Story: IN THE ROOM OF THE REBBE IN WARSAW 65 YEARS AGO

IN THE ROOM OF THE REBBE IN WARSAW 65 YEARS AGO

It has become my custom, to distribute this story annually, in time for the fifth night of Chanukah.

IN THE ROOM OF THE REBBE IN WARSAW 65 YEARS AGO
(As told by Reb Moshe Chaim Greenwald – NY –

The story was released shortly following Gimmel Tammuz.)
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My father, Reb Avrohom Tzvi Greenwald Z"L (of blessed memory), was bornin Lodz, Poland. At the young age of 8 years, he was orphaned from hisfather. His mother was left with 7 little orphans, and was very worriedabout raising her oldest son.

She sent him to her cousin, Reb MenachemZiemba ZT"L (May Hashem avenge his holy blood).

Reb Menachem Ziemba raised my father with great devotion; and understandably worried about my father's learning, and even personally learned with him.

My father was almost 17 years old, when the "great wedding" took placein Warsaw in 1927. This was the wedding of the daughter of theprevious Rebbe to the Rebbe. My father always used to talk about thewedding in itself, and about all the great leaders of that generationwho had attended.

My father also used to tell us, how he merited meeting the young groom, the Rebbe personally.

How did my father get to meet with the groom?My father, who was then a young boy of almost 17 years, went to thewedding with his relative and teacher Reb Menachem Ziemba.

The dayafter the wedding, Rabbi Ziemba told my father, that he would like to go visit the groom at the hotel, where he was staying. He also invitedmy father to escort him, if he was interested. Of course, my father agreed, and together they went to meet the groom.

My father could not remember the entire conversation which took placebetween the Rebbe and Rabbi Ziemba, but he remembered well the words,the parting words of the Rebbe.

The Rebbe faced them and said, "There are several days left to Chanukah - do you know why on the night thatwe light the 5th candle there is joy and happiness in the "Shtiblach" (small Chassidic synagogues)?"

My father didn't know what to answer, and remembers how Rabbi Ziemba looked at the Rebbe intently waiting for his answer. The Rebbe then faced my father and said, "The fifth night symbolizes the greatest darkness, because this day can never fall on a Shabbos.

Therefore, the fifth candle can even illuminate the greatest darkness. Therefore, the power contained in the light of Chanukah expresses itself mostly on the fifth night of Chanukah, which symbolizes darkness. And this is the job of every Jew in every place; whether in Warsaw or London to illuminate the darkest spot."

As I already mentioned, my father could not recall what details werediscussed between Rabbi Ziemba and the Rebbe, but he will never forgethow the whole Talmud was traversed by these two great men.

When theyleft the hotel, - my father recalled - Rabbi Ziemba was in awe of thegroom, the REBBE, and for many days thereafter, did not stop talking about his conversation with the Rebbe.
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Almost 20 years later, my father lived through the atrocities of the war, first in the ghettos and then in the concentration camp. His wife and five children were slaughtered in front of his eyes. When the war was finally over, he was left alive thank G-d, but was broken in body and spirit.

For the next two years, he went from camp to camp, in search of anyfamily members who might have remained alive. This was in vain, as allhis family members were killed, by the accursed Nazis.

In the year 1948, my father traveled to the United States to visit hisuncle, an Amshinover Chassid, (Reb Moshe Chaim Greenwald), who hadmoved there before the war. His uncle tried to put my father back onhis feet, since he was broken physically and spiritually from all that he had encountered in Europe.

Under pressure from his uncle, my father remarried my mother OB"M,also a war survivor. My mother was born in Kharkov to a prominent Alexander Chassid, Reb Zusia Shimkevitz. She and her sister were saved right at the outset of the war, when they escaped to Canada. There they were raised by an uncle, Reb Kopel Schwartz from Toronto.

Before their wedding, Reb Kopel took my father to a Yechidus with theprevious Rebbe for a blessing. My father told me, how much the previousRebbe had changed, since his daughter's wedding to the Rebbe in Warsaw. (It was very difficult to understand the speech of the previous Rebbe,and the previous Rebbe was saying.)

Reb Kopel told the previous Rebbe, that my father was a sole survivorof the the war. A stream of tears poured from the holy eyes of theprevious Rebbe, as he blessed my father with a good life and long years. Before my father left the room, he mentioned to the previous Rebbe, that he was at the great wedding in Warsaw.

The previous Rebbe'seyes lit up and he said, "My son-in-law is in the other room, so go inand give him Shalom."Reb Kopel and my father walked down together to the room of the Rebbe.They knocked on his door, and when they entered, they told the Rebbe, that the previous Rebbe has sent them to him.

My father was really surprised that the Rebbe recognized him. The Rebbe then asked my father, for a description of the last days of the life of Reb Menachem Ziemba, who was killed in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

After my father told the Rebbe all he knew about the days of Rabbi Ziemba, the Rebbe said, "Since my father-in-law sent you to me, I feel obligated to tell you a Dvar Torah. As we are now in the month of Kislev I will tell you something pertaining to Chanukah." The Rebbe then continued, "Do you know, why on the night that we light the fifth Chanukah candle, there is such great joy amongst Chassidim?

"The Rebbe then answered the question himself saying, "The joy of the 5th night is so immense, because that night cannot fall out on Shabbos.Therefore the strength of the light of the candles gives forth the, most light on this night. This is then the role of any Jew, whether he finds himself in New York or London, it is his responsibility to illuminate the darkest spot.

"There is no need to say, how shocked my father was to hear these same words, that he had heard from the Rebbe 20 years earlier. These werethe exact words that the Rebbe, then the groom, had said 20 years agoin the hotel in Warsaw.
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After his wedding, my father began teaching in Adas Yisroel inWashington Heights, NY. There, my sister and I were born. When I was 5years old, we moved to Toronto to live near my grandfather, Reb KopelSchwartz. My father continued his teaching career in Toronto.

During our years in Toronto, my father became a Satmar Chassid, butsent us to learn in the well-known Yeshiva of Nitra. Even though my father's way of life, was similar to the system ofSatmar, he never spoke a negative word about Lubavitch. On the contrary, he always wanted his children to know about Lubavitch.
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In the year 1969, I got married. My father said, that even though we didn't stem from Lubavitcher Chassidim, he would like me to go to the Lubavitcher Rebbe for a blessing, just as he had done before hiswedding. It was 20 years since my father had last seen the Rebbe, andfelt a great desire to see again.

I agreed full-heartedly, but was told, that it was not that simple togain entry to the Rebbe. After explaining that we could not wait formonths for an audience with the Rebbe, (since I wanted to get ablessing from the Rebbe before my wedding), we were granted permissionto see the Rebbe, but just for a blessing, and of course we were notto hold the Rebbe up with any other matters.

We left Toronto to meet with the Rebbe on our designated day.

I don't recall the exact time we finally entered the room of theRebbe, but I do remember, that it was during the very early morninghours. This was the first time I saw the holy face of the Rebbe. My father gave the Rebbe a note, with my name and my bride's name, and asked the Rebbe to give us his blessing.

The Rebbe took the note, and even PRIOR to opening it said, "20 years;it's high time, especially since my father-in-law had sent you tome…"My father stood shocked, not able to answer the Rebbe.

At this point, The Rebbe then unfolded the note, and gave his blessing. He thenturned to my father and said, "Just like you rejoiced at my wedding, may Hashem give you the strength, to be at your grandchild's wedding.

"My father's eyes streamed with tears of emotion, since he had suffered much torture in the past, and was now blessed with such fortune. Before we turned to go, my father asked the Rebbe if he could ask aquick question.

To this the Rebbe answered, "Since the previous Rebbe,my father-in-law, sent you to me, I will answer any question you mayhave. "Again they heard a further knock on the door; however the Rebbe motioned us, to ignore the persistent knocking. My father faced the Rebbe and said, "For various reasons I have lived amongst the Satmar Chassidim.

From some of them, I have heard severalcomplaints against Lubavitch. Of course, I never believed what I have heard. Nevertheless, I have one question regarding the work of Lubavitch.

There is a well-known verse of 'The Enemies of Hashem, I should dislike.' How is it, that Lubavitch goes into the midst of these people, who are against Hashem?"

The Rebbe faced my father and said, "What would a zealous neighbor ofyours do, if G-d forbid his daughter strayed from the proper path oflife? Would he help her, or would he say 'The enemies of Hashem Ishould dislike,' and 'It is forbidden to associate with wicked people', and therefore distance himself from her, and not want to show her friendship?"

The Rebbe did not wait for an answer, and immediately continued: "This zealot would certainly answer that this case is different, since we are dealing with HIS daughter, since there is a verse that states, 'you should not turn a blind eye to your flesh'".

At this juncture the Rebbe's face took on a serious look, and he closed his eyes, and banged on the table and said: "As far as the Almighty is concerned, EVERY Jew is as dear to HIM, as his only son. As far as theRebbe my father-in-law is concerned, the concept of "not turning a blind eye to one's flesh,' applies to EVERY YID.

"My father apologized profusely, for asking such a question, but he justwanted to understand the system, that the Rebbe had implemented, in order that he would be better able to explain it to others.
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Following this, the Rebbe looked at me and my father OB"M, with apenetrating look and said: "And we will conclude with a blessing. Asis well-known, it has been the custom of Chassidim to celebrate the5th night of Chanukah. What is the reason?

The 5th night of Chanukah cannot fall out on a Shabbos (Sabbath), therefore it symbolizes the greatest darkness the power of the light of Chanukah illuminates the greatest darkness. This is the job of every Jew whether he is in Toronto or London.

Every Jew has a part from Above in him and it ishis duty to awaken a Jew who is in the darkest situation."My father was so shocked to hear these words, that he didn't hear therest of the Blessing of the Rebbe. He didn't even remember leaving theRebbe's room.

The whole way back to Toronto my father whispered these same words over and over, "Very strange, very strange indeed."
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Another twenty years passed. In the year 1978, my younger brother was getting married in London. My entire family, including my parents, sister, brother-in-law and myself all traveled to London for his wedding.

On the way to London, I noticed that my father was perturbed by something. I asked my father what was bothering him, but he wouldn't tell me. Finally after pestering him several times, he told me the following: Several minutes before my father left the house in Toronto, his neighbor came into him crying uncontrollably.

He told my father not to tell anyone a secret that he was going to entrust to my father. He then commenced telling him his secret. He told my father how his daughter left the path of Yiddishkeit (Jewish way of life).

They did not realize how bad it was, until two weeks ago when they received the tragic news, that she ran off to London with a "Goy" (gentile).

All his relatives in London had tried to help, and bring her back to her religion, but all efforts were in vain. He then asked my father, who was going to London, to see if he could possibly help, and do something to bring her back.

My father who was a close friend of this neighbor, was terribly shaken by this story. I was also distraught, and began thinking about what we could possibly do, about this situation in London.
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The wedding passed propitiously and with great success, and on thefirst night of Sheva Brochos, (seven days of rejoicing with the bride and groom), my father turned to the bride's father, and told him the story of his neighbor's daughter. He asked if perhaps, he could help my father contact somebody, who could help them.

When the bride's father heard the story he said, "I know someone amongst the London Lubavitcher Chassidim, to whom the Rebbe hadpersonally sent on several missions. His name is Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchok Glick, and if there is anyone who can help, it's Rabbi Glick.

He has already helped many people throughout Europe, who have strayedfrom Judaism."The bride's father called Rabbi Glick that same night, and told him thetragic story. Rabbi Glick called Toronto, to get some more information in order to give him a hint as to where to start looking. Rabbi Glick then gave his word, that he would do all he could, to help.
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I don't know where Rabbi Glick looked, or where he went, or who heasked, but one night, (my parents stayed in London for 12 days, untilafter Chanukah), Rabbi Glick called the bride's father, to come to hishouse urgently, because he had a real surprise.

The bride's father called my father, and they quickly went to see RabbiGlick. As they walked into his apartment, they saw a girl sitting in the living room crying bitterly. At the door of the living room there, was a lit Menorah.

As soon as my father saw the Menorah lit with 5 candles, he felt faint.He remembered the words, that the Lubavitcher Rebbe had told him 50years ago, 30 years ago, and again 20 years ago: "The fifth night ofChanukah symbolizes the power of the Menorah.

It is the job of every Jew to illuminate the darkest spot, whether in Warsaw or LONDON, inNew York or LONDON, in Toronto or LONDON.

What would that zealous neighbor do, if his daughter strayed from her religion? For the Al-mighty, every Jew is like an only child. For the Rebbe every Jew ispart of his own flesh, that he cannot turn a blind eye to." ____________
There is no need to say, that this young girl returned from her wrong-doings. There is also no need to say, that from that day on this "zealous neighbor," stopped speaking against Lubavitch.
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When my father returned to Canada, he felt a strong desire to see theRebbe again. But by this time, it was very difficult to get a private audience with the Rebbe.

In 1980, the following October, my father succeeded in having a private audience with the Rebbe, along with all the guests who came for the Holidays.

My father told me, how when he finally got into the Rebbe, he could not speak, and burst out crying, as a result of great emotion. The Rebbe heard only several sentences from my father. The Rebbe then faced my father and said, "My father-in-law, the previous Rebbe (who sent you to me in Warsaw), had a far-reaching look."
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Every time my father retold this story, he could not get over the wondrous miracle of the Rebbe. Fifty years ago when he was a bridegroom, the Rebbe saw what would happen 50 years later. But even more so, he could not come to terms with the modesty of the Rebbe, who said with such simplicity, "My father-in-law had a far-reaching look. ___________
The chain of miracles did not end there:

On the 15th day of Kislev, 1989, the moment the last Sheva Brochos of my daughter ended, (the Rebbe had blessed my father, with a long life, and to live to see the wedding of his grandchild), which was exactly 60 years, since the great wedding of the Rebbe in Warsaw; that same day, my father returned his soul to it's Maker.

A letter from Moses Seixas to President George Washington

A letter from Moses Seixas to President George Washington

During a visit to Newport, R.I., in 1790, a year before the Bill of Rights was ratified; the then President George Washington, received a letter from Moses Seixas, warden of the Touro Synagogue.

Below is the transcript of the letter and its reply.
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To the President of the United States of America.
Sir:

Permit the children of the stock of Abraham, to approach you with the most cordial affection, and esteem, for your person and merits — and to join with our fellow citizens, in welcoming you to NewPort.

With pleasure we reflect on those days — those days of difficulty, and danger, when the G-d of Israel, who delivered David from the peril of the sword, — shielded Your head in the day of battle: — and we rejoice to think, that the same Spirit, who rested in the Bosom, of the greatly beloved Daniel, enabling him to preside over the Provinces of the Babylonish Empire; rests and ever will rest, upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of Chief Magistrate in these States.

Deprived as we heretofore have been, of the invaluable rights of free Citizens, we now, with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty, disposer of all events, behold a Government, erected by the Majesty of the People — a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance — but generously affording to all Liberty of conscience, and immunities of Citizenship: — deeming every one, of whatever Nation, tongue, or language, equal parts of the great governmental Machine: —

This so ample and extensive Federal Union, whose basis is Philanthropy, Mutual confidence and Public Virtue; we cannot but acknowledge, to be the work of the Great G-d, who ruleth in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, doing whatever seemeth him good.

For all these Blessings, of civil and religious liberty, which we enjoy under an equal benign administration, we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient of Days, the great preserver of Men — beseeching him, that the Angel who conducted our forefathers through the wilderness, into the promised Land, may graciously conduct you, through all the difficulties and dangers of this mortal life:

— And, when like Joshua, full of days and full of honour, you are gathered to your Fathers, may you be admitted into the Heavenly Paradise, to partake of the water of life, and the tree of immortality.
Done and Signed, by order of the Hebrew Congregation, in NewPort, Rhode Island, August 17th 1790.
Moses Seixas, Warden
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The letter from George Washington in response to Moses Seixas
To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport Rhode Island.

Gentlemen,
While I receive, with much satisfaction, your Address, replete with expressions of affection and esteem; I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you, that I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced, in my visit to Newport, from all classes of Citizens.

The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger, which are past, is rendered the more sweet, from a consciousness, that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good

Government, to become a great and happy people.
The Citizens of the United States of America, have a right to applaud themselves, for having given to mankind, examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation.

All possess alike, liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more, that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent national gifts.

For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance; requires only, that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions, their effectual support.

It would be inconsistent, with the frankness of my character, not to avow, that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my Administration, and fervent wishes for my felicity.

May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety, under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.

May the father of all mercies, scatter light and not darkness in our paths; and make us all, in our several vocations, useful here; and in his own due time and way, everlastingly happy.
G. Washington
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This work published before January 1, 1923, therefore it is in the public domain worldwide, because the author died at least 100 years ago.

From Mexican priest to Rabbi- The Soul Connection

12-06-09

Rabbi Yehudah Peretz, Shlita explains: It's not that I'm a Tzaddik (righteous person), that I merited to convert to Judaism; it's more, that in my previous life, I ruined so much.

After my conversion to Judaism, it led me to the autistic Ben Golding. After meeting with Ben, I asked Rav Kanievsky Shlita, if he approves of the facilitated communication with the autistic, and if I'm permitted to distribute my story. The Rav answered, "Yes, distribute it, and know that it's a Mitzvah".
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When my wife, Roni (an Israel-born Jew), and I, went to Ben for the first time, he told us extraordinary things. Roni asked Ben, why she needed to marry a convert, and not a regular Jew. Ben answered her, that it was her, that requested and pleaded for it.

Not understanding Ben's answer, Roni asked Ben to explain. Ben told us, that we were a married couple in our previous lives, right before the Holocaust.
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When Roni met her future husband, Rav Yehudah, for the first time, she was not religious, and was not looking to marry a convert. On their first date, she felt she knew this person from some place, but she did not know from where.

She was certain, that she never met him before, since he grew up in Mexico; and their worlds were as different, as day and night. She was an Israeli born Jewess, and he was a non-Jewish Mexican priest.

“As time when by, and Roni got to know me better, we both felt very emotionally involved, deep in our souls.”

Both my wife and I, feel very connected, to what Ben revealed to us. I never had inner peace as a non-Jew, and my wife Roni, never felt connected to her family.

She has more of Ashkenazi mentality, though she was born into a Moroccan family. When I met her, she was a student in Bar Ilan University, and not religious.

Today we B”H both did Teshuva, and we have 6 children, and live in Kiryat Sefer.
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Ben revealed to the couple, that they were a married couple in their previous lives, and lived in Europe. They both came from Orthodox families, and when they married, they completely abandoned Judaism.

Together they joined the university, and with their many friends, went to the opera, and continuously searched for materialistic contentment. Both caused much pain to their parents, such an extent, that both parents sat Shiva (mourning) for them.

Ben said, that it was Roni whom influenced her husband and others, to seek worldly pleasures.When World War II began, both were murdered in the holocaust.

Before dying, Roni had many misgivings, for all the sins she committed. And at the last minute before her death, she did Teshuva. But Rav Yehudah, did not have the time to do Teshuva, before dying.
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Ben also told them, what happened in the Heavenly court:
Because of their sins, the Heavenly court decided, that Rav Yehudah's punishment was, to reincarnate as a non-Jew; and would need to make a great effort, to return to Judaism.

For Roni it was ruled, that she would return to earth, to correct her past sins’ but because she did Teshuva at the last second, Roni was permitted to return as a Jewess.

When Roni heard her husband's strict punishment, she begged and cried to the Heavenly court, that they grant her permission, to meet with her reincarnated husband, in order to help him convert into a Jew.

When Ben revealed all this, Roni began crying excitedly, because she felt, he was saying the truth.

Now

Anonymous

It’s here, we have entered 5770.
Put away the newspapers and the radio; the television and the online updates. Get real, drop all the trappings of exile, and start walking, start running– to Geulah!

Big things are going to happen, big changes. It is all for the good, it is all from G-d Almighty’s love, for his “only child” Israel.
Moshiach is here, it’s only a matter of time…
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These are “pregnant times”, we are preparing for lift-off.
Every moment counts. Pack your bags, with Torah and Mitzvot, and help others to do the same. Fill your moments, with sincere Tefillah, words of Tehillim, study Chassidus. Fill the air with holiness. These are the weapons of the future: Torah and Mitzvot and Tefillot. Fill the arsenal now, do them today!

We are rapidly approaching, the elevation of the worlds,the elevation of Malchut. Eyes will be opened, and our perception will be beyond words. Then we will understand, all the prophecies.

Don’t squander these last days. Recite words of Torah, while you sit at your desk. Tell the person next to you, about Mashiach,–his soul already knows all about it.
Tell him, that it is 5770!
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The darkness will cease, the exile will cease; and the children of Israel, will return home. Goodbye, to this dusty rock; this dusty lower world, of shells/klipah. Arise shake of the dust!
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This is the end, of the Jewish presence, in this dark, hard, cold world.
We will ascend (each and every member of the Jewish nation) to the state of GEULAH. To the true, supernal Land, of Israel.
Smile, and finish your mission!
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Mumps

Many of the cases in the current outbreak, have occurred in children, who had previously received 2 doses of the vaccine.

This obviously raises questions, about the effectiveness of the mumps vaccine currently in use, against the strain currently circulating.

What is mumps? Mumps is a highly contagious viral illness, spread by droplets.

(i.e. the tiny droplets of saliva, and other respiratory secretions, that are exchanged when people are close to one another).What is the incubation period for mumps?

The incubation period of mumps is a long one, extending from 2-3 weeks.
That means, that a person exposed to mumps, will not present with the illness, until 2-3 weeks later.

The infectious period of mumps begins 2-3 days prior to the onset of symptoms, and extends for at least 5 days after the onset of symptoms.What are the symptoms of mumps?

Most symptoms begin, with mild non-specific symptoms such as headache and fatigue, during which time the infected individual is contagious.

They might then progress to the clinical illness of mumps, which is often mild involving swelling of the salivary glands (the glands that make saliva), located in front of and below the ear.

Other salivary glands, under the jaw may also be involved.

The swelling may be on one or both sides, and is commonly associated with pain during eating; particularly food stuffs, that stimulate the flow of saliva such as citrus. The illness usually lasts up to a week, and gets better spontaneously.

Are there complications from mumps?About 10-15% of all those infected with mumps may, G-d forbid, develop complications such as: severe headache, inflammation of the gonads (testicles or ovaries) and less frequently damage to the hearing apparatus, and inflammation of the pancreas.

Although most of the complications do resolve without consequence, rarely, there is long-lasting damage to the affected organ(s).

Sugar

Too much sugar (and white flour) in the diet, is the biggest nutritional mistake people make. I include white flour because of its ability to change to glucose (sugar) rapidly.

1 tsp of sugar will depress the natural killer cell activity of the white blood cells by 50% for 2 days. (“Lick the Sugar Habit” by Nancay Appleton).

There are also other immune factors that sugar inhibits so this is VERY IMPORTANT!It is important to read labels on all your food.

You MUST read the fine print to look for added sugar. Many foods and drinks have naturally occurring sugar that is included in the Nutrition Facts box on labels. This sugar is not harmful.If a product has high fructose corn syrup, it is especially bad for your immune system.

This means that having a lot of sugar seems normal to most people. You may not even realize how much sugar you are eating.

I would suggest keeping a diary for one day to see what you are really eating.Many health care professionals feel this is a contributing factor to chronic diseases as well as acute illnesses such as the flu.

It is OK to have a little sugar in the diet but if you are ill, or going somewhere you are likely to be in contact with people that are ill, it is best to eat a healthy diet. A simple healthy diet is one with lots of vegetables, whole fruits, whole grains, a protein with every meal; and only a few boxed, processed foods.
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Friction is the most important part of good hand washing. This makes soap and water a much better choice then antibacterial cleansers or towels.

PUSH

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin, when suddenly his room filled with light. G-d appeared and told the man, that He had work for him to do. G-d showed him a large rock in front of his cabin, and explained, that the man was to push against the rock, with all his might...

So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sundown; his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!

Each night, the man returned to his cabin, sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
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Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture, by placing thoughts into the weary mind:
"You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved."

He gave the man the impression, that the task was impossible, and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened, the man. The Yetzer Hora said, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough."
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That's what the weary man planned to do; but decided to make it a matter of prayer, and to take his troubled thoughts to the One Above."G-d, I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting all my strength, to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter.

What is wrong, why am I failing?"G-d responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you, that your task was, to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.

Never once did I mention to you, that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.

But, is that really so? Look at yourself, your arms are strong and muscled, your back brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition, you have grown much; and your abilities now surpass that, which you used to have.

True, you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient, and to push and to exercise your faith and trust, in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, will move the rock."
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At times, when we hear a word from G-d, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants; when actually what He wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.

Although, no one can go back, and make and change the past; anyone can start from now on, and make a brand new beginning."

The Silent Majority

The hard, quantifiable fact is, that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died,

because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points.

“Rather Cut Off My Hand, but Don't Touch My Beard"

I merited hearing the following story from the grandson of the Kapischnitzer Rebbe zt’l (R’ Avrohom Yehoshua Heschel, 1888-1967), who heard it directly from his grandfather.

[It was recently published in “Heroes of Spirit – 100 Rabbinic Tales of the Holocaust” by Rabbi Dovid Hoffman (Israel Bookshop, 2009), pg. 320].
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The Kapischnitzer Rebbe zt’l was one of the most widely respected and beloved Torah leaders of our times*. With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Rebbe fled with his family to Vienna.

When Jewish life was shattered by the German occupation of Vienna, the Rebbe was seized, and forced to clean the streets, to the amusement of the jeering Germans.

On one occasion, in an attempt to humiliate the Rebbe, the Germans sent one of their offices with a scissors, to cut off his beard. The Rebbe promptly stuck out his hand and told the officer, “Rather cut off my hand, but don’t touch my beard.” The German, startled by the Rebbe’s courage, miraculously left without carrying out his evil orders.

[ The Kapischnitzer Rebbe won the respect and the esteem of all the gedolim of his era. He was a member of Moetzes Gedolei Torah of Agudas Yisroel, and founding member of Chinuch Atzmai.

The Ponovezer Rov, R’ Yosef Kahanaman zt’l, would often say, that from the day the Chofetz Chaim was niftar, he hadn't had a Rebbe, until he met the Kapischnitzer Rebbe.]
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Throughout Jewish history, Jews were moser nefesh not to cut their beards. An entire chapter in sefer Hadras Ponim Zokon (Part II, Chapter 14), features documented, amazing incidents regarding Jews of all backgrounds, who risked their lives and livelihoods, rather than cut their beards -- including under Nazi persecution during World War II, and under Communist persecution in Russia.

“Jews considered the beard, as ‘an organ, on which the soul depends’....

The possibility of living without a hand or a foot, was more acceptable, [even to a simple Jew], than the possibility of living without a beard. (Imrei Simchah, Vol. I, p. 310).
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For a comprehensive treatment, regarding the cutting and growth of the beard, in Jewish law, please see sefer Hadras Ponim - Zokon

[A third, greatly expanded edition (1,024 pages), is now available at Seforim stores].

The sefer may also be purchased on-line at:
http://store.kehotonline.com/index.php?stocknumber=HL-HADR&deptid=&parentid=&page=1&itemsperpage=10

or (for the deluxe edition) at:

http://store.kehotonline.com/index.php?stocknumber=HL-HADR.D&deptid=&parentid=&page=1&itemsperpage=10

Rabbi Moshe Wienerm.wiener@jccgci.org

Colonel Kemp and anti-Israel rhetoric

During the one-sided debate, at the United Nations Human Rights Council, regarding the Goldstone Report in Geneva, Switzerland; the anti-Israel rhetoric and condemnations of the Jewish State, were momentarily halted, during a heartfelt and honest assessment of the situation, by Colonel Richard Kemp.

Colonel Kemp, (a well-respected military personality, who is the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan); immediately captured the attention of the people in attendance, by unequivocally stating at the outset of his remarks that:
“during Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone, that any other army in the history of warfare.”

According to Colonel Kemp, “the civilian casualties were a consequence, of Hamas’ way of fighting.”
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To view a video of Colonel Richard Kemp’s speech, to the United Nations Human Rights Council; or to read a transcript of his remarks, click here:

http://www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1313923&ct=7536409

Israel look up / Rabbi Adin Even-Yisrael (Steinsaltz)

10-18-09

"Israel is in a difficult position. We try to move to the right, and the way is blocked. We try to move to the left, and the way is blocked. We try to go forward, but we cannot. We are surrounded and blocked on every side.

There is one direction, however, that is not closed: upward!

That route is still open, and it is the way we should try to move. We should do this, not as a statement or a slogan; but to propel us, toward a different way of life."

A G-dly Beginning/ Rabbi A. Moss

Question:
Recently my son and I, were talking about the origins of humankind.

He said, that he was offended by the belief, that man had descended from the ape family; and was adamant, that we all came from Adam and Eve.

I, on the other hand believe, Darwin's theory to be a more reasonable explanation of our evolution.

As this discussion can go round in circles, are you able to shed some light, on this age old topic?
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Answer:

An elderly Rabbi was once on an airplane to Israel, sitting next to a self-professed atheist. They were amicably chatting, the whole trip.

Every now and then, the Rabbi's grandchild, sitting in another row, would come over to him, bringing him a drink; or asking if he could get anything to make him more comfortable.

After this happened several times, the atheist sighed, "I wish my grandchildren would treat me with such respect. They hardly even say hello to me. What's your secret?"

The Rabbi replied, "Think about it. To my grandchildren, I am two generations closer to Adam and Eve, the people made by the hand of G-d. So they look up to me.

But according to the philosophy which you teach your grandchildren, you are two generations closer to being an ape. So why should they look up to you?"
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Beliefs have consequences. Why do you think children today lack respect and are unable to honor their elders? Why is tradition looked down upon, and the values of the past all but forgotten? Is it not a natural consequence of modern education?

If we teach our children, that they are merely advanced animals, then they will act that way. And they will treat their parents and teachers, like the obsolete versions of humanity, that they are.

We have to be aware, of the affects of our beliefs. If we believe that humans came about by accident, then life has no meaning. There can be no meaning to something, that happens by chance.

A random explosion or mutation, cannot give us purpose. My life, your life, and all human history, has no real significance whatsoever. Whether I live a good life, or one full of evil, makes no difference. It is all a big accident anyway.

We only have purpose, if we were created on purpose. Our lives only have meaning, if we were created by a meaningful being. If we teach our children, that they were created on purpose, with a purpose; then they will know, that more is expected from them, than from an animal.

The Adam and Eve story needs to be taught; not just because it is true, but because it is the basis of morality.
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Both creationism and Darwinism have ramifications . To accept that G-d created man and woman, has ramifications.

To accept that a single-celled organism spontaneously mutated billions, of times to form the human being, also has ramifications. But only one of these beliefs demands, that we live a moral life. That's the one I want my kids, to know about.

Victor Frankl- World-famous Psychiatrist and The Lubavitcher Rebbe

This is a story about a Jewish girl, (who became an opera singer, performing in front of Adolf Hitler); The Lubavitcher Rebbe; and Victor Frankl, a world-famous psychiatrist; – and how their three lives converged.
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It was a strange phenomenon. The famed professor Victor Frankl, author of the perennial best-seller Man's Search for Meaning, and founder of Logotherapy, would send a check each year to Chabad of Vienna, before the High Holidays.

Nobody in the Chabad center or in the Jewish community, understand why. Here was a man, who was not affiliated in any fashion with the Jewish community of Vienna. He did not even attend synagogue on Yom Kippur. He was married to a very religious Catholic woman. He is not even buried in the Jewish cemetery in Vienna . Yet, he would not miss a single year, of sending a contribution to Chabad before Yom Kippur.
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The enigma was answered only in 1992.

Margareta Chajes walked into the office of my colleague, Rabbi Jacob Biederman, the ambassador of Chabad to Austria. Rabbi Biederman built the magnificent “Lauder Campus” in Vienna; creating a Jewish renaissance in Austria, (the country which gave birth, to the greatest monster in Jewish and human history, Adolf Hitler (yemach shemo)).

Margareta, an 85 year old woman, was dressed very classy, and looked youthful and energetic. She told Rabbi Biederman: “I know you think you are the first Shliach, (emissary, of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) to Vienna; but that is not the case. I have served as the first ambassador of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to the city, many years before you.”

In the 1930’s Margareta was a young Jewish opera singer in Vienna. She even performed at the Saltzburg Opera Festival, in 1939, in the presence of Hitler himself. She escaped to the US, but lost her family in the Holocaust. Years later, she paid a visit to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who she said, became like a father figure to her.
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From the Chassidim to the Opera

She began to relate her story. Margareta’s maiden family name was Hager; she was an heir to the famed Chassidic Hager family; producing the Rebbe’s and leaders; of the Vishnitz Chassidic group.

As a young girl, she left home. The lifestyle and belief system of her parents, did not inspire her. She traveled to the cultural center of the world, Vienna; where Margareta Hager, a granddaughter of the Vishnitzer Chassidic Rebbes, became an opera singer.

Margareta performed during the 1930’s in the Salzburger Festspiele (pronounced: Fest Shpile) -- The Salzburg Festival. A prominent festival of music and drama, held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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On 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Salzburg. The Anschluss (the annexation of Austria by Germany) was now complete. Nazi ideology immediately began to affect the Salzburg Festival. All Jewish artists were banned; the leading Jewish conductors and composers, were “deleted.” Yet Margareta Chajes, was still performing.

For the Festspiele in August 1939, Hitler himself made an appearance at two Mozart operas. He did not know, that one of the young women singing so majestically, was a young Jewess, a scion of a Chassidic family, Margareta Chajes.

Shortly thereafter, the general management made a surprise announcement, that the Festival would terminate on August 31, a week ahead of the scheduled finale, on 8 September. The reason was, supposedly, that the Vienna Philharmonic was required, to perform at the Nuremberg Party Convention.

But the Germans were cruel liars.
The true reason became apparent on September 1, when the German army invaded Poland, and unleashed the Second World War (exactly 70 years ago) which exterminated a third of our people, including much of Margareta’s family.
_____________
On the very night after her performance at the Salzburg Festspiele, close friends smuggled her out of Germany to Italy. From there, she managed to embark on the last boat to the US; before the war broke out, just a few days later.

Margareta settled in Detroit, where she married a fine Jewish young man, with the family name Chajes (a grandson, of one of the most famous 19th century Polish Rabbis and Talmudic commentator, the Maharatz Chayos). And they gave birth to a beautiful daughter.
___________
Fast forward the tape recorder of history. It is now many years after the war. Jews were rebuilding their lives and their careers. The Rabbis were rebuilding their communities. But one Rabbi was thinking of, not just of his own community.

The daughter of Margareta, married a prominent Jewish doctor; who was honored by the dinner of a Chabad institution in the US. And his mother-in-law, Margareta, acquired an audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Related Margareta to Rabbi Biederman: “I walked into the Rebbe’s room. I cannot explain why, but suddenly, for the first time since the Holocaust, I felt that I could cry.

I, like so many other survivors who have lost entire families, never cried before. We knew, that if we would start crying, we might never stop; or that, in order to survive, we can’t express our emotions.

But at that moment, it was a though the dam obstructing my inner waterfall of tears, was removed. I began sobbing like a baby. I shared with the Rebbe my entire story: Innocent childhood; leaving home; becoming a star in Vienna; performing in front of Hitler; escaping to the US; learning of the death of my closest kin...

The Rebbe listened, but not only with his ears. He listened with his: eyes, his heart, his soul, and he took it all in. I shared everything, and he absorbed everything. That night, I felt like I was given a second father. I felt that the Rebbe adopted me as his daughter.”
____________
“At the end of my meeting with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, I expressed my strong desire to go back and visit Vienna. The Rebbe requested from me, that before I make the trip, I visit him again.”

“A short while later, en route to Vienna, I visited the Rebbe. He asked me for a favor: to visit two people during my stay in the city.

The first was Viennese Chief Rabbi Akiva Eisenberg, and give him regards from the Rebbe (the Rebbe said, that his secretariat would give me, the details and literature, to give to Rabbi Eisenberg.)

The second person he wanted me to visit, I would have to look up myself. The Rebbe said, that he was a professor at the University of Vienna, and his name was Dr. Victor Frankl.”

The Lubavitcher Rebbe said to me: “Send Dr. Frankl my regards, and tell him in my name, that he should not give up. He must remain strong, and continue his work with vigor and passion. If he continues to remain strong, he will prevail.”

The Rebbe spoke for a long time (using the German dialect, so Margareta would understand), about the messages he wished to convey to Dr. Frankl.
___________
Close to forty years later, she did not recall all of the details, but the primary point was, that Frankl should never give up, and he should keep on working to achieve his goals, with unflinching courage and determination.

I didn’t understand a word the Rebbe said. Who was Dr. Frankl? Why was the Rebbe sending him this message? Why through me? I did not have an answer to any of these questions, but I obeyed.
______________
Margareta traveled to Vienna. Her visit with Rabbi Eisenberg was simple, but meeting Victor Frankl, proved far more difficult. When she arrived at the University, they informed her, that the professor has not shown up in two weeks.

There was thus no way that she can meet him. After a few failed attempts to locate him at the University, Margareta gave up.

Yet feeling guilty not to fulfill the Rebbe’s request, she decided to violate Austrian mannerisms. She looked up the professor’s private home address, traveled there.
__________
She found the address, and knocked at the door.
A woman opened the door. “May I see Herr Frankl please?”
“Yes, please wait."

“I saw a room filled with crosses. It was obvious, that this was a Christian home. I thought to myself, that this must be a mistake; this can’t be the person whom the Lubavitcher Rebbe, wanted me to encourage."

But in 1947, Frankl married his second wife -- a very devout Catholic, Eleonore Katharina Schwindt.
__________
Victor Frankl showed up a few moments later. After ascertaining, that he was the professor at the University, she said that she had regards for him.

“He was extremely impatient, and frankly looked quite uninterested. It felt very awkward.”

“I have regards from Rabbi Schneerson in Brooklyn , New York ,” Margareta told him.

“Rabbi Schneerson asked me to tell you in his name, that you must not give up. You ought to remain strong, and continue your work, with unflinching determination, and you will prevail".

Rabbi Schneerson said: “Do not fall into despair. March on with confidence; and I promise, that you will achieve great success.”
____________
Suddenly, the uninterested professor broke down, and began sobbing like a baby. He could not calm down.

I did had no idea what was going on, I just saw him weeping uncontrollably.

Dr. Frankl finally said to me: “Wow, this Rabbi from Brooklyn, knew exactly when to send you here.” He could not thank me enough.
___________
Margareta then completed her tale: “You see Rabbi Biederman,I have been an emissary of the Rebbe to Vienna, many years before you came around.”

Rabbi Biederman was intrigued. Victor Frankl was now 87 years of age, and was an international celebrity. He had written 32 books, which were translated into 30 languages.

His book “Man's Search for Meaning,” has been deemed by the Library of Congress, as being one of the ten most influential books of the 20th century.

What was the secret behind the Rebbe’s message to Victor Frankl?
_________
Rabbi Biederman recalls: “I called him immediately.”
I asked Dr. Frankl: “Do you remember Margarete Chajes?”

“No,” the professor responded. But, he can be forgiven, because more than 40 years had gone by.

“Do you remember a regards she gave you, from Rabbi Schneerson in Brooklyn?”

Suddenly, a change in his voice. Dr. Frankl melted like butter in a frying pan.

“Of course I remember. I will never forget it. My gratitude to Rabbi Schneerson is eternal.”
Victor Frankl then began to unveil the “rest of the story.”

This story captures one of the greatest debates of the last 100 years, encapsulates the essence of Jewishness, and reveals to us the secret of Kol Nidrei.
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In the Camps

Victor Frankl was born in 1905, (three years after the Lubavitcher Rebbe) in Vienna. The young Frankl, studied neurology and psychiatry. In 1923 he became one of the inner circle, of one of the most famous Jews of the time, Dr. Sigmund Freud, the "Father of Psychoanalysis," who lived and practiced in Vienna.

The “Final Solution” did not skip over the Frankl family (7). Victor’s mother and father were murdered in Auschwitz; his first Jewish wife, pregnant, was murdered in Bergen Belsen. All of his siblings and relatives, were exterminated.

Professor Frankl was a lone survivor (he had one sister, who emigrated to Australia before the war.) He returned to Vienna, where he taught neurology and psychiatry, at the University of Vienna.
__________
Already before the war, and even more so, during his three years in the Nazi death camps; Victor Frankl developed ideas, which differed radically from Freud.

Yet the entire faculty of his department at the University, consisted of staunch Freudian scholars. Academically, they hunted down Victor Frankl, calling his ideas: “pseudo-science,” and the joke of the century.

This was no small debate. These two Jews, were debating the very meaning of human identity; and Victor Frankl had been advocating a view, extremely alien to the then-dominant Freudian outlook. In a word: A human being has a SOUL; what we Jews call, a Neshamah.

Freud, like most medical schools, emphasized the idea, that all things come down to physiology. The human mind and heart, could be best understood as a "side effect" of brain mechanisms.

Humans are like machines, responding to stimuli from within or from without; a completely physical, predictable and godless machine; albeit a very complicated machine. Creating psychotics, neurotics, and of course psychiatrists.
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Victor Frankl disagreed. He felt, that Freud and his associates reduced the human being, to a mere mechanical creature, depriving him or her of his true essence.

“If Freud were in the concentration camps,” Frankl wrote, "he would have changed his position." Beyond the basic natural drives and instincts of people, he would have encountered the human "capacity for self-transcendence."

"Man is that being, who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being, who entered those chambers upright, with the Shema Yisrael on his lips.”

"We who lived in concentration camps, can remember the men, who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread.

They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof, that everything can be taken from a man, but one thing: The last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

Of course, there are many things about our life we have no control over. But there is a dimension of the human self – the essence of human identity -- which nothing and nobody can control. It is transcendent by its very “nature” – free, uninhibited, wholesome and deeply spiritual.

Never defined by life’s circumstances and limitations, but rather free to define them, to define their meaning and message.

He taught: A person was not a son of his past, but the father of his future.
______________
But in the University in the 40’s and 50’s, they defined Frankl’s ideas, as fanatic religiosity. Raising up all the old, unscientific notions, of conscience, religion and guilt. It was unpopular, for students to attend his courses.

Frankl told Rabbi Biederman: “The situation was horrible. Rabiner Biederman! I could survive the German death camps, but I could not survive the horrific derision of my colleagues at the university, who would not stop taunting me, and undermining my every iota of progress.”

“The pressure against me was so severe, that I decided to give up. It was simply too much to bear emotionally. I was drained, exhausted, depressed. I fell into a melancholy. I was watching all of my life-work fade away, right before my eyes.

Then one day, sitting at home, I began drafting my resignation papers for my University job. In the battle, between Freud and Frankl – Freud would be triumphant. Soul-less-ness, would prove more powerful, than soul-full-ness.
__________
And then suddenly, as I am sitting in my home, depressed, defected, feeling down; in walks a beautiful woman. She gives me regards from a Chassidic master, Rabbi Schneerson from Brooklyn, New York.

His message: “Don’t dare give up! Don’t dare to despair! If you will continue your work, with absolute determination, you will prevail!”
I could not believe my ears.

Somebody in Brooklyn, no less a Chassidic Rebbe, knew about my predicament? And what is more – he cared about my predicament? And what is more – he sent someone to locate me in Vienna, to shower me with courage and inspiration?

"I began to sob. I cried uncontrollably. I was so moved. I felt like a transformed man. That is exactly what I needed to hear. Someone believed in me, in my work, in my contributions; in my ideas about the infinite transcendence, and potential, of the human person; and in my ability to prevail.

“That very moment, I knew that I would not surrender. I tore up my resignation papers. New vitality was blown into me, I was confident, secure, and motivated.”
_____________
“Indeed, a few months later, I was given a chair at the University!"

And a short while later, Frankl’s magnum opus “Man's Search for Meaning,” was translated into English.

It became not only an ongoing bestseller to this very day; but has been deemed as one of the 10 most influential books, of the 20th century.
____________
Then professor Frankl’s career began to soar. The once-scoffed-at professor, became one of the most celebrated psychiatrists of a generation. “Man’s Search for Meaning,” has been translated into 28 languages, and has sold over 10 million copies, during his life time.

Frankl became a guest lecturer, at 209 universities, on all five continents; he held 29 honorary doctorates, from universities around the world; and received 19 national and international awards and medals, for his work in psychotherapy.

His brand of therapy, inspired thousands of other books, seminars, workshops, new-age and spiritual groups; which have all been based on Frankl’s ideas, of the unique ability of the human, to choose its path discover meaning, in every experience.

From Scot Peck’s “Road Less Traveled,” to Steven Covey’s Seven Habits; and hundreds of other bestsellers, during the last 30 years; all of them were students of Victor Frankl’s.
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Victor Frankl concluded his story to Rabbi Beiderman in these words:
"איך וועל אים אייביק דאנקבאר זיין"
“I will forever be grateful to him,” to the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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Not knowing, who he was talking too, Frankl added:
A number of years ago, Chabad established itself here in Vienna. I became a supporter. You too should support it, they are the best.

Finally, Rabbi Biederman understood why he was getting a check in the mail, before each Yom Kippur.
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The story is not over

In 2003, Dr. Shimon Cown, (a Lubavitch Australian expert, on Frankl), went to visit his non-Jewish widow, Elenor, in Vienna..

She took out a pair of Tefillin and showed it to him. She said to him: “My late husband would put these on, each and every day.”

Then she took out a pair of Tzitzis, he made for himself to wear.

At night in bed, Victor would recite the book of Tehilim (Psalms).

On Yom Kippur nobody saw him in Shul, but he did not miss a day of Tefillin!

When they asked in interviews, whether he believed in G-d, he would usually not give a direct answer.
But he would not miss a day of Tefillin!
___________
In 1973, an Israeli soldier lay in the hospital, depressed and dejected, saying that he feels like committing suicide.

You see, he lost both his legs during the Yom Kippur war. He felt, that without legs, his future was hopeless.

One day, his doctor walked into the room. The soldier was sitting upright, and looked relaxed and happy. The doctor looked at him, and saw that his eyes regained that passionate gaze.
What happened? The doctor asked.

The soldier pointed to his night table. He has just finished reading “Man's Search for Meaning,” and the stories, about how certain Jews behaved in the death camps.

He learnt of the capacity of the human being, to choose to turn adversity into triumph, by discovering the meaning in his life’s experiences. “This transformed me,” the soldier said.
_____________
This was the potential, the Rebbe saw, when he sent Margareta on a mission. to Vienna.

Imagine: One single message from a man in Brooklyn who cared, transformed tens of millions of lives!

And what was the message: Don’t despair, you will prevail.
Because the Lubavitcher Rebbe was determined to get out to the world this message: we really do have a soul; the soul is the deepest and most real part of us; and that we will never be fully alive, if we don’t access our souls.
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What is a soul?

A soul is our inner identity, our raison d’être. The soul of music, is the composer’s vision, that energizes and gives life, to the notes played in a musical composition. The actual notes are like the body, expressing the vision and feeling of the soul within them.

Each soul, is the expression of G-d’s intention and vision, in creating that particular being. The soul, is the very fabric of our being—as conceived by G-d’s vision, in wanting us to exist.

Each of us is a unique musical note, in a grand cosmic composition. It is incumbent upon us, to discover our soul—our higher calling,—and play its unique music...

To do List: for the New Year

Here are some examples of the “little things,” that when I remember, I try to do, that go a long way and add up… on the “good side…”

When my wife says something, that clearly pushes my buttons; and I am clearly right and she is clearly wrong; I don’t respond. Or, I just acknowledge it, or nod in agreement instead.

When the other driver is clearly cutting me off, I let him, and then I back off.

I do jobs at work or at home, that are not my “job”.

When those around me, are bashing the person-de-jour, boss-de-jour, I don’t join in. I don’t get caught, in the downward spiral.

When I’m feeling pain, hurt, resentful, angry; and I find myself engaging in whatever non-productive “taiva-de-jour” is; I try to slow down, and stop and ask, “Why am I doing this?”
It at least gives me pause, if not a total victory.

Let’s begin the year 770 with “Faratzta” which is, Simcha Poretz Geder; and focus on the side of Simcha. This will bring faster, better results!

Scientist says: Immortality only 20 years away

Scientist Ray Kurzweil claims, humans could become immortal, in as little as 20 years' time; through nanotechnology, and an increased understanding, of how the body works.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6217676/Immortality-only-20-years-away-says-scientist.html

9-24-09

The 61-year-old American, who has predicted new technologies arriving before, says, our understanding of genes and computer technology, is accelerating at an incredible rate.

He says theoretically, at the rate our understanding is increasing, nanotechnologies, capable of replacing many of our vital organs, could be available in 20 years time.

Mr Kurzweil adds, that although his claims may seem far-fetched; artificial pancreases and neural implants, are already available.

Mr Kurzweil calls his theory, the Law of Accelerating Returns. Writing in
The Sun, Mr Kurzweil said: "I and many other scientists now believe, that in around 20 years, we will have the means, to reprogramme our bodies' stone-age software, so we can halt, then reverse, ageing. Then nanotechnology, will let us live for ever.

"Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells, and do their work, thousands of times more effectively.
_________
"Within 25 years, we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes, without taking a breath; or go scuba-diving for four hours, without oxygen.

"Heart-attack victims – who haven't taken advantage of widely available bionic hearts – will calmly drive to the doctors, for a minor operation, as their blood bots keep them alive.

"Nanotechnology will extend our mental capacities to such an extent, that we will be able to write books within minutes.

"If we want to go into virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down brain signals, and take us wherever we want to go. And in our daily lives, hologram like figures will pop in our brain, to explain what is happening.

Extraordinary nanotechnological secrets should allow us, according to Kurzweil, to replace our kidneys, livers, hearts and, our minds; with functioning vital organs, made by human hands.

"So we can look forward to a world, where humans become cyborgs, with artificial limbs and organs."

Real Teshuvah

Teshuvah is not only a compensation for deficiencies in our divine service. It is also, in itself, a positive spiritual impulse, that enhances our relationship with G-d

Since "Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one," (18) G-d's essence in its entirety, is reflected within every Jewish soul.
The level at which Teshuvah is not necessary, finds expression in a constant and single-minded dedication, to G-d.
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At this level, a person does not need, to rise above the challenges of our worldly existence. Instead, his life is one of simple connection, which does not allow for any possibility of separation.

When the "part of G-d" (viz., the soul) becomes enclothed in the materiality of the body, its essence of "truly a part of G-d," can then be revealed.

When person recognizes, the core of his existence, and thus identifies as "a part of G-d," he has only one desire - to fulfill G-d's will. Nothing else can even come to mind.
Therefore, as a spontaneous response, one "bows naturally,"
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Every individual has the potential, to experience a personal redemption, from the obstacles that inhibit, the overt expression of his G-dly core.

In a life dedicated to one goal, connection with G-d, there can be nothing more rewarding, than the performance of a Mitzvah, an act which strengthens this connection.

To Understand the "Birthpangs of Moshiach"

To Understand the "Birthpangs of Moshiach" by the Mitteler Rebbe, (2nd Rebbe of Lubavitch)

Golus (exile) is likened to pregnancy, and the Geulah (redemption) is likened to birth...Just as at the end of nine months a pregnant woman will begin to cry out in pain (from "birth pangs").

Similarly, the time at the end of the period of golus, right before the Geulah, when the moment of salvation is near (which is the "pregnancy" of the time of Galus), is referred to as "birth pangs".

This is the idea of "birth pangs of Moshiach," which occur to Israel "from the straits," which are called "eis tzora", "time of trouble’" and precisely from these troubles we will be saved.
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This is a sign of the beginning of the Geulah, as is known; but it is specifically after finishing the time of pregnancy, which is at the end of nine months.

Although she is pregnant before this, and she has painful contractions, these are not called labor pains; because labor pains only occur, right before the onset of the actual birth. And they are the sign, that the time has arrived for birth.
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Pregnancy is the opposite of birth, because pregnancy is confinement and concealment of the baby in the womb of its mother.

At the time of birth, it turns over, and goes out from the higher part of the womb, to the lower part in order to come out and be revealed. This is leaving the narrow strait which presses the baby out, which requires birth pangs.

The birth pangs do the opposite of birth (by squeezing and confining the baby even more); but specifically through them, is the birth accomplished.

As is known, birth pangs are a strong, gripping pain, on the sides of the baby, to make it come out, which is the main part of the pain. But it is specifically through this, that there is the strength and ability for birth.

And this is why the birth pangs are called, "mashber" ("crisis").

It was at the moment of Israel's distress, in the days of Yechezkiya, king of Yehuda, who was beseiged by Sancheriv, king of Ashur.

So it is regarding the birth pangs of Moshiach--that close to his coming, there will be the upheaval of the war of Gog and Magog, which is the opposite of redemption, similar to birth pangs. But specifically through this upheaval, will come the strength of the Geulah, which is called birth.

All this is because the Geulah is the opposite of exile; because exile is the ultimate concealment (the level of pregnancy), and the Geulah is the level of birth.

Thus, birth pangs are required, (to break the hold of the Galus), to bring about the Geulah; because they are the main things, which facilitate the birth.
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Like a river, gains speed as it narrows, the strength for giving birth (pushing the baby out) comes specifically from the birth pangs...Thus it is understood, that on the supernal level of, "birth" of the collective entity of Jewish souls; the birth pangs arise, to give the strength for birth.

That is to say, specifically at the end, right before the time of birth -- which is the time of the coming of Moshiach --

is when she begins to cry out from the birth pangs;
which are the troubles for Israel, from which she will be saved.

And this is the sign, of the beginning of the redemption.

The Month of Holidays

Tishrei

Rosh Hashanah, is a day for saying, "I am a Jew, I belong with this people, I connect, I identify."

Rosh Hashanah is called "the birthday of the universe." It's the day that the Grand Programmer of All Things, sits back to consider, whether this universe is really worth creating, and then He “decides” to recreate it again.

Rosh Hashanah, actually means, "Head of the Year": Like a head contains all the switches for every part of the body, Rosh Hashanah is the time, when every day of the year is judged for its needs. It's a crucial stage, when every moment must be filled with good thoughts, words and deeds.

Without our prayers, G-d directs the universe as a distant King, with strict, impersonal judgment. But we can transform this into a closer two-way relationship, a warm parent-child relationship. In fact, the sounds of the Shofar are meant to emulate, the pleading cries of a child.
That's why we pray, "Our Father, Our King!"
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On Rosh Hashanah, it is customary not to eat foods which are sour or tart. Instead, the focus is on sweet foods, symbolizing our desire to have a sweet year, with blessings and abundance.
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Tashlich: from the Hebrew word meaning "to cast, we recite a prayer, that G‑d, out of His great compassion, will throw our past failures, into the sea.

Though we do Tashlich beside an earthly river or sea, this watery entity actually represents its Heavenly counterpart. Jewish mysticism teaches, that water corresponds to the attribute of kindness. On Rosh Hashanah, we beseech G‑d, to treat us with kindness, during the new year.

Water with fish, is optimal, since fish are not subject to the "evil eye," and are also known to have many offspring. Fish do not have eyelids, so their eyes are always open.

This is likened to G‑d's constant supervision over us; and we pray, that He mercifully care for us. Also, just as fish may be caught in a fisherman's net, so, too, we are caught in the net of judgment. This awareness, helps awaken us to repent.

The prayer of Tashlich, correspond to G‑d's thirteen attributes of mercy (which are very powerful), which we seek to arouse on Rosh Hashanah, as we are being judged.

The goal of Tashlich, is to cast both our sins and the Heavenly prosecutor (a.k.a. the Satan), into the Heavenly sea. And when we shake our clothes after the Tashlich prayer, achieves the spiritual goal, of shaking off our sins from our soul.
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Teshuvah is too often mistranslated as "repentance." Repentance implies that you were bad and now have to become good. Teshuvah means simply to return.

Meaning, that you were always essentially good, just that certain behaviors may have been somewhat off base—and now all you have to do is rediscover your true place, and your true self, and return to there.

This is the most spiritual season of the year, a time when our souls are closer to heaven than to earth, whether we notice it or not. On any day of the year, the soul can reach high. On these days, it can touch its essence. Therefore we spend these days in meditation, prayer, and study of Torah.

Fixing a soul, is like fixing a relationship: You need a bond so powerful, that all flaws are overlooked, and no one has any desire other than the good of the other.
That's why Yom Kippur is called The Day of At-One-ment: The day that we are at one, with our Source Above.

If someone feels you've wronged him or her, try to make up before the fast. At the same time, forgive the misdemeanors of others against you. According to how we forgive others, that's how G‑d forgives us.
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The most vital prayer—repeated eight times over the 25 hours—is the Vidui. That is when we accept responsibility for every possible human mistake that we may have made, removing their residue from within us. It's not easy to remember all of them, so the prayer book provides a list, in alphabetical order.

With each Vidui, the soul is freed, and climbs higher and higher’ until the ultimate high with Neila, which is recited as Yom Kippur is about to come to an end, as the Gates of Heaven begin to close.
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Some think Yom Kippur is a sad day. But how could the highest day of the year possibly be sad?

It's just that dealing with physical needs on this day, would be the biggest downer, it would unplug that connection, and hurl us back into the mundane world.

That's also why we dress in white on this day, because we are as high as the angels, who need neither food nor drink. And even higher.
According to the Baal Shem Tov, we are now in the purest day of the year, since all the souls are clean like new.
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The Sukkah is an all-encompassing, embryonic, virtual world, where whatever we do is a mitzvah. Eat, were doing a mitzvah. Talk, were doing a mitzvah. Just sitting there—and we are powerfully connected from head to toe.

Upon release from this immersive environment, you'll treat the big world the same way: Discovering how everything we do, is another way to connect to the Infinite. Which is the whole idea of Torah.
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Each one of us on our own, affects a corner of the world; but together, we reveal the wonders of the entire universe.

The four Minim (sprcies): Here, four very diverse floras, create one integral whole. If one is missing—even a humble willow branch—the circuit is broken. Just like the Jewish People: Regardless of knowledge or observance, each individual is unique and essential. And untied, we turn over the world.

The custom, is to wave the arba minim, three times in all six directions: East, west, north ans south. We bring G-dliness to all the world.
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Shemini Atzeret & Simhas Torah- The power of joy.
These are days, dedicated to the joy of being a Jew.

For the Jewish people, Torah is not just a book to study, it is life. For over 3300 years, we have held tight to it, despite all odds, and it has kept us in existence. On Simchat Torah, the Torah itself wants to rejoice—and we provide the legs.
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The High Holiday month, is one long, grand high. But it's just a preparation. Our true mission begins now, as we blast off into the everyday, workaday world.

It's going to be a different world now. Because Tishrei has left us a different person. We are connected, so our world is going to be connected. And that's the point of our entire mission: All together, we're going to make a whole new, G-dly world.
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