Michael el Chayil

There is a famous question, oft attributed to the Beis Yosef, but asked by others as well. The question goes like this: One may ask regarding Chanuka, since there was enough oil for one day, then why do we celebrate eight days of miracle? People adore this question. I have heard there is a book with over 100 answers. The problem for me is/was that the Gemara (Shabbos 23a) says (as Rashi so eloquently explains) that the miracle was that they lit oil from the jug all eight nights. The implication, then, is that the question is based on a mistake. How could the Beis Yosef ask that question when the gemara says straight out that it was eight days of miraculous oil? The wonderful thing about learning in a kollel is that I had lots of talmidei chachamim to whom I could address my question to get some insight into what I was missing. As the discussion went on, it was clear I had never seen the question inside. One of my chaverim said, "It sounds like it is time you saw it!" He found...

There is a famous expression (which generally means that it expresses some truth): "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Which means that an object or situation isn't always loaded with deep, hidden meanings. It is certainly true that one must be on guard to not over-think/analyze how someone says -- or doesn't say -- "good morning". In fact, many arguments could be avoided by simply responding, "good morning" and then getting on with your life. That's mundane day to day life. In Torah, which gives us so few words about such great people and powerful events, we need to weigh and analyze each and every scenario. Particularly because the Torah narratives are about such big events, when small -- seemingly trivial -- details are mentioned, one must sit up and take notice. Why in the world does the Torah feel this detail is something that is critical for me to know for the perfection of my soul? For example, consider this great parasha question that ...