Holidays   Shabbat   Chabad-houses   Chassidism   Subscribe   Calendar   Links

                                  B"H
                                 -----
                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 1178
*********************************************************************
                           Copyright (c) 2011
                 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/5771/1178.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.
*********************************************************************
        July 8, 2011             Balak             6 Tamuz, 5771
*********************************************************************

                             Golf for Life

Items that always seem to be available at garage and yard sales
throughout the summer, or at any other time of year, are golf clubs.
Whether the avid adolescent golfer is away at college or beyond, or Dad
never really took to the new pastime, or Mom has perfected her stroke
and game to the point where she needs better clubs, golf clubs can
easily be purchased for the neophyte golfer.

In keeping with the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that we can learn something
to enhance our lives spiritually from everything we see and hear, even
if you've only tried your skill with clubs and balls at the local
mini-golf, there's a lot that can be learned from this mellow sport.

"Hold the club firmly with both hands," a seasoned golf expert will tell
any newcomer to the game. Applied to Jewish living, this means that our
approach to Torah and mitzvot (commandments) has to be firm, not
wishy-washy or laissez faire. In addition, Torah teaches that "the right
hand brings closer and the left hand pushes away." This means that our
"hands-on" approach to Judaism has to include bringing that which is
beneficial and positive into our lives while pushing away that which can
be harmful or negative to Jewish living.

In real golf (as opposed to miniature golf) you must complete all 18
holes as established by the course. Similarly, a set course has been
established for us by the Torah, beginning with our daily routine and
encompassing our entire lives.

When we get up in the morning, we train ourselves that our first
conscious thought is to thank G-d for giving us another day of life.
Throughout the day we have a sequence of activities and mitzvot that we
fulfill up until the time we go to bed, following the declaration that
we forgive all those who might have knowingly or unknowingly wronged us,
after which we entrust our soul to G-d's safekeeping. Just as our day is
ordered and sequential, so is our week, month, year, and entire the
Jewish life-cycle.

To truly hone our living skills (unlike when we putter around on a
mini-golf course, where we can dodge the rules) we must follow the
established progression of the Torah. And though the mitzvot are
"written in stone" (at least the Ten Commandments, to be exact), Judaism
allows for, acknowledges and even encourages individual expression and
personal preferences within the established guidelines.

Any golfer worth his tee will inform you that one of the main guidelines
of the game is to keep your eye on the ball. In the big golf game of
life, the ball is the goal. As long as we keep our eyes on the goal and
know where we're going, it's hard to get off track.

Jewish teachings explain that our goal is the Geula (Redemption), at
which time Moshiach will lead the Jewish people out of exile. No one
knows which tiny mitzva-tap on the ball of exile will gently drop us
into the final hole (perhaps numbered 18 for "chai-life," for with the
Redemption we will experience life as G-d truly intended it to be). It
might be your kind word, his extra charity, her heartfelt prayer, or my
Shabbat candles. If we all try our best, very soon, we will get the
ultimate hole in one.

*********************************************************************
           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
*********************************************************************
Balak, the king of Moab, was an evil person. Our Sages teach that he
hated Jews more than any of our enemies. It is therefore surprising, at
first glance, that this week's Torah portion, Balak - an entire Torah
portion - goes by his name!

The Talmud cautions against naming children after evil individuals. "May
the name of the wicked rot!" our Sages said. Why then would a portion of
our holy Torah bear the name of such an evil person as Balak?

To explain:

The name of a particular Torah portion is indicative of its content.
What does Balak contain? The prophecy of Bilaam, a prophecy that is
replete with blessings for the Jewish people, and also alludes to the
End of Days. We must therefore conclude that the name of Balak is
somehow connected to these positive subjects.

The Torah provides us with a great deal of information in its narration
of the story of Balak. We are told all of the pertinent events that led
to the frustration of his evil plan: how he wanted to curse the Jewish
people, how he hired Bilaam, and how his curses were transformed into
blessings.

It follows that when Jews use the name of Balak in reference to the
Torah portion, it has the same positive connotations. Thus not only is
there no contradiction to our Sages' declaration "May the name of the
wicked rot," but the mention of Balak in this context only serves to
attest to his disgrace.

Balak's evil intentions were not just nullified, but his actions
produced an actual increase of blessing for the Jewish people. By
engaging Bilaam to curse them, Balak caused them to receive the most
exalted of G-d's blessings.

Balak was the medium through which much genuine good was brought about.
This is an additional reason why the Torah portion is immortalized by
Balak's name.

And what is the connection to the End of Days of exile?

When Moshiach comes and ushers in the Final Redemption, not only will
the nations of the world cease their oppression of the Jewish people,
but all the power and vast resources that were used to tyrannize them in
the past will be directed toward helping Jews in their G-dly service.

This was exactly what happened to Balak. His evil plan was not only
thwarted, but he himself brought advantage and benefit to the Jewish
people. The name of the Torah portion thus alludes to the role of the
gentile nations in the Messianic era, may it commence at once.

                             Adapted from Likutei Sichot, Volume 23

*********************************************************************
                             SLICE OF LIFE
*********************************************************************
                         A Voice in the Forest
                          by Rabbi Asher Deren


    Ed.'s Note: This article was written last month for the Torah portin
    of Korach but we feel it appropriate to print it this week in honor
    of 12 Tammuz, which marks the anniversary of the Previous
    Lubavitcher Rebbe's liberation from Soviet imprisonment.

On 15 Sivan in 5687 (1927), a death sentence was handed down to the
Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe for his counter revolutionary efforts of
promoting Judaism in the Soviet Union. During the Moscow witch hunt by
the KGB that culminated in that arrest, the Rebbe needed some "fresh
air." So he went for a walk in the Sokolniki Forest in the centre of
Moscow.

On 15 Sivan, 2011 the Previous Rebbe came back to the Sokolniki Forest.
Not for the fresh air needed to survive the KGB, but to celebrate his
victory over them. Yes, he passed away in 5710 (1950) and was succeeded
by his son-in-law, the Rebbe (whose passing was on 3 Tammuz). But
Thursday night they were at the Sokolniki Forest in the centre of
Moscow.

Last Thursday close to 1,500 people gathered at Sokolniki Forest (the
Moscow equivalent of Central Park) to celebrate the "Royal Wedding" as
one local journalist put it, of my cousin Blumi Lazar to my good friend
Isaac Rosenfeld. It was a joyous celebration as Moscow's Jewish
community, from its global success stories, to its local smiling folk,
joined hands together in the whirling circles of celebration.

Our tradition tells us that at a wedding three generations of the
bride's and groom's ancestors come to celebrate. Together with our
grandfather of blessed memory, I am sure that the Rebbe and the Previous
Rebbe must have been celebrating there with us that night as well.

But one moment captured it all for me more than anything. It was when
Isaac was saying the "Maamer," a discourse of the Rebbe, explaining a
discourse that the Previous Rebbe had said at his wedding, which is
invoked at the beginning of the wedding as a way of "inviting" their
souls to come join in the wedding.

Suddenly there was a bustle near one of the doors, as it opened and an
entourage of burly security guards escorted walked in ahead of some
important looking guy. "Who is that?" I asked a nearby fellow. "That's
the Speaker of Parliament - number three in the government after Putin
and Medvedev." But Isaac was saying the Maamer. So he sat down patiently
on the side while Isaac finished. And then he brought the message from
the Russian Federation.

That's when I heard the voices speaking.

This week we read about the first Yevsektzia . For those who don't know
what that is - it was the Jewish Branch of the Soviet Communist Party
who were responsible for the executions of hundreds of religious Jews
across Russia (including my wife Zeesy's great grandfather who was shot
for the crime of circumcision of Jewish children - a campaign the
present day Yevsektzia is still trying to revive).

It's nothing new. Jewish People, perhaps driven by their innate
biblicaly influenced nature of care for the poor and downtrodden, are
driven on a socially conscious journey to make a difference - sometimes
in the wrong direction.

Communism, like so many other "isms," was led by Jewish people who in
their pursuit of absolute equal opportunity, sought to destroy any
structure or reflection of hierarchy or moral authority - including that
of G-d Himself. But obviously a war on G-d wouldn't go over well with
the masses, so instead they called it a war on G-d's people. But Karl
Marx wasn't the first one with this idea. The first one we read about
was a different Karl, or as he's called in the Torah, Korach.

In preaching to Moses "Why do you elevate yourself over the people?"
Korach was playing populism at its worst and trying to win support for
his campaign. And like his descendants depicted in Animal Farm, he
wanted equality, but some (himself included) should be more equal than
others.

I am often challenged on the Chasidic emphasis of a Rebbe/Chasid
relationship: Aren't we good enough? That was essentially Korach, and
Soviet Communism's challenge as well. Not realizing that Moses wasn't
there because G-d needs him. He's there because we do. Not because we're
incapable. On the contrary, to show us how capable we are.

But Korach fought, he engineered a revolt that would have made Lenin
proud. With an arrogance that inspired like-minded communists, he spoke
and fought. And like his descendants, his end was bitter. "And the earth
opened and swallowed him."

But where is he now? Once he was swallowed, what happened to him? The
Midrash tells us that every so often a voice comes up from the place
where they were swallowed and Korach and his followers call out "Moshe
Emet ViTorato Emet - Moses is True and his Torah is  True"

As Isaac sat and shared the Maamer of the Rebbe and Previous Rebbe,
while a head of the Russian Government waited patiently on the side, I'm
pretty sure I heard a KGB sounding voice calling out from beneath the
Sokolniki Forest "Moses is True and his Torah is True!"

    Rabbi Asher Deren and his wife Zeesy are directors of Chabad of the
    West Coast, Capetown, South Africa.

*********************************************************************
                               WHAT'S NEW
*********************************************************************
                               New Mikvas

A new Mikva was inaugurated in the city of Dijon,  France. France's
former Chief Rabbi Chaim Sitruk was honored with the ribbon cutting. In
the west Siberian city of Tomsk, Russia, a new Mikva was dedicated. The
Mikva is located in the Tomsk Choral Synagogue.

                            New Guest House


The Ukrainian city of Uzhgorod (Ungvár) now has a formal guest house
under the auspices of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Mendel  and
Chaya Moussia Teichman. The beautiful guest house is just a short walk
from the synagogue.

                   Jewish Learning Institute Retreat


Spend five days of Jewish learning and discovery with master Torah
teachers. Explore new ideas and expand your horizons in an open,
embracing environment. Relax, reflect, and refresh your spirit. The
Jewish Learning Institute annual retreat is taking place August 16-21.
It combines the best of Jewish learning with a luxurious setting at the
Hyatt Regency in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. For more info visit
www.jretreat.com or call 877-JRetreat.

*********************************************************************
                            THE REBBE WRITES
*********************************************************************

    The following is a freely translated letter of the Previous
    Lubavitcher Rebbe describing his seven terms of imprisonment in
    Russia. The letter is dated 17 Iyar 5694 (1934)

In reply to your question about my imprisonment and my subsequent exile
in Kostrama: Though everything is recorded in my notes, for various
reasons the only things that may be revealed are a number of excerpts
and general impressions that will be offensive to no one.

The imprisonment in 5687 [1927] was the seventh, because I was
imprisoned five times under the old [czarist] regime, and twice under
the new [communist] regime.

The first imprisonment took place in Lubavitch when I was eleven years
old. At that time, following the advice and directive of my teacher, R.
Nissan, I began (in 5652 [1892]) to record my recollections in a book.
This incident, too, was recorded there, in 5653 [1893].

The second imprisonment took place in Lubavitch in Iyar, 5662 [1902].
The informers to the authorities were the teachers of the school that
had been founded in Lubavitch by the Society for the Dissemination of
the Haskalah (the "Enlightenment").

The third imprisonment, also in Lubavitch, in Teves, 5666 [1906],
resulted from the participation of members of the [secular] Poalei Tzion
Party in an uprising against the local police.

The fourth imprisonment took place in Petrograd in Teves, 5670 [1910];
the informer in this case was an educated Jew called K.

The fifth imprisonment, also in Petrograd, in Shvat, 5676 [1916],
resulted from my efforts to obtain legal information concerning military
exemptions for people serving in rabbinical positions.

The sixth imprisonment, in Rostov on the River Don, in Tammuz, 5680
[1920], followed my denunciation to the authorities by D., the head of
the local Yevsektsia.

Each of the above arrests, however, resulted in imprisonment for a
number of hours. The seventh was somewhat weightier.

Normally, an analogy is less earnest than its analog. Consider, then: If
imprisoning a body in a jail of wood and stone is called suffering, then
how intense must be the suffering of the Divine soul when it is
imprisoned in the body and the animal soul. This is something worth
thinking about deeply.

I will not deny that from time to time the seventh imprisonment brings
me particular pleasure. As witness: Even now, some seven years after the
event, I occasionally set aside time to spend alone - to picture in my
mind's eye the sounds and words, the sights and the dreams, that I
heard, saw and dreamed in those days.

A lifetime spans a certain number of changing stages - childhood,
boyhood, youth, young adulthood, adulthood, advancing years, and old
age. People also vary in their gifts - whether common and mediocre or
wonderfully luminous; likewise in their natures - for example, whether
bashful and morose, or jolly and exuberant. But apart from all these
variables, in the course of a lifetime Divine Providence engineers
particular periods which sometimes change a man's very nature. They
develop his gifts and set him up at a particular height, so that he can
gaze upon the ultimate purpose for which a man lives his life on the
face of the earth.

Above all, a man's personality and gifts are most intensely escalated by
a period rich in suffering which is inflicted on account of his vigorous
endeavors for an ideal. This is particularly so if he struggles and
battles with his pursuers and persecutors for the sake of preserving and
advancing his religious faith.

Such a period, though fraught with affliction of the body and suffering
of the spirit, is rich in powerful impressions. Such days are the
luminous days in a man's life.

Every single incident in such a period is significant. In particular, if
imprisonment is involved, the resultant spiritual benefit is so great
that it warrants the recording not only of days and nights but even of
hours and minutes. For every hour and minute of torment gives rise to
inestimable benefits: it makes a man so resolute that even a weakling is
transformed into the most courageous of men.

My arrest began at 2:15 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 Sivan, 5687 [1927], and
continued until 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, 3 Tammuz, 5687, in Leningrad
(Petersburg).

After these eighteen days, eleven hours and fifteen minutes, I spent
approximately six hours in my home, and at 7:30 p.m. took the train to
Kostrama. I arrived there on Monday, 4 Tammuz, and remained in exile
until 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 13 Tammuz, for a total of nine days and
seventeen hours...

*********************************************************************
                            WHAT'S IN A NAME
*********************************************************************
CHANANYA means "compassion of G-d." Chananya ben Azur was a prophet
during the times of King Zedekia (Jeremiah 28:1). Another Chananya,
together with Daniel, Mishiel and Azarya, was taken captive in Babylonia
by Nebuchadnezzer. They all exhibited great faith in G-d and became
leaders of the Jews in exile. A fourth century Palestinian scholar was
also named Chananya.


CHASYA means "protected by G-d." Apparently this name was derived from
the (male) name Chasa which is mentioned in the Talmud. In Aramaic, the
word "chasya" means "mercy" or "merciful."

*********************************************************************
                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
*********************************************************************
This coming Thursday is the 12th of Tammuz, 84 years since the Previous
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, was released from
Soviet prison. Originally sentenced to death for heading a secret
network of Talmud Torahs, mikvaot and synagogues throughout Russia, the
Rebbe's victory over the Communist ideology was a triumph for Jews
everywhere that resonates and continues till the present day.

With the clarity of vision that comes with hindsight, we can now see how
the 12th of Tammuz was the first substantial blow delivered against the
"Evil Empire" that eventually led to its downfall. In the struggle
between Communism and Judaism, the faith of Israel would emerge
triumphant. In the battle of decadence and corruption against justice
and righteousness, truth and virtue would prevail.

Back in 1927, Communism would have had us believe that the Jewish
religion was ready to be tossed onto the ash heap of history as a relic
of the past. Communism, with its promise of social justice and equality
for all mankind, was the wave of the future. Eighty-four years later,
when most of the world regards it as a failed experiment, it is hard to
imagine how massive a threat Communism once was. Yet the present
reemergence of Torah-true Judaism throughout the former Soviet Union is
nothing short of a miracle when viewed objectively. Indeed, this is what
the Rebbe fought for all along.

The 12th of Tammuz is a celebration of our faith in G-d, a holiday for
everyone who believes in the Torah and its commandments. L'chaim, and
may we merit to celebrate the ultimate victory of good over evil with
the coming of Moshiach, immediately and at once.

*********************************************************************
                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
*********************************************************************
Abraham our Father was tested with ten tests, and he withstood them all
to show how great was Abraham our Father's love [for G-d]. (Ethics 5:3)

Abraham is described as our father. Just as a father bequeaths his
estate to his descendants, Abraham bequeaths his spiritual legacy to the
entire Jewish people. His spiritual legacy empowers each of us, endowing
us with the strength to withstand the challenges we face in our divine
service.

                                      (Sichot Parshat Chukat, 5737)

                                *  *  *


Ten miracles were wrought for our ancestors in the Holy Temple... Nor
did any man ever say to his fellow man: The place is too crowded for me
to lodge overnight in Jerusalem." (Ethics 5:5)

This miracle can also be understood as an expression of the unity
generated by Jerusalem. The Mishna does not say that the city was not
crowded. On the contrary, it is highly likely that it was, for finding
lodgings for the multitude of festive pilgrims could not have been easy.
Nevertheless, the unity which the city inspired motivated both hosts and
guests to be accommodating, and everyone accepted the crowded conditions
willingly, without allowing the congestion to detract from their love
for the holy city.

                        (Sichot Motzei Shabbat Parshat Re'eh, 5738)

                                *  *  *


There are four character types among men: He who says, "What is mine is
yours, and what is yours is mine," is a peasant... (Ethics 5:10)

What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine: There are people who
have been struck with a certain illness - that whatever someone else has
is better, more beneficial, worth more, etc., than what he has. You will
always hear them saying, "Come, let's swap." The peasant described here
has this shortcoming, and his character is thus defective.

                                                            (Meiri)

                                *  *  *


Any love that is conditional will cease when the condition upon which it
depends vanishes. But if it is unconditional, it will never
cease...(Ethics 5:16)

These two types of love represent two stages in a person's Divine
service. Initially, a person serves (G-d) with expectation of a reward -
this is conditional love. Later, he may reach the stage of unconditional
love - where he serves G-d without expectation of reward. The ruling in
Jewish law is that a person should always occupy himself with Torah and
mitzvot, even if this is not entirely for its own sake, for eventually
this will lead to service without any ulterior motives - "for its own
sake."

                                             (Biurim l'Pirkei Avot)

*********************************************************************
                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
*********************************************************************
The previous Rebbe's birthday, and anniversary of liberation from
Communist imprisonment for spreading Judaism, is the twelfth day of
Tammuz.

Rabbi Shlomo Kazarnovsky was a Chasid of the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. Many years ago, Rabbi Kazarnovsky and
the previous Rebbe's son-in-law, Rabbi Shmaryahu Gurary, were sent on a
mission to Toronto, Canada. They were visited in their hotel by a few
other Chasidim and supporters of Lubavitch. One of them was a local
rabbi in Toronto, who told them the following story:

Not long ago, a member of the rabbi's synagogue had been suddenly
stricken with paralysis. When the rabbi heard what happened, he went to
visit him in the hospital. The man's condition was very grave, and he
could barely speak. The members of the man's family, huddled together
outside his room, told the rabbi he couldn't even enter to see him.
Standing in the hospital corridor, they proceeded to fill him in on all
the sordid details of his illness.

When the patient heard the rabbi's voice, however, he instructed the
nurse to allow him to enter the sickroom. As soon as he stepped inside
the man found his voice. "I heard that the Rebbe of Lubavitch is now in
the United States," he said. "Please write to him for me and ask him
what I can do to redeem myself and regain my health." The rabbi
immediately wrote a letter describing the man's condition, and received
an equally speedy reply from the Rebbe.

The Rebbe had answered: "Tell him that a branch of Yeshiva Tomchei
Temimim is now being built in Montreal. Advise him to donate the sum of
one thousand dollars. The angel of one hundred is not the same as the
angel of one thousand, as it states, 'If there be but one interceding
angel out of a thousand [accusers], etc.' "

As soon as the Rebbe's answer arrived the rabbi hurried back to the
hospital to show the sick man the letter. The relatives were very
surprised that it had come so fast. However, after the rabbi told them
what the Rebbe had advised, the man's brother-in-law commented in
English, "You see? They're already trying to squeeze money out of him.
You know what kind of people these are..."

The rabbi would not give him the dignity of a response. He walked
straight into the man's room and read him the Rebbe's letter. When he
had finished reading, the man turned to his son sitting next to the bed
and said, "Son, I want to live. Take a thousand dollars and go to
Montreal." The son did exactly as he was told and left for Montreal.

Several days later one of the hospital's leading specialists came in to
examine the patient. After checking his condition, the doctor left the
room in a fury. Confronting the man's family, which had maintained a
steady vigil ever since he was stricken, he demanded, "Who gave you
permission to bring in outside doctors and interfere in the patient's
treatment? What kind of medications have you been giving him?" The man's
relatives were stunned. They did not understand what he meant, as no
other doctors had been called in on the case, and no special medications
had been prescribed. They insisted that they had done absolutely
nothing.

"If that's the case," the doctor continued, "then a genuine miracle has
occurred. The patient's condition has undergone a radical change for the
better. He is almost ready to be discharged."

Although he needed the assistance of crutches to get around for a short
time, they were eventually discarded. The man experienced a complete
recovery from his illness.

*********************************************************************
                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
*********************************************************************
It was not our will that we were exiled from the Holy Land, and it  is
not  with our might that we will return to the Holy Land. G-d exiled us
from our land and He will redeem us through Moshiach.... But know
please, all peoples of the earth, that only our bodies were delivered
into exile and servitude; whereas our souls were not delivered into
exile and servitude. We are obliged to openly announce that in
everything concerning our religion, the Torah of Israel, its
commandments and customs, there is no one who can force his will on us,
and there is no power of coercion permitted to enslave us.

                                   (The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe)

*********************************************************************
                END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 1178 - Balak 5771
*********************************************************************