Answers to this Week’s Riddles

(For the riddles, please see back page)

1. R’ Gamliel Rabinovitch (Gam Ani Odcha) asked this question to R’ Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, and he answered that there is no advantage in doing so.
2. i) The Divrei Yatziv (cited in Otzros Divrei Yatziv, Shabbos 21b) answers: The main celebration of Chanukah is that we managed to defeat the Yevonim and continue learning Torah. If the halachah would be that if the candles went out we would need to relight them, then we would need to hang around by the menorah to ensure they stay lit, and it would cause bitul Torah, therefore, they said, that if they go out there is no need to relight them, and now one can light his menorah and go straight back to learning without worrying about his candles.
   ii) In Shu”t Divrei Yatziv (Orach Chaim 283) the Klausenberger Rebbe offers another answer: If we think about it, the mitzvah of lighting menorah doesn’t make sense. The halachah is that one is supposed to light outside, however, surely if one lights outside the wind will blow out the candles. So how can anyone do the mitzvah? It must be that Klal Yisrael have very high levels of emunah, and all the winds in the world don’t stop them, and since they have such high levels of emunah Hashem makes a nes that the candles don’t go out. Therefore, if one’s candles do go out, it shows he is lacking emunah, and if one is lacking emunah there is no point relighting the candles, as once again they will go out.
   iii) The Bnei Yissochar answers: The Chanukah candles represent the light of Torah. In the hadran recited when finishing a masechta we say, “We toil and they toil, we toil and get reward, and they toil and don’t get reward”. The question that is asked is, what does it mean “they toil and don’t get reward” surely, non-Jews get reward for their toil as well? The Chofetz Chaim explains: By Torah and mitzvos, if we toil and don’t manage to accomplish the final result we still get reward, however, by the non-Jew’s they only get reward if they actually complete the job, if they toil but at the end of the day don’t finish the job they don’t get reward. By Jews the reward is for the toil, by non-Jews, reward is for results.
   Since the Chanukah candles represents Torah, the main thing is the toil, therefore, as long as one puts in effort to light them, even if they go out, he gets full reward and there is no need to relight them.
3. R’ Chaim Kanievsky zt”l was asked this question and he said חלילה, chas vesholam. (Da’as Noteh, pg. 211).
4. i) The Tzofnas Pane’ach answers that Yosef was a nazir oilam, and a nazir oilam is allowed to lighten his hair if it gets too heavy.
   In Shu”t Tzofnas Pane’ach (siman 72) the Rogatchover is medayek this from the Targum. Normally the Targum translates the word ויגלח as גילוח, however, this time he translates it as וספר, the Rogatchover explains that this is because he didn’t have a proper haircut, he just lightened his hair.
   ii) The Maharsha answers that due to kavod hamalchus [respect for the king] there was an exception, and he was allowed.
   iii) R’ Chaim Kanievsky (Da’as Noteh 211) answers: From the Gemara in Shabbos we just see that he was a nazir in regard to wine, but don’t see he was a nazir in regard to all the dinim of nezirus, therefore, although he never drank wine, he was allowed to cut his hair. (See also Maharsha, and Ben Yehoyadah to the Gemara in Shabbos who says the same thing.)
5. i) The Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 91:4) says that Yosef made three gezeiros [enactments] in Mitzrayim, one of them was “no slaves may enter Mitzrayim” according to this, Yaakov had no option but to send the shevotim.
   ii) The Ramban (pasuk 11) answers that Yaakov never sent slaves, because he was scared that they would steal from the food on the way back.
   iii) The Imrei Shefer (R’ Shlomah Kluger) answers, Yaakov feard that the Egyptians would use sorcery and they would give the slaves dust instead of real wheat, however, for the sons of Yaakov who had the ko’ach of Torah, Yaakov wasn’t scared that they would be tricked with sorcery.