Want to ‘provoke’ a fiery discussion at the shabbaTTable? Read one of these articles out loud…

It was the custom of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi to officiate as the “reader” (baal korei) of the weekly Torah reading in his synagogue. One year, the Rebbe was away from home on the Shabbat on which that the section of Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26-29) is read. In the Rebbe’s absence, someone else did the reading.

Ki Tavo contains the “Rebuke”, a harsh description of the calamities or “curses” (kellalot) destined to befall the Jewish people should they forsake the commandments of the Torah. That week, Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s son, DovBer, who was about twelve years old at the time, was so affected by the “curses” of the Rebuke that he developed a heart ailment. Three weeks later, when Yom Kippur came round, he was still so weak that his father was hesitant to allow him to fast.

When the young DovBer was asked, “But don’t you hear the Rebuke every year?”, he replied: “When father reads, one does not hear curses.”

Hmm… that story is really on target for what’s been going on in recent weeks. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were taken over by the government, Lehman brothers, AIG… the financial market is not doing too great to put it mildly.

Oh and China is thinking of buying out half of Morgan Stanley… and “Der spiegel” says that American capitalism has died…Welcome back Mr.’s dark and gloom…

I was on the train today and some ‘optimistic’ preacher was telling us that this is the beginning of the end, “you’re all gonna die, three people in a casket… communist China will take over the world…” ouch.

Ok 2.8 trillion dollars lost is no joke, granted. But gloom and doom is no joke either. It’s at these times that you look back and think to yourself, ‘wasn’t it just a few decades ago when our grandparents worked eighteen hours a day just to earn enough money to put a rusty loaf of bread on the table’?

It’s 2008, how many of us had only plain bread for breakfast and supper (who was able to afford lunch those days)? Aren’t we all reading/hearing/watching the news about this meltdown by such media that just a short time ago couldn’t have even been dreamt of?

I think the lesson we should learn from the above story; at least for people like us who are neither at the level of the “reader” nor of the “listener”, is to look at what’s happening with a different perspective. Same facts, same story, just with a different color lenses.

‘Think good and it will be good’, said the fifth Chabad Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek.

Let’s take it to heart; it works in medicine (fact!) it works in psychology, it works in school… and it works in money as well.

Oh, and by the way a new year is upon us… an opportunity for a fresh new start.

We stood at the foot of the mountain; a rush of adrenalin ran through our bodies as we started our trek. We had set a goal – to reach the top, and we would not turn back until we reached there.

Up and up we climbed the steep path. Finally after climbing over a big rock we found ourselves on a rather smooth trail. ‘Phew’, I thought I needed a break. But then the trail started going downhill!

“Hey! We’re lost!” I cried out.

“No we’re not”, said my friend who had trekked up this mountain many times. “This is just a small dip; it only goes for a minute. Believe me we’re on the right path, just look up ahead and see the steep hill… ye we’re going to climb it.”

After many more steep climbs and just a few dips we reached the top.

Before long we had to head back down, so down we went, slipping and sliding to the bottom. Our easy trek down was interrupted a few times, by some rocks that we had to climb over to be able to continue on our south-bound trek. Thank G-d we made it safely to the bottom.

Dear friend, the month of Elul is upon us. In Judaism this is referred to as “reflection” month, where one looks back at the year that passed, looking for the holes and the wholes in his service of the Creator.

And we can be pretty sure that when we reflect we will find a year that looks like a heart thermometer, ups and downs. And we must ask ourselves: Does this mean that the whole year is a failure, just because of a few falls?

So many of us tend to look back at the year and whine about: “what if…” and “next year will be…”, and we just wipe off a year as a failure due to a few minor/major dives.

We must remember to take the helicopter view, to be able to look at the good that we’ve done and see how much we have climbed higher over the year and then make the math. At the end of day we are not so bad after all…

Of course we must repent, but that does not mean that we are evil. All it means is that we are mountain climbers with beating hearts.

My grandfather Rabbi Aaron Chazan was a giant of a man. He passed away Tuesday morning in Bnei Brak Israel at the ripe age of 96.

Hey, there are tons of things I would like to say about him. But why should I subjective and say my personal feelings about him.

Let his enemies do the work instead. 

In April of 1960, the newspaper Pravda, one of the most read newspapers in Russia, printed this letter to editor.

“The Public Is Called to Arms!” was the title of the letter.

“Dear Editor,

We are asking you to publicize this letter to stir up the public against parents who are sabotaging their children’s Communist heritage with their religious drivel.

These parents educate their children to feel they are holier than everyone else and they don’t respect our principles of honest work and communal living. The religious rituals practiced by the family not only harm the children but also disturb the routine of school.

These are the facts concerning the education that the four Chazan children of our school are subjected to in their home. These children also observe these religious rituals and do not attend on Saturday.

As a result, their achievement is impaired, and the study and discipline of the entire class is disturbed.

On Saturdays students work to thoroughly clean the building of the school. Chazan’s children have no part in this. As a result, they are developing egoistical character traits. Their subversive education has struck deep roots in their conscience; these children do not attribute their absence from school to their parents’ orders, but they themselves declare, “We are strictly religious and cannot transgress out religious law.”

M. Michailova V. Sharimov

Teachers in Public School No 1. in Bolshevo

I couldn’t have described him any better….

Oh and by the way, don’t think that when he arrived in Israel he took a well deserved vacation. On the contrary, he was the first to go make public Passover Seders all around Israel. He was putting of Teffilin to people on the street way before it was popular. Opened many Cheders for children all over Israel. And all that was without a basic knowledge of Hebrew…

And the list goes on…. And will continue to go on, through his hundreds of descendants spread all over the world, from Alaska to China, from Argentina to Germany… and all over the USA and Israel. Yes, he lives on.

Oh, how he lives on.

Goodbye Zaidy. May we meet very soon with the coming of Moshiach. I’m sure you are not stopping your activism up there; you just don’t know how to rest. You never did.

Goodbye. And thank you.

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One nice day, the Russian czar decided to make a surprise visit to an army base somewhere in Russia. Dressed in civilian clothing, he trudged through the snow. When he finally reached the base, he found it neglected and empty. A Russian himself, the czar knew where to find his men: in the tavern.

Indeed, the tavern was full of soldiers making merry and drinking hard. The czar stood at the side, waiting.

Finally, about two hours later, one soldier stood up and reminded his comrades of their duties and how they better go back before the general would arrive to the base.

Hanging on each other for support and balance, the drunken soldiers began the mile-long trek “home”. Foot by foot, step by step, men were falling. What had begun as a group of two hundred soon dwindled down to a mere handful. And the czar didn’t do a thing.

About five feet before the gate, a soldier collapsed. The czar walked over to him and made a red mark on his neck. Two feet ahead, another soldier collapsed. Only three soldiers made it to the base.

The next day, the whole division was informed of an imminent inspection by the czar. The soldiers quickly got into high alert, cleaning and polishing. This was no joke.

The czar walked through the rows of soldiers, oblivious to the cleanliness and effort of his men. He was looking for something; he was after the mark.

And he saw it. He ran up to the soldier, raised his hand and slapped the lad over and over, mercilessly.

With the last ounce of his strength, the beaten soldier begged for an explanation. The czar replied that this was a consequence for him going to the bar.

The beaten soldier was at loss. “But, but…. everyone else went!” he sputtered. “Besides, I deserve credit for making it so close to base.”

The czar looked at him thoughtfully and said, “We are humans, and humans make mistakes. Am I upset that my soldiers left their posts? Yes, but I can understand and forgive them.

“Why do I forgive them? Because when those drunken soldiers fell to the floor, I watched how they fell with their head towards the base, proving their commitment and loyalty to the place where they want to be – my army. Okay they failed, but their hearts were in the right place.

“You on the other hand made it almost all the way – your body was in the right place, your heart however was in the wrong place. How do I know? Because when you fell, you fell backwards, your head away from the base. Thus, your true loyalties were revealed.”

What a lesson for life!

It’s now so much where you reach in life; it is where you are headed. As long as we are on the right road, G-d can forgive us for the reverses. However if we’re on route 95 instead of route 75, the more we travel, the further we are from where we should have begun…

‘Massei’ – journeys is the name of our Parshah in which the 42 journeys of the children of Israel are discussed in detail. Note how we refer to those 42 steps as journeys, not as stops.

Forward. One step at a time…

Friday afternoon July 18th Wal-Mart Honesdale PA. 

As the only Wal-Mart in a thirty mile radius, it attracts many shoppers who come looking for unbeatable prices and a great variety of goods. Each person minds his/her own business, locked up in their own world of bargains and maxed out credit cards.

The boys of a local Yeshivah are here to shop for cheap soda and water. But they have another mission as well: to reach out to another Jew and do a Mitzva with him.

The number of Jews in the area is relatively small, so the challenge to “grab” a Jew is quite a challenge. After a long time, the work paid off. A Jew was found! Well he’s almost sure he’s Jewish. His maternal grandmother had a real Jewish name something like Horowitz, and he remembers how his grandma would make cinnamon luckshin kugel every so often… a sure sign!

No time to lose. Did he ever put on Tefillin? No! Wow a Karkafta (a newbee), it’s pretty rare you meet an unwrapped Jew, and the feeling is quite satisfying. In a second he was totally wrapped with the Jewish antennas, and was praying tearfully to G-d.

A warm handshake and “Shabbat shalom” and it was over. Just another typical Friday afternoon occurrence for a Chabad student.

Shabbat afternoon July 19th Lackawaxen PA, (25 miles away from Wal-Mart).

After serving the Shabbos meal, the Yeshiva’s waiter Dovid decided he needed a break. How about a shabbos walk he told himself, so off he went to the river down in the mountains. The weather was great, the view was breathtaking, and immediately his mood was uplifted.

Upon reaching the river, he sees a car parked on the side, by the river stood a couple fishing. “Hey!” he called out to them. “Good afternoon to you”, they smiled.

“Oh by the way, said the man, are you the boys I did a Mitzva with yesterday in Wal-Mart?”

David who had heard about the “Karkafta”, responded that although he wasn’t the one who did the Mitzva with him; he was from the same group of boys just down the road. And no, although they both have beards, they are not brothers, and not even related!

“Wow! What a coincidence, said the man who by now had introduced himself as Bob, I live thirty miles away, who would ever imagine we would meet again?”

Dovid smiled, “This is not a coincidence; this is divine providence.”

A conversation ensued, with Dovid enlightening Bob on Judaism, and Bob ‘enlightening’ Dovid on fishing…

After an hour or so of conversation they started saying their goodbyes. Dovid reminded Bob to strengthen his Jewish observance; Bob wasn’t sure, “I didn’t grow up like this…”

Dovid smiled as he slowly walked away, “It’s never too late…”

Bob shrugged as he began lowering himself into the water for a dip. He first put his hand into the water, his hand felt something, he grabbed it and pulled it out of the water for all to see…

It was a kippa (skull-cap) … a soaking wet black kippa. Without a moment hesitation he put it on his head.

The water dripped down his face but he didn’t seem to mind, he was in a trance. His wife and Dovid just stood there awestricken by the unbelievable event that has just transpired before their eyes.

After a long moment of silence, Bob smiled “This is the second sign from heaven, two days in a row, telling me to finally come home.”

Having just been taught some of the laws of Shabbos by Dovid, he knew that fishing was not permitted. “G-d had just told me to keep Shabbat”, he smiled as he walked out of the water. His wife just nodded her head in agreement.

Later that day in Yeshiva Dovid told his story, a story of a lone Jew in the hills of Pennsylvania and his great father in heaven.

This story is not over, if fact it has barely begun…