‫בס"ד‬
Tikvas Nashim A Unique Project for Women
I put my hope in Hashem…
…Among those awaiting the morning. (Tehilim 130)
Chanukah 5772
The Essence of Emunah By: Rachel Shaool
The Gemara (Shabbat 10b) states that the wicks and oil that we may
not use for lighting the Shabbat candles, may in fact be used for lighting
the Chanukah menorah, because I (Hashem) gave a valuable gift from My
treasure house. How are we to understand this? The way we prepare the
neirot is to put the wick in oil and then light it. So too it is similar with a
Jew who is likened to a wick, and the oil represents the chochmah, the
wisdom that Hashem instills into him, and then ignites— the flames of
which shine through one's good deeds in his servitude of Hashem. The
Me'or Einayim, ha'kadosh, explains that there are neshamot, souls, which
are symbolized as wicks, who are unfortunately not ignited with the Light
of Shabbat, due to the fact that the Shabbat Light is very holy and great.
These 'wicks' are unable to feel connected to it because of its
greatness. However, the Light of Chanukah has tremendous capability to
reach out far, and is capable of rekindling the dimmed souls, and all types
of wicks. Those souls that may be in conflict with the good Light and
closeness with Hashem, themselves, or with their peers, have an
auspicious opportunity during Chanukah to connect with the Light within
them— with their neshamos— and grab this chance to grow and shine.
One's internal conflicts can finally be resolved! We learn from this Chazal
that the wicks and oil of Chanukah is a great occasion to gain redemption
for the soul and from all conflicts. May this Chanukah bring a lot of light
into your home, along with good health, financial growth, nachas from
your family, shalom bayis, and may ALL your tefilot be answered
quickly— amein!
The Beauty of Jelly Donuts (despite the calories!)
Jelly donuts or sufganiyot are customarily eaten on Chanukah.
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt"l, explains a possible reason for this.
The Gemara (Avodah Zarah) says that when the Chashmonaim were
victorious against the Greeks, they entered the Bais HaMikdash, and
cleaned and purified it from the tumah, impurity. However they had
no viable solution to salvage the contaminated stones of the
Mizbei'ach, and therefore had to bury them. After eating donuts, the
brachah acharonah that we say: Al HaMichya, has a phrase where we
ask Hashem to rebuild Yerushalayim and the Bais HaMikdash. We
specifically ask for rachamim, mercy al Mizabachecha— for Your
Mizbei'ach, which we do not mention in Birkas HaMazon, since in
bentching there is no specific mention of the Mizbei'ach. Why do we
add jelly to the donuts? The Gemara (Sotah) teaches that from the
time the Bais HaMikdash was destroyed, the taste of fruits have never
been the same, but have diminished in their flavor. Since fruit is
associated with the Bais HaMikdash, and the brachah acharonah after
eating a mezonos food is connected to the Mizbei'ach, we therefore add
fruit flavored jelly to our donuts! (Shalmei Moeid)
Volume 5
Compiled by: Pnina Winzelberg
Staten Island, NY
Did you know... By: Elisheva Seldowitz
 When preparing the menorah for Friday
afternoon lighting, one must make sure to use
enough oil or long burning candles to ensure
that the menorah remain lit until at least a half
hour after nightfall, tzeis ha'kochavim. (Source:
The Halachos of Pregnancy and Childbirth,
Rabbi Yisroel Dov Webster)
 If one did not light the menorah at the proper
time, they may light until dawn. However, they
may only recite the brachah if one member of
the household is awake. One may awaken a
household member in order to light with
a brachah. (Ibid.)
 On Friday afternoon, one must light the
menorah prior to lighting the Shabbos candles.
If a woman mistakenly lights the Shabbos
candles before lighting the menorah, she
should request of someone who has not yet
accepted Shabbos to light for her. The person
lighting recites the first brachah (L'hadlik Ner..)
but the one who has already accepted
Shabbos may recite the brachah of She'asah
Nisim (and Shehechiyanu if it is the first
night). (Source: A Guide for the Jewish
Woman and Girl, Rabbi Dov Eisenberg)
 The minhag among women is to abstain from
certain work and household chores during the
first half hour after lighting the menorah
(please consult with a Halachic authority for
specifics). (Ibid.)
 It is desirable to prepare more elaborate meals
on Chanukah. It is also customary to eat some
dairy foods to commemorate the story of
Yehudis.
Please note: One should not rely on the above Halachos

without consulting a competent Halachic authority
 Quick and Easy Donut Recipe –
Zepolle: Make pizza dough, roll into balls,
deep-fry, sprinkle with confectionary or
regular sugar, and fill with your favorite
flavored jelly (optional). Enjoy!

Eishes Chayil By: Daniella Oppenheimer
‫היתה כעניות סוחר ממרחק תביא לחמה‬
“She is like merchant ships; she brings her bread from afar”
What is Shlomo ha'melech trying to imply with the idea of
bringing bread from afar? It is not only our bodies that require
nourishment; rather it is our minds as well. Although we often
attempt to provide for all of our needs from within, sometimes
we must take nourishment from what is far, i.e., from foreign
cultures. The prime example of a woman who was able to “bring
bread from afar” was Ruth who descended from Moab. She was
able to reject the bad and elevate everything that remained. The
result of this was a woman so refined and perfect that she
became the ancestor of Dovid ha'melech and the eventual
Moshiach. The skill of the Eishes Chayil is to be able to
differentiate what is nourishment and what is poison. This ability
to “distinguish” is the special skill of a merchant. When the Eishes
Chayil must leave her own familiar environment, she is compared
to an astute merchant going out on distant voyages. How does
one know if an outside influence is acting as poison or a source of
nutrition? One knows an outside influence is poison when it
overtakes the desired goal and tries to destroy it altogether. For
example: when Moses Mendelssohn translated the Torah into
German, the Rabbis were fiercely opposed to it. The reason for
the opposition being that Mendelssohn was not trying to make
German-speaking Jews more Jewish, rather he was trying to make
Jews more German. Instead of using this as a tool to bring Jews
closer to their heritage, Mendelssohn was setting foreign culture
as the ultimate goal. In contrast to him, we can look at the great
work of the late Torah scholar Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. He published
a book called The Living Torah, which was an English translation
of the Torah. The religious world praised this work. The
difference between the two responses was due to the difference
in purposes of both books. Rabbi Kaplan’s goal was to make
Torah accessible to those who did not know Hebrew, so they too
could study Torah in a language they were familiar with. It is
often difficult to distinguish our true motivations. We must be
completely honest with ourselves. The rule is this: Foreign culture
must be kept as the handmaiden serving the mistress, which is
the Torah. It is crucial that a mother be able to clarify the
relationship between mistress and handmaiden for her children
who will inevitably be exposed to foreign cultures as they grow
up. The Eishes Chayil will take bread from afar if it is necessary
and worthwhile. However, just like an expert merchant, she too
will differentiate quality merchandise which is there to nourish
from tainted goods that can bring harm to her family, chas
v’shalom. (More Precious than Pearls, Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller)
Dedicated as a Merit for a Quick
and Complete Recovery for:
Kayla Rus bas Chaya Rochel
‫לרפואה שלמה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל‬
These sheets are available by email and sponsorship opportunities are available.
For information, please send an email to: TikvasNashim@gmail.com
Tikvas Nashim
‫בס"ד‬
The Hidden Secrets of the Dreidle
The simple story behind the dreidle, sivivon, is that it
was a decoy used by the children learning Torah, in case the
Yivanim, the Greeks, caught them. The Bnei Yisas'char
teaches some insights, however, regarding the dreidle. The
four sides of the dreidle have the letters: nun, gimel, shin
and hei. These stand for the four specific forces within a
person: nefesh, spirit (nun), guf, physicality (gimel), seichel,
intellect (shin), and an even higher entity which blends the
other three: ha'kol, everything combined (hei). The gematria
(numerical value of Hebrew letters) of these four letter added
together is 358, which happens to be exactly the same
gematria as the word Moshiach. It is also the same value of
the words: Hashem Melech, Hashem Malach, Hashem
yimloch l'olam va'ed, which proclaims that Hashem's reign
as our King was, is, and always will be, for all eternity. The
dreidle can now be part of our prayer and hope that
Moshiach finally come, and that Hashem's eternal Kingship
be proclaimed for the entire world to know.
A Lesson to Learn By: Dina Gabel
Please daven for a quick and complete recovery for Yehudis bas
Sarah Rivka. My mother was diagnosed with cancer two weeks
before Rosh HaShanah. As Rosh HaShanah got closer and she was in
critical condition, we realized that she wasn’t going to be able to
come home from the hospital for Yom Tov. I tried to make
arrangements for a shofar to be blown for my mother by the
hospital’s rabbi. Unfortunately, he told me he was unable to find
someone to blow the shofar, since there were so few Jewish people
in that particular hospital who needed to hear it. On top of all I was
going through with my emotions at the time, I didn’t take this well at
all. I called the local shul and begged them to find someone to blow
the shofar for my mother. They assured me they would find
someone. At 11:30pm the night before Rosh HaShanah, my mother
was transferred to a different room. When I arrived at the hospital
the next morning, on Erev Rosh HaShanah, I could not find my
mother because no one had notified me of the transfer! After
walking up and down the halls, I finally found her room— it was a bit
beyond an office type of setting, along side another patient's room. I
immediately started to cry because I couldn’t understand how my
mother would get the care she needed being in such an isolated area
like that. A nurse came in, saw me crying and told me that this was
the best place for my mother, and she guaranteed that my mother
would get the best care possible. I accepted her assurances and
entered the room wearing my gown, mask and gloves and put on a
positive smile for my mother. About an hour before Yom Tov, the
local rabbi called me to let me know that he couldn't find anyone to
blow the Shofar, so he was going to do it himself. I couldn’t thank
him enough for this big chesed! It so happened that it was pouring
rain on the first day of Rosh HaShanah, so it turned out to be an even
bigger effort for the rabbi to walk to the hospital. He blew the shofar
in that front office next to my mother’s room. As soon as he started
blowing the tekiyos, the patient who was staying in the room on the
right, opened up the door and started crying. He was not yet frum
(religious), and the sound of the shofar blasts awoke within him a
yearning to get close to Hashem! There was not a dry eye in sight on
that hospital floor, as even the gentile nurses were brought to tears
at this man's sincerity. If my mother would not have been moved to
that isolated area, this lone Jew may not have ever had the
opportunity to daven. Hashem's hidden ways are truly merciful, and
Chanukah is a great time to reflect on His many miracles!