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                         L'CHAIM - ISSUE # 1197
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                           Copyright (c) 2011
                 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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        November 25, 2011        Toldos        28 Cheshvan, 5772
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                           Travel Protection

The next few weeks are busy travel times. Whether the travel is for
visiting family or taking a vacation, for business or going to or from
university.

With travel comes inconvenience. Packing, tickets, transportation to and
from the transportation, hotel or other accommodations, schedules, maps,
food, itineraries and someone or something getting lost.

Then there's security. Or insecurity. Passports, picture id's,
screeners, (mis)handlers - as if traveling wasn't risky enough. Somehow
it seems more dangerous to be on the road - or in the air - than
scooting around town.

Whether we like to travel or find it a nuisance, we try to take proper
precautions and we hope that whoever's driving (or flying) is driving
safe. Travel's not by horse and wagon (though sometimes it may feel that
way), but there's still plenty to worry about.

With all the precautions taken on a physical level, though, we often
don't concern ourselves with precautions on a spiritual level - other
than perhaps a heartfelt yet fearful prayer on takeoff and a heartfelt
and relief prayer of thanks on landing.

One reason for this neglect is that we think we're traveling for our
purposes - whether business or pleasure. If a person is traveling
pursuing his or her own affairs, then, in a sense, what does G-d care?
But if we're not just traveling for ourselves, we're traveling (at least
also traveling) to fulfill one of G-d's commandments, then our going and
coming just might (no guarantees) merit extra spiritual protection.

One of the  universal commandments - a Divine decree applicable to all
humanity - is charity - tzedeka in Hebrew. Thus there is a Jewish custom
- but it's a custom that everyone can adapt - of designating a dollar or
some coins as "charity travel money." This money - it doesn't have to be
a lot - is given to a charity once the destination is reached.

So even if you're going on vacation for yourself, you're also going to
deliver charity, which G-d wants and needs you to do, to your
destination city. G-d goes with you, so to speak.

It's even better if a third party participates, so that you're actually
a messenger. So if a friend or family member is going on a vacation or a
business trip, why not give them a dime or a dollar, and ask them to
deliver to some charity upon their arrival?

                    To read more visit davidybkaufmann.blogspot.com

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           LIVING WITH THE REBBE  -  THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
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Our Sages stated: "Everything that happened to our Ancestors is a sign
for their children." The events of our ancestors' lives were not just a
foreshadowing of what would happen to the Jewish people throughout
history, but a source of strength and encouragement that Jews have
called upon throughout the ages.

We read in this week's Torah portion, Toldot: "There was a famine in the
land." G-d appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go to Egypt. Dwell in the
land which I will tell you of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with
you and bless you."

When G-d commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, Isaac had been
willing and he was thereafter considered by G-d to be "a perfect
offering." It was therefore inappropriate for him to leave the holy soil
of Israel for the lesser sanctity of other countries. G-d forbade him to
go elsewhere despite the famine that gripped the land.

G-d's command to Isaac contains a lesson for us, his descendants: The
only rightful place for the Jewish people is not in exile but in the
Holy Land. Jews can never be truly happy in exile, for they know that
they are not where they belong. Our perpetual hope and plea to G-d is
that He bring us back to the land of Israel, as we pray three times each
day, "May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy."

Years before, in the time of Abraham, there was also a famine in Israel.
But unlike Isaac, Abraham went down to Egypt, carrying the knowledge of
the One true G-d even there. Abraham brought everyone with whom he came
in contact under the wings of the Divine Presence, drawing them nearer
to their Creator.

Isaac, however, never once left the borders of Israel. And, even within
Israel, Isaac's emphasis was "inward." Isaac did not actively go out to
draw people closer to G-d. His focus was more on achieving
self-perfection.

Abraham and Isaac teach us two different paths in the service of G-d:

From Abraham we derive the strength to go outward, to reach out to other
Jews. Abraham taught us how to spread the knowledge of G-d wherever we
go, to disseminate Torah throughout the world. Even a Jew whose primary
concern is Torah study and the perfection of his own path of worship
must set aside time to involve himself with others.

Isaac, on the other hand, taught us the importance of turning "inward,"
and it is from him that we derive the strength to involve ourselves in
Torah study. For even a Jew whose primary focus is on worldly affairs
(by means of which he draws others closer to G-d and brings holiness
into the world) must occasionally withdraw from these concerns to devote
himself to learning and self-betterment.

                             Adapted from Likutei Sichot, Volume 25

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                             SLICE OF LIFE
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                                Dawning
                           by Chava Tombosky

When we were kids, my father had a ritual that will stay with me
forever. In the early days during his physician's residency, he would
get home from moonlighting at the hospital in the middle of the night.
(My brother recounts his memory of thinking that "moonlighting" meant my
dad was an actual astronaut who healed sick people on the actual moon.)
Ta would wake my little brother and I up before the sun came up and he
would whisper into our ears, "Come on we're gonna go see Dawning."

He would then drive us in his Datsun at 4:00 a.m. right down to the pier
and buy us spicy chilly for breakfast to keep the morning chill from
freezing our small delicate bones. And together, we would watch the
purple colored crest rise in the east. The sun would come up over the
coastline and that was Dawning.  Throughout the years, as my other
siblings were born, he would take them on this Dawning outing. While on
our summer breaks, it was my father who was the first one up during our
family beach vacations to escort us little ones to "Dawning".

This is by far my sweetest childhood memory. But it has only been recent
that I have discovered a greater and deeper significance and wisdom to
the beauty of Ta's Dawning.

My father lost his dad when he was nine years old. He always said that
the hardest thing about losing a father at such a young age was the
constant feeling that he was not like the other kids. He always said, he
hated being different and he wished he could remember his father better.
Mostly, he hated the look that people gave him upon realizing they were
speaking to a child without a father. The look of pity was a familiar
gaze most uncomfortable to him. When he was in his 30s and began
searching for purpose and spiritual meaning, he was very much attracted
to Chabad Chasidut as a result of the relationship he had the privilege
of having with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, also known as Rabbi Menachem
Mendel Schneerson. More than anything, he was impressed with the Rebbe's
resolve and ability to overcome adversity and pain and transform it into
purpose and action.

My father had told me on more than one occasion, that the Rebbe's
ability to connect with him filled the void he had had for so many years
as a result of not having a dad. My father struggled to be an observant
man, but he remained to his dying day a very religious person. He used
to say, "The difference between an observant man and a religious man, is
an observant man is afraid of going to hell, while a religious man has
been to hell and back already."

This past June I was privileged to hear Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Jacobson
retell a story that had been told to him by his own father, of blessed
memory, who was a journalist and a personal liaison to the Lubavitcher
Rebbe while he was alive. During the USSR's iron curtain, the Rebbe had
sent Rabbi Jacobson Sr. to Russia for the sake of reporting on the
Jewish community's condition.

Rabbi Jacobson Sr. spent weeks collecting stories and writing down each
person's Jewish name on his own body since recording these names on
paper, could have possibly been viewed as a national felony of the
state, and a highly suspicious act of spying.  Upon the arrival of Rabbi
Jacobson Sr. to New York, he read from his limbs each Jew's name along
with the mother's name for the Rebbe to pray for on their behalf. Rabbi
Jacobson spent all night sharing stories of Russian Jewry but it was one
story that brought tears to the Rebbe's eyes causing him much anguish
and sadness.

A small child had gone to public school one day and instead of being
given the typical ration for lunch that consisted of potatoes, that day
the child was offered ice cream. The child's mother had warned him not
to partake of the ice cream as it was not kosher. The child with a tear
in his eye, wept and innocently asked, "But mama, I get nothing to eat
all day, why can't I eat the ice cream like the other children?"

It was this story out of all the stories of suffering and deprivation
that made the Rebbe sob. His sensitivity to a child's innocent request
for a childhood treat that he was unable to revel in because he lived in
a country that forbade him to celebrate his Judaism freely is the story
that crushed the Rebbe. However, as the sun came up and the Rebbe looked
outside towards the sunrise, he slammed his hand on the desk, dried his
tears and pronounced, "It is morning, no more tears."

Kabbalists have said that sunrise is the ultimate transition of time.
And it is this transition that teaches us the ability to leap into a new
day and into a new existence. We have the power to transform our pain
from victimized Moons who reflect the wounds of time in our darkest hour
into Suns who can shine on our own, stand on our own two feet and
contribute to the world using the lessons and challenges we have
endured. Dawning is that bittersweet G-dly whisper telling us something
very precious must leave us and seize in order to make room for
something new.

Dawning is the perfect expression of recovery and revival. It is the
remedy to all pain. It is G-d's answer to growth. It is G-d's ultimate
comfort.

I remember the morning I got up from Shiva for my father. As I woke up
to the sun hitting my face, a terrible fear swelled inside me. How would
I go on? How would I transition to a new day without my father
physically with me? How would I live normally? I closed my eyes and
remembered driving through the night with my family just 11 days earlier
from Chico, California.  I recalled the silence of the night and the
monotonous 10 hour drive. But at 4 a.m, I looked out the car window and
watched the birth of the early morning and I called my dear brother who
was driving in the car ahead of me and said, "Yaakov, look outside, it
is dawning."

"I know," he said, "I see it too, I see it too."

        Read more of Chava's articles at www.mybigfatjewishlife.com

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                               WHAT'S NEW
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                          I Go to the Dentist

Lively and colorful, I Go to the Dentist is just the book parents need
to prepare young children for their very first dental checkup! Step by
step, the rhyming text explains everything a child will encounter during
a visit to the dentist's office... from the cleaning and the x-rays to
the special tools and little round sink. The friendly dentist in the
story stresses that good dental hygiene and regular checkups represent
one way we can do the mitzva (commandment) of guarding our health. This
newest release from HaChai Publishing is written and illustrated by
Rikki Benenfeld.

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                            THE REBBE WRITES
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                      11 MarCheshvan, 5722 [1961]

... in connection with your writing that your children had been
attending a Hebrew Day School, but that you took them out from there and
have engaged a private teacher instead. I need hardly point out to you
that Jewish education is not confined to the acquisition of a certain
level of knowledge and information about Jewish life, but rather that
the child should be brought up within such a life and within an
atmosphere which is permeated with this kind of life. This is something
that a private teacher cannot replace by teaching just a number of hours
a week.

Besides, when the Hebrew lesson comes after the boy has spent most of
the day in public school, where he is given tests and homework, the
Hebrew lesson cannot have the same importance in the mind of the boy as
the public school, not to mention other factors such as the effect of
classroom, discipline, community with other children, etc., etc. All
this relegates the Hebrew lesson to a third or fourth place in
importance, so that it often comes to be regarded altogether as an
unnecessary burden.

                                *  *  *

                      12 MarCheshvan, 5722 [1961]


... I believe that during our conversation we touched upon the subject
that, as the Torah has always been called Toras Chaim, the Law of Life,
and has always been both the source of our life and existence as well as
the guide in our daily life, it is infinitely more so in the present day
and age. The danger to Jewish life and existence in the free countries,
especially in these United States, is not the danger of physical
extermination, G-d forbid, from another Hitler or Eichman, but there is,
nevertheless, a danger which is no less destructive, the danger of
assimilation. Precisely because there is no external antagonism and
discrimination against the Jews, especially on the middle and lower
class level (although in the upper classes, the tendency towards
assimilation is checked by prejudice), the danger of mass assimilation
is a very real one.

In addition, such factors as compulsory education and social and
economic pressures of conformity, etc., coupled with the widespread
ignorance of Jewish values, greatly increase the danger of assimilation
from one generation to the next. If allowed to continue unchecked, who
knows to what it might lead.

It is, therefore, the duty of every conscious and conscientious Jew to
do everything possible to stem the tide of assimilation, and it is truly
a matter of saving a life.

It is self-evident that such an effort should not be limited to the
adult and older generation, but especially in regard to the younger
generation, and the very young in particular. And needless to say, a
person on whom Divine Providence has bestowed special capacities for
influence, is especially duty-bound to use these capacities in the
direction outlined.

This is not the time to engage in theoretic research as into all the
aspects of the situation, and postpone action pending the results of
such research. For, when a house is on fire, there is no time to study
the laws of combustion and methods of fire extinguishing, but everything
must be done to extinguish the fire before the house is destroyed, with
possible loss of life.

... Similarly, you have the capacity to extend your influence beyond
your immediate surroundings at home, to the community at large. This you
can do both in a direct way and perhaps even more so in an indirect way,
by raising the standards of your religious and spiritual living.

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                            WHAT'S IN A NAME
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AVNER means "father of light." Avner ben Ner (I Samuel 14:50)  was the
uncle of King Saul and commander of his army. According to the Midrash,
Avner was so strong that "it would be easier for a person to move a wall
six cubits thick than to move one of Avner's feet."


ASHIRA has two meanings. When spelled with an ayin (g) it means "rich."
When spelled an alef (t) the meaning is "I will sing."

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                        A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
                         Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman
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This Shabbat is the annual Kinus HaShluchim, the International
Convention of Emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Over 4,000 emissaries
of the Rebbe from every continent in the world are arriving at Lubavitch
World Headquarters, 770 Eastern Parkway, for the 29th annual conference.
They will go back to their communities after Shabbat with renewed energy
to continue carrying our their mission to prepare the world for
Moshiach!

This Shabbat is also the Shabbat on which we bless the new month of
Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar.

The name Kislev represents a fusion of opposites. "Kis" refers to a
state of concealment or covering over, whereas "lev" (lamed-vav) is
symbolic of the ultimate in revelation. (Lamed-vav, numerically
equivalent to 36, six times six, represents the highest level of
revelation of our six emotional powers.)

Kislev, in Chasidic tradition, is also called "the month of redemption."
The 10th of Kislev is the anniversary of release from Russian
imprisonment of Rabbi Dov Ber, the second Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch and
th 19th of Kislev is the release and anniversary of redemption of Rabbi
Shneur Zalman, founder of Chabad Chasidism. And, of course, we have the
victory and redemption of the Jewish people at the time of Chanuka that
we celebrate on the 25th of the month of Kislev.

May the coming month truly be a time of thanksgiving and redemption for
the entire Jewish people, with the coming of Moshiach and the Final
Redemption.

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                          THOUGHTS THAT COUNT
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Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you (Gen. 26:3)

The Torah uses the word "sojourn" instead of "dwell" to teach us that
one must always consider oneself a temporary resident of this world.
"The Shechina (G-dly presence) does not move away from one who considers
himself a stranger in this world," we are taught. The second part of
G-d's promise, "I will be with you," will be fulfilled when Jacob thinks
of himself in this manner.

                                                (Vayechakem Shlomo)

                                *  *  *


And they departed from him in peace (Gen. 26:31)

Even after having partaken of a meal with the tzadik, Isaac, Avimelech
still departed convinced of his own self-importance. This is something
that a Jew would have been unable to do. A Jew, when in the presence of
a tzadik, realizes his own shortcomings and is humbled.

                                                        (Reb Bunim)

                                *  *  *


And it came to pass when Isaac was old, and his eyes were too dim to see
(Gen. 27:1)

Rashi explains that Isaac's eyesight was ruined by the smoke of the
incense offered up by Esau's wives to their idols. But why was he the
only one in the household to be adversely affected by the smoke? "Isaac
was too pure to behold evil," our Sages comment. He was therefore unable
to withstand witnessing the idolatry of his daughters-in-law.

                                                   (Likutei Sichot)

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                            IT ONCE HAPPENED
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Hundreds of years ago there was no dependable mail service.
Transportation was difficult, and communication between distant
locations almost nonexistent. Shabtai Cohen was no different from many
other lads who followed our Sages' dictum to "exile oneself to a place
of Torah." Nonetheless, it was a wrenching experience to leave his
widowed mother and sister for a foreign land.

Despite the heartache, Shabtai's mother gave her blessing to her
firstborn's departure. From an early age she had recognized that her son
was destined for greatness. Only in a place of Torah could he live up to
his vast potential and extraordinary talents.

The lad arrived in Vilna, where he studied for several years in the city
of Torah giants. When he reached marriageable age, he was taken as a
son-in-law by one of Vilna's most respectable citizens and continued his
studies. Within a few years he was a renowned legal authority and had
authored the work Siftei Kohen, or as it is known by its initials, the
Shach. However, his mother and sister knew nothing of this.

It was at this time in history that the cursed Chmielniki and his
followers began to wreak havoc in Europe. The destruction they brought
to the Shach's hometown was beyond description. Countless Jewish men,
women and children were brutally murdered. Their property was plundered
and their homes burned to the ground.

The Shach's sister managed to escape with the clothes on her back. In
the course of her subsequent wanderings with a group of beggars, she
arrived in the city of Vilna and sought shelter in a synagogue.

The gabbai's wife was immediately stricken by the young woman's obvious
refinement, as evidenced by her bearing, speech and comportment. "How is
it that you have been reduced to wandering?" she asked her kindly. "Why
don't you remain here in Vilna? I will find you a respectable position,
that you may earn your bread with honor."

The young woman was delighted by the offer, and was hired as a domestic
by one of Vilna's leading Jewish families. After all of her travails,
she was happy.

The mistress of the household was also soon impressed by the young
woman's qualities. "The truth is that I really have enough domestic
help," she told her. "But I have a special job for you, one that is not
very difficult yet requires someone responsible. You see, my son-in-law
is a Torah scholar, who studies Torah until very late at night. By that
time, the rest of the household has already gone to bed, and no one is
awake to serve him his supper. I would like to assign this task to you."

And so, that evening the young woman sat outside the son-in-law's study
door and waited for him to finish. She listened as he studied aloud, and
the sweet melody resonated within her soul and awakened long-forgotten
memories. For a brief second she imagined herself a child back at home;
the voice sounded uncannily like her late father, Reb Meir, of blessed
memory. But of course, he had died years before when she was very young.

The contrast between the warm, pleasant dream and her present status as
a poor orphan was suddenly too much to bear. A flood of emotion
overwhelmed the young woman and her eyes filled with tears. Unable to
control herself, she began to weep.

The son-in-law heard her crying and opened the door. When he asked her
what was the matter, she dried her eyes and said, "It's nothing." The
son-in-law went back to his studies. A few minutes later, however, she
could no longer contain herself, as the sound of his learning was just
too evocative. When he came out a second time she poured out her heart.

The young woman told the son-in-law all about her illustrious family,
about her father who used to learn with the same sweet melody, and the
wonderful memories his learning had brought back. Then she filled him in
on the rest of her sad story.

She was so intent on her tale that she didn't notice how he had suddenly
paled. The realization that the young woman was his sister almost made
him faint. For the time being, however, he kept his emotions in check,
and comforted her as best he could.

At the request of the Shach, the young woman was elevated to the status
of family member. No one knew why, but everyone respected his wishes.
The young woman was soon beloved by all.

A while later the mistress of the household fell ill and passed away.
After the mourning period, the matchmakers pressed the husband to
remarry, as he was still relatively young. When he asked his son-in-law
what to do, he advised him to marry the young woman who had come to live
with them. "She is modest, wise, and from a good family," the Shach told
him. "G-d willing, at the wedding I will reveal her true identity."

And so it came to pass. The Shach revealed to everyone at the wedding
that the bride was, in fact, his sister. As a wedding present the Shach
blessed the new couple with a son who would illuminate the Jewish world;
his blessing was fulfilled with the birth of the famous Rabbi Meir,
author of the Panim Meirot.

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                            MOSHIACH MATTERS
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When Isaac summoned his older son, Esau (Gen. 27:1) he intended to
reveal to Esau the day Moshiach would come, in the hope that this
information would cause him to leave his evil ways. At that very moment
G-d hid it from Isaac and said, "In the future I will conceal this
information from Jacob's sons because they aren't deserving, and I
should let it be known to this wicked man, Esau?"

                                                 (Sefer HaParshiot)

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                END OF TEXT - L'CHAIM 1197 - Toldos 5772
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