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                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 1233
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                           Copyright (c) 2012
                 Lubavitch Youth Organization - L.Y.O.
                              Brooklyn, NY
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             THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR EVERY JEWISH PERSON
   Dedicated to the memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson N.E.
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        August 10, 2012          Eikev               22 Av, 5772
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                           Look Ma, No Hands!

Perhaps it's as straight-forward as not wanting to get hurt. Or maybe
there's more to it, like being afraid of making a fool of oneself or,
worse yet, failing. For a child, learning to ride a "two-wheeler"
bicycle is an opportunity to acquire a new skill and taste independence.

And yet, for many a youngster there is a certain reticence toward this
significant childhood experience.

At first the child sits stiffly on the bicycle seat. A "bigger person"
pushes the bike along as the child gets a sense of balance. After the
child becomes more comfortable and secure, the spotter can let go for a
second or two and the child will coast on his own for a couple of feet
or yards before losing his balance.

Eventually, after a few scraped elbows and bruised knees - all of which
the child takes in stride - the novice bicyclist will glide and then
begin to peddle. The look of intensity and seriousness on his face is a
sight to behold.

Within days the now veteran bike-rider will be maneuvering turns,
confidently making short stops and riding one-handed. Each new stunt
elicits shouts of "fantastic!" and exclamations of "wow!" from his fans.

A few weeks later, an utterly confident thoroughly delighted child will
be calling out, "Look Ma, no hands!" as he has learned to balance the
bike and his body and form them into one unit.

Getting more involved in Jewish living - observance mitzvot
(commandments) and Torah study - is sort of like learning to ride a
bicycle. For many there is an initial reticence or even wariness. "If I
accept the invitation for a Shabbat meal will I end up making a fool of
myself by doing something wrong?" "I'll be the only in the synagogue who
doesn't know the choreography of prayer." "I know I'm going to sit in
the Torah class and not understand anything or ask a question that's so
basic that everyone will think I'm an imbecile."

Once we get over the initial cautiousness and actually decide to give it
a try, though, we've begun the life-long journey of acquiring a new
skill and tasting independence.

Of course, we shouldn't be self-conscious or shy to have a "spotter"
help us out as we get a sense of Torah balance. Before long the spotter
will be cheering us on, marveling at the new-found insights we share
with them or inspired by our enthusiasm.

It's natural that our first encounters with Torah and mitzvot might be
approached with the same intensity and determination as that of a child
learning to ride a bike. We won't be coasting along effortlessly, taking
in the sites, hollering to passersby.

Rather, we'll be focused, which is exactly what people do when learning
a new skill or experiencing something for the first time. But before we
know it, we'll be easily maneuvering around the holidays, putting on the
brakes (and staying balanced) to stop and study Torah, doing a
one-handed drop of a coin into a charity box.

Jewish teachings refer to people as "mehalchim" - movers (as opposed to
angels which are referred to "omdim" or standing still. The Torah
propels us forward, giving us opportunities to coast, peddle, shift
gears or brake before continuing on our journey once more.

Enjoy the ride!

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           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
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This week's Torah reading, Eikev, contains the verses: "What does G-d,
your L-rd, ask of you? Only to fear G-d... to walk in His ways and to
love Him." Our Sages interpret the quote non-literally, noting that the
Hebrew word "Mah" translated as "What" resembles the word "Meah" meaning
100. In this vein, the verse means that G-d desires "100" - 100
blessings. This is the source for the injunction for each person to
recite 100 blessings every day.

On the surface, the simple meaning of the verses and our Sages'
rendering of it are worlds apart. The verse is telling us to have an
active emotional relationship with G-d - to love Him and fear Him, and
seek to emulate His ways - while our Sages are speaking of a ritual
obligation to recite blessings and to make sure that we recite 100
blessings each day.

When looking deeper, however, we can appreciate that with their
interpretation, our Sages are not nullifying the verses' simple meaning.
What they are doing is providing a vehicle for us to internalize and
apply the charge communicated by the verse in our daily lives.

To fear and love G-d and follow His paths are noble virtues. How can a
person make these virtues actual factors in his life and not merely
ideals to which he is striving? By reciting 100 blessings a day.

To explain: Our Sages state, "It is forbidden to benefit from this world
without reciting a blessing." And Maimonides writes: "Our Sages
instituted many blessings as expressions of praise and thanks to G-d,
and as a means of petition, so that we will always remember the
Creator... and fear Him."

When a person recites a blessing before eating, he makes - or at least
has the opportunity to make - a fundamental acknowledgement of G-d's
presence in his life. Ordinarily, a person eats without thinking of how
the food got here or why it got here. It's a very simple, almost
animalistic deed. We eat because we're hungry without thinking of
anything more.

Our Sages tell us to act differently, to take a moment off before eating
to think and contemplate the inner spiritual dynamic that takes place
when we eat. To quote (also from this week's Torah reading): "Man does
not live by bread alone, but by everything that emerges from the mouth
of G-d." The verse is explaining that the food a person eats exists
because G-d invested His energy in it through the medium of speech. Just
as at the beginning of creation, G-d spoke and created the world; so,
too, at every moment He is bringing the world into existence through His
speech.

When a person eats, he is not deriving his vitality from the physical
matter of the food alone, but from the G-dly life spark His speech
invested in the food. By reciting a blessing over his food, praising G-d
"that everything was created with His speech," he is taking note of that
process.

Similarly, when a person sees a lightning bolt or hears thunder, he
recites a blessing, clarifying that what appears part of the natural
order is really an expression of G-dliness. When he relieves himself, he
recites a blessing, acknowledging the infinite wisdom that went into the
creation of the human body. And in his prayers, when he petitions G-d
for his livelihood, he is acknowledging that his success is not a result
on his own endeavors alone, but depends on G-d's blessings. In a similar
way, all the blessings we recite are intended to make the awareness of
G-d part of our operative consciousness and in this way spur our love
and fear of Him.

     From  Keep in Touch, adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher
                      Rebbe by Rabbi E. Touger, published by S.I.E.

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                             SLICE OF LIFE
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                         Clean Up Your Office!
                         by Rabbi Tuvia Bolton

One of our students in the Ohr Tmimim Yeshiva in Kfar Chabad, Israel,
whom we will call Mr. Schwartz, is well above the maximum age of our
pupils, but he is one of the students in the Ohr Tmimim Yeshiva in Kfar
Chabad, Israel. A lawyer by training and a restaurant-owner by
profession, since Torah study sharpens the mind, he finds the studies
informative and challenging.

Mr. Schwartz shared with me what he concluded was a big miracle that he
experienced a little over a decade ago. Three of his children, two sons
and one daughter, were engaged to be married and not only did he have no
money for the weddings, he didn't even have sufficient funds to fly to
the weddings!

Things looked really bad and he was worried. His business was having a
bad year; he already owed money and had mortgaged his home so getting a
loan was almost out of the question. Where would the money come from?
"What am I going to do? How can I pay for these weddings?" He asked
himself out loud.

But his wife wasn't worried. She kept telling him, "Don't just stand
there, complaining and doing nothing... pray!"

So Mr. Schwartz prayed, and prayed and even said Psalms at every free
moment. But the deadline approached and his debts and worries just
increased.

Finally, in desperation, his wife suggested that instead of wandering
around the house worrying in his free time, he should DO something
positive... like... clean up his home office.

Cleaning up his office - that was no simple job. The room had not been
really put into order for many years and had absolutely nothing to do
with solving his debts. He wanted to concentrate on his problem! But to
make his wife happy he did it. It was tedious work; there was a lot of
dust and tons of useless papers that had to be thrown out. After working
for a few hours with no apparent progress he was just about to give up
when he noticed a neat bundle of official looking papers.

Mr. Schwartz took a closer look and realized they were one hundred
shares of Northern Natural Gas stocks that he had purchased in 1976 for
$7.00 per share!

Mr. Schwartz tried to remember when and why he had bought them but
couldn't. The main thing was.... Were they worth anything? He sat in
front of his computer, typed in the name and found ..... nothing! There
was no such company! He tried all sorts of combinations of names and
spellings but... after all, 24 years is a long time!

But Mr. Schwartz didn't throw them away. He had nothing to lose so the
next day he took them to a stock brokerage down the street from his
restaurant and asked them if it was possible to check if they were worth
anything.

"Just one minute" the broker said, "I'll have a look here" and he began
searching the web as only a stock broker can. But he too came up with
nothing.

So Mr. Schwartz left the stocks at the brokerage at the request of the
broker who promised he would make a more thorough search when he had
free time.

Two days later, after Mr. Schwartz had already forgotten the entire
affair and was back to worrying full-time about the upcoming weddings,
he got a telephone call. It was the broker.

"Mr. Schwartz? I have some news for you. Twenty years ago Northern
Natural Gas was bought out by another company who, two years after that,
merged with yet another company. Then that third company merged with
someone else and a few years later it was bought out by a company called
Enron Corporation which is a multi-billion dollar concern. So, to get to
the point, today you own 600 shares of Enron at 80 dollars a share."

Mr. Schwartz managed to say four words... "It's a miracle. Sell!"

Three days later he had $48,000 more in his bank account: certainly
enough to fly his family to, and even pay a large portion of, all three
weddings.

His wife, although very happy and grateful to the Alm-ghty, was not
really surprised at all. "I told you to just pray and clean up your
office! See, the same G-d who made the matches for our children gave us
the money to pay for the weddings!"

But the story isn't over.

A month later Mr. Schwartz saw the headlines in the newspaper: "Enron
Management Indicted for FRAUD!" The stock had dropped from $80.00 per
share to 40 cents per share.

Mr. Schwartz read and re-read the article to see if it was really the
same company and if the stocks really dropped so drastically ..... it
was and they did. No doubt about it.... It was a double miracle; G-d
blessed AND protected him!

But it REALLY hit home when, three months later he got a call from the
Federal Securities and Exchange Commission! It is a crime to have inside
information on the stock exchange and to use that information to
manipulate the market. And that is exactly what it seemed clear to the
FSEC that Mr. Schwartz had done!

If he didn't have some sort of inside tip how could he possibly have
known to sell those shares at their highest price, just days before they
pummeled to almost nothing?!

They informed him that if he didn't give a satisfactory explanation they
would have to subpoena him to court.

So he explained the entire thing; about the upcoming weddings and the
stocks he found. He sent them copies of the transaction and of the
original stocks along with invitations to the three weddings and hoped
for the best.

A week later the investigator called Mr. Schwartz. He had received all
of the evidence and admitted that if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes
he would never have believed it. "The Good L-rd really kept an eye out
for you didn't He?" were his concluding words.

                                                 From ohrtmimim.org

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                               WHAT'S NEW
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                             New Facilities

Chabad of Tribeca/Soho in New York City, New York, is moving to a new
location with classrooms to house the preschool  and Hebrew school,
offices, lobby/cafe and a large multi-purpose space. Construction has
begun on the Chabad Federman Jewish Center of Hillsboro, Oregon, home to
Intel. The facility will include a library, study hall, kitchen, dining
area, Hebrew school and 1,800-sq-ft synagogue.

                        Police Station Synagogue

Six Torah scrolls were stolen from the Tzemach Tzedek synagogue in Tzfat
sparking a nation-wide search. When police recovered the scrolls they
requested that one be loaned to the local police station so they could
establish a synagogue.

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                            THE REBBE WRITES
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                        Erev Purim, 5729 (1969)

Greeting and Blessing:

I was pleasantly surprised to note in your editorial column in the issue
of February 28th excerpts of letters from your son, as well as the
spirit of your commentaries in this connection. Inasmuch as there is no
end to the good, I trust that there will be continuity in this direction
and that, moreover, the good influence of your son will create a chain
reaction infecting and affecting all the members of your family.

I am reminded of the well known verse (end of Malachi): "And he [Elijah]
will turn the heart of parents to the children," which, according to
Rashi, means "through the children - he will induce the children, with
love and good will, to go and speak to their parents to follow in the
ways of G-d." And although I trust that in any case the parents are
following the way of G-d, there is, as mentioned above, no end to the
good, and always room for improvement in all matters of goodness and
holiness, which are infinite, since they derive from the Infinite.

You and your wife are particularly privileged in that each of you has a
substantial circle of readers, a considerable number of whom undoubtedly
are influenced by your writings. Clearly, Divine Providence has bestowed
upon you also a special responsibility. There is surely no need to
elaborate on this to you....

With blessing,

P.S. In accordance with Jewish custom to offer a comment on a printed
word, I will take the liberty to do so also in reference to the
above-mentioned editorial, all the more so to avoid a misunderstanding
that I fully agree with all that was said there. I trust you will not
take amiss my remarks.

I wish to take issue with you in the matter of your youngest daughter
who, as you write, is eleven years old, and resisted starting Hebrew
school, but you "did not force the issue." You can well imagine my
reaction to this. For surely, if your eleven-year-old daughter would
have resisted going to school altogether, you would have found it
necessary to "force" the issue - if the term "force" can be applied
here. Certainly, insofar as a Jewish child is concerned, her Hebrew
education is at least as important to her as a general education.

This has been generally recognized throughout the ages, but it should be
particularly recognized in our own day and age. For we have seen many of
the greatest and saintliest of our people exterminated by a vicious
enemy. Consequently, all of us who have been fortunate enough to survive
must make up for this tremendous loss. On the other hand, the forces of
complete assimilation have grown much stronger in the free and
democratic countries. Worse still, in recent years assimilation has
found expression not only with another people, but very often with such
groups which have discarded all pretenses to morality and ethics, etc.
etc.

You may consider my reference to your daughter's attitude, and to your
attitude in this connection, no longer relevant, since you write that
she has agreed to begin Hebrew school, though you immediately point out
(with apparent satisfaction) that the method of instruction is "habet
ushma" [comprehension] - a system which obviously does not aim to lead
to "vaaseh" [and doing]. Surely there is no need to emphasize to you the
fact that when the Torah was given to our people, naaseh [we will do]
was not only a condition of acceptance of the Torah, but a prior
condition - "naaseh" before "v'nishmah" [we will understand].

Our Sages of blessed memory pointed out that Jewish identity and the
very basis of Jewish existence, for the individual as well as for the
people as a whole, lies in this great principle of naaseh before
v'nishmah. Certainly this is the way to train and educate a Jewish
child.
                        continued in next issue


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                               WHO'S WHO
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Abraham ben Abraham, was the scion of one of the wealthiest families in
Poland. Born Count Valentin Potocki, he was an intelligent young man,
his search for truth led him to Judaism. Eventually, he abandoned his
high aristocratic position, and became a Jew. He settled down near
Vilna. He was betrayed to the Polish authorities and was arrested for
the crime of having converted to Judaism. The greatest of the Polish
aristocracy begged him to renounce his faith and save his life, but he
refused, choosing to die (in 1749), as a martyr, with G-d's name on his
lips. His grave was a place of pilgrimage for many years.

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                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
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This Shabbat we bless the month of Elul, the final month of the year
before Rosh Hashana. One of the most fundamental principles in Judaism
is that a person can always change for the good. Regardless of one's
past actions, the only requirements are remorse for misdeeds, the
resolve not to repeat them, and a sincere desire to draw closer to G-d.
This process of returning to one's true, inner nature (which is
essentially good in the Jew) is known as teshuva, to which the entire
month of Elul is dedicated.

Unfortunately, the concept of teshuva is sometimes misconstrued.
"Becoming a baal teshuva" is not just for Jews who were never exposed to
Torah and never had a chance to learn the basics. The greatest rabbis
and scholars are also obligated to "do teshuva," for when it comes to
levels of holiness and purity, there is no end to up. Only G-d can
assess what is in a person's heart, ignoring the externals. On the
contrary, a person who was raised in a religious home is better equipped
to "do teshuva," armed with the benefit of a Jewish education to guide
him.

The story is told of a teacher in a "baal teshuva" yeshiva who, in the
course of an audience with a certain Chasidic Rebbe in Israel, described
how wonderful his school was. In the midst of the conversation, he felt
a sudden need to clarify that he himself "was not a baal teshuva."

"And why aren't you a baal teshuva?" the Rebbe gently chided him.

"Doing teshuva" is not a one-shot deal. A Jew doesn't become a "baal
teshuva" by beginning to perform mitzvot and assuming that he's made it.
The initial turning toward G-d may be revolutionary, but teshuva is an
ongoing process.

Every day we are faced with choices; every day is a new opportunity to
elevate and refine ourselves.

And the coming month of Elul is a particularly good time to renew our
resolve...

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                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
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Blessed shall you be above all the nations; there shall not be a barren
male or female among you (Deut. 7:14)

The Torah considers the Jewish soul the most precious commodity in the
world. The proliferation of the Jewish people, therefore, is the highest
blessing that can be bestowed upon them.

                                     (Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch)

                                *  *  *


And the L-rd will take away from you all sickness, and all the evil
diseases of Egypt (Deut. 7:15)

"Sickness" is an illness which causes the sufferer to lie in bed, not
because of pain or discomfort in any particular organ, but because it
has spread throughout the body; "evil disease" alludes to an ache in a
particular limb, while the rest of the body remains unaffected.

                                               (Haketav Vehakabala)

                                *  *  *


As a man chastens his son, so does the L-rd your G-d chasten you (Deut.
8:5)

A father's heart is heavy when he is forced to strike his son.
Similarly, G-d suffers with us when punishment is meted out.

                                (Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev)

                                *  *  *


A land whose stones are iron (Deut: 8:9)

Rabbi Abba said: A Torah scholar who is not as tough as iron is no Torah
scholar, as it states, "whose stones are iron." Do not read "avaneha"
(stones), but "boneha" (her builders). This Talmudic homily teaches us
an important lesson in how to protect the land of Israel: Although it is
certainly necessary to possess "iron" weapons in the literal sense - an
army and ammunition to deter our enemies - we must always remember that
the true "iron" and strength of the Jewish people is their Torah
learning and observance of mitzvot (commandments).

                                            (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

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                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
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There was once a person who lived in the vicinity of the Baal Shem Tov.
Because of his all-consuming pride, he decided to become an acetic, and
in that way, attract to himself a following of as many admirers as the
Baal Shem Tov had. To that end he wore only white garments, fasted
interminably, and tortured his body by rolling around in the ice and
snow. Imagine his disappointment when, in spite of all his attempts, he
in fact attracted no following at all.

He decided to visit the court of the Baal Shem Tov to see where it was
that he had failed. What did the Baal Shem Tov have that he lacked that
caused thousands to flock to him? He made his presence known to all the
Chasidim and tried to gain their friendship. But they easily saw beneath
his pious exterior and rebuffed all his advances.

Before he took his leave of the Baal Shem Tov, the man managed to gain
entrance to the presence of the tzadik.

The Baal Shem Tov took the man by the shoulder and said to him, "Come
outside with me for a minute. Do you see that horse over there tied to
the post? His garments - white; his food - hay; his bed - straw; and in
winter, he, too, rolls in the snow. But in spite of all of this, he is
still a horse."

                                *  *  *


A simple Chasid once approached the tzadik Reb Bunim of Pshischa. "It is
written in our holy books that if one fasts a certain number of days,
one will have a revelation of Elijah the Prophet.

Now I have fasted many, many days - exactly what is prescribed in the
texts - and still I haven't had the revelation. What have I done wrong?"

Reb Bunim said to the Chasid, "I will explain it to you by means of a
parable I heard in the name of the Baal Shem Tov:

"It is known that when the Baal Shem Tov travelled in his coach he
covered extraordinary amounts of territory in an impossibly short period
of time. But, you see, he used the coach only for the sake of appearing
to operate in a normal fashion. The reality was that he travelled by
miraculous means - kefitzat haderech - supernaturally contracting of
distance. One time he was on a journey, and, as usual, he was covering
enormous spaces in no time at all. The two horses who were flying before
the coach began to think. Said one horse to the other, 'Look here, we
are passing by all the usual rest-stops without ever stopping. When do
you suppose they will feed us?'

"The other agreed. 'You're right. All along the road, I see carriages
stopped off to the side where the horses are treated to some water or
oats. Only we have to continue racing on non-stop like lightning. I
wonder when we will finally be able to stop?'

"Then the first exclaimed, 'I think I've figured out the answer! Maybe
we're not horses after all! Maybe we're actually human beings, and
that's why we don't stop very often, for people can go longer periods
without eating and drinking.'

" 'I have to congratulate you on your conclusion! I bet you're right.
Let's wait and see what happens when we reach the next inn. If we come
to a place where people stop to rest and eat, and we're given some
supper, then we'll know.'

"So the horses continued their unnatural pace, which they accomplished
with little effort or exertion. They passed inns, hotels and taverns,
but they did not stop. The first horse again spoke to his companion:
'Well, we haven't stopped anywhere on the way to rest or partake of a
bite to eat. I suppose we aren't human beings after all. Maybe we're
angels in disguise.'

" 'You know, I think you must be right! We must be angels, because
angels don't need to rest or to eat. I'm so happy that you have figured
that out!' And the two horses dashed on with renewed strength.

"They continued until their master, the Baal Shem Tov, ordered them to
halt. They had stopped in front of an inn where they were immediately
taken to the stable and given an ample amount of hay. When the two
horses saw the delicious-looking hay, they began eating as if they were
starved."

Reb Bunim concluded his parable:

"This story refers to one who sits and fasts even if he continues his
fasting for weeks on end. It may be that he will even convince himself
that he is an angel. But how does that person end his fast? If, he
pounces on his food like a horse, then he has remained the same horse as
he had been before."

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                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
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Moshiach will rebuke the meek for not standing up for truth and
influencing his neighbor. When a person adopts an attitude of humility
and argues, "Who am I to arouse my fellow? What kind of a spokesman am
I?" - this is a most destructive humility. It is on account of this that
the meek are worthy of being sternly rebuked.  Daily experience teaches
us that when someone seeks to arouse his fellow in a positive direction,
conversations have an effect.  Moshiach will teach everyone to stand
strong for truth and to speak openly and with conviction.

           (Likkutei Dibburim, Simchat Torah 5690, ch. 18, sec. 48)

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                END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 1233 - Eikev 5772
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