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What's in a Word

Dr. Avshalom Kor

Chanukah HINTS

undreds of years after we lost The gematria of ח ַ ב ֶ ט ַ חֹב ְ ט ְּו is therefore And then Yehuda answers Yosef’s
our independence, there were 19 + 19 + 6 = 44, the number of question: ח ָ א ֹוא ב ָ א ם ֶ כ ָ ל ׁש ֵּי ַ ה, “Do you
H different customs in Babylon Chanukah candles you’ll find in the box! have a father or brother?”
and in Eretz Yisrael regarding how much
of the Torah to read each Shabbat. In Later, when Yosef and his brothers are But many years later, someone explained
Eretz Yisrael they would read the entire sitting down to eat, Yosef knows exactly the question like this: Yosef was stuck in
Torah over a period of three and a half in what order to seat them, from the Egypt while Yehuda had returned there
oldest to the youngest. There are no
years. Today we adopt the Babylonian donuts or latkes on the table, but from Eretz Yisrael. Said Yosef: “Tell me,
custom, in which we read the whole nevertheless the Jews found a Yehuda, what have the Sages in Eretz
Torah once, from beginning to end, from connection to Chanukah (43:34): Yisrael decided about how to light
Simchat Torah to Simchat Torah. Chanukah candles?”
.ת ֹוד ָי ׁש ֵ מ ָ ח ם ָּ ל ֻּ כ תֹאׂ ְ ש ַּ מ ִ מ ן ִ מ ָי ְנ ִּ ב ת ַ אׂ ְ ש ַ מ ב ֶ ר ֵּ ת ַ ו
According to that custom, now common .ח-א ֹוא ב-א ם ֶ כ ָ ל ׁש ֵּי ַ ה
in Jewish communities all over the Binyamin’s portion was five times as In other words, do they act according to
world, it turns out that we read Parashat much as anyone else’s portion. Rashi Beit Hillel, in which we light
explains that Binyamin received his
Mikeitz almost every year on Shabbat portion, Yosef and Osnat’s (Yosef’s wife) progressively upwards, 1-א on the first
Chanukah, the parasha containing the portion and the portions of their sons night, 2-ב on the second, and so on, or
dramatic story of Joseph meeting his Efraim and Menashe – ת ֹוד ָי ׁש ֵ מ ָ ח.
brothers in Egypt before they discover do they act according to Beit Shammai,
who said that on א, on the first night, we
his true identity. What’s the Chanukah connection? On
Chanukah, we add the Al HaNissim light ח, eight lights?
Over 1,900 years of Exile, our ancestors prayer to Birkat HaMazon, in which we To which Yehuda replies, ן ֵ ק ָז ב ָ א ּונ ָ ל ׁש ֵי –
sat in the snow or in the desert or in thank the Almighty for the Maccabee’s in other words, we act according to Beit
the ghettoes and often searched for victory over the Greeks and we mention
Chanukah hints in the parasha. Why did five ת ֹוד ָי there too: Hillel (1-א on the first night, 2-ב on the
this specific parasha merit a reading on .םי ִּ ט ַ ע ְ מ ד ַי ְּ ב םי ִּ ב ַ ר ְ ו .םי ׁ ִ ש ָּ ל ַ ח ד ַי ְּ ב םי ִ ר ֹו ּ ב ִ ג ָּ ת ְ ר ַ ס ָ מ second, and so on), and the ן ֵ ק ָז also
refers to Hillel HaZaken, Hillel the
Chanukah? .םי ִ קי ּ ִ ד ַ צ ד ַי ְּ ב םי ִ ע ׁ ָ ש ְ רּו .םי ִ ר ֹוה ְ ט ד ַי ְּ ב םי ִ א ֵ מ ְ טּו Elder, who was the Head of the school of
ָ
.ך ֶ ת ָ ר ֹות י ֵ ק ְ ס ֹוע ד ַי ְּ ב םי ִ ד ֵז ְ ו
ל ַ ע ר ׁ ֶ ש ֲ א ַ ל ר ֶ מאֹי ְ ו ןי ִ מ ָי ְנ ִּ ב ת ֶ א ם ָּ ת ִ א ף ֵ ס ֹוי א ְ ר ַּי ַ ו Beit Hillel.
ח ַ ב ֶ ט ַ חֹב ְ ט ְּו ה ָ תְי ָּ ב ַ ה םי ִ ׁש ָנ ֲ א ָ ה ת ֶ א א ֵ ב ָ ה ֹותי ֵּ ב This indicates that when Yosef and his Maoz Tzur, the dispute about the proper
.םִי ַ ר ֳ ה ָ צ ְּ ב םי ִ ׁש ָנ ֲ א ָ ה ּול ְ כאֹי י ִּ ת ִ א י ִּ כ ן ֵ כ ָ ה ְ ו brothers finished their meal, they recited
the Birkat HaMazon for Chanukah! order of lighting candles, Birkat
Within this verse (Genesis 43:16), the HaMazon and Yosef and his brothers
words ן ֵ כ ָ ה ְ ו ח ַּ ב ַ ט contain all five letters of On Shabbat Chanukah afternoon, we celebrating Chanukah in Egypt… all in
the word ה ָּ כ ֻנ ֲ ח one after the other. usually read the start of the next parasha, the Torah portion we read almost every
Vayigash, in which the drama reaches a year on Shabbat Chanukah… chance or
Furthermore, the words ח ַ ב ֶ ט ַ חֹב ְ ט ְּו peak, and Yehuda, the brothers’ miracle?
remind us of the words in Maoz Tzur, representative from Eretz Yisrael, faces Photo of Dr. Avshalom Kor: Roy Achiron
ַ ח ֵּ ב ְ ט ַ מ ןי ִ כ ָּ ת ת ֵ ע ָ ל. up to Yosef and refuses to leave Binyamin
in Egypt. ‘Put me in jail if you want, but Dr. Avshalom Kor is an Israeli linguist
Yet that’s not all. The gematria you must let Binyamin go back to his and expert on Hebrew grammar and
(numerical value) of the word ח ַ ב ֶ ט is 19. ageing father in Eretz Yisrael.’ semantics

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