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The Rabbi's Blog

A Message from Rabbi Spalter

My Israel Mission Diary

Rabbi Yisroel Spalter

ISRAEL MISSION DAY 1

From the airport , we headed to Kfar Chabad for Shacharis and breakfast,at “770” - (the first replica of Chabad Headquarters in Brooklyn,) built at the behest of Rebbe in 1985.

At breakfast we were briefed by Rabbi Menachem Kutner, who heads up Chabad’s Victims of Terror Division.

From Kfar Chabad, we went to Kibbutz Shfayim Hotel near Netanya, to visit bereaved families from Kfar Aza near Gaza, who are now taking up temporarily residence in the hotel.

Seventy of the 700 hundred Kibbutz residents were brutally murdered in the kibbutz, and another 50 kidnapped.

The scene was surreal. On a sprawling lawn, there were groups of families sitting Shiva, for mothers, fathers , daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, grandfathers and grandmothers.

We heard first hand stories of the horrors they endured- forty eight hours in bomb shelters and the tragic loss of loved ones.

One young mother sitting Shiva for her husband alongside one of her two children, related how in the midst of the mayhem her nine year old son, an avid “fortnight” video game player, said to his mother, “ I know how to make a Molotov cocktail”! She described her husband as a brave, decisive, “Chuck Norris” like, strong man, who she always considered to be invincible…

We let the families know that we were here on your behalf, that we all share in their pain and give them all the love and support we possibly can. That they are not alone. The people of Israel are one Mishapacha - one family. The message was warmly and lovingly received and reciprocated.

One man who had just buried his mother the day before, said: “I’ll be honest with you. We appreciate you coming to share in our pain, but truthfully, we don’t need you to share in our pain, we need you lift up the Jewish people, to inspire us and them! And I believe that with all my heart, even though I’m an atheist...!” (how’s that for a quintessential “Jewish atheist” …)

Next, we headed to a search and rescue army reserve unit near Cholon. We prayed and we danced together and we thanked them for being on the front lines of defending the Jewish people. They were extremely appreciative and moved by our coming to Israel at this time, and shared how much strength it was giving them. One of the commanders of the unit, a reservist who is an optometrist by profession in his civilian life, shared that he had led rescue missions to Thailand, Haiti and other parts of the world, and thought that he had seen it all, until now……. The carnage, the brutality of what he witnessed in the communities near the Gaza, was unlike anything he had ever seen… May Hashem avenge all their innocent blood.

From Cholon we travelled to Tel Aviv, to the “hostage command center”. The command center came together organically as parents, family and friends of the hostages banded together and mobilized in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy as the government scrambled to manage the overwhelming unfolding tragedy.

The command center is a hub teeming with activity, with multiple teams operating on various fronts. We were briefed by some of the staff. We learned how priority was given first and foremost to assessing the medical needs of each hostage and to making sure that packages of meds were prepared accordingly. We heard the gut-wrenching stories of mothers and fathers and siblings of the hostages. But what we heard was not just pain and anguish. We witnessed incredible faith, resilience and resolve. In the words of one: “we cannot afford to drown in our pain, we must channel it into action.” They appealed to all of us do whatever we can to create public awareness, to engage and mobilize, to not rest until every hostage is free.

As we concluded our meeting with the families we began to sing “Acheinu” – a song and heartfelt prayer for the immediate safe return of the hostages and their loved ones. We held hands and all of us were transported to a different world. A world of hope, faith, trust and victory. There was not a dry eye in the room.

The day concluded with an evening of prayer at the Kotel, with the participation of the Rabbi of the Kotel, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch and the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Dovid Lau. From the Kotel, we made our way to our hotel in Jerusalem, which is currently “home” to hundreds of people from the Kfar Maimon community near Gaza.

Spending the day with the people most directly affected by the tragic events of two weeks ago, deepened the connection we all already feel to this great tragedy, we had come to encourage support and share love. As much as we shared and gave, we received so much more. “Mi K’amcha Yisroel” - “who is Like Your people Israel?” A nation who in the face of so much grief, so much pain, so much loss, has come together like never before, with indestructible, resilience. resolve, fortitude and faith.

 

 

ISRAEL MISSION DAY 2

Our first stop was the southern city of Ashkelon, where were briefed by Rabbi Mendel Lieberman - head Chabad Shliach to Ashkelon that is home to 25 Chabad Centers, and an extensive network of schools and social service organizations. We heard from the director of the central security command center and were astonished to see a video presentation that featured the precise locations of the thirteen hundred rockets that were fired into Ashkelon in the last two weeks alone. In the words of Ashkelon’s mayor Tomer Glam, “no people should have to live this way”!

Rabbi Lieberman shared that his city-wide staff members are without protective helmets. Rabbi Chaim Mintz from Belaire, CA, announced a pop-up fundraiser and within two minutes, twenty-five thousand dollars was raised on the spot for the purchase of the helmets to assure the safety of his staff.

From Ashkelon we traveled further south to Sderot, the closest city to Gaza, less than a kilometer away. This beautiful city is eerily empty, as most of the city’s residents have temporarily sought safe haven in other parts of Israel. Five thousand people are estimated to still be in the city but with most of the residents including most business owners gone, Chabad of Sderot is (one of) the only resources for basic goods, from groceries to toiletries. Rabbi Mentz got to work again and raised thirty-two thousand dollars for Chabad of Sderot’s operations.

After lunch at the Chabad Center, we proceeded to the Sderot Media Center for a briefing from Knesset member Amichai Shikli, who was introduced by the center’s director Gigi Butera, who shared the miracle of her surviving the deadly attacks on Simchat Torah, which she attributes to her Shabbat/Holiday observance, which accounts for why she did not come to the Media Center for safety. Because it is next door to the police station, many people go to the Media Centers shelter for safety. On this fateful day however, the center’s proximity to the police station proved fatal for the estimated twenty people that were murdered in the media center, as the police station was a prime target of the terrorists -- a police station that is in fact no more. That was the Police station which was set ablaze by the Hamas terrorists which killed scores of police officers. We watched as bulldozers put on the finishing touches of its demolition, which began the day of the attacks. In the parking lot of the Media Center, sits a bullet ridden car with blood stains covering most of the upholstery on the front two seats, where a couple were shot to death, while their young children hid in the back….

From Sderot, we made our way to the Soroka Medical Center in B’er Sheva, the largest hospital near Gaza. As we approached B’er Sheva, sirens were heard from inside our bus, the bus stopped in the middle of the highway as did all the surrounding traffic. We dashed for the nearest sidewalk and lay down, as rockets were intercepted over our heads. We later discovered that we were supposed to lay face down and not face up, with our phones recording the sky filled action…

At the hospital we were briefed by Tzachi Slutzki, the deputy director of the medical center, who we learned has not left the hospital since the attacks. The growing number of patients injured during attacks being treated at the hospital is staggering. Many of them soldiers. The daughter of one of the patients shared with us that eleven of thirteen soldiers in her unit were killed by the Hamas terrorists.

Chabad operates full time in the Hospital and was recently given a large room to serve as the official Chabad Center at the Soroka Medical Center.

We then split up into groups and visited with patients wounded in the attacks. Each one shared what can only be described as a miraculous story of survival. We listened and we prayed and we sang and we distributed gifts and get-well cards to the patients from members of our respective communities. We hugged, we shared your love and we wished them complete and speedy recoveries.

The climax of our day was an evening BBQ with over 125 spirited soldiers stationed in a military building in Ofakim. For two hours, we sang together, danced together, ate together, thanked them for being the Maccabee’s of 2024 and blessed them to return home with a resounding victory in Gaza. Their spirit and commitment to represent the land and people of Israel is unbreakable, unshakable and rooted in deep faith and love for our land and our people.

One of my colleagues on the trip, Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf from Chicago offered the following analysis from the day’s activities: Analysis:

Soldiers, young and old, are clear in their message: Eradicate the Hamas threat completely, or this cycle will inevitably repeat. These soldiers, both young and more seasoned, have left families, jobs, and normality to confront this pressing issue. Government officials and Minister Amichai Shikli expressed a steadfast commitment to fully eliminate Hamas. Israeli experts from various fields are lending their professional skills in this time of conflict. The evacuees from southern towns face daunting challenges. Families have abandoned their homes and livelihoods to seek safer grounds. Despite hardships like trauma and disrupted education, children show remarkable resilience and an indomitable will to prevail over adversity.

Many ordinary citizens I met seem skeptical that the government will withstand international pressures to cease air strikes against the Gaza terrorist strongholds.

Those who fled the south have faced unthinkable hardships, yet their spirit is unbowed. The children, especially, embody a resilience that defies their years. Chabad here has been on both, a spiritual and physical oasis for those in desperate need. There’s a spiritual awakening in this country, unparalleled to anything I have seen before.

While ordinary citizens may waver in hope, it's evident that a collective will, transcending politics and age, is forming against the enemy. May this trying chapter in Israel's story lead us not just to a ceasefire but to a Shalom that endures.

 

 

ISRAEL MISION, DAY 3 - “HaLev Sheli Nikra Lishnayim” - “My Heart is Torn Apart”

Our first stop was the town of Peduel located in Samaria between the Arab villages of A-Dik and Deir Balut, at a strategic point known as "Israel's Lookout". The town overlooks most of the coastline of the State of Israel - from the outskirts of Gaza to the city of Haifa. From the lookout one can see Ben Gurion Airport and the Tel Aviv metropolitan- the largest concentration of Jews in the world. We were greeted by the Chairman of the Shomron Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, and were briefed on the needs of the civil defense units stationed at this critical strategic location.

Israeli TV station Channel 14 was doing a live feed, featuring an interview with our group’s principal organizer and spokesman, Rabbi Dovid Eliezri. As we stood behind the pop-up studio, we began to sing “Acheinu” - a song of prayer for the release of the hostages. In true fluid Israeli fashion, the network carried the singing live, with the in-studio anchor joining in the chorus. The onsite anchor, visibly emotional herself, commented to the viewing audience how the song of the Rabbis, sung with evident heartfelt emotion, was making a deep impression on all the soldiers present at the site.

While in the Shomron, Yossi brought us to the town of Kiryat Netafim, to the home of Avi and Urit Baruch who just rose from the Shiva of their twenty-two-year-old daughter Adi of blessed memory, may Hashem avenge her blood.

We came to offer our condolences, but left with so much more. What we saw and what we heard speaks volumes about the indomitable spirit, idealism, and faith of the people of Israel - “a gentle people with a faith of steel.”

Urit and Avraham shared some of the story of their daughter Adi. Adi, who was soon to be engaged, lived a life infused with joy, passion, idealism and love for the Land of Israel. She was a photographer, a poet, and an activist who had at a young age envisioned pioneering the building of a new town in the Shomron, and had recently undertaken the first steps towards realizing her vision. “And what if you are not able to build a new town” her mother once asked her. “I will go wherever I am needed,” she said.

When news of the attack on Simchas Torah reached the Baruch family, Avi was called up to reserve duty. Adi, who was not called up, insisted that her people needed her now and that she was going to serve voluntarily. Her parents could not convince her otherwise. With her expertise in multimedia, the army assigned her to create a coordinated video command center in Sderot, the Southern City closest to Gaza. A family friend who also enlisted, picked her up and assured her parents that he would take responsibility for Adi’s safety. As they entered Sderot to the sound of a siren, they jumped out of their vehicle. True to his word, her friend did his best to protect Adi by jumping on her to protect her from the explosion. Miraculously, he survived. Adi, tragically, did not.

Currently recovering from his wounds in hospital, Adi’s companion is hesitant to see Adi’s parents, but Urit shared that they conveyed to him that they look forward to thanking him and hugging him. They know he did the best that he could.

Adi’s groom-to-be asked if the family wanted the ring that he had intended to give Adi. The ring was his, they assured him, knowing that Adi would always have a place in his heart. They also shared with her groom-to-be that they looked forward to him one day finding someone with whom to build a home and family and to celebrating with him at his wedding…

Throughout the Shiva, Urit and Avraham learned things about Adi that they did not know. The multiple circle of friends and causes that she was involved with, and how she was wholly dedicated to each of them. Most of all she was dedicated to her family, and would always opt for a family gathering over a social one. As Adi was scheduled to leave for Sderot on Tuesday, she asked the army if she could stay home just one more night. That was the last night she spent at home.

As Urit and Baruch reflected on Adi’s life throughout the Shiva, hints of what was about to occur began to emerge. Astonishingly, they discovered the following poem that Adi wrote for her parents. Here is a translation for the original Hebrew:

And if one day I die

Before my time has come

I want you to celebrate life

And do not grieve over my death

That you wake up each morning with a smile and longing in your heart

And don’t allow a single moment to be wasted

See the world for me, appreciate every moment

And every once in a while, smile up to the clouds - I will be there.

I’m sorry for the pain I have caused

Know that I am in a good place

Longing

And ever loving.

Avi showed us the last picture he took with Adi, as they left to serve. Incredibly the space between Adi and her father is the shape of the land of Israel. As they took the picture, Adi was brimming with pride and said to her father, who she knew was so hesitant at her leaving for the front, “What did you expect of me? To become a chicken farmer?! This is what you raised me for!”

A box arrived at the Baruch home during the Shiva. In it was a necklace that Adi had ordered online, with a pendant in the shape of the land of Israel - the land she loved, the land that she gave her life for. The necklace that is now being worn by Urit, a grieving mother, a proud mother, a mother who is doing her best to live her daughter’s call to live life fully and joyfully.

We were all deeply moved and inspired by what we heard. Spontaneously we joined together in singing “ani Maamin b’emunah shlaima, b’vias HaMoshiach’. “We believe with a perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, our belief is unshaken.” May he indeed come soon and usher in the time when Adi and all the fallen soldiers will be reunited with their parents and loved ones, together with the rising of all those who lay in the earth.

Next on our itinerary was a nearby shooting range, where reservists were being trained to use the latest Arad rifle, manufactured in Israel.

It was there where we met Elye Avichai, a Deputy Commander in the Golani 51 brigade, his hand in a cast and a scar on his face, who shared his incredible story.

He lives in the Shomron area. Simchas Torah morning, upon hearing the news of the attack, he immediately realized that this was an extremely dangerous situation. He jumped into his car with a few friends and sped towards the south of Israel - “Ground Zero” of the Hamas attack.

As they approached Ofakim, they began to see bodies littered everywhere, and terrorists ambushing the intersection they had stopped at. They realized that the scope of this situation was way beyond anything they imagined.

They arrived at Kibbutz Rei’im, but they were only equipped with handguns while facing tens of terrorists with long shotguns. A vicious gun fight ensued, during which Elye single handedly neutralized close to 40 terrorists.

Sadly, his friend Motti was killed in the gunfire, and Elye himself was injured with a bullet in his hand and one that grazed his face, grateful however to be alive.

Our next stop was Kfar Chabad, where we marveled at the sophisticated Chabad Emergency Operations Center, providing material, humanitarian and spiritual aid across Israel through the network of the hundreds of Chabad Centers. On a daily basis, truckloads of items, from food, clothing, games, educational and religious materials are delivered from Kfar Chabad to families all over Israel, reaching thousands of people on a daily basis.

One of the lesser-known stories to this war are the hundreds of thousands of people who have been uprooted from their homes in the south and north, to hotels, community centers and private homes, all in central Israel. This calls for massive humanitarian assistance efforts on multiple levels, of which Chabad is at the forefront.

From Kfar Chabad we visited the Shiba Hospital in Tel Hashomer. On the day of the attacks, helicopters were flying back and forth from the frontlines with hundreds of wounded soldiers, who now fill the hospital wards.

Words fail me to describe the pain of witnessing so much pain. Beautiful young women and men, confronting the reality of life with missing arms and legs, scars, burns, bodies ravaged by the savagery of the terrorists.

And words failed me then too. The best we could do was to hug, to kiss and to sing…

From ward to ward, together with fellow Shliach Michi Ravnoy on guitar and a chorus of my fellow Shluchim, we sang.

With many of the patients we sang the song “HaLev Sheli” by popular Israeli singer Ishai Ribo. As I began to sing the song with young men and women with amputated legs, the lyrics suddenly resonated on a whole different level. A raw level. An authentic level, a real level.

“HaLev Sheli Nikra Lishnayim” - my heart is torn in two

“K’var Moed Lo Omed al Haraglayim “ - I cannot stand on my feet anymore….

Shevet Kli Shekvar Ain Bo Ma- “a broken container, with nothing left…….

“V’rak Ata Yachol L’hafoch Mispedi L’machol” - and only You (G-d) can transform my sadness to joy..

“V’rak Ata Mayvin Aich Lageshet Lalev Sheli” - and only You know how to reach my heart….

“Merape et HaLev” - and heal my heart.

To behold the faces of these beautiful heroes singing these lyrics and witness the ray of hope and light come over their faces, “dayeinu”. It was one of the most humbling and hopeful moments of my life.

Lying in one of the hospital beds was Ofek. Here is his story:

Shabbat morning, Oct. 7, Kfar Aza

6:30 am.

Ofek, a resident and a member of the local security for Kfar Aza, was woken to frantic calls for help as terrorists had infiltrated the village.

Ofek and the 15 other members of the team were fighting to protect their village.

His phone rings, his wife is on the line. The terrorists are in their house, she and her two children are petrified.

They run into their room and hide in a chest under the mattress. They lie there quietly for hours, while the terrorists are wandering about the house. They sit on the bed, while the mother and two children hold their breath beneath them.

Ofek, upon hearing his wife, jumps into his car and drives around towards his home.

As he approaches, he sees close to 200 terrorists, armed to the teeth. A gun fight ensues. He kills tens of terrorists, while he sadly is badly injured in his arm. He continues to dodge the bullets while realizing he’s gushing blood.

He hides behind a bush and tries to tend to his wound.

The terrorists are done with his home, so they set it on fire. The woman and children begin to inhale smoke and cannot breathe. They have no choice and crawl out of the house. They see the terrorists, so they hide in an outdoor shed under a pool cover.

Miraculously, they are not found and survive.

Later that night the woman and children are saved by members of the IDF. Ofek is found and rushed to Sheba Hospital where he undergoes a surgery to save his arm, and is currently rehabilitating.

This non-stop flow of miracles doesn’t stop here.

Ofek asked a friend to enter his home and see if anything was salvageable. The friend returned with the disappointing news that everything, their entire life, was burned to a crisp. Besides… for his Tefillin.

Rabbi Levi Gopin, shliach at the Sheba Hospital, arranged to have the Tefillin checked.

Today, Rabbi Gopin returned with a delegation of American Shluchim, and brought back the Tefillin. They are 100% Kosher.

We had the distinct honor and privilege to lay these holy salvaged Tefillin on Ofek. We recited Shema together in tears, while marveling at the incredible miracles that brought us to this moment.

As we took leave, we came out to the porch with many of the wounded surrounded by their families. There sat a young girl in a wheelchair with the face of an angel. “Please tell me your story”, we asked. She was on active duty with a small unit base in the south, when the terrorist attacked. She was running on the street shooting at terrorists as she made her way back to her unit, which consisted of seven soldiers.

She watched five of her fellow soldiers die from bullets, and having taken ten bullets into her own body, was waiting for her moment of death to come too…

Only it didn’t. Miraculously she survived. Her body is full of stitches as eight of the bullets have been removed. Two remain, she said, too embedded in her bones to extract…

It was excruciatingly difficult for us to leave the hospital but as we did, the local Chabd Shliach to Tel Hashomer, Rabbi Gopin, said to us:” you have no idea what you have done here. You transformed this place from a place of sadness to joy, from gloom to hope, from pain to healing.”

Though it is still too early to fully process what we have witnessed the past few days, at dinner that night in the hotel, each one of us shared something of their experience. Rabbi Moishe Bryski, Shliach to Agoura Hills CA, and a son of survivors, shared how the world’s silence during the Second World War always baffled him. Witnessing the world today he is baffled no more. We must then be the Shofars that wake up and shake up an indifferent and hostile world to the Holocaust of 2023.

Rabbi Glukowasky, a leading Chabad rabbi from Rechovot, reminded us of the sacred duty we have to galvanize our communities into greater awareness and most of all a call to action, to do our part in this war against the Jewish people, materially and spiritually, politically, diplomatically, through media. Whatever influence we have, we must use.

Rabbi Yitchok Wolf, from Chicago, one of the group leaders shared this:

I just had a meeting with the Rabbi of the town of Kfar Maimon, (most of whose residents are staying in the same hotel as us) located 7 km from the Gaza border.

On the morning of Shmini Atzeret, terrorists came within 200 meters of the town. At the same time, an Israeli military helicopter in the vicinity experienced a malfunction. The pilot made an emergency landing, and the soldiers quickly exited the helicopter. Within a minute, the helicopter exploded.

The soldiers immediately engaged with about 70 terrorists who surrounded them. Miraculously, they fought bravely and eliminated over 50 of the terrorists without any casualties.

The terrorists then realized that the village was well guarded and moved on to the farming area, where dozens of Thai employees were tending to cows, sheep, and agriculture. Unfortunately, these unarmed Thai workers were subjected to torture,

decapitation, and brutal violence.

The village of Maimon was miraculously saved - an open miracle.

What the villagers from Kfar Maimon did not have this year however, was a proper Simchas Torah celebration. Our delegation was about to change that. With guitar in hand, Michi Ravnoy and others from our group began to sing and dance in the lobby of the hotel. Before long, dozens of teenagers from Kfar Maimon joined in the spirited singing and dancing. The Hakafot they were denied on Simchas Torah they were now able to celebrate tonight.

I think it’s fair to say that for all of us, this trip was life changing. For us, the story of this war is no longer a news story from a distance, it is now up close and personal. It’s our story.

As the Rebbe’s Shluchim, we know that the strong emotional attachment to the story we now feel must be channeled into action and we must do it energetically and joyfully.

What we witnessed in Israel is the extraordinary story of a people who have come together as one, in pain, in trauma, and in resolve, determination, faith and optimism.

That the Jewish people are one “Mishapacha” - one family, is not a slogan, it’s a reality. Am Yisrael Chai!

With profound gratitude to the organizers and co-ordinators of this trip that came together in a matter of days, and to our Rebbe, who gave us the great merit to represent him - to be ambassadors of love, light, hope, healing, truth, clarity and redemption.

Good Shabbos and Shabbat Shalom,


In Honor of 22 Shvat, Yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka OBM (Monday, February 17)

As many of you know, I’ve had the great privilege of growing up in the neighborhood where the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rebbetzin lived for over 50 years. Growing up in Crown Heights, just a few blocks away from the Rebbe’s House and Shul, gave me the opportunity to see him almost every day. I would daven with him every Shabbos and many weekdays, attend all his Farbrengens (Chassidic gatherings) and be present for many other occasions that were held in the now famous 770 Eastern Parkway. In short, my youth was enriched by all the goings on in and around the Rebbe’s court. Being enmeshed in all of it is undoubtedly the greatest privilege one can have.

People ask me all the time how many times I saw the Rebbe? I simply cannot answer that question. I’ve seen him thousands and thousands of times. But if you asked me how many times I saw Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the Rebbe’s wife, the answer is very different. I saw her only once. The Rebbetzin avoided being in the public, in fact she hardly ever left her home. The Rebbetzin, an erudite and wise woman, carried the mantle of her position in a most humble and unpretentious fashion. There were those who would visit her at her home but they were far and few between. Ninety-nine percent of the Chassidim never saw the Rebbetzin. Though she was the wife of a leader revered by hundreds of thousands, almost nothing was known about her until after her passing, when those who knew her felt that they could tell of her life and personality without violating her jealously guarded privacy.
Before her husband became the leader and Rebbe, he too was completely reserved and did all he could to conceal his true greatness. Both the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, two of the greatest personalities of the last century, were the best kept secret. Of course, as people got to know him better they saw that behind his disguised façade was a giant. A giant in terms of holiness, Torah scholarship and character. Elder Chassidim related that when her father, the previous Rebbe, passed away in 1950, it was the Rebbetzin who convinced her husband to become the new Rebbe. She said to him after months of his refusal to take on the mantle of leadership, that he had no choice. Otherwise her father’s holy work would be discontinued. After much persuasion she finally convinced him and in 1951 he officially became the Rebbe and known to the public. Soon his greatness and holiness would become apparent to all. As for the Rebbetzin? She insisted on remaining a closed book. She continued in her usual fashion, doing her best to remain inside and away from the public disguising her true greatness. She gave the Rebbe to the world, supporting everything he did with complete devotion from behind. Her devotion to the Rebbe and Chassidim knew no bounds. For example, she never went to sleep before the Rebbe came home. At least three times a week that meant three, four or five a clock in the morning. Those nights were Yechidus nights, when anyone can make an appointment to see the Rebbe privately and seek out his counsel. Those audiences lasted into the wee hours of the morning, during which time the Rebbetzin would remain awake until the last person left and the Rebbe would come home. Only then would she retire herself. I can go on and on with examples of her steadfast commitment and loyalty to the Rebbe, to Chassidim and to the Jewish people.
It was only after she passed away that the Rebbe began to relate to the public her true quality and great personality. The Rebbe opened a window into the unknown depth and true nature of who the Rebbetzin really was. He said on one occasion that only G-d knows her true greatness. What he meant to say was that she was able to disguise her exalted towering greatness even from him. Her righteous soul and regal character became a symbol to tens of thousands of women across the globe. Her inspiration continues to light up the world as thousands of institutions carrying her name continue to bring light and love to millions of people. Thousands of young women and girls, my daughter included, who are the Rebbetzin's namesake are all over the world carrying on her message of modesty, regality and steadfast devotion to the Rebbe and his holy goal of bringing redemption to the world with the coming of Moshiach.
May her memory be a blessing to all of us.  
Shabbat Shalom

Seventy years strong!

This coming Wednesday, the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Shvat (Yud Shvat) marks the 70th anniversary of the ascension of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson to the leadership of Chabad Lubavitch.

It is impossible to describe in one article the true significance of this day. An entire series of articles and essays would probably be needed to truly capture the essence of Yud Shvat and what it represents. It is hard to imagine what the Jewish landscape would look like if not for the leadership of the Rebbe. Through his outreach revolution, the Rebbe transformed Jewry as it was known. The Rebbe revived the Jewish people after the holocaust, when our hearts, spirits and souls were completely shattered and saved Jewry worldwide. Through his teachings, campaigns and his Shluchim (emissaries), he oversaw a Jewish renaissance of epic proportions, one that no one could have expected or imagined. But not only that; The Rebbe changed the way Jews thought of themselves, the world around them and their sense of mission. With total dedication and unbounding love, he took a broken Jewish nation and breathed into them new life, purpose and perspective. The Rebbe inspired Jewish leaders, Jewish movers and shakers, Chassidic Rebbe’s, political personalities and so many more to move away from a survivor mentality and to begin to recognize the new opportunity that presented itself to the Jewish people for the first time in millennia; an opportunity to finally become the light unto the nations that we were always meant to be, but was beyond our reach, because of harsh circumstances we found ourselves in. In Poland and Russia, we had to dodge pogroms and other anti-Semitic acts constantly perpetrated against Jews. Here in America and especially after the war, all that changed. We finally had the opportunity to reach out and become the global ambassadors of G-d we were always meant to be. The Rebbe did not just talk; He acted. He changed minds, Inspired hearts and unleashed a flood of goodness in the world. Today Lubavitch is a source for everything Jewish all over the globe. From Alaska to Bangkok, Helsinki to the Congo and from Weston to Brisbane, the Rebbe’s love and dedication are present for all to enjoy.
When he officially assumed leadership, he held a Farbrengen and addressed the chassidim in a small room which accommodated at most 200 people. They were all survivors of the camps, the gulags and everywhere in between. Many of them had just arrived from Europe’s D.P. camps and were happy to be able to begin living again. During that first gathering the Rebbe laid out a plan for the Jewish people, which was so broad in scope and grandiose in vision that the people in the room were just stunned and flabbergasted. He said that our generation would be the one who would finally transform the world and usher in the final redemption through Moshiach.
He drew upon the Midrash, which teaches that when G-d created the universe His presence was felt and completely revealed everywhere, even in our physical world. But then Adam ate from the forbidden fruit and caused G-d’s presence to be removed from earth up to heaven, causing the world to be plunged into spiritual darkness. A series of six additional cosmic sins ‘pushed’ the divine presence even further away from earth, all the way up to the seventh spiritual heaven. Then came Abraham, he began to reverse that process and draw the divine presence back down to earth. It took seven great Tzaddikim, over seven generations, to ‘bring’ G-d back down to earth. Moses, the seventh from Abraham, finally accomplished that feat at Sinai; as we are told “G-d descended onto Mount Sinai”. His presence was once again here in full revelation as it was before the original sin. But sadly, that did not last long. The sin of the golden calf and subsequent sins caused a repeat of the same process and again, G-d’s revealed presence was ‘chased away’ from our physical world. The Rebbe then said something truly remarkable. He said that the Chassidic renaissance which was initiated seven generations ago, began to once again draw G-d’s presence back down to earth. The Rebbe explained that we are the seventh generation and it is therefore our mission to complete the job and bring G-d down to earth once and for all. His message was clear; we are the ones who must bring Moshiach, end the exile, and bring the world to its fullest potential.
Imagine the people in the room hearing those words. Here you have a leader who has his eyes on the ultimate prize, Moshiach. Anything less than that spells failure from his point of view. This was his message to a nation who, just a few years earlier, lost 6,000,000 to Hitler, and millions more were trapped behind Stalin’s iron curtain, cut off from Jewry and Judaism. You can well imagine that the Rebbe’s global outlook and grandiose vision probably fell on deaf ears. But he believed what he was saying. He said it again and again and slowly his message penetrated the hearts and minds of hundreds, then thousands and the rest is history. The Rebbe uplifted the shattered remnants of a downtrodden and broken people into a nation who saw themselves once again or perhaps for the first time in millennia, as a light unto the nations. He infused our people with hope and enthusiasm and asked that they join him in the greatest mission of all; to end this exile and bring G-d once again down to earth.
In Jewish literature and thought the number seventy represents perfection and fulfillment. I have no doubt that in this seventieth year of the Rebbe’s leadership his call to bring Heaven down to earth and indeed bring Moshiach will be fulfilled and be completed. May it happen now! Amen.
 
Shabbat Shalom 

What Does It Take To Be A Leader?

In this week’s Torah reading, Vayechi, we read about Jacobs last moments of life. He gathers all his children, the 12 tribes, around his bed and blesses each of them, foretelling what would happen to them and their progeny in the future. He designates each child’s destiny. Who will be the leader, the scholar, the spiritual leader, the entrepreneur, the warrior and much more. The scene must have been so beautiful and majestic. After a very long tumultuous life, Jacob finally can enjoy some real Nachas. On his death bed he sees that all his children and grandchildren are following in his footsteps and living the life he educated and taught them to live. Most of us can only dream of such a result. However, when you analyze his words to them you see that not all is as smooth as we would expect. Let me site a couple of examples.

Rueben, the first born, seems to have been shorthanded. As a first born you would expect Jacob to confer upon him the position of leadership. From him should have come the kings of Israel. Yet, not only is the future monarchy of Israel not from his line, he is not given any leadership positions at all. He is not the future spiritual leader, nor is he the future scholar. Instead, the kings all come from Judah, the priests come from Levi, the scholars from Isachar and so on. In fact, in our history, Rueben and his offspring have hardly made any mark and have not risen to anything of note at all. Why?
 
Rueben was a very holy and righteous person. When the brothers plotted to kill Joseph it was Rueben who begged them not to shed Joseph’s blood themselves, instead, he convinced them to throw him into a nearby pit to die on his own. Rueben’s intent, of course, was to come later and rescue him. Unfortunately for Joseph, Rueben then went to pray and engage in spiritual perfection and repentance for a past sin he had committed thinking he would return to the pit when his brothers were no longer there. In the interim a caravan of Arabs passed by and Judah, feeling guilty seeing his brother Joseph linger in a pit to die, reasoned with his brothers that it would be better to sell Joseph as a slave to the caravan and not be guilty of his death. This they did and as they say, the rest is history.
 
In the final analysis, Rueben, the righteous holy man, missed the boat. He was missing in action when he was most needed. He was praying and being all spiritual when a Jewish boy was lingering in a pit. He had great intentions, but as they say; the road to hell is paved with the best of intentions. In that sense Rueben failed as a leader. When he needed to act as the first born and the leader of the group he was not present. Judah, on the other hand, saved his brother from certain death. He might not have had the best of intentions, but he showed leadership at that pivotal moment. This one incident shaped the future for not only themselves but for generations to come. Rueben never became a leader in the Jewish story, whereas Judah and his progeny became the kings and leaders of Israel until the end of time.
 
It seems unfair but life is not always fair. Life is short and there are moments in our lives when we are called upon to take a stand, to be a leader, not to delay, not to be silent even if it means going out of our comfort zone. Sometimes, it is those moments and opportunities that define our lives. All the rest might turn out to be incidental or less important. When there is a child in the ‘pit’ of addiction, in the ‘pit’ of apathy, in the ‘pit’ of spiritual death, in the pit of…. pick your choice, you mustn’t walk away. Do something, speak up, take a stand, be a leader and do not rely on someone else or even on a later opportunity. That later opportunity might never come. Before you know it that child might be ‘sold’ into ‘slavery’ of his or her own abyss. One more point; No one cares about your intentions; you will have ample time to work on the nobility of your intentions. When a child is 
in a pit you act, with or without the proper intentions. That’s leadership. 

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi's Article -

With so much going on in the news just this week alone, from the horrific stabbing at a Chanukah party in Monsey, to the assassination of Iran’s Gen. Qasem Soleimani and other incidents of note in between, It is hard to think straight and come up with a sensible take away if there even is one and if it is our responsibility to even attempt at one. But we know that as Jews we are enjoined to learn from every event that takes place in our world and try and grow from it in our relationship with G-d and other human beings.

The stabbings, which were a wakeup call to politicians, community leaders and to every Jew alive, must be seen in context. The reality is that for 50 years anti-Semitism was unpopular. That is no longer the case. Anti-Semitism is not only alive and well but it has become popular by many and in most cases goes unanswered. Most of the perpetrators of anti-Semitic acts are never brought to justice. Politicians turn a blind eye. The media is sleeping on the job. They do not find it news worthy and no longer even report it. This is because the incidents are so frequent but more importantly, there is little if any appetite to even tell the story. Why bother? Another Jew was beaten up in the streets of NY? Who cares? Some are even ok with it. And why should this be surprising? Look what’s going on in congress; there are out right anti-Semites serving in the people’s house. They are not ashamed of it and look for every opportunity to smear Jews and Israel thinking that this might get them more votes. As Shocking as this sounds, it is undeniably true. Jews of all walks of life are suddenly afraid and are shaken out of their comfort zones. They wonder if they are still living in the country they so loved and called home. Can this really be America?

The truth is that anyone who learned and understands history should not be surprised. As I mentioned, this hate towards Jews has been unpopular for some time after the horrors of the Holocaust but anyone with basic understanding knew that this unpopularity will last for a generation or two and that’s it. The default position on the world and its relationship with Jews will fall right back into place. Does this mean that we should just accept it? Of course not. We must hold our elected official accountable and not let them be silent. We must continue pressuring leaders of all kinds to speak out and not let this continue. Law enforcement must do a better job punishing those who perpetrate hate crimes. It should make no difference if their victims are badly hurt of mildly hurt. If we are serious, then any kind of hate violence must be completely uprooted.

I still believe that this blessed country is good at the essence and if we keep to the core values upon which this society was founded on, we will continue to be the society that is the envy of the world. America will continue to be blessed by G-d if we never forget Him. As for us Jews, the answer is not to keep a low profile. That never worked for us. While we take extra security measures which are absolutely necessary, we should, at the same time, take the lesson of Chanukah with us for the rest of the year. Chanukah is about bringing Jewish light, the Menorah, to the outdoors. We need to double down on our Jewishness; we need to live more Jewishly and more openly. That is the only response. If this year we held 20,000 public menorah lightings all over the globe, we must make sure that next year we increase that number. If you do not wrap Teffilin every day, consider starting. If you do not light Shabbos candles every Friday evening this is a great time to take that on. If you do not go to Shul to pray often enough, think about doing just that.

In all of the reaction to the stabbings and violence that I saw and read, there is one good thing I can point to; no one suggested that the Chassidic Jews of Monsey should try to hide their openly Jewish look. No one suggested that they or any Jew should stop wearing their kippah or distinct Jewish garb in public. This is because it is simply out of the equation and everyone knows it. No Jew in Monsey or in Brooklyn or anywhere else in the US would even consider such a thing. All the reaction was pointed in the direction of our elected officials and law enforcement to do a better job protecting the Jewish community in NY and elsewhere.

I hope and pray to G-d that the victims of last Saturday’s attempted massacre recover fully and that the US should continue to be a welcoming and safe home for its Jewish communities and that it continues to be the beacon of light and inspiration to the rest of the world for many years to come.

Shabbat Shalom     

Beyond the Surface

 

This coming Tuesday, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiday of the 19th of Kislev. On this day in 1799 the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad Chassidism was released and set free from a very dangerous imprisonment. The story surrounding his arrest, the charges, the interrogation and eventual release is written up in great detail and is beyond the scope of this article.

The Jewish world saw his release as a vindication of the entire Chassidic movement and it was from that day onward that Chassidic teachings went viral. Rabbi Schneur Zalman saw his ordeal as one that originated in heaven. He understood that if he, as the leader of Chassidism, was being challenged down here in this corporeal world, it is only a sign that Chassidism was being challenged in the upper realms as well. He wondered if he and his colleagues were not spreading this lofty teaching too much. Maybe the world is not yet ready for the ‘crown jewel’ of the Torah to be spread with such intensity. But then came the 19th of Kislev and his release. That was the sign that from on high Chassidism was vindicated and it was time for this holy and spiritual teaching to be spread to all four corners of the world.

Chassidism is referred to as the ‘Soul of the Torah’. Like with a body and soul, the soul gives life and vitality to the body. With the Torah it’s the same way. The ‘body’ of Torah is the laws of the Torah and their physical practice, like lighting Shabbos candles and giving charity or eating Matzah on Pesach. The ‘soul’ would be the life behind those practices; the G-dly energy and mystical revelations that result from those actions. And trust me, when a Jew is aware of the higher truth and ‘soul’ of the Mitzvot we observe, they become alive. They become soulful and energized with great vitality. 

They tell a story of a Chassidic master who was once challenged by an opponent of Chassidism. The opponent said to him; you Chassidim learn and study so much Chassidic and Kabbalistic knowledge, but at the end of the day what difference is there between us? We both put on the same tefillin, we both wrap ourselves in the same Tallis and we basically do all the mitzvoth just like you do with no difference at all, so what’s all the fuss of learning Tanya, Kaballah and the ‘soul’ of Torah? The rebbe answered him and said; it’s like two people eating the same chicken soup with one difference, one is eating it while hot and the other is eating it cold. They might both be eating the same ingredients but the difference is vast. One can hardly say that they are both experiencing the same thing. And indeed a mitzvah that is observed with an understanding of the soul behind it is warm, its alive, its vibrant and so much deeper.

The holiday of Kislev 19, when we were given the ‘soul’ of torah, is a time to reflect on the ’soul’ of everything. The inner truth of every human being, and indeed of everything, is G-dliness. All we need to do is reveal it to ourselves and eachother, because when we do, we realize that the entire creation is really one essence: G-d. And that, by the way, is what we mean when we say in the Shma prayer that Hashem Echod; G-d is one. It means that everything is G-d and G-d is everything, and that too was taught and expounded upon at great length in the teachings of Chassidism. 

 

Shabbat Shalom and a Happy and soulful Kislev 19

 

Open your Hearts! Open Your Homes!

I am asked all the time ‘what is the greatest Jewish value, belief, truth or Ideal?’ G-d never told me directly but I think the answer may be gleaned from the life stories of the first Jews to ever live; Abraham and Sarah. Over the next few weeks we will be reading about them and their lives in the weekly Torah portions.

Of all the Ideals important to Jews, Abraham and Sarah personified the lifestyle of Charity and acts of loving kindness. To be sure, they taught the world many ideological truths that the world knew nothing about, including monotheism and so forth, but when you analyze their life as it is recorded in the Torah, Abraham and Sarah symbolized, more than anything else, the attribute of Chesed-kindness towards others. We are told that they fought for justice and equal rights for all, they helped anyone in need, fed the hungry, protected the vulnerable and on and on. Of course these traits have become the hallmark of the Jewish People ever since.

One of the oldest Jewish practices and traits of kindness is the Mitzvah of Hachnosas Orchim, opening our homes for guests. This practice too is traced all the way back to Abraham and Sarah. The Torah tells to what lengths they would go to open their hearts and home for guests. Even when Abraham was extremely weak he was there, together with Sarah, cooking up a storm for wayfarers who happen to pass by their home. They spared nothing. At one point they decided to open the first ‘bed and breakfast’ for any one in need, but with two differences; they served not only breakfast but lunch and dinner as well, and it was all free of charge.

This important character trait is so central to Judaism and Jewish life that we are told that “greater is hosting guests than even welcoming the Shchinah" (G-ds presence). And this too is derived from the story of Abraham. In the narrative, G-d comes to visit Abraham and while communicating with him, Abraham suddenly sees three strangers pass by. He asks G-d to excuse him while he invites those strangers into his home for a meal. G-d waits until Abraham is done feeding his guest and only then continues to converse with him. From this we see that hosting guests is more worthy and takes precedence even over welcoming G-d’s presence. Pretty amazing.

When I was growing up in Brooklyn, our home always had what we called ‘guest traffic’. There was not a weekend that went by in which our home did not have guest. Many times we had to move out of our rooms to make place for people who came to stay over for a Shabbos or holiday. I remember many a night when my bones got a good work out as there was nowhere for me to sleep but on the floor or on the kitchen chairs, or the time I ended up with 10 guests sleeping in my room, no exaggeration (I had a big room). We made no big deal of this. After all, if God can be put on hold, then certainly my comfortable night sleep can be put on hold.

It saddens me to see how this ideal is lost on many of us. We live in suburbia behind closed doors and gates, and it’s rare that we come in contact with strangers. The result is that this fantastic Jewish ideal is for many Jewish homes an almost nonexistent phenomenon. I’ve spoken to many fine people who have confided that their home never hosts a stranger. This is very sad. The result is that we are disconnected from strangers to the point where we stop paying attention to them. It hurts to admit, but i have been told by fellow Jews that they have visited Shuls for a daily minyan or for a Shabbos and that not one person approached them to even say hello, let alone find out who they are, or if they need an invite for Shabbos, or anything else. This is very disturbing. I believe this is the result of falling out of the habit of hosting guests on a steady basis or never having been in that habit to begin with.

So the next time you see someone sitting in shul who you do not know, please go over to them, welcome them, say hello, if you can, invite them to your home for a meal or for a Shabbos. If you need to move one of your children out of ‘their’ room, so be it. Besides the mitzvah and kind deed, it will make an invaluable impression on your children as they will be part of something incredibly important as well. One can start with Friday night meals and not necessarily with strangers. Invite a friend, someone you know. Get into the habit of hosting guests. It will transform yourselves and your children and you will be acting very Jewish at the same time. Abraham did it, Sarah did it and hundreds of generations of Jews did it. Let’s follow this old time honored tradition and open our hearts and homes to others. That is what a Jewish home looks like. A true Shabbos table is one where strangers are present.

Caring for strangers and doing acts of kindness for others is indeed the greatest Jewish Value.

We learned many great values from Abraham and Sarah; monotheism, circumcision, self-sacrifice and so on, but the most important Abrahamic value which became the Hallmark of the Jewish people is the value of Chesed/kindness towards others in all forms.

Open your hearts! Open your homes!

Shabbat Shalom.

 

"Time To Unpack"

This past month has been a very busy one as we all celebrated a marathon of holidays and did a whole lot of praying and cooking. A simple calculation has my wife producing a total of 600 meals cooked just for my family and guests during this past holiday season. No wonder she could not look at a pot, stove, oven or even get close to our kitchen in the past few days. The good news for the rest of my family is that tonight is Shabbos again and so unless I get a quick crash course in cooking, she might just have to find her way back to that part of our home again. I guess we will all lend a helping hand.

The past month and its saturated
spiritual energy are gone and now we move on to the next stage: sorting it all out. In Chabad there is a song about the Chassid who travels to his Rebbe for the month of the holidays and then comes back home. The song talks about the Chassid spending the month “purchasing” and filling up “suitcases” full of spiritual “merchandise” to last for a year. When he returns home after the holidays he spends the next few weeks “unpacking” and putting everything he “bought” in the right “closet”. This is true for every Jew.  When we leave the wonderful spiritual oasis of the holidays and “come back home” to real life we need to sort it all out. Did Rosh Hashanah and its Shofar blast really wake us up?

Did Yom Kippur and its theme of repentance truly change us? And if so, to what extent? Will the unity of Sukkot and the joy of Simchat Torah have lasting effects on us?

These questions and their answers are the business of the next days and weeks. We must make certain that we don’t lose the momentum and the newfound inspiration we all experienced over the past 30 days.
Otherwise, if we just let go of it all we will be left with little to remember and even less to hold onto in the coming year.

So now is the time to journey back home and to real life, to take something of this inspiration and hold onto it and develop it into something real. Find the right “closet” and “storage space” in your soul where it can affect your Jewishness in real and tangible ways. Otherwise the only thing we will have left is lots of calories and newfound chunks of belly fat to deal with. Not very inspiring.

This Shabbos we will begin reading the Torah anew beginning with the first portion ‘Bereishit’, as such it is a new beginning. There is an old Chassidic adage that says: “the way we set ourselves on Shabbos Bereishit that is how the entire year will go for us”.

This means that how one observes this Shabbos is an indication on how the rest of the year will be observed. This is because this Shabbos serves as
a bridge between the super charged Holy Days and the rest of the mundane year.

All of us are inspired on the great
 holidays of the past month, that is a given, the problem is that we go from such spiritual high’s right back into our un-spiritual mundane lives too quickly and forget that we were inspired.


For this we have Shabbos Bereishit:
on the one hand, this Shabbos is still part of the month of the Holidays and thus shares some of its holiness, but it is also a Shabbos that comes ‘after’ the holidays and is part of the ‘rest of the year’. Hence, it serves and the perfect bridge to help us transition from the greatest ‘high’ of Tishrei to the ‘low’ of the rest of the year. It is this transitional Shabbos that if observed properly, will have lasting effects. 

For us at Chabad of Weston, the past month has also been packed with action and activities for young and old. It was a month of learning, praying, eating, celebrating, shofar blasting, sukkah mobile’ing, Lulav shaking and so much more. After such a rich month of activity we plan to keep the inspiration going with more of the same albeit with different emphasis. Instead of the sound of a shofar you will hear the sound of Torah classes in abundance. Instead of dancing with the Torah we will dance to the music of children learning Hebrew and Jewish tradition. Instead of delicious meals in the Sukkah for hundreds of Jews, we will deliver delicious kosher meals to scores of patients and their families at Cleveland Clinic, and instead of and instead of somber Yom Kippur introspections we will begin planning the festive celebrations of Chanukah, Shabbatons and beyond.

“Unpack you Suitcases” and keep the inspiration going. Have a good Shabbat Bereishit.

 

The Life of Elul

 

This coming Wednesday, the 18th of Elul, is the birthday of The Baal Shemtov, founder of the Chassidic movement and of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, founder of Chabad Chassidism. These two giants and historic figures have changed the landscape of the Jewish People forever.

The Chassidic movement, and especially Chabad Chassidism, has revolutionized the way we understand G-d, Torah, the Jewish people and the world at large. Chassidic philosophy as taught by Rabbi Shneur Zalman and the subsequent Chabad Rebbes, has uncovered the inner dimension and soul of the Torah.

Everything is made up of a ‘body’ and a ‘soul’.  The body is the part that we see, observe with our flesh eyes and other senses. The ‘soul’ is that which lies beneath the surface concealed, but at the same time, is the life source and energy of the said being. The same is with G-d, Torah, Jews and the world. There is the part that we see or understand readily, which is the ‘body’, and then there is the inner dimension, the underlying truth and energy that animates and serves as the quintessence of things, the ‘soul’.

Let’s take Torah and its Mitzvot as an example. We have the mitzvah to blow the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah. The ‘body’ of this mitzvah would be the actual performance with all its details. What a shofar can be made of, how long it has to be, what kind of sounds must be heard etc. etc. The ‘soul’ of this mitzvah is the underlying spiritual energy that is accomplished by the blowing of the Shofar. We are told that when Jews blow the shofar G-d’s attribute of Malchut (kingship) of the highest world of Atzilut and even higher is being built. In simple words G-d’s kingdom and royalty is being established. (The details of this esoteric idea are beyond the scope of this article). And so it is with every mitzvah and word in the Torah. There is the body and the soul. Chassidus and Chabad Chassidus particularly elaborate in lengthy discourses on the soul of the world, Torah, Jews and G-d himself.

Judaism can be observed and studied without appreciating the soul behind it all but then it’s like a body without a soul. That would be lifeless.  The Baal Shemtov and the Alter Rebbe gave us the soul of the Torah, and in so doing breathed a new life into Torah, Judaism and the Jewish People. It is safe to say that the Chassidic revolution was so successful that all of Jewish thought and observance is influenced by its teachings.

There is a Chassidic saying that Chai (18) Elul brought chai, life, into Elul. Elul, the last month of the year, is the time to return to G-d and better our ways in preparation for the High Holidays. Before Chassidism, Elul was observed with dread, fear and anxiety as Jews trembled in anticipation for the Day of Judgment when G-d will sit on his throne and judge each of us to see whether or not we are deserving of a year of life and sustenance. Preachers would go around during this month and deliver speeches of fire and brimstone and warn simple Jews of the dreadfulness of the days of awe. The Chassidic Elul is a very different experience. Elul is in fact a time of grace. A time when G-d is much closer and more accessible. G-d accepts each of us with a smile helping us turn to him and become even closer. Elul is actually a happy month. It’s a time when our souls feel its natural connection with G-d as a child feels his or her parent. G-d too feels a deep connection to His children and looks for ways to inspire us to enhance the relationship so that he can grant us what we need on Rosh Hashanah. Why would one feel scared in a month like that? Yes, there is awe and humility because of the distance we caused by our negative behavior throughout the year, but great optimism that on Rosh Hashanah our father will bring us back in to his loving embrace and grant us all everything we need. But this positive twist is due to a deeper ‘soul’ understanding of Elul and Rosh Hashanah, hence Chai Elul (the birthdays of the Baal Shemtov and Alter Rebbe) brought ‘life’ into Elul.

May we all be inspired and be blessed with a life filled Elul which will lead to a life filled High Holidays and to a year filled with life, sustenance and blessings for all.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson , OBM

This Saturday, the third of Tamuz, marks the 25th anniversary of the Yahrtzeit of The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of blessed memory. As my fingers type these words I cannot help but wonder how any one article can do justice to this giant of our times.

 

I had the great merit to have lived 3 blocks away from the Rebbe and therefore spent over 25 years hearing him, seeing him, davening with him, etc. I do not take this for granted and I thank Hashem every day of my life for giving me this treasure and merit. With all that said, being that close made one recognize how far one really was. As one of the Rebbe’s secretaries once said, “the closer you got the further you realized you were.” How true that is. The Rebbe was a great Tzadik (righteous person) of enormous proportions. Listen to the thousands of people who recount their personal moments with the Rebbe. They all tell of the Rebbe’s love, passion, care, etc., but they also all talk about being enveloped in immense holiness. They describe the feeling of being in an oasis of spiritual closeness that is hard to describe but easy to identify with if you have experienced it. I did. Time and time again. I have seen the Rebbe in moments of intense seriousness as when he blew the shofar on Rosh Hashanah; in moments of intense joy during the dancing on Simchat Torah. I saw the Rebbe when he davened and I saw him when he spoke at Farbrengens and taught Torah for hours on end. And I also saw him as he spent days at the Ohel (resting place) of his Rebbe and predecessor praying on behalf of the Jewish People. In all these experiences, one sensed a heavenly aura that was present.

To me and so many thousands of others the Rebbe was our modern day Moses who led the Jewish people with incredible devotion and self-sacrifice. His bounding love for every Jew was limitless. I think it is fair to say that never has there been a Jewish leader who made himself available with such love to every person as much as our dear Rebbe. For 30 years he would spend three nights a week often times till dawn, meeting Jews from all walks of life, listening and tending to their needs and problems, giving advice and council to tens of thousands of Jews who came to meet him. When that was no longer possible he began, since 1986, meeting people every Sunday for four or five hours as thousands filed by for a quick moment to receive a blessing and a dollar to give to charity. It’s estimated that during these Sunday afternoons the Rebbe met and made eye contact with over one and a half million people. This is unprecedented in Jewish or any other history. It’s no wonder that even after 25 years since his passing, hundreds of thousands continue to flock to his resting place at the Ohel to seek his blessing and pray there. It’s no wonder that after all these years there are still thousands upon thousands of books, biographies, videos and articles being published about the Rebbe’s life and his teachings. Just last month a new book about the Rebbe’s unique approach to social issues has been published. Millions of people want to learn about this incredible leader and the number grows with time, which brings me to one final, and maybe the most important, point.

The Zohar says that real tzadikim are alive after their passing even more than during their life as a soul in a body. I can say that this is precisely true with the Rebbe. I remember when the world suffered his loss in 1994, when all the “experts” were foretelling the future of Chabad and how it will be impossible for the movement to continue without him. After all the Rebbe was the life behind everything and the admiration that his Chassidim and admirers had for him was intense. No one could imagine how the movement could survive without his physical presence. Even the most pessimistic doom sayers are all trying to figure out how it is that not only did Chabad not lose its steam, but in fact it doubled, tripled and quadrupled in the last 25 years. Many hundreds of young couples whom never even saw the Rebbe, are dedicating their lives to his message and are becoming his emissaries to such forsaken places that most people don’t even know exist.

How is this to be explained? To me it’s obvious. The Rebbe lives, albeit in a different way, but in a real way. The Ohel, or resting place, of the Rebbe is a place where millions of Jews come to or write letters to for blessings. I know firsthand that these requests are being answered in a most wondrous way. If you have a problem, a need, a request that needs a blessing from a tzadik, write to the Rebbe and send it to the Ohel. He will find a way to answer you and you will find that you will be helped. This, of course, depends a lot of the way one writes and the seriousness with which one treats it.

I would like to suggest that on, or before the Yahrtzeit, (on friday or on Saturday night) you should write to the Rebbe, the leader of our time, and make that connection. It is real.

The Talmud says about Jacob our patriarch that he never died and explains, “Just as his children are alive, he too is alive”. The way I understand those words is: Because Jacob is alive that is why his children are alive. To those wondering how it is that the Chabad has so proliferated over the past two decades, it is said: Because the Rebbe is alive that’s why his children are alive. May this day inspire us to live more Jewishly and may it bring blessing to all of the Jewish people.

Shabbat Shalom

Mrs. Pearl Lazarus, OBM. A lesson in Love and Commitment

How often do you hear the phrase “oy, I miss the good old days” or “if only we can bring back the fifties and sixties”. I was not around during those decades to remember much, but often times I do identify with those sentiments. While I try not to live in the past and instead try to make my present meaningful and long lasting, there is obviously so much we can learn from our parents and grandparent’s generation.

It is interesting that while our elders rely on our generation more and more for modern technological developments which makes our and their lives so much more convenient, we find ourselves having to rely on their generation more and more for basic human behavior and morals and ethical truths. It seems as though the more we develop technologically, the more we lose touch with our inner souls and core values. Maybe physical comforts and the spiritual ethical lifestyle are like a seesaw. When one side is up the other is down and vise versa. Does it really have to be this way? The Torah of course says no. One can have all the comforts in the world [after all G-d created all of it] and at the same time be a good moral and ethical human being. But for that we must keep in touch with the “fifties and sixties” or whatever decade of the past you choose. We need to be anchored in the values that were so obvious to our elders and for some reason got lost on our youth.

Let’s take marriage as an example. In the past, marriage was treated as something sacred. It was a sacred commitment. A sacred union. Our parents fought to stay married and at all costs. Divorce was out of the question. It was entertained in such extreme cases that it was almost unheard of especially amongst Jews. I know that some say many couples were trapped in miserable marriages as a result, but the truth is that even if that were true [and I am sure it was in some instances (by the way, much less then you are led to believe)], it only emphasizes how the institution of marriage was treated. You married your soulmate and that was it. As a result, deep love and commitment was palpable. Absolute devotion to one’s spouse was commonplace. Compare that to today’s attitudes. The numbers are well known. Over 50 percent divorce rate. So many people see marriage and the commitment to a spouse like to a leased car. When you reach 36,000 miles and the headaches begin, you change it in for a new one. This is a catastrophe of enormous proportion. Probably the single greatest cause for the problems with our youth, and those problems do not go away when they become adults. When you sum it all up, we are dealing with over 60 percent of society who have no idea what proper family life looks like. How can we not “miss the good old days”.

Wednesday night a very dear friend of Chabad of Weston passed away. Mrs. Pearl Lazarus. I met Pearl about 24 years ago. She was special in so many ways, but I want to point out just one of them. I am sure that she and her husband, may he be well, will not know what I am talking about. In their minds there is nothing unique about it but in today’s day and age, it is very unique and special. I refer to their marriage.  Theirs was the paradigmatic marriage. They loved each other to no end and that led to an absolute commitment they had to each other. For over 60 years they knew one thing. That they are bashert and they are one. They cared for each other in ways that leave the observer in awe and in wonderment. Even as their health began to decline and deep into their ninth decade of life they remained completely and utterly devoted to each other. Even as she lied in bed Wallace would read the newspaper to his Pearl every day even though he was not sure if she was able to hear and understand what he was reading. He took care of her to the last day with so much love. This was the Lazarus way. There was no if, what’s or buts about it, and of course it was mutual. The funny thing is, that if I told Wallace and Pearl Lazarus how special they were and how in awe I am at their commitment to each other, they would not understand what I was talking about. What to us is so inspiring is to them regular every day thinking. This world is a better place after 89 years of Pearl Lazarus of Blessed Memory. It would be great if our hip and sophisticated young couples can look to this gleaming Pearl and her husband and learn a thing or two from them.

May her memory be a blessing for her family and all of us.

Good Shabbos.

Poway: From Darkness to Light

Once again America has been shaken by another horrific shooting last Saturday at the Chabad Center in Poway. Once again, it’s a young teenager who, we are told, had everything going for him and was destined to a glorious future and no one who knew him can believe he did this. Once again, innocent life was cut short and others wounded in this senseless act of anti-Semitism. Once again the pundits, Media professionals, Politicians, psychologists, Radio and TV hosts and syndicated writers all over the fruited plain are busy analyzing the brain and mentality of John Earnest and are trying to figure out what got into him. I am sure the ‘professionals’ have this killer’s profile all spelled out and can tell us exactly when and why he went off the deep end.  

I am sorry my friends; the question is not what got into him but rather what did not get into him.

What unfortunately did not get into him and so many other young Americans is the simple truth that there is a G-d who created the world and every human being in it in his image.

What did not get into him is that there is a higher authority who created both, Lori Kaye and John Earnest, for a purpose and that G-d needed them to live here on earth as free people with a mission to fulfill.

What did not get into him was that life has meaning and value and that the world is not a jungle.

What did not get into him was that skin color and ethnicity is irrelevant to G-d. We are all created with a unique soul and He needs every one of us without exception to do our part in making this world a place where G-d can feel at home.

How unfortunate it is that these simple truths did not make their way into this monster’s consciousness.

The question is why? Why does the obvious not make it into the thought process of our youth?

The Heroic Rabbi of Chabad of Poway, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, gave the answer to millions who watched him and listened to him. But first a few words on this incredible human being. If you tuned in to him over the past few days you saw a Jew, whose soul is on fire. You saw an emissary of G-d inspiring millions from his hospital bed to stand tall and turn darkness into light. You saw a man who without his index fingers pointed towards G-d and helped millions rediscover those above mentioned truths. What a Jew. What a Chassid. What a Shliach (emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe). He is the envy of so many fellow religious leaders. No one envies the ordeal he experienced, but perhaps many envy the emergence of a wholesome soul who rose to the occasion and proved to the world that G-d lives, Judaism lives, Chassidism lives and basic human dignity lives.

Rabbi Goldstein was invited yesterday to attend the national day of Prayer held on the White House lawn during which President Trump asked him to speak. The rabbi spoke so eloquently about the past week, how it changed his life for the good and what it all meant to him. Then he spoke about the youth in American and what we need to do to really stem this kind of violence. He said that we have to get back to basics. He implored and spoke about a Moment of Silence in our public school system. That every school day should begin with a Moment of Silence when every child can contemplate life, meaning, purpose and who created them and why. Can you imagine the impact that would have on our youth? This is not a one-time thing. We are talking about every single day for sixty seconds. The parents (not teachers) are the ones who will tell the children what to think about. This is the only real way to change the consciousness of our youth, set them on a path of morality and basic decent behavior and give them a healthy moral compass with which they can navigate and live lives of meaning and purpose.

I know that some of you think this might be trivial. Believe me it is not. This one moment will change the tide. The fact is that millions of children and teens go through years of their life without thinking about G-d at all. It’s sad but true nonetheless. We need to change that. Our founding fathers envisioned a society who would be G-d conscious. They understood that without G-d America will become a jungle. Indeed, it sometimes feels like we are living in a jungle. Last Saturday morning was one such moment. Ever since, Rabbi Goldstein has been transforming the jungle into a home for
G-d.

If only America listened to him.

The problem with John Earnest is not “what got into him” but “what did not get into him”.

Let’s make sure he is the last killer. Adapt the Moment of Silence.

Shabbat Shalom.

As you might have heard, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein of Chabad of Poway, has urged Jews all over the world to attend Shul services this Shabbat. The Jewish response to such evil and darkness has always been to add more light and goodness. Let us all unite with millions of other Jews around the world and fill our synagogues this Shabbat.  I received this poem and am sharing it with you, as it so powerfully captures the mood, the moment and the call to action to which we must all respond.

 

 

And wherever you are : Go To Shul !

 

Rabbi Yisroel Spalter
------------------------------
-----------------------------

Written by Blumie Raskin Abend

This week
I will go to Shul.
For Lori Kaye,
A woman in 2019 who died
Because she was born
A Jew.

I will go to Shul
For my grandfather
Who survived the hellish nightmare
That was Auschwitz
But who’s family
I never knew.

I will go to Shul
For Eva, the instagram poster
Who wanted to live
Who wanted to be a child
But her youth
Was ripped away from her.

I will go to Shul
For Gabi and Rivky Holzberg
Who were murdered
In cold blood
In their home.

I will go to Shul
For baby Shalhevet
The child of Chevron
Who barely lived on this earth
And now occupies a place
On High.

I will go to Shul
For my grandmother
Who’s parents died of starvation
Under Stalin’s rule
Who survived by the skin of her teeth
Through Russian orphanages
And cruel dictatorship.

I will go to Shul
For the Six Million.
I will go to Shul
For the Israeli soldiers.
I will go to Shul
For the Russian progroms.
I will go to Shul
For the Roman massacres.

I will go to Shul
For the heroes of
The Spanish Inquisition.
I will go to Shul
For the Jews sent to Siberia
I will go to Shul
For the Babylonian exile.

I will go to Shul
For my children.
I will go to Shul
For your grandchildren.
I will go to Shul
Even though I can’t help but feel
A tiny bit afraid.

I will go to Shul
To show them we are strong
We are brave.
We are not the people
Who cowered in fear.

This week
I will go to Shul
Because I am a Jew.
Will you

 

Miracles Month

Wouldn’t it be great if G-d would perform miracles for us today as He did for our ancestors in the distant past? I get this question all the time. There are two ways of answering this:

1) Why do we want miracles? Miracles are wonderful displays of G-d’s strength, but they do very little for those who experience them. Take for example the Jews in the desert during the times of Moses. Miracles were everywhere. Did it change them? Did they not rebel against G-d and Moses again and again despite the miracles? Sure, it is exciting to see a sea split and water turn into blood, and it might even have a short term effect on the observers, but in terms of having long lasting effects? Nothing. Nada. The Jews worshipped a golden calf just after witnessing the greatest miracles of all time; the exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the daily Manna, and most importantly, the revelation of G-d himself at Mount Sinai. So do miracles really change anyone for real and create more committed Jews? I am not sure.

What is even more important to ponder is this: why do we even want miracles to happen? Is it so that we can be one hundred percent sure that G-d really does exist? That would mean that G-d would need to prove His existence for every generation, say every 50-100 years. Because a miracle that my great grandfather experienced would convince him, but would it convince his great grandchild? Perhaps not. And, if the only way to convince us, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that G-d really exists is by Him showing His omnipotence and His ability to alter nature, then He would need to do something grandiose for every generation or two so that they too have no doubts. That is a very immature way to get people to believe in G-d’s existence. G-d expects mankind to mature up and reach a point where His existence and relevance are absolute and unshakable with or without Him having to prove himself all the time. Perhaps we should stop asking for miracles unless we really need them. For example, I have been praying that G-d perform a miracle for my friend who is battling cancer and can use G-d’s supernatural powers to heal him, may he be well and recover quickly. But I am not asking for this miracle in order to convince me of His existence. For that I do not need miracles. Miracles should not be a crutch that keeps our spiritual balance. Over three thousand years of Jewish existence, tradition and Jewish scholarship are enough to convince anyone of the existence of G-d.

2) Miracles do happen and they happen all the time. This past week began the Hebrew month of Nissan. Our sages tell us that the first of Nissan, the month in which Passover falls, is also a Rosh Hashanah of sorts. They explain that the Rosh Hashanah in Tishrei (September) is the New Year for the natural order. Then the world is judged and it is decided whether we will enjoy nature’s gifts of life, health, livelihood and all the rest. Nissan, on the other hand, is the New Year for a higher miraculous order. It is during this time that a higher supernatural energy is revealed; an energy that is the source of all the daily miracles which occur. So yes, miracles do indeed occur, and they are meant to strengthen us and bring greater blessings into our life. They happen either because we deserve them or because we are in need of a miracle and G-d, our loving Father, makes it happen even if we are undeserving.

If you are in need of some supernatural energy in your life, i.e. a miracle, this is the month to tap into this energy and make it happen. Can one of your children use a miracle? Is your business and livelihood in need of some supernatural intervention? Is someone in the family not well and in need of a miraculous recovery? Nissan (this month) and especially during Pesach we can all make that happen. This is for real. I hope and pray that none of us should ever need miracles, but we should be good vessels to receive them nonetheless. We should be blessed with a year full of miraculous supernatural blessings from G-d for ourselves and our families for life, health, Nachas, good livelihood, both materially and spiritually.

 

Shabbat Shalom

 

Miracles Month

Wouldn’t it be great if G-d would perform miracles for us today as He did for our ancestors in the distant past? I get this question all the time. There are two ways of answering this:

1) Why do we want miracles? Miracles are wonderful displays of G-d’s strength, but they do very little for those who experience them. Take for example the Jews in the desert during the times of Moses. Miracles were everywhere. Did it change them? Did they not rebel against G-d and Moses again and again despite the miracles? Sure, it is exciting to see a sea split and water turn into blood, and it might even have a short term effect on the observers, but in terms of having long lasting effects? Nothing. Nada. The Jews worshipped a golden calf just after witnessing the greatest miracles of all time; the exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the daily Manna, and most importantly, the revelation of G-d himself at Mount Sinai. So do miracles really change anyone for real and create more committed Jews? I am not sure.

What is even more important to ponder is this: why do we even want miracles to happen? Is it so that we can be one hundred percent sure that G-d really does exist? That would mean that G-d would need to prove His existence for every generation, say every 50-100 years. Because a miracle that my great grandfather experienced would convince him, but would it convince his great grandchild? Perhaps not. And, if the only way to convince us, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that G-d really exists is by Him showing His omnipotence and His ability to alter nature, then He would need to do something grandiose for every generation or two so that they too have no doubts. That is a very immature way to get people to believe in G-d’s existence. G-d expects mankind to mature up and reach a point where His existence and relevance are absolute and unshakable with or without Him having to prove himself all the time. Perhaps we should stop asking for miracles unless we really need them. For example, I have been praying that G-d perform a miracle for my friend who is battling cancer and can use G-d’s supernatural powers to heal him, may he be well and recover quickly. But I am not asking for this miracle in order to convince me of His existence. For that I do not need miracles. Miracles should not be a crutch that keeps our spiritual balance. Over three thousand years of Jewish existence, tradition and Jewish scholarship are enough to convince anyone of the existence of G-d.

2) Miracles do happen and they happen all the time. This past week began the Hebrew month of Nissan. Our sages tell us that the first of Nissan, the month in which Passover falls, is also a Rosh Hashanah of sorts. They explain that the Rosh Hashanah in Tishrei (September) is the New Year for the natural order. Then the world is judged and it is decided whether we will enjoy nature’s gifts of life, health, livelihood and all the rest. Nissan, on the other hand, is the New Year for a higher miraculous order. It is during this time that a higher supernatural energy is revealed; an energy that is the source of all the daily miracles which occur. So yes, miracles do indeed occur, and they are meant to strengthen us and bring greater blessings into our life. They happen either because we deserve them or because we are in need of a miracle and G-d, our loving Father, makes it happen even if we are undeserving.

If you are in need of some supernatural energy in your life, i.e. a miracle, this is the month to tap into this energy and make it happen. Can one of your children use a miracle? Is your business and livelihood in need of some supernatural intervention? Is someone in the family not well and in need of a miraculous recovery? Nissan (this month) and especially during Pesach we can all make that happen. This is for real. I hope and pray that none of us should ever need miracles, but we should be good vessels to receive them nonetheless. We should be blessed with a year full of miraculous supernatural blessings from G-d for ourselves and our families for life, health, Nachas, good livelihood, both materially and spiritually.

 

Shabbat Shalom

 

Miracles Month

Wouldn’t it be great if G-d would perform miracles for us today as He did for our ancestors in the distant past? I get this question all the time. There are two ways of answering this:

1) Why do we want miracles? Miracles are wonderful displays of G-d’s strength, but they do very little for those who experience them. Take for example the Jews in the desert during the times of Moses. Miracles were everywhere. Did it change them? Did they not rebel against G-d and Moses again and again despite the miracles? Sure, it is exciting to see a sea split and water turn into blood, and it might even have a short term effect on the observers, but in terms of having long lasting effects? Nothing. Nada. The Jews worshipped a golden calf just after witnessing the greatest miracles of all time; the exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the daily Manna, and most importantly, the revelation of G-d himself at Mount Sinai. So do miracles really change anyone for real and create more committed Jews? I am not sure.

What is even more important to ponder is this: why do we even want miracles to happen? Is it so that we can be one hundred percent sure that G-d really does exist? That would mean that G-d would need to prove His existence for every generation, say every 50-100 years. Because a miracle that my great grandfather experienced would convince him, but would it convince his great grandchild? Perhaps not. And, if the only way to convince us, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that G-d really exists is by Him showing His omnipotence and His ability to alter nature, then He would need to do something grandiose for every generation or two so that they too have no doubts. That is a very immature way to get people to believe in G-d’s existence. G-d expects mankind to mature up and reach a point where His existence and relevance are absolute and unshakable with or without Him having to prove himself all the time. Perhaps we should stop asking for miracles unless we really need them. For example, I have been praying that G-d perform a miracle for my friend who is battling cancer and can use G-d’s supernatural powers to heal him, may he be well and recover quickly. But I am not asking for this miracle in order to convince me of His existence. For that I do not need miracles. Miracles should not be a crutch that keeps our spiritual balance. Over three thousand years of Jewish existence, tradition and Jewish scholarship are enough to convince anyone of the existence of G-d.

2) Miracles do happen and they happen all the time. This past week began the Hebrew month of Nissan. Our sages tell us that the first of Nissan, the month in which Passover falls, is also a Rosh Hashanah of sorts. They explain that the Rosh Hashanah in Tishrei (September) is the New Year for the natural order. Then the world is judged and it is decided whether we will enjoy nature’s gifts of life, health, livelihood and all the rest. Nissan, on the other hand, is the New Year for a higher miraculous order. It is during this time that a higher supernatural energy is revealed; an energy that is the source of all the daily miracles which occur. So yes, miracles do indeed occur, and they are meant to strengthen us and bring greater blessings into our life. They happen either because we deserve them or because we are in need of a miracle and G-d, our loving Father, makes it happen even if we are undeserving.

If you are in need of some supernatural energy in your life, i.e. a miracle, this is the month to tap into this energy and make it happen. Can one of your children use a miracle? Is your business and livelihood in need of some supernatural intervention? Is someone in the family not well and in need of a miraculous recovery? Nissan (this month) and especially during Pesach we can all make that happen. This is for real. I hope and pray that none of us should ever need miracles, but we should be good vessels to receive them nonetheless. We should be blessed with a year full of miraculous supernatural blessings from G-d for ourselves and our families for life, health, Nachas, good livelihood, both materially and spiritually.

 

Shabbat Shalom

 

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