PARSHAT- SHLACH

Sh'lach, means "Send" - This parsha narrates the story of the twelve spies who were sent on a special mission to the land of Israel.

The spies had been instructed to scout out the land in order to determine the optimal strategy the Jews should employ to conquer it. Indeed, when they returned from their mission they gave their report on the land and its inhabitants.

However, in addition to providing the information they were requested to obtain, the spies ventured their own opinion about the mission itself: "We will not be able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we!" they declared.

G-d hadn't asked the spies whether or not they thought conquering the land was possible. Their mission was solely a fact-finding mission; thus, adding their own opinion and discouraging the Jewish people from fulfilling G-d's request was a transgression.

An emissary is required to carry out his mission to the best of his ability, no more and no less. Altering that mission to accommodate his own thoughts and feelings is a distortion of the very mission with which he was entrusted.

In truth, every Jew is an emissary of G-d, Who caused him to be born into this world in order to fulfill a unique mission. For the mission of every Jew is to transform his surroundings into -- a "dwelling place for G-d" -- through the performance of Torah and mitzvot.

As G-d's emissary the Jew is required to "scout out the land" -- to determine the best possible method of fulfilling his assignment. Each individuals circumstances will determine whether that's through strengthening his observance of Shabbat, keeping the laws of kashrut more carefully, lighting Shabbat candles or putting on tefilin.

G-d doesn't ask the Jew if it's possible to attain his goal; the very fact that he's been sent on his mission to bring G-dliness into the world indicates that the "land" can indeed be conquered.

Furthermore, no matter how difficult the mission may seem, a Jew must never arrive at the conclusion of the spies and despair of ever being victorious.

Yes, a Jew is entrusted with a special mission, but G-d has given him the power and capacity to fulfill his mission. Bearing this in mind is the key to being successful.
Shabbat shalom!

Kiddush Hashem - STORY

Relates the Rebbe of Bluzhov:

"Each morning at dawn, the Germans would lead us out of the camp for a day of hard labor. We were given a huge saw and expected to cut its quota of logs. One day, as I pushed the heavy saw, I was approached by a young woman who was evidently in an extremely weak physical state. "Rebbe," she whispered to me, "do you have a knife?"

I immediately understood her intention. "My daughter," I begged, concentrating all the love and conviction in my heart. "Do not take your own life. I know that your life is now a living hell, from which death seems a blessed release. But we must never lose hope. With G-d's help, we will survive this ordeal and see better days."

But the woman seemed oblivious to my words. "A knife", she repeated. "I must have a knife. Now."

At that moment, one of the German guards approached us. "What did she say to you?" He demanded of me.

We both froze. Conversing during work was a grave transgression.

"I asked him for a knife", the woman said. And to my horror, she then addressed her request to the guard: "Give me a knife!"

The German, too, guessed her intention, and a devilish smile flickered on his lips. He had seen the bodies of those who, out of desperation, threw themselves during the night on the electrified fence, but this would be a novel sight for him. Still smiling, he reached into his pocket and handed her a small knife.

Taking the knife, she bent over a small bundle of rags. Quickly unraveling the bundle, she took out a tiny infant. Before our astonished eyes, she swiftly and skillfully circumcised the week-old boy.

"Blessed are You, G-d our G-d, King of the Universe," she recited in a clear voice, "Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to enter him into the covenant of Abraham our Father."

Cradling the child in her arms, she soothed his cries. "Master of the Universe!" she cried out "Eight days ago you gave me a child. I know that neither I nor he will long survive in this accursed place. But now, when you take him back, you will receive him as a complete Jew."

And she handed the knife back to the German."

Kiddush Hashem #2 Chananya, Mishael & Azarya

Chananya, Mishael and Azarya were three great Jewish princes who occupied a prominent place in Nebuchadnezzar's court in Babylon. These Jewish youths, however, remained true to their religion, observing the laws of the Torah.

Nebuchadnezzar's haughtiness and pride knew no limits. He decided that all mankind must recognize him as a divine being, and must bow down to an idol that he set up. Whosoever would disobey would be burned to death in a specially prepared furnace.

All the people threw themselves to the ground in obeying the royal decree. That is, everyone, excepting three men who remained standing, and they were, of course, Chananya, Mishael and Azarya.

A terrible anger seized the king. "How dare you disobey my orders!" he snarled.

"You are a powerful king," they answered. "We serve you devotedly, as king, but not as a god. We have only one G-d and nothing can stop us worshipping Him alone."

"Into the furnace with them, and burn them alive!" screamed the enraged Nebuchadnezzar.

The three faithful Jews were thrown into the roaring furnace. At that moment the great miracle occurred! The Angel Gabriel came down from Heaven to protect the three pious Jews from the flames.

The king himself ran to the furnace to witness the great wonder. He watched in awe as Chananya, Mishael and Azarya were walking in the midst of the fire, unharmed. Their clothes not even singed.

Nebuchadnezzar called to Chananya, Mishael and Azarya to come out of the fire. And there was a great sanctification of G-d's Holy Name.

"Where did you learn such staunch devotion?" they were asked in awe.

"We learned a lesson from the frogs of the second plague in Egypt," they replied. "G-d had commanded the frogs to enter the Egyptian ovens. These creatures did not earn reward or punishment, yet, even so, they obeyed G-d's command without hesitation. We Jews, whom G-d has commanded so many times in the Holy Torah not to serve idols, are certainly duty-bound to go into fire, if necessary, to sanctify G-d's name."

Kiddush Hashem #1

Positive Commandment # 9 is Kiddush HaShem - Sanctifying G-d's Name.
We are proud to be Jews and are commanded to make this known to others.

When a Jewish man wears a Kippah so that everyone can see that he is Jewish or when a Jewish girl lights the Shabbat candles for all to see, basically, when we fulfill the Mitzvot with pride and dignity - we announce to the world that we believe in G-d and the Torah.

If someone tries to force us to deny G-d and His Torah, we must remain loyal. Over the centuries, from when Abraham was thrown in a fiery furnace, literally millions of Jews in every era of history have chosen death rather than deny their bond to G-d.

Generally, today, the concept of kiddush Hashem, sanctifying the name of G-d, is observed not by dying as Jews but by living as Jews. When other people see a Jew behaving honestly and uprightly that gives Jews and Judaism a good reputation.

So for example, when we return money if we were given the incorrect change, even though it is the honest thing to do, but the fact that others might have kept quiet about it, sanctifies G-d's name. When we act with honor we bring honor to our faith and G-d.

Then we have the Negative Mitzvah of Desecrating the name of G-d.

Everything a Jew does, has an effect on the way others look at the Jewish people and the Torah. The Torah expects a Jew to behave in a proper and fitting manner.

If a person follows the Mitzvot and acts in a just manner, other people will notice him and praise G-d and His chosen nation. If however, the individual does not act properly, people will see and criticize, not only the person himself, but G-d and His nation.
This is called - a desecration of G-d's name.

Fair or not, the fact of life is that Jews are scrutinized far more carefully than others. Like it or not, every Jew is representing his faith, his people and his G-d. Ultimately, how we act will bring fame or infamy upon all of us. May we all be successful ambassadors.

Today's one minute of Torah is sponsored in memory of, Yehoshua Heschel, one who exemplified - 'an honest and upright Jew', thereby sanctifying G-d's name. May his soul be elevated.

House of Holy Books

A container is defined by its contents. Take a carton of milk, for example. If it's empty, you'll say, "Pass the carton." But if it contains even a little milk, you'll say, "Pass the milk." So too, our home is also defined by the most important things inside it. And some of the most important items in our home (aside from those who live there) are the Torah books lining the shelves and scattered about.

Just one of those holy books, the Lubavitcher Rebbe said, is enough to redefine our entire environment. Our home is now transformed from just another house to a shining source of wisdom.

It's also an identity thing: the books we buy and place in our homes is one of the ways that establish who we are -- for ourselves, and for those who visit our homes. So when we fill our home with Torah books, we thus create a Torah environment and an identity for us and our family.

And who knows? We, or one of our kids, may just be tempted to pick up one of those books and read a little of it.

When G-d authored the Torah, He put His essence and being into it. That’s why we treat Torah books with respect: We kiss them if they fall to the ground, we are careful to always place them right-side up and we never use them for anything other than reading and study.

Of course, the more books the better. However, the basic minimum of a Chumash (the Five Books of Moses), a Tehillim (Book of Psalms) and a Siddur (Prayer Book) are suggested, and from there one can expand.

PARSHA - Bha'alotcha #2

The Torah portion of Be'haalotcha, describes the journeys of the Jews through the desert after having camped at Sinai for more than a year.

At Mount Sinai, the Jews received the Torah and soon after constructed the Sanctuary there. Rather than staying in the desert where G-d provided for all their needs, they set out on a mission - to journey to Israel.

The desert is barren and desolate. Yet as the Jews traveled through the desert, they transformed it, albeit temporarily, into a settled land, a place where crops, trees, and even flowers grew. With them, they took the Torah that they had been given and the Sanctuary that they had constructed. G-d's presence, which rested within the Sanctuary brought about these positive changes in the surroundings in which they lived.

The Baal Shem Tov explains that the journeys of the Jewish people through the desert are reflected in the journeys of every individual through life. Some of the phases that we pass through may appear barren and desolate. Nevertheless, we must appreciate that this is only the external setting in which we are placed. It should not reflect our inner state - for G-d's presence accompanies us at all times and the Torah is with us in all surroundings.

Similarly, the journeys of the Jewish people through the desert also allude to the journeys of our people through the ages. Throughout history the Jews have wandered from country to country pursuing the Divine mission of revealing the sparks of holiness, which are hidden within the world's material substance, by utilizing physicality in fulfilling the Torah's commandments.

When a Jew uses an object for a mitzvah, he or she releases these hidden sparks of G-dliness and enables them to be overtly revealed. So from land to land have our people wandered, completing phase after phase of this mission.

In the process of doing so, they have made "the desert blossom." They have endowed the world with spiritual meaning and purpose, pushing it toward the culmination of this process; Moshiach's coming, when the G-dliness that pervades our existence will be apparent.
Shabbat shalom!

PARSHA - Bha'alotcha #1

The Torah portion of Beha'alotcha, opens with the words "When you light the lamps."

Aharon the kohen, the high priest, was commanded to kindle the Menorah in the Sanctuary every day. The Menorah was required to burn at all times, as the Torah states, "To cause a light to burn perpetually."

Just as Aharon lit the Menorah in the Sanctuary, so is every Jew required to illuminate his home and surroundings with the Torah's holy light.

Aharon was a kohen, but so too is every member of the Jewish people, as it is written, "You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests." The giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai transformed every Jew into a "kohen."

The Menorah stood in the Sanctuary (and later in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem). Similarly, every Jewish home is a "Sanctuary" to G-d. The verse "I shall dwell in their midst" means that G-d dwells within each and every Jew; hence, every Jewish home is an abode for the Divine Presence.

The light that Aharon kindled was "perpetual"; so too must the light in every Jewish home be always shining. The Torah's light of holiness must burn night and day, and pervade all corners of a Jewish residence.

All Jews, and especially Jewish children, have the power to imbue their homes with holiness. This can be accomplished by expressing an awareness of G-d every moment of the day.

As soon as we open our eyes in the morning we say "Modeh Ani ("I give thanks to You"); whenever we eat we recite the proper blessings both before and after. Throughout the day we conduct ourselves according to the Torah's laws, and at night we say the "Shema" ("Hear O Israel") before going to sleep.

The Torah and its mitzvot are likened to light: "A mitzva is a candle, and the Torah is light." Indeed, the Torah and its commandments are the medium through which we are able to illuminate our home, our "Sanctuary".

Tefillin - Story

In 1939, Hershel was sent to slave in the labor camp of the Germans. Right from the beginning, Hershel made up his mind that come what may, he would never part with his Tefillin, which he managed to smuggle into the camp. He was determined to put them on whenever he had a chance to and while someone kept watch, the Tefillin hurriedly passed from hand to hand to his fellow Jewish inmates. The Tefillin gave him the strongest encouragement to hold on to his faith. He felt that as long as he had his Tefillin, he would outlive his tormentors.

He would never forget -- he related later -- an incident, which convinced him again of the special protection G-d had shown him in the merit of his Tefillin.

This happened when he was taking a group of children by train to Bucharest. Hershel was standing on the open platform of the train, clutching his small valise in which he kept his Tefillin. Suddenly the train made a sharp turn, he lost his balance, and his valise flew out!

Hershel was horrified! All through the war years he had guarded his Tefillin at the risk of his life, and now, suddenly he had lost them!

As the train halted at a red signal light, Hershel jumped off and ran back. He spotted his little valise in the distance, picked it up and hugged it with delight.

Hershel was about to board the next train to Bucharest, when a friend of his who had just come from Bucharest informed him that secret Russian agents were waiting for him in Bucharest and don't he dare go there.

"Oh Thank G-d my valise fell out of the train" exclaimed Hershel. " Otherwise I would have now been in their torturous hands. Once again the Tefillin saved my life!"

His friend remained thoughtful for a few moments, then said, "Hershel, I haven't yet put on Tefillin today. Would you allow me to use yours? And after hearing your story you can be sure, I will never again miss putting on Tefillin," he concluded, his voice choking with emotion.

Hershel relates the many instances when his Tefillin clearly saved his life. "Let Jews know," he says, "how to cherish the Mitzvah of putting on Tefillin daily. After all, it can be done so easily, without any sacrifice whatsoever."

Tefillin #3

Hi-Tech Connectivity

This was back in the early sixties, when the first mainframe computers were being introduced into business. Professor Abraham Polichenco, a pioneer of computer technology, visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe and posed to him a question:

"I know that everything that exists in the world, even something that we discover later in history, has its source somewhere in the Torah. So, where are computers in the Torah?"

Without hesitation, the Rebbe answered, "Tefillin." The professor was perplexed.

"What's new about a computer?" the Rebbe continued.

"You walk into a room and you see many familiar machines: a typewriter, a large tape recorder, a television set, a hole puncher, a calculator. What is new?"

"But under the floor, cables connect all these machines so they work as one."

The professor nodded enthusiastically. He hadn't realized it before, but yes, this is all that a computer is: a synthesis of media and processing devices.

"Now look at your own self. You have a brain. It is in one world. Your heart is in another. And your hands often end up involved in something completely foreign to both of them. Three diverse machines.

"So you put on tefillin. First thing in the day, you connect your head, your heart and your hand with these leather cables -- all to work as one with one intent. And then when you go out to meet the world, all your actions find harmony in a single coordinated purpose."

Tefillin #2

An explanation for what Tefillin are:

Our personality has three layers to it - intellect, emotion and action; what we think, what we feel and what we do.

Intellect: Are my opinions on issues, philosophies on life and attitudes to myself and others.

Emotion: Are my moods, desires and passions; what I love and what I hate.

Action: Are not my beliefs or feelings, but what I actually do, how I live my life, and how I spend my time and energy.

Ideally, these three faculties should be in sync. My beliefs and ideals should direct my passions and ambitions, which should in turn be translated into my lifestyle. But so often we find this is not the case. What I know is right doesn't always feel right, and what I feel like doing is not necessarily what I do.

One of the greatest challenges in life is to try to overcome this mind-heart-body disconnect - to develop the right attitude in the mind, positive desires in the heart and then to do the right thing. Now, this isn't easy.

That's where Tefillin come in. The Tefillin help to achieve a spiritual alignment of mind, heart and body; uniting our thoughts, feelings and actions towards a power higher than all three.

These black boxes are holy objects, charged with immense divine power. We place one box on the head - the home of intellect, with its straps dangling over the heart - the place of emotion. Then the other box rests on the forearm next to the heart, with its straps wrapped around the arm and hand which are the tools of action.

The head Tefillin binds our minds to the divine will, that we should know what's right and wrong. The straps dangle down so that this knowledge should flow into our hearts and become a passion for goodness. And the passion resting in our hearts should in turn be translated into action, that we live a life of meaning and purpose, based on clear and pure morals.

Tefillin #1

Tefillin - "You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they should be for a reminder between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8).

Every weekday, the Jew places on his head above the brain, and on his arm opposite his heart, a pair of tefillin--black leather boxes containing small parchment scrolls on which are inscribed the basic tenets of our faith, chief amongst them the proclamation: "Hear O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one."

There are many laws and requirements regarding the making of tefillin. A set includes two tefillin -- one for the head and one for the arm. Each consists of three main components: the scrolls, the box, and the strap.

The scrolls are strips of parchment upon which are inscribed four passages from the Torah. These scrolls need an occasional check up by a professional scribe to make sure they are still in excellent shape.

The scrolls are inserted into boxes made of leather that has been painstakingly pressed into the tefillin's perfectly smooth planes and precise geometrical shape, and painted black.

The head tefillin has a raised Hebrew letter shin on each side and has a large, fixed loop to fit the head. The hand tefillin has a smaller, adjustable loop to tie on the upper arm.

The head strap's knot is in the shape of the Hebrew letter daled; the hand tefillin is knotted in the shape of the Hebrew letter yud. Together, shin, daled, yud spell (Sha-da-i) -- one of the names of G-d.

One box is strapped on your head and the other onto your arm next to your heart and you recite the passage Shema Yisrael...

Our sages tell us that G-d, too, dons tefillin. And what is inscribed in G-d's tefillin? "Who are like Your people Israel, one nation on earth." As we attest to the oneness of G-d, G-d attests to the oneness and integrity of His chosen people.

PARSHA - Naso

Parshat Naso.
The word naso means "lift up." It is a week after the holiday of Shavuot, the day on which G-d "lifts up" the Jewish people.

The Talmud tells us that on Shavuot, Rav Yosef, one of the great sages, would hold a unique celebration because "If it were not for that day," Rav Yosef would say, speaking about the giving of the Torah, "How many Yosefs would there be in the marketplace?"

Rashi explains, "If it were not for the day on which I studied Torah and became uplifted… behold, there are many people in the street named Yosef. What difference would there be between me and them?

Rav Yosef was telling us that studying Torah uplifts us and makes us special.

Comparing the marketplace to the world around us. In a marketplace, everyone is hustling and bustling, buying and selling, eagerly trying to make a profit.

Our souls, neshamot, are sent down to this market, to "do business" and "make a profit", so to speak, in this world.

Now, what kind of "business" does our neshamah do?

Buying and selling means transferring an item from one person's possession to another's. Who is the buyer and who is the seller when the neshamah does business? Well, let's take an apple, for example, it looks like a regular part of nature. But when a Jew makes a blessing on the apple, the holiness of G-d which is in the fruit becomes revealed. It's as if the apple is now being transferred into G-d's possession.

The giving of the Torah made this type of business possible. The Torah gives each one of us the chance to do mitzvot and bring G-d's holiness into the world.

The Torah lifts us up. Instead of running around the marketplace doing our own business, we are now doing business for G-d; making the world into a dwelling for Him.

Shabbat Shalom!