The Cow Who Kept Shabbos..

There was once a Jew who owned a cow with which he plowed his field. Unfortunately, this Jew became impoverished and was forced to sell his cow. His buyer was not Jewish.

The new owner plowed with the cow all throughout the week, quite satisfied with her labor. When Shabbat arrived, however, and he took her out to the field, the cow kneeled under the yoke and refused to do any work. He yelled, he cajoled, hit her with his whip, but still she would not budge from her place.

The furious man stormed over to the Jew: "Take back your cow! All week I worked with her, but today I took her out to the field and the lazy animal refuses to do anything! "

The Jew calmed the irate owner and said: "Come with me, and I will get her to plow." When they arrived at the field where the cow lay, the Jew spoke into her ear. "Oh Cow, Cow! When you were in my domain, you rested on Shabbat. But now that I sold you to this gentile, please, stand up and do the will of your master!"

Immediately, the cow stood, prepared to work. Said the gentile to the Jew: "I'm not letting you go until you tell me what you did and what you said to her. Have you bewitched her?" The Jew repeated what he said to the cow.

When the man heard this, he was shaken and astonished. Said he: "If this creature, which has neither language or intelligence, recognizes her Creator, should not I, whom G‑d created in His image and imbued me with intelligence and understanding?"

So he went and converted to Judaism and merited to study Torah. A righteous scholar, he became known as Yochanan ben Torta, "Yochanan son of the Cow".

"SERVE G-D WITH JOY".

Joy is central to the service of G-d. The happiness with which one performs a mitzvah shows that we truly comprehend the tremendous privilege that serving the King of kings constitutes. Indeed, the Arizal, master Kabbalist, once asserted that the gates of wisdom and divine inspiration were opened for him only as a reward for his observance of mitzvot with tremendous, boundless joy.

In truth, all a person does – eating, sleeping, business, and etc – can be part of his Divine service, provided that they are done with the proper intentions. As such, the injunction to "serve G-d with joy" actually applies to all times and all situations.

For a joyful person, the toughest tasks are a breeze. For a depressed person, on the other hand, even simple challenges seem overwhelming. Victory in the lifelong battle fought against one's temptations is largely dependent on constantly maintaining a joyous disposition.

* Consider G-d's unfathomable greatness.
* Appreciate how small and insignificant you are by comparison.
* Contemplate on how He loves and cherishes you.
* Consider how, when you do a mitzvah, you cause Him to dwell with us here in our world.
* Recognize that all that transpires is part of G-d's plan, and that G-d is in control.
* Understand that no evil could emanate from G-d—for He is entirely good.
* Feel secure in the knowledge that everything is exactly as it is supposed to be, and Someone is looking out for you

Let a sense of purpose lend bounce to your step, as you go about your daily activities.

The Fox And The Vineyard

A sly fox passed a lovely vineyard. A tall, thick fence surrounded the vineyard on all sides. As the fox circled around the fence, he found a small hole in the fence, barely large enough for him to push his head through. The fox could see what luscious grapes grew in the vineyard, and his mouth began to water. But the hole was too small for him. So what did the clever fox do? He fasted for three days until he became so thin that he managed to slip through the hole.

Inside the vineyard, the fox began to eat to his heart's content. He grew bigger and fatter than ever before. Finally, he decided he had eaten enough and wanted to leave the vineyard. But alas! The hole was too small again. So what did he do? He fasted for three days again, and then just about managed to slip through the hole and out again.

Turning his head towards the vineyard, the poor fox said: "Vineyard, O’ vineyard! How lovely you look, and how lovely are your fruits and vines. But what good are you to me? Just as I came to you, so I leave you..."

And so, our Sages say, it is also with this world. It is a beautiful world, but, as King Solomon teaches, just as man comes into this world empty-handed, so he leaves it. Only the Torah he studied, the mitzvot he performed, and the good deeds he practiced are the real fruits which he can take with him.

Avrohom - live life to the fullest!

Many of us are too frightened to enter into our lives and live it fully, with complete presence of mind, heart and body, with passion and zest. We do not trust life enough to let it possess us. Life holds too much pain, too many disappointments, so much shame, anger and guilt; we would rather let our days pass by as we "mark time" and retain a certain distance, so that we remain safe.

Yet Avraham and Sarah, the Torah says, "They came into the days;" they fully entered into their days. All their days were explored,utilized and lived to the fullest.

Avraham and Sarah enjoyed tremendous blessings and victories, as well as profound pain and disappointment, including the fact that Sarah was (at that time) childless. Yet throughout the positive as well as the challenging, the joyous as well as the painful -- they allowed themselves to experience the pulse of life in its totality. They did not retreat into the cocoon of safe detachment.

Sure, it is safer to create a border between yourself and your experiences. No sorrow, no pain, no tears. But that may come at the cost of LIVING, of a life filled with exuberance, laughter and passion..

And the Torah tells us that Abraham's courage lasted him till the very end. "Abraham was old, he came into the days." Even as a widower, Abraham did not detach from life. He breathed it in, with all of its majesty, drama and pain. That is what we call truly living: acquiring the courage to become one with life, to feel it and to love it.

Till his last breath, Avraham, the founder of the Jewish faith awoke each morning and said, "I will live my life today to the fullest; my heart and soul will fully go along with the ride we call living."

Sold his OlamHaba - Redeemed it by Mitzva providing for poor bride.

With tears in his eyes, R' Mottel cried to The Rebbe of Apta, "Rebbe, please help me, I need one thousand rubles to marry off my daughter and I have exactly one ruble to my name!"
"Well, one ruble is also something", said the Rebbe, "Go and purchase the first piece of goods that comes your way. Surely, G-d will bless you."

R' Mottel had faith in the words of the Tzaddik and so, encountering a group of rowdy merchants on his way home, his interest was aroused.

"Looking to buying something?" one merchant called out mockingly.

"Yes," he replied," I have one ruble."

"One ruble! Ha! Well, I have something I can sell for one ruble-my portion in the World to Come!"

And so, a contract was drawn up. Both the buyer and the seller signed their names, and Reb Mottel handed over the coin. The merchants' laughter filled the air.

When the seller's wife inquired what the laughter was about, her husband responded, "You see that beggar over there? I just sold him my portion in the World to Come!"

"What!" she cried. "You sold him the only thing of value that you own!? I want a divorce!"

The merchant was shocked. Didn't she know that this sale was just a joke? But his wife was perfectly serious.

So, the merchant called over Reb Mottel. "I'm afraid our little bargain is off." he told him, "I'll give you back your one ruble, and you give me back my paper."

But, Reb Mottel refused. "I am very happy with my purchase. I have no intention of returning it."

"How about if I add a few rubles compensation for the 'broken contract,'" he chuckled.

"No thanks," replied Mottel. "I won't settle for less than one thousand rubles!"

"What! Are you mad? One thousand rubles??! Forget it! Keep your paper!"

But the merchant's wife insisted. "I promise that if you don't buy that paper back, I will have a divorce this very day! I won't spend my life with a man who sold his portion in the World to Come!

The merchant realized he had no choice. He gave one thousand rubles to Reb Mottel who handed him back the document. Reb Mottel then told the seller's wife the words of the Apter Rebbe. She was so impressed that she went to visit the Rebbe herself.

"Was my husband's portion in the World to Come worth only one ruble?" she asked the Rebbe, painfully.

Responded the Rebbe: "The truth is, before he sold it, it wasn't even worth that much. But when he redeemed it by 'buying' the mitzva of dowering a bride, the value of his Future Life soared, for such a mitzva cannot be measured in money!"

Rachel Imeinu - Our Matriarch

Today, the eleventh day of Cheshvan, is the anniversary of the passing of our Matriarch Rachel, the most beloved wife of Yaakov.

When Rachel died, Yaakov and his family were only a short distance from the city Bet Lehem. Yet, Yaakov did not bring his dear wife Rachel into that town to be buried, nor did he bring her home with him to Hebron, but he buried her on the side of the road.

Why this seemingly uncaring behavior?

Yaakov foresaw that following the destruction of the First Temple, when the Jews would be driven from their homes and forced into exile, they would pass on this very road. Burying Rachel on the roadside would give these discouraged Jews the opportunity to cry out to Rachel. They would take courage from her presence, and she would beseech G-d on their behalf.

The prophet Yermiyahu describes what actually happened:

A voice is heard on high,
Wailing, bitterly crying.
Rachel weeps for her children
She refuses to be consoled
For they are gone.

And G-d's response:

"Restrain your voice from weeping,
"Hold back your eyes from their tears.
"For your work has its reward and your children shall return to their border."

According to the Midrash, at that time the other Patriarchs, Matriarchs and Moses, too, begged for mercy. But G-d remained silent. Then Rachel lifted her voice, and only she elicited the promise of redemption.

"O Lord of the Universe," she argued. "Consider what I did for my sister Leah." And immediately, G-d's mercy was aroused and He responded, "For you, Rachel, I will bring Israel back to their place."

Instead of a burial spot in the family plot in Hebron, she accepted a lonely burial, on the side of a deserted road. She did this in order to be there for her children who would live tens of centuries later

Rachel is the ultimate Jewish mother, sacrificing for our well-being and security. This feeling of limitless love and motherly concern is what draws people to her tomb to this day. Her grave will always remain a House of Prayer for she is a mother to all Israel, and continuously awaken mercy on our behalf.

KEVER ROCHEL

Avraham's tests/our tests and challenges.

Avraham, the father of all nations, was the first true pioneer. He stood up to an entire world and trail blazed a spiritual path to life, forever changing history.

How can we emulate Avraham and acquire his courage in our own lives? Our father Avraham was tested with ten challenges, and he withstood them all. Does this mean that every man of faith needs to be challenged as well?

By virtue of being created in the "image of G-d", every soul contains enormous reservoirs of extraordinary potential. However, these powers remain dormant when not actualized. A true test of one's character is a challenge that actualizes our potential and brings the best out of us by revealing the powerful forces we carry within.

When we pass a difficult test in life, a deeper part of our soul is revealed, to the point that it can actually bring on true transformation of the human being.

Just as Avraham endured ten challenges, one more difficult than the previous, we, his children, too undergo in our lifetimes similar challenges. With one important difference-Once Avraham proved himself, his children do not need to be challenged with quite the same intensity.

The key thing to always remember, with every fiber of our being, is that these are all challenges that we have the power to withstand, and will help catapult us to greatness.

Avraham's story is our story. His travels paved the way for our own. His endurance empowers us with the ability to not just survive, but to thrive and to reach true greatness.

If that doesn't give us confidence and inspiration that we too can make it through our difficulties, then what will?

7th of Cheshvan

We are taught that on the 7th day of the Hebrew month of MarCheshvan the Jews in Israel begin "to pray for rain; fifteen days after the festival of Sukkot." In the time of the Beit HaMikdash, even the pilgrim who had the greatest distance to travel back home from Jerusalem (after spending Sukkot there), had already returned home by this date and he wouldn't be inconvenienced by the rain that was now being prayed for.

Thus, till now, the spiritual high enjoyed by the Jewish people during their pilgrimage still continued. But, starting with 7th of MarCheshvan, all the Jews were already home and thus in a state of spiritual descent relative to their lofty state while in Jerusalem.

A Jew must continuously rise from level to level in holiness. Therefore, the Jewish people's spirituality after returning home from Jerusalem possessed a quality superior even to that of their lofty state during their pilgrimage.

Most Jews during those times were involved in agricultural matters. He was able to perform the agricultural commandments relating to Israel as well as drawing down holiness within all his physical affairs. This is something he was incapable of doing while he was in Jerusalem and at the Beit HaMikdash.

G-d desired to have a dwelling place in this physical world. We accomplish this by drawing down G-d's sanctity and permeating the mundane with holiness--taking physical objects and performing mitzvot with them.

While in Jerusalem, the person is mostly occupied with sacred matters. Thus, it is specifically on the 7th ofMarCheshvan, when the Jew returns to his home, that he begins to express the quality and merit of a personal spiritual service that involves elevating this material world, transforming the physical objects themselves, so that they become the actual dwelling for G-d transforming this world into a dwelling place for G-d.

7th of MarCheshvan - Ahavas Yisroel - Jewish Unity

The 7th day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, is when the Jews in Israel begin "to pray for rain; fifteen days after the festival of Sukkot. In the times of the beit hamikdash during Sukkot, the entire Jewish people were in Jerusalem. By the seventh of Cheshvan, even the pilgrim who had the greatest distance to travel back home from Jerusalem had already returned home. It was then that the prayer for rain commenced, so that no one would be inconvenienced by the rain that was now being prayed for.

The delay of the prayers for rain until the last pilgrims reached their homes, is the concept of Jewish unity.

The Rebbe points out that despite the millions of acres of fields, orchards, and vineyards in need of these rains, the thousands of farmers passed up on their own desires, their livelihood – all until one Jew, the last one, finally returns home. The Rebbe teaches us a tremendous lesson. The fact that the Jewish People don’t ask for rain doesn’t mean that they’re all suffering just for the sake of one Jew who hasn’t come home yet. The benefit of that Jew is for my benefit! This is the true benefit of every Jew, passing up his own personal interests to the point that it becomes to his benefit that this Jew will return home without being inconvenienced by the rainfall.

The needs of another Jew are my needs!

The unity expressed by the seventh of Cheshvan relates to us as individuals.

Understandably that during the pilgrimage festivals, the essential unity of the Jewish people is expressed, however the 7th of cheshvan teaches us that Jewish unity remains even after each Jew returns to his own home and his individual lifestyle.

May we continue to work on Jewish unity in every way possible until the ultimate revelation of total Jewish unity and the unity of G-d and the entire world with the coming of Moshiach, NOW!

Card playing in Gulag/Check your own pockets....

One of the activities prohibited in the Gulag was card playing. It was considered a severe crime, and harsh punishment was imposed if one was caught violating this prison rule.

Somehow, the inmates managed to smuggle in a deck of cards and would while away their free time with the forbidden game.

The guards were told about the breach and came to inspect the prisoners' quarters. They found nothing.

As weeks went by, and the games continued, the guards were baffled. Were these uncouth prisoners really outsmarting them? They wondered.

They finally decided to put an end to this. They carried out a surprise inspection, checking every inch of the barracks as well as the bodies and clothes of the inmates.

They found nothing.

As soon as the inspectors left, the cards re - appeared, and the games continued as usual.

How was that possible? The inspectors had checked every possible hiding place.

Eventually,the secret was let out.

You see, they were professional pickpockets . As soon as the guards would enter the barracks, they would slip the cards into their - the guards' pockets. Right before they would leave, they would slip them back out again. Obviously it never occurred to the guards to check their own pockets...

The lesson is clear. If you want to make an accurate assessment of reality, start your search by checking your own 'pockets'.

Often when we make our spiritual and personal inventory, we instinctively look to place blame on those around us. "My parents are responsible," "my education is responsible," etc. Everyone is blamed except oneself. That is an easier and less painful way to do things, but it is not effective in the long run. In order to really put your life into order, we must not overlook our own "pockets."

CHABAD OF DOWNTOWN EAST