Jewish People given the privilege to refine sparks

A king once lost a precious gem from his ring, and many of his subjects—servants, ministers, generals, and so on—volunteered to search for it. However, the king refused to allow them to. Instead, he instructed his precious only son to search for the lost object and return it.

The king did not do so because he suspected that his other subjects might pocket the gem. Rather, he wanted to be able to give the opportunity to his son to find it, so that his son would receive the credit. Moreover, he even dropped his son several hints as to the whereabouts of the gem. But how did the king know so well where the gem was to be found? In fact, it was all a setup. The king had deliberately feigned to have accidentally lost the gem only so that his son would find it, and so that the father could beam with pride at his son’s accomplishment.

The Baal Shem Tov offered this parable for the spiritual process by which the sparks of holiness came into our physical world:
G-d deliberately caused the sparks of holiness to fall into the physical world, and then insisted that only the Jewish people, of whom it is said, “You are sons of Hashem, your G–d,” be charged with the mission of refining them.

Refining the lofty sparks of holiness trapped in the physical world is a task and privilege specifically assigned to the Jewish people.

Wow what a privilege. And how do we refine these sparks? By doing Mitzvot and living holy.

Yetzer Horah. Score points when there's opposition.

Who is this formidable foe who greets us upon our entry into this world and attempts to accompany our every action throughout our existence?

He is known as the Yetzer Harah, the Evil Inclination.

Rabbi Sholom noticed that one of his students at the yeshiva was missing on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday morning he approached him, "I know you for two years", he told the boy. "You never missed a day of yeshiva. Tell me why were you absent."

At first the student didn't want to say but then gave in, he said: " I missed yeshiva because I was at the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer games. And I probably won't be in yeshiva tomorrow as well. It's the final day of the championship."

"How do you play this game of soccer ? How do you win?"Asked the Rabbi.

"Well," said the student, "there are eleven players, and their aim is to kick the ball into a large netted goal...

"So what's the big deal?" asked the Rabbi. "Go there, kick the ball in the goal and come back to yeshiva!"

The boy laughed. "Oh, you don't understand! There is an opposing team and their job is to stop our team from getting the ball into their goal!"

"Then why...." suggested the Rabbi, "don't you sneak into the stadium at night and kick the ball into the goal when they are not looking! Then you can win and return to yeshiva!"

"Oy! Rebbe! You don't understand. You don't score if the other team is not trying to stop you! Its no big deal to kick a ball into an empty net if there is no one trying to stop you!"

"Ah!" exclaimed the Rabbi, " It's no big deal to come to yeshiva when nothing is trying to hold you back! It is when the Yetzer Harah is crouching in the goal, that it is most difficult to score. That is when you really score points. Come tomorrow, and you can't imagine how much that is worth in G-d's scorecard!

The Yetzer Harah is our ultimate challenger. He stands crouched in the door, ready to block any shot and spring on a near hit. Our job is to realize that we must overcome him when the urge is the greatest. Because when it is most difficult to do the right thing, that is the time we can really score points!

10th of Tevet - Fast day - opportune day....

Tomorrow we will fast, mourn and pray, remembering the day -- the 10th of Tevet. It is the day on which began the siege on Jerusalem by the armies of the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar, which led to the conquest of the city, the destruction of the Holy Temple, and the expulsion of the people of Israel from their land.

Why are we fasting? It's not our fault that the Temple was destroyed. The people at that time refused to listen to the prophets who warned them to better their ways. We are still suffering the consequences.

On this, the sages explain: "Every generation for which the Temple is not rebuilt, is as though the Temple was destroyed for that generation." If so, a fast day is not really a sad day, but an opportune day. It's a day when we are empowered to fix the cause of that first destruction, so that our long exile will be ended and we will find ourselves living in messianic times—may that be very soon.

"Because of baseless hatred between Jews," says the Talmud, "was Jerusalem destroyed."

Why, asks the Lubavitcher Rebbe, does the Talmud insist that the hate was "baseless"? Were there not reasons, both ideological and pragmatic, for the divisions amongst the Jews? But no reason, explains the Rebbe, is reason enough for hate. The commonality of our fate runs so much deeper than any possible cause for animosity. All hate, then, is baseless hatred.

So if "baseless hatred" was the cause of the destruction, continues the Rebbe, its remedy is "baseless love"--our rediscovery of the intrinsic unity which overrides all reasons for discord and strife.

Show love to a fellow Jew--no matter how he or she differs from you. For if there is one redeeming virtue in being under siege, it is the opportunity to realize that we're all in this together.

PARSHAT VAYECHI - Yaakov blesses....we have potential...

If life were a chessboard, would you be a pawn who can travel only in one direction? Or would you be a queen, who can strike out in the direction of her choice?

Angels are unidirectional. Their characters are molded by G-d into single, predetermined profiles. Some angels serve G-d in love. Others serve G-d with joy. etc. Angels are described as stationary. It is incapable of doing things that are different from their nature.

But we are different. We are referred to as G-d's bride. If G-d is the king, then we are his queen. On the chessboard this means that the Jewish soul IS capable of multi-directional travel. We each have our own characteristics and prefer our own path of worship. Some of us are joyful, others loving. Some like to study, and so on. Our paths are unique to ourselves, but unlike angels, we CAN veer from our characters.

Just before his passing, Yaakov blesses his sons. Each son receives a blessing consistent with his character of spiritual worship.
After Yaakov blessed each son individually, he repeated all the blessings to each of his sons because he wanted his children to enjoy all forms of spiritual worship, not only those with their individual characters. He wanted them to engage in all mitzvot even those inconsistent with their personalities.

Jacob's blessing, which enabled his sons to transcend their limitations and enjoy all manner of spiritual worship, endows us, too, with that wonderful ability. Which means that no mitzvah is beyond our potential.

PARSHA - VAYECHI. The Big Picture....

This week’s Torah reading speaks of Yaakov's final years of life, the seventeen years he spends reunited with his family and the blessings he gives them for the future.

Throughout his life, Yaakov is continually being taken by surprise; him taking the blessings from Esav, then needing to run away, being tricked into marrying the sister of the woman he loves and then the disappearance of his beloved son, Yosef. But at the end of his life he is peacefully reunited with his family, and in these final years, he is able to recognize the patterns of his journey through life. He sees the intent of each step along the way, realizing the bigger picture. It becomes clear to him that all the details of his life were bringing him to this place he was now at.

In life we have the ‘big picture’ vision and ‘small picture’ vision. Very often we find ourselves stuck in the ‘small picture’ reality. We get bogged down by the small picture vision of life that we forget the big picture. We see the trees and not the forest, as it were. Our lives have a route, yet, we often lose ourselves in the minutiae, “this and this person did this to me, i can’t believe this is happening to me now, etc . . ." It is because of this that we forget the bigger picture, and we veer off course.

This week’s Torah reading gives us the ability to step back from the details and recognize the little fragments as integral parts of a whole. And This way, we recognize the minutiae for what it is and we dont get stuck in the smallness of events and/or emotions.

This week, let's keep sight of our greater goals and purpose, and not get bogged down by the details.

The Rebbe gives blessings to light Chanuka lights in Iran...

In 1980, during the Iranian occupation of the American embassy, Rabbi Hershberg, the past chief Rabbi of Mexico, was scheduled to travel to Iran for a public service project. Because of the tense atmosphere at the time, many tried to persuade him to postpone his trip. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, however, encouraged him: "Go with blessing," The Rebbe told him. "You are certain to light the Chanukah menorah in Iran."

Rabbi Hershberg was puzzled by the Rebbe's closing words. He was not necessarily planning to stay in Iran for Chanukah. But if he would, there was no question that he would light a menorah. He did not understand the Rebbe's reference, nor the emphatic (em-fa-tik) tone in his words.

Afterwards, it all became clear. His mission in Iran took longer than expected, during which time he developed a relationship with some Iranian officials. He knew that there were six Jews among the hostages in the American embassy and he asked permission to light the menorah with them. "Just as we have granted permission for a priest to meet with the Christian hostages on their holiday," the Iranians replied, "we will allow you entry as well."

And so it was in the barricaded American embassy in Iran that Rabbi Hershberg lit the Chanukah menorah that year.

Chanuka is not over. Today is the last day, we still have a chance to bring down whatever light and blessings we need. Let's take advantage of this special day and accomplish whatever holiness we can....and we should take these chanuka lights, take these chanuka messages and miracles, to last us throughout the year....

Story - Chanuka/Shehechiyonu.....Bergen-Belsen

The day before Chanuka was a tragic one in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp; hundreds of Jews had been killed. However, the shattered and tortured surviving Jewish prisoners began looking for a way to kindle the Chanuka lights. They created some makeshift menora, a thread from their pants was a wick and a drop of black wax was oil.

Late at night word spread quickly in the barracks that the Bluzhever Rebbe would be kindling the menorah.
The Jews in Bergen-Belsen were well aware that anyone caught participating in any sort of religious act would be brutally punished. This did not however, stop the hundreds of them from gathering to watch the Rebbe do the mitzvah.

With intense concentration the Rebbe made the first 2 blessings. Then he paused, turned around and saw the emaciated faces in front of him.
He then turned back to his menora and with great emotion, said the blessing of Shehechiyanu, thanking G-d, "Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time". And he lit the wick.

A Jew from the crowd said, "Rebbe, i can understand why you lit the Chanuka lights, but i cannot understand how you could possibly make the shehechiyanu. Hundreds of Jews are being murdered every day in front of our eyes. How can you thank G-d that you lived to see this day!?

"I too had the same question", responded the Rebbe, But then i turned around, i saw hundreds of jews standing with Emuna, with belief and with trust, waiting to see the menora lit.
If after a massacre like yesterday's, Jews can still risk their lives and wait with eagerness to fulfill G-d's mitzvah, then for this alone i can recite the blessing thanking G-d, "Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time", - to see so many people displaying such strength, such emuna, here in Bergen -Belsen".

We face the challenges of our time, and struggle to cope with them and sometimes even reach the brink of despair - however, there are still a great many signs of hope. There are still many reasons to say Shehechiyanu.

PARSHA - Miketz - Chanuka. Make your dreams a reality!

In this week’s Torah reading Pharaoh the mighty ruler, has two dreams and so he summons Yosef/Joseph from his prison cell and Yosef interprets the dreams to Pharaoh so brilliantly that Pharaoh promotes him to the second most powerful person in Egypt.

Years earlier Yosef himself had dreams that indicated to him that he was destined to become a powerful ruler, and now, through interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, his own dreams of leadership were actualized. Yosef's dreams came to be when he rises to the occasion and not only interprets Pharaoh’s dream but takes it a step further and offers advice on how to save the Egyptian people from starvation. Advice giving is a bold act, which may have cost him his life. Yet, he made this courageous move in order to achieve his life's goal.

This week we too can take a step forward, with complete faith in our ability, to realize our dreams.
Tonight we begin celebrating Chanukah. Chanukah is a story of a small group of courageous people, the Maccabees, who stood up to their Greek/Assyrian oppressors because they had a dream of a better reality. When they entered the Temple, it lay in ruin and shambles. It had been defiled and vandalized, yet they had a vision, a dream, of rededicating the Temple by kindling the Menorah Lights with pure, untouched oil. Given the circumstances, it would have been understandable had they kindled the menorah with impure oil.

Yet they searched for pure oil and found one tiny cruz. Only because they had sought it, did they find it. Their unwavering trust and belief in the miraculous caused a miracle to occur, and the oil was lit and remained miraculously lit for eight nights.

Had they not moved forward, their dream would have remained just that, a dream.

This week, be courageous, take a bold step forward towards your dream, with complete faith in the possibility of the miraculous.

BE JOYFUL!

It is written in Tehillim "עבדו את ה' בשמחה", one should serve G-d with Joy.
The Rebbe explains that since a Jew is constantly serving G-d in all he does then he needs to always be joyful.

Our sages say that the Shechina, G-d's Holy Presence, does not rest on those who are sad or downhearted. It only rests where the joy of a mitzva is present.

When the prophet Elisha became angry at Yehoiram for his wicked ways, the spirit of prophecy left him. Only after music was played before him, did the spirit of prophecy return.

Walking around the marketplace, the Amora Rav Broika asked Eliyahu Hanavi if anyone who was there was meritorious of Olam Haboh,(the world to come), and Eliyahu Hanavi answered in the negative. Soon two brothers entered the marketplace, and Eliyahu Hanavi pointed to them, saying, "These will merit Olam Haboh." Rav Broika approached them and asked them how they conduct themselves. "We are joyful people and we make those who are sad, happy. If we hear about an argument, we make peace, using humor, between those quarreling."

The Rebbe explained that Yidden should rejoice out of trust that G-d will bring moshiach soon. This will then hasten G-d, so to speak, in sending moshiach."

Every little thing we do has an effect on the world

Though subtle, harmony in our personal lives helps bring harmony to the world. We may not be able to sense the “butterfly effect” of our behavior on the universe, and its effect is not always direct and overt. Nevertheless, we are told with absolute certainty that our actions do have a ripple effect on the world. We therefore are not victims of circumstances of world events; we have the power to change the world. As we refine ourselves we in some way also refine the universe.

We all have, in microcosm, the struggle between soul and body. Between G-d and the universe.

Next time, before you judge another person think of the ripple effect it has on the world. True, you may not be a terrorist or be committing another atrocity. Yet, even speaking badly about others is called a subtle form of “murder.”

The Baal Shem Tov tells us that we are like mirrors. Every event that we experience is actually a reflection of our own lives. It comes to teach us a lesson that we need to learn and repair.

Our individual effort changes the world. When we change the microcosm the macrocosm is directly affected.

Maimonides writes: A person must see himself and the world as equally balanced on two ends of the scale; by doing one good deed, he tips the scale and brings for himself and the entire world redemption and salvation (Laws of Repentance, 3:4).

If each of us would improve our own balance, we would change the landscape of the universe.

Simcha!! JOY!! :)

The Rebbe gives many reasons why we should have simcha/joy:
Because G-d created us. Because He made us a Jew. He is always with us. He has given us so many things. We should be joyful that we have the ability to connect with Him. And we should be full of joy that we are heading towards moshiach.

To someone who complained about sadness the Rebbe wrote that one should be so busy doing what needs to be accomplished, that there be no time to think about sadness

The Zohar says that the way one acts in this world, is the way that he is dealt with above. If a person is happy and acts joyously, then his situation will improve.

The holy Tzaddik Reb Elimelech from Lizhensk would often perform various afflictions on himself as a kappara, one of which was rolling in the snow without warm clothes. One cold, winter night, while rolling in the snow, Reb Elimelech did not notice a nail sticking out from a board, for it was covered in snow, and he rolled over it, piercing his hand. When he arrived home, his relatives, seeing the hole in his hand, made a great tumult and each gave their advice on how to stop the blood flow. Reb Elimelech's daughter, overhearing bits of the discussion, thought they were discussing a hole in the wall, called out, "What's the big deal? Take some straw and stuff it up!" Hearing this, everyone began laughing, and suddenly Reb Elimelech stopped bleeding. He explained that there had been a decree passed above, but through the joy his daughter had caused, a joy had been aroused above, nullifying the decree.

Every little thing we do - matters.

Once upon a time, the Baal Shem Tov sent a group of his students on an important mission in another town. When they returned, he was not so interested in hearing about their mission as about the minutiae of their trip—what they ate, where the slept, how they traveled, etc.

They didn't understand the relevance of these details, but he insisted on hearing everything. When they related that one morning they sat down near a brook and drank some water there, the Baal Shem tov's face lit up and he said, "That water was waiting from the beginning of time for someone to come and make a blessing over it and drink it."

In Jewish mystical thought, space, time, and matter are understood to be forces of Divine energy—sparks which fell down to earth at the time of creation and which became embedded in all aspects of existence; these sparks must be elevated in holiness for the world to achieve perfection as per the Divine plan. This is why the little things you do in life are sometimes more important than the big things—the journey is sometimes as or more important than the final destination.

When we go to work or anywhere, let's take a moment to appreciate how we got there. Every second of our trip matters—the people we meet on the way, the cup of coffee we drink, the piece of paper we throw in the trashcan—all matter.

Quite often the things that are seemingly beyond our control are really opportunities to elevate sparks of Divine energy trapped in the mundane, and by doing so, to spiritual'ize the material.

It's a deeper way of looking at the world. And when we begin looking at life this way, a whole new world will be revealed to us—a G-dly world, an immortal world, the real world.

Every little thing we do - matters.