Holidays   Shabbat   Chabad-houses   Chassidism   Subscribe   Calendar   Links

                                  B"H
                                 -----
                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 804
*********************************************************************
                           Copyright (c) 2004
                 Lubavitch Youth Organization - L.Y.O.
                              Brooklyn, NY
                             --------------
                  Electronic version provided free at:
                          www.LchaimWeekly.org
                          --------------------
                  Palm-Pilot version provided free at:
                www.LchaimWeekly.org/lchaim/5764/804.prc
                          --------------------
                    To receive the L'CHAIM by e-mail
                  write to: listserv@LchaimWeekly.org
                              Subscribe W1
*********************************************************************
             THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR EVERY JEWISH PERSON
   Dedicated to the memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson N.E.
*********************************************************************
        January 23, 2004         Vaera            29 Tevet, 5764
*********************************************************************

                           Follow the Leader

Follow the leader. We've all played the game. He or she leads us on a
march. If the leader goes left, we go left. If he goes right, we go
right. If he stops, we stop. And so on.

Why is that? Why do we follow the leader?

We follow the leader because, well, he leads. That's his job. It's like
asking why do we let the mechanic work on our car, the electrician wire
our house or the stock broker manage our money. We do so because that's
their job, and we trust them.

That's a key element, trust, because we give the leader special
privileges. Parking perks, titles and honors - the leader gets set
apart. He can interrupt, but not be interrupted. A leader has access to
people and information that others don't, and we trust him to use that
access wisely.

Because the minute a leader becomes selfish, he's no longer a leader.
The plumber can have a conflict of interest; he can recommend a
competent contractor, knowing the contractor, if he gets the job, will
hire him for the plumbing work. But a leader who benefits from his
leadership role - or who benefits his friends - loses the right to be a
leader.

In other words, it's not enough for a leader's first concern to be the
welfare of the people he leads. That must be his only concern.

Even someone engaged in the loftiest personal pursuit - study of Torah -
even the greatest scholar and deepest mystic - if he is a leader, he
cannot withdraw, isolate himself, immerse himself in his own studies,
his own burdens and troubles. He must put all this aside for the ones
who trust him, who depend on him.

We see this with Moses. Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron, "Go take care of
your own burdens." What burdens? As the Sages tell us, the tribe of Levi
was not subject to the slavery of Egypt. Pharaoh meant, you, Moses and
Aaron, belong to the tribe of teachers and scholars. Get involved with
the burdens of scholarship and leave the people to their labors.

But as we know, Moses did not listen to Pharaoh. Moses our teacher
exemplified the true leader, the true teacher. He put aside his
concerns, his interests, his own "burdens," to teach, to lead the Jewish
people.

A spark of Moses exists within each of us. While we are not constant
leaders - we have times when we step into a different role - it remains
true that more than we realize, sometimes, we must exhibit leadership.
In a sense, we must all actively, yet reluctantly, pursue the job of
leader.

For it's a "job description" that applies to every Jew. As Moses our
teacher concerned himself not only with the scholar, but equally with
the simple and unlearned, so we must take the initiative and teach what
we know. As our Sages have told us: "If all you know are the Hebrew
letters "alef" and "bet," find someone who only knows "alef" and teach
him "bet." Since every Jew is responsible one for another, so every Jew
must lead, one to another.

And as a nation of leaders like Moses, we will teach, each to those he
or she can influence, ourselves, each other, and the nations of the
world, the way to Moshiach and the ultimate Redemption.

*********************************************************************
           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
*********************************************************************
The first seven of the ten plagues are enumerated in this week's Torah
portion, Va'eira. The plagues were the prelude to the liberation of our
ancestors from Egypt. The thrilling and dramatic way in which the
Children of Israel experienced sudden and complete transformation
occurred in both the physical and the spiritual realms.

Physically, the change was extremely dramatic. Imagine the bitterness of
our ancestors' slavery: Egypt was a country from which no slaves had
ever escaped or left; they were completely in the power of a Pharaoh who
bathed himself in the blood of Jewish children to alleviate his leprosy;
they were broken in body and spirit by the cruelest forms of forced
labor. Yet, suddenly Pharaoh's power was broken. The entire people was
liberated. The former slaves emerged from slavery as free people, bold
and dignified, "with an outstretched arm... and with great wealth."

Israel's spiritual liberation was no less sudden and dramatic. After
having sunk to the lowest degree of unholiness, to the point of pagan
idol-worship, they suddenly - at the time of the crossing of the Red Sea
- perceived G-d, revealed in His full Glory. Seven weeks later
(commemorated today by the holiday of Shavuot), they all stood at the
foot of Mount Sinai, on the highest level of holiness and prophecy. G-d
spoke to each one of them individually, without any mediator, and
declared; "I am the L-rd your G-d."

There is an additional reason for the hasty departure from Egypt. In
theory, once Pharaoh gave them permission to leave, the Jews could have
left Egypt at their leisure. However, the Exodus was not just from a
geographic Egypt. It was primarily an exodus from the evil and impurity
in which the Israelites had become immersed. For this reason, it was
imperative for the Jews to leave swiftly.

Not just on the holiday of Passover, but each and every single day, we
are commanded to remember the Exodus from Egypt. The instructive message
to us all that stands out from the events in this week's Torah portion
is that each Jew has the inner capacity and actual ability to transform
himself in a short time, suddenly, from one extreme to the opposite.

            Adapted by Rabbi I.M. Kagen (obm) from the works of the
                                                 Lubavitcher Rebbe.

*********************************************************************
                             SLICE OF LIFE
*********************************************************************

                           The Rabbi with the
                             by Doug McGill

You see him sometimes flying down Second Street, heading from S. Marys
to the Mayo Clinic with the tails of his long black coat flapping behind
him, a calm smile on his bearded face, a lidded cup of coffee in one
hand, a black fedora on his head and a book of the Torah under his arm.

He is Rabbi Dovid Greene, and he stands by himself as striking proof
that Rochester, far from being the "flyover country" we say to ourselves
we are (almost hopefully), is in reality super-cosmopolitan.

Because Rabbi Greene is no ordinary rabbi. He is an emissary to
Rochester of one of the fastest-growing Jewish organizations in the
world, the Chabad-Lubavitch, based in Brooklyn, New York. The group
descends from a mystical branch of Judaism that started in Poland in the
late 18th century.

Brought to America by a handful of European Jews fleeing Nazism in the
early 1940s, the Chabad-Lubavitch has since grown to number more than
200,000 worldwide - a number that's had an outsized influence due to the
group's zealous focus and global reach.

In Rochester that takes the form of Rabbi Greene himself, who with his
wife Chanie runs the Chabad House at 730 Second St. S.W. That's the
house with the 10-foot menorah - the nine-branched candelabrum that
symbolizes the role of Jews as a "light to the world" - planted in the
front yard.

The Chabad House was opened in Rochester in 1988, when the Lubavitch
community realized how much global traffic, including Jews from all over
the world, came through the city seeking medical help. Between 15,000
and 20,000 Jews a year visit Mayo Clinic, Rabbi Greene estimates, and of
those with whom the Chabad House has contact perhaps more than a
thousand.

"We try to imitate Abraham who was known for two things - visiting the
sick and welcoming guests," Rabbi Greene says. Many mornings thus find
Dovid and Chanie making rounds to the Methodist and S. Marys hospital
suites carrying brown paper lunch bags filled with kosher sandwiches,
challah bread, and a small bottle of grape juice.

Those services are free, and Rabbi Greene supports the Chabad House with
donations and from his work for local dairy farms that produce kosher
foods, prepared under a rabbi's supervision.

A second part of his mission in Rochester, he says, is explaining
Judaism to non-Jews or gentiles in the area. In this respect especially,
the Chabad-Lubavitch break the mold of most orthodox Jewish sects, which
see the secular world as a diversion from piety and thus emphasize
retreat.

The Chabad-Lubavitch, by contrast, retain the intense piety and outward
look of other orthodox Jews, yet stress that a full engagement with the
world, including with non-Jews, is essential. While many orthodox Jewish
sects have fought hard against assimilation into American culture, the
Chabad-Lubavitch by contrast professes a twofold path - retaining
religious identity within the context of a fully engaged civic life.

Therefore Rabbi Greene spends a lot of time in local schoolrooms. The
goal is not conversion, he stresses, but simply the revelation and
explanation of himself as a devout Jew. He has spent many class hours
answering young children's questions about what his various items of
clothing mean.

The small black skullcap called a yarmulke that he wears, for example.
"We wear that to remind ourselves that there is always a higher power
above us, something greater than our mind or our bodies, that is G-d,"
he explains.

And what about those white tassels hanging from his belt? "Those are
called tzitzis. In Hebrew every letter has a number, and the word
tzitzis adds up to 600. Then there are eight strings and five knots on
the strings, for a total of 613. The tzitzis reminds Jews of the 613
commandments they must follow."

As the gasps subside, Rabbi Greene adds that the seven laws G-d gave
Noah are the essential ones, and are recommended for people of all
creeds. (For those who are interested: no idolatry, no blasphemy, no
adultery, no murder, no theft, no cruelty to animals, and the creation
of courts of justice.)

Zealous G-d-consciousness is the hallmark of all "Chabadniks," as they
call themselves. There are prayers and readings and reminders of G-d's
earthly presence made incessantly throughout the day.

But take a closer look at Rabbi Greene's yarmulke. There you'll find
cosmopolitanism mixed with piety, as I mentioned earlier. Right there on
the side, stitched in loud purple as big as the Metrodome, is the
Vikings logo.

"Oh, I'm a big fan," the Rabbi says. "Let's not talk about the disaster
last Sunday, OK? I was asked once to move to Australia to run a Chabad
House. But I looked into it and I finally said 'thank you, but I just
don't understand Australian Rules football. Just can't figure it out.
I'm culturally Minnesotan, so I'd better stay right here.' And I'm glad
I did."

                                 Copyright @ 2003 The McGill Report

*********************************************************************
                               WHAT'S NEW
*********************************************************************
                           Opening The Tanya

Opening the Tanya, by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, is a groundbreaking book
that offers an introduction, explanation, and commentary upon the Tanya,
the basic book of Chabad Chasidic philosophy. As relevant today as it
was when it was first written more than 200 years ago by Rabbi Shneur
Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad, the Tanya helps us to see the many
thousands of complexities, doubts, and drives within us as expressions
of a single basic problem, the struggle between our G-dly Soul and our
Animal Soul. Published by Jonathan David.



                          A Life of Sacrifice

A Life of Sacrifice, by Rabbi Elchonon Lesches, is the story of Reb
Yitzchok Elchonon Halevi Shagalow. It is the story of a single man
fighting against the relentless machinery of the former Soviet Union, a
dedicated Chasid willing to suffer any inconvenience for the sake of
Torah and its commandments.  The only practicing mohel left in all of
White Russia, Rabbi Shagalow was responsible for enabling the observance
of the commandment of circumcision in the darkest of times as he
traveled around the entire country to continue his holy work. Far from
being intimidated by the Soviets, Rabbi Shagalow put his life in danger
to live the Torah way and educate his children accordingly. More than 60
years have passed since Rabbi Shagalow was murdered in cold blood for
his religious activities. His hundreds of Torah-observant descendants
around the world today are the worthiest testimonial to this great man
cut down in the prime of his life.



*********************************************************************
                            THE REBBE WRITES
*********************************************************************
                      11th of Kislev, 5735 [1974]

Greeting and Blessing:

Your letter of the 22nd of Cheshvan reached me with some delay, and this
is the first opportunity for me to acknowledge it.

Following the order of your letter, I wish to extend here my prayerful
wishes that your wife should have a normal and complete pregnancy, as
well as a normal delivery of a healthy offspring in a good and
auspicious hour.

With regard to the business venture about which you write, it is clear
that the general conditions which affect the problem, as well as those
specific ones that you mention in your letter, are of a nature which
change from time to time. Indeed, as you write, this is also the reason
that caused the problem of financing. At any rate, it seems at this
moment that the next step does not depend on you, as you don't seem to
have any options to choose from.

The only suggestion I can make to you is one that may appear mystical,
but it has been borne out by experience and proved quite practical. I
have in mind the idea that when a Jew strengthens his bond with the
Source of wisdom, which is in G-d, he gains wisdom and understanding
also in mundane affairs, which helps him to decide what to do and what
not to do in matter of business and the like.

Needless to say, by strengthening one's bonds with the Source of true
wisdom and understanding, is meant the actual observance of the Mitzvoth
[commandments] which G-d set forth in His Torah, of which it is written,
"This is Your wisdom and understanding in the sight of all the nations."

As mentioned above, the advice that you should make an effort to
strengthen your commitment and actual fulfillment of the Mitzvoth, which
will also help you make the proper decisions, is at first glance of a
mystical nature.

But looking at it from a practical point of view, we know that in
everything else the important thing is the actual results which a
certain measure brings about. If experience shows that doing such a
thing brings such and such results in the vast majority of cases, then
it is not so important whether one understands how and why those results
are caused, for the important thing is the result itself.

The same applies also to Jews and their commitment to the Torah and
Mitzvoth throughout the ages. Our long history has borne out the fact
that the well-being of the Jewish people, as well as of the Jew as an
individual, is intimately connected with his observance of the Torah and
Mitzvoth in the daily life. And although the Torah and Mitzvoth should
be observed for their own sake, as the commands of our Creator, it has
been revealed that the Torah and Mitzvoth are also the channels and
vessels to receive G-d's blessings for Hatzlocho [success] in the
material aspects of life.

May G-d, whose benevolent Providence extends to each and everyone
individually, grant you the wisdom to make the right decisions, and to
have Hatzlocho in all above.

With blessing,

P.S. Noting that you are an attorney at law, I would like to add a point
that is no doubt quite familiar to you. This is that in matters of a
legal suit, the best and weightiest legal argument is when one can cite
precedents of judgment in similar cases, and there is no need to
substantiate and explain the reason for the judgment further since the
judgement speaks for itself.

P.P.S. Regarding the project in Nicaragua in general - in light of the
world economic and political situation, it does not appear to be a
practicable and realistic project in the near future.

*********************************************************************
                            RAMBAM THIS WEEK
*********************************************************************
2 Shevat, 5764 - January 25, 2004

Prohibition 52: The prohibition of intermarriage. This mitzva is based
on the verse (Deut. 7:3) "Neither shall you make marriages with them" We
are forbidden to marry non-Jews.

Prohibition 55: We are forbidden to reject an Egyptian if he converts to
Judaism.

This mitzva is based on the verse (Deut. 23:8) "Do not despise an
Egyptian because you were a stranger in his land." The Torah forbids an
Egyptian convert from marrying freely into the Jewish people until the
third generation. The cruel slavery in Egypt affected both nations.
Nevertheless, the Torah appreciates that Jacob's family was given refuge
in Egypt. Also, it was there that they developed into a nation. Thus, we
are commanded not to totally reject an Egyptian convert. The third
generation of such converts may marry among the Jewish people.

*********************************************************************
                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
*********************************************************************
This Shabbat is the first day of the new moon and month of Shevat. The
Jewish people are likened to the moon. Just as the moon temporarily
wanes from her glory, but is restored and renewed again, so will the
Jewish people be restored from the present darkness of exile to a bright
and shining luminary.

The comparison of the Jews to the moon is quite accurate. In describing
the creation of the sun and the moon, the Torah says "...let them be for
lights...to illuminate the earth." Thus, the true purpose of the moon is
to illuminate the earth. Even when the moon is complete and physically
perfect, if it does not fulfill its mission of illuminating the earth,
it is, according to Torah, non-existent.

If the moon illuminates with one-quarter of its potential, it is called
a quarter  moon; if it illuminates fully, it is called a full moon. When
the moon does not shine at all, in essence it isn't there. It is
essentially in a state of preparation for renewal and for fulfillment of
its real purpose-to illuminate the earth.

Physically speaking, the Jewish people always exist. Jews are eternal
because they are a portion of their Creator who is eternal. But as long
as they are in exile they cannot properly fulfill their essential
function - to serve their Creator. In exile, Jews are like the
"invisible" moon which though existing materially, is not fulfilling its
mission of illuminating the earth.

In the Messianic World, we will be able to fulfill our mission
completely, like the moon after it is renewed--when it achieves its
destiny and illuminates the world. Let's be there to see it.

*********************************************************************
                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
*********************************************************************
And I appeared (va'eira) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Ex. 6:3)

The word va'eira means both "And I appeared" and "And I will appear."
This shows us that the G-dly revelation to the Patriarchs can be found,
now, within every Jew. For, within the soul of every Jew there is
Abraham (who epitomized love of G-d), Isaac (awe of G-d) and Jacob
(mercy and compassion). When these traits are revealed, it is similar to
G-d's revelation to the Patriarchs.

                                                      (Ohr HaTorah)

                                *  *  *


"And I will take you out... and I will release you... and I will redeem
you... and I will take you...and I will bring you into the land. (Ex.
6:6-8)

The first four expressions of redemption allude to our redemption from
Egypt, whereas the fifth expression, "I will bring you," alludes to the
future redemption, the final one which we are now awaiting. Why is this
mentioned, then, when foretelling our departure from Egypt? To teach us
that ever since the time that we left Egypt, we have been slowly but
surely approaching the Final Redemption.

                                            (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

                                *  *  *


And I am of closed lips. (Ex. 6:12)

In this verse, Moses reminded G-d of his speech impediment. Why did he
have a lisp? So that no one would say that his eloquence as a speaker
caused the Jewish people to choose him as their leader or accept the
Torah.

                                                    (Drashot HaRin)

                                *  *  *


And the L-rd said to Moses: "Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod...and he
lifted up the rod and he smote the waters...' "  (Ex. 7:19-20)

G-d had originally commanded Moses to smite the water. But Moses
objected, "Is is right for me to smite the Nile? When I was placed in a
basket there as a child, the waters did not let me drown." From Moses'
answer we can learn the extent to which gratitude must be shown toward
one who has been kind to us.

                                      (Shemot Rabba, Tiferet Tzion)

                                *  *  *


Then the magicians said to Pharoah: "This is the finger of G-d." (Ex.
8:15)

The art of "black magic" originated in Egypt. G-d had granted previous
generations the powers of magic to establish the equilibrium of Free
Choice and to enable them to believe in or deny Divine Providence.
Pharoah's magicians were able to duplicate the first two plagues-blood
and frogs. But since magic has no power over an object smaller than a
piece of barley, they were forced to admit that the plague was caused by
G-d and not magic.

                                                     (Shemot Rabba)

*********************************************************************
                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
*********************************************************************
Shmuel had been a wealthy merchant for some years. But, despite his
wealth, he remained the same pious person he had been when he was poor.
Never did he forget that it is in G-d we must put our faith.

One Friday night, when Shmuel and his whole family were sitting around
the Shabbat table, the maid appeared and said there was a messenger from
the governor.

The messenger was called in and apologized for his interruption. He
explained that some foreign guests were expected at the governor's house
and it was necessary to purchase some rugs from Shmuel's store.

"But this is impossible," protested Shmuel. "It is our holy Sabbath and
I never do business on the Sabbath. Please explain to the governor that
I will be happy to carry out his request tomorrow evening as soon as the
Sabbath is over."

Upon leaving, the messenger hinted that there would be trouble for
everyone if Shmuel did not open his store.

Shmuel turned to his family and said, "My dears, let us not forget that
tonight is Shabbat. Do not look so worried. Are we not told that just as
the Jews keep Shabbat, Shabbat keeps the Jews?" And with that, he began
singing a Shabbat melody.

A little while later, the maid entered the dining room once again to
tell Shmuel that the messenger was back. This time, Shmuel left the room
to meet with him. The messenger handed Shmuel a note which read: "Dear
Sir, I hardly need to point out to you that I am one of your best
customers. Considering my position, you also know that I have a great
deal of influence. I am willing to give you a larger sum than you would
normally charge, but I must have the rugs immediately. Since you say
that you do not do business on your Sabbath, I will not ask you for the
account now, but I must insist that  you send the merchandise to me with
my messenger. You may state your own prices when we clarify the bill
after the Sabbath. Should you choose to disregard my request, I will
stop doing business with you and encourage my friends to do the same."

Shmuel looked up after he finished reading the letter. "My answer
remains the same as before," he told the messenger. "If the governor
cannot wait until after the Sabbath, I must refuse his request. Please
tell the governor that, though I hold him and his orders in the highest
esteem, I must esteem G-d's orders still more."

There was little sleep or rest for Shmuel and his family that Sabbath.
Disaster seemed to hang in the air.

As soon as Shabbat was over, the messenger arrived back at Shmuel's home
with a request for him to appear at court right away. On his way to the
governor's mansion, Shmuel thought to himself, "Why should I imagine
that I am worthy to be a rich man forever? I was poor once, I can be
poor again. Whatever the case, G-d will take care of us."

When Shmuel arrived at the mansion, he was astonished to see the
governor greeting him with a broad smile and outstretched arms. "Welcome
my friend," the governor told Shmuel. While leading Shmuel into his
private study, the governor explained the previous day's events. "Some
foreign dignitaries visited me this weekend. One of them stated that all
Jews think about is money and how to make more of it. Nothing is more
sacred to Jews than wealth, he said. I was the only one who denied his
accusations. So I told him that I could prove that his charges were
false. And that, dear friend," said the governor, patting Shmuel on the
shoulder, "is why I sent you that urgent order by special messenger.

"Now, you have shown that I was correct. But more importantly you have
shown those men that the Jews value their religion above all material
gain. I will see to it that all of my friends give you their business in
the future. Certainly a man who puts his values and beliefs before money
and profit will deal with them fairly."

*********************************************************************
                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
*********************************************************************
In the Book of Exodus we read that G-d told Moses, "I will also fulfill
the promise I made with them, to give them the land of Israel." To whom
did G-d make a promise to give the Land of Israel? To Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. How will G-d fulfill His promise to our forefathers? In the days
of Moshiach our forefathers, together with all other Jews will be
resurrected, and will behold the realization of G-d's promise to them.

                                                   (Yalkut Shemoni)

*********************************************************************
                 END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 804 - Vaera 5764
*********************************************************************