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                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 801
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                           Copyright (c) 2004
                 Lubavitch Youth Organization - L.Y.O.
                              Brooklyn, NY
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             THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR EVERY JEWISH PERSON
   Dedicated to the memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson N.E.
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        January 2, 2004         Vayigash           8 Tevet, 5764
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                             Support System

Who wins a football game? The running back who scores on the last play
of the game or the kicker who boots one through the uprights as time
expires? The guy who intercepts a pass to preserve a lead? Who wins a
baseball game? The guy who hits a bases loaded home run in the bottom of
the ninth? The guy who makes a diving catch, then jumps, whirls and
throws for a game-ending double-play?

One player may be the star, but he didn't win the game, not all by
himself. He needed an assist to make that slam-dunk - he needed the
whole team. Maybe, then, it's the whole team that wins?

What about the front office people, the administrators and staff - the
ones who make sure the players have the right uniforms and equipment,
the ones who make sure the field or arena is clean, who protect and
guide the players so they can concentrate on playing? What about the
doctors and trainers and managers? What about those who market the team,
negotiate contracts, provide press releases and media kits?

Without all of these support people, the team couldn't get on the field,
the line couldn't block, and the running back couldn't score the
touchdown.

OK, but what about the ticket takers and popcorn sellers and ushers and
police? What about the fans? Without all of these, there is no game. And
if there's no game, there's no winning touchdown.

When a team wins the Super Bowl or the World Series, everyone who
participated, everyone who helped, everyone who supported the team, also
won. When "our" team wins, we don't get the trophy, but we get the
victory. It belongs to the support team as much as the players, and it
belongs to the fans at least as much.

The concept of "team effort" applies far down the support line, even to
the most indirect - and sometimes unaware - support personnel.

This "support system" concept applies to mitzvot (commandments) as well.
They have not only a "trickle down" ripple effect, but also a "trickle
up" ripple effect. When a Jew does a mitzva, he's the "superstar," the
quarterback, the home run hitter, the one who scores the winning goal.
But he didn't do it alone and all his "teammates"  and "support
personnel" also get credit, also share in the victory and earn the
triumph.

For instance, when a Jew eats kosher food and recites a blessing on the
food, he elevates the spiritual sparks within that food. He has revealed
the inner G-dliness. But he could not make the blessing without his
parents or his teachers who taught him the words and their meaning. And
he could not have the kosher food without the truck drivers and grocers
and farmers and the countless others that helped, unawares, to get the
food to his house. So when, by eating kosher food, the Jew triumphs over
the darkness, the concealments of G-dliness, all those who helped him,
even unwittingly, also triumph, also gain a reward for the mitzva.

Of course, now we don't see the spiritual effects of a mitzva. But when
Moshiach comes, we will realize, with our physical senses, what we have
accomplished. And just as the person who performed the mitzva will see
G-dliness, see the results of his mitzva-actions, so too will the rest
of the "team" and "support staff" see G-dliness, see a result of the
mitzvot they supported and enabled to be done. For in the era of
Redemption "all flesh will see G-dliness" and "the whole world will be
filled with knowledge of G-dliness like the waters cover the ocean bed."

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           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
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This week's Torah portion, Vayigash, contains the verse, "And [Jacob]
sent Judah...before him to Goshen - l'horot - to make preparations."
According to the foremost commentaries, Judah was sent to establish a
yeshiva.  (L'horot is from the same root as "hora'a" which means
"instruction.")

When G-d told Jacob to go to Egypt, Jacob first ensured the presence of
yeshivot. Despite the fact that G-d promised Jacob He would be with him
in the Egyptian exile, only once the yeshivot were established did Jacob
bring his family with him to Egypt, for Jewish education is the
foundation and mainstay of Judaism.

In all times and places where Jews lives, even in the terribly harsh
exile of Egypt, there were centers where Torah was studied, for Torah
study is the life of the Jewish people.

The Egyptian exile was the most severe of all exiles, including the
present one, for several reasons. However, regardless of all the
difficulties, Jews were never without a yeshiva.

The Torah is not a history text-book. Every subject and episode, every
letter of the Torah, offers direction for all times and places.

Some people claim that this is not the time to be sending children to
Jewish day schools; today, afternoon Hebrew school or Sunday school are
sufficient.

The Egyptian exile and this week's Torah portion thus instruct us:
Conditions in Egypt were far more difficult than those at present, but
were disregarded and Torah was studied.

They disregarded not only the severe physical conditions of the exile.
They also dismissed the fact that, because the Torah had not yet been
given collectively to all the Jewish people on Mount Sinai, they were
not capable of reaching the tremendous heights to which we can aspire
today.

All of the above applies, too, to the question of support for Jewish
education. There are those who claim that financial conditions are worse
than ever. When conditions improve, they will support Jewish education
and maybe even have the "self-sacrifice" to send their own children to a
yeshiva.

We must all remember, in Egypt the exile was far worse. There our
ancestors did not have even stubble for bricks and had to wander through
a foreign land to search for it while Pharoah's taskmasters stood over
them lashing out with their whips. They had no straw, but they had a
proper Jewish education!

     Translated from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe by Rabbi J.
                                                 Immanuel Schochet.

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                             SLICE OF LIFE
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                            Dr. Shaya Shafit
                           "The Moscow Mohel"

"And throughout the generations every male among you shall be
circumcised at the age of eight days. And if any male who is
uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person
shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken my covenant."

That's G-d talking to Abraham, verse 12 of the Book of Genesis. For
millennia, Jews have been taking this seriously. Over most of the world,
squirming Jewish baby boys have come under the mohel's, or
circumciser's, knife for a quick and practically painless snip of the
foreskin.

Except in Russia, where during Soviet times, practicing Judaism could be
an offense worthy of a visit by the KGB.

With this in mind, Yeshaya Shafit, a Russian-born Jew who emigrated to
Israel in 1992, has returned to his native country with a mission: Using
precision instruments and a few well-placed prayers, he is trying to
ensure that no Russian Jewish male is cut off from his kin.

But Shafit's job is more complicated than the average mohel's. While his
colleagues spend perhaps three minutes doing the deed, he takes a
painstaking 40 or 45. His patients, after all, are mainly adults, and
quality is paramount. "I don't hurry," said Shafit, explaining that if
the job is botched, the patient "could develop a bad relationship to
Judaism."

Since his arrival in Russia, the 31-year-old mohel has performed
hundreds of circumcisions, and has been summoned as far as Birobidjan
and Odessa to wield his kmyel, a square topped, double-edged knife that
looks suspiciously like a chisel.

Shafit was born Yevgeny in Gorky, now Nizhny Novgorod. He grew up like
the majority of Soviet Jews, ignorant of his culture and religion.

"I always knew I was a Jew," he said quietly, "but I didn't know what it
meant. I thought it was something bad. I suffered a lot for it in
school, and was denied entry into the medical school I wanted to go to
along with another Jewish student - because of it."

But in 1991, he said, he began to go to his local synagogue, a decision
prompted more by curiosity than belief. Under then-Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev, a law was passed that religious buildings could be
reclaimed. The Nizhny synagogue had been occupied by a factory,
explained Shafit, and Lubavitch, the Brooklyn-based sect of Hasidic
Jews, had come to town to begin restoration.

"There were celebrations all the time," he said. "I started to go
regularly, to hang out." He also helped to rebuild the synagogue, laying
bricks - an experience that cemented his "conversion."

In 1992, the young doctor of traumatology orthopedics left for Israel.
Initially he tried to pursue his orthopedics career, but found starting
from the bottom all over again frustrating. It didn't take much
convincing for him to undertake the six-month training as a mohel.

Being a Lubavitcher, Shafit asked advice from the "Rebbe" Rabbi Menachem
Schneerson, the head of the Lubavitcher movement. "I got an answer to
come to Moscow," he said.

Though the mild-mannered mohel said he would rather live in Israel, he
conceeded "I'm more needed here." As far as he knows, he is one of three
or four circumcisers in Russia.

Though the majority of clients seek him out, part of Shafit's job is to
convince the uncircumcised. He uses different methods depending on the
situation, he said. Older people might require a lesson in Torah, or
Jewish law.

"Not all the Jews in Russia know. They might have heard that it's
something Jews do, but they don't know that it's the law," said Shafit,
an orthodox Jew first, and doctor second. "The Torah says that a Jewish
soul can't enter the body if it's uncircumcised."

Others are simply scared, he said, having been spooked by tales of shaky
hands and dirty instruments. During the Soviet Union, circumcisions were
even done at home, "on the kitchen table," said Shafit.

Recently, Shafit said, a young man came to him a week or so before he
was to be married. He wanted to get circumcised, but feared the nuptials
would be spoiled - he'd heard stories of grown men walking like crabs
for weeks afterward.

"I called in a 13-year-old boy who had had a bris a day or two before.
The boy came running in, saying, 'Yeah? What do you want?' I told him
that was all I wanted," he said laughing. "The young man was convinced,
and I did him."

            Dr. Shafit, known by many as "the Moscow Mohel," is the
           director of the Moscow-based Brit Yosef Yitzchak Medical
             Center, under the auspices of the Federation of Jewish
     Communities of the Former Soviet Union. To find out more about
            the myriad activities of the FJC in over 400 commuities
     throughout the Former Soviet Union visit www.fjc.ru. Reprinted
                                                        from fjc.ru

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                               WHAT'S NEW
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                        When the World Was Quiet

The Midrash teaches that when G-d gave the Torah, the whole world was
quiet. Not only the people, but all the animals and their babies, too!
Preschool children and their parents will love the simple text and sweet
pictures of all the animal families on this very special day. This
newest release from HaChai Publishing is written by Phyllis Nutkis and
illustrated by Patti Argoff.

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                            THE REBBE WRITES
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                           The Land of Israel
                        Freely translated letter
                        19th Sivan, 5729 (1969):

Blessings and Greetings!

I received your letter some time ago, but due to circumstances beyond my
control, my answer was delayed until now.

... I wonder a bit about your surprise that in certain circles, myself
among them, the title "State of Israel" was never accepted. The reason
is quite easy to understand: The land of Canaan was given as an
inheritance to the Nation of Israel beginning with the covenant between
G-d and Abraham. The name "Land of Israel" was then established, in
place of the name "Land of Canaan." So has it been fixed for thousands
of years. This is firmly grounded in the Torah, and is rooted in the
vocabulary of the entire nation, from young to old. Such matters are not
subject to the vote of the majority, the outcome of which is liable to
change from time to time (this change being, naturally, capricious).
After all the various incidents and changes which have occurred recently
- for better, or, painfully, for the opposite - it is also impossible to
be confident about the present change. Actually, such conjecture whether
or not to accept the new title is quite unnecessary since in my opinion,
as I mentioned, the matter is not given to determination by referendum.
Just as the name of the "Nation of Israel" is not subject to vote in
order to determine whether the Jewish People shall be referred to as
they are in the Torah - The "Nation of Israel," or the "Nation of
Canaan," etc. - so it is regarding the "Land of Israel."

Assume one were to raise an additional point: suppose a new title for
the land were necessary. Such an addition weakens the claim and
ownership of the Nation of Israel over the Land of Israel, including
even the confined area which was liberated in 1948, because:

 i. a new name gives the entire entity the appearance of being
    something novel, which was only born in 1948. Thus, inevitably,
    Jewish claim and ownership over the land also began only then. There
    is at least a shade of connotation of novelty - the diametric
    opposite of the Torah's stance as represented by Rashi in the
    opening of his explanation of the Torah.

    Here I stress that the custom of our nation from time immemorial has
    been that a five year old begins studying the Five Books of Moses.
    This means that Rashi's words are directed to the Children of Israel
    beginning at age five:

    "If the nations of the world should say to the Jews 'You are
    thieves, for you have conquered the land of the seven nations,' the
    Children of Israel should answer them: 'The whole world belongs to
    the Holy One; at will He gave it to them, and at will He took it
    from them and gave it to us.'"

    You are most certainly aware that many, many nations have made this
    claim, even in our times. I have not found a single answer to this
    claim besides the most ancient traditional one found in the words of
    our sages.

ii. Some say that this term, "State of Israel" is another manifestation
    of the general approach and plan to become "like the nations of the
    world." This theory has already claimed many lives, both physical
    and spiritual - and to our anguish continues to wreak destruction
    among the sons and daughters of Israel.

    I am especially surprised that you should be the one to raise such
    an argument. Until now, I had been positive that you were counted
    among those who say that the Land of Israel belongs to the Nation of
    Israel, and that its borders are specifically delineated in the
    Torah. In Parshas Masei it is written: "All these shall be your
    boundaries on all sides." Yet "because of our sins we were exiled
    from our land and driven far from our soil" - but even during the
    exile it is still our land and our soil. This title, "State of
    Israel," allows room to label parts of the Land of Israel as no more
    than "territories" which were "conquered" by the Israeli Defense
    Forces in the Six Day War. Furthermore, the entire concept of
    conquest implies seizing the land by force from its owners through
    one's own superior military prowess.

    I do not wish to speak at length about this painful subject, mainly
    because the general cause for it is the approach of wanting to be
    like all the nations. Certainly my comments are not necessary, for
    you surely read about it in the newspapers and books which are
    available in the Land of Canaan (- according to the writers of those
    articles and books; it is just that some of them say this openly,
    and others only hint that this is their intention).

... May it be G-d's Will that you send along positive news concerning
all the above, as we discussed during your visit here.

With Respect and Blessing,

                   Reprinted with permission from www.truepeace.org

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                            RAMBAM THIS WEEK
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6 Tevet, 5764 - December 31, 2003

Positive Mitzva 59: Blowing the trumpets in the Sanctuary

This mitzva is based on the verse (Num. 10:10) "Also on the day of your
gladness... you shall blow with your trumpets." In the Holy Temple while
certain sacrifices are offered, we are commanded to sound trumpets. The
sound arouses a stirring in the hearts of all the people who were
present in the Holy Temple. Each one will concentrate and resolve to
strengthen his bond of closeness with G-d. Similarly, we are commanded
to blow the shofar in times of need and despair, calling for G-d's
attention and requesting His help.

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                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
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This Sunday, the Tenth of the Jewish month of Tevet (coinciding with
January 4 this year) is a fast day. On this day we recall the siege of
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia.

There is a beautiful response from the Rebbe to a question from an
individual living in Israel concerning the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet.
The Rebbe encouraged this person not to overlook the "so-called 'small
and unsophisticated' things which each modest congregation, or even each
individual, can and must do..."

One needn't think and act big, in terms of global dimension, in order to
help our brethren in Israel in particular and the world over in general,
both spiritually and materially. Each individual can make a special
added effort on the Tenth of Tevet to increase in the areas of Torah
study, prayer and charity. One can even repeat these three "pillars on
which the world stands" numerous times throughout the day. In this way,
every single Jew will have a great impact on himself and his
surroundings.

In the merit of each and every individual who makes this added effort,
may G-d fulfill His promise that "These days will be transformed into
days of rejoicing and gladness," with the true and complete Redemption
through Moshiach.

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                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
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He [Joseph] called, "Every man go out from before me." (Gen. 45:1)

Why did Joseph want everyone to leave the room while he was speaking
with his brothers? Rashi explains that Joseph couldn't stand the thought
of having the Egyptians overhear that his brothers had sold him into
slavery, thus embarrassing them. Personal problems should not be aired
in public, before the eyes of the whole world. For this reason Joseph
asked that the Egyptians leave. In those days it was understood to be a
general rule for people to behave in this manner. But today, to our
great distress, it is not so clear.

                                                     (Penini Kedem)

                                *  *  *


How can I go up to my father and the boy [Benjamin] will not be with me?
(Gen. 44:34)

This is a question that every Jewish parent must ask themselves. How can
I go up after my 120 years to our Father in Heaven if I have not made
sure that my children will follow after me on the Jewish path?

                                                 (Gedolei Chasidim)

                                *  *  *


And he sent off his brothers and they went. He said to them, "Do not
become irritated on the way." (Gen. 45:24)

Torah delineates the different paths that one may follow in G-dly
service, each one being true and holy and good. Joseph teaches here that
we should not become irritated with a person who has chosen a different
path than we, because each and every one are the "words of the living
G-d."

                                                   (Divrei Yisrael)

                                *  *  *


And now, don't be sad... (Gen. 45:5)

Being broken-hearted is not the same as being sad. Sadness makes one
lifeless and stone-like. On the contrary, a broken heart is at least
responsive.

                                     (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi)

                                *  *  *


Sadness locks the gates of heaven. Prayer opens locked gates. And
happiness has the strength to break through all barricades.

                                                (The Baal Shem Tov)

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                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
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Shortly before the Baal Shem Tov's passing, he gave each of his closest
disciples a special task to enable Chasidism to continue to grow. One of
his disciples, Reb Yaakov, was given the task of travelling from city to
city telling about all he had seen in his years with the Baal Shem Tov.

One day Reb Yaakov arrived in Italy. He had heard that there lived in
Rome a wealthy Jew who paid well for every story he was told about the
Baal Shem Tov. Arriving at this Jew's house, Reb Yaakov was received
royally and given the finest accommodations. He prepared a number of
stories to tell on the coming Shabbat at the meals.

Shabbat arrived, and Reb Yaakov stood up to begin his tales. But, to his
shock and horror, his mind went blank; he could recall not one story.
The surprise of the crowd was no less than his own; only his gracious
host was unperturbed by this strange lapse.

The host urged Reb Yaakov to rest, and try again later. Reb Yaakov went
to his room and suddenly, in a flash, all the stories flooded his mind.
However, the next day, on Shabbat afternoon, when he stood in front of
the crowd to begin his tales, he again fell speechless. When, by the
third Shabbat meal, Reb Yaakov was still unable to tell even one story,
he was filled with overwhelming sadness and sorrow. "This must be a
punishment from Above for some terrible misdeed of mine," thought Reb
Yaakov to himself.

When Shabbat was over, and Reb Yaakov joined his host at the Saturday
evening meal, the host cautiously said, "Now that we are alone, you
might possibly be able to remember something about the saintly Baal Shem
Tov." But try as he might, Reb Yaakov could remember nothing. With great
embarrassment and sorrow, he told his host he would depart immediately.

"Please, don't hurry," begged the host. "Stay a few more days, and if by
then you don't regain your memory, I won't detain you." When the
appointed day arrived and Reb Yaakov could still not tell one story, he
prepared to leave. But no sooner had he mounted his carriage when a
story flashed into his mind.

He lost no time recounting the following story:  "About ten years ago,
just before the Christian holiday of Easter, the Baal Shem Tov and a few
of his disciples set out on a journey to an unfamiliar town. The gentile
townspeople were gathering in the main square to hear a sermon from
their bishop. The Jews were terrified that the bishop's words would
provoke violence from the crowd, and closeted themselves in their homes.
But the Baal Shem Tov was completely unconcerned. In fact, he ordered me
to approach the bishop with the order to come to the Baal Shem Tov at
once.

"I delivered this message in Yiddish, exactly as the Baal Shem Tov had
told me. The bishop showed no surprise, but told me he would come
immediately following his sermon. I hastened back to the Baal Shem Tov
and told him what the bishop had said. The Baal Shem Tov told me to go
to the bishop and order him to come at once. When I told the bishop the
Baal Shem Tov's words, his face turned pale and he followed me without
question. The Baal Shem Tov secluded himself with the bishop for many
hours. Then, as suddenly as we had arrived, we returned home without
even a word of explanation. That is the end of my story."

The rich Jew listened with rapt attention, then suddenly exclaimed,
"Thank G-d!" After calming down, he explained to Reb Yaakov, "Everything
you've told me is true in every detail! I know it because I was
there...I was that bishop!"  The host continued, "I was born and raised
a Jew, but the lure of a great career tempted me to convert, for a Jew
could not enter the Catholic university. At first I practiced my
religion clandestinely, but little by little I forgot my origins.

"After I had attained the office of bishop, I began to be haunted by
dreams and visions of my youth - it seems my holy ancestors had pity on
my lost soul - but I was able to dismiss them from my mind. One night
the Baal Shem Tov came to me in a dream and demanded that I return to my
people. I began to think of repenting, but wondered if I had the
strength. The night before my sermon, the Baal Shem Tov appeared to me
again, saying that he was coming to help me. It was hard for me to break
with my past, but I finally returned fully to our beautiful heritage.
The Baal Shem Tov instructed me on how to repent. When I asked him how I
would know that my repentance had been accepted, he replied: "When a man
comes to you and tells you the story of what happened that day, you will
know that your repentance has been accepted.

"I faithfully followed all of the Baal Shem Tov's instructions. When you
came here, I recognized you immediately. And when you could not remember
a single tale, especially my tale, I knew that my repentance was not yet
complete. These past few days I have done a lot of soul searching and,
thank G-d, now I know that my repentance has been truly accepted."

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                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
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We can conceive of the Tenth of Tevet - when the walls of Jerusalem were
breached by Nebuchadnezzer, leading to the ultimate destruction of the
First Holy Temple - as the beginning of the process of the construction
of the Third Holy Temple. The process of destruction which began on that
day was intended to ultimately lead to the building of the Third Holy
Temple.

             (The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shabbat Parshat Vayechi, 5752)

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               END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 801 - Vayigash 5764
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