| Holidays Shabbat Chabad-houses Chassidism Subscribe Calendar Links | |
| The Weekly Publication for Every Jewish Person |
B"H
-----
L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 817
*********************************************************************
Copyright (c) 2004
Lubavitch Youth Organization - L.Y.O.
Brooklyn, NY
--------------
Electronic version provided free at:
www.LchaimWeekly.org
--------------------
Palm-Pilot version provided free at:
www.LchaimWeekly.org/lchaim/5764/817.prc
--------------------
To receive the L'CHAIM by e-mail
write to: listserv@LchaimWeekly.org
Subscribe W1
*********************************************************************
THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR EVERY JEWISH PERSON
Dedicated to the memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson N.E.
*********************************************************************
April 30, 2004 Achrei Mos-Kedoshim 9 Iyyar, 5764
*********************************************************************
Insignificant - Not
We know instinctively what psychology tells us: once our basic needs are
met, once we have food and water, shelter, clothing, what we seek most
is significance. The despair, malaise, depression of the modern world
can be attributed, in large part, to a growing sense of insignificance,
a conviction that what we do doesn't matter and who we are has no
meaning.
This pervasive feeling of uselessness probably has many causes. The very
conveniences of life contribute to it. The more our things do for us,
the less we have to do for ourselves. No one in his right mind would
give up refrigerators, dishwashers, cars, planes, even computers. But by
making the task of living easy, the machines have sometimes made the act
of living difficult.
The speed of our world surely factors in. Faster, faster, faster,
faster, faster - eventually crashes. Each new stimulation, thrill - the
newest new thing - becomes boring. Slow journeys allow for reflection.
Pre-fab planning is an oxymoron. If we're busy running - or driving -
from one meeting, activity, program, event to another, when do we have
time to look deep? If we're scheduled to the second and constantly
checking calendars and Palm Pilots to see where we need to be, when do
we appreciate where we've been and where we are?
And we talk too fast. Call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail, instant
messaging and who know what else. We don't listen much any more, do we?
Not to the person next to us in line or on the bus, not to the business
associate on the other end, not to... not even to ourselves.
There's too much information. Everyone else is doing something and
whatever we're doing, someone else is making news doing it better,
faster and sooner. A bicycle rider gets a flat tire in Bangkok; it makes
the front page and we feel slighted. The sensational becomes
commonplace, and we who live ordinary lives - do we become less than
commonplace?
As we learn more and more about less and less - the vastness of the
universe, with millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions of galaxies,
each with millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions of stars, each
composed of millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions of molecules,
etc. - as the world seems to shrink and the little niches of meaning get
swallowed up, merged into conglomerates of sameness - one's
insignificance can be crushing. The sense of being too small to matter,
of being no more than a replaceable cog, rises like a noxious, swampy
mist from the minutiae and trivia of life. It hovers beneath and between
the moments of doing, when we don't think of who we really are.
Against this insignificance, G-d says, you matter. That the living G-d
created you means you must be significant. And that significance is
inherent. Of course, our actions count - mitzvot reveal G-dliness. But
beyond that, the soul, a veritable part of G-d Above, remains attached
and important to its Source. And beyond that, the body that houses the
soul, G-d cares about that, too. Because we belong to Him.
That's what ultimately gives us a sense of significance, of being
important. When we know someone cares, that our being here matters, that
we belong to - and with - our spouse, our children, or parents - then we
feel we have a place, a role to play.
And when we realize that G-d cares, when we recognize that G-d relies on
us, when we know that G-d depends on us to do our part - our "little"
mitzva - and that until it's done the entire universe hangs in the
balance, immobile, because no matter how "small," in fact, G-d created
all of creation only for this moment when we, with our thought, our
words or our actions, turn slightly - when we feel the truth of
Maimonides's words that the world is suspended and our next move will
tip the scales - then we can see and accept the truth of what the Sages
tell us, that we must approach each task, each relation-ship, each
moment with the sense that, "the whole world was created for my sake."
What can be more significant than that?
*********************************************************************
LIVING WITH THE REBBE - THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
*********************************************************************
The two Torah portions for this week are Acharei and Kedoshim. Acharei
begins by mentioning the death of Aaron's sons, and continues with a
discussion of the sacrifices. Finally, it ends with a list of
prohibited sexual relations. The portion of Kedoshim is a summary of
many of the essential principles of the Torah. Included among them is
the famous dictum, "Love your neighbor as [you would love] yourself"
(Leviticus 19:18).
To the average person, this commandment seems utterly detached from
reality. How can one possibly be expected to love another person as
much as he loves himself?
Chasidic teachings suggest that one view all Jews as if they were a
complete person. Some Jews correspond to the head, others the body, and
still others, the feet.
If you've ever had a headache, you'll readily admit that the pain
affects not just your head, but your entire body. And an ingrown
toenail can cause an inability to think or concentrate. The body, with
all its organs and limbs, is a totally integrated system.
The Jewish people are an integrated body. Every Jew has a part of
himself within his fellow Jew. In loving another Jew, he is actually
showing love for himself.
A Chasid, Rabbi Shlomo Bayever, once related a story that the Baal Shem
Tov told:
"I call as my witness heaven and earth, that when the Heavenly Court was
judging a case involving a man having against him a serious charge, a
man who was so simple that he only knew how to pray and recite Psalms,
yet was exceptional in his love of his fellow Jew with all the faculties
of his soul: in thought-always thinking thoughts of love of fellow Jews;
in speech-speaking of love of fellow Jew; in deed-benefitting everyone
to the best of his ability; sharing the sorrow of every Jew, man or
woman, and rejoicing in their joy, that the verdict handed down by the
Heavenly Court was that he is to have a place among the righteous
scholars whom our Sages said were lovers of Israel."
The sigh of a Jew over the suffering of another Jew breaks all
barriers, and the joy and blessings which one rejoices in another's
happiness, is as acceptable by G-d as the prayer of the High Priest in
the Holy of Holies.
A beautiful custom and practical way to foster love of a fellow Jew is
to say each morning: I take upon myself the positive commandment of
"Love your fellow like yourself." What a way to start the day!
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
*********************************************************************
SLICE OF LIFE
*********************************************************************
Yechezkel Barnett and Ori Dreyfuss
by Yosef Dahne
The Flathead Valley of northwest Montana is a magnet for tourists
seeking unspoiled American beauty, and with its majestic snow-capped
peaks and shimmering lakes, it offers that in abundance. The area is
populated by farmers, loggers, country folk and ex-hippies. But it is
not exactly a hot spot for traditional Jewish observance.
Yechezkel Barnett, 23, a student at Brooklyn's Yeshiva Hadar Hatorah
grew up in the Flathead Valley. Yechezkel's story is a study in
contrasts and Jewish growth. He recalls growing up in a totally
non-observant Jewish household.
"I didn't do anything Jewish throughout the entire year, not even
lighting a Chanuka menora," Yechezkel recalls. But "I knew very strongly
I was Jewish," and he used to get information about the Jewish holidays
from his grandparents, along with a "Star of David" necklace that he
used to wear.
Friends told him, "You're Jewish. Why don't you find out something about
your Jewishness?" To which he replied: "I'd love to. I don't know how."
In his search for truth, Yechezkel explored Buddhism and Native American
sweat lodges. But he recalls that he didn't look thoroughly into Judaism
until friends told him, "You're Jewish. Why don't you find out something
about your Jewishness?" To which he replied: "I'd love to. I don't know
how."
So Yechezkel looked in the phone book and discovered a local group,
called, appropriately enough, the Jewish Community of the Flathead
Valley, and attended a Shabbaton with a visiting rabbi from Texas, who
told him that it's never to late to have a Bar Mitzva. So Yechezkel,
then known to friends and family as Brandon, studied the Hebrew alef-bet
for six months and had his Bar Mitzva right after his 19th birthday.
It was a motley crowd of people who attended Yechezkel's very special
Montana Bar Mitzva, including his parents and their biker friends
(Yechezkel's parents being avid motorcyclists), Yechezkel's friends with
skateboards, his friends from the sweat lodges, and all the while,
Yechezkel recalls, you could hear the wagering being orchestrated at a
horse auction going on next door. "Give me ten! Give me ten for the
filly!"
It was a slow process of growth from there to the yeshiva. Yechezkel
continued with his Buddhist meditation, but one morning, after
completing his daily meditations, he looked up and saw his tallit bag on
the shelf, and he says now, "I thought, 'Why am I not using that?'"
So, on the advice of his Texas rabbi, he began saying the Shema prayer
morning and evening, and the Shemoneh Esrei and Aleinu prayers three
times a day. And he began wearing a yarmulke on a regular basis. Even in
Montana.
A year and a half later, he went on a Birthright trip to Israel, and
went on to attend Hadar Hatorah, a Brooklyn-based Chabad Lubavitch
yeshiva that is dedicated to young men who grew up with little formal
Jewish education.
Recently, Yechezkel decided that it would be great to hold a special
Purim celebration in his Montana home, so for this Purim, he organized a
couple of other yeshiva students, and they sent along a list of Purim
and holiday goodies, including a kosher Megilla, eight challahs, eight
rolls of frozen gefilte fish, and 350 hamantashen.
"The whole experience was wonderful," says Yechezkel. One of the other
students, Ori Chaim Dreyfuss, saw the event as a beautiful expression of
outreach amongst Jews. "It's just an amazing circumstance. Chabad brings
a Jewish experience where there wouldn't be one," Dreyfuss said. Another
young yeshiva student, Shmuel Shuchat, who is skilled in the mechanics
of how to read a Megilla, also went along to perform the reading.
Tanya Gersh, vice president of Bet Harim, the main Jewish organization
in the area, says that the community was "super excited" at the news
that Yechezkel and his friends were coming to celebrate Purim with them.
"We don't have a rabbi and we don't have a synagogue, but we do have a
kosher Torah and we try to get together for all the Jewish holidays,"
Gersh says. "We feel that he [Yechezkel] is a product of this
community," she says. "We're extremely proud."
Gersh remembers Yechezkel in the community during his teen years. "It
wasn't until he found his Judaism that he really blossomed," Gersh says.
"He found himself."
For many in the Flathead Valley, Purim was the first time they ever
heard a Megila read in a kosher manner. "I think it opened up another
dimension" for many Jews in the area, said Gavriel Snyder, locally known
as "Montana Bob," one of an extremely small number of observant Jews who
live in the area. "I think it was fantastic."
"It was very emotional," says Yechezkel. "The whole place was just
electric" in the moments before the Megila reading, he said.
Tanya Gersh was extremely impressed. "It was a really neat homecoming
... for 'Chezkel,'" Hersh said, using Yechezkel's nickname. "It was
incredibly inspirational. Our community hasn't had such an inspirational
event, I think, ever."
For more information on Yeshivah Hadar Hatorah, the world's
first yeshiva for men with little or no prior Jewish
education, contact the yeshiva at 718-735-0250 or visit them
online at www.HadarHatorah.org
*********************************************************************
WHAT'S NEW
*********************************************************************
Schneerson Square
The City of Los Angeles dedicated Schneerson Square on Pico Boul-evard,
in the heart of West L.A. Named for the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the 47,000
sq. ft. campus houses schools that will educate 1,000 girls from
pre-school through high school. The dedication coincided with the
Rebbe's birthday, which has been marked by Congress and the White House
as "Education Day USA" each year since 1980.
*********************************************************************
THE REBBE WRITES
*********************************************************************
3rd of Elul, 5722 [1962]
Sholom u'brocho:
I am in receipt of your letter and, as requested, I will remember you
and your children in prayer, especially that you should have the Jewish
Torah Nachas [pleasure] from all your children, in good health and ample
parnosso [livelihood] to ripe old age.
I trust that your home is conducted in a way that serves as an example
and inspiration as to how a Jewish home should be conducted.
If the Tefillin and the Mezuzoth in your home have not been checked
within the last twelve months, I suggest you should have them checked.
No doubt your wife knows of, and observes, the good custom of putting
aside a small coin for Tzedoko [charity] before lighting the candles.
With blessing,
* * *
24th of Tammuz, 5735 [1975]
Blessing and Greeting:
It is a considerable time since I received your letter with enclosures,
including especially samples of the classroom work of your students.
Although this has not been acknowledged promptly, I want you to know
that I appreciate very much your thoughtfulness in letting me see all
this material.
May G-d grant that you should always have Hatzlocho [success] in your
efforts to spread Yiddishkeit [Judaism] in general, and particularly in
your work with children, who are the future of our people, as the saying
goes.
With blessing,
* * *
21 Iyar, 5741 [1981]
To All Participants in the Publication
of the Small Edition of the Bilingual Tanya
Greetings and Blessing:
I was delighted to receive the new small edition of the bilingual Tanya
[the basic book of Chabad Chasidic philosophy, written by Rabbi Shneur
Zalman of Liadi. Though, of course, small in size, it has all the good
features and also external beauty of its larger predecessor - in keeping
with the teaching of our Sages in connection with the verse, "This is my
G-d, and I will glorify Him." This is all the more important since the
external Hiddur [beauty] of the Sefer [book] is conducive to the study
and absorption of its contents.
I take exception, however, to the comment, "the project is now
completed" - not to imply, G-d forbid, that the publication part of it
is in any way incomplete. But this part is only a prelude to the
essential part of the project, namely, to disseminate this sacred Sefer
and its central message: to explain and show how the Torah and Mitzvos
[commandments] are "exceedingly near to you, in your mouth, and in your
heart, to do it" - as the author of the Tanya defines its objective on
the very title page. This task - to see to it that the Sefer and its
message reach every Jew, man and woman, since both are included in the
above definition - is only in its beginning.
I wish each and every one of you much Hatzlocho in working towards the
achievement of the said task. The present days of Sefirah [counting of
the "omer"] and preparation for Kabbolas haTorah [receiving the Torah on
Shavuot] with joy and with inwardness is particularly propitious to go
from strength to strength in the said direction.
With esteem and blessing,
*********************************************************************
RAMBAM THIS WEEK
*********************************************************************
11 Iyar, 5764 - May 2, 2004
Positive Mitzva 72: The guilt-offering adjustable to financial status
This mitzva is based on the verse (Lev. 5:1) "And if a person sins... he
shall bring his guilt offering... but if he cannot afford..."
A person who is impure is forbidden to enter the Holy Temple or eat from
sacrifices. Breaking an oath or taking a false oath are also forbidden.
If a person commits any of these sins, he is commanded to bring a guilt
offering. The Torah considers his financial status. A person who cannot
afford an expensive offering is allowed to bring one which costs less.
*********************************************************************
A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
*********************************************************************
On Wednesday, May 5, we will be celebrating Pesach Sheini - the Second
Passover.
Every year, on the fourteenth of Nissan, the Jews brought the Passover
offering. This commandment was incumbent upon each Jew.
However, the Jews who were spiritually unclean, were forbidden to
participate. They therefore complained, and cried out to Moses, "Why
should we be different?" - How are we to achieve a similar level of
closeness with G-d?
Moses, through Divine direction, informed them that, in fact, they would
have a chance. On the fourteenth of Iyar they could bring the Passover
offering.
This incident offers two lessons to us:
The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn,
explained that Pesach Sheini proves that it is "never too late"; we
always have a chance to make amends, improve.
An additional lesson relates to the way in which Pesach Sheini came
about. According to Midrashic literature, the laws concerning Pesach
Sheini were already "written in the Heavens." A new law wasn't created;
G-d was just waiting for the people to request it.
Why is this so important? It is similar to the Third Holy Temple, which
is all "ready to go" and missing only that we cry out for it. It is
similar, also, to Moshiach, who is "just waiting for the signal" from
us.
But, we must also remember that our request cannot be
made mechanically.It must have the same quality of
earnestness that our ancestors exhibited when they
requested Pesach Sheini.
*********************************************************************
THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
*********************************************************************
On the tenth day of the seventh month you shall afflict yourselves"
(Lev. 16:29)
The Apter Rav, author of Ohev Yisrael used to say: "Were I only to have
the authority I would annul all the fast days on the Jewish calendar
with two exceptions. Those are the Ninth of Av, the date of the
destruction of the Temple - for who can eat on such a day - and Yom
Kippur (the tenth day of the seventh month), the holiest day of the year
- for who needs to eat on such a day?"
* * *
You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18)
The Almighty loves every single Jew with the love elderly parents have
for the child born to them in their advanced years.
(Baal Shem Tov)
* * *
And you shall keep My statutes, and My ordinances, which if a person
will do them (otam) he shall live by them (Lev. 18:5)
The word "otam" - "them" - is spelled without the Hebrew letter vav. It
is therefore the same letters as the word "emet," which means "truth."
This hints to us that if a person lives his life according to truth,
acts truthfully in all areas, speaks and thinks honestly, it is promised
him that "he shall live by them." For clinging to truth is a special
merit for long life.
(Degel Machane Efrayim)
* * *
Because the life of all flesh is in the blood. (17:11)
The blood is the "soul" of man and beast. G-d permitted us to eat only
an animal's body, and not its soul. Since the blood of a beast is its
soul, we do not want to take an animal's soul into our bodies. We must
have an elevated consciousness in order to study Torah and perform
mitzvot. That which a person eats turns to blood in his body and his
mind is nourished by it.
(Ramban)
*********************************************************************
IT ONCE HAPPENED
*********************************************************************
Moshe Shlomo never understood why, when he asked the Baal Shem Tov to
bless him with children, the Rebbe ignored the request but blessed him
instead that his business prosper and he be wealthy. "When the Baal Shem
Tov (also known as the Besht) blesses me with riches," Moshe Shlomo
would tell his wife Rivka, "it never fails to come true, for I am today
a prosperous man indeed. Why, then, will he not pray that we have
children?"
One day the Besht called the couple to him and said, "Why are you so
sad? G-d has blessed you with many things. There are many good deeds
that you can do with your money, as indeed you do." And with that, the
Besht asked the couple if they wished to accompany him on a trip. Of
course they agreed.
When they arrived in a small town near Brody, the Besht suggested that
they walk around the town. They saw a group of children playing and the
Besht asked one of the little boys, "What is you name?"
"Baruch Moshe," came the reply.
"And yours?" the Besht asked, turning to another child. "Baruch Moshe,"
came the reply again. "And yours?" he asked a third child. This child
was also called Baruch Moshe. Each additional boy whose name the Besht
asked was also called Baruch Moshe.
A little girl, sister of one of the boys, offered her name. "I am Bracha
Leah," she said. Every other girl was also named similarly.
Moshe Shlomo and Rivka could not help showing their surprise. The Besht,
however, did not seem in the least amazed. They continued along the
village street, stopping each child they met to ask his or her name. The
answer was invariably "Baruch Moshe" or "Bracha Leah."
The Besht went over to an old man sitting on a bench. "Can you explain
to us why almost every child here is called Baruch Moshe or Bracha
Leah?"
The old man smiled and began: "About 100 years ago, there lived in this
village a butcher named Yitzchak who was full of Torah and good deeds.
He had one son, whom he called Baruch Moshe. The child was sent to
cheder, but it was soon evident that he was no scholar. Try as he might,
nothing he was taught would stay in his head. Even private tutoring did
not help. A year after his Bar Mitzva, Baruch Moshe left school to
apprentice at his father's butcher shop. There he showed an aptitude he
had never displayed in school.
"Years passed and Baruch Moshe married Bracha Leah. They lived a content
life together and earned the respect of the community. When Baruch
Moshe's parents passed away, he wanted to honor them by learning Mishna
in their memory. But, try as he might, he could not learn even the
simplest Mishna. He gave up in despair and instead just sat in the shul
when the rabbi gave a class without even understanding half of what was
being said.
"One day, a special phrase caught Baruch Moshe's attention. He heard the
rabbi say that whoever teaches Torah to his friend's son can be
considered as if he bore the child. These words caused him a special
pang of sorrow. 'It is sad enough that we have no children of our own.
It is doubly sad to know that I will never be able to teach other
people's children, thereby gaining the privilege of calling them my
own.' A deep sigh escaped Baruch Moshe's lips.
"The rabbi took him aside and said to him, 'Do not despair. You and your
wife are still young. You may yet be blessed with children.'
"Baruch Moshe was overcome with emotion. 'I don't know if we will ever
have children. And when you said that by teaching other people's
children you can call them your own I felt doubly sad, for I am but an
ignoramus. What will become of me?' And he burst into tears.
" 'Dear Baruch Moshe,' the rabbi said compassionately. 'My words were
not meant only literally. You can be instrumental in teaching other
people's children! By hiring teachers for the children of the poor and
by subsidizing the schools so that they can accept more students, you
are fathering these children spiritually.'
"Baruch Moshe's eyes lit up. This was certainly something in his realm.
He rushed home to his wife and explained everything the rabbi had said.
The next morning, Baruch Moshe went out and gathered all the poor
children of the village whose parents could not afford to send them to
cheder. He hired a special teacher for them, visiting them frequently to
see if they were progressing in their studies. And he made generous
donations to the existent schools.
"As the years passed, Baruch Moshe and Bracha Leah increased their
support for the children's Torah study. I myself, as was all of my
generation, was educated in the yeshiva founded by this wonderful
couple.
"Baruch Moshe and Bracha Leah passed on 15 years ago. They did not leave
behind any biological children. But they left behind literally hundreds
of children whom they helped educate and who bear their name. We felt
it our privilege to immortalize their memory by calling our children
after our spiritual parents. And, each year on the anniversary of their
passing, we all assemble together to say Kaddish for their noble souls."
After hearing this story, Moshe Shlomo and Rivka understood their task:
they would educate Jewish children, knowing that with the support they
extended they were "adopting" hundreds of children. They labored
selflessly, never forgetting the example they had heard of Baruch Moshe
and Bracha Leah.
Adapted from the Memoirs of the Previous Rebbe
*********************************************************************
MOSHIACH MATTERS
*********************************************************************
Pesach Sheini has its roots in the heartfelt cry of several Jews who saw
the entire Jewish people preparing for the Passover sacrifice and
protested, "Why should we be denied?" They couldn't offer the sacfirice
because they were ritually impure. Yet their heartfelt cry brought about
Pesach Sheini. Today, the entire Jewish people is impure; but we have
the right to cry out, "Why should we be denied?" Furthermore, our demand
for Moshiach can be presented with far more force than that of our
ancestors. They were being denied the opportunity to offer one sacrifice
and we are being denied the opportunity to offer all the sacrifices!
(The Rebbe, 15 Iyar, 5751-1991)
*********************************************************************
END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 817 - Achrei Mos-Kedoshim 5764
*********************************************************************
| Current 613 Commandments PDA | Moshiach General Books | About Children's Corner |