Editor's Note:
Dear Friend,
This past Shabbat in Jerusalem, less than a mile from the site of the Holy Temple, a guest at our table reminded me that “expectations are resentments waiting to happen.” Indeed, predetermining the future is often the surest route to disappointment. Yet Maimonides’s thirteen principles of the Jewish faithincludes, “I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.”
Day after day, year after year, we have waited, for thousands of years, expectantly but without resentment. How is that possible? There are many ways to approach this question, and much to learn on Chabad.org about the many deep meanings of Tisha B’Av, exile and redemption.
But one concept is central: Like parents who believe in their children no matter what, G‑d believes in us. And we believe in Him. We are believers, children of believers, certain of G‑d’s goodness, no matter how hidden that goodness may be. Our faith transcends resentment and unmet expectations.
Whether this Tisha B’Av will be a day of fasting or feasting, we believe with a perfect faith that we are closer to the final redemption than ever before, and we will continue to joyously await its imminent arrival.
Yaakov Ort
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
This Week's Features:
The Lost ArkIn Solomon’s Temple, there were two places reserved for the Holy Ark:
One in the Chamber of the Holy of Holies,
and one hidden deep beneath that chamber.
There are two places to find G‑d’s presence in all its glory.
One is in the most holy of chambers, beyond the place of light and heavenly incense. There G‑d Himself could be found by the most perfect of mortals on the most sublime day of the year.
Today, we cannot enter that place. But there is another place, beyond catacombs and convoluted mazes, deep within the bowels of the earth—and yet always accessible to those who will make the journey.
There, those whose faces are charred with the ashes of failure, their hands bloody from scraping through dirt and stone, their clothes torn from falling again and again, and their hearts ripped by bitter tears—there, in that subterranean darkness, they are blinded by the light of the hidden things of G‑d . . .
. . . until that Presence will shine for all of us, forever.[Likkutei Sichot, vol. 26, pp. 156ff.]
The Story Behind Shabbat ChazonThe inner meaning of the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.chabad.org/multimedia/mediaplayer/embedded/embed.js.asp?aid=3401084&width=auto&height=auto"></script><span style="clear:both;" class="lb" id="lbdiv">Visit <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish.TV</a> for more <a href="http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/default_cdo/aid/591213/jewish/Video.htm">Jewish videos</a>.</span>
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ON THE CALENDAR
Tisha B’Av That Falls on Shabbat or SundayOn Shabbat, all public displays of mourning are strictly prohibited. This causes changes in many of the Tisha B’Av laws and customs.
The following rules apply to any year on which Tisha B’Av is observed on Sunday—whether it originally fell on Sunday, or whether it fell on Shabbat and the fast was postponed until Saturday night.
On Shabbat, all public displays of mourning are strictly prohibited. On this day we eat, drink and rejoice as is customary—and even more so.
There are two exceptions: On this day we eat, drink and rejoice as is customary—and even more so(a) If Shabbat is actually the 9th of Av, then marital relations are forbidden.1 (b) In all cases when Tisha B’Av is observed on Sunday, it is forbidden to study Torah starting with Shabbat midday (aside for those sections of Torah which are permitted to be studied on Tisha B’Av). As such, on this Shabbat we do not recite a chapter of Ethics of the Fathers, as is the custom in many communities on summertime Shabbat afternoons.
No mournful “separation meal” is conducted before the fast. Instead, shortly before sunset we partake of a sumptuous and joyous pre-fast meal. Care must be taken, however, that this meal ends before sunset.
We sit on chairs of regular height and wear normal footwear until nightfall. Only washing, eating and drinking are prohibited starting with sunset.
Havdalah is recited on Sunday night.2 In the evening prayers, the usual Shabbat night insertion, “Atah Chonantanu,” is included. The prayer “Vihi Noam” is omitted. Those who have not recited the evening prayers should say, before doing any activity that is forbidden on Shabbat, “Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol” (“Blessed is He who separates between the holy [day of Shabbat] and the mundane [weekday]”).
Sometime on Saturday night (ideally right before the reading of Eicha), kindle the havdalah candle and recite the appropriate blessing. (We do not recite the blessing of the spices.)
Immediately after the “Barchu” passage is recited in the Saturday night prayer service, remove your leather shoes and don non-leather footwear.
Recite the havdalah on Sunday night before eatingWe sit on chairs of regular height and wear normal footwear until nightfall—omitting the blessings on the spices and candle. When 9 Av is on Sunday, if possible, the havdalah wine or grape juice should be given to a child—younger than bar/bat mitzvah age—to drink.
If the ninth of Av falls on Shabbat, in which case the fast is delayed until the tenth, many of the restrictions applicable to the Nine Days end when the fast ends, and havdalah wine, music, bathing and haircutting are permitted. We do not eat meat or drink other wine until the next morning, however.
FOOTNOTES
1.This because abstaining from relations does not constitute a public display of mourning. However, on this Shabbat only actual marital relations are banned (as opposed to Tisha B’Av itself, when all forms of intimacy are forbidden). This prohibition does not apply if Friday night is mikvah night.
2.If there’s an ill person who needs to eat during the fast, he or she should recite thehavdalah before eating.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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Laws and Customs of the 9 DaysHeightened mourning, uplifting visions and rejoicing with mitzvot
The first nine days of the month of Av, and also the morning of the tenth,1 are days of acute mourning for the destruction of the first and second Holy Temples.
During this time, we don’t:
Eat meat (including poultry) or drink wine, for during this period the sacrifices and wine libations in the Holy Temple ceased.2 The exceptions to this rule are meat and wine consumed on Shabbat or as part of a meal that celebrates a mitzvah, such as a circumcision, bar mitzvah, or the completion of a tractate of the Talmud.
Launder clothing (except for a baby’s)—even if they will not be worn during the Nine Days—or wear freshly laundered outer clothing.3 Those who wish to change their clothing daily should prepare a number of garments and briefly don each of them before the onset of the Nine Days. Then it is permitted to wear these “non-freshly laundered” garments during the Nine Days.We don’t consume meat or wine, for during this period the sacrifices and wine libations ceased
Swim or bathe for pleasure.
Remodel or expand a home.
Plant trees to be used for shade or fragrance (as opposed to fruit trees).
Buy, sew, weave or knit new clothing—even if they will be worn only after the Nine Days.
Exceptions to this rule: (a) If you will miss a major sale, or if the garment will be unavailable later. (b) For the purpose of a mitzvah, such as purchasing new clothing for a bride and groom.
Cut nails during the actual week of the fast of Tisha B’Av—i.e., starting from the Saturday night before the fast until the conclusion of the Nine Days.
The Sephardic custom is to observe the stringencies regarding meat, wine and bathing only in the week of Tisha B’Av.
Some more observances:
The Sanctification of the Moon is postponed until after Tisha B’Av.
There is no law forbidding traveling during the Nine Days; however, it is customary to refrain from traveling (or engaging in any potentially perilous activity) during these days, unless it is absolutely necessary.
One may become engaged to be married during this period, but no celebration should be held until after Tisha B’Av.
Note: All these restrictions are in addition to the restrictions that apply during all of the Three Weeks.
Shabbat Chazon
The Shabbat preceding the Ninth of Av is called Shabbat Chazon—“Shabbat of the Vision.” This Shabbat’s reading from the Prophets begins with the words Chazon Yeshayahu, the “vision of Isaiah” regarding the destruction of the Holy Temple. The legendary chassidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev said that on this special Shabbat, every Jewish soul is shown a vision of the third Holy Temple. The purpose of this vision is to arouse within every Jew a yearning to actually see this edifice which will be built by G‑d, and to do as many mitzvot as possible in order to realize this dream. While this vision may not be sensed with the physical eyes, the soul certainly experiences this vision, and it affects the person on the subconscious level.
There is no mourning on Shabbat—click here for more on this topic.
If We try to moderate the sadness through participating in permissible celebrationspossible, this week’s havdalah wine or grape juice should be given to a child—younger than bar/bat mitzvah age—to drink.
Click here for the rules that apply if this Shabbat falls on the eighth or ninth of Av.
The Inner Dimension
“When the month of Av enters, we reduce our joy . . .”—Talmud, Taanit 26b
The entire month of Av is considered to be an inopportune time for Jews. Our sages advised that a Jew who is scheduled to have a court hearing—or anything of a similar nature—against a gentile during this month should try to postpone it until after Av, or at least until after the Nine Days.
On the positive side, as we get closer and closer to the messianic era, when these days will be transformed from days of sadness to days of joy, we start to focus on the inner purpose of the destruction, which is to bring us to a higher level of sensitivity and spirituality, and ultimately to the rebuilding—with even greater grandeur and glory—of all that was destroyed.
We therefore try to moderate the sadness through participating in permissible celebrations. It is therefore the Chabad custom to have someone complete a tractate of the Talmud each day of the Nine Days, in order to infuse these days with permissible joy.
Click here for more on this topic.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.
FOOTNOTES
1.The Temple was set ablaze on the afternoon of the ninth of Av, and burned through the tenth.
2.Through custom, this prohibition has been expanded to include food cooked with meat. However, one may eat food that was prepared in a meat pot or utensil.
3.Shoes purchased specifically for the Ninth of Av—e.g., shoes made from canvas or rubber—may be worn even if they are new.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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How Much Do You Know About Tisha B’Av?9 questions from Chabad.org to see how much you know about this important fast day.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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ECHOES OF THE HOLOCAUST
Responsa From the HolocaustThe Germans often remarked to the Jews, “Why don't you commit suicide . . . ?”
Rabbi Ephraim Oshry was just 27 years old when the local Lithuanians attacked his Jewish neighborhood, Slobodka, and went from street to street, torturing and butchering every Jewish man, woman or child they encountered. That night, June 25, 1941, was the beginning of the end of Jewish Lithuania. An image Rabbi Oshry could never forget and whose lesson he always strove to fulfill was that of the sexton of the Slobodka Yeshivah, Reb Gershon, who with his throat slit pleaded to his fellow Jews, “Children, when you are freed, tell about our suffering and hell!”
Rabbi Oshry, who had studied under the most renowned Torah sages, was one of the few rabbinical authorities for the Jews seeking the Torah’s answers for their heart-wrenching questions throughout the war. Rabbi Oshry hoped to one day show the world how his fellow Jews thought, felt and behaved in the most inhumane of circumstances. When asked a question, he would write the details on scraps of paper, along with the responses he provided. He then hid these papers in cans which were buried in the ground of the concentration camp near Kovno.
Rabbi Oshry miraculously survived the war. However, his beloved wife and children were murdered in the concentration camps. He later remarried, to a woman who herself was a survivor of Auschwitz.
After the war, Rabbi Oshry unearthed the hidden cans, and then painstakingly reviewed each and every question with Torah texts, as his original answers were based solely on memory. Once properly researched, he then compiled a five-volume work in Hebrew of the responses, titled Shaalot U’Teshuvot Mimaamakim (“Questions and Answers From the Depths”). This was later translated into a one-volume work titled Responsa From the Holocaust.
Soon after the war, Rabbi Oshry founded the Yeshivah Me’or HaGolah in Rome for orphaned refugee children who had survived the Holocaust. After moving to New York, he served as president of an organization of rabbis who survived the concentration camps. Rabbi Oshry passed away on Rosh Hashanah of 2003, at the age of 89, leaving behind his wife, three daughters and six sons.
The following are excerpts from the English translation, published by Judaica Press, 1983.
Making a Taharah in Advance
Question:
On the night of the 25th of Menachem Av 5701 [August 18, 1941], I was giving a Torah lecture at Abba Yechezkel’s Kloiz in Slobodka. This was after the German invasion of Lithuania, just as the joy of the Jewish people was being cut short by the Germans. In the middle of the lecture, we suddenly heard heartbreaking screaming and wailing. The daughter-in-law of Reb Zalman Sher, who was attending the class—may G‑d avenge him—burst into the kloiz and told Reb Zalman that the Germans had, moments ago, killed her three sons together with her husband, Reb Zalman’s son. Right then and there, as the woman bewailed these tragic four deaths, her father-in-law passed out, fell off the chair, and died right before our eyes.
The director of the chevra kadisha (burial society), Reb Moshe Chayim Kaplan—G‑d avenge him!—who was responsible for arranging funerals in accord with Jewish custom, posed the following problem to me: Since the enemy’s decrees affected the entire population—both the living and the dead—it was impossible to know when the funeral and burial would be able to take place. Under the tragic circumstances of the German invasion, there was no question it would take at least a day or two, so it was possible that by the time the funeral could be arranged, there would be no one available to perform the taharah, the ritual washing and preparation of the body for burial, usually performed just before burial. Present in our kloiz, however, were a number of Reb Zalman’s close friends, and it seemed best to extend final respect to the departed by performing the taharah immediately—on the very table where the fallen Jew had just studied Mishnah and Talmud.
The question was simply, “Is it permissible to make the taharah in advance, rather than as close to the funeral as possible?”
Response:
I permitted immediate taharah for Reb Zalman. For future instances in the ghetto, I instructed the director of the burial society, Reb Moshe Chayim, to perform thetaharah for the deceased as soon as possible, since no one would ever be certain that it would be possible to perform the taharah close to burial.
(Pages 7–8)
Using the Garments of Martyred Jews
Question:
On the day before Rosh Hashanah 5702 [September 21, 1941], due to the impending holy day, the ghetto Jews did not fill the quota of 1,000 slave laborers demanded by the Germans. The murderers were furious. Led by their bloodthirsty chieftain Neumann, may his name be obliterated, they entered the ghetto toward nightfall to grab Jews for slave labor. They began by molesting and ended with shooting two of them. They were merciless, particularly toward those Jews who they found in synagogues at the time. These men had come to pray to G‑d, to beg and supplicate Him to have mercy on His suffering Jewish people. The two men who were shot that Erev Rosh Hashanah by the murderers were Yitzchok Baum, owner of a metal shop on Linkova Street in Slobodka, and Berel Mendelevitch, may G‑d avenge their blood!
After the murderers had done their dirty work, they ordered other Jews to dig a grave for the corpses and then to remove the garments of the dead as a macabre gift for the Jews who had dug the grave. I was asked whether these garments—which had no bloodstains on them—might be put to much-needed use, or whether it was forbidden to make use of them.
Response:
The halachah (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 364:4) is that if a Jew is found murdered, he is to be buried as he was found, without burial shrouds; not even his shoes are to be removed. This applies to one who died with his garments on. One who is murdered by non-Jews, even though his blood has stopped flowing by the time he is found, is still buried as found, so as to arouse Divine anger.
Since the garments in this case had no blood upon them, one might certainly use them, and there would be no need to bury them with the corpses, were it not for the stated purpose of arousing Divine anger. Since the dead men had already been buried without their garments, the greatest pleasure one could provide them was to allow their surviving children to benefit from these garments, either by wearing them to warm themselves or by selling them in order to purchase food for survival. It seemed to me that it certainly would be the wish of the martyrs that their garments be given to their children to help them survive, despite the efforts of the accursed murderers.
(Pages 18–19)
Bringing Tefillin into a Hospital Where all Personal Objects are Burned
Question:
…I was asked to render a halachic decision on the following problem: A boy, whose leg the Germans had amputated, lay in the hospital. Wishing to pray daily to his Creator, he sent a request through Jewish channels that a pair of tefillin be sent into the hospital. A persistent rumor in the ghetto claimed that the Germans burned every patient’s personal possessions upon his death or dismissal. Knowing what might happen to the tefillin, was it still permissible to send a pair into the hospital?
Response:
I ruled that the tefillin might be sent to the lad, so that he could fulfill the Torah’s commandment. . . . The story of the Germans burning personal effects was an unsubstantiated rumor, one of many produced by the fear that reigned in the ghetto. If we had known it to be a fact, I would definitely have forbidden sending him thetefillin. But a rumor alone was not enough to deprive that lad from praying with tefillin. They were sent through a trustworthy emissary who gave them secretly to the boy, away from German eyes.
I also felt that the tefillin would be an inspiration to the boy, a recent baal teshuvah who had changed his life around from non-observance to observance. . . . Dr. Davidovitch, who worked in the hospital, testified to the boy’s immense joy when he donned the tefillin for the first time.
On 3 Tishrei 5702 [September 23, 1941], when the accursed Germans destroyed the Little Ghetto, they also burned down the hospital, incinerating the patients, nurses and doctors inside. Some 60 Jews, including Dr. Davidovitch and the boy to whom the tefillin had been sent, were killed in the fire. G‑d avenge their blood!
Wonder of wonders! One of the Jews who had been inside the hospital was miraculously saved, and told of what happened before the incineration. The boy had guarded the tefillin literally with his life. When he realized that the hospital would be destroyed together with its patients and its staff, he asked this man to make every effort to hide the tefillin so that they would not fall into the hands of the murderers, who would surely destroy them. The man succeeded in escaping from the hospital trap, and showed us the treasure, the boy’s tefillin that had been saved. May G‑d fulfill in our time the verse, “For You, O G‑d, have set in afire, and You will restore it through fire.”
(Pages 21–23)
Committing Suicide in Order to Be Buried Among Jews
Question:
On 6 Marcheshvan 5702 [October 27, 1941], two days before the horrifying Black Day of the Kovno Ghetto—when some 10,000 men, women and children were taken away to be butchered—every one of the ghetto dwellers saw his or her bitter end coming. At that time of confusion, one of the respected members of the community came to me with tears on his cheeks and posed a question of life and death. He felt that he could not bear to see his wife, children and grandchildren put to death before his very eyes. For the German sadists had a system for extermination. In order for the murderers to enjoy the suffering of their victims, as a matter of course they would kill children before the eyes of their parents, and the women before the eyes of their husbands. Only after satisfying their bloodlust in this sadistic fashion would they put an end to the suffering of these men. Because he felt certain that it would be too painful to witness the horrible suffering of his loved ones, he asked whether he could terminate his own life earlier, to avoid witnessing the deaths of his loved ones. This way, besides being spared a horrible death of great suffering as the hands of the accursed murderers, he would also gain burial among the Jews in the Jewish cemetery in the ghetto.
Response:
Although the man knew he would definitely be subjected to unbearable suffering by the abominable murderers, and so hoped to be buried among Jews, he was still not allowed to commit suicide.
Moreover, permitting suicide in such a case meant surrendering to the enemy. For the Germans often remarked to the Jews, “Why don’t you commit suicide . . . ?” Suicide was viewed as an immense desecration of G‑d’s name, for it showed that one had no trust in G‑d’s capability to save one from the accursed hands of the defilers. The murderers’ goal was to bring confusion into the lives of the Jews and to cause them the deepest despondency, in order to make annihilating them all the easier.
I cite proudly that in the Kovno Ghetto there were only three instances of suicide by people who grew intensely depressed. The rest of the ghetto dwellers trusted and hoped that G‑d would not forsake His people.
(Pages 36–37)
Performing a Caesarean Section on a Dead Woman
Question:
(On 20 Iyar 5702 [May 7, 1942] the Germans issued an edict that if a Jewish woman was found pregnant, they would immediately kill her . . .)
Once this edict regarding pregnancy was issued, other problems came up. The very day the edict was issued, a pregnant Jewish woman passed by the ghetto hospital. A German noticed her swollen belly and shot her for violating the German order against reproduction. His bullet penetrated her head, and she fell dead on the spot.
Passerby immediately carried her into the hospital, thinking there might be a chance to save her or the baby. Since she had clearly been in her final weeks of pregnancy, a Jewish obstetrician was rushed over. He said that if surgery was performed immediately, the baby could be saved. Since I had witnessed this shocking murder and was present in the hospital, I was asked if, according to halachah, it was permissible to perform the Caesarian section. Since no one could be sure that the baby was still alive, was there a halachic concern with the desecration of the dead mother? In addition, in the remote possibility that the mother was still alive, cutting open her abdomen would surely kill her.
Response:
It was clear to me that when a doctor who knows his medicine rushes to operate minutes after a woman’s death, declaring that the baby can be saved, one must listen to him, because the issue at that moment is saving the baby’s life.
Where saving a life is involved, we are not concerned with the desecration of the dead. In this case, the mother would be overjoyed if desecration of her body meant that her baby’s life would be spared. I therefore ruled that the operation proceed as quickly as possible. As it states in the Talmud: “Whoever saves a single Jewish life is credited with saving an entire world.”
The baby, miraculously, was alive. However, to our great sorrow, our hopes were soon shattered. The cruel murderers, with typical mad German punctiliousness for keeping records of the living and dead, soon entered the hospital to record the name of the murdered woman in their book of the dead. When they found the baby alive, their savage fury unleashed. One of the Germans grabbed the infant and cracked its skull against the wall of the hospital room. Woe unto the eyes that saw this!
(Page 73–74)
Reciting the Blessing “Who Has Not Made Me a Slave” in the Ghetto
Question:
During morning prayers, Reb Avrohom Yosef . . . reached the blessing, “[Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d . . .] who has not made me a slave,” and shouted bitterly to the Master of all Masters, “How can I recite the blessing of a free man? How can a hungry slave, repeatedly abused and demeaned, praise His Creator by uttering, ‘Who has not made me a slave?’”
I was then asked for the Torah ruling on this question: Should the blessing be omitted because it seemed to be a travesty—in which case it would be forbidden to recite it—or was it forbidden to alter or skip any part of the prayer text established by our sages?
Response:
One of the earliest commentators on the prayers points out that this blessing was formulated in order to praise G‑d not for our physical liberty, but rather for our spiritual liberty. I therefore ruled that we could not skip or alter this blessing under any circumstance. On the contrary, despite our physical captivity, we were more obligated then ever to recite the blessing, to demonstrate to our enemies that even if physically we were slaves, as a people we remained spiritually free.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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The Little Girl and the Nazi PrisonerThere was no music, no cymbals, no clown twirling batons and making people laugh. by Miriam Paltiel Nevel
On May 15, 1945, I was alone in my family’s room in Moscow when the heavy oak door opened and there, framed by the beige doorposts like a painting, stood Aunt Mania. She was wearing a brown skirt and cream-colored blouse, and her hair was covered with a multicolored kerchief. She was smiling. She gave me a signal with her eyes, and made a pronouncement that she often made: “Well, my dear child, we have to take the bad along with the good in life.” Aunt Mania sighed, then smiled and grabbed my hand saying, “Come, let’s go.”
The electricity in the stairways between the floors didn’t work, so we headed down the five flights of stairs in the dark. While we were making our way down, Aunt Mania told me that we were goingThe sight that greeted us was not what one would expect at a parade to a parade. I held my aunt’s hand as we made our way into the beautiful spring sunlight, and then through the city streets.
The sight that greeted us was not at all what one would expect to see at a parade. There was no music, no cymbals, no clown twirling batons and making people laugh, letting everyone know what was being celebrated. In fact, it soon became clear to me that this was not a parade at all, but a procession of enemy prisoners of war who had been captured by Russia.
There was a crowd of people behind the police rope that ran along a wide, long avenue. The avenue was decorated with red banners bearing the Communist symbol of a hammer and sickle, and the crowd stood silently, with drawn faces, watching the procession along the avenue.
In the front of the procession, riding a brown stallion, was a man in a green uniform. His head was hanging down to his chest. Third Reichmedals decorated his uniform. His face was a dull gray color, and his eyes were the color of sand. His bent body seemed like it was about to fall off the horse to the ground under the animal’s hooves.
Behind the man and his horse, walking on foot, were the Third Reich’s soldiers.
“That is Field Marshal Paulus,” Aunt Mania whispered in my ear.
“Who is he? Why is he there on a horse, Aunt Mania?”
“He is the general of all the generals in the German army,” Aunt Mania replied, “the most grand general that the Nazis have, and that’s why he is riding on a horse. He is leading them.”
“Oh, in the German army, the grand general rides on a horse and the soldiers walk on foot? Is that right, Aunt Mania?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s right or not right, but that’s the way it is at this moment, child,” Aunt Mania answered somewhat irritably.
A man who was standing behind us overheard our exchange and contributed his own observation about the Nazi general and his horse. “He doesn’t look so grand today, doesn’t he, Auntie? His horse looks grander than the rider. Isn’t this so, Auntie?”
I looked at the horse on which this general of all the generals of the Nazi army was riding. Indeed, the horse’s long tail waved and slapped the air around it, as though he were announcing to all, “Look at me. See how handsome I am! Have you ever seen a grander horse!?”
Behind the dismal-looking general on his wonderfully handsome horse walked the Nazi prisoners of war. A column of men, perhaps 30 abreast, marching down the wide Moscow street. Some of the marching prisoners were wearing red kerchiefs to protect their heads; some had bent backs like old men; and some wore torn shoes with their toes sticking out.
As I scanned the wall of prisoners, myFor a moment, I felt empathy eyes fell on one who looked a bit different from the others. His face, including his eyes, looked yellow in the sunlight. His orange shirt was torn, and peering out of the holes of his boots were his toes, looking like little light-colored birds in a dark nest.
For a moment, I felt empathy for this person in a torn shirt and destroyed boots. But then, the man who had spoken to my aunt earlier spat on the pavement and accompanied his spitball with the words: “The accursed Nazis. They killed my boy.”
Other people in the crowd picked up his cry. “Yes, and mine, and mine. My Jewish daughter-in-law. They pulled her out of her home in front of her babies and murdered her.”
One woman wearing a red kerchief, like the ones many prisoners wore, had apparently come prepared with garbage. While the other people in the crowd were lamenting the cruel treatment of innocents by these Nazis, she aimed a potato peel, then an onion peel, and then more and more potato and onion peels, at the column of prisoners. (As food was scarce in Russia shortly after the war, I assume that she must have collected her peels from her garbage can, as well as those of her neighbors.) The Russian guards came dashing toward the woman with the garbage and ordered her to stop throwing. She did.
I raised my eyes and, suddenly, felt a huge ball of fear hardening in my gut. The Nazi with the torn shirt and toes like birds was staring at me. His yellow eyes pierced the distance between us, and I thought that with some evil magic power that Nazis possessed he would annihilate me, like those other Nazis who had killed the innocent people mourned by the crowd.
I don’t know how long I stood frozen with fear, not thinking. Then I turned away with the intention to run. I didn’t know where I was going to run to, but one thing was clear to me: I had to get away from the monster who was staring at me.
I tried to move. My legs felt heavy. I forced them to take a step away from the dark column. I forced my legs to take another step and yet another step. I heard voices around me. “They murdered our boys. But our boys in Stalingrad made mincemeat out of them in the end. Nothing stopped our brave soldiers in Stalingrad. Our soldiers in Stalingrad are our heroes. They won the war for the whole world. Europe, Asia, even America.”
My fists clenched inside my pockets. My aunt’s hand was on my shoulder now. “What’s the matter with you, child? Where are you going? We have to take the good with the bad in life.”
I looked at Aunt Mania, and my mouth“They murdered our boys!” wouldn’t open to tell her that I was afraid and that I was running away from a monster. And then, unexpectedly, I wiggled out of my aunt’s grasp, turned back, and took a step toward that which had been so fearful only a moment earlier.
Apparently, there was a delay in the movement of the column, as the man with the yellow eyes was still there staring at me. I stared back. I did not want to be afraid, just like the soldiers who fought in the war were not afraid. They were heroes. Surely, they took the good with the bad in life. Perhaps I could learn to be a hero, too.
The yellow eyes of a Nazi prisoner locked with the dark brown eyes of a little Jewish girl. “I shall never be afraid of Nazis again, and I shall never run away again, dear Aunt Mania,” I said. “I yearn to be a hero like the good soldiers.”
Miriam Paltiel Nevel is a blend. She navigates between now and then.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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VIDEO
VIDEO
The Secret of Tisha B’AvWe need rebuke or love? by Yisroel Glick
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The Midrash relates that at the beginning of the Babylonian exile, seventy years before the Jews’ return to Jerusalem, G-d instructed Ezekiel to teach them the dimensions of the Holy Temple, because when they engage in its study, G-d considers it as though they built it.
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Watch
http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/2271685/jewish/A-Work-in-Progress.htm
http://www.chabad.org/2271685
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PARSHAH
Too Much Sinai?What can be better or more spiritually uplifting than camping at the foot of Sinai? by Menachem Feldman
Thirty-seven1 days before his passing, on the first day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, Moses began his final series of talks to his beloved people—words of rebuke, inspiration and hope. In this first talk, he related the story of their leaving Mount Sinai after being thereWhat can be better than camping at the foot of Sinai? for almost a year. At that point, before the sin of the spies, they were headed straight for the land of Israel.Moses stated:
The L‑rd our G‑d spoke to us in Horeb (Sinai), saying, “You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn and journey, and come to the mountain of the Amorites and to all its neighboring places, in the plain, on the mountain, and in the lowland, and in the south and by the seashore, the land of the Canaanites, and the Lebanon, until the great river, the Euphrates River.”2
G‑d said, “You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.” In other words, “Enough already, you’ve had too much of Sinai.” This seems quite strange. Wasn't the revelation at Sinai the most important event in our history, the foundation of our religion and the basis of all of the Torah? How can one have “too much” of Sinai? What can be better or more spiritually uplifting than camping at the foot of Sinai?
Sinai was a great place to be. The revelation at Sinai was the most formative experience of our people. But there came a moment when dwelling at Sinai became a distraction. “You’ve been here too long,” said G‑d. “It’s time to face the real world.” It was time to take the Sinaic inspiration and bring it to day-to-day life in the land of Israel.
Rashi, the primary commentary of the Torah, offers a homiletic interpretation of the verse:
I have given you much greatness and reward for your having dwelt at this mountain: you made the Mishkan, the Menorah, and the [other] furnishings; you received the Torah; you appointed a Sanhedrin for yourselves, and captains over thousands and captains over hundreds.3
Rashi interprets the verse to mean, not that the Jewish people had spent too much time at Sinai, but rather, they had achieved much at Sinai. But what about the most important achievement? What about experiencing the Divine revelation? Moses himself spends a good chunk of next week's portion describing the revelation at Sinai:
For ask now regarding the early days that were before you, since the day that G‑d created man upon the earth, and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens, whether there was anything like this great thing, or were the likes of it heard? Did ever a people hear G‑d's voice speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard, and live?4
When Moses told the Jewish people to pack their bags and depart the camp at the foot of Mount Sinai, the people were surely unhappy. They certainly preferred to remain in spiritual paradise, and they must have feared the possibility of losing inspiration, vision and spiritual resolve. Moses reassured them. He told them not to worry. He told them that after all the time spent at Sinai, they certainly had the tools to continue their journey to the Promised Land.They preferred to remain in spiritual paradise Therefore, when Moses enumerated the achievements at Sinai, he mentioned not the revelation itself, but rather the Menorah, the study of Torah and the court system. These were symbols, not of an earth-shattering, awe-inspiring experience, but of a Divine wisdom being implemented into daily life. Moses understood that Sinai was spiritual bliss, but to fulfill the purpose of creation, to connect heaven and earth, the Jewish people needed to follow specific steps, they needed to introduce measured, consistent spirituality into their lives.
Moses taught an important lesson. Yes, the occasional spiritually intense moment is critical. Yes, once a year we need to experience a Yom Kippur, a day on which we are like angels in heaven. But that it is not enough. The question we ask ourselves is, not how often do we feel as spiritual as we do on Yom Kippur, but rather, what specific action will we take today to ensure that our life is imbued with the light of the Torah's teachings?5
Rabbi Menachem Feldman serves as the director of the Lifelong Learning department at the Chabad Lubavitch Center in Greenwich, Conn.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.
FOOTNOTES
1.See Seder Olam Rabbah, Devarim, ch. 10.
2.Deuteronomy 1:6-7.
3.Rashi to Deuteronomy 1:6.
4.Deuteronomy 4:32-33.
5.Bases on the teachings of the Rebbe, Likutei Sichot, vol. 24, Devarim, sichah 2.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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What Would Your Dying Words Be?When our time on earth winds down, our focus naturally turns to the next generation, the children, who depend on our wisdom and life experience. by Lazer Gurkow
What Would You SayIf you were told you had just a few months left, who would you spend it with and what would you tell them?
Thank G‑d, this question is theoretical for most of us, but not for all. Unfortunately, there are those who visit their doctor and receive the crushing news that the many years they hadA dying person is given more leeway always envisioned have been whittled down to mere months. How can you possibly cram an anticipated five decades into five short months? Where do you start?
Moses experienced that precise quandary when G‑d told him on the first day of the month of Shevat that five weeks henceforth, on the seventh of the following month, he would live his last. Let us look at what Moses did and borrow a page from his book.1
Moses chided the people for their sins. Our sages point out that Moses was wise to wait till the end with his reprimand because a dying person is given more leeway. If a healthy person rebukes, it provokes defensiveness and resentment. When a dying person speaks, we listen and look within.
Moses then taught and translated the Torah into the many languages of his day.
The two projects, reprimanding the nation and translating the Torah, don’t appear to be linked. But if the Torah, a book of instruction, informs us that Moses spent his last moments on these two projects, there must be a link between them that serves as an existential lesson to us here today. What is this lesson?
Good and Bad
If any one sentence can sum up the entire endeavor of moral pursuit and purposeful living, it is this: “Avoid sin and be righteous.”2 To live morally we must do both; either on its own does not constitute a moral lifestyle. We must both avoid transgressions and fulfill the commandments.
When our time on earth winds down, our focus naturally turns to the next generation, the children, who depend on our wisdom and life experience. For years, if not decades, we teach our children to love their heritage, embrace their tradition and believe in G‑d, but nothing speaks more powerfully to our children than the final will and testament that we bestow when life wanes.
My great-aunt was raised in the Soviet Union, where her father, a student of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, risked his life to build and maintain an underground network of Jewish schools for children, a crime punishable by exile and even death under Soviet law. It did not take long for the NKVD to learn of his “counter-revolutionary activities,” and one night the infamous knock on the door was heard. The agents burst in with customary roughness and searched the home for evidence. Knowing that he would soon be led away, never to see his children again, my great-great uncle searched for the right words.
He gathered his children close and whispered to them urgently while the agents ransacked his home. What can a father possibly say in such a short time? Which words to choose, what is most important, what will be most impactful?
G‑d led him to the right words because his message impressed my aunt deeply and she never forgot it. “Devote your lives to what they are taking me away for,” he told them.Succinct and profound.
It worked. Neither she nor her sisters rejected G‑d for the loss of their father. They were passionate about their Judaism. My aunt’s faith and energy were boundless. She never saw her father again and suffered terribly, but somehow she survived the war andHow do you pack an entire lifetime into one sentence? famine and came to these shores intact. She built a family and lived a long life surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
How do you pack an entire lifetime of teaching into one sentence? Devote your lives to what they are taking me away for. They never forgot it. If it was his last statement, it was his highest priority, and they treated it as such.
Moses used his last moments the same way. He outlined his most important values and taught the people to trust G‑d at every turn. Don’t falter like you have in the past. When you encounter difficult trials, place your trust in G‑d. He will come through for you.
But he didn’t stop there. He used his time to teach and translate the Torah, so that it would speak to every Jew in his or her language. If we want our children to embrace Torah, we must do the same. We must relate the Torah’s teachings on their level and apply it in ways they can appreciate.
Exhorting them to reject evil is important, but we can’t expect it to work unless we also teach them how to love goodness. To teach that, we need to understand their language, their interests and their needs, and then speak to them from their perspective. That is how Moses chose to spend his last moments, and that is how we ought to spend ours.
Any Moment
Sadly, we treat life the way some politicians seem to treat their time in office. Rather than using every minute to accomplish good things, they spend their entire term focusing on reelection. Worthwhile projects are often jettisoned if they don’t play well in the polls.
In life we often focus too much on ensuring our future and not enough on our present. If teaching ourWe often focus too much on ensuring our future children is important enough to warrant attention in our last moments, it is important enough to warrant our focus in the present. Let us not wait until the day we die, because by then it might be too late. Who knows if we will receive enough notice to prepare our children the way we might want? Who knows if we will have the wherewithal to speak and communicate when we breathe our last?
It is best to live each day as if it is our last. We must work to provide for the future, but it is critical to live in the present. Our children need to know that they are our highest priority, and we must use each moment to cement this relationship of love. If you have something to teach them, teach them now. Tomorrow might be too late.
Rabbi Lazer Gurkow is spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Tefilah in London, Ontario, and a frequent contributor to The Judaism Website—Chabad.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 writings, visit InnerStream.ca.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.
FOOTNOTES
1.Deutoronomy 1:1-5 and Rashi’s commentary ad loc.
2.Psalms 34: 15.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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Recalling the Story, Long After It’s ToldStories connect us to value systems, a larger self and universal truth. by Karen Wolfers-Rapaport
One of the goals of storytelling is to convey a narrative that endures beyond the initial telling—to create something that lingers in the minds of listeners long after it has been told. In Parshat Devarim, Moses is a storyteller, transmitting the stories that transpired during the 40Stories have always been a fundamental form of communication years in that “great and fearful desert.”1Moses is speaking to the Israelites as they make their final preparations for entering Israel. But on a deeper level, Moses, the storyteller, speaks to all of us.
Stories have always been a fundamental form of communication. They are the timeless chronicles that link us to our ancient traditions, archetypes, heroes and heroines. Through stories, we share passions, sadness, hardships and joys.
Stories connect us to value systems, a larger self and universal truth. Through stories, we share collective meaning and purpose, and learn about mistakes and how not to repeat them.
The emotional content of stories allows the human memory to retain knowledge longer than information or facts alone. According to Daniel Goleman, author of the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence, this is because emotional attachment to information creates learning.
Perhaps Moses knew this.
So what is Moses conveying to us in Parshat Devarim?
In his storytelling, Moses rebukes the children of Israel, and he doesn’t beat around the bush. His words are rather harsh. Moses uses history to remind the people that a lack of trust in G‑d and a failure to obey G‑d’s commandments will result in disaster, such as the tragic results of believing in the spies.
Moses is obligated to tell this story to our ancestors who are about to start a new chapter, but he also needs to tell us. Faith is our cornerstone. We need to hear how we encroached on faith. We need to learn and to remember so that when we are once again enticed by doubt, we can recall Moses’ admonishment.
But Moses does not linger over his people’s imperfections. At the same time that he censures the children of Israel, he uses select words to embolden and uplift them. Later, by recalling the victories over neighboring lands and kings, Moses proclaims that G‑d is a warrior who does battle on behalf of Israel: “The Lord, your G‑d, who goes before you, He will fight for you, just as He did for you in Egypt before your very eyes.”2
Once again, Moses is obligated to tell this part of the story—highlighting our triumphs, focusing on our partnership with G‑d and reminding us of the power of returning to faith.
Events happen in all of our lives that cannot be changed. People experience poor decision-making and losses that cannot be undone. The children who were about to enter the land could not change the decisions of their fathers, and nor could we. But the ways in which these events are expressed can make a considerable difference on their effects.
Moses, the storyteller, is communicating to us that despite epic blunders, G‑d did not leave us, and we did not leave him. We regained His trust; we regained our passageway into the Land of Israel.
Indeed, Moses’ words seem to have a special ability to penetrate the heart and give us hope.
Something that penetrates the heart penetrates our emotionalDespite epic blunders, G‑d did not leave us being. Remember what Goleman asserts? This is how stories help us learn. This is how storytellers help embed memories in us. This is how we share in collective purpose and meaning. This is how we can clarify our own values regarding faith and trust.
“ . . . Watch yourself very well, lest you forget the things that your eyes saw, and lest these things depart from your heart, all the days of your life, and you shall make them known to your children and to your children’s children.”3
Karen Wolfers-Rapaport is a psychotherapist specializing in Narrative Therapy. She holds a BA from UCLA, and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. She received her training from Tufts University. In addition to her therapeutic work and freelance writing, Karen works with families from Israel’s Prime Minister’s office and Ministry of Defense, teaching them English in preparation for their diplomatic posts abroad. A proud mother, she is blessed to live in Israel.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.
FOOTNOTES
1.Deuteronomy 1:19.
2.Deuteronomy 1:30.
3.Deuteronomy 4:9.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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Devarim In DepthA condensation of the weekly Torah portion alongside select commentaries culled from the Midrash, Talmud, Chassidic masters, and the broad corpus of Jewish scholarship.
Parshat Devarim In-Depth
Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
Parshah SummaryThese are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan, in the desert, in the Arava, opposite Suf, between Paran, and Tofel, and Lavan, and Hazerot, and Di-Zahav.It is eleven days' journey from Horeb (Sinai) by the way of Mount Se'ir to Kadesh-Barnea.
And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the fìrst day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that G‑d had given him in commandment to them
-- after he had slain Sichon the king of the Emori, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtarot in Edre'i --
Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began toexplain this Torah, saying:
The L-rd our G‑d spoke to us in Horeb, saying: "You have long enough surrounded this mountain.
"Turn away, and take your journey, and go to the mountain of the Emori, and to all the places near it, in the plain, in the hills, and in the lowland, and in the Negev, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which G‑d swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them."
And I spoke to you at that time, saying: "I am not able tobear you myself alone.Moses Delegates the Leadership of Israel
"G‑d your G‑d has multiplied you, and, behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven for multitude. (May G‑d, the G‑d of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you!) --
"How can I myself alone bear your care, and your burden, and your strife?
"Bring wise and understanding men, known among your tribes, and I will place them at your head."
And you answered me, and said: "It is good, this thing which you have spoken, to do."
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
And I charged your judges at that time, saying: "Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Do not give anyone special recognition when rendering judgment; hear the small as well as the great;fear no man; for the judgment is G‑d's. And the thing that is too hard for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it."
And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.
We departed from Horeb, and we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which you saw, by the way of the mountain of the Emori, as G‑d our G‑d commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-Barnea.
And I said to you: "You are come to the mountain of the Emori, which G‑d our G‑d gives to us. Behold, G‑d your G‑d has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as G‑d, the G‑d of your fathers has said to you; fear not, nor be discouraged."
And you all approached me, and said: "We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us back word by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come."
And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one for a tribe. And they turned and went up to the mountain, and came to the wadi of Eshkol, and searched it out.
And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us back word, and said: It is a good land which G‑d our G‑d gives us.
Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of G‑d your G‑d.
And you murmured in your tents, and said: "Because G‑d hates us, He has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Emori, to destroy us. Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have made our heart faint, saying: The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the giants there."
Then I said to you: "Dread not, neither be afraid of them. G‑d your G‑d who goes before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that G‑d your G‑d carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place!"
Yet in this thing you did not believe G‑d your G‑d, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in a cloud by day.
And G‑d heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying: "Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land, which I swore to give to your fathers. Save Caleb the son of Yefunne; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he has trodden upon, and to his children, because he has wholly followed G‑d."G‑d Decrees that Moses' Generation Shall Not Enter the Land
Also with me was G‑d angry for your sakes, saying: "You, too, shall not enter there.
"Rather, Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
"And your little ones, concerning whom you said they should be a prey, and your children who in that day had no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
"But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Suf."
Then you answered and said to me: "We have sinned against G‑d; we will go up and fight, according to all that G‑d our G‑d commanded us." And you girded on every man his weapons of war, and ventured to go up into the hill.The Attempt to Storm the Land
And G‑d said to me: "Say to them: Neither go up, nor fight; for I am not among you; lest you be smitten before your enemies."
So I spoke to you; and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of G‑d, and went presumptuously up into the hill.
And the Emori, who dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Se'ir, as far as Horma.
And you returned and wept before G‑d; but G‑d would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear to you. So you dwelled in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you abode there. Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Suf, as G‑d spoke to me; and we went about mount Se'ir many days.
G‑d spoke to me, saying: "You have compassed this mountain long enough. Turn northwards.After Forty Years in the Desert
"And command the people, saying: You are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Se'ir; and they shall be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves. Do not provoke them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Se'ir to Esau for a possession.
"You shall buy food of them for money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water of them for money, that you may drink.
"For G‑d your G‑d has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He knows your walking through this great wilderness: these forty years G‑d your G‑d has been with you, you have lacked nothing."
And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Se'ir, through the way of the Arava from Elat and from Etzyon-Gever, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
And G‑d said to me: "Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.Bypassing Moab
(The Emim dwelt there in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, like the Anaqim; who also were considered Refa'im as the Anaqim; but the Moabim call them Emim. The Horim also dwelt in Se'ir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, and they destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their place; as Israel did to the land of his possession, which G‑d gave to them.)
"Now rise up, and get you over the wadi Zered." And we went over the wadi Zered.
And the days in which we came from Kadesh-Barnea, until we were come over the wadi Zered, were thirty eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as G‑d swore to them. For indeed the hand of G‑d was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed. So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people.
And, that G‑d spoke to me, saying: "You are to pass over through Ar, the border of Moab, this day.Bypassing Ammon
"And when you come near, opposite the children of Ammon, harass them not, nor contend with them; for I will not give you of the land of the children of Ammon any possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.
(That also was considered a land of Refa'im: Refa'im dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonim call them Zamzumim. A people great, and many, and tall, like the Anaqim; but G‑d destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their place; as He did to the children of Esau, who dwelt in Se'ir, when he destroyed the Horim from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead until this very day. And the Avvim who dwelt in Hazerim, as far as 'Azza; Kaftorirn who came from Kaftor, destroyed them and dwelt in their stead.)
"Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the wadi Arnon; behold, I have given into your hand Sichon the Emorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.War with the Emori
"This day will I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of you, and shall tremble, and quake because of you."
And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemot to Sichon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying:
"Let me pass through your land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left. You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through with those who follow me (as the children of Esau who dwell in Se'ir, and the Moabim who dwell in Ar, did to me) until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land which G‑d Our G‑d gives us."
But Sichon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for G‑d your G‑d hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as is apparent this day.
And G‑d said to me: "Behold, I have begun to give Sichon and his land before you; begin to possess, that you may inherit his land."
Then Sichon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Yahaz.
And G‑d our G‑d delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and devoted to destruction every city, the men, and the women, and the little ones; we left none remaining; only the cattle we took for a prey to ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
From Aro'er, which is by the edge of the wadi of Arnon, and from the city that is by the wadi, as far as Gilaad, there was not one city too strong for us: G‑d our G‑d delivered all to us:
Only to the land of the children of Ammon you did not come, nor to any place of the torrent of Yabbok, nor to the cities in the mountains, nor to whatever place G‑d our G‑d forbade us.
Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edre'i.The Battle at Bashan
And G‑d said to me: "Fear him not; for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into your hand; and you shall do to him as you did to Sichon king of the Emori, who dwelt at Heshbon."
So G‑d our G‑d delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people; and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, sixty cities, all the region of Argov, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides unwalled towns a great many. And we devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sichon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city. But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.
And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Emori the land that was on this side of the Jordan, from the wadi of Arnon to mount Hermon; (which Hermon the Zidonim call Siryon; and the Emori call it Senir;) all the cities of the plain, and all Gilaad, and all Bashan, as far as Salkha and Edre'i, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Refa'im; behold, his bed is a bed of iron; is it not in Rabba of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits is the length of it, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.
And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aro'er, which is by the wadi Arnon, and half mount Gilaad, and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gaddites.Two and a Half Tribes Receive the Lands East of the Jordan
And the rest of Gilaad, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half tribe of Menasseh; all the region of Argov, with all Bashan, which was called the land of Refa'im. Ya'ir the son of Menasseh took all the country of Argov as far as the border of the Geshuri and the Ma'akhati; and called them (that is the Bashan) after his name, Havvot-Ya'ir, to this day. And I gave Gil'ad to Machìr.
And to the the Reubenites and to the Gaddites I gave from Gil'ad to the wadi Arnon, the middle of the wadi as a border, as far as the torrent of Yabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; the Arava also and the Jordan, as a border, from Kinneret as far as the Sea of the Arava, even the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisga eastward.
And I commanded you at that time, saying: "G‑d your G‑d has given you this land to possess it; [but first you must] pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are fit for the war. Only your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that you have much cattle), shall abide in your cities which I have given you. Until G‑d gives rest to your brethren, as well as to you, and until they also possess the land which G‑d our G‑d has given them beyond the Jordan; then shall you return every man to his possession, which I have given you.
And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying: "Your eyes have seen all that G‑d your G‑d has done to these two kings; so shall G‑d do to all the kingdoms into which you will pass. You shall not fear them: for G‑d your G‑d, He shall fight for you."
From Our Sages
These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan, in the desert, in the Aravah, opposite Suf, between Paran and Tofel, and Lavan, and Chatzerot, and Di-Zahav (Deuteronomy 1:1)
According to the Sifri, the numerous place names listed here are not landmarks indicating where Moses spoke these words—indeed, some of these places do not even exist as geographical locations. Rather, these are words of rebuke by Moses to the people of Israel. Instead of mentioning their sins outright, he alluded to them with these place names:“In the desert”—the time they complained: “If only we would have died in the desert” (Exodus 17:3).
“In the Aravah (Plain)”—their worship of Baal Peor in the Plains of Moab (Numbers 25).
“Opposite Suf”—the trouble they made at the shores of Yam Suf, the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:11 and Rashi onExodus 15:22).
“Paran”—the sin of the spies, who were dispatched from Paran (as recounted in Numbers 13 and later in our own Parshah).
“Tofel” and “Lavan” (meaning “libel” and “white”)—their libeling the white manna (Numbers 21:5).
“Chatzerot”—where Korach’s mutiny against Moses took place.
“Di-Zahav” (literally, “too much gold”)—the sin of thegolden calf.
(Sifri, Rashi, et al)
It would have been fitting that the rebukes (in the Book of Deuteronomy) be pronounced by Balaam, and that the blessings (in the Parshah of Balak) be said by Moses. . . . But G‑d said: Let Moses, who loves them, rebuke them; and let Balaam, who hates them, bless them.
(Yalkut Shimoni)
It was only to the people of Israel that Moses spoke of their iniquities and failings. To G‑d, Moses spoke only of the virtues of Israel, and justified them no matter what they did.
(Chassidic saying)
It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-Barnea (1:2)
Moses said to them: see what you have caused! There is no shorter way from Horeb (Mount Sinai) to Kadesh-Barnea than by the way of Mount Seir, and even that is a journey of eleven days; nevertheless, you traversed it in three days
—for on the 20th of Iyar they set forward from Horeb (Numbers 10:11) . . . and on the 29th of Sivan they sent the spies from Kadesh-Barnea (Talmud, Taanit 29a); deduct from this period the 30 days they spent at the “Graves of Lust,” where they ate meat for a “month of days” (Numbers 11:20), and the seven days they spent at Chatzerot for the seclusion of Miriam there (ibid. 12:15–16); consequently, they traveled that entire way in three days—
So much did the Divine Presence trouble itself for your sake to hasten your entry into the Land! And because you acted corruptly [in the incident of the spies], you were kept going round Mount Seir for forty years.
(Rashi)
Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this Torah (1:5)
He translated it for them into seventy languages.
(Rashi)
G‑d spoke to us in Horeb, saying: “You have long enough stayed at this mountain. Turn away, and take your journey . . .” (1:6–7)
The mountain we’re talking about is Mount Sinai, scene of the most monumental event in human history: G‑d’s revelation of His wisdom and will to man. Still, G‑d says: “You’ve been hanging around this mountain long enough. Move on!”In our lives we also have moments, days or years of revelation, times when we learn and grow and are enriched. But the purpose must always be to move on, move away, and carry the enlightenment and enrichment to someplace else—some corner of creation that awaits redemption.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
Bring forth wise and understanding men, known among your tribes, and I will place them at your head (1:13)
The word va’asimeim (“and I will place them”) is written in the Torah lacking the letter yud, so that the word can also be read as va’ashamam, “and their guilt.” This comes to teach us that the faults of a generation rest with its heads and leaders.
(Talmud; Rashi)
When someone comes to a rebbe and seeks his counsel and assistance in dealing with a spiritual malady, the rebbe must first find the same blemish, if only in the most subtle of forms, in his own soul; only then can the rebbe help him to refine and perfect his self and character. This is the deeper significance of that which our sages have said, “The faults of a generation rest with its heads and leaders.”
(Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch)
Do not give anyone special recognition when rendering judgment (1:17)
An impoverished widow once came to the beit din(courthouse) of the great sage Rabbi Yehoshua of Kutna. Weeping bitter tears, she begged him to summon to the court a man she accused of having wronged her.
Rabbi Yehoshua summoned the man to appear before the court, but referred the case to another rabbi, refusing to preside over it himself. “The Torah forbids the taking of bribes,” he explained. “Do you think that a bribe is only a gift of money? Tears can also be a bribe that ‘blinds the clear-sighted’—especially the tears of a poor widow.”
(Maayanah Shel Torah)
You all approached me, and said: “We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land. . . .” And the thing pleased me well (1:22–23)
Moses consulted with G‑d, and G‑d said “Send for yourself” (Numbers 13:2)—as your mind dictates. I am not instructing you; if you so desire, send. . . . By your life, I shall now give you the option to err.
(Rashi; Talmud)
moreThe descendents of Shamchazai and Azael, who fell from heaven in the generation of Enosh.
(Rashi)
The Chassidic masters explain that the generation of the spies was loath to enter the Land because they feared the transition from the spiritual life they led in the desert (where they were sustained by “bread from heaven” and all their physical needs were provided by miraculous means, and their sole occupation was the study of Torah and the service of G‑d) to a life on the land and all the material entanglements this brings.This explains the spies’ mention of the “sons of the giants” they encountered in the Land. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Bereishit 44) relates the story of these “fallen angels”: In the years before the Flood, when violence and promiscuity pervaded the earth, two angels, Shamchazai and Azael, pleaded before the Almighty: “Allow us to dwell among the humans, and we shall sanctify Your name!” But no sooner had the two heavenly beings come in contact with the material world than they too were corrupted.
If these heavenly beings—the spies were saying—could not survive the plunge to materiality, what could be expected of us, mortal and fragile men?
(From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)
G‑d said to Moses: “With what face do you request to enter the Land?” This may be illustrated by a parable. It is like the case of a shepherd who went out to feed the king’s flock, and the flock was abducted. When the shepherd sought to enter the royal palace, the king said to him: “If you come in now, what will people say? That it was you who have caused the flock to be carried off!”
So too did G‑d say to Moses: “Your greatness is that you have taken the 600,000 out of bondage. But you have buried them in the desert, and will bring into the Land a different generation! This being so, people will think that the generation of the desert have no share in the world to come! No, better be beside them, and you shall in the time to come enter with them.”
(Midrash Rabbah)
Just as a bee, as soon as it stings a person it dies, so too these [Emorites]—no sooner did they touch you than they died.
(Rashi)
G‑d bound the supernal minister of the Emorites under Moses’ feet, and made Moses tread on his neck.
(Rashi)
In the case of Sichon, it was not necessary for G‑d to reassure Moses in this way. Why did Moses have more cause to fear Og than Sichon? Because he was afraid lest there stand by Og the merit that he served Abraham, as it is written (Genesis 14:13), “The refugee came and informed Abraham [of the capture of Lot]”—and this was Og.
(Rashi)
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Why Write B”H or BS”D at Head of a Letter, and What Does It Mean?The habit of peppering our ordinary conversation with thankful mentions of G‑d was even displayed by our forefather Jacob. by Yehuda Shurpin
Although not a requirement, there is indeed an old Jewish custom to write B”H or BS”D, or to be more accurate, their Hebrew equivalents ב״ה or בס״ד, at the beginning of a letter.
What does it mean?
B”H (ב״ה) is an acronym for the Hebrew words baruch Hashem (“blessed is G‑d”) or b’ezrat Hashem (“with the help of G‑d”). Others opt for BS”D (בס״ד), which is an acronym for the Aramaic phrase b’syata d’shmaya (“with the help of heaven”).
(The quotation mark before the last letter is the Hebrew way of signalling that this is an acronym or an otherwise non-standard word.)
Reason and Origin of the Custom
This old Jewish custom has in fact led to all sorts of wild speculation about Christopher Columbus. Apparently, in almost all of his letters to his son, he included at the top left-hand corner what appears to be the Hebrew letters ב”ה, written in the Sephardic script of that era. (Yes, I was also skeptical of the claim, which even if true, does not necessarily prove anything, but there are images available online, so feel free to judge for yourself).
The idea behind this custom is that even when we go about our mundane daily tasks, G‑d should always be on our minds, our tongues and our pens. This is in line with the verse in Psalms “I have placed the L‑rd before me constantly; because [He is] at my right hand, I will not falter,”1 and the verse in Proverbs “Know Him in all your ways, and He will direct your paths.”2
The habit of peppering our ordinary conversation with thankful mentions of G‑d was even displayed by our forefather Jacob. According to the Midrash, when he masqueraded as his unruly brother as a ruse to have his father, Isaac, bless him, Jacob almost blew his cover by repeatedly mentioning G‑d in his conversation with his blind father.3
When did it transfer to the written word as well? That’s not clear. Some point to Rabbi Yehuda HaChassid (Rabbi Judah the Pious, 1150-1217) and his work Sefer Chassidim as a possible source for the custom of mentioning G‑d before writing a regular letter.4
We find the use of various phrases in the letters of earlier generations. Nowadays, it has been narrowed down to B”H or BS”D (and their equivalents).
What to write? Can I throw it out?
Some are of the opinion that one should be careful of writing B”H (ב״ה), since the second letter stands for G‑d’s name. That would be a problem when discarding the letter, since G‑d’s name may not be erased or treated in a disrespectful manner.5 For this reason, many prefer BS”D (בס”ד).”6
Most, however, rule that the letter may be discarded (although preferably not in a disgraceful manner), since the H (ה) does not stand for G‑d’s real name but for Hashem (השם), which simply means “The Name.”7
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, had the custom of starting off his letters with ב״ה, as can be seen in his thousands of published letters, and he encouraged others to start off their letters acknowledging G‑d in a similar fashion.8
In this way, not only are we more aware of G‑d in our daily lives, but whomever we come in contact with also gains an awareness of G‑d in his or her personal life, leading to the day when the entire world will recognize that “G‑d is one and His name is one.”9
Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin responds to questions for Chabad.org's Ask the Rabbi service.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.
FOOTNOTES
1.Psalms 16:8.
2.Proverbs 3:6.
3.See Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 65:19 and Likutei Sichot, vol. 6, p. 190.
4.See Sefer Chassidim, 884 and commentaries ad loc. See also Rabbi Zalman Shimon Dworkin in Kovets Razash, p. 71.
5.Rabbi Yosef Rosen (the Rogatchover Gaon), Tzofnat Pane’ach 196-197 (also found in Piskei Teshuvah 3:293. See also Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deiah 276:13.
6.See Igrot Moshe, Yoreh Deiah 2:138.
7.See Yechave Daat 3:78; Ginzei Hakodesh 7, note 13.
8.See, for example, Likutei Sichot, vol. 6, p. 190, and vol. 24, p. 599.
9.Zechariah 14:9.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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Should I Buy a Burial Plot?Many of my friends who are in their 70s are making arrangements for their Jewish burials, so that the burden won’t fall on their children. Is this appropriate? by Aron Moss
Question:
Many of my friends who are in their 70s are making arrangements for their Jewish burials, so that the burden won’t fall on their children. Is this appropriate? Or are we to simply leave our final requests in writing for our family when we are no longer in this world?
Answer:
You know the story of the charming husband who bought his wife a burial plot for her birthday? The next year he didn’t buy her anything. When she asked why, he responded, “I bought you a gift last year, and you didn’t use it.”
It’s a horrible joke. But even bad jokes have some truth to them. The sages of the Midrash advise us to purchase a burial plot even while we are still alive and well.1And it is commonly said that doing so will actually bless one with a long life. So this guy’s wife should be blessed with good health for many years to come.
Although some write that this blessing does not appear to be written in any classical Jewish source,2 it is possible to explain it psychologically. The fear of dying, like the fear of anything, saps our energy. Buying a burial plot may help normalize death, which will prevent us from becoming preoccupied with it.
Another suggested explanation: It is ordained in heaven how much income each person makes in a year. This includes the burial society—a certain amount of money will come to them each year. Unfortunately, they make a living from people dying. So there needs to be a certain number of funerals each year. But if you pay your funeral costs in advance, then they get the money that is coming to them, and you can live on.
Death is an unpleasant topic, but we all have to face it. Our emphasis should always be on life, not its opposite. But on occasion, a gentle reminder of our mortality can motivate us to use our time wisely. May we all live for many years, and may those years be filled with meaningful days.
Aron Moss is rabbi of the Nefesh Community in Sydney, Australia, and is a frequent contributor to Chabad.org.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.
FOOTNOTES
1.Vayikra Rabbah 5:5. See also Talmud, Bava Batra 112a; Shiltei Gibborim, Sanhedrin, end of ch. 6; Responsa of Maharam Mintz 18; Maavor Yabbok, p. 208.
2.See Orchot Rabbeinu ha-Kehillat Yaakov 4, p. 108.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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WOMEN
WOMEN
When I Stopped Being Religious About ShabbatUntil you care about every tiny detail of your relationship with G‑d, Shabbat is just a bunch of annoying restrictions. by Lieba Rudolph
Everybody laughs about the Ten Commandments becoming the Ten Suggestions, but nobody even suggests remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy anymore. And I know why. Shabbat observance smacks of everything that’s wrong with religion.As someone who started keeping Shabbat only so that my new Torah-observant friends would eat in myIt’s not easy to amuse yourself on Shabbat “I-promise-it’s-scrupulously-kosher" house, I was dragged into Shabbat observance kicking and screaming.
It’s not easy to amuse yourself on Shabbat, especially if there are kids around. For starters, you can’t cook, drive or use electricity. These are just a few of the forbidden acts, which all originate in the 39 melachot, the “creative work” the Jews did when building a portable sanctuary (the Mishkan) so they could worship G‑d in the desert.
I barely know what some of these 39 activities are, such as “winnowing” or “threshing.” I can’t imagine being the slightest bit tempted to do these activities on Shabbat, but you’d be surprised at the daily tasks that are forbidden because they are derived from these melachot. I just know that many years ago when I was locked out of my house one Shabbat day with all my young kids, and I had to entertain them outside until an hour after sundown, when I could open my electric garage door, I understood with new clarity why so many Jews gave up on Shabbat. Because keeping Shabbat is hard.
The lights started to go out on Shabbat observance in America when our ancestors arrived here. They needed to put food on their tables, and most jobs demanded working on Saturdays. Not to mention that their whole reason for coming to America was to escape persecution for being Jewish.
I can tell you that, for me, trying to keep Shabbat all at once is one of those things that actually is as hard as it looks. That is, until you really care about every tiny detail of your relationship with G‑d.
Until you care about every tiny detail of your relationship with G‑d, Shabbat is just a bunch of annoying restrictions. It’s religion. And in those early years, the only thing harder for me than Shabbat was the fact that entire Fridays had to be spent in the kitchen preparing for it—winter, spring, summer and fall.
I thought it would stay difficult like that forever. Twenty-five hours where the main focus was to avoid doing things like accidentally flicking a light switch. (I remember how troubled I was when I learned that we were accountable for the sins we commit inadvertently, albeit less so. I wondered: Is there limited space in heaven?)
It took years for me to learn not to think like that. Don’t forget, I had lived into my adulthood sure of my existence and questioning G‑d’s. My idea of religious Jews was that they were obsessed with these commandments in their excruciating detail in order to propitiate a G‑d who is as scary as He is unseen. They exchanged miserable lives in this world for what they hoped would be a big payoff in the next one. So my thinking went.
My new friends weren’t like that though. They loved being observant Jews. But I didn’t, especially not on Shabbat, when I had to get all those kids ready exactly by the appointed hour. I felt about Shabbat like Cinderella felt about midnight. Shabbat was when bowls piled in the kitchen sink, overflowing with multi-colored muck (also known as Shabbat cereal) gurgling up in a drain I was forbidden to clear with the electric garbage disposal.
But I hung in there, all the while learning Chassidut, trying to wrap my head around the idea that little, tiny me can please G‑d endlessly just by not turning on the light on Shabbat. And by doing all the other mitzvahs, too.
I just had to stop being religious in order to try to bridge the gap between the two of us. Shabbat wasn’t G‑d’s way of calculating special “plusses” and “minuses” for us on a designated day of the week. It was a day for enjoying closeness to Him without worldly distractions. I just had to understand Him better so that my desire for closeness to Him could grow.
This took time, but Shabbat became the day when everything about G‑d seemed more beautiful and profound. It was the day when a flower’s intricacy could inspire me to laugh more with my children. The day when food that always tasted good tasted like Shabbat.
I can tell you unequivocally that now, so many years later, all of Shabbat actually feels different. Maybe it’s that I don’t have to entertain all those kids anymore. Maybe it’s the pleasure I have in knowing that I hung in there for Him, even though it was so hard for me at first. (I realize now the value in taking things slowly.)
Or maybe it’s that IShabbat is G‑d’s favorite day of the week appreciate that Shabbat is G‑d’s favorite day of the week. It’s the day that’s closest to the way life will be for us in the era of Moshiach, when we will perceive G‑dliness effortlessly.
That’s why I have begun trying to light my candles early. Some people say it’s a mitzvah to do this. It’s also my way of showing G‑d that, finally, I want more Shabbat in my life, not less.
Lieba Rudolph lives in Pittsburgh, PA, and writes a weekly blog about Jewish spirituality.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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A Mother of a Special-Needs Child Speaks Out"I take life as it comes. Every moment is a treasure that I cherish, that we cherish. I do what I need to do. This is the life I was given and this is the life I live with. I do my best. We all do our best." by Bassie Moscowitz
Jacob Grossman, 17, right, with his Friendship Circle buddy Jake Guria, 16.Today, I met with a most inspiring mom, the mother of 17-year-old Jacob, who lives with Fanconi anemia, a genetic degenerative disease. Hearing Rachel Grossman of Buffalo Grove, Ill., speak gave me a renewed appreciation for health, something we can easily take for granted. She inspired me to recognize our gifts and to live every moment to its fullest. IJacob is medically fragile internalize her message again and again, as her words ring powerfully in my mind.
Jacob is medically fragile. He has had two intense transplants during his short life: he is a survivor of a bone-marrow transplant, and is living off a borrowed kidney. Additionally, he takes 15 medications daily. Jacob has to be fed with a feeding tube and catheterized five times in a 24-hour period.
Following are Rachel’s words about her special-needs child:
“We are fortunate for the advancements in medicine. In past years, he was constantly in tremendous pain. Now, with new medical adjustments—albeit with all the hurdles they present—he is a new person. Are his medical needs challenging? Yes. Time-consuming? Yes. But they are my life. They are his life. They are our life. Jacob is a walking miracle.
“Looking at his past years, and at his future, I am grateful for every day we have together. I am lucky to have had these 17 years of life with Jacob, and I anticipate more meaningful years together.
“I never dreamed that Jacob would be graduating from high school. I never looked into employment options for him since those opportunities seemed far beyond his reach. And now, thank G‑d, we are nearing those stages! It’s a whole new set of challenges to work through. Vocational programs and independent living choices can be overwhelming and challenging since availability is so low. Being that Jacob’s medical needs are complicated, his options are even fewer than what is available for individuals with other special needs.
“It can be challenging socially and emotionally for Jacob. Jacob is a junior this year. After next year, his friends will go off to college, and he will stay back. His friends are reaching milestones that he will never be able to reach. But he reaches other milestones that only he is able to reach. Each advancement is extremely rewarding. What seems like a baby step can be the finish line of a marathon for Jacob—the marathon of his life that he is so adept at.
“I take life as it comes. Every moment isa treasure that I cherish, that we cherish. I do what I need to do. This is the life I was given, and this is the life I live with. I do my best. We all do our best. Jacob needs a mom and a dad, so we, along with his older sister, Talia, try to be the best family we can be fo him.
“We are forever grateful to wonderful organizations such as Chai Lifeline and the Friendship Circle for their support and care. Having a buddy visit with Jacob on a weekly basis and having him join holiday events within the community in a safe and welcoming setting gives him a sense of acceptance and provides meaningful venues for social interactions.I take life as it comes Such outlets are too often lacking for children and teens with special needs. Individuals with special-needs deserve friendships just like, if not more than, typically developing people. And their contribution to society is powerful and far-reaching. Their genuine love and friendship can cheer up anyone’s day.
“His favorite hobbies and interests are all about music and Judaism: Someone is needed to lead birkat hamazon? Jacob is first to volunteer. Jacob would love to grow up Orthodox and live in a religious neighborhood. If it were up to him, life would be intrinsically bound up with G‑dliness in a revealed and practical way.”
As the Lubavitcher Rebbe explained in the 1970s and `80s—at a time when individuals with special needs were often shunned and institutionalized—a person with special needs is more in touch with his or her soul. These special souls are in tune with their Creator and possess a bond far greater than the average person.
Yes, indeed, Jacob has a lofty soul. His soul is perfectly intact and pure. Jacob reminds us all of the unique and precious gifts G‑d has granted us—and continues to grant us on a constant basis. Let us seize the moment and do our very best to make a positive difference in this world.
Bassie Moscowitz directs The Friendship Circle of Illinois together with her husband, and is mother to seven precious children. She enjoys music, cooking and writing in her spare time.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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STORY
STORY
Who Is the True Sinner?It was a cold, wintry day, and he suddenly found himself in unfamiliar territory. Freezing and scared, he continued to wander deep into the night. by Menachem Posner
Rabbi Yaakov Kaidaner, author of Sippurim Nora’im, recalls a meeting at a fair in the city of Königsberg. Jewish merchants from all over Poland, Lithuania, and Russia had gathered. They had time on their hands and began discussing the chassidic movement and its leaders.
Among the assembled were a group of learned men from the city of Slutzk, Belorussia, known as a stronghold of staunch opposition to the chassidic movement.When the conversation turned to Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, who had succeeded the Baal Shem Tov as the leader of chassidim, the merchants from Slutzk shared the following story:
It happened once that a young man from Slutzk traveled to Volhynia onFreezing and scared, he continued to wander deep into the night... business. It was a cold, wintry day, and he suddenly found himself in unfamiliar territory. Freezing and scared, he continued to wander deep into the night. It was well after midnight when he finally arrived at the town of Mezritch.
He drove down the silent, snow-covered streets, looking for a place to warm himself and rest his weary bones. Suddenly, he saw a candle flickering in a window. Unbeknownst to the young merchant, it was the home of Rabbi Dov Ber.
Excited to find a place to rest, he knocked on the door and was soon admitted into Rabbi Dov Ber’s sparsely furnished home. Hearing that there was a visitor, Rabbi Dov Ber (who had been studying by candlelight) came to see who had arrived.
In response to the rabbi’s warm greeting and inquiry, the young merchant introduced himself as an aspiring businessman from Slutzk who had lost his way.
“It was not for naught that you lost your way and arrived at my house,” replied Rabbi Dov Ber. “Oh no, if G‑d arranged that you find yourself here, there is a purpose.”
He then put on his spectacles (as he was wont to do when peering deeply into the spiritual worlds) and asked, “When you left home, was your son ill?”
“Yes, he was,” said the astonished merchant.
“You have nothing to worry about,” said the rabbi reassuringly. “He has recovered and is doing fine, thank G‑d.
“When you go home,” Rabbi Dov Ber continued, “you will hear that there is a terrible illness in the city and that children are falling ill and dying, may G‑d shield us. In response to the tragedy, the rabbi and Torah sages of the city will investigate the actions of the townspeople to try to determine whose sin caused the terrible tragedy.
“On the day following your arrival, one of the rich men of the town will hold a celebration for his son’s circumcision, and you will be invited. There, the elders of the city will speak about the plague and people will accuse aPeople will begin to strike the hapless young man! certain young man of being the cause of the evil. In truth, this young man is completely innocent and he will try to defend himself. In fact, one of the leaders of the accusation—a respected man in the city—is the one who has sinned, and it is he who is the reason for the plague.
“Things will get so bad that the people will begin to strike the hapless young man. When the rich leader (whom you know to be a sinner) will raise his hand to hit the poor man, you must grab his hand and tell him, ‘Evil one, admit your wrongdoing. You are the sinner, and you are the cause of the death that has come to our city.’ He will then admit his sins, and the plague will subside.
“Know,” concluded the rabbi, “that if you do not follow my instructions, your own son will die a terrible death.”
The following morning, the merchant continued on his way. Upon arriving home, he learned that everything was exactly as Rabbi Dov Ber had foretold. His son had recovered, and other children were ill. At the circumcision, an innocent man was accused, he confronted the true sinner, and the plague dissipated.
The entire town was abuzz, continued the men from Slutzk. They wondered, “Can there be such a holy man of G‑d among us, through whom G‑d Himself speaks?”
Rabbi Menachem Posner serves as staff editor for Chabad.org.
Artwork by Sefira Ross, a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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LIFESTYLE
LIFESTYLE
Crunchy Cauliflower NuggetsWith Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce by Miriam SzokovskiAfter living, breathing, eating and thinking cauliflower for a couple of weeks straight, I’ve emerged from the haze with two new recipes up my sleeve, and just in time forThe Nine Days—a period of mourning during which we refrain from eating meat and chicken (aside from Shabbat).
I’m sharing this recipe today, and the other one—a lemon and thyme crumbed cauliflower—I’ll keep for a later date. I’m serious about the cauliflower haze, by the way. It was major. So, months from now, when the snow is piling up in the dead of winter, I’ll feel quite smug pulling out my lemony cauliflower recipe and pictures, done and dusted months earlier. I’m excited already! And it’ll be a bonus for the Southern Hemisphere folks who will actually be enjoying summer then. (For some reason, lemon = summer.)
These can be baked or fried. I was very much enjoying them in baked form, but then I fried a batch to test it out and let’s face it—fried is almost always better. But baked is still good. I’ve left instructions for both methods below, so it’s up to you.
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
2 eggs
½ cup cornflake crumbs
½ cup matzah meal
½ cup toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. mustard powder
Optional: sweet chili sauce for dipping
Directions:
Cut the cauliflower into bite-size florets. Wash and check for bugs.
Beat the eggs together in a bowl.
Mix the cornflake crumbs, matzah meal, sesame seeds, salt, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and mustard powder together in a separate bowl.
Dip each piece of cauliflower into the egg mixture, and then into the crumb mixture.
To Bake: Place the coated florets on a greased baking sheet and drizzle with a small amount of oil (or spray with cooking oil spray). Bake on 400°F (200°C) for 25 minutes.
To Fry: Heat 2-3 inches of vegetable or canola oil in a pot. Drop in 6-8 florets and cook until golden and crispy. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towel. Continue frying in batches until all the florets are fried.
Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice. I like these with sweet chili sauce.
Miriam Szokovski is the author of the historical novel Exiled Down Under, and a member of the Chabad.org editorial team. She shares her love of cooking, baking and food photography on Chabad.org’s food blog, Cook It Kosher.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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Art: A Message of Hope by Yoram RaananThe L-rd, your G‑d, has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the heavens in abundance. May the L-rd, G‑d of your forefathers, add to you a thousandfold as many as you are, and may He bless you, as He spoke concerning you! (Deuteronomy 1:10-11)This simple, abstract painting, painted with fingers and hands, gives the impression of the tents in the desert. An aquamarine sky filled with golden stars reflects how the people are being blessed to become as numerous as the stars. Moses imparts this hopeful message as the people prepare to cross the river and enter the Promised Land. The ground also glitters with stars, hinting that the land itself will become spiritual once they inhabit it.
Yoram Raanan takes inspiration from living in Israel, where he can fully explore and express his Jewish consciousness. The light, the air, the spirit of the people and the land energize and inspire him. His paintings include modern Jewish expressionism with a wide range of subjects ranging from abstract to landscape, biblical and Judaic.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
JEWISH NEWS
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In a Delightful Posthumous Memoir, a NASA Scientist Continues to InspireCuriosity and the Desire for Truth/The Spiritual Journey of a NASA Scientist is an engaging and enjoyable memoir detailing Prof. Velvl Greene’s search for higher meaning. by Yaakov Ort
The posthumous biographical memoirA Matter of Importance
Back in the early 1960s, Rabbi Moshe Feller was the shaliach, the emissary, who the Rebbe sent to Minnesota. His job was to bring Jews closer to Yiddishkeit. Rabbi Feller had heard about me and wanted to meet with me face to face. At the time, I was doing research for NASA as well as for the Army Biological Laboratory. I worked in a very, very secure laboratory. There was no access for anybody without high clearance.
He tried to call and make an appointment, but I told him it was impossible. When I first got a call from him, I knew, a guy with a black hat comes to Minneapolis — how many guys with black hats are there in Minneapolis? — So I knew he’s a meshulach, he’s a representative; he’s coming to get money.
So I told him on the phone, “You don’t have to come — I’ll send a check.” And he said, “I don’t need a check.” That’s the first time he said that, and the last time he said it, “I don’t need a check, I want to see you.” I said, “Rabbi, I’ll give you twice as much.” I thought ah, I’m going to give him $36 instead of $18. He said, “I must speak to you, it’s a matter of extreme importance.”
Believe it or not, I arranged for him to come.
He came into my office. This is a little Jew with a black hat, a beard, two big guards on both sides of him with guns. I saw that and my heart just, you know — I was sympathetic to him, even though I knew he was there for money or something else, whatever gig he had.
So I asked him to sit down and we talked. I said, “You’re a nice guy, I’m gonna tell you how to be successful. The first thing you got to do is trim the beard a little bit. Look like a mensch. Get out of that black suit, you look like an undertaker.” I was giving him good advice. He was listening.
And then he looked out the window — this is important — he looked out the window and he looked at me. He said, “Excuse me, I’ve got to do something.” I said, “Well, the bathroom is over there.” No. He got up, he took a cord from his pocket, he tied it around his waist, and he started to shake like this.
What is he doing? It’s not Rosh Hashanah and it’s not Yom Kippur. Is he praying? It’s the middle of the afternoon and there is no one telling him what page to be on. After all, this was my job as a Reform rabbi [although not ordained, Greene was appointed rabbi of a 60-family congregation] to tell you what page you’re on. There was no one telling him what page to be on. And most of all, I was no longer in control. He’s in my office, he asked for an appointment, and he’s ignoring me. He’s facing the window and he’s shaking.
When he was finished, he sat down again. I said, “Rabbi Feller, the interview is over; you’ve insulted me. You came for an appointment with me and all of a sudden you’re doing some mumbo-jumbo.” And then he said the key words. He said, “What I came for was very, very important, but what I had to do now was even more important.”
If you want to know what changed, if you want to talk about the word epiphany — that happened there. Now I know he was davening Minchah, the afternoon prayer, and he had to do it before the sun went down — and that was more important than even what he came for. Now that is dedication, and that impressed me.© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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Hanoi has been the locale this summer for rabbinical students Mendy Tubul and Berel Dubinsky, who have scoured the capital of Vietnam, often on moped, looking for Jewish residents and tourists, and offering them services, kosher food and sometimes, just their company. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)Forty Jewish people from around the world sat around a table not too long ago in Hanoi, celebrating Shabbat together.
“Almost everyone discovered that they had a previous connection to someone else there,” reports Mendy Tubul, a senior student at the Chabad yeshivah in Antwerp. “One woman had stayed at the home of the parents of another person at the table. There were some teens who knew the granddaughter of an elderly couple there. There was a fellow who lives a five-minute walk from my parents in Paris.”
He and fellow rabbinical student Berel Dubinsky have reported similar instances across the capital of Vietnam, where they have been working this summer to bring services and amenities to Jewish residents and tourists. They temporarily replaced Rabbi Levi and Mushky Laine, permanent Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries to Hanoi, in this city of more than 7.7 million people.
During their time over the past four weeks, they note that “G‑d has literally been guiding our steps.”
For example, a group of British Jews had been worried about where they would celebrate Shabbat. In a dark, underground area in the city’s much-frequented Old Quarter, they met the two rabbinical students who had been trying unsuccessfully to find an Uber to take them home after a fruitless-seeming search for Jewish tourists.
It was during one of those walks that Tubul and Dubinsky also caught the attention of a Canadian mother and son. Spotting the bearded young men in kipahs and withtzitzits, the son called out “Shalom!” from the rickshaw he had been riding in with his mother. Soon, he found himself wrapping tefillin.
Another encounter took place in a mechanic’s shop, where Dubinsky had taken his moped—along with bicycles, the transportation of choice in Hanoi—for repair. Trusting his sixth sense for finding members of the tribe, Dubinsky called out “Israelis?” and was rewarded with yet another connection.
‘Feeling Blessed’
Prayer was part of the “chanukat habayit” ceremony for American Joseph Berman, who recently moved to Hanoi.This summer, some 300 Chabad rabbinic interns have fanned out to hundreds of locations all over the world as part of the annual Merkos Shlichus “Roving Rabbis” program. Each year, they leave New York City and go to places near and far to bring Jewish services to residents and travelers. They hold daily prayer services and offer tefillin, host Shabbat dinners—for many, access to kosher food they don’t get during the year—and answer questions about Judaism and related issues.
In addition to combing the streets for tourists and staffing the Chabad center, the duo reports that they have been able to help some Jewish people affix mezuzahs in their homes. For example, American ex-pat Joseph Berman, who moved to Vietnam this summer, was gratified to host a mini chanukat habayit (“home dedication”) ceremony that included the installation of a new mezuzah and words of Torah in his new apartment.
He plans to pray regularly with the tallit he brought from home and hopes to procure a pair of tefillin to complete the set.
“Thank you so much, Chabad,” he posted on Facebook (noting that he was “feeling blessed”). “This small act meant more to me than you’ll ever know.”
The word “Shalom!” called out from a rickshaw alerted Dubinsky, left, that there was a Jewish person inside, who got out and put on tefillin.
The duo spent significant time searching Hanoi’s teeming markets for Jewish people. Here, Dubinsky talks with another Jewish man.
The Trang Tien Plaza building in Hanoi, a popular a shopping center in downtown. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
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Philip Bialowitz, 90, Took Part in Death Camp Revolt That Freed HundredsAfter the war, he shared the story of those who perished and those who survived. by Yaakov Ort
Philip Bialowitz, left, who helped lead a revolt that freed hundreds of Jews from the death camp in Sobibor, Poland, during World War II, is shown here with Rabbi Shalom Stambler, director of Chabad Lubavitch of Warsaw, who often hosted Bialowitz in Poland. (Photo: Clifford Lester/www.cliffordlester.com)
Philip Bialowitz, who helped lead a revolt that freed hundreds of Jews from the extermination camp in Sobibor, Poland, during World War II—and who later shared his story of defiance and survival with thousands as a speaker and writer in the decades that followed—passed away on Aug. 7 in Florida. He was 90 years old.
Bialowitz was only 14 when he was sent to Sobibor, where he participated in a successful revolt by 40 Jewish inmates at the camp. All told, around 200 prisoners escaped, leading to the closure and dismantling of the facility by Nazi officials.
During the camp’s operation, as many as 250,000 people lost their lives.
“We all made a promise that whoever survived the revolt would share the story,” said Bialowitz soon after testifying at the 2011 trial of notorious Sobibor guard John Demjanjuk in Munich. He was already in his 80s when he traveled there. “It’s especially important that the young generation should know about this experience of the Jewish people.”
Bialowitz wrote a book on his experiences called A Promise at Sobibor, and was a popular speaker who told his story again and again at Chabad centers around the world. He was the last survivor of Sobibor.
Rabbi Shalom Stambler, director Chabad Lubavitch of Poland in Warsaw, often hosted Bialowitz in Poland, and recalled that he was “the perfect example of a real, happy, living Jew.”
“Whenever he was with us for Shabbat meals, he would sing the words from the famous cantorial piece, ‘Have mercy L‑rd our G‑d, have mercy on the people of Israel,’ ” recalled Stambler. “Hearing this from such a man—with all he went through—in his angelic voice would leave us all in tears.”
“He was so alive,” continued the rabbi. “He would meet with anyone who asked and get involved in every initiative, and each time he would find the right words to fit the group he was speaking to. He wanted to visit every Chabad in the world to share his story. He was so proud of the fact that one of his daughters was an Orthodox Jew living in Israel, blessed with a large family.”
Bialowitz once said: “We must fight genocide and eliminate discrimination today. Unfortunately, the world has not learned the lesson of evil; the world is still profoundly broken. I hope we can succeed to build a better world, one without genocide.”
Bialowitz, who was laid to rest in New York, is survived by his four children.
“We all made a promise that whoever survived the revolt would share the story.” (Photo: Clifford Lester/www.cliffordlester.com)© Copyright 2016, all rights reserved.
Chabad.org Magazine - Editor: Yanki Tauber
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