PARSHA - Pinchas

In the Torah portion of Pinchas, it describes the apportionment of the Land of Israel. The Torah states, "Through the lot shall the land be divided." The Talmud notes that the process by which the lots were drawn was neither arbitrary nor random; the miraculous breastplate of the High Priest, guided the outcome. Rashi explains that the lot itself spoke and announced the result. In other words, the division of the soon-to-be conquered Land of Israel was determined by G-d Himself.

The inheritance of the physical portion of land is symbolic of the spiritual inheritance of every Jew with which he is required to fulfill his individual mission in life. Just as each of the Twelve Tribes was given a specific portion of land to live in and cultivate, every Jew is allotted his own spiritual realm to perfect.

Although a person might think he is free to choose his own spiritual portion, following whichever path in the service of G-d that appeals to his nature, the Torah teaches that this is not a matter of free will or logic, but is ordained by G-d.

A person cannot choose his own spiritual bent; it is an integral part of his individual spiritual makeup. But how does one determine exactly which mitzvot are especially relevant to him? By objectively ascertaining those which he finds the hardest to do!

A person may safely assume that a given direction is his "inheritance" whenever the path seems strewn with obstacles and hindrances. In fact, the more important the mitzva, the harder the Evil Inclination tries to dissuade the person.

A lack of interest in a particular facet of Torah study or indifference to a certain mitzva indicates that it is precisely in these areas that special efforts must be made. In the merit of this effort, G-d grants the individual success in all other areas of his life as well.
Shabbat Shalom!

PARSHA - Pinchas

In the Torah portion of Pinchas, an incident with the five daughters of Tzelafchad is related. Tzelafchad, a Jew who died in the desert, had no sons. Since sons, and not daughters, were entitled to an inheritance, the daughters of Tzelafchad were not permitted a portion in the Holy Land.

The daughters of Tzelafchad, who were all known to be righteous women, objected to the thought that their family would not have a part in the Land of Israel. They went before Moses who presented the case to G-d. G-d said to Moses, "The daughters of Tzelafchad have a just claim. Give them a hereditary portion of land alongside their father's brothers."

We see here the Jewish woman's love for the Holy Land. The task the daughters of Tzelafchad had set for themselves was not easy. They had to approach various judges, each one referring the matter to higher authorities, until it was finally brought to Moses, himself. Tzelafchad's daughters were willing to try to overcome such a seemingly impossible obstacle to receive their portion.

This incident can serve as a lesson to each one of us in our daily lives, too. G-d demands that we conduct our lives according to certain guidelines. Yet at the same time, He created and organized the universe in such a way that it seems to preclude proper fulfillment of our obligation of Torah study and performance of mitzvot.

But, with the right approach, we too, can merit a portion in our rightful inheritance. We must be willing to try to overcome the seemingly "impossible" obstacles, just as Tzelafchad's daughters did. If we undertake it with the same attitude of love as Tzelafchad's daughters, then certainly we will achieve our goal.

Shabbat Shalom!

Erev the THREE WEEKS

The seventeenth day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz is when the ancient city of Jerusalem was assaulted by invading gentiles. Three weeks later on the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av), the Holy Temple was set afire and razed. Both the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av are fast days.

This interval on the Jewish calendar is known as the "Three Weeks". The number three alludes to the inner significance and function of the Three Weeks as a period of preparation for the Third Holy Temple.

On a superficial level the Three Weeks are a sad time, a period of mourning for the destruction of the Temple and the beginning of the Jewish people's current exile. But on a deeper level they contain a hidden good.

Everything that happens in the world is directed by G-d. G-d is the essence of good, and everything He does is good, even if it doesn't appear that way at first. Having come directly from G-d, there is no other possibility.

Accordingly, the Three Weeks, although superficially associated with sadness, contain a positive meaning: At the exact moment when the Second Holy Temple was destroyed, the Third and eternal Holy Temple was constructed up in heaven. In this light the entire destruction can be seen as nothing but a preparatory stage in the Redemptive process, a necessary step toward the Final Redemption with Moshiach, at which time the concept of exile will no longer exist.

At present, the good contained within the Three Weeks remains hidden. But reflecting upon its true, inner meaning hastens the day when its inner goodness will be revealed, when the Temple will be reestablished.

Let us therefore accustom ourselves to seeing the hidden good that exists in all things, thereby meriting the ultimate revelation of inner goodness with the arrival of our Righteous Moshiach.

Chinuch - Education (#2)

The Rebbe said: "A child's character education should take priority over his academic education. All educational efforts are basically meaningless unless built on the solid foundation of good character".

A couple once visited a rabbi to seek advice about how to educate their twelve-year-old son. The rabbi answered them: "You have come to me twelve years too late. A human being is like a tree. If you make a scratch on the branch of a full-grown tree, you affect only that branch. But if you make even a minuscule scratch on a seed, the tree will never grow straight, if it grows at all."

If there is one single factor within our control that can directly determine who we are as people, it is education. There is only one way to produce healthy and wholesome adults, people who will lead selfless and meaningful lives, and that is to educate our children.

Education is not just learning the skills to make a living; it is learning to understand life itself. Life is the recognition of G-d and the mission that He has charged us with -- refining ourselves and sanctifying our world.

Imparting information is but a small and rather simple component of education. A true education -- an education for life -- consists of teaching children that they have an uncompromising responsibility to G-d to live morally and ethically, which will sustain them individually and create a better world for their children and for generations to come.

Chinuch - Education (#1)

In Deuteronomy 6:6, known as the Shema -- which we recite every morning and evening, it is written as follows:

"And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; you shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when sitting in your home and walking on the road, when you lie down and when you rise."

Our Sages tell us that when G-d came to give the Torah to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, He demanded a guarantee that that they will not forsake it.

Said the people of Israel: "The heaven and the earth shall be our guarantors."

Said G-d: "They won't last forever."

Said they: "Our fathers will guarantee it."

Said G-d: "They are busy."

Said they: "Our children will guarantee it."

Said G-d: "These are excellent guarantors."

This is the key to the eternity of a people, the guarantee that man's work as "a partner with G-d in creation" continues. That each generation transmit to the next all that they have learned. Education is the training of children and youngsters. It is the child who needs to be taught -- to be imparted knowledge, to be aided in the honing of faculties and skills, to be guided in the development of a moral self that distinguishes between right and wrong and never loses sight of its responsibilities towards G-d

Education, however, is a life-long endeavor. Within our own selves, too, is a perpetual need to learn, develop and grow, to cultivate the seeds and saplings of our present potential into the trees and fruits of future achievement.

Yud-Beis Tamuz - the12th of Tamuz

The 12th day of the Hebrew month of Tamuz, marks both the birthday of the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, and his liberation from Soviet prison and exile.

When the Bolshevik revolution succeeded in overthrowing the Czarist regime in 1917, it set about destroying religion. Judaism, and particularly Chabad, was a prime target. The Previous Rebbe, devoted himself to keeping the flame of Judaism alive in the early days of Communist Russia.

So powerful was the Previous Rebbe's impact that at one point he was even offered a deal by the Communist government! He would be allowed to continue to support rabbis, ritual slaughterers, etc., and even continue to encourage Jews to attend prayer services on one condition: He had to stop educating the children in the ways of the Torah.

To the Previous Rebbe this was unacceptable, and he refused, saying, "If there are no kid goats, there will be no adult goats..." Without the proper Jewish education for our children, we as a nation, cannot survive. And even when the Previous Rebbe reached the shores of America, he continued to strengthen Jewish life by establishing schools here as well.

The Previous Rebbe showed great courage and determination when it came to preserving the Jewish way of life through Jewish education. He stood up to both Communist oppression and to those here in America who told him that it couldn't be done, that yeshivot couldn't thrive in this modern new world. His legacy, Chabad schools the world over, has outlived Soviet Communism and at the same time continues to prove that those who doubted him were wrong.

The Previous Rebbe was a living example of his teachings. His strength and courage were not for his own personal needs, but for the spiritual needs of the entire Jewish people.

Let us stand strong together, and demand from G-d the thing we need most, the arrival of our righteous Moshiach and the true and complete Redemption.

PARSHAT - Balak

Parshat BALAK

Balak focuses on the blessings given the Jewish people by the gentile prophet Bilaam. Balak, the king of Moab, feared that the Jews would attack him and his people on their way to Israel, and so he hired Bilaam, a gentile prophet to curse the Jews.
Although Bilaam sought to do Balak's bidding, whenever he prepared to deliver curses G-d put blessings in his mouth and he was forced to utter them. So powerful are his blessings that they are recorded in the Torah for eternity and we say them in our prayers.

Among Bilaam's prophecies is the only explicit allusion to Mashiach in the Torah: "A star shall shoot forth from Jacob."
This allusion is chosen, because Mashiach's coming will introduce new light into our existence, brightening our horizons.

Other sources explain that the star to which the verse refers is an analogy for every individual Jew. Every person is a source of positive energy, radiating light.

Chassidut fuses the two and explains that every person is a star, because every person contains a spark of Mashiach within his soul. There is in our souls - and in all existance - an element that is one with G-d. This is our personal star. And this is our spark of Mashiach.

The coming of Mashiach will initiate an era when the G-dliness which is at the core of every being will come to the surface.
This will not nullify the existance of any entitiy; instead it will allow every entity to redefine itself, and allow its true spiritual nature to surface.
May it happen now, amen!


Shabbat Shalom!

Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe - M'sirat Nefesh/self-sacrifice

The level of devotion and deep love a Tzaddik has for a fellow Jew is quite palpable. They have made colossal sacrifices in their lives to help others. The following is an example of the tremendous self-sacrifice a Tzaddik, a Rebbe, underwent to help his fellow Jews in Communist Russia.

The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, was living in Stalinist Russia during the rise of the Communist Regime. Every effort was being made to undermine Judaism, especially from the Jewish Communists known as the Yevseksia. In spite of great threats to his life, the Previous Rebbe worked tirelessly and with complete self-sacrifice to strengthen the material and spiritual situation of the Jewish people throughout Russia.

Like many of the Chabad Rebbes before him, he was arrested several times and on one occasion, sentenced to death. Only through an open miracle was he saved.
In these terrible times in Russia, any efforts to strengthen Judaism meant certain death for whoever was caught doing so. If a Jew wanted his child to learn Torah during these years, he wouldn't dare take the risk of being caught organizing a school or arranging group Torah observance. But the Previous Rebbe DID put his life on the line to take that risk throughout his entire lifetime.

If he would have practiced Judaism quietly in his own home - learning Torah doing mitzvot and praying - his life would have been so much easier. Instead he was pursued relentlessly by the KGB for his work in helping other Jews keep their observance of Judaism alive by establishing underground schools for their children, ensuring the availability of kosher food, arranging clandestine circumcisions, and keeping ritual baths open wherever possible - all to ensure that the physical AND spiritual lives of this fellow Jews would continue for his and subsequent generations.

REBBE - There is a Jew in Brooklyn...

One day Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Schwartz, of Brazil, gets a phone call from a very distraught parent:

"Our daughter has informed us that she intends to marry a non-Jew. We have tried everything to dissuade her, but our arguments, appeals, threats and tears have all been to no avail. She refuses to discuss the matter with us and has moved out of our home. Rabbi! You are our only hope! Perhaps you can impress upon her the gravity of the betrayal against her people, her parents and her own identity!"

"That evening I rang her bell", he relates, "She listened politely to me and promised to consider everything I said, but I came away with the feeling that I had had little effect on her decision. And so I called the Rebbe's secretary, and asked for the Rebbe's advice as to what might be done. A few minutes later the secretary calls me back and says: "The Rebbe says to tell the young woman that there is a Jew in Brooklyn who cannot sleep at night because she intends to marry a non-Jew."

"Who is this Jew?" I blurted out.

"His name is Mendel Schneerson."

So early the next morning I once again was at her door. "Listen", she said before I could utter a word, "whom I marry is my business. I respect rabbis and I heard you the last time, now please go away and stop bothering me."

"But there is one more thing I need to say",I told her. "There is a Jew in Brooklyn who cannot sleep at night because you intend to marry a non-Jew."

"And who is this Jew?" she questioned.

"A great Jewish leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe," I replied. "The Rebbe is greatly concerned about the material and spiritual well-being of every Jew, and agonizes over every soul that is lost to its people."

I can show you a picture of him, I then rushed home, found a picture and hurried back to the young woman's apartment.

One look at the Rebbe's likeness and her face turned pale. "All week long", she explained, "this man has been appearing in my dreams and imploring me not to abandon my people. I have never met this man in my life, or even heard of him. But this is the man I have been seeing in my dreams..."

The Rebbe - a miner.

Once when the Rebbe was asked to elaborate on the nature of his position, he explained that he is a miner. Just as a miner digs into the depths of the earth, sifts through much dirt and stone, and ultimately comes up with jewels and precious metals, so, too, the Rebbe teaches and empowers us to penetrate to the depths of our being and reveal the inner G-dliness dormant within our souls.

Going beneath the surface of our personalities is not a new concept. The novelty here is not in the idea of digging, but what one comes up with when one digs.The Rebbe dug and came up with G-dliness.

The Rebbe operates from a different perspective. What is significant is not what he or other people see or want in this world, but what G-d wants. Why did G-d create the world? Why did He create this particular person and this particular situation? A person is to look beyond his own individual horizons and see a larger picture - a Divine picture.

We learn to do so as we connect with the Rebbe, study his teachings, follow his directives, and endeavor to understand his motivation.

Extending this approach further, one looks to the era of the Redemption. The world at large was brought into being with a goal. As our Sages comment, "The world was created solely for Moshiach."

For that reason it is important to learn about the era of the Redemption and appreciate the mindset that will prevail at that time. As we become more acquainted with G-d's purpose for creation, we are more capable of prodding that purpose into fulfillment and enabling the world to reach that desired state.

The Rebbe.

During the 44 years of The Lubavitcher Rebbe's leadership, he did not take a vacation, nor a personal day. The Rebbe never stopped. He was active seven days a week, 365 days a year. This is not an exaggeration. It is a matter of record, as the Rebbe's daily schedule was public knowledge. The Rebbe was watched 24 hours a day. Yet there was not one minute in which his personality did not shine.

During those 44 years, the Rebbe delivered thousands of public discourses. He responded to millions of letters and requests for advice and blessings from men and women everywhere, and to questions from organizations and institutions of all sorts. These requests included for health, marriage, children, livelihood, education, business, Torah and more.

The Rebbe initiated, guided and supervised a global network of institutions. In personal meetings he counseled countless individuals - Torahs scholars, simple folk and heads of state. Men, women, elders and children, business titans and troubled teens, men of letters and the ill.

The Rebbe spent the larger portion of his day immersed in Torah study and prayer.

Some saw the Rebbe as the consummate Lover of all Jews. Others observed his reverence for G-d. Some recognized his complete selflessness. Others were awed by his genius in Torah scholarship. Some saw him as the man of unparalleled activism. While others experienced the impact of his profound wisdom and keen insight. Some saw him as the paragon of absolute self-sacrifice.

He was recognized as the ultimate leader.

Yet it is his essence, which transcends the particulars of his person, from which all of the above emanated. From the very depth of his soul, from the core of his being, the Rebbe revered G-d, loved every Jew and was devoted to Torah and the fulfillment of G-d's will.

The Rebbe, Our Rebbe

The Rebbe's boundless love for all Jews was legendary. He would go to extraordinary lengths to help any Jew, spiritually or materially, regardless of location or spiritual status. The pain of any Jew was his pain. The joy of a Jew was his joy.

In his love for all Jews, the Rebbe did not distinguish between anyone. A Jew is a Jew, a piece of G-d, placed in a body. Scholar or layperson, college student or Chasid, happy or dejected, wealthy or destitute - all were welcome. All belonged. All were embraced. The Rebbe was always there, offering counsel and blessing, comfort and hope.

The Rebbe taught - through word and deed - that love for one's fellow is not based on the other person's social status, or even his personal piety. Such love is merely an appreciation of that specific quality and is thus limited to its cause. Instead, the Rebbe taught that love for the Jew's essence, the spark of G-d that is equally present in every one of us. Only such love is truly unconditional.

And it is this personal love for every Jew that is at the core of the Rebbe's intense desire to share with each and every Jew their inheritance - affording them the study of Torah and offering them the means to experience a Jewish way of life.

A prison chaplain once brought a group of Jewish inmates to a gathering that the Rebbe held. Before the gathering began the chaplain received the following message from the Rebbe's secretariat.: "The Rebbe does not want the prisoners to sit together. They should be interspersed throughout the crowd." The chaplain was puzzled by the request, especially because he had just gone to great lengths to arrange that the group sit together. One of the secretaries then explained, "The Rebbe feels that if your group were to be seated together, they will attract attention. People will ask who they are, and it will be known that they are prisoners, causing them embarrassment. To prevent this from happening, they should be seated throughout the crowd."

This is a Rebbe. Our Rebbe.