OIL, WINE and HONEY

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Mendel and Freida on the Bris of their new son, Moishe, who is named after Mendel's grandfather ah, who was famous for containing both kindness, and a fighting spirit BH! Wishing you to have much nachas from Moishe and all the other children BEH!

Mazal Tov again to Devorah Leah whose birthday was today!

The theme of OIL, WINE, and HONEY came up a few times this week.

There was a very interesting Sicha (Vol 24) which discussed oil and wine, and which I will try and summarise below.

And interestingly, today's Rambam was talking about the exact same subject, describing the choicest products to be used in the Bet HaMikdash - the best oil is from Tekoa, and there are 9 grades of oil according to how the olives were squeezed. The choicest grapes are found at foot level on the vine, and how the grapes should be squeezed and made into wine. Choicest wine was from Michmash and Yochanah

Sichah (Very summarized)

Based on the Mishnah which states that olive trees in Tekoa are the primary source of oil for (use in Bet HaMikdash). Abba Shaul says that secondary to Tekoa is Regev on the East Bank of the Jordan River (Territory of Argov, the Kingdom of Og - Devarim 3:4))

OIL

Oil alludes to our capacity for bittul - humility, the capability to surrender the complex of our self-awareness, ego, and desires etc to Hashem.

Oil is extracted through crushing the olives

In the process of burning the oil for light, it is completely exhausted, leaving nothing behind.

When it burns, to produce light, it does so silently without resistance.

This is a profile of surrender.

Absolute surrender is not possible without Divine assistance and that is reflected in the choice oil coming from Eretz Yisrael (Tekoa) and the secondary oil coming from East of Jordan River (Regev)

WINE

Wine alludes to intellectual satisfaction, passion, and delight in the intellectual study of Torah.

OIL AND WINE TOGETHER

In the Bet Hamikdash there was a Chamber where both the oil and wine were stored together. It was called the Chamber of Oils and was in the SW corner.

Even although the 2 traits of oil and wine may seem contradictory, we see that they were stored together. To teach us that they can and need to be together, and that the more important one in the partnership is the oil - as reflected in the name of the Chamber.

The lesson is that when a person gets caught up in the intellectual excitement of Torah, he may forget the true 'Author' of Torah, and may forget to bring Torah down to practical action.

But when the study becomes additionally imbued with humility, and the primary point of his study is to align himself with the Divine Will, then '.study is greater because it leads to action'

HONEY

(Midrash on the opening words of this week's Sedra 1:1 Elu hadevarim)

'My children are like the honeybee. All the toil of the honeybee is to produce honey which belongs to their keeper.

In the same way, all the Mitzvot and good deeds performed by My children, are done for the sake of their Father in Heaven.'

Gut Shabbos to all, and may our sweet deeds in the 9 days, convert all our personal and National difficulties, to a time of great joy!