasant-
smelling fruit. If one requests kerosene, the salesperson
says go help yourself, so as to avoid the horrible
(Continued on page 7)
Whenever we experience any tragedy we should always adopt the attitude of Rabbi Akiva, who would always assume that
Hashem would not have permitted the event to occur if it werent something good. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, with many people
still recovering from what they lost, as well as the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, we can obviously be upset and distressed. How-
ever, we should try to also view these events with the idea that Hashem has a master plan, and something good will ultimately happen
from these tragedies.

Taken from Rav Hershel Shachter
(Yitzie Scheinman Continued from page 2)
When a Good Deed Goes Rewarded
By Yehuda Inslicht, 10th Grade
6

In this weeks parsha, Yaakov dies. Before his death,
he becomes critically ill. When Yosef learns of his fathers
condition, he brings his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to
receive a blessing from Yaakov. When they arrive, Yaakov
blesses them with the famous blessing of Hamalach
Hagoel (The angel that redeems me). Afterward, Yaakov
says something very strange. He says: By you shall Israel
bless saying, May God make you like Ephraim and like Ma-
nasseh. Yaakov told them that they will be remembered for
all eternity by Jewish people because when they bless their
children, they will say May God make you like Ephraim and
like Manasseh. Why does Yaakov establish that Jewish par-
ents will always bless their children, saying that they should
be like Ephraim and Manasseh? What was so great about
Ephraim and Manasseh that they are the role models for Jew-
ish children to emulate? Shouldnt Jewish parents bless their
children saying May God make you like Avraham, Yitzhack
and Yaakov or May God make you like Moshe and
Aharon, who were incomparably greater than Ephraim and
Manasseh?
Ephraim and Manasseh are often overlooked and are
not regarded as highly as they should be. Their actions have
given parents in exile comfort over what will become of their
children. Ephraim and Manasseh were the first Jewish chil-
dren born and raised in exile. They were born under the great
evil influences of the wicked Egyptians, and they witnessed
the Egyptians disgusting practices. Yet despite all this, they
still remained firm in their belief in Hashem and observance
of the Torah. This is the perfect role model for Jewish chil-
dren today. The generation today is one that was born and is
being raised in exile. We are constantly facing the plight of
Jews going off the derech after their adolescent years. Under
the pressures of America, some young Jews feel that they can
no longer practice Judaism and feel that they cannot resist as-
similation. Ephraim and Manasseh serve as great encourage-
ments to these people. They show all future generations in
exile that all Jews have the ability to resist assimilation and to
remain faithful to their religion, just like Ephraim and like
Manasseh did in Egypt. This is why Jewish parents bless their
children with the blessing May God make you like Ephraim
and Manasseh. They pray that their children should resist
assimilation and remain faithful to Judaism, just like Ephraim
and Manasseh did in Egypt.
In the passuk before Yaakovs famous
blessing to the sons of Yosef, Yaakov introduc-
es his blessing by saying O G-d before whom
my forefathers Abraham and Isaac walked; G-
d, who shepherds me before my inception to
this day. The Medrash Rabah (96:2) quotes a
machlokes on how the Avos walked before Ha-
shem: R Yochanan says that they walked in
front of Hashem, as if they were sheep walking
before a shepherd. Yet, Reish Lakish says they
walked like elders walking in front of a prince.
And the medrash ends off by saying that we
need to honor both opinions. At first glance this
whole medrash is puzzling: What does it mean
to walk like sheep in front of a shepherd, or to
walk like elders in front of a prince? And why
should we respect both opinions?
The Matanos Kehuna on the medrash
explains this machlokes. Rabbi Yochanan said
that when a shepherd is watching his sheep, he
is making sure that the sheep are totally safe,
and that nothing bad is happening to them. This
is Hashkacha Pratis that the shepherd, Hashem,
is watching over us to make sure that nothing
bad happens. Reish Lakish, however, claims
that the Avos were like elders waking before a
prince, that they announced his royalty to who-
ever they saw along the way.
The Maggid of Kuznitz, in his sefer
Avodas Yisroel, explains it differently. He be-
gins by saying that there are two ways to serve
Hashem. One could walk before Hashem and
constantly need something or someone to pre-
vent him from doing evil, or one could be on a
higher level, walking before Hashem without
the help of a guard because he is strong enough
to guard himself. He gives the mashul of a baby
first learning to walk. At first a baby is walking
and his mother is right behind him, making
sure he doesnt fall. However, when the baby is
older, he can walk on his own without the con-
(Continued on page 2)
Walking Before G-d
By Uri Himelstein, 11th Grade
By Brian Chernigoff, 9th Grade
Role Models
Dvarim Hayotzim Min Halev 7

The passuk says, Yisrael saw Yosefs sons, and
he said, Who are these?. Rashi comments on this pas-
suk, saying that when Yaakov asked Who are these?,
he meant From whom were they born? because they
werent fit to be blessed. The question is, why does
Rashi explain Yaakov in this way? He couldve just said
that they are not fit to be blessed. Why did Rashi feel
the need to say From whom were they born? Also, the
next passuk says that Yosef showed Yaakov his docu-
ment of engagement and marriage. What is the point
of showing these documents? Either way it seems that
they werent fit to be blessed.
Many people know that Yishmael was a bad per-
son. However, ' said that He only judges people
basher hu sham, as they are now. The problem with
this statement is that a ben sorer umoreh, someone who
convinces someone to do Avodah Zarah, is judged
based on what they will be. Therefore, he gets punished
at that point, even though he may not be evil then. The
obvious question is, why was Yishmael (and everyone
else) judged based on how they are now, and a ben
sorer umoreh is judged on what he will be?
The answer is that a ben sorer umoreh is pun-
ished based on the future because he was bad from the
"May I suggest," the Maggid said, "that this
story is not about the Baal Shem Tov at all. I think
that the story is truly about the greatness of his disci-
ples. Even though Shabbat had just ended and none
of them had any money with them, they nevertheless
inserted their hands in their pockets, following the
directive of their Rebbe with complete faith and trust
that doing so is beneficial" The point is, miracles
come from Hashem. But, he sometimes uses people
as his messengers.
For example, the plague of blood, is prefaced
by G-d saying, "Take your staff and extend your
hand over the waters of Egypt... and they will be-
come blood." Aaron then, "raised the staff and struck
the water in the Nile... and all the waters turned to
blood."
Certainly, G-d did not need Aaron to perform
this miracle, yet He desires human participation not
only in the "normal" parts of life, but also the miracu-
lous ones.
(Stories of Greatness Continued from page 8)
beginning and therefore was destined to be evil in the future. Since he was born from a bad family and raised in a
bad way, its safe to say he will be bad later on, and therefore he is judged on what he will be. However, Yish-
mael was born from Avraham and not a bad family. That is the reason he was judged based on the actions that
were done, and not the ones that ' knew he would do.
Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz uses this answer to address the original question. The reason that Rashi felt the
need to interpret Yaakov to ask From who were these born was because Yaakov was trying to figure out if he
should give them a bracha or not. Yaakov knew that in the future Yerovom and Achov would be born from
Ephraim, and Yehu (a third bad king) would be born from Menasheh. Therefore, Yaakov was contemplating
whether he should bless them based on the future (which is bad) or based on who they are now (which is good).
It is for that reason that Yaakov asked whom they were born from. If they were born from a good family, Yaakov
would know right away to bless them, and if not, he wouldnt bless them. This also answers why Yosef showed
Yaakov his marriage documents. The reason is that Yosef wanted to show Yaakov that Ephraim and Menasheh
were born from a good marriage and a good family. It was once Yaakov saw these documents that he realized
that these two sons were holy and tzadikim, and they were to be blessed basher hu sham. That is why the passuk
ends with Yaakov saying, Please take them to me, and I will bless them.

Coming from a
Good Family

By Yaakov Hagler, 12th Grade
smell. However, if one asks for persimmon, he will
say wait here, Ill get it for you because he doesnt
mind the enjoyable smell. What do we learn from
this comparison? When one does good, Hashem is
like the salesperson; he will get the customer his due
reward, but he must wait for Hashem to take it off
the shelf and give it to him.
(Yehuda Inslicht Continued from page 5)
8


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STORIES OF GREATNESS
TOLD OVER BY: DAVID LAUER
The following story Pockets Full of
Faith by Shaul Wertheimer teaches us that
Hashem really does have a hand in everything
that occurs in this world. Taken
from chabad.org. Have an amazing Shabbos!!
The chassidim were gathered around
the table of the Maggid of Mezritch, Reb
DovBer, as he told a story of his Rebbe, the
holy Baal Shem Tov.
"It was an uneventful Shabbat by the
Baal Shem Tov," began the Maggid, "until the
conclusion."
The Maggid continued: Immediately
after the conclusion of the evening prayers
still before havdalah a woman rushed in to
the room where the Baal Shem Tov and his
Chassidim had concluded their prayers.
"You've got to help me, Rebbe!" she
cried out. "I am in desperate needs of funds to
marry off my daughter, and I have no where
left to turn!"
The Baal Shem Tov heard her out, and
then directed his Chassidim to reach their
hands in to their pockets and give whatever
money they found there for this worthy cause.
Amazingly, the funds they came up with was
the exact amount that the woman said she
needed.
"Tell me," the Maggid concluded the
story, "what is the lesson to be gleaned from
this story of our master the Baal Shem Tov?"
One chassid offered his thought: "This
story shows the miraculous powers of the
Baal Shem Tov. Even though it was impossi-
ble that anyone would have money in their
pockets for Shabbat had just ended mo-
ments earlier the Baal Shem Tov performed
this miracle to help this poor woman."
"To show us the Baal Shem Tov's
power to perform miracles," the Maggid pro-
nounced, "we have many stories. We do not
need this specific story."
Another chassid spoke up: "But this
was a double miracle - not only did the Baal
Shem Tov make the money appear miracu-
lously, but it was the exact amount to the
kopek."
Again the Maggid said that there are
no lack of stories demonstrating amazing and
doubly amazing miracles performed by the
Baal Shem Tov.
A third chassid suggested: "That the
Baal Shem Tov can make wondrous miracles
occur that is obvious. However, the Baal
Shem Tov could have made all the money
appear in his pocket, thus performing this im-
portant mitzvah by himself. Yet because of
his tremendous love of his fellow, he wanted
to sharethe mitzvah, and thus made money
appear in the pockets of all those present.
That, I think, is the message of the story."
(Continued on page 7)

PUBLICATION
STAFF

Editors in Chief
Yitzie Scheinman
Benjamin Watman

Associate Editors
Eli Alter
layout editor
Elly Deutsch
Josh Fagin
rabbinic articles
Yoni Kadish
Shmulie Reichman
Jeremy Teichman
student articles

Production Staff
Jeremy Bienenfeld
director of production
Yonatan Goldberg
Moshe Spirn
Avi Weingarten
Judah Willig
production staff

/Authors
Daniel Aharon
Benny Aivazi
Ariel Axelrod
Ari Brandspiegel
Eli Borochov
Brian Chernigoff
Hillel Field
Yehuda Fogel
Max Fruchter
Yossi Goldschein
Yoni Gutenmacher
Yaakov Hagler
Aryeh Helfgott
Uri Himelstein
Yehuda Inslicht
Zack Kalatsky
Noam Levy
Eitan Lipsky
Moshe Lonner
Benjamin Ramras
Moishy Rothman
Aaron Rubel
Yigal Saperstein
Alex Selesny
Donny Steinberg
Meir Sternberg

Maggid of DRS
David Lauer

Menahel
Rabbi Y. Kaminetsky

Faculty Advisors
Rabbi E. Brazil
Rabbi M. Erlbaum
Rabbi A. Lebowitz