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                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 807
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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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        February 13, 2004        Yisro           21 Shevat, 5764
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                          Light Keeps Growing

A Shabbat candle illuminates the room. Nowadays, electricity brightens
the house, turning night into day at any time. But we've all been in a
darkened room and lit a candle. The effect is, each time, eye-opening.
Everything changes because of the candle's light. And have you noticed
that, even nowadays, with the incandescent or fluorescent bulbs burning
or glowing, the Shabbat candles still attract us? They still inspire us
and create an atmosphere. In a brightly lit room, the Shabbat candles
still illuminate.

Maybe that's because the light of the Shabbat candle is more than a
physical light. When a  woman or a girl lights the Shabbat candle and
makes a blessing, thus ushering Shabbat into the home, she is
illuminating the house - and through it the neighborhood and, in a
change reaction of illumination, the whole world - with "the candle is a
mitzva and Torah, light." That is, the Shabbat candle illuminates not
just with an external, physical light, but also with an internal,
spiritual light. For lighting Shabbat candles is a mitzva and doing so
bring kedusha - holiness - into the home, and by extension - since light
continues to spread forth - into the whole world.

In other words, when a Jewish woman or girl lights a Shabbat candle, it
fills the room, and all within it, with holiness. Part of the uniqueness
of the mitzva lies in this. For other mitzvot remain separate one from
another. Each mitzva does its thing, so to speak, but doesn't spread
holiness by its very nature. The mere presence of the Shabbat candle -
merely being in the presence of the Shabos candle - fulfills a mitzva
and fills one with kedusha.

Simply put, lighting candles initiates Shabbat - this mitzva comes
before prayer, before Kiddush. And Shabbat, as the Torah tells us, is a
special sign of the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people. The
Sages of the Talmud note the importance of Shabbat candle with the
following observation: "It is written, 'for a candle is a mitzva and
Torah light.' Through the mitzva-candle of Shabbat comes the light of
Torah." This means that the Torah learning of the sons and husbands, who
don't light the Shabbat candles, depends on and derives from, the mitzva
of the women and girls who do.  The private mitzva - private yet of
universal influence - precedes the public Torah.

The gematria (the numerical value of the Hebrew letters) of "candle"
alludes to this effect. The word "ner" - candle has the numerical value
of 250 - equivalent to the 248 positive commandments as they are
penetrated by and enacted with love and fear.

Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the wife of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, whose passing
we commemorate with this issue (and whose life we honor with the L'Chaim
publication), illuminated her surroundings. Though very much a private
individual, she had a universal influence. Through her, holiness spread
forth and penetrated the world. Because of her, the Jewish people
received the teachings of the Rebbe.

What a tribute it would be to the Rebbetzin for all of us to increase in
areas connected to Shabbat candles: to increase the love and fear of
G-d, to influence others light Shabbat candles, to be more receptive to
the holiness ushered in through candle lighting.

For light - like Torah, like mitzvot, like love for a fellow Jew - is
one thing that never diminishes by giving itself to another.

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           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
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In this week's Torah portion, Yitro, we read about one of the most
momentous events in Jewish history - the giving of the Ten Commandments
on Mount Sinai.

The Ten Commandments unite within them laws of two apparently quite
different orders: The first commandments express and reveal the deepest
truths about G-d's Unity (true monotheism); the last, on the other hand,
contain such elementary injunctions as "Thou shalt not murder" and "Thou
shalt not steal," which seem self-evident even to the average human
intellect.

However, the truth is that even "self-evident" moral precepts, if left
to human judgment alone, without binding force of Divine authority and
sanction, can, out of self-love, be distorted so as to turn vice into
"virtue."

By rejecting the Commandments of "I am G-d" and "Thou shalt have no
other gods", or by disassociating them from the societal, moral
commandments such as not to murder or steal, society ceases to be
safeguarded against bloodshed and theft, their most brutal forms. But,
certainly, then, it is also not safeguarded against more subtle forms
such as the "bloodshed" of character assassination, or the "theft" of
knowledge, and the like.

The Ten Commandments emphasize, and experience has fully and repeatedly
borne it out, that even the simplest precepts of morality and ethics
must rest on the foundation of "I am G-d" and "Thou shalt have no other
gods" - and only then can their compliance be assured.

If, in previous generations there were people who doubted the need of
Divine authority for common morality and ethics, in the belief that
human reason is sufficient authority, then our present generation has,
unfortunately, in a most devastating and tragic way, refuted this
mistaken notion. For it is precisely the nation which had excelled
itself in the exact sciences, the humanities and even in philosophy and
ethics, that turned out to be the most depraved nation of the world,
idealizing murder and robbery, etc. Anyone who knows how insignificant
was the minority of Germans who opposed the Hitler regime, realizes that
the German cult was not something which was practiced by a few
individuals, but had embraced the vast majority of that nation, who
considered itself the "super race," etc.

                    Adapted from a letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

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                             SLICE OF LIFE
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                       Timmy Rubin and her family
                             by Sam Lipski

Although the secular life she led in Australia and overseas as a
self-described young "rager" in the 70s and into the 80s is behind her,
Timmy Rubin knows first-hand about its distractions and
disillusionments, its highs and lows. Of the unrestrained life Timmy
Rubin can say: "Been there, done that" and it's history.

As a baalat teshuva, one who became Torah-observant, Timmy believes
"history" gives her a degree of empathy not only with other baalei
teshuva, but with the increasing number of otherwise non-observant women
whom she encounters as the director of the Chaya Muska Schneerson Mikve
in Melbourne, Australia.

Married to Kalman, a baal teshuva whom she met while living and studying
in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Timmy sees her role as the director of the
mikve as integral to the Jewish community.

This is because the Torah regards mikve as on the same level as
synagogue and cemetery in defining a Jewish kehillah or community.
Melbourne currently has four mikvaot.

An immersion pool filled only with springwater, rainwater, or other
"living" source, such as snow or even melted ice, the mikve - the word
literally means "collection" - dates back to Biblical and Temple times.

Today the basics of the mikve are the same as for thousands of years.
But in the "new age" mikvaot the presentation, surroundings, and
creature comforts have been updated and modernized to he point where
some would compete with the trendiest health clubs and women's spas.

At the Chaya Mushka Schneerson  Mikve on Empress Road, East St Kilda,
she is eager to show any visitor how the concerns for privacy,
relaxation and cleanliness have received special attention. There are
spa baths, a hairdrying room, a waiting room and two mikvaot filled with
crystal clear water which is regularly changed every night.

She wants every woman who uses the mikve to see it as a place of
physical, psychological and spiritual retreat and renewal. Moreover, for
Mrs. Rubin the significance of the laws of mikve, goes beyond the ritual
of immersion itself into the human relationships that develop.

"Every woman who comes through this door is precious. When a woman
immerses in a mikve, her soul is revealed.

"When a woman immerses, she is carrying out G-d's will, so her ego goes
out the window. Physically, too, she nullifies herself into the water,
celebrating a mitzva which reaffirms her femininity and celebrates
life."

She maintains that, for a woman, immersion in the mikve is the most
profound way she can express herself as a Jew.

"In the waters of that pool we flow back and forward in time. We join up
with our sisters, mothers, great-grandmothers and matriarchs."

How does she react to those who would argue that the laws surrounding
mikve restrict women in their relationships with their husbands?

It's just the opposite, she insists.

"What is more liberating for a woman than to undertake the laws of
family purity ordained by the Torah?

"These laws not only give a woman space, power and freedom but the
entire mitzva connects us to our foremothers Sarah, Rachel, Rivkah, Leah
and of course, Eve. The first mikve was in the garden of Eden from which
we were created."

And she has no doubt that the mikve benefits the husband as much as the
wife and, more importantly from a religious perspective, elevates the
relationship.

"Fulfilling the mitzva of Taharat Hamishpacha (Family Purity) enables a
man and a woman to attain the highest degree of fulfillment in their
marriage," Mrs. Rubin said.

"Physical intimacy is the most powerful, all pervasive force in human
experience. It may be intensely personal and meaningful and creative at
one moment and depersonalized, meaningless and careless the next.

"Therefore true intimacy can only be fully experienced when it includes
an element of discipline and consistency. G-d teaches us how to love and
respect our spouses. He created rules within a relationship to prevent
crossing the boundaries and respecting one another to the maximum."

Mrs. Rubin notes that using the mikve is becoming more and more popular
not only because the numbers of Orthodox women in Melbourne are growing,
but because women from all walks of life are undertaking this mitzva.

"Each woman, no matter her observance of mitzvot in other areas,
discovers the most wonderful part of her feminine self. The joy and
richness of being a woman is protected and developed," Mrs. Rubin said.

In fact the demands on the Chaya Mushka Schneerson mikve have grown so
much in the last couple of years extensions are now underway.

Mrs. Rubin, who lives in another section of the mikve property, is
presiding over the extensions and the immersion "boom" in the community
with the same lighthearted contentment and humor, sometimes rollicking
good humor, that bounces through her interview.

But she leaves you in no doubt that when she says her best times come
whenever she recites a special blessing over every woman immersing in
the mikve, she is being very serious indeed.

         This article first appeared in the Australian Jewish News,
                                                 Melbourne Edition.

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                               WHAT'S NEW
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                    Over One Thousand Women Convene

Over 1,300 women are expected to attend the annual "Kinus HaShluchot"
conference of Chabad-Lubavitch women. The conference for women
emissaries of the Rebbe, coincides with the anniversary of the passing
of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson. Lectures, workshops, panel
discussions and working sessions provide strategies and advice in a
number of areas. Education, administration, women's topics, counseling,
fundraising, are among the topics presented. The Shluchot come from all
over the world to attend the conference at World Lubavitch Headquarters
in Brooklyn. Hailing from as close as NYC or as far as Japan, Australia,
Ukraine, Israel, Hawaii and all points in between, the conference is
also a tribute to continuous growth of Chabad-Lubavitch work.

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                            THE REBBE WRITES
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                      17th of Shevat, 5732 [1972]

                To the Participants in the Tenth Annual
            Midwinter Convention of the Neshei u'BnosChabad


Blessing and Greeting:

I was pleased0 to be informed of the forthcoming Convention, taking
place during the auspicious weekend of Parshas [the Torah portion of]
Mishpatim.

Commenting on the first verse of this Sedra, Rashi quotes our Sages:
"Just as the previous laws (the Ten Commandments in the preceding Sedra
of Mattan Torah) were given by G-d at Sinai, so are these from Sinai.

In view of the fact that Mishpatim ("Judgments," dealing mainly with
inter-human relations) are so-called "rational" laws, which human reason
can understand and appreciate, the question arises, why is it necessary
for our Sages to emphasize that these too are Divine laws coming direct
from Sinai?

The answer is: Precisely because they are "rational," they must have the
force of Divine authority. For, it is clear, and experience has amply
borne it out, that in as much as a human being is partial to himself, he
cannot be objective in his judgment where his relationship to others is
concerned. He may easily be blinded by self-interest, to the extent of
completely misinterpreting and corrupting such "rational" judgments, so
much so that he may mistake iniquity for justice and justice for
iniquity - or, to quote a well known Posuk [verse] - "Call light -
darkness, and darkness - light."

Consequently, so-called "rational" laws cannot have validity unless they
are derived from the Divine source, and are accountable to G-d, the
Creator and Master of the world, whose Hashgocho Protis [Divine
Providence] extends to each and every detail in the daily life of each
and every individual.

Indeed, this is also indicated in the Ten Commandments, where the
"rational" laws of "Honor your father and mother," "You shall not
steal," etc., can have validity only if their source and foundation is
"I am G-d your G-d," "You shall have no other gods."

Jewish life, both insofar as our people as a whole is concerned, as well
as the individual, is based on this very fundamental concept that the
Mitzvoth [commandments] pertaining to man's duties to G-d and the
Mitzvoth pertaining to man's duties to fellow man, are inseparable and
of equal Divine authority. This is also the basis of Jewish home life.
It is the absolute loyalty and adherence to this principle in the daily
life that is the key to Jewish survival throughout the ages and under
all conditions.

As has often been mentioned before, the Jewish woman has a particular
role in the preservation of the Torah and Mitzvoth, as has also been
emphasized by the fact that before the Ten Commandments and the Torah
and Mitzvoth in general were given to all the Jewish people, G-d told
Moshe Rabbenu [Moses] to speak first to the women, and only afterwards
to the men.

I send my prayerful wishes that the Convention be carried out with the
utmost Hatzlocho [success], and that it will stimulate the Neshei u'Bnos
Chabad everywhere to greater practical accomplishments in meeting the
challenges of our day by strengthening and spreading the observance of
the Torah and Mitzvoth permeated with Chasidic light and vitality, both
within the family and in the environment at large.

With blessing,

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                            RAMBAM THIS WEEK
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26 Shevat, 5764 - February 18, 2004

Positive Mitzva 93: Nazirite Offering

This mitzva is based on the verse (Num. 5:13) "When the days of his
Nazirite vow are fulfilled." When his Nazirite period is over, the Nazir
is commanded to bring a sacrifice and cut his hair. He must follow the
procedures specified in the Torah for presenting his sacrifice.

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                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
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Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson was a jewel, a true queen. Not merely
by virtue of her noble ancestry (descending from all the first six
Rebbes of Chabad) nor even of her exalted position as Rebbetzin of the
saintly and admired great leader of hundreds of thousands. She was a
true queen in her own right, too.

She was a queen in her exalted qualities of character. The Rebbetzin was
sensitive and compassionate to others without being in any way
condescending. For every person she met, every visitor to her home, even
young children, she always had the right words to suit the situation.

The Rebbetzin was a queen intellectually, too. Coming from a long line
of great Torah scholars, she was, not surprisingly, a true intellectual.
Those who knew her well and remembered her father, the previous Rebbe,
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950), considered her to have
inherited his penetrating intellect and analytic mind.

When her father passed away in 1950, the Chasidim called upon her
husband, the Rebbe, as the obvious successor. But the Rebbe refused to
even consider it. It was the Rebbetzin who finally convinced him: "You
can't let my father's thirty years of self-sacrifice on behalf of the
Jewish people go to waste," she pleaded. Very reluctantly, the Rebbe
accepted the mantle of leadership.

Over a year before she passed away, the Rebbetzin stated that her
father, the previous Rebbe, had "belonged to the Chasidim." Yet it was
the Rebbetzin who had the awesome courage to finally persuade the Rebbe
to take on the responsibility of leadership. She was prepared to accept
all personal difficulties for the sake of the Jewish people. Her
sacrifice was indeed awesome.

Rabbi Akiva said of his wife Rachel - "Mine and yours is hers," that his
Torah knowledge and that which he taught his thousands of students were
thanks to Rachel's self-sacrifice for 24 years. So, too, do we owe the
prodigious accomplishments of the Rebbe's Chasidim throughout the world,
that have touched the lives of millions of Jews, to Rebbetzin Chaya
Mushka's self-sacrife and devotion to her husband for almost 60 years!

As we mark the Rebbetzin's 16th Yartzeit this Shabbat, may her merit
protect us and may we learn from her shining example.

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                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
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And Yitro heard... (Ex. 18:1)

Yitro had been called by seven different names, one of which was Yeter.
When he became a convert to Judaism and fulfilled the commandments, one
letter, vav, was added to his name.

                                                            (Rashi)

                                *  *  *


In many instances the Torah adds a letter to a person's name as a sign
of his having acquired greatness. For instance, letters were added to
Abraham's and Sara's names when they achieved greater spiritual heights.

                                                      (Shmot Rabba)

                                *  *  *


And Yitro heard... of all that G-d had done for Moses and for the people
Israel... (Ex. 18:1)

What Yitro, Moses' father-in-law, heard was heard by many other people,
too. But only he concluded to accept the one G-d and join the Children
of Israel. There are some who hear, but their hearing isn't really
hearing; the words don't really enter their ears, hearts and souls.
Yitro's edge was that he heard and he understood what he heard.

                                            (Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk)

                                *  *  *


Israel encamped opposite the Mountain (Ex. 19:2)

Why was the Torah given on a mountain, specifically? A mountain and a
plain are both made of earth; a mountain is just higher. The intention
of giving the Torah was so that the Children of Israel would elevate and
spiritually purify the physicality of the world. This is hinted to by
the mountain, which is dust of the earth but is high, symbolizing the
elevation of matter and its purification.

                                                (Sefer Hama'amarim)

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                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
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The Rebbetzin, the wife of Rebbe Yaakov Yitzchak, the Chozeh of Lublin,
tried not to cry, she tried to stay cheerful. But what would she do if
Shabbat arrived and she still had not procured the few coins she needed
in order to purchase candles for the holy Sabbath?

All of the drawers had been checked. All of the pockets had been
examined. There were no coins in the house. The minutes ticked away. Now
it was but a few moments until candle lighting. The Rebbetzin ran into
the street, to share her pain with the wind and the darkening sky.

At that moment a carriage passed by. Inside the carriage sat a young
Jewish man who had for many years not been home to see the light of
Shabbat candles burning in his parents' home. He was more touched by the
lights that burned in the taverns and gambling halls that he frequented
most Friday nights. In fact, at that moment he was on his way to meet
his friends for a night of entertainment and revelry. But when he looked
out his carriage window and saw an old Jewish woman crying softly, he
stopped his carriage and asked her why she wept.

"It is because I have no coins to purchase candles for the holy
Sabbath," the Rebbetzin whispered, "and I fear I will be unable to
fulfill the mitzva commadment of lighting the Shabbat candles."

"Dear woman, take these coins. Light the candles with a joyous heart and
enjoy your Sabbath," said the young man as he began returning to his
carriage.

The Rebbetzin called out to the young man who stopped and turned around.
"You have done a tremendous commandment. May the Almighty repay you by
allowing a divine light to shine into your heart forever," the Rebbetzin
blessed him. The young man smiled and entered his carriage.

Quickly the Rebbetzin purchased candles, returned hom and lit them with
a truly joyous heart. As she watched the flames dance and leap, her
heart filled to overflowing with happiness and gratitude to G-d.

A short while later in the synagogue, the Chozeh of Lublin began saying
the prayers welcoming the Sabbath. His heart, too, danced and leapt in
joy and gratitude to G-d. Whenever the Chozeh prayed, his soul soared
higher and higher in the heavenly spheres. Tonight, he saw that heavenly
court was in an uproar, and the Chozeh was the one at whom all were
pointing an accusing finger.

"Is it not enough that you, the holy Rebbe, bless all kinds of unworthy
people? And being that you are a tzadik (righteous person), we are
required to make sure that your blessings are fulfilled. Now, your wife,
too, pours blessings upon undeserving people!"

And with that, the heavenly court told the Chozeh about the young man
who had given his wife a few coins for Shabbat candles and how his wife
had blessed him that a divine light should always shine in his heart.
"Such a magnificent gift should be bestowed upon one who is now, on the
Sabbath, not celebrating or marking the holy day in any way?" they
complained.

The Chozeh responded, "Perhaps it is true that at this moment the young
man is not worthy of the great gift of which you speak. But who am I to
argue if my dear wife saw so clearly revealed the precious spark of G-d,
the soul, within him. Should we not at least give him a chance? Shine a
divine light upon him for one half hour. Let his soul bask in G-d's
glory and see if he is influenced by it. If after one half hour, nothing
has changed, then I agree that you should be absolved of fulfilling my
wife's blessing." The heavenly court agreed.

In a carriage outside of Lublin, the young man began to feel a strange
sensation. He looked around him and felt as if he was seeing the world
for the first time. There was clarity to everything. His mind wandered
to the encounter that had taken place earlier. Something inexplicable
was urging him to return to that little street in Lublin, to the home
where the old woman had surely already lit the Shabbat candles. He
ordered his driver to turn the carriage around.

As soon as the carriage arrived at the home of the Chozeh, the young man
told the driver to stop. He quickly got out of the carriage and walked
up the path to the Chozeh's home. He looked inside through the window
and saw the Rebbetzin sitting at the Shabbat table reciting her prayers
with joy and devotion, waiting for the Rebbe to return from the
synagogue.

The young man lifted his hand to knock on the door but hesitated, not
wanting to interrupt the Rebbetzin's prayers. Perhaps she would be
finished in a few moments and he would not have to disturb her. The
minutes ticked away.

The heavenly court watched in interest as the last moments of the half
hour slipped by. The Rebbetzin had finished her prayers. The young man
raised his hand once again to knock on the door but stopped himself. He
looked around. "What am I doing here?" he asked himself.

For a few seconds the young man stood motionless, unable to decide what
to do. Involuntarily he shook himself, as if to shake off the last
vestiges of indecision. He turned his back on the house and headed
toward the street. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the
Rebbetzin's Shabbat candles. The flames of the candles danced and leapt
in joy.

The rustling wind sounded like a sigh of contentment emerging from the
heavens above as the young man knocked gently on the door.

The Rebbetzin was delighted when she saw the young man. She invited him
in. He stayed for the meal and for many meals after. With time he became
a devoted chasid of the Chozeh of Lublin. Eventually he helped
illuminate the path for many others with the Divine light that is found
in every Jewish heart.

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                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
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The concept of redemption is intrinsically related to women. Our Sages
teach that  "In the merit of righteous women, the Jews were redeemed
from Egypt." The same applies to later redemptions. And as to the
future, we have been promised, "As in the days of your exodus from
Egypt, I will show you wonders." The holy Ari writes that the generation
of the ultimate Redemption will be a reincarnation of the generation of
the exodus. Since the future Redemption will therefore follow the
pattern of that archetypal redemption, it will also come as a result of
the merit of the righteous women of that generation.

                             (From a talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)

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                 END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 807 - Yisro 5764
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