GOOD MORNING!  I want to share with you an inspirational story that Mrs. Shoshana Packouz related during last week's memorial service to commemorate the passing of our beloved friend and teacher Rabbi Kalman Packouz, of blessed memory.

Several times a year, Rabbi Packouz traveled to raise funds for charity. These trips sometimes extended a couple of weeks and his return was eagerly anticipated by his children at home.

On one occasion, Mrs. Packouz received a call at home from her husband, "I just landed here in Miami." "That's great," she responded "everyone is looking forward to seeing you!" But the good rabbi had other plans. "I am going to take a hotel room to rest for a few hours and I will see you this evening."

"But why?" asked Mrs. Packouz, "Why don't you just come home and rest here?" He answered, "My fundraising trip didn't go as well as I had hoped and I wasn't able to sleep on the plane. I don't want to come home in a grumpy and unhappy mood with little patience for the children. So I want to rest before coming home." Sure enough the good rabbi returned home that evening beaming a wide smile for his family, excited to see everyone once again.

There is an important lesson here. Most of us go home at night expecting that the most precious people in our lives will put up with whatever attitude we bring in the door. We rarely consider how our mood affects them or how they might feel if we are short tempered or impatient with them. We expect them to just "deal with it."

This is wrong. We must understand that we are obligated to behave in a manner that is considerate of others - especially in our homes. Our homes are miniature universes and we are responsible for the atmosphere and environment of those living there.

Last week, I left you with a question to think about: The eight days of Hanukah commemorate the miracle of the cruse of oil that was used to light the menorah in the Temple. That cruse was only supposed to last one day but lasted for eight days, after which they used the newly produced ritually pure oil. It would seem that the miracle was only the extra seven days, so why do we commemorate it as an eight day miracle?

This question is attributed to Rabbi Joseph Karo, composer of the authoritative series of books on Jewish law known as Shulchan Arukh. Over the last five centuries, there have been many explanations offered to answer this question. In a terrific testament to Jewish ingenuity and scholarship, a book has been published with over one hundred answers to this very question! Here are a few of the most well-known answers.

1. When the Maccabees found the lone jar of oil they realized they would need to stretch it for eight days. So they only put 1/8th of the amount of oil required to burn for 24 hours. Miraculously, that small amount burned for 24 hours.

2.The Maccabees realized that another way to stretch the oil was to use wicks that were much thinner and smaller than the usual wicks. So they designed wicks that were 1/8th the size of the original wicks, even though the light emanating would be far smaller. The miracle was that the smaller wicks burned with the same light and intensity of the original wicks.

3. The first day celebrates the miraculous war that the Maccabees emerged victorious over the Seleucid Greek empire. The next seven commemorate the miracle of the oil.

These are just some of the approaches taken to resolve this very interesting question. Feel free to send me some of your own ideas! I can be reached RabbiZweig@ShabbatShalom.org.

I want to leave you with a final thought: The miracle of Hanukah shows us that a little bit of purity can go a long way. The greatest developments in world history did not take place because of large armies or mega corporations. Effective change for the better comes from individuals with courage and heroes of faith. It's not the firepower of an army that wins the battle, but rather it's the purity and conviction of its cause that is ultimately victorious.

Miketz, Genesis 41:1 - 44:17

Pharaoh dreams of cows and sheaves and demands for someone to interpret his dreams. The wine butler remembers Joseph's ability to interpret dreams. They bring Joseph from the jail. Pharaoh acknowledges the truth of Joseph's interpretation (that there would be seven good years followed by seven years of famine) and raises Joseph to second-in-command of the whole country with the mandate to prepare for the famine.

Ten of Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to buy food, Joseph recognizes them, but they don't recognize him. Joseph accuses them of being spies and puts them through a series of machinations in order to get them to bring his brother Benjamin to Egypt. Then Joseph frames Benjamin for stealing his special wine goblet.

December 27
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Jerusalem 4:07
Guatemala 5:23 - Hong Kong 5:29 - Honolulu 5:40
J'Burg 6:44 - London 3:39 - Los Angeles 4:34
Melbourne 8:26 - Mexico City 5:49 - Miami 5:20
New York 4:17 - Singapore 6:49 - Toronto 4:29

Courage is fire, bullying is smoke.
--  Benjamin Disraeli