Vedibarta Bam � And You Shall Speak of Them: The Dudaim Emit a Fragrance...

"The dudaim (jasmine or violets) emit a fragrance and at all our doors are all precious fruits." (Shir Hashirim 7:14)

QUESTION: According to the Midrash the statement "The dudaim emit a fragrance" is a reference to Reuvein (of whom it says "he found dudaim in the field" - [Bereishit 30:14] and who saved Yosef [by advising that he be thrown into the pit in the wilderness]. The statement "At our doors are all precious fruits" refers to Chanukah candles which are placed by the doorway of the house from the outside.

What is the Midrash conveying?

ANSWER: When the brothers saw Yosef from afar, they conspired to kill him. Reuvein said to them "Al tishpechu dam" - "Do not shed blood!" (ibid 37:22). According to the Arizal (in his Siddur), Reuvein warned them that if they were to shed his blood and kill him they would not merit the forty four candles of Chanukah (the word "dam" numerically equals forty four).

Hence, the Midrash is saying that thanks to Reuvein's intervention on behalf of Yosef today we have "precious fruits" - the 44 Chanukah candles - at our doorways.

Alternatively, a person once donated generously to the construction of a synagogue and requested that his name be placed over the entrance. The Board of Directors refused, arguing that charity should be performed discreetly and quietly. The issue was brought before the Rashba (Reb Shlomo ben Aderet) who ruled (Responsa, vol. I, #582, see Rama, Yoreh Dei'ah 249:13) that "Mitzvah lefarseim otei mitzvah" - "It is a mitzvah to publicize the doers of a mitzvah (if they don't object and request anonymity)." He based his ruling on the pasuk in the Torah that states "and Reuvein heard and he rescued him from their hands" (ibid. 37:21), which shows that Torah is of the opinion that one should be publicly acknowledged for performing a good deed.

The purpose of lighting Chanukah candles at the doorway on the outside of one's house is to publicize the miracle of Chanukah and simultaneously publicize the good work of the Hasmoneans, thanks to whose dedication to Torah, Hashem's salvation was merited.

Hence, the Midrash is saying that we can derive an important insight from the dudaim, which emit fragrance, i.e. Reuvein, who is associated with dudaim, and whose good deed is recorded in the Torah for eternity. We thus learn that it is the proper thing to put "precious fruits at our door" - the Chanukah light on the outside - thereby publicizing the miracle which was brought through the righteous Hasmoneans.

"The dudaim emit a fragrance, at our doors are all precious fruits, new and old."

QUESTION: What are the precious new and old fruits at our doors?

ANSWER: The Midrash says that the statement "The dudaim emit a fragrance" is a reference to Reuvein of whom the Torah (Bereishit 30:14) says that "he found dudaim in the field," and the phrase "at our doors are all precious fruits" is a reference to the Chanukah Menorah which is kindled at the entrance door to the home.

Reuvein went out to the fields "in the days of the wheat harvest," which occurs in the month of Sivan. In the field he found dudaim and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel requested some of them, and in exchange she allowed Leah to spend the night with Yaakov. According to the Kabbalists, that night was the eve of Shavuot, and Yissachar was then conceived. Seven months later, on the 25th of Kislev, Yissachar was born. (The Gemara [Rosh Hashanah 11a] says that "one who gives birth at seven months, can give birth before the end of the seventh month.")

The men of the tribe of Yissachar were great Torah scholars and were "men with understanding for all times" (I Chronicles, 12:23). Thanks to Reuvein's dudaim we have Yissachar from whom the good aroma of Torah emits throughout the world. It was they who established Chanukah as a Yom Tov, as stated in the popular hymn "Ma'oz Tzur," "Men with understanding, eight days established for song and jubilations."

According to halachah, the mezuzah should be placed on the right side of the door while the Chanukah lights should be placed on the left. Mezuzah is a mitzvah written in the Torah and Chanukah is a mitzvah which the Rabbis instituted. Thus, the pasuk is saying that thanks to Reuvein's dudaim, which brought about the birth of Yissachar, the aroma of Torah spreads throughout the world, and at our doors are all precious fruits new and old - the mezuzah of old and the newly ordained Chanukah lights, which the scholars of Yissachar instituted.