In Memory of Mr.

Max Glass

Likutei Ohr
Volume IV : Issue VI
Editor-in-Chief:
Ariel Amsellem 15

Senior Editor:
Eitan Meisels 15
Michael Somekh 15

Managing Editors:
Pinchas Gamzo 17
Jesse Hyman 16
Jack Levkowitz 17

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Marketing:

Layout Editor:
Eitan Tennenbaum 17
Joshua Aranoff 15
Yosef Hier 16

Distributors:
Eli Friedman 15
Jordan Lustman 15
Nathan Silberberg 16

Staff Advisor:
Rabbi Arye Sufrin

The Flame of
Our
Ancestors

Man plans; G-d

laughs
-Yiddish Proverb

Tefillah Gems

Yosef Petlak 17

In Memory of Mr. Jack Gindi

The Pamphlet of Light

Parshat Vayetzei

A publication of YULA Boys High School

The Greatest Shiur of All

Rabbi Joseph Schreiber

When Yaakovs arrival in Charan, he asks the townsmen how Lot is doing. The
Pasuk tells us, They answered, He is well: And here comes his daughter Rachel with
the sheep (Bereshit 29:6).
In Pirkei Avot (5:7), we are taught that one of the traits of a wise person is that
he does not venture to provide information about things that he does not know.
Rather, a truly wise person admits, I have not heard (that information). The Rambam
understands this teaching in a most straightforward fashion. He explains that one
should not talk of something, which he knows nothing about. A person should never
be ashamed or embarrassed to admit his ignorance in an area.
Additionally, Rav Ovadia Bartinura comments that the Biblical source for this
teaching is the above-quoted Pasuk. Yaakov Avinu arrived in Charan and inquired of
the local inhabitants regarding Lavan. They told him, He is well: And here comes his
daughter Rachel with the sheep. Realizing that Yaakov wanted to know more about
Lavans personal life than they could tell him, the inhabitants pointed to Lavans
daughter, as if to say: Look his daughter is coming perhaps you should ask her
directly.
Throughout the ages, our Gedolim have always demonstrated this wisdom.
There is a myriad of stories of those who were willing to admit their ignorance or
acknowledge their mistakes. I would like to share one such story involving Reb
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztl.
In 1949, before reaching the age of forty, Reb Shlomo Zalman began delivering
lectures at the Kol Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem. His very first Shiur was attended by all
of the Yeshivas Rabbanim to award the youthful genius the respect and honor that he
deserved. Midway through the Shiur, Reb Yonah Martzbach, one of the Roshei Yeshiva
of Kol Torah, posed a difficult question to Reb Shlomo Zalman. In response, Reb
Shlomo Zalman paused for just a moment, contemplated the matter, and then
confessed, I have erred! Reb Shlomo Zalman then went on to develop and present an
alternate approach to the matter at hand. Reb Shlomo Zalman later admitted that his
mistake had been exceedingly embarrassing. He explained that although he had a
number of possible replies, in each instance he felt that the question was much better
than any of his answers.
Reb Yonah Martzbach subsequently commented, I actually knew an answer to
the question I posed, but I wanted to see how Reb Shlomo Zalman would deal with
this issue. The fact that he admitted he had erred was for me the greatest Shiur of
all!

Every day we recite the Tefillot of Shacharit, Minchah, and Arvit. One of the main focuses of our Tefillot is
praising Hashem. Why is praising Hashem so central to our prayers? One reason is because Hashem is on such a high level
compared to us that our prayers should seem almost insignificant to Him. Yet, this answer makes Hashem sound almost
haughty as if He wants us to praise Him. However, this is not actually the case, for we do not praise HaKadosh
Baruch Hu because He wants or needs our prayers; rather, it is because by doing so we remember and recognize
Hashems role in our lives. If we were to simply carry out our day-to-day business without appreciating all that our
Creator gives us, we would inevitably forget that He is the source of all that is good in our lives. By thanking Hashem
every day, we are constantly being reminded of all Hashem does for us, and, ultimately, we are able to continue to
enhance our relationship with Him.

Leadership: A Light in Dark

Avishai Zarifpour 16
Throughout Tanach, the Jews are referred to as the Bnei
Yisrael, or the Children of Israel. One may ask a simple question:
Why we are we named after Yaakov (whose second name was
Yisrael) rather than Avraham, the primogenitor of our people? One of
the most common answers to this question is that Yaakovs children
had all remained faithful unlike the children of the other Avot. Yet,
that answer begs another question: Why did Yaakov succeed where
all the other Avot had failed? The answer to this question lies deep
within our Parsha. When Yaakov is running away from Esav, he stops
to sleep. He dreams of a ladder resting on the earth with its top
reaching to heaven, and the angels of G-d are ascending and
descending on it.At the end of this week's Parsha, he comes to meet
with some Malachim while fleeing from Lavan and avoiding Esav.
These are both spiritual encounters in Yaakovs life. Yaakov was in
constant danger of being killed by his evil pursuers. Yet, at these
points when he was truly defenseless, he met with the Ribbono Shel
Olam. The encounters he had with Hashem truly gave him the
courage to continue on despite all the threats around him. Yaakov
was the one who passed this strength on to Bnei Yisrael.
Throughout history, the Jews have survived tragedies such as
the destruction of the Temples, the Spanish Inquisition, and the
Holocaust, but every event that has seemed to bring us down has
actually helped us achieve new heights. After the Roman destruction
of the Beit Hamikdash, the Oral Torah, which consists of the Midrash,
Mishnah, and Gemara were produced. Three years after the Holocaust,
the state of Israel was established. The ability to survive and recover
is part of what it takes to become a leader. The fact that leaders can
take risks makes them unique among their people. Yaakov lived
through a rivalry with his brother Esav, the bitterness of Lavan, the
tension among his children, and the early death of his wife, Rachel.
Yet, on the way he encountered angels, emissaries of Hashem, and
they gave him the courage and the strength to continue on and
become the leader of Bnei Yisrael. In order for a person to become a
leader, one must know how to fear, fall, and recover. May we all be
zocheh to reach the greatest heights and to learn how to recover from
all of our setbacks.

Act Like a Lion

Halachic Illuminations

From Rabbi Nachum Sauer

One is required to recite Birchot Hanehenin to
Hashem prior to and after eating. The Bracha before eating is
referred to as a Bracha Rishonah, and the Bracha after eating
is called a Bracha Achronah. One is obligated to say a Bracha
before eating on any amount of food or drink because one is
not supposed to have any bene=it from this world without =irst
praising Hashem.

However, a Bracha Achronah is only said if one has
eaten a KZayit, the volume of an olive, of food. This amount is
approximately 1.1 ounces of solid food. As far as drinks are
concerned, there is a disagreement among the Poskim as to
how much one must drink so that a person is obligated to
recite a Bracha Achronah. The Shulchan Aruch Paskins that one
must drink the volume of a Reviit of =luid. This amount is
approximately 3 ounces of drink.

There is an interesting question raised by the Poskim
concerning frozen liquids like ices or popsicles. The issue is
whether to consider these to be solids, which would require
only a KZayit, or to consider them to be liquids, which would
require the Shiur of a Reviit. Some Poskim hold that since one
is eating them as a solid, the Shiur for Bracha Achronah would
be a KZayit; other Poskim disagree because they originally
started off as liquids but became solids through freezing.
Therefore, they hold that the Shiur would be a Reviit, which is
a much larger volume than a KZayit.

There is another requirement concerning Bracha
Achronah: One must eat the KZayit in the time period of Kiday
Achilat Pras, the time that it usually would take to eat the
volume of 3 eggs at a regular pace. According to many Poskim,
this time period is approximately 3 to 4 minutes. For example,
if one ate a KZayit of bread, he would only be obligated to say
Birkat HaMazon if he ate that KZayit from beginning to end
within a period of 4 minutes. If it took him longer to eat that
KZayit, he would not be obligated to Bentch, and, in fact, it
might even be a Bracha Levatalah if he does.

Compiled By Noam Gershov 17

Ezra Emerson 18

Ask someone the following: What is the most memorable incident in Parshat Vayetzei? Many people would most likely answer
that it is Yaakovs dream with the angels and the ladder going up to heaven. Perhaps, however, it is what happened after the dream
that is the most important the moment Yaakov realized he was sleeping on Hashems holiest of places.
When Yaakov woke up from his dream, he said, Surely Hashem is present in this place! (Bereshit 28:16). The Chassidic Rebbe,
Rav Meir of Premishlan, learns a great lesson from this Pasuk. He says that we should be like a lion when we wake up in the morning and
try to strengthen ourselves in order to serve Hashem right away. This is, in fact, a Halacha that is written in the beginning of Shulchan
Aruch. Yaakov fulfilled this important Midah by going to serve Hashem immediately after waking up from his dream!
We can see how special this is by comparing Yaakovs actions to those of Pharaoh. Pharaoh, in Parshat Miketz, also had a dream,
and the Pasuk states that Pharaoh woke up from his dream and then went back to sleep. Then, he had another dream, woke up, and
proceeded to fall asleep once again! Contrast this with Yaakov, who woke up inspired and took action right away.
If you look at successful people such as doctors, architects, athletes, lawyers, or rabbis, it is clear that many of them are blessed
with great talent. However, if you ask them what made them great, they will tell you that their greatness did not stem from pure talent.
Rather, they achieved their goals because they did the hard work. Turning talent into greatness requires the Midah of Yaakov Avinu:
Taking action right away!
Sometimes a great prayer, a Shabbat experience, or even a beautiful sight in nature inspires us, but if we do not act on that
inspiration, it is quickly lost. The lesson from Yaakov is that we must always awaken like a lion and act upon our inspiration if we really
want to grow in our service to Hashem.

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