Noach

Parshah

Where Bin Laden Went Wrong

By Sholom Lew

Its a safe bet youve not traveled to Hadhramaut, never mind heard of the location. It is an ancient region located somewhere in the hardscrabble deserts of eastern Yemen.

The Fem ale Hom e Gd formed Man, but He built Woman. She is the framew ork of the home in w hich he lives, the ground on w hich he builds, his w alls and w indow s upon the w orld and the roof that stands over his head. She is the crow n that sets him to rule over his w orld. Without w oman, there is no man.

Sons of Noah
By Yanki Tauber

Noah lived for 950 years. Thats enough time to do everything wrong and everything right.

Staying Afloat in a Turbulent World

By Naftali Silberberg

Noah entered an ark to escape the mighty waters. Where is our ark?

Noach in a Nutshell
Noah is instructed to build the Ark; the rain begins to fall and the entire world is flooded. A year later Noah and his family leave the ark, build an altar and offer sacrifices to Gd. Noahs descendants build a tower to fight Gd, and are dispersed across the face of the earth. Your Questions

Dealing With Difficulty

By Tzvi Freeman

Why is Gd throwing all this at me when He knows I cant possibly handle it?

I Object! Animals Are Spiritual!

By Tzvi Freeman

As founder and president of an animal-rescue organization, I can say most of the animals we have rescued have the deepest connection to the spiritual world in the most profound, authentic way imaginable. Essay

Now
By Tzvi Freeman

The past is bounded, the future is blank; Gd is now. Forever.

Get a Life!
By Yanki Tauber

Starting tonight at sundown, youre going to be expected to do your part . . . Story

The Professor and the Hot Dog

By Yossi Lew

Professor Greene was involved in the NASA program to find life on Mars. No, the hot dog was not from Mars. But it was a mighty hot dog, nonetheless. Just not as mighty as Professor Greene. Women

Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan

This is the time to take the inspiration and all that we gained in the month of Tishrei and integrate it into our lives, learning how to balance the spiritual and the physical elements of our lives in unison and harmony.

Bereft
By Aviva Ravel

I had carried children to the underground shelters and sang cheerful songs to them while guns fired across the hills. I had cleaned public washrooms, scrubbed thousands of floors, scoured gigantic greasy pots . . . A little thing like losing a baby shouldnt upset me. But my shameless tears refused to obey.

If Only . . .
By Beryl Tritel

My entire life, I have always been a grass is greener on the other side type of person. I keep telling myself that I have nothing to complain about. And there are times that it works. But then there are these moments when I start to think, What if my life was different? Cooking

Orange Mousse in Phyllo Baskets with Citrus Punchsietta

By Esther Deutsch

This exquisite recipe and presentation is one of my mothers signature desserts. Its elegant and refined, and the taste is deliciously delicate. News

A Century Later, New Discoveries About the Trial of Mendel Beilis

By Dovid Margolin

A century after what was to be the last major blood-libel case of the 20th century, historian Eli Rubin has unearthed new information that remained unknown to modern-day researchers of the trial.

Sefer Torah Represents a First for Canadian City

By Faygie Levy

It was a celebration unlike any that the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada had ever seenwhen a bearded gentleman sat with a quill in hand and completed the city's first Torah scroll.

Artists Palettes Add Flair to Sukkot

By Menachem Posner

Night had fallen last week in New York City's Union Square. The usual crowds of protesters, street hawkers and tourists were starting to thin out. In one corner of the large plaza, however, the action was just starting. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Where Bin Laden Went Wrong

By Sholom Lew

Its a safe bet youve not traveled to Hadhramaut, never mind heard of the location. Yet it does exist, though it may not feature high on the list of places to visit before you die. Hadhramaut is an ancient region, located somewhere in the hardscrabble deserts of eastern Yemen. Its name, according to many linguistic scholars, stems from the Arabic words for death has come. An old fable related to this name would suggest a locale with a morbid fascination with death. I learned of all this, and a lot more, from a book I recently read. A book dedicated to tracing the origins of a well-known family that hails from this region: the Bin Ladens. A seemingly well-suited name for the native land of a person who has wreaked havoc and destruction, and caused an untold number of deaths. Interestingly, the Torah mentions a locale with a similar name, which may very well have been the inspiration for the name of this region, or may even be the regions original name. In describing Noahs offspring born after the flood, the Torah (Genesis 10:26) speaks of an individual named Chatzarmavetor Courtyard of Death. It would seem to be very poor judgment on the part of parents to name their child Courtyard of Death.

Imagine the psychological effects on a child in a playground setting saddled with a name like this! What is even more curious about this narrative is that according to our tradition, the father of this child, Joktan, was a fine fellow, not to mention a humble and upstanding citizen! Our sages address this question by teaching that Chatzarmavet was not the given name of Joktans son, but the name of the location where he settled. And it is a testament to the profound effect this person had upon his community that he earned the accolade of having an entire region named for him. The citizens of Chatzarmavet were known for their inclination to forgo the instant gratification of transitory consumerism that plagued the milieu they lived infavoring instead a life of enduring value and infinite existence. These were a good, simple folk, unfazed by credit crunches, toxic debt, or loss of equity and monetary value. These people lived a simple and austere lifestyle, eschewing a life of glitz and glamour in favor of a thrifty but happy existence. They personified the teaching of our sages (Talmud, Shabbat 153a), Repent one day before you die. Since we never know when that day will come, we must always be repenting . . . They always contemplated deathi.e., that since life is so fragile and temporary, it is foolish to waste time on acquiring, or worrying about, possessions that are of fleeting value. Instead they chose to focus on permanent and lasting ideals, those that will be of enduring value long after the soul departs the body. Thus they were named Courtyard of Death. They eschewed the temporal life that so many pursue. But from Hadhramaut comes one who chose to be defined by the literal meaning of the name of his ancestral home; hence a 9/11 atrocity is conceived and executed, resulting in the wanton murder of thousands of innocent people. From Chatzarmavet, however, comes an idea of personal responsibility, of an ethos that ensures the perpetuation of a people focused on values that reject temporal materialism and the flavored soundbites of mass consumerismin favor of a more difficult, yet ultimately more rewarding task of spiritual and moral growth, ensuring that we will overcome Hadhramaut with Chatzarmavet. Rabbi Sholom Lew is the director of Chabad of the West Valley in Glendale, Arizona.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Sons of Noah
By Yanki Tauber

Noah was a righteous man in his generation. (Genesis 6:9) There are those amongst our sages who interpret this verse as praise: [If he was righteous in his wicked

generation,] how much more wise would he have been in a generation of righteous people! And there are those who interpret it as condemnation: In comparison to his generation he was righteous, but had he lived in Abrahams generation, he would not have been considered someone exceptional. (Rashi on this verse) Everything about Noah can be seen in a positive light, and in a negative light. Noah built the famous lifeboat that saved him and seven other humans (his wife, his three children and their wives) from the Great Flood. So, you can thank him for saving humanity, or you can criticize him (as the Zohar does) for not saving the rest of his generation. The Torah tells us that Noah did not enter the ark until the very last minute, when the rains were already falling. You can laud his optimism, or you can point out (as Rashi does) that he was a small believer in G ds words. The Torah also relates that even after the waters of the Flood had receded and the earth had dried, Noah still would not leave the ark until G d expressly commanded him to. You can call him timid, or you can admire (as do our sages) his obedience: G d had commanded him to enter the ark, so in the ark he remained until G d told him to come out. The first thing Noah did to develop the newly barren earth he found upon emerging from the ark was plant a vineyard, make wine and get drunk. You can be dismayed by his fickleness, or applaud his determination to infuse some joy and merriment into a desolate world. Noah lived 950 yearsenough time to do everything wrong and everything right. We are all descendants of Noah. Noah is a descendant of Adam, so were all sons of Adam, too. But the term used by the Talmud and halachah (Torah law) for humanity as a whole is bnei noach (Sons of Noah). The seven universal laws of morality that are binding upon every human being (prohibiting idolatry, blasphemy, murder, theft, adultery and incest, and cruelty to animals; and mandating the establishment of courts of justice) are called The Seven Noachide Lawseven though six of them were actually commanded to Adam. Adam was the first man. Noah was the first human being. Yanki Tauber is content editor of Chabad.org.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Staying Afloat in a Turbulent World

By Naftali Silberberg

Oftentimes we feel as if life is one extended hurricane. We are constantly battling the waves which the sea

of life sends our way. As soon as one wave washes ashore, the second one is not far behind, threatening to capsize us unless we skillfully navigate our way over its raging crest. Indeed, the daily financial pressures and business worries with which life presents us are dubbed by King Solomon the mighty waters which threaten to drown us. They primarily imperil our spiritual side, desensitizing us to that which is really important in life through causing us to be constantly focused on making another buck. They constantly occupy our minds, rendering it like a vessel filled to the brim with murky waters which wont allow the radiance of the sun to cause it to sparkle. The book of Genesis speaks of a great flood We can also unravel the that washed away all of civilization. Only Noah secret behind surviving and his family survived all floods the Flood by entering the ark, which protected them from the pelting rain which streamed from above and the churning waters which rose from the depths. Our eternal Torah isnt merely telling us a fascinating tale; if we look a bit deeper, at the story behind the story, we can also unravel the secret behind surviving all floodseven the ones which the meteorologists dont forecast: the ominous floods of life. G d commanded Noah to enter an Ark. The Baal Shem Tov points out that the Hebrew word for ark, teivah, also means word. We all can survive the floods which wish to engulf our lives through engrossing ourselves in the holy words of Torah and prayer. The person who wakes up in the morning and devotes his first hours to earnest prayer and some short words of Torah before running off to work effectively insulates himself against lifes storms. The sacred words of Torah and prayer have a waterproofing effect, ensconcing the person in an impenetrable bubble which can endure even the harshest winds. Starting the day with prayer and Torah serves as our daily reminder that G d is in control and that though we must strive to earn a livelihood, we must never let ourselves become overly perturbed by business pressures because ultimately everything is from G d, and G d is always good. One who meets lifes storms while in the safe sanctuary of the ark will find that the storm waters which seem to be so destructive are actually purifying waters. G d purified the world through the Flood (which lasted forty days, similar to a mikvah [ritual pool] which must contain forty saah1 of water), and He purifies us by sending challenges and tribulations in our direction. If we are properly prepared for these storms, they bring out our highest and most noble qualities, elevating us to spiritual heights we could never attain without the help of these hurricanes. Adapted by Naftali Silberberg from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Rabbi Silberberg resides in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife Chaya Mushka and their three children.
FOOTNOTES 1. A fluid measure equaling approximately 90 gallons.

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Noach in a Nutshell
G d instructs Noah the only righteous man in a world consumed by violence and corruptionto build a large wooden teivah (ark), coated within and without with pitch. A great deluge, says G d, will wipe out all life from the face of the earth; but the ark will float upon the water , sheltering Noah and his family, and two members (male and female) of each animal species. Rain falls for 40 days and nights, and the waters churn for 150 days more before calming and beginning to recede. The ark settles on Mount Ararat, and from its window Noah dispatches a raven, and then a series of doves, to see if the waters were abated from the face of the earth. When the ground dries completelyexactly one solar year (365 days) after the onset of the FloodG d commands Noah to exit the teivah and repopulate the earth . Noah builds an altar and offers sacrifices to G d. G d swears never again to destroy all of mankind because of their deeds, and sets the rainbow as a testimony of His new covenant with man. G d also commands Noah regarding the sacredness of life: murder is deemed a capital offense, and while man is permitted to eat the meat of animals, he is forbidden to eat flesh or blood taken from a living animal. Noah plants a vineyard and becomes drunk on its produce. Two of Noahs sons, Shem and Japheth , are blessed for covering up their fathers nakedness, while his third son, Ham, is punished for taking advantage of his debasement. The descendants of Noah remain a single people, with a single language and culture, for ten generations. Then they defy their Creator by building a great tower to symbolize their own invincibility; G d confuses their language so that one does not comprehend the tongue of the other, causing them to abandon their project and disperse across the face of the earth, splitting into seventy nations. The Parshah of Noach concludes with a chronology of the ten generations from Noah to Abram (later Abraham), and the latters journey from his birthplace of Ur Casdim to Charan, on the way to the land of Canaan .
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Dealing With Difficulty

By Tzvi Freeman

Question:
Things are getting way too hard. I cant see how Im going to get through thistheres just no way. Why is G d throwing all this at me when He knows I cant possibly handle it?

Answer:
You havent told me what the troubles are, and I respect your wish to keep that to yourself. Working in the dark, then, all I can give you is the counsel that our sages gave long agoand since they are sages of Torah, their advice stands for every situation for every person. The sages of the Talmud taught us that according to the camel is the load. G d knows His camelsHe made them, and He leads them through life. He knows just how much each one can take, and He doesnt load any one up with any more than he can handle. These are not problems you are having. These are loads. A camel-driver loads his camel because something needs to be done with that load. The same with you: you are put in this world to accomplish certain missions and you are given exactly the load that your soul is meant to handle, no less and no more. There is one difference, however: When the camel driver loads the camel, his interest is in the merchandise, not the camel. G ds principal interest is in your soul. In this way, the load He gives you is more like the weights a fitness coach might wrap on your wrists and anklesnot to slow you down, but on the contrary, to make you stronger and faster. So, too, think of G d as your personal trainer, and these problems as the hurdles He is putting you through, only in order that you can go higher and higher, to a level to which you could never have imagined yourself. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman for Chabad.org Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

I Object! Animals Are Spiritual!

By Tzvi Freeman

Question:
Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I have a different perspective on your statement: Animals do not gaze at the stars, and angels are confined to the realm of the spirit, but Man is G ds bridge between heaven and earth. Our bodies are formed from the dust; our souls are of the essence of G d. We alone can look at a physical world and see spiritual life and beauty. We who are beyond both heaven and earth, form and matter, spirit and bodywe alone can fuse the two. This concept has blinded humanity and institutionalized speciesism since Descartes. As founder and president of an animal-rescue organization for the past 30 years, I can say with certainty that animals who we take in and house in the green world, after generations in abominable research laboratories, spend days looking up at the sky in amazement. There are many, many people confined to the realm of the material world. Most of the animals we have rescued have the deepest connection to the spiritual world in the most profound, authentic way imaginable. We have felt closer to G d in their presence than with the inhumane researchers who have tortured them. The Earth is round, and we are one with all of the Creators Beings. It is really past time to let go of the species-centric belief that we alone can look at a physical world and see spiritual life and beauty. I have to say, with all respect, that this is not true.

Answer:
Im glad we can share perspectives with tolerance and understanding. One thing I think we will certainly agree upon: If this planet Earth were a garden, and we saw these humans running around wreaking the havoc they do, we would run off to the garden store immediately to find a way to eliminate the pest! Fortunately, the Creator is more patient. There must be some redeeming quality He sees in us. I hope you will have the patience to let me share a teaching of one of the Italian Kabbalists of the 16th century, Yehuda Moscato: Perek Shirah, an ancient midrashic text, describes the song each creature sings to its Creator. It ends with the story of a frog who boasts to King David that its song is more beautiful than anything he can compose.

What are these songs? Who composed them? The Kabbalists explain that each animal receives its life through the channel of a spiritual being. The song is that of the spiritual being appointed over each species. In its melody is contained all the movements and activities, hoots, whistles, barks and roars of each animal that is connected to that being. Every created being is aliveeven the rocks, the sand, the water and the air. Each has its song, and together they compose a magnificent symphony. The human being, wrote Moscato, is the creature that plays all parts as one, just as the soloist of a symphony concerto plays the theme melody. And as he or she plays, so the orchestra of all living things plays back to him or her. To one who plays out of key, the universe plays back in acrimony. To one who plays in harmony, they play back in sweet and heavenly form. Yes, we are of the earth, another of G ds creatures belonging to this biosphere. Yet we are also the radical element, the one that has the power to bring devastation far beyond the means of any other creature. Just as we have the power to destroy, even more so we have the power to restore, to heal and to sublimate our entire world. That is our redeeming qualitya kind of spirituality that rests only in us: the capacity to see healing where illness lies, and to take action to realize that healing. It is being played out today by people such as yourself. Thank you. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman Chabad.orgRabbis That Care From Heaven Exposed by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. For bio, info and more articles by this author, click here. To order Tzvi's books, click here. All names of persons and locations or other identifying features referenced in these questions have been omitted or changed to preserve the anonymity of the questioners. Artwork by Raiza Malka Gilbert. Raiza Malka graduated from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2010 and has since changed the focus of her work to Judaism. Raiza Malka is inspired by whimsical illustrations, paintings and sculptures that largely inform her work, she is also touched by anything having to do with light. Raiza Malka currently works primarily in water color on paper.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Essay

Now
By Tzvi Freeman

Within the driven rapids of time a stillness lies. A stillness that transcends time.

It is still. It is quiet. It is now.

The past is bounded and defineda somethingness. The future is a blank slate yet to bea nothingness. But the present is neither. And it is both. It is now as it was now a moment before. It grew no older. It was not touched, not moved nor darkened by the events that flickered upon its stage. They have vanished; it has remained. It perpetually transcends. And it is immanently here. Tangible, experienced, real and known. For what can be more known than the moment in which you stand right now? Yet, what can be so utterly unknown? It is the ultimate of secrets: It can be told, examined, hung out for all to see, discussed by all that experience itand what creature does not experience being here now?and yet remain silent; as silent as a secret never spoken.

Because the now must be grasped from two opposite ends: If you are here only now, what is the purpose? And if all is transient, why be here now? Grasp the now by both ends and every moment is divine, every experience is precious. For you have grasped G d Himself. I will tell you a secret that can be told, and within it a secret that cannot be known: Take the Hebrew present tense of the verb to be, and prefix it with the letter yud to indicate a perpetual state of now-beingand you will have the name of G d. G d is now.

See Rabbi Shalom Dovber Schneersohn, Hemshech 5672, page 823. Based on Ramban to Exodus 3:13. " " ' ' , ' ' ' " ' ' " ", ' ' ' ' ' " ,' , ' ' ' ,'" ' ' " " ' , " Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Essay

Get a Life!
By Yanki Tauber

We Jews are a funny people. We celebrate the weirdest things. Everyones heard of end-of-the-school-year parties, graduation parties, retirement parties. But who ever throws a get-to-work party? Let me explain. Imagine that you have this dream job thats the envy of all your friends. Then, one day you receive a summons to the bosss office. The conversation goes something like this: Boss: Have a seat. You: Thank you. Boss: Youve been herewhat is it, twelve years now? You: Yeah, its almost that already. You guys take such good care of me . . . Boss: We pay you a comfortable living wage, plus full health benefits, free daycare and spa privileges, 31 days annual paid vacation . . . You: Yes. Im truly thankful. Boss: And what are your duties and responsibilities? You: Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Ive no duties or responsibilities. Boss: You dont even have to come to work, if you dont want to. You: Oh, but I do. Lots of times. Its fun. I hang around the office, see how things are done. Sometimes they even let me help out. Youd be surprised at how much Ive learned. And I participate in all the company banquets and outings. I wouldnt miss those for anything . . . Boss: Well, young lady, the partys over. You: W-what do you mean? Boss: The partys over. Here, take this manual. It spells out your obligations . . . You: Uh, its sorta big and heavy. There must be almost a thousand pages in this book . . . Boss: Actually, what youre holding in your hand is a very basic summary. The rest is in the library downstairs . . . You: Oh, I know the library. There are tens of thousands of volumes there . . . Boss: Well, were doing important work here. And, starting tonight at sundown, youre going to be expected to be doing your part. Youll begin by following instructions, but to do your job right, youll also need to

understand the whys and the hows behind those instructions . . . Youve picked up quite a bit in your time here, but we have guys whove been here all their adult lives and are still learning. Anyway, congratulations and good luck. Ill be watching your progress over the next 108 years . . . You: . . . a hundred and eight years? Boss: At least. Hopefully longer. Oh, by the way, dont forget to pick up your new ID tag at the front office on your way out. After a conversation like that, would you run home and throw a party to celebrate? My daughter did. This week, she celebrated her bat mitzvah, the day that she became twelve years old. A bat mitzvah is not an oversized birthday party. Leahs had eleven of those already. This is very different. What she celebrated was the fact that on the eve of her twelfth birthday she became bat mitzvaha person who under Torah law is commanded, obligated and responsible to fulfill the mitzvot of the Torah. She celebrated the fact that the Boss had called her into the office and told her that the party was over. Until now, shed received everything her heart desired from Above, and was not required to give anything in return. She was in learning modehanging around the office, picking up knowledge, getting a feel for how things are done. Now shes a full-fledged employee, with a long list of duties and responsibilities. More than thatshes been made a partner in the company, fully responsible to make the enterprise work. Shes delighted. She threw a sumptuous party for her friends and family. We feasted, sang and danced, and celebrated the event as the happiest day of her life to date. It may be that life as a free lunch has its attractions. Very quickly, though, it becomes tedious and meaningless, forcing the free luncher to work harder and harder at all the contrivances that pump artificial meaning into life. But the fun leaks out faster than the most vigorous pumper can pump, leaving one deflated and defeated. Thats why we Jews dont throw retirement parties. Instead, we celebrate the day that were handed the big fat book filled with duties and obligations, and the ID tag that reads Fully Responsible Member. Because we know that there is nothing more gratifying than being given a life that is truly our own. Yanki Tauber is content editor of Chabad.org.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

The Professor and the Hot Dog

By Yossi Lew

This is a story of a professor who got entangled with a hot dog. The hot dog lost. The professor won. Forever. Dr. Velvl Greene was a professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Minnesota. This was around 1960. Professor Greene was involved in the NASA program to find life on Mars. No, the hot dog was not from Mars. Hang in there. My uncle Rabbi Moshe Feller had recently arrived in Minnesota, and was heavily on Dr. Greenes case.

They talked a lot. Rabbi Feller called Dr. Greene and said, Velvl, I know youre traveling somewhere by plane. Before you take this trip, please do me a favor. Call the airline and order a kosher meal. Velvl replied, What? You know I dont keep kosher. If I dont keep kosher in my house, why do I need a kosher meal on the plane? Rabbi Feller responded that when the other Jewish passengers hear that Professor Velvl Greene had asked for his kosher meal, it could inspire them as well. Why should they lose out just because hes not there yet? Velvl responded, Look, Im not so sure about all this, but if it is going to make you happy, Ill do you the favor. Dr. Greene ordered the kosher meal, and boarded the plane the next day. But when the flight attendant came by, she handed him a regular, non-kosher meal. Dr. Greene was ready for this too. Clearing his throat, he declared for everybody to hear, No, maam, I ordered a kosher meal! Your name, please? Professor Velvl Greene. All heads turned. Professor Greene had ordered a kosher meal! The attendant said, Okay, Ill be right back. While fellow passengers were feasting on chicken parmesan or steak, even wiping the gravy with bread, the flight attendant was nowhere to be found. The professor was hungry; his mouth was starting to really salivate. The aromas were stabbing his kishkes! He pushed the little button, and when the lady returned he said, My kosher meal? She replied, Were still checking. After a few minutes, and after everyone on the plane had been served, the flight attendant came to his seat and said, Um, Dr. Greene, there must have been a mistake. We dont seem to have your meal on the plane. Dr. Greene was about to blurt out, Fine, give me another meal. After all, this wasnt his idea. He ate all sorts of food at home. Problem was, how could he ask for that meal after he had just made such a big deal on the plane for everyone to know that Professor Velvl Greene had ordered a kosher meal? How would it look if he suddenly said, Fine, give me a regular meal? But Greene was angry. He was very angry. He was angry at the airline. He was angry at himself for listening to this nonsense. He was angry at G d, because the least G d could do was arrange for his meal to be on this darn plane, especially after Greene had done something nice for G d! But he was most angry, fuming at Rabbi Feller for convincing him to do this. And Greene decided that he would show him yet. He landed at Chicagos OHare airport at midnight for a one-hour stopover. He arrived at the terminal, and there was still one store open: a non-kosher hot dog stand. The hot dogs looked and smelled good, plump and juicy. There was even hot sauerkraut available. Velvl Greene was very hungry, but he was even more angry than hungry. He therefore headed first to the phone booth and called the rabbicollect. A collect call in the middle of the night was sure to invite panic. And indeed, Rabbi Feller was deeply concerned that something terrible had happened. This is a very upset and hungry Professor Greene calling from

You know I dont keep kosher. If I dont keep kosher in my house, why do I need a kosher meal on the plane?

OHare airport in Chicago, he said. Ill have you know that they did not have my kosher meal on the plane, and Im starving. I also want you to know that there is a hot dog stand 20 feet away from me. Before I go ahead and buy one and eat it, I just wanted to wake you up to tell you that Im going to eat it. Im going to have it with mustard, onions, relish and kraut. After I finish the first one, Im going to have a second one!

The rabbi was quiet for a minute, and then he said, Velvl, on many occasions you have asked me about the essence of Judaism, what it all comes down to, what it calls forth from within us. Tonight, right now, in this telephone conversation, Im going to tell you the essence of Judaism. Its about passing the hot dog stand and not buying one. Its about being able to get on your connecting flight without having eaten the hot dog. Thats all of Judaism; the rest is commentary. The professor says, Feller, youre nuts. I always thought you were nuts; now I know youre nuts. This is all of Judaism? Feller, as every bite of this hot dog goes down my throat, Im going to be thinking of you and saying your name. I am going to eat this in your honor. And he hung up the phone. He headed straight for the stand, stood in line and waited for his turn. He was about to place his order, when something very strange happened. He tried to say, Can I have a hot dog? He wanted it, he was hungry, he was angry, and gosh, those hot dogs looked better and better with each rotation of the grill. But he couldnt. At that moment, he got it. It wasnt that he was stronger than the hot dog. Or than the craving hunger in his gut. It was that G d was stronger than that hot dog. And he had to listen to G d. Not out of fear, not out of guilt, but out of love. And that was Judaism. All of it. Professor Greene never bought that hot dog, not then, not ever again. That trip changed his life. One small no for a hot dog, one great step for a man.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

There is a hot dog stand 20 feet away from me. I just wanted to wake you up to tell you that Im going to eat one, with mustard, onions, relish and kraut.

Wom en

Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan

Cheshvan is the second month of the Jewish calendar counting from Rosh Hashanah. Cheshvan is the only month that does not have any holidays or special mitzvot. We are taught that it is reserved for the time of Moshiach, who will inaugurate the Third Temple in the month of Cheshvan. The great flood in the days of Noach began in this month, and it was a year later, also in the month of Cheshvan, that Noach left the ark. In the month of Cheshvan we commemorate the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of our matriarch Rachel. She is buried on the road to Beit Lechem, where throughout the ages, and still today, Jews of all walks of life go to pray and beseech that she intercede on their behalf as a mother does for her child.

This month is the anticlimax of the previous month of Tishrei. With so many holidays and spiritual experiences, it was a feast for the soula vacation of sorts. Now, as we enter the month of Cheshvan, real life begins, back to the daily mundane grind. This is the time to take the inspiration and all that we gained in the month of Tishrei and integrate it into our lives, learning how to balance the spiritual and the physical elements of our life in unison and harmony.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Bereft
By Aviva Ravel

There could not have been a more perfect day for Shabbat. The blue sky over the hills of the Galilee was veiled in a haze of soft pink. A windless, warm spring day. Now these pounding spasms had to go and spoil it all. I put a red queen on a black jack, and listened for Daveeds heavy boots on the steps. He was on kitchen duty today; at dawn he had kissed my forehead and vanished into the gray mist. Now these stupid pains would thoroughly ruin the rest of the day. Deena knocked and entered. She stopped and gave me a swift look. What are you crying about? She leaned over the bed. Imagine a grown-up person crying over a losing game of Solitaire. I have these pains, I apologized, but theyll go away soon. She ran out, slamming the door behind her. A few moments later, Deena returned with our What are you crying doctor. And what seems to be the about? trouble? she yawned. I had yanked her out of a cozy Shabbat-morning sleep. I blinked and looked down at my cards. She has pains, Deena said, as though it was my fault. The doctor, who had studied both psychology and family medicine in Chicago, ran her fingers through her tousled long hair and said thoughtfully, I suspected something like this would happen. Much too small for the sixth month. I smiled foolishly. At least my problem wasnt mental. She told Deena, Please find a truck driver. Then she gave me a tentative smile. Everything will be all right. Ill follow closely behind in the Jeep. Tears floated down my cheeks. I reached for Deenas hand. Call Daveed, I whispered. She nodded, and both women disappeared. This was no way for a pioneer to behave. After all, I had abandoned affluent society to clear the

wasteland. I had survived leaky roofs, hours of guard duty in the night, and black chicory every morning instead of Maxwell House. I had carried children to the underground shelters and sang cheerful songs to them while guns fired across the hills. I had cleaned public washrooms, scrubbed thousands of floors, scoured gigantic greasy pots . . . A little thing like losing a baby shouldnt upset me. But my shameless tears refused to obey. When I walked down the stairs, I held the banister and refused Daveeds hand. How brave I am! I hoped the others noticed. Moshe hugged the wheel and growled, Shalom. I had interrupted his sleep with some weird womanly business. We dont work on Shabbat, he muttered, but as they say, pikuach nefesh and all that. We could drive on Shabbat if it meant saving a life. Daveed jumped on the back of the truck while the doctor ordered Moshe to drive carefully. Its a good hours drive to the hospital. Will we get there in time? he asked. The doctor shrugged and leaped into the Jeep. In time for what? I wondered. The truck snorted, bounced, and rolled onto the bumpy road. The wild hedges smelled bittersweet; the hollyhocks glowed among the newly risen poppies. But I carried death among the flowers. Moshe mumbled, Nice weather for this time of year. Usually it pours. Lucky for us. I folded my palms on my heaving belly as our kibbutz disappeared behind the hills. Arabs stared at the truck, probably wondering what business we were up to on our holy Sabbath.

The truck snorted, bounced, and rolled onto the bumpy road

The truck, braking just in time, missed crushing the life out of a jackrabbit. The jolt threw me off the hot leather seat, and I fell into Deenas arms. Moshe, now fully awake, apologized, Rabbits got a right to live too. I agreed. Suddenly, I heard a wail of anguish, a loud lament, as of an animal brutally caught in a trap. I looked around and wondered which of G ds creatures was suffering so. The creature moaned incoherently, My baby, I want my baby. I covered my mouth, ashamed and afraid. They carried me out of the truck, and I sat hugging a gnarled olive tree. Blue thistles on the roadside pierced my bare legs, then took on the rich color of blood. I awoke in a strange bed surrounded by unfamiliar odors. An ancient hand like a branch of my olive tree put a sweet mint-like liquid to my lips. The blurred images of Daveed, the doctor, Deena and a Moroccan woman in a long colorless robe came to life. The womans lips carved a warm smile among the creases of her face. The suns rays filtered through the slats of the window shutters and lit up the dust on the fireplace. The straw mats and earthenware jugs cast strange shadows across the stone walls. I shivered, and the woman threw a sheepskin blanket over me. I watched her hand stir something in a large black pot, and I reached out for my own mothers hand across miles of ocean. Again the shameless creature moaned, Ma, I want my Ma. Daveed touched my cheek. Everything will be all right, he said. Whos crying? I asked. His eyes clouded. No one. Is my baby crying for me? No, no one is crying. After a week in the hospital, I was returned to my room at the kibbutz. Deena baked a welcome-home cake; she decorated my orange-crate table with cyclamen, fruit and candy. Everyone came to visitthe barn workers, the orchard workers, the chicken hands. Yossef brought his guitar and serenaded me with

nostalgic folk songs. The kitchen staff dispatched special meals to my roomoranges, chicken, and lemon cake. The doctor insisted that due to my traumatic experience, I was entitled to a months vacation. My perplexed class had an eager substitutea former scoutmaster who was happy to leave off digging ditches for a while.

Is my baby crying for me?

Daveed promised to love me forever, even if we never had a child, and quoted, Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons? During my recuperation period, I reflected on how our nation has gone through so many ups and downs joys as well as challenges, good times and far too many exiles, tragedies and persecutions. As women, we carry the hope and pain of pregnancies, births, miscarriages, infertility. We have the inborn rhythm of ups and downs built into our very bodies, and are intimately familiar with it. And through it all, through our pure moments of joy and our bitter ones of loss, we continue moving forward. Aviva Ravel is a Canadian playwright, whose plays are available at Playwrights Guild of Canada in Toronto. She has also published many short stories in magazines such as Journal of Canadian Literature, Viewpoints and Moment.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

If Only . . .
By Beryl Tritel

Dear Rachel, Maybe you can help me, as I dont know what else to do. I have a wonderful life. A great husband, good kids. My husband has a good job, and we have a nice place to live. Sounds amazing, right? Well, I am not happy. My entire life, I have always been a grass is greener on the other side type of person. I keep telling myself that I have nothing to complain about. And there are times that it works. But then there are these moments when I start to think, What if my life was different? I conjure up all of these dreams of a different life. These dreams always lead me to believe that everyones life is better than mine. Sometimes these fantasies can be quite vivid, and then I start looking at my life and get depressed. I know that I have to stop this, not only because it is making me miserable, but because its causing me to lose out on the life that I have now. I already know that even though I think that everyone has it better than me, it isnt true, but these feelings are still there. Can you give me any other advice? Wishing Things Were Different

Dear Wishing, Wow. This letter must have taken a tremendous amount of courage for you to write. Your honesty and desperation are quite touching, and I appreciate how hard it must have been for you to reach out and ask for help. So, lets see if I can help you.

Awareness is the first First of all, you should know that your complaint is very common. In todays age of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, part of appreciation we are able to keep in touch with others like never before. However, while these can be excellent tools, they can also be quite damaging to peoples sense of happiness and fulfillment. Remember, people always put their best foot forward on these sites, and no one really ever knows what is going on in someone elses home and mind.
However, that doesnt really address your issue. Your question lies with you becoming happier with your life now, irrespective of others. First of all, you are very lucky that you have so many blessings in your life that you are aware of, even if you cant appreciate them right now. Awareness is the first part of appreciation, so you are on your way. Next, you should take the time to really think about one good thing that is going on in your life every day. Focus on that one aspect, and try and concentrate on it for a few minutes. During that time, think about how you got that, and what you needed to do to get it. Chances are that whatever you choose is something that you thought you once wanted, and now that you have it, be thankful for getting something that you want. Also, spend a few minutes thinking about how different your life would be if you didnt have that blessing in your life. By doing all this, you will slowly come to appreciate not only the things in your life, but your actual life. Remember that Hashem doesnt give us anything we dont need for our personal development. Additionally, there is a saying in Ethics of Our Fathers (4:1), Who is rich? One who is happy with his lot. What does this mean? On the surface, it may seem to be referring to personal wealth; however, the deeper meaning is for someone who is not materially rich, but spiritually and emotionally rich. This wealth can come only from the knowledge that you are given everything that you need, and by knowing this, you can truly be happy with what you have. Of course, there may be some things that are truly making you unhappy, so try and figure out if any of these things are within your power to change. Maybe you need to get a job to feel better? Or, take a class in something that you always wanted to learn. Find something that will help ignite the passion that you are lacking right now. By finding one or two things that you are excited about, that energy will spill over into other areas of your life as well.

By finding one or two things that you are excited about, that energy will spill over into other areas of your life

If you feel that your depression is overpowering, it may be a good idea to speak with your doctor and/or a competent therapist to determine if counseling and/or medication may be necessary to alleviate some of your symptoms. I hope that you achieve the contentment you are longing for. Rachel Dear Rachel is a biweekly column that is answered by a rotating group of experts. This question was answered by Beryl Tritel. Beryl Tritel, MSW, is a therapist practicing in Ramat Bet Shemesh. She specializes in Womens Life Issues as well as Parenting and Marriage Counseling. She is the author of the popular column Ask Beryl in Connections magazine. You can visit her blog by clicking here.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Orange Mousse in Phyllo Baskets with Citrus Punchsietta

By Esther Deutsch

My kitchen houses many of the books in my cookbook collection. On the second-to-lowest shelf is one of my many Martha Stewart Living cookbooks, with a photo of Martha on the spine. When my daughter was a baby, she used to point to the photo and exclaim, Look, thats Bubby! The similarities dont end there. My mother is quite the domestic diva herself. This exquisite recipe and presentation is one of her signature desserts. Its elegant and refined, and the taste is deliciously delicate. Dairy option: Replace the non-dairy whipped topping with heavy cream Ingredients: 1 pkg. phyllo dough (extra-fine sheets) Orange mousse: cup sugar 4 egg yolks 1 tbsp. orange zest 2 tbsp. cornstarch 8 oz. (1 cup) non-dairy whipped topping cup fresh orange juice Citrus punchsietta: Orange juice Splash lime juice Splash lemon juice Rum Optional garnish: Clementines, thinly sliced Sugar Directions:

1. To prepare the phyllo baskets: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the sheets of phyllo dough into 4inch squares (you may cut through a few sheets at a time). 2. On a flat surface, spray a square of phyllo dough with nonstick cooking spray. Place a second square of phyllo dough on top of the first to form a star shape (you should be able to see all 8 corners of the two squares). Spray the second square with the nonstick cooking spray. Add a third square at the same angle as the first. Spray. Add a fourth square at the same angle as the second. Spray. Each phyllo basket will be 4 sheets thick. 3. Spray a muffin tin or round ramekins with the nonstick cooking spray. Cup the phyllo star loosely in your hand to form a 4-inch round shape, and gently press it onto the muffin tin or ramekin. Repeat with the remaining squares of phyllo dough. Bake until lightly browned, 78 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cover and let stand at room temperature until ready to serve. 4. To prepare the mousse: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and egg yolks. Beat in the orange zest and cornstarch. Remove the mixture from the bowl and set aside. 5. In the bowl of the mixer, whip the non-dairy whipped topping until stiff peaks form. Add the orange juice and beat for 30 seconds. Beat in the egg yolk and sugar mixture for several minutes until evenly incorporated. Refrigerate the mousse in an airtight container until ready to serve. 6. To prepare the punchsietta: Combine all the punchsietta ingredients and pour into shot glasses or mini-stemware. 7. To prepare the optional baked clementine slices: Coat both sides of the clementine slices with sugar. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F until golden, about 1015 minutes. Allow to dry on parchment paper for 15 minutes before serving. 8. To serve, spoon the mousse into the phyllo baskets, garnish with a clementine slice, and serve the punchsietta on the side. Serves 6.

Esther Deutsch is a New Yorkbased food stylist, columnist and recipe developer. As a food editor of Ami magazine, she has captured the imagination of cooks everywhere with her unparalleled energy and creativity. Her debut cookbook Chic Made Simple features her most celebrated recipes, as well as many that have never been published before. What renders Esthers recipes so successful is her unmistakable signature: food thats super easy to prepare, but always delicious, impressive and imaginative. She resides in New York with her husband and children.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

A Century Later, New Discoveries About the Trial of Mendel Beilis

By Dovid Margolin

Mendel Beilis under guard during the trial

The trial of Mendel Beilisa Jewish factory manager in Kiev, Ukraine, accused of murdering a Christian child to use his blood to bake matzah for Passoverbegan 100 years ago this month. Reported on closely by the international press, the world watched the unfoldingwith reactions ranging from liberal astonishment to Jewish anguish to anti-Semitic satisfactionof what was to be the last major blood-libel case of the 20th century. Now, a century later, Chabad-Lubavitch historian Eli Rubin has unearthed new information that remained unknown to modern-day researchers of the trial. Some of his discoveries were recently published on Chabad.org in an article titled The Tsars Scapegoats: Beilis, the Chassidim and the Jews. The Beilis Case, a site hosted by Chabad.org dedicated to the Beilis trial, also features a photo essay of the leading players in the drama: The Beilis Case in 20 Pictures; and will include a gallery of rare newspaper clippings and court transcripts, some of which have been buried away in archives since their initial publication, including a full-transcript of Rabbi Yaakov Mazehs testimony for the defense; and a series of videos featuring contemporary expertsand the grandson of Mendel Beilison the trial.

Framing the Chassidim

The Mendel Beilis saga began in March of 1911, two years before the trial, when the mutilated body of 13year-old Andrei Yushchinsky was discovered in a cave not far from a Jewish-owned brick factory on the outskirts of Kiev, where the 39-year-old Beilis worked. Police investigators concluded that the young boy had been murdered by career criminal Vera Cheberiak and her gang, which became suspicious that Yushchinsky knew too much about their criminal activity. Instead of prosecuting Cheberiak, however, the imperial Russian governmentreaching up to the highest echelons of power, including the Czar himselfdecided to pin the murder on Beilis and frame the case as one of Jewish ritual murder. During the month-long trial held at the Kiev Superior Court, the prosecution worked to prove that Cheberiak and her companions were innocent of the murder, and to establish that Jews, specifically Chassidic Jews, frequently engaged in the ritual murder of Christian children. What was overlooked until Rubins recent discoveries has been the extent to which the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Chassidism was targeted in particular. Rubin found evidence of a meeting held prior to Beiliss arrest between Jewish community leaders and the editorial staff of a major monarchist news magazine. These leaders professed Beiliss innocence; they also refused to accept the governments request that the Jewish community assert its general innocence by admitting that Chassidim were a fringe sect that committed heinous crimes. He also discovered a transcript of Rabbi Yaakov Mazehs expert testimony for the defense, which focused heavily on the history of Chassidism and the teachings of Chabad, demonstrating just how central Chabads role in the trial proved to be.

A Definitive Meeting
Previously, many experts concluded that the Jewish community was slow to come to the defense of Beilis. According to Edmund Levin, whose book Child of Christian Blood: Murder and Conspiracy in Tsarist Russia: The Beilis Blood Libel will soon be released by Schocken, Rubins research is significant because it contradicts this narrative, showing that the Jewish leadership in Kiev was actively taking steps to counter the anti-Semitic charges even before Beiliss arrest. As early as April 1911, a Jewish group headed by Kiev Chief Rabbi Shlomo Ahronson and prominent Jewish attorney Arnold Margolin met with noted monarchist Professor Vasily Chernov and the editorial staff of Kievlianin, an influential mouthpiece of the pro-imperial, anti-Semitic, nationalist intelligentsia. Ahronson, a representative of the mainstream Jewish community, was asked to disown the Chassidim as a fanatical fringe sect, endorsing the Rabbi Yaakov Mazeh false allegation that they were guilty of ritual murder. He and his group refused to do so, stating, Among us Jews there are no sects or parties The Chassidim are not sectarian at all, but a stream within Judaism; a very important stream indeed. Following the meeting, the Kievlianin surprised many by taking a strong stance against the sham prosecution of Mendel Beilis. The most significant of Elis discoveries was this meeting between Ahronson and Margolin, and these national editors, explains Levin. As is common in many cases, the Jewish community was afraid of getting involved and was asking itself, Are we going to do more harm than good? In the Heint, a Yiddish paper of the day, there was a discussion of what the communitys response should be, and one report sites Ecclesiastes that theres a time to be silent, and this is one of them. A few weeks later, they thought the story had passed and they said, See? We did the right thing. But the fact that this meeting was held with the Kievlianin is very significant because the paper became well-known for opposing the government line and calling the Beilis case a travesty.

Four members of the defense team. From left to right; Dmitry Grigorovich-Barsky, one of the most prominent attorneys in Kiev; Nikolay Karabchevsky, chairman of the St. Petersburg Council of Barristers; Oscar Gruzenberg, nominal leader of the defense and the only Jew on the team; and Alexander Zarudny, a prominent liberal law yer and politician w ho served as Minister of Justice in the Provisional Government of 1917.

Building a Case
This theme of unity in the face of hatred was again embodied in the testimony of Rabbi Yaakov Mazeh of Moscow, who served as an expert witness for the defense. According to Rubin, Mazehs testimony was one

of the highlights of the trial. There were glowing reports in the Jewish press praising his eloquent defense, and he became famous for a feat of oratory that lasted an entire day. But initially, says Rubin, I was unable to discover anything substantive about the content of his speech. After searching high and low, I eventually found that a Hebrewlanguage transcript had been serialized following the trial in the Jewish daily Hatzefira. Mazehs testimony shows that the main thrust of the case was built against Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidim specifically. Echoing the suggestions made two years earlier to Rabbi Aharonson of Kiev, the prosecution falsely portrayed them as a barbaric sect, rather than a part of mainstream Judaism. It was these claims that Mazeh set out to refute. Rubin supplemented these discoveries with numerous other details, drawing on recently published correspondence to demonstrate that the defense lawyers recognized how central Chassidism was to the case. One letter deals with their request that the fifth Rebbe of ChabadLubavitch, Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn, travel to advise them in person during the run-up to the trial. The suggestion was rejected partly because it was feared that prosecutors might use his participation to associate him with the crime. Tali Loewenthal, a noted expert in Chabad Chassidisim and a lecturer at University College London, describes the unified response of the Jewish community in the face of an attack on one specific strain of Judaism during the trial as inspiring. The focus on Lubavitch is quite striking, and its impressive how the rest of the Jewish community really rallied together and refused to accept the premise of the prosecution, he says. The community stood up and together said no, the Chassidim are not a sectarian group; we will not accept this. It was a unique moment of Jewish unity. Robert Weinberg, a professor of history at Swarthmore College and the the fifth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch author of Blood Libel in Late Imperial Russia: The Ritual Murder Trial of Mendel Beilis (forthcoming from Indiana University Press), explains that Rubins discovery has added yet another level of knowledge to the trial. The material that Eli uncovered with regards to the role of Lubavitch enhances our understanding of the case, he says. My feeling is that it certainly contributes a deeper understanding of how one particular group responded to the case.
Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn,

The jury had been screened to ensure that their ignorant nature combined w ith ethnic enmity w ould tip the balance further tow ards injustice. In the course of trial.

Still Crucial a Century Later

The jurys verdict exonerated Beilis, but stated that the prosecution had proven that Yushinsky had been murdered in the brick factory belonging to the Jewish surgical hospital and was done in a manner designed to draw five glasses of blood. After the trial, Beilis left with his wife and five children to the Holy Land before eventually moving to New York City. His funeral in 1934 was held at the Eldridge Street Synagogue on Manhattans Lower East Side and was attended by some 4,000 people. Beilis is buried at the Mount Carmel cemetery in Queens. For Jay Beilis, grandson of Mendel Beilis and one of the editors of Blood Libel: The Life and Memory of Mendel Beilis, the trials 100-year anniversary represents a time to revisit the hot-button issues surrounding the blood libel. The story is still important today because the fact is that it changed the way the course of history for so many Jews, says Beilis, whose father Dovid was Mendels second child. I remember people coming up to my father when they heard his name and saying that they left Russia as a result of my grandfathers trial. Its also significant, he adds, because the blood libel has not died and is still very alive in the Muslim world. Loewenthal says the Jewish approach to battling such propaganda is by becoming a living example of how a moral human being should act. The Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] introduced this concept when he encouraged Jews to spread the Noahide laws, explains Loewenthal. The Rebbe said that we cannot live in a goldfish bowl; we must influence the world at large as moral beings. We should be seeking to change the world.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Sefer Torah Represents a First for Canadian City

By Faygie Levy

Stephen Cipes carries the new ly w ritten Torah scroll he donated to the Chabad center in Kelow na, British Columbia, Canada.

At first glance, it looked like any other community day in the park. Kids dabbled on arts-and-crafts projects while the adults mingled, enjoying refreshments on a nearby table as a band played in the background.

But a few details hinted that this Sept. 10 festival was unlike any other the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada had ever seennamely, the tent just off to the side, where a bearded gentleman sat with a quill in hand and a large Torah scroll open on a table before him. The pomp and circumstance went hand in hand to mark the completion and dedication of a brand-new Torah scroll for the two-year-old Chabad-Lubavitch of the Okanagan, co-directed by Rabbi Shmuly and Fraidy Hecht. People were just flabbergasted, and so excited to have a Sefer Torah, said Rabbi Hecht. People in the community came over to me in tears telling me how happy they are living in this small town, and who would have ever thought wed get to write our own Sefer Torah? Hecht noted that the date was chosen to recognize the yahrtzeit, the anniversary of the passing of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, mother of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. Community member Stephen Cipes acknowledged the great deal of support, merriment and gaiety at the celebration. It was very meaningful. Of some 117,000 residents in Kelowna, Hecht estimates that maybe 1,000 are Jewish. And while Kelowna is the largest city in British Columbias Okanagan Valley, how did this relatively quiet areaa full 4-hour drive northeast of Vancouverend up with its own Torah?

A Nice Coincidence
According to Hecht, the story goes back several months ago to the Jewish festival of Shavuot. For that holidayheld this year in mid-May and which commemorates G ds giving of the Torah at SinaiHecht needed to borrow a Torah scroll from a synagogue in Vancouver, since Chabad Kelowna didnt have one of its own. Having secured one, he then sent out invitations to the community to attend a lively holiday service. Cipes, originally from New York, and his adult sons were among those who took the rabbi up on the invite. It was a wonderful time we had, recalled Cipes, adding that two of his sons were even honored with an aliyah, being called up to the Torah as it was read aloud. After services, Cipes and his son Ezra went to talk to the rabbi. Thats when Stephen Cipes announced that he wanted to buy a Torah. I was just inspired, and I stood up and made the gesture spontaneously, said Cipes. I really didnt even know we didnt have a Torah, he said, because one was present during the service. As for the timingmaking a pledge to buy a scroll on the day Jews celebrate G ds giving of the TorahCipes noted that it was a nice coincidence. Hecht recalled telling Cipes after his announcement how amazing it was that on the day of Shavuot when the Jewish people received the first Torah, how honored we are that on that day we received our first Torah.

Community members dance w ith the Torah scroll at the dedication festiviities.

Given that it can cost between $20,000 and $60,000 to purchase a new Torah scroll, it is often not something most Chabad houses can do when they are first getting off the ground. (The cost is due to the meticulous work and significant time it takes for the sofer, the scribe, to compose the scroll.) During the next few months, Hecht located a Torah scroll being written in Israel and arranged for Cipes to purchase it with a planned completion marked for the High Holidays.

The Torah they got, said Cipes, is a piece of art. It is one of the most beautiful Torahs anyone's ever seen .

Certified Torah Scroll scribe David Ehrentreu explains the w riting of the Torah scroll.

And in that beautiful scroll, Cipes and other community members had a hand in physically helping to complete the final letters on that early September day in the park. Everyone got to do a letter from their Hebrew name, which was exciting, said Hecht, noting that this Torah is believed to be the first ever written for Jews living in the Okanagan Valley. Among those who wrote in the scroll was Chabad supporter Lesley Spiegel, who stood in for her husband, Timothy, who was on a plane at the time. Reflecting on that moment, Spiegel said, Honestly, it happened so quickly that I had difficulty collecting my thoughts and trying to understand the scribe at the same time. When I thought about the whole experience later, I was very emotional. I have never seen a Torah up close! Cipes marveled at the opportunity to write in the scroll. I had my hand over the scribes hand, and he did the actual inking, he said. It was a wonderful thing. Hecht said "we were honored that the Cipes boysMatthew, Gabe, Ezra and Ariwere all able to join in and have their letter in the Torah as well. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they are happy that their father was the conduit for this great gift." Once the last letter in the scroll was written, it was rolled up, and Ari Cipes lifted the completed Torah. Attendees marched along and the band playing a joyous tune, carried under a wedding canopya chuppahacross the street to the Chabad center.

At the cermony, Rabbi Shmuly Hecht, center, honored community members w ho had bought a pair of tefillin (phylacteries) since Hecht arrived in Kelow na. Each received a blue tallit bag w ith their names inscribed in Hebrew on the outside.

There the festivities continued late into the night as Hecht honored 13 men in the community who had bought a pair of tefillin (phylacteries) since Hecht arrived in Kelowna. Each of the men received a blue tallit bag with their names inscribed in Hebrew on the outside. So what will a permanent Torah at the Chabad center mean? For one thing, the community gets to celebrate Simchat Torah this year with its very own Torah. Also, the fact that we have our own Torah means that we have a real shul [synagogue] going, said the rabbi. We still have the same number of Jews and we dont have minyan every week, but it does make us a shul. But most importantly, "the Torah is the heart of the Jewish community, and having our own will help us grow stronger and thrive as a community, and as a Torah education and outreach center."
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Artists Palettes Add Flair to Sukkot

By Menachem Posner

The Chabad Loft's art sukkah iin Union Square, betw een 14th and 17th streets in Manhattan, draw s a trendy and electic crow d.

Night had fallen the Tuesday before Sukkot in Union Square, between 14th and 17th streets in New York City. The usual crowds of protesters, street hawkers and tourists were starting to thin out. In one corner of the large plaza, however, the action was just beginning. Rabbi Yaakov Bankhalter was directing a team of artists who were painting birds and clouds onto a wooden structure. They were decorating an oversized sukkah, in which Bankhalter has been serving hundreds of congregants, friends and curious people heaping plates of holiday food alongside Torah thoughts every Sukkot since 2005. A sukkah is a hut in which Jews eat, drink, pray and socialize every fall during the weeklong Sukkot harvest festival. Being in the temporary shelter with only flimsy foliage above works to connect Jews to their past, as well as brings awareness to human vulnerability and to nature. This is a very colorful, dynamic area, and we wanted to spice up our sukkah, says Bankhalter, who codirects the Chabad Loft on 5th Avenue with his wife, Yosefa. So the rabbi recruited a team of artists to paint

the sukkah with holiday-related ideas. We began with clouds all around the top, explains one of the artists who goes by the name Dems, representing the clouds of glory that protected the Israelites in the desert on their way out of Egypt. We then continued with peaceful themes, such as rainbows, doves and other images that give a really nice calming effect. Its fun to see the clouds, and then the patterns and colors.

An Emphasis on Joy
While Dems and his fellows just painted their sukkah this year, Chicago-area cartoonist David Sokoloff illustrated his first mobile sukkah in 1981 in Kansas City, Mo., at the behest of Rabbi Yosef Posner, then serving as a Chabad emissary there with his wife Zeesy and their growing family. I was working with Hallmark, designing cards, recalls Sokoloff, and I was a frequent guest at the Posner home. I was happy to reciprocate and contribute what I could artistically. I developed an appreciation for the Chassidic emphasis on joy, so I used bright colors in my artwork on the sukkah mobile and whatever I do for Chabad. I also enjoyed animating charactersputting faces on lulavim and etrogim to give them a joyous feeling. Shortly thereafter, the Posners relocated to the Chicago area and opened a Chabad center in Skokie, Ill. Sokoloff followed, settling in the West Rogers Park neighborhood. In 1991, Posner again built a sukkah mobile on the back of a pickup truck. He drove it around town so that those without a sukkah of their own would be able to observe the holiday by eating on the thatch-covered bed of the truck. Eight years later, the needs of observant business people prompted him to place a sukkah in the Park of Civic Pride on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Oakton Street in downtown Skokie, so that people working in the area could go there for lunch during the holiday, when all meals must be eaten inside a sukkah. It also serves as an educational exhibit for passersby, with its bright signs and written information about the holiday. Over the years, two trailer-backed sukkahs were added to the fleet. They were built by the rabbis son, Yochanan Posner, who joined his parents in 2004 as the events and education director of Skokie Chabad. They are much bigger; we can seat parties of close to 20 people around folding tables in the larger sukkah trailer at once, says Posner. Also, trailers are low enough for the elderly and handicapped to get on to with just a little help. This is important because many of the regulars I visit every year would not be able to get onto the back of a pickup.

Painted sukkahs have been a feature in Skokie, Ill., since the 1980s.

One such person is Mark Greenfield. Posner visits him every year at his print shop on the corner of Niles Center Road and Maine Street. Its wonderful when the rabbi parks the sukkah in our lot every year. We hug each other and then go out to the sukkah for a quick bite to eat. Its a warm experience for me, says Greenfield.

The bigger the sukkah, the bigger the canvas.

I grew up in West Rogers Park and was always aware of the holiday of Sukkot, and even visited the synagogue sukkah when I was a kid, but I never had one of my own, he continues. So its really special that the sukkah comes to me these days. Look, you cant beat curbside serviceit puts a smile on my face. When designing his newest and largest trailer sukkah in 2009. Posner decided the time had come to add some personality to his wheels. Until then, we had built the walls with wooden paneling, which is pretty but not really attention-grabbing, he explains. So I enlisted Davids help to create some whimsical pictures and text to paint on the sides. His cartoons were so attractive that we decided to redo our downtown sukkah as well, plastering it with bubble text and funny pictures. Humor is a great medium to teach things people would otherwise not bother learning. The story came full circle for Sokoloff and the Posners when Yochanan recently opened up an old family album dating back to the early 1980s back in Kansas City. I couldnt believe my eyes, he says, when I found a picture of an old trailer sukkah that my father had built and David had illustrated in 1982. Here we are doing it again, 30 years later.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Lech Lecha: A Nation of Wanderers

Parshah

The Courage Not to Conform

By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Leaders lead. That does not mean to say that they dont follow. But what they follow is different from what most people follow.

Unfinished Business From a letter Y ou complain that peace in the home is, for you, w rought w ith obstacles. All of us today are souls that have been here before. In general, w e return on unfinished business. Certainly, w e are all responsible for doing all the good w e can, and avoiding everything harmful. But that certain unfinished business, that is w here the most obstacles shall be. And those obstacles w ill be your only clue as to w hat business you are here to finish.

Finding G d During Tough Times

By Chana Weisberg

Even when we are experiencing our personal famines, our relationship with Gd is still present and accessible.

Intellectual Lands
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Where are the lands of the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni promised to Abraham? And why are they practically impossible to conquer?

Lech Lecha in a Nutshell

Abram travels to Canaan, Sarai is taken captive by Pharaoh, and Lot settles in the evil city of Sodom. Gd promises the Land of Israel to Abrams descendants. Ishmael is born, Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, and they are promised a son. Abraham circumcises himself. Your Questions

Can My Neighbor Stop Me from Building My Dream Home?

By Yehuda Shurpin

Do I stop my project because of my neighbors complaint, or can I finally have my dreamed-of privacy?

Why Does Judaism Make No Sense?

By Tzvi Freeman

Keeping kosher is not a reasonable act, and neither is Shabbat, or the prohibition against mixing wool and linen. These are neither rational nor religious actsat least not in the modern understanding of religious . . .

Son Is Moody, Mean and Miserable

Answered by Sara Chana Radcliffe

I feel terrible saying this, but the best time of year for us is summer, when Mendy goes to sleepaway camp. We all can

finally breathe! Women

What Are Your (Dis)Abilities?

By Jackie Silver

I have gone cross-country skiing, kayaking and rowing. I have even been interviewed on television. I have done all these things . . . and I have a physical disability.

Sensitivity
by Zehava Deer

I have found that I can divide the people I come in contact with into several categories. Current

The Beilis Case in 20 Pictures

By Eli Rubin

A visual guide to the last major blood libel with historical photographs, explanations and quotes. Stories

Morning Prayers and Torn Shoes

By Yehudah Chitrik

Being conscious of a poor students torn shoes is an expression of the oneness of Gd.

Bragging Rights
By Yossy Gordon

The doctor keeps recounting his good deeds. The rabbi keeps insisting that he does the exact same thing . . . Cooking

Confessions of an Imperfect Food Blogger

By Miriam Szokovski

Kitchen disasters - they happen to all of us!

The Rebbe

Investing in Israel
Mr. Efraim Ilin

When the Arabs heard about Fords plans, they announced that if Ford didnt back down, theyd boycott it by putting the company on the Arab Leagues blacklist. News

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a Leader of Sephardic Jewry, Dies at 93

By Menachem Posner

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel, preeminent authority on Jewish law, and political mentor to many in Israels Sephardic Jewish community, passed away on Monday, Oct. 7. He was 93.

Playground to Honor a Phenomenal Human Being

By Menachem Posner

Brian Grodner had an infectious smile. A native of Birmingham, Ala., he came to Houston seeking treatment for metastatic melanoma at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He ended up giving more than he received, and a new playground is being built in his honor.

Art Exhibit and Events Carry Pure Joy of Judaism Into the Year
By Karen Schwartz

Less than a block from where crowds danced in the streets of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in celebration of Sukkot, an art exhibition showcasing Jewish artists and a series of events highlighting the joy of Jewish life is now underway. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

The Courage Not to Conform

By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Leaders lead. That does not mean to say that they dont follow. But what they follow is different from what most people follow. They dont conform for the sake of conforming. They dont do what others do merely because others are doing it. They follow an inner voice, a call. They have a vision, not of what is, but of what might be. They think outside the box. They march to a different tune. Never was this more dramatically signaled than in the first words of G d to Abraham, the words that set Jewish history in motion: Leave your land, your birthplace and your fathers house, and go to the land that I will show you. Why? Because people do conform. They adopt the standards and absorb the culture of the time and place in which they liveyour land. At a deeper level, they are influenced by friends and neighborsyour birthplace. More deeply still, they are shaped by their parents and the family in which they grew upyour fathers house.

I want you, says G d to Abraham, to be They dont conform for different. Not for the sake of being the sake of conforming different, but for the sake of starting something new: a religion that will not worship power and the symbols of powerfor that is what idols really were and are. I want you, said G d, to teach your children and your household afterward to follow the way of the L rd by doing what is right and just. To be a Jew is to be willing to challenge the prevailing consensus when, as so often happens, nations slip into worshipping the old gods. They did so in Europe throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. That was the age of nationalism: the pursuit of power in the name of the nation-state that led to two world wars and tens of millions of deaths. It is the age we are living in now, as North Korea acquires and Iran pursues nuclear weapons so that they can impose their ambitions by force. It is what is happening today throughout much of the Middle East and Africa, as nations descend into violence and what Hobbes called the war of every man against every man. We make a mistake when we think of idols in terms of their physical appearancestatues, figurines, icons. In that sense, they belong to ancient times we have long outgrown. Instead, the right way to think of idols is in terms of what they represent. They symbolize power. That is what Ra was for the Egyptians, Baal for the Canaanites, Chemosh for the Moabites, Zeus for the Greeks, and missiles and bombs for terrorists and rogue states today. Power allows us to rule over others without their consent. As the Greek historian Thucydides put it: The strong do what they wish, and the weak suffer what they must. Judaism is a sustained critique of power. That is the conclusion I The right way to think of have reached after a lifetime of studying our sacred texts. It is about how a nation can be formed on the basis of shared idols is in terms of what commitment and collective responsibility. It is about how to they represent construct a society that honors the human person as the image and likeness of G d. It is about a vision, never fully realized but never abandoned, of a world based on justice and compassion, in which they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the L rd as the waters cover the sea.1 Abraham is, without doubt, the most influential person who ever lived. Today he is claimed as the spiritual ancestor of 2.4 billion Christians, 1.6 billion Muslims and 13 million Jews, more than half the people alive today. Yet he ruled no empire, commanded no great army, performed no miracles and proclaimed no prophecy. He is the supreme example in all of history of influence without power. Why? Because he was prepared to be different. As the sages say, he was called ha-ivri, the Hebrew, because all the world was on one side (be-ever echad) and he was on the other.2 Leadership, as every leader knows, can be lonely. Yet you continue to do what you have to do, because you know that the majority is not always right and conventional wisdom is not always wise. Dead fish go with the flow. Live fish swim against the current. So it is with conscience and courage. So it is with the children of Abraham. They are prepared to challenge the idols of the age. After the Holocaust, some social scientists were haunted by the question of why so many people were prepared, whether by active participation or silent consent, to go along with a regime that they knew was committing one of the Dead fish go with the great crimes against humanity. One key experiment was conducted by Solomon Asch. He

flow. Live fish swim

assembled a group of people, asking them to perform a series of against the current simple cognitive tasks. They were shown two cards, one with a line on it, the other with three lines of different lengths, and asked which was the same size as the line on the first. Unbeknown to one participant, all the others had been briefed by Asch to give the right answer for the first few cards, then the wrong one for most of the rest. On a significant number of occasions the experimental subject gave an answer he could see was wrong, because everyone else had done so. Such is the power of the pressure to conform that it can lead us to say what we know is untrue. More frightening still was the Stanford experiment carried out in the early 1970s by Philip Zimbardo. The participants were randomly assigned roles as guards or prisoners in a mock prison. Within days the students cast as guards were behaving abusively, some of them subjecting the prisoners to psychological torture. The students cast as prisoners put up with this passively, even siding with the guards against those who resisted. The experiment was called off after six days, during which time even Zimbardo found himself drawn into the artificial reality he had created. The pressure to conform to assigned roles is strong enough to lead people into The experiment was doing what they know is wrong. That is why Abraham, at the start of his mission, was told to leave his land, his birthplace and his fathers house, to free himself from the pressure to conform. Leaders must be prepared not to follow the consensus. One of the great writers on leadership, Warren Bennis, writes:3 By the time we reach puberty, the world has shaped us to a greater extent than we realize. Our family, friends, and society in general have told usby word and examplehow to be. But people begin to become leaders at that moment when they decide for themselves how to be. One reason why Jews have become, out of all proportion to their numbers, leaders in almost every sphere of human endeavor is precisely this willingness to be different. Throughout the centuries, Jews have been the most striking example of a group that refused to assimilate to the dominant culture or convert to the dominant faith. One other finding of Solomon Aschs is worth noting. If just one other person was willing to support the individual who could see that the others were giving the wrong answer, it gave him the strength to stand out against the consensus. That is why, however small their numbers, Jews created communities. It is hard to lead alone, far less hard to lead in the company of others, even if you are a minority. Judaism is the countervoice in the conversation of humankind. As Jews, we do not follow the majority merely because it is the majority. In age after age, century after century, Jews were prepared to do what the poet Robert Frost immortalized: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.4 It is what makes a nation of leaders. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the British Commonwealth. To read more writings and teachings by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, or to join his e mail list, please visit www.rabbisacks.org.
FOOTNOTES 1. Isaiah 11:9. 2. Genesis Rabbah 42:8. 3. Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader (Basic Books, 1989), 49. 4. Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, Birches, and Other Poems, 10.

called off after six days

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Finding G d During Tough Times

By Chana Weisberg

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling spiritually drained? Do the difficulties of life sometimes get to you, robbing you of your serenity, making you feel disconnected from anything higher than the daily grind? It happens to all of us, and overcoming these feelings, reconnecting to our spiritual side, can be a real challenge. As always, we can look to the Torah for guidance. The life of our matriarch Sarah presents a powerful lesson that teaches us how to approach these difficult times. The very first time we are introduced to Sarah, she and her husband Abraham, in their advanced years of life, are told to leave their home and birthplace and travel to an unknown land. Lets look at the sources. G d appeared to Abraham (then called Abram) and said to him:

Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling spiritually drained?

Get out from your country, and from your family, and from your fathers house, to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. Characteristically, Abraham does not hesitate a moment before obeying G ds command. So Abram departed, as G d had spoken to him, and Lot went with him; Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brothers son, and all the possessions that they had gathered and the souls that they had gotten in Haran, and they went forth to go to the land of Canaan, and to the land of Canaan they came. It was here, in the holy land of Canaan, that Abraham has a vision and G d communicates with him, promising him that he will inherit this blessed land. The Hebrew word Canaan, the ancient name for the land of Israel, also means merchant. A merchant symbolizes wealth, bounty, opportunity. Spiritually, too, the name signifies bounty, a profound closeness to G d. Indeed, for Abraham the land held great spiritual wealth: G d appeared to Abram and said, To your seed I will give this land, and there he built an altar

to G d who appeared to him . . . Abraham is communicating with G d, experiencing a much closer relationship than ever before, as the text continues, There he built an altar to G d and called upon the name of G d. But, as happens often in our lives, a challenge appears on the horizon. Abraham confronts a test of his faith: There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he came near to enter to Egypt, that he said to Sarai, his wife, Behold, I know that you are a pretty woman. When the Egyptians shall see you, they will say This is his wife, and they will kill me, but you they will keep alive. Therefore please say that you are my sister, so that they will benefit me because of you, and my life shall be spared because of you. In future essays we will take a deeper look at this exchange, and what Abraham was really requesting from Sarah. But for now lets focus on the metaphorical, spiritual lesson in these words. In Canaan, a land of spiritual bounty, Abraham and Sarah live openly as husband and wife. They care for each other and look out for each other as only a husband and wife can. But then . . . there is a famine. Spiritually, a famine is a time when our sensitivity to G dliness becomes dulled. Sarah and Abraham end up in EgyptMitzrayim, in Hebrewa name which connotes constraints and limitation. Here Abraham instructs Sarah to conceal their true relationship: to say that she is his sister. What is the difference between a spouse and a sister on a spiritual plane? And what does this mean for us in our own spiritual journeys?

Think of your siblings. How do you get along with them? There may be times when you fight, and times when you are closer. But you dont choose your brother or sister. Whether you like him or not, whether you love her or not, your sibling is your sibling for life. There is an underlying connection that is constant and unbreakable.

Famine is a time when our sensitivity to G dliness becomes dulled.

The bond with a spouse is different. It is a relationship that is chosen; it is subject to change. Unfortunately, as we see more and more oftentoday they are married, tomorrow or a year from now they may be divorced. The relationship of siblings is innate, inborn, constant. Love for a spouse, on the other hand, is created. Two separate individuals from separate families come together as two distinct beings and unite. Thats what gives the marriage its intensity, its passion, a closeness that cant be matched by even the closest siblings. Lets return to the lesson that Abraham and Sarahs journey holds for our own times of spiritual and psychological challenge. King Solomon, in Song of Songs (5:2), speaks of the Jewish peoples relationship with G d as being both a sister and a wife. Abraham and Sarahs journey shows us how our relationship with G d can hold both elements. Their journey also teaches us how to get through times of spiritual and psychological challenge. When living in the Holy Land, in Canaan, a place where we feel G ds presence in our lives, we can feel that G d is our beloved, G d is our spouse.

Likewise, in Canaan, Abraham and Sarah are obviously husband and wife. But then comes a famine. A period of change. A period of challenge. A situation that tests your resolve. The relationship becomes strained. And suddenly it seems you are no longer so connected. You dont feel the richness, the merchant of Canaan any more. You feel instead that you are in Egypt, a place of meitzarim, limitations. Alone. Now comes the great lesson from Abraham and Sarahsay you are my sister. Realize that even in moments when you feel disconnected from your G d, from your nation, from your soul, G d isnt only a spouse, but also a sibling. We are G ds people not just because we feel it, but because G dliness is inborn in our being. Like the bond between siblings, it may not always be overt or passionate. Indeed, there are times when it may seem to be completely dormant, but it is always there, a constant. We mayand we shouldcrave to have a relationship with G d that is alive, vibrant, passionate and full of love, that is like the relationship of a loving spouse. In those times, we feel like were living in the Holy Land, surrounded by spiritual blessings. Life is great. We feel the connection. Deeply.

G dliness is inborn in our being.

But even when we are experiencing our personal famines, our times of meitzarim and constraints and hardships, this episode with Abraham and Sarah teaches us that our relationship with G d still exists. It may not be as passionate, but we have to realize that it is still present, and that we can tap into it and revive it, now and forever.

Lets review:
Canaan acquired the meaning of merchant and wealth (see Ezekiel 16:29), and represents a level of spiritual bounty and closeness to G d. Mitzrayim means constraints and limitations, and represents a level of limited spirituality with severe boundaries holding us back. In Canaan, Abraham and Sarah were openly husband and wife. Canaan represents those times when our spiritual relationship with G d is at the level of spouse, a developed relationship where we feel passionately in love with G d. In Mitzrayim, Abraham tells Sarah to say she is his sister. This teaches us that even in difficult times we still have an inborn relationship with G d, at the level of sister, where the innate love, although not as passionate, is still present and accessible. (See Ohr Hatorah, Vayikra 2:578581, where many of the ideas expressed in this article can be found.)

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Chana Weisberg is a writer, editor and lecturer. Her latest books include Tending the Garden: The Unique Gifts of the Jewish Woman and the best selling Divine Whispers on finding spirituality in daily life. She has served as the Dean of several women's educational institutes in Toronto and lectures internationally on issues relating to women, faith, relationships and the Jewish soul.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Intellectual Lands
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Thirty-seven centuries ago, a covenant was made by the Creator of the universe with the first Jew: that Israels mission as G ds chosen people will be realized on the soil of the Holy Land. To your descendents I have given this land, said G d to Abraham following their Covenant Between the Parts, from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates River. [The lands of] the Keini, the Kenizi and the Kadmoni. The Chiti, the Perizi, the Refaim, the Emori, the Kenaani, the Girgashi and the Yevusi. (Genesis 15:1821) Historically, Jews have settled and taken possession of seven of these ten territories. The remaining three the lands of the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoniawait the coming of Moshiach and the redemption. In contrast to the other seven lands, no conquest or negotiation will be necessary. The era of Moshiach will bring the cessation of all conflict, and a universal recognition of the Almighty as master of the entire earth and of the Jewish peoples role as the focal point of His creation. The nations of the world will recognize the integrity of all of the Land of Israel as the eternal heritage of the Jewish nation. The Land of Israel entails more than the physical environment for our lives as Jews. In parallel to the geographical Israel, a psychological ten nations comprise our inner terrain. Also within the mind and heart are territories to be conquered, settled, developed and sanctified as holy land. The Kabbalists enumerate three intellectual and seven emotional faculties within the human psyche. Under the present-day condition of the human psyche, our efforts at self-improvement involve, by and large, the lands of seven nations, or the emotional side of our character. With the proper guidance we can overcome, and even change, negative feelings and desires. But to change ones entire mindset is a different matter: To cease to see things from our self-bound perspective, to change our very definition of reality, seems beyond the capacity of our ever-subjective mind. Yet there will come a time when the world will be filled with the knowledge of G d, as the waters cover the seawhen the human mind will free itself from the confines of the ego and comprehend the absolute and exclusive truth of its Creator. Man will come to appreciate that he is not an entity in his own right, but an expression of the all-pervading reality of G d.

Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson; adapted by Yanki Tauber. Originally published in Week in Review. Republished with the permission of MeaningfulLife.com. If you wish to republish this article in a periodical, book, or website, please email permissions@meaningfullife.com.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Lech Lecha in a Nutshell

G d speaks to Abram, commanding him, Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your fathers house, to the land which I will show you. There, G d says, he will be made into a great nation . Abram and his wife, Sarai, accompanied by his nephew Lot, journey to the land of Canaan, where Abram builds an altar and continues to spread the message of a one G d . A famine forces the first Jew to depart for Egypt, where beautiful Sarai is taken to Pharaohs palace; Abram escapes death because they present themselves as brother and sister . A plague prevents the Egyptian king from touching her, and convinces him to return her to Abram and to compensate the brother-revealed-as-husband with gold, silver and cattle . Back in the land of Canaan, Lot separates from Abram and settles in the evil city of Sodom, where he falls captive when the mighty armies of Chedorlaomer and his three allies conquer the five cities of the Sodom Valley. Abram sets out with a small band to rescue his nephew, defeats the four kings, and is blessed by Malki-Zedek the king of Salem (Jerusalem). G d seals the Covenant Between the Parts with Abram, in which the exile and persecution (galut) of the people of Israel is foretold, and the Holy Land is bequeathed to them as their eternal heritage. Still childless ten years after their arrival in the Land, Sarai tells Abram to marry her maidservant Hagar . Hagar conceives, becomes insolent toward her mistress, and then flees when Sarai treats her harshly; an angel convinces her to return, and tells her that her son will father a populous nation. Ishmael is born in Abrams eighty-sixth year. Thirteen years later, G d changes Abrams name to Abraham (father of multitudes), and Sarais to Sarah (princess), and promises that a son will be born to them; from this child, whom they should call Isaac (will laugh), will stem the great nation with which G d will establish His special bond. Abraham is commanded to circumcise himself and his descendants as a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Abraham immediately complies, circumcising himself and all the males of his household.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Can My Neighbor Stop Me from Building My Dream Home?

By Yehuda Shurpin

Question:
After many years of living in an apartment building, we finally moved into our first house. I love my new home, my space and my privacy. I especially love having a small lawn where I can go to relax and unwind. One of my first projects is to put up a higher fence in my backyard so no one is peering into my little sanctuary. Heres the problem: My neighbor claims that a higher fence will block her sunny view and make her feel like she is too closed in. Do I stop my project because of my neighbors complaint, or can I finally have my dreamed-of privacy?

Answer:
There are two key issues here: a) your privacy; b) blocking your neighbors view and sunshine.

My neighbor claims that a higher fence will block her view

The importance of respecting another persons privacy cannot be overstated. The Torah records how after Balaams initial efforts to curse the Jewish nation failed, he shifted gears. He noticed that the Jews camped in such a way that the openings of their tents didnt face one another, in order to respect each others privacy.1 Balaam praised the Jews, saying, How goodly are your tents, O Jacob; your dwelling places, O Israel!2 This moment in history is considered so important that many have the custom of opening the daily morning prayers with this very verse. The concept of privacyor to be more accurate, the invasion of itis called in Jewish law hezek reiyah, damage by vision, and is the basis for the law that one may not place a door opposite his neighbors existing door, nor a window opposite his window or courtyard.3 Additionally, if two people share a courtyard, one can (usually) force the other to help build a dividing wall to prevent the neighbors from seeing into each others property. However, the neighbor can be forced to partner in building a wall only up to four amot (68 feet) in height, which is slightly higher than the average person; anything higher would need to either be built completely on ones own property, or one would have to compensate the neighbor.4 But, regardless of whether a wall is actually built, you still cant gaze into your neighbors home or yard. As Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi writes, It is forbidden to watch your friend without his prior knowledge while

he is conducting his activities at his home or property, for he may not wish people to see these activities.5 Although you didnt mention the height of the existing fence, and there is therefore no way to know whether the neighbor needs to partner with you, you seem ready to build the extension completely out of your own pocket and on your own property, making the question of privacy a moot point. So, the only real question here is about blocking your neighbors sunlight. The Code of Jewish Law states that if you wish to build a wall next to your neighbors window to prevent the neighbor from invading your privacy, you need to make sure to build the wall at least four amot away, so that you dont block the neighbors light.6 So as long as your wall is the proper distance from your neighbors window, you are within your rights to build the wallor make it highereven if it does block a little of the sunlight.

The only real question here is about blocking your neighbors sunlight

There are, however, exceptions to the above rule; for instance, with regard to a synagogue, which needs more light, one would need to distance the wall 8 amot.7 Since there are exceptions, contemporary rabbis conclude that the 4-amot rule applies only under ordinary circumstances. However, if there are any specific customs, laws, building codes or bylaws about blocking your neighbors view, or about how tall one can build a fence or wall in your community, then you are bound, even purely from a Jewish legal perspective and one not just based on the rule that dina de-malchuta dina, the law of the land is the law8 to follow those rules.9 So, barring any specific local laws or customs, you have the right to extend the height of the wall. However, since you are probably going to be neighbors for quite a while, I would strongly recommend that you try to come up with some sort of compromise or accommodation. I wish you many happy years in your new home. Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin responds to questions for Chabad.org's Ask the Rabbi service.
FOOTNOTES 1. Talmud, Bava Batra 60a. 2. Numbers 24:5. 3. Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 154:3. 4. Ibid. 157:9. 5. Shulchan Aruch ha-Rav, Choshen Mishpat, Hilchot Nizkei Mamon 11. 6. Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 154:21; see also Sheeilot u-Teshuvot Rivash 289. 7. See Noda bi-Yehudah, Mahadura Tinyana, Orach Chaim 16 for a discussion of the sources. 8. Talmud, Bava Kamma 113a. 9. See Emek ha-Mishpat 3:16.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Why Does Judaism Make No Sense?

By Tzvi Freeman

Question:
Yesterday, my sister threw out some scrambled eggs. I asked her why. She said because she accidentally mixed them with a spatula that was used for milk, and the frying pan was used for meat, and that meant the eggs were no good. I asked her why. She said because thats the halachah. I asked her why. She said, Because. There are so many things like this in the Jewish religion. Dont play musical instruments on Shabbat. Why? Because you might come to fix one. So what? Youre not allowed. Why? Because. Dont mix wool and linen. Why? Because. Tell me, Rabbi, is this a sensible religion?

Response:
No, it is not. And your first mistake is to believe that Jews do these things for any particular reason. Jews do these things because they are Jews. Keeping kosher is not a reasonable act, and neither is Shabbat, or the prohibition against Your first mistake is to mixing wool and linen. The same with Torah readings, bar and bat mitzvahs, black leather boxes, or dipping in the mikvah. These believe that Jews do are neither rational nor religious actsin the modern these things for any understanding of religious. They do not speak to the modern particular reason. Jews mind because they are not of modernity. They are ancient tribal rituals, preserved by a people obsessed with their history and do these things because their tribalism.

they are Jews.

A few words about tribalism as the sociologist sees it. Sociology became a science with the publication of Emile Durkheims monograph on suicide in 1897. Durkheim was a nice Jewish boy who had studied in yeshivah to become a rabbi, like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, but then left to think for himself and challenge his teachers at the Sorbonne. In his paper, Durkheim blamed most of societys woes (especially suicide) on the abandonment of tribalism. He coined the term anomie, which means a state of society where nobody knows who they are, what they have to do with one another, or what on earth theyre doing here. Durkheim demonstrated, through the first methodological, scientific study of a social phenomenon, that in turn-of-the-century France, suicide was the realm of the tribelessmeaning the Protestant and the agnostic. Catholics and Jews rarely committed suicide. Because they felt no anomie. What this runaway yeshivah boy ironically demonstrated, and others after him confirmed, is that a human being without a tribe is like a polar bear without icehe can survive, but hell be awfully confused. Its through his relationship with the tribe that a human being knows that the earth beneath his feet is solid ground, that tomorrow is a day like today, that he is who he is and its okay to be that way. Take the tribe away, and none of that remains necessarily true. Ask any social worker: Take an aboriginal person off of skid row and plop him back in his tribe, and hes a healthy specimen of life. Rip a wild kid out of that stolen vehicle and make him part of an extended, cohesive family, and he calms down, becomes manageable.

Most social illnesses arose when society grew beyond the tribe. As Jared Diamond points out, tribes are egalitarian. It was chiefdoms and states that gave one man power over another. Communism, socialism, the checks and balances of the modern capitalist stateall of these are attempts to make up for the primal trauma that society experienced as it emerged from its cocoon of the tribe. Which is the astonishing thing about That is the best the Jewish people: We never left the tribe description I have of this behind. Actually, that is enigma we call the the best description I Jewish people: A Bronze have of this enigma we call the Jewish people: Age tribe residing smack A Bronze Age tribe at the vortex of residing smack at the vortex of modernity. modernity. Thats also the best way for me to explain those rituals, sacred objects, sacred spaces and mystic occasions Ancient Middle-Eastern tribesmen performing rite that are such an of passage ceremony. anathema to the modern mind. Its true they are absurd within the framework of the rationalist mind, just as polar bears would be absurd hunting for walrus in the Sahara. Kosher garments, Shabbat technicalities and taboo scrambled eggs are downright bizarre outside the context of tribalnessas are the thrice-daily incantations, the black leather boxes, the dip in the mikvah, the candles before sundown, perhaps the entire gamut of the Jewish experience. But tell me, just how much are you in love with the anomie of the modern mind? In Yeats classic portrayal of the modern mess: The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned . . . The center cannot hold because there is none. Because modern man is a figment of its own imagination. He defines himself, his world and his place within it each day anew according to the temperament of that day. He is his own point of reference, and therefore he has no center, only periphery. Lets back up. What is the place of ritual within the tribe? Richard Sosis, an anthropologist at the University of Connecticut, has put a lot of thought and research into this question and published prolifically on the topic. Sosis observed tribe members who maim their bodies in initiation rites, others who risk their lives in celebratory dances, and even one particular Middle Eastern tribe in which male members would stand for hours shaking back and forth, dressed in fur hats and hot woolen clothes, reciting ancient incantations before a stone wall under the blazing sun of Jerusalem. Sosis was bothered by the seeming counterproductivity of these rituals. Why, he asked, does human society universally develop rituals that do not contribute, but rather severely detract from reproduction and accumulation of food and resources? His answer: Rituals deal with something yet more essential, something that precedes the intellect. Rituals deal with identity, the context in which intellect functions. Identity in turn is the glue by which a tribe is held together. Specifically, Sosis demonstrates, were speaking of rituals that are attributed meanings that cannot be falsified (read: cant prove it, cant disprove it), involve

Rituals deal with something more essential than intellect.

significant risk or sacrifice on the part of the individual (too risky Rituals deal with identity. to fake), and are performed together or in concert with other members of the tribe. If theres no risk, you havent proven anything to anyone, not even yourself. And if it all makes perfect sense, then you did it because it makes sense, not because of who you really are. Its like bringing your wife flowers or buying her diamonds. Now does that make sense? Good money gone to waste on items that provide no utility. But thats just the point: If it would make sense to you, it would mean nothing to her. Its only when we do the irrational that we establish firm bonds of commitment and joint identity. Within the Torah cosmology, non-falsifiable ritual has yet a greater place. The mitzvah-rituals not only bind the people together as a cohesive whole, but also bind the people to an underlying truth that is wholly transcendent and unknowable, sometimes known as G d. That is really the essence of Jewishness, and the secret of Jewish survival as a tribe: The covenant. Yes, other tribes have their particular deities, totems and worships. But with the Jewish people, that covenant with the Unknowable Maker of Heaven and Earth is our defining truth. That is who we are, and without it we are not. So, how do I establish, sustain and perpetuate a covenant with a transcendent, unknowable G d? If I cannot affirm my commitment to another individual through something that I do because it makes perfect sense to me, all the more so can I not establish an eternal bond with an infinite entity by means of cute little acts that fit neatly within my puny brain. The only true bond is through the super-rational. Like those black leather boxes on my arm and head. Does that mean nothing is allowed to make sense? Not at all. This Infinite G d desires a bond with the entirety of each one of us with our hands, our feet, our hearts and, yes, even our brains. If nothing would make sense, then the brain and heart would be left out of the equation. So, He provides opportunities to bond through mitzvahs that make sense as well, like dont steal, visit the sick, honor Mom and Dad. Even the ones that transcend reasonthe ones we call chukim, such as the prohibition against wearing wool and linen mixed together, or eating meat cooked with milkthese as well have been provided a kind of reasoning that works within a certain realm.

All the Jew, from head to toe, must be involved. That includes the brain and heart. But the prime motivation is Im a Jew.

Yet nevertheless, when it comes down to the prime motivation for all of them, for everything Jewish a Jew does, its because Hey, Im a Jew, and this is what Jews do. In other words, it comes down to our covenant with a G d that we never quite figured out, and dont really expect to. But we do His stuff because, hey, were His tribe. Like throwing out those eggs. Its a bonding experience. Do it with love.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Son Is Moody, Mean and Miserable

Answ ered by Sara Chana Radcliffe

Dear Rachel, My ten-year-old son, Mendy, is never happy. Everyone in the family knows about it; he affects the mood in the whole household. I feel terrible saying this, but the best time of year for us is summer, when Mendy goes to sleepaway camp. We all can finally breathe! Until then, everyone has to tiptoe around him, because you never know when hes going to explode, have a complete meltdown and scream his head off. Hes a terror to live with. As his mother, I feel confused, guilty and sad. Is this my fault? Is it because we moved too often when Mendy was little, or because I sometimes yell at him? Or did I simply give birth to a monster? Lil Monsters Mom Dear Mom, Heres a few things to keep in mind that may help you in raising little Mendy.

Difficult Children
Dont blame yourself. Children can definitely be born with difficult temperaments and personalities. These children are harder to raise than the sunny-side-up variety, and they often provoke the worst parenting its just the natural result of being impossible to deal with. As a loving parent, you may always regret your lapses in self-control or good judgment, but unless you are chronically angry and negative, you certainly cant blame yourself for your childs difficult persona. Genes are the primary culprit, but what can you do to help?

Draw on Spiritual Resources

First and foremost, you need to realize that G d chose you to nurture the development of a special neshamah, soul. You have just what this child needs in order to best develop. Moreover, Mendys particular challenges are just what you need in order to fulfill the potential of your own soul. Like all shidduchim (marriages), this child-parent shidduch is a match made in heaven! Although parents need to access G ds support, love and guidance along the journey of raising each of their children, they sometimes forget how close G d is with them in the project of raising a difficult child. As it says in Psalms, G d is very accessible in time of need, and answers all who call out sincerely.

Draw on Professional Resources

No one has to raise a challenging child alone. Children who are particularly difficult have been studied for decades, and we now have identified many causes for their behavior and interventions that can help. We know that such children are struggling insidethey arent trying to hurt their families! They may be suffering from various mental-health conditions such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, OCD, ASD, ADHD, and so on. Each disorder gives rise to the kind of excessive negativity that so confuses parents. Professionals can offer diagnoses and treatments that can help improve cooperation, mood and overall functioning. When conditions are left untreated, they are unlikely to just disappear on their own. In fact, they may worsen over time. Moreover, the child experiences the negative consequences of his behavior on family members, teachers and peersoften with devastating effects. Its both preventative and healing to access professional help in a timely manner.

Upgrade Skills

A child who has a difficult temperament is a special-needs child by definition. Just as parents of a deaf child need to learn new things in order to raise that child properly, you will need to acquire new strategies to raise your difficult child. Professionals, books, online resources and support groups can all point the way. Learning leads to practice: you can provide significant education, training and reinforcement for your difficult child. For instance, why does one child become violent when something doesnt go his way, while another shrugs his shoulders and moves on? Sometimes its because the first one gets emotionally stuck and doesnt know how to self-soothe. You can learn a variety of techniques for self-soothing, and teach them to your distraught youngster. The more you know, the more you can help Mendy rewire his brain for healthier functioning.

Take Care of Yourself

Raising a difficult child is exhaustingthe childs unpleasantness is endlessly draining. Its important that you look after yourself. Taking breaks, having fun, and replenishing spiritual, mental, emotional and physical resources is an ongoing responsibility to yourself and your family that allows you to do the best possible job of raising your difficult youngster. People dont usually volunteer to raise a very difficult child unless you include signing up for the task before coming down to earth. But then again, life is like that. G d makes us work hard here. It can help to keep in mind that there are rewards in this world and the next for doing the best we can with our challenges, including the challenge of raising a difficult child. Rachel "Dear Rachel" is a bi-weekly column that is answered by a rotating group of experts. This question was answered by Sarah Chana Radcliffe. Sarah Chana Radcliffe is the author of "The Fear Fix: Solutions for Every Child's Moments of Worry, Panic and Fear," "Make Yourself at Home," and "Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice."
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

What Are Your (Dis)Abilities?

By Jackie Silver

I am a motivational speaker and a university student studying kinesiology. I have an incredible family and close friends, and I am blessed to be part of a wonderful Jewish community. I spent a year studying at a seminary in Jerusalem after I graduated high school. I have gone cross-country skiing, kayaking and rowing. I have even been interviewed on television. I have done all these things . . . and I have a physical disability. I was born with a rare vascular malformation in my left leg, affecting one in twenty million people, and resulting in malfunction of the veins. As a result, I walk with two canes, and use an electric scooter for distances. The Torah teaches us that the events in our lives are messages from G d that help us realize our mission and true potential. I know the events in my life have accomplished just that.

There were times when I walk with two canes, my medical condition and use an electric drastically impacted my life. At the end of scooter for distances eleventh grade I spontaneously fractured my leg, due to the weakness of my bones. A typical person would heal in six to twelve weeks. I had to wear a plaster cast up to my mid-thigh for six months. I was not allowed to leave my house for the first three months. I was devastated. There were times that I felt lonely, pessimistic, and fearful of what the future would hold. I had lost so much. In order to stop myself from dwelling on what I could not do, I made a list of everything that I was thankful to G d for. I could move my fingers, my wrists, my elbows, shoulders, neck, right ankle, right toes, right knee and leg. I was grateful that I had a mind to use, that I was able to go to school and do schoolwork. I was grateful that I could see, hear, think, smell and taste. I was grateful that I had such a wonderful support system from my parents, sister and friends.

Jackie Silver

Several years later, my hip seized up on me and became stiff due to severe muscle tightness. For the next seven months my hip muscles remained very tight. My cane was replaced with a walker. I had lost all my independence again. It was so hard for me to handle the fact that G d was giving me a second, seemingly insurmountable test. Wasnt the first test enough? Then my occupational therapist said something that had a profound effect on me: Jackie, are you going to let your leg take control of you, or are you going to take control of your leg? By pitying myself, I was letting my leg take control over my life. On November 8, 2011, I heard Rick Hansen speak at an event in Toronto. At age fifteen he fell out of a truck, broke his back, and Wasnt the first test lost the use of his legs. Twenty-five years ago he wheeled around the world in his wheelchair, raising money for spinal-cord injury enough? research and awareness of people with disabilities. I approached him before the event and started tearing up, telling him how much he had inspired me. He then said to me, Remember the family and friends around you who support you. You can make an impact on the world. You can live a full life and be a difference-maker. Focus on your ability and not your disability. It was these pivotal words that caused me to undergo a paradigm shift in my life. I now have a rejuvenated, joyful attitude toward life. I began sharing my story by speaking to Jewish high-school students, a way to turn my negative experiences into positive ones. I give two main messages: 1. Dont let your individual challenges stop you from living the most meaningful life possible. 2. Focus on your abilities and not your disabilities. Every single person in the world has his or her own challenges or personal disability. My disability is obvious, but many others are hidden. Some people have illnesses that are not visible; some are insecure and lack self-confidence. These are disabilities that have the power to control us and stop us from living the best life possible. Are you going to let your challenges control you, or are you going to control them? Jackie Silver is a university student studying kinesiology and nutrition. In her spare time, she is an adviser for a Jewish youth group, NCSY, and speaks to groups of high-school students with hopes of inspiring them to focus on their abilities and not their disabilities. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Sensitivity
by Zehava Deer

I have found that throughout my experience with infertility thus far, I can divide the people I come in contact with into several categories: 1) The Stomach-Greeter: This is the person that you dont run into very often, but when you do, take note. Her eyes will flit momentarily to your stomach, mentally checking pregnancy off her appraisal list. She will then at some point in the conversation check again to make sure her first assumption was indeed correct. As natural as she tries to be about it, theres no escaping the facts. The best advice I can give for this kind of person is to just make sure to get in a few stares of your own. Nah, just kidding. Just grin and bear it. I know a friend who actually ran into a chronic Stomach-Greeter and icily told her, My eyes are up here. Yours should be, too. Effective, but too harsh for me. 2) The Loud WellWisher: Ah, the Loud My eyes are up here. Well-Wisher. This is the person you want to Yours should be, too avoid, or you may very well be publicly mortified. She is the one who will (loudly) enthuse, G d willing, happy tidings by you very soon! This statement is generally followed by a shoulder pat, rub or roll. In some unbearable situations, a hug may follow. Then Ms. Well-Wisher will walk away with a purr, truly feeling like she has just done her kind deed of the day. And who can blame her? She just bestowed her blessing on you, the poor dear soul that does not (tsk-tsk) have children. 3) The Advice-Giver: Im practically positive that this is the most hilarious one. The Advice-Giver is always on hand to give you advice, unsolicited, for free! Praise the heavens! She will approach you and tell you either about herself or someone she knows who has tried this or that in a time of need and seen miraculous results. It may be pertaining to infertility, if youre lucky, but it will usually be about something completely unrelated. She may have a loved one who has just passed, and will tell you how she dealt with it. She may know someone sick who went to a certain rabbi and was worthy of a miracle. She may have waited three months (!) for children, and will tell you what segulahs (amulets) she used. Ms. Advice-Givers advice can range from gentle suggestions to forceful admonitions. She truly believes she holds the answer to your personal salvation. Well, as they say, hey, ya never know! 4) I know theres no title for this type of person, and thats because this is the person who says nothing. Nothing at all. She may very well be close to you, but this is a topic that is to be avoided like the plague. Never will she talk about her children in front of you; she may just cease talking to you at all, usually for fear of saying the wrong thing or offending you. But some people make you feel like they are afraid of catching infertility itself! Oh, the horrors. I have experienced this with one of my friends. I wish I could tell her

the opposite is trueeveryone I become friends with ends up pregnant thereafter. Oh, well. 5) The Yenta: You know them, you gotta love them. The lovable Jewish character known as the Yenta. The Yenta is someone you dont know. You both establish that you do not know each other. Enthusiastically, she will begin to engage you in her favorite game, Jewish Geography: Who are you? Whats your moms maiden name? Where is she from? What do you do?and so on and so forth. Alls fun and games until she reaches the inevitable questions: How many children do you have? What school do you send them to? Well, you may think its all over at that point, that perhaps said Yenta will feel like an idiot and stop with the questions. Im sorry to say, maam, but you seem to be all out of luck. The questions will most likely continue: Really? No kids? How long are you married? Is it your problem or his? What kind of treatment are you on? Nada to do at this point but gently find an excuse and slip away. You may ask, So, where are the normal people? Where have they gone? Do they exist? Honestly, Im not quite sure. Maybe they fall somewhere between the cracks of all the other people we run into. Perhaps they are the people who have experienced the pain related to infertility, and know what to do or say. Have faith, though. Believe that good, normal, sensitive people exist. Weirdly enough, I do.

Really? No kids? How long are you married?

There is something here for us to learn, though. There always is. Going through something like infertility changes you. It changes who you are, and it changes the way you think about the world. If you gain anything from your experience, let it be one thingsensitivity. The people I have described above are not bad people. They may even be made of the good stuff. They may be warm, friendly and sympathetic. They just looked at the situation you happen to be in and reacted to it in the wrong way. We can commit the same error. I know I have on many occasions. Who among us can say they have never put their foot in their mouth? It can be a thoughtless comment to a relative of a cancer patient, or even a bad joke to a single friend. We dont even realize that what we say has such an impact. The words we use truly leave a mark, either for the good or for the bad. Let us all make a real effort to be thoughtful, sensitive people. Let us think before allowing comments to slip out of our mouths. It may not be easy, and it may even require one to think many times before speaking. But isnt it worth it? Zehava Deer is the pen name of a woman living in Brooklyn who is having trouble conceiving. Her column, Pregnant with HopeMy Journey through Infertility, describes her journey, and how she strives to remain positive through her pain.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Current

The Beilis Case in 20 Pictures

By Eli Rubin

On the day following Tisha BAv in the year 1911, Menachem Mendel Beilis was suddenly arrested and carted off to the Kiev headquarters of the tsars secret police, the Okhrana. After more than two years of imprisonment, he was tried for the false charge of ritual murder in a case that attracted international attention. The trial began two days before Yom Kippur, on the 25th of September (old style), 1913. Here we

recount the story of the trial, in 20 pictures. For more on the background to the case, read The Tsars Scapegoats: Beilis, the Chassidim and the Jews.

1)

The cave in which the mutilated body of thirteen-year-old Andrei Yushchinsky was found. He had been killed by members of a criminal gang led by Vera Cheberiak, who suspected that Andrei had betrayed them to the police.

2)

Vera Cheberiak, the criminal who was responsible for Yushchinskys murder, became the main witness against Beilis. State prosecutors and investigators collaborated with her to fabricate false testimony and evidence.

3)

Zhenya Cheberiak, Veras son, and a playmate of Andrei Yushchinsky. He was likely the last person to see Andrei before he was murdered. He took ill a few months later, and when he attempted to convey what he knew to investigators, his mother treacherously covered his mouth with kisses. After his death, she was only too eager to falsify testimony in his name.

4)

The home of Mendel Beilis, situated in the grounds of the Zaitsev brick factory, and a short distance from the cave. As one of the few Jews permitted to live in the area, local anti-semites determined that Beilis was the easiest target for the blood libel.

5)

Gregory Zamyslovsky, a member of the imperial Duma and a key player in the conspiracy to frame Mendel Beilis. It was he who falsely accused the Schneersohn tzaddikim, the leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch stream of Chassidism, of being behind every case of Jewish ritual murder in the Russian empire.

6)

Nikolai Krasovsky, the police detective labeled Russias Sherlock Holmes. After refusing to pin the murder to Beilis, Krasovsky determined that it was Vera Cheberiak who was really responsible for the murder. Krasovsky paid dearly for his honesty: he was removed from his post and himself prosecuted by the government.

7)

Mendel Beilis, in prison garb, is escorted from the courthouse after receiving his second indictment, which he carries in a roll. The first indictment was dropped after legislators concluded that there was no chance of convicting him on such a flimsy basis. The second was issued when they determined that it would be too embarrassing to drop the case after so lengthy a period of imprisonment and investigation.

8)

Ivan Sikorsky, a famous and well-regarded psychiatrist who lectured at the University of Kiev. His reputation soured when his late-blooming anti-semitism caused him to abandon scientific principles, violently skewing his analysis of Yushchinskys wounds to support the accusation of Jewish ritual murder.

9)

Faivel Shneerson, a hay and straw dealer, who may or may not have been related to the famous Schneersohn family of chassidic leaders. Prosecutors used his name and his acquaintance with Beilis to tie the accusation to the chassidic movement, presenting Faivel himself as a chassidic tzaddik . In doing so they sought to disguise their wholesale anti-semitism, claiming to target a barbaric fringe sect rather than the entire Jewish nation.

10)

A stack of Jewish religious books entered as evidence by the defense. It fell to Rabbi Yaakov Mazeh of Moscow to refute the bogus claims of the experts who propped up the prosecution. Rabbis Mendel Chein, Avraham Chein and Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn assisted him in his research, helping him locate and familiarize himself with a very wide range of relevant sources.

11)

Interior Minister Nikolai Maklakov was a party to the conspiracy against Beilis. Prior to the trial, he allocated money to bribe witnesses from the tsars secret Ten-Million-Ruble Fund. During the trial he ordered the secret police to illegally monitor the deliberations of the jury, and received regular reports from his agents. Maklakovs estranged brother, Vasily, was a liberal lawyer who defended Beilis at the trial.

12)

Four members of the defense team. From left to right; Dmitry Grigorovich-Barsky, one of the most prominent attorneys in Kiev; Nikolay Karabchevsky, chairman of the St. Petersburg Council of Barristers; Oscar Gruzenberg, nominal leader of the defense, and the only Jew on the team; and Alexander Zarudny, a prominent liberal lawyer and politician who served as minister of justice in the provisional government of 1917.

13)

Oskar Vipper, the state prosecutor who was largely eclipsed by his civil confederates Gregory Zamyslovsky and Alexander Shmakov. Following the trial healong with Justice Minister Ivan Shcheglovitovwas fted by the leading anti-semites of St. Petersburg, who celebrated the conspirators as incorruptible and independent Russian men.

14)

The court in session: To the far right, Beilis is seated in the dock. The judgesled by Fyodor Boldyrev, whose chief identifying marks were his forked beard and his extreme anti-semitic biasare seated on the dais. Facing each other across the room are the defense attorneys to the right, the prosecutors and the jury to the left. An expert witness stands between them, addressing himself to the judge.

15)

Vasily Shulgin, an avowed anti-semite who served as the editor of the right-wing newspaper Kievlianin during the trial. After a meeting with Jewish leaders, the papers editors determined that despite their prejudices they could not in good faith support the blood libel. Instead they became vocal advocates on Beiliss behalf, and decried the travesty of Russian justice.

16)

Mendel Beilis under guard during the trial. After two years of being subject to appalling conditions in prison, the start of the trial came as a relief to Beilis. He was allowed to dress in his own clothing, was conducted to the courthouse in a horsedrawn carriage, and was treated to a square meal.

17)

Justin Pranaitis, a Catholic priest from Tashkent, was the only religious authority the government could find to back the charge of ritual murder. A thoroughly unscrupulous plagiarist who claimed to be an expert Hebraist, the defense unmasked him as a fraudulent ignoramus.

18)

Rabbi Yaakov Mazeh, the government rabbi of Moscow, was renowned for his scholarship and his eloquent Russian oratory. In the last days of the trial, he delivered a resounding defence of Jewish moral values and demonstrated that the chassidic movement had never perverted Jewish tradition or its precepts.

19)

The jury had been screened to ensure that their ignorant nature combined with ethnic enmity would tip the balance further towards injustice. In the course of the trial, however, they expressed concern that it would be difficult to decide Beiliss fate considering that no evidence was presented against him. Ultimately their verdict was ambiguous: Beilis was acquitted, but it was yet implied that Yushchinsky had been the victim of a Jewish ritual murder.

20)

The Beilis family, photographed after the trial. Freed from jail, the family was afforded the luxury of putting their misfortune behind them. Living with the threat of anti-semitic retaliation was not an option; the family moved first to the Holy Land and later to New York. But while the Jewish community welcomed them and celebrated his freedom, Beilis was unable to secure a permanent means of livelihood or peace of mind. Despite the mixed verdict, the Beilis trial remains a poignant example of a conspiracy of power and hate frustrated by unity and truth. To read more about the trial, and to view more pictures, click here. My thanks to Edmund Levin for providing me with high-resolution versions of some of these images.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Stories

Morning Prayers and Torn Shoes

By Yehudah Chitrik

Rabbi Shneur Zalman Chaiken was a wealthy man for whom charity and hospitality were a way of life. In shul, he chose to sit at the rear wall among the poor people rather than in an honored place up front. Wandering paupers would take him for a fellow beggar. His ears were always perked up to the poor folks conversation. More often than not, the discussion would reflect their hunger and lack. Why, I havent had a decent meal in three days was a common complaint. Rabbi Zalman would respond immediately, You know, theres a man in town by the name of Zalman Chaiken. His house is open to any needy person. I myself had a delicious meal there the other day. He would escort the poor people to his home, set the table, and serve the surprised guests. The owner doesnt mind, he would say with a shrug. Hes happy that his guests feel at home in his house. Once, Rabbi Michoel the Elder, one of the mashpiim (spiritual advisors) in the yeshivah in the town of Lubavitch, was about to recite one of the central parts of the morning prayers, the Shema (Hear O Israel), when he noticed that one of the students had torn shoes. He interrupted his prayers and pointed out the torn shoes to the person who was charged with taking care of the students material needs. Later, Rabbi Michoel was asked: Couldnt the torn shoes have waited until after you completed your prayers? The Shema proclaims the oneness of G d, replied Rabbi Michoel. A student wearing torn shoes can, G d forbid, catch cold and be held back from study and prayer. Being conscious of this is an expression of the oneness of G d. The shul in the town of Nevel was humming with conversation. The prayers had not yet begun, and the local townspeople were exchanging their daily experiences of small shtetl life. Observations were made on the fine milk that Yankels cows produce, the amount of hay Shmerels horses consumed, and the damage Yossels goat had caused to the vegetable patch. Once the prayers began, however, all conversation ceased. The people blocked out all distracting thoughts and worries, and immersed themselves in prayer. Once, at a gathering, Rabbi Michoel the Elder elaborated on the sanctity of a synagogue. It hardly seems appropriate to speak about cows and horses in this holy place, he said. The people agreed, and decided that from then on they would not speak about mundane matters before or after their prayers. They adhered to his resolution with the utmost respect.

About a month later, Rabbi Michoel ascended the podium one morning and requested the congregations attention. I suggest that we no longer pay attention to the resolution we made. From now on, we may talk about mundane matters in synagogue before the prayers begin, as we used to. Needless to say, this should not be done during the service itself. In response to the many questioning looks, Rabbi Michoel continued, Although we had proper intentions, it seems that this resolution caused more harm than good. Before the resolution, we shared our daily difficulties with each other. We knew when a person needed a loan to replace his cow which had stopped producing milk, or when another persons horse had come of age and he needed funds to purchase a new one. When we stopped talking before the prayers, we lost touch with each other, and were unable to show our care. From From My Fathers Shabbos Table, translated by Eliyahu Touger from Rabbi Yehudah Chitriks Reshimos Devarim.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Stories

Bragging Rights
By Yossy Gordon

There was once a well-known doctor who was famous not only for his medical expertise, but also for his extraordinary bedside manner. He was gentle and kind, and often helped people far beyond the call of duty. He had one fault, though: he loved talking about his righteousness, and felt that he was due honor for his deeds. Once, as the doctor traveled along in his fashionable coach, he noticed a rabbi walking along the side of the road. The good doctor graciously offered him a ride. The rabbi accepted. As they rode, the doctor began to talk about his good work. When a patient comes to me who cannot afford to pay, I treat him exactly as I do a paying customer, said the doctor. Oh, yes, responded the rabbi, I do the same. The doctor was surprised. The rabbi did not appear to have any medical skills at all. What could he mean? Most likely, mused the doctor quietly, he treats whoever asks him rabbinical questions in the same manner. Hmmm . . . The doctor spoke up again. When I see patients who cannot afford to pay my fee, I provide free medication for them as well. The rabbi listened intently and responded with a curt Nu, I do the same. Perplexed, the doctor began deliberating to himself: Was the rabbi dispensing medicine too? No, no, no . . . He must mean that when people need things from him for which he normally charges a fee, he gives it away to the needy for free.

The doctor was flabbergasted to hear the rabbi say, Aha! I do the same.

The doctor tried again: When I see patients who cannot afford to pay for my fee or medicine, and need to go elsewhere to recover from their illness, I sponsor their trips to various spas and health centers. Confident that he had now, finally, topped the rabbi, the doctor was flabbergasted to hear the rabbi say, Aha! I do the same. This continued until finally the doctor lost patience. Excuse me, honored rabbi. I dont understand you, he said with aggravation in his voice. Are you a doctor? Do you provide medical care and medicine, or arrange that needy patients can stay in health spas? What do you mean, I do the same? The rabbi answered with a smile: I just wanted to tell you that I, too, talk to others only about the good things I do. My faults I never talk about, just like you . . . Rabbi Yossy Gordon was born in Worcester, Mass., and serves as Executive Vice President of the Chabad on Campus International Foundation. Rabbi Gordon makes his home in Miami Beach, Fla., with his wife, Rochel, and their six children.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Confessions of an Imperfect Food Blogger

By Miriam Szokovski

Today well chat about the darker side of cookingkitchen disasters! Ive had them, youve had them, pretty much anyone whos ever cooked has had them. So although I only post picture-perfect recipes, dont let that fool you. Ive cooked my fair share of monstrosities, and cleaned up my fair share of explosions. About two years ago, I made cookies that looked, smelled and tasted so bad, I dubbed them vomit cookies. More recently, I tried to make a tomato-free, faux marinara sauce. I spent several hours and lots of ingredients but the end result was simply not salvageable. It looked like borscht, smelled like hand cream and had the texture of grainy farina. FAIL.

As you can see, it looks quite bizarre. Last year, I went through a candy making phase. I nailed the sponge candy, but came up short on several other types. If youve ever worked with hot sugar, or candy, youll know how hard it is to clean once its cooled. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way when I spent two hours scrubbing streaks and puddles of hardened fire-engine red candy off the counters, floors and stovetop! And a month ago my tempered chocolate experiment exploded and hardened as it hit the floor, walls and cabinet. Slightly easier to clean than the candy, but it definitely took some serious elbow grease. (Not to mention, that was the last of the chocolate)

Now, lets talk about breads. Six or seven years ago, I worked as the baking instructor at an overnight camp. My room was called the bake shop it was un-air-conditioned, crowded, home to a wasp nest (!)

and the hot water was off more than it was on you get the picture. My primary job was baking with the children, of course. But each Friday I was expected to bake 30 challahs for the Friday night meal (and give my regular classes!). Thats five batches of dough, without an electric mixer. I used to line up five bowls on the table and walk up and down adding the ingredients to each bowl and mixing and kneading each batch. Then Id put them out in the sun to rise, bring them in and start the braiding and baking. With only two working ovens, that took quite a while. One week, I decided to be clever and prepare some of the dough the night before, which would give me a head start come Friday morning. I figured I could braid and bake the pre-made dough while the Friday dough was rising. So I made three batches of dough, tipped them into large aluminum foil pans and covered each one loosely with saran wrap. I stuck them in the fridge, turned off the light, locked up and left for the night, feeling very smug and proud of my brilliant idea. Friday morning, as soon as I opened up, I noticed the fridge door was open I was horrified! And puzzled. Was it possible Id forgotten to close the door? Had someone else come in at night, used the room and left the fridge open? But as I looked closer, I realized the dough had risen in the fridge, and it had risen so much it had spilled out of the pans and literally pushed the door open. Sounds unbelievable, but it really happened. My small fridge was no match for three big batches of dough. True story! My second bread disaster was less dramatic, but equally disappointing. Id been researching and playing around with assorted gluten free recipes. Then I discovered a quinoa bread recipe, made with whole quinoa (which I had) rather than quinoa flour (which I didnt have). The accompanying picture looked delicious and I got to work making the dough. It ended up being quite an expensive recipe, with lots of seeds and nuts in the dough. But I was excited! This bread would even be protein dense from the quinoa, and the bread in the picture looked soooo good! Healthy and nutty and perfect for avocado toast. Sadly, my bread came out dark grey and so dense it bounced. Literally. It tasted terrible, too.

Well, I went back to recheck the recipe and see where Id gone wrong. But I hadnt. Id follow the directions to a tee and hadnt substituted any of the ingredients. Mysterious, eh?

Suddenly, I started to have my suspicions about the picture. I did a reverse image search, and discovered that the picture had been lifted from a completely different website and a completely different recipe! It was being used a)without permission, b)for a completely different recipe. Oh dear. So, why am I sharing all these stories? Because it happens to all of us. Something burns, something spills, a recipe comes out completely inedible but its ok. Its normal. The only people who never have kitchen disasters, are people who dont cook. So dont be disheartened. Take a picture, pass it around, have a good laugh, and move on to the next (hopefully successful and delicious) recipe. Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

The Rebbe

Investing in Israel
Mr. Efraim Ilin

Mr. Efraim Ilin

With the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the Henry Ford Motor Company realized that the new state would need a huge number of vehicles for the military and the government, and it announced plans to build a car assembly plant in Israel. This made news all around the world. The Jewish state was just founded, and the Henry Ford Motor Company would be the first to build a factory there! Our joy didnt last long. As soon as the Arabs heard about Fords plans, they announced that if Ford didnt back down, theyd boycott it by putting the company on the Arab Leagues blacklist.

So, of course, Ford pulled out. For the Israeli government it was a moment of crisis. With Ford capitulating to the Arabs, who would invest in Israel? While the government was searching for alternatives, out of the blue my friend, Lord Israel Ziev of London, called me up and told me, Theres a man you must talk to. His name is Hickman Price. He is with the Kaiser-Frazer Export Corporation. His company built an automobile plant in Holland, and it was a great success. Now they want to build one in Greece. I suggested to him that he should meet with you first.

For the Israeli government it was a moment of crisis. With Ford capitulating to the Arabs, who would invest in Israel?

The arrangements were made, and we met. And from the very first moment, we knew we were going to do business. But this project required $2.5 million. That would be equivalent to $250 million today, perhaps $300 millionso, a lot of money. I asked Kaiser-Frazer to invest half a million, and I would form a group that would invest two million. I thought Id have no trouble putting together such a group. There was no shortage of potential candidates! But when the lawyers got down to drafting the contracts, where was the money? Nowhere to be seen! The time came to sign the contracts, but I didnt have the courage to do it . . . I couldnt sleep . . . It was then that I recalled an incident involving my late father. He couldnt decide whether to move his family to Israel, so he went to the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe for advice. And here I was in New York. So, I said to myself: I can go ask the Rebbe right now! Now this was 1950the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, had passed away a few months earlier, and his son-in-law, the Rebbe, had not yet formally accepted the leadership. But people were already turning to him. I contacted Pinye Althaus, a Chabad chassid I knew, and within two days Pinye arranged an appointment. I received a message, Be at this address at 11 a.m. The address was a ground-floor apartment in Brooklyn somewhere. I was moved just seeing the Rebbe. I felt I was standing in front of a giant. And, yet at the same time he was such a wonderful person, so good, so knowledgeable. We spoke in three languages: Russian, Frenchhe spoke excellent Frenchand Hebrew. I was with him for about forty minutes. I remember he was very interested in my past involvement in Etzel (the Jewish underground), my experiences in the British prisons and during the War of Independence, and how I had gotten to where I was in life . . . Then I told him about the car company proposal. Since the Rebbe himself was educated as an engineer, he knew more about cars than I did. I seem to recall that he said, A car is made up of 30,000 parts. That doesnt mean 30,000 industries, but it does mean 3,000! You have to understand: A
Efraim Ilin at w ork

The Rebbe said, This

car assembly plant could be the plant is a trade foundation for all of school for at least fifty Israels industry! He vocations: saw the larger picture, metalwork, painting, on the national scale. carpentry, upholstery, etc. This was very important, because Jews were coming to Israel straight from the concentration camps. They were not skilled in the slightest; they were Holocaust survivors He said, This plant could be the foundation for all of Israels industry! He saw the larger picture, on the national scale. And then he said, I see that throughout your life youve encountered many obstacles, but G d was behind you. G d will be behind you in the future, as well. And if for some reason things dont work out, then whatever happens, you will be among your fellow Jews, and youll always find a way to survive. I no longer remember all his exact words, but I will never forget the wisdom, the kindheartedness, and the quiet way he spoke A feeling of tranquility came over me. When I left, I felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from my heart. I knew that I would sign the contracts and thats what I did. Our company took off. In the first ten years, we produced twenty-eight percent of Israels entire gross domestic product! Our exports reached all the way to Argentina, Brazil, Colombiaand closer to home, we reached Turkey, France, Scandinavia, Finland and Sweden. We even reached South Africa. The work was enormous, the expenses were enormous, but that was what built industry in Israel.

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Printable Version Dedicated in merit of ' Efraim Illin construy la primera planta de ensamblaje de automviles en Israel, La Kaiser-Frazer de Israel,

en 1951. Un industrialista, filntropo y mecenas de arte, falleci en el 2010 a la edad de 98. Fue entrevistado en su casa en Tel Aviv en Septiembre de 2009.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a Leader of Sephardic Jewry, Dies at 93

By Menachem Posner

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, left, w ith Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi (Photo: Meir Dahan)

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel, preeminent authority on Jewish law and political mentor to many in Israels Sephardic Jewish community, passed away on Monday, Oct. 7. He was 93. The rabbi was hospitalized early Monday at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem and suffered a general collapse of his bodily systems hours before passing away at 1:20 p.m. After the announcement of his death, anguished cries were heard in synagogues and yeshivahs throughout Israel and abroad; men, women and children were seen weeping on the streets; and roads were clogged throughout the country as an estimated half-million mourners made their way to the funeral procession in Jerusalem. A widely published author on Jewish law, Rabbi Yosef was considered by scholars of all backgrounds to be a rabbinical authority with a rare grasp of nearly every area of Torah scholarship.

Immersed in the Torah

Born in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 1, 1920, he immigrated with his family to British Mandate Palestine in 1924, settling with his parents in Jerusalem. He went on to study at the Porat Yosef Yeshivah under the tutelage of Rabbi Ezra Attiya. There, he was widely admired by both peers and faculty for his devotion to learning and his legendary retention of texts. In 1940, the 20-year-old Yosef received rabbinical ordination. After a stint as head of the Cairo Rabbinical

Court, he returned to Israel in the late 1940s. He served on the Jerusalem rabbinical court and taught Torah in a number of yeshivahs. I remember walking past his Jerusalem apartment in the wee hours of the morning, recalls Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi, chief rabbi of Kfar Chabad, Israel, and he would be standing and learning, immersed in the Torah. The two would meet again in 1972, when Ashkenazi published an index of sources cited in the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, the code of Jewish law of the Alter Rebbe, the first Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe. I brought my book to [Yosef], who was already chief rabbi of Tel Aviv at that time, and we sat for many hours talking about Torah topics and other matters, says Ashkenazi. He had a head like a computer. Whatever went in never went out. He was familiar with the Alter Rebbes Shulchan Aruch backwards and forwardsas he was familiar with all parts of the Torah. That year, Rabbi Yosef reciprocated and paid a visit to the rabbi in Kfar Chabad, delivering a class on the laws of Passover. Shortly thereafter, Rabbi Yosef was elected Israels chief Sephardic rabbi, a post he held until 1983. As founder of the Shas political partyrepresenting immigrants from Arab and North African nations who comprise almost half of Israel's Jewish populationhe based its platform on a return to religious tradition and as a counter to a political establishment that had been dominated by Jews of European ancestry. He was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of a wide swath of halachic texts, ranging from the wellknown to the most obscure. In his halachic rulings, he would often list dozens of previous rulings and then decide in accordance with what he perceived to be the majority opinion. Much of Rabbi Yosefs copious work fills two multi-volume collections. His first, Yabia Omer, printed in stages since 1954, tackles a wide range of issues, from the use of solarheated water on Shabbat to the halachic ramifications of Operation Entebbe, the daring hostage-rescue mission carried out by Israel Defense Force commandos in Uganda on July 4, 1976. Many of the responses fill dozens of pages with hundreds of citations. Yechave Daathis second work, six volumes in allis comprised of shorter responses to practical questions posed on his radio program, Pinat Hahalacha (the Halachah Corner), which he hosted during his tenure as chief rabbi. He had the distinction of being one of the select few contemporary scholars to be cited in the Likkutei Sichot of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory (vol. 33, Shlach III). Rabbi Yosefs spiritual authority enabled him to become a leading figure in Israeli political life and to marshal a renaissance of Sephardic pride and a return to tradition that, along with his Torah works, will continue long after his passing. Rabbi Yosef was predeceased by his wife, Margalit, and a son, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef. He is survived by six daughters; and five sons, including Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, who was elected last month as Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Playground to Honor a Phenomenal Human

Being
By Menachem Posner

Brian Grodner speaking about Overcoming Challenges: The Pow er of Positive Thinking."

Brian Grodner had an infectious smile. A native of Birmingham, Ala., he came to Houston seeking treatment for metastatic melanoma at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He ended up giving more than he received. He quickly became an integral part of the Houston Chabad Lubavitch Center, where he participated in services, social events and other programs. He passed away on Sept. 28 at the age of 55, leaving his wife Linda; daughters Gia and Kayla; and a stepdaughter, Ellen. He was just so happy to see everybody. Even when he was very sick, he would always say, Its such a beautiful day, recalls local resident Anat Chen. He may have been physically thin and frail, but he was a mental giant. Taking his inspiration from Torah, he showed us how to truly see the sunny side of life and people. Hetty Perl, who taught Grodners daughter Gia at Torah Day School of Houston, says he went as far as to write a bookCancer Is Not the Boss of Meto guide patients through the bewildering process of diagnosis and treatment. He spoke about it as part of a talk at Chabad back in January, titled Overcoming Challenges: The Power of Positive Thinking.

'Treat Everyone With Respect'

It was just amazing, she says. In addition to technical advice, the gist of the book is that you need to treat everyone with respect. He wrote that even if a nurse is being rude or things are not going your way, just keep an even keel and everything will be better for you. At that point, he knew there was no cure for himself. He was a phenomenal human being. Torah Day School and Camp Gan Israelthe local Jewish summer day camp run by Chabadhave decided to dedicate a new state-of-the-art playground in his name, complete with a sign honoring his memory. Grodner, a graduate of the University of Alabama, served in the Navy, worked as a defense contractor and later in his career started a web-based brokering business. We are honored to be part of this memorial, says Linda Grodner. Brian had a deep affection for children. The schools PTO has been working for years on raising money for much-needed upgrades to its recreational area. The hope is that this new inspiration will help them meet their financial goals. To date, nearly $55,000 has been raised, including a grant for $18,500. Organizers of the effort aim to meet the grants challenge by raising another $22,000 by the end of October in order to fund the project.

Dedication opportunities are available at the Torah Day School web site. Brian loved life, loved community and loved kids, says Chen. He was such a positive person. We want to remember and cherish his impact for as long as we can, and this is such a fitting tribute to a great man.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Art Exhibit and Events Carry Pure Joy of Judaism Into the Year
By Karen Schw artz

Rabbi Yitzchok Moully, right, w ith guests at the opening of the "Pure Joy" art exhibit and events.

Less than a block from where crowds danced in the streets of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in celebration of Sukkot, an art exhibition showcasing Jewish artists and a series of events highlighting the joy of Jewish life is now underway. Called Pure Joy, the exhibit focuses on Sukkot, a holiday referred to as the time of our joy. The show, which opened Sept. 21 and runs through Oct. 13, has welcomed a few thousand visitors so far, according to Rabbi Yitzchok Moully, co-founder of The Creative Soul, the Jewish artists group featured in the pop-up gallery, and editor of the Jewish Art for the Soul blog on Chabad.org. The Creative Soul is a group dedicated to fostering the relationship between art and Judaism, says Moully, who hopes the show helps visitors see the connection between creativity and Judaism. To inspire a greater connection with G-d through art, thats what its all aboutcelebrating our uniqueness and our ability to share in our unique ways, to celebrate life and the joy of Judaism. The work on the wallsprints, photography, sketches and digital mediais all for sale, and so far, has been selling well, says the 35-year-old rabbi. The idea came about a few years ago after an artist in Venice asked Moully to represent him in New York. Moully sought approval on a rental spacean empty storefront at 425 Kingston Ave.and put out a call to various artists he knew. In less than a week, 15 artists were on display; by the end of the show, that number had grown to 30. Since then, community interest has continued to grow.

Moullys goal is to create a space where young and old can experience and interface with creativity. Along those lines, the gallery will host a series of events over the next two weeks, including womens programs, open-mic and improv nights, a spotlight evening on Chassidic writers and a Moshe Hecht live concert on Oct. 10. For more information, visit The Creative Soul web site The gallery is open daily, beginning at noon; it is closed on Shabbat.

The gallery w ill host a series of events over the next tw o w eeks.

Called Pure Joy, the exhibit opened Sept. 21 and runs through Oct. 13, and has w elcomed a few thousand visitors so far.

Chabad X, inspired by TEDx talks, w ill feature five people w ho w ill speak for 10 minutes each about w hat theyre most passionate about in Judaism. Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Vayeira
Parshah

Why Women Dont Need Circumcision

By Rochel Holzkenner

Why couldnt Gd have chosen an organ common to both women and men to brand our Jewish identity?

Answering the Call

By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Conceding Women have a greater sensitivity to emotional issues than men. So, w hen there is a quarrel, generally it is the mans job to concede to his w ife.

The early history of humanity as told in the Torah is a series of disappointments. Gd gives human beings freedom, which they then misuse.

Do You Follow Your Convictions?

By Chana Weisberg

At various junctures in our lives, we may face the difficult decision of doing what we know is best, or conforming to what others expect. How do you choose?

from a letter

Vayeira in a Nutshell
Abraham is visited by three angels and is promised a son. The city of Sodom is destroyed, and Lots wife turns into a pillar of salt. Sarah gives birth to Isaac at the age of 90, Hagar and Ishmael are banished, and Gd orders Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Women

Deciding to Decide
By Rivka Caroline

Day-to-day life does require a sizeable amount of decisions to be made. And understandably, there is a fair amount of stress attached to these decisions. Follow these tips to minimize decision-making anxiety.

The Strength of Rachel

By Elana Mizrahi

Not only did Rachel keep silent during the wedding of her sister, but even during all those years when she was barren and Leah bore child after child, Rachel never said a word to her.

The True Key to Blessings

By Eli Raksin

Spending too much time at work trying to make an extra buck? Wondering what the key to Gds blessings is?

Voices

How to Make a Miracle

By Tzvi Freeman

Once in a while, were gifted with an opportunity to make a miracle. Like the time I woke up too late for my final exam. Your Questions

Can I Go Kosher at My Own Pace?

By Yisroel Cotlar

Can you give me some ideas how I can make the transition into a kosher home just a little bit easier?

What Were Abrahams 10 Tests?

By Menachem Posner

Torah does not tell us what the tests actually were. There are actually a number of schools of thought about this. Here are some. Cooking

Sponge Candy
By Miriam Szokovski

Make your own candy - it's less complicated than you might think!

Confessions of an Imperfect Food Blogger

By Miriam Szokovski

Kitchen disasters - they happen to all of us!

Story

The Table
Shoshannah Brombacher & Yitzchak Buxbaum

The Baal Shem Tov saw Rabbi Yaakov Koppel dancing in ecstasy before his Shabbat table, which was laden with good food . . . News

Jewish History Comes Full-Circle in Green Bay

By Menachem Posner

Diane Margoliss family has been living in Manitowoc, Wisc., for more than 100 years, originally Chabad Chassidim who settled in northeastern Wisconsin at the turn of the 20th

century. Rabbi Michoel and Esty Feinstein moved to nearby Green Bay in 2011, bringing the regions unique Jewish history full-circle.

Chassidic Chaplain in Maryland Promoted to Major

By Lori Samlin Miller

Rabbi Yechezkiel Tenenbaum begins with what has now become a routine account, at least, for him: I am someone who first made news because of my beard. Now he's in the news because of a big promotion in what is only one of many volunteer chaplaincy roles.

For Furloughed Workers Biding Their Time, Chabad Is There

By Faygie Levy

Sure, it may have been fun at first: a couple of days off to catch up on errands or yard work, or visit family. But as the U.S. government shutdown enters its third weekmore furloughed workers are turning to Chabad--whether attending Jewish study classes, participating in volunteer activities, or in search of advice and support. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Why Women Dont Need Circumcision

By Rochel Holzkenner

Shalom DovBer was a young chassidic prodigy, a scion of the illustrious Schneersohn family, who would eventually become the fifth rebbe of Chabad. He was four years old when he read of Abrahams circumcision and of G ds subsequent appearance to him. Something about the story moved him, and he began to cry heavily. He ran to his grandfather, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, and amidst his tears complained, Why is it that G d appeared to Abraham, but He hasnt appeared to me!? Perhaps his grandfather was surprised that this question should concern a four-year-old boy so genuinely that he was brought to tears. But his grandfather, the rebbe, didnt minimize his question. He didnt tell him that Abraham was a very righteous man, the first Jew, and who was he, a four-year-old child, to compare himself to Abraham? Instead, the rebbe presented his grandson with the following answer: When a Jew, at 99 years old, decides to circumcise himself, he deserves the appearance of G d. Young Shalom DovBer asked a serious question, and he got a serious answer. Although G d had appeared to Abraham previously, beginning with the commandment to leave his fathers home and travel to Canaan, the expression that the Torah uses to describe this appearance is unique. G ds four-letter name (Yud-HeyVav-Hey) is used in the opening phrase of the Parshah: And G d appeared to him (Genesis 18:1). This

four-letter name describes G d as He His grandfather, the transcends time and space. It was with this rebbe, didnt minimize omnipresence that his question G d appeared to Abraham on that third day after his circumcision. What did Abraham do to deserve this uniquely lofty appearance? And how was he, as a limited human being, able to relate so comfortably to G ds infinity as he did that day? Although Abraham had done many noble deeds before the age of 99, it was circumcision that brought him to an entirely new plane of spiritual awareness. Abraham had popularized monotheism in a polytheistic world. He had graciously opened his heart and home to the physical and spiritual needs of others. But the circumcision was different. G d wanted him to brand himself, to mark his body as a Jew in an irreversible manner. Circumcision is not an intellectual or glamorous act. Its probably as gory as you get. Yet G d describes this act of commitment as one of great importance: This is My covenant which you should keep between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised (Genesis 17:10). More than other commandments, circumcision creates an irrevocable bond between G d and His people. Circumcision underscores the counterintuitive yet fundamental Kabbalistic notion that the most sublime spiritual energy will find expression in the most material and non-spiritual actions. Our bond of nationhood and communion with G d isnt expressed in a mantra or a meditation, but in a cutting of flesh. The brit is the only conduit for this covenant, a sublime and irreversible connection to G d. The rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, explained to his tender grandson that once Abraham served G d with his very flesh, he was able to perceive a much higher level of divine revelation. As noble as circumcision is, it leaves us females out of the picture. Are women part of G ds eternal covenant? Why are women excluded from an opportunity to make a commitment to G d that penetrates our very flesh forever? Why couldnt G d have chosen an organ common to both women and men to brand our Jewish identity? There is an interesting discussion in the Talmud regarding who can perform a circumcision. Rabbi Yochanan says that the qualification is derived from the biblical verse himmol yimmol (Genesis 17:13), which is literally translated as he needs to be circumcised, but can also mean he who is circumcised shall circumcise. Only someone who is circumcised can perform a circumcision on another person. And yet, Rabbi Yochanan argues that this criterion does not exclude women. A woman can perform a circumcision, although she was As noble as circumcision not circumcised herself, because a woman is considered to be naturally circumcised. (For a practical halachic ruling, contact is, it leaves us females your local Orthodox rabbi.) The Talmud understands that out of the picture whatever is effected through circumcision is already present in women. What is accomplished through the circumcision? How does it impact a mans psychological wellbeing and his relationship with G d? Nachmanides, a 13th-century Spanish commentator, explains (in his commentary to Genesis 17:9) that the most important injunction for a Jew is to remember that the reproductive organ, the source of lust and desire, should not lead a person to sin. The brit is a constant reminder that a Jew should express his sexuality in a permitted and holy manner.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a 19th-century German commentator, describes circumcision as a sign of the ultimate submission to G d: G d commands, as the very first condition, the moral submission of all the bodily urges. Orlah, uncircumcised flesh, is a term that refers to a lack of mastery over ones bodily inclinations. Circumcision is a tangible reminder to all men that they are the masters of their bodies, that they are in control of their sexual urges. Cutting back the foreskin represents tapering the self-centered nature of lust. Its not only about me, but about another persons dignity and desires. Its not all about the pleasure that I want, but about the pleasure that G d wants me to have. Perhaps this reasoning behind circumcision can account for the Talmuds statement that women are born naturally circumcised. Generally speaking, a womans nature is not to dominate someone whom she desires. Studies show that female sexual predators make up such a small percentage that there is little known about them as a group.1 Although women may have many imperfections, it seems that they are naturally less in danger of violating the dignity of others through their lustful impulses. Sefer ha-Chinuch (Mitzvah 2) explains that the reason for circumcision is to create a permanent sign on the Jewish body that differentiates it from the body of a gentile. Why is this sign imprinted on the reproductive organ? Simply because this organ is the source of a childs existence. The childs creation becomes imprinted with his fathers Jewish identity. But here, too, we can see a noticeable distinction between the male and female contribution to the childs identity. When a man circumcises himself, he is making a commitment to be a part of the Jewish people. If he marries a Jewish woman, he can transmit his mark of Jewish identity to his child through reproduction. His circumcision does not automatically mean the child will be Jewish, but it does contribute to the childs identity. A Jewish mother, however, is the determining factor of a childs Jewish identity. This is an effortless determination, much like the transmission of DNA. While a father can actively pass down his stamp of national distinction to his Why is this sign child during conception, a woman will passively transmit her Jewish distinction to her child. Perhaps this, too, is part of the imprinted on the Talmuds statement that a woman is considered to be naturally reproductive organ? circumcised. According to chassidic philosophy, the mitzvah of circumcision is the ultimate merging of physicality and spirituality. Circumcision manifests G ds deepest desire for an abode in the lowest plane of existence. To focus on G d in the synagogue is lofty. To follow G ds desired food plan brings G dliness into the mundane. To mark the body, and arguably the most corporeal part of the body, with G ds sign effectively causes a very deep fusion of body and spirit. The body becomes much more receptive to its holy and selfless calling.2 A womans body was created with an organ that is naturally quite selflessa womb. For nine months a woman shares her body with another fragile life, often at great expense to her own comfort. And although pregnancy is cause for celebration and brings personal satisfaction, hosting a new soul at the very beginning of its journey here on earth is holy work. Consciously or unconsciously, the female body is built for benevolence in a radical way, in a holy way. It is the natural fusion of our materialistic body and our lofty soul. Again, perhaps this is part of the Talmuds intended meaning when saying that a woman is naturally born circumcised. Immediately after G d commanded Abraham to circumcise himself and all of his male descendants, He relayed a message to Sarah: As for Sarai your wife, you should not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name (Gen. 17:15). Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch notes that Sarai means of a superior and towering nature, whereas Sarah refers to someone who sets the tone for others through her sensitivity to what is praiseworthy and holy. The phrase Sarah is her name implies that she already had this spiritual capacity within her; G d was only highlighting her nature. This is in contrast to Abrahams name change, when G d told him, But your name shall be Abraham, implying a new, superimposed identity. It is not coincidence that Sarahs name change was juxtaposed with G ds instruction to Abraham to circumcise himself, says Rabbi Hirsch. Women dont require an external sign of the covenant because they

naturally feel committed to G d.3 Both men and women are entrusted to serve G d with dignity and consciousness. At the core of this service is the challenge to infuse meaning into the most mundane aspects of our life. To imprint the covenant on our physical body. And perhaps it is in this arena that women are naturally gifted. This gift of natural circumcisionthe perspective of fluidity between the holy and the mundaneempowers (and obligates) women to become leaders. In the era preceding the global redemption, when the schism between what is worldly and what is G dly will vanish, feminine leadership is vital. Rochel is a mother of four children and the co-director of Chabad of Las Olas, FL serving the community of young professionals. She is a high school teacher and a freelance writerand a frequent contributor to Chabad.org. She lectures extensively on topics of Kabbalah and feminism, and their application to everyday life. Rochel holds an MS in Brain Research from Nova SE University.
FOOTNOTES 1. Shannon M. Bader, Robert Welsh, and Mario J. Scalora, Recidivism Among Female Child Molesters, Violence and Victims 25, no. 3 (2010): 34962. 2. Sefer ha-Sichot 5752, Parshat Vayeira. 3. Hirschs commentary to Genesis 17:15.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Answering the Call

By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

The early history of humanity as told in the Torah is a series of disappointments. G d gives human beings freedom, which they then misuse. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit. Cain murders Abel. Within a relatively short time, the world before the Flood has become dominated by violence. All flesh had perverted its way on the earth. G d creates order. Man creates chaos. Even after the Flood, humanity, in the form of the builders of Babel, is guilty of hubris, thinking they can build a tower whose top reaches heaven. Humans fail to respond to G d, which is where Abraham enters the picture. We are not quite sure, at the beginning, what it is that Abraham is summoned to. We know he is commanded to leave his land, birthplace and fathers house, and travel to the land I will show you, but what he is to do there, we do not know. On this the Torah is silent. What is Abrahams G d creates order. Man mission? What makes him special? What creates chaos makes him not simply a good man in a bad

age, as was Noah, but a leader and the father of a nation of leaders? To decode the mystery, we have to recall what the Torah has been signaling prior to this point. I suggested in previous essays that a, perhaps the, key theme is a failure of responsibility. Adam and Eve lack personal responsibility. Adam says, It wasnt me, it was the woman. Eve says, It wasnt me, it was the serpent. It is as if they deny being the authors of their own actsas if they do not understand either freedom or the responsibility it entails. Cain does not deny personal responsibility. He does not say, It wasnt me. It was Abels fault for provoking me. Instead he denies moral responsibility: Am I my brothers keeper? Noah fails the test of collective responsibility. He is a man of virtue in an age of vice, but he makes no impact on his contemporaries. He saves his family (and the animals), but no one else. According to the plain reading of the text, he does not even try. Understand this and we understand Abraham. He exercises personal responsibility. A quarrel breaks out between his herdsmen and those of his nephew Lot. Seeing that this was no random occurrence, but the result of their having too many cattle Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. to be able to graze together, Abraham immediately proposes a solution: Abram said to Lot, Let there not be a quarrel between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Lets part company. If you go to the left, Ill go to the right; if you go to the right, Ill go to the left.1 Note that Abraham passes no judgment. He does not ask whose fault the argument was. He does not ask who will gain from any particular outcome. He gives Lot the choice. He sees the problem and acts. In the next chapter we are told about a local war, as a result of which Lot is among the people taken captive. Immediately Abraham gathers a force, pursues the invaders, rescues Lot and with him all the other captives, whom he returns safely to their homes, refusing to take any of the spoils of victory that he is offered by the grateful king of Sodom. This is a strange passagenot the image of Abraham the nomadic shepherd we see elsewhere. Its presence is best understood in the context of the story of Cain. Abraham shows he is his brothers (or brothers sons) keeper. He Abraham gathers a force immediately understands the nature of moral responsibility. Despite the fact that Lot had chosen to live where he did with its and pursues the attendant risks, Abraham did not say, His safety is his invaders responsibility, not mine. Then, in this weeks Parshah, comes the great moment at which for the first time a human being challenges G d himself. G d is about to pass judgment on Sodom. Abraham, fearing that this will mean that the city will be destroyed, says: Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from You to do such a thingto kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice? This is a remarkable speech. By what right does a mere mortal challenge G d himself?

The short answer is that G d himself signaled that he should. Listen carefully to the text: Then the L rd said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him . . . Then the L rd said, The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grievous, that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will know. Those words, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? are a clear hint that G d wants Abraham to respond; otherwise, why would He have said them? The story of Abraham can be understood only against the backdrop of the story of Noah. There too, G d told Noah in advance that he is about to bring punishment to the world: So G d said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. Noah did not protest. To the contrary, we are told three times that Noah did as G d commanded him. Noah accepted the verdict. Abraham challenged it. Abraham understood the third principle: collective responsibility. The people of Sodom were not his brothers and sisters, so he was going beyond what he did in rescuing Lot. He prayed on their behalf because he understood the idea of human solidarity, immortally expressed by John Donne: No man is an island, Entire of itself . . . Any mans death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind.2

He understood the idea of human solidarity

But a question remains. Why did G d call on Abraham to challenge Him? Was there anything Abraham knew that G d didnt know? The idea is absurd. The answer is surely this: Abraham was to become the role model and initiator of a new faith, one that would not defend the human status quo, but challenge it. Abraham had to have the courage to challenge G d if his descendants were to challenge human rulers, as Moses and the prophets did. Jews do not accept the world that is. They challenge it in the name of the world that ought to be. This is a critical turning point in human history: the birth of the worlds first religion of protesta faith that challenges the world instead of accepting it. Abraham was not a conventional leader. He did not rule a nation. There was as yet no nation for him to lead. But he was the role model of leadership as Judaism understands it. He took responsibility. He acted; he didnt wait for others to act. Of Noah, the Torah says, He walked with G d. But to Abraham, G d himself said, Walk before Me,3 meaning: be a leader. Walk ahead. Take personal responsibility. Take moral responsibility. Take collective responsibility. Judaism is G ds call to responsibility. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the British Commonwealth. To read more writings and teachings by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, or to join his e mail list, please visit www.rabbisacks.org.
FOOTNOTES 1. Genesis 13:89. 2. John Donne, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1623). 3. Genesis 17:1.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Do You Follow Your Convictions?

By Chana Weisberg

Have you ever asked yourself what qualities make a great leader? What personality traits would you include as essential? On your list, Im sure, would be assets like wisdom and insight, ideals and conviction, and the ability to get along with others and know how to get things accomplished. You might also include diplomacy and being people smart as necessary to help a leader navigate through the right channels. What quality do you think should top this list? I believe it is couragethe fearlessness to follow your convictions. All too often an individual knows on an intellectual level what steps need to be taken, but on a practical level is afraid to follow through. How many people dont do what they know would be best because they are paralyzed by public opinion? The Mishnah (at the very end of Sotah) tells us that the generation before Moshiach will have leaders with the face of a dog. What does this mean?

Have you ever asked yourself what qualities make a great leader?

Ever watch a dog? He runs ahead freely, as if he is the master. But once there is a fork in the road, or a path that requires direction or discernment, it becomes obvious that he is no longer the leader. Now he looks back and waits for his master to lead. Similarly, how many of our leaders today are really led by the opinions of the masses? How many wait to hear what the polls say before making their decisions on weighty moral, political or military issues? Do they have moral integrity or a code of ethics that we can be proud of? The overriding quality that comes to my mind when I think about our matriarch Sarah is courage. Sarah had a very clear and strong moral code, but more importantly, she had the conviction to follow it, even if it meant at times raising eyebrows or alienating those around her. To me, Sarah epitomized strength, confidence and determination to speak and act according to her ideals. But it was not a confidence born of arrogance. It was not about getting her way. Sarah partnered with her husband to open up her home to wayfarers and teach the world the concepts of kindness, justice and monotheism in a culture of paganism, where the mighty ruled over the masses. But, as giving and kind as she was, she also had the ability to withhold her kindness when the situation

warranted. She was courageous enough to act in a way that could even jeopardize the respect others had for her. Throughout the Torahs narration of their lives together, Abraham and Sarah seemed to have a very strong relationship. But the one recorded dispute in the Torah was when Sarah demanded a strong hand and Abraham hesitated. The dispute was resolved only when G d Himself intervened, commanding Abraham that Sarahs perspective must be followed. Lets read the text of the story: As G d promised, at a very advanced age, Abraham and Sarah had a child of their own. Both were delighted with this miraculous birth, and they called their son Yitzchak (Isaac), which means laughter, due to their great joy. Sarah said, G d has made me laugh, so that all who hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? For I have born him a son in his old age. The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. (Genesis 21:68) But then, Sarahs maternal protectiveness and insightful clarity caused her to take action: Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, whom she had born to Abraham, mocking. And she said to Abraham, Cast out this slave and her son, for the son of this slave shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac. (Genesis 21:9 10)

Sarahs maternal protectiveness caused her to take action

Understandably, Abraham was not pleased with Sarahs demand, as the text reads: The matter was very grievous in Abrahams eyes because of his son (Genesis 21:11). G d interceded to provide Abraham with greater clarity: G d said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in your eyes because of the boy and your maidservant. All that Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice, for in Isaac shall your seed be called. And also of the son of the maidservant will I make a nation, because he is your seed. (Genesis 21:1213) As G ds trusted servant, Abraham then dutifully complied: Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder and the child, and he sent her away. She departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. (Genesis 21:14) Abrahams reluctance to do Sarahs bidding is understandable. His compassion for his son is expected. Abraham personified chessed, kindness, and his entire life was devoted to reaching out to others, giving endlessly and indiscriminately. He taught with sensitivity and compassion, persistently focused on humanitys great potential, deliberately turning a blind eye to its imperfections. Naturally, he would want to express this trait of kindness to his own child. To demand that he withhold the very quality that defined his being, and banish his own son from his home, was too much. Only when G d himself intervened did Abraham realize the severity of the situation. G d instructed Abraham, Listen to her voice. Rashi explains these words: Listen to the voice of the prophetic spirit within her. From this admonition, we deduce that Abrahams prophetic powers were secondary to Sarahs. Rashi is explaining that Abraham was constrained by his natural tendency toward kindness, so G d commanded him to listen to his wifes voice because she had a clarity that he did not. Her actions were not

defined by her natural traits. She understood that Abrahams natural outpouring of indiscriminate universal giving needed to be tempered by well-defined borders. She could objectively ask herself, What is my priority in this particular situation? Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch comments: Abraham was told to listen to the kol, the voice of Sarah, rather than devar Sarah, the words of Sarah. True obedience is to the person, regardless of whether or not the listener understands the reason for the command or agrees with it. Abraham was told to rely on Sarahs judgment because, as women generally do, she had a deeper insight into character than he did. What was it about Ishmaels behavior that bothered Sarah so much that she was willing to go so far as to banish her stepson from her home? What prompted her to take such a harsh and unforgiving stance? Kessef Mezukak (to Genesis 21:9) sheds light on this episode:

Abraham was told to rely on Sarahs judgment

Sarah perceived that the mocking and playing of Ishmael towards Isaac was too intensive and unwholesome, and consumed too much time. She feared the effect this would have on Isaacs spiritual development, and was determined not to allow his negative influence to continue. From closely observing the way Ishmael was behaving, Sarah discerned that he would hurt Isaac by either physically injuring him or spiritually harming him through his sinful ways. She would notcould notrisk having him in her home. The Eishet Chayil (Woman of Valor) hymn is recorded in the book of Proverbs (31:1031), and is customarily recited every Friday night by husbands in appreciation of their wives. According to the Midrash (Tanchuma, Chayei Sarah), this prayer was originally composed by Abraham as a eulogy for Sarah. One of the verses in this song is Darshah tzemer u-fishtim, that the woman of valor seeks a wool and linen mixture. The Torah teaches us that wool and linen is shaatnez, a forbidden combination, and any garment containing both materials may not be worn. With these words Abraham was paying tribute to Sarahs keen perception of character. He was hinting to this very episode with Ishmael, and acknowledging Sarahs foresight. Sarah realized that Ishmael and Isaac had incompatible missions, and that the mixture of the two would pose a deadly combination. Sarah, entrusted with the responsibility of nurturing Abrahams successor, was adamant about removing this toxic ingredient from her home. Now, lets take a step back and think about the ramifications of Sarahs actions. Sarah and Abraham were on a relentless mission to change the world. Sarah spread their G dly message among the worlds women with the same zeal and passion that Abraham had for the worlds men. Day after day, they welcomed strangers into their home, whom they taught to fear the one G d and to live a more just and moral life. Sarah and her husband were public figures who were respected and admired by the masses. Obviously, an act like banishing her stepson from her home was sure to have negative consequences on her lifes work. Undoubtedly, Sarah would be misunderstood and perceived as being selfish, uncaring, and even cruel. Her detractors would be Sarah and her husband only too happy to claim that she was merely harboring an ugly grudge against Hagar. In fact, till today, there are those who were public figures portray Sarah negatively due to her sharp insistence to send away her stepson. Yet none of these considerations prevented Sarah from taking action. She would have to deal with whatever fallout would result. But her prime consideration was not whether her

reputation would be tarnished, or if this would create antagonism. The wellbeing of her child was her first priority. She knew what was necessary for the sake of her child, and she fearlessly and boldly took action. She was aware that she had been granted this miraculous child in her advanced years, and understood her awesome charge as the mother of nations. Nothing would prevent her from carrying out the responsibility that G d had entrusted to her. What others would sayand even her husbands reluctance and discomfort would not sway her. Sarah realized that in order for teachers to educate and lead effectively, they need to clearly uphold their authority as mentors. Sarahs very name means princess or ruler. She taught her family, by example, that a leader must have a sense of moral nobility and the courage to lead. This is why G d told Abraham, Whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her voice. She was not speaking from a selfish perspective, but with divine prophecy. She carefully assessed the situation and, as a courageous leader, objectively determined what steps needed to be taken. At various junctures in your life, you will be called upon to be a leader. Sarahs boldness and fearlessness is refreshing, and serves as a model for our times. Can you follow her example to honestly and objectively evaluate what would be the best choice? Do you genuinely consider what would be the best school for your child to gain what he most needs for his own unique, personal development? Which neighborhood would be the best one for your family to live in to promote their greatest growth? Which career path would lead to the most enriching life? Despite what society says, or what your neighbors, friends, co-workers or relatives will say, are you prepared to follow the decisions that you know will provide the most meaning and purpose, without any fear of communal rejection? Sarahs legacy also applies on a national level. Our goal as G ds chosen people will not be achieved by compromising our standards in order to seek the worlds approval. We need to lead by example, proudly and unabashedly Which neighborhood promoting the teachings of our heritage. Listen to her voice, G d said to Abraham. Shema bekolah. And each one of us, too, is being instructed, Listen to her voice. Find your voice of Sarah. Find your inner voice. Find the voice of nobility, strength and boldness. Find the voice that intuitively knows what is the best path toward your greatest spiritual development. Find that inner voice. And then listen to it. Boldly and fearlessly.

would be the best one for your family to live in

Lets Review:
The one recorded dispute between Abraham and Sarah was when she demanded that Abraham banish Ishmael from their home. Sarah understood from Ishmaels conduct that he would hurt Isaac, either physically or spiritually. Abraham was reluctant to follow Sarahs demand until G d commanded him, Shema bekolah, Listen to Sarahs voice. G d told Abraham to listen to Sarahs judgment whether or not he understood or agreed, because her words were divinely inspired and her prophetic powers were greater than his. Sarah was able to withhold her kindness and fearlessly take action. She was not swayed by what

others would say or what ramifications this would have on her public role. Her prime consideration was the physical and spiritual wellbeing of her child. Sarah, whose name means princess or ruler, taught that to be a leader, one must have moral nobility and courage to take action. At different times in our own lives, we may face the difficult choice between doing what we know is best or conforming to what others expect. How do you choose?

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Chana Weisberg is a writer, editor and lecturer. Her latest books include Tending the Garden: The Unique Gifts of the Jewish Woman and the best selling Divine Whispers on finding spirituality in daily life. She has served as the Dean of several women's educational institutes in Toronto and lectures internationally on issues relating to women, faith, relationships and the Jewish soul.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Vayeira in a Nutshell
G d reveals Himself to Abraham three days after the first Jews circumcision at age ninety-nine ; but Abraham rushes off to prepare a meal for three guests who appear in the desert heat. One of the three who are angels disguised as menannounces that, in exactly one year , the barren Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah laughs. Abraham pleads with G d to spare the wicked city of Sodom. Two of the three disguised angels arrive in the doomed city, where Abrahams nephew Lot extends his hospitality to them and protects them from the evil intentions of a Sodomite mob . The two guests reveal that they have come to overturn the place, and to save Lot and his family. Lots wife turns into a pillar of salt when she disobeys the command not to look back at the burning city as they flee.

While taking shelter in a cave , Lots two daughters (believing that they and their father are the only ones left alive in the world) get their father drunk, lie with him and become pregnant. The two sons born from this incident father the nations of Moab and Ammon. Abraham moves to Gerar, where the Philistine king Abimelech takes Sarahwho is presented as Abrahams sisterto his palace. In a dream, G d warns Abimelech that he will die unless he returns the woman to her husband. Abraham explains that he feared he would be killed over the beautiful Sarah. G d remembers His promise to Sarah, and gives her and Abraham a son, who is named Isaac (Yitzchak , meaning will laugh). Isaac is circumcised at the age of eight days; Abraham is one hundred years old, and Sarah ninety, at their childs birth. Hagar and Ishmael are banished from Abrahams home and wander in the desert; G d hears the cry of the dying lad, and saves his life by showing his mother a well. Abimelech makes a treaty with Abraham at Beersheba, where Abraham gives him seven sheep as a sign of their truce. G d tests Abrahams devotion by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem. Isaac is bound and placed on the altar, and Abraham raises the knife to slaughter his son. A voice from heaven calls to stop him; a ram, caught in the undergrowth by its horns, is offered in Isaacs place. Abraham receives the news of the birth of a daughter, Rebecca, to his nephew Bethuel.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Deciding to Decide
By Rivka Caroline

From choosing new shoes for the children to buying a new phone, from dinner plans to travel plans, there is no avoiding decision-making. All you need at the store is some salad, washing detergent, and a bottle of shampoo, but by the time youve chosen all three, youve looked at over 100 products and wasted countless minutes. No wonder making decisions can make you dizzy! Day-to-day life does require a sizeable amount of decisions to be made. And understandably, there is a fair amount of stress attached to these decisions. Follow these tips to minimize decision-making anxiety:

Are You Ready?

Making decisions can be grueling if youre already having a rough day. There will be times when you will need to save your brain cells and your sanity, and decide not to decide. No decisions should be made while giving the children dinner or putting the children to bed. Have as many systems in place so that you dont have to think: bedtimes written on a chart, toothbrushes in a visible place, and hairbrushes in an easy-toreach location.

Is This Pass/Fail?
There are certain decision-making decisions that you want to be meticulous about, such as choosing a doctor, new car, and vacation destination. Many other decisions can be pass/fail; determine right away the level of time and energy needed, so you dont overthink the decision. Buying flowers for your Shabbos hostess, for example, should not be something to agonize over; rather, it should take moments. Establish a routine like this at the florist: Is it a lush, pretty bouquet? Does it make you smile? Reasonable price? Great. Snap up the bouquet and dont even look at the other plants. Just like those multiple-choice questions, go with your first instinct.

There is no avoiding

Think Clearly
Morning time, when your mind is clear, is preferable for multilayer decision-making. Many times, sleeping on a decision will help you come to the logical conclusion the next morning. However, big-ticket items shouldnt marinate overnight, as youll toss and turn, be unable to come to a decision, and be useless the following day.

Outsource the Spiritual

The beauty of the directive in Pirkei Avot to find oneself a rav, and the Rebbes directive to establish a relationship with a mashpia (spiritual mentor), is that you get someone who has been there, done that (or at least has the necessary empathy and wisdom) to bounce ideas off.

Outsource the Practical

For practical decisions, outsource the decision altogether by asking someone else how they navigated a scenario similar to yours. Consider asking friends, as they can be a mine of information. But be aware of certain friends intrinsic Be aware of certain biases, and ask the right friends depending on the decision at hand. friends intrinsic biases

Systemize
The more systems you have in place, the less youll have to use the decision-making part of your brain. So, go ahead and plan your menus, get your clothes organized ahead of time, and have a consistent date night with your spouse set in place. The fewer decisions you need to make, the better. Thats my decision, and Im standing by it. Rivka is a mother of seven and a rabbis wife in Key Biscayne, Florida. Rivka realized she had the choice of losing her sanity or developing new tricks for time management. Her new blog, Frazzled No More: Focused Living with a Jewish Twist, walks busy readers through easy-to-follow steps that will give them more time to do what they love. You can read more of Rivkas tips in her recently published book, From Frazzled to Focused, the book she wished she had on her nightstand when she was a new mom. For more tips, check out Rivkas website, or e mail her for information on her upcoming speaking tours.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

The Strength of Rachel

By Elana Mizrahi

Its been over ten years since I had the conversation, but I still remember it clearly. At the time we were going through an infertility treatment, and it was my sixteenth day of hormone injections. I was visiting a friend who was just getting over a bad cough, and for about twenty minutes she was going on and on about her one penicillin shot. There I sat, sore from sixteen shots. Of course, she didnt have any idea that I was undergoing an infertility treatment, let alone the fact that I had to be injected with hormones every day. And yet it took so much There I sat, sore from strength not to scream out, Enough with your sixteen shots complaining already. I have it much worse! But despite the screaming going on in my head, I kept silent. I thought to myself, Maybe her one shot is equal to my sixteen. You never know where the other person stands. Maybe my tolerance to pain is greater than hers. Remember Rachel, our mother . . . You know those days when you are beyond exhausted? It could be that you were up all night long with your crying baby. You feel tired and worn out. The telephone rings, and its a friend; she phoned you so that she could complain to you about how tired she is. She tells you how she went to a wedding last night, and instead of eight hours of sleep, she got seven. You feel like screaming out, Seven hours!! Its been seven years since I got seven hours of sleep. I didnt even get two hours of sleep last night, due to my crying baby. You think youre tired? You dont know what tired really is! But instead, you bite your tongue and you keep quiet. Maybe G d gave you more strength than her. Maybe you need less sleep than her. Who knows who is more tired than the other? Shes calling you for empathy, not for reproach or for a lecture on how good she really has it. You remember Rachel, and you keep silent. You just finished picking up in your home. You swept and mopped the floor. Your son comes home, and he drops his bag on the floor, as his dirty sneakers make a trail from the doorway to the kitchen. You glare at him. You want to scream, I just spent an hour cleaning, and look at the mess you made! How many times do I have to tell you: when you come home, hang your bag up and take off your shoes by the entrance? Dont you see how hard Mommy works? How can you be so inconsiderate? Before the words spill out, before you glare at him, take a deep breath and remember Rachel. Remember her immense motherly love, and how she was always able to focus on the importance of her relationships. Keep silent! Maybe he was excited to come home, and didnt notice the freshly mopped floor? Maybe he was absentminded, and didnt even realize that he How many times do I placed the bag on the floor. If you want to punish him, punish him for not listening to Mommys rules, but dont punish him for being have to tell you?! a child. Dont think he did it on purpose, because he didnt. Bite your tongue. As hard as it is, keep quiet and think of Rachel. The Midrash tells us that when the Patriarchs and Matriarchs went to intercede with G d, who was angered by the idol that King Menashe placed in the Holy Temple, G d was not reconciled. Rachel then entered and

said, Master of the Universe! Whose mercy is more abundantYours, or that of man? Surely, Your mercy is greater. Yet I brought a rival (Leah) into my home, even though all the work that Yaakov did for my father was only for me! And when I came to the wedding canopy, my sister was brought in my place! Not only did I remain silent, but I even gave her my signs, the secret signs which Yaakov and I had for recognizing each other, so that she would not be put to shame. Though Your children have brought a rival into Your home, be silent and do not punish them. G d answered her, You have defended them well. This is the reward for your efforts and for your righteousness in having given your signs to your sister. Not only did Rachel keep silent during the wedding of her sister, but even during all those years when she was barren and Leah bore child after child, Rachel never said a word to her. She never taunted her by saying, Yaakov really only loves me. When Reuben brought dudaim flowers (fertility herbs) to his mother, Rachel asked her, Please give me some of your sons dudaim. Leah responded, Was your taking my husband insignificant? And to take even my sons dudaim! Here again Rachel kept silent. She could have rightfully retorted, Who took him from whom? It is you who took him from me first! But instead she kept silent. This is Rachel, our mother. Rachel taught us the great importance of keeping silent when in the heat of the moment. And yet she also taught us the importance of speaking up at the right time and in the right moment. Rachel made peace and prevented arguments from happening. We do see her expressing herself in the Torah, we Rachel never said a hear her pain and frustration, but we see how she judges favorably and thinks about anothers pain without comparing it to word her own. This is Rachel, our mother. Because of her merit, her silent tears and her powerful words, her children returned from exile, and will do so again. I ask my husband to go buy some plums from the market, so that I can make a plum torte for Shabbat. I tell him three times, and even write it down for him. He comes home with red apples. Where are the plums? Plums? I thought you wanted apples! Wheres the paper I gave you? I lost it. I bite my tongue. I dont tell him, Every time I ask you to pick something up, you bring me the wrong item. Its not true. Nothing is true every time. And he was trying to do me a favor. Theres always a solution. Instead of a plum torte, Ill make an apple cake. As I put the ingredients into the bowl, I pray for the strength of Rachel. With my silence, I will have peace in my home. Originally from Northern California and a Stanford University graduate, Elana Mizrahi now lives in Jerusalem with her husband and children. She is a doula, massage therapist and writer. She also teaches Jewish marriage classes for brides.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

The True Key to Blessings

By Eli Raksin

Spending too much time at work trying to make an extra buck? Wondering what the key to G ds blessings is? The Talmud has an interesting formula. The third-century sage Rabbi Chelbo, who had emigrated from Babylon to Israel, eloquently stated: Always be especially careful with the honor of your wife, for blessings are present in the house of a man only because of his wife, as it states [in Genesis, when Abraham was showered with gifts and presents], Abram was treated well on [Sarais] account. (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59a) According to the simple interpretation of this verse, the Bible is describing how Pharaoh showered Abraham with gifts. However, since the verse does not mention Pharaoh by name, the Talmud interprets the verse as referring to G d, the source of blessing. Accordingly, the verse teaches that G d treated Abraham well on account of his wife. (Commentary of Maharsha ibid.) The Talmud continues, This is what Rava said to the people of Mechoza: Honor your wives so that you may become wealthy. The commentaries ask: what is Rava adding to Rabbi Chelbos statement? Rabbi Yoshiyah Pinto answers that from the opening statement one might (incorrectly) infer that he ought to honor and respect his wife for the blessings found in their house, but that even if he doesnt, the blessings will remain on account of his wife. Ravas comment qualifies this by stating that wealth and blessings are contingent on the husband honoring and respecting his wife. (Commentary of Rif to Ein Yaakov ibid.)
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Voices

How to Make a Miracle

By Tzvi Freeman

Hey Rabbi!
So now Im keeping Shabbat. But Ive got a heavy load at school, and Im falling behind. Im in fourth year, and Im missing way too many classes. I made a decision not to study on Shabbatit just doesnt seem the right way to spend that day. But now I feel I have to compromise. I just have to get my undergraduate degree, and then, in graduate school, my time will be more my own. Right now, to get my degree, Im going to need a few miracles. Big miracles. I dont know if you were ever in this situation, but maybe you might have some advice.

Hey Student!
Yes, I was also an undergrad once, at the University of British Columbia. In my second year I started keeping Shabbat, and then built up from there. At the beginning of the year, I wasnt to be found on campus on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. Classes

had just commenced, and I was missing them. Hard, but I couldnt call that a test. My guts wouldnt let me go. I wasnt propelling myself, I was just being pulled. Over the year I grew further, step by step. But there was no real test, nothing where I had to really make a decision. It just happened to me. Until the end of that academic year. Thats when I first had a real choice to make.

Jolt and Bolt

Eyes open. Its morning. But Im not in my bed. Im at my desk. I look at the clock. A high-voltage shock jolts through my nerves. I had conked out after sitting here all night grueling over a final exam worth most of the mark on a double-unit course, and if I could walk out of my bedroom into the exam room right now, I would already be late. Jump out of chair. Head poundingtwo solid weeks of late nights and long exams. Slip on shoes. Dont bother tying them. Bolt for the door. Stop, frozen. Something inside is yelling at me. Whats with my routine? Over that past year, I had set up a morning routine. Mostly it was about wrapping leather boxes and straps called tefillin on my arm and headthings Jews pray withand struggling to get out the morning prayers with some semblance of mental focus. I would give that one hour. Then I would bike to school. But now theres an animal inside me, the one that controls legs, arms, heart, kishkes and, most often, brain as well. It was screaming. Like its the boss. Forget about it. Its just this one morning. Do it later, at the beach or somewhere. Grab your tefillin and run, Freeman, run! But then the rebel inside me spoke out.

If I would walk out of my bedroom into the final exam right now, I would already be late.

Priorities
Freeman, you got priorities. Dont let them tell you what to do. Priorities. Hey, whats more important to me? What makes me my own person? Wash hands. Slip on black leather boxes. Hack through the Hebrew words at light speed. What the heck?! If youre going to do it, do it right! So now Im tortuously, deliberately, eking out each word. Straining every neuron in my brain to focus on what Im saying. Okay, not an hour. Not even 40 minutes. Maybe, maybe half an hour. A half

What the heck?! If youre going to do it, do

hour like forever.

it right!

Done. Rip off leather straps and boxes. Sprint six blocks downhill to 41st Ave. Stick out thumb. Sports car pulls upbang, just like that. Jump in. Havent even closed the door, and weve got take off. If shes in such a mad rush, why did she stop to pick me up? She doesnt say a word. Weaving in and out of the morning traffic like a housefly avoiding the swatter. A 15minute drive, and were there in five. She drops me off and runs. Im at a parking lot at the other end of campus. The extreme other end of campus. Its a pure blue sky in May and I look up to say, If Youre doing miracles already, cant you do them all the way? Hey, Prez! Its Rodney, vice-president of the music undergrad society. I was president. Rodney! I gotta get over to Humanities 204! Fast!! Rodney doesnt have a sports car. What he does have is a knack for driving over sidewalks and walkways without killing anybody. Hey, Rodney, didnt that sign say Authorized Personnel Only? Hey, youre president, Im vice. How authorized can you get? Next moment, Im standing outside the Humanities building. Glance up at the big clock over Sedgewick Library. 10:00. The exam was called for 8:30. Its lost. Theres no way. What was the point of all those miracles? Nothing left to lose, so I walk into class. Students are sitting around. No prof to be seen. You guys done already? If we were done, what would we be doing here? So wha . . . At which point the prof appears, sheepish grin on his face. Looks like Im a little late this morning. Anyone wants to stay for the exam, weve got this room for the rest of the morning. Otherwise, I understand if you want to do it another time. Well arrange something. I scored a 90 on that exam.

Now for a little debriefing:

When I stood outside that building and looked at the clock, I couldnt have imagined that I would still be able to take the exam. When is the last time you heard of a professor turning up one and a half hours late to administer a final exam? Time itself had to be twisted about for multiple events to conflate

into a miracle. The road-monster lady in the sports car had to leave her home well before I ran down to the intersection. So did Rodney, who was the only person I could have expected to get me from one side of campus to the other by breaking every campus bylaw on the way. And the prof? He had to decide to stay up drinking with his friends the night before, just so that he could sleep in even later than me.

Time itself had to be twisted about for multiple events to conflate into a miracle.

Who knows, maybe the Master Programmer rebooted the system that morning so that there would be a sports car, a Rodney, and a prof with an alcohol problem. Because maybe the moment before they didnt even exist. Maybe their past and my memory of them was coded into the system that morning. Maybe Im going way too far with this. But nothings impossible. What I saw, after all, was the System Operator within the system. And that He could get done anything without hacking a thing, without any cracks. And I saw that it had to start with me. Once in a while, were gifted with an opportunity to act miraculously. The heavens above echo and provide us miracles in return. Go beyond your limitations to connect above, and the One Above breaks all limitations to reach down to you. You dont just get miracles. You become a miracle-maker. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Can I Go Kosher at My Own Pace?

By Yisroel Cotlar

Question:
Im beginning to consider keeping a kosher home, but the leap seems too daunting to do all at once. My problem is that when I do it, I want to do it right, and anything short of a 100% kosher kitchen seems like a compromise. Can you give me some ideas how I can make the transition into a kosher home just a little bit easier?

Response:
Youre on the right path. Dividing a mitzvah into small steps makes the goal much more attainable. Taking things slowly also adds the important element of stability to your journey towards living a Torah lifestyle. But dont look at it as a compromise. Heres why: Suppose an adult wishes to learn a new language. Would he be compromising his mission by beginning with basic simple words? What about a child beginning the study of math. Is he compromising by starting with simple arithmetic?

Of course not. It is quite clear that neither c a t spells cat nor 2 + 2 = 4 is the ultimate goal. But they are necessary steps in the right direction. Mitzvahs are no different. You would indeed be compromising if you believed that as long as you dont eat bacon or cheeseburgers youre eating kosher. And it would be a compromise to think that tefillin really need to be put one only once a week. But to say the journey begins with the first step? That is the way we grow. Regarding mitzvahs, theres an additional component: Torah is not all or nothing. Each mitzvah is a full-blown relationship with the One Above. Each time we eat kosher, each time we put on tefillin, each time we observe Shabbat, something extraordinary occurs. On a practical note, heres a three-stage plan I like to suggest (though you may wish to divide it up even further). Stage One: Buy only kosher meat. Avoid eating meat together with milk. Stage Two: Buy only products that bear reliable kosher certification. Youll be surprised how many items on the grocery store shelves are kosher. Divide your pots, pans, and cutlery into meat and milk groupings, even though you previously may have used the newly designated milk spoon for meat. (You may want to mark your utensils with their new designations, so that you do not mix them up.) This is good practice for whats yet to comepractice that will help minimize messups once your kitchen is kosher. Stage Three: Invite a rabbi to your home to survey the kitchen. Hell advise you on how best to divide the milk and meat sections. He will also help you determine which utensils can be made kosher, and which will have to be replaced. The big day: The sinks, oven and utensils are koshered. You will now be eating in a kosher kitchen. Like they say, mile by mile is a trial, yard by yard is hard, but inch by inch is a cinch. May the fulfillment of this important mitzvah bring you and your family only blessings! Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar is a Chabad rabbi in Cary, North Carolina. He is also a member of the Chabad.org Ask the Rabbi team.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

What Were Abrahams 10 Tests?

By Menachem Posner

Question: I learned in Ethics of Our Fathers1 that G d tested Abraham with 10 tests and he withstood all of them. But the Mishnah does not tell us what those tests were. Can you perhaps enlighten me? Response: You are correct; Ethics does not tell us what the tests actually were. There are actually a number of schools of thought about this. Here are some. Maimonides2 lists them as follows: 1. G d tells him to leave his homeland to be a stranger in the land of Canaan.3 2. Immediately after his arrival in the Promised Land, he encounters a famine.4 3. The Egyptians capture his beloved wife, Sarah, and bring her to Pharaoh.5 4. Abraham faces incredible odds in the battle of the four and five kings.6 5. He marries Hagar after not being able to have children with Sarah.7 6. G d tells him to circumcise himself at an advanced age.8 7. The king of Gerar captures Sarah, intending to take her for himself.9 8. G d tells him to send Hagar away after having a child with her.10 9. His son, Ishmael, becomes estranged.11 10. G d tells him to sacrifice his dear son Isaac upon an altar.12 Note that all of the tests in Maimonides list can be found clearly in Scripture. Most other lists include events that are recorded only in midrashic accounts. For example, the following list is brought by Rabbi Ovadiah of Bertinoro. Notice that the first event listedAbrahams being thrown into a furnaceis one that is not recorded in the Bible, but is known to us only by way of midrashic traditions. 1. He is thrown into a fiery furnace. 2. G d tells him to leave his homeland to be a stranger in the land of Canaan. 3. Immediately after his arrival in the Promised Land, he encounters a famine. 4. The Egyptians capture his beloved wife, Sarah, and bring her to Pharaoh. 5. He faces incredible odds in the battle of the four and five kings. 6. He is told by G d that his children will be strangers in a strange land.13 7. G d tells him to circumcise himself at an advanced age. 8. The king of Gerar captures Sarah, intending to take her for himself. 9. G d tells him to send away Hagar and her son, Ishmael. 10. Abraham is told by G d to sacrifice his dear son Isaac upon an altar. Should you want to do more research, you can find more lists in Midrash Tehillim,14 Pirkei dRabbi Eliezer,15 Avot dRabbi Natan,16 and the commentary of the Meiri on Ethics of Our Fathers. Rabbi Menachem Posner is a lecturer, freelance journalist and writer. He serves as homepage editor for

Chabad.org. Menachem lives with his family in Montreal, QC, and can be contacted via his website, menachemposner.com.
FOOTNOTES 1. 5:3.

2.

Commentary to the Mishnah ad loc.

3.

Genesis 12:1.

4.

Genesis 12:10.

5.

Genesis 12:15.

6.

Genesis 14:14.

7.

Genesis 16:3.

8.

Genesis 17:24.

9.

Genesis 20:2.

10.

Genesis 21:12.

11.

Reflected in Gds commandment ibid.

12.

Genesis 22:2.

13.

Genesis 15:13.

14.

Two lists are cited, one on chapter 18 and another on chapter 95.

15.

26.

16.

33.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Sponge Candy
By Miriam Szokovski

Have you ever dabbled in candy-making? Its fun to explore the different consistencies of heated sugar. Today Im sharing a recipe for sponge candy, also called honeycomb candy or seafoam candy.

You need a candy thermometer, but other than that, no special equipment. Just some sugar, water, corn syrup, honey and baking soda.

Place the sugar, water, corn syrup and honey in a strong pot. Very important use a big pot, because the mixture is going to grow significantly.

Click the thermometer onto the pot and turn the fire on medium-high. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is absorbed. Then let the mixture boil until it reaches 290-300 F.

Warning: Be extremely careful! Hot sugar can give extremely bad burns. The mixture should be a lovely, transparent, amber color (as pictured).

Immediately turn off the fire, sprinkle in the sifted baking soda and give one quick whisk. The mixture should visibly bubble and grow and turn into a more cloudy amber. Pour it into a pan lined with parchment paper and let harden for at least two hours.

Note: When mixing in the baking soda, do NOT over-mix, or the candy will collapse and those beautiful air bubbles will pop, leaving you with a heavy, dense candy, instead of a light, crunchy one.

When the candy has hardened, break it into pieces. You can use a knife, but I find it easier to break it with my hands.

See those beautiful bubbles inside? Thats what the baking soda does. Optional: Dip the candy in melted chocolate. Let chocolate set. Eat and enjoy.

Ingredients: 1 cups sugar cup water 1/3 cup corn syrup

2 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. baking soda (sifted) Optional: dark chocolate Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Combine all ingredients in a pot and give a quick stir. Turn the flame on medium-high and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the bowl. Prepare a large baking dish, lined with parchment paper (NOT wax paper!). When the sugar mixture reaches 290 degrees and turns an amber color, immediately turn off the flame, whisk in the baking soda and pour the mixture into the pan. When you add the baking soda, the sugar mixture should change from clear-ish, amber syrup to a cloudy, thick consistency, which will soon harden. 5. NOTE: Give one quick whisk and then do not touch the mixture again, or it will collapse. 6. Leave the candy to harden and cool for at least two hours. 7. Optional: Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Coat the sponge candy in chocolate and put the chocolate on a piece of parchment paper to set. As soon as the chocolate is set, eat and enjoy.

Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Confessions of an Imperfect Food Blogger

By Miriam Szokovski

Today well chat about the darker side of cookingkitchen disasters! Ive had them, youve had them, pretty much anyone whos ever cooked has had them. So although I only post picture-perfect recipes, dont let that fool you. Ive cooked my fair share of monstrosities, and cleaned up my fair share of explosions. About two years ago, I made cookies that looked, smelled and tasted so bad, I dubbed them vomit cookies. More recently, I tried to make a tomato-free, faux marinara sauce. I spent several hours and lots of ingredients but the end result was simply not salvageable. It looked like borscht, smelled like hand cream and had the texture of grainy farina. FAIL.

As you can see, it looks quite bizarre. Last year, I went through a candy making phase. I nailed the sponge candy, but came up short on several other types. If youve ever worked with hot sugar, or candy, youll know how hard it is to clean once its cooled. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way when I spent two hours scrubbing streaks and puddles of hardened fire-engine red candy off the counters, floors and stovetop! And a month ago my tempered chocolate experiment exploded and hardened as it hit the floor, walls and cabinet. Slightly easier to clean than the candy, but it definitely took some serious elbow grease. (Not to mention, that was the last of the chocolate)

Now, lets talk about breads. Six or seven years ago, I worked as the baking instructor at an overnight camp. My room was called the bake shop it was un-air-conditioned, crowded, home to a wasp nest (!) and the hot water was off more than it was on you get the picture. My primary job was baking with the children, of course. But each Friday I was expected to bake 30 challahs for the Friday night meal (and give my regular classes!). Thats five batches of dough, without an electric mixer. I used to line up five bowls on the table and walk up and down adding the ingredients to each bowl and mixing and kneading each batch. Then Id put them out in the sun to rise, bring them in and start the braiding and baking. With only two working ovens, that took quite a while. One week, I decided to be clever and prepare some of the dough the night before, which would give me a head start come Friday morning. I figured I could braid and bake the pre-made dough while the Friday dough was rising. So I made three batches of dough, tipped them into large aluminum foil pans and covered each one loosely with saran wrap. I stuck them in the fridge, turned off the light, locked up and left for the night, feeling very smug and proud of my brilliant idea. Friday morning, as soon as I opened up, I noticed the fridge door was open I was horrified! And puzzled. Was it possible Id forgotten to close the door? Had someone else come in at night, used the room and left the fridge open? But as I looked closer, I realized the dough had risen in the fridge, and it had risen so much it had spilled out of the pans and literally pushed the door open. Sounds unbelievable, but it really happened. My small fridge was no match for three big batches of dough. True story! My second bread disaster was less dramatic, but equally disappointing. Id been researching and playing around with assorted gluten free recipes. Then I discovered a quinoa bread recipe, made with whole quinoa (which I had) rather than quinoa flour (which I didnt have). The accompanying picture looked delicious and I got to work making the dough. It ended up being quite an expensive recipe, with lots of seeds and nuts in the dough. But I was excited! This bread would even be protein dense from the quinoa, and the bread in the picture looked soooo good! Healthy and nutty and perfect for avocado toast. Sadly, my bread came out dark grey and so dense it bounced. Literally. It tasted terrible, too.

Well, I went back to recheck the recipe and see where Id gone wrong. But I hadnt. Id follow the directions to a tee and hadnt substituted any of the ingredients. Mysterious, eh? Suddenly, I started to have my suspicions about the picture. I did a reverse image search, and discovered that the picture had been lifted from a completely different website and a completely different recipe! It was being used a)without permission, b)for a completely different recipe. Oh dear. So, why am I sharing all these stories? Because it happens to all of us. Something burns, something spills, a recipe comes out completely inedible but its ok. Its normal. The only people who never have kitchen disasters, are people who dont cook. So dont be disheartened. Take a picture, pass it around, have a good laugh, and move on to the next (hopefully successful and delicious) recipe. Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

The Table
Shoshannah Brombacher & Yitzchak Buxbaum

The Baal Shem Tov once spent Shabbat in the town of Kolomaya, and on the night of Shabbat he sensed the presence in the town of a holy soul radiating great light. So he went out for a stroll to find that light. When he passed by a certain home, he saw the light radiating from it; he also heard, within, the sounds of singing and dancing. Seeing that the door was slightly ajar, he went in and saw Rabbi Yaakov Koppel dancing in ecstasy before his Shabbat table, which was laden with good food. Rabbi Yaakov Koppel sang and danced for a long time until he finally stopped and noticed the Baal Shem Tov. He welcomed his guest warmly, and the Besht asked him, Why do you sing and dance this way before eating? Rabbi Yaakov Koppel answered, Before I partake of the physical food, I first stand in front of the table and absorb the foods spiritual essence. Sometimes I become so aroused that I sing and dance. What is the food s spiritual essence? It is its divine aspect. A Jewish mystic meditates on how the food has been created and is being kept in existence (like all created things) every minute by G ds will. And a persons profound realization that G d has created this food to nourish and provide for him leads him to mystic joy.

Text of story excerpted by permission from Jewish Tales of Mystic Joy by Yitzhak Buxbaum, JosseyBass, 2002 Image by chassidic artist Shoshannah Brombacher. To view or purchase Ms. Brombachers art, click here.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Jewish History Comes Full-Circle in Green Bay

By Menachem Posner

Three classrooms in Chabad of the Bay Area's new building w ill allow for grow th in the Kreative Kids program, w hich has attracted nearly tw o-dozen children from Green Bay and its environs. Esty Feinstein, above, w orks on a project w ith some of her students.

Diane Margoliss family has been living in Manitowoc, Wisc., for more than 100 years, a descendant of Chabad Chassidim who, along with thousands of their compatriots, had settled in northeastern Wisconsin at the turn of the 20th century. She says she is proud of the direction her community has taken since Rabbi Michoel and Esty Feinstein moved to nearby Green Bay in 2010 to open Chabad of the Bay Area, bringing the regions unique Jewish history full-circle, with Chabad once again playing an active role in Jewish communal life in northeast Wisconsin. Based in Green Bay, the Feinsteins also serve the Jewish communities in Appleton, Wausau and Door County, along with Manitowoc. After three years of holding services, Hebrew-school classes, adulteducation programming and community events in a small rented home, they are now in the final stages of renovating a new center that will have a sanctuary with seating for 100, a spacious all-purpose room, three guest suites, classrooms and a mikvahthe first built to be built in generations. We are most excited about the mikvah, says the rabbi. Until now, women wishing to do this mitzvah needed to drive to Milwaukee, a four-hour drive round-trip. Now we will have a state-of-the-art, attractive mikvah right here in Green Bay. Margolis, 69, contrasts it with the mikvah her late father maintained for many years in Manitowoc. It was dark and danka dungeonand the heater broke right before my wedding. In the gentle manner of a father speaking to his daughter, he said, You swam in Lake Michigan, you can go to the mikvah. With the new one, its going to be so much better.

Looking Forward to New Mikvah

Shari Hupert is eagerly looking forward to it. One of the really nice things is that Esty is getting all the women involved, she says. She plans on giving it a spa-like, soothing atmosphere. We are going to get together to discuss color schemes and how we want our mikvah to look. This is going to be a learning experience for many of the women who are not yet familiar with [the laws of] Jewish family purity. A recent transplant from the bustling Jewish neighborhood in West Rogers Park in Chicago, Hupert says the Feinsteins were crucial in easing her into life in a small community. They had us over right away and drew us in. They helped us with everything. For example, the rabbi goes once a week to Appleton and brings back chalav Yisrael kosher milk, which we all share. Hupert notes that Chabads womens circle has also been a wonderful way for her to learn something and get to know the local women, many of whom, like Margolis, have known each other for their entire lives and have deep roots in the region. Margolis great-aunt Shifra was married to Rabbi Aryeh Leib Aronin (1849-1931). A renowned Torah scholar and devoted disciple of Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch (1834-1882), of righteous memory, Aronin had served as the rabbi of nearby Sheboygan, an important center of Chabad Chassidic life in the Midwest known as little Jerusalem.

The concentration of Chabad Chassidim in the area was the result of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Societys policy of encouraging European immigrants to settle near lansleit, or fellow immigrants from the same region. Thus, northeast Wisconsin became a destination for many immigrants from towns such as Liepli and Vitebsk, historic Chabad strongholds in Russia. With time, Wisconsin-born children of the original immigrants moved south to bigger cities like Milwaukee and Chicago in search of higher education and better jobs. Many of those who remained behind slowly drifted from the Chassidic lifestyle to the Torah observance of their parents. By the time I was old enough to remember, we no longer had a kosher butcher in Green Bay, recalls 62year-old Henry Zimmerman. Every once in a while, mother would take a bunch of live chickens to Sheboygan, where there was a shochet, who would slaughter them for her, and we would take them home and remove the feathers and kosher them through soaking in water, salting them and again soaking to remove all the blood from the meat. As an adult, he says, Ive had my meat shipped in from Chicago or Milwaukee.

The annual lighting of an outdoor Chanukah menorah is just one of many new traditions Rabbi Michoel Feinstein, left, has started in the Green Bay area.

A Sense of Renewal
Since the Feinsteins arrival, kosher meat and other products have become available in local supermarkets a welcome change by the dozen or so families who keep kosher. Other transformations have taken place in Jewish life as well, including an annual public menorah-lighting ceremony attended by none other than the mayor of Green Bay.

The Feinsteins are now in the final stages of renovating a new center that w ill have a sanctuary w ith seating for 100, a spacious all-purpose room, three guest suites, classrooms and a mikvahthe first one to be built in generations.

Indeed, the Feinsteins presence has had a resounding effect: Services are well-attended; men have begun donning tefillin; families have started celebrating Shabbat; and there is a sense of renewal throughout the community. They put the fun back into Judaism, says Steve Weinshel, who has lived in Green Bay for 20 years. Eventually, things got so crowded that they needed to move to larger premises. You literally could not move at Purim party, there were so many people packed into the place. The new building will be so much nicer, and there will be room to spread out a bit. Weinshel says that in addition to studying with him on a weekly basis, the Feinsteins have embraced his special-needs adult son, Ben. He is nonverbal, so it is hard to know exactly what he is thinking, but he really likes going to Chabad on Friday nights. He loves the service and clearly enjoys the food. We are so happy that they are so welcoming to disabled people. Chabad of the Bay Area is branch of Lubavitch of Wisconsin. Rabbi Yisroel Shmotkin of Milwaukee, executive director of Lubavitch of Wisconsinthe umbrella organization of Chabad-Lubavitch programs and institutions in the statesays the Feinsteins are a oneof-a-kind, able and devoted couple; their devotion to the people they serve and their mission is beyond compare. In their short time in Green Bay, they have done wondersand their hard labor shows. The establishment of its own Chabad Center in this desired location is testimony of their accomplishments. It will no doubt enable them to broaden their reach for the benefit of the entire Jewish population in the area. Feinstein likes to joke that he and his wife are working to warm up the frozen tundra, borrowing the moniker applied to Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers have been known to play football for thousands of cheering fans in below-zero weather. The new buildings three classrooms will allow for growth in the Kreative Kids Hebrew School, which has attracted nearly two-dozen children from Green Bay and its environs. It will also be home to the Kinder Club, where children come by after school to craft, play and learn about Judaism in an educational and entertaining environment. Everything is falling into place, says Hupert of the community shes adapting to more easily because of Chabad, and we are just so blessed.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Chassidic Chaplain in Maryland Promoted to Major

By Lori Samlin Miller

Rabbi Chesky Tenenbaum, center, helping Jew ish members of the Maryland Defense Force perform the Sukkot mitzvah of shaking the lulav.

Rabbi Yechezkiel Tenenbaum begins with what has now become a routine account, at least, for him: I am someone who first made news because of my beard. By the way, everyone calls me Chesky, says this soft-spoken man who grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. For the past two years, Tenenbaum has resided in the Park Heights section of Baltimore with his wife, Chani, and their four young children. He serves Chabad of Maryland, specifically as associate rabbi of Chabad of Park Heights, and is director of the Jewish Uniformed Service Association of Maryland, or JUSA. And he has garnered some real media attention since 2006. That year, he had to appealand later was granted the abilityto serve as a chaplain in the Maryland Defense Force, a branch of the U.S. military that supports the National Guard. The issue was a rather unusual one; it focused not on his capabilities, but on his beard. While he has told this story often, he has recently opened a new chapter in his career. The 34-year-old has just been promoted to the elevated status of 4th rank, what the army calls 04. That comes with the corresponding title of major, up from his former captain status. With a sense of awe, he explains: I believe I am now the highest-ranking Chassidic rabbi serving as a chaplain in the State Guard and Defense Force, which is what Maryland calls this branch of their military. Because he works as a volunteer, the promotion wont come with a raise, though he will have more responsibilities for a greater number of people. The truth is, it's more of an honor. And it is certainly an honor," states the rabbi. But back to the beard, he says half-jokingly. After leaving Crown Heights, Tenenbaum and his wife settled in Maryland, where he became associate rabbi at the Chabad in Gaithersburg. While we were there, I was serving as the chaplain at a local hospital in Maryland, where I used to do a Shabbat service every Friday, he explains. It was there that I met a gentleman who had joined one of the services. Afterwards, he mentioned he was retired from the military, and since I have an uncle in the military, we had a nice discussion. Two months later, that same gentleman called me up and asked me to contact the Maryland Defense

Force about becoming a chaplain for them. What about my beard? I remember asking, because I knew this would be an issue. In the military, with its uniformity and adherence to rules, facial hair is not allowed. Tenenbaum didnt expect they would make an exception for him. But it turns out that his unclethe one he mentioned to the man in the hospitalis a well-respected chaplain and colonel in the U.S. Army, Chaplain Col. Jacob Goldstein. Goldstein was, in fact, the first member of the U.S. Army to be allowed to have a beard. He has been in servicefirst in the New York State National Guard and later in the U.S. Army Reservessince 1977, with a beard. So the issue is, by now, two generations deep in their family. My uncle traveled from New York to Maryland for the ceremony when I originally became a chaplain in the defense force, and the general there and my uncle did the pinning of my original rank at the ceremony, says Tenenbaum. My uncle has been very supportive and helpful to me.

'Serving Those Who Serve Us'

Rabbi Tenenbaum at a Rockville, Md., Volunteer Fire Department memorial service

After earning his smicha, or rabbinical ordination, in 2002, Tenenbaum pursued the idea of becoming a chaplain for the military, with the required military basic training. Though the beard came into play in 2006 while he was still at the Chabad House in Montgomery County, Md., it wasnt until the following year that the issue got resolved. Tenenbaum says, I was the first Chassidic rabbi to go into the chaplaincy in Marylands Defense Force, but several others have followed me on a similar route, in other states across the country, using my beard exemption. He fills other communal roles as well, serving as chaplain of the Volunteer Fire Department in Rockville, Md., and chaplain of the Shomrim Society of Maryland.

Tenenbaum assists Lenny Chornock, deputy fire chief of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, don tefillin. (Photo: Marc Asnin)

And somehow, he had the idea and necessary energy to do more, creating and launching JUSA, which was incorporated last year. The organization serves as an outreach program for law-enforcement members in Maryland; that is, members of the fire department, police force, public-safety officers and the military, connected by their heritage. These service members give so much of themselves, says the rabbi. But they were not being properly served for their religious needs. I sought to correct that by providing the Jewish members with services

before each of the Jewish holidays, as well as other events that bring Jews together and keep them connected. Most recently, we offered a Rosh Hashanah event at two different armories in Baltimore and held a Sukkot party for law-enforcement members. We have people come out to these events and the thing is, until a short time ago, they never had any of these services available to them before, he says. I feel very gratified that we can offer these programs and that JUSA is growing, having become a 501(c)(3) this year. Our motto is: Serving those who serve us. He feels quite strongly that law-enforcement members need someone there for them, the way they are always there for others. This is a way for me to give back to them for all they do to protect the public and the country. The JUSA programs Tenenbaum offers cycle throughout the Jewish calendar year. He has noticed that those who attend arent always Jewish. Jews and non-Jews alike come to learn. A general attended our Pesach service last year because he said he wanted to learn more about it. The rabbi and his family regularly get to host a rather special crowd: We have law-enforcement officers over to our house. Our guests are usually from the surrounding local areas, and we invite them to come with their families so we can be together in a family setting to enjoy Shabbat or holiday celebrations.

Rabbi Chesky and Chani Tenenbaum w ith their children

With the High Holidays now over, Tenenbaum is turning his attention to Chanukah. Ill begin by sending something to my superiors about the date Im proposing for the holiday get-together. Then Ill work on putting together the prayers for the service. We always begin with a prayer for the safety and security for all uniformed officers in harms way. And, of course, he says, the festival will involve the lighting of the menorah, an explanation of the holidays customs, and the requisite sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) and gelt (chocolate coins). Menorahs and candles will be distributed to those who need them. As always, Tenenbaum will be on hand to answer questions and talk to individuals. The role of a chaplain, since it is a volunteer job, is not so much based on a daily schedule," he explains. "It is more to be on call to address the needs as they come up. And they can come up at any time, especially as folks approach the holidays. I also try to be available at the bimonthly drills held for Defense Force members, he adds. Soldiers of all religions come to me and the other chaplains for counseling. After all, thats the real gist of the job.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

For Furloughed Workers Biding Their Time, Chabad Is There

By Faygie Levy

David Bernstein spent w hat ordinarily w ould have been a w ork day helping his local Chabad rabbi take dow n sukkahs erected at public venues around the city, including this one at the University of Maryland Baltimore. Photo by Erica Bergstein

Sure, it may have been fun at first: a couple of days off to catch up on errands or yard work, or visit family. But as the U.S. government shutdown enters its third weekit officially began at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1 federal employees are starting to feel the backlash of being caught up in a partisan battle over government spending. Among those affected by the furlough is Baltimore resident David Bernstein, who has been putting his unanticipated time off to good use. He spent what ordinarily would have been a work day helping his local Chabad rabbi take down sukkahs that had been erected at public venues around the city. Ive helped him before with various things. I even helped him build the sukkahs before the furlough, and since I had extra time now I offered to help him out any way I could, he says. It was no big deal. But it certainly was a big help to Chabad of Downtown Baltimores Rabbi Levi Druk, who noted that it normally takes him a week to take down all the sukkahs. With Bernsteins help, it went much faster. Hes a guy who always wants to give and do, says Druk. Bernstein was also able to go and help out his father in Florida for a few days. He hopes to return to work quickly, yet without access to his office email and phonehe had to temporarily turn in his government-issued BlackBerryfinding out whats going on isnt easy. For instance, he spent more than two hours on a recent morning trying to figure out if he would be receiving a paycheck for the hours he worked before the shutdown. The analyst with the Social Security Administration ultimately determined that he would indeed get paid now for that time.

According to Rabbi Kushi Schusterman of Chabad of Harford County in Bel Air, Md., the furloughs impact is different for every person in his community; for some, the time off has been a blessing in disguise because they can get to projects theyve had waiting in the wings. But, he continues, no one likes being out of work for an extended period of time. The uncertainty in this case is especially hard; people want to know how to plan and schedule their lives and finances. While many federal employees are still waiting to get back to their jobs, military employees, including civilian workers like Michael Barnett, who attends programming at the Harford Chabad, have returned to work. But that doesnt mean Barnetts concerns are over. There were four days of lost pay, and that certainly affected me, he says. Then theres the logistical side; he doesnt know when the particular project hes working on will receive funding. Thats a serious concern, he says.
Rabbi Levi and Chani Druk, codirectors of Chabad of Dow ntow n Baltimore.

Sharing Their Concerns

Elsewhere, Rabbi Sholom Deitsch of Chabad of Northern Virginia says that quite a few members of his Chabad center in Fairfax are out of work because of the furlough. While he Rabbi Kushi Schusterman of Chabad of believes that most people are OK for Harford County, Md. the moment, the rabbi has had a few requests for assistance from those who dont know when they will get another paycheck. Whether it was for a class, or families who are on a schedule to pay for preschool or camp, they asked us to extend [the due date] because they dont have access to the money they were counting on right now, says Deitsch. And we, of course, as any Chabad center would, are accommodating them to their needs, whatever their needs are in this situation. Its a sentiment echoed by Chabad rabbis throughout the Greater Washington D.C. area. Says Rabbi Nochum Katsenelenbogen of Chabad of Owings Mill in Maryland: We all share the concern of everyone in the community who is furloughed and not getting paid right now, and we are very accommodating to that. Schusterman in Bel Air adds that if they are a federal employee, we wont push them to pay a bill or even a suggested fee or donation. For us, its more important that they or their families attend a class or a community dinner, Hebrew school or a womens program. Though money is certain to be a big concern the longer the shutdown continues, finding ways to occupy the time of those furloughed is also an issue. Deitsch plans on offering daytime shiurim, or classes, beginning on Mondaycoincidentally, Columbus Day, a national holidayif the situation is not resolved by then. Given that members of Congress are at least talking to one another now, most are hopeful that the shutdown will end sooner rather than later, so everyone can return to their normal routines.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Chayei Sarah: True Life

Parshah

The Disappearing Groom

Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

For a lengthy period immediately prior to the marriage, Isaac literally disappears: a summation of Isaacs life leaves us with an unaccountable gap of almost three years.

She Made Him Good All that Gd created, He said w as good. Except for one: It is not good that Man is alone. And so He made Woman, and it w as very good. If so, how is it possible that a man could despise the w oman w ho took him from not good to very good?

Countering the If Only Attitude

By Chana Weisberg

The if only attitude claims that if only we had some essentially missing quality, then our lives would be infinitely enhanced.

The Waiting Room

By Sara Tzafona

Have you ever driven 60 miles to meet a friend, only to have that friendwho lives two miles awayarrive 10 to 15 minutes late?

Chayei Sarah in a Nutshell

Sarah passes away, and Abraham purchases the Cave of Machpelah for her resting place. Eliezer is sent to find a wife for Isaac, and he meets Rebecca, who treats him and his camels with kindness and generosity. Women

Jewish Feminism
By Samantha Barnett

As a child, I insisted on wearing dresses and the color pink. I guess I was born a feminist, in the nonpolitical sense. I celebrated my girlhood and was proud of it.

Praying with Mom

By Miriam Karp

We switched roles. As she drifted to sleep, I sat by the hospital bed (and later the nursing-home bed) and sang Yiddishe lullabiesJewish words and melodies.

Silence
by Zehava Deer

Why the tension? Why the silence? Why the embarrassment when I see someone I know at the doctors office? Why? Your Questions

What Is a Chassid?
Artwork by Bella Tonini

A chassid is a mystic. A chassid is pious. A chassid is joyous. A chassid is selfless. A chassid is a revolutionary. What is the common denominator of all these traits? That a chassid lives life from the inside.

Hurt Feelings
By Sara Chana Radcliffe

I would have thought that the teasing child is to blame for causing upset to the other youngster. Am I wrong? The Rebbe

How to Deal with Anger

By Mendy Kaminker

The Rebbes guidance ranges from simple, practical suggestions to more advanced meditations that address the root causes of our anger. Essay

To Pray with the Tables and with the Chairs

By Don Seeman

Far from being a disturbance to the pursuit of pure spirituality, it is the material world that serves as the setting and telos of Hasidic prayer, whose ultimate agenda is to reveal this mundane space as a fitting habitation for divinity.

Story

A Door on the East

By Tuvia Bolton

The rebbe took the gold coin, wedged it in a crack in the wall next to his desk, and said no more. Cooking

Turkey Egg Rolls with Cranberry Dipping Sauce

By Miriam Szokovski

Thanksgiving meet Chanukah News

Chabad on Campus Advances Awareness of Substance Abuse

by Menachem Posner, Chabad.edu

Substance and alcohol abuse remains a serious issue on college campuses, and Chabad on Campus International

Foundation is organizing a nationwide speaking tour featuring rabbis and other experts to provide guidance to students and staff.

At Annual Gathering, 5,200 to Mark 20 Years

Chabad.org Staff

More than 5.200 Chabad Lubavitch emissaries and community leaders will gather for their annual conference in New York, marking 20 years since Gimmel Tammuz, the anniversary of the passing of the RebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

Chabad Couple Sends Womans Body Home From Nepal

By Menachem Posner

The body of a Jewish tourist in Nepal who died in an accident near Mt. Everest was returned home by the Chabad emissaries there to her family in Australia, avoiding cremation.

Mikvah Refurbished, Renamed After Lashing by Hurricane Sandy

By Menachem Posner

Nearly one year after Hurricane Sandy crashed up the coast of the U.S. eastern seaboard and devastated much of Belle Harbor, Queens, N.Y. a renovated mikvah is testimony to a community's commitment to Jewish practice.

New Mikvah, New Mitzvah in Mexico Resort

By Karen Schwartz

Jordana Stein was the first person to use the mikvah in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, passing stunning decor and even a waterfall on the way to immerse herself in the communitys newly established ritual bath. It was different from anything Ive ever experied. It was wonderful.

Jerusalem Food Pantry Packs a Punch

Chabad.org Staff

Pantry Packers, a project of Colel Chabad, enables visitors to Israel to spend 90 minutes volunteering in a meaningful, hands-on way toward alleviating hunger among Israels poorest sector. Donors, staff and the Chief Rabbi of Israel dedicated the opening of its new home. Art

Prayer
By Rae Chichilnitsky

Symbolic depiction of prayer as a vehicle for spiritual connection between G-d and Jewish people. A prayer of

peace for Israel. Every time I hear this prayer, it hits me right in my heart and ignites my feeling of belief. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

The Disappearing Groom

Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

In the Torah section of Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:125:18), we read of the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca. Since this is the first marriage to be recounted in detail by the Torah, we can expect it to yield insights into the essence of the marriage relationship. A most curious aspect of the Isaac-Rebecca relationship is that for the three years immediately prior to the marriage, Isaac literally disappears. A summation of Isaacs life leaves us with an unaccountable gap of almost three years: The Torah tells us that he was sixty years old when his twin sons, Esau and Jacob, were born (Genesis 25:26). According to the Midrash, however, the twins grandfather Abraham, who died at age 175 (ibid. v. 7), passed away on the day that they reached the age of thirteen (Bereishit Rabbah 63:10 and 63:12); since Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 (Genesis 21:5), this would mean that Esau and Jacob were born almost 63 years after Isaacs birth. In other words, when Isaac turned 60, close to 63 years had already elapsed from the time of his birth. Somehow, he had lost three years of his life. One of the explanations offered by our sages is that before his marriage to Rebecca (at age 40), Isaac spent three years in the Garden of Eden. During this time he led an entirely spiritual existence, so that these years are not counted as part of his physical life. Although few of us can endeavor to emulate Isaacs example in its most ultimate sense, the implications are clear: a prerequisite to the marriage relationship is that one must first devote a certain period of time exclusively to spiritual and G dly pursuits, with minimal involvement in the material aspects of life.

The Impossible Edifice

Marriage itself appears to be the very opposite of this: a time of increased enmeshment in the material. It is a time when one begins to engage the most physical of human drives; it is also a time when one is forced to begin to involve oneself in earnest in the earning of a living, often at the expense of higher and more idealistic pursuits. In fact, the Zohar considers marriage to be a persons second birth: first the soul enters into the body and assumes a physical existence; then, at a later point in life, it further descends into the physical state by marrying. Nevertheless (indeed, as we shall see, because of this), marriage is the framework within which the most G dly aspect of the human potential is realized. The traditional blessing given to the bride and groom is that they merit to build an eternal edifice. Out of the marriage comes the creation of human lifelife with the potential to produce yet another generation of life, which in turn can yield another, and so on ad infinitum. The power of reproduction presents us with a logical impossibility: how can a finite entity contain within itself an infinite potential? Indeed, our sages have said: There are three partners to the creation of man: G d, his father and his mother. G d, the only truly infinite being, has done the impossible: He has imbued finite man with an infinite quality. In marriage, two finite and temporal creatures establish an infinite and eternal edifice. It is therefore no accident that the quality with which man most emulates his Creator is realized only through

a descent into the material. For so it is with G d Himself: the infinite nature of His power is most potently expressed with His creation of the physical universe. A truly infinite being is not constrained by any definitions and parameters: he is to be found anywhere and everywhere, even in the most confining and corporeal of environments. G ds creation of sublime and abstract worlds cannot convey the infinite scope of His power in the same way that His creation ofand constant involvement withour lowly and finite existence can. The same is true of the power of creation invested in the human being. Because of its divinely infinite nature, it canand doesfind realization in the most physical area of human life.

Spiritual Prelude
Man has been granted freedom of choice. So, when a man and woman join their lives, it is up to them to do what they will with the divine gift of procreation. They can choose to squander it in a relationship devoid of meaningful contenta relationship in which they become only more enmeshed in their material selves. Or they can endeavor to construct an edifice which is eternal in more than the most basic, biological sense. They can endeavor to build a selfless and giving relationship, and a home and family committed to the timeless values set forth by the Creator of life. This is the lesson of Isaacs disappearance from physical life prior to his marriage. In order to ensure that ones descent into marriage yields the proper results, it must be preceded by a period of spiritual preparation. Although mans mission in life is the positive development of the physical world, one must enter the arena of the material well-equipped with the spiritual vision of the divine purpose and with the spiritual fortitude to carry it out. Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson; adapted by Yanki Tauber. Originally published in Week in Review. Republished with the permission of MeaningfulLife.com. If you wish to republish this article in a periodical, book, or website, please email permissions@meaningfullife.com.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Countering the If Only Attitude

By Chana Weisberg

Do you sometimes catch yourself living the if only life? The if only life starts with something like this: If only I was born with more (brains, looks, connections, personality, charisma, a loving environment, etc.), then I would be a (happier, more accomplished, kinder, more successful, more generous, more ambitious and better) individual. In other words, the if only attitude claims that if only we had some essential, missing quality, then our lives would be infinitely enhanced, and we would be able to achieve our greatest potential. Since the if only is an impossible dream, our goals too become impossible to attain. At the very end of Sarahs life, we learn about the secret to combat this if only attitude.

The text (Genesis 23:1 2) reads, Sarah was 127 years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah. Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron.

Since the if only is an impossible dream, our goals too become impossible to attain.

Rashi teaches us, The life of SarahEach of her years were consistently perfect and equal in righteousness. Bereishit Rabbah (60:16) comments, Throughout Sarahs life, three miracles took place in her home: a protective cloud (representing the Divine Presence) hovered over the entrance to her tent, a blessing was present in her dough, and her candles would burn from one Shabbat to the next. These three special mitzvot that were present in Sarahs home were later paralleled in the miracles of the Temple. Her Shabbat candles brought the glow of spirituality into the darkness of the weekday, just as the candles of the menorah burned brightly until the next days lighting, when a new growth could be experienced. Sarahs challah was blessed; her guests felt satiated for a long time. The lechem ha-panim, the showbreads of the Temple, remained warm and fresh for a whole week until they were replaced with new ones, and they were extremely satisfying and filling for whoever ate even just a small piece of them. The cloud of the Divine Presence over Sarahs tent affirmed the greatness within, just as the Shechinah, G ds Presence, felt at home in the Holy Temple. Sarah transformed her home into a spiritual sanctuary, a refuge from the prevalent ideology at the time. The message radiating from her tent was that the Jewish home has immense potential. In a sense Sarah demonstrated that a proper Jewish home is superior to the Temple, for the Temple was built to emulate her home, rather than vice versa. The three miracles in Sarahs home also represented the three special mitzvot entrusted specifically to the Jewish woman. These are: a) lighting Shabbat candles to usher in the holy day of Shabbat, b) taking challahseparating a piece of dough and consecrating it to G d (nowadays it is burned, but in the time of the Temple it was given to the priests), and c) the mitzvah of Family Purity, governing physical conduct between husband and wife (represented by the cloud). The challah elevates the realm of physical and material reality, the Shabbat candles elevate the realm of the spiritual and abstract , and the laws of Family Purity elevate the realm of interpersonal relationships. There are many beautiful explanations about the spiritual ramifications of each of these mitzvot and their special, innate connection to the Jewish woman and her home. But I would like to focus on the underlying, unifying thread in all three of these mitzvot.

The Shabbat candles elevate the realm of the spiritual and abstract

The lesson behind Sarahs perfect life was simple: seize every moment and every experience, and make it holy. We dont need perfect circumstances, and we dont have to be perfect beings. Our goal is simply to use every encounter, even the mundanity of physical reality, and make it meaningful. And then a home can become a Temple. Each of these three special mitzvot shows the power of taking an ordinary physical event and infusing it with G dliness. The moment that we light the Shabbat candles, we usher in the holiness of the Shabbat experience. The

room may still look exactly as it did just seconds before. But the home has been infinitely changed. That one act of kindling the flame has revealed an entirely new dimension in our lives. We can now experience the peaceful aura, the special blessings, and the holiness of the Shabbat. The word Shabbat, from shevet, means dwelling, and we have brought down the holiness that can make our world into a dwelling place for G d. Likewise, separating the challah dough acknowledges that all of our basic needs are provided by G d and can be elevated. By lifting up a dough-offering to G d, we direct all of our physical needs and experiences to a higher, spiritual purpose. Similarly, in following the laws of Family Purity, we show how even in the most physical of drives we can live selfless and sanctified lives. We invite G d and holiness into the bedroom, as there is no area devoid of Him. Each of these three mitzvot teaches us how to grasp an ordinary physical experience and make it extraordinary, by infusing it with a glow of meaning and purpose. Sarahs life was perfect because she understood that life is about finding the beauty all around us. The key to life is not concentrating on the if onlys, but rather seeing the divine blessing and beauty in everything that comes our way, even the mundane. Seeing the good, finding the blessing and exposing its beauty to the fullest. Seizing every moment and making it count.

Lets Review:

Throughout Sarahs life, there were three miracles in her home: her Shabbat candles burned from week to week, she experienced a blessing in her dough, and a protective cloud hovered over her tent. The miracles in Sarahs home resembled those in the Temple: the lights of the menorah burned brightly, the showbreads were miraculously fresh and satiating, and the Divine Presence rested within. Sarah transformed her home into a spiritual sanctuary. Even the Temples miracles mirrored her home, demonstrating the great holiness a Jewish home can attain. The miracles in Sarahs home parallel the special three mitzvot entrusted to the Jewish woman: Shabbat candles, consecrating challah, and the laws of Family Purity. In each of these three mitzvot, we can experience how to take a mundane or physical circumstance and transform it into something holy and G dly. Sarahs life was perfect because in every ordinary circumstance, she found blessing and created the extraordinary. How can you seize the moment?

The key to life is not concentrating on the if onlys

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Chana Weisberg is a writer, editor and lecturer. Her latest books include Tending the Garden: The Unique Gifts of the Jewish Woman and the best selling Divine Whispers on finding spirituality in daily life. She has served as the Dean of several women's educational institutes in Toronto and lectures internationally on issues relating to women, faith, relationships and the Jewish soul.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

The Waiting Room

By Sara Tzafona

Have you ever driven 60 miles to meet a friend, only to have that friendwho lives two miles awayarrive 10 to 15 minutes late? There you wait, drumming your fingers, wondering why it is that youve driven so far and yet youre early, while she, who lives so close, is late. And weve all done our share of waiting for appointments, waiting for results, waiting on the phone for a human voice, and waiting for good news. Of course, waiting is nothing new. Our ancestors had to wait 40 years before they could enter the land that G d had promised them. They had to wait for the cloud to lift, water to spout from a rock, and manna to settle on the ground. Waiting is nothing new And when they reached the end of their trek through the wilderness, they had to wait some more as Moses recapped their journey. And they listened. But unlike our ancestors, we dont seem to grow through the waiting period. We dont really want to listen. Weve lost patience with waiting. Its as if were unable to appreciate the moment at hand. Were rooted not in the present, but in some nebulous future. What are we doing with all the time that we resent, the waiting period, the time when were drumming our fingers on the table or pacing around a room? The Rebbe taught that time awaits you to give it life. A moment flashes into existence, anticipating your breath of life. After all, for this purpose you came here, to be at this time, in this moment, so that you will make it a living moment, a moment that has meaning, a meaning connected to the One who created time itself.1 Think about it. Each minute was given to us so that we

could give it meaning, a meaning touched by G d. Each minute gives us the opportunity to check on a neighbor, smile at a stranger, or set aside time to volunteer with community organizations. And if were left drumming our fingers on the tabletop, then we can take those spare moments to study some Torah. Its about tweaking our activities so that we are mindful of G ds presence in every aspect of our lives.

A moment flashes into existence, anticipating your breath of life

The Rebbe also taught that Abraham entered into each day with his entire being, and so must we. He said that we must strive to make every moment a moment of life. Like Abraham, we must give it meaning. And if we do so, then that moment will endure forever. However, if we fail to do so, then that moment will become a moment that never was.2 A moment that never wasnow, thats really a waste of time. Sara Tzafona currently lives in north-central British Columbia, where she is working on various writing projects.
FOOTNOTES 1. Likkutei Sichot, vol. 35, p. 91. Words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman. 2. Ibid.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Chayei Sarah in a Nutshell

Sarah dies at age 127 and is buried in the Machpelah Cave in Hebron , which Abraham purchases from Ephron the Hittite for four hundred shekels of silver. Abrahams servant Eliezer is sent, laden with gifts, to Charan, to find a wife for Isaac. At the village well, Eliezer asks G d for a sign : when the maidens come to the well, he will ask for some water to drink; the woman who will offer to give his camels to drink as well shall be the one destined for his masters son. Rebecca, the daughter of Abrahams nephew Bethuel, appears at the well and passes the test. Eliezer is invited to their home, where he repeats the story of the days events. Rebecca returns with Eliezer to the land of Canaan, where they encounter Isaac praying in the field . Isaac marries Rebecca, loves her, and is comforted over the loss of his mother . Abraham takes a new wife, Keturah (Hagar ), and fathers six additional sons, but Isaac is designated as his only heir. Abraham dies at age 175 and is buried beside Sarah by his two eldest sons, Isaac and Ishmael.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Jewish Feminism
By Samantha Barnett

Why does your dinosaur have a ribbon on her head? the teacher asked five-year-old me. Because its a girl, I answered with a smile. I was the only child who had given my drawing a gender. I was proud of my dinosaur. She dressed the part of who she was. The teacher thought this was so cute that she telephoned my mom the following day to tell her about my creativity. As a child, I insisted on wearing dresses and the color pink. I guess I was born a feminist, in the nonpolitical sense. I celebrated my girlhood and was proud of it. At a very young age, I realized there was I was proud of my something very special about my femininity. It dinosaur was a thing of beauty. I admired it about myself, and wanted others to notice it in me. I also realized that the clothing I used to adorn my body had meaning. It defined who I was, who I wanted to be, and how I wanted others to see me. Its not a surprise that people judge us by what we wear. The fact is, however shallow it may be, that our clothing portrays an image to the world of who we are and who we want to be. We are a visual society. We look at the outside world through the visual stimuli of television, the Internet and magazines. And yet, really knowing a person is so much deeper than that. To have a deeper admiration for a person, we must use our other senses. Beauty is found in things that can be seen, but also in things that cannot. We can be attracted to a persons scent, touch or personality. To see the complete and true beauty of a person requires depth. As I grew older, I learned about modesty. Modesty doesnt have a great reputation in teen and young adult circles. This is understandable, because at first it seems to stifle individuality and freedom. Were even surprised when we think someone who dresses modestly looks beautiful. On a trip with a group of friends, one person pointed to a radiant woman in a kosher caf and said, I thought religious women were supposed to be modest, but she looks beautiful. My friends assumption was that the point of women dressing modestly was so men wouldnt look at them. Modesty was synonymous, in his mind, with making oneself unattractive.

Modern Western culture encourages us to show off our assets. And, for women, our bodies can be our biggest assets. Showing off our bodies is liberating. We shouldnt be ashamed of what we have if it is beautiful. Dressing in a more provocative way is called growing up. This is certainly true in

It seems to stifle individuality and freedom

Hollywood, but Hollywood just reflects the greater society. Being proud of your body equals being proud of yourself. As a woman in America today, I feel like Im given mixed messages. Im expected to be an educated career woman, and Im also expected to be feminine and attractive in order to find a husband. But the outfits to do those things are totally different. The superwoman of today is expected to have it all and dress accordingly for every part she plays. Judaism says we can play both of these roles in our modest attire. Not because Judaism wants women to be unattractive: modesty is supposed to be beautiful. Not because a woman is ashamed of what is underneath but because it is valuable. When something is valuable, we guard it. We dont let just anyone see it or touch it. We protect it. A woman dresses modestly because she is aware of the power of the feminine body. Furthermore, dressing modestly allows us to be true to ourselves, no matter what type of role we are playing. Judaism says that the human is comprised of two elements: body and soul. Our body, however, is not who we are. It is the clothing of our soul. The point of our body is to house the soul and help it grow. By covering up the more flashy parts of ourselves, we are inviting others to take a deeper look at us. Modesty allows others to really get to know us. Modesty does not hold us back from being beautiful. In fact, being beautiful in a modest way is praiseworthy. It is saying, I respect myself, and I am someone worthy of getting to know. Modesty is a tool for us as women to harness our beauty and tell the world we are much more than our outsides.

We are inviting others to take a deeper look

Modesty gives us a guideline for how to access the unlimited beauty within us. It further challenges others to come and experience the depth of that beauty. Its meant to enhance who we are as people, not put limitations on it. Some of my friends have started little scrapbooks of movie stars dressing in modest attire. Others have started modest fashion blogs. Its amazing how many examples there really are of famous women dressing this way. Its not as odd as we think it is; its just that we havent been trained to look for it. Pink dresses, bows, high heels, flowing hair and makeup are things I love about being a girl and a woman. Playing dress-up as an adult and being admired for my feminine flair is not something I would ever want to give up. But I also would never give up the chance to be admired for my inner beauty and the woman I have become. Modesty is my vehicle for both self-expression and self-respect. Samantha Barnett is a writer. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Praying with Mom

By Miriam Karp

Gittel RivkaMoms Hebrew name. During Moms last months, last

days and hours, it was Gittel Rivka whose hand I held and whom I sat with. Trudy Driker, the articulate, competent persona, was all but gone. Her physical life was pretty much a shell. She was emaciated, hadnt stood or walked in months, had labored breathing, and could barely speak. But she was there. Her neshamah, her soul, was there. In a way, I shared more of my real self with Mom during those winter and spring months than I ever had been able to before. I shared my real world, which her persona and more conscious self would have dismissed as gibberishbecause Trudy didnt believe in souls or any other nonrational, The articulate, nonquantifiable beings. We switched roles. It was all but gone my turn to tuck her in, with sweet whispers on the evening breeze. As she drifted to sleep, I sat by the hospital bed (and later the nursing home bed) and sang Yiddishe lullabies Jewish words and melodies. I sang Shema, the basic prayer we say at the end of each dayand at the end of lifeaffirming our connection to and belief in one G d. I guess I was trying to arouse her soul, to feed it, water it, give it vitamins and nourishment, much as we kept trying to get another sip of Ensure or another spoonful of yogurt into her body. Ess, mein kindeat, my childthe timeless urging of the Jewish My mother w ith one of my daughters mother. As her body was clearly diminishing, coming round the curve to the finish line, I wanted to give nourishment to her soul. I wanted to make it feel safe, acknowledged. It was like teaching someone a bit of the language before they take a trip abroad. Her soul knew the language, of courseits inherently therebut it had lain dormant for so long that I wanted to befriend it and guide it along. I wanted Mom to be with a loved one, and I wanted to be the doulacoaching and encouraging her as she transitioned to a different realm. Before, we could only discuss the kids, the weather, books, politics, and other common ground. But now, I could let that superficial veneer go. We could meet on a soul level; this would be our common ground. Who was running for president, or which book was a New York Times bestseller, was irrelevant here, in this bed in this modest room under the alcove, with this wizened woman laboring for another breath. Her blue-and-gold-striped quilt, a touch of home, had been crocheted by Bubby Faygie. A few other personal belongings were scattered here and there. But the little corner room had few amenities: a bed, an armchair, the oxygen tank and a dresser. More or fewer things didnt matter at this point. The plant her friends had brought sat forlornly on the windowsill, ignored, unable to give her the desired perk at this late point. This once-sophisticated woman was now just her bare essence, soon to leave this world from the sparse nursing-home bed. Her carefully chosen art, her lovely furniture back home, were of little use or comfort now. I tried to shower her with the kind of love I could offer: praying, ushering, escorting this rational nonbeliever over the threshold to join her momma and daddy, to let her neshamah free. I held her hand and talked to her as she dozed. I forgave her for whatever hurts Id held on to, and I asked her to forgive me. My eyes welled up as the words stumbled out. Mom, I probably hurt and disappointed you with my different choices. I chose a life thats hard for you to understand. Im not the daughter you thought Id be. And I know I was too busy with the kids and my world, and I didnt visit or connect with you enough. But I did it out of

competent persona was

love for you, wanting to honor you the best way I knew how, and I hope you will have real nachat, real satisfaction and gladness from it. My confession tumbled out and surprised me. Someone had advised me to ask for her forgiveness, so I started it somewhat routinely, because it was a good thing to do at this junctureand then I stumbled into a well of feeling.

I forgave her for whatever hurts Id held on to, and I asked her to forgive me

I didnt usually think about her perspective that much, but there must have been a hurt, an empty hole, for many years. I lived far away. My future as a professor or therapist was never fulfilled; I spent my days mumbling ancient blessings and having one baby after another. I wasnt able to compare notes on travel and shopping. We both shopped, of course, but Mom frequented Saks, so I didnt think shed want to hear about my finds at Walmart. I couldnt even go out to eat anywhere but at the local kosher pizza store, so I couldnt share Moms simple pleasure in enjoying a gourmet meal and fine wine at a great new place. As my older kids started leaving the nest, I came to know the emptiness that lingered in their space. How much emptier it must have been for her, with both the four-hour drive and the contrasting worldviews that lay between us. It seemed like Mom squeezed my hand a drop. Perhaps on some level she was acknowledging and accepting my words. I sang Jewish songs, prayers and psalms, mumbling and chanting, hoping that the Hebrew syllables were a balm, a gentle massage to her being. In my extreme mindset, as I sat by her side, every psalm seemed to be full of heightened meaning, alluding to souls coming and going. Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me . . . Only goodness and kindness shall follow me . . . If this wasnt the valley of the shadow of death, I didnt know what was. Fear no evil, I emphasized, saying it a bit louder, a bit slower, as though my words were a command to her. Dear Gittel Rivka, sit up and take notice! G d is with you, my dear Mommy. Only goodness and kindness, only sweetness, for youan end to the darkness and confusion of this perplexing world. Please G d, I begged, shower and comfort and protect this sweet soul in golden, soft goodness. The L rd bless you and guard you. The L rd make His countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you. The L rd turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace. Please. Pour Your blessings on Mommy, and let her feel Your closeness, Your shining countenance, Your innerness. For some reason, Youve let me taste a bit of Your presence. Its time to let her taste and know and get strength and comfort, too. Our Father, let us lie down in peace. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace. Shelter us in the shadow of Your wings; and guard our going out and our coming in for a good life and peace from now and for all time. The image of men quietly praying under a tallit has captured me since I first saw it. Ive painted the soft folds and mysterious shadows, the Shechinah (Divine Presence) that seems to be hovering under there. Thats something like what I imagine the shelter of Your wings might be like. Just protect and love this innocent little-girl soul; let her sit close to You, like a child in the shadow of her mothers skirt. I wanted to be awake and with her when Mom would pass on. She was agitated, and clearly approaching that moment, her breath rattling and irregular. I reached through the bed railing and held her handnot too tight, but there. Kept dozing off and pulling my eyes back open. But around 11:00 PM, I collapsed into an exhausted sleep in the recliner that I had pulled close to her side. With a sudden jolt, I sensed the nurse coming to check her at 1:00 AM. One glance and I knew, before the

Pour Your blessings on Mommy, and let her feel Your closeness

nurse could utter the words. Shes passed. Mom was gone. That tiny remaining bit of enlivening life force had left. I was shocked and frozen. She looked like an empty shell, like the newly deceased women I had helped prepare for a traditional burial. I sat there for a moment, then picked up the phone to call Dad, hands trembling. Almost a year later, close to her first yahrzeit (the anniversary of her passing), I had a dream about my mother. She was dressed like a radiant bride, glowing, yet ethereal. There, yet not quite. She was surrounded by dancing young girls in pastel gowns, who seemed to represent her progeny. I woke up, just knowing. Mom was in a place of truth and light, having nachat, reaping from all she had sown. I treasure the soul moments we shared as her life ended. And maybe, hopefully, they helped ease her transition to this good place of truth. (Excerpted from Painting Zaidys Dream: Memoir of a Searching Soul) Miriam Karp is an award-winning writer, artist, Judaic studies teacher and lecturer. Her paintings explore intimate moments in Jewish life. Miriam lives in Cincinnati with her husband and family. This essay is excerpted from Painting Zaidys Dream, a memoir of a searching soul, her first book.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Silence
by Zehava Deer

Silence. Utterly awkward, tense silence. Tap, tap, tap. Thats my foot. Yawn. Hmmm, how many flowers are in that vase over there? One, two, three, four Zehava? I scramble to gather my things together, and eagerly get out of my chair to follow the perky nurse. The scene above is one I have encountered at every reproductive endocrinologists (infertility specialists) office I have been to. My journey thus far has introduced me to five different specialists. (I know!) They have been in varied locations, of various sizes and prestige. However, one thing remains the same no matter what: the awkward silence that prevails in the waiting room. The only sounds one can hear are the secretary tapping at the computer keys, the soft whisper of a magazine page being turned, or the names called of the patients Silence. Utterly blessed to be next. Womenand on

awkward, tense silence.

occasion, their husbandssit frozen, staring straight ahead, almost like they have convinced themselves that if they dont move, others will not be able to see them. Now, So what? you might say. Well, I happen to be a naturally curious and outgoing individual. So, I always look around for a kind face when I sit down, for someone who might share my interest in transforming the morgue of an office into a regular waiting room. At my current doctors office, the secretary and nurses are all lovely individuals, and I cannot even begin to describe how this has altered my journey. I get a cheerful Good morning! each time I come in. If I am not in the mood of talking, I plug my headphones in and blissfully listen to my music. After all, at 7 AM, I am human, or inhuman, actually. But most times we chat, schmoozing and in general having a grand old time. Many times other patients join in, and a sense of camaraderie is born. My husband repeatedly tells me how much I have changed since I was blessed to switch to my current doctor a year ago. I come home each time I go as myself, not some miserable monster. One day, as I drove on the highway, I was bored, and my mind began to wander. As I drove, I looked at the cars I was passing and envisioned what the people inside were like, where they were heading, and so on. It amazed me how each car had its own little story being played out within, and how it was almost like watching short, silent movies. What struck me as an even weirder thought was that even though each one of the cars had its own story and destination, for this stretch of the road, at least, we were all heading in the same direction. We were all experiencing the same bumps and turns. Sure, some went faster, while some traveled in greater luxury than others. Some had the windows rolled down with music blaring, while others were having a world war right there in the car. The scenery constantly changed as cars got off at the exits they needed, until eventually I did too. This scene struck me as interesting, because it is so much like what I see through my infertility journey. For the moments (read: hours) I am in my doctors office, all the women sitting in that room with me are sharing in my journey. We are all experiencing the same longing, the same pain. Sure, some of us go it alone, while some need support from many. Some experience relief and leave at the first exit, while others need to stay for miles and miles. For that short period of Some deal with it better than others. But for that short period of time we are all in the same situation, and we are the only ones time, we are all in the able to understand completely what infertility actually means. same situation So, why the tension? Why the silence? Why the embarrassment when I see someone I know at the doctors office? Why? Yes, I understand you are bewildered. You dont know why you need to experience this, while others seem to have trouble not getting pregnant. I understand you long for a child so much you can now understand the term heartache. You are aching. You are hurting. You are yearning. But why the embarrassment? You are not experiencing infertility as a result of the mistakes you have made. You are experiencing it because G d knows you can handle it, because He knows it will make you stronger. You have no choice but to be strong. You will crumble into tiny pieces at night, but wake up the next morning and head to work because you have to. You will prove yourself stronger than you have ever believed, and then prove that you can be even stronger than that. This is just some of what I would tell you if you would look up and talk to me. Well, obviously not in the first few minutes. Because that would just be weird. Zehava Deer is the pen name of a woman living in Brooklyn who is having trouble conceiving. Her column,

Pregnant with HopeMy Journey through Infertility, describes her journey, and how she strives to remain positive through her pain.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

What Is a Chassid?
Artw ork by Bella Tonini

A fairly accurate rule of thumb is that if your question can be answered with one answer, then you havent asked much of a question. A truly significant question will always provoke numerous, different, and even contrasting answers. Here are some of the answers that appear in the writings and teachings of the chassidic masters to address the question of what is a chassid: 1) A chassid is pious. This definition actually predates the modern chassidic movement by many centuries: according to the Talmud, a chassid is a person who fulfills his or her duties toward G d and fellow beyond the line of the law beyond what is commanded and obligatory. 2) A chassid is selfless. A chassid is a person who will forgo his own needs for the sake of anothers. In fact, a chassid will go so far as to sacrifice her own spiritual betterment for the sake of a fellows material benefit (though Bella Tonini the distinction has gotten a bit complicated after Chassidisms founder, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, declared that the physical life of a Jew is a spiritual thing). 3) A chassid is a mystic. A chassid doesnt just study Kabbalahshe also understands it. Chassidic teaching takes the deepest secrets of Torahconcepts and narratives that, through the ages, were revealed to only a select few sages in every generationand makes them accessible and comprehensible to every individual, and applicable in every individuals life. 4) A chassid is alive. A chassid does everything with vitality, joy and passion. 5) A chassid is a revolutionary. A chassid never accepts the status quo. The fact that something is a certain way doesnt mean that it should remain that way; in fact, it probably means that its here to be improved, transformed, reinvented. This includes the chassids own self. The chassid is a person who wakes up each morning and says to himself: I feel this way? Then perhaps I must change the way I feel. The world thinks this way? Then we must change the worlds thinking. A chassid believes that its not enough to behave a certain way and do certain things; rather, a persons task in life is to recreate himself and remake the world. What is the common denominator of all the above descriptions of the chassid? That a chassid is someone who relates to the soul of a thing rather than to its body, to its inner essence rather than its external manifestations.

Thus a chassid is a pious personone who goes beyond the line of the law in his duties toward G d and man. There are external reasons to do the right thing. Violating the laws of society can land one in prison, while a moral and virtuous life earns the respect and support of ones family and community. Violating G ds laws can incur divine wrath and retribution, and fulfilling G ds commandments will certainly bring much reward in this world and the next. But as long as were talking carrots and sticks, were looking at life from the outside in. We are saying: what are the external factors and circumstances that are telling me to do this? And when we look at life from the outside in, we do what we must do. No more. Whether we act out of fear of punishment or desire for reward or in quest of fulfillment, we do whatever it takes to avoid being punished or get rewarded or achieve fulfillment, no more. The chassid, however, lives life from the inside. When a chassid does a mitzvahwhen a chassid prays, or lights Chanukah candles, or does a favor for a fellowthe chassid does it because that is what, who and why he is. And when you do something because its what, who and why you are, you do it in the best, most beautiful, most complete and most absolute way. You do it perfectly; you do it more than perfectly. Thus the chassid is full of life, joy and passion. When you do something because you must, you do it because you must. But when you do something from the inside, you do it joyously. Your excitement fills the room and infects everyone within a five-mile radius. The very deed glows with life. Thus a chassid is selfless. Because if every soul is literally a part of G d above, what is the self? Simply one expression of the common essence we all share. Looking from the outside in, one sees millions and billions of distinct selves, each with its own needs and wants, wills and wiles. Hence difference. Hence conflict. Hence selfishness. Looking from the inside out, we are all one. Helping you is as selfish as helping myself. Thus the chassid is a mystic. Secrets are a product of an external perspective. When you stand outside of something and look at it from the outside in, there are revealed parts and hidden parts, accessible areas and arcane areas. A piece of knowledge may be literary, legal, philosophical, inspirational, metaphorical, scientific, theological, or any of the other handles the mind contrives to get a handle on a truth. Some aspects are logical, others less so; some aspects are practical, others less so. But when youre looking from the inside, all these parts, areas, dimensions, aspects and forms are just the various expressions of the all-embracing core truth. The chassid reaches for the essence of Torah. The chassid looks at Torah from the inside out. For the chassid, there are no secrets. No truth is too arcane to be granted admittance to the mind, no truth too spiritual to be applied in daily life. A chassid is someone who relates to the soul of a thing rather than to its body, to its inner essence rather than its external manifestations. Thus a chassid is a revolutionary. Looking from the outside in, reality is the way things are. Looking from the inside out, reality is the way things are supposed to be. Because G d, after all, created this world. Created it for a purpose. And G d said: This is what I made, and this is what I want you to make of what I made. When you look at yourself, when you look at your world, what youre seeing is not My inner intent for creationjust the raw materials I laid out for you to work with. Look

deeper and youll see the potential I put insidethe purpose for which I created it. So a chassid is not intimidated by the way things are. Because the chassid knows that thats just the surface, the husk, the outer skin. So the chassid puts on his x-ray goggles, rolls up his sleeves, and gets to work. By Yanki Tauber; based on the teachings of the Rebbe. Artwork by Bella Tonini. Bella Tonini was born in Argentina but has lived in the United States for most of her life. She has been creating artwork since she was a teenager, and continues to create daily either by drawing, painting, singing or cooking. Bella discovered her Jewish roots a few years ago, which opened her views on spirituality and creativity, leading her to create works of levity and whimsy.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Hurt Feelings
By Sara Chana Radcliffe

Dear Rachel, I read recently that parents should help children take responsibility for their own feelings. For example, according to this way of thinking, if your child gets very upset when someone teases her, you should teach her how to restore her emotional equilibrium. If she blames the other child for upsetting her, you should help her realize that she has a choice as to how to react. This advice leaves me feeling confused. I would have thought that the teasing child is to blame for causing upset to the other youngster. Am I wrong? Confused Mom Dear Confused, Im going to break your question into three: 1. Does a child have a choice as to how to react to an external stressor? 2. Is someone capable of inflicting emotional pain on someone else? 3. How should a parent react when one child feels injured by another child? In answer to the first question, a child (or adult, for that matter) always has a choice as to how to react behaviorally to an external stressor. For example, if Michael teases Aaron, Aaron can choose to push Michael down, call him a nasty name, threaten to tell his mother, ask him to please stop doing that, walk away without saying anything, and so on. Each of these is a behavioral response, and Aaron can choose how he will respond. How should a parent As it says in the Torah, I have set before you life and death . . . 1 Choose life. We all have free will when it comes to our actions. react when one child

Emotional reactions are different, however. Our emotional feels injured by another reactions happen through the processes of our subconscious child? minds. We cant choose to feel hurt or peaceful, frightened or calm, rage or resentment. Emotional responses happen faster than the speed of light, coming from a myriad of internal sources (neural pathways, genetic information, stored memories and meanings, etc.). We can learn to choose appropriate behavioral channels for expressing emotion, such as using words instead of our fists to express our sentiments. We can also learn to help calm our own emotional responses. This latter technique, called Emotional Regulation, is appropriate to teach to children to help them negotiate their own inner world. If someone hurts them, you can teach them to self-soothe, recuperate, address the wound, and so on. This information should be taught to all kids, but in the specific situation where one child has hurt another, this information is pertinent to the victim. As for the second question, the Torah view is that we are responsible if we inflict emotional pain on other people. In fact, there is a specific mitzvah to refrain from hurting peoples feelings with words, and of course there are many, many mitzvot involving refraining from hurting them physically, financially, emotionally, and so on.2 So a childs hurtful behavior ought to hurt its victim. If you stab someone in the arm with a knife, you are directly responsible for that pain. The idea that no one can hurt our feelings is a secular innovation of 1960s70s psychology. In Judaism, someone who hurts another is held accountable for doing so, and therefore a parent can and should point out to a (perpetrator) child that his behavior has consequences for others. So far, weve looked at the situation where one child teases, pushes or insults another. Now lets address the parents reaction. Suppose that a sibling innocently walks by his sister, and the sister cries out to Mom, Hes making faces at me! In this case, Mom can ask the boy if this is what happened, and if it did, direct his attention to her sad face and her obvious upset. Mom can then do whatever other educational intervention is required. Is this a pattern that needs focused attention through discipline? Is it sufficient to impress upon him that his sister is now feeling hurt? However, if he claims innocenceand parents tend to develop a fairly accurate perception of how innocent a child might bethen perhaps it is the little girl who needs to adjust her own emotional radar. The parent might say something Parents tend to develop like, I dont know for sure what happened, because I wasnt there, and I hear David saying that he didnt make a face. But I a fairly accurate see that you feel hurt and upset because you think he didand if perception of how he would have done such a thing, you would certainly feel hurt. innocent a child might be Hashem doesnt like us to hurt each other; He wants us all to be kind to each other. Of course, if were not absolutely sure if someone did something hurtful, we need to judge that person positively. This combination of emotional validation and education accomplishes a number of things. First, Dr. John Gottman has established through intensive research that emotional validation itself leads the child to develop the internal processes necessary for healthy emotional regulation. The more a childs emotional world is validated, the more the child is able to self-soothe in stressful moments. Had Mom just said, He didnt do anything, the invalidation would have likely led to the daughter becoming more emotionally oversensitive and reactive in the future. In addition, the son hears his mother validating his sister. If he did have a role in the little girls pain, he has heard its emotional consequences. And while he may have been innocent on this particular occasion, chances are good that he is hurtful on other occasions. His mothers statement can penetrate more easily right now precisely because he is not under direct attack. Third, the parents statement teaches the important Torah concepts that people need to be careful not to hurt others and remember to judge others positively. In summary:

1. Children are responsible for how they act in response to stress, but not for how they feel. 2. We need to refrain from inflicting pain on others, and take responsibility when we have inflicted pain. 3. Parents can help both perpetrator and victim. The perpetrator has the responsibility to develop appropriate empathy toward others, and to act in accordance with Hashems directives to refrain from hurting others. The victim has the responsibility to judge positively, to react in a behaviorally appropriate way, and to calm him- or herself down after injury. Parents can help victims become better at emotional regulation by validating the emotional pain they experienced. I hope this answers your question, and I wish you luck on your parenting journey. "Dear Rachel" is a bi-weekly column that is answered by a rotating group of experts. This question was answered by Sarah Chana Radcliffe. Sarah Chana Radcliffe is the author of "The Fear Fix: Solutions for Every Child's Moments of Worry, Panic and Fear," "Make Yourself at Home," and "Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice."
FOOTNOTES 1. Deuteronomy 30:19. 2. Exodus 2:13; Leviticus 19:11; Talmud, Bava Metzia 58b.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

The Rebbe

How to Deal with Anger

By Mendy Kaminker

Rabbi Eliezer says: . . . Do not be easy to anger. (Avot 2:10) Anger is one of the traits most condemned in Jewish literature. Someone who gets angry, we are told, is like one who worships idols.1 Anger can cause a sage to lose his wisdom, or a person who is destined for greatness to forfeit it.2 Its not hard to see why. When we get angry, we tend to act irrationally. Things said or done in anger are almost always destructive and cause for later regret. Everyone gets angry occasionally, but some people are more prone to anger than others. They may have a short fuse and blow up over small things, or they may be chronically irritable. However it is manifested, anger that is not dealt with in a healthy way is dangerous for the angry person and for those close to him or her. Dealing with anger is a lifelong challenge, but the results are unquestionably worth it. A person who learns to control, or at least reduce, his anger will be surprised by how greatly his life and relationships improve at home and at work. In the letters of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, there are several pieces of advice about dealing with anger. The Rebbes guidance ranges from simple, practical suggestions to more advanced meditations that address the root causes of our anger. Below is a loose adaptation of some of these, to study and hopefully put into practice.

A Simple Recommendation: Wait!

The Rebbe writes: Regarding what you wrote about the traits of anger and pride: As with anything else, the way to correct these is step by step. The first step is to wait. Dont express your anger or pride verbally. In this way, those emotions will not gain momentum, as can be seen in practice . . .3 If you feel yourself getting angry, stop, take a deep breath and wait a minute before you react. The anger may dissipate when the heat of the moment has passed.

Someone Is Watching
Another bit of advice, found in Tanya, is to remember Who is watching us when we get angry. In 5717 (1957), the Rebbe wrote to a young student: In answer to your letter . . . in which you write that you sometimes suffer from the trait of anger: You should learn by heart the first part of ch. 41 of Tanya, from the beginning of the chapter to p. 112, second line, . . . before the king. Also, ask your teacher to explain to you the general outline of Iggeret Hakodesh, Epistle 25. When you feel yourself beginning to get angry, review by heart the beginning of ch. 41 and think about the summary of the epistle; as you get used to doing this, your situation will continue to improve.4 In chapter 41, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains that we must constantly remember that the Creator of the world is watching at every moment: Behold, G d stands over him, and the whole world is full of His glory, and He looks upon him and examines his conscience and heart [to see] if he is serving Him as is fitting. Somehow, its easier to hang onto our self-control when we know that someone is watching. And the truth is, Someone is always watching. This idea is useful for dealing with most negative traits and behaviors. For more on this, and to study Chapter 41 in depth, visit our Tanya site.

Remember the Consequences

Heres a practical piece of advice that is fairly easy to follow: If we realize that our anger has consequences, we will think and behave differently. The Rebbe writes to a young woman: Keep the mitzvah found in the Shulchan Aruch [Code of Jewish Law], that if you hurt someones feelingseven out of angeryou must apologize in person and ask for complete forgiveness. It is by nature difficult for a person to apologize. Nevertheless, you should overcome that difficulty and do it. In that way, every time you are about to get angry, you will remember that afterwards you will have to brace yourself and ask for forgiveness That itself will help you weaken your tendency towards anger.5

Remember Whos in Charge

Finally, there is one idea that, when understood and employed properly, can uproot anger at its source. As we saw above, the Rebbe often advised people who struggled with this issue to study Epistle 25 of Iggeret Hakodesh, found in the last section of Tanya.6 There the Alter Rebbe explains why anger is compared to idolatry. Granted, anger is a negative trait, but how can it be compared to idol worship? The Alter Rebbe puts it like this: The reason is clear to those that have understanding: because at the time of his anger, faith has departed from him.7 For were he to believe that what happened to him is of G ds doing, he would not become angry at all. And though it is a person possessed of free choice who is cursing him, or hitting him, or causing damage to his money, and therefore is guilty according to the laws of man and the laws of Heaven for having chosen evilnevertheless, as regards the person harmedthis was already decreed from Heaven, and the Omnipresent has many deputies. Getting angry means you dont have faith that whats happening to you is really coming from G d. The person youre angry at is just a messenger. Now, obviously, he or she still had free choice, and will be held accountable. But getting angry is not the answer. Rather than asking, Why is this person hurting me? ask a bigger question: What is G d trying to tell me in this moment? Making these ideas part of your consciousness is the work of a lifetime. Here are some links to get you started: Epistle 25 of Iggeret Hakodesh, Jay Litvins meditations on anger, Anger Management 101, and Angry with G d. Rabbi Mendy Kaminker is the editor of Beit Chabad, the Hebrew edition of Chabad.org.
FOOTNOTES 1. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Deot 2:3, citing the early sages. His source seems to be the Talmud, Shabbat 105a. 2. Talmud, Pesachim 66b. 3. Igrot Kodesh, letter 5239. 4. Ibid., letter 5588. 5. Ibid., letter 6670. 6. Ibid., letter 4985. 7. Emphasis added.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Essay

To Pray with the Tables and with the Chairs

By Don Seeman

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (17451812), the so-called Alter Rebbe, or founding teacher of the Chabad movement, was once asked to explain to his students how he prays. He is said to have responded, I pray with the table and with the chairs. When I first heard this story many years ago, I assumed he meant merely to say that he prayed with great intensity, so that the tables and chairs shook with his fervor. Anyone who has seen Orthodox Jews engrossed in speaking to their Creator while bowing and shaking in constant motionshuckling, as it is sometimes known in English will know what I had in mind. I was more wrong than right though, because I underestimated the central importance of tables and chairs and the whole world of mundane materiality to Hasidic prayer. Far from being merely a backdrop or a disturbance to the pursuit of pure spirituality, it is precisely the material world that serves as the setting and telos of Hasidic prayer, whose ultimate agenda is to renderor better, to revealthis mundane space we inhabit as a fitting habitation for divinity, or what they call dirah ba-tachtonim, a home in the nether regions. But what does all this have to do with tables and chairs? The Chabad movement began to take hold in the Jewish communities of White Russia and Lithuania more than two hundred years ago and has developed today into an important global network of emissaries and spiritual entrepreneurs devoted to the promotion of Hasidic ideals and practice in every conceivable format and context. In its origins though, the movement was premised on intensive forms of contemplative study and prayer designed to Active contemplation of transform human beings by focusing not on the emotions like other Hasidic groups, but on the intellect. The term Chabad itself paradoxes like the is a Hebrew acronym for wisdom, understanding, knowledge, coincidence of divine which represent the cognitive faculties targeted by these immanence and practices. Interesting comparisons with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy have recently been advanced. Active contemplation of transcendence . . . alone paradoxes like the coincidence of divine immanence and could offer lasting transcendence helped to fill the mind of the worshipper with divine light, which alone could offer lasting transformation of human transformation of human affect and ultimately, it was to be hoped, of human practice and affect . . . practice and existential condition as well. Chabad contemplative practices were meant to engender a sense of bittul or self-abnegation, a marvelously labile term that stands for a whole host of different spiritual, moral, and cognitive conditions. One of its most basic meanings is that the world and all existence comes to seem (to the mind and even to the senses and feelings) as if it were naught (kelo hashiv) when viewed through the prism of contemplation upon the greatness of the divine. The as if is important here, because Chabad teachers throughout the generations have been careful to deny a view that is sometimes attributed to various forms of Eastern mysticism which holds that the world is an illusion (maya). This, no Orthodox Jew can easily maintain, because the whole sweep of Jewish religious tradition starting with the Bible and through all the later teachings is that the world created by G d is real, that human responsibility for good or for evil is far from illusory, and that divine prerogatives in history must be fulfilled. G d forbid, exclaimed the third hereditary leader of Chabad, known as Zemach Zedek (1789 1866), that we should say the world is not real! And yet, nearly every page of classical teaching in the Chabad school insists that the world is completely nullified before the great light of G d, like the light of a candle extinguished in the light of the sun. This is the apparent paradox of materiality which is both real and not real, and it is this dilemma which is addressed through the delicate praxis of contemplative prayer. The Lurianic mystery of zimzum, the divine contraction that makes space for the phenomenal world, is by now well-known. Modern thinkers like Edmund Jabes, Jacques Derrida, and Emmanuel Levinas have each

existential condition.

appropriated this sixteenth-century Kabbalistic imagery for their own ethical and interpretive projects. For example, Levinas arranges his whole ethical phenomenology around the demand to make space for the Other, giving to him or Levinas startling to her, as it were, a chance to breathe and a space to inhabit, though it be at ones own expense. Levinas may go out of his way adaptation of the zimzum to identify himself with the nineteenth-century opponents of the metaphor for Hasidim in his famous essay on Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin (for interpersonal relations reasons that may become clear in a moment), but his startling adaptation of the zimzum metaphor for interpersonal relations was most clearly was most clearly anticipated in an essay by by the fifth Chabad anticipated in an essay Rebbe, known as the Rebbe Rashab (18601920), who desribes human zimzum at length as an act of ethical imitatio Dei (see by by the fifth Chabad Kuntres He-Chaltzu). Levinas may well have been aware of the Rebbe, known as the essay (we know that he studied some early Chabad literature), but I believe he would have shied away from the Chabad Rebbe Rashab. formulation precisely because of its insistence on contemplative practices designed to show zimzum to be merely a metaphor. Correct interpretation of zimzum was an important feature of the debates that distinguished early Hasidim from their opponents. Though there is some debate on this point, the standard account holds that the great and fierce opponent of the Hasidism, R. Elijah of Vilna, took the idea of zimzum in its literal sense (zimzum ke-peshuto), meaning that G d evacuated, as it were, a space for creation. This would be a comfortable position for someone like Levinas not just because of his Lithuanian Jewish origins, but also because it implies that the analogous moral sacrifice for the other is real and irreducible. Variations on the zimzum ke-peshuto argument were made by various writers in what they took to be the defense of normative distinctions between right and wrong, pure and impure, that they sensed might be compromised by the idea of a G d whose presence resides everywehere without distinction, in places sacred as well as very profane. Even Levinas hero, R. Hayyim of Volozhin, who did not accept the simple reading of zimzum, thought that one should act as if it were literally true so as to avoid the potential for antinomianism. Not so for Chabad. Like other Hasidim, Chabad opted for the radical solution that zimzum itself is the illusion grounded in human perceptual limitations but that in fact nothing ever changedthe divine light before creation and after Bittul is the cognitivecreation are identical, as is the immanence of the divine glory, except that the world conceals this glory even as it also stands perceptual process witness to it. The parallel between this position and the whereby we train psychological or perceptual problem of bittul (self-annihilation) ourselves to see behind should now be perfectly clear: when we reflect upon the divine light we realize cognitively and perceptually that we are as the veil. The world is naught, but we also come to recognize that our naught is real, but not in the way included in (rather than excluded by) unmediated divinity. Bittul is the cognitive-perceptual process whereby we train ourselves to that we thought it was see behind the veil. The world is real, but not in the way that we before. thought it was before. How is this accomplished? Here we return to the importance of prayer as a transformative praxis. Contemplative prayer is a complex ritual system in Chabad, corresponding to many different spiritual and cognitive levels of attainment. On the simplest level, contemplating the greatness of God engenders love and fear and a pervasive sense of bittul ha-yesh (nullification of the coarse material aspect of the human personality, the part that craves physical satisfaction and acts for itself, disobeying the divine will). The contemplative person continues to experience his or her separate existence but attains a great clarity and transparency to the divine will over time. One is no longer held in thrall to physical fears or desires and is actively willing to give oneself, ones very life (mesirut nefesh), for the sake of not being separated from G d. For early Chabad, which developed at the same time and in direct response to modernizing trends among the Jews of Europe, this was an important political as well as religious message, because it provided a

practical means of combating the colonization of Jewish religious habitus by secularized perceptual structuresthe idea that religious motives for example, even where they are respected, should be treated as no more compelling than other sorts of human motives and instinctual reactions, like the hunger for food, for economic advancement, or for political freedom. Contemplation on this level reformulates everything, putting the consciousness of G d and the divine will at the center of ones perceptual schemas and at the heart of ones motivational framework, such that even martyrdom might appear as but a trifling thing compared to the awesome intensity of divine intimacy. Many religious movements would have been content with having achieved this level of religious feeling.

Chabad sources insist however (and I am simplifying a great deal) that there are deeper levels of contemplation available to adepts, and that these do more than simply ensure the primacy of religious motivation over other forces but also allow a glimpse of the truth obscured by zimzumthe truth that the world itself and all that is in it is considered as naught before Thee. This is called bittul ba-metziut, or annihilation within existence. In this reality, every existent being and thing must be perceived (and experienced!) as ultimately contingent upon the divine vitality that creates and gives life to it, not once and for all, as in a simplistic reading of the Genesis story, but constantly and at all times. Like the phenomenological epoch, which brackets the natural attitude of the world as given to sense experience, contemplative prayer brackets the untrained perspective by which our world appears as really real and firmly existent, and reveals instead the divine light and contingency underlying all things. One does not see merely a table or chairs, nor does one come to see them as illusory and false, but one learns to perceive the divine vitality that is in them and that constitutes their true reality. To pray with the tables and with the chairs means, at least in part, to take ones cue from materiality but to work backwards to its divine source and vitality, to learn to truly see this vitality where once there was only a chair or a table, and then to reveal, to the extent one is able, the truth that zimzumdivine absenceis itself the illusion that reveals materiality, and that alles is G tt (all is G d). The meaning of dirah ba-tachtonim, that the world should be revealed as a fitting habitation for divinity, is thus an act of uncovering as much as it is one of tikkun (repair). The tikkun is in fact the uncovering. This has been explicit or implicit to Chabad teaching since the beginning, but it received unprecedented and explicit emphasis from the seventh (and last) Rebbe, R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson (19021994) of New York, who over the last generation shepherded the transformation of post-Holocaust Chabad into a global movement. As R. Schneerson announced in his inaugural address to his Hasidim in 1951 and never tired of repeating in many ways over the years, he believed that the generation of the seventh (the seventh generation since the founding of Chabad by R. Schneur Zalman) was destined to be the generation of redemption, the generation in which the fitting habitation of this world for G d would finally be made plain. While the relationship between this perceptual transformation and more traditional notions of Jewish redemption remain to be made clear in subsequent posts, the Rebbe emphasized in many settings over the years that the final telos of history is the revelation of the divine essence (atzmus) as G d is in G dself in plain sight upon the phenomenal world, something we do not yet have language to describe. This is not, in the final analysis, the flight from materiality or its suppression (as in much of classical Jewish pietism), but the emergence of the material as the very throne and expression of divine glory. This is, moreover, the revelation of a truth already present, pulsing just beneath the faade of our secular

In direct response to modernizing trends among the Jews of Europe . . . Chabad provided a practical means of combating the colonization of Jewish religious habitus by secularized perceptual structures.

The seventh Chabad Rebbe, R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The Rebbe emphasized that the final telos of history is the revelation of the divine essence (atzmus), as G d is in G dself, in plain sight upon the phenomenal

w orld. existence. If Chabad has sometimes chafed against narrow doctrines of separation that are used to push religion out of the public sphere in the United States and elsewhere, this needs to be understood as fundamental to Chabads overall project. The sacred and the profane as human categories must both dissolve like the light of a candle in the noonday glare.

It is the eve of Rosh Hashanah in Jerusalem as I write these words. There is a pensiveness and excitement in the air very different from that which accompanies our secular New Years Day. It is Yom Ha-Din, the Day of Judgment, and Yom Ha-Zikaron, the Day of Memory. In the earliest Chabad sources, it is a day for the contemplation of Rosh Hashanah, Yom the ultimate, paradoxical unity of the light that fills creation (divine sovereignty, immanence) and the light that surrounds Kippur, and the other creation (infinitude, transcendence). The day does not stand liturgical days of this alone but is part of a broad ritual framework in which Rosh season each stand as Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the other liturgical days of this season each stand as particular moments in a broad process of particular moments in a self-transformation, self-annihilation, and renewal. Many people broad process of selfwill spend many hours in synagogues hoping for at least a few moments of transcendence and clarity which may or may not ever transformation, selfcome. In later posts in this ocasional series on the materiality of annihilation, and renewal prayer, I hope to describe my ethnography of prayer in the lives of contemporary Chabad practitioners and flesh out more of what is at stake for them in this life they have chosen. For now though, it is enough to emphasize that the contemplative practice described in Chabad teachings ensures that those who engage in it will not be praying alone. If you listen closely you can hear the tables and the chairs praying, too. This article first appeared in Reverberations: New Directions in the Study of Prayer , a SSRC forum, and is republished here with permission. Don Seeman is an Associate Professor holding a joint appointment in Jewish Ethnography with the Department of Religion and the Institute for Jewish Studies at Emory University. He has also served as assistant rabbi of the Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta, and taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

A Door on the East

By Tuvia Bolton

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi once sent one of his chassidim on a mission to raise a large sum of money for an important cause. The rebbe blessed him with a safe trip, but mysteriously warned him not to enter any house that had its door on the east side. The trip went well, and soon most of the money had been collected. But one day the chassid found himself caught in a snowstorm on a lonely road winding through the forest. The wind grew steadily stronger and colder. He urged his horse on, hoping to reach some sort of an inn before he lost his way entirely in the snow; but hours passed and still nothing.

He was numb and freezing, and the snow was falling so densely that he couldnt really see where he was going. He prayed to G d for some sort of miracle. Suddenly, through the white sea of swirling snow, he saw what looked like the outline of a house just off the road. With his last ounce of strength he forced the horse in its direction, and sure enough, it was a house! It even had a mezuzah on the door. A Jewish house, no less! He thanked G d for his good fortune as he jumped from his wagon onto the front porch and knocked on the door. An elderly woman opened the door and let him in to the warm house. Come in, you must be freezing, she said. Come have a cup of tea; sit here by the stove. In just a minute my sons will return, and they will put your horse in the barn. Please sit down. Just as he sat down and began thawing out, he remembered that it was almost night and he hadnt yet prayed minchah (the afternoon prayer). So he asked the woman which direction was east (to face Jerusalem, as is customary during prayer) and prayed, thanking G d for his good fortune. As he finished praying, he noticed that something was wrong: the eastern wall was the one with the main entrance of the house in it! Without hesitation he put on his coat and walked to the door, saying apologetically, Ill be right backbut the door was locked. He went to a window, but it too was locked. I forgot something in the wagon, he called to the old woman, who had slipped out of the room. Could you please open the door? Suddenly a key turned in the door from the outside, and four brawny young men entered from the storm. As soon as they saw their visitor they immediately grabbed him, emptied his pockets, tied him up, laid him on the ground in a corner, and sat down to eat while their mother examined the booty. Ho ho! she exclaimed. Look what we have here! as she held up the pack of money she found in his wallet. Looks like we caught a big fish this time. One of the sons examined the money, went to the cupboard, took out a large bottle of vodka and put it on the table with a bang. Brothers, lets celebrate! G d has been good to us! We have enough money here to be happy for a long, long time! But first, lets take care of our guest. He pulled a large knife from somewhere under his coat while one of his brothers was pouring him a drink. He took a cup of vodka in his free hand, raised it high and said, To long life, except for you! as he looked at the bound chassid. One of the brothers, surprised by the joke, laughed so hard that the vodka came spraying out of his mouth on the others, and they all began to laugh, and then someone began a song and another toast, then another. Then the door opened again, and it was their father. Aha! he shouted as he looked at the money on the table and the bound victim on the floor. Good work, boys! Excellent! Well have to kill him though . . . Im glad you left him for me. You know what? In the morning Ill take care of him. Now, lets drink to our good fortune! And before long they were all drunk as Lot, and forgot completely about our unfortunate hero. Late that night, when they were all sleeping soundly, the father woke, looked around to make sure that no one else was awake, tiptoed over to our chassid, motioned him to be silent, cut his ropes and silently ordered him to follow. He tiptoed to the door, opened it and gave the chassid his coat. Here is your money back, he whispered in the chassids ear as he pushed the wallet into his coat pocket. Then he pressed a gold coin into the chassids hand. This is for charity from an old sinner. Tell your rebbe to please pray for me. Now go! Get out of here as fast as you can . . . run for your life. Dawn was beginning to light the horizon, the storm had stopped, and our grateful hero was on the road back home. When he entered the rebbes room, the rebbe looked up at him and said: I know what happened; you dont have to tell me. I was up all night interceding on your behalf. The chassid produced the golden coin and told of the old thiefs request. The rebbe took the coin and

wedged it in a crack in the wall next to his desk, and said no more. Fifteen years passed, and this same chassid, who was now married with a family, became one of the rebbes gabbaim (secretaries). One day he answered the door to an old beggar, and told him to wait. When he entered the rebbes room and informed him that there was a beggar at the door, the rebbe pulled the gold coin from the crack where it had been for the past fifteen years, and told the chassid that this was the old man who had released him years ago. It seems that when his wife and sons awoke and realized what he had done, they beat him and drove him from the house just some hours before the police made a surprise raid and took the mother and sons off to prison. The old man began a life of wandering and atonement, waiting for a sign that his repentance had been accepted in heaven. A popular teacher, musician and storyteller, Rabbi Tuvia Bolton is co-director of Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim in Kfar Chabad, Israel, and a senior lecturer there.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Turkey Egg Rolls with Cranberry Dipping Sauce

By Miriam Szokovski

This year we have the rare opportunity to celebrate Chanukah and Thanksgiving simultaneously for for the first time since the 1880s, definitely an occasion worth taking advantage of from a culinary standpoint. Chanukah, meet Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, meet Chanukah! Ill be sharing some great fusion recipes, including these turkey egg rolls with cranberry dipping sauce.

Thanksgiving just wouldnt be Thanksgiving without turkey and cranberries. And Chanukah wouldnt be Chanukah without fried food to commemorate the miracle of the oil. So fried turkey egg rolls with cranberry dipping sauce gives you the best of both worlds.

Saut the onions in olive oil and salt until translucent.

Add in the ground or shredded turkey, crushed garlic and ginger and saut 5 minutes. Add white wine and soy sauce and simmer until thickened. Throw in the shredded cabbage and carrot and cook 1 minute more, until just wilted. Set filling aside to cool.

Lay out egg roll wrappers, place 2 tbsp. of filling in each, roll up as shown below, and place seam side down on a plate.

Heat oil. Place each egg roll in the oil, seam side down. Fry until brown and crispy (turn at least once so both sides get fried). Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. To make the dipping sauce, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer 5-10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer if there are any lumps.

Egg Roll Ingredients: 2 onions, diced 3 tbsp. olive oil 2 tsp. salt 1 lb. ground turkey 4 cups shredded carrot & green cabbage 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1 cup white wine 3 tbsp. soy sauce 1/4 tsp. ginger 15-20 egg roll wrappers Oil for frying Dipping Sauce Ingredients: 1/3 cup jellied cranberry sauce 1/3 cup vinegar 1/3 cup sugar 3 tbsp. water 1 tbsp. soy sauce Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Saut the onions in olive oil and salt until translucent. Add in the ground or shredded turkey, crushed garlic and ginger and saut 5 minutes. Add white wine and soy sauce and simmer until thickened. Throw in the shredded cabbage and carrot and cook 1 minute more, until just wilted. Set filling aside to cool. Lay out egg roll wrappers, place 2 tbsp. of filling in each, roll up and place seam side down on a plate. 7. Heat oil. Place each egg roll in the oil, seam side down. Fry until brown and crispy (turn at least once so both sides get fried). Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. 8. To make the dipping sauce, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer 5-10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer if there are any lumps. 9. Serve dipping sauce alongside egg rolls. For best taste, serve immediately after frying. (Note: If you want to bake the egg rolls, place them seam side down on a greased baking tray. Spray the tops with PAM and bake on 400 for 10-15 minutes.)

What will you be making for Thanksgivukkah? Leave a comment and share your ideas so we can all benefit. Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Chabad on Campus Advances Awareness of Substance Abuse

by Menachem Posner, Chabad.edu

Rabbi ShaisTaub, left, spoke at a seminar on alcohol and substance abuse at the Chabad on Campus International Shluchim Conference this summer. (Photo: Bentzi Sasson-chabad.edu)

The college years represent a time of intellectual advancement and personal growth. They also present some unique social opportunities that will inevitably put young men and women face to face with alcohol and other substances that could potentially be very dangerous. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, binge drinking and other forms of substance abuse remain serious problems on college campuses, with about 20 percent to 25 percent of students meeting the medical criteria for substance abuse and dependence. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism takes it a step further, with research showing that more than 80 percent of college students drink alcohol, and almost half report binge drinking in the past two weeks. Virtually all college students experience the effects of college drinkingwhether they drink or not. These effects range from poor academic performance to injury and even death resulting from intoxication. It is estimated that every year, approximately 1,800 college students die as a result of drinking. To address the many issues surrounding substance and alcohol abuse, Chabad on Campus International Foundation is organizing a nationwide speaking tour featuring rabbis and other experts to provide guidance to students and staff on these issues. Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive vice president of Chabad on Campus International Foundation, explains that Chabad on Campus provides for the social, emotional, spiritual and intellectual needs of college students. Our focus on addiction awareness and education is another way Chabad on Campus provides the knowledge and support these students need to deal with the challenges they face away from home. Alex, a student who was hospitalized after his drink was spiked at a college party in February of 2011, knows of this need firsthand: I think it is important to educate people not to allow themselves to be harmed by peer pressure or by taking something without researching what it is. These things arent reserved for the movies, he says. People are still going to make mistakes, but education can help them make informed choices. Alex, currently active with his Chabad on Campus center, adds that he welcomes any initiative to support students either before or after drinking comes into play. Rabbi Hershey Novack, co-director of Chabad on Campus in St. Louis, Mo., has long felt the need for a more organized response to substance abuse on college campuses across the nation. It is more than just telling students that drinking too much is bad for you, he insists. We need to help students make the lifestyle choices that are right for them in both the short and long term. Novack chaired a session on alcohol and substance this summer at the Chabad on Campus International Shluchim Conference, an annual gathering of leaders of Chabad centers on university and college

campuses around the world. The fact is that for many studentsaway from home for the first time in their livesthe college experience brings a dizzying array of choices, experiences and consequences that they are only beginning to understand, he says. And it is our imperative to help them face these challenges in a healthy way. We need to be able to help students make wise choices when it comes to alcohol and drugs, and be able to provide guidance and referrals quickly as needed.

A Serious Problem on Campus

One of the tours lecturers will be Rabbi Shais Taub, an acclaimed author and speaker on addiction and recovery. The first thing we need to do is define that there are two separate messages for two different crowds: those flirting with abuse and those battling addiction, he explains. His book, G d of Our Understanding, finds commonalities between Jewish tradition and the well-known 12-step program, a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion or other behavioral problems. The book, published in 2010, has been a best-selling Jewish title on Amazon.com. One problem, says Taub, is the immediate damage that can occur while the abuser is under the influence. That can be followed by the emotional and material damage a person who is out of control can cause to oneself and to others.

Rabbi Hershey Novack chaired a session on alcohol and substance this summer at the Chabad on Campus International Shluchim Conference,

The good thing is that occasional useeven in the extremeoften ends when its no longer fun. Experimentation can turn out to be a phase, adds Taub, who emphasizes the importance of dealing with a problem before it becomes an active addiction, which is far more intractable. His advice: To people who abuse substances or even casual users, we need to help them see the realities of the damage that these substances causeto themselves and to those around themand help them understand the points at which use is heading towards abuse, and finally, addiction. Addiction, the second stage, is less prevalent, according to Taub, affecting about 10 percent of the population. But its also much more devastating. An addict cannot stop, even when it is no longer fun. They are still drinking too much long after they have left the frat house and gotten a job, he says. To them, I describe the dynamics of what they are going through as a spiritual malady. Ive found that this message resonates with people, giving them an aha moment. Knowing that their issue can be identifiedand that others have the same problemcan help take away the isolation and the feelings of terminal uniqueness that addiction brings. Working with students, I hope that if I can supply this perspective for a person in the early stages of addiction or even before, we can help them recover before they hit rock bottom. Taub comes highly recommended by Dr. Gary Ostrow, an osteopathic physician from New York who says that Taubs book helped him in his own journey to recovery.

Knowing that their issue can be identified and that others have the same problemcan help take away the isolation and the feelings of terminal uniqueness that addiction brings. Rabbi Shais Taub

I hope he enlightens the rabbis and students about the opportunities available, says the 62-year-old, whose road from addiction also prompted him to rediscover Judaism. There is a common solution to these problems, and that is a process of great spiritual recovery. Ostrow, a member of the Chabad on Campus international advisory board was instrumental in bringing Taub to this summers Chabad on Campus International Shluchim Conference, where he spoke along with Novack. He even went a step further: Ostrow made sure that campus shluchim were mailed a copy of Taubs book for research and reference purposes.

Giving Students the Right Tools

Rabbi Yosef Lipsker, pastoral consultant at Caron Treatment Center in Pennsylvania, applauds the initiative. He notes that he often counsels older adults who have been abusing alcohol and drugs since college. "It is those formative yearswhen the young people leave home, and find parties and all kinds of other attractionsthat it is so fundamental that they be given the tools to deal with substance abuse and addiction." The rabbi, also co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Berks County, Pa., says it may start out as fun, but unchecked, it can develop into a life-destroying addiction. Chabad on Campus is at the cutting edge of helping students through crises, and identifying their struggles and helping them come out on top. His sentiments are echoed by Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, founder of Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.; the author of more than 60 books; and a renowned pioneer in addiction and recovery. Substance abuse, alcohol and drugs are a scourge of modern society, he says. Unfortunately, youngsters seeking a high may fall into the trap of addiction, which can ruin their lives. Rabbi Taub has experience in working with both young and old, and his message may save lives and families. As early as 1972, Chabads involvement with preventing and helping beat substance abuse resulted in the founding of the Chabad Residential Treatment Centers in California and created chapters of Project Pride (Prevention, Resource, Information and Drug Education) at universities across North America. Chabad has many resources, says Novack. Now we are bringing them to campuses all over.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

At Annual Gathering, 5,200 to Mark 20 Years

Chabad.org Staff

Emissaries and guests dance together at a previous gathering. (file photo)

Chabad Lubavitch emissaries will begin arriving in New York next week from all parts of the world for the Kinus Hashluchimthe annual get-together of emissaries, their parents, friends and supporters, and a record number are expected to attend this year. Organizers have spent more than six months planning for the Chabad showcase weekend, which is expected to draw more than 5,200 from more than 80 nations around the world. This includes preparing for the gala banquet on Sunday, Nov. 3, which will take place at a new and larger venue this yearthe South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, a 110,000-square-foot warehouse near the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The keynote speakers will be former U.S. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, and Rabbi Dov Greenberg, co-director of the Rohr Chabad HouseJewish Student Center at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., has been selected to represent his fellow shluchim. The theme of this years gathering, Through Darkness a Shining Light, will mark 20 years since Gimmel Tammuz, the anniversary of the passing of the RebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, that will take place this coming year. Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, chairman of the kinus committee and vice chairman of Merkos LInyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, noted that the committee scoured the shluchim family and the long list of Chabad supporters and admirers to find two speakers that could accurately portray this years theme, he said. Lieberman, who served as senator from 1989 until his retirement in early 2013, first connected with Chabad-Lubavitch in his law school days at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. As he describes, a friend of his brought him to a farbrengen at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. I was entranced, if you will, with the fervor, with the spirit and with the sense of purpose, recalled Lieberman. Speaking of the Rebbe, he said: I was impressed by his obvious spirituality, by his soaring intellect, by the extent to which he was involved in the world. Liebermans respect and reverence for the Rebbe turned him admirer immediately, supporter later, and seeker of advice and blessing throughout his public and political career. During one of his early political campaigns,Lieberman visited the Rebbe to seek his blessings. According to Rabbi Yisrael Deren, regional director of Chabad-Lubavitch in Connecticut, Joe Lieberman is a close friend with awesome respect for the Rebbes shluchim all over the world. His public career as a Shomer Torah Umitzvot [a follower of Torah and observer of the commandments] in the highest pinnacles of government has made him a role model for many. Greenberg is often quoted for his insight as part of Shabbat sermons, classes and articles. His widely syndicated ability to morph difficult and complex Chassidic texts and topics into short, coherent articles and

concepts have enabled many to share in the knowledge of Chassidic philosophy, say organizers.

The gala banquet on Sunday, Nov. 3, w ill take place at a new and larger venue this year the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman

New s

Chabad Couple Sends Womans Body Home From Nepal

By Menachem Posner

Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, co-director of the Chabad House of Katmandu and the Chabad House

of Pokhara in Nepal

When Rabbi Chezky and Chani Lifshitz of Katmandu were informed that a busload of tourists had plunged 200 meters into a gorge in Chitwan National Park on Monday, they knew they needed to move fast. We have an arrangement with the police that whenever something like this happens, they alert us, said Chani, who with her husband co-directs the Chabad House of Katmandu and the Chabad House of Pokhara in Nepal. There are so many Israelis here that, to our sorrow, we often need to help identify the remains in such instances, and arrange for transport and burial. In addition, since Hindus routinely cremate their deadforbidden by halachah, or Jewish lawthey knew that if a body or bodies are found, they then face an uphill battle to wrest them from the hands of local officials before potential burning. The area has seen an unusual amount of rainfall of late due to Cyclone Phailin, which ripped through Thailand, Myanmar and Nepal and certain Indian states last week, making already precarious roads especially dangerous. The Lifshitzes soon discovered that a Jewish woman was aboard the bus: 32-yearold Marina Muchnik of Melbourne, Australia, who was on her way to Mount Everest. The rabbi rented a helicopter and flew to the scene. Once there, he learned that 11 people remained missing; only two bodies had been recovered. One of them was Muchnik, a Ukrainian who moved to Australia at 13 and had attended the Beth Rivkah Ladies College in Melbourne. By the time my husband arrived, they were already taking the other body to be burnt. You need to understand that this is really the Third World, explained Chani Lifshitz. It is a miracle that he was able to convince them not to burn her as well. After hours of negotiations the body was released. Since it was too late at night to fly back to Kathmandu, the rabbi returned with the body by Jeep. On the way back, he said he began to feel ill. Noticing strange writing on the sheet that was covering the body, he asked the Nepalese escort what was written there and was horrified to learn that it was a message to the Hindu deity who guards the dead. After exchanging that sheet for a plain white one, he said he felt better and the trip resumed. Once in Katmandu, the Lifshitzeswho have lived in Nepal since 1999faced the next hurdle: getting the body out of the country without subjecting it to an autopsy. Jewish law requires that unnecessary tampering with the dead by avoided out of respect for the departed. After much wrangling, the body was allowed out and is currently en route to Australia, where it should arrive early next week. We then realized that we did not have any of her personal effects, said Chani Lifshitz, and we knew how much it would mean to her family to have those items. We sent one of our workers to scour the hostels in the area, and sure enough, we were able to retrieve two suitcases containing her clothingand even a camera with her latest pictures. With 30,000 Israeli tourists passing through the country annually to hike and wander about, Chani Lifshitz said they often deal with missing people. Earlier this summer, George Abboudi, a 22-year-old Jewish man from Leeds, England, went missing. The Lifshitzes led a massive search effort, only to discover that he had fallen into a river and died, and been cremated by local villagers. His family donated a Torah scroll to Chabad in his memory. We are very sad, said Chani, but at least this time, we have small measure of comfort in knowing that we were able to bring Marina to a proper Jewish burial.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Mikvah Refurbished, Renamed After Lashing by Hurricane Sandy

By Menachem Posner

Mikvah Beer Temer Mirel is named for a w oman w hose tw o descendants w orked to ensure that the community of Belle Harbor not be bereft of its purifying w aters.

Hurricane Sandy crashed up the coast of the U.S. eastern seaboard a year ago this month, leaving destruction, despair and lots of water in its wake. Belle Harbora sleepy enclave in Queens, N.Y., that juts out into the Atlantic Oceanwas a prime target. Only four blocks wide at its widest point, the peninsula was overcome by the storms waves and surges; some four to five feet of water flowed down its streets. It was a war zone, recalls Esther Konig, who first moved to the neighborhood in the 1960s and is responsible for the community mikvah. The neighborhood was in absolute turmoil. Almost everyones home was damaged. We lost power and had to haul sludge out of our basement. Others had it worse; their houses were completely destroyed. Rabbi Levi Osdoba of Congregation Bais Yehuda and Chabad representative since 2005 to the Jewish community of several hundred there, says his synagogue was converted into a relief center. We sustained flood damage, he says. And we lost power and heat, but we used generators and were able to use the synagogue as a base to dispense food, clothing and cleaning supplies as long as needed.

Decided to Go All Out

One of the rabbis communal duties is to oversee the mikvaha ritual bath used for family purity, serving as the mainstay of traditional Jewish family lifebuilt in 1987 on land donated by Rabbi Chaim Wakslak, then rabbi of Young Israel of Belle Harbor. Just before the hurricane struck, we had emptied the water from the pools to make some repairs on the steps, so a lot of the floodwaters flowed right into the empty cisterns. We soon discovered that there was significant damage, he explains. The water, which was mixed with sewage and sand, had reached four feet high and totally discolored the tiles. Also, the heaters, washers, dryers, boilers and air conditioners were all destroyed. They also discovered mold in some of the walls. Still, the structure remained sound.

There w as devastation, but not despair, in Belle Harbor, N.Y., in the w ake of Hurricane Sandy.

In March of 2013, even before Konig was able to move back into her house, she met with Osdoba to discuss plans for the mikvah. We considered just replacing the damaged tiles, and then toyed with replacing the tiles in the entire room so that things would match, she says. Ultimately, we decided to go all out and remodel the entire facility in the most spectacular way, so that it would be attractive to the women who use it and even serve to introduce other women to this mitzvah, which is the cornerstone of Jewish family life. But raising the necessary $250,000 in a community already burdened by terrible damage to almost everyones homes and businesses was a daunting task. Konig was encouraged when local businessman Sol Friedlander supplied the initial key money to get the project rolling, showing her and the community that it could be done. With the help of Rabbi Baruch Cywiak of Mikvah USA, whose mission is to support the establishment and rebuilding of mikvahs in communities across the country, they began collecting money. Incredibly, most of the funds raised came from local residents, mostly members of Bais Yehudah or those who know Osdoba through his other communal projects. Rabbi Cywiak approached one individual in Rabbi Osdobas congregation, and the man pledged to give $25,000, says Konig. After discussing the matter with Rabbi Osdoba, the manwho wanted to remain anonymoussignificantly increased his donation and got his extended family to contribute as well. Altogether, this one very generous and modest family donated the majority of the funding for the new mikvah. Of course, there were smaller donations as well, which were equally important, stresses Konig, who is quick to point out that they needed each and every contribution to reach the total sum needed. Through the combined efforts of Osdoba and Rabbi Tsvi Selengut of Congregation Ohab Zedek in Belle Harbor, the Orthodox Union also supplied a grant towards the construction. At the same time, the community set to work drawing up plans for the new facility. Konig visited five mikvahs in the New York metropolitan area to gather ideas for the design and amenities. Osdoba worked closely with Rabbi Itche Treiger to ensure that the new mikvah would be up to the highest standards ofhalachah. Some donated time and expertise. Shifra Mendelovitz, of Act II Interiors, volunteered to coordinate the color schemes and decor, selecting colors, lighting and other elements to accentuate the spa-like and soothing atmosphere of the mikvah.
Raising the necessary $250,000 to

A Surprise Reunion
As the project neared completion, Konig asked the anonymous primary donor if he would consider naming the new mikvah in memory of a loved one. The man replied with the idea of honoring his wifes late greatgrandmother.

rebuild a mikvah in a community already burdened by terrible damage to almost everyones homes and businesses w as a daunting task.

With two weeks left before the Aug. 11 dedicationand the contractor working till midnight to get everything done on timeOsdoba asked Konig to invite the donor and his wife to the construction site to show them the progress.

Rabbi Levi Osdoba, right, examining the damage follow ing Hurricane Sandy.

As soon as I saw the young lady, she looked familiar. I said, You look exactly like so-and-so. She replied that so-and-so was her mother and asked me how I knew her, Konig recalls with a choked voice. I told her that her mother was my first cousin. Amid live music and feasting, 150 community members gathered this summer to dedicate Mikvah Beer Temer Mirel, named for a woman whose two descendants worked overtime to ensure that the community not be bereft of its purifying waters. Even though Belle Harbor is still picking up the pieces left over from last Octobers devastating weather, Osdoba notes that one body of water is staying put, attracting women drawn to a mitzvah now beautiful inside and out.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

New Mikvah, New Mitzvah in Mexico Resort

By Karen Schw artz

Building a mikvah has been a priority for Chabad co-directors Rabbi Mendel and Chaya Goldberg since they moved to the area three years ago.

Jordana Stein was the first person to use the mikvah in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. She held open the double doors and walked through, passing stunning decor and even a waterfall on the way to immerse herself in the communitys newly established ritual bath. It was different from anything Ive ever experienced, reports the local resident. It was wonderful. Playa del Carmen is about an hour south of Cancun, one of the countrys most popular international tourist resorts. Before this mikvah was built, the closest one was in Florida, a 50-minute flight away to the east, followed by Mexico City, almost two hours west by plane. Building a mikvah has been a priority for Chabad co-directors Rabbi Mendel and Chaya Goldberg since they moved to the area three years ago, in July 2010. There was a very big demand until now for the mikvah, so its going to serve its purpose, says the rabbi. Chaya Goldberg says she hadnt imagined they would be able to open its doors in less than three years, but is thrilled that they did. Construction started last October. The mikvah officially opened for use this summer. About 50 families from all overIsrael, Canada, Belgium, Francemake up the Jewish community there. They come for business ventures, for time shares and home investments, and for retirement. Tourists also wind up at the synagogue. They come in off the beach, on their way back to their hotels, says Goldberg. And they always wind up coming back. As for the permanent residents, some have never stepped into a shul at times other than the High Holidays, but here, its so relaxed that they do, and we are offered the opportunity to enrich their lives.

Something That Speaks to Them

The mikvah is a fundamental mitzvah and a requirement for religious women; the laws of family purity and marital relations depend on it. Thats why it remains one of the first things built when a Chabad center is established, particularly in more remote locations where other options are limited. The RebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory made it a point that new mikvahs be constructed as attractive, aesthetic, contemporary places. As such, the new facility in Mexico is replete with marble and granite, designed by an interior designer/architect who also designed the areas resorts.

Chaya Goldberg, right, co-director of Chabad of Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Goldberg has also stocked the mikvah with fine soaps and spa products. She insists that women will be drawn to this particular mitzvah, as well as to the physicality of it, from the soft colors and comfort of the bathhouse to the privacy and bit of luxury associated with it. Everything is meant so that when a woman walks in, she says, Wow, this is something I want to get into; this is something that speaks to me. She hopes that women, through learning about the laws of mikvah and family purity, will become more connected to their Judaism: With what I learned and the way I was raised, I can help pass on these traditions. Resident Deborah Lasarow says the mikvah is just one of many of the Goldbergs numerous accomplishments and resources theyve brought to the community in such a short time. Having been there a little more than a year, Lasarow notes that while she didnt see the building progress in its various stages, she can appreciate the kind of work it took to complete such a project. The fact that they have been able to make the whole thing happen so quickly is just amazing, she says. The mikvah will be an asset for tourists and locals alike, she adds. Until now, many women simply used the sea, which as a running body of water is acceptable, although it certainly doesnt provide for proper modesty. Lasarow, having come from another community with a Chabad in Malibou, Calif., was impressed to see that a mikvah was in progress when she arrived in Playa del Carmen. She says the times she has used one have been meaningful, profound and beautiful. Its something that Im looking toward returning to and incorporating into my life, she says. That its an opportunity for any and every Jewish woman here to be exposed to is just very enriching. The experience of the mikvah is a moving one, she affirms: To have the thought and the intention and the love and spirituality that it is being built with and designed with, and then offering that to enrich and deepen the religious and spiritual quality of a womans life can only be meaningful. Its another thing to add to your ability to grow as a spiritual and religious person.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chaya Goldberg insists that w omen w ill be draw n to this particular mitzvah, as w ell as to the physicality of it, from the soft colors and comfort of the bathhouse to the privacy and bit of luxury associated w ith it.

New s

Jerusalem Food Pantry Packs a Punch

Chabad.org Staff

Brazilian visitors to Israel pitch in at Colel Chabad's new 5,000-square-foot Pantry Packers facility, part of "Tikkun Olam" tourism.

In Israel, tikkun olamrepairing the worldis not just a way to help; its a way of life. And something relatively new there called Tikkun Olam Tourism is working to encourage those who visit there to make helping others a priority. One more step in that direction was solidified last week when Colel Chabad opened an extensive new Pantry Packers facility in Jerusalem. The 5,000-square-foot entity stores dried food basics such as rice and beans, which are included in the monthly baskets delivered by Colel Chabad to 5,000 of Israels neediest families, explains Rabbi Menachem Traxler, director of Pantry Packers. Colel Chabad is the largest and oldest organization in Israel tasked with providing food and social services for needy families, widows and orphans, Holocaust survivors, the elderly indigent and Russian immigrants. What makes Pantry Packers unique is the concept of Tikkun Olam Tourism, which enables visitors to Israel to spend 90 minutes volunteering in a meaningful, hands-on way toward alleviating hunger among Israels poorest sector. Based on our testing experience, Pantry Packers is the second most important stop on a visit to Jerusalem after the Western Wall, says Traxler. The facility is open by appointment to tourists of all faiths and ages, and is ideally suited for synagogue and church groups, and extended families. Every bag of food staples contains a slip of paper with the name of the volunteer group that packed it so that the beneficiaries can know whom to thank in their hearts and in their prayers. The new facility was made possible via a gift from Daniel and Eugenia Fuchsand their familyof Sao Paolo, Brazil, who attended the Oct. 11 grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony, along with the executive board of the Federao Israelita do Estado de So Paulo. Our idea was to transform a donation into something tangibly physical, says Daniel Fuchs. Many tourists who come to Israel want to assist charities here. Were offering them the opportunity to personally participate, and now its easier than ever for visitors to fulfill the mitzvah of helping the needy while they are in Israel." Rabbi Sholom Duchman, executive director of Colel Chabad, explains how the idea came to fruition. One of the ways we that we can save money is by buying in extra-bulk commodities and then repacking them into family-size packages. But obviously, for this, you need a lot of manpower, and the cost of it is very expensive. We therefore came up with a very simple idea, he saystap into the many tourists and people who come from around the world to visit Israel,

and let them help. Men and women of all ages, and children as well, can participate in the packing and come away with the feeling that they have done some good.

Young tourists join in the mitzvah of helping the needy by volunteering their time.

We want to help the country; we want to do something tangible, says Duchman. This is what you call tikkun olam. This is a connection to the world, and this makes the world a better place to live in. Israels newly installed Chief Rabbi David Lau affixed the mezuzah to the main entrance. Also present were directors of Israels leading tour operators, who have been instrumental in scheduling a mandatory stop at Pantry Packers for their overseas tour groups.

Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau affixes the mezuzah to the main entrance of the new facility as philanthropist Daniel Fuchs, right, looks on. Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Art

Prayer
By Rae Chichilnitsky

Acrylic & relief outliner on canvas

Artists Statement: Symbolic depiction of prayer as a vehicle for spiritual connection between G-d and Jewish people. A prayer of peace for Israel. Every time I hear this prayer, it hits me right in my heart and ignites my feeling of belief. Rae Chichilnitsky is a freelance artist and illustrator whose work involves multiple genres, media, applications, subjects and techniques. Despite her secular upbringing, Rae always gravitated toward the spiritual. Some of her recent work reflects the wisdom, light and beauty she has discovered through Torah study.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Toldot
Parshah

Show and Tell

By Mendel Kalmenson

Abraham and Isaac: two paradigms in influence and outreach.

Jews Vs. Pigs

By Elisha Greenbaum

Fam ily Ties In many w ays, a family is a single organism, for in truth the child has never left the parent.

Defeating evil incarnate is easier than challenging those who assume a patina of purity.

The Torahs Esau

By Yanki Tauber

When a parents inner convictions How should a person be judgedby what he or she is, or by strengthen, the child grow s as w ell.
what he or she can be?

Toldot in a Nutshell
After 20 childless years, Rebecca bears twins: Esau and Jacob. Esau prefers hunting; Jacob prefers Torah study. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red lentil soup. Jacob deceives his father for his blessing, and flees to escape Esaus wrath. Women

When a child changes paths for the good, the parents feel their lives also transformed.

Three Simple Habits of Remarkably Efficient People

By Rivka Caroline

Anyone else out there have a to-do list longer than the circumference of their home?

Hear Me Out: A Mother of a Deaf Child

By Yvette Miller

Everyone whos a motheror who has a motherknows a moms love is infinite. But some moms have found themselves doing things for their kids that are extraordinary.

Spirituality

Meditation on a Smartphone
By Tzvi Freeman

Here is a simple but vital morning ten-step meditation for achieving total self-knowledge and mastery within 30 days. It involves nothing more than a smartphone, your pocket or

purse, and an active brain. Your Questions

Is Chanukah a Minor Holiday?

By Tzvi Freeman

My friend told me that Chanukah is a minor holiday, unlike Rosh Hashanah and Passover, and so we shouldnt make such a big deal out of it. He said that the only reason it became so big was because of the season . . .

Negative Thoughts
By Rosally Saltsman

Im always finding fault with myself, others, and everything in my life. This makes me feel tense, defensive and unhappy. But I find it hard to stop. What can I do? Story

The Baal Shem Tov in Heaven

By Yitzchak Buxbaum

It was the first book, and at that time the only one, that contained the teachings of the holy Baal Shem Tov, and now the opponents of Chassidism were plotting to destroy it . . . The Rebbe

Fasting as a Means of Repentance

Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

Over the years, many have seen fasting and personal afflictions as a form of teshuvah, or a way toward it. If this is not correct, what does the Rebbe suggest be done instead? Cooking

Maple Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

By Miriam Szokovski

Its that time of year again the blogosphere has erupted with fall-inspired dishes, with a heavy propensity towards pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin milkshake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin everything! News

Colorado Man Lives Last Days in Midst of Floodand Friendship

By Menachem Posner

Trapped by last month's Colorado floods, a terminally ill 89year old WWII veteran and his wife found support and comfort from visits by Chabad volunteers.

Three Bustling Days in New York at Chabad on Campus Shabbaton

By Carin M. Smilk, Chabad.edu

Nearly a thousand college students gathered in New York last weekend to learn, to laugh, to meet, to eat, to sing, sightsee and soak in the riches that Judaism has to offer.

Displaced Australians Offered Shelter as Bushfires Rage On

By Menachem Posner

As bushfires blazed across Australias Blue Mountains Chabad organizations in nearby Sydney leaped into action.

Saying Goodbye to Denominational Labels

By Yosef Landa

We should break out the schnapps, wish each other lchaim and celebrate the beginning of the end of Jewish denominationalism. Art

Prayer Field
By Ilunia Felczer

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Show and Tell

By Mendel Kalmenson

There are two ways to influence, inspire, parent or teach: through words and persuasive arguments, or by example and silent behavior. The latter often speaks louder. Although no actual words may have passed between the influencer and the influenced, much more than that has been communicated. The truth has been communicatednot a possible truth, or even a probable truth, but an actual truth. Hence, one worth living. In the first manner of affecting another, it is the teacher who approaches the student; in the second manner, it is the student who is drawn to the teacher. In the first approach, its the parent who wants something for the child; in the second, its the child who

wants something for him- or herself.

In the first mode, the quantity and quality of the effect depends on the one who inspires; in the second, it depends on the one who is inspired.

The truth has been communicatednot a possible truth, or even a probable truth, but an actual truth

Different Paths
Although identical to his father in physical appearance,1 in spiritual makeup, personality and approach, Isaac was as different from his father, Abraham, as night is from day. They both served G d with all their hearts and souls, but they possessed different hearts and different souls. According to the mystics, Abraham embodied unbridled love and kindness, while Isaac personified awe and restraint. Their roles and destinies, as well, couldnt have been more different. This we know from G ds dissimilar responses to them in the face of identical circumstances: There was a famine in the land, aside from the first famine that was in the days of Abraham . . .2 Isaac, like his father, encountered famine. Unlike his father, though, who left Israel for Egypt to escape the hunger, Isaac was checked when he thought3 to retrace his fathers footsteps: G d appeared to Isaac and said, Do not descend to Egypt; dwell here in this land . . .4 . . . For you are a blemish-free offering, and territory outside of the Holy Land is not worthy of you.5 What about Abraham? Was he not, as well, blemish-free? Isaac, due to a unique spiritual sensitivity, was the only one of our forefathers never to leave the borders of the Holy Land. Endowed with a delicate spirit, he didnt take well to unholinessthen a prevailing force outside of the land of Canaan. Abraham, on the other hand, was immune to impurity; therefore, Egypta land steeped in paganism and lewdnessdidnt rattle him. Abraham was thus cut out for outreach. He learned to relate to a sacrilegious world through learning its mindset, heartbeat and lingo. He took the heathen pulse in order to determine how best to respond to its lack of spiritual consciousness and how to most effectively administer new life. He shared company with those who bowed to the dust of their feet6 and transformed them into monotheists.

Conversely, Isaac was too spiritual to relate to profanity. He did not have it within himself to descend. His dainty spiritual composition was repulsed by even the smallest hint of heretical hogwash. He neither understood nor tolerated a culture that saw value inlet alone worshippedanything other than G d.7

His dainty spiritual composition was repulsed by even the smallest hint of heretical hogwash

It would seem obvious, then, that Isaac would have had no effect on his surroundings. Could a man unable or unwilling to interact with his pagan neighbors effect change in them? If he didnt speak their language, nor they his, how could they ever communicate? But perhaps their means of communication was not made up of words.

A Model Lesson
Like father like son did not apply to Abraham and Isaac. Abraham was a man of dialogue and debate. His eloquent discourses and compelling arguments convinced many to join the folds of his faith. Hence, the verse8 dubs Abraham a maker of souls: For he would take them under the wings of the Divine Presence and convert them.9 Isaac, for the most part, kept to himself. One might say that he focused on ascent more than onhis fathers fortedescent. Immersed in study and prayer, his was a journey heavenward; he sought to broaden his awareness and deepen his connection with G d. He constantly aspired to greater heights. So, while Abraham didnt stop teaching, Isaac rarely ceased studying. But what he didnt express in words he articulated in deed. Actions are also universally understood; they constitute a currency accepted by all. Isaac was a walking display of truth. He was a living example of a servant of G d. All who saw him couldnt help but be moved and impressed, their lives forever changed. The Philistines would say, The manure of the mules of Isaac, and not the silver and gold of [their king] Abimelech.10 Poetry aside, these words express the profound impact Isaac had on the Philistines. They recognized the greatness of Isaac and his path, without a syllable coming out of his mouth. Of their own accord they streamed to him, as metal is drawn to a magnet.11

Compare and Contrast

How would Isaacs influence compare with that of his father? They shared an identical objectiveto bring people closer to G d but since their methods were divergent, presumably so were their results. Abraham descended to the level of his students, while Isaac did not. Consequently, Abraham reached people whom Isaac could not.

They shared an identical objective, but since their methods were divergent, presumably so were their results

Abraham interacted not only with Philistines, considered in some respects more moral than other nations,12 but managed to touch the lowly Egyptians as well. His guests included those who were so opposed to monotheism that they were willing to pay a heavy price to maintain their pagan beliefs! 13 Isaac reached no such people. The people he reached were somewhat refined to begin with, which is why they were drawn to him in the first place. On the flip side, while Abraham descended to the level of his students, Isaac brought his students up to his. In other words, Isaac reached people in a way that Abraham could not. Precisely because Isaac was only seen and not heard, letting his students do the thinking on their own, the conclusions they drew were their own. In sum, Abrahams reach extended further, while Isaacs penetrated

deeper.14 Abrahams effect was shortlived, because it was he who affected his students. After his passing, his followers slowly faded away. Since it had been his electrifying presence and convincing arguments that had overwhelmed and obligated them, they no longer felt obliged to follow his ways in his absence.15 Isaacs influence lived on.16 Because he caused people to change on their own. Have you ever been to Beersheba? If you have, youve been influenced by Isaac. The city was named twice. First by Abraham: Therefore [Abraham] named that place Beersheba, for there they both swore.17 Then by Isaac: [Isaac] named the well Shibah; therefore [i.e., because it was Isaac who named the well] the name of the city is Beersheba until this very day! 18

Whats in It for Me?

At home or in the office, and anywhere in between, we often find ourselves in a position of influence. We wonder how best to educate and inspire. We consider how most efficiently to effect change. Words are good, but actions consistent with your message are better. Arguments can engage, but deeds embrace.

Have you ever been to Beersheba? If you have, you've been influenced by Isaac

The effect of a well-expressed speech about the graveness of sin falls shorter than the instinctive look of horror that crosses ones face upon its encounter.19 The best homily about ethics and following G ds words pales in comparison to obvious excitement at the opportunity to practice those values.20 Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson has traveled Europe, Asia and South America, reaching out to Jews in the remotest areas. He now resides in London with his wife Chanale, daughter Geulah, and son Dov. Mendel is an editor at the Judaism WebsiteChabad.org. Artwork by David Brook. David lives in Sydney, Australia, and has been selling his art since he was in high school. He is currently painting and doing web illustrations. To view or purchase Davids art, please visit davidasherbrook.com.
FOOTNOTES 1. Rashi to Genesis 25:19.

2.

Genesis 26:1.

3.

See Rashi to Genesis 26:2.

4.

Ibid., 2.

5.

See Rashi ibid., based on Bereishit Rabbah 64:3.

6.

See Rashi to Genesis 18:4.

7.

This can provide insight into the Talmuds statement (Shabbat 89b) that in messianic times, only Isaac will be called our father. For in that era the Jewish people will never leave the Holy Land, just like Isaac never didforming a unique bond we will share exclusively with Isaac. A deeper interpretation: Just like Isaac led a purely spiritual life, blemish-free, we too, come messianic times, will devote our lives completely to matters of the spirit.

8.

Genesis 12:5.

9.

See Rashi ad loc, based on Bereishit Rabbah 39:14 and 84:4, and Talmud, Sanhedrin 99b.

10.

See Bereishit Rabbah 64:7.

11.

Here is an even deeper reading of the Talmudic statement cited above (footnote 7). Isaacs unique manner of influencingwhere the ones influenced change of their own accordwill be mirrored in our effect upon the nations of the world in the messianic era. We are told by the prophets (Isaiah 2:2, et al) that the nations will stream to the Holy Temple to serve Gdcompletely of their own volition. They will be drawn to the great holiness that will emanate from the Temple.

12.

See Rashi to Genesis 12:19 for a distinction between the lewdness of the Egyptians and that of the Philistines.

13.

See Bereishit Rabbah 49:4.

14.

This sheds light on a perplexity regarding the name of our Parshah, Toldot. It can be said that our Parshah is deeply related to its name, whose meaning is offspring. For, as opposed to Abrahams manner of influencewherein only some of what he said penetrated the listener, only that which resonated with himIsaacs method created a desire in the student to be exactly and entirely like him. Thus, Isaacs spiritual progeny were more similar to him than Abrahams were to him. This Parshah is therefore named Toldot, because it tells of Isaacs extended family who looked and acted like him.

15.

Thus, though Abraham was a maker of souls, we find no mention of his converts after his passing. Where are all of those souls that Abraham made?

16.

Moreover, through a particular renewal campaign that Isaac undertook, Abrahams short-term impact was made longlasting. As the verse recounts, Isaac returned and he dug the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abrahams death . . . Furthermore, not only did he revive his fathers deeds, he gave new life to his fathers legacy, as the narrative continues: . . . and he called them

[the wells] by the same names that his father had called them (Genesis 26:18). 17.

Genesis 21:31.

18.

Genesis 26:33.

19.

This point loosely relates to the following story: The Rebbe was once visited by a distraught Jew who complained that his children were fast assimilating. What have I done wrong? the man said despondently. Why have they strayed from the path I taught them? At one point in the painful conversation, he expressed his frustration by uttering a popular Yiddish idiom, Ay, vi shver es iz tzu zein a YidHow difficult it is to be a Jew! A deep sigh accompanied the phrase. The Rebbe asked him, Do you often express yourself this way? He replied, In stressful timesand of those there are manyI do. The Rebbe gently responded, Then that is what your children often hear, and that is the impression they are left with. With a twinkle in his eye, the Rebbe continued, There is a different Yiddish saying [from the chorus of a popular Yiddish folk song], Siz gut tzu zein a YidIt's great to be a Jew! Switch the refrain, and you will note a difference in your childrens appreciation for their heritage . . .

20.

Based on talks by the Lubavitcher Rebbe: Likkutei Sichot, vol. 25, pp. 123ff, and vol. 15, pp. 194ff.

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Jews Vs. Pigs

By Elisha Greenbaum

Of all non-kosher animals, the pig is far and away the most reviled. Even among Jews who unfortunately do not yet adhere to all the kosher laws, many avoid pork. In fact, of all the pungent insults and curses with which the Yiddish language is so blessed, one that stands out for malignancy of expression is to be called a chazer fissel (pigs foot). There are two identifiers of a kosher animal: cud-chewing and split hooves. The pig, alone of all animals in G ds barnyard, has split hooves while not being a ruminant. Have you ever seen a pig sleep? Splayed out in the mud with an idiotic grin plastered on its snout, it stretches out its trotters as if calling on all to witness its inherent kashrus. And you know what? Pious pretensions to the contrary, it still remains a pig. We read this week of the impious actions of Isaacs eldest son, Esau. Some people are just plain wicked; they make no affectation of virtue, reveling in evil for its own sake. Esau, however, was a crafty conniver. He

went to great pains to present himself to his father as truly righteous, revealing his true character only in his dealings with his younger brother, Jacob. In many ways, dealing with and defeating evil incarnate is easier than challenging those who assume a patina of purity. A flagrant terrorist may cause more death and destruction in the short term than one who exchanges battle fatigues for a veneer of respectability, but the moral clarity of being able to expose and denounce malevolence is obstructed. When the Esaus and Arafats (may his name and memory be blotted out) make a great play of declaring themselves on the side of the angels while simultaneously sowing the same wanton wickedness and moral turpitude but in a surreptitious manner, then even well-meaning people can be fooled, and the price paid to eventually defeat them is far higher. The present exile which Jews have been suffering for the last two millennia is referred to in rabbinic lore as the Exile of Edom (Edom being a synonym for Esau). When presented with outright, undisguised evil, one knows what one must do: take a stand, commit to the battle and enter into the fray with the certain knowledge that decency will ultimately triumph. The reason why this current battle has been so prolonged is because our enemies have so deeply embedded themselves in their charade that identifying evil as such is its own challenge. Terrorist organisations run their own benevolent funds and charity outlets. They have their tame spruikers in the BBC, and profess to repudiate violence. It is only when men of conscience will be willing to look beyond this fake front and reveal the inherent corruption, vacuousness and viciousness that those who hate us really represent that the chazer fissels will be revealed as the pigs they really are, the peace of the brave will have been earned, and a true era of redemption will be allowed to dawn. Rabbi Elisha Greenbaum is spiritual leader of Moorabbin Hebrew Congregation and co-director of LChaim Chabad in Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

The Torahs Esau

By Yanki Tauber

How should a person be judgedby what he or she is, or by what he or she can be? That, say the chassidic masters, depends on who that person is. If the person is yourself, you must judge yourself by your actions, not your potential. You cannot say to yourself: Okay, Ive been sort of lazy lately, and Ive messed up a bit, but I know that I can be better. Thats the real menot the person that the rest of the world sees. On the contrary, if you know that you can do better, you ought to do better. Why else were your talents and resources granted to youso that they should rot from misuse inside their wrappings? If, however, the person being judged is someone other than yourself, you must take the opposite approach. After all, you have no way of knowing, and certainly no way of truly understanding, the circumstances that are preventing that person from actualizing his or her potential. So if you see someone whos a real mess, dont look at what he or she is; focus instead on what that person can be. In fact, says Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi in his Tanya, the more messed-up that person is, the greater the admiration you should have for him or her.

Why is that? Rabbi Schneur Zalman bases his amazing statement on a saying by the sages of the Talmud: The greater a person is, the greater his evil inclination. Indeed, it stands to reason: otherwise, how could we say that G d has granted every individual absolute freedom of choice? Dont we see people who are challenged by addictions and temptations far greater than anything we ourselves are ever subjected to? If such a person, too, has been granted the power to control his or her life, that means that they have also been fortified with spiritual strengths far beyond what the average person possesses. The implications of this are twofold: If you see a truly great person, know that he or she has wrestled with demons more ominous and powerful than anything youve ever had to deal with. And if you see someone who has sunk to depths which you cannot even fathom, know that this person is blessed with equally unfathomable potentials. This, says the Lubavitcher Rebbe, is the deeper meaning behind a curious comment by Rashi on the opening verses of the Parshah (Torah section) of Toldot (Genesis 25:1928:9). Toldot begins, These are the toldot (generations) of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Rashi explains: who are these generations? Jacob and Esau who are spoken of in the Parshah. But isnt that obvious? Why does Rashi need to explain? The standard explanation is that, in the Torah, the word toldot can have several meanings. It can mean children and descendants, and it can also mean products and deeds (all of which are generated by a person). Since the account of Jacobs and Esaus birth does not immediately follow the Parshahs opening verse, and since the Parshah of Toldot also describes events and deeds of Isaacs life, there can be some doubt as to how to translate the word toldot in this context. So Rashi feels the need to tell us that, in this case, it refers to Jacob and Esau who are spoken of in the Parshah. But, says the Rebbe, there is also another meaning implicit in Rashis commentary. On a deeper level, Rashi is addressing the question: How do such righteous and holy parents as Isaac and Rebecca, and a righteous and holy environment such as their home, produce a wicked and violent man such as Esau? After all, Esau was Jacobs twin, sharing the same gene pool and upbringing. Jacob makes sense. But where does Esau come from? Indeed, says Rashi, the wicked Esau is not a product of Isaac and Rebecca, but a monster of his own making. Who are the toldot of Isaac? The Jacob and Esau who are spoken of in the Parshah. The Torahs Esau is a man of great potential for goodas great as the evil he allowed himself to succumb to. To Esau, this says: See what you could be. To us, this says: The next time you see an Esau, look again. By Yanki Tauber; based on the teachings of the Rebbe.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Toldot in a Nutshell
Isaac and Rebecca endure twenty childless years, until their prayers are answered and Rebecca conceives. She experiences a difficult pregnancy as the children struggle inside her; G d tells her that there are two nations in your womb, and that the younger will prevail over the elder. Esau emerges first; Jacob is born clutching Esaus heel. Esau grows up to be a cunning hunter , a man of the field; Jacob is a wholesome man, a dweller in the tents of learning . Isaac favors Esau; Rebecca loves Jacob. Returning exhausted and hungry from the hunt one day, Esau sells his birthright (his rights as the firstborn ) to Jacob for a pot of red lentil stew. In Gerar, in the land of the Philistines, Isaac presents Rebecca as his sister , out of fear that he will be killed by someone coveting her beauty. He farms the land, reopens the wells dug by his father Abraham, and digs a series of his own wells: over the first two there is strife with the Philistines, but the waters of the third well are enjoyed in tranquility. Esau marries two Hittite women. Isaac grows old and blind, and expresses his desire to bless Esau before he dies. While Esau goes off to hunt for his fathers favorite food , Rebecca dresses Jacob in Esaus clothes, covers his arms and neck with goatskins to simulate the feel of his hairier brother, prepares a similar dish, and sends Jacob to his father. Jacob receives his fathers blessings for the dew of the heaven and the fat of the land and mastery over his brother. When Esau returns and the deception is revealed, all Isaac can do for his weeping son is to predict that he will live by his sword , and that when Jacob falters, the younger brother will forfeit his supremacy over the elder. Jacob leaves home for Charan to flee Esaus wrath and to find a wife in the family of his mothers brother, Laban . Esau marries a third wifeMachalath , the daughter of Ishmael.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Three Simple Habits of Remarkably Efficient People

By Rivka Caroline

Anyone else out there have a to-do list longer than the circumference of their home? I used to have one just like that, too. Heres the good newsits not about getting it all done. Truly. It is about strategically getting the most effective items done that will yield the best results. As Pirkei Avot (2:16) teaches, Lo alecha ha-melachah ligmorits really not about finishing all the work, but about doing our part. Many of us want to have magic time-management makeovers that will make us become 100% efficient overnight. You would be totally forgiven if you thought you also needed to revamp and track your every action. Dont worry: in reality, if you can implement a few key items, you can really increase your productivity. These cherry-picked tips are tried and If you can implement a tested to give you a quick route to berfew key items, you can efficiency. By really increase your incorporating the productivity following tips, you can turn your productivity on its head and join the ranks of the relaxed and efficient.

1. Write it Down!
You will thank me profusely for this one, and when I take the time (most days) to do this, I thank myself too. Heres the trick: Write down the 58 tasks you must get done the following day. Use a fresh sheet in your notepad, the notepad on your iPhone, or stick a Post-It note on your forehead. Bottom line, la Peter Drucker: What gets measured, gets managed.

2. Leverage Your Work Time

The creator of Dilbert once commented that he is an early bird and gets the bulk of his work done between 5 AM and 8 AM, and his creativity would be seriously stifled if he had to work around any other schedule. Figure out when you get your best work done, and leverage the bulk of your work around that time. As the saying goes, Its so easy when I want to, and so hard when I have to. Stop working around someone elses schedule, and be the master of your own efficiency.

3. Next Step Homework

Often, after interacting with people via e mail, text, phone, or even (shock, horror!) in person, there is a next step that needs to be taken care of. It can be anything from scheduling a coffee meeting on Tuesday, e mailing them your latest blog post, ordering a book they had recommended, writing them a thank-you note, or any other type of homework. Dont be tempted to remember it later. Write it down right away, or if it can be done in two minutes or less, take care of business right then and there. Yes, I am challenging you to order a new book from Amazon, enter a coffee date into your Google calendar, and send a thank-you text in two minutes Take care of business or less.

right then and there

By incorporating these three habits into your everyday life, you will notice more efficient living and less stuff falling through the cracks. Instantly. Thank me later; first write down the next step homework from that phone meeting you just had. Rivka is a mother of seven and a rabbis wife in Key Biscayne, Florida. Rivka realized she had the choice of losing her sanity or developing new tricks for time management. Her new blog, Frazzled No More: Focused Living with a Jewish Twist, walks busy readers through easy-to-follow steps that will give them more time to do what they love. You can read more of Rivkas tips in her recently published book, From Frazzled to Focused, the book she wished she had on her nightstand when she was a new mom. For more tips, check out Rivkas website, or e mail her for information on her upcoming speaking tours.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Hear Me Out: A Mother of a Deaf Child

By Yvette Miller

How far would you go for your children? Everyone whos a mother or who has a motherknows a moms love is infinite. But some moms have found themselves doing things for their kids that are extraordinary. Here is a story of a special mom who went above and beyond the usual in helping her kidsand some of the life lessons she learned along the way. Annette Rhodes was a typical Cleveland mom with four kids. Then her youngest son, Itamar, came down with meningitis. He recuperated, and as he was a happy baby, Annette and her husband, Michael, didnt think there were any lasting effects. Several months later, when Michael banged a How far would you go for pot and ladle together for his young son, your children? Itamar didnt flinch. They realized something was wrongthe meningitis had left him profoundly deaf and cognitively impaired. I believe every mother is challenged to use her skills, Annette says. This is the hardest job in the world. With this attitude, she set to work mothering Itamar, as well as her other hearing children. I treated Itamar like a normal person, to the best of his ability, she recalls. That meant insisting he dressed nicely and that he learned good manners. The entire family learned sign language, and they encouraged Itamar to learn to speak vocally, as well. I always insisted he behave well, Annette says. There was one Shabbat: we were sitting at the table, and Itamar wanted to go outside. He got upset when his mom insisted he stay at the table like everyone else, and yelled No! Wow, Itamarthats a great vocalized No! Annette recalls saying. But you still cant go outside! Later, when Itamar was bar mitzvah age, he told his mom he wanted a normal bar mitzvah, like his

brothers. Annette and Michael had high expectations of him: They engaged tutors, and he was able to read a sentence from the Torah at his bar mitzvah. Im a positive person, Annette says. I dont frown muchI smile. Smiling is the best medicine. The Jewish sages say what you do externally, you become internally. [When parenting,] you dont have to be the happiest person, but smile and look kids in the eye. Theyre little people; they deserve a smile.

He told his mom he wanted a normal bar mitzvah

Annettes determined good humor got her and her family through some of their darkest periods. When Itamar was eleven, he was rushed to the hospital with a seizure. He was given incorrect medication, and was hospitalized for a month in terrible agony. I stayed with him, Annette recalls. At one point, he asked, Am I going to die? I said, No, youre going to fightfight real hard. Then I went into the doctors lounge and cried for five minutes. Then I stopped, put my makeup back on again, and went back to him. When Itamar was eighteen and craved independence, his parents faced a new dilemma. An observant Jew, Itamar wanted to live in a Jewish environment, but there were no Jewish group homes for the hearingimpaired in Cleveland. The Rhodeses worked with various local agencies, and eventually Michael brought a lawsuit to their local Board of Mental Health to start a Jewish home for the deaf. It was all a miracle, Annette says. The funding came through, and since then, two group homes for Jewish hearing impaired residents have opened. Today, Itamar is 40 years old. He still lives in the group home his parents helped establish, and he has a job he loves packing machinery. He also paints, and has even sold some of his paintings professionally. Annette continues to When Itamar was work with deaf children and adults as a professional signlanguage interpreter. eighteen and craved I think every mother is special, she says. Were given something importanta human being to raiseand this helps us feel a connection to G d. I think all mothers sense it. Its really a miracle.

independence, his parents faced a new dilemma

When asked what life lessons shes learned from her experience in parenting a special-needs child, Annette doesnt hesitate. You have to have a happy home. Add simchah (joy). This doesnt mean youre always happy and laughing. It means youre a happy personthat you take joy from your family, from your children and your husband. Thats the biggest thing. Yvette Alt Miller, Ph.D. is a mother and adjunct professor of Political Science living in Chicago. She is the author of "Angels at the Table: A Practical Guide to Celebrating Shabbat" (Continuum 2011).
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Spirituality

Meditation on a Smartphone
By Tzvi Freeman

Here is a simple but vital morning ten-step meditation for achieving total self-knowledge and mastery within 30 days. It involves nothing more than a smartphone, your pocket or purse, and an active brain.

1. Upon rising in the morning, place your smartphone in your pocket, purse, or whatever other way it stays attached to you. Make sure it is on, online and fully capable of disturbing you (vibrate is okay). 2. Go about your morning pre-occupational routine. This must include at least twenty minutes of some mindful activity, such as sitting quietly, horseback riding, praying, standing on your head, calmly eating breakfast, and/or talking with your spouse and/or kids with your mind engaged. Activities that dont count include: watching the morning news, driving to work, gulping down a smoothie and protein bar and/or screaming mindlessly at spouse and/or kids. 3. While involved in your morning activities, you will sense an urge to check your e mail/messages/stocks/weather/Facebook/Tweets/photostream/nothing-in-particular etc. Feel how that urge radiates through your nervous system, generating palpitations of the heart and twitching of the muscles of the arm and hand. Feel how your hand has already moved towards the smartphone without even asking permission. Be aware of all this as a detached, nonresponsive party. Return to your activity. 4. Your smartphone will begin to buzz, tweet, sing, chime and otherwise actively make itself audibly present. Be aware of these sounds and vibrations. Be aware of the reactions throughout your biosystem, auto-responding to those stimuli. Feel how this smartphone resides not only in your pocket, but has embedded elements of itself within your nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine, motor and metabolic systems. 5. Now focus your mental powers and visualize the smartphones official embassy residing in a portion of your brain. Most likely, this is somewhere in the vicinity of your Bluetooth earpiece. Invisibly enter the offices of that embassy. Observe its staff busy at their consoles, dispatching communications to various centers of your brain, glands, heart, kishkes (including stomach, liver and adrenal glands) and hand. Be aware of those messages radiating throughout your body. Enter the boardroom of that embassy and listen in on the discussion of strategies to bypass your newfound meditation. Observe the sense of frustration and desperation of the staff executives. 6. Visualize yourself quietly leaving that office. Gently close the door behind you. Continue your morning activity. 7. Continue to ignore smartphone sensations as necessary, until your work time arrives. 8. Once you are at your place of work, close your eyes, focus your mind again, and visualize that smartphone embassy once more. As you walk in, the staff rises to their feet in recognition and awe of you, their master. 9. You may now commence use of your smartphone. 10. The above meditation should be repeated on a regular basis over a period of 30 days. At that point, you may print and post this diploma at your place of work: This is to certify that ________ has completed thirty days of intense, self-mastery meditation, achieving true self-knowledge, and is now a liberated human being.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Is Chanukah a Minor Holiday?

By Tzvi Freeman

Question:
My friend told me that Chanukah is a minor holiday, unlike Rosh Hashanah and Passover, and so we shouldnt make such a big deal out of it. He said that the only reason it became so big was because of the season.

Answer:
Unlike Rosh Hashanah, Passover and other major holidays, which are biblically prescribed days of rest, we go to work on Chanukah. Even on Purim, going to work is not recommended. Also, on Jewish holidays we wear special clothes. But the days of Chanukah are regular workdays in regular clothes. Yet Chanukah is a hardly a minor holiday. Read what Maimonides writes in his Laws of Chanukah: The mitzvah of kindling Chanukah lamps is a very precious mitzvah. A person should be very careful in its observance, to publicize the miracle and thus increase our praise of G d and our expression of thanks for the miracles which He wrought on our behalf. Even if a person has no resources for food except what he receives from charity, he should pawn or sell his garments and purchase oil and lamps to kindle them. Maimonides continues by instructing that if one has only enough money to afford either a cup of wine for Shabbat kiddush or oil for his Chanukah lamp, the mitzvah of Chanukah takes precedence. Doesnt sound too minor to me. Especially when you take into account that this is what Chanukah is all about: to light up the darkness (which is why we light it at night, at the door or window). So, even though its a regular workdaywell, thats really the whole idea: to light up the regular workday. And that takes a very special light. At any rate, since when do we look for excuses not to celebrate? On the contrary, in the words of wise King Solomon, A good heart always celebrates. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Negative Thoughts

By Rosally Saltsman

Dear Rachel, Please help me! I'm obsessed with negative thoughts. It seems like Im never happy! Im always finding fault with myself, others, and everything in my life. This makes me feel tense, defensive and unhappy. But I find it hard to stop. What can I do? Upset Dear Upset, First of all, I commend you for being aware of this bad habit and wanting to change it. Remember, our biggest test can be our biggest success. Im sure youve heard that at any given moment, we can choose our thoughtscritical, negative and unhappy; or grateful, positive and happy. As this is a choice given to us every moment, it is a challenge we face about 64,800 times a day! Im sure you can appreciate how formidable this challenge is. Now, even the most determined person cant think 64,800 negative thoughts a day. (At least, I hope not!) Im sure you have some, even many, positive feelings and insights. Unfortunately, you dwell on the negative ones, reinforcing the additional negative thought that you are a negative person. So, the first thing I suggest is to test whether your assumption is true or not. Try to catch yourself in the act of having positive thoughts and feelings about yourself, others, and the world around you. Everything from What a nice day! to What a pretty scarf shes wearing. Its important to acknowledge yourself, too: I gave her an encouraging smile. Youll be surprised at how many positive musings you find yourself engaged in.

Test whether your assumption is true or not

The credo of any 12-step program designed to rid you of a bad habit is to progress one day at a time. In this case, I suggest working on one moment at a time. It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, yet you are not free to desist from it (Ethics of Our Fathers 2:16). You dont have to reach perfection; you just have to take consistent action. When you focus on looking for the good thoughts, youll find that there are more than you expected. Then, all you have to do is look for occasions to think more positive thoughts. The more good things you notice, the easier it will be. Dont try to eradicate all your negative thinking, but do try to increase the times you can acknowledge positive thoughts and feelings. In Ethics of our Fathers (4:2) its written that one mitzvah leads to another. Similarly, one positive thought leads to another. It is also important that you make sure to schedule something every day that you know will give you a lift, whether its sipping a latte, listening to a favorite song, or literally smelling the roses as you walk by. One more thought (and its a positive one): Our sages instituted blessings for many of the things we do every dayeating, Schedule something drinking, going to the bathroom, buying new clothes, and even stopping to smell the roses. These blessings help us appreciate every day that you know the good in our lives. If you dont already do so, take it upon will give you a lift yourself to say one blessing a day. If you already make blessings, take on a special one that you dont usually say, or say it with greater feeling. Theres no greater positive thought than thanking G d for all the blessings in your life. And the more you notice those blessings, the more youll have.

I wish you the best of luck! Rachel Rosally Saltsman is a freelance writer originally from Montreal living in Israel.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

The Baal Shem Tov in Heaven

By Yitzchak Buxbaum

Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov was one of the greatest disciples of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidism. Many years after the Baal Shem Tovs passing, Rabbi Yechiel Michels young son Yosef became critically ill, and his condition steadily deteriorated until he was on the verge of death. Just then, news reached Rabbi Michel that opponents of the Baal Shem Tov were planning to burn the chassidic book Toldot Yaakov Yosef (The Generations of Yaakov Yosef) in a certain city. This book, written by another great disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye, was the first book, and at that time the only one, that contained the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Yechiel Michel realized that this was an attempt to suppress the new chassidic movement, and that the situation was urgent. He decided to travel to that city and try to prevent this terrible desecration. He instructed his family that if (G d forbid) his son died when he was gone, they should delay the burial until he returned home. Shortly after he left, Yosef entered a deep coma. He seemed to have stopped breathing, and they thought he was dead, but they delayed his burial as they were told. After three days, however, Yosef began to perspire. He opened his eyes and told this story: When I went into the coma, I felt my soul leave my body. Immediately, an angel came to take me to a certain heavenly palace. Since the angel was not permitted to enter that palace, I entered alone and stood by the door. Inside, the heavenly court was in session, and I saw two angels arrive with a book that contained a record of all my sins. It was so large and heavy that it was difficult for them to carry. As I looked on, another angel came with a thin book of my good deeds, but they were not equal to the sins, which outweighed them. Then a third book was brought in, of my sufferings, and they caused many of my sins to be erased. Nevertheless, because of the sins that remained, the court decided to condemn me to die from my illness, and they were about to pronounce the sentence and write the decree. At that moment, my fatherwho had made a soul-ascent to protest before the heavenly courtcame to that palace, entering with a commotion and loudly complaining about those who wanted to burn the book with the Baal Shem Tovs teachings. He vigorously protested, saying, It will be a terrible chillul ha-Shem (desecration of the divine name) if its burned. It cant be allowed! Just then, Rabbi Yechiel Michel noticed his son standing near the door, and said, Yosef, why are you

here? Father, I dont know, he said. But please speak to the court on my behalf. I certainly will, his father answered. Then Rabbi Yechiel Michel continued to protest about the book burning as before, and pleaded passionately that it not be permitted. But the court answered, This matter belongs to a higher jurisdictionbecause in heaven there are higher and higher courts, one above the otheran appellate court, a supreme court, and so on. Rabbi Yechiel Michel then left to make an appeal to a higher court, and completely forgot about his son Yosef. Yosef stood near the door, worried and troubled. Not long after this, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye also made a soul-ascent and came to that heavenly palace where the court was sitting. He entered, and also shouted and pleaded while weeping, complaining about those who wanted to burn his book. Then he noticed his friends son standing by the door, and said, Yosef, why are you here? Rabbi, I dont know, said the boy. But please speak to the court on my behalf. Ill certainly say something on your behalf, said Rabbi Yaakov Yosef. The court then told him too that the issue of the book was a matter for a higher court. Rabbi Yaakov Yosef immediately left to appeal to the higher court, and totally forgot about Yosef. Yosef, meanwhile, continued to stand there worried and troubled, because he had no one to help him or to be his advocate. Suddenly, there was such a great commotion that all the worlds trembled, and a proclamation echoed throughout the heavens: Make way, make way; the holy Baal Shem Tov is entering the palace! (The Baal Shem Tov, as we said, had already passed away and was in the other world.) As soon as the Baal Shem Tov came in, he saw his disciples son standing alone by the door, and said, Yosef, why are you here? Holy Rabbi, I dont know, said Yosef. Could you please speak to the court on my behalf? I certainly will, said the Baal Shem Tov, and he immediately went and spoke to the court about the boy, asking them to dismiss his case and let him go in peace. He then returned to Yosef and said, You can leave now and go home. By this time, Yosef was curious about what would happen in heaven, and wanted to stay a little longer to see what the Baal Shem Tov would do there. But two burly angels immediately came, took him under the arms and escorted him out. They then took him down, down, down, to the lower world, until, he said, I saw a repulsive corpse lying on the floor, for his family, thinking he was dead, had taken him off the bed and put him on the floor with his feet pointed toward the door, according to custom. And the angels said, Enter that corpse!they wanted him to return to his body. But he was disgusted by the body and the suffering in this world, and absolutely refused. He cried and pleaded with them, but they forced him to enter against his will. Then, he said, I began to perspire, opened my eyes, and am telling you this story. Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov, the boys father, forgot about his own son in his zeal to defend the book that contained the Baal Shem Tovs teachings. Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye, the author of the book, forgot about his friends son in defending his book that contained the Baal Shem Tovs teachings. But the holy Baal Shem Tov, whose teachings were in the book, did not forget a Jewish child. A child was more important to him than a book. Some of the holiest people do not write books. The Baal Shem Tov focused on living the teachings, not recording them. The Baal Shem Tovs legacy was not of books, but of people. What he left behind were disciples and followers in whose hearts burned love of G d, love of Israel and love of the Torah, with an eternal fire. He never wrote a book, but he never forgot a child. From The Light and Fire of The Baal Shem Tov by Yitzhak Buxbaum, Copyright 2005 by the author. Reprinted by permission of The Continuum International Publishing Group. To purchase this book click here. Image by chassidic artist Shoshannah Brombacher. To view or purchase Ms. Brombachers art, click here.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

The Rebbe

Fasting as a Means of Repentance

Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

By the Grace of G d 15th of Iyar, 5724 [April 27, 1964] Brooklyn, N. Y. Greeting and Blessing: I received your letter of the 7th of Iyar, and thank you very much for the good news about the various activities. May G d grant that the activities should be continued in a growing measure, and with joy and gladness of heart in particular, as we spoke a number of times when you were here. I trust that not only do you remember this, but that you are constantly endeavoring to materialize this in the daily life. With regard to fasting, about which I told you once that it is not advisable to take upon oneself extra fasts in addition to those which are already in the calendar, this is based on the words of the Alter Rebbe. One of the reasons which he mentions in this connection is that the generations have weakened, and are no longer fit to have extra fasts. Obviously, my suggestion to you, therefore, is valid even now. The would-be resolution to undertake a fast should be changed to a resolution to serve G d with an extra measure of joy, and to endeavor to spread good influence in the environment in this direction. Letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Click to enlarge

Cooking

Maple Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

With Pecan Crunch Topping
By Miriam Szokovski

Its that time of year again the blogosphere has erupted with fall-inspired dishes, with a heavy propensity towards pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin milkshake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin everything! Last year I shared my Pumpkin Pie Black-and-White Chocolate Bark recipemy first ever post on this blog! If you missed it then, check it out now.

Today, Im sharing my Maple-Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Pecan Crunch Topping. If you love fall flavors, prepare to fall in love with this dessert. Youve got pumpkin, maple, brown sugar and pecan, with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Its quick and easy and presents beautifullyan great way to impress friends and family. For the ice cream, youll need heavy cream, pumpkin puree, sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

A couple of things to keep in mind: 1. You can make your own pumpkin puree or buy it canned. If youre buying canned, make sure you buy pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling. The cans are very similar so make sure to read the label carefully. To make you own puree, boil the pumpkin until soft, then drain and mash. 2. This recipe requires an ice cream machine. If you dont have an ice cream machine, you can still make the pie with some small variations. Buy a tub of good quality vanilla ice cream. Leave it out of the freezer to soften slightly (but do not let it melt completely). Blend it with the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and salt and continue with the rest of the recipe instructions. To make the ice cream, blend all ice cream ingredients (except the pie crust). Pour the mixture into the bowl of your ice cream machine.

Churn the ice cream until it reaches soft-serve consistency (as pictured).

Scoop the ice cream into the graham cracker pie crust and stick it in the freezer.

Meanwhile, lightly toss the topping ingredients together and spread over a baking pan in a single layer. Bake on 375 for approximately 5 minutes. Remove and allow the crunch to cool completely.

Take the ice cream pie out of the freezer and sprinkle the crunch over the top. Return the pie to the freezer to firm up for several hours before serving.

Ice Cream Ingredients: 1 cup pumpkin puree 2 cups heavy cream 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup pure maple syrup 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp. salt 1 graham cracker pie crust Topping Ingredients: 2/3 cup rice crispies 2 tbsp. margarine or butter, melted 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped 1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/8 tsp. salt Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Blend the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Pour into the bowl of your ice cream machine and churn until ice cream has the texture of soft-serve. Transfer ice cream into the graham cracker crust and freeze. Toss all the topping ingredients together lightly. Spread topping out, one layer deep, over a baking pan and bake on 375 for about 5 minutes. 5. Take topping out of the oven and let cool fully. 6. Sprinkle topping over the ice cream and return to freezer. Freeze overnight before serving.

Are you a pumpkin fan? Whats your favorite fall dish? Leave a comment and let us know!

Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Colorado Man Lives Last Days in Midst of Flood and Friendship

By Menachem Posner

How ard Krasnoff during the last w eeks of his life, talks w ith volunteer Mendy Scheiner during the Colorado flooding. (Photo: avrohomperl.com)

When Colorado native Mendy Scheiner heard that his hometown of Boulder was flooding, he flew in from New York to help his parents, who co-direct Chabad Lubavitch of Boulder County, coordinate relief efforts. I was putting in 13-hour days, delivering home-cooked meals and helping people in any way I was able to, said the 22-year old. Through the referral of a neighbor, he and fellow volunteer Avrohom Perl stumbled upon the home of Charlotte and Howard Krasnoff. Howard, 89, was in palliative care at home, where the couples basement was completely flooded, and noxious fumes were rising into the main level. There, Charlotte was trying the best she could to care for and comfort her husband of 25 years. They were just wonderful, said Charlotte. They came in with armloads of homemade food. They saw we needed fans to dry the basement, but none were available in any of the stores. They gave me five fans, which are still being used. Perl also sealed the basement with special plastic and tape to block unhealthy odors from reaching the sickroom. I am so grateful for being Jewish, she said. At a vulnerable time like that, there was nothing more comforting than that the community came forward for us with food, love and protection.

Story Behind a Purple Heart

Over the next few days, the young men would return in the evenings to unwind from the days pressures

and soak in advice from a man living his last days on earth. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Howard shared memories from his time in the U.S. Army during World War II. We noticed his Purple Heart and asked him about it, said Scheiner. It was just captivating to hear about his bravery. Howard explained that while leading a reconnaissance mission in Italy in 1943, he happened to be one of the first of a group of men walking single file in an empty creek bed. He was shot in the arm by German snipers, and his fellow soldiers fled, leaving their comrade bleeding and alone. He hid in the creek so as not to be discovered by the Germans, who would surely notice that his dog tags identified him as Jewish. He said he eventually used his one good hand to crawl back to camp, wiggling under barbed wire to get there. After an agonizing trip back to base, he was confronted by a guard who would not let him in since the password had changed in the interim. In frustration, recalled Howard, he let forth a colorful string of expletives that left no doubt about his bona fides as a dyed-in-the-wool Yank. He was flown to Rome for medical treatments. Three surgeries later, he was left with shrapnel in his arm and trauma that Charlotte said was never properly treated or diagnosed. After returning from the war, he married his first wife, Lois, with whom he had four children. After working as a probation officer, he became a psychiatric social worker and was promoted to chief administrative social worker at Fort Logan Mental Health Center in Denver, a position he held until his retirement. Lois passed away in 1987, and Howard married Charlotte, a fellow psychiatric social worker. Although he explained that he was raised in a left-leaning family and had not been religiously involved, through his connection to Charlotte, he began attending classes on Jewish subjects and started to discover his own connections to Judaism.
Charlotte and How ard Krasnoff (Photo: avrohomperl.com)

Inspired by a Living Legend

Howard died on Oct. 3 with Charlotte at his side.

Thank God he died in his own bed in his own home, said Charlotte, grateful to the many volunteers and friends who helped her maintain a soothing environment for her husband in spite of the chaos that swirled aroundand below them.

At a vulnerable time like that, there was nothing more comforting than that the community came forward for us with food, love and protection.

Volunteer Avrohom Perl during a visit w ith the Krasnoffs (Photo: avrohomperl.com)

They both had professional offices in their basement, which was completely destroyed by floodwaters that had poured in through a sunken patio. An avid stock-trader, Howard placed his last trade just three days before his passing. Howard loved to guide people and he loved to give advicehe kept on seeing clients until the very end so it was so special for him that the boys were there for him on those last days, said Charlotte. After their first visit, she noticed that Howard perked up, and was even able to go to the couch and sit with them. For us, it was a special time to just sit, listen to music and talk about life, said Scheiner. It was amazing to be inspired by a living legend. He was just so full of hope and optimism, and had the wisest outlook on life.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Three Bustling Days in New York at Chabad on Campus Shabbaton

By Carin M. Smilk, Chabad.edu

The Shabbaton opens w ith a Friday-morning tour of New York City and its sites, popular for both first-time visitors and those w ho have been to the city before, like these students at last year's event.

New York will swell by nearly a thousand people this weeka thousand young people, all there for the

same reason: to learn, to laugh, to meet, to eat, to sing, sight-see and soak in the riches that Judaism has to offer. Students from colleges around the country and across the Atlantic will converge on the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn for a three-day Shabbaton from Oct. 25-27, run by Chabad on Campus International Foundation. The annual event offers a full-fledged program of educational, spiritual, social and entertainment-oriented activities for young adults. The Shabbaton is a fully immersive experience where students are engaged intellectually, stirred emotionally and uplifted spiritually. Even though there are students from hundreds of colleges throughout the world, we are all one community. We are all one family, says Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive vice president of Chabad on Campus International Foundation. And while the Shabbaton only lasts a few days in time, the friendships created and the strengthened connection to ones Judaism will hopefully last a lifetime. Hurricane Sandy, which last October caused parts of the Eastern seaboard to evacuate, still didn't manage to keep students away in 2012. Fortunately, the weather forecast this year looks typically autumn-like, conducive for outdoor activities such as the Friday-morning tour of New York City, the Jewish Discovery walking tour and a Sunday visit to the Ohel in Queens, where the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, is interred, along with his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, of righteous memory. What began as smaller regional programs about 11 years ago has blossomed into an international constituency of attendees starting in 2008. One group coming from abroad this year will be led by Rabbi Levi Mimoun of Beth Loubavitch of Sceaux, in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. He will be traveling with 18 students to the Shabbaton. This is the most important part of my shlichusto bring students to the Rebbes community, to Chabads longtime headquarters, he writes from France, and encourage them to meet other students connected to Chabad. I hope that they leave New York with a new inclination towards Judaism and become more connected to their Chabad on Campus. Rabbi Moshe C. Dubrowski, director of programming for Chabad on Campus International Foundation, explains that beyond the New York City hype, the Shabbaton is an unparalleled opportunity for Jews from across North America and Europe to experience their shared bond. For so many, especially students from schools with small Jewish communities, this one weekend can be truly transformational for their Jewish pride and identity.

Food for My Soul

That sentiment has been confirmed whole-heartedly by students who return again and again. One of them is Noah Gross, a fifth-year senior at Drexel University in Philadelphia who studied in Israel for a year after high school, then spent a year at Yeshiva University in New York before transferring. He has been active with Chabad on Campus since Rabbi Chaim and Moussia Goldstein first arrived in November 2010 to open Chabad Serving Drexel University-Rohr Jewish Student Center during Grosss first year at school.
Drexel University senior Noah Gross (second row , third from left, at last year's opening address) w ill attend the Shabbaton for the third time and paid the registration fees for six other students to go as w ell.

It was so ripe for them to come and set up when they didit was like a home run, says the 23-year-old, who served as treasurer of the founding group of students for Chabad and then two years as president after its establishment, and is now just a happy student at the university enjoying the Chabad House.

This year he will participate in his third Shabbatonand to mark that, he did something special. Gross used some of the funds he earned during internships to pay the registration fees of six other students: five at Drexel and one at the nearby University of the Arts. I didnt want anyone to be held back because of money, states the mechanical engineering major. Ive benefited by going, and by extension, the least I could do is help provide that experience for a few others. The Shabbaton has left a good mark on me. The programming is exceptional; it stays with me. It serves as food for my soul to keep Judaism thriving in my own life. Its encouraging, reinvigorating sharing something with all these other students from all these other universities, all with a common bond. In total, about 30 Drexel students are registered and headed to New York. Jeff Resnick, a 21-year-old junior there, signed up after hearing for weeks about it from friends at Chabad who couldnt stop talking about how fun it was. I view going to this Shabbaton as a chance to step back and relax from school. Im in the middle of midterms now, so it's a pretty stressful time, says the mechanical engineering major, who plans on taking a bus to New York with a group of people from Drexel. From what Ive heard, the speakers do a great job at relating Jewish concepts to our everyday college lives, and Im excited to hear them.

I am active with Chabad on Campus. Almost every week Im there for Shabbat services, dinner and lunch, he continues. I try to involve Chabad with my activities in Alpha Epsilon Pi (a Jewish fraternity). I try to get to events during the week, like Tanya & Lasagna or lunch-and-learns when my schedule permits. I previously traveled with Chabad on Campus on an alternative spring-break program to Warsaw and Odessa to help out with a Jewish orphanage, and Im currently planning the next spring break to help out a few Jewish communities in Italy.

Moshe Hecht w ill perform at the Saturday-night Havdalah ceremony, w hich is follow ed by the Mega Event.

Home Hospitality, Classes and More

Tracy Abraham is also attending for the first time. A sophomore and communications major at the State University of New York at Oneonta, nearly four hours from Brooklyn, she is looking for new things to see and do at college, and says she is especially interested in one of the seminars about finding relationships. The 19-year-old is active with her Chabad on Campus centerattending Shabbat dinners, holiday events and activities like game nightsand going to the Shabbaton with a group of students from school. Shes even staying at the home of a relative of her Chabad on Campus rabbi, Meir Rubashkin. In fact, students enjoy home hospitality by residing with families in Crown Heights for the duration of the Shabbaton. Its part of the warmth and success of the programbeing immersed in a neighborhood where Shabbat encompasses everything. Add to that an array of classes and workshops led by a diverse group of educatorstopped off by a Havdalah ceremony with singer Moshe Hecht, and a Saturday-night Mega Event, featuring The Big Quiz Thing, a live game showand the program is complete.

Nearly 1,000 students from the United States and abroad are expected to participate in the annual Chabad on Campus International Shabbaton.

Sara Esther Crispe, a motivational speaker who lectures internationally and director of communications for Chabad on Campus International Foundation, will be one of the main presenters for a Friday-night open discussion with women, and lead another two talks during the dayone titled Mind Control: The Power of Our Thought, Speech and Action and the other Transforming Darkness Into Light. She explains that the goal is to make students recognize the transformative power in how they think, what they say and what they do to affect not only themselves, but those around them, and is the foundation for creating healthy, honest and successful relationships. Her words have a familiar ring to them for Marisa Finkelman, 19, who just entered the University of Texas at Austin. (Shes a sophomore by credits; she finished a gap-year program in Israel, the Young Judea Year Course.) After all, a few years ago, her older brother attended the Shabbaton and met a young woman there; the two are now engaged. That might be a hard act to follow, but Finkelman, majoring in education and Jewish studies, is looking for other possibilities: meeting new people, having a great experience in New York, learning about Judaism in new ways and just having an amazing weekend with the extended Jewish family. Its her first year joining the program, and others from her school are also going, led by Rabbi Zev Johnson, director of the Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center at the University of Texas. Working it into her schedule wasnt difficult because in the long term, I will appreciate spending my weekend in this way, instead of spending it like any other weekend. Its worth the three- or four-hour flight because its likely to be an experience that I will carry with me for a very long time. Shes also looking forward to touring New York with others her age: I have heard that visiting the Rebbes Ohel is an unparalleled experience, and I dont know if or when I would ever have the opportunity to visit it another time if it werent for the Chabad on Campus Shabbaton. This is probably just one of many unique opportunities I will have. David Cleaner, 21, doesnt doubt that at all. Also a student at the University of Texas at Austin, this will be the second time hes participated; the first was two years ago, when he was a sophomore. He went with some of his AEPi fraternity brothers and met other AEPis there from other schoolsmaking friends and memories was what he remembered most. Shabbatons mean great food, great people, singing and dancing, and making new friends while strengthening relationships with old ones, lists the accounting major, now a senior and an officer at his universitys Chabad on Campus. And he enjoyed getting to know his host family. I think that was my favorite programif this could count as such, he says. Seeing how a Chabad family spends Shabbos and what they do during the week was very interesting. I love good conversation over

good meals in such a homey atmosphere. While Cleaner cant foresee what new experiences await him, he remains certain there will be enough to make even more memories: Im sure the topics we discuss in the programs and breakout sessions this year wont be the same, and I will learn many new things. Noah Gross of Drexel can almost guarantee he will. You can go to anything you want there; you choose topics that are meaningful to you. Youre doing this for yourself, and youre doing it on your own. I hope it has a similar impact on others as it has had on me.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Displaced Australians Offered Shelter as Bushfires Rage On

By Menachem Posner

Volunteers at Chabad's "Our Big Kitchen" charitable organization, cooking for those displaced and affected by Australia's bushfires.

As bushfires continue to blaze across Australias Blue Mountains in what may become the worst conflagration in the areas history, Chabad organizations in nearby Sydney are springing into action. We have opened our Chabad center to people in need of a temporary home, says Rabbi Nochum Schapiro of Chabad North Shore, which is based in St. Ives, a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales. We have 40 bedrooms (each with bathrooms) ready and available to accommodate those in need. Relief efforts are being coordinated by Schapiros son, Yossi, who became familiar with the Blue Mountain region while visiting the areas Jewish residents as a representative of Chabad of RARA (Rural and Regional Australia). The fires, which have consumed more than 3,000 hectares of land, are located less than an hours drive to the west of Sydney. I started calling people I knew to see if they were OK. I spoke to one man from Springwood. He told me his house had burnt down, and he had nothing left but a few plastic bags of personal items, reports Yossi Schapiro, coordinator of Chabad North Shore Bushfire Relief. We are hosting him at the Chabad House

campus, which includes a spacious retreat center. Schapiro then went on to contact 70 families on the Chabad of RARA database. He also collaborated with the Jewish Board of Deputies, the Israeli Embassy and the smaller Jewish communities in the affected areas to get through to as many people as possible. Since opening their doors to assist in the wake of the fires, the Chabad center has become a temporary home to others as well, including a woman with two school-age daughters who was evacuated from Katoomba. She tearfully told Shapiro, You dont know how much this means to me! Concurrently, Our Big Kitchen, a Chabad charitable operation in the Yeshiva Centre in Bondia suburb of Sydneyhas been holding cookathons, where volunteers prepare vital foodstuffs for people in need. On Tuesday, 500 meals were cooked and sent to the local Springwood Sports Club for distribution. Another cookathon is scheduled for Wednesday evening. Just up the street, a crisis center called The Jewish House is ready to offer psychological help, as well as housing assistance for those having a hard time finding shelter that can accommodate pets. Schapiro reports that a veterinarian will soon be assessing the North Shore Chabad center to see if is feasible to create some proper housing for pets. Alternatively, volunteer families have lined up to adopt displaced pets for the short term. Meteorologists predict that rising summer temperatures may cause three of the major fires to become one megablaze. New South Wales has experienced the warmest September and warmest 12 months on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Schapiro says the next 24 hours will be crucial in determining where the disaster is headed and how residents will be affected. They are OK for now, he notes, but were very thankful to know that we are thinking of them and are there for them if they need anything. Organizers ask those who want to help to visit: www.ChabadHouse.org.au/Relief
David Lake holding a kiddush cup, one of the few posessions he salvaged from his Springw ood home before it burnt.

Evacuated from their Katoomba home, the Moria family is now staying at Chabad North Shore.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Saying Goodbye to Denominational Labels

By Yosef Landa

The recently released Pew Research Center national survey, A Portrait of Jewish Americans, has given American Jewish leaders a whole lot of sobering statistics to reflect upon and to analyze. True to form, in bagel shops and bridge parlors, mavens all over are wringing their hands over skyrocketing assimilation and plummeting synagogue memberships. But there is some unmistakably good news in all of this, and that is the marked decline in denominational self-identification. Fewer and fewer Jews are attaching denominational labels to their Jewish identities. They view themselves simply as Jewish. And that is very good news. We should break out the schnapps, wish each other lchaim and celebrate the beginning of the end of Jewish denominationalism, because this may be a large piece of the solution to the disengagement and disaffection of American Jews, which has plagued us for the longest time. Our habit of defining ourselves by denominational labels such as Orthodox, Reform, Conservative or anything else, is most unfortunate and lamentable as heretical as this may sound to some. It builds artificial walls between us and our fellow Jews. It erects barriers between us and the richness that we can discover in Judaism if we would only allow ourselves to freely explore it. We need to stop thinking denominations and start thinking Jewish. This is not a new idea. And it isnt my own. I had the privilege of listening to the Rebbe, of righteous memory, for hundreds of hours as he delivered his public talks and discourses. I cannot recall a single instance when the Rebbe who Menachem Begin called the great lover of the House of Israel appended a modifier to the word Jew. To him, the hyphenated terms Reform-Jew, Orthodox-Jew, Conservative-Jew etc. were altogether non-existent and terribly unhelpful. There are only Jews and we are all children of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, Rachel and Leah. This is a cornerstone of Chabads embracing philosophy. To be clear, I am not downplaying the fact that real differences exist between the various denominations. Those are very serious, even fundamental, disagreements about core Jewish principles about G d, Torah, Mitzvot and so forth, and they are largely irreconcilable. I would also agree that denominational labels serve a purpose, not unlike alphabetical abbreviations, in that they allow us to use fewer words when describing our Jewish lives. But at what cost? Denominational labels stifle meaningful and substantive discourse within the Jewish community. They divide the Jewish people, they taint our conversations with partisanship, and they contribute to the unfortunate dumbing down, Jewishly speaking, of generations of young Jews. Lets imagine a world in which our Jewish lexicon is free of denominational labels. We would self-describe simply as Jews and do the same for our fellow Jews. Instead of highlighting our differences, we would be

emphasizing our innate kinship, our common heritage, our inextricable oneness. Of course, we wont be able to resist arguing with each other about all sorts of stuff, and that is OK. Discourse is healthy and necessary. But we would be arguing as brothers and sisters, not as strangers alienated by artificially foisted partisanship. Freed of the artificial security and restrictive borders of denominational labels, well be empowered to grow in our knowledge. Well be open to more Jewish observance. We might seek out adult education offerings in our communities. Perhaps (gasp!) our rabbis will be challenged to deliver more in their sermons because their congregants will be clamoring for substance rather than partisan pep talks. Dumping the denominational lingo will also raise the level of our Jewish learning. We will ask more insightful questions and probe for more meaningful answers. Our conversations about Judaism with our families and our co-religionists will be of a deeper, broader, and more open quality. Wouldnt that be a blessing for the Jewish people? So how do we do away with these divisive labels? Simple. We stop using them. Lets stop referring to our fellow Jews with contrived denominational misnomers. Regardless of how diverse we may be when it comes to doing Jewish or thinking Jewish, we are one and the same in our being Jewish. We are all Jews. And that is what we ought to call ourselves. With that in mind, I would like to propose that we take the following pledge, and that we encourage others to do the same: I PLEDGE to endeavor to identify myself and my co-religionists simply as Jews, without appending any denominational modifiers to that noble title, in recognition of our being one people united by a common heritage and mission. I realize that old habits will likely die hard. If it accomplishes nothing else, taking this pledge gives expression to the oneness of the Jewish people and to our abiding belief that regardless of all that separates us, the underlying Jewishness of each of us is the same. And that is a very big deal. If you agree with these sentiments, then I urge you to take the pledge and help spread the word to others. Do it for the sake of Jewish unity and continuity. Do it for a more informed, engaged and inspired Jewish community. May the day come soon when we will bid goodbye and good riddance to divisive denominationalism. For once and for all, and for the good of the Jewish people. Amen. Rabbi Yosef Landa is the Regional Director of Chabad of Greater St. Louis.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Art

Prayer Field
By Ilunia Felczer

Oil on Stretched Canvas

Artists Statement:Even when we are on the way to keep our appointment with G-d, He is greeting us by opening the heavens.

Ilunia Felczer was born in Germany, lived in California, and moved to Israel 25 years ago. She is a selftaught artist, fascinated by nature. She feels blessed by the Almighty for the ability to create, and relies on Him to be her teacher and guide. Her hope as an artist is to touch people and to bring peace and joy into their hearts.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Vayeitzei
Parshah

Light in Dark Times

By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

What is it that made Jacobnot Abraham or Isaac or Moses the true father of the Jewish people?

Dealing with the World

By Tali Loewenthal

The Sterile Classroom In our zeal to separate church and state, w e have effectively removed any concept of the transcendental or the spiritual from the classroom. A child grow s up today learning about a face-value w orld centered around his ow n self. There is no aw e.

The border between Jacob and Laban is seen as the divide between the sacred and the profane. This distinction is important. One has to know clearly what represents the Jewish dimension of holiness, and what does not.

Vayeitzei in a Nutshell
Jacob rests on his way to Charan and dreams of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. Laban tricks Jacob into marrying his daughter Leah. A week later, Jacob also marries Rachel. He works for Laban for 14 years, then escapes with his wives and children. Jewish History

In Defense of Chassidism
An extract from Rabbi Yaakov Mazehs expert testimony at the trial of Mendel Beilis.

Women

Suegra
By Elana Mizrahi

I was young, naive and immature, and she seemed, well, foreign.

Get to Know the Month of Kislev

Kislev is best known for the holiday of Chanukah and the New Year of Chassidism.

The Rat Race

by Zehava Deer

We should be slowing down, taking a second look at what we do have.

Raise Your Hand if You're Humble

By Sara Chana Radcliffe

Today we value aggressiveness, extroversion and charisma. But humility is the trait most prized by Gd. Your Questions

What Is a Tzaddik?
By Tzvi Freeman

The tzaddik is a human being like all of us. Because, essentially, all of us are divine.

What If a Charity Turns Out to Be Fake?

By Baruch S. Davidson

What happens if a charity organization to which you donated money turns out to be fake? Does it still count as charity? How can one ever be sure that the money goes to the right cause? Essay

Pigs & Judaism

By Mendy Kaminker

There are plenty of other animals that arent kosher either, but none of them arouse as much disgust as the pig. Why?

Words of Song
By Tzvi Freeman

There are words of speech and words of thought, but words of song fuse the two.

Story

The Jealous Neighbor

By Yanki Tauber

The scholar would throw the crass materialist a look of contempt, and hurry on to his holy pursuits.

The Ticket Trade

By Yerachmiel Tilles

The story of a chassid who came to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev with the sorry account of his financial misfortunes.

Cooking

Chanukah Party Surprise Cake

By Miriam Szokovski

Chanukah is right around the corner. If youve got any parties on the agenda, youll certainly want to make this cakeit will wow your friends and family. News

Sixteen Epic Moments from the Annual International Conference of Chabad Emissaries
By Mordechai Lightstone

Many of the special moments of five-day Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries were shared on social media with the #Kinus hashtag. View some of the epic moments of the 30th annual conference.

For 5,200 Rabbis and Guests: A Night of Inspiration

By Karen Schwartz

Keynote speaker Sen. Joseph Lieberman energizes the crowd at Chabad gala dinner

New Initiative for Rabbis to 'Empower Their Communities'

By Menachem Posner

International Conference of Shluchim opens in New York

Photographer Sees World Through a Different Lens

By Menachem Posner

Marc Asnins experiences with Uncle Charlie, ChabadLubavitch and 9/11

An Inspiring Anthology of Lessons From the Rebbe

By Yerachmiel Rubin

Insights culled from Jewish Educational Medias My Encounter with the Rebbe oral history project. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Light in Dark Times

By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

What is it that made Jacobnot Abraham or Isaac or Mosesthe true father of the Jewish people? We are the congregation of Jacob, the children of Israel. Jacob/Israel is the man whose name we bear. Yet Jacob did not begin the Jewish journey; Abraham did. Jacob faced no trial like that of Isaac at the binding. He did not lead the people out of Egypt, or bring them the Torah. To be sure, all his children stayed within the faith, unlike Abraham or Isaac. But that simply pushes the question back one level. Why did he succeed where Abraham and Isaac failed? It seems that the answer lies in this weeks Parshah and the next. Jacob was the man whose greatest visions came to him when he was alone at night, far from home, fleeing from one danger to the next. In this weeks Parshah, escaping from Esau, he stops and rests for the night with only stones to lie on, Jacob faced no trial like and has an epiphany: He had a dream binding in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of G d were ascending and descending on Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. it . . . When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, Surely the L rd is in this place, and I was not aware of it. He was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of G d; this is the gate of heaven.1 In next weeks Parshah, fleeing from Laban and terrified at the prospect of meeting Esau again, he wrestles alone at night with an unnamed stranger. Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with G d and with humans and have overcome . . . So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, It is because I saw G d face to face, and yet my life was spared.2 These are the decisive spiritual encounters of Jacobs life, yet they happen in liminal space (the space between that is neither starting point nor destination), at a time when Jacob was at risk in both directions, where he came from and where he was going to. Yet it was at these points of maximal vulnerability that he encountered G d and found the courage to continue despite all the hazards of the journey. That is the strength Jacob bequeathed the Jewish people. What is remarkable is not merely that this one tiny people survived tragedies that would have spelled the end of any other people: the destruction of two Temples, the Babylonian and Roman conquests, the expulsions, persecutions and pogroms of the Middle Ages, the rise of anti-Semitism in nineteenth-century Europe, and the Holocaust. After each cataclysm it renewed itself, scaling new heights of achievement. During the Babylonian exile it deepened its engagement with the Torah. After the Roman destruction of Jerusalem it produced the great literary monuments of the Oral Torah: Midrash, Mishnah and Gemara. During the Middle Ages it produced masterpieces of law and Torah commentary, poetry and philosophy. A mere three years after the Holocaust it proclaimed the state of Israel, the Jewish return to history after the darkest night of exile. When I became chief rabbi, I had to undergo a medical examination. The doctor put me on a treadmill, walking at a very brisk pace. What are you testing? I asked him. How fast I can go, or how long? Neither, he replied. What I am testing is how long it takes, when you come off the treadmill, for your pulse to return to normal. That is when I discovered that health is measured by the power of recovery. That is

that of Isaac at the

true for everyone, but doubly so for leaders and for the Jewish people, a nation of leaders (that, I believe, is what the phrase a kingdom of priests means). Leaders suffer crises. That is a given of leadership. When Harold Macmillan, prime minister of Britain between 1957 and 1963, was asked what was the most difficult aspect of his time in office, he replied, Events, dear boy, events. Bad things happen, and when they do, the leader must take the strain so that others can sleep easily in their beds.

Leadership, especially in matters of the spirit, is deeply stressful

Leadership, especially in matters of the spirit, is deeply stressful. Four figures in TanachMoses, Elijah, Jeremiah and Jonahactually pray to die rather than continue. Nor was this true only in the distant past. Abraham Lincoln suffered deep bouts of depression. So did Churchill, who called it his black dog. Gandhi and Martin Luther King both attempted suicide in adolescence, and experienced depressive illness in adult life. The same was true of many great creative artists, among them Michelangelo, Beethoven and Van Gogh. Is it greatness that leads to moments of despair, or moments of despair that lead to greatness? Is it that those who lead internalize the stresses and tensions of their time? Or is it that those who are used to stress in their emotional lives find release in leading exceptional lives? There is no convincing answer to this in the literature thus far. But Jacob was a more emotionally volatile individual than either Abraham, who was often serene even in the face of great trials, or Isaac, who was more than usually withdrawn. Jacob feared; Jacob loved; Jacob spent more of his time in exile than the other patriarchs. But Jacob endured and persisted. Of all the figures in Genesis, he is the great survivor. The ability to survive and to recover is part of what it takes to be a leader. It is the willingness to live a life of risks that makes such individuals different from others. So said Theodore Roosevelt in one of the greatest speeches ever made on the subject: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and It is not the critic who shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, great counts devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.3 Jacob endured the rivalry of Esau, the resentment of Laban, the tension between his wives and children, the early death of his beloved Rachel, and the loss for twenty-two years of his favorite son Joseph. He said to Pharaoh, Few and hard have been the years of my life (Genesis 47:9). Yet on the way he encountered angels, and whether they were wrestling with him or climbing the ladder to heaven, they lit the night with the aura of transcendence. To try, to fall, to fear, and yet to keep going: that is what it takes to be a leader. That was Jacob, the man who at the lowest ebbs of his life had his greatest visions of heaven. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the British Commonwealth. To read more writings and teachings by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, or to join his e mail list, please visit www.rabbisacks.org.
FOOTNOTES 1. Genesis 28:1217.

2. Genesis 32:2931. 3. Theodore Roosevelt, Speech at the Sorbonne, April 23, 1910.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Dealing with the World

By Tali Loew enthal

A constant challenge for each individual, and also for the Jewish people as a whole, is how one balances the spiritual dimension of life with worldly, materialist activities. On the one hand there is prayer, Torah study, spiritual mitzvot like lighting candles for Shabbat and a contemplative approach to life. On the other, there are the humdrum practicalities, material pursuits and more earthy aspects of living in the daily world. Another version of this divide is that between the Jewish people and other nations. This, too, represents a delicate balance. On the one hand, there is the need to preserve Jewish identity and the singular nature of Jewish values and culture; on the other, there is the wish to play a useful part in society as a whole. A passage in this weeks Torah reading, Vayeitzei,1 helps us understand the subtlety of these relationships. Jacob was living in the home of his idolatrous uncle Laban. He married Labans daughters, Leah and Rachel, and worked for his uncle as a shepherd. Yet at every stage Laban tried to cheat him. As a result, Jacob and his wives determined to run away. Laban and his men pursue Jacob. When they meet, they agree to create a clear border between them, and build a pile of stones to mark the boundary.2 Labans territory will be to the east of the pile of stones, and Jacobs to the west. They declare that neither they nor their descendants will ever cross that border for war. Rashi comments: but they can cross it for business dealings.3 In chassidic teachings, the border between Jacob and Laban is seen as the divide between the sacred and the profane. This distinction is important. One has to know clearly what represents the Jewish dimension of holiness, and what does not. Yet here comes a subtlety. The Hebrew word for the pile of stones is gal. This word also means reveal. There is a border, but sometimes, with care, one crosses the border. The purpose for doing so is in order to reveal and establish holiness in a realm which until now has been ordinary, non-holy, secular. How can this be done? Through the mitzvahs of the Torah, which involve the practical world yet connect it with infinite G dliness. One earns moneythat is surely a worldly, mundane activity. Yet from the money one has earned, one donates a portion to charity. This is a mitzvah of the highest order of sanctity. Through this, all the money one earns is elevated to connect with the divine. The laws of the Torah help one understand on which side of the pile of stones one should be. So too do

Torah teachings, especially those which express the spiritual, inner dimension of Jewish teaching. Hence the word gal, a pile of stones, also has the numerical value (gematria) of 33, hinting at the 33rd day of the Omer, the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the famous author of the Zohar, the source-book of the Kabbalistic side of Judaism. Knowledge of Torah teachings, and especially of their inner aspect, helps the person in his or her path through life, providing a sense of balance. One knows when to go forward, and when to withdraw; when Jacob must remain in his own territory, and when his or her task is to advance into that of Laban and reveal the latent holiness and goodness which is hidden in all existence. For this is the true task of every Jew . . .
4

Dr. Tali Loewenthal is Lecturer in Jewish Spirituality at University College London, director of the Chabad Research Unit, author of Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School and a frequent contributor to the Chabad.org weekly Torah reading section.
FOOTNOTES 1. Genesis 28:1032:3.

2.

Genesis 31:4653.

3.

Rashi to Genesis 31:52.

4.

Based freely on the Lubavitcher Rebbes Likkutei Sichot 3:794, and Sefer ha-Maamarim Melukat, pp. 271278.

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Vayeitzei in a Nutshell
Jacob leaves his hometown of Beersheba and journeys to Charan . On the way, he encounters the place and sleeps there, dreaming of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, with angels climbing and descending on it; G d appears and promises that the land upon which he lies will be given to his descendants. In the morning, Jacob raises the stone on which he laid his head as an altar and monument, pledging that it will be made the house of G d . In Haran, Jacob stays with and works for his uncle Laban , tending Labans sheep. Laban agrees to give him his younger daughter, Rachelwhom Jacob lovesin marriage, in return for seven years labor. But on the wedding night, Laban gives him his elder daughter, Leah , insteada deception Jacob discovers only in the morning. Jacob marries Rachel, too, a week later , after agreeing to work another seven years for Laban.

Leah gives birth to six sonsReuben , Simeon , Levi, Judah , Issachar and Zebulun and a daughter, Dinah , while Rachel remains barren. Rachel gives Jacob her handmaid, Bilhah , as a wife to bear children in her stead, and two more sons, Dan and Naphtali, are born. Leah does the same with her handmaid, Zilpah , who gives birth to Gad and Asher . Finally, Rachels prayers are answered and she gives birth to Joseph . Jacob has now been in Charan for fourteen years, and wishes to return home. But Laban persuades him to remain, now offering him sheep in return for his labor. Jacob prospers, despite Labans repeated attempts to swindle him. After six years, Jacob leaves Charan in stealth, fearing that Laban would prevent him from leaving with the family and property for which he labored. Laban pursues Jacob, but is warned by G d in a dream not to harm him. Laban and Jacob make a pact on Mount GalEd , attested to by a pile of stones, and Jacob proceeds to the Holy Land, where he is met by angels.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Jew ish History

In Defense of Chassidism
Translators Introduction
Rabbi Yaakov Mazeh served as the government-appointed rabbi in Moscow. He was a prominent figure in Jewish communal affairs; had a reputation as an eloquent Russian orator; andunlike many other government-appointed rabbishe was known to be a competent scholar of Jewish law and tradition. Falsely accused of the ritual murder of 13-year-old Andrei Yushchinsky, Mendel Beilis was internationally recognized as a stand-in for the entire Jewish nation by both his defenders and his detractors. In fact, the prosecution alleged that ritual murder was routinely practised by members of the chassidic movement. They also attempted to link the Schneersohn family of Chabad chassidic leaders to the case. When Beilis was brought to trial in the autumn of 1913, communal leaders from all sectors of the Jewish community joined forces with leading representatives of the liberal Russian intelligentsia to organize the defense. But in order for Beilis to be vindicated, the Rabbi Yaakov Mazeh, government rabbi of broader allegation of Jewish ritual murder would have to be Moscow addressed, and the accusations against the chassidic movement and its leaders would need to be rebutted. This momentous task fell to Rabbi Yaakov Mazeh. On the 28th day of the trialNovember 4, 1913 (new style), Cheshvan 4, 5674Rabbi Mazeh addressed the court as an expert witness for the defense. In the earlier part of his presentation he dealt extensively with the Jewish attitude to non-Jews, the halachic obligation to obey the law of the land, and the

fundamental Talmudic exhortation, What is hateful to you, do not do to your friend. After dealing with the classical sources, Rabbi Mazeh began a detailed description of the establishment and spread of the chassidic movement in Eastern Europe, paying particular attention to Chabad and its leaders. Following the trial, Rabbi Mazehs presentation before the court was serialized in the widely read Hebrewlanguage daily Ha-Tzefirah. His narrative is generally corroborated by the wealth of firsthand documentation now available to researchers, but there are some details that do not wholly conform with the Chabad historical tradition or with todays scholarly consensus. The following transcript is noteworthy chiefly for the light it sheds on just how central Chassidism became in the case against Beilis. A century after Beiliss acquittal, and a century after this transcript was first published in Ha-Tzefirah, we present the section regarding the chassidic movement for the very first time in English translation. For more about the Beilis case, read The Tsars Scapegoats: Beilis, the Chassidim and the Jews.

Rabbi Mazehs Presentation to the Kiev Superior Court

The Rise of Chassidism
Rabbi Mazeh: After the spiritual emptiness and despair that took hold of the Jewish people in the wake of the Cossack massacres of the mid-1600s, the chassidic movement was established. The cause of this was as follows: Torah study was always an obligation for the entire nation; not only the rabbis, but every single Jew, whether possessing more or less Torah knowledge, would toil in Torah study day and night, so that the Torah became the inheritance of all the Jews. Over time, however, a barrier arose between the spiritual aristocracy and the general populace. The simple Jew who experienced persecution and poverty in his daily life began to feel a certain emptiness in his soul. His brothers looked down on him, and as one who knew but a little Torah, he was unable to find a place or a corner in the life of the spirit, there to find some degree of respite. Life itself was far too bitter, and it was impossible to find comfort for ones spirit. He, the simple man of the people, was thirsty and hungry for spiritual content. With what would he be able to serve G d? He is unable to find deliverance. He seeks for himself a refuge in messianism, and here too his hopes are dashed; one false messiah converts to Islam [Shabbetai Tzvi, 16261676], the other to Catholicism [Jacob Frank, 17261791]. At this timeat a time of twilight for the masses of the peoplewas born Rabbi Yisroel, who later became known as The Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem Tov built his foundation on Torah study, prayer and good deeds. He began his activities at the age of thirty-six, living amongst the general populace. He began to teach them religious lessons and arouse their hearts to the service of G d. He soon found that the simple Jewish masseswho had been alienated from the Torah by the aristocratic elitism of Torah scholars, and by their own destitutionno longer possessed that spirit of Jewishness, the foundation of inspiration which could give comfort to their souls and purpose to their lives. They could not act with kindness and charity, due to their harsh economic situation; they could not study Torah, due to their ignorance. Therefore he resolved to lay down, as a foundation for the Torah, that second foundation of Judaism; the service of G d, which is prayer. What is the prayer of a Jew? According to the Baal Shem Tov, there is prayer and there is prayer. There is dry prayer that has no spirit of lifean artificial prayerwhere a person comes and repeats words with his lips without any emotion or intent. He is simply doing his duty by rote. Such prayer cannot imbue a persons life with sustenance. At that time, youhonored judgesmust know, such movements were established not only amongst Jews, but also amongst other nations. In England, for example, there were groups that introduced ecstatic movement into prayer. I am unaware if this was a general sign of the times, or whether this came as a result of the emotional seeking of G d that was felt amongst the masses of the Jewish people. But whatever the case, it was clear that the Baal Shem Tovs ideas were in accordance with the spirit of the nation. Even though no one chose him or appointed him as leader, he nonetheless became a teacher of the people,

especially of the general populace, who became his followers. The Baal Shem Tov lived and operated in Podolia, and the simple folkwho did not have broad Torah knowledgeflocked to him. The simple folk were his first followers, because he opposed the Torah aristocratism. It must be noted that the Baal Shem Tov was someone who possessed superior ability by nature. He was an extraordinary individual in his personal life, far removed from corruption or from pursuing honor; a person who lived amongst the people, and was close to them, and all his life lived from the toil of his hands. An orphan from a young age, without a mother or a father, he worked very hard throughout his life. At first he was a wagon driver, then he taught children; later he became a chazan and a shochet. He also practiced medicine; he would collect herbs in the Carpathian Mountains, and prepare from them remedies, and the people would visit him to seek medicinal aid. In those days he was the only one of the [Jewish] nation who had a relationship with the indigenous population of Moldova. He would listen to their songs . . . (Here the presiding judge interrupted him, and asked that Mazeh speak about the substance of Chassidism.) For the reasons described, the Baal Shem Tov prioritized prayer with feeling and intent. The foundations of Chassidism, said the Baal Shem Tov, are three: humility, joy, and enthusiasm in the service of G d. The Bible and the Talmud remained the same, and he didnt change one iota of religious life and observance. He did add, however, implant two ideas in his teachings. Panentheism; the idea that G ds glory fills the entire world. He found (and in this regard some find similarities to the teachings of Spinoza) that divinity is present in all areas of life, that there is no event or action in human life that does not contain the divine, aiding man. He opened and developed this position with breadth and depth. He would say that the source of religion and faith is in emotion rather than intellect; that prayer is the best possible means to become close to the divine presence; that through prayer one is able to become one and unified with G d. In his talks and his teachings he expresses three basic axioms: 1) A Jew must deeply contemplate the greatness of the Torah and its commandments; likewise, he must deeply contemplate the knowledge of his G d, and believe that all that happens to him occurs by His will. 2) Subsequently he must be totally committed to G d in every aspect, committed with enthusiasm. 3) Regarding the verse, In the beginning G d created the heavens and the earth, he explained that at every moment the Creator, in His kindness, is constantly recreating the heavens and the earth anew, and if G d were to divert His attention from His creation even for a moment, the world would be destroyed. The Baal Shem Tov did not come to demolish the Jewish tradition or the customs that existed before him. There are no corrections or changes in his teachings. But his teaching that G d is everywhere did incite protest amongst the rabbis and great Torah scholars of the generation. They, who still remembered Frank and his disciples, were wary of the Baal Shem Tov, lest he had come to establish a new cult. Cultism honorary judgesdoes not sit well with the people of the Jewish nation. There are many scholars who think that a cult is like a microbe that penetrates a place that is receptive to them. But just like any living organism either swallows and absorbs the microbe within itself or expels it, so is true of Judaism. Cults are either torn away from Judaism, or they become absorbed within it as if they never existed. Even if the original intention was to form some kind of new cult, such movements yet remained a part of Judaism and ceased to function as distinct entities. Such was indeed the case with Chassidism. Chassidism did not deviate at all from the six hundred and thirteen commandments which govern the religious life of a Jew. But changes were incorporated into the prayer liturgy, as I will explain. Originally, there was no set prayer liturgy; instead, each Jew would pour out his heart before G d as he saw fit. The first who sought to establish a prayer liturgy was Rav Amram [Rav Amram bar Sheshna Gaon, head of the Talmudic seminary of Sura, Babylon, in the 9th century]. The students of Rashi [Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, famed biblical and Talmudic commentator in 11th-century France] also compiled a prayerbook [Machzor Vitry]. The first was the liturgical custom of the Sephardic Jews, and was accepted by them. The second accorded with the liturgical custom of the Jews of Ashkenaz.

The Jews who came by way of Poland to Russia accepted the Ashkenazic prayer liturgy, and the Jews of the east and elsewhere accepted the Sephardic prayer liturgy. There is no great difference between the two. The only difference is that one version begins with one chapter from Psalms, while the other places a different one earlier. This is the extent of the difference between the prayer liturgies of the Ashkanazim and the Sephardim; nothing more.

Opposition to Chassidism
When the movement opposing Chassidism began, the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna issued a proclamation against the new principles of these teachings. He clearly expressed the content of Chassidism. On the basis of these historical documents, I will endeavor to explain to you what the disagreement comprised. He did not accuse them of founding a new cult; he does not mention one word about Chassidim forming a sectarian group. He takes issue only with the fact that they raised the standing of the simple folk more than was fitting. He accuses them of being too democratic, saying that this damages the prestige of the Torah. If the simple folk knew that they are able to serve G d solely through prayer, then they will abstain from Torah study. The foundation of faith [he argued] is only Torah study, and not prayer. He further opposed the notion of cleaving to G d, and opposed the recognition of G ds omnipresence. He asked: Is it possible that G d is found even in the places where, according to Torah law, one cannot even pronounce G ds name? He could not entertain this notion; such ideas could weaken the diligent study of Torah. It was in this way that opposition to Chassidism took root amongst the populace. The Baal Shem Tov was not a tzaddik in the sense that that he occupied some kind of priesthood or special position amongst the people. The contrary is true: he remained all his life a dedicated worker, and treated everyone as a friend. Destitute and desperate people would come to him, and he would spend time with them. He would teach them orally, and did not leave a single written work. He would speak in wise aphorisms, and these aphorisms would kindle the spirit of his audience and would give them a unique kind of inspiration. After his deathhe lived only sixty yearshis disciple, Rav Dov Ber of Mezeritch [widely referred to as the Maggid] succeeded him. He continued the work that was begun in the lifetime of his master. Bit by bit the movement grew, and its numbers reached into the tens of thousands. Originally the movement was essentially organic in its nature. But during the time of Rabbi Ber it became an organized group, and they began to defend themselves against the onslaught of those who opposed them. After the death of Rabbi Ber of Mezeritch, the active defense of Chassidism was passed on to his disciple Rabbi Schneur Zalman, who later became famous for the name adopted by his family: Schneersohn. It seems certain that this name was given to him because of his personal name. If the honored judges wish, I could read before you some aphorisms from the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, to demonstrate how he set out his doctrines. Presiding Judge: You have already told us about the content of these doctrines. Rabbi Mazeh: Could I present some aphorisms? Presiding Judge: If the defense wishes, later you can mention them. Rabbi Mazeh: I was only inquiring; I do not demand it categorically.

Chabad
I will now turn to the innovations introduced into chassidic doctrine by Rabbi Zalman Schneersohn. In his religious lectures he turned his attention to certain passages in the Tanach that refer to Torah as wisdom [chochmah]. The Psalmist turns to G d, saying, Consider my meditation [binah] (Psalms 5:2): meaning, understand what my mind intends to express to You, since a persons tongue is inadequate to communicate all that he thinks during prayer. Later, in King Davids will to his son Solomon, he uses the word daat, which

means to know G d and to recognize Him. One should not be simple and naive; instead one should seek to be become acquainted with G d and come to know Him. These three principleschochmah, binah and daatare the very foundation of his doctrine, which is specified in his work Tanya. His doctrine is known by the acronym ChaBaD, and his disciples are called masters of ChaBaD, for they have mastered the three principles laid out by the author of Tanya. In addition, Rabbi Zalman also had an advantage over the Baal Shem Tov in his scholarship and knowledge of Torah; as a first-class scholar, he authored a Shulchan Aruch [code of Jewish law]. As I already had the honor to inform you, Shulchan Aruch is a work that collects laws, and the Jewish people have several such books. I must tell you that the Shulchan Aruch authored by Rabbi Zalman is very popular, partly because it was written in a very beautiful style. Rabbi Zalman knew the Hebrew language extremely well, and also knew how to succinctly summarize the lengthy statements made by Maimonides. If we take note of the time when this Shulchan Aruch was published, it might be argued that it was then that Chassidism ceased to be seen as a separate group. The rabbis [who had previously opposed the movement] were entirely appeased. Earlier, they had been worried lest Chassidism lead to the formation of a distinct sect. But once they realized that the entire difference lies in the order of the prayer liturgy, this distinction no longer caused them unrest. Moreover, experience proved that the chassidim observed all the laws of the Torah punctiliously, just as non-chassidim did. The marriage ceremony, for example, is conducted the same way by chassidim and non-chassidim alike. The same applies to divorce, for example, which is a difficult procedure, requiring knowledge of all the laws and exceptions discussed in many places in the Talmud. When they became aware that there is no difference between chassidim and non-chassidim, it became clear that Chassidism could never form a separate sect. All that remained was a new page in the history of the Jewish people, and little by little everyone began to study chassidic books. Afterwards there were no longer any altercations or disputes between chassidim and non-chassidim. What did remain was thatjust as it was previously, so too nowthe chassidim have their own authorities, their own rebbes. The chassidim preserved the custom that they had in the early days of Chassidism, choosing a special day to travel to their rebbe. This rebbe is not a communal rabbi; he is not elected as a rabbi is elected by community constituents. If the masses are drawn to him by virtue of his vast knowledge of chassidic works, then they recognize him as a rebbe; if the masses are not drawn to him, then he is not recognized as such. Is this position passed on dynastically? Only as much as any other spiritual position is passed on dynastically amongst the Jews. If, for example, the rebbe has a son who excels in his studies and in his ethical character, if he is G d-fearing and has been ordained, then the firstborn inheritance of his fathers spiritual position is his. If he doesnt have these qualities, then he obviously doesnt receive that position. Even the title rebbe cannot simply be passed on by inheritance. But the son of a tzaddik obviously does have first right relative to other Jews, who did not have a father or grandfather of such stature. When I turn my attention to the teachings of Rabbi Zalman, when I strive with all my ability to penetrate their depth, I must say that there is nothing in his Shulchan Aruch against Christians. On the contrary, in their regard he declares unequivocally (if you will permit me, I can read it from the source): Any kind of monetary deception perpetrated against Christians, whether deception in price or in reckoning, in buying and selling, or in business, is a grave prohibition. If in the merchandise being sold there is any defect or deficiency, he is obligated to inform the buyer, and tell him, I am selling you this merchandise, but it has a deficiency. If he does not do so, it is as though he has stolen money from him, which is a biblical prohibition.

Rabbi Schneersohn
Rabbi Schneur Zalman was succeeded by his son. I feel obligated to talk about Rabbi Schneur Zalmans personality, as it appeared and was projected, and about his service in the role of tzaddik . First of all, I turn your attention to the famous letter that appears in his work Likutei Amarim [another name for Tanya]. In this letter he says: Different people come to me and ask me about matters of commerce, how to do business,

and how to live. Even the prophets couldnt do this; how much more so is this not within my ability. I have the original letter, and can read it in its entirety. Either way, this letter says something about his personality, proving that he wasnt at all the stereotypical tzaddik who would force the Jewish nation to prostrate themselves to his will. Similarly, this Rabbi Zalman was remarkable for his patriotism towards Russia. In 1812, for example, he played a role in the opposition to Napoleons invasion of Russia. He established a network of spies, and in the wake of the French pursuit he passed away before his time. He did not cease to exhort the Jewish nation not to listen to the promises of Napoleon regarding equal rights and other benefitsto all this Rabbi Schneersohn responded that we must be loyal to Russia. My lords the judges, it is extremely interesting to hear his remarks in this regard: Presiding Judge: We do not require this; the expert testimony will start taking the form of an academic lecture. Rabbi Mazeh: At that time, when opposition to Chassidism started, false allegations were submitted against Rabbi Schneersohn; (to the Presiding Judge) I do not knowis this required? Presiding Judge: Please tell us: were the allegations sent from Vilna? Rabbi Mazeh: It is difficult to say so with clarity. Officially the accuser was a certain rabbi, Avigdor ben Chaim, who was removedif my memory does not make me mistakenfrom his rabbinic position. He had a private agenda. They did not explicitly remove him, but stopped paying his salary, and therefore he prosecuted the chassidim. But this is not important. The allegations were received, and Rabbi Zalman was interred in the Peter and Paul fortress; this was in the reign of Tsar Paul I. Rabbi Zalman penned a letter to Tsar Paul presenting all his teachings. The Tsar was favourably impressed by this letter and issued a special command that he be released. But he added that Rabbi Schneersohn should not be permitted to leave St. Petersburg, and that he should remain under police supervision, until the senate confirmed the judgement. When Alexander I rose to the throne, he was completely freed. In addition, the chassidim were appeased by the law which allowed them to pray in their own synagogues and according to their own custom, and it was recognized that their doctrine contains nothing forbidden, nor the ideology of a distinct sect. From that time and on, Chassidism existed in peace. The earlier opposition came to a complete end, and Chassidism penetrated into the general stream of Jewish life.

The Enlightenment Movement and Chassidism

Howevermy lords the judgesthere was one more movement amongst the Jews against Chassidism, that is the Enlightenment Movement, as it is called. When the Enlightenment began amongst the Jews, the chassidic movementas a movement that [for reasons explained below] opposed global Enlightenment did not find favour in the eyes of the Enlightenment, and they leveled various insults against it. In 1819 the center of Enlightenment was in Galicia, and one of the enlightened writers, Yoseph Perl, authored a pamphlet against Chassidism. This pamphlet was titled Revealer of Secrets [Megalleh Temirim]. As a satirization, this work displays talent, and is similar to the work Letters of Obscure Men that appeared in Germany after the Reformation. Yoseph Perl imitated the language employed by the chassidim and their dialect. He cites a few ideas from their books, and at the same time adds or leaves out one word or another so that the statement acquires comical meaning. In some historical accounts about Chassidism, these citations are taken verbatim from the satirical work of Perl. It is extraordinary that a scholarly Jew like Tugenholdas often occurs in polemical conflictsignored the fact that one shouldnt cite a satirical pamphlet. When I first read these historical documents I was astounded; afterwards I sought out these references in their original sources, and I found an extra word or a missing word, and a completely different meaning. Perl transmitted these citations in a flawed and incorrect form. Such that if I speak now regarding the question, Where are the sources that are mentioned in the document? I must answer that they do exist, but differently expressed and with a different meaning.

I am very upset by this: Tugenhold skipped over those lofty ideas that are found in chassidic texts, and did not realize that Chassidism has no quarrel with Enlightenment. If the chassidim opposed the Enlightenment, this was because they feared that the Enlightenment would shake the foundations of faith. This fear was partially vindicated. From that time and on, letters of allegation began to be recieved from the Enlightened camp. I am even more astounded that a learned and talented writer like Eliyahu Orshanski, if my memory doesnt mistake me, also talks of the chassidim in one of his articles about the Jewish question in a sharp tone, and makes no mention of the splendid ideas that are found in their books. The son of this Rabbi Schneersohn was Rabbi Ber [or DovBer, also known as the Mittler Rebbe], who also authored a work of interest titled Imrei Binah, and his grandson was Rabbi Mendel of Lubavitch [also known as the Tzemach Tzedek]. In the time of Rabbi Mendel of Lubavitch the law regarding the establishment of third-class schools, and rabbinical schools to train enlightened rabbis, was publicized. It was widely acceptedwhether correctly or incorrectlythat Rabbi Mendel of Lubavitch was obstructing these measures, which the government of the time was undertaking in an attempt to enlighten the Jewish people. It was widely thought that Rabbi Mendel of Lubavitch was obstructing the governmental directives because he did not favorably regard the desire to educate rabbis in the spirit of the Enlightenment and the like. It is almost certainly true that these opinions were the foundation for that [anti-chassidic] material which has been publicized here. On the other hand, I have other historical sources about the rabbinical committee that convened at the command of the Tsar in 1843. At that time only four rabbis were on the committee, and one of them was Rabbi Mendel of Lubavitch. I know that when a person is chosen as a member of such a committee, specific information regarding his uprightness and ethical character is gathered. The fact that Rabbi Mendel of Lubavitch was a member of such an exclusive committee makes me think that a proper process of inquiry proved that he did not possess any of the [negative] opinions that were earlier attributed to him. There is yet another strong proof of this. It is a fact that in the 1840s he was honored by the Tsar with the title of hereditary nobleman, and all the Schneersohns, his grandchildren, are hereditary noblemen. This point concludes my knowledge regarding the theory of Chassidism. Of course, I could add various details, but the broad strokes are already in place. That which is known regarding the development of Chassidism afterwards is not particularly interesting, because the question of Chassidism had lost its sharpness. The current rebbe in Lubavitch, the grandson of Rabbi Schneersohn, Rabbi Ber [Shalom DovBer, known as the Rebbe Rashab], is known to me. Three years ago . . . Presiding Judge (interrupting): This is already personal testimony. Rabbi Mazeh: Now, my lords the judges, the name of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin was mentioned. A letter of allegation was received against him, but he was acquitted. No books regarding this have remained, and therefore I am unable to offer an opinion about the thought of this Rabbi Yisrael. But I will say that he was accorded great honor by his admirers; this I know with certainty.

Religious Fanaticism
Finally, the last question: Are there pointers that proveand what are theythat the murder of Yushchinsky was carried out inspired by religious fanaticism, which derives from the teachings of the Jewish faith, or from its various interpretationsand if the latter is true, which of them? In my scientific clarification of the term fanaticism, I believe that fanaticism is the extreme intolerance of people who think otherwise, and the desire to be martyred for the sake of ideology. Speaking of the Yushchinsky murder, despite all the interest I have devoted to this case and the fate of the child victim, I am not able to pass judgment on whether this was an act of fanaticism. But when I pay attention to the the accusation that has been leveled against the defendant, [I ask you,] does the accused Beilis show any signs of fanaticism? Presiding Judge: On this occasion you are speaking from a scientific point of view. Rabbi Mazeh: I have already had the honor to state that such fanaticism has no place in Judaism. Judaism asserts at every opportunity that human blood is impure, and the blood of a corpse especially is impure. Judaism consistently asserts that someone who touches a dead body is not able to participate in eating the

Passover offering. The prohibition to use blood in food encompasses everything and all places. There is a law in the Talmud that a forbidden substance can become permitted if it has become diluted by [a permitted substance] sixty [times its volume]. Blood, however, can never become permitted. Thus, if there was a fanatic Jew, it would be more likely that his fanaticism would lead him to distance himself as far as possible from any connection with blood. In fact, there were such fanatics who did not eat any meat at all in an effort to avoid blood. Such fanaticism is possible. But the opposite kind of fanaticism, to drink blood, lacks any foundation. Therefore, I state with absolute strength that I saw no support to this [accusation] in the process of this court case; and all the more so, I never saw any hint of this from the Torah and Judaism itself. I have concluded. Karabchevsky [lawyer for the defense]: The question regarding Chassidism interests us. In what way, upon the foundation of Chassidism, could one put forward the notion that things that are not forbidden by the Talmud are forbidden by the Tanach? Rabbi Mazeh: There is no way such a notion could develop. From its very foundation Chassidism expressed its content in these words of the Baal Shem Tov, I came only to awaken the spirit in the foundational service of G d. Karabchevsky: Please tell us: the foundational inclination of Chassidism was to uplift the masses and develop them religiously and morally. Did this inclination include hatred of others, or the expansion of ethical principles? Rabbi Mazeh: Only the latter. I wanted to speak about this. If there was ever a phenomenon that religious Jews could have straightforward relationships with Christians, I saw it first amongst the chassidim. Karabchevsky: It has been found that most of the synagogues in Kiev are chassidic. Are the synagogues divided to this very day, and how can the phenomenon be explained, that in such a large city as Kiev most of the synagogues are chassidic? Rabbi Mazeh: I already had the honor to state that Podolia [which included parts of Ukraine] was the cradle of Chassidism. In subsequent generations, I allow myself to use the Talmudic expression, the custom of their forefathers is in their hands. The customs are passed on by inheritance from father to son. If I pray from childhood with one prayerbook, it is difficult for me to pray with a different prayerbook. But I must state before the court that at the present time no one pays attention to this. I live in a community where there is not even one chassidic synagogue, and they come and pray in the non-chassidic synagogues. I should state that amongst the Jews anyone can stand before the ark and lead the prayers; if a quorum of people gathers to pray, no one even asks if the prayer leader prays according to the liturgy of the chassidim or of the non-chassidim. Today they print prayerbooks that contain both liturgies together. The reading of the Torah and the Prophets is the same amongst the non-chassidim and the chassidim, and the order of the reading is the same too. The tzaddikim do not serve in the position of rabbis. The tzaddikim dont decide legal questions relating to practical life, and if the tzaddik himself has a question, for example regarding the kosher laws, he sends someone to ask the opinion of the rabbi. If you ask in Lubavitch, or in a different town (I was never there), they will tell you that the tzaddik himself sends to ask the rabbis opinion, because his role is only to instruct the chassidim in chassidic matters. Karabchevsky: Do the tzaddikim fill any religious rituals? Rabbi Mazeh: They serve only as teachers and inspiration for Chassidism. Presiding Judge: Do either of the sides have more questions? The Prosecutor [Vipper]: I have no questions.

Shmakov [prosecuting attorney]: Me neither. Presiding Judge: I call a recess.

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Suegra
By Elana Mizrahi

A persons whole life can change with a phone call. Ours did, many times. This past week it happened again. The phone rang. I saw my husband speaking. He sat down heavily in a chair, the color draining from his face. His voice grew quiet. I knew that something had happened. My mother-in-law didnt feel well and went to the doctor, who ran some tests and told her to go to the hospital immediately. Suddenly our lives changed, as the woman who bore my husband, the grandmother of my children, the matriarch and pillar of our family, was diagnosed with leukemia. Overnight, my motherin-law went from never needing an aspirin to undergoing chemotherapy. I recall the first day that I met her. She Overnight, my motherimmediately welcomed me into her home and in-law went from never into her heart with her needing an aspirin to smile, her radiance and undergoing her beauty. Ill never forget the day I sat chemotherapy. down with her to shape kippe, the traditional Syrian meatballs eaten every Friday night and at every holiday meal. Hers were perfectly oval, all the same size and shape. Mine were a mixture of circles and balls, snail shapes and sticks. She proudly showed them to everyone, Look, Elana made kippe! She invited us to six-course traditional dinners, and lovingly tried my tofu stir-fry or whole wheat cake. The little that I made became the center of her attention. When my father-in-law was sick, I suggested making him chicken soup. She got to work, and when she served it to him, she told him, Elana made you soup. You see how she always thinks of you! Everything we do, she loves and praises. And this is just a taste of my mother-in-laws spirit. In the beginning, I had a hard time understanding her. I was young, naive and immature, and she seemed, well, foreign. You know the ways of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. Too many phone calls, and its an invasion of privacy; not enough, and you say she doesnt care. Shes always telling you what to do, or she doesnt take an interest. I fought over petty things and thought that I knew so much better. Then, as the years went by, as I myself became a mother, I began to appreciate her more and more. Her silly sayings became words of wisdom. I find that I quote her all the time. We share recipes and tell each other about beautiful Torah classes that we attended.

I dont fight anymore when she gives my children sugary candy. I realized these past few years that the love infused in those treats is healthier and more important for the growth of my children than the healthiest of fruits and vegetables. She has her ways and I have mine, but she respects me, she adores mewhat more could I ask for? A few months ago, I told her, Im not calling you Suegra (Mother-in Law) anymore, but Mama. And I know that Im not her daughter-in-law, Im her daughter. And then the phone rang, and we received news that changed our life.

As I myself became a mother, I began to appreciate her more and more.

Our sages teach us, Repent one day before your death (Ethics of Our Fathers 2:15). Does one ever know when he will die? Rather, explain the sages, one must always assume that today is the last day of his life, and not push anything off. I ask you: what if the sages are not just speaking about the day of your death, but the day of your beloveds death? Or the day of your friends or your relatives death? Did you tell them how much you loved them? Did you forgive them for those petty things? Did you ask forgiveness for those words said without thought, for those actions done? Did you sit and talk as much as you needed? Did you listen to what they had to say? If not, you must know that you need to live now as though its your last dayor theirsand enjoy them, learn from them, be with them. There is a beautiful image described in Kohelet Rabbah (9:8) of a sailors wife who dressed in her finest clothing every day. When questioned about her practice, she replied, My husband is a sailor. A strong wind can bring him into port at any moment, and I will be very ashamed if he finds me ungroomed and unattractive. We need to live our lives like the sailors wife, never wasting a moment, always ready and attractive for our loved ones. Now, Im glued to the phone. I jump at its ring and run to answer it. We call my mother-in-law night and day. Just hearing her strong, positive voice, so full of faith and love, gives us strength and hope. I love you, Mama, I tell her over and over. May G d bless you with a full and complete recovery. Refuah sheleimah, Frida bat Rivka. Originally from Northern California and a Stanford University graduate, Elana Mizrahi now lives in Jerusalem with her husband and children. She is a doula, massage therapist and writer. She also teaches Jewish marriage classes for brides.
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Get to Know the Month of Kislev

Kislev is the ninth month on the Jewish calendar, counting from Nissan. It is best known for the holiday of Chanukah, which begins Kislev 25th. The message of Chanukah is the eternal power of light over darknessgood over evil. Aside from commemorating the miraculous victory of the small and militarily weak Jewish army over the mighty Syrian-Greek empire, on Chanukah we celebrate the miracle of the oil. When the Jews sought to light the Temple menorah after the war, they found only one small jug of oil that had not been defiled by the pagan invaders. Miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new pure oil could be obtained. In commemoration, the sages instituted the eight-day festival of Chanukah, on which we kindle

the menorah nightly to recall and publicize the miracle. Chanukah is particularly significant to women, as it was Yehduit, with her wise and daring plan, who shifted the tide of war and began the Jewish victory. Also in Kislev we celebrate the redemption of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad Chassidism. He was imprisoned on false charges by the czarist regime, where he faced the death penalty. These charges were reflective of spiritual charges brought against him in the heavenly court, for openly teaching the deepest insights of Torah. On the 19th of Kislev he was cleared of all charges and freed, clearing the way both physically and spiritually to continue teaching Chassidism. This day is referred to as the New Year of Chassidism.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

The Rat Race

by Zehava Deer

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!Dr. Seuss It was about a year after I had gotten married, and I was hopelessly desperate to get pregnant. I looked around me at all the friends who already had children or were pregnant, and I felt despondent. I know it sounds dramatic, but I felt I could not handle the pain. I was certain I would sink into depression if I would not receive my personal redemption soon. Around that time I was invited to dinner by one of my sisters-in-law, a mom to several adorable kids. After sitting at the dinner table for a few hours, our topic turned to mespecifically, to the fact that I wasnt pregnant yet. She reassured me that I should just relax, enjoy my time with my husband, and in general not be stressed about it. Then she told me that she, too, felt pressure every single day.

I could not handle the pain

Pressure? Pressure from who? Pressure for what? I asked. From people around me. I walk in the street and feel inadequate. There is always something new out there to try, always something someone has that I dont. I was bewildered. It was quite a frightening thought. I understood that societal norms push people to shape their lives in a certain way and in a certain timeframe. For example, in the community I live in, you are prepared to date and marry at quite a young age, and then to start a family shortly thereafter. However, when does it stop? I always believed that at some point you break free of what society expects of you, to

live your life as you please. But apparently, this is not a given. Some people never stop reaching for more. Does the pressure ever stop? Are we living in one long rat race? It was a sobering thought. I got engaged at what society deemed an appropriate age, got married four months later, and thenand then what? Nope, pregnancy did not follow shortly thereafter. Others were sprinting ahead, while I was lagging behind. That conversation forced me to dig deep into myself, reflect on what I thought was pain, and realize it was something different that I was experiencing. We are brought into this confusing, fascinating, infuriating world for such a short amount of time, and its our mission to accomplish what we can for the several decades we are allotted. Its like children released in a field strewn with candy, told they can keep any candy they find. The children run, desperate to find more and more and more candy. One is not enough, and neither is tenbecause, look, one child has 20 already! Even if they are tired, even if they couldnt possibly eat all that candy, they run, desperately seeking more. Have our lives been reduced to a rat race? Why are we always running, running, running? Always racing, scrambling, snatching? We should be slowing down, taking a second look at what we do have. Those silly children in the field dont even get to eat their candy, so busy are they collecting more and more. We need to relax, take the time to unwrap our candy, eat it, savor it.

Others were sprinting ahead, while I was lagging behind

From that moment, I vowed not to continue the rat race. I would savor my life. I would take what I was given and enjoy it, and if I got more, I would praise G d for His kindness. And I have. Oh, I have. In the beginning, it wasnt easy. Its tough to kick a habit. Especially one that has been cultivated since I was born. But since Ive made the effort to get out of the rat race, my life has gotten so much easier. I can honestly say I am in a much better place right now than I was a few years back. Ive reached an inner peace that comes with being my own person, running my own program. I can also proudly say that I love my life, thank G d. Do I want a child? Of course I do. But I know now more than ever that it is because I want it, not because it is expected of me. The Kotzker Rebbe once said, If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am I because you are you, and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you. I think thats a brilliant line. So, be yourself. And be happy. Zehava Deer is the pen name of a woman living in Brooklyn who is having trouble conceiving. Her column, Pregnant with HopeMy Journey through Infertility, describes her journey, and how she strives to remain positive through her pain.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Raise Your Hand if You're Humble

By Sara Chana Radcliffe

Humility is a funny word. Modern culture doesnt like it much. It has somehow become associated with weakness and a lack of assertiveness. Today, we value aggressiveness, extroversion, and charisma. And yet, humility is the trait most prized by G-d. Gd chose the most humble of mountains, Mount Sinai, upon which to give the most humble of men, Moses, the Ten Commandments. Just as much as G-d loves humility, He loathes arrogance and haughtiness. Self-aggrandizement is abhorrent. G-d stands back from one who worships himself. In fact, none of us like know-it-alls. We dont enjoy the company of pushy people who talk more than they listen. And we hate control-freaks -- those people who are sure they know what is best for everyone else. As parents, we certainly dont want to raise children who will not be liked by others. We want our kids to be well-received and to enjoy positive, loving relationships. We dont want to be their only fans! So what exactly is this trait of humility? Lets first look at its characteristics. The humble person

Modern culture doesnt like it much

listens in order to understand and does not try to foist his point of view on anyone gives credit where credit is due and doesnt need all the attention is patient with others and doesnt judge people for not doing things his way is happy with what he receives and doesnt insist on his rights can wait and take turns is willing to do whatever is necessary in a situation (nothing is beneath him) shies away from self-aggrandizement and doesnt brag How do we encourage these behaviors in our children? First, look for them! When you observe your child exhibiting humble behavior, name and label what you see. For instance, You waited so nicely for your turn. That was so patient of you. If children dont wait nicely, either wait for them to do it naturally in the future or give them instructions to wait. Once they comply, name and label the behavior. Its even fine to reward these kinds of behaviors occasionally: I like the way you listened to what I was saying. That was very respectful of you. And because youre really trying, I think now would be a good time to get that book you asked for the other day. These steps -- Comment, Label, Reward -- constitute a teaching method that I call the CLeaR Method. It offers a good-feeling form of guidance and reinforcement for desirable behaviors. Another teaching technique is modeling the behaviors we want to see. As parents, it is sometimes hard not to come across as controlling, know-it-all, and arrogant. Our position as authority figures can make it challenging to be directive without showing these kinds of negative characteristics. Unfortunately, children then copy our bossy tone of voice, our hands-on-hips posture, and every other aspect of our behavior that -- while seeming to be appropriate in parenting -- is highly inappropriate in most relationships. Therefore, we need to carefully monitor how we treat our children, so that even while we are in charge, we are still modeling traits of We need to carefully humility. In so doing, we are emulating the leader of all leaders, Moses, who managed to lead the entire nation while being the monitor how we treat our most humble of all men! We can lead in our own homes with a children

soft voice, a pleasant demeanor, and a respectful attitude. And we can still get our kids into bed. Finally, we can show children that a lack of humility is unacceptable. Teaching the laws of respecting parents is a particularly powerful way to instill this notion. Once children are taught that they cant raise their voice to a parent, challenge the parent in a disrespectful way, directly contradict a parent, embarrass a parent, start eating a meal before the parent starts, and so on, these traits of restraint, self-control, and humility will be carved into their character and will affect all of their relationships and interactions. We know that G-d gave us the mitzvahs for our own well-being, but it is particularly evident in the laws of kibud av vem (respecting parents) that G-d is helping us mold our character. With a sense of humility, our children will be better equipped to build relationships and weather lifes storms. Sarah Chana Radcliffe is the author of "The Fear Fix: Solutions for Every Child's Moments of Worry, Panic and Fear," "Make Yourself at Home," and "Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice." For teleclasses, learnwithsarahchana.com/scr.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

What Is a Tzaddik?
By Tzvi Freeman

Often people call someone a tzaddik simply because he is an exceptionally good person. Then there are times they come across a spiritual superhero, someone more like an angel than a human being, and they say, Now thats a tzaddik! Yet the most special thing about a tzaddik is that he really is the most human of human beings. Tzaddik is a form of the Hebrew verb [ TzDK], which carries the meaning of doing what is correct and just. Weights that are calibrated correctly are called moznei tzedek . The judge is urged, Tzedek , tzedek you shall pursue! Meaning: that which was wronged should be righted, that which was stolen should be returned to its owner, the innocent should not suffer, and those who have caused harm shall be corrected so that they will return to doing good. Tzedek is making everything the way it should be. So too, the personality of the tzaddik is calibrated to the Manufacturers original specifications, so that everything about him is just as his Creator meant it should be, and all he desires is what his Creator desires. A tzaddik is one who embodies the Creators primal conception of the human being. Which means that the tzaddik is a human being like all of us. The tzaddik feels pain and pleasure. He grins, he smiles, he cries and he laughs. He suffers bitterness of the spirit, and he dances with joy. At times his heart palpitates with love, and at others his veins burn with outrage. He is frustrated by failure, exhilarated by

The tzaddik is a human being like all of us. Because, essentially, all

success; he revels in the celebrations of life, and mourns when those he loves depart from it. Because all these things are included in the character of the human being as G d made him, and so they too are divine.

of us are divine.

Like all of us, the tzaddik must eat and sleep. He must take time for leisure, and he enjoys the company of others. But he does all these things in a higher way, a divine way. Because, to the tzaddik, there is nothing that just is. Everything is with purpose; in all things he sees meaning. To the tzaddik, everything that exists is a means of connecting to an infinite G d. This, then, is a tzaddik: one in whom we see our true selves, who allows us to realize that each one of us is essentially divine. And so, just by being there, but especially by our bonding with him, he connects us to the G d who breathes within each one of us.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

What If a Charity Turns Out to Be Fake?

By Baruch S. Davidson

Question:
What happens if a charity organization to which you donated money turns out to be fake? Does it still count as charity? How can one ever be sure that the money goes to the right cause?

Response:
Dear N___: Until the times of Moshiach, there are going to be immoral people who will even play on peoples charitable conscience to their own advantage. Scam charities were around in ancient times too. Here is an incident related in the Talmud (Ketubot 67b): Rabbi Chanina would regularly send four zuz (a Talmudicera currency unit) to a certain man on the eve of the Sabbath. One day he sent that sum through his wife, who came back and told him that the man was in no need of it. What did you see? asked Rabbi Chanina. I heard that he was asked, On what will you dine: on the silver-colored cloths, or on the gold ones? the rabbis wife replied. It is in view of such cases, Rabbi Chanina remarked, that the sages said, Come, let us be grateful to the fraudulent! For were it not for them, we would be sinning every day . . . for anyone who shuts his eye to charity is like one who worships idols. What did Rabbi Chanina mean by this? Quite simple: Theoretically, we should be obligated to give to everyone all of their requests. If we do not give, it is like idolatry. Deceitful people save us from this odious

crime of idolatry by providing us an excuse for not giving in every instance: we can always say that we wanted to give, but didnt since it may have been a scam. Not every case, however, can be judged by outward appearances. The same passage in the Talmud tells of one of the sages who would send charity to a particular individual. One day he sent his son to deliver the money. The boy came home and said, They are not needy; I saw them drinking expensive wines. The father doubled the sum and told his son, On the contrary, they obviously were once people with high standards of living, and now have no money at all. For them to live the basic lifestyle which charity would provide is still painfully lacking. The mitzvah is to provide to each according to his needs, and sometimes what may seem unworthy to us may actually be a mitzvah too. Furthermore, even if the person you gave to was not at all needyand so, you havent really performed an act of charitynevertheless, your act was still a charitable act. Charity has two aspects; the givers sacrifice of self for the sake of a mitzvah, and the receiver actually benefiting from the charity. Even when the actual provision for the needy is not there, you have still made your sacrifice by giving. All said and done, that sacrifice would have been better off in a real act of charity, given to someone who really needed it. Your mitzvah, in effect, was stolen from you. According to the Talmud,1 Jeremiah the prophet prayed that should the wicked give charity, it will go to an uniftting causeso that they will not receive reward. Perhaps, then, we should thoroughly investigate the neediness of anyone who asks? It depends: If you are giving to a fund that dispenses to others, the Torah encourages us to investigate and determine whether the administrators of the fund are reliable people.2 The same is true if an individual approaches you and asks you for a handout: it is your right to investigate whether he is truly impoverished. If, however, someone personally requests food, we are to give unquestioningly, and trust that G d will see to it that our charity should reach a worthy cause. This is so even if the one asking is totally unfamiliar to us. If the one asking is someone we know, then a request for clothing, too, should be treated unquestioningly. If you gave and didnt scrutinize to judge if the one requesting was truly deserving, dont take it to heart; youre in good company. G d continues to provide us with all our needs, and we hope He doesnt judge us based on a close-up scrutiny either. Best wishes, Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson P.S. Chabad.org is in dire need of your help. No jokes, no scams! Please click here and help us help others.
Sources: Talmud, Bava Batra 9b; Mishneh Torah, Law s of Gifts to the Poor 7:6; Code of Jew ish Law , Yoreh Deah 349:7.

Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson is a member of the Chabad.org Ask the Rabbi team.
FOOTNOTES 1. Bava Batra 9b. 2. This does not mean that we are to constantly demand accountability, but rather that we ascertain that the administrator is known to be trustworthy.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Essay

Pigs & Judaism

By Mendy Kaminker

There is probably no animal as disgusting to Jewish sensitivities as the pig. Its not just because it may not be eaten: there are plenty of other animals that arent kosher either, but none of them arouse as much disgust as the pig. Colloquially, the pig is the ultimate symbol of loathing; when you say that someone acted like a chazir [pig], it suggests that he or she did something unusually abominable. Indeed, many people think of pork, ham, bacon, etc., as the most unkosher foods there are. Lets explore the reasons for this. We will also discover that as bad as the pigs past is, it has a bright future ahead of it.

Why not eat pork? Because!

The Torah gives two physical signs that mark kosher land animals: they ruminate (chew their cud) and have fully split hooves. It then goes on to list several creatures that have just one or the other of these, and are therefore unkosher. The pig is the ultimate One of these is the pig, since it has hooves which are split, but it does not chew its cudit is therefore unclean for you.1

symbol of loathing

Many of the commentaries offer reasons for the mitzvah of keeping kosher. However the Talmud asserts that the kosher laws fall under the category of chok , mitzvahs without any rationale, and makes the following observation regarding pork: Our rabbis taught: . . . Keep My chukim2 this refers to those mitzvot against which the Satan and the gentile nations argue, [considering them illogical and deserving of mockery,] such as [not] eating pork . . .3 So, this mitzvah is a supra-rational one, not something that we can understand logically. In a similar vein, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says4 that one shouldnt say, I abstain from pork because I dont like it, but rather that we do so because of G ds commandment.

Attitudes toward the pig

Its not the only animal on the unkosher list, but it gets the worst treatment of any of them. Some examples: Avoiding its name: Many call the animal davar acher, another thing, rather than by its proper name. This practice goes back to the Talmud.5 Prohibition against raising pigs: The sages forbade raising pigs anywhere [whether in the Land of Israel or elsewhere] . . . The sages pronounced a curse on one who raises dogs or pigs, because they cause frequent and serious damage.6 The Talmud7 traces this ruling to the civil war between the Hasmonean brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus (67 BCE). Aristobulus and his forces had barricaded themselves in the Temple Mount, where they were

besieged by Hyrcanuss army. Each day Aristobuluss men would send down a basketful of coins, and receive in return lambs for the daily Temple offerings. Until one day the besiegers sent up a pig instead:

One day the besiegers sent up a pig

When it was halfway up, it stuck its hooves into the wall, and the entire Land of Israel, 400 parsahs (about 1000 miles) square, trembled. At that time [the sages] declared: Cursed be one who raises pigs . . . ! Read also: May a Jew Raise Swine? Martyrdom rather than eat pork: The Syrian-Greek emperor Antiochus IV, as part of his campaign to outlaw Judaism, sent his soldiers to the Land of Israel with orders to force the Jews to offer pigs as sacrifices to the Hellenistic gods and consume the meat. A Jew 90 years old, named Elazar, defied the order and endured a savage beatingeven when he was offered the chance to just pretend to eat it while really he would be given kosher meat. Eventually the Greek soldiers met their match in the town of Modiin, where Matityahu the Hasmonean began the revolt that eventually saw the country freed from Hellenistic rule.

So, what did it do wrong?

Why indeed does Judaism so abhor the pig? It carries diseases: Ten measures of plagues descended to the world; pigs took nine of them.8 Such diseases are also easily transmittable from pigs to humans,9 as indeed is still the case with flu and other viruses. It spreads filth: Maimonides10 notes that pigs wallow in the muck and eat revolting things. Were Jews allowed to eat pork, they would raise pigs and thereby introduce filth into their homes. It is a symbol of hypocrisy: It pretends to be a kosher animal. The Midrash11 draws a comparison between the Roman empire and the pig:12 Just as the pig sticks out its hooves when it is resting, as if to say I am kosher, so did the Romans put on a show of justice to mask their avarice and corruption.

A chassidic story
The following tale shows another facet of the pigs lifestyle and its relevance to us: There were two brothers, one a wealthy magnate, the other a pauper but a G d-fearing person. When the poor brothers daughter was of marriageable age, he wended his way to his rich brother to ask him for assistance with the wedding expenses. The rich fellow was happy to see his brother again, and invited him to a lengthy tour of his palatial home. After a while, though, the poor brother got tired of it, and asked his brother to cut it short. The latter couldnt understand: Dont you enjoy the exquisite beauty of every corner of my house? There is a creature, replied the other, that wallows in the mud all day. If you ask it what it wants, all it can think of is, More mud!

In the future we will be allowed to eat it

You, too, are sunk in the mud of material pleasures, and all you want is more mud and more possessions, instead of focusing on the truly important things in life.

Future prospects
Today, then, the pig represents the bad side of life. It turns out, though, that in the future we will be allowed

to eat it: Why is the pig called [in Hebrew] chazir? Because in the future, G d will return [le-hachazir] it to Israel.13 In the era of Moshiach the world at large will be purified and achieve a higher spiritual level, so that the pig will become permissible for food. (How does this square with one of the basic beliefs of Judaism, that the laws of the Torah will never change? Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar suggests14 that G d will alter the pigs physiology so that indeed it chews its cud and therefore bears both kosher signs.) Rabbi Mendy Kaminker is the editor of Beit Chabad, the Hebrew edition of Chabad.org.
FOOTNOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Leviticus 11:7; similarly in Deuteronomy 14:8. Leviticus 18:4. Talmud, Yoma 67b. Sifra, Kedoshim 9. Shabbat 129a, Pesachim 3b, et al. Mishneh Torah, Laws of Property Damages 5:9. Bava Kamma 82b. Talmud, Kiddushin 49b. Ibid., Taanit 21b.

10. Guide for the Perplexed 3:48. 11. Genesis Rabbah 65:1. 12. Interestingly, one Roman legion (X Fretensis) used the boar as one of its ensigns. Additionally, one of the prominent Roman families was that of the Porcii (pigs), whose male and female members bore the respective names of Porcius and Porcia. 13. This idea appears in various medieval biblical and Talmudic commentaries, but is not found anywhere in any Talmudic-era source. See Likkutei Sichot 29:128, where several versions of this adage are cited. 14. Ohr ha-Chaim commentary to Leviticus 11:7.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Essay

Words of Song
By Tzvi Freeman

In the year 1884 or 1885, when I was four or five years old, I was learning in cheder (Jewish day school). My classroom was adjacent to the study hall, and my teacher was Reb Zusia. My father would pray all three daily prayers in the study hall, and he prayed at length. He would sing in prayer and walk back and forth here to there, snap his fingers and wave his hands in the air. The tallit (prayer shawl) wasnt covering his faceit was just over his headso that the tefillin (phylacteries) remained uncovered. Except on Shabbat then his face was covered as well. I was a small child, four or five years, and so I grew up understanding that prayer means singing. Ill give you an example: My father at that time would eat at Grandmothers home. My uncle ate by himself. Many times, my uncle would grab me playfully and ask, Whats your father doing? Once, when he did this, I remember answering, My father is praying and eating. You see, at the Shabbat meal my father would sing a chassidic melody at every opportunity. And my understanding was that prayer and singing are one thing, so I said he was davening (praying) and eating. Once upon a time a chassidic melody was a something. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe (Sefer Hasichot 5705, p. 17) There are words of speech and words of thought. Words of thought have more meaning. If we could tune into each others words of thought, it would be very enlightening (although not necessarily in things we want to be enlightened about). Words of speech, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch said, reveal to others but hide your own self. Words of thought hide from others, but reveal yourself. Words of thought glow with light. Yet words of speech are more powerful. In the Kabbalah, they are Leah (thought) and Rachel (speech). And, as the story goes, Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. And so we find in the Zohar, Words of thought accomplish nothing. Words of speech climb above and have an effect.

But then, there is another kind of word which wins on all counts. A kind of word that speaks to others and speaks to you as well, without compromise. A word where speech and thought fuse as one. And those words are the words of song. No, no, I dont mean words that are sung. I mean the words that music speaks on its own. The nuances and motifs of every melody. Those, too, have the quality of words: they are sequential, and the sequence is crucial. They communicate. And they emerge naturally from the soul just as do words. But from a deeper place. As Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi said, If words are the pen of the heart, song is the pen of the soul. The difference is that words of thought and speech carry from inside out, from up to down, from the abstract and ethereal to the tangible, defined and concrete. Song, on the other hand, carries upwards. Song takes the discrete, defined boundaries in which we have boxed ourselves, our feelings and our ideas, and transports them upward to a place where essences are more important than their containers, and the inner oneness of things is revealed, and all merges in magnificent harmony. So, our prayers are made of these three forms of words, and if one is missing, the prayer is incomplete. You cant think prayers without speaking them, or speak without thinking them. And they arent prayers until you sing them. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription. Painting by Chassidic artist Hendel Lieberman.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

The Jealous Neighbor

By Yanki Tauber

Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov once said to his disciples: There once lived two neighbors, a Torah scholar and an impoverished laborer. The scholar would wake before dawn, rush to the study hall and study for several hours. He would then pray at length and with great devotion, hurry home for a quick bite of breakfast, and return to the study hall for more hours of study. After the noon meal he would go to the market and engage in some minimal dealingjust enough to earn him his basic needsthen back to the study hall. After evening prayers and the evening meal, he would again sit over the sacred books till late into the night. His neighbor would also wake early, but his situation did not allow for much Torah study: no matter how hard he struggled to earn a living, he barely succeeded in putting bread on the table. He would pray quickly with the first minyan at daybreak, and then his labor would consume his entire day and

the greater part of his night. On Shabbat, when he finally had the opportunity to take a book in his hands, he would soon drop off from exhaustion. When the two neighbors would pass each other in the yard, the scholar would throw the crass materialist a look of contempt and hurry on to his holy pursuits. The poor laborer would sigh and think to himself: How unfortunate is my lot, and how fortunate is his. Were both hurryingbut hes rushing to the study hall, while Im off to my mundane burdens. Then, it came to pass that the two men concluded their sojourn on earth, and their souls stood before the heavenly court, where the life of every man is weighed upon the balance scales of divine judgment. An advocate-angel placed the scholars many virtues in the right cup of the balance scales: his many hours of Torah study, his meditative prayers, his frugality and honesty. But then came the prosecuting angel, who placed a single object on the other side of the scalesthe look of contempt that the scholar would occasionally send his neighbors way. Slowly, the left side of the scales began to dip, until it equaled, and then exceeded, the formidable load on the right. When the poor laborer came before the heavenly court, the prosecutor loaded his miserable, spiritually void life on the left scales. The advocating angel had but one weight to offerthe sorrowful, covetous sigh the laborer would emit when he encountered his learned neighbor. But when placed on the right side of the scales, the sigh counterweighted everything on the negative side, lifting and validating every moment of hardship and misery in the laborers life. Yanki Tauber is content editor of Chabad.org.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

The Ticket Trade

By Yerachmiel Tilles

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vizhnitz once told the story of a chassid who came to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev with the sorry account of his financial misfortunes. He had been extremely wealthy, but because of a number of calamitous investments he had fallen deep into debt, though no one yet knew of it. My advice, said the tzaddik , is that you should buy a lottery ticket, and, G d willing, you will be helped thereby. Replied the chassid: I do not doubt for a moment that your promise will be fulfilledbut who knows when? It may take years to win with lottery tickets, and in the meantime my creditors will be after me. Besides, my daughter is not getting any younger, and I must marry her off. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak thereupon promised him that the Almighty would soon make money come his way, even before he won the lottery. The chassid, of course, immediately bought a lottery ticket. On the way home, he stayed the night at a wayside inn. So too did a certain powerful noble, who had been riding about in his

In the same inn there was a Jew who owned a lottery ticket that was

carriage. In the dead of night the noble dreamt that in the same inn there was a Jew who owned a lottery ticket that was destined to win; he should therefore find a way of exchanging his own worthless ticket with the one that was bound to bring riches to its bearer.

destined to win

The noble awoke, and behold, it was but a dreambut when he fell asleep again, exactly the same dream repeated itself. This time he got out of bed and ordered his servant to investigate whether there was any Jewish stranger about, and if there was, to bring him at once. The Jew was found soon enough, and brought to the rich mans room. The noble asked whether he held a lottery ticket, and then said: I also have one of those tickets. Let us exchange tickets, and I will add a few gold rubles to whatever it cost you. The Jew refused: Even if you give me that number of rubles several times over, I will not exchange tickets with you. The noble was so eager to settle his transaction that he kept on increasing his offer, until it reached one thousand rubles, but the Jew would not budge. By this time, the noble was fuming. He ordered his servant to seize the ticket by forcewhich he did, and handed the ticket to his master.

He ordered his servant to seize the ticket by force

Then, thinking better of it, the noble said: Look, I dont want to really rob you altogether. Here, take the thousand gold rubles that I offered you before, as well as my lottery ticket. The Jew reluctantly accepted the money and the ticket from the noble, and soon resigned himself gladly to the workings of Providence, thinking that, anyway, this is certainly enough even for a fancy wedding, so this, too, is for the best. He continued his journey home, where he married off his daughter in grand style. Not long after, the ticket which the noble foisted upon him against his will won a vast sum of money, and the chassid decided it was time to set out to visit his rebbe. When he arrived, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak said: I saw that your luck was running low indeed, so I had to send along the angelic Master of Dreams to persuade the noble to exchange tickets with you; I could see that his ticket was going to win, not yours. As for the thousand gold rubbles that he gave you in addition, that is because you said you had to marry off your daughter soon; and that is why you were granted a little salvation first, then later a great salvation. When the chassid returned home, he became more prosperous than he had ever been before. When Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vizhnitz finished recounting this story, he said: This is what the Almighty meant when he said to the Patriarch Yaakov, For I will not forsake you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you (Genesis 28:15). Why until I have done? Would He forsake him after having fulfilled His promise that He return Yaakov safely to his home in Israel?! For no man could remain alive even one moment without the Almightys constant vigilance. The meaning of the verse is, rather, that He promises Yaakov that even until the great salvation comes He will not forsake him, and in the meantime will grant him a little salvation. Based on Sippurei Chassidim by Rabbi S. Y. Zevin, and other oral sources. Biographical note: Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (174025 Tishrei 1810) is one of the most popular rebbes in chassidic history. He was a close disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch. He is best known for his love for every Jew, and his active efforts to intercede for them against (seemingly) adverse heavenly decrees. Many of his

teachings are contained in the posthumously published Kedushat Levi. Copyright 2003 by KabbalaOnline.org. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work or portions thereof, in any form, unless with permission, in writing, from Kabbalah Online. Yerachmiel Tilles is the co-founder of Ascent-of-Safed, and was its educational director for 18 years. He is the creator of www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org and currently the director of both sites. He is also a well-known storyteller, a columnist for numerous chassidic publications, and a staff rabbi on AskMoses.com.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Chanukah Party Surprise Cake

By Miriam Szokovski

Have any Chanukah parties on the agenda? If you do, youll definitely need one Chanukah Party Surprise Cake. Serve it at your own party, or bring it along to a friends. But make sure you dont tell anyone whats inside until they cut it open and see for themselves!

Use this recipe, or any other cake recipeeven a boxed mix will do. What makes this cake exciting is the

surprise element, not the actual recipe. Then again, if it tastes like sawdust, thats not great either. Ingredients: 2 cups oil 4 cups sugar 8 eggs 2 cups cocoa 5 cups flour 4 tsp. coffee dissolved in 3 cups hot water 1 tbsp. vanilla 2 tbsp. baking powder 1 tbsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt Directions: 1. Cream the oil, sugar and eggs. 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until there are no lumps. 3. Pour into four 10-inch round pans and bake at 325 F until a toothpick comes out clean. Approximately 45 minutes.

Youll need at least three layers; I used four. Size is up to you. I used 10-inch round pans, and the cake was hugeenough for 2530 people. Unless, of course, this cake is the only thing youre serving. Then youll need more.

Tip: You know how sometimes cakes come out looking like mountains, much higher in the center than around the edges? For layer cakes, you want to avoid that. Bake the cakes on a lower temperature (like 325 F) for slightly longer, and the cakes will bake more evenly. Remove the cakes from the oven, and set the pans on cooling racks. When the cakes are fully cooled, gently ease them out of the pans, cut off the tops so they are flat on both sides, and freeze for several hours (freezing allows for easier construction).

Prepare the frosting. This is the recipe I used, but againfeel free to use any great recipe you have, or canned frosting for convenience. Ingredients: 1 cup margarine 3 cups confectionary sugar 1 cup cocoa 2 tsp. vanilla cup non-dairy creamer Directions: 1. Cream margarine. 2. Add rest of ingredients and mix until smooth. Now its the fun part. Put on your hard hat, block off the doorway with bright orange cones, and declare the kitchen a construction zone.

Take the layers out of the freezer, unwrap the first cake and spread frosting around its perimeter, like this:

Unwrap the second layer and cut a hole in the center. Place it on the basethe frosting will make it stick.

Unwrap the third layer and cut a hole in its center, like with the previous layer. Frost and stack. It doesnt matter if the holes dont match up perfectly. Note: If youre making a smaller cake and want to skip one layer, this is the one to pass. Now, close your eyes . . . its time for the surprise! Actually, dont close your eyes, or you wont know how to make it, and then there will be no surprise at alljust a poor, forlorn, unfinished cake, ignored in favor of the doughnuts and ice cream. (No, ice cream is not specifically a traditional Chanukah food, but a party without ice cream loses its status as a party in my books.) Youll need chocolate coins. Lots of them. I used an entire box. Open the little net baggies they come in, and fill the center of the cake with shiny golden bounty.

Quickly, before anyone sees, frost and stack the final cake. Lookno one would ever know whats hiding inside this dark, chocolatey mass. Shhh . . . I hear it saying something. Whats that? Oh, right: Your secrets safe with me . . .

Leave the cake as is, or frost the outside. Make it as plain or fancy as you like. This cake is also fun to make with kids. If youre going to a Chanukah party, make it with your kids and let them enjoy the surprise everyone else gets when you cut it open. Because look what will happen . . .

Treasure! Gold! Eureka! Oh, and theres some chocolate cake too.

Invite your friends, play some dreidel, eat good food and have a party.

Happy Chanukah!

Update: Check out this picture I got from a happy reader. Her kids decorated the cake with sprinkles and they shared it at a neighborhood party. Everyone was delighted when those shiny coins came piling out. Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Sixteen Epic Moments from the Annual International Conference of Chabad Emissaries

By Mordechai Lightstone

During the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, rabbis and guests from around the world came to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for a chance to improve their craft, reconnect with old friends and gain inspiration for the year to come. Many of these special moments were shared on social media with the #Kinus hashtag. Below is our list of the 16 most epic moments of the 30th annual #Kinus 5774-2013.

1. The Chabad rabbi who doesn't quit - even in the taxi from the airport.

Rabbi Chaim @youngchabad

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"Thank G-d the city is a lot safer today. I'm not religious but I'm a proud Jew"! #themissionneverstops #kinus
8:55 PM - 31 Oct 2013 2 RETWEETS 4 FAVORITES

2. The chance to learn from experts and scholars:

Rabbi Berel Levertov @rabbiberel

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"How to inspire your children" Rabbi Glucowsky from Israel. Powerful advice! #kinus
12:35 AM - 1 Nov 2013 from New York, NY, United States

3. The #Rabbi who got #excited about #Hashtags at #Kinus

4. The most epic start to #Movember in the world:

Rabbi Yossi Lazaroff @AggieRabbi

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Chabad Rabbis celebrate #NoShaveNovember all year. #Kinus #cheerthebeards

9:53 AM - 3 Nov 2013 22 RETWEETS 12 FAVORITES

5. Young Shluchim getting a special kosher treat:

The Intown Chabad @TheIntownChabad

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children from the world at #chabad #Kinus eat kosher candy they never get in far off cities #thingsthatinspireme
3:15 AM - 2 Nov 2013 8 RETWEETS 8 FAVORITES

6. The quiet moments of connection between two friends who haven't seen each other in a year:

7. The chance to reflect and reconnect with the mission we're on.

Chabad.org @Chabad

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Rabbis from around the world went to the Rebbe's resting place to reflect on their mission. #Kinus
7:29 AM - 3 Nov 2013 14 RETWEETS 10 FAVORITES

8. The guest who realized that Chabad was doing Social Media back when records and rotary-phones weren't just retro.

9. The annual group shot of Chabad emissaries from around the world

Chabad.org @Chabad

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Can you spot your rabbi in this year's official #Kinus family picture?
11:34 PM - 3 Nov 2013 27 RETWEETS 22 FAVORITES

Mendy Lent @NottsChabad

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And go... #kinus

10:09 PM - 3 Nov 2013 1 FAVORITE

10. The photographer for the group shot who had to somehow fit thousands of Rabbis into one frame

And the Chabad Rabbi who found a meaning behind it.

Mendel Rubin
@shabboshouse

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#DonHolloway (#kinus photographer) "If u can see the lens, you are in the picture." How poetic, so true of staying in focus of our mission.
10:00 PM - 3 Nov 2013 2 RETWEETS 2 FAVORITES

11. Finally being able to hear what exactly taking that picture actually sounds like

Mottel

What Does The Group Shot At #Kinus Sound Lik

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1:25

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769

12. That moment you walk through the entrance of the banquet hall:

and realize that you've stepped into something truly immense

Motti Seligson @mottiseligson

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Serving 5,400 ppl. Don't try this at home! #Kinus

8:39 AM - 4 Nov 2013 1 RETWEET 1 FAVORITE

13. The message of this year's conference

Chabad.org
@Chabad
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Tonight's theme is the mission of bringing light into darkness. #kinus

6:49 AM - 4 Nov 2013 5 RETWEETS 2 FAVORITES

...and the lesson learned from it by someone on the other side of the world

Chabad.org @Chabad

03 Nov Tonight's theme is the mission of bringing light into darkness. #kinus

Anthony Renton
@AnthonyjRenton

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@Chabad: Tonight's theme is the mission of bringing light into darkness. #kinus @MitchellCohen93 next @Leeds_JSoc Friday night theme ?
6:50 AM - 4 Nov 2013 2 FAVORITES

14. Senator Lieberman addressing the crowd

15. The timeless lessons taught by Rabbi Dov Greenberg

Eli Rubin
@Eli_Rubin
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Jewish history knocks on the doors of our hearts. We must open the hearts of the entire Jewish nation. Destiny is in our hands. #kinus
9:17 AM - 4 Nov 2013 1 FAVORITE

Chabad.org
@Chabad

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Judaism isn't endangered by great acts of betrayal. Rather through small acts of apathy. We have to turn it around. Bring in warmth #kinus
9:08 AM - 4 Nov 2013 12 RETWEETS 6 FAVORITES

16. And the ecstatic joy of dancing at the end

Rabbi Ari Shishler @Rabbishish

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S.A. team dancing at #kinus

11:58 AM - 4 Nov 2013 4 RETWEETS

Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone is a rabbi by training, but a blogger by choice. He is passionate about using new media to further Jewish identity and community building. Mordechai currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two sons, where he happily tweets between sips of espresso.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

For 5,200 Rabbis and Guests: A Night of Inspiration

By Karen Schw artz

Rabbis and lay leaders from around the w orld gathered for an evening of camaraderie and inspiration at the gala banquet of the International Conference of Chabad Lubavitch Emissaries. (Photo: Baruch Ezagui)

Eleven-year-old Levi Leibowitz cant wait to tell his friends and family back home in Tokyo about his experience last night. He was a guest at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries banquet at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in New York, thousands of miles from Japan, where he lives. Im going to tell everyone about itthat it was really fun, and the food was very good, he said. Seated in Chiavari chairs under grand chandeliers, he and thousands of others involved in the organization5,200 emissaries and lay leaders from around the worldgathered for an evening of camaraderie and inspiration. It culminated four days of learning, togetherness and inspiration that the RebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memoryfirst encouraged his shluchim to convene back in 1983. I like talking to all the different Jewish people in my family all over the world, said Leibowitz. He was there with his father, David Leibowitz, also of Tokyo, and his grandfather, Alan Liebowitz, of Miami, Fla.

Through Darkness a Shining Light

The theme, Through Darkness a Shining Light," prompted speakers to focus on the impact Chabad continues to build through its global outreach and varied programs. Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, director of the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries and vice chairman of Merkos LInyonei Chinuch, Chabad-Lubavitchs educational arm, charged those gathered with connecting with more Jews and inspiring even more mitzvahs. They heard from former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who thanked the emissaries for their work and spoke of his personal connection to the organization, which often made sure he had Shabbat provisions and kosher food during his political travels. Lieberman has also long visited his mother for Havdalah at the closing of the Sabbath, and he mentioned that when he was away, his hometown rabbiRabbi Yisrael Deren and his wife, Vivi, co-directors of Chabad Lubavitch of Western and Southern New Englandwould go in his stead. In his talk, Lieberman declared that "the Jewish people are an eternal people; we're going to exist forever. And really the question is, which of us will choose to be part of that continuity?" He affirmatively alluded to the fact that Chabad is doing all it can in that regard: Chabad opens "the doors to Yiddishkeit to all who feel alienated from it." You go forward with confidence, fearless because you know you have a mission to perform, he stated from a rotating podium in the center of the room. As a result, there is no movement in Judaism today like Chabad.

Keynote speaker Sen. Joseph Lieberman charges the crow d at Chabad conference gala dinner. (Photo: Baruch Ezagui).

Rabbi Dov Greenberg, co-director of Chabad on Campus at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., took to the podium as a representative for the emissaries. He talked about the 86,000 Jewish students who visited 200 Chabad centers around the world, and the microcosm that college-focused Chabad on Campus centers represent for Chabads larger mission. Thats the definition of a Chabad House, he said. Where every Jew feels at home.

Rabbi Dov Greenberg, co-director of Chabad on Campus at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., took to the podium as a representative for the emissaries. (Photo: Baruch Ezagui)

Businessman David Leibowitz agreed. He connected with Chabad a quarter-century ago when he was walking down the street in Bondi Beach, Australia. Wearing a tank top and no kipah, he just so happened to run into a man with a black hat and a beard. The rest, he said, is history. He added that he was glad to return to the Kinus for a second timea 14-hour flight well worth it for the chance to support Chabad, see his father and bring his son so they could get inspired together. Chabad embodies everything about my heritage and what I want to pass on, he said. And its all in the family: His father, Alan Leibowitz, has been involved with Chabad of Kendall & Pinecrest in Miami since it started in 1995.

From Generation to Generation

The elder Leibowitz said hes glad to see his son so connected to Yiddishkeit and guiding his own child,

Levi, towards it as well. My son is being the absolute best example in terms of raising kids and bringing them to Torah. I cant wait for the day when I give Levi his first set of tefillin for his bar mitzvah.

David and Levi Leibow itz, 11, came all the w ay from Tokyo, Japan; Alan Liebow itz of Miami, Florida, joined his son and grandson. (Photo: Karen Schw artz)

David Leibowitz, who moved to Japan 20 years ago and wound up staying, said Chabad continues to be key to his Jewish life there. To have an organization like Chabad and a rabbi like Rabbi Mendi Sudakevich, who gives us all this Yiddishkeit in such a vacuum, is such a blessing." As for the Kinus, he said, "we already booked our tickets for next year. Rabbi Yehoshua Laufer, co-director of Merkos-Chabad of Rhode Island, recalled the very first shluchim conference, when they convened in just an office adjacent to Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. The Rebbe wanted us to plan how we could increase our work, reaching out and bringing Jews back to their heritage, said Laufer. The Rebbe brought people together to strengthen each other, he added, and as their ranks have grown, so has the determination to accomplish more and more. The inspiration is 4,000 times greater. Its a change of the power of being present. Josh Wonder, head of finance at the Yeshivah Centre of Melbourne, Australia, attended the Kinus for the first time this year. Coming to New York and taking part in the weekend, which included a whole host of programs and an overwhelmingly warm Shabbat, represented a chance for him to envision how he fits in to the bigger puzzle. In the past, like many living overseas who havent been able to fly in for the events, he has watched the main proceedings online. Its always like you want to be there, he said. Thats what brought me here this year. He enjoyed the chance to catch up with old friends and said he leaves wanting to do even more to bring people closer to Judaism: I come away with my batteries recharged. Im pumped up and ready to take it all on again.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

New Initiative for Rabbis to 'Empower Their Communities'

By Menachem Posner

Emissaries and guests dance together at a previous gathering. (file photo)

Amid a sea of black hats and coats, more than 4,500 Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries who gathered in New York for the annual International Conference of Shluchim were told that the goal of spreading the light of Torah and the joys of Judaism throughout the world would be achieved by harnessing the energy of our community members" to inspire others as they have been inspired. On the first evening of the four-day convention, Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Maryland,wove together Talmudic quotes and personal experiences as he made the case for changing the entire world for the better. It is in our hands, Kaplan said to those assembled at the Thursday evening general session. When the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] spoke about reaching every single Jew in the 1950s and 60s, there were a handful of Chabad emissaries sprinkled around the world. It didnt seem plausible. Today, we are positioned to bring the light of Torah to every single Jewish man, woman and child. Kaplan cited the precedent of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Chiya, who wrote Torah scrolls and used them to teach children. Those children taught others, and Torah awareness spread. The effect was so far-reaching that the Talmud credits him with having preserved Torah tradition. In the same way, we cannot reverse the trend of Jewish disconnect by building buildings or membership, he thundered. By harnessing the energy of our community members, empowering them to reach out to others who will, in turn, affect even more people.

Series of New Initiatives

To that end, he revealed that there would be a series of new initiatives giving shluchim tools to empower members of their communities to teach Torah and spread Judaism. The first project is a first-ever course on advanced Jewish concepts produced by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), specifically geared to be presented by laypeople. A recurring refrain of Kaplans and of other speakers was the fact that this year will mark 20 years since the passing of the Rebbe. The final speaker of the evening, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor of Bangkok, Thailand, pointed out that in order to bring a message of inspiration to others, the shliach and his family must themselves be aflame with inspiration: You must now look within yourself for the spark, and fan the flames into a roaring fire that will

warm and illuminate your surroundings.

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Photographer Sees World Through a Different Lens

By Menachem Posner

A Chabad volunteer in Haiti takes a break for prayer during relief efforts follow ing the 2010 earthquake. (Photo: Marc Asnin, alightamongthenations.com)

Marc Asnin is a tough-speaking, sturdy New Yorker whose external roughness belies the artists eye that made him a serial award-winning photographer. Throughout his professional career, he has taken shots for major media outlets like Life, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, French Geo, La Repubblica, Le Monde and Stern. On Sept. 11, 2001, Asnin was sent by Time magazine to Lower Manhattan to document the burning World Trade Center. I arrived at the North Tower after the South Tower had fallen. I was under a fire truck for a few minutes with a fireman whose face I never even saw. Then I scoured ground zero for a few hours, looking for my assistant, who he eventually found. He says he felt so fortunateso blessedto make it home that day that he wanted to thank G d, and show his faith and bond with fellow Jews. From that day on, I began covering my head wherever I go, says Asnin, who often sports a crocheted black beanie. He also wears tzitzit, a small garment with biblically mandated fringes, under his shirt. During the course of his life, he says he has been profoundly influenced by two Jewish men: His gangster uncle, Charlie Henschke, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. Both men lived just a few blocks from one another in Brooklyn, N.Y., but inhabited universes that were light years away.

Uncle Charlie grew up a gangster. His father was a Jewish gangster. Uncle Charlie would tell me about how his Judaism was robbed from him. There was money set aside for his bar mitzvah, but his parents took it to buy a used television. He felt bad about it.

A First Encounter With the Rebbe

Asnin first encountered the Rebbe in 1988. I had been photographing the Cuban Jewish community, and the head of the community needed to come to New York to get supplies for the Jewish school in Havana, relates Asnin. I took him to the address he gave me, 770 Eastern Parkway, and I realized that the people we were going to meet were Chassidim. At that time, they were all the same to me. Well, the Rebbe was standing there distributing coins to children to give to charity. Eventually, we found the Argentinian rabbi we were looking for, and that was that. In the winter of 1992, while working with The New York Times Magazine, he was assigned to photograph the 89-year-old Rebbe for a cover story on the Rebbes influence that extended far beyond his Brooklyn neighborhood to the world at large, from average people in need of personal advice, to world leaders seeking his counsel on geopolitical affairs. Asnin recalls his surprise at how approachable the Rebbe was. "I had photographed lots of famous people, and most of them dont let you get close. But the Rebbe had no problem with me staying up close, says Asnin. While the Rebbe met thousands of people who lined up to spend a brief moment of personal blessing and at times consultation with him, Asnin stood close to document the Rebbes interactions. "When you looked in his eyes . . . he was just very intense," Asnin remembers. "There was a different energy flowing from him. It was not the average interaction. It was the most special assignment I've ever had."

Marc Asnin's photo of the Rebbe taken in 1992 w as selected by New York Times editors as one of the 25 Most Memorable Covers of the previous 100 years. (Photo: Marc Asnin)

The Rebbe, giving a w eekday address in 1992. (Photo: Marc Asnin, alightamongthenations.com)

In 1998, as the 20th century was drawing to a close, Asnins photograph of the Rebbe was selected by The New York Times Magazine as one of the 25 Most Memorable Covers of the previous 100 years. As to the overall atmosphere at 770, as the Eastern Parkway synagogue and center are widely known, Asnin says he was amazed at how relaxed and easy everything was. By then, I had pretty much written off synagogue attendance as stuffy and oppressive, but this was something different, fluid and human. I had never felt welcomed at synagogue, but the people at 770 genuinely welcomed me. It was overwhelming but enthralling, and I kept on thinking, Wow, this is incredible! As a result, Asnin maintained a close connection with some of the Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis he had met.

Keeping Up With Charlie

In addition to his many assignments, Asnin continued photographing his Uncle Charlie in the rough-andtumble Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyna project that would span three decades, recalls Asnin, who was recently awarded the 2013 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for his book Uncle Charlie. Over the years, Asnin says, my perception of my uncle changed. At first, says Asnin, he was my godfather, and I looked up to him. But he did some pretty bad stuff, committing crimes to get ahead. He struggled with mental illness, drug addiction, and strained relationships with his former wives and his children. With an attitude that changed from admiration to sympathy, Asnin eventually convinced Charlie to go with him to 770 to celebrate the bar mitzvah he had missed in childhood. He told him it was a one-time thing, and his uncle relented. Once there, Charlie was offered a borrowed set of tallit and tefillin. He did not even know what they were at first, recalls Asnin. But when he finally put them on, it made him so happy. He is normally pretty tense and always in a rush, but there, he was happy. It was like he finally got back the bar mitzvah that was stolen from him. Still, says Asnin, he was all tattooed up; most people in society wouldnt go near him. Only the Rebbe and his followers would have embraced him.
Charlie Henschke, during his "bar mitzvah" ceremony. (Photo: Marc Asnin)

Being friends with rabbis like that really influenced me, and it influenced my friends as well, he continues. They are so surprised by how humble and nice the rabbis are. I know that the rabbis probably wouldnt think of themselves as progressive, but they really are. The Rebbe was progressive, reaching out to everyone.

The Deeper Story

Asnin says the inspiration for his next project after the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, when Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg were murdered in their Chabad house with four of their guests, Asnin was sent to chronicle the carnage. He recalled a quote about how the Rebbe searched out every Jew in love, as they had once been searched out and hunted down in hate, and that motivated him to embark on a new project of his own. As a tribute to the Holtzbergs memory, he decided to take pictures of Chabads wide-reaching influence on world Jewry in every continent.

Marc Asnin receives a dollar and a blessing from the Rebbe in 1992. (Photo: Jew ish Educational Media)

The Rebbe was a real revolutionary, he explains. He did not just sit back and watch the Diaspora crumble. You see his commitment through the commitment of the shluchim. The shaliach in Dagestan who was recently shot [Rabbi Ovadia Isakov] said that he is going back to serve his community. Asnins focus is on the diverse group of people touched by Chabad all over the world. Wherever you go, they are there knocking up mezuzahs on doors and helping people into tefillin, but there is more to the story. The deeper story is that they are embracing all kinds of people. I have been to prisons with Chabad rabbis all over the worldin Moscow, in Florida and in a womens prison in New York. I photographed and interviewed some teenage girls who come from a horribly abusive house. The Chabad rabbi and his wife took them in to their home. I dont know many people who would do that. Asnin plans to publish a collection of the photographs he has taken during his time with Chabad. The 1,000-page work will likely fill two volumes with photographs and text: one on Eurasia and the other on the Americas. The books, to be titled A Light Among the Nations, are a collaborative effort with editorial director Josh Herman, who has been traveling with Asnin and writing the text to accompany the photographs. The two have created a web site, www.alightamongthenations.com, to accompany the project.
Marc Asnin

Asnin helps a young man don tefillin w hile on assignment in Las Vegas. (Photo: Marc Asnin, alightamongthenations.com) Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

An Inspiring Anthology of Lessons From the Rebbe

By Yerachmiel Rubin

Seeds of Wisdom is a new anthology of life-lessons from the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, gleaned from the personal recollections of people from all walks of life and a myriad of backgrounds and countries of origin, as recorded in the "My Encounter with the Rebbe" oral history project, launched by Jewish Educational Media to document the untold story of the Rebbes life stretching back to his childhood in the Tsarist Empire more than a hundred years ago. The book is based on individual interviews, with a focus on the legendary private visits with the Rebbe, known to Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidim as yechidut, where individuals sought the Rebbes counsel, direction and blessing in meetings, normally held as they were in the dark stillness of a Brooklyn night many years ago. The book does an excellent job of conveying that atmosphere, conjuring up a telling vividness. While the Rebbes published works fill many volumes, the details of how he influenced individuals and communitiesan entire generationare being documented, conversation by conversation in these fascinating stories. Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in London, England, has mined this immense lodestone of precious ore for nuggets which epitomize the Rebbes unique style, and has encapsulated them in an attractive book of 175 pages. The editor deftly weaves the material into six sections; Nurturing the Human Spirit; Parenting; Knowledge and Learning; Love and Relationships; Faith and Prayer; and Jewish Leadershipaddressing issues of marital conflicts, raising children, strategies for actualizing spiritual and emotional growth, dealing with health and financial difficulties, leadership challenges in the communal, institutional and other spheres, and many other topics. Each short chapter encompasses advice that is simultaneously personal and universal by providing an

individual anecdote, engagingly summarized and presented by the editor; as told by a fascinating diversity of people who sought the Rebbes advice; including Torah scholars, statesmen, educators, scientists, teachers, business people and home-makers. Each story ends with a pithy "mission statement." However, the purpose of this book isnt just to tell stories, no matter how striking and inspirational. Rabbi Kalmenson has chosen and edited each selection to drive home the Rebbes essential advice as typified in the following; showing how to take the first step in bettering oneself spiritually: A young man who was struggling with bad habits requested the Rebbes advice. He had tried to improve his behavior, but found that his resolve was too often defeated by his deep-seated impulses. How can I achieve a lasting transformation? he asked. The Rebbe responded: The key to real change is to firmly resolve in your heart of hearts that this behavior doesnt reflect who you truly are While people would utilize their precious few moments with the Rebbe to focus on "essentials," theres humor as well: Rebbe, the woman said in yechidut, my daughter is struggling to find a good shidduch (marriage prospect)! Does she know what she is looking for in a husband? the Rebbe asked. She sure does, said the woman, proceeding to enumerate every imaginable quality. It sounds to me like youre describing at least three different boys, the Rebbe said with a smile. Each story demonstrates in a different way how the Rebbe would, while delving into the individuals predicament, never lost sight of the bigger picture; the persons family, communal and where appropriate national and even international situation, focusing especially on how the person could reach into himself to discover hitherto unrecognized spiritual powers and find practical ways to utilize these for the good. As the author notes in Seeds of Wisdoms Foreword: This book is not about the Rebbes piety. Nor is it about his character, or his scholarship. Its not about his sensitivity, his leadership, nor his contribution to the Jewish people. In fact, one might say that this book is not really about the Rebbe at all. It doesnt tell the story of his life. Rather, its a book of short stories about the Rebbe's interactions with others, and the lifelessons that can be gleaned from them. Its a small book of big ideas, hence the title: 'Seeds of Wisdom' Now that we can no longer benefit from the Rebbes advice by meeting him in person and receive his wise, personalized counsel at critical times, Seeds of Wisdom is a treasury to draw upon, and to be fascinated, moved and inspired by. Rabbi Kalmenson has taken his pick of encounters with the Rebbe, selected those which will resonate most widely and presented them in a book which will serve as a companion to provide sustenance when we most need it, to dip into and savor and by so doing, hopefully internalize his wisdom and inspire us to be better human beings. Seeds of Wisdom, Jewish Educational Media, 192 pages. Available November 2013.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Vayishlach
On the Calendar

The Arrest and Liberation of Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch

By Yerachmiel Tilles

The accusers allegations became increasingly illogical.

Penetrating Wisdom
Parshah

Clash of the Titans

By Mendy Kaminker

At Mount Sinai, tradition tells, there w as no echo. Why? Because Torah penetrates and is absorbed by all things. There is no place w here it does not apply, no darkness it does not illuminate, nothing it cannot bring alive. Nothing that w ill bounce it back and say, Torah is too holy to belong here.

The angel tries to disentangle himself from Jacob but cannot do so. He is forced to beg Jacob to let him go.

Feminine Leadership and Modesty

By Rochel Holzkenner

There is only one incident of sexual abuse that is recorded explicitly in the Torah. It is quite a tragic read, and the repercussions are curiously significant.

Permutations & Combinations

By Elisha Greenbaum

We're fairly eclectic in our tastes and you might find us flitting between an ethical teaching, a play on words, a Chassidic interpretation, or a piece of numerology.

Vayishlach in a Nutshell
Jacobs confrontation with Esau, the long journey to Seir, the abduction of Dinah, Reubens sin, and the eight primordial kings of Edom. Your Questions

Do I Need to Pay for Dance Lessons I Cannot Attend?

By Yehuda Shurpin

My daughter really enjoyed the classes and was eager to attend each week. But after the fourth class, she fell and injured her foot . . .

Frustrated Artist
By Rosally Saltsman

Why would Gd give me this talent if He doesnt want me to use it?

Why the Gelt?

On Chanukah we give the children gelt. Why?

Women

Creating a More Authentic Version of You

By Rivka Caroline

Productivity isnt just about a global initiative to be doing more; its about doing more of the things that bring us closer to our goals and reveal our true authentic self.

Silent Music: Teaching Our Deaf Children

By Yvette Miller

Many mothers of special-needs children have learned that happiness is a choice, that they can create joy in their homes. Story

Power Books
By Yerachmiel Tilles

Chassidism teaches a mystical way to tap into the power of Jacob. Cooking

Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Latkes

By Miriam Szokovski

Instead of sweet potato pie, try these sweet potato butternut squash latkes. Youll get the flavors of Thanksgiving but the crispy fried texture of Chanukah.

Chanukah Corn Latkes

By Miriam Szokovski

Art

36 Expressions of Simcha (Joy)

By Israel Noach Sauer

In this painting I depict human positions that express joy.

News

Rabbis Share Lessons of Kristallnacht With Children in Berlin

Chabad.org Staff

A series of events commemorating the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht began at the first religious Jewish school established in Germany since World War II, with an emphasis on the renewal of Jewish education in Berlin.

Green Chabad Centers Starting to Take Root

By Sara Trappler-Spielman

The desire to be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly is beginning to see some daylight at Chabad centers around the nation.

Old Menorah Stakes New Claim on Long Island

By Faygie Levy

The 15-foot-tall menorah that for decades served as a guide to Jews driving on Long Island, N.Y.,was taken down 10 years ago, but is back up at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Academy, a community day school. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

On the Calendar

The Arrest and Liberation of Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch

By Yerachmiel Tilles

Rabbi Pinchas Reizes was a chassid of the second rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi DovBer (known as the Mittler Rebbe). When Rabbi Pinchas passed away, his only heir was a nephew, who unfortunately was a complete scoundrel.

Among the items that came into the nephews possession was a letter written by the rebbe to his uncle, asking Rabbi Pinchas to serve on a special committee to disburse funds for charity. The sum cited in the letter was 4,000 rubles. The nephew saw this as a golden opportunity to blackmail the rebbe. If the rebbe did not give him money, he threatened, he would go to the authorities and tell them that Rabbi DovBer was collecting funds for clandestine, illegal purposes. But the rebbe was immune to his intimidations. Not one penny will you get from me, he told him. Do whatever you want, for I have done nothing wrong and am not afraid of your slander. Incensed by the rebbes response, the nephew carried out his threat. With the help of some unsavory associates, he altered the original letter to make it appear as if the rebbe had 104,000 rubles instead of 4,000a veritable fortune in those days. The rebbe was accused of various criminal activities, such as trying to bribe the Turkish sultan, and it was also alleged that the rebbes study hall had been built to the exact specifications of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, indicating his pretensions to the throne. On Saturday night, 28 Tishrei 5587 (1826), investigators showed up at Rabbi DovBers house. They conducted a thorough search of the premises. Careful note was taken of all written materials, and anything else they considered suspicious. At the same time, a separate group of investigators measured the rebbes study hall; the astonished chassidim could not figure out what they were trying to find. By that time a large crowd had gathered in front of the rebbes house, and everyone could hear the tearful pleading of the rebbes family with the police. The only one who seemed to be taking everything in stride was Rabbi DovBer. As if nothing unusual were going on, he withdrew to his room to write a chassidic discourse. A while later he announced that he would receive people for private audiences, which he did. The following morning, the rebbe was ordered to accompany the police to their headquarters in Vitebsk. Word of the rebbes arrest quickly spread, and in every town and village along the way, hundreds of Jews came out to greet him. Thanks to the efforts of several influential Jews, it was agreed that the long journey would be made in stages, with numerous stops to allow the rebbe to rest. When the carriage arrived in Dobromysl, the rebbe asked to be allowed to pray the afternoon service in the local synagogue. Afterwards, to everyones surprise, he delivered a chassidic discourse on the verse from Song of Songs, Many waters cannot quench love. The allusion to his present situation was clear. The rebbe was subsequently imprisoned in the city of Vitebsk and placed under tight security. Some time later it was learned that the formal charge against him was rebellion against the government. The rebbe was jailed for one month and ten days, but even from the beginning he was granted certain privileges. Three people were permitted to stay with him, and three times a day, twenty Jews were allowed into his room to pray with him. The rebbe was also permitted to deliver a chassidic discourse twice a week in front of fifty people, after his doctor testified that it was crucial to his health. In the meantime, efforts to secure the rebbes release were being made behind the scenes. Several highranking government officials who had heard about the rebbe and held him in great esteem tried to exert their influence. The rebbe was interrogated numerous times, during which he proved that not only were his connections to the Turkish sultan completely fabricated, but his designs on the czars throne were equally fictitious. At the end of several weeks, the results of the investigation were turned over to the Minister of the Interior. The minister was very impressed by the rebbes responses to all the questions, and decided that a direct confrontation between Rabbi DovBer and his accuser was in order. On the designated day, the rebbe dressed in his white Shabbat finery. When he walked into the ministers office, the official was so disconcerted by his angelic appearance that he ordered his servants to bring the rebbe a chair. The informer began to heap his invectives upon the rebbe, but one by one the rebbe dismissed the

accusations entirely. At one point in the proceedings the accuser addressed Rabbi DovBer as Rebbe, prompting the rebbe to turn to the minister and remark, Did you see that? First he calls me a charlatan and a revolutionary, and in the next breath he calls me Rebbe! From that point on, the accusers allegations became increasingly illogical. The minister was so irritated by his behavior that he ordered him to stop barking, and he was led away in humiliation. The rebbe was escorted back to his room with great deference, and informed that he would soon be released. Rabbi DovBer was liberated on the 10th of Kislev, having been informed of the governments decision while reciting the verse from Psalms 55, He has saved my soul in peace. Ever since, the event has been celebrated on the that day by the Chabad-Lubavitch community. A master storyteller with hundreds of published stories to his credit, Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder of Ascent of Safed, and managing editor of the Ascent and Kabbalah Online websites.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Clash of the Titans

By Mendy Kaminker

Jacob has stayed for many years at his uncle Labans house, where he married his four wives, Rachel, Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah. But now its time to return home to the Land of Israel. Years have passed since he received the blessings that were expected to have gone to his elder brother, Esau. But Jacob is still worried: Does Esau still hate me? Will he take revenge on me for having stolen the blessings? Jacob sends messengers to Esau, who inform him that Esau indeed intends him harm. Jacob therefore prepares himself via a three-pronged strategy: prayer to G d, organizing for war, and sending a gift to appease his brother. Before he meets Esau, though, a mysterious incident occurs: Jacob is confronted by an enigmatic man who wrestles with him and attempts to prevent him from going forward. Who was this man? And who won the battle? Lets look at some midrashim that shed light on the story.

The Biblical Account

[Jacob] arose that night, and took his two wives, his two maidservants1 and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and brought them across the stream, and carried over whatever [possessions] he had. Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke. [The man] saw that he

could not overpower Jacob, so he touched his hip joint; Jacobs hip joint was dislocated as he wrestled with him. [The man] said, Let me go, because dawn has broken! [Jacob] said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. What is your name? Jacob. [The man] said, No longer will your name be said to be Jacob, but Israel, for you have exercised mastery [sar] with the divine and with men, and you have prevailed. Jacob requested and said, Please tell [me] your name! [The man] said, Why should you ask for my name? and he blessed him there.

The Small Jugs

Why was Jacob alone? The Talmud2 cites a teaching of Rabbi Elazar: Jacob had brought all of his possessions over the river, but then he noticed that some small jugs (of no great value) were missing. Still, he didnt want to leave even those behind, so he went back for them. There he was confronted by the man. Why didnt Jacob just ignore these seemingly unimportant items? Rabbi Elazar offers this explanation: The righteous consider their own possessions to be more valuable than their own selves. Why? Because they do not stretch forth their hands to rob. In other words, they earn every penny honestly, and so it is important to them. In a more mystical vein, the chassidic masters explain that every individual object in our world contains a divine spark that awaits its elevation. A tzaddik (righteous person) recognizes this spark in even the lowliest object, and so is prepared to risk his life to guard that spark and bring it to its ultimate fulfillment. Rabbi Shlomo Luria, the Maharshal, suggests that these jugs contained the oil that Jacob had designated for anointing the monument he had set up many years earlier during his flight to Haran.3 This was holy oil, then, so Jacob did not want to leave it behind.4 Interestingly, these jugs may be linked to the miracle of Chanukah. According to Tzeidah la-Derech, G d said to Jacob: You risked your life for a small jug of oil for My sake. In return, I will repay your descendants, the Hasmoneans, when a miracle will happen for them with a small jug of oil.

The Confrontation
A man wrestled with him: our sages explained that this was the ministering angel of Esau.5 A commonplace of Talmudic and midrashic literature is that every nation has its own angelic minister who represents its interests before G d. It is Esaus angel, then, who attempts to frustrate Jacobs mission. Thus begins the clash of the titans. A man wrestled with him until dawn broke. The contest lasts for hours on end. They grapple with each other,6 casting up dust7 all the way up to the divine throne.8 The angel realizes that he cannot overpower Jacob, so he touches [Jacobs] thigh and dislocates it. As dawn breaks, Esaus angel must join his colleagues to sing to their Creator. The angel tries to disentangle himself from Jacob but cannot do so. He is forced to beg Jacob to let him go,9 to which Jacob agrees, but only on one condition: The angel must bless him and admit that the blessings Jacob received from Isaac indeed are rightfully his and not Esaus.

The angel agrees, blesses Jacob, and even bestows upon him a new name, Israel. Among its meanings is that Jacob has received the blessings in a noble manner, rather than by fraud.10 In commemoration of this episode, the Jewish people are forbidden to eat the gid ha-nasheh11 of an animal, which corresponds anatomically to Jacobs injured nerve.12

The Epic Struggle

The commentaries13 point out that the fight described in this Parshah is the opening act of a battle that continues to this day between the Jewish people (represented by Jacob) and the enemy nations that seek its destruction (G d forbid). Indeed, throughout history many regimes have tried but failed to eradicate the Jewish people physically or spiritually; they may indeed be successful in dislocating the hip joint, damaging parts of Jewry, but the body as a whole remains intact. This struggle will finally come to an end with the break of dawn, the era of the final Redemption, when Jacobs victory will be complete and definitive. Jacob, as the Torah goes on to describe, arrived whole in Shechem, and so will it be with his descendants: despite all of the humiliation, pain and torture, the Jewish people lives on eternally and will arrive whole at its, and the worlds, ultimate destination.

On a Personal Level
The Zohar14 describes Jacobs battle with the angel as symbolic of mans struggle with his darker side. As morning was approaching, the angel knew that he had to act fast, for soon the nightthe time when he has powerwould be gone, and he would be powerless. He therefore struck Jacobs thigh, the place where the evil inclination rests. And there he was able to wound him. The Zohar teaches us that in every struggle, we are powerful and can overcome our evil urges if we so desire. There is only one place where the lust is so strong that even great men are powerlessthe gid hanasheh. Its very name means to forget,15 because once it has been aroused, all rational thinking and religious scruples are left far behind. The only way to win that war is to stay far away in the first place, for once one is tempted, there is no knowing where things can lead. For this reason, the gid is not eaten at all, but utterly avoided.16 Rabbi Mendy Kaminker is the editor of Beit Chabad, the Hebrew edition of Chabad.org.
FOOTNOTES 1. At this point Bilhah and Zilpah were actually his full-fledged wives, but they are often referred to by their original roles as handmaidens to Rachel and Leah, respectively. Chullin 91a. Genesis 28:18 and 35:14. Rabbi Shlomo Luria (Maharshal), Yeriot Shlomo. Rashi, citing Bereishit Rabbah 77:3. The Hebrew word va-yeavek is, according to Rashi (Genesis 32:25), related to an Aramaic word meaning tied or entangled. Menachem ben Saruk, cited in Rashi loc. cit., derives va-yeavek from the Hebrew avak , dust. Talmud, Chullin 91a. The Talmud (ibid.) has Jacob ask, Are you a thief or a gambler, that you are afraid of the morning? to which his opponent replies as in the text, that it is his time to sing before Gd.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

10. Rashi. Yisrael is thus seen as related to sar, nobleman or master. 11. Generally this is identified as the sciatic nerve, although the prohibition extends to certain other nerves of the leg as well. 12. The detailed laws concerning the gid ha-nasheh are discussed in the Talmud (Chullin ch. 7) and the Code of Jewish Law (Yoreh Deah 65:514). Because of the intricacy involved in removing all traces of the forbidden nerves, the task is done by professional porgers, known in Hebrew as menakrim . 13. Lekach Tov; similarly also in Ramban. 14. Zohar 1:170b. 15. See Genesis 41:51, where Joseph names his son Menashe, because the Lrd made me forget. 16. The 365 sinews of a person correspond to the 365 days of the solar year, as well as the 365 negative commandments. The commandment not to eat the gid ha-nasheh, as well as the nerve itself, correspond the Ninth of Av, the day on which the Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. Even though Jacob did overcome the angel, the angel wounded him in the gid ha-nasheh. Perhaps this is the reason why the Romans (descendants of Esau, who was represented by the angel) were able to destroy the Temple on the Ninth of Av so many years later.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Feminine Leadership and Modesty

By Rochel Holzkenner

There is only one incident of sexual abuse that is recorded explicitly in the Torah. (Sarah was abducted by Pharaoh and again by Abimelech, but remained safely untouched in those kings palaces until she was liberated.) It is quite a tragic read, and the repercussions are curiously significant. Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter, Dinah. As can be imagined, this daughter was well protected under the watchful eyes of her holy brothers. For many years Jacob lived in Charan and worked for his father-in-law, Laban. Sarah was abducted by Eventually he decided to live independently Pharaoh and again by from Laban, and he and Abimelech his family packed up and traveled to the land of Canaan. In Canaan, they stopped in the city of Shechem with the thought of settling there. It was in Shechem that Jacobs worst nightmare transpired. Dinah, the daughter of Leah whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the land, saw her; and he abducted her, lay with her, and afflicted her. (Genesis 34:12)

When Dinah left her familys camp to meet the local women, she was abducted and raped by Shechem (a prince with the same name as the city). The Torah describes Shechems calculated steps: He saw her, he abducted her, he lay with her, and he afflicted her. What is the difference between lying with her and afflicting her? Rashi quotes the Midrash and explains that he abused her in both a conventional way (lying) and an unconventional way (affliction). But perhaps the Torah is also describing the physical and emotional abuse that Dinah experienced with Shechem. Any woman who has experienced sexual abuse understands the depth of affliction unleashed from one mere act of violation. It rips apart the very fabric of our feminine dignity, and it requires a lot of concentrated healing to restore our sense of self-respect. Dinah, a princess in the house of Jacob, was violated and afflicted. In the beginning of this frightening story Dinah is introduced to us as the daughter of Leah, a fact that we already know. And the fact that Jacob is her father seems almost incidental: Dinah, the daughter of Leah whom she bore to Jacob. It sounds like her primary tie is to her mother. The Torah also gives us a context for her abduction: [She] went out to see the daughters of the land. Rashi sees a significant connection between the description of Dinah as the daughter of Leah (and not Jacob) and the mention of her going out to see the daughters of the land. He explains: Because of her going out, she is called the daughter of Leah. For [Leah], too, was an outgoer, as it is written, Leah went out to greet him (Genesis 30:16). Regarding her it was said, Like mother, like daughter. How do you understand this Rashi? Is he suggesting that she was too outgoing, and thats what got her into trouble? Is he somehow implicating Dinah in her own abduction? But Rashi doesnt just say she was outgoing; he says she was outgoing like her mother. When was Leah outgoing? Rashi highlights a particular incident to prove Leahs extroversion: Leah went out to greet him. Leahs son Reuben had found plants called dudaim in the field and brought them to his mother. Rachel asked her sister to give her the dudaim that Reuben had just brought her. It is possible that the dudaim had potent medicinal qualities that increased a womans fertility, and Rachel was eager to conceive a child. Leah agreed to give her the dudaim in exchange for the opportunity to spend the night with Jacob, a night that Jacob had reserved for Rachel. Rachel agreed. Now they needed to tell Jacob of their deal in the most tactful and honorable manner. Leah was the one who told him. And this is the verse that Rashi quotes to display Leahs outgoing nature: When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out toward him, and she said, You shall come to me, because I have hired you with my sons dudaim; and he slept with her on that night (Genesis 30:16). She didnt wait for him to come home and possibly feel rejected by Rachel. She walked out to meet him, and explained to him what she and Rachel had arranged before he arrived at home. She was proactive in her consideration of her husband. And that night she conceived her fifth son: G d hearkened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son (Genesis 30:17). Rashi takes note of the words G d hearkened to Leah and explains why G d was so impressed with She was proactive in her her: She desired and was seeking means to increase the number of tribes. consideration of her She went out to Jacob not only to be considerate of his dignity, but also because she was eager for the opportunity to conceive another child and increase the number of the Israelite tribes. G d was so pleased with Leahs action that He blessed her with another son. Clearly, Leah was outgoing in the most noble way. To compare Dinahs extroverted nature to Leahs is a complimentary description of Dinah, and certainly not an implication of her guilt. Like mother, like daughter! Dinah was the daughter of Leah whom she bore to Jacob. Why is her relationship with Jacob mentioned

husband

as a mere byproduct of her being her mothers daughter? There is an interesting story that sheds lights on this question. When Jacob first left the land of Charan, he prepared to meet his wicked brother, Esau. We read that [Jacob] took his two wives, his two handmaidens and his eleven sons, and he crossed the ford of the Jabbok (Genesis 32:23). Rashi asks, Where was Dinah? Jacob had placed her in a chest and locked her in, lest Esau set his eyes on her. For this Jacob was punished, for had he not withheld her from his brother, perhaps she would have brought Esau back to the proper path. [The punishment was] that she fell into the hands of Shechem. When it comes to the story of Dinahs abduction, Jacob is mentioned minimally, because he precipitated her misfortune by insulating her before he met his brother. Now, its completely understandable that Jacob didnt want his pure and beautiful daughter to marry his evil brother. He would have had to be crazy to marry her off to Esau. In fact, the Talmud tells us that Leah herself averted her original fate of marrying Esau through her prayers: Because she expected to fall into Esaus lot, she wept. Because everyone was saying, Rebecca has two sons, and Laban has two daughters. The older [daughter] for the older [son], and the younger [daughter] for the younger [son]. (Talmud, Bava Batra 123a) And yet we dont find Leah punished for her prayers. What is quite evident from this story is that Dinah in all probability would have influenced Esau to live an upstanding life. If not, why would Jacob have been so criticized for robbing Esau of this opportunity? Perhaps Leah accurately assessed her capabilities and knew that she wouldnt have been able to influence him, and therefore there was no negative consequence to her prayers. But Dinah was different. She was even more outgoing and efficacious than her mother. G d was disappointed that she didnt have the opportunity to work her magic on Esau. Both her positive, outgoing nature and her potential to influence one of the most corrupt men of her time are contained in the phrase that introduces us to her terrible encounter with Shechem: Dinah, the daughter of Leah whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. Dinah, like her mother, was an outgoing and charismatic girl. It was only natural that after her family set up shop in the village of Shechem, she ventured out to see the daughters of the land. Perhaps she wanted to enlighten them about the monotheistic beliefs that her father and grandfather had been propagating throughout the Middle East. Unfortunately, she was badly hurt in the process. And yet, despite the abuse that she endured, she still managed to profoundly impact her environment. Shechem himself seemed to be transformed by his short encounter with her. Shechem was a spoiled prince and a vile rapist. Shechem had no respect for women; he used them and disposed of them. And yet, after he was intimate with her, he began to develop tender feelings toward her: His soul cleaved to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob; he loved the girl and spoke to the girls heart. And Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, Take this girl for me as a wife. (Genesis 34:34) Why did he feel so connected to her? How could he have loved her? What did he say to her? Perhaps he was apologizing for what he had done, and was trying to win her approval. Instead of using her and trashing her, he suddenly wanted to marry her, and humbly sought the consent of her father, Jacob. In fact, he was willing to pay top Why did he feel so dollar just to have Dinahs hand in marriage: Hamor spoke with them, saying: My son, Shechem, his soul has a liking for your daughter. Please give her to him

connected to her? How could he have loved

for a wife . . . Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, May I find favor in your eyes. Whatever you tell me, I will give. (Genesis 34:811)

her?

Of course, Dinah would never consent to marry her abuser; but nonetheless, the shift in Shechem cannot be ignored. Dinahs brothers pretended to agree to Shechems request on the condition that Hamor (Shechems father), Shechem, and all of the people of their village circumcise themselves. Not only did Hamor and Shechem agree to this condition, but they persuaded all of the townsfolk to agree. At face value, this was all a ploy to weaken the inhabitants of the town so that the brothers could safely rescue Dinah. Yes, the circumcision was strategic, but it was also a rectification for the people of Shechem. Circumcision represents the mitigation of sexual impulsivity and self-centered lust. Perhaps it was through Shechems commitment to undergo a circumcision that he rectified his aggressive and dominant actions. The circumcision was also part of a conversion process to the Jewish religion. Both the men and the women willingly converted to Jacobs monotheistic beliefs. Yet, in the most zealous act of chivalry, two of Dinahs brothers conspired not only to rescue Dinah, but to repay Shechem for the terrible travesty of violating their sister. Simeon and Levi decided to kill Shechem and all the men of the village, who had stood silently by while Shechem committed this injustice. Jacob did not know that his sons had planned to mete out judgement for the whole town. When he found out they they had wiped out the entire city to avenge their sisters violation, he rebuked them: You have troubled me, to discredit me among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and among the Perizzites. I am few in number, and they will gather against me, and I and my household will be destroyed. (Genesis 34:30) The story ends with the brothers response to Jacob. They ask him a rhetorical question that embodies the high price they were willing to pay for their sisters protection: Shall he make our sister like a harlot? And yet, amidst the tragic circumstances, Dinah still managed to be quite influential. She was a born leader, like her mother, outgoing and influential. The women of the town of Shechem retained a relationship with Dinahs family. Both Dinah and Leah are praised for going out. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 134) tells us that Dinah conceived a child from her union with Shechem, a daughter named Asenath. Asenath eventually moved to Egypt and worked in the house of Potiphar. Joseph, who was already a viceroy to the king, met her and was impressed by her commitment to her faith, even in Egypt. He married Asenath (his niece), and they had two children together, Manasseh and Ephraim. Although these sons were born outside of the Holy Land and grew up in the lap of luxury, they were so spiritually centered that they surpassed even their cousins who were raised in Canaan. Jacob gave Josephs sons special treatment, blessing them in the same way that he blessed his sons. Eventually, Josephs sons merited to head their own tribes, something that was reserved for the sons of Jacob and not his grandchildren. It was Asenath, the daughter of Dinah and Shechem, who raised these two child prodigies all alone in Egypt. Despite the pain that Dinah endured, the Torah prefaces the story with the message that Dinah, like Leah, was outgoing and influential. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, sees Dinah as a the Torahs first prototype of female leadership. Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah were opinionated and decisive. On numerous occasions, they powerfully influenced their husbands and children. They were paradigms of the akeret habyit, the woman who builds her home and lays the foundation for the next generation. But the Torah gives us no indication that they were influential outside of On numerous occasions, their home.1 Their lives were in sync with King Davids description of the Jewish woman, the daughter of the king: The entire glory they powerfully of the daughter of the king is her inwardness (Psalms 45:13). influenced their She is glorified because of her inwardnessher first priority is

her inner circle. This regal woman is dedicated to cultivating her husbands and children marriage and investing in her childrens wellbeing. Like a true princess, her regality stems from her focus on what is important, not on what is popular. She doesnt need to extend beyond her home life and promote herself publicly in order to validate her worth. So, what would King David say about some of todays out there women, many of whom are making a significant mark on society? Have they lost their opportunity for regal living? Dinah was unique. She was gifted with a potent sphere of influence. Her charisma naturally attracted other people to take her lead. Dinah was drawn toward other women, and even in a new environment she was naturally social. Ultimately, she always influenced other people to become more spiritually sensitive. Dinah is every woman who is naturally influential. For her, it would be a loss to hide in a box. Shes got her work cut out for her, and with conscious effort she can become an inspirational leader. What about modesty? What about the inwardness that generates feminine glory? Yes, she has a higher calling for greater exposure, but at what personal cost? Does she have to relinquish the glory that comes from living a more private life? The Rebbe advises female leaders to utilize their influence and still retain their modesty. Thats a difficult balance to maintain. Personal attention can become addictive. A more provocative way of dress and a flirtatious conversation can open doors for influential women. Modesty can feel like an unfair inhibition for female leaders. But perhaps along with the loss of modesty comes the loss of focused influence: Does my exposure make people think more about G d, or more about me? A woman is most effective at making an inspirational mark on the world when she carries the allure of dignity. Its an allure that modest dress and behavior naturally breeds. For her, King Davids inwardness doesnt mean staying inside the house as much as it means staying true to herself. Modest leadership, in essence, is saying, I have an authentic message to share, but Im not prepared to compromise any boundaries to hook you in. Instead, the female leader sets a tone of warmth and sincerity that speak for itself. The Rebbe argues that the feminine model of leadership is even more effective than the typical masculine model of leadership, which tends to be more domineering and authoritarian. The feminine influence is predicated upon sincerity, selflessness and nurturing. Rochel is a mother of four children and the co-director of Chabad of Las Olas, FL serving the community of young professionals. She is a high school teacher and a freelance writerand a frequent contributor to Chabad.org. She lectures extensively on topics of Kabbalah and feminism, and their application to everyday life. Rochel holds an MS in Brain Research from Nova SE University.
FOOTNOTES 1. The Midrash tells us that Abraham converted men to monotheism, and Sarah converted the women. The Matriarchs did influence others outside their homes, but that they didnt go out to influence; rather, they brought people into their homes to be influenced.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Permutations & Combinations

By Elisha Greenbaum

Some people just dont appreciate gematria. In our synagogue I try to find something to say during the pauses in the Torah reading every Shabbat. Were fairly eclectic in our tastes, and you might find us flitting between an ethical teaching, a play on words, a chassidic interpretation, or a piece of numerology during the break between one reading to the next. Many of our regulars question my occasional use of gematria or other types of numerology. Every Hebrew letter has a numerical value. Aleph = 1, bet = 2, etc., and adding up the letters gives you the unique numerical value, or gematria, of each word and phrase. Comparing and contrasting the relative value of different words and phrases often affords surprising insight into the text and allows us to correlate seemingly unconnected Torah topics. I admit it does sometimes seem somewhat random. One congregant of mine frequently observes, often after Ive just introduced a particularly obscure piece of numerology, that you can read whatever you wish into numbers, and if you try hard enough you could probably find a tenuous connection between most topics.

Were fairly eclectic in our tastes

Hes right, in a way. These methods are described as parparaot la-chochmah, the condiments of wisdom. Theyre not the main meal of Judaism, just the seasoning that gives Judaism its taste. Torah is G dly and infinite, and all wisdom is contained within her words. Youd never decide a law on the basis of gematria; but, used properly, they can help give a new and deeper appreciation and understanding of the text. Take one of the most famous examples of word and number play in the Torah. As Jacob leaves his fatherin-laws house on his journey back to Israel, he sends a message to his brother, Esau. Im Lavan garti, I have lived with Laban. Rashi pointed out that the gematria of garti is 613, which is also the number of commandments in the Torah, and thus interprets Jacobs message to be saying, Throughout the years that I lived with the evil Laban, I kept the 613 commandments. But would my friend be convinced? So the word garti equals 613; its surely not the only word in the Torah with that value. Where do you get mitzvahs from I have dwelled? Why would Rashi assume that Jacob is doing more than just describing his living arrangements for the last 20 years, and is rather making a metaphysical point about his commitment to the commandments? Gematria is more than random wordplay. Legitimate tools of Torah interpretation treat the text as a living document: an interplay of content and context, with each letter, word and phrase redolent with meaning. In our example, the correlation between garti and mitzvah observance is deeper than just adding up the letters; rather, the I never fit in with the context leads to the conclusion. The word garti, from the root ger, stranger or convert, is unusual. Had Jacob just wished to say I lived with Laban, there are other, seemingly more appropriate verbs that he could have used. Garti has connotations of I was a stranger; I was different, I never fit in with the wicked people because I lived and acted differently than they. Jacob was saying, The whole time I was away from home, I stayed true to the lessons that I learned in my parents home.

wicked people

It was in this context that the rabbis observed that there is also numeric support for this supposition. I was able to keep the 613 mitzvot, even in Lavans house, because I remained a stranger to their way of life. Wherever a Jew is, no matter how far from home he may have traveled, he can always maintain his connection to the words and letters of Torah by appreciating the value of each letter and word of G dliness and seeking out the underlying purpose of each phrase and phase of life. Rabbi Elisha Greenbaum is spiritual leader of Moorabbin Hebrew Congregation and co-director of LChaim Chabad in Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Vayishlach in a Nutshell
Jacob returns to the Holy Land after a 20-year stay in Charan, and sends angel-emissaries to Esau in hope of a reconciliation, but his messengers report that his brother is on the warpath with 400 armed men. Jacob prepares for war , prays, and sends Esau a large gift (consisting of hundreds of heads of livestock) to appease him. That night, Jacob ferries his family and possessions across the Jabbok River; he, however, remains behind and encounters the angel that embodies the spirit of Esau , with whom he wrestles until daybreak. Jacob suffers a dislocated hip but vanquishes the supernal creature, who bestows on him the name Israel, which means he who prevails over the divine. Jacob and Esau meet, embrace and kiss, but part ways. Jacob purchases a plot of land near Shechem, whose crown princealso called Shechemabducts and rapes Jacobs daughter Dinah . Dinahs brothers Simeon and Levi avenge the deed by killing all male inhabitants of the city, after rendering them vulnerable by convincing them to circumcise themselves. Jacob journeys on. Rachel dies while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin , and is buried in a roadside grave near Bethlehem. Reuben loses the birthright because he interferes with his fathers marital life. Jacob arrives in Hebron , to his father Isaac, who later dies at age 180. (Rebecca has passed away before Jacobs arrival.) Our Parshah concludes with a detailed account of Esaus wives, children and grandchildren; the family histories of the people of Seir , among whom Esau settled; and a list of the eight kings who ruled Edom, the land of Esaus and Seirs descendants.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

Do I Need to Pay for Dance Lessons I Cannot Attend?

By Yehuda Shurpin

Question:
I signed my daughter up for 16 dance classes. The classes are given to a small group of girls, and provide a lot of individualized attention. The total cost of the classes was $560. I worked out a payment schedule with the instructor to pay in two installments, with half the money up front and the remainder postdated for two months from the first class. My daughter really enjoyed the classes, and was eager to attend each week. But after the fourth class, she fell and injured her foot. Her foot is now in a cast, and obviously she cannot participate in any more dance classes. I asked the instructor for a refund, but she refused, saying the payment was for the entire series, whether or not my daughter attended. I intend to call my bank and cancel the postdated check, even though the instructor has told me that this is not within my rights either. Who is in the right, according to the Torah?

Answer:
In order to answer your question, there are two aspects of Jewish law that we need to consider. The first is what you are actually obligated to do, and the second is what is called lifnim mishurat hadin, being meritorious and going beyond the letter of the law. Well discuss obligations first. According to Jewish law, if you hire a private teacher for your child, and then the child unexpectedly1 becomes sick or dies, you are not obligated to pay the teacher or worker for any uncompleted work.2 At first glance it would seem that the same law would apply here, and you would not be obligated to pay the dance instructor for any lessons that your daughter does not take. However, since you prepaid for all the dance lessons, we are dealing with a very different scenario.

There are two aspects of Jewish law that we need to consider

In this case, I would point to another Jewish law. If you hire and prepay a shipowner to transport barrels of wine to a specific location, and then the shiptogether with the winesinks in middle of the ocean, the shipowner is not required to return the money he was paid. Since you gave him the money beforehand, despite the fact that you werent obligated to pay until all the work was done, you intended that the worker acquire the money immediately. If the worker is not able to complete the original job due to unforeseen circumstances, you can give him another job, but he doesnt have to refund the money.3 Based on the above law, since you already prepaid for the dance lessons, the instructor is not obligated to return the money for the unattended lessons, despite the fact that your daughter injured her foot.

However, you mentioned that you paid with two checks, and one of them was postdated. The question now becomes: what is the status of the second postdated check? Can you cancel it or not? If the class does not have limited space or require a minimum amount of students, and therefore the instructor does not incur a loss for the dance classes that your daughter doesnt attend,4 you could cancel the second check. The only reason the instructor is not obligated to return the first check is because giving money in advance shows that you want the person to acquire that money immediately; however, the very fact that this second check is postdated shows that it was not part of the plan that the instructor acquire the remaining money right away.5 So, youre both partially right. She can keep the prepaid money, and you can cancel the postdated check. But as I mentioned earlier, there is another level of awareness, that of going beyond the letter of the law. We find a fascinating Youre both partially incident in the Talmud that illustrates this idea:6 Some porters [negligently] broke a barrel of wine belonging to Rabbah, the son of Rabbi Huna. He then seized their garments [as escrow to pay for the barrels]; so they went and complained to Rav. Return them their garments, he ordered. Is that the law!? [Rabbah] inquired. Indeed, he rejoined, That you should walk in the way of good men.7 Their garments having been returned, they observed, We are poor men, have worked all day, and are in need; are we to get nothing? Go and pay them, he ordered. Is that the law!? he asked. Indeed, was his reply: and keep the path of the righteous.8 Although the teacher is not obligated to refund your prepaid money, if she did not sustain any real loss by not having your daughter in the class, refunding your money for the unattended classes would be considered the meritorious thing to do.9 Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin responds to questions for Chabad.org's Ask the Rabbi service.
FOOTNOTES 1. If the child would get sick often, and it was not totally unexpected, then you would be obligated to pay the teacher. This article, however, is addressing only situations that were unexpected and beyond your control. 2. Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 334:4. 3. See Talmud, Bava Metzia 79ab; Tosafos ibid., s.v. Ei Atah; Terumas Hadeshen 329; Pischei Teshuvah, Choshen Mishpat 334:2. 4. If this were the case, then you would be obligated to pay some amount. However, the exact amount would need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. See Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 333:2. 5. Minchas Tzvi, p. 76. 6. Talmud, Bava Metzia 83a. 7. Proverbs 2:20. 8. Conclusion of the above verse. 9. Minchas Tzvi, vol. 2, 1:53.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

right

Your Questions

Frustrated Artist
By Rosally Saltsman

Dear Rachel, I am an artist, and I have been painting for many years. Over the last few years I have started becoming more religious, and my paintings have come to reflect that. I feel very fulfilled by the fact that by being creative and working on my art, I am also helping to inspire people to have a closer relationship with G d. Unfortunately, I havent been very successful. Its true I sell a few paintings here and there, but certainly not the amount I would like to. I feel like I have so much I want to give. Im not Van Gogh, but my artwork is good, and people who buy it really enjoy it. But I feel frustrated. Why would G d give me this talent if He doesnt want me to use it? And why wouldnt He want me to use it to try and draw people toward Him? I feel like Hes rejecting my service to Him. And I feel like a failure. Disheartened Dear Disheartened, G d is not rejecting you, nor are you a failure. You are using the talents G d gave you to serve Him, to serve others, and to bring beauty and spirituality to the world. First of all, the problem you face is not new or particular to you. It has been the bane of every singer, composer, dancer, artist, sculptor and writer since Yuval fashioned the first instrument soon after the world was created. Unfortunately, I havent You mention Vincent van Gogh. Are you aware that Van Gogh only sold one painting in his entire lifetime, and that was to his been very successful brother? J. K. Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before Harry Potter was allowed out of his cupboard under the stairs! So, obviously, recognition is not a measure of the value of someones work. You say that your art is good and that people enjoy it, that you do sell paintings, and that your paintings help inspire people to come closer to G d. That sounds like success to me. Theres a lot of competition out there, and moneys tight. Every painting soldand every compliment or smile your art receivesis an expression of peoples appreciation for your art. It says in the Talmud that Rav Yosef, the son of Rav Yehoshua, died briefly and then came back to life. When his father asked him what he saw in the next world, he answered, I saw an an upside-down world. Those considered high were low, and those considered low were high. His father said, You saw a clear world!"1 What this world considers success isnt necessarily what is considered success in the World of Truth. Thats because G d doesnt measure success in the superficial way that people do in this world. No one knows what their tikkun (rectification) is. Everyone has a specific purpose to fulfill, and you may be fulfilling it with the people you touch. Also, do not underestimate the joy and inspiration you bring people with your art. And that doesnt even include all the people who see your art after you sell it. Even if you

inspire one person, or bring one person to do a mitzvah, thats a great accomplishment. And your own elation at connecting to G d through your painting is a very high level of service to G d. Although many artists suffer rejection and disillusionment in their attempts to sell their art, there are few people who experience the satisfaction and self-actualization that creative people feel in their work. That in itself is a great gift from G d. Its Theres a lot of a blessing many people dont have. The wisest of all men, King Solomon, said, The righteous one may fall seven times and will arise.2 The rise comes as a result of the fall. Ultimately, you will become a greater artist because of your difficulties, and your paintings will have greater depth. Finally, I want to say that creativity is one of the 10 ways in which we imitate G d. We are instructed to walk in His ways, so every second you are painting or trying to promote your art, you are emulating G d. Enjoy the process of creation! Celebrate your achievements and your successes (what you alone consider to be success). While you look to expand your audience, remember that G d is your greatest audience and your number-one fan. Rosally Saltsman is a freelance writer originally from Montreal living in Israel.
FOOTNOTES 1. Talmud, Pesachim 50a. 2. Proverbs 24:16.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

competition out there

Your Questions

Why the Gelt?

Question: My wife thinks that giving gifts during Chanukah is just an imitation of what everyone else is doing at this time of year. Are Chanukah gifts Jewish? Answer: The original Jewish custom is to give Chanukah gelt (money) rather than presents. There are a number of reasons given for this practice: We read in the Talmud1 that the Chanukah lights are sacred and may not be used for any other purpose. The example given there is that one may not count money by the candlelight. Giving out Chanukah moneyand not counting it near the menorahis a way to remember and exercise this rule.2 When discussing what a poor man is to do if he does not have enough money to purchase both

Chanukah candles and kiddush wine, the Talmud3 states that Chanukah lights take precedence because they serve to publicize the miracle. The widespread custom of giving Chanukah gelt enabled the poor to get the money they needed for candles without feeling shame.4 The Hebrew word Chanukah shares the same root as chinuch, education. The occupying Greek forces were determined to force Hellenism upon the Jewish population, at the expense of the ideals and commandments of the holy Torah. Unfortunately, they were quite successful in their endeavor. After the Greeks were defeated, it was necessary to re-educate the Jewsto reintroduce a large part of the population to Torah values. Appropriately, during Chanukah it is customary to give gelt to children as a reward5 for Torah study.6 There is also a deeper reason for this age-old custom. In his record of the Chanukah events, Maimonides writes: The Greeks laid their hands upon the possessions of Israel. The Greeks invaded the possessions of Israel in the same spirit in which they defiled the oil in the Holy Temple. They did not destroy the oil; they defiled it. They did not rob the Jewish people; they attempted to infuse their possessions with Greek ideals, so that they be used for egotistical and ungodly purposes, rather than for holy pursuits. Chanukah gelt celebrates the freedom and mandate to channel material wealth toward spiritual ends.7 Now, to get back to your question, it is true that the practice of giving gifts on Chanukah has been popularized largely due to Chanukahs proximity to the Christian holiday season. As such, to maintain Jewish tradition, many Jewish families make a point to give Chanukah gelt as opposed to other presents. Your wife knows what shes talking about.
FOOTNOTES 1. Shabbat 22a. 2. Likutei Levi Yitzchak, Igrot, p. 358. 3. Shabbat 23a. 4. Magen Avraham, preface to Orach Chaim 670. 5. This subtle form of bribery is an essential component in the educational process. Maimonides discusses the importance of using incentives and prizes until a child is old enough to independently understand the importance and beauty of the Torah and mitzvahs (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 10:5). 6. Likutei Levi Yitzchak ibid. 7. Likutei Sichot, vol. 10, p. 291.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Creating a More Authentic Version of You

By Rivka Caroline

Reb Zushe famously said that one day, when he would stand before the heavenly court, he would not be asked, Zushe, why were you not like Moses? Instead, he would be asked, Zushe, why were you not like

Zushe? We are not expected to be as good as anyone else, since were not equipped with their talents and abilities. We are expected to be our best selves, utilizing our strengths and innate abilities to make the world around us better. So how can we be more authentic? Productivity isnt just about a global initiative to be doing more; its about doing more of the things that bring us closer to our goals and reveal our true authentic self. Here are five tips to let your authentic self shine: 1. If we realized what we were truly capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski We each have talents we know we could nurture a little more to give us an inner feeling of satisfaction. For some people it could take the radical form of, lets say, annual trips to orphanages in Third World countries. For others it can be something far simpler, such as taking the piano lessons you always promised yourself you would, or planting that rose garden you have been wanting for years. 2. Be careful when you give your word. The listener is expecting that you to keep it. This one really hit home with me. Especially as a mom, often my instinct was to say Sure without fully hearing what the request was. It kept them quiet, kept the peace, and I hoped they would forget my response half the time. Unfortunately, my children and those in our work world do expect us to listen and consider the outcomes before we give our word. I now have a 75% decrease in the amount of times I give my word, and a much higher rate of return when I do give my word. 3. If you want to have more credibility, accept total responsibility for your actions. There is such a huge temptation to blame circumstances rather than take responsibility. And while I dont want to start apologizing for the rain, I most certainly can take responsibility for being late for a meeting for which I couldnt find a parking spot, when I chose not to leave enough time for finding parking. 4. Never underestimate the value of your positive effect on others. If you think something nice about someone else, go ahead and share it with them. I consider it verbal charity: Hand out a compliment that will brighten your friends day, and quite possibly that comment will get stored in a compliment treasury and be nurtured like gold. 5. It takes more energy to panic than it does to plan. Leave the freaking out to the teens. Feeling fearful? Overwhelmed? Grab a power nap or an espresso, and write out a plan. Executing that plan is far more productive than fueling your mind with all that panic. Have you ever heard, Change is easy . . . you go first? Dont expect this to all come easily, but small steps taken consistently will lead you to your most authentic self. Rivka is a mother of seven and a rabbis wife in Key Biscayne, Florida. Rivka realized she had the choice of losing her sanity or developing new tricks for time management. Her new blog, Frazzled No More: Focused Living with a Jewish Twist, walks busy readers through easy-to-follow steps that will give them more time to do what they love. You can read more of Rivkas tips in her recently published book, From Frazzled to Focused, the book she wished she had on her nightstand when she was a new mom. For more tips, check out Rivkas website, or e mail her for information on her upcoming speaking tours.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Silent Music: Teaching Our Deaf Children

By Yvette Miller

Editors Note: We have retained the correct spelling of the names of the individuals in this article, although it is not consistent with our sites spelling. Many mothers of special-needs children have learned that happiness is a choice, that they can create joy in their homes. When life hands these extraordinary women seemingly insurmountable challenges, they focus on the positive. By stressing what they and their children can do, rather than dwelling on limitations, they succeed in building vibrant, loving homes. Thats the case with Khana Globman, a mother and grandmother living in Philadelphia. Khana already had three hearing children when she gave birth to a deaf son, Mordekhai. There was absolutely no deafness in our families on both sideswed never even met any deaf people. After Mordechai, Khana had twin boys who were also deaf. Khana next had a hearing son, followed by her youngest son, Yossi, who was profoundly deaf, then a hearing daughter. My son Mordekhai took it very hard, Khana recalls of Yossis birth. He cried and cried, Why did G d give us another deaf child? I said to him, Where else should this baby should have gone? We already know sign language; were ready for him!

Khana already had three hearing children when she gave birth to a deaf son

Whereas other mothers might have seen only negative, Khana remembers those years as full of positives. Babies can learn sign language much more quickly than they can learn to speak. This is a gift that G d has given themusing their hands more quickly. By the time Yossi was born, Khanas entire family could sign, and he was much less frustrated than his older siblings had been. She enrolled her children in a school for the deaf near their house. The first time I went to the school for the deaf, it was very frightening to me. Kids made guttural sounds. I thought, Is this going to be my kids, not talking? She soon got used to the atmosphere, though, and encouraged her children to speak as well as sign. After some anti-Semitic teasing in their local deaf school, Khana enrolled her children in a Jewish boys school. Mordekhai went first; Khana and her husband had to convince the schools principal that their son could be mainstreamed. Two years later the twins enrolled in the Jewish school, and three years after that, Yossi joined them. Their district could provide a sign-language interpreter for English language subjects, but no interpreters for Hebrew could be found. So, Khana took the matter into her own handsliterally. For years she went to school each day with her sons and acted as their shadow in class. I had to take Talmud, Khana remembers, which went totally over my head. It was definitely a challenge for me, and it was hard for them to have their mother in the classroom. But they were grateful. My youngest daughter was two when I started

Khana took the matter into her own hands

interpreting, so I brought her with; she played with the preschool kids while I worked.

literally

Khana says shes lucky. Throughout her life, she explains, she seems to have been given precisely the tools she needs to meet her challenges. When she was in her 20s, for instance, Khana completed an M.A. in English, then went on for a Ph.D. She was studying in Israel at the time, however, and soon decided it was absurd to study English in a Hebrew program. She stopped her doctoral studies and took a job teaching English as a Second Language, which she felt was a more practical option in a foreign country. Years later, she was able to use these teaching skills to help her sons. It was such a siyata dShemaya, Khana says, using the Jewish expression for a blessing from the heavens. Another tool Khana was given was getting involved with the Philadelphia branch of PTACH, Parents for Torah for All Children, which helps provide educational resources for children with special needs. Khana originally got involved because a neighbors child had learning challenges, and Khana wanted to help. But Khana soon found that there were very few resources for deaf children in her local Jewish community. A visit to New York for a deaf families weekend convinced her she needed to create her own resources back home in Philadelphia. The first time we went [to a weekend for the deaf], Mordekhai saw an older man with a yarmulke and hearing aids, and he went and pointed. Then he came back to mehe saw it was normal, that there were people who looked like him. Khana eventually became president of PTACH and expanded its activities to aid a wide range of children, providing resources for special needs childrens schools. Life continued to be full of challenges. Two of her deaf children thrived, marrying and having children, while two are still struggling to find their way. Worse still, Khanas oldest son was involved in a serious bus accident when he was Life continued to be full nineteen, and he sustained severe traumatic brain injury. I was told hed never walk again, never talk, never see, never hear, Khana says. But thank G d. What is there to be grateful for in such a tragedy? Khana is clear: his prognosis wasnt quite as bad as the doctors first feared. Hes still here, Khana says. Everybody is important, everybody has value. And hes a functioning human being. For that, she is profoundly thankful.

of challenges

Today, Khana still works with special-needs children and serves as president of PTACH. And she still sees everything that has happened to her and her children as a blessing. G d gave me this challenge. He could have given me many other kinds of children. But this was something we could work with! Ive grown tremendously as a result. Yvette Alt Miller, Ph.D. is a mother and adjunct professor of Political Science living in Chicago. She is the author of "Angels at the Table: A Practical Guide to Celebrating Shabbat" (Continuum 2011).
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

Power Books
By Yerachmiel Tilles

In 1856, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (known as the Tzemach Tzedek) sent his son (and

eventual successor) Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn to St. Petersburg on matters of communal concern. The night before Rabbi Shmuel left, his father said to him, In 1843, when I was summoned to the rabbinical conference in St. Petersburg, I went to pray at my mothers grave in Liozna. She told me that due to her selfsacrifice for her father and for Chassidism, she was granted entry to the heavenly palace of the Baal Shem Tov. She asked the Baal Shem Tov to pray for me, and to provide something to help me withstand the enemies of Chassidism. The Baal Shem Tov answered her: Your son knows by heart the Five Books of Moses, Psalms, and Tanya (a primary chassidic text). We learn from the Torah that the sons of the Patriarch Jacob were not harmed by the Canaanites, because the dread [in Hebrew, chitat] of G d was upon the cities around them (Genesis 35:5). The three consonants of the word chitat are the first letters of the Hebrew names of the three books: Five Books of Mosesin Hebrew, Ch umash; Psalmsin Hebrew, T ehillim; and T anya. One who is thoroughly acquainted with every letter in them is granted the spiritual strength to shatter any obstacles that could prevent the revelation of holiness.

The sons of the Patriarch Jacob were not harmed by the Canaanites, because the dread of G d was upon the cities around them . . .

Therefore, the rebbe instructed his son Rabbi Shmuel, wherever you may be, whether in government buildings or with government ministers, recite a chapter each from the Five Books of Moses, Psalms, and Tanya. Many years later, when Rabbi Shmuel recounted this experience to his son (and eventual successor), Rabbi Sholom DovBer, he added: It was a wonderful prescription. With the first three chapters of the Five Books of Moses, three psalms from the Book of Psalms, and three chapters of Tanya, all the plans of our opponents collapsed, and Torah-true Judaism triumphed.

. . . all the plans of our opponents collapsed, and Torah-true Judaism triumphed

Surely it is worthwhile to follow the Baal Shem Tovs heavenly advice and study Chitata section of the Five Books of Moses, Psalms, and Tanyaevery day. Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from Sippurei Chassidim by Rabbi S. Y. Zevin, and supplemented from other oral sources. Copyright 2003 by R. Yerachmiel Tilles, Ascent of Safed. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work or portions thereof, in any form, unless with permission, in writing, from Ascent of Safed. A master storyteller with hundreds of published stories to his credit, Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder of Ascent of Safed, and managing editor of the Ascent and Kabbalah Online websites.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Latkes

By Miriam Szokovski

Instead of making sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving, and potato latkes for Chanukah, try these sweet potato butternut squash latkes. Youll get the flavors of Thanksgiving but the crispy fried texture of Chanukah.

If youve never made latkes before, dont feel intimidated. Theyre quite straightforward and hard to mess up. Definitely worth a try. Youll need a grater or a food processor for this recipe. And you can make these latkes dairy or pareve the parmesan cheese is optional. Dice and saut the onions in olive oil and salt. Set aside. Peel and grate the rest of the vegetables. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Two tips for latke making: 1. Stick a small piece of carrot in the oil. The carrot absorbs the burnt taste the oil sometimes gets. When the carrot looks dark ad shriveled, take it out and replace with a new one. 2. To make the latkes a uniform size, use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop up the batter. Heat the oil and drop each latke into it. Fry each latke until brown on one sideapproximately 3-4 minutes. Flip and fry on the other side another minute or two. Remove latkes from the pan and place them on a paper towel. The paper towel soaks up the excess oil while keeping the latkes fresh. Serve immediatelythat is, if they make them out of the kitchen at all. Ingredients: 1 butternut squash 2 Yukon Gold potatoes 1 large onion 1 sweet potato 4 eggs to cup flour 2 tbsp. salt Olive oil for frying Optional: If youre serving these at a dairy meal, throw in cup grated parmesan cheese Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Dice and saut the onion in 2 tbsp. olive oil and tsp. salt. Peel and shred the butternut squash, sweet potatoes and potatoes. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Scoop the batter using a cup measuring cup for uniformity. Drop into the hot oil (keep the flame on medium-high). Cook until brown and firm on one side. Flip and cook 1-2 more minutes, or until brown, on the second side. 5. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Repeat until all the batter has been fried. 6. Serve fresh.

Note: Recipe makes approximately 30 medium latkes.

If sweet potato butternut squash latkes arent your thing, try these Corn Latkes I shared last year.

And stay tuned next week for some delicious vegetable latkes.

Looking for more Thanksgiving-Chanukah recipes? Try these turkey Turkey Egg Rolls with Cranberry Dipping Sauce. Turkey and cranberries for Thanksgiving, with the fried element for Chanukah.

And stay tuned for these upcoming Cranberry Sufganiyot

But if all these recipes make you want to smash your head against the screen and wail about the fat contenttry some of these instead: Winter Salad with mixed greens and a fantastic creamy, but healthy dressing.

Kiwi Honeydew Energy-Boosting Smoothie its name is self-explanatory!

Orange Soup, which doesnt actually contain any oranges.

Fruity Vegan Ice Creamall natural, all fruit, no sugar, but still delicious.

Something for everyonethats my goal! Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Chanukah Corn Latkes

By Miriam Szokovski

Whats Chanukah without fried food? Potato latkes, jelly doughnuts, more potato latkes, more jelly doughnuts . . . after a day or two Im ready for some variety. After all, its the oil were commemorating, not the potatoes! So, lets try some crispy corn latkes.

Fresh corn on the cob is what makes this recipe spectacular. Im not a canned-veggie fan in general, and when it comes to corn there is definitely no comparison! It might be hard to find at this time of year, but its well worth the hunt. You want the corn crunchy. Not soggy. Place it in the pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, then turn off the fire and immediately drain the corn. Do not let it sit in the water. It should be bright yellow. Like the sun. Or the paint stain on your three-year-olds clothes when she comes home from school.

When the corn has cooled down, cut the kernels off the cob using a sharp knife. Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix until the batter is thick and all the ingredients are incorporated. If youre looking for simple, youve found it. No special ingredients, no mixer, no order. Just dump and mix.

Time to fry. If youre cooking for a crowd, try using two frying pans at the same timeit will help speed things along. Cover the bottom of your pan with olive oil, and turn the fire up to medium-high. While the oil is heating, get out a carrot. Yes, a carrot.

Now, a little secret: I am not a fan of carrots. To me, they look like little tree trunks wrapped in a deceptively bright orange exterior. Theyre sly little things, but I refuse to let them get the better of me. I dont eat apple cores or pear cores, so why eat carrot cores? Ive even tried coring them, mostly unsuccessfully. So, while most people bite the bullet (or the carrot) and eat them in their entirety, I choose to forgo them for the most part. And yet, I always have a bag of itty-bitty baby carrots in my fridge. Why? For frying. Add a piece of carrot to the oil any time youre frying, and it helps absorb the burnt taste. When the carrot starts to look shriveled, remove it and put in a fresh piece. It works. Trust me. I take my frying carrots very seriously. Back to the latkes. Use a spoon, or a small measuring cup (I use a 1/8 cup), to scoop the batter. Gently place eat scoop in the oil, and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon. Fry for 34 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Then flip each latke and fry on the other side for another minute or two. When ready, remove from the frying pan and place on a paper towel to cool. Repeat until mixture is finished.

Serve warm, or at room temperature. If you like your potato latkes with apple sauce or sour cream, you might like these the same way. I like to serve latkes with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables to counteract the heavy fried feeling. Ingredients: 3 ears of corn lb. cottage cheese 2 tbsp. milk cup flour 2 tbsp. cornflake crumbs 2 eggs tsp. salt Olive oil for frying

Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Boil corn, cut kernels off the cob. Mix all ingredients together. Heat oil. Scoop batter into the oil. Fry 34 minutes on one side. Flip and fry another 12 minutes. Remove from oil, drain on a paper towel. Repeat until all batter is fried. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields: 12 medium latkes

Whats your favorite Chanukah food? Will you be making latkes this year? What kind? Do you eat your latkes with apple sauce and sour cream, or something else? Leave a comment and let us know. Happy Chanukah! Stay tuned for a Chanukah Party Surprise Cake. Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Art

36 Expressions of Simcha (Joy)

By Israel Noach Sauer

Acrylics, Indian Ink & pencils 50 cm X 35 cm on canvas paper 2013

Artists Statement: The numerical value of the letters in the Hebrew word Simchajoyis 36. In this painting I depict human positions that express joy, using the forms that those letters allow. I used India ink to facilitate the hand movement, as we see in Chinese art. The result is 36 figures with bones full of joy.

Israel Noach Sauer was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he currently lives. He enjoys drawing, painting, playing music, writing and photography. Since discovering Torah Judaism, Sauer uses his artwork to express himself and the ideas he studies.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Rabbis Share Lessons of Kristallnacht With Children in Berlin

Chabad.org Staff

Rabbi Yehuda Teichtel, left, and Israels Chief Rabbi David Lau light one six candles in memory of the six million Jew s murdered during the Holocaust. (Photo: Jdisches Bildungszentrum)

Addressing schoolchildren at the first religious Jewish school established in Germany since World War II, Israels Chief Rabbi David Lau began a series of events commemorating the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht by emphasizing the importance of the renewal of Jewish education there. Accompanied by Rabbi Yehuda Teichtel, director of Chabad-Lubavitch and rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin, Lau lit six candles in memory of the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. He also recited the Shema with the children in the memory of the victims. He emphasized to the kids the importance of Jewish education in Germany: Man is compared to a tree. Just as a tree needs roots that are deep within the soil, so does a person need deep roots. We, the Jews, have deep roots. You should be very happy that you have somewhere to learn about your heritage. The school, founded by Chabad in 2005, currently has an enrollment of 160 students. During the war, the same building served as offices of the Nazi regime. At the end of the official ceremony, Lau gave a talk on the weekly Torah portion in one of the classrooms. In an interview with the German media, the rabbi added: The connection of the Jews in Germany to their heritage is the appropriate response to the darkness that prevailed here 75 years ago.

A Visit to 'Platform 17'

From there, the visitors went on to the monument on Platform 17 of the Grunwald railway station in Berlin. They were joined by a delegation that included chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz. . There, Lau and community rabbis Teichtel and Yitzhak Ehrenberg recited prayers for the six million victims of the Holocaust. Gantz gave a speech in their honor. Platform 17 at Grunwald station was one of the main points where the Nazis deported the Jews of Berlin to ghettos in Lodz, Warsaw and Riga, and later on, directly to the Auschwitz and Theresienstadt concentration camps. Today, the platform is a memorial site.

Rabbi Teichtal addresses those assembled at the monument on Platform 17 of the Grunw ald railw ay station in Berlin. They w ere joined by a delegation that included chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, center.(Photo: Jdisches Bildungszentrum) Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Green Chabad Centers Starting to Take Root

By Sara Trappler-Spielman

The Lubavitch Yeshiva-International School for Chabad Leadership in Oak Park, Mich., comes complete w ith a state-of-the-art solar array.

The desire to be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly is beginning to see some daylight at Chabad centers. Leading the way is the Lubavitch Yeshiva-International School for Chabad Leadership in Oak Park, Mich., a boys high school for students around the world. Its new multimillion-dollar building comes complete with a state-of-the-art solar array on its roof, designed and engineered by GreenLancer.com, a web-based solar

engineering company. It is expected to save the school more than $300,000 in energy costs over the next 20 years, while at the same time provide a sustainable and environmentally friendly power source. The project was funded by Alan and Lori Zekelman, philanthropists from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., who have been the schools major benefactors for some 25 years now. The Zekelmans, along with Rabbi Mendel Stein, development director of the school, preferred the idea of using natural energy and resources. The Lubavitcher RebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memoryunder whose leadership this school was founded was a strong proponent of environmental stewardship, explains Stein. He believed that G-d bestowed upon us plentiful resources of energy, starting with the sun, which is freely available and much easier to harness than other resources. He also believed that harnessing this energy as a fulfillment of G-ds command will provide long-term stability for our country. As an institution that embodies these beliefs, we are proud to have installed a full array of solar panels so we can actually use one of G-ds magnificent resources in a physical way. Panels such as these require a large amount of cash up front, but it was financially beneficial for this educational institution because an investor was on hand, says Stein. Solar panels on the roof absorb light coming from the sun and translate it into energy, enabling the building to run electricity off of it. It goes into the main electrical box, and then whatever we use in the building pulls off of it, explains the rabbi. About 15 percent of our electricity comes from the solar energy; the rest is from a regular provider. As prices continue to fall, solar energy is increasingly becoming an economical energy choice for American homeowners and businesses, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It noted that the biggest hurdle to affordable solar energy remains the soft costslike permitting, zoning and hooking up a solar system to the power grid.

Guarding the World

While some Chabad centers that lean towards green require substantial investments in new construction, others are being done through gradual upgrades to existing facilities. Rabbi Zalmy Kudan, youth director of Chabad of Santa Barbara, Calif., has grown an organic garden in the past for his preschool and now has solar panels on the roof of the Chabad House. Kudan, too, had a donor in his community who favored renewable energy and sustainability, and therefore sponsored the panels and garden.

Rabbi Yosef Loschak, co-director of Chabad of Santa Barbara, Calif., w as one of the first pioneers to use solar energy for a Chabad House.

Our school, shul, camp, Talmud Torah, Hebrew school are all in one building, he says. Everything we do is powered by Hashems sun.

It helps, too, that panels have long insurance guarantees, and that, at least in Santa Barbaras case, there have been zero maintenance costs associated with the panels since they were installed five years ago, according to the directors. Rabbi Yosef Loschak, co-director of Chabad of Santa Barbara and one of the first pioneers using solar energy for a Chabad House, says that its nice not to receive an electricity bill every month. He says that the building, constructed about 15 years ago, generates a very minimal monthly electric fee about $21. Loschak explains that they are hooked up to the grid; so even at night, when they are obviously not producing any electricity, they still have electricity from Edison. At the end of the year, we usually break even; we produce about the same amount of electricity that we use. As part of a YouTube video, Loschak spoke about what this change in energy use represents: When I look at my grandchildren and I look at the solar panels, I see that Im helping to ensure that their future should be a future, a safer future, a more important futurea future where they can recognize how we can use what G-d gave us in a passive way, in a way which will enable them to get the most out of the world we live in. We have had many people come by and look at the panels, and everybody says the same thinghow wonderful they look, these panels. And they do indeed look wonderful, and its a beautiful addition to our preschool. As for the installation, the rabbi notes that it was as painless as possible. Weve built other buildings before, and this was like a walk in the park. For Rabbi Moshe Plotkin, co-director of Chabad of New Paltz, N.Y., it wasnt difficult to find an architect that specializes in sustainable living to build his Chabad House five years ago. In his verdant town, eco-friendly homes are on the rise. According to Plotkin, theres a developer aiming for zero-cost houses that produce more energy than they consume. This trend had a slight effect on Plotkins decision to build a new, sustainable Chabad center attached to the back of his house, but his real motivation focused on the idea that the holistic approach works best with Judaism. Its the idea of bal tashchis (not being wasteful), of stewardship of the world, explains Plotkin. Judaism believes that people are put in this world to guard it and to work it. It says in Bereishis that Adam was put into the world in order to guard it and take care of it. Although Plotkin says its hard to prove returns and that it takes decades to see whether its really worth it economically, he took many sustainable leaps even without any donors specifically investing in his project. His architect built insulation materials to keep heat down to minimize the amount of oil needed for heating and placed the kitchen at the center of the house so its heat transfers throughout the building. Also installed were bamboo hardwood floors instead of the commonly used oak or maple; bamboo grows back every five years, compared to about 50 years for trees to mature. The Chabad House of New Paltz doesnt have solar panels, but windows are positioned to enable maximum natural light so that no electric lights are necessary during the day. The rooms were also designed to maximize heat retention. The Rebbe once said we have this technology today to be oil-free if we want to, says Plotkin. We just havent put it into practice.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Old Menorah Stakes New Claim on Long Island

By Faygie Levy

A 15-foot-tall menorah stood on the grounds of a Long Island day school, seen here in 1974 w ith Max Marcus holding the sefer Torah. His son Arnold w ould later help save and store this menorah, w hich now stands in front of the Suffolk Y JCC.

Some symbols are instantly recognizable as Jewishthe shofar, the Star of David, the menorah. And it was the latter that for decades served as a guide to Jews driving on Long Island, N.Y., where a 15foot-tall menorah stood on the grounds of a local day school. When the school closed about a decade ago, the menorah came down as well. That is until a few weeks ago, when, 40 years after its original dedication, the menorah once again calls out to the communitythis time from its new home outside the building that contains the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Academy, a community day school. I think this is a terrific opportunity for the Suffolk County Jewish community to have a new home for the menorah, and its very fitting that it be at the JCC, said Adam Bendeson, executive director of the Suffolk Y JCC. Seeing the menorah in use again was the fulfillment of a wish Ive had for 10 years, said Rabbi Tuvia Teldon, head Chabad-Lubavitch shaliach on Long Island and board director of the Jewish Academy. When the Hebrew Academy [of Suffolk County] was sold, I felt very bad about the menorah possibly being put in a garbage dump because it had been a symbol of the Jewish community for 30 years. So the rabbi went on a mission to try and salvage it, but quickly discovered that the cost was $18,000 to take it down and store it. The fee was simply too prohibitive for Teldon to act on his own, so he began making phone calls. One of them was to a builder friend who put the rabbi in touch with Arnold Marcus, whose father, Max Marcus, had commissioned the menorah back in 1973. I called him and said, Mr. Marcus, you dont know me and I dont know you, but I would love to save your fathers menorah, which is about to be put into salvage. Is this something you think you can help with? Marcus took Teldons name and number, and promised to call back the next day. And to Teldons relief, he did.

Marcus made arrangements to have the menorah removed from the closed schools premises and placed into storage. And every year since, Teldon said, Marcus would call asking when they would do something with it. I said, Wait, the time will come, recalled the rabbi. And when we negotiated with the JCC [for space in their building], I said, I have this wild idea. I have this menorah that was in front of the Hebrew Academy. Would you be willing to put it up in front of the JCC? And the executive directors answer was Yes, lets do it.

Merging Their Efforts

The menorahs formal dedication on Oct. 13 outside the JCC building also marked the official dedication of the Jewish Academy inside; it moved there in time for the start of the current academic year. We are the flagship school of Suffolk County Jewry, said Teldon. Now, as the only day school serving this community of 90,000 Jews on Long Islandand given that the JCC was going through a change of leadershipwe held discussions and realized it would be in both of our interests to merge our efforts.

From left are Jew ish Academy head of school Rabbi Michoel Druin; Matt Kreinces, board president of the Suffolk Y JCC; Adam Bendeson, executive drector of the JCC; and Rabbi Tuvia Teldon, board director of the Jew ish Academy.

Adam Bendeson addresses those gathered for the menorah dedication ceremony.

Teldon noted that this was not a simple rental agreement between two Jewish entities, but rather, an integral partnership: We both feel that for the success of the Jewish community, we must have a strong JCC and a strong Jewish day school. The school, which is a member of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network, currently enrolls some 70 students in kindergarten through seventh grade, and across the religious spectrum from nonobservant to Orthodox. An eighth-grade class is expected to be added in time for the next school year. Indeed, the relocation seems to be paying off. Since the JCC runs a very popular preschool program, some of those parents have already committed to sending their children to the Jewish Academy come September 2014. Its October, and we already have eight children registered for kindergarten for next year, and we havent even started our admissions campaign, stated Teldon. Likewise, with an elementary school in the building, an entirely new group of children now utilize the JCCs premises on a daily basisfrom the Olympic-size pool to afterschool programs. Having the Jewish Academy inside the walls of the Suffolk Jewish Community Center adds to the myriad of options families have here at the JCC, said Bendeson.

Part of the appeal of the nine-year-old academy, in addition to its location, is its reputation for excellence in secular studiesa key element of the schools vision, given the history of other Jewish schools in the county. We live in a community where, unfortunately, three Jewish schools have closed down, explained Teldon. In the past, the approach many took was if you want your children to be Jewish, send them to us and we will educate them. The perception was that general studies were secondary. ... We opened in 2004 with the understanding that we have to be the best school in town for Jewish parents to send their children to because we live in an area with excellent, Blue Ribbon schools. To that end, the school has taken a very modern and, even groundbreaking, approach to education. For instance, the school has partnered with the bioengineering department at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and created an engineering program for students in grades one through six. The curriculum they have established has been recognized by the National Science Foundation. Then theres the law class that will be taught to students in the middle school, in conjunction with nearby Touro Law School; it will culminate with a mock trial presided over by a real judge. Both civil and Jewish law will be taught as part of the class.

Anita Kaufman, Jew ish Academy founder and board president, w ith Suffolk County legislator Steve Stern

Its this type of forward thinking thats crucial to making Jewish Academy a stand-out school for the 21stcentury child, according to academy officials. Head of School Rabbi Michoel Druin said our 70 students and their parents are choosing to pay $10,000 or more because they want their children to be a step ahead of the crowd, and its these kinds of activities that bring them here. Added Teldon: I am confident that as the reputation of the school builds up, it will have a major impact on the building of the Jewish community of Suffolk County.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Vayeishev
Parshah

When Your Passion Dies

By Yosef Y. Jacobson

Judah, Tamar, and the inner meaning of levirate marriage.

Image and Influence

By Yossy Goldman

Mystical & Practical Y ou cannot separate the mystical from the practical. Each thing has both a body and a soul, and they act as one. Neither can contradict the other, and in each the other can be found.

Determined as he was, on this occasion Joseph was beginning to falter. What saved him? The classical image of the sage with the long white beard . . .

Vayeishev in a Nutshell
Jacob makes a colored coat for his favorite son, Joseph. Josephs brothers are jealous; they sell him to travelling Ishmaelites, and tell Jacob he is dead. Joseph is taken to Egypt, works for Potiphar, and is thrown into jail, where he meets the baker and the butler and interprets their dreams. Essay

How to Love When Love Is Dying

By Tzvi Freeman

The souls of husband and wife are brother and sisterand yet closer. If they can persist in their journey until they return to that place of oneness, a new sort of love will emerge. An unconditional love.

Immanent Transcendence
By Eli Rubin

How did a scholarly disagreement amongst the Mediterranean kabbalists in the late-1600s morph into the explosive debate between the Chassidim and their Mitnagdic opponents more than half a century later?

On the Calendar

19 Kislev: The New Year of Chassidism

The 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev marks the birth of Chassidism: the day it was allowed to emerge from the womb of mysticism into the light of day, to grow and develop as an integral part of Torah and Jewish life.

14 Kislev: The Marriage of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin

In December of 1928, the Rebbes marriage to Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, daughter of the then Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, was held in Warsaw, Poland. Your Questions

Where Is the Woman of My Dreams?

By Aron Moss

I know what you are going to say: I am too fussy. But I cant just settle on something half good. Where is the woman of my dreams?

What Is the Tanya About?

By Yisroel Cotlar

I was just introduced to the book by a Chabad neighbor, and Im considering exploring this new area. Women

Entitlement
by Zehava Deer

I was blessed with so so much in my life, while others had so little. Why did I have to focus on the one thing I didn't have?

Anger Is Expensive
By Miriam Adahan

Anger and criticism are not building tools; they destroy peoples sense of self-worth, trust and security. Story

The Menorah That Lit Up My Life

By Laura P. Schulman

I was walking by the waterfront, and a young man in a black hat ran up to me and politely asked, Excuse me, are you Jewish? Jewish News

Chanukah Meets Thanksgiving: A Time to Be Grateful

By Karen Schwartz

Chanukah and Thanksgiving overlap this yearfor the first time since 1918. That means theres even more to be thankful for in a season marked by an appreciation of national freedom and a Jewish celebration of a long-ago battle over religious freedom.

Congregation Makes the Most of an Unusual Venue

By Carin M. Smilk

This was a real pickle, even for a Chabad rabbi. How do you tell congregants that for the next year-and-a-half, services, classes and events will be held in a different venue, an unusual venue, a well, a funeral home?

Retail Stores Proud to Serve as Setting for Chanukah Programs

By Menachem Posner

With pre-Chanukah workshops, and menorah lightings and programs during the holiday, some retailers are focusing on the message, not the merchandise, surrounding the Festival of Lights.

Cooking

Cranberry Jelly Sufganiyot (Doughnuts)

By Miriam Szokovski

Sufganiyotjelly doughnutsare synonymous with Chanukah. Try filling them with this easy, homemade cranberry jam for a seasonal twist.

Cranberry-Pecan Mandel Bread

By Sally Saltzbart Minier

Art

Chanukah
The Chanukah picture expresses the quintessence of the pure oil in our souls. In my painting, the brushwork depicts forms with suggestive use of color in concentrated strokes that enhances the light from within. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

When Your Passion Dies

By Yosef Y. Jacobson

The Secret Jew

Ira Goldberg was heading out of the synagogue on Yom Kippur. As always, the rabbi was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. The rabbi grabbed Ira by the hand and pulled him aside. You need to join the Army of G d! he urged. Ira replied, Im already in the Army of G d, Rabbi. Rabbi questioned, How come I dont see you in synagogue except for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? He whispered back, Im in the secret service.

The First Levirate Marriage

This weeks Parshah relates the story of Judah, the fourth of Jacobs sons, entering into a marriage which brought forth three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah.1 The oldest son, Er, married a woman named Tamar, but died prematurely without children. His bereft father, Judah, suggested to his second son, Onan, Consort with your brothers wife and enter into levirate marriage with her, and establish offspring for your brother.2 Here we are introduced for the first time to the concept of levirate marriage, discussed later in the book of Deuteronomy: When brothers live together, and one of them dies childless, the wife of the deceased man shall not marry outside to a strange man; her brother-in-law shall come to her, and take her to himself as a wife, and perform levirate marriage. The firstborn son whom she bears will then perpetuate the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be obliterated from Israel.3 One of the great biblical commentators, Nachmanides, writes that this mitzvah embodies one of the great mysteries of the Torah, and that even before the Torah was given, people knew of the spiritual benefits of a levirate marriage.4 The biblical commentators explain that the child born of the union between the brother of the dead man and his former wifeboth of whom are intimately connected with the deceased manis considered the spiritual son of the deceased.5 Moreover, the Kabbalists suggest that the firstborn child of the levirate marriage is a reincarnation of the soul of its mothers first husband,6 bringing the deceased man, as it were, back to life.7

Judah and Tamar

Who was the first human being to introduce this practice of levirate marriage? It was, according to the Midrash,8 Judah, who suggested to his son to marry his brothers widow and perpetuate the legacy of the deceased brother. The continuation of the story is both strange and tragic. Judahs second son also died prematurely without having any children. Now, Nachmanides explains, during those early times prior to the giving of the Torah, other relatives in addition to brothers used to carry out this obligation of levirate marriages.9 Thus, following the death of both of Tamars husbands, she went and lured her former-father-in-law, Judah, into a relationship with her which impregnated her and brought forth twin brothers, Peretz and Zerach. Peretz was the ancestor of King David and the entire Davidic dynasty, including Moshiach (the Messiah), who according to the Jewish tradition will be a descendant of David.10

Judah and Tamar ended up marrying each other, in fulfillment of this mitzvah of levirate marriages.11 Yet the interesting question is: what is the significance behind the fact that Judah was the first to introduce the mitzvah of levirate marriage? And why will Moshiach, the greatest leader of history, who will inspire the world to embrace a life of goodness and holiness and usher in the messianic age, emerge from an irregular levirate marriage?

Paving a Road in Historys Jungle

One of the significant things about the Judah-Tamar drama is the place it is situated in the biblical text, interrupting the story of Josephs sale to Egypt by his own brothers. The Midrash12 presents a moving insight into this biblical interruption: The sons of Jacob, says the Midrash, were engaged in selling Joseph; Joseph was busy with his sackcloth and fasting; Jacob was taken up with his sackcloth and fasting; Reuben was engaged in his sackcloth and fasting; Judah was busy taking a wife. And G d? What was G d doing at that time? asks the Midrash. The Holy One, blessed be He, was engaged in creating the light of Moshiach. (Peretz, born of Judah and Tamar, is the ancestor of King David and the Messiah, as stated above.) In other words, amidst the turmoil and politics pervading the small Jewish tribe at the timein the middle of Joseph being sold into Egyptian slavery, the event which ultimately brought about the first exile of the Jewish people, in EgyptG d was planting within history the seeds for the ultimate messianic redemption, by orchestrating a relationship which brought forth to the world the seed of Moshiach. This midrashic insight leads us to conclude that the strange levirate relationship between Judah and Tamar was also part of G ds paving the road through the jungle of history for redemption and Moshiach.

What Is the Relevance?

To understand this, we must first explore the deeper meaning behind the mitzvah of levirate marriage. Every mitzvah in Judaism contains a body and a soul.13 The body constitutes the tangible and physical act of the mitzvah, while its soul embodies the psychological and spiritual meaning behind the mitzvah. The body of a particular mitzvah may be inapplicable at certain times, but the soul of a mitzvah remains timelessly relevant. The same is true concerning the mitzvah of levirate marriage, known in Hebrew as yibbum. The body of this mitzvah, the physical union between a widow and her brother-in-law, is impractical today. But the metaphysical counterpart of this mitzvah, the symbolic marriage between a spiritual widow and a spiritual brother-in-law, is as timely today as it was 3,500 years ago, when Tamar married Judah. Perhaps even more.

Two Types of Emotions

In midrashic and Kabbalistic literature, parents symbolize intellect and awareness, while children and siblings represent emotions and feelings. Therefore, when the Bible describes a situation of brothers living together, it is also referring to two forms of human emotions, represented by the two siblings. The first category of emotions, symbolized by one of the brothers, is described in the Kabbalah as conscious emotions born from mans awareness and cognition. These are the emotions and feelings that we experience on a daily basis that cover the entire spectrum of our lives.

The second and far more mysterious category of emotions, symbolized by the second of the brothers, is described in Kabbalah as super-conscious feelings, stemming from the primal formations of the human psyche, transcending our conscious awareness and cognition. The emotions experienced in our conscious personality often originate within the super-conscious, but are contracted and filtered by our brain prior to their emerging in our conscious heart. There is, however, a much deeper and primal level in which each of us professes incredibly profound, paradoxical and rich yearnings, cravings and experiences that may never make their way to the fore of our conscious emotional landscape. So a situation of brothers living together, one of them marrying and having children, metaphorically represents the healthy and functional individual whose super-conscious emotions fuel and give birth to his more structured conscious experiences and interactions. These in turn allow this person to form relationships with people outside of himself, represented by marriage, and together create fruits that can impact the world and its future, represented by children and grandchildren.

A Heart Dies
But sometimes a situation occurs when brothers live together, and one of them dies childless. The Torah is referring to the death of the conscious heart of man, describing the tragedy of a human being whose blaze of love, inspiration, enthusiasm and caring has been extinguished. In lieu of a vibrant, passionate, sparkling spirit who knows how to cry and laugh, how to embrace and let go, this person turns into a numb and frozen creature, paralyzed and shut off. The first brother, the feelings and emotions that give life its twinkle and passion, is dead. During such moments we often succumb to emptiness and despair, and the first victims of our depression are those with whom we built relationships. When our flow of inspiration dries up, we tend to withdraw into a cocoon, isolating ourselves from the world, from our loved ones and from ourselves. We feel depressed and childless, unmotivated to have an impact that might outlast our physical lives.

Accessing the Higher Emotions

Comes the Torah and declares, The wife of the deceased man shall not marry outside to a strange man; her brother-in-law shall come to her, and take her to himself as a wife, and perform levirate marriage. The wife of the deceased man alludes to the soul of the human being14 whose emotions (the first brother) have died. In such an instance, the Torah instructs you not to sell your destiny to the devil of depression, allowing for the death of your marriage and your dreams. Now that all of your conscious passions are lost, it is time to call in the second brotheryour higher, super-conscious, infinite powersto fill the shoes of the first brother and perpetuate the relationships that the first brother began. What this means on a practical level is that when you are standing at an emotional abyss, ready to fall into oblivion, you must know that deeply embedded within your spirit lies an incredibly profound and heroic spark. You may not be able to fully comprehend it, but if you believe in it and embrace it, it will carry you through the times of desolation.

The Lowest and Highest Moment

This is how one of the great masters of Jewish spirituality interpreted the heart-wrenching lament of the prophet Amos: She has fallen, the virgin of Israel, and will no longer rise.15 On a literal level, this is the ultimate cry about the death of hope. Amos is describing here a sense of absolute destruction and ruin, a condition when you fall so low that you can never rise again. But there is another way to look at these very words, says Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. After she has fallen she can no longer risefor right now, in the depth of her abyss, she has reached the greatest heights.16

Once you have truly fallen, you are capable of accessing the most profound part of your soul, that superconscious spark of infinity that embodies the endless light of G d implanted within the human condition. Until the fall, you rely on the more external dynamics of your personality, since they are functioning nicely. But when these parts of your identity go out of commission, you are compelled to dig deeper and touch the depth of depths, the quantum level of your consciousness. So, paradoxically, your lowest moment is essentially your highest moment. And when you do embrace this level of self and allow it to emerge in the time of crisis, the firstborn son whom she bears will then perpetuate the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be obliterated from Israel. This means that as time goes on, you will regain the name of the dead brother. In other words, your conscious passions and emotions will be resurrected.

The Kabbalah of Jewish History

This perspective will grant us a psycho-historical understanding into the drama of Jewish history. The prophets and the sages describe the Temple days, when the presence of G d was far more manifest in the world, as a time of a passionate and zestful marriage between G d and Israel. The Jewish people either loved G d or they despised Him, but they could not be indifferent to Him. They were in a creative and profound relationship with each other; the reality of G d evoked a very tangible switch in the Jewish psyche. Then the marriage hit an extremely low point. The passion of Israel toward G d faded into oblivion, and G d concealed His face from His beloved bride. The couple separated. G d had His home in Jerusalemthe center of the relationshipdestroyed, and the Jewish people exiled, physically and mentally. Since then, we have craved redemption and intimacy with G d, but our yearnings have been denied. Instead of finding G d, we found evil and darkness. Instead of encountering the divine, we encountered Auschwitz. Instead of discovering peace, we discovered Arafat and Hamas. So, here is the big question: How long can a couple remain separated without getting divorced? Do we still profess a unique relationship with G d? If we are not fully married to G d, why not just end it completely, so that we can both be set free? What is the purpose of hanging in limbo for 2,000 years, not really married, but neither truly divorced?

Two Forms of Marriage

Ah! This is the perhaps the most important question of our history and destiny. The way in which you answer this question defines what being Jewish means to you. The answer is: When our passion toward G d died, and the romantic intimacy between us faded away, our regular marriage was supplanted by the levirate marriage. In exile, we might no longer be married to G d with our conscious emotions; yet we are bound to G d with our super-conscious spirit.

The Lowest and Highest Point of Israel

Many Jews today feel very littleif anyfull-fledged emotions toward G d. He has been gone for too long to provoke within us conscious passions. But if you would attempt to rob these apathetic Jews from their super-conscious bond with G d, they would fight till their last breath. If you were to demand from a Jew today to cease calling himself a Jew, he would be perturbed to the core of his soul. Why? His conscious heart may feel totally detached from G d, but on a deeper, super-conscious level, he and G d are absolutely one. Whatever the circumstances, he is in the secret service of G ds army. Thus, the prophet Isaiah quotes the Jewish people as declaring the following words during exile times: Though Abraham may not know us, and Israel may not recognize us, You, G d, are our father.17

What is Isaiah saying? In Jewish mysticism, Abraham and Jacob (Israel) represent the spiritual emotions of love and compassion. However, during the physically and morally dark times of exile, many an average Jew is not in touch with these spiritual experiences and feelings. We have become estranged from Abraham and Jacob. So, when all of our spiritual inspiration is lost, what are we left with? When Abraham and Jacob are gone from our life, what remains? You are our father! On a conscious level, we may feel absolutely nothing; but beneath all of the layers there exists an intrinsic, immutable bond between man and G d. Amoss abovementioned words about the time of Jewish destruction resonate very deeply. She has fallen, the virgin of Israel, and will no longer rise. Says Rabbi Schneur Zalman: After she has fallen she can no longer risefor right now, in the depth of her abyss, she has reached the greatest heights. For it is precisely during the time of the fall that the intimacy between G d and the Jew reaches its most profound point.

The Road to Redemption

This is the deeper reason why it was Judah who was the first person to engage in levirate marriage, and that the child born of this marriage was Peretz. This child, we will recall, became the great-grandfather of King David, from whose descendants will emerge Moshiach, the leader who will usher in the messianic age. The significance of this drama is that it is precisely the enduring power of the levirate marriage that allows the Jew to keep his faith, courage and dignity throughout the darkness of the exile, and through which, with the coming of Moshiach, he can ultimately reclaim the passion that faded away. Therefore, Judah, the father of Moshiach, was chosen to teach us how to remember that the deepest fall can contain the most profound heights.

Oy Chanukah!
This truth is also reflected in the festival of Chanukah, which coincides with the Torah reading of this JudahTamar story. The menorah (candelabrum) that was kindled in the Temple in Jerusalem contained only seven branches and lamps. Yet the Chanukah menorah, which is kindled even during exile times, and only in commemoration of the Temple menorah, contains eight branches and flames! If anything, it should have been the other way around. Yet it all comes back to the same point. The number seven in Kabbalah represents the structured seven days of the week, and the structured seven emotions professed by each soul.18 The number eight, on the other hand, symbolizes the super-conscious singular spark of the soul that transcends the structured and organized components of the seven-branched psyche. During the Temple days, the Jewish people accessed the seven luminescent flames burning within their souls. Yet the heroism displayed during the Chanukah period, at a time of horrific darkness and despair, elicited from within the Jewish soul the eighth and super-conscious dimension, that infinite and immutable divine dignity, that transcends even the spiritual light pervading the Holy Temple.19 This deeper light is what sustained us through the darkest of nights, in our turbulent journey toward redemption.20 Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson is editor of Algemeiner.com, a website of Jewish news and commentary in English and Yiddish. Rabbi Jacobson is also a popular and widely sought speaker on chassidic teachings, and the author of the tape series A Tale of Two Souls.

FOOTNOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Genesis 38. Ibid., verse 8. Deuteronomy 25:56. Nachmanides to Genesis 38:8. See commentary of Rabbeinu Bechayei to Deuteronomy 25:6. Zohar 2:104b; supercommentaries to Nachmanides ibid.; Shaloh, end of Ki Teitzei. It should be emphasized that this mitzvah applies only if the widow and her brother-in-law wish to marry each other. If either of them however refuses to marry, the Torah (Deuteronomy 25:79) instructs the performance of a process known as chalitzah, which severs the bond between them. Until this severance process, the two are bound to each other. During the past 1,500 years, since Talmudic times, the universal custom of Ashkenazic communities is to prefer chalitzah to levirate marriage. Bereishit Rabbah 85:5, quoted in Nachmanides ibid. See end of the book of Ruth, and Nachmanides there.

8. 9.

10. Ruth 4:18ff; Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings ch. 11. 11. See Nachmanides to Genesis 38:27. 12. Bereishit Rabbah 85:1. 13. See Zohar 3:53b. 14. In the teachings of Kabbalah, the mention of a woman in the Bible usually represents the human soul. See Maamarei Admor ha-Zaken ha-Ketzarim (the short discourses of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi), pp. 136138. Cf. Song of Songs and many of the commentaries to that book, and Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance, ch. 10. 15. Amos 5:2. 16. Torah Ohr, Megilat Esther 93c. 17. Isaiah 63:16. 18. See Tanya, ch. 3, et al. 19. Sefer ha-Maamarim Melukat (collected discourses from the Lubavitcher Rebbe), vol. 2, pp. 1724. 20. This essay is based on a discourse by Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (Tzemach Tzedek, 17891866), in Ohr ha-Torah, Ki Teitzei, pp. 1012, 1014, 1065.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Image and Influence

By Yossy Goldman

How much do our parents and grandparents influence us? Of course, the genes we inherit from them determine lots of important things about usfrom our cholesterol levels to when we will go gray. But what about emotionally or spiritually? Id like to suggest that they influence us more than we might care to admit. We also tend to underestimate the potential they have in molding the value systems of the next generation. A powerful case in point is a story in this weeks Parshah. Joseph is sold into slavery down in Egypt, and winds up in the house of Potiphar. His masters wife casts her lustful gaze on the handsome young man and repeatedly attempts to seduce him. Joseph is consistent in his refusal to even consider her advances. Then, one day, the entire household goes to the temple for a special occasion. She feigns illness in order to be home alone with Joseph. He comes to the house to do his work (Genesis 39:11). Rashi offers two interpretations: the simple, that he came to work; and another, that he actually came to do his work with her! Determined as he was, on this occasion Joseph was beginning to falter. Morale and morality were weakening, and it seemed as if he was about to succumb to the temptress entreaties. Then suddenly, something happened to help Joseph regain his senses and self-control. What was itdid they come home early? Did the postman ring the bell? Says Rashi: there appeared before Joseph a vision, one so potent that it restored his composure there and then. What was that image? Quoting the Talmud, Rashi says it was the image of the visage of his father. Joseph suddenly saw the face of his father, Jacob, and with that his moral resolve was restored. Was this a telepathic message transmitted from the Holy Land? According to the simple reading, at that stage Jacob didnt even know that Joseph was alive. He had been missing and presumed dead, devoured by a wild animal. The straightforward understanding of this Talmudic passage is that Joseph remembered his father and envisioned his patriarchal face, the classical image of the sage with the long white beard. And with that image in his mind, Joseph found renewed spiritual stamina to resist temptation. Some might understand this episode as Joseph not wanting to disappoint his aged father. Others might see the image as a catalyst evoking in Joseph his own latent spiritual resources. Either way, with Jacobs visage in his mind, Joseph wasnt prepared to lose the moral high ground. He couldnt and wouldnt do it to his dad. And, through his father, Joseph remembered who he wasa proud son of Jacob and grandson of Isaac and Abraham. Such was the effect Jacob had on Joseph, and such is the effect every father and mother, grandfather and grandfather, can potentially bring to bear on their offspring. Of course, they would have to be respected by their children as men and women of stature for their image to represent any kind of moral symbolism. If the image of a parent or grandparent would send a signal to the young person to, say, go for it, my boy! then clearly the system will fail. I can safely say that if not for the image of my own father and grandfather and their subtle influence on me, I would never have become a rabbi. They didnt push me at all, but their influence was profound. Just their image, their character and very being was enough to guide me in the right direction during my own wavering moments of youthful indecision. Joseph was nearly lost way down in Egypt land, but that one image of his father saved him from sin and helped him go on to achieve greatness. May we all be good role models, and may our own images help inspire our children and grandchildren. Rabbi Yossy Goldman was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1976 he was sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, as a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to serve the Jewish community of Johannesburg,

South Africa. He is Senior Rabbi of the Sydenham Shul since 1986, president of the South African Rabbinical Association, and a frequent contributor to Chabad.org. His book From Where I Stand: Life Messages from the Weekly Torah Reading was recently published by Ktav, and is available at Jewish bookshops or online.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Vayeishev in a Nutshell
Jacob settles in Hebron with his twelve sons. His favorite is seventeenyear-old Joseph , whose brothers are jealous of the preferential treatment he receives from his father, such as a precious many-colored coat that Jacob makes for Joseph. Joseph relates to his brothers two of his dreams which foretell that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred towards him. Simeon and Levi plot to kill him, but Reuben suggests that they throw him into a pit instead, intending to come back later and save him. While Joseph is in the pit, Judah has him sold to a band of passing Ishmaelites. The brothers dip Josephs special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son was devoured by a wild beast. Judah marries and has three children. The eldest, Er , dies young and childless, and his wife, Tamar , is given in levirate marriage to the second son, Onan . Onan sins by spilling his seed, and he too meets an early death. Judah is reluctant to have his third son marry her. Determined to have a child from Judahs family, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and seduces Judah himself. Judah hears that his daughter-in-law has become pregnant and orders her executed for harlotry, but when Tamar produces some personal effects he left with her as a pledge for payment, he publicly admits that he is the father. Tamar gives birth to twin sons, Peretz (an ancestor of King David) and Zerach . Joseph is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, the minister in charge of Pharaoh s slaughterhouses. G d blesses everything he does, and soon he is made overseer of all his masters property. Potiphars wife desires the handsome and charismatic lad; when Joseph rejects her advances, she tells her husband that the Hebrew slave tried to force himself on her, and has him thrown into prison . Joseph gains the trust and admiration of his jailers, who appoint him to a position of authority in the prison administration. In prison, Joseph meets Pharaohs chief butler and chief baker , both incarcerated for offending their royal master. Both have disturbing dreams, which Joseph interprets; in three days, he tells them, the butler will be released and the baker hanged. Joseph asks the butler to intercede on his behalf with Pharaoh. Josephs predictions are fulfilled, but the butler forgets all about Joseph and does nothing for him.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Essay

How to Love When Love Is Dying

By Tzvi Freeman

There are two kinds of love. There is love from the womb. A parent, by nature, loves a child. Siblings, from birth, are bonded to one another. The love came first; the conditions are but an afterthought. True, the flame may burn quietly. They themselves may not even recognize their love for one another. But it burns surely, uninterrupted. It may flicker, even hide within the coals, but it is there, always. That is why you cant divorce your parents, or your siblings, or your own child. Because with this love you were conceived, and with it your were born. And therefore it is not in your hands to extinguish. Then there is the love between husband and wife. It was born long after this man and woman were born. And therefore, no matter how bright the flame and intense its heat, there are conditions by which it can be torn from its wick and disappear as though it never was. That is why the Torah tells us about marriage first within the context of divorce. The Torah does not say to us, This is how you marryand if you must, this is how you divorce. Rather, it says, If you marry, but then must divorce, this is how it shall be done. In the Talmud, too, the tractate concerning divorce precedes the tractate concerning marriage. Because, to keep a marriage together, you need to know that even if the flame holds tight to the wick today and leaps and crackles, tomorrow it may untie its bond and vanish. Each day anew that bond must be reinforced, and the flame must be fed, fanned and treasured. Yes, there are times when you must run from love, when even the Torah tells you that this wick must be broken, this bond of marriage severed. But as long as those extreme conditions have not been met, hold tight to that flame. Even if you cannot find its warmth any longer, you still hold the memory of that love. Act with love, speak with love, ponder how that love first came to be, and relive that love. Shield it through every storm, keep it burning even as the oil is but a thin film that coats the lamps basin. Then, surely but gradually, the flame will burn deep inside until it reaches your very soul. And there it will awaken another love, a love that never died, as permanent as that of a brother and sister, but with the fiery intensity of husband and wife. And so Abraham told Sarah, Say you are my sister. So that they bonded together in an essential bond, a bonding of souls that cannot be broken. Because, in truth, the souls of husband and wife are brother and sisterand yet closer. Before they entered this world, they were a single being. Only as they descended to invest themselves within a body did they divide. If they can persist in their journey until they return to that place of oneness, a new sort of love will emerge. An unconditional love.

Their souls are brother and sisterand yet closer. If they can return

What is unconditional love? It doesnt mean that there are no boundaries, that everything is okay and nothing must be resolved. Love requires fuel; love requires a haven from wind and storm so it can burn. Unconditional love simply means that no matter what, everything can be worked out. It means that at the core we are still one, so now let us be one at the periphery as well.

to that place of oneness, a new sort of love will emerge. An unconditional love.

As still waters mirror the face that gazes upon it, so the heart of one person mirrors the heart of the other. Show unconditional love, and eventually you will receive the same.
Sources On the tw o types of love, see Likkutei Sichot, vol. 20, end of p. 40 and follow ing, and the references listed in note 25 there.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Essay

Immanent Transcendence
Chassidim, mitnagdim, and the debate about tzimtzum
By Eli Rubin

Introduction: Seeds of Conflict

The tzimtzum narrative is one of the central teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (Arizal), for whom the Lurianic school of Kabbalah is named. Tzimtzum, we have already discovered, does not describe an event that unfolded in time and space, but is rather a statement about the very fabric of reality, about the nature of G ds relationship with the created realm. Put simply, the tzimtzum narrative asserts that the divine self utterly transcends the role of creator. The process through which G d chooses to be manifest as creator, projecting our universe into being, actually represents a concealment of G ds infinitely transcendent nature. Arizals account seems to imply that creation is the assertion of an imminent manifestation of divinity which expresses absolutely nothing of G ds essential self. Such abstract theosophical doctrines are anything but simple, and it is hardly surprising that the precise import of this assertion soon became an issue of debate. What began as a scholarly disagreement amongst various Mediterranean Kabbalists in the late 1600s became the nucleus of contention in an often explosive confrontation between the chassidim and their mitnagdic opponents in the second half of the next century. The more literal reading of the tzimtzum narrative implies that the divine essence does not only transcend, but is completely absent from the creative process and the created realm. This face-value reading is referred to as tzimtzum ki-peshuto. But the narrative could also be interpreted to mean that the divine essence, in all its transcendence, remains fully present, and is only concealed by the creative process. This non -literal approach is referred to as tzimtzum she-lo ki-peshuto. For the chassidim, tzimtzum she-lo kipeshuto cast the very nature and purpose of earthly existence in an entirely new light. But for their

detractors, this brave new vision was dangerously seditious and even heretical.

What began as a scholarly disagreement . . . became the nucleus of contention between the chassidim and their mitnagdic opponents in the second half of the next century.

A Mediterranean Affair
The first to articulate the non-literal interpretation was Rabbi Avraham Cohen A chassid in prayer de Herrera (or Airira, spelled or in Hebrew). Born in 1570 to a family of Spanish anusim, de Herrera travelled widely throughout Europe and represented the business and diplomatic interests of the Moroccan sultan. When the Spanish port of Cadiz was captured in 1596 by a joint force of English and Dutch troops, de Herrera was detained along with the Detail: The Capture of Cadiz 1596 citys mayor and other hostages against a ransom of 120,000 ducats. He spent five years in the Tower of London before the Moroccan sultan arranged his release, and according to some accounts it was from this point on that de Herrera began to live openly as a Jew.1 It was in another historic port city, Ragusa (today Dubrovnik, on the Adriatic seacoast of Croatia), that Rabbi Avraham de Herrera met Rabbi Yisrael Sarug ( or in Hebrew). Although it is unclear whether or not the latter was a direct disciple of Arizal, he devoted his entire life to the study of Arizals writings, and was largely responsible for the dissemination of his teachings throughout Europe. The writings of Rabbi Yisrael Sarug and his many students are often considered as a distinct branch of Lurianic Kabbalah, referred to as the Sarugian school () , and distinguished by a philosophical bent. Shaar ha-Shamayimoriginally written in Spanish as Puerta del Cielois a classic work of Sarugian Kabbalah, in which Rabbi Avraham de Herrera synthesized Arizals teachings with neo-Platonic rationalism.

Shaar ha-Shamayim,

Accordingly, Rabbi Avraham considered G d the ultimate noncontingent being, whose potency sustains all the contingencies of created reality. Divine non-contingency does not only mean that G ds being is not dependent on any other being, but also that it is not bound by any conditions at all. Rabbi Avraham further reasoned that it is this non-contingent quality that leads to the concept of tzimtzumthe removedness of the divine self from the narrow role of creatoras a non-contingent G d necessarily transcends every category.

originally written in Spanish as Puerta del Cielo . . . synthesized Arizals teachings with neo-Platonic rationalism.

By this very line of reasoning, however, Rabbi Avraham also concluded that this removal cannot be an actual absence, but must rather be a concealment. The very non-contingent quality which entails the transcendence of tzimtzum, he argued, also entails that G ds being must be extended throughout all categories of being. Just as G d cannot be defined by any category, so G d is not restricted from any category. Heres the crux of the argument in his own words: The more complete the cause, the more it will transcend its effects and the more it will extend itself to them. Therefore, the blessed Infinite One will on the one hand be transcendent without limit, transcending all its effectsi.e., the creations, each of which, and all of which together, are finiteand on the other hand will extend itself to all of them. For not only is it their cause . . . it also passes through all of them, and fills them all, and it is all that they are . . . Each one of them, and all of them, are nothing aside from what they receive from it.2 In short, the unmitigated completeness of the divine self entails that it simultaneously transcends and embraces all conceivable realities. The idea that transcendence and immanence are two sides of the same coin has a long history in Kabbalistic literature. The Zohar asserts that the infinite manifestation of divinity extends upwards without end, and downwards without measure;3 transcends all worlds and fills all worlds.4 But it was Rabbi Avraham Cohen de Herrera who first married this duality to Arizals concept of tzimtzum.

Despite these precedents, and despite the logical coherence of Rabbi Avrahams argument, not everyone was convinced that the tzimtzum narrative should be understood in such abstract terms. Foremost amongst the dissenters was Rabbi Immanuel Ricchi () , better known by the title of his most important work, Mishnat Chassidim.

The unmitigated completeness of the divine self entails that it simultaneously transcends and embraces all conceivable realities.

Born in Ferrara, Italy, in 1688, Rabbi Immanuel first became acquainted with Kabbalah in that country, but resolved to travel to Safed, in the Holy Land, to immerse himself in its study. Two years after his arrival in 1718, an epidemic forced him to return to Europe. After an entanglement with pirates, he briefly took up a rabbinical post in Florence before moving to Livorno. There he engaged in commerce and study, and began to work on several volumes dealing with both Talmudic and Kabbalistic topics.5 In his Yosher Levav Rabbi Immanuel turned his attention to tzimtzum, and asserted his preference for a literal reading of Arizals narrative. Accordingly, he is of the opinion that G ds essential self is literally removed from the realm in which the created beings exist. One who cares for the honor of G d, he argues, must think of this tzimtzum in a literal sense, rather than reduce G ds honor by thinking that the divine self is present even in lowly physical things, which are dishonorable and even despicable.6 This argument is acknowledged by Rabbi Immanuel to be more emotional, or intuitive, than rational. Initially he does attempt to defend some of the philosophical objections to his position, but ultimately concludes that such hidden things are not understood by us with our natural philosophical capacities. I accept this view,

he admitted, not based on philosophical inquiry into the nature of G ds being, but because it is more reconcilable to my heart that it be taken literally.7 Rabbi Immanuel is simply unwilling to accept the idea that the transcendent essentiality of G ds self is immanently present even within the crudest of physical things. Rabbi Yosef Irgas ( )was the rabbi of Livorno at the time, and no doubt was familiar with Rabbi Immanuel Ricchis position firsthand.8 His work Shomer Emunim was composed as a dialogue in which a Kabbalist helps a Talmudist to discern the conceptual depth so often concealed by the metaphoric obscurities of Kabbalistic literature. In a discussion of tzimtzum,9 the Kabbalist (named Yehoyada) offers a One who cares for the plethora of philosophical and honor of G d . . . must textual proofs, think of this tzimtzum in conclusively a literal sense, rather demonstrating that Arizal never intended than reduce G ds honor. the tzimtzum narrative to be taken at all literally. As in so many other instances, he was simply borrowing the vivid language of the here and now to describe realities that actually bear no similarities to anything the human mind can visualize. Not very surprisingly, Yehoyadas Talmudic interlocutor, The title page of Yosher Levav Shaltiel, is convinced, and holds this up as an example of the fundamental mistakes that can be made by those who read the books of the Kabbalists at face value, without deep thought and philosophical enquiry.10 Although Rabbi Immanuel Ricchi failed to address the philosophical objections to his literal reading of the tzimtzum narrative, he did address some of the textual problems with more conviction. One example, which would come to the fore in subsequent incarnations of the debate, was the Zoharic statement that there is no place empty of G d.11 Being that Rabbi Immanuel opined that the created realm actually is empty of the divine self, he was forced to interpret this to mean that no place is empty of G ds providence (hashgachah, in Hebrew). Accordingly, the divine essence is literally absent from the created realm, but various degrees of divine knowledge and supervision are yet extended throughout all existence.12

Between Absence and Concealment

To help draw the conceptual magnitude of this debate closer to our perception, lets imagine the following (entirely fictitious) scenario: Leonardo da Vinci, the paradigmatic Renaissance polymath, is in the midst of painting his all-time masterpiece. In one great work he intends to express a vision of all the vast complexity of his inner mind. The mysterious intersections of science, music, mathematics, art and philosophy will all be laid bare on a single canvas. In this painting, Leonardo seeks to communicate the very essence of his being, and he is entirely engrossed in this all-consuming task. He has been at it since four oclock in the morning, and now it is nearly five in the afternoon. Not having eaten the entire day, Leonardo begins to wane. Feeling tired and dizzy, he suddenly realizes that he is ravenously hungry. Tearing himself away from his very lifework, Leonardo spreads two slices of bread with cream cheese, and deftly slices a tomato into perfect rounds to make himself a sandwich. With a last flourish of the knife he divides the sandwich into two perfect halves; he grabs one half in his left hand and immediately returns to his paintingwhich in truth he never left. Even as he smeared the bread thickly with cheese, there was nothing in Leonardos world other than the unfinished portrayal of his deepest self.

After several more hours of intense activity, the masterpiece is complete; Leonardo collapses exhausted into bed and falls asleep. After a while, a child wanders into the studio, and gazes uncomprehendingly at the exhausted old man on the bed, the finished painting on the easel, andon a stool beside itthe remaining half of Leonardos cream cheese and tomato sandwich. Both the painting and the sandwich are the work of Leonardo da Vinci, but neither of them convey anything of Leonardos genius to our child observer. All the child can Leonardo is entirely surmise is that the old man is either a absent from the sandwich maker who sandwich, but all the paints, or a painter who vast breadth and makes sandwiches. As far as the child is persona is vested in the concerned, the sandwich and the painting. painting are equally inadequate expressions of Leonardos transcendent genius. Yet the difference between these two objects is momentous. Although Tomato rounds they were both made by Leonardo da Vinci, the sandwich is just a sandwich, while the painting embodies something of Leonardos very self. Leonardo is entirely absent from the sandwich, but all the vast breadth and creative depth of his persona is vested in the painting. It is only that the child is not equipped to see it. With this analogy in mind, let us return to the distinction between tzimtzum ki-peshuto and tzimtzum she-lo ki-peshuto. If the tzimtzum narrative is taken at face value (tzimtzum ki-peshuto), then the created reality is analogous to Leonardos sandwich; G d created the world, and very much cares about worldly events and human actions, but G ds essential self is in no way embodied or invested in such goings-on. In the analogy, Leonardo was very hungry, and he really liked cream cheese; peanut butter and jelly really would not have gone down well at all. But none of these facts are in any way relevant toor expressions ofLeonardos essential genius. In the analogue, the utter transcendence of the divine self remains entirely absent from the created realm even If the tzimtzum narrative as divine supervision is exercised therein. If, on the other hand, we interpret the tzimtzum narrative to mean that the essential assertion of the divine self is actually concealed withinrather than absent fromthe creative process (tzimtzum she-lo ki-peshuto), then created reality is better compared to Leonardos masterpiece. The painting isnt just something that Leonardo happens to have made: it is an external embodiment of all his vast genius, even if the observer cant see it. In the analogue, the utter transcendence of the divine self is immanently present within all of created reality in an even more intimate sense, even if that presence isnt discernible to the human eye.

creative depth of his

is taken at face value . . . the divine self remains entirely absent from the created realm even as divine supervision is exercised therein.

Chassidim and Mitnagdim

Transported across Europe, and inserted into a deeply complex context of social and religious upheaval, the potent depth of this distinction became the seminal bone of contention in a controversy that tore entire communities asunder. In the early 1790s a slim volume, compiled by an unknown author, was published in Zolkva (, today called Zhovkva), a small city in western Ukraine, bearing the title Tzavaat haRivash.13 All of the teachings included in this text had already been published in earlier works, but this was the first such book whose title page bore so authoritative an appellation; Rivash is an acronym for Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shemthe founder of the chassidic movement, who had passed away in 1760and the appearance of Tzavaat ha-Rivash helped inspire a new assault against the spiritual heirs of its namesake. In the ensuing controversy, the debate regarding the tzimtzum narrative was placed front and center. In a letter addressed to Paul I, emperor of Russia, a certain Avigdor ben Chaim later testified that it was he who convinced Rabbi Eliyahu, the famed Vilna Gaon, that the books of the chassidim contained so many foolish and subversive views . . . and things that depart from the good way, that according to our law they must be burned in public.14 They brought this to fruition in Vilna, and commanded the public burning of the books of this cult in front of the synagogue.15 Another letter, penned by representatives of the Vilna congregation, confirms that the pietist [Rabbi Eliyahu] purged the [chassidic] cult from the holy congregation of Vilna so far as he was able, and also burned Tzavaat ha-Rivash in the presence of a large gathering . . .16 The Vilna Gaon often figures in anti-chassidic literature as the Title page of an early edition of Tzavaat ha-Rivash movements most authoritative detractor; but there are few firsthand sources in which he himself chronicled his objections. Accusations that the chassidim are ignorant, subversive, unruly and immoral are also common, but rarely are more specific and substantive objections raised. An exception to both these rules is a public letter penned by the Gaon in 1797 in which he supplemented the usual diatribe with a theological critique that does indeed drive to the core of the Baal Shem Tovs teachings.17 In the words of Rabbi Avraham Cohen de Herrera (cited above), G d not only causes the existence of all created things but also passes through all of them, fills them all, and is all that they are. Taking this notion to its logical conclusion, the Baal Shem Tov taught that even the most mundane things and actions carry the absolute significance of the divine self. This does not mean that all realities should be unconditionally embraced; on the contrary, such realities normally conceal the spark of divinity that lies at their core. But when we engage a given object or situation in the service of G d, the external concealment is stripped away and its true nature is drawn to the fore.

G d not only causes the existence of all created things but also passes through all of them, fills them all, and is all that they are.

Accordingly, Tzavaat ha-Rivash interprets the verse In all your ways know G d18 as an instruction to utilize even the most mundane activities to make divine transcendence immanently manifest.19 A couple of pages later, this major principle is reiterated: In everything that exists in the world there are holy sparks, there is nothing empty of the sparks, even wood and stones, and even all the actions that a person executes . . .20 This last passage likely formed the basis of the Gaons accusation that the chassidim proclaim of every stick and every stone, These are your gods, Israel!, a phrase which is borrowed from the biblical episode of the golden calf,21 effectively equating chassidism with the worst example of public idolatry. These evil

evildoers, the Gaon proclaimed, have fabricated from their hearts a new law and a new Torah; their students who followed them have drunk it; and the name of heaven has been profaned by their hand.22

A Seminal Schism
For the Gaon and his fellow mitnagdim, this wasnt a mere theological quibble, but a frontal attack on the chassidic worldview. The notion that G d is literally absent from the created realm (tzimtzum ki-peshuto) entails that the relationship between G d and man is marked by a hierarchical chasm that can be bridged only by quantitative degree. From this perspective, G d is qualitatively removed from the created realm; but by studying more Torah and Holiness is not to be accruing more mitzvot, a heightened degree of worthiness can be achieved. The chassidic concept of divine immanence (tzimtzum measured in terms of she-lo ki-peshuto) completely collapses that hierarchy. From this personal achievement, perspective, G ds transcendent self is immanently concealed but by degrees of within all of created reality; via the path of Torah and mitzvot man can reveal the infinite quality of that intimacy even in the most transparency to mundane aspects of life. If used correctly, a single moment can ubiquitous divinity. be infused with eternal value. From the chassidic point of view, neither the learned scholar nor the reclusive pietist can claim a monopoly on holiness. Mans purpose, the Baal Shem Tov taught, is not to try and escape the clutches of earthly endeavor, achieving some more transcendent station. On the contrary, such mundane occupations as plying a trade, working the land or eating are to be transformed into vehicles for the revelation of divine immanence. Holiness is not to be measured in terms of personal achievement, but by degrees of transparency to ubiquitous divinity. This brings us to another important axiom of the Baal Shem Tovs teachings. The hallmarks of holiness are transparency, selflessness and humility; the measure of unholiness is egotism, self-obsession and arrogance. In the words of the Talmud, Of the haughty one G d says, He and I are unable to dwell together in the world.23 Selfishness most effectively obscures the immanent presence of the divine self. These ideas are powerful and empowering, and with the passing years they gained increasing momentum. The establishment of chassidic centers by such figures as Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk and Rabbi Aaron of Karlin in the mid-1760s marked the spread of chassidism from Poland to White Russia and the borders of Lithuania. Both were disciples of Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritch, who had become the most prominent exponent of chassidic teaching following the Baal Shem Tovs passing, and it was through them and their contemporaries that chassidism became widespread as a popular movement. Other disciples of the Maggid who hailed from that general region included Rabbi Avraham of Kalisk, who had previously been a student of the Vilna Gaon,24 and Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.25 Rabbi Avraham of Kalisk was a gifted scholar, a man of deep and powerful sentiment, and a charismatic leader. Upon returning from Mezeritch he established a following amongst young men of similar ability and temperament. These young men were captivated by the radical notion of divine immanence, and they strove to cultivate an ever deeper sense of humility and selflessness, combined with joy in the presence of G d. Their

Detail: map show ing spread of chassidism in the

prayers were marked by deep fervor and rapturous joy, and in their most ecstatic moments they would turn somersaults in a head-over-heels gesture of utter self-effacement. Their sole intention was to breathe new life into Jewish practice and learning by promoting an increased sense of divine omnipresence. Their sincere dedication, however, was soon overcome by an excess of zeal.26

area

To the followers of Rabbi Avraham of Kalisk, even the slightest hint of egotism was anathema, and they had little patience for scholars who took pride in their abilities and achievements. They reserved particular contempt for the rabbinic preachers who made their living by railing against the sins of the general Jewish populace, attempting to reduce their audiences to tears with threats of eternal punishment. In the eyes of these idealistic young scholars, the simple Jewswho observed what little they knew of the commandments conscientiously and selflesslywere to be praised, encouraged and empowered. Conversely, the rabbinic leaders who so condescendingly condoned their censure deserved to be toppled from their selfrighteous pedestals. These were subversive sentiments, and while the chassidim had no intention of undermining rabbinic authority, they did want to bring about a collective change of attitude. Such an effort could succeed unopposed only if it was conducted with due care and finesse. Unfortunately, however, such delicacy seems to have been the one thing that some of Rabbi Avrahams followers lacked. Carried away by the emotive power of their convictions, they would sometimes exhibit their uninhibited rapture and self-effacement by dancing wildly in the streets. Organized opposition to the chassidic movement began as a direct response to their open display of contempt for certain rabbinic leaders.27 Taking the notion of divine immanence to its furthest degree, the Baal Shem Tov taught that a spark of divinity lies buried even within a sinful act. Never did he suggest that sin should be encouraged or even condoned, but he did affirm that sin created a unique opportunity to return (teshuvah) and develop a more intimate relationship with G d. The very passage in Tzavaat haRivash which the Gaon attacked for proclaiming that a divine spark resides even in wood and stones continues to assert that even in a sin that man commits there are sparks . . . and what are the sparks in a sin? Teshuvah!28

To the followers of Rabbi Avraham of Kalisk, even the slightest hint of egotism was anathema, and they had little patience for scholars who took pride in their abilities and achievements.

Taking the notion of divine immanence to its furthest degree, the Baal Shem Tov taught that a spark of divinity even lies buried within a sinful act.

Nothing warrants a sinful act; indeed, such an act drags a spark of the divine self into exile.29 But once committed, a sinful act must be harnessed to inspire a process of regret and return, culminating in an even deeper degree of subjugation to the divine will than could previously have been attained. Such a process of teshuvah reveals the divine spark that is buried even within sin, elevating it and redeeming them from exile.30 These ideas were drawn directly from the teachings of Arizal,31 but for the Vilna Gaon even his authority was not enough.32 The rise of chassidism in Eastern Europe coincided with the spread of antinomian cults under the leadership of Jacob Frank, who claimed to be the reincarnation of the false messiah Shabbetai Tzvi. Like Tzvi, Frank and his followers justified their open rejection of the Talmud and halachahalong with their engagement in adultery and other profane activitiesby perverting the Lurianic doctrine that fallen sparks of divinity reside even in the lowest realms. In 1759, Frank and many of his followers had converted to Christianity. The chassidim did not reject the Talmud, nor did they downplay the central importance of halachah. But their embrace of such a radical notion of divine immanence led the chassidic movement to be misrepresented and misunderstood as a new incarnation of the Sabbatean heresy. Nothing could have

been further from the truth; the entire purpose of chassidism was to promote and perpetuate the service of G d through Torah study and mitzvah observance. But given the context of social and religious upheaval, the potent depth of this doctrine, combined with the indelicate exhibitionism of the Kalisk chassidim, was enough to raise the ire of the rabbinic leadership in Lithuania.33 In the spring of 1772 the foremost communities of Lithuania including Brisk, Shklov and Brodywere led by Rabbi Eliyahu, the Vilna Gaon, in a spate of public denouncements and excommunications directed at the new chassidic cult, sometimes referred to as the Karliners. Much of the relevant documentation was collected and published that same year near the town of Brody.34 Copies were disseminated far and wide and were quickly snapped up, literally adding fuel to the fires of controversy. In an anti-chassidic letter dating from the spring of 1773 it is claimed that the pamphlet, titled Zemir Aritzim (which means Slasher of Tyrants), was publicly burned by chassidim in the town of Grodno.35
Jacob Frank

Providence and Its Ramifications

In the wake of these events Rabbi Avraham of Kalisk was taken to task by Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritch, who rebuked him for the undisciplined behavior of his disciples.36 But the utter refusal of the Vilna Gaon to enter into any kind of dialogue with the chassidic leadership cannot be put down to irreverent antics alone; ultimately, his deep suspicion had more to do with belief than behavior. As we have already noted, in taking the tzimtzum narrative to mean that G ds self was literally absent from the created realm, Rabbi Immanuel Ricchi was forced to interpret various statements implying divine omnipresence as referring to the omnipresence of divine providence (hashgachah. Accordingly, the notion of hashgachah is invoked in the context of tzimtzum to justify a literal understanding of divine transcendence that utterly removes The notion of the divine self from the created realm. It is noteworthy that in several instances, quite isolated from his polemic against the hashgachah is invoked chassidim, the Vilna Gaon too avoided interpreting such in the context of statements as references to the immanent presence of G d.37 In tzimtzum to justify a a more direct discussion of the nature of tzimtzum, he interprets it as a statement regarding the utter infinitude and inconceivability literal understanding of of the divine self. But here too the Gaon is careful to describe the divine transcendence line (kav) of divinity that is extended into the created realm as 38 an extremely limited superintendence. While he did not read that utterly removes the the tzimtzum narrative as an event that literally unfolded in time divine self from the and space, he clearly did understand it to mean that G ds transcendent self was literally removed from the limited domain of created realm. creation (tzimtzum ki-peshuto).39 The Gaons position as spelled out in the 1779 letter cited above seems unequivocal: the belief that divine transcendence is immanently present in the most mundaneand even profanerealities of the physical realm renders even the most inoffensive and scholarly chassid a complete heretic. With the passing years, it increasingly fell upon Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (who lived first in Vitebsk and later in Liozna, and moved to Liadi only in the early 1800s) to lead the chassidim of White Russia and Lithuania and to bear the brunt of the mitnagdic attacks. Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritch, had passed away not long after the controversy started in earnest, and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk and Rabbi Avraham of Kalisk had emigrated to the Holy Land in 1777.40

Rabbi Schneur Zalman was one of the youngest of the Maggids disciples, but stood out among them for his unique ability to channel profound aspects of faith and feeling through the rigid faculties of the rational mind. It was on this basis that he founded the Chabad school of chassidic thought and practice.41 True sentiment, he taught, must be informed by sense and sensibility. Rabbi Schneur Zalman was also an exceptional Talmudic scholar; the Maggid had charged him to compose a new code of Jewish law, seamlessly arbitrating between the different authorities, and combining clear rulings with concise explanations.42 From the very beginning, Rabbi Schneur Zalman sought to resolve the controversy through reasoned dialogue. In the winter of 1772 he had accompanied Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk to Vilna, but the Gaon had steadfastly refused to see them, going so far as to leave the city until they departed.43 In 1787 a second wave of intensified persecution was directed against Rabbi Schneur Zalman personally, and again he beseeched his detractors to allow him the opportunity to defend himself before recognized authorities who might arbitrate between them without bias. Not surprisingly, his request was ignored, and persecution of Let him explain his chassidim throughout the region continued reservations against us unchecked.44 regarding this belief . . .

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi

When the third wave of and I will follow after anti-chassidic agitation him . . . The two letters began in the early to will be sent to all the mid-1790s, Rabbi Schneur Zalman wise men of Israel . . . repeated his earlier and by the majority we exhortation that his followers not respond shall rule. in kind.45 In a letter dating from 1797, he explicitly referred to the burning of Tzavaat ha-Rivash and cited the question of divine immanence as the Gaons most fundamental critique of the Baal Shem Tovs teachings.46 Rabbi Schneur Zalman then proposed a new resolution to the debate: Let him clearly explain all his reservations against us regarding this belief . . . and he himself will append to it his signature, and I will follow after him . . . to respond to all his reservations, likewise written and signed in my own handwriting, and the two letters will be published together and sent to all the wise men of Israel who are near and far, so that they may offer their opinion in this matter . . . and by the majority we shall rule, and so there will be peace upon Israel, amen.47 Rabbi Schneur Zalmans proposal never came to fruition, but in the same year his magnum opus, Tanya, was published. Although this work had already been circulated widely in manuscript copies, one significant section was omitted from the first published edition, apparently to avoid further confrontation with the mitnagdim: In the second part of Tanya, titled Shaar ha-Yichud veha-Emunah (lit., The Gate of Unity and Faith), Rabbi Schneur Zalman directly addressed the Gaons assertion that G ds self is not present within the world, and that nothing more than divine superintendence (hashgachah) is exercised therein. This discussion exists in several manuscript editions, but first appeared in print in the authoritative Vilna edition of Tanya, published in 1900.48

If the two positions maintained by the Gaon are correctly understood, Rabbi Schneur Zalman argued, they are revealed to be mutually exclusive: it is logically incoherent to claim that the divine self is removed from the created realm, but yet has knowledge and jurisdiction over all created beings.49 In order to articulate his point, Rabbi Schneur Zalman invoked Maimonides, who explained that it would be wrong to conceive of divine knowledge in the same way we experience human knowledge. The human experience of knowledge is comprised of three utterly distinct components; 1) the subjective self that perceives (the knower); 2) the object that is perceived (the known); and 3) what the subject perceives of the object (the knowledge). But the essential unity of the divine self does not allow for multiple components of divine knowledge. We must conclude therefore, that all divine It is logically incoherent knowledge is actually self-knowledge: He is to claim that the divine the Knower, He is the self is removed from the Subject of Knowledge, created realm, but yet and He is the Knowledge itself. All is has knowledge and one.50

Manuscript show ing opening lines of Shaar haYichud veha-Emunah

If divine knowledge is self-knowledge, reasons Rabbi Schneur Zalman, then divine superintendence of the created realm entails that the divine self is actually extended throughout that realm. This conclusion echoes the statement of Rabbi Avraham Cohen de Herrera (cited above) that G d is not only the external cause of all created things but also passes through all of them, fills them all, and is all that they are. In other words, the notion of divine providence is actually incompatible with the claim that the divine self is literally absent from creation. The Maimonidean understanding of divine knowledge, explains Rabbi Schneur Zalman, reveals that those who thought themselves clever and interpreted the Arizals tzimtzum narrative literally did not speak with understanding. Since they themselves believe that G d knows all the created beings in this lower world and exercises providence over them, and He knows all by knowing His self, they too must admit that G ds transcendent self is immanently present throughout all existence, for His essence and His being and His knowledge are all one. The literalist claimthat the divine self is removed from the created realm, and that divine superintendence is yet asserted therein is demonstrated to be logically untenable. The tzimtzum narrative must therefore All divine knowledge is be interpreted in terms of concealment rather than absence. The very principle put forth by Rabbi Immanuel Ricchi, and later by the Vilna Gaon, to buttress their rejection of the non-literal interpretation of the tzimtzum narrative was used by Rabbi Schneur Zalman to reverse that rejection and uphold the nonliteral interpretation.

jurisdiction over all created beings.

The success of Rabbi Schneur Zalmans argument is best demonstrated by an examination of how Arizals narrative was understood by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the Vilna Gaons foremost disciple. In his famous work of Jewish thought and ethics, Nefesh ha-Chaim, Rabbi Chaim wrote explicitly that tzimtzum does not mean departure and removal, but hiddenness and concealment. Rather than describing the line (kav) of divinity which is extended into the created realm as an extremely limited stewardship, as did the Gaon, Rabbi Chaim describes it as a limited revelation . . . that arrives by

actually self-knowledge: He is the Knower, He is the Subject of Knowledge, and He is the Knowledge itself. All is one.

way of ordered degree and many concealments [even] to the very lowest forces. Arizals intention, he explained, was not that G d was literally removed from the created realm, but that G ds unified self, the divine essence that fills all worlds, is withdrawn (metzumtzam) and concealed from our grasp.51 The interpretation advocated by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin upholds the very position that his master and predecessor, the Vilna Gaon, had censured the chassidim as heretics for asserting: that the divine self is imminently present Although the issue of even in the lowest of created realms, and that tzimtzum implies concealment rather than absence.52 Of course, Rabbi Chaim did divine immanence was not adopt the chassidic worldview and way of life in its entirety, laid to rest, a separate and many differences yet remained between chassidim and distinction regarding the mitnagdim. But, robbed of its ideological basis, the struggle against the chassidic movement lost much of its potency and import of tzimtzum yet power.

remained outstanding.

Although the issue of divine immanence was laid to rest, a separate distinction regarding the import of tzimtzum yet remained outstanding. Did the tzimtzum conceal the very essence of the divine self (atzmut ein sof), or only the manifestation of that essence (ohr ain sof)? If you pay close attention to the words of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin cited above, it appears that he understood tzimtzum as a concealment of the divine essence itself. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, however, taught that the essence itself is categorically beyond concealment.53 Due to its esoteric subtlety, this distinction was never cause for conflict, but it is by no means insignificant. This is an issue that penetrates to the very core of divine being, and uncovers the quintessential intimacy that lies at the epicenter of otherness. With G ds help, the question of how far the concealment of tzimtzum extended, along with its attendant consequences, will be addressed in a future article.
FOOTNOTES 1. For details of Rabbi Avrahams life and works see Mordechai Margolis, R. Avraham Herrera in Encyclopedia of Great Men of Israel, vol. 1 (Mosad Harav Kook, 1946), pp. 1718, and Gershom Scholem, Avraham Cohen Herrera, Author of The Gate of Heaven, His Life, Works and Influence (Mosad Bialik, 1978). Shaar ha-Shamayim , section 5, end of chapter 12. Variations of this appear in Tikkunei Zohar, tikun 57; Zohar Chadash, Yitro 34c; et al. Zohar, Pinchas 225a. See Mordechai Margolis, R. Immanuel Ricchi in Encyclopedia of Great Men of Israel, vol. 4, pp. 12001203. Yosher Levav, b ayit 1, cheder 1, chapter 12. Ibid., chapter 13. For biographical details see Mordechai Margolis, Yosef Irgas in Encyclopedia of Great Men of Israel. Shomer Emunim , Vikuach Sheni, 3446.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10. Ibid., 46. 11. Tikkunei Zohar 57 (91b). 12. Yosher Levav, ibid., chapter 13. 13. The precise date of its first appearance is unknown; see Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet, introduction to the English edition of Tzavaat ha-Rivash (Kehot Publication Society, 1998). 14. This was not the first time Avigdor had acted in concert with the Vilna Gaon against the perceived iniquities of the

chassidim. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, a prominent chassidic leader, had served as the chief rabbi of Pinsk and its environs since 1776. In 1784 the Vilna Gaon appended his signature to a letter addressing the community council of Pinsk exhorting them to take action against Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, who strengthens the hands of sinners . . . the cult of suspects, the chassidim. In the wake of this letter, the directive to take from him the staff of rule . . . and utterly expel him was brought to fruition. The next occupant of the Pinsk chief rabbinate was Avigdor ben Chaim. Furthermore, the very letter to the czar here cited led directly to the second imprisonment of the Chabad chassidic leader Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. 15. Chassidim u-Mitnagdim , vol. 1, p. 252. 16. Ibid., 182. 17. Ibid., 187190. 18. Proverbs 3:6. 19. Tzavaat ha-Rivash #94. Viewable in Hebrew here, and in English here. 20. Ibid., #141. 21. Exodus 32:4. 22. Chassidim u-Mitnagdim , vol. 1, pp. 188189. 23. Sotah 5b. 24. See Shmuel Yosef Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael (Warsaw, 1887), p. 59. 25. For more details regarding the spread of chassidism during the lifetime of the Maggid, see Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet, The Great Maggid: The Life and Teachings of Rab b i DovBer of Mezhirech (Kehot Publication Society, 1990). 26. See Ha-Tamim , issue 2, pp. 48 [142] and 62 [156]. 27. Ibid., p. 63. See also other sources cited in Chassidim u-Mitnagdim , vol. 1, pp. 2930. 28. Tzavaat ha-Rivash #141. 29. See Tanya, Likkutei Amarim, ch. 24, and Igeret Hakodesh, sec. 25. 30. Tanya, loc. cit.; Tzavaat ha-Rivash, loc. cit. 31. See for instance Rabbi Chaim Vital, Shemoneh Shearim , Shaar Gimmel, Shabbat, regarding keri and yakar. 32. Igrot Kodesh Admor ha-Zaken #52 (new edition, Kehot Publication Society, 2012), pp. 185186. 33. There is ample evidence of the association of chassidim with Frankists and Sabbateans in the mitnagdic literature. For a detailed account see Eliyahu Stern, The Genius: Eliyahu of Vilna and the Making of Modern Judaism (Yale University Press, 2013), pp. 98102. 34. See Chassidim u-Mitnagdim , vol. 1, pp. 2769. 35. See ibid., pp. 7074. 36. Igrot Kodesh Admor ha-Zaken #89 (new edition, Kehot Publication Society, 2012), pp. 344345. 37. See Aderet Eliyahu to Isaiah 6:3. 38. See supplementary notes in Beur ha-Gra to Sifra di-Tzeniuta, Sod ha-Tzimtzum, p. 75 [38a in Hebrew pagination]. 39. In The Faith of the Mithnagdim: Rab b inic Responses to Hasidic Rapture (The John Hopkins University Press, 1997), chapter 1, Allan Nadler tries to downplay the distinction between the Gaons [GRAs] understanding of tzimtzum and that of the Chassidim. According to Nadler, Nowhere in the GRAs writings or those of his disciples is a strictly literal

understanding of tzimtzum or a strictly transcendent cosmology elucidated (p. 16). The first part of this statement would be true if literal meant spatial and temporal, and indeed no chassid ever accused the Gaon of such a corporeal understanding of the concept. But the second part of this statement is misleading. On the very next page Nadler quotes extensively from Beur ha-Gra to Sifra di-Tzeniuta (cited in the previous footnote), but stops short of citing the passages where the Gaon states that the line (kav) of divinity extended into the created realm is but limited superintendencei.e., hashgachah, knowledge and stewardship from beyond the created realm, rather than the immanent presence of the divine self therein. This omission implies that Nadler was not sufficiently familiar with the earlier incarnations of this dispute (described above), in which it is clear that the notion of hashgachah is invoked in the context of tzimtzum to justify a literal understanding of divine transcendence that utterly removes the divine self from the creative process and the created realm. Nadlers argument is even more difficult to uphold in the light of the Gaons attack on the chassidic notion of immanence (cited above, and by Nadler on page 11); surely, if the Gaon himself held a similar view, it is unlikely he would have equated the chassidic belief with idol-worship. 40. See Igrot Kodesh Admor ha-Zaken (new edition, Kehot Publication Society, 2012), introduction, p. 41. 41. See Making Chassidism Accessible: How Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi Successfully Preserved and Perpetuated the Teachings of The Baal Shem Tov, and sources cited there. 42. See Systematization, Explanation and Arbitration: Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadis Unique Legislative Style, and sources cited there. 43. See Igrot Kodesh Admor ha-Zaken #52 (new edition, Kehot Publication Society, 2012), p. 182: the Gaon twice locked the door before us, and when the leaders of the city spoke to him, [saying], Master, their famed leader has come to debate your scholarly self, and since you will surely defeat him, with this there will be peace upon Israel, he pushed them off with rejections. When they began to urge him very much, he turned and departed, traveling away from the city, and remaining there until the day we departed from the city. For a mitnagdic source verifying this account, see Zemir Aritzim , ketav 6 (republished in Chassidim u-Mitnagdim , vol. 1, p. 64). Although he did not succeed in meeting the Gaon, Rabbi Menachem Mendels teachings and style of prayer did attract a small following among the local populace, resulting in the establishment of a chassidic minyan in Vilna itself. See letter of the mitnaged R. Dovid of Makov published in Chassidim u-Mitnagdim , vol. 2, p. 236. 44. See Igrot Kodesh Admur ha-Zaken (new edition, Kehot Publication Society, 2012), introduction, pp. 5052. 45. Ibid., #14, pp. 4950.; #54, pp. 194197; et al. 46. The Gaons letter on the subject had been published just a few months earlier. 47. Igrot Kodesh Admur ha-Zaken, #52 (new edition, Kehot Publication Society, 2012), pp. 184185. 48. See Yehoshua Mondshine, Bib liography of Liqqutei AmarimTanya (Kehot Publication Society, 1981), p. 15. 49. The relevant discussion appears in Shaar ha-Yichud veha-Emunah, ch. 7, pp. 165166 [83ab in the Hebrew pagination]. 50. Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei ha-Torah 2:10. 51. Nefesh ha-Chaim , section 3, ch. 7. 52. See Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Igrot Kodesh, vol. 1 (Kehot Publication Society, 1987), pp. 1921 (viewable in English translation here); ibid., vol. 3, pp. 134135. 53. Torah Ohr, Vayeira 14b. See sources cited in previous note.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

On the Calendar

19 Kislev: The New Year of Chassidism

The 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev is celebrated as the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism. It was on this date, in the year 1798, that the founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (17451812), was freed from his imprisonment in czarist Russia. More than a personal liberation, this was a watershed event in the history of Chassidism, heralding a new era in the revelation of the inner soul of Torah. The public dissemination of the teachings of Chassidism had in fact begun two generations earlier. The founder of the chassidic movement, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698 1760), revealed to his disciples gleanings from the mystical soul of Torah which had previously been the sole province of select Kabbalists in each generation. This work was continued by the Baal Shem Tovs disciple, Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritchwho is also deeply connected with the date of 19 Kislev: on this day in 1772, 26 years before Rabbi Schneur Zalmans release from prison, the Maggid returned his soul to his Maker. Before his passing, he said to his disciple, Rabbi Schneur Zalman: This day is our yom tov (festival). Rabbi Schneur Zalman went much farther than his predecessors, bringing these teachings to broader segments of the Jewish population of Eastern Europe. More significantly, Rabbi Schneur Zalman founded the Chabad approacha philosophy and system of study, meditation, and character refinement that made these abstract concepts rationally comprehensible and practically applicable in daily life. In its formative years, the chassidic movement was the object of strong, and often venomous, opposition from establishment rabbis and laymen. Even within the chassidic community, a number of Rabbi Schneur Zalmans contemporaries and colleagues felt that he had gone too far in tangibilizing and popularizing the hitherto hidden soul of Torah. In the fall of 1798, Rabbi Schneur Zalman was arrested on charges that his teachings and activities threatened the imperial authority of the czar, and was imprisoned in an island fortress in the Neva River in Petersburg. In his interrogations, he was compelled to present to the czars ministers the basic tenets of Judaism and explain various points of chassidic philosophy and practice. After 53 days, he was exonerated of all charges and released. Rabbi Schneur Zalman saw these events as a reflection of what was transpiring Above. He regarded his arrest as but the earthly echo of a heavenly indictment against his revelation of the most intimate secrets of the Torah. And he saw his release as signifying his vindication in the heavenly court. Following his liberation on 19 Kislev, he redoubled his efforts, disseminating his teachings on a far broader scale, and with more detailed and down-to-earth explanations, than before.

The nineteenth of Kislev therefore marks the birth of Chassidism: the point at which it was allowed to emerge from the womb of mysticism into the light of day, to grow and develop as an integral part of Torah and Jewish life. For more on Rabbi Schneur Zalman, his teachings, and the events of 19 Kislev, see the following articles and stories:
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

On the Calendar

14 Kislev: The Marriage of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin

In December of 1928, the Rebbes marriage to Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, daughter of the then Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, was held in Warsaw, Poland. By then word of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchaks heroic struggle on behalf of Soviet Jewry was world-renowned, and the high regard in which he was held was evidenced by the numerous rabbis, rebbes and lay leaders of European Jewry, and the thousands of people from all walks of life, who honored him with their presence at his daughters wedding. At the beginning of the wedding, the Rebbetzins father announced:
The Rebbe and his future father-in-law after his engagement

It is a tradition that the souls of the ancestors of the bride and groom come and participate in their wedding celebration . . . As my invitation to them, I will now deliver a maamar (discourse of chassidic teaching) which includes teachings from our holy and righteous ancestors: the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad Chassidism); Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch; our great-grandfather (Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitchthe Rebbes namesake); our grandfather (Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch); and of my father, the brides grandfather (Rabbi Sholom DovBer). As our sages have said, Whoever repeats a teaching should envision the author of the teaching standing before him. Those who attended the wedding later recalled the palpable sense of holiness which permeated the room as Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak delivered the discourse. Hundreds of miles away, another wedding celebration was being held that night. In the city of Yekatrinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk), the Rebbes

parents, harassed by the Soviet authorities for their efforts on behalf of Judaism, were denied permission to travel to Warsaw. (In 1939 the Rebbes father would be arrested, cruelly tortured, and banished to the gulag, where he died in 1944 of sickness and hardship.) Prevented by a curtain of iron from attending the marriage of their firstborn son, they were nevertheless determined to rejoice in his joy. In a moving memoir, the Rebbes mother, Rebbetzin Chana, described the wedding celebration held in their home, which lacked the physical presence of a groom and bride, yet was aflame with a joy as powerful as the pain in the grooms parents hearts.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved. The bride Chaya Mushka Schneerson

Your Questions

Where Is the Woman of My Dreams?

By Aron Moss

Question:
I am in my late thirties and still single. I have met dozens of women, but none are right for me. I know what you are going to say: I am too fussy. But I cant just settle on something half good. Where is the woman of my dreams?

Answer:
It doesnt make sense. You are a wonderful person with so much to offer. Why are you still alone? There could be many reasons why someone may find it hard to find a partner. But I think in your case the answer is simple. Youre married already. You are not available, because you are involved in a longstanding intimate relationship with an imaginary Ms. Perfect. You have an exact picture in your mind of the perfect woman, and you are so in love with that picture that you are not open to anyone else. No matter how great the girl is, she cant compare to your dream. You have become stuck inside a bubble with your imaginary love, and are not really open to real people. So, you havent really met dozens of womenyou never actually meet anyone. You see them not for who

they are, but rather for who they are notthe imaginary Ms Perfect. A relationship means connecting with an other, someone who is not you. You cant have a relationship with a figment of your own imagination, or with your own assumed caricature of another person. You need to step out of your imagination, suspend your prejudices and really open yourself to someone else. Let yourself be surprised. Otherwise, the woman of your dreams will stay right where she isin your dreams. I apologize if my answer is harsh. I just want to burst your bubble, because there is a real person out there waiting for you to meet her. She deserves it. So do you. Rabbi Aron Moss teaches Kabbalah, Talmud and practical Judaism in Sydney, Australia, and is a frequent contributor to Chabad.org.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Your Questions

What Is the Tanya About?

By Yisroel Cotlar

Question:
What is the theme of the Tanya? I was just introduced to the book by a Chabad neighbor, and Im considering exploring this new area.

Answer:
Mazel tov on your discovery of Tanya. Tanya is the foundational work of the Chabad movement. It lays down the practical and mystical fundamentals of the Chabad philosophy. It was authored by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (17451812), the founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The major theme of Tanya is the ubiquitous Identity Crisis.
Photo by Oneinfocus.

There are days when one indeed feels inspired by Judaism and spirituality, and there are days when they are a real bore. There are times when nothing seems more important than studying Torah or praying, and there are times when nothing seems greater than a steak and a good ballgame. There are moments when one is disgusted by the worlds immorality, and there are moments when one is tempted by it. So, who are we? Are we to ignore our beastly temptations, or come to terms with them? And how is it that people possessing a G dly soul can be filled with such animalistic desires?

It is Tanya that guides us through our dual personality. It gives us the insight to understand and overcome the struggles we deal with on a day-to-day basis. Yes, we have a Code of Jewish Law that clearly tells us how to live every aspect of our life. But, even assuming we can keep the laws perfectly, theres more. We would still be missing a key ingredient in our service of our Creator. My behavior may be perfect. I may do exactly as I am told. But its not really me. It feels superimposed. Theres still me, and theres my Torah. Tanya teaches how to bridge that gapto create a unity between my Judaism and my inner psyche. It makes my Torah and mitzvot a true representation of my personality. It allows me to truly feelnot merely actlike a Jew. But allow me to make the following important points: Tanya is not an easy reader. It takes concentration and dedication. Tanya is not instant inspiration. It contains no short stories or pearls on the weekly Parshah. Tanya is not a quick fix. Its a journey that takes time and energy. Tanya is a long-short road. It may be lengthybut when you arrive, youre truly home. Tanya is a pair of glasses. When used correctly, everything will look different. Tanya is a heart. It will pump life and energy into your Torah and mitzvot. One more point. Studying Tanya properly requires a teacher who is versed in the subject. If you read it in its original Hebrew, or an English translation, you will only be scratching the surface. First of all, Tanya is replete with mystical terms which the uninitiated in this area will not understand. A skilled Tanya teacher will explain these terms and, more importantly, make them practical and relevant. Second, layers of meaning are hidden behind each word. Speak to your local Chabad rabbi to arrange Tanya classes. If this is not possible, I would recommend you purchase Adin Steinsaltz wonderful books on Tanya, Opening the Tanya and Learning from the Tanya. You can also study Tanya online, using Lessons in Tanya, which does offer some help for the layman wishing to navigate Tanyas deep waters. Yours truly, Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar is a Chabad rabbi in Cary, North Carolina. He is also a member of the Chabad.org Ask the Rabbi team. Photo by Oneinfocus. Oneinfocus is committed to educating and inspiring people on a global scale, using photography and other forms of visual technology to spread Torah, Chassidus and positive life values.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Entitlement
by Zehava Deer

I was lucky enough to live in Israel for a period of time about a year and a half ago. The time I spent there is full of incredible memories, ones that I will never forget. Im sure that anyone whos lived in the Holy Land can confirm that living in Israel brings a person to a whole different level. There is something in the air there, something electric. During my time there, my husband and I visited the northern part of Israel several times to pray at the graves of famous tzaddikim buried there. However, one specific day stands out in my mind. It was Lag BaOmer, the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochais death. On that day, tens of thousands of people ascend the mountain of Meron to pray at his grave. It is an awesome sight to behold, a medley of singing, praying and dancing that goes on all night long.

Living in Israel brings a Before I went, a friend of mine told me that she person to a whole had gone the year different level before to pray for a child. She felt that the holy Rabbi Shimon had brought her prayers directly to G d, and shortly thereafter she conceived. She showed me which psalms she had said on that day, in the hope that perhaps I would be helped as she was.
The sight that greeted me when we got to Meron was one I was not prepared for. I was overwhelmed by the scene of thousands of people from all different walks of life, all singing, praying or dancing. I found a spot to stand in in the shade (no small feat) and began to pray. I said psalm after psalm, but something was wrong. The emotion that I was so sure I would feel just wasnt there. I tried, but something was holding me back. Frustrated, I stopped my prayers and took a moment to reflect. All around me, women were wailing, sobbing into their Tehillims (books of Psalms). On my right, an older woman was shaking, as tears fell like rainwater down her face and onto her Tehillim, her hands, everywhere. On my left was a young pregnant woman, also shaking, her face in her prayerbook. Yet I felt empty. And then I realized why. These women all around me, they looked as though they had big problems, huge issues that needed salvation. I, on the other hand, had everything going for me, thank G d. The one thing I did not have was a child. So what? Okay, okay, I know how that must sound. But, really, I was blessed with so so much in my life, while others had so little. Why did I have to focus on the one thing I didnt have?

The one thing I did not have was a child

I continued to pray then, not for me, but for the people around me. Please, G d, answer the prayer of this old woman on my right side. I dont know what it is she is praying for, but please, please help her, I beseeched, and I continued to do so for all the weeping souls around me. And then, I felt at peace. On the way home that evening, I mulled over the powerful emotions I had experienced that day. Yet something still bothered me immensely.

We all receive nisyonot (challenges) in our lives. I strongly believe that no ones life is perfect. I had all I needed at that point in my life, and all I was missing was one thing. Perhaps if Id pray for this one thing so, so hard, G d would answer my prayers and send me a child. But what if that meant that something else in my life would go wrong, since no ones life is perfect? And how was I to know if I would be able to handle a different challenge? I was dealing so well with this test G d had dealt me, most of the time, and I couldnt conceive giving up on anything in my life. Why should I rock the boat by beseeching G d to remove this challenge from my life? I realize this may sound like skewed logic, but it made perfect sense to me. In addition, something else was nagging at my brain, keeping me from feeling what I thought I would that day, keeping me from letting myself go and praying like never before. All these women around me were praying as if their lives were wretched, and perhaps they were. But I had a good life. I felt like a spoiled brat at a birthday party who wants the biggest slice of cake. Relax, Zehava, I kept telling myself. You will get what you need; G d knows what He is doing. I was truly bothered by these thoughts and feelings of guilt. When I voiced my thoughts to a good friend, her response was emphatic: As human beings, we believe G d is great and that He is our father. He loves us, and He wants to give us everything! There is nothing wrong with you wanting everything! In fact, you should be reaching for everything! Who is stopping you? Why shouldnt you have it all? Its not a matter of fair or not fair. You There is nothing wrong have every right to reach for the stars. You have every right to have a perfect life. Just because no one has a perfect life, it does with you wanting not mean we shouldnt ask for one.

everything!

In addition, you do not know what nisyonot you will face in the future. Perhaps a bowl of cereal spilled all over the floor will be your challenge. You cannot pick and choose what youll experience in the future. Her words gave me such peace. Yes, we should all reach for the stars. We should all strive for perfection. We have to trust that G d is great, and He knows what we need and what we can handle. Zehava Deer is the pen name of a woman living in Brooklyn who is having trouble conceiving. Her column, Pregnant with HopeMy Journey through Infertility, describes her journey, and how she strives to remain positive through her pain.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Anger Is Expensive
By Miriam Adahan

Just as it takes many tools to build a physical home, parents need many skills to build a strong foundation of good middot, character traits. Anger and criticism are not building tools; they destroy peoples sense of self-worth, trust and security. Lia was a student of mine years ago who enthusiastically put my ideas into practice. She used my tools and techniques to help her children face loss and frustration, express their emotions and build their self-esteem. Despite the fact that her hot-tempered husband often exploded angrily, these tactics worked beautifully on

the younger children, helping them control their negative impulses. Sadly, her oldest, Sharon, was already a teenager when her mother introduced my ideas, and she took after her father, sarcastic and condescending at home but well-loved and virtuous to outsiders. When Sharon married Eli, they decided that Anger and criticism are they would have none of Lias touchy-feely, not building tools psychological nonsense, as she called it. They declared, Children must be obedient without prizes, charts or notebooks. Their oldest, Mike, was barely two when they began to spank him for being disrespectful. This included failing to put his toys away instantly, not looking in their eyes when they scolded him, dropping a bit of food on the floor, or not falling asleep easily when they put him to bed. To teach him a lesson, he was sent to bed without food, given long timeouts, and sometimes locked in a dark room for hours or made to stand outside in the freezing cold. They viewed themselves as very devoted parents who were educating their children properly. They did act loving, as long as Mike complied instantly, and they spanked and punished only when necessary. Sometimes they would buy him a toy and refuse to let him play with it because he had been bad. There it was, on top of the refrigerator, where he could look at it, but not touch it, to remind him of his lack of respect. The power struggles escalated; the angrier they got, the more defiant Mike became. Mike is now ten. When frustrated, he terrorizes his seven younger siblings, hits his mother, or destroys possessions in the home. He sometimes refuses to eat, bathe or dress, which makes his parents even angrier. Threats of withdrawing food no longer work, as he can refuse to eat for days. As for hitting, he learned that he can hit back harder. He doesnt care if he dies, and often runs away or darts into the street heedlessly. When I suggested to Lia that she help build Mikes confidence by phoning him each day and talking about his victories, the parents insisted that she would not be welcome in their home if she continued. Sharon said, With a house full of children and the stresses of life, I have no time for Adahan nonsense. When Mikes teachers complained that he was violent with his peers, sullen and uncommunicative, the parents consulted a psychiatrist, determined to find which psychiatric meds would make him calm and compliant. They seemed so devoted that the doctor saw only a disturbed child, not the background which produced his misery. Anger is truly expensive. It seems to work like magic with little children, getting them to clean up, go to bed, be quiet, and pretty much do anything parents want. But the angry, short way is actually the very long way. Brain research shows that a childs brain development is affected not only by physical abuse or neglect, but also by chronic verbal violence between parents, even when the child is asleep. Mike has learned to hate himself and to fear people. A high-conflict home teaches children that the world is not safe and that people are dangerous. When parents are abusive, children inevitably becomes violent toward themselves or others, for they have learned that this is what relationships are all abouthurting and being hurt. They keep pushing their parents buttons, proving to themselves that their parents cannot be trusted. Some turn to addictions for soothing, since a computer, chocolate or alcohol will never be angry, rejecting or disappointingthe opposite, the addiction welcomes you with open arms, offering an illusion of love in the form of a fake connection. So, what can we do when kids push our buttons, or we feel frazzled, exhausted, overwhelmed and irritated? Anger is hard-wired into our brains; as infants, we cry when we are hungry, bored or irritated. Even as adults, our baby brain puts up a big fuss whenever we feel deprived physically or emotionally. But as

adults, we can make new choices and override the primitive brain. The next time you feel anger, do this:

1. Feel the pain. You are human. Raising kids is hard. Dont deny that you feel upset, angry, betrayed, disappointed, frustrated or hurt. Name the loss. Children cause physical losses, such as the loss of comfort, privacy, space, structure, cleanliness, order, safety, time or sleep. They can cause emotional losses, such as the loss of love, respect, self-confidence, recognition, validation, belonging, fairness, communication, or the fulfillment of a dream. If you name it, you can tame it! 2. Thank G d. Think, G d, You are causing this child to act this way right now to give me an opportunity to work on my middot. I can practice patience, maturity and compassion, or I can destroy my relationship and raise my blood pressure and cholesterol. 3. Water the positive. Whatever you water grows. Mikes mother has already watered anger and hatred. The only way to avoid this is by talking constantly to children about your own and their victories. Keep a list on the fridge. Repeat their victories to friends and family members. Repeat the list at the Shabbat table. This teaches children that they are capable of self-control and are essentially good. G d forbid that they should internalize the message, like Mike, that I am worthless, unloved and a failure. Doing this is like exercising a muscle. You get used to responding to stress and discomfort by focusing on solutions instead of acting like an enraged animal. It is important to remember that children only have a primitive, impulsive brain. Their prefrontal cortex, the problem-solving brain, is not fully developed until between 2025 years of age. You can teach them self-control only if you praise them enthusiastically whenever they are obedient and cooperative, and by showing them how you practice self-control. A bully thinks, Anger motivates me to demand that my needs be met and my rights respected! I must get angry or people will deprive, disrespect and abuse me. Dont teach your kids to be bullies. If you cannot control yourself, have the humility to seek outside help before your childrens lives are ruined.

What can we do when kids push our buttons?

Children only have a primitive, impulsive brain

As a young mother, I wrote out a statement and put it in my siddur: I will not open my mouth unless I have love in my heart. We are told, In the way a person wishes to go, he is given divine assistance (Talmud, Makkot 10a). I witnessed many miracles in my own life. I could not always get others to cooperate or treat me with respect, but I maintained my sanity and sense of self-worth. And that was more important than anything I thought I needed at the moment. Try it! Youll save a lot of money on therapists. Names have been changed to protect privacy. Dr. Miriam Adahan is a psychologist, therapist, prolific author and founder of EMETT (Emotional Maturity Established Through Torah)a network of self-help groups dedicated to personal growth. Click here to visit her website.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Story

The Menorah That Lit Up My Life

By Laura P. Schulman

Two years ago during Chanukah, two of our Baltimore events turned out for various reasons to be disappointments for us. One was a menorah lighting at Johns Hopkins University, and the other was a parade of Mitzvah Tanks which was supposed to cover the downtown area. Rabbi Gopin (the shliach at Hopkins) and I just accepted it for what it was, and moved on to other programs and projects. After all, even Babe Ruth didnt always hit home runs. Not exactly so, as you will discover in the following story, which appeared in the Jewish Press. Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, Chabad of Maryland Two years ago I was in Baltimore on business, and happened to pass by the public menorah in front of Johns Hopkins University just as the first light was being lit. My eyes welled with tears. Although I was raised a secular Jew, my family has always celebrated Chanukah. To be away from my family that first night of the holiday felt cold and lonely. Now, seeing the lights of the first nights flames of that big menorah, my heart lit up also, and I felt the warmth of my people all around me. The next day I was walking by the waterfront, and a young man in a black hat ran up to me and politely asked, Excuse me, are you Jewish? Somewhat surprised that anyone would care, I answered in the affirmative. Do you know that its the second night of Chanukah tonight? he asked earnestly. I nodded. Do you have a menorah? he inquired, looking a bit anxious. No, I replied. Do you want one? he asked hopefully. Do you have one? I asked, almost shouting with joy. Yes, Ill get you one! he replied, almost as excited as I. He ran off, and returned moments later with an entire menorah kit in a box: little brass candleholder, box full of the right number of candles, and complete instructions. Also a DVD full of Chanukah stories, how-tos, even recipes. I politely declined the offer of a doughnut (fried foods are traditional on Chanukah, but I have to pace myself), and raced off to my hotel room to examine the contents of the box and watch the DVD. Childhood memories of Chanukah lights, my father telling stories of the Maccabees, the miracle of how one days worth of oil somehow lasted for eight days . . . it all came flooding back. I knew I had been given a gift that Chanukah in Baltimore: the gift of the return of Judaism to my life, and of my life to Judaism. All this because of a menorah on the steps of a public institution. And all because I happened to be passing by that day, and the flame of the menorah ignited the spark that had been sleeping in my Jewish heart for nearly 50 years. When I returned to Seattle the following week, I called a rabbi for the first time in my life. I told him what the menorah in Baltimore had stirred in me. Over the next two years, with his wise and gentle guidance, I found my way as a fully observant Jew. The spark that was rekindled by a public menorah is now a steady burning

flame. How grateful I am to live in a country that is founded on the right to worship as we choose, in the manner in which we choose. I thank our founding fathers who crafted the Constitution of the United States of America, which recognizes our freedom to express and practice our religion. And I thank those who have the courage, in these sometimes dark times, to defend those rights. We never know how many hearts and lives are touched and, yes, even transformed by the sight of the miraculous Chanukah lights, shining into the darkest reaches and reminding us of miracles long ago and not so long ago. All those selfless souls whose courage and staunch commitment fuel the kindling of light the world over deserve our heartfelt gratitude. I know they have mine. Reprinted with permission from The Jewish Press Dr. Laura P. Schulman, MD, is a physician/musician living in Jerusalem.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Jew ish New s

Chanukah Meets Thanksgiving: A Time to Be Grateful

By Karen Schw artz

Rabbi Shalom Lubin and volunteers from New Jersey have an annual tradition of delivering Thanksgiving meals to the homebound, w ho can use sustenance: both the edible kind and by w ay of companionship.

In a rare holiday phenomenon, Chanukah and Thanksgiving overlap this yearfor the first time since 1918. Chanukah begins on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 27, with the second night of candle-lighting, for many Jewish Americans, taking place over a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. That means theres even more to be thankful for in a season marked by an appreciation of national freedom and a Jewish celebration of a long-ago battle over religious freedom. Chanukah, which runs through Thursday, Dec. 5, celebrates the miracles that occurred in Jerusalem after the Maccabees vanquished the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who defiled the Holy Temple and sought to

forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. A small jug of pure oilsufficient to last for only one day miraculously lasted for eight, enough time for more oil to be made to enable the Jewish people to rededicate their Temple. Today, Jews around the world add a candle to their menorahs each night for eight nights. Rabbi Anchelle Perl and his wife, Bluma, co-directors of Chabad of Mineola in Mineola, N.Y., are marking the occasion with a culinary treat: a Thanksgiving-Chanukah kosher recipe contest. Ideas came rolling in from 10 states as they invited nominations for the One-Pot Meal, Healthy Cooking and Party Foods categories. A team of judges will evaluate the recipes, which Chabads web site says will be published, along with the chefs names, in Chabad Chanukah cookbooks. Among the contenders: Pumpkin-Cream Sufganiyot (fried jelly-filled doughnuts served at holiday time, powdered or plain) and Chanukah Fried Turkey Legs. This year puts an extra emphasis on Fall Season meets Festival of Lights. Theres also an opportunity to add a pinch more Jewish tradition to Thanksgiving dinner, according to Perl. To me, the most important thing were promoting is to think kosher, says the rabbi. If you were not kosher yet, this would be a fun way to beginintroduce a kosher turkey and all the trimmings. Sitting around the table for the American holiday also offers a chance to talk about the importance of keeping the gratitude flowing: Its a double-header of thanks, and the appreciation we must have should last beyond Chanukah. Members of his community have already taken notice of the possible connections, he says, which are making the holiday even more exciting. People on Facebook are asking me, What is the appropriate blessing for turkey? To make the taste of Chanukah extra-special, Chabad.org's "Cook It Kosher" food blog contains an abundance of recipes for the holiday. Also taking note of Thanksgiving this year, Miriam Szokovski suggests that "instead of making sweet-potato pie for Thanksgiving and potato latkes for Chanukah, try these Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Latkes. They provide the flavors of Thanksgiving with the crispy fried texture of Chanukah."

Helping the Hungry

Part of the holidays also includes thinking about those who dont have an abundance of food; its a time to reinforce the idea of providing for others. Thats a lesson Rabbi Shalom Lubinof Chabad of Southeast Morris County in Madison, N.J.takes to heart every Thanksgiving.

Rabbi Anchelle Perl and his w ife, Bluma, co-directors of Chabad of Mineola in Mineola, N.Y., are marking the occasion w ith a culinary treat: a ThanksgivingChanukah kosher recipe contest.

For the past eight years, volunteers from his community have delivered meals to homebound individuals who could use sustenance: both the edible kind and by way of companionship. To be able to see the smiles on recipients faces, its really a beautiful thing, says Lubin. The program has grown from 25 to 50 dinners he kept in area refrigerators and handed out with a little help to a 25-team volunteer effort slated to distribute more than 500 meals. Its advertised in the newspaper, says the rabbi, and they partner with area organizations to give back to the broader community. People come with their children and their grandchildren, he says. Its become a family project.

Instead of making sw eet potato pie for Thanksgiving and potato latkes for Chanukah, try these Butternut Squash Sw eet Potato Latkes. The recipe can be found in Chabad.org's "Cook It Kosher" food blog.

The kosher meals include turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce and dessert. This year, to reflect the convergence of Thanksgiving and Chanukah, potato lakes will find their way into the dinner as well. As part of this years efforts, Lubin also plans to ask volunteers to bring canned food items to construct a can menorah at the Chabad House, which will be handed out to the hungry over Chanukah. I think the spirit of thankfulness of Chanukah and the thankfulness of Thanksgiving just amplify, says the rabbi. Im inspired knowing that if I light my Chanukah candles, the entire spectrum of America will be giving thanks as well.

Marking the Blessings

Playing on the words "thanks" and "giving," Chabad-Lubavitch of Mesa, Ariz., has been collecting coins so the community can give back this holiday season. Rabbi Laibel Blotner is preparing an estimated 35,000 coins to be stuffed into a 6-foot-tall, tube-style menorah that they will light at this years Chanukah celebration. It will be transported by truck to the Superstition Springs Center, where a crowd above and beyond the usual 150 is expected to attend. The festivities at the mall will include potato latkes, music, crafts and a live magician. After the lighting, the money will be sent to Israel to help children affected by poverty. Teens have been going around collecting coins, and people Blotner has never seen before have stopped by to donate to the project as the word has gotten out. Its something unique," he says, "its added a new dimension to our Chanukah program. New people have come and stepped forward and gotten involved, so I think its really very exciting. Nearby in the same state, CTeen of Greater Phoenix is collecting canned foods to use to create a giant canorah. The CTeen (Chabad Teen) Network is inspired by the RebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memorywhose belief in the power of youth transformed the teen years into a time of purpose and self-discovery. Afterward Chanukah, the cans, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, will be donated to Tomchei Shabbat and Just 3 Things, which stocks the food bank for Jewish Family & Childrens Services Real World Job Development program.

On-Campus Celebrations

Rabbi Dov Wagner, director of the Chabad Student Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, is revving up for a different kind of Chanukah this year. After all, it wont coincide with Thanksgiving again until 2070, assuming the calendars stay the same. Since many Jewish students will be home with their families on the first nights of Chanukah and over Shabbat, campus activities will be scheduled near the end of the holiday. These include a menorah-lighting in the middle of campus, greetings from the provost, a marching band playing Chanukah songs and a Chanukah ice sculpture. The whole USC taking the evening off makes it more likely that a popular holiday that gets a lot of attention will get even more, he says, pointing to how the miracle that the Jews saw led them to stop, give thanks, and set aside a time to mark individual and communal blessings. This country is founded on a similar ideato stop and give thanks for all the good things that happen to us, says Wagner. Chanukah celebrates the victory of light over darkness, and the idea that there is purity and beauty to life goes beyond the material, he explains. And its those values that ultimately shine on over and above whatever is external.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Jew ish New s

Congregation Makes the Most of an Unusual Venue

By Carin M. Smilk

Last fall, Chabad took its Torahs, ark and bimah, along w ith other accoutrements for services and programs across the street to the Weinstein Funeral Home, w here they set up shop in one of the homes tw o chapels.

This was a real pickle, even for a Chabad rabbi. How do you tell congregants that for the next year-and-a-halfwhile their new building was being constructedthat services, classes and events will be held in a different venue, an unusual venue, a well, a funeral home? As it so happens, Rabbi Dovid Flinkenstein, co-director of Chabad of Wilmette on Chicagos North Shore,

didnt have to break the news. At their 20th-anniversary dinner in June 2012, the entertainment wound up relaying the plan. The rabbi had booked none other than a comedian, who got wind of the temporary location change and, suffice it to say, reeled off a few one-liners that night. He played it up, acknowledges Flinkenstein. But for the most part, people were not deterred. A Chassid makes his surroundings. This is what we had to transforma place associated with sadness into a place of joy, of holiness, of celebration. And so, last fall, Chabad took its Torahs, ark and bimah, along with other accoutrements for services and programs, across the street to the Weinstein Funeral Home, where they set up shop in one of the homes two chapels.

Neighbors Helping Each Other

The Weinstein Funeral Home, a Dignity Memorial Provider, has served the 300,000-strong Jewish community of Chicago and its North Shore suburbs for 120 years. Since 1970, it has been located at 111 Skokie Blvd. in Wilmette, Ill.a sprawling brick building with leafy surroundingsserving fourth and even fifth generations of families. About 20 years ago, Flinkenstein moved Chabad into a small strip mall across the street. First, they rented space in two storefronts, alongside a dry-cleaners. In 2006, they purchased the entire strip. Last year they demolished it and began new construction. When you have a synagogue that opens across from you, you have an immediate relationship, says Marshall Kayman, 76, who has worked at the funeral home for 14 years after a long career in clothing sales. We quickly became neighbors helping each other out. Weinstein offered use of its sizable parking lot for Chabad attendees and encouraged the rabbi to set up the annual sukkah there as well. Chabad provided a convenient place for Weinstein staff to go for a service, kiddush,class or to lay tefillin. Flinkenstein says it was a perfect shidduch (match). When administrators at the funeral home heard Chabad had outgrown its current space and bought more storefront property to erect a brand-new building, they invited the rabbi to set up shop there.

The new Chabad center w ill have a real presence, from Jerusalem stone and a sleek exterior to 18-foot ceilings and tw o-dozen stained-glass w indow s inside.

Look, we have two chapels, Robert Sheck, 49, who has worked at Weinstein for 24 years, told the rabbi. You can use one of them for Friday-night, Saturday and Sunday worship. Flinkenstein recalls the precise language: Rabbi, it would be our pleasure to help you. He still sounds in awe of the fact that the funeral home offered the space at no costand the larger of the two chapels at that. And the chapel had been recently renovated, with new carpet and chairs. It was

incredibly generous of them, he states. After consulting with the Chicago Rabbinical Council on certain matters of halachah (Jewish law), Flinkenstein accepted the offer. Many of his constituents could continue to walk to shul, and anyone who visited would inevitably note the progress being made on the new facility: a win-win.

A Tricky Adventure
But first, some issues had to be ironed out. There was securityhow to get into the chapel over Shabbat. Fortuitously, non-Jewish mortuary students let worshippers into the building and help out in other ways. More complicated was how a Kohen (priest) would pray, as they are forbidden to come in contact with, be under the same roof as, or at times even be in the same building with a dead body. That problem was structurally solved: The chapels were technically separate buildings with separate roofs and entrances, so Kohenim could enter one chapel regardless of what was happening in the other. And then came the Friday dilemma, when both chapels were often used during the day for funeral services, comprising a completely different setup than the evening one for Chabad. Once the mourners left, the rabbi and Weinstein staff would rearrange the chairs, and put up the mechitzah, aron kodesh andother necessitiesa tricky adventure, according to Kayman. Finally, they had to contend with another potential obstacle: getting folks past the idea of entering a funeral home on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. There is a sadness to it, concedes Sheck, but its also a celebration of an individuals life. Its thinking outside of the box, and Chabad has taught us thatto think outside of the box. Brenda Goffen, who has been coming to Chabad with her husband for five years now, agrees. A funeral home is a sacred space. Many of us have had to lay to rest friends and family there, but thats part of life. So it didnt feel so unusual. What did feel different was something else entirely: Is there any place in the world where you could walk into a funeral home and smell the cholent bubbling? Goffen, a mother of two and grandmother of three, calls themselves regulars. She says when she first started attending, she knew two people; now she knows practically everyone. Im 72 and coming to this later in life, but its been beautiful for us, really like a family.

At the groundbreaking for the new building last fall are, from left, Marshall Kayman, Robert Sheck and James Herzog of Weinstein Funeral Home, w ith Chabad of Wilmette Rabbi Dovid Flinkenstein

She specifically notes this years Simchat Torah celebration, dancing in and out of the funeral home, watching the children somersault across the floor, and running up and down the stairs to the basement

getting all the food together. Chabad has so much soul, she stresses. Peter and Nancy Kaufman enrolled their daughter, Julia, in Chabads Hebrew school when she entered first grade. She became a bat mitzvah last year, with a kiddush sponsored at the storefront site in her honor. As for the current situation, Nancy notes that it might seem a little odd on the surface, but its across the street and they needed the space. Peter adds, If you didnt know it was a funeral home, youd think it was a synagogue. There are plain colors, with a plain design and fabrics. Its like a blank palette. The ark is there, the bimah; all the trappings from across the street are in there, and they are familiar. I think it was serendipitous, a mitzvah. The stars came into alignment. The rabbi has had this vision as long as weve known him, and now hes able to build it. The fact that the funeral home was able to open its doors in the meantime it opened its doors to life. Flinkenstein, who has run Chabad of Wilmette for 21 years with his wife, Rivke, says Weinstein even allowed them use of an entire office suite in its basement. As appreciative as the rabbi is, he looks forward to the new buildings completion, slated for March. Chabad is about $300,000 away from the total projects cost of between $2.5 and $3 million. He says the space will have a real presence, from Jerusalem stone and a sleek exterior to 18-foot ceilings and two-dozen stained-glass windows inside, each on a theme central to Judaism and that leads to action. It will be an inspiring place for every Jew, a warm and welcoming place. Flinkensteins daughter and son-in-law, Rabbi Moshe and Esther Leah Teldon, arrived this summer to lead youth programming and help jump-start a roster of activities: While the concrete is being poured, were working on the inner foundation, the life and soul of the Chabad center. Kayman remains thoroughly amazed at how well its all come about. We feel we can only grow from this relationship, says the Weinstein representative. And we hope it will continue for many, many years.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Jew ish New s

Retail Stores Proud to Serve as Setting for Chanukah Programs

By Menachem Posner

Rabbi Levi Landa of Chabad of Greater St. Louis has been co-hosting a menorah w orkshop at Home Depot since 2008. Last year, he show ed kids and grow nups how an olive press w orks to make the oil used in menorahs.

Irena Geister calls it a family tradition. Every year, the mother of four from Northbrook, Ill., takes her little ones to the local Home Depot, where they craft their own menorahs out of wood, glue and other supplies graciously provided by the hardware giant. That storein Deerfield, Ill.is one of several dozen Home Depots that host menorah-building sessions in partnership with Chabad in places like El Paso, Texas; and Bellingham, Mass. I enjoy working with Chabad on this and am already looking forward to this year, says Leo Delgado, who manages the Home Depot where Geisters children will join hundreds of others in the cabinet aisle for their annual Chanukah crafting session. Im not Jewish, so I did not even know what a menorah was; this has been a real learning experienceand it feels good doing something for the community. People get a kick out of it, and the store is a neutral space where those who may feel intimidated about entering a synagogue are comfortable to come and do something Jewish, says Rabbi Levi Landa of Chabad of Greater St. Louis, who has been co-hosting a menorah workshop at Home Depot since 2008, after he heard of a similar event in Toronto, Canada. Landa says the workshop has expanded into a mini-Chanukah fair, replete with Count the Dreidels in the Jar competitions, fresh complimentary latkes, olive-oil pressing demonstrations, photo ops with Judah the Maccabee and educational exhibits. It just gets bigger and bigger every year, he says. I create an event on Facebook and invite a few hundred guests, and before I turn around, there are hundreds morepeople are inviting their friends. We had 350-plus parents and grandparents last year. It is a yearly tradition that people look forward to. The workshop has become part of the Jewish experience for a broad cross-section of the community. I know a girl who comes ever year and makes another menorahshe displays all five menorahs in her bedroom.

Meeting at the Malls

Meanwhile, in shopping malls across the world, Chanukah menorah-lighting celebrations have become de rigueur, in part due to a decision by the Westfield Groupwhich owns 99 shopping malls in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdomto partner with local Jewish communities, hosting and even covering the expense of these celebrations as part of their operating budget. Shopping malls are where everyone is at this time of year, especially in the colder climates, and this brings the Chanukah message of light over darkness to an unprecedented amount of people, says Rabbi Levi Wolff, rabbi of the Central Synagogue in Sydney, Australia, where the shopping conglomerates chairman Frank Lowy and his family have longstanding ties. Included as part of these events are music, dancing and often live entertainment for the kids, plus free sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts),dreidels and menorah kits.

What began as a limited program in Sydneywith celebrations in two Westfield centerswent global. They realized that their business was uniquely placed to share Chanukah with people all over the world, and they embraced the opportunity, says Wolff. Westfields co-CEO, Steven M. Lowy, says its been an honor to be able to help bring the light of Chanukah to thousands of people throughout the world through our shopping centers. To date, more than 30 such partnerships have been created, and organizers expect an even larger number this year.

Hundreds in St. Louis are again expected to pack Home Depot's cabinet aisle at the annual Chanukah crafting session.

The menorah at the Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, N.J.

A Storied Past
But numbers arent everything. In Peoria, Ill., around a dozen pajama-clad children annually gather in the citys only Barnes & Noble bookstore for a Chanukah bedtime story. There are probably under 30 Jewish children in the area, according to Rabbi Eli Langsam of the Chabad Jewish Center, so this is really a community event for us. The reading is arranged by Sarah Langsam, who co-founded the Chabad Jewish Center in 2001 with her husband. I make sure to select holiday-themed books that I know the children will enjoy and also impart the values we want them to walk home with, she explains. And, of course, if the reading is on Chanukah, we make sure to light the menorah as well. Chanukah is an eight-day holiday that commemorates the victory in 139 BCE of the Maccabees, a small Judean rebel group, over the Syrian-Greeks, who had overrun the Holy Land and attempted to impose their pagan culture and beliefs onto the Jewish people. Upon entering the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the Maccabees found only one jar of pure oil with which to kindle the menorah in the sanctuary. Miraculously, it burned for eight days. The sages instituted that an increasing number of flames be lit every evening of the holiday to remember the miraculous turn of events. In the 1970s, Chabad centers across the globe began holding Chanukah menorah-lightings in public places, such as government buildings and shopping malls, bringing the Festival of Lights to communities everywhere. And that light, publically or privately, can indeed travel far. After we made our menorahs at Home Depot last year, relates Geister, they packed up their new crafts and went on vacation to Mexico. And, of course, we lit them there.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Cranberry Jelly Sufganiyot (Doughnuts)

By Miriam Szokovski

Sufganiyotjelly doughnutsare synonymous with Chanukah. Try filling them with this easy, homemade cranberry jam for a seasonal twist.

Dont let the jelly doughnut intimidate you! Ive broken down the process step-by-step to help you along. To start with, well make the dough. Place the yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a bowl. Let it sit for 1015 minutes until the mixture bubbles up like this:

Now, take the yeast mixture and combine it with the sugar, margarine, eggs, salt, sugar and soy/almond milk, with 2 cups of flour. Mix on a low speed. Slowly add in the rest of the flour until dough is no longer sticky. It should feel somewhat like a bread dough. It should look similar to this:

Knead the dough for 5 minutes. This is the time to let out any anger or aggression youve been holding in!

Pound that dough. (Or, if youre the always-calm-my-life-is-perfect-what-is-anger type, let the dough hook on your mixer do the mixing for you. ) Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise approximately 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size. As you can see, mine rose right to the brim of the bowl!

Tip the dough out of the bowl and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Roll it out approximately inch thick, and cut circles with a round cookie cutter or with the mouth of a glass.

Let the circles rise for about 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep fryer, a pot or a deep frying pan. Aim for low-medium heat. If the oil is too hot, the outside of your doughnuts will start to burn before the centers are properly cooked through. Drop in a few doughnuts at a time. Flip each doughnut so both sides can brown. With a slotted spatula, remove each doughnut and place them on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Let the doughnuts cool before you fill them with the cranberry jelly. To make the cranberry jelly, you'll need fresh or frozen cranberries, sugar and water.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 2030 minutes until slightly thickened. Blend slightly, but make sure to still leave some pieces for texture. Pour into a glass jar to cool.

To assemble the doughnuts, youll need a sharp knife or pointed spatula, a Ziploc bag and a fine-mesh strainer.

Use the sharp knife or pointed spatula to poke a small hole in the side of each doughnut. Fill the bag with cup of the jam, and cut a small hole at the corner. Stick the Ziploc corner into the hole and give a quick squirt. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sprinkle confectioners sugar over the top of each doughnut.

Eat and enjoy!

Dough ingredients: 4 tsp. dry yeast cup warm water 1 cups soy or almond milk cup sugar 1 tsp. salt 2 eggs 6 tbsp. margarine, melted 6+ cups flour Oil for frying Confectioners sugar for dusting Cranberry jam ingredients: 6 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries 1 cups sugar 1 cup water Directions: 1. Place yeast, warm water and 1 tsp. sugar in bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes until bubbled. 2. Mix yeast mixture, sugar, margarine, eggs, salt, sugar and soy/almond milk with 2 cups of flour on a low speed. 3. Slowly add in the rest of the flour until dough is no longer sticky. It should feel somewhat like a bread dough. 4. Knead for 5 minutes, then cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise approximately 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.

5. Roll out the dough approximately inch thick, cut circles (use the mouth of a glass, or a round cookie cutter), and let rise 30 minutes. 6. Heat oil in a frying pan or pot. Drop in a few doughnuts at a time. Flip each doughnut so each side can brown. 7. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. 8. To make the cranberry jam, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 2030 minutes until slightly thickened. Blend slightly, but make sure to still leave some pieces for texture. Pour into a glass jar to cool. To assemble the doughnuts, use a sharp knife or pointed spatula to poke a small hole in the side of each doughnut. Fill a Ziploc bag with cup of the jam, and cut a small hole at the corner. Stick the Ziploc corner into the hole and squirt out approximately 1 tsp. jam into each doughnut. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sprinkle confectioners sugar over the top of each doughnut. Eat and enjoy! This recipe yields about 30 doughnuts.

See? That wasnt at hard as you thought it would be! (Or maybe it was . . .) Leave a comment and let me know. Miriam Szokovski is the author of historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She enjoys tinkering with recipes, and teaches cooking classes to young children. Miriam shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.orgs food blog, Cook It Kosher and in the N'shei Chabad Newsletter.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Cranberry-Pecan Mandel Bread

Sweet Sallys Recipe
By Sally Saltzbart Minier

Grama Gracie was known for her mandel bread, which is a Jewish version of soft biscotti. It has a distinct almond flavor, and each piece is filled with nuts, dried fruit and jam. Its best enjoyed when dunked in a hot beverage like coffee or tea. Most times when Grama Gracie visited us, she would bring a metal tin filled with mandel bread. On several occasions I asked her for the recipe, but she never gave it to me. Instead, she agreed to recite the ingredients and approximate measurements. It was impossible to replicate her creation, so when she was 97 years old I asked if she could show me how to make the delicious mandel bread. Finally, I witnessed her technique, her trade secrets were revealed, and the recipe lives on!

Ingredients
3 eggs 1 cup sugar 2 heaping teaspoons baking powder 3 cups flour 1 tsp almond extract cup oil 4 oz. dried cranberries 4 oz. chopped pecans 10 oz. jam Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling Egg wash

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place parchment paper on full sheet pans. 2. Mix together eggs and sugar. Add almond extract, oil and baking powder. Dough should be smooth and easy to handle. Add more flour if required, and knead like bread. 3. Divide dough into 3 portions. Shape each into a log. Place wax paper on counter and flour well. Roll out dough on wax paper until it is 1/8 thick. Log should be 3 wide unrolled and 1 wide when rolled. Make sure there is ample flour on the wax paper so the dough does not stick. 4. Place of the jelly down the middle, and place pecans and cranberries on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if desired. Roll the dough over so it makes a jelly roll log. Place seam side down on a cookie sheet. 5. Wash the top with egg mixture, and sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar. Repeat with remaining two pieces of dough. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 6. Cut into 1-wide pieces. Will typically get 14 pieces per log and 3 logs.

Sally Saltzbart Minier is a third-generation baker who has been active in the kitchen since she was very young. As a child, Sally learned the mathematical concept of fractions by working with measuring cups, and was taught the basic tricks of the trade by her Grama Gracie and her mother, Carrie. Her bakeshop, Sweet Sallys, offers a variety of desserts that can be modified for restricted diets, including gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free. Each order is lovingly handmade by Sally, using all-natural ingredients. All items are certified kosher, and free of trans fats and preservatives.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Art

Chanukah

Limited Edition Giccle Print and Acrylic on Canvas

Artists Statement: The Chanukah picture expresses the quintessence of the pure oil in our souls. In my painting, the brushwork depicts forms with suggestive use of color in concentrated strokes that enhances the light from within. Rosa Katzenelson was a national winner of the Annual Art Contest of the Art Foundation, and a lecturer at the National School of Cinema. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in the U.S.A., Argentina, and Italy. She has also illustrated Jewish books for children and made Jewish videos and documentaries. Her documentary Momenti Di Pragliera is shown at The Jewish Museum of Soragna, Parma, Italy. Rosa has won several awards and her most recent art show exhibition was at Columbia/Barnard University, and Haddas Gallery September and November 2012.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

MikeitzChanukah
Chanukah

Chanukah Megasite
Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a group of Jewish warriors defeated the occupying mighty Greek armies.

Dark Knowing Light That the spark of Gd w ithin us w ill ponder Gd, w hat is the surprise?

15 of the Wildest, Boldest and Most Interesting Menorahs

By Mordechai Lightstone

Menorahs can be as beautiful and diverse as the communities that make them. Weve looked around the

But w hen the animal w ithin us lifts its world and gathered fifteen of the wildest menorahs we could eyes to the heavens, w hen the dark side of a human creature lets in a little light, find! that is truly w ondrous. How can darkness know light? How can earth Your Personal Printable Chanukah Guide know heaven?
Who lights the menorah, when and how? What are the tutorial will allow you to breeze through the Chanukah menorah-lighting ceremony. Chanukah prayers and traditions? This brief Chanukah

Only w ith the pow er of He w ho is beyond heaven and earth, and so too is neither darkness nor light.

The Candle That Burned for 70 Years

By Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm

Something was strange about the scene. Who was he, and what connection could he possibly have with this place?

Spirituality vs. Religion

By Samantha Barnett

Religion that is motion without emotion is missing something.

Two Kinds of Light: The Beauty of Shabbat Chanukah

By David Adler

Feminine spiritual energy is focused internally, while masculine energy tends to be external. Chanukah and Thanksgiving

A Brief History
By Tzvi Freeman

In 2013, Chanukah and Thanksgiving will overlap for the first time in almost 100 years. Heres how it works.

They Have a Lot in Common

By Tzvi Freeman

Hi, America, Im Thanksgiving. And Im also Chanukah. Hold my hand. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Now say, Thank Gd, were free. Doesnt that feel good? Parshah

The Visionary Soul

By Rochel Holzkenner

Where is that fine line between healthy self-compassion and debilitating self-pity?

Emotional Starvation
By Lazer Gurkow

When we understand that bullying behavior is often rooted in emotional starvation, we can respond with compassion and loving strength.

Mikeitz in a Nutshell
Joseph is called upon to interpret Pharaohs dream, and he predicts seven upcoming years of famine. He advises Pharaoh to begin storing grain. His brothers travel to Egypt to buy food, and they do not recognize him. Joseph accuses them of being spies and thieves. Benjamin is threatened with staying behind as his slave. The Rebbe

You Say Youre an Atheist . . .

Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

Can ones protestations against Gd themselves be proof of belief in the existence of Gd? Women

Throw a Beautiful Chanukah Party

By Rita Brownstein

I love to entertain, and Chanukah is the perfect time to invite friends and family over for a holiday party. Its so much fun to decorate the house and table in festive Chanukah attire.

Conquering Ourselves
By Rivka Caroline

It takes a tremendous amount of courage and effort to be really in touch with our own character defects and to humbly work on them.

Question

Were the Maccabees Barbarians?

By Tzvi Freeman

The Greeks brought culture, rationalism, geometry, drama, and appreciation of beauty. What point is there in celebrating the victory of those who resisted progress? Cooking

Carnival Squash Latkes with Homemade Apple Butter

By Melinda Strauss

Gluten Free Banana Maple Pecan Glazed Donuts

By Lisa Stander-Horel and Tim Horel

Dont let yourself feel deprivedtry these gluten-free donuts! News

Radiating the Light of Chanukah in 80 Countries

By Menachem Posner

With Chanukah beginning this Wednesday evening, Nov. 27, preparations are at a high pitch at Chabad-Lubavitch centers to reach an estimated 8 million people in more than 80 countries around the globe.

Rabbis, Students Sort Through Debris in PostTornado Towns

By Karen Schwartz and Carin M. Smilk

The astonishment was apparent; he said hed never seen anything like it. Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel brought college students along with him for a lesson on action, support and care after devastation in the Midwest.

Celebrating 'The New Year of Chassidism'

By Menachem Posner

From 10,000 who gathered at a convention center in Jerusalem, to intimate Chassidic farbrengens, Jews worldwide observed two days of commemoration and celebration of the 19th and 20th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, known as the New Year of Chassidism. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah

Chanukah Megasite

What is Chanukah (Hanukkah)? Chanukah FAQs Chanukah Observances The Menorah More

The Story of Chanukah Miracle of the Maccabees (Audio) Yehudit Chanah and Her Seven Sons More

Menorah Lighting Guide Chanukah Recipes How to Play Dreidel Chanukah Texts & Prayers More

The Miracle Chanukah Stories Chanukah Today Light More

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Chanukah with the Rebbe

Do-ItYourself Chanukah

Itche Kadoozy Adventure

KabbalaToons: What If? A Little Light

Miracles

Candle Time

Other Languages: | Cesky | Deutsch | Espaol | Franais | Italiano | Magyar | Portugus | | Svenska Virtual Chanukah (Hanukkah) 2013 is a project of American Friends of Lubavitch, Ronald O. Perelman, Nat. Chairman Made possible in part by the Abramson Family Foundation Produced by Chabad Lubavitch Media Center | Powered by Chabad.org

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah

15 of the Wildest, Boldest and Most Interesting Menorahs

By Mordechai Lightstone

In recent years, the menorah has become a universal symbol of religious freedom and the power of even a small light to illuminate the darkest of nights. But what does it take for a series of candles to actually be considered a menorah? It turns out that after meeting a few basic requirements, not very much. The flames (no lightbulbs, please!) must be arranged in a straight line and at the same height (save for the shamash used to light the eight candles), the flames must burn for at least half an hour after nightfall, and the menorah itself must be no taller than 37 feet. Beyond that, though, menorahs can be as beautiful and

diverse as the communities that make them. Weve looked around the world and gathered fifteen of the wildest menorahs we could find!

1. The Menorah That Turned the Ice of Winter into a Source of Warmth

This ice menorah was carved on the Cornell campus in Ithaca, NY.

2. The Menorah That Kept the Light of Day Shining, Deep into the Night

(Lubavitch.com)

Each bulb is solar-powered in this unique menorah erected in Woodstock, NY. Though the electric menorah wasnt kosher for the mitzvah, it shed a little light in the hamlet that brought us Days of Peace and Music.

3. The Menorah Made of Oily Treats to Remind Us of the Oil that Burned for Eight Days in the Holy Temple . . .

(Jew ishNew s.net.au)

Or at least made us seriously question our diets.

4. The Menorah that Just Makes Us Hungry

(youtube)

Its made of chocolate!

5. The Menorah that Reminds Us that Chanukah Gelt Doesnt Just Mean Chocolate Coins

Chanukah gelt gives children the chance to learn how to best use their money . . . including sharing with others the good things that come to us.

6. The Ultimate Frat Menorah

Made at the University of Minnesota.

7. One Of The Worlds First Giant Menorahs

(Lubavitch.com)

This giant menorah was erected by Rolling Stones promoter Bill Graham in S. Franciscos Union Square. Among those pictured are Rabbi Chaim Drizin (second from the left) and beatnik author Herbert Gold (center).

8. The Menorah That Stands for Religious Freedom for All

(American Friends of Lubavitch)

During the Chanukah story, the Maccabees stood up against tyranny to defend their right to worship in the tradition of their fathers. Today the National Menorah in Washington, D.C., stands as a majestic reminder of the freedom that America fosters.

9. The Worlds Largest Menorah

(Ronagam.blogspot.com)

Jewish law sets a limit for the maximum height of the menorah at 37 feetany higher, and people are likely not to look up and see it. This giant menorah lit every year in Manhattan was designed by famed Israeli artist Yaakov Agam.

10. The Tiki Torch Menorah in Hawaii

(Jew ishKauai.org)

Who said that it has to snow on Chanukah?

11. The Oh-So-French Menorah

Kindled each year in front of the Eiffel Tower, this special menorah has been a Parisian tradition since 1989.

12. The Menorah That Never Forgets

The Syrian-Greeks famously used elephants in battle against the Maccabees. This pachyderm tromps around Thailand bearing testimony to the victory of light over might.

13. The Great Wall of China Menorah

Jews first came to China sometime during the Tang Dynasty, in the 7th century. This menorah, however, is probably a first.

14. The Menorah That Defied the Nazis

(YadVashem.blogspot.com)

This menorah, photographed the winter of 1931 in Kiel, Germany, survived the war and reminds us of our continued resilience despite all oppression.

15. The Menorah That Brought Light in a Communitys Darkest Hour

Just weeks after terror attacks in Mumbai, India, killed more than 170 people, among them Chabad representatives Rabbi Gabi and Rivka Holtzberg and four of their guests, Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg, father of Rivka, lit the menorah at Mumbais Gateway to India. Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone is a rabbi by training, but a blogger by choice. He is passionate about using new media to further Jewish identity and community building. Mordechai currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two sons, where he happily tweets between sips of espresso.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah

Your Personal Printable Chanukah Guide

The Chanukah lights are lit in the evenings preceding each of the eight days of Chanukah, beginning with Wednesday night, November 27, 2013, after nightfall. Please see the section Special Shabbat Requirements for special instructions regarding lighting the candles before Shabbat. Both men and women are obligated to light the Chanukah menorah, or to participate in the household menorah lighting. Children should be encouraged to light their own menorahs. Students and singles who live in dormitories or their own apartments should kindle menorahs in their own rooms.

Many have the custom to place the menorah in a doorway opposite the mezuzah (such is the custom of Chabad-Lubavitch), so that the two mitzvot of mezuzah and Chanukah surround the person. Others place it on a windowsill facing a public thoroughfare. (If placed on the windowsill, it should be no higher than 20 cubitsabout 29 feetabove street level.)

The Chanukah lights should consist of lamps or candlesi.e., a flammable fuel that feeds a visible flame via a wick. The most ideal way to fulfill the mitzvah is with cotton wicks in olive oil, or beeswax candles; paraffin candles or other types of candles or lamps are also acceptable, but not gas lights or electric lights. (If circumstances do not allow the use of an open flame, a proper rabbinical authority should be consulted.) The lamps or candles must contain enough fuel, at the time of the lighting, to burn until half an hour after nightfall. (Nightfall" is the point at which it grows dark enough for three average-sized stars to be visibleabout 2030 minutes after sunset, depending on the location.) The lamps or candles should be arranged in a straight row, and should be of equal height. The shamash the servant candle that kindles the other lightsshould be placed apart from the rest (higher, outside the row, etc.). On the first night of Chanukah, one light is kindled on the right side of the menorah. On the following night add a second light to the left of the first, and kindle the new light first, proceeding from left to right, and so on each night.

The Chanukah lights are kindled in the evening preceding each of the eight days of Chanukah. The custom of many communities (and such is the Chabad-Lubavitch custom) is to light the menorah shortly after sunset; other communities light it at nightfall. In either case, the menorah must contain enough fuel at the time of the lighting to burn until 30 minutes after nightfall. Note: The standard Chanukah candles last only approximately 30 minutes. If using those candles, then light after nightfall every night (aside from Fridaysee below). If one did not kindle the Chanukah lights early in the evening, they can be kindled later, as long as there are people in the streets (or others awake in the house).

IMPORTANT: It is forbidden to light a fire on Shabbat, which extends from sunset on Friday evening until nightfall on Saturday night. Therefore, on Friday evening, November 29, the Chanukah lights should be kindled early, before the Shabbat lights, which are lit 18 minutes before sundown. Additional oil or larger candles should be used for the Chanukah lights, to make sure they will last a full half hour after nightfallthe standard 30-minute Chanukah candles cannot be used on Friday. From the time the Shabbat candles are lit (Friday evening) until Shabbat ends (after nightfall Saturday night) and until the havdalah prayer (separating Shabbat from the weekday) is recited, the Chanukah

menorah should not be relit, moved or prepared. Chanukah lights for Saturday night are kindled only after Shabbat ends after nightfall.

On the first night of Chanukah (Wednesday, November 27) , recite all three blessings. On all subsequent nights, recite blessings number 1 and 2. 1. Blessed are You, L rd our G d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light. 1. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai Eh-lo-hei-noo Meh-lech Ha-olam A-sher Kideh-sha-noo Beh-mitz-vo-tav Veh-tzi-va-noo Leh-had-lik Ner Cha-noo-kah. 2. Blessed are You, L rd our G d, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time. 2. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai Eh-lo-hei-nu Meh-lech Ha-olam Sheh-a-sa Nee-sim La-avo-tei-noo Ba-ya-mim Ha-hem Bee-zman Ha-zeh. 3. Blessed are You, L rd our G d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion. 3. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai Eh-lo-hei-noo Me-lech Ha-olam Sheh-heh-cheh-ya-noo Veh-kee-yeh-ma-noo Veh-hee-gee-a-noo Liz-man Ha-zeh. After kindling the lights, the Haneirot Halalu prayer is recited.

One is not to benefit from the light of the candles, only from the shamash and other sources of light. For the first half hour when the candles are burning, it is customary to sit by the candles and tell stories relating to the holiday. Work should not be done in the proximity of the burning candles. Women have a custom to refrain from household work during the half hour that the lights are burning, to honor the brave Jewish women who played a significant role in the Chanukah story.

During the eight days of Chanukah, we add the Al HaNissim liturgy to the amidah (daily silent prayer) and the Grace After Meals. The complete Hallel prayer (see your prayerbook) is also said in the morning service. A portion of the Torah is read daily in the synagogue during morning prayers.

It is customary to increase ones daily giving to charity. On Fridays we give double the amount, to account for Shabbat.

It is traditional to give all children Chanukah gelt (money). Of course, this beautiful custom adds to the childrens happiness and festive spirit. In addition, it gives adults an opportunity to give the children positive reinforcement for exemplary behavior, such as diligence in their studies and acts of charity. Chanukah gelt is given to children after lighting the menorah. The children should be encouraged to give charity from a portion of their money.

Because of the great significance of oil in the story of the Chanukah miracle, it is traditional to serve foods cooked in oil. Among the most popular Chanukah dishes are potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts). It is also customary to eat cheesy foods on Chanukah, in commemoration of the bravery of Yehudit. Click here to find out more.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah

The Candle That Burned for 70 Years

By Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm

As the Chabad emissary in Zhitomir, Ukraine, I visit Paris occasionally to fundraise and purchase supplies. In between appointments, I often step into the synagogue for a few precious moments of Torah study. During one of these brief respites, the local shliach came in with two strangersan older man, and a longhaired American student in his early twenties. The rabbi asked the older man if he would like to put on tefillin. At first he refused, but with a little persuasion he was soon rolling up his sleeve and allowing me to wrap the tefillin around his arm and head. Meanwhile, the young student began walking around the shul. In one corner he stopped, took out his cell phone, and took a few pictures. Could he possibly know that seventy years ago, in that corner, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, gave a weekly Torah class? Yes indeed, on those very benches Jews had gathered to learn a tractate of Talmud from the future Rebbe.

With a little persuasion he was soon rolling up his sleeve

In the 1930s, when he was living in Paris and studying at the Sorbonne, the Rebbe attended the synagogue at 17 Rue des Rosiers, where he also offered a Torah class to the small congregation. One of those classes was on the topic of Mai Chanukah, What Is Chanukah, the portion of the Talmud that discusses the significance of Chanukah. The Rebbe spoke about the wellknown dispute between the Greek philosophers and the sages of Israel, and the fundamental difference between Hellenistic philosophy and the wisdom of Torah. In Jewish thought, wisdomparticularly Torah wisdomis compared to pristine water. By contrast, he explained, the Greeks mixed the pure, spiritual water of intellect with the dust of materialism, resulting in mud, a quicksand that drags one down in a gradual but endless descent into the depths. When intellect becomes the tool of materialism rather than spirituality, it feeds egoism and selfishness. The Rebbe noted that in Psalms Yavan, the Hebrew name for Greece, is associated with mud(Tit ha)Yavan . He pointed out that the very letters of Yavan provide a visual image of graded descent, beginning with the elevated yud that represents wisdom, moving down to the vav that reaches the baseline, before the final nun that descends below the baseline, i.e., to the depths. Greek philosophy embodied this descent from the loftiest to the lowest moral plane. The Greeks had wisdom; indeed, many great sages of Israel (including the Rebbe) were well-versed in secular knowledge. Their error was in its application. They used it to exalt the body and its desires above the soul, and that this is what led to their moral decline. Even the study of Torah can become like the wisdom of Greece, the Rebbe said, if one does not approach it with purity of spirit and humility. One can exploit the Torah, too, to justify his crassness. The Greeks defiled not only the pure oil for the Temple menorah, but also the pure spiritual oil in the Jewish heart. And the miracle of Chanukah reestablished that purityour absolute devotion to G d and His Torah. This was what the Rebbe taught in Paris in 1935. Back in the synagogue, I watched the American boy take pictures. Something was strange about the scene. Who was he, and what connection could he possibly have with this place? Have you put on tefillin today? I asked him. The reply was astonishing. Yes, I did, he said. I put on tefillin every day. It is the only mitzvah I still keep. Just yesterday I considered dropping it, but I decided to continue for the time being. It dawned on me that this young man might be a lost sheep who had once been part of the Chabad-Lubavitch community. The combination of tefillin observance and photographing an obscure setting in which the Rebbe had taught couldnt be a coincidence.

It is the only mitzvah I still keep

Indeed, this was the case. He had been a student in a Lubavitcher yeshivah, where he thrived until his late teens. But then I decided I wanted a university education. I just wanted to broaden my horizons, he told me. And then one thing led to another, and before I knew it, Im observing nothing except tefillin.

I suggested that we sit down and learn something together. Perhaps something the Rebbe taught while he was in this very place. He agreed, and we sat down to study the discourse on Mai Chanukah. We opened the Reshimos, the posthumously published collection of the Rebbes private notes where the talk is recorded. The conversation proceeded in fluent Yiddish, as the young man cut into the difficult discourse with the ease of the young chassidic scholar he had once been. And so the whole idea of Greece, of Yavan, is represented by the very Hebrew letters for Yavan, he explained. Even Torah learning, when mixed with material motives, becomes a downward spiral, descending from the lofty yudto the depths represented by the dangling final nun. Step by step it makes us arrogant and conceited, turning our pursuit of knowledge into a lethal poison, a viscous quicksand from which we cannot extricate ourselves. Suddenly the young man stopped and closed the book. He seemed overcome with emotion. Rebbe! he shouted, and remained silent for several long minutes. Finally he looked me in the eye and said, Do you understand what is going on here? The Rebbe is talking about me.

At first there was just the yud of Yavan, the wisdom of philosophy. I just wanted to expand my knowledge. But in college, I found most of the students were more interested in having a good time than in acquiring knowledge. It was hard to separate the ideas I was studying from the moral atmosphere around me. I descended one nearly imperceptible step at a time, until I reached the depths, the final nun. The entire process was so gradual, I didnt realize it was happening. The Rebbe sat here seventy years ago, and gave this lesson for me! The Rebbe is telling me, I see you. I am following you. I understand the entire process you are undergoing. He opened the book again and scanned the entire discourse with his cellphone, page by page. I cant continue here, he told me. This is too big for me. I will continue later, by myself. His parting words to me as he left: The Rebbe has turned over my soul. Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm is the Chabad emissary to Zhitomir, Ukraine.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Do you understand what is going on here?

Chanukah

Spirituality vs. Religion

By Samantha Barnett

The college professor wrote two words on the blackboard: spirituality and religion. Our job was to articulate the difference between the two. It was a conversation that would change my life. Many people claim to be spiritual without attaching that spirituality to any specific religion. For them, spirituality is a state of mind. They are searching for G d wherever they can find Him.

There is something beautiful in this search, and yet, without a root in ritual and without a foundation in the divine, that spark can easily be corrupted and used for mans self-interest instead of for what is good and holy in the world. Even if one is aware of a higher power, spirituality without ritual is like channeling divine light into the world without any vessel to contain it. The light is in danger of burning out. On the opposite end of the spectrum are those who label themselves religious. They are the ritual people. It is through the traditions of their religion that they feel connected and rooted in their communities and, ideally, to their Creator. But just because people claim to be religious, it doesnt necessarily mean that they are spiritual, especially when they make their religion about the rules and not about the spirit behind those rules. Religion that is motion without emotion is missing something. That something is the spirit of the law, the whole reason why we are doing things in the first place. The big picture. So, what was our conclusion in class? Spirituality and religion are not mutually exclusive. Both are quests to find and connect with G d. That answer profoundly changed me. We need both, I concluded, to live a good and meaningful life. And when I explored Jewish thought, I found a beautiful symbiosis of spirit and ritual. Judaism is not about ritual for the sake of ritual. Judaism is about uplifting the physical world to a spiritual level. We take the mundane pleasures of life and elevate them to a spiritual dimension through ritual. And while performing these physical mitzvahs, we connect to G d. On Chanukah, we dedicate our homes to the true definition of spirituality. In Judaism, a house is a miniTemple. This most mundane of places where we sleep, eat, and entertain is a place of spirituality. That is where the menorah, the symbol of the holiday, is displayed. The ideal place to put our menorah is outside our front door across from the mezuzah. The words mezuzah and menorah are similarly spelled, except for three letters. The letters that are different in the word menorah spell the Hebrew word ner, which means candle. The letters that are different in the word mezuzah spell the word zuz, which means to move. The menorah and the mezuzah represent two ways to influence the world. The menorah symbolizes light. People who illuminate lead by example. Their spirit emanates from them. They make you want to be a better person because they live an elevated life. The mezuzah represents another way to influence the world. The mezuzah represents movement. We are supposed to put a mezuzah on every doorway in our house. Every room has a different energy because of what it is used for, so as you walk through each room in the house, you enter one energy and exit another. The mezuzah symbolizes ritual and action, going out and actually changing the world. The purpose of Chanukah is to publicize the miracle of true spirituality. The one that is eternal. The one that merges ritual and spirit. The story of Chanukah illustrates this point. The Greeks didnt mind the spirituality of the Jews. What they did mind were the rituals that would connect that spirituality to

Religion that is motion without emotion is missing something

G d. They were okay with the Jews having an intellectual and aesthetic connection to G d, but not an emotional one. The Greeks didnt want to destroy the Jews holy Temple. In fact, they loved it for its beautiful architecture. Yet they didnt mind making the Temple impure so that the Jews couldnt practice their rituals there anymore.

The purpose of Chanukah is to publicize the miracle of true spirituality

The Greeks banned Shabbat, circumcision and Rosh Chodesh. Shabbat sanctifies time and gives it a spiritual dimension. On Shabbat, we stop our creative work in the world in order to return to the essence of who we really are, a soul. On Shabbat, we remember our Source. Circumcision perfects the male body through ritual. It also represents man controlling his impulses. The Greeks didnt like the idea of imperfection or restraint of the body. Rosh Chodesh is the celebration of a new Hebrew month; without it, Jews would not know when to celebrate the holidays. Without holidays, the Jews could not perform the rituals linked to the spiritual energy of each month. Additionally, the Jewish calendar is based on the moon instead of the sun. The moon is a reflection of the suns light, which represents how our lives should be a reflection of G ds light. The Greeks defined spirituality the wrong way. They defined it by aesthetics, hedonism and intellectualism. Their spirituality was linked to physical beauty and pleasure, but they didnt connect it to a deeper and higher purpose. They werent interested in rituals, because that would connect the spirituality they saw in the physical world to G d. True spirituality requires utilizing the physical world to connect to the divine. Our knowledge of Torah is meant not just to be learned as a subject, but also to be integrated into our lives through ritual in order to change usand the worldfor the better. We need both spirit and ritual, because they are really one. Samantha Barnett is a writer. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah

Two Kinds of Light: The Beauty of Shabbat Chanukah

By David Adler

On Shabbat Chanukah, the Shabbat that occurs during Chanukah, two sets of lights are kindled in the Jewish home: the menorah is lit, followed by the Shabbat candles. The requirements for these two mitzvahs provide a study in contrasts: The menorah is kindled by the men and boys of the house (though if a man is not present it may be kindled by a woman). Shabbat candles are lit by women and girls (though, again, if a woman is not present, a man may light them).

In fulfillment of the commandment to publicize the miracle of Chanukah, the menorah is placed in a doorway or window so that it is visible from the outside. Many communities stage public menorah lightings in parks, city squares and shopping malls. Shabbat candles are lit in the inner sanctum of the home, often on the table where the meal will be served. The blessing over the menorah is sung out loud, followed by boisterous songs and celebration. The blessing over Shabbat candles is usually said in a quiet voice, and is followed by several moments of silent prayer, as the woman of the house requests blessings for her family. Behind these requirements lies a deep kabbalistic significance that reflects the spiritual energies of the participants. Feminine spiritual energy is focused internally, while masculine energy tends to be external. Traditionally, the man was the hunter-gatherer, the farmer, the breadwinner, leaving home in order to provide for his family. The woman was the homemaker, transforming the raw materials the man provided into food and clothing. These roles are no longer as rigid as they once were, and indeed, every man and woman possesses a mixture of masculine and feminine energies. Changing social norms have allowed women to express The woman enhances themselves more fully in both the public and private sphere. Perhaps the best illustration is the creation of a new life. The womans egg is internal, the mans seed external. The growth of the fetus is a wondrous process that the woman contains completely within herself.

the internal peace and spirituality of the home

In the Jewish home, the woman enhances the internal peace and spirituality of the home by lighting the Shabbat candles. By lighting the Chanukah menorah, the man publicizes the spirituality of Chanukah as a message to be spread externally. These two mitzvahs harness the spiritual energies of men and women in a divinely determined way to best effect. Two sets of candles, two very different mitzvahs. Yet the end result is the same: a match is held to a wick, a flame is kindled, and darkness recedes. The Torah recognizes that men and women bring different energies to the task of perfecting the world. Working together, harnessing the unique qualities G d gave them, they can create enough light to banish darkness forever. Dr. David Adler has been one of leading physicians in managing Australias health care system. About 4 years ago he re-evaluated lifes priorities and began regular Torah study with Chabad in Sydney.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah and Thanksgiving

A Brief History
By Tzvi Freeman

Question:
Is it true that . . . Thanksgiving falls on Chanukah this year, its never happened before, and it will never happen again?

Answer:
Yes, no, and maybe. Yes, this Chanukah, if youre celebrating Thanksgiving, youll want to light the second candle of the menorah at your turkey dinner. No, its not true that this has never happened before. Lets work this through step by step: Chanukah was declared a Jewish national holiday 2178 years ago. Thanksgiving was declared a national American holiday on the last Thursday of every November by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Before then, Thanksgiving was celebrated on different dates in different states, so we wont count those. But, using the Chabad.org Date Converter, you will see that Thanksgiving coincided with the first day of Chanukah on November 29, 1888. It also coincided with the fourth day of Chanukah on November 30, 1899. On November 28, 1918, Thanksgiving was on Chanukah eve. But since its still Thanksgiving until midnight, and Jewish days begin at night, that would still mean that Jewish Americans would have eaten their turkeys that Thanksgiving to the light of their first Chanukah candle. It gets more complicated. Originally, Thanksgiving was always on the last Thursday of November. In 1939, FDR decided it would be good for the economy to push Thanksgiving back a little, so he declared the fourth Thursday of that November to be Thanksgivingeven though there were five Thursdays to November that year. In 1942, that became federal law. But not all states went along with it. As late as 1956, Texas was still celebrating Thanksgiving a week later than the rest of the country. Which means that if you were a Texan Jewish family, you would be eating that turkey to the light of your first Chanukah light in 1945 and 1956. Will it ever happen again? Interesting question. If we project forward, assuming that: 1. Thanksgiving will be celebrated on the same schedule, 2. The people celebrating Thanksgiving will continue following the Gregorian calendar without modification, 3. The Jewish calendar will continue on its current 19-year cycle, . . . then the next time the two will coincide would be when Thanksgiving falls on Chanukah eve in the year 2070. That would repeat itself in 2165. Lets chart this out:
THANKSGIVING DATES CHANUKAH DATES

11/29/1888

Kislev 25, 56492 candles that night

11/30/1899

Kislev 29, 56605 candles

11/28/1918

Kislev 24, 56791 candle

11/29/1945 (Texas only)

Kislev 24, 57061 candle

11/29/1956 (Texas only)

Kislev 24, 57171 candle

11/28/2013 (you are here now )

Kislev 25, 57742 candles

11/27/2070 (theoretically)

Kislev 24, 58311 candle

11/28/2165 (theoretically)

Kislev 24, 59261 candle

Youll notice that these dates are getting further and further apart. Thats not just FDRs fault. Both the Gregorian calendar and the Jewish calendar are slowly drifting in relation to the actual solar yearbut at different rates. After 2165, Chanukah would have completely drifted out of Novemberunless one of these calendars (or Thanksgiving) is changed. The most important codification of the laws of the Jewish calendar was written by Maimonides in the 12th century. The standard medieval commentary to that text points out that the calendar is set up in such a way that eventually it will self-obsolesce. By the year 6000 (thats 2240 on the Gregorian calendar), the holidays most importantly, Passoverwill start falling in the wrong seasons. His conclusion: Before that time, Moshiach is expected to arrive and gather the Jews from the diaspora. At that point we will return to establishing the calendar on a month-by-month basis, as was done originally, before the current diaspora.1 Yes, making appointments is going to be a bit of a challenge, but there will certainly be solutions. At any rate, the benefits far exceed the inconvenience. One thing is certain, however, as Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman wrote in the 13th century:2 We will forever continue to light the Chanukah lamps for eight nights, every Chanukah. Some lights can never be extinguished.

For more on the connection between Thanksgiving and Chanukah, read Thanksgiving Meets Chanukah. Video: In 1984, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Rebbe, of righteous memory, highlighted some of the correlations between Chanukah and Thanksgiving in a public address:

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Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
FOOTNOTES 1. Peirush to Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Kiddush ha-Chodesh 9:11. See also Ittim le-Binah, Maamar 12; Torah Sheleimah vol. 13, Sod ha-Ibbur, ch. 2. 2. In his commentary to Numbers 8:2.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah and Thanksgiving

They Have a Lot in Common

By Tzvi Freeman

This year, American Thanksgiving falls on the first day of Chanukah. It happened only once before, in 1888. And its impossible to determine when or if this will ever happen again. (If you want to know why, read our article Chanukah and Thanksgiving: A Brief History.) Theres got to be some connection between Thanksgiving and Chanukah, something thats speaking to us especially this year. Why? Because the Baal Shem Tov taught us that everything a person sees or hears is meant to be a lesson in life. So, when something as striking as a convergence of celebrations comes up, we need to figure out what its telling us.

The Wrong Match?

Actually, if youre looking for a Jewish thanksgiving, its Sukkot. Sukkot is the original biblical Thanksgiving. The Torah calls it The Festival of Ingatheringin other words, when all the crops, fruits included, have been gathered in. At that point we gather for seven days to show our thankfulness. After we left Egypt, Sukkot also became a festival to celebrate the divine protection we enjoyed for forty years in the wilderness. And that protection continues to this day.

Sukkot never coincides with Thanksgiving. Thats a good thing. On Sukkot, we sit outdoors in a makeshift hutnot necessarily the way you would want to end November if you lived in, say, Portland, Maine. But here we have When you think about it, Chanukah lining up with Thanksgiving has more Thanksgiving. to do with Chanukah And, when than any other holiday. you think about it, Thanksgiving has more to do with Chanukah than any other holiday.

Beyond Corn & Watermelons

Thanksgiving is not your typical harvest festival. Its about more than bumper crops and giant watermelons. Thanksgiving comes packed with a deep narrativewhat Peter Gomes calls the American sense of mythic past.1 Its a narrative about an arduous journey to escape religious persecution for freedom in a new land, the establishment of a democratic charter, and the sense of divine providence that carried those refugees through their plight. Thats Chanukah, as well: a narrative deeply embedded in the collective Jewish psyche of how we fought back against religious oppression in our own land, earned our freedom, and thanked G d for the miracles.

In America, most holidays have lost their original significance for most people. With Thanksgiving, that may not yet be the case. Americans still act as though they identify with the plight of those Pilgrims. Most of us, after all, are descendants of those who fled to this side of the planet seeking a new future unbridled by the oppressive restrictions of the old world. And when we think of America, we still think of a land of promise and liberty.

Thanksgiving & Chanukah are both deep narratives in a nations collective consciousness.

The Thanksgiving Mantra

So, Chanukah and Thanksgiving are deeply connected, and that connection can be summed up in just four words: Thank G d, were free. Why are those words important? Thanksgiving is a national holiday, not a religious holiday. But please tell me, whom are Americans thanking? The turkey? So, whats so important about thanking G d? Because its at that point that you become truly free of religious oppression. That may sound strange. Hold on.

Liberty from the Bogeyman

Lets say you cant get yourself to say those words, not because you do not feel free, but because you claim to not believe in G dat least, not one that can be thanked? What if you think that such belief is irrational, primitive and unscientific?

Then you need to ask yourself if you are still carrying the Pilgrims bogeyman of the Church of England, if Diderot is still screaming in your ear that men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest, and if the collusion of church and state is looming in your mind as though King Louis XIV and Czar Nicholas I came along on the Mayflower.

Whom are Americans thanking? The turkey? But what if you think that belief in G d is irrational?

Its hard to find a real atheist. Deep in the human consciousness lies a belief in a G d who cares. Deepyet close enough that it will emerge in a crunch. In a typical conversation with an atheist, scratch the surface and youll find that a caring G d is not the real issue. The fear of an oppressive church and organized religion hijacking democracy is the real bogeyman. But there is no bogeyman. Weve left that behind. We are free. So, its okay to thank G d. And its extremely liberating. Its liberating, because thats the foundation upon which liberty is built.

The Stuff the World (and America) Is Made Of

Lets face it: America wouldnt have been possible if no one thought that G d cares. If there werent people who believed that the state of humanity is of cosmic significance, that there was nothing that touched more closely the very core of existence than the way one human being treats another, then all that we call social progress could never have happened. Thanking G d means you feel an affinity with whatever it is you believe is behind this whole existence. You feel theres some sort of interaction going on here. You feel that this super-being, this transcendental onenessas strange as it may soundactually cares. Which is a powerful statement. It says that caring doesnt just make the world go roundcaring is the reason its here to begin with. More than that, caring is the stuff this world is made of: as the psalm goes, the world is built of kindness. Ive written before that if the leaders of the environmental movement would embrace those sacred root-values of American Caring is the stuff this culture, presenting us as the appointed stewards over a G dgiven planet, they would finally find their way into the hearts of the world is made of. people. The same applies to those struggling to bring peace in distant places, those fighting crime and injustice in not-so-distant places, and those bringing compassion and values to corporate America. Belief makes change. Belief in a G d who cares makes lasting change for lasting good.

Free At Last
Hi, America, Im Thanksgiving. And Im also Chanukah. Hold my hand. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Now say, Thank G d, were free. Doesnt that feel good?
Sources Inspired by a talk of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, on December 21, 1986.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
FOOTNOTES 1. In his foreword to Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday by James W. Baker.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

The Visionary Soul

By Rochel Holzkenner

For four years we werent able to have children. In retrospect, that chapter of life seems less dramatic than it felt at the time, especially since Im now blessed with three healthy kids. But those first four years were a challenge for me, and there were so many disappointments that came along with the ride. Every treatment and procedure brought high hopes and eager anticipation. When they failed, I felt a stab in my vulnerable heart. After the first year, though, I really toughened up. I didnt cry anymore. I went through the motions sensibly: the endless visits to the doctors office, the blood tests, the acupuncture treatments. Trying to start a family became my second job, and I pursued it with vigor. But I didnt hold my breath too hard Those first four years when I started a new round of treatments, were a challenge for me and I avoided self-pity like the plague. One afternoon, as I was driving through Miami, my shield of strength suddenly shattered. With no warning, I started to weep till the tears drenched my cheeks. I was alone, so I let myself cry out loud like a child. Id been letting my mind wander, perhaps too far, and Id started to imagine what it must be like for a mother to watch her daughter struggle. I was watching my daughter as a young girl. I watched her grow up and start a life of her own. I wanted her to have the sweetest life; she deserved it. Then I saw her desperately wanting a child; I saw her attempt multiple fertility treatments without success. It broke my heart to see my daughter in pain. And thats when I broke down. I cried for the daughter who was me. Even if I was okay with it, my mother wasnt. I suddenly felt undeserving of my fertility struggle. I dont regret that cry, and I dont judge myself for my self-pity. It felt great to cry again, a powerfully cathartic cry. Where is that fine line between healthy self-compassion and debilitating self-pity? The tenderness of pain is

so frightening, like a dark abyss, that its often safer to check out of the world of feelings and stay practical. But whats at the back end of an emotional shutdown? In one of the most moving interactions in the Torah, Joseph met his younger brother, Benjamin, after 22 years of separation. Benjamin, however, had no idea that he was meeting his long-lost brother; he thought that he was talking to the minister of finance in Egypt. Joseph became so emotional from their conversation that, for the first time in his dealings with his brothers, he hurried to go out because his compassion was aroused to his brother, and he wanted to weep. He went to his room and wept there.1 Joseph had heard that his brothers had come down to Egypt to purchase food, and he chose to personally administer their transaction. One can imagine the overwhelming emotional reaction that this must have generated. After 22 years he saw his brothers again, ten of them, standing humbly before him. They dont recognize Joseph, nor would they ever suspect that he was a powerful politician. And Joseph gave them no reason to suspect that he had any tender affinity toward them. On the contrary, for several weeks he played hardball with his brothers. He pretended to suspect them of being spies; he held his brother Simeon as collateral until they brought Benjamin to Egypt. He put on a perfect poker face to make them uneasy in his presence. Joseph knew that if he played his cards right, the brothers would fully regret their choice to sell him 22 years earlier, and they would finally begin to heal from their mistake. Joseph chose a brilliant strategy and carried it out Joseph gave them no like an award-winning actor. But then Joseph broke down. He couldnt even wait until he was alone to cry. He had to hurry out and find a private space, so that he could let himself weep fully. What changed? What triggered this extreme response?

reason to suspect that he had any tender affinity toward them

When the brothers brought Benjamin to Egypt, Joseph invited them all to dine with him. Over dinner, he inquired about their (his) fathers wellbeing. Afterward, he focused his attention on Benjamin. Joseph asked, Do you have a brother from the same mother? Benjamin carefully responded, I had a brother, but I dont know where he is. Joseph continued, Do you have any children? I have ten sons, he answered. Joseph probed, What are their names? Benjamin listed the names of his ten sons. Joseph was curious. What is the idea behind these names? he asked. They all relate to my brother and the troubles that have befallen him: Bela, because he was swallowed up (nivla) amongst alien nations; Becher , because he was my mothers firstborn (bechor); Ashbel, because G d sent him into captivity (shevao E l); Geira, because he had to live in a foreign land (ger); Naaman , because he was extremely pleasant (naim); Echi and Rosh , because he was my brother (ach) and my elder (rosh); Mupim, because he learned from the mouth (peh) of my father; Chupim, because he didnt see my marriage (chuppah), and I did not see his; Ard , because he went down (yarad) amongst alien nations.2 Joseph was taken aback that his brother had named all of his sons with names that commemorated him. Apparently, Benjamin was tormented by Josephs loss. Even after he began a family of his own, he couldnt come to terms with the fact that his brother, whom he apparently admired, was suffering. He couldnt surrender to the notion that they werent able to share a life together. All this time, he was bleeding for Josephs pain. The wound had not scabbed over and grown callous. Time had not healed Benjamin. And this is why Joseph broke down. All of his learned self-discipline, the whole charade that he put on to orchestrate his familys ultimate reunion, wasnt enough to protect him from Benjamins revelation. Benjamins ceaseless compassion for Joseph caused a shift in Joseph. He was no longer the savvy viceroy

of Egypt; he was a heartbroken man. The first Chabad rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, writes that inside every man and woman there is a Joseph and there is a Benjamin.3 Joseph is the archetype of a Jewish survivor. Listen, O Shepherd of Israel, You who leads Benjamins ceaseless Joseph like a flock, writes King David.4 Joseph is a code name for the Jewish nation. He is the prototype of the loyal Jew in compassion for Joseph foreign surroundings who rejects secular values and remains caused a shift in Joseph faithful to his G d.5 The Joseph in us puts on a remarkable fight to live as Jew in a world of adversity, to survive and to thrive despite the rough spots we encounter. Benjamin is the more vulnerable aspect of our being. Benjamin was orphaned as he took his first breath of life. His mother, Rachel, died while birthing him: As her soul was departing . . . she named him Ben Oni (son of my affliction)but his father named him Benjamin.6 But she wasnt lamenting over her own labor pains; she was prophetically envisioning the suffering that her sons and their tribes would endure. What anguished Rachel was the loss of her dream. She envisioned her children growing up together in the land of Canaan, but she knew that their lives would take another course. Benjamin was born with his mothers pain. Benjamin is the part of us thats tortured by our unfulfilled expectations. The expectations come from a deep-rooted vision of what life should look like. We feel that we should have integrity and growth, our relationships should be loving and profound, our work should be dynamic and expressive. The visionary within us has immense depth, but is likely to be disappointed by the reality of life. Our visionary expectations come directly from our soul. Before descending into a body, she eagerly awaited her turn to spend a lifetime doing G ds will here on earth. To the soul, the opportunity to do a mitzvah, to transform something of the material world into a spiritual experience, is priceless. Throughout our lifes journey our soul still clings to her vision of purposeful living, and is quite disappointed by all the things that challenge this ideal lifestyle. Our Joseph is used to being abused, betrayed and trapped. He makes the most of his tumultuous journey, and rides each wave with grace. But Joseph has a brother who is deeply connected to him. This brother, this soul-consciousness, is deeply pained by the injustice. A Jew deserves a more dignified life. And, perhaps more importantly, a Jew deserves to treat himself with greater dignity. Sometimes it is the selfabuse that most painfully shatters our internal visionary. While our Joseph is jaded and functional, our Benjamin is idealistic and vulnerable. Our inner Joseph forgets to cry. Or perhaps it sees no function in crying. Its an indulgent waste of time! But there is always a part inside of us thats still hanging onto a dream and is pained every moment that the dream isnt actualized. Its the dreamer that sensitizes us to what life really should look like. And even if its impossible to live that dream right now, at least we havent succumbed to our challenges. When Joseph listens to the story of his life from Benjamins perspective, he cries. That cry is a powerful cry. Healing will often begin only when we give ourselves permission to empathize with our vulnerability and our disappointment. In the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman describes the most effective way to reconnect with G d after weve done something to compromise our relationship with Him. One of the key ingredients to authentic regret is compassion, compassion for our Life Source. Our mistakes may have felt okay at the time, and perhaps we still Healing will often begin dont feel that badly about them. We may view ourselves as the kind of people who are susceptible to sinning, not mature or only when we give spiritual enough to take the high road. But the meditation that the ourselves permission to Rebbe describes involves the belief that there is another part of empathize with our us, a part that was never okay with that choice. Theres a part of us thats still sensitive and is tortured by our mistakes, even if vulnerability and our theyve happened countless times. Its that internal innocence disappointment thats wounded every time we abuse ourselves. Teshuvah, the commitment to change, happens when we try to experience the

pain of the soul and feel deeply compassionate for her humiliation.7 Benjamin is our innocent visionary who wants a life of dignity. But lifes not always that way. And even if its all for the best, even if all of our challenges are in place for our growth, the Benjamin in our psyche is pained. Its not self-pity, the kind that makes us feel like unlucky victims of circumstance. Its selfcompassion for the part of us that is aristocracy but needs to play foot soldier for the time being. Self-pity can be crippling. Self-compassion allows us to be emotionally available. If we can feel for our higher self, our soul, then she becomes a more conscious part of us. Chassidic thought teaches about the seven emotional stratospheres within the psyche of every being. Love, the first emotion, is cold. Love is compared to water, a substance that maintains a cool temperature. Love inspires us to connect with someone or something outside of ourselves, but that connection can be a very calculated choice, and it doesnt require intense emotion. Severity, the second emotion, is compared to fire, powerful and often volatile. Compassion is the third emotional sphere. It fuses the first two emotions, creating a love that is hot. This connection is not as calculated as it is compelling. For example, I love my sister, but I feel passionate compassion for my friend who has a sick child. Self-compassion propels us forward, giving us the drive to make life work. As Joseph, we may just be going through the motions. But when Joseph resonates with the voice of Benjamin, we become more vibrant. Lets not become complacent with our souls struggles in this material world. Allow, for a moment, some compassion for that innocent part of us that yearns for a higher reality. And then G d will reciprocate in kind, giving us the strength to work through our challenges with more passion and potency.8 When I gave myself permission to feel the pain in my journey, when I let go of the fear that Id become selfpitying, I was much more authentic. I could share more honestly with friends. I had more tolerance for my shortcomings. And I was able to pray with more passion. I believe it was those prayers that shifted my destinyand G d blessed me with children. Rochel is a mother of four children and the co-director of Chabad of Las Olas, FL serving the community of young professionals. She is a high school teacher and a freelance writerand a frequent contributor to Chabad.org. She lectures extensively on topics of Kabbalah and feminism, and their application to everyday life. Rochel holds an MS in Brain Research from Nova SE University.
FOOTNOTES 1. Genesis 43:30. 2. Talmud, Sotah 36b. 3. Likkutei Torah, Behar 40d. 4. Psalms 80:3. 5. See commentaries of Rashi and R. Hirsch to Psalms loc. cit. 6. Genesis 35:18. 7. Iggeret Hateshuvah, ch. 7. 8. Likkutei Sichot, vol. 15, p. 348.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Emotional Starvation
By Lazer Gurkow

The Dream of Panic

Pharaoh had a strange dream. Seven thin and unhealthy cows swallowed seven robust cows, but the thin cows showed no signs of weight gain. Joseph interpreted the dream, predicting that Egypt would experience seven years of plentiful crops, followed by seven years of drought. The ensuing famine would be so severe that the years of plenty would be entirely forgotten.1 The commentaries pose an interesting question. Why did the thin cows swallow the robust cows? If the purpose of the dream was to imply a severe famine that would erase the effects of the years of plenty, the healthy cows could have becomeor even been replaced bysickly and thin cows, and the message would have been the same. Why the swallowing? Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno offers a deep psychological insight. This detail of the dream informed Pharaoh that the famine would sow panic and desperation even among the wealthy, for they knew that their limited supplies would eventually run out.

Our rabbis taught that you cannot compare one who has bread in his basket to one who does not. The two might enjoy identical meals, but the one who has nothing saved for tomorrow will panic with every bite, for each mouthful carries him closer to starvation. The one who has plenty stored away for the next day will eat with confidence. If we are filled with dread, every mouthful is a form of torture. If we are filled with confidence, every mouthful is bliss. The time would come when the entire region would suffer from famine, and people would stream to Egypt to purchase food. But even the well-stocked Egyptians would not escape the wrath of famine, for with each bite they would worry that tomorrow they might join the ranks of the hungry. Pharaohs dream informed him that he would gain no satisfaction from his rich meals. He would suffer emotional starvation, and come to hate mealtime with a passion.

The years of plenty would be entirely forgotten

The Scarcity Mentality

Imagine an encounter between an Egyptian family with plenty and a family from a starving country. The Egyptian family might moan about the desperation they feel with every bite. The visiting family wouldnt be able to relate to this problem. If we had that kind of food, they would say, we would have no problem. Yet you have all this food, and complain? Can you imagine a scenario in which you are surrounded by luxury, but feel desperate and deprived? It is the ultimate irony. You have everything, and enjoy nothing. In fact, you might be better off with poverty than with a wealth that haunts and taunts you.

You might be better off It is impossible to relate to such difficulty when you are surrounded by real problems. When your children are hungry and with poverty you have nothing to feed them, you wish for the kind of problems the Egyptian family experienced. Yet from the Egyptians standpoint, the problem was real. It couldnt be dismissed merely because others had more serious

problems. Today we have irrigation, production and preservation systems that enhance crop survival and mitigate the effects of droughts. For the most part, people in the developed world are able to meet their basic needs and then some. But feelings of desperation and deprivation are still common. Only the believer can live in the moment. The believer knows that everything is in good hands, G ds hands. As much as we strive to work hard and provide for our families, ultimately our sustenance comes from G d.

The Weak Bully

There is another lesson from this enigmatic dream. How often do you encounter aggressive personalities who love to dominate? These people feel compelled to make every decision and control every exchange. If someone stands up to them, they tear into him and figuratively eat him alive. Having swallowed each of their challengers, and even many of their supporters, such people appear to be invincible, but they often feel weak and beleaguered. You see, very few people tear into others because they are strong. They often do these things because they lack self-esteem and suffer emotional starvation. They might perceive almost any exchange as a slight, and convince themselves that others are poised to attack them. They put up a brave front and are on the offensive precisely because they feel vulnerable. In their minds, others want to swallow them alive, and they have no choice but to swallow first. They are like the skinny cows, swallowing their perceived attackers but showing no signs of gain. They won the battle, but gained no emotional satisfaction from it. It is the height of irony. They are the strongest in the group, but in They have no choice but their minds, the weakest. When we understand that bullying behavior is often rooted in emotional starvation, we can respond with compassion and loving strength.

to swallow first

Pharaohs dream highlights a psychological phenomenon to which we are still subject today. Emotional starvation can manifest in many ways, but with faith in G d, we can perceive the abundance in our lives. Rabbi Lazer Gurkow is spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Tefilah in London, Ontario, and a frequent contributor to The Judaism WebsiteChabad.org. He has lectured extensively on a variety of Jewish topics, and his articles have appeared in many print and online publications. For more on Rabbi Gurkow and his wrtings, visit InnerStream.ca.
FOOTNOTES 1. Genesis 41:131.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

Mikeitz in a Nutshell

Josephs imprisonment finally ends when Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows that are swallowed up by

seven lean cows, and of seven fat ears of grain swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of hunger, and advises Pharaoh to store grain during the plentiful years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph governor of Egypt. Joseph marries Asenath , daughter of Potiphar, and they have two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can be obtained only in Egypt. Ten of Josephs brothers come to Egypt to purchase grain; the youngest, Benjamin, stays home, for Jacob fears for his safety. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him; he accuses them of being spies, insists that they bring Benjamin to prove that they are who they say they are, and imprisons Simeon as a hostage. Later, they discover that the money they paid for their provisions has been mysteriously returned to them. Jacob agrees to send Benjamin only after Judah assumes personal and eternal responsibility for him. This time Joseph receives them kindly, releases Simeon, and invites them to an eventful dinner at his home. But then he plants his silver goblet, purportedly imbued with magic powers, in Benjamins sack. When the brothers set out for home the next morning, they are pursued, searched, and arrested when the goblet is discovered. Joseph offers to set them free and retain only Benjamin as his slave .
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

The Rebbe

You Say Youre an Atheist . . .

Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

5727 Dr. New York, N.Y. Blessing and Greeting: I am in receipt of your two recent letters. With reference to the other topic of our correspondence, namely my suggestion that ones protestations against G d are in themselves proof of belief in the existence of G dperhaps I did not make myself clear, in that it is not the negation which I consider to be proof, so much as the manner in which it is expressed. For when one declares his atheism once and for all, affirming that henceforth he has no place for G d in his thoughts, lexicon and daily life, then the matter is settled and closed. However, when one asserts that G d does not exist, yet at the same time on seeing an injustice in the world experiences pain and promptly demands, Where is G d? his harping on the same theme again and again is proof that deep in his heart he believes in G dwhich is precisely why he feels so hurt and outraged. More importantly still, not only does he believe in a Supernatural Being in general, but also in One who has all the qualities that Jews attribute to Him, among them that He takes an interest in human affairs, although If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him, etc. Furthermore, He is a G d who intervenes in the daily life of each and every individual, even to the

extent of listening to prayer. And prayer, as the Jew conceives of it, serves the function neither of tranquilizer nor any other means of emotional relief likely to meet with the approval of a psychiatrist. Every such deception is contrary to the spirit of all religions, particularly our Torah, which is called Torat Emet [the Torah of truth]. The daily Amidah includes the prayer for wisdom, understanding and knowledge, from the One who bestows the gracious gift of knowledge, just as it includes the prayer for healing from the One who heals the sick of His people Israelin the plain sense of these words. Of course, I do not need much convincing that our prayers include profound meanings and esoteric allusions in the realm of Kabbalah, etc., but that should not obscure the fact that first and foremost our prayers are the direct expression of our dependence upon G d for the satisfaction of our elementary needs, bread to eat and raiment to wear. I am, of course, aware of the objections raised to the above, some of them mentioned in your recent article, and in earlier pieces. Specifically it is asked, how is it possible for a Being who is incorporeal, formless, unchanging, etc., to be swayed by prayers for rain in a time of drought, or by other such requests? But the fact that the human intellect cannot comprehend something proves nothing more than that: the intellect is limited, and we were already told long ago that He is incomprehensible to those who comprehend by the senses. There is no need, therefore, to harp upon a problem with which Jews and Gentiles have been grappling from time immemorial, and which continues to challenge us today. I am certain that it is not because of this bothersome question that the unbeliever lost his faith, but to the contrary: having lost his faith, he seeks to appease his conscience by cooking up this problem. With regard to my attitude toward Jewish boys attending college, I need only adduce your own reasoning in support of my position. You illustrate your point by saying that when a person contracts a contagious disease, there must be someone ready to take the risk of trying to heal him, rather than leaving him entirely to his fate. I will use this same analogy in my answer to you. Indeed, as is customary among Jews, I will answer your question with a question of my own: Have you ever met a mother who tried to persuade her son to choose for his career the field of infectious diseases, ruling out everything else, when he himself wished to choose some other means of parnassah, one that would not be quite so fraught with danger? To make my point even stronger, what would you think of a mother who, pressing her son to pursue that dangerous career, insists upon his getting started right away, by having him mix and come into daily contact with people who have already come down with various infectious diseases, on the assumption that he will somehow stumble upon the measures necessary to protect himself from infection, and in this way develop into a specialist in the field, one able to bring relief and cure to the unfortunate sufferer? I believe that in such a case no mother would fail to realize that whereas the danger is certain and immediate, the chances of her son becoming a specialist are, at best, years away. The analogy is obvious. With blessing, Letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Throw a Beautiful Chanukah Party

By Rita Brow nstein

I love to entertain, and Chanukah is the perfect time to invite friends and family over for a holiday party. Its so much fun to decorate the house and table in festive Chanukah attire.

In keeping with the traditional Chanukah colors, I stuck to a palette of blues and golds. For a centerpiece I used a contemporary gold menorah. This is just for decorative purposes, since the menorah is usually lit by a door or window.

The white hydrangeas are sitting in a clear glass vase, with gold plastic dreidels acting as a vase filler.

Each place setting had a small Chanukah gift tied with gold floss and a chocolate gelt candy.

Even the kosher rock candy kept with the blue color theme!

The dinner table was set up in the living room right in front of our fireplace. That gave me even more places to continue the Chanukah theme.

The gold coins are plastic from the party store.

Using a hot glue gun, it was easy to glue them to some string a create this garland. The top of the mantel was the perfect place to spell out the essence of the holiday with the word miracles.

It was easy to create: pick up some chip board letters (I found mine at Hobby Lobby). Glue them onto wood skewers and spray-paint gold. When dry, insert each letter into votive cups filled with salt.

And, dont forget to send your guests home with a gift bag . . .

These Star of David pretzels are covered in melted chocolate and topped with blue candy nonpareils! Rita Brownstein is a designer and former art director. She is the author of Jewish Holiday Style and Jewish Weddings (published by Simon & Schuster), and currently blogs at designmegillah.com.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Wom en

Conquering Ourselves

By Rivka Caroline

Aside from a legitimate reason to indulge in doughnuts and latkes, Chanukah is a celebration of the victory of light over darkness. Its a lesson that we can continue to apply in our own lives, centuries after the Chanukah story.

Its easier to conquer the world than to change one character trait
I cant personally speak on behalf of the Maccabees themselves, but my guess is that if I were a Maccabee, it would be easier to fight the Greeks than it would be to work on my own personal middot, character traits. It just seems so naturalso human, even to blame, criticize and judge others. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and effort to be really in touch with our own character defects and to humbly work on them.

What would victory look like?

So, taking a page from the Chanukah victory, what would a personal victory look like? Would it be a tranquil Friday afternoon, a peaceful visit with the in-laws, or finding that last tiny cruse of patience that will last all eight minutes of tooth-brushing with a cranky toddler? Identify where you need to change, and take those bold steps towards your goal.

An idea is something we do
We are a smart nation, full of smart ideas. You dont want to be someone who lies down at night with a head brimming with fabulous ideas, and then be that person who lies down 24 hours later with the exact same thoughts, the pattern repeating ad infinitum. An idea is something we do. So, whatever flashes of insight you have into personal victories, start the ball rolling, speak to others, and work out what victory would look like.

Baby Steps
However bold your idea is, be prepared to break it down into small steps. People dont lose 100 pounds overnight with good intentions and lifestyle changes. Change takes time; often it means giving yourself small, bite-size goals to reach, celebrating your goals, and then setting new goals. Just like the candles on Chanukahstep by step, light by light.

How can I have a better relationship with my future self?

Personal victory ultimately boils down to truly knowing yourselfthe good, the bad, and even the uglyand working strategically and honestly on becoming an even better version of yourself. It also involves developing a healthy relationship with your future self. That enables you to step out of the I-want-it-now stage and reflect on the ramifications of your choices 48 hours from now. So, ignite your true potential and reveal that victorious side of yourself. Happy Chanukah! Rivka is a mother of seven and a rabbis wife in Key Biscayne, Florida. Rivka realized she had the choice of losing her sanity or developing new tricks for time management. Her new blog, Frazzled No More: Focused Living with a Jewish Twist, walks busy readers through easy-to-follow steps that will give them more time to do what they love. You can read more of Rivkas tips in her recently published book, From Frazzled to Focused, the book she wished she had on her nightstand when she was a new mom. For more tips, check out Rivkas website, or e mail her for information on her upcoming speaking tours.

 Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Question

Were the Maccabees Barbarians?

By Tzvi Freeman

Question:
I dont understand what we are supposed to be celebrating on Chanukah. The Greeks brought culture, rationalism, geometry, drama, appreciation of beauty, and most of all, a promise of universalism to the Mediterranean. The Jewish Maccabee resistance fought for old-time religion, senseless rituals such as circumcision, kosher taboos and sacrificial orders. Where others gladly abandoned their tribalism for the universalist spirit of the day, these retrogrades insisted on their divisive national identity and cultic rites. In our modern times, when those Hellenist ideals have flowered and flourished in the form of science and globalism, what point is there in celebrating the victory of those who resisted progress into the future?

Answer:
Lets start with a few facts. While its true that Alexander brought an era of true progress and prosperity to the ancient world, those values werent necessarily Greek values. Consider this speech which legend attributes to hima speech no Greek could have imagined: . . . I wish all of you, now that the wars are coming to an end, to live happily in peace. All mortals from now on shall live like one people, united and peacefully working forwards a common prosperity. You should regard the whole world as your countrya country where the best govern, with common laws and no racial distinctions. I do not separate people, as many narrow-minded others do, into Greeks and barbarians. Im not interested in the origin or race of citizens. I distinguish them only on the basis of their virtue. For me, each good foreigner is a Greek, and each bad Greek is a barbarian. If ever there appear differences among you, you must not resolve them by taking to arms; you should resolve them in peace. If need be, I shall act as your negotiator. You must not think of G d as an authoritarian ruler, but you should consider Him as common father, so that your conduct will resemble the uniform behavior of brothers who belong to the same family. For my part, I consider allwhether they be white or blackequal, and I would like you to be not only the subjects of my commonwealth, but also participants and partners. Within my powers, I shall endeavor to fulfill all my promises. You should regard the oath we have taken tonight as a symbol of love . . .1 To the Greeks, anyone who was not a member of a small group of tribes on the tip of the Aegean peninsula was a barbarian and of inferior stock, worthy only to be a slave. And that included Macedonians such as Alexander. Amongst Athenians, only one who owned land and was born of an Athenian father and mother

could be considered a citizen. Even craftsmen and entrepreneurs were considered inferior sorts for men, unworthy of citizenship. True, Alexander was trained by a Greek teacher, none other than Aristotle. Yet, in his biography of Alexander, Peter Green writes: Aristotle and Alexander maintained a close relationship while student and teacher. Surprisingly, in later years, Aristotles and Alexanders relationship deteriorated because of their opposing views on foreigners. Aristotle regarded foreigners as barbarians, while Alexander did not mind intermixing cultures.2 Alexander and the Hellenistic dream of universal peace was, then, not so much Greek, but much closer to an earlier orator of a much different era, the prophet Isaiah, who spoke of the ultimate Jewish emperor: He shall judge between the nations and reprove many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore.3 Such progressive universalists were the ancient Jews that they alone among the nations fostered a concept not only of universal peace, but of universal law. The code is often called the seven laws of Noah, although it entails far more than seven prohibitions. Adin Steinsaltz, in a widely discussed essay, describes the Noahide approach as a formula for no more than peace, providing a basis for conversation among religions without the expectation of compromise between or reconciliation of claims.4 All this makes it even more surprising that it was the Jews, far more than any other people, who rebelled against and undermined Alexanders dream. And to celebrate that, yet? The key, I believe, was best stated by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his book The Dignity of Difference. In the chapter Exorcising Platos Ghost, he describes the flip side of universalism: the obliteration of diversity, the loss of individuality, and the breeding of anomie in the place of community. The two examples of progress that you cite, science and globalism, are poignant in this regard. The benefits of science and technology are precious to us all, but after the horrors of the 20th century, none of us can ignore its pernicious tendency to dehumanize and devalue human life. Ironically, as science progresses, it becomes better equipped to justify a purely utilitarian world, where humans are reduced to just another utility. As for globalismyes, it has defeated the worst of poverty in many parts of the world; brought greater resilience to our economy (so they say); and its nice to have avocados, kiwis and passion fruit at any season of the yearbut look at what this has done to cultural diversity. In his time, Alexander offered Greek statues and temples for all; today we offer Superman, Mickey Mouse and McDonalds. With both peace offerings, the same caveat applies: Acceptance of our culture implies abandonment of your own. Whether you are Japanese, Swahili, Inuit or Patagonian, this will be the new pseudo-culture of your children, and your own will be lost. You pay for peace with your own soul. Oh so poignant are the words of Chief Dan George, of the Suquamish tribe in the Pacific Northwest: I wanted to give something of my past to my grandson. So I took him into the woods, to a quiet spot . . . I sang. In my voice was the hope that clings to every heartbeat. I sang. In my words were the powers I inherited from my forefathers. I sang.

In my cupped hands lay a spruce seedthe link to creation. I sang. In my eyes sparkled love. I sang. And the song floated on the suns rays from tree to tree. When I had ended, it was if the whole world listened with us to hear the wolfs reply. We waited a long time but none came. Again I sang, humbly but as invitingly as I could, until my throat ached and my voice gave out. All of a sudden I realized why no wolves had heard my sacred song. There were none left! My heart filled with tears. I could no longer give my grandson faith in the past, our past. At last I could whisper to him: It is finished! Can I go home now? he asked, checking his watch to see if he would still be in time to catch his favorite program on TV. I watched him disappear and wept in silence. All is finished! 5 So, it is all finished. Who cares? What difference will it make? Humanity can survive without the Squamish legends and myths. True, we can survive. But in what way will we be human? As Rabbi Sacks asks, is a human an abstract ideal, a cookie-cutter form, a way in which we are all the same, live the same, celebrate the same, want the same and die the same? Or is a human defined by his unpredictability, his unique sense of I, a creature of destiny and purpose that no other being in the universe shares, whose pleasure and pain, sadness and joy describe one individuals experience of life and one alone? That is where things went haywire between the Hellenists and the Maccabees: Not over culture and art, geometry and literacythose we embraced and even preserved, just as we welcomed the promise of peace between nations. It was the caveat that we were not willing to swallow. Our temple was to remain a Jewish temple, our homes Jewish homes, and our Torah a Jewish Torah. The Greeks, and those Jews who mimicked them, saw that as a stubborn impediment to progress. They saw the recalcitrants as shortsighted retrogrades. But the truth is that Jewish wisdom sees much further. The future is not a soliloquy, but a symphony. Peace is not uniformity, but a rich orchestra of many instruments.6 The Jewish people have made many valuable contributions to humankind, but this is one of their most vital: That it is okay to be different, to cherish your identity, even to die for itbecause in truth that is all you have. It is all you have, because without it you are redundant: you may as well have never been born. On Chanukah we wish to share that with all other peoples, to show them that even as the majority culture swamps your life with its commercially hyped symbology, narratives and melodies, you can still bear proudly the traditions of your own proud heritage and know who you are. And so we celebrate that victory, the victory of the survival of the unique, the personal and the human within the vast melting pot of globalism. Look at this miracle: An anomaly among the nations, as time progressed we became not less tribal, but more so. Like an ingot of iron in the crucible of history, our identity became yet more indestructible, yet more timeless and eternal. Timeless, because we belong to modernity as much as we belong to our ancient roots; eternal, because in essence we do not change. Why? Because we were born as a people not out of geography or circumstance, but out of a mission, and that sense of purpose has kept us always alive and unique. And so it should be with every human being: Let his or her unique missionnot that of the sitcom stars, not that dictated by social norms, not that demanded by conformity to modern, Western standards but the role that distinguishes this one person from every other creature in the universe, let that vitalize all

that he or she does. Earlier I compared the universal law for all people, the laws of Noah, to Alexanders promise of peace between nations. The distinction, however, is crucial: Alexander asked that your conduct will resemble the uniform behavior of brothers who belong to the same family. We would rather have each of those brothers and sisters express his or her uniqueness within that one large family. The minimalism of the laws of Noah serves as a guideline not for conformity, but for harmony of diverse parts. Perhaps this is what guided Micah, a later prophet, to reiterate the words of Isaiah, yet with an embellished encore, one that speaks to the individual as well as the whole: He shall judge between many peoples and reprove mighty nations far-off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore. They shall dwell each man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them move, for the mouth of the L rd of Hosts has spoken.7 Recently I gave an impromptu talk on this topic, which someone recorded. You can listen to the recording at this link. Another article to read is Why Couldnt the Jews and Greeks Just Get Along? May the lights of Chanukah transform the darkness to light, so that we may truly progress into a future in which every human being is valued, and war is unthinkable. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, a senior editor at Chabad.org, also heads our Ask The Rabbi team. He is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. To subscribe to regular updates of Rabbi Freeman's writing, visit Freeman Files subscription.
FOOTNOTES 1. The oath of Alexander the Great, a speech at Opis (Assyria) in 324 BCE, to some nine thousand dignitaries and nobles of all nations (Pseudo-Kallisthenes C; cited also by Eratosthenes). Alexanders idealism became quickly corrupted as he allowed others to convince him of his divinity. The ideal, nevertheless, remained a key element of the subsequent Hellenistic era. 2.

See Peter Green, Alexander of Macedon 356323 B.C.: A Historical Biography (reprint edition, University of California Press, 1992), pp. 4 and 89; and summary at Ancient History. Concerning Greek racism, see Michael Bakaoukas, Tribalism and Racism among the Ancient Greeks, A Weberian Perspective in Anistoriton Journal 9 (March 2005), section E0501.

3.

Isaiah 2:4.

4.

Adin Steinsaltz, Peace Without Conciliation, Common Knowledge 11 (2005): 1, p. 47.

5.

http://thegoldweb.com/voices/chiefgeorge.htm.

6.

The Rebbe brings out this point in his discussion of Who Was Korach?

7.

Micah 4:34.

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Carnival Squash Latkes with Homemade Apple Butter

By Melinda Strauss

Latke Ingredients
1 carnival squash, peeled and grated. Makes around 4 cups grated squash. (Can substitute acorn, butternut or delicata squash) 1 medium yellow onion, grated 3 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour tsp. salt tsp. curry powder tsp. pepper 6 tbsp. vegetable oil

Apple Butter Ingredients

6 medium sweet red apples, peeled, cored and diced cup apple cider or apple juice cup sugar cup brown sugar tbsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. lemon zest 1 tsp. ground cinnamon tsp. ground cloves tsp. ground nutmeg tsp. vanilla extract Pinch of salt

Apple Butter Directions

1. Place the diced apples and apple cider in a large pot and simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes. 2. Use a hand blender to pure the cooked apples, then add the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine. 3. Place the apple mixture back on the stove and simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once there is no juice left in the pot, the apple butter is ready!

Latkes Directions

1. Grate the squash and onion in a food processor, and place the mixture in a cheese cloth to squeeze out any excess liquid from the shreds. Then combine it with the lightly beaten eggs. 2. Add the flour, salt, pepper and curry to the squash, and stir to combine. 3. Place the vegetable oil in a large pan and heat on medium. Before cooking the latkes, test out a small spoonful to make sure the oil is hot enough. You want the oil to sizzle and bubble when the batter hits it. If the oil is smoking, it is way too hot! 4. Scoop 2 tablespoons of the squash batter at a time into the hot oil and cook 4 minutes on each sides. 5. Remove the latkes from the pan and place on cooling rack with paper towel underneath to catch the cooking oil. You can also place your latkes directly on paper towels to soak up the oil, but the bottoms of the latkes might get a little soggy. 6. Top with homemade apple butter, and devour! For step-by-step photos showing how to make this delicious recipe, visit Melindas site, Kitchen Tested.

Melinda is a self-taught cook, food blogger, and mother of two children from Woodmere, New York. She loves to be adventurous and daring in the kitchen and hopes to inspire her readers by adding fresh twists to simple recipes and bravely using unusual ingredients in an accessible way. You can visit Melinda on her blog Kitchen Tested to see illustrated, step-by-step recipes and stories.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Cooking

Gluten Free Banana Maple Pecan Glazed Donuts

By Lisa Stander-Horel and Tim Horel

Got gnarly old bananas that are ready for the compost heap? Got a little maple syrup and pecans in the pantry? Then you have the makings of a fabulous donut. Be sure to toast the raw pecans for best flavor. Makes 12 donuts Baking time: 16 to 18 minutes (plus glaze setting, 10 minutes)

Donut Ingredients
Nonstick spray, for greasing 1 cups (170 grams) superfine brown rice flour cup (75 grams) superfine white rice flour cup (65 grams) tapioca starch/flour cup (50 grams) GF almond flour 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder Photo by Tim Horel 2 teaspoons baking powder teaspoon baking soda teaspoon kosher salt teaspoon mace or nutmeg teaspoon ground cardamom teaspoon ground cinnamon teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or 2 turns of the grinder) 2 small very ripe bananas (150 to 160 grams), peeled and pureed cup (115 grams) sour cream or full-fat plain Greek yogurt 3 tablespoons (60 grams) pure maple syrup 2 extra-large eggs (120 grams) 9 tablespoons or cup (135 grams) unsalted butter, melted cup plus 1 tablespoon (100 grams) granulated sugar 1 tablespoon brewed coffee (decaf is fine) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients
1 cup (110 grams) confectioners sugar, sifted 2 tablespoons (40 grams) pure maple syrup 1 to 2 tablespoons hot tap water teaspoon vanilla extract cup (40 grams) pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Donut Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease two 6-count donut pans generously with nonstick spray. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, mace, cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper. In a large bowl, beat together the banana, sour cream, maple syrup, eggs, butter, granulated sugar, coffee and vanilla. Add the dry mixture and mix until fully incorporated. 3. Scoop the batter into the prepared pans, filling each donut cup a scant half-full. Rap the pan on the countertop to smooth the batter. 4. Bake the donuts for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. 5. Carefully transfer the hot, fragile donuts to a rack and let cool completely before adding the glaze.

Glaze Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the sifted confectioners sugar with the maple syrup and stir. Add the hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue stirring until the mixture is thoroughly mixed, no lumps remain, and it drizzles off the spoon slowly. Add the vanilla and stir again. 2. Spoon the glaze over the top side of the donuts until fully covered. Immediately sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the glaze on each donut. Let the glaze set, about 10 minutes. Serve while still warm, for best flavor.

Recipe from Nosh on This: Gluten-Free Baking from a Jewish-American Kitchen, copyright Lisa StanderHorel and Tim Horel, 2013. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Radiating the Light of Chanukah in 80 Countries

By Menachem Posner

The City of Lights w ill become all that much brighter w ith 60 menorah-lightings in and about Paris, including one by the Eiffel Tow er expected to be attended by 5,500 people. (file photo)

With Chanukah beginning this Wednesday evening, Nov. 27, preparations are at a high pitch at ChabadLubavitch centers to reach an estimated 8 million people in more than 80 countries through public menorah-lightings large and small, in addition to the distribution of 2.5 million holiday guides, 700,000 menorahsoversize public ones and those affixed to car roofs for paradesand some 30 million Chanukah candles. That should add a little light to the world. In Montreal, Canada, Bruchy Winterfeld and a team of volunteers are busily packing nearly 500 artfully crafted Chanukah kitseach one containing a tin menorah, a box of 44 candles, a holiday guide and a personal Chanukah greeting. Winterfeld, who co-directs Chabad of Mile End in downtown Montreal with her husband Yudi, adds that 45 volunteers will each give 10 menorahs to friends who would otherwise spend the Festival of Lights in the dark. The volunteers and recipients will then gather in Winterfelds home for a holiday celebration. At the same time, her husband will be retrofitting a tricycle with a large menorah on the back and pedal the bike-friendly warren of lanes that make up their neighborhood, distributing menorahs all the while. Chanukah, which runs through Thursday, Dec. 5, celebrates the victory of a small Judean band known as the Maccabees over the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who defiled the Holy Temple and sought to forcefully Hellenize the Jews. Upon entering the ransacked Temple, the Maccabees found just one small jug of pure oilsufficient to last for only one day. Miraculously, it burned for eight days, enough time for more oil to be made. The holiday is celebrated by kindling an increasing number of flames every night for the duration of the eight-day holiday. The lights are mounted on a stand known as a menorah or chanukiya. Traditional holiday foods include sufganiyot (donuts, typically jelly-filled ones) and latkes (potato pancakes) fried in oil, in commemoration of the oil that lasted for eight days. Chanukah is unique in that the lights must kindled in a public spot, so that their presence brings awareness of G ds intervention to the public conscience. Capitalizing on this concept in the 1970s, Chabad centers across the globe began holding Chanukah menorah-lightings in hightrafficked public places, often with specially constructed giant menorahs towering stories high.

From Freedom and Democracy

In communities from Milwaukee to Moscow, people will be strapping

In Montreal, Canada, a team of similar menorahs onto their vehicles for the duration of the eight-day volunteers packs nearly 500 artfully holiday or to participate in Chabad menorah parades. While the crafted Chanukah kits. parades were once common only in larger Jewish communities especially in New York Citysmall communities such as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (with a Jewish population of 800), and Almere, Holland, will be hosting their own parades for the first time in history.

In Merrick, N.Y., Alan Stewart Goldman will be driving his 1947 Ford pickup with a 6-foot menorah attached to the back, along with 60 or 70 other vehicles participating in the annual parade organized by the Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Merrick. Since the truck is not equipped with heat, he plans to wear a warm jacket for the duration of the parade, which will culminate with a 6 p.m. lighting of a giant menorah at the Merrick Gazebothe main site for town holiday celebrationstimed to coincide with the arrival of the daily commuter trains from Manhattan. There will be 15,000 oversized Chabad-sponsored menorahs in public squares, government houses and shopping malls all over the world. In Israel alone, 4,500 menorahs will be stationed on pedestrian walkways, malls and public thoroughfares in the very same land where the miracle of the lights transpired more than two millennia ago. Special attention is given to soldiers serving in the Israel Defence Force, with menorah kits (and lots of jelly doughnuts) delivered to troops in even the most remote outposts. Regardless of distance, however, the observances and the underlying sentiments remain consistent. From the 4,000 people present at the lighting of the National Menorah on the White House lawn to the Jews of Saskatchewan, who will be lighting for the first time with the premier of the Canadian province, the sentiment and focus remain the same: The Maccabees fight for religious freedom resonates with all those who value personal freedom and democracy. And wherever they may live in the world, more than 3 million unique visitors are expected to visit the Judaism website Chabad.org in the weeks leading up to the holiday, visiting Chanukah.org for its extensive Chanukah menu of guides, videos, songs, insights, recipes, holiday customs and lists of Chanukah events to join around the world.
Part of a "menorah to go" at the public menorah-distribution center in the city of Los Angeles.

... to 'Sharing the Lights' With Others

A new initiative launched this year to heighten the global outreach is a Share the Lights campaign, which encourages youth and young professionals to enjoy the lights of Chanukah with others. Raffles will be drawn each night of Chanukah. Those between the ages of 13 and 30 can win tickets for two to anywhere in the world, and be eligible for other prizes such as an Xbox One, iPad Air and Share the Lights T-shirts for the first 1,000 participants. Photos with the hashtag #sharethelights can be posted to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or sharethelights.org, where people can register for the raffle. The participants can feel proud to be part of something so incredibly large when they see that thousands of participants and Chabad Houses spanning six continents and hundreds of countries are all participating in the same campaign, explains Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos Suite 302 and coordinator of the Share the Lights campaign. It highlights the strength of the Jewish presence around the world. In addition to Chanukah programs and public menorah-lightings geared to youth and young adults, mitzvah tanks will be dispatched this year to high schools and colleges. This will allow students who would not have the chance to light the menorah to be able to do so, as well as encourage them to get a friend to do the

same and be entered into the raffles. Getting youth excited about the mitzvos and about Yiddishkeit is our response to disturbing assimilation statistics, states Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, executive vice chairman of Merkos LInyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch. The Share the Lights campaign is but one of the projects we have undertaken to ensure that every Jew stays connected.

to Jewish Pride
In Amsterdam, Holland, Rabbi Menachem Everswho organizes the annual menorah-lighting in Dam Square in front of the royal palacesays the public display of Jewish pride is especially meaningful for a community that is still living in the shadow of the Holocaust. Everswhose familys presence in Holland dates back at least 400 yearsnotes that for most Dutch Jews, until recently, it was simply unthinkable to openly identify themselves as Jewish.
Photos w ith the hashtag #sharethelights can be posted to Facebook, Tw itter, Instagram or sharethelights.org, w here people can also register for a raffle.

Pieces for a giant menorah are ready to be shipped at the public menorah-distribution center in dow ntow n Los Angeles.

Last year, he recalls, an old lady came to me with tears in her eyes, saying that 60 years ago she never dreamt she would live to see Jews proudly celebrating in the streets. Evers says there will be 25 public menorah-lightings in more than a dozen Dutch citiesup from one lighting in a primarily Jewish neighborhood in Amsterdam in the early 1990s. Some 500 kilometers to the south, the City of Lights will become all that much brighter with 60 menorahlightings in and about Paris, including one by the Eiffel Tower expected to be attended by 5,500 people. That will be in addition to10 menorah mobilesstocked with menorahs and Chanukah materialsthat will comb the boulevards of the French capital, where, a whopping 25,000 donuts are expected to be distributed during the course of the holiday. Ads will be taken out in the four national newspapers and on 500 billboards throughout Paris, bringing awareness of Chanukah and Chabads many holiday activities to residents. In anticipation of the holidayin synagogues, schools and Chabad centers all over the worldChabad rabbis have been using fresh olives, old-fashioned screw presses and centrifuges to teach children how olive oil is made.

Rabbi Mendel Zarchi, director of Chabad Lubavitch of Puerto Rico, demonstrates the w orkings of an olive press in a pre-Chanukah class for adults and kids.

It was very interactive, says Mindy Miller, principal of the Anshe Sholom religious school in Olympia Fields, Ill., where Rabbi Schneur Scheiman conducted an olive-press demonstration for nearly 50 students. They got to touch the olives and participate every step of the way, and then light the menorah with the oil they produced. While Scheimanwho directs Camp Gan Israel in Chicagosays he presses olives with 1,000 children every year, Rabbi Dovid Weibaum of Montreal, Canada, estimates that he walks 3,000 kids through the process every year. Another part of the tradition includes Chanukah Wonderlands and other programs for children, teens, students, adults and seniors offered by Chabad. Many of them are listed on the worlds largest Chanukah event directory: chabad.org/HanukkahEvents.

Rabbi Moshe Teldon conducts a pre-Chanukah class in Wilmette, Ill. Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Rabbis, Students Sort Through Debris in PostTornado Towns

By Karen Schw artz and Carin M. Smilk

Students Yosef Peysin and Raphael Stern assist w ith the cleanup in Gifford, Ill.

The astonishment was apparent; he said hed never seen anything like it. Ive read about tornadoes and seen pictures of tornadoes, but to see houses destroyed, to see a roof of a house off , described Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel of the aftermath of recent weather-related events in the Midwestern United States. The National Weather Service reported that at least 16 tornadoes struck Illinois and northwest Indiana on Nov. 17, with associated strong winds affecting states nearby as well. National reports confirm six dead in Illinois and two in Michigan. The town the rabbi was speaking ofGifford, Ill., home to almost 1,000 peoplewas struck by an EF-3 tornado with winds of 140 miles per hour and a path of some 25 miles. While there were injuries, no one was killed. When you see destruction like this, there are two reactions, explained Tiechtel. The first is: How does this happen, and why do such things happen? The second is: Wow, what a miracle! All this happened, and everybody survived. And you realize that great miracles take place. Great miracles are what Chanukahwhich starts on Wednesday night, Nov. 27is all about, and the rabbi got an early glimpse of them last week. The co-director of Chabad at the University of Illinois and Champaign-Urbana, along with his wife Goldie, went to the hard-hit townabout 18 miles from campus with a group of students to assist the populace there. We had to do something, insisted Tiechtel, so with a staff member, he drove Wednesday to view the destruction and what people required. They were asked to come back the next day, well before many other volunteers joined in the effort over the weekend. I posted on Facebook that I was in Gifford and coming back tomorrow, and we got such a response everyone wanted to help out. People cancelled their [plans] to come with us the next day, on Thursday, he saidno small feat because most students were preparing to leave for Thanksgiving break. We talked to one man whose house was flipped on its side; we helped him sort through things and sort through the debris, separating the metals and the wood, he said. We brought cases of water and toys 160 bottles of water and two huge boxes of toys. People had brought them to Chabad as donations. We interacted with the [American] Red Cross and the United Way. Most importantly, we were there to put a hand on his shoulder and be supportive. It could be were the first Jews theyve met, added the rabbi. They were very touched. As for the students who came with him and those involved in the Facebook effort, Tiechtel said: It tells students we have a responsibility to give back, that we care, and our response to tragedy is not just doing nothing. Our response to tragedy is jump up, take action and make a difference.

Helping Out Close to Home

Rabbi Eli Langsam, who with his wife Sarah co-directs Chabad Jewish Center in Peoria, about 15 to 20 miles from where the tornadoes struck, seconded that when the need arises, were there. He started making calls immediately to folks in the affected areas. One the strongest tornadoesan EF-4 with winds nearly 200 miles per hour blew through the nearby town of Washington, population 15,000. One person was killed, more than 100 were injured, and as many as 500 homes sustained damage. Pekin, a city in the Peoria metropolitan with nearly 35,000 residents, was hit by an EF-2 tornado with winds of 120 miles per hour. In all, seven counties in Illinois were declared state disaster areas. Its total communities decimated, gone, and the whole thing took about a half-hour, said Langsam. It was a hot day [last] Sunday, around 70 degrees, and around 11 oclock, it started pouring rain and hail and everything, and before we knew itboom!
Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel led the group of students to Gifford to help residents. He drove to see the areas right away, and on Thursday went to lend a hand to sort through the rubble, returning Friday morning with a group from Bradley University in Peoria, not far from Chabad and where he works with Jewish students.

It was raining like crazy, reported the rabbi. It was totally surreal; it looked like a war zone, like a bomb exploded and destroyed the houses. Its unbelievable; you cant believe what you see. They werent even letting people go back to their houses.

Brittney Nadler delivered bottled w ater and other essential supplies.

I think its important to realize that we have to help out, continued Langsam. This is our mission, to help those in need. This is a time when we can show, at the end of the day, that Jewish kids are coming to help people. When we see a disaster like this, it gives us an opportunity to appreciate what we haveand to thank G d as well. Thats part of what Brittney Nadler, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Illinois and ChampaignUrbana, took away from the experiencethe depth of appreciation from those who suffered such losses. She accompanied Tiechtel to Gifford, along with other students. I couldnt get over how optimistic everyone was when they arrived, she said. They were really grateful we were there and helping. A budding journalism and global-studies student from the Chicago suburbs, she heard about the Chabad effort the night before via email from the president of her Jewish sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi. She responded right away that shed be there.

Ive never seen a disaster zone or anything like that, she said. We pulled up to the town, and it was weird to see how one block was totally fine and the next block was totally destroyed. We helped a guy clean up what was left of his home; we went through the debris. You could see the foundation, and there was stuff everywhere. She said she would volunteer again, for this or a similar situation, once she returns from break. What better place to get help than a university 20 miles away? There are a lot of us with time and energy, said Nadler. We were talking about it with the rabbi on the way home. After all, she said: What if something like that happened to my town? Id want people to come help, so why shouldnt I go? You have to put forth that effort when it happens to other people.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

New s

Celebrating 'The New Year of Chassidism'

By Menachem Posner

Gathings w orldw ide w ill commemorate Yud Tes Kislevthe 19th of the Hebrew month of Kislev and the "birth" of Chassidismas in this celebration last year in Moscow .

From 10,000 students and adults from all walks of Jewish life at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, to intimate Chassidic farbrengens (gatherings) at synagogues and Chabad centers in every corner of the globe, Jews worldwide observed two days of commemoration and celebration of the 19th and 20th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, known as the New Year of Chassidism.

The 19th of Kislev marks the day in 1798 that a Czarist commission acquitted and freed from imprisonment the first Chabad-Lubavitch RebbeRabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter Rebbeon charges that included subverting the government in S. Petersburg and aiding the Ottoman Empire. It is also the anniversary of passing of his mentor, Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezerich in 1772. The acquittal is regarded in Chassidic circles as signaling a heavenly decree that the rabbis teachings should be publicly disseminated. As a result, the annual daily study cycle of the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalmans seminal work of Chassidic thought, began anew. In celebration of the 19th of Kislev, 120 visitors from across the former Soviet Union and the world gathered at Rabbi Schneur Zalmans resting place in the Ukranian city of Haditch at the synagogue, mikvah and welcome center that opened one year ago, inspired by the late philanthropist Sami Rohr. Rabbi Menachem Taichman, who directs the center, led a weekend of celebration together with Rabbi Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin, renowned Chabad educator from Safed, Israel. In Jerusalem, more than 10,000 Jews from every sector of Israeli society gathered at the citys International Convention Center, Binyanei HaUma, for a gathering sponsored by the Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel. The organizer of the events, Rabbi Moshe Shilat, is the founder and head of Torat Chabad Libnei Hayeshivot in Kfar Chabad, Israel. Speakers included Rabbi Yoel Kahan, senior mashpia (person of influence) in the central Lubavitcher yeshivah in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar; author and Kabbalist Rabbi YitzchakGinsburg; and author Rabbi Yehoshua Shapiro. Also on deck was a concert featuring the Alter Rebbe's niggunim (religious melodies), performed by notable Israeli singers Shuli Rand and Eviatar Banai, including a choir led by world-renowned clarinetist Chilik Frank. In the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, some 1,500 people gathered on Saturday night for a festive meal organized by Heichal Menachem, a library and research center dedicated to disseminating Chassidic teachings.

some 1,500 people gathered on Saturday night for a festive meal organized by Heichal Menachem, a library and research center dedicated to disseminating Chassidic teachings. (Photo: JDN)

Speakers included Rabbi Moshe Wolfson, the venerable mentor at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn and rabbi of Congregation Emunas Yisroel, also in Brooklyn; and Rabbi Baruch Oberlander, chief Chabad shaliach to Hungary, as well as a noted historian and scholar. In northern Palm Beach Island, Fla., Hindel Levitin says she and her husband, Zalman, hosted their community at a farbrengen led by Chabad rabbi and musician Ruvi New, known for leading rousing Chassidic classics and original compositions, through which he shared the beliefs and ideals formulated and promulgated by the Alter Rebbe.

Attending the farbrengen forges a special bond between the attendees and us, our Rebbe and our Chassidic approachbringing them into our world, she says. When I was growing up in the Chabad enclave in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 19 Kislev was a major day on the calendar which we lived and breathed for weeks in advance, so its very special that we are able to share this experience with our community.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber

Chabad.org magazine is produced w eekly by w w w .chabad.org, a subsidiary of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center. The content in this magazine and on the Chabad.org w ebsite is produced and copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this magazine, w e encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply w ith our copyright policy. If you w ish to republish any part of this magazine in a periodical, book, or w ebsite, please email permissions@chabad.org.

Vayigash
Parshah

A Yeshivah in Egypt
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

In his daily life, the Jew must be a Joseph; but his education must be provided by a Judah.

What I Gained in Hebrew School

By Chany Vaknin

Owning Faith Only a fool w ill toss out the inheritance of many generations. But one w ho does not take ow nership remains a child. So it is w ith a material estate, so it is w ith the faith of our fathers and mothers. We must make it our ow n faith, as w ell. And how do you make that faith your ow n? Quite paradoxically, through the pow er of your ow n mind. Engage your mind to live by your faith.

Nancy called my father, complaining that the school van never came to pick up her kids. It didnt take long for my father to realize what I had done . . .

Vayigash in a Nutshell
Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, who are overcome with remorse. They return to Canaan and bring their father, Jacob, to be reunited with his son after 22 years. Joseph becomes wealthy, and Pharaoh gives his family the fertile land of Goshen as their own. Chanukah Reflections

What One Menorah Lighting Can Do

By Sara Bressler Rutz

Nearly three years ago I decided to drop Judaism entirely. I was fed up with the entire venture.

Chanukah Lights
By Karen Rapaport

The light I speak of is not harnessed through modern technology nor emitted through halogen bulbs. It is a spiritual light.

Being Present
By Elana Mizrahi

Its easy for me to cook and clean, arrange for things and do the shopping, make phone calls and give baths, but its not so easy for me to be present while Im doing these things.

Your Questions

Is Chanukah Mentioned in the Torah?

By Rochel Chein

Chanukah is not specifically mentioned, since the story happened after the Torah was written. Nevertheless, Gd,

who is above the limitations of time, included in the Torah allusions to Chanukah.

Why Is the Prayer for Rain Based on the Civil Calendar?

By Yehuda Shurpin

Why does this specific prayer depend on a secular date rather than a Jewish one? Story

The Heart Necklace

By Blumie Raskin

One by one, the pawnbroker weighed the items to discern their value. But when he picked up the heart necklace Momma suddenly let out a shout, No! The Rebbe

Prayerbooks and Scholastic Enthusiasm

By Dovid Zaklikowski

Sitting in front of a classroom year after year challenges teachers to bring new enthusiasm to their students. Rabbi Yechiel Malov often found himself dealing with this difficulty. On the Calendar

Rosh Chodesh Tevet Mini-Site

This month begins with the last days of Chanukah. By internalizing the message of the ever-increasing lights of the menorahreminding us of the power of good over evilwe are able to reveal the good which is hidden in our lives and in the world around us. Cooking

Vegetable Latkes
By Miriam Szokovski

Gluten-Free Crispy Potato Latkes

By Lisa Stander-Horel and Tim Horel

Need a gluten-free option? Try these crispy potato latkes!

Jewish News

Linking Modern-Day Youth to Chanukah Events

By Dovid Margolin

Jewish teens and young adults worldwide are sharing the light of Chanukah on social media sites like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook this year, using the hashtag #sharethelights.

A High-Tech San Francisco Treat: Robot to Rev Up Chanukah

By Karen Schwartz

Sand menorahs, ice menorahs, a tiki menorah in Hawaii unique, to be sure. But here comes the 5.5-foot-tall robot named Isaac" who will light the menorah on Wednesday night in trendy San Francisco. Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Parshah

A Yeshivah in Egypt
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

The Torah tells us that when Jacob moved his family to Egypt, where the Jewish people were to reside for more than two centuries, he sent Judah ahead . . . to show the way. The Hebrew word lehorot (to show the way) literally means to teach and to instruct, prompting the Midrash to say that the purpose of Judahs mission was to establish a house of learning from which would be disseminated the teachings of Torah. But Joseph was already in Egypt, and Jacob had already received word that Josephs twenty-two years away from home had not diminished his knowledge of and commitment to Torah. And Joseph certainly had the authority and the means to establish the most magnificent yeshivah in the empire. Why did Jacob desire that Judaha penniless immigrant who barely knew the languagebe the one to establish the house of learning that was to serve the Jewish people in Egypt?

Judah and Joseph

The children of Jacob were divided into two factions: on one side were ten of the twelve brothers, led by Judah; on the other, Joseph, whose differences with his brothers were the cause of much pain and strife in Jacobs family. The conflict between Joseph and his brothers ran deeper than a multicolored coat or a favorite sons share

of his father's affections. It was a conflict between two worldviews, between two approaches to life as a Jew in a pagan world. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were shepherds, as were Josephs brothers. They chose this vocation because they found the life of the shepherda life of seclusion, communion with nature, and distance from the tumult and vanities of societymost conducive to their spiritual pursuits. Tending their sheep in the valleys and on the hills of Canaan, they could turn their backs on the mundane affairs of man, contemplate the majesty of the Creator, and serve Him with a clear mind and tranquil heart. Joseph was the exception. He was a man of the world, a fortuitous achiever in business and politics. Sold into slavery, he was soon chief manager of his masters affairs. Thrown into jail, he was soon a high-ranking member of the prison administration. He went on to become viceroy of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh in the most powerful nation on earth. Yet none of this touched him. Slave, prisoner, ruler of millions, controller of an empires wealthit made no difference: the same Joseph who had studied Torah at the feet of his father traversed the palaces and government halls of Egypt. His spiritual and moral self derived from within, and was totally unaffected by his society, environment, or the occupation that claimed his involvement twenty-four hours a day. The conflict between Joseph and his brothers was the conflict between a spiritual tradition and a new worldliness, between a community of shepherds and an entrepreneur. The brothers could not accept that a person can lead a worldly existence without becoming worldly, that a person can remain one with G d while immersed in the affairs of the most depraved society on earth. In this conflict, Joseph was to emerge the victor. The spiritual seclusion that characterized the first three generations of Jewish history was destined to end; Jacob and his family moved to Egypt, where the smelting pit of exile was to forge their descendants into the nation of Israel. As Joseph had foreseen in his dreams, his brother and his father bowed to him, prostrating their approach to his. Jacob had understood the significance of these dreams all along, and had awaited their fulfillment; Josephs brothers, who found it more difficult to accept that the era of the shepherd was drawing to a close, fought him for twenty-two bitter years, until they too came to accept that the historic challenge of Israel was to be the challenge of living a spiritual life in a material environment.

Founding Fathers
Nevertheless, it was Judah, not Joseph, who was chosen by Jacob to establish the house of learning that was to serve as the source of Torah knowledge for the Israelites in Egypt. The first three generations of Jewish life were not a false start: they were the foundation of all that was to follow. It was this foundation from which Joseph drew the strength to persevere in his faith and righteousness in an alien environment; it was this foundation upon which the entire edifice of Jewish history was to be constructed. The Jew lives in a material world, but his roots are planted in the soil of unadulterated spirituality. In his daily life he must be a Joseph, but his education must be provided by a Judah. Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson; adapted by Yanki Tauber. Originally published in Week in Review. Republished with the permission of MeaningfulLife.com. If you wish to republish this article in a periodical, book, or website, please email permissions@meaningfullife.com.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

The first three generations of Jewish life were not a false start: they were the foundation of all that was to follow

Parshah

What I Gained in Hebrew School

Parshat Vayigash
By Chany Vaknin

My whole family had sat down for lunch, when the driver of the school van peeked through the door. We had Hebrew school that day. This was a common occurrence in my house. In order for the driver not to needlessly drive to a student who wasnt going to school, parents would notify us and we would pass the information to the driver. Oh, yes! Nancy called and said the kids are not coming today, I answered promptly. Oh, really? asked my father, glad to see that I was responsible enough to be part of the family communal work, and relieved at the same time, because Nancys house was the farthest away and I had saved the driver a big shlep by notifying him before. I was eight or nine years old at the time. The only thing my father didnt know was that a few I had a fight with Nancys days earlier I had had a fight with Nancys daughter daughter, and I didnt want to see her again at the Hebrew school, so I found a good solution. Just one little lie cant do much damage, I thought. But it could. As soon as all the kids arrived at school, Nancy called my father, complaining that the school van never came to pick up her kids. It didnt take long for my father to realize what I had done. I still remember his words and the shame I felt right there, next to the ping-pong table. Because of you, two Jewish kids are not learning Torah today! he rebuked me. Nancy and her kids never knew the reason for the incident; my father apologized and sent the driver back to their house. Nancys kids and I are friends to this day. Many years later, I reminded my father of that episode, but he absolutely doesnt recall anything like it. I dont know if my father expected me to understand the importance of Jewish education, but I do know that that was one of the strongest lessons I ever learned. The everlasting message of this weeks Torah portion, Parshat Vayigash, is similar. The opening sentence begins, Judah approached Joseph. Jacob and his family lived peacefully in the Land of Israel until a great famine came and compelled the sons to go down to Egypt for food. Joseph, a son of Jacob sold into slavery by his own brothers, had risen to become second to the king, and had storehouses of food, enabling the economy to survive and even prosper. Jacob had sent his ten sons to Egypt, but was insistent on keeping Benjamin, the youngest boy, at home. Joseph and Benjamin were the children of his beloved and deceased wife Rachel. Jacob had already lost Joseph, who was presumed dead, and dared not let his remaining son from Rachel be in any danger. When the ten sons arrived in Egypt, Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him. In exchange for food, Joseph demanded that they first bring their brother

Benjaminan extremely hard task. Jacob could not bear the separation, and he would literally die if he would not see Benjamin again.

I guarantee his safe return, Father. Otherwise I will have sinned to you all my life, Judah said decisively. The shelves were empty, and after persuasion and promises, the brothers brought Benjamin down to the king. After a meal at the palace, and after filling their sacks with all their needs, the brothers headed back home. Joseph instructed a servant to put a silver goblet in Benjamins sack, accusing him of stealing. He was found guilty, and as punishment was to remain in the palace as a slave, while all the other brothers were free to go back to their families. At that crucial moment Judah had no doubts. Something needed to be done, and fast. He was ready to do anything for his brother; he was prepared to fight a war against the whole country, and even threatened to kill the king and his viceroy if necessary, ready to sacrifice his own life for Benjamin. Why did only Judah take a stance and approach Joseph with all his might? Because Im responsible for him, Judah told Joseph. Well, we are called Jews after Judah. Be responsible for a Jewish kid. Be responsible for your own kid. No one else will be. Be ready to fight for him. Be Jewish. Chany Vaknin grew up in Belem, Brazil, where her parents serve as Chabad emissaries. Chany has taught in Brazil, Israel, Hawaii, New York and Florida. She and her husband are now Chabad emissaries in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Judah was prepared to fight a war against the whole country

Parshah

Vayigash in a Nutshell
Judah approaches Joseph to plead for the release of Benjamin , offering himself as a slave to the Egyptian ruler in Benjamins stead. Upon witnessing his brothers loyalty to one another, Joseph reveals his identity to them. I am Joseph, he declares. Is my father still alive? The brothers are overcome by shame and remorse , but Joseph comforts them. It was not you who sent me here, he says to them, but G d. It has all been ordained from Above to save us, and the entire region, from famine. The brothers rush back to Canaan with the news. Jacob comes to Egypt with his sons and their families seventy souls in alland is reunited with his beloved son after 22 years. On his way to Egypt he receives the divine promise: Fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph gathers the wealth of Egypt by selling food and seed during the famine. Pharaoh gives Jacobs family the fertile county of Goshen to settle, and the children of Israel prosper in their Egyptian exile .
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah Reflections

What One Menorah Lighting Can Do

By Sara Bressler Rutz

There was always something about lighting a menorah. Even when I was in foster homes as an adolescent, it was something I wanted to do. Maybe it was knowing that my ancestors did the exact same thing, or that millions of people all over the world were staring at the candles too. Or maybe it was just that candlelight is so warming when the ground outside is covered in snow. Im not sure, but I certainly never expected that lighting a menorah would have any impact on my day-to-day existence. Nearly three years ago I decided to drop Judaism entirely. I was fed up with the entire venture. The temple I attended was costly and uninviting, not at all what I had expected. There would be no community to raise my daughter with, no traditions to pass on to her. Needless to say, I was a little bitter about I decided to drop the whole thing. But, of course, every year I lit a menorah. When my daughter was old enough to appreciate it, I decorated the house with Chanukah flags and garlands, window stickers and crafts. Maybe at some point in her life she too would enjoy the feeling of comfort and safety that I got from the flickering candles. The temple with which I dropped membership proceedings still sent me a newsletter occasionally, and that year I saw that various synagogues were holding public menorah lightings around the county. A giant menorah! Perfect! I dressed up my little girl in a pretty blue dress and built her anticipation to see a menorah as tall as a tree.

Judaism entirely

It turned out to be less dramatic than I had hopedjust a few people had gathered to see the lighting. Some homeless men were milling around. There was talk of free latkes and hot drinks in a nearby building afterwards, but as soon as the lighting was over I scooped up my daughter and made a dash for the car. My exodus was interrupted the rabbi. He introduced himself and gave my daughter a little menorah necklace. Do you belong to a synagogue? he asked. No, I replied. The memory of the other temples I had been to, their high fees and constant focus on what my occupation is, rather than who my daughter and I are, made me suspicious of this rabbi. Does this one want twice the cost of my medical insurance for my daughter to play around his children? The rabbi told me the address of his synagogue. I narrowed my eyes. And how much does it cost? His face lit up. This is why I do this, he said. He told me there were no membership fees. I was astounded. So I went to the local Chabad Lubavitch. Yes, it was awkward. There was a definite language barrier, and I often had trouble following the service. But the people were friendly, and I didnt have to sign a contract to be there. So I went back again, even though going to a Chabad synagogue if you werent raised in the world of Judaism is like There were no diving before you learn to swim. After some coaxing, the rabbis wife, Devorah, convinced me to astounded sign up my daughter for Sunday Hebrew school. On the first day, they were having a shofar factory. The smell of power drills running into animal bones and shellac was awful, but my daughter loved it. She looked around wide-eyed at the other kids, made a friend, and was fascinated with the shofar she shellacked. I was sold. On my way out, the rabbi said to me, Look what one menorah lighting can do. I smiled, but didnt think much of it. Time has gone by, and now I cant forget the rabbis words. Yes, when I attend a service I still prefer to hide in the kids room, where I have some idea what Im doing (mostly staring at the fish tank), and most of my agnostic-style views havent changed, but plenty has. My daughter finished a year in Hebrew school and is learning a new language. She is so proud of all her projects, and so happy with the friends she has made. Because she enjoyed Hebrew school so much, I enrolled her in the Chabad preschool. She loves her teachers, and Im glad that shes in such capable hands. She has developed socially and gained a bit more confidence. After more coaxing from Devorah, she even attended summer camp. So much has changed in our routine, changes that will be there for years to come. She is making memories that she can treasure for life. That is what one menorah lighting can do.
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

membership fees. I was

Chanukah Reflections

Chanukah Lights
By Karen Rapaport

Ah, Chanukah. There is the smell of fresh latkes, the artful menorahs, the dreidel games. There is the festivity, whimsy and magic. But so, too, there is the Light.

The light I speak of is not harnessed through modern technology nor emitted through halogen bulbs. It is a spiritual light. According to our sages, the light that was conceived on the first day of creation will be concealed until Moshiach appears. Until that time, G d has sequestered the light in four places, one of which is the 36 candles of Chanukah. How can you fathom such light, light that has been untouched, absolutely pure? You cant. But while we cannot understand G d in His entirety, in His completeness, we humans have been blessed with faculties to comprehend a bit of the incomprehensible. And just a bit, just an infinitesimal amount, is all-powerful. It builds, it restores, it saves. So, can you imagine if we had access to more of that light? Well, we do on Chanukah. The Talmud describes this one-of-a-kind light in this way: With the light that the Holy One, Blessed is He, created on the first day, Adam looked and was able to see from one end of the world until the other.1 Is this not the most beautiful metaphor? What does the Talmud mean when it refers to the ability to see from one end of the world until the other? Perhaps it means seeing the big picture, having a more complete understanding of the common denominator that links events in our lives and our world.2 Perhaps, when we recognize these links, we move closer to our unique place in that big picture. After all, no one else can fulfill our personal mission; no one can replace our particular tile in the mosaic we call life. What does seeing from one end of the world to the other mean to you? Maybe it means a change in vantage point, the ability to see outside ourselves. Maybe it means questioning, and not always coming up with the immediate answers: Am I evolving and moving towards something? Am I incrementally growing? Am I at peace with sowing seeds that may not harvest until later possibly in this lifetime and possibly not? Is my scope large; is my vision broad and wide? Am I mired in the details of life, or illuminated by its challenges? Is my vision moving me towards a higher, more exalted place, one that is fitting for the daughter or son of the King? After all, the universe could not be complete without my contribution. The hidden light of creation is about to be revealed. It will retreat back after Chanukah. Will we honor its appearance in our lives? How can we bring to fruition the full potentiality of this moment, this time that is Chanukah? What would more light in our lives look like? More kindness, more acceptance, more giving? Time with our family, time in the synagogue, time conversing with the Almighty? The list is as endless as the light and, thank G d, so too are the eternal rewards. Karen Wolfers Rapaport is a psychotherapist and workshop leader specializing in Narrative Therapy. A proud mother, she is blessed to live in Israel. She is inspired by people's stories. She is equally inspired by how they gain strength through them.
FOOTNOTES

How can you fathom such light, light that has been untouched, absolutely pure?

Am I evolving and moving towards something?

1. Chagigah 12a. 2. Pinchas Winston, The Physics of Kab b alah.

Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.

Chanukah Reflections

Being Present
By Elana Mizrahi

Im one of those women who cant sit still. I like to be busydoing things, going places, making things with my hands. I enjoy creating. I enjoy doing. This past spring my mother in-law became very ill, and like always, I shifted into my doing gear: sending e mails to friends asking them to pray, getting my husband a ticket to see his mother, calling experts and doctors, arranging for this, taking care of that. The whole spring and summer long, as my husband flew back and forth to be with her, as I tossed and turned in an anguished sleep, as I cried in despair, I kept doing. What can I do for you? I kept asking my husband. One day he answered me, I dont want you to His words do anything. I dont need you to do anything. I just need you to be present. I want you to be with me, and not do. His words knocked me off my feet. What do you mean? Im always here. Im with you in everything. Youre here physically, but youre not present. Youre always busy doing something. I had to think about his words. They were hard to listen to, but the more that I thought about it, the more I knew that he was right. Its easy for me to cook and clean, arrange for things and do the shopping, make phone calls and give baths, but its not so easy for me to be present while Im doing these things. Im serving lunch, but Im thinking about the laundry. Im playing a game with my children, and Im thinking about the client that I need to call or the class that I want to teach. Im always worrying about this person or that person. My hands are engaged in a thousand activities at any given time, and my head is occupied with a thousand and one different thoughts. Hes right. Im here, but Im not here. Theres really only one time of the year that Im truly present. Its Chanukah time. Its the time after weve lit our candles, when I spend a few minutes just gazing into the flames. On the surface, Chanukah appears to be a very simple holiday. Theres no spring cleaning (yay!), no big meals to cook for, and no major expenses or preparations involved. All you need are some wicks, oil (or

knocked me off my feet

candles) and a holder. There are customs to eat oily and dairy foods, and its wonderful to play dreidel and sing songs and dance, but really, the only commandment of Chanukah is to light the candles and watch them burn. Pretty simple, right? The Chanukah story is well known. Many years ago, the Greeks took over the land of Israel. They prohibited the Jews from learning Torah, keeping the Sabbath, performing circumcisions and sanctifying the new month. One man, Mattathias ben Johanan the Priest, stood up against