CONTENTS

4
FEATURED ARTICLES

WEEKLY COLUMNS

THE HAPPIEST MOMENT

IN THE REBBETZINS LIFE

CONQUERING
THE HILLS OF
YERUSHALAYIM

3 Dvar Malchus
7 Shlichus
28 Parsha Thought
32 Tzivos Hashem

Dafna Chaim

Nosson Avrohom

YOU REALLY KNOW

16 DO
YOUR CHILD & DOES

YOUR CHILD KNOW YOU

CARE?
R Nachman Twersky

SOLDIER IN
22 DEDICATED
THE SERVICE OF THE
JEWISH PEOPLE
Dov Levanon

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2015-02-11 3:22:42 PM

DVAR MALCHUS

WHEN DEATH SPEAKS OF REBIRTH

From Chapter Seven of Rabbi Shloma Majeskis
Likkutei Mekoros (Underlined text is the compilers
emphasis.)
Translated by Boruch Merkur

[Continued from Issue #951]

9. In the spirit of the living shall
take it to heart, the following is a
lesson and directive in the wake of
what transpired.
First and foremost, even after
his passing, institutions devoted to
the shlichus (the emissarial work)
of my revered father in-law, the
Rebbe, must continue their mission
and expand their reach. In fact,
they must do so with even greater
strength and fortitude, adding and
renewing life and vitality just as
his descendants are alive, so is he
alive (discussed above in Section
5).
This especially applies to
members of his household,
shyichyu, zaro his descendants
in the literal sense his
descendants are alive. May they
increase in all aspects of life and
vitality both materially and
spiritually, a healthy soul in a
healthy body with good health
and longevity, until one hundred
and twenty years (like the lifespan
of Moshe), or even reaching one
hundred and eighty years (like the
lifespan of Yitzchok).
Everything begins with Torah
Moshe received the Torah at
Sinai and passed it onand they
trained many disciples. It is,
therefore, appropriate to focus
on and draw attention to (the
needs of the public are reviewed on
Shabbos) the start of increased
support and effort to expand these
institutions by publishing (in honor
of the Shloshim) a compilation of
novel Torah insights (including

words of inspiration about Torah

and Mitzvos, even in the national
language). The publication should
be done with the participation of
the students of these schools, family
members, relatives, friends, and the
like. This Torah compilation should
list the names of the supporters,
being a Mitzva to publicize those
who do a Mitzva. Crediting them
for their assistance will encourage
them to further sustain and expand
these institutions.
This effort will bring about a
further increase in the concept of
just as his descendants are alive, so
is he alive, providing a mazkeres
netzach a perpetual memorial,
which will further speed up the true
perfection of perpetuity (without the
need for a perpetual memorial)
with the eternal life that follows the
Resurrection [of the Dead in the
Future Era].
The main thing though is that
the event of one who dies on Erev
Shabbos results in a positive
sign (if there is still a need for
signs). There has already been the
completion and perfection of the
mission of refining and purifying
mundane matters in a manner
of zeev yitraf [an expression
denoting how Shabbos extends into
the work week both before and after
its official beginning and end] by
means of the descendants of Yosef
(my revered father in-law, the
Rebbe, leader of our generation),
who are likened to fish. Everything
is now ready for the feast, the feast
of the Future Era (a day that is
entirely Shabbos and tranquility
forevermore), when there will

be (after the preparations of Erev

Shabbos are completed) the ultimate
experience of eating fish, the flesh
of the Leviasan [see Footnote 105
in the original], as well as Shor
HaBar, and Yayin HaMeshumar.
May it be G-ds will and this
is the main thing that there will be
no need for signs for the end and
completion of our deeds and our
service, as well as the preparation
for the redemption, for this very
moment, on this Shabbos, Moshiach
Tzidkeinu arrives, and they shall
get up and sing those who dwell in
the dust, and he (who became one
who dwells in the dust on this
Erev Shabbos [see Footnote 65 in
the original text]) among them, and
my revered father in-law, the Rebbe,
leader of the generation (baal
hahilula of the tenth of Shvat),
at their head and at our head, the
Jewish people of this generation,
living now as souls in bodies, eternal
life (without any interruption,
G-d forbid). All these people shall
proceed together, along with all
the shuls and yeshivos and Mitzva
centers (including, of course, the
institutions mentioned above) of the
Diaspora, and go to the Holy land,
to Yerushalayim the Holy City, to
the Holy Mountain and the Third
Beis HaMikdash (the threefold
Temple), this very instance.
(From the address of Shabbos
Parshas VaEira, 28 Teives, Mevarchim
HaChodesh Shvat, 5752; Seifer
HaSichos 5752, pg. 278-279)

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CHAF-BEIS SHVAT

THE

HAPPIEST

MOMENT
IN THE REBBETZINS LIFE
By Dafna Chaim

ne of the widespread
problems
of
our
generation
is
the
problem
of
concentration and attention. The
commotion, even turmoil, of life,
constantly distracts us.
This problem has been
highlighted as regards to children
and in recent years, more and
more adults are being tested
for attention and concentration
problems. The truth is that
we all have areas in which we
experience attention deficits to
some extent or another.
Life is so intense and fastmoving and there is so much
technological distraction that it
is hard, very hard, nowadays,
to remain focused. But even in
these challenging times, we need
to concentrate our energy and
focus. Chabad demands pnimius.
Chitzon is a derogatory term to
Chassidim. The Rebbe Rayatz
once said: A pnimi is someone

who grasps everything well, laid

out on a solid foundation and
adapts perfectly all of his soul
faculties.

THE PROPER WAY

TO PREPARE
They tell about the Chassidim
of the Rebbe Rashab that they
were once sitting at the Rebbes
farbrengen and between a sicha
and a maamer they sang the
Niggun Hachana. But they
sang it quickly, figuring that the
sooner they finished singing it,
the sooner they would hear the
maamer. Not a bad Chassidic
idea.
But the Rebbe wasnt pleased
by this and he expressed his
dissatisfaction to his son, later
to become the Rebbe Rayatz,
who was then the acting dean of
the yeshiva. The Rebbe said this
was the behavior of a chitzon.
A Chassid pnimi needs to be

completely involved in whatever

he is doing at the moment,
without thinking ahead to the
next minute. Now they are
singing, so all attention and
energy needs to be focused on
the niggun.
This is a fundamental idea for
chinuch. A person must accustom
himself to be completely involved
in whatever he is doing and not
have his mind wander afield.
This is much harder in our
generation when the external
disturbances and enticements are
much greater than in previous
generations. How many times
has it happened that we were
davening and our thoughts
wandered, or even, lhavdil,
when talking to a friend, have
we glanced around, distracted by
things going on around us?
A Chassidishe askan once
complained to the Rebbe that
he could not find time to learn

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Chaf-Beis Shvat
because when he finally sat
down to learn, he was constantly
disturbed with phone calls and
his mind was constantly occupied
by askanus.
The Rebbe gave him a tip
which contains a deep idea that
is worth adopting. When you sit
and learn, said the Rebbe, treat
the phone and the like as though
it is Shabbos!
Meaning, when you sit and
learn forget about your askanus
and put all your energy into
learning. The askanus can wait.
Nothing is running away.
Aside from the practical advice
which is brilliant in its simplicity,
an idea that helps neutralize all
the outside disturbances and
gets us focused on what is truly
important, there is something
deep here.
Shabbos is a model that
teaches us how to concentrate,
how to be a pnimi. Shabbos
is a quiet, serene island of
normalcy within all the cascading
turbulence of material life. Each
week, Shabbos anchors us once
again.
All the customs of Shabbos,
and especially the halachos, teach
us to neutralize and remove all
those things which, during the
rush of daily life, move us away
from the center point of our lives,
and get us to focus on that which
is truly important. The spirit of
Shabbos needs to be extended
over the rest of the week.

A TRUE PNIMIS
Speaking of being a pnimi,
Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka comes
to mind. People who had the
privilege of visiting with her spoke
highly of her warm hospitality
in which the Rebbetzin gave her
guests the feeling that they were
the most important thing at that
time. This was a feeling which

was expressed in every aspect

of her hosting, starting with the
refreshments that were graciously
served with forethought, and
ending with the attention given
the guests, in talking to them, in
really listening, in empathizing, in
identifying with them.
When the Rebbetzin spoke
with someone, she was fully
present.
Dr. Weiss, the cardiologist
who was called from Chicago to
treat the Rebbe after the heart
attack in 1977, said, When I
arrived, the Rebbetzin welcomed
me. She insisted that before
seeing the Rebbe I make kiddush
and eat something. I said I had
come to treat the Rebbe. She
replied, Your colleague, Dr.
Tishholtz is with the Rebbe now
and everything is under control.
Please, first make kiddush and
then eat something and only then
go and see the Rebbe.
Having no choice, I agreed.
That was my first encounter
with Rebbetzin Schneersohn, the
remarkable, courteous wife of the
Rebbe, who always treated me
with concern and care.
I could immediately see that
this was a unique personality
possessed
of
outstanding
qualities; she treated her role as
hostess with great seriousness.
In addition to the three
secretaries of the Rebbe who
updated me on the Rebbes
condition, my closest ally was the
Rebbetzin. We spoke nearly every
night so I could get an update on
the Rebbes condition as this was
in the days before the direct flow
of information in the Internet era.
She was such a wise woman, so
perceptive, so that I always knew
what was happening with the
Rebbe.
At the same time, the
Rebbetzin had a good grasp of
what was happening on the other

end of the phone. She almost

always knew what the results
of the last Cubs game was. She
knew that I was an ardent fan of
the Cubs and she could tell when
they won or lost; she was able to
read me from the other end of the
phone.
The Rebbetzin loved the
Rebbe with all her heart and
the Rebbe was bonded to the
Rebbetzin with all his heart.
The
Rebbe
constantly
expressed his concern and care
for the Rebbetzin. He would
always tell me after every visit,
please go to the Rebbetzin and
reassure her that everything is
fine. She is always so worried.
The Rebbetzin felt enormous
admiration and respect for the
Rebbe and the Rebbe greatly
valued the time he spent drinking
tea with the Rebbetzin. He once
told me that he considered their
daily drinking of tea together as
vital as putting on tfillin and he
meant it! The Rebbetzin was very
dear to him.
***
That was our Rebbetzin,
perceptive, modest, wise, and
pnimiusdik, completely focused
on whatever she was doing with
seriousness, responsibility, and
caring.
They
once
asked
the
Rebbetzin, What was the
happiest moment of your life?
and the Rebbetzin responded,
This moment is the happiest
moment.
That is the answer of a pnimi,
someone who lives in the moment
with full chayus and intensity,
with the understanding, and
beyond that, the internalization,
that this is the happiest and most
significant moment. To really be
in the here and now is a very high
level. May we all merit to attain
many such happy moments in
our lives.

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SHLICHUS

ANASH-SHLICHUS
Name: R Moshe Bardugo
Married with 13 children
Age: 56
Location: Migdal HaEmek
Occupation: 1st grade teacher

By Zalman Tzorfati

or nineteen years now, the

Chabad community in Migdal
HaEmek
gathers
every
Motzaei Shabbos at R Moshe
and Chemda Bardugos home for a
shiur in inyanei Moshiach and Geula.
All the Lubavitcher rabbanim and
mashpiim in town attend the shiur,
and each week the shiur is given by
another rav.
The shiurs stellar reputation
brings participants from all over the
surrounding region and its always
packed. The women have their own
shiur. Every Wednesday they sit
around a long table with delicious
refreshments and delve into the
Rebbes sichos on inyanei Moshiach
and Geula.
This is not R Moshe and
Chemda Bardugos only project. The
Bardugo family has been active for
over two decades in hastening the
Geula in a variety of ways.

SHLICHUS IN CHINUCH
R Moshe is a smiley, eloquent
person and a mechanech by
profession and in his soul. He has
taught first grade for thirty years.
Its my lifes mission, he says.
I went on this shlichus with the

Rebbes bracha. He wrote me your

work is the work of heaven, and
since then I have been the shliach to
the first grade in the Chabad school
in Migdal HaEmek. Boruch Hashem,
the Rebbes bracha has accompanied
me for thirty years already, along
with success in the classroom.
I believe that every child can
achieve excellence. There is no
average or weak child. Every child is
outstanding and needs to be helped
to reveal his potential. This is the
mission I received from the Rebbe.
In this field, you cannot stand in
place; you must always advance.

LIFES MISSION
Aside from chinuch, R Moshe
and his wife have another lifes
mission which is to bring Moshiach.
They also received this mission from
the Rebbe, along with his haskama
and bracha to publicize the identity
of the Redeemer. Since that time,
this is what they do. In a corner of
the living room, for many years now,
there is a chair upholstered in red
velvet that is ready for Moshiachs
imminent arrival.
They started with signs. We
had signs made that said, Hichonu

LKabbalas Pnei Moshiach (Get

ready to welcome Moshiach), which
we hung on dozens of porches
around the city. In 5752, we put
photos of the signs into a beautiful
album and I gave it to the Rebbe and
received his bracha.
Then R Moshe had illuminated
signs made which said, Boruch Haba
Melech HaMoshiach and arranged
for a billboard at the entrance to the
city which said, Migdal HaEmek
Muchana
LMoshiach
(Migdal
HaEmek is ready for Moshiach). By
the way, the billboard was put up
without any permits but it eventually
became part of the scenery. Ten
years ago, the sign fell and we made
a new sign that was dedicated by the
mayor.
The highlight of his work is
definitely the weekly shiurim for
men and for women. We learn
the Rebbes sichos about inyanei
Moshiach together. I choose the
sichos and excerpts, photocopy
them, and prepare them so that the
shiur will be focused and handson. The shiur is exactly one hour
long so that people know when to
show up and when they can expect
Continued on page 31
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SHLICHUS
Just four years ago, R
Roi Uliel and his family
moved to the Abu
Tor (Givat Chananya)
neighborhood of
Yerushalayim in order
to work with the
Jewish families there.
He managed to form
a small community, to
start a yeshiva and even
to be elected, against
all odds, to the vaad
of the neighborhood.
If you are familiar with
the neighborhood, you
know this is nothing
short of an open
miracle. * Lets take a
tour of Abu Tor with
the shliach and his
khilla.
By Nosson Avrohom

bu
Tor,
or
Givat
Chananya which is its
Hebrew name, is located
south of the Old City. It
is a unique neighborhood in that
Jews live in the upper half and
Arabs live in the lower half. The
neighborhood is located precisely
770 meters above sea level. For
this reason, the upper part of the
neighborhood overlooks beautiful
scenery from where you can also
see the Temple Mount.
Abu Tor is a neighborhood
full of history and battles. It
was founded over 200 years

ago as a Moslem neighborhood

but at the same time a business
development was founded called
Beit Yosef where Jewish homes
were built. This neighborhood
suffered from repeated attacks by
Arabs and after the pogroms of
1929 the Jews left their homes.
In 1948, the western portion
was conquered in an operation
called Mivtza Kilshon (Operation
Pitchfork).
In the ceasefire agreement,
the border was established on
Rechov Asael with the Jewish
section up the hill and the Arab
section on the lower level.

Government officials and new

immigrants settled in the Jewish
section.
During the Six Day War,
the entire neighborhood was
re-conquered after a bitter
battle that cost sixteen lives.
Since then, the neighborhood
is considered one of the elite
neighborhoods of Yerushalayim.
It consists of spacious stone
houses surrounded by high walls.
Most recently, the neighborhood
was mentioned in the news when
police killed convicted terrorist
Moataz Hejazi in a shootout
in the Abu Tor neighborhood.

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CONQUERING
THE HILLS OF
YERUSHALAYIM

Hejazi attempted to murder

Yehuda Glick.
Most residents of Abu Tor are
old-time, wealthy Jews. During
the 90s and the beginning of
the 2000s a number of Jewish
families from America and
France moved in with the nucleus
of the neighborhood remaining
the old-timers who were mostly
from North Africa. Another
nucleus of Jews is those who hold
extreme Leftist views who moved
to the neighborhood hoping
for coexistence with their Arab
neighbors.
Up until four years ago,

not a single religious Jew lived

in Abu Tor. There were two
shuls, one Sefardi and one
Ashkenazi, one of which was
about to close, while the other
operated primarily on Shabbos
and holidays and even then, only
partially. The transformation of
the neighborhood in the past four
years is thanks to a Lubavitcher
Chassid, R Roi Uliel.
R Uliel rehabilitated the
Sephardic shul, founded a yeshiva
there for baalei tshuva which has
become a spiritual beacon even
for other nearby neighborhoods,
and breathed Jewish life into

Abu Tor. Neither those opposed

to his work nor his admirers
can remain indifferent to this
dynamic Chassid who operates in
the neighborhood with so much
love. The positive change in the
neighborhood is so dramatic that
in recent elections R Uliel was
elected to serve as deputy to the
head of the neighborhood vaad.
How did this all happen in
such a short period of time, we
wondered. It couldnt have been
easy. Difficulties were not lacking
at first, nor as time went on, but
consistency and determination
are the secret to his success. To

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Shlichus

R Uliel, this is just the beginning;

he has many plans for the future.

GETTING A FOOT IN THE

DOOR AGAINST ALL ODDS
R Roi Uliel was born in
the nearby Armon HaNatziv
neighborhood. He was raised in
a typical, traditional Yerushalmi
home. When he grew older he
began searching and after a long
journey with many twists and
turns he began taking his first
steps in the world of tshuva.
Later, he became acquainted with
the shliach, R Chaim Nisselevitz

through whom he learned

about the world of Chabad. He
became mekushar to the Rebbe
and became a Chassid. After
he married, he lived in Crown
Heights for a few years.
Then the couple decided to
return to Eretz Yisroel and go on
shlichus. The plan was to settle
in Yerushalayim and to light up
another neighborhood with the
light of Chassidus. R Uliel is
the kind of person who dreams
big and so he decided that his
first activity would be to start a
yeshiva.

He was familiar with Abu Tor

since he was a boy, as he had
lived nearby. It is a pretty, well
taken care of neighborhood with
large expanses of grass, trees,
and parks. Almost no signs of
Jewish tradition were to be seen.
He thought he would adopt this
neighborhood and start working
there.
My only concern was about
money. Where would I get
money to start a yeshiva? I knew
it cost a lot and I wrote to the
Rebbe about this. The answer I
opened to in the Igros Kodesh
was astonishing. The Rebbe was
writing to a Chassid who works
in mosdos under the leadership
of the Rebbe, my father-in-law,
and the Rebbe told him you see
inordinate success in your work
and have merited ample children,
life, and a livelihood and not just
for you but for your descendants.
When I read this answer, all
my doubts vanished. I knew I was
going on shlichus.
Back then, the Uliel family
lived
in
Katamon.
Every
morning, R Roi went to Abu Tor
to get acquainted and to look
for a suitable place from where
he could operate. One day, he
arrived at the highest point in the
neighborhood, a piece of land
belonging to the Greek Orthodox
Church, one of the most beautiful
lookout points in the world. He
noticed there, to his surprise,
a building that belonged to
the Sephardic shul, Sholom
VReiut.
It was wintertime, the place
was open, and I walked in. I saw
a total of three people davening
there. I davened Mincha with
them and then asked one of the
older men about the shul. He
said that in the past the place
had been busy but most of the
veteran worshipers had died and
the minyan had shrunk until

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only three of them remained. He

gave me the gabbais telephone
number. The building was
spacious and I figured that if the
place was hardly used, maybe I
could use it.
I called the gabbai that night
and made my proposal to start
doing Chabad outreach and
programming out of the shul.
His first reaction was a definite
no. In the past, other religious
activists tried to enter the shul
but they just disturbed and ruined
things, he said firmly. I told him
about Chabad and about the
Rebbe and asked him to at least
think it over. I told him about
the rumors that I had heard, that
the administration of the Greek
Church was thinking of asking
for the shul building and putting
one of their buildings there.
The gabbai, who was
surprised by my persistence,
promised to think things over. I
was sure he would not get back to
me after he had been so definite
in his refusal and I began looking
at other places. A few days later
he called me back and said yes,
along with a few easy terms. We
arranged to collaborate and our
first activity was Mivtza Purim.
The week before Purim, we
went from house to house in the
neighborhood and announced
the Megilla reading which would
take place in the Sephardic shul.
We had no idea how many people
would show up as it was our first
foray in the neighborhood.
The reactions we heard were
dramatic, both for and against.
Those who were happy to see us
asked us why we hadnt come
until now and raised doubts about
the success of our work. Some of
them gave us only a few weeks
before we would break. There
were also those who slammed
their doors in our faces and
hissed things like, Chareidim,

let us in. When he saw the matzos

he burst into tears. He said he
had grown up in a religious home
and had not seen shmura matza
in many years. I cheered him
up and promised I would come
again to visit him. When I left his
house I thought that just for him
all the humiliation I had suffered
was worthwhile.
This is a neighborhood where
they were not used to seeing Jews
wearing beards and tzitzis.
When I first came to the
neighborhood, nearly every week
policemen stopped me and asked
me to show them my ID. I found
it strange. I suspected they were
harassing me because of my

The secretary said he would ask the Rebbe. The

Rebbes answer was to do what an expert said
to do. He said this episode made him greatly admire the
Rebbe, for, unlike other leaders, he allowed room for
other opinions, the main thing being that the job gets
done.

scram, and dont chareidize

our neighborhood. The gabbai
himself snickered at my naivet.
He thought it was a shame to
waste our time and efforts but I
had faith and soldiered on.
Six people came to the
Megilla reading and I considered
this a great success. When I told
the gabbai, he was surprised
and he left me the keys to the
shul. From now on, you operate
without asking me, he said.
The next project was before
Pesach when we distributed
shmura matza. There is one
house which I will never forget.
A Filipina opened the door and
said I could not come in since
the man of the house was old and
sick. I insisted and asked her to
ask permission from him. She
asked him and he was happy to

work which displeased someone

in the neighborhood who was
connected with the police.
A year later, I met someone
who was in the administration of
the Ashkenazi shul who wanted
to speak to me privately. He was
already familiar with my work and
he wanted to tell me something.
He said that when I was first
starting out, some break-ins had
occurred in the neighborhood. As
a volunteer policeman he noticed
me and innocently thought that
I was the thief, dressing up like
a religious person. He told the
police his suspicions and that is
why they kept checking up after
me.
This story is just one example
of what I had to deal with when I
was first starting out.

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Shlichus

STARTING FROM THE

BEGINNING
R Uliel decided it was time to
move.
It is difficult to find empty
apartments in this exclusive
neighborhood. It is not a place
where they are building new
homes and the existing homes
are occupied. Few people move.
Through connections that my
family has, a suitable apartment
was found but the owner wanted
me to move in within two weeks.
The problem was that our
contract for our apartment in
Katamon ended in half a year and
this would mean I would have to
pay rent for two homes, which
was too much for me.
I decided to go lchatchilla
aribber and I told the owner of
the apartment in Abu Tor that we
would move within two weeks.
In the meantime, I advertised my
apartment in Katamon for rent. A
few hours later, a person came,
walked around the apartment for
three minutes and then asked me
when we were leaving since he
wanted to move in in two weeks.
Two weeks later, the family of
shluchim moved to Abu Tor.
After a year of activities R
Uliel decided to move ahead with
his plans for a yeshiva.
I met with four people in
chinuch and asked them to be the
pioneers in founding the yeshiva.
They asked me about money and
I told them about the Rebbes
answer. As for the practical end
of things, I told them that I had
several wealthy mekuravim in
the US and I planned on raising
money from them that would
enable the founding of the
yeshiva and establishing it in the
initial months.
After R Uliel returned from
the US, the yeshiva began
coming together. On 12 Tammuz

there was a farbrengen with the

mashpia, R Chaim Nisselevitz,
in the course of which the yeshiva
was officially founded.
The first talmidim were
balabatim from the neighborhood
who
learned
Nigleh
and
Chassidus. After Tishrei, three
bachurim from 770 came and
the yeshiva was on the map. The
Moroccan shul became the zal
and during breaks, the bachurim
did outreach on the streets of the
neighborhood and outside of it as
well.
The
yeshivas
reputation
spread
throughout
the
neighborhood and about a
minyan of baalei tshuva joined
it. The yeshiva staff includes the
mashpia R Zalman Notik, R
Abba Merzel, R Noam Harpaz,
and R Chaim Nisselevitz. The
administrative staff includes Shai
Sharon, Liraz Tuval, and Omer
Michael.
With the help of the
Tmimim, the work of hafatza
in the neighborhood grew
tremendously.
One of our friends who
is a maggid shiur in Yeshivat
HaKotel, R Tzvi Berlin, began
giving shiurim in the Rebbes
sichos in the night kollel we
started in the Moroccan shul.
Many residents, who in the past
had hardly seen a shul from the
inside, began visiting regularly.
We also started a Tzivos
Hashem club with twelve
children. In a neighborhood like
Abu Tor there are relatively few
children, so this is a success.
The Moroccan shul is now
busy and there are shiurim
and tfillos daily. Who even
remembers the period of neglect?
In the meantime, the yeshiva
became independent and moved
elsewhere.
Before I made this decision

I asked the Rebbe for a bracha

and whether this was the right
thing to do. The answer was
to a yeshiva in Pittsburgh and
the Rebbe wished them mazal
tov upon their moving into new
quarters.
Since then, within a short
period of time, we have brought
in two Sifrei Torah to the yeshiva
and the shul. Worshipers bought
an Aron Kodesh and a new bima
and a library full of sfarim. Many
local residents visit throughout
the day. The bachurim are the
ones who give the place its special
chayus.

THE YOUNG ARAB WHO

WANTED TO PUT ON
TFILLIN
The neighborhood has really
changed. There is no doubt about
that. R Uliels many stories serve
to underscore the extent of the
transformation.
There is a young mekurav
with whom I learned Likkutei
Sichos regularly in his home.
Over time, he became more
committed to Torah and mitzvos.
You could see how the Rebbes
sichos penetrated and changed
him for the better. A short while
before we began learning he had
met a girl and they planned on
marrying, but now he faced a
dilemma. She was living a secular
life while he was becoming more
religious and wanted a religious
home. He shared this with me
and we decided he had to write to
the Rebbe and ask his advice.
The Rebbes answer was
clear. In a long letter the Rebbe
wrote about the necessity for a
man to stand strong regarding
all aspects of Torah and mitzvos,
especially as relates to founding
a Jewish home when it is
mandatory for it to be based on
the foundation of Torah.

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I myself was amazed by this

display of ruach hakodesh. In
simple words, the Rebbe was
letting him know that this match
was not for him. It was very hard
for him to accept this but in the
end he listened to the Rebbe.
A few weeks later, he shared
information he had heard about
that girl and it turns out that the
Rebbe had saved him from her.
Another story:
Near the yeshiva is a Lotto
stand. Bachurim from the yeshiva
go to the stand every day to put
tfillin on with the owner and
sometimes they meet Jewish
customers there. Most of the time
the customers are Arabs. One
day, an Arab left a large group of
Arabs in order to talk with them
without his friends listening. To
the bachurims surprise, he said
that his mother is Jewish, from
Yerushalayim, and her name is
Rochel. The bachurim told him
that according to Jewish law he
is Jewish and they asked him to
put on tfillin. He said he would
be happy to do so but he was
afraid that if his father found out,
he would kill him. The bachurim
arranged for him to put tfillin on
in the yeshiva.
The next day, they waited for
him but he did not show up. They
were sure he wouldnt come and
were surprised to meet him in the
shul where he put on tfillin for
the first time in his life.
There is an older man in
the neighborhood, from the US,
whom I met not long ago. When
he heard that I am a Lubavitcher
Chassid, he wanted to tell me
about his encounter with the
Rebbe.
He said he had a senior
position for a long time at The
New York Times and one day a
request came from the Rebbes
secretariat to put in an ad about
Mivtza Neiros Shabbos in the

The chairman announced that the first thing on

his agenda was to find ways for co-existence
with the Arab neighbors. Each person in turn said his
piece, and then it was our turn. I said that we, Chabad
Chassidim, already had a plan for co-existence that was
being implemented all over the country and that was the
Seven Noachide Laws

paper. The first thought was to

have a little girl lighting candles
but his professional opinion was
otherwise. He thought that the
most convincing thing would be
to show an older woman lighting
candles which would get other
Jewish women to do the mitzva.
The secretary said he would
ask the Rebbe and the Rebbes
answer was to do what an expert
said to do, and thats what they
did. He said this episode made
him greatly admire the Rebbe,
for, unlike other leaders, he
allowed room for other opinions,
the main thing being that the job
gets done.

SURPRISING
ELECTION RESULTS
That fact that R Uliel was
elected to serve as deputy head
of the neighborhood vaad

demonstrates what a positive

change has occurred in Abu Tor
since he arrived.
One night, I was talking
with my friend, R Berlin, and
he told me that soon elections
would be held for the vaad and
he suggested that I participate.
He said, Your success in getting
into the vaad will help Chabads
activities and all Jewish activities
in the neighborhood. Over the
years, the elections for the vaad
had been very low key. Most
people did not bother to vote
even though the vaad has a lot of
clout with the municipality and
with the neighborhood cultural
center as well as social events.
After receiving the Rebbes
bracha, I collected fifty signatures
of residents and submitted my
candidacy. Then I continued
with my usual routine and forgot
about it. I did not imagine how
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Shlichus

At first, I was niskarev not by Chabad, but as

soon as I saw a Lubavitcher Tamim, I felt I wanted
to connect to him. A born and bred Chassid might not
understand this, but Tmimim and the Rebbes shluchim
have a special chein that you dont see elsewhere. The
bachurim we have here are not smarter or more learned
than others; their uniqueness is that they live the Rebbes
words. Someone who is connected to the Rebbes inyanim
has a special glow on his face.
my participation in the elections
would cause these elections to
seem like no less than a mayoral
race to run the entire city. A
few weeks before the elections,
a woman called me and told me
about her celebrated past as an
adviser to several prime ministers
and she tried to dissuade me
from running. She said that
my candidacy would generate
controversy. She also suddenly
remembered that she is a
descendant of the Baal Shem Tov
and she asked me to withdraw
my candidacy.
A few days went by and
someone by the name of David
Epstein called me. He is a well
known Leftist activist, who
describes himself as Reform and
who had also announced his
candidacy. He told me that most
of the old-timers would oppose
my candidacy and why should
I humiliate myself? He said he
called because he was looking out
for my dignity.
When I saw that my
candidacy was in fact stirring up
controversy and that the elections
would be anything but low key,
I consulted with two rabbanim.
One told me to carry on and the
other told me to drop out. So I
wrote to the Rebbe and asked
for a clear answer. The answer I
opened to said to consult with a
shliach on site. I called R Chaim

Gottlieb, shliach in nearby Armon

HaNatziv, and he encouraged me
to continue.
A week before the elections,
signs were hung around the
neighborhood against the yeshiva
and against Chabads activities.
They contained lies which said
that soon we would throw rocks
at cars that drove on Shabbos
and we would close roads.
The leading candidate even
downloaded an announcement
from our website about the
yeshiva, printed it up in color
and hung it on all the streets to
show how serious we were about
conquering the neighborhood.
It turned out that all this
negative campaigning was good
for us. If up until now there were
residents who had not heard of
us, now there was nobody who
had not heard of the yeshiva and
our work. While other candidates
made house calls and hung up
signs in the street, we continued
our routine at the yeshiva and in
spreading the wellsprings. I was
really curious about what the
election results would be out of
the 500 families who could vote.
After the votes were counted,
R Uliel was informed that he
was elected to second place along
with the Reform guy as chairman.
Residents
were
stunned.
Someone who had come to the

neighborhood just four years

before had gotten so many votes!
In retrospect, it was the
negative advertising that got
many people to vote for us. It
is interesting to note that the
chairman is married to the
granddaughter of R Shmuel
Kramer who was one of the
distinguished supporters of the
Rebbe Rayatz.
The day after the elections,
the newly elected council leader
hosted a meeting in his home
for all the Whos Who of the
neighborhood, including many
Leftists. Because of my new
position, I was also invited and
I showed up with R Zalman
Notik. The chairman announced
that the first thing on his agenda
was to find ways for co-existence
with the Arab neighbors. Each
person in turn said his piece, and
then it was our turn. I said that
we, Chabad Chassidim, already
had a plan for co-existence that
was being implemented all over
the country and that was the
Seven Noachide Laws. Only by
the Arabs accepting the Seven
Noachide Laws will they live with
us in peace.
This intrigued the crowd
who had not expected to hear
things like this from us, supposed
extremists, and they asked
questions.
After that meeting, the
attitude of the top man changed
towards us and our activities. He
even arranged a meeting with
Moslem leaders in Silwan and R
Zalman Notik gave two classes
in Shaar HaYichud VHaEmuna.
The entire discussion with them
was on the topic of how to bring
Geula to the world.
R Uliel sums up the events
leading up to and following the
elections, From bitterness came
out sweetness, and since the
elections, we found ourselves

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reaching people whom, if not for

the elections, who knows whether
we would ever have connected.

A KHILLA,
NOT JUST A YESHIVA
The impact of the yeshiva
doesnt stop with Abu Tor.
In its four years of existence,
about twenty graduates of the
yeshiva married and established
Chassidic homes. Likewise, quite
a few of its graduates went out
to serve as shluchim in nearby
neighborhoods. R Lior Mariasis
went on shlichus to the nearby
Baka neighborhood and R Chai
Klingel went to Arnona which
is also nearby (see sidebar).
Other graduates of the yeshiva
are on shlichus in various cities
and neighborhoods across the
country. R Avi Zilberman went
on shlichus to Tel Aviv to help
veteran shliach, R Dovid Aziza.
R Uliel is justifiably proud.
That is what we were aiming
for from the moment we started
the yeshiva, he says with
undisguised pride.
***
I asked R Uliel how
much Moshiach and Geula is
emphasized in his work. He said:
We live according to the
Rebbes horaos in the sicha to
the shluchim in 5752 in that
everything we do is permeated
with Moshiach. We publicize
Moshiach and everyone knows
our views. We came with the goal
to influence others and not to be
influenced, and people accept
this. They know us to be serious
people and this makes it easier
for them to relate to a subject that
is seemingly too spiritual.
There is a family of American
olim who knew Chabad in the
place they came from. At first it
was hard for them with all the
enthusiasm about Moshiach in

RIPPLE EFFECTS
We met R Klingel, the first shliach to come to the yeshiva when it was
founded, at the new Chabad house he and his wife started in Arnona. R
Klingel is the son-in-law of R Chaim Gottlieb, the shliach in Armon
HaNatziv.
Before I went to Abu Tor, I learned in Ramat Aviv. The talmidim in the
yeshiva in Abu Tor came to stay with us and thats when I found out about a
yeshiva in Abu Tor.
When I was asked to go on shlichus to the yeshiva, I was unsure. It was
something new and how would I manage there? I wrote to the Rebbe and
opened to an amazing answer. The letter was addressed to a Chassid who
lives in Yerushalayim and gives shiurim in a Moroccan shul. In those days,
the yeshiva was in the Moroccan shul and I considered this a clear answer.
R Klingel relates that when he wrote to the Rebbe about his shidduch, he
opened to an answer that said something about surely he would continue his
shlichus in Morocco.
After this clear answer, and after I got married, I continued learning in
yeshiva for another half a year.
Then the Klingels moved to nearby Arnona where they started a Chabad
house. I interviewed him as he was on his way with his wife for another
house call, a project they started as soon as they came to the neighborhood.
One of the first things we did was to advertise throughout the
neighborhood under the heading, Writing to the Rebbe. Many people
contacted us or other shluchim in Yerushalayim as a result.
R Klingel speaks well of the yeshiva and its impact that is felt not only
in Abu Tor. Even though he is no longer learning there and is busy in his
own neighborhood, he still continues to attend farbrengens in the yeshiva on
special days.
the yeshiva, but they got used
to it and now they are regulars
at the minyan and of the small
community that has formed.
They understand that it comes
from a place that is pnimiusdik
and real. People regularly attend
R Notiks shiurim and they
understand that this isnt the
belief of foolish Chassidim but a
deep faith.
I asked R Uliel, when a young
person discovers Chabad, what
attracts him today, after Gimmel
Tammuz? He answered:
I myself am a baal tshuva
and I can answer you from
my personal experience. At
first, I was niskarev not by
Chabad, but as soon as I saw
a Lubavitcher Tamim, I felt

I wanted to connect to him. A

born and bred Chassid might not
understand this, but Tmimim
and the Rebbes shluchim have
a special chein that you dont
see elsewhere. The bachurim
we have here are not smarter or
more learned than others; their
uniqueness is that they live the
Rebbes words. Someone who is
connected to the Rebbes inyanim
has a special glow on his face.
The Rebbe has an impact on him
and it is recognizable and attracts
people who want to be a part of
the joy that you radiate.
As for plans for the future:
To continue spreading the
wellsprings outward until the
hisgalus.

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CHINUCH

DO YOU REALLY
KNOW YOUR CHILD
& DOES YOUR CHILD
KNOW YOU CARE?
How can we educate children so that even when
they are on their own, they will go on the path
we laid out for them? What power do we Chabad
Chassidim have in chinuch that nobody else has?
Where do we really install the filters in todays
advanced technological world? * Answers to
these questions, along with two moving stories
in this practical article on chinuch, part 2 of 2, by
R Nachman Twersky, a longtime mechanech in
Crown Heights.

was once in Chicago and

attended a Melaveh Malka
for the parents and teachers
of the school my son runs,
and I spoke about Shabbos. After
the event, one of the participants
said to me that when he has guests
on Shabbos he prepares nicely,
but if there arent any guests, he
doesnt prepare much.
After what I said about the
importance of preparing for
Shabbos (see previous article),
we understand that the Shabbos
Queen is the real guest and the
feeling in the house must be

different. We prepare for Shabbos

like we prepare for a wedding.
Imagine a father who is
marrying off his son and he
falls asleep in the middle of
the wedding! Could that ever
happen? Even if he didnt sleep
the night before, no father
falls asleep in the middle of his
childs wedding! Shabbos is like
a wedding, we are marrying the
kalla, the Shabbos Queen. If we
are conscious of the fact that the
Shabbos table is the foundation
of our childrens chinuch, then
we cannot possibly sleep.

THE FILTERS
ARE IN OUR SOULS
Some time ago, 60,000
people in the US met to solve
the technological problems of
our generation. Yes, there is a
problem with the Internet and
technology. Children have access
to it and its dangerous. In all
the gatherings to discuss this
worrisome topic, they discussed
how to make certain that children
are not negatively influenced by
technology. Many raised ideas
and solutions including placing
filters on computers. I also
attended one of the gatherings
and I think that what was missing
was a speaker from Lubavitch;
for then, the whole gathering
would have been different.
Someone raised a good
question. Youre talking about
filters but how do you place a
filter on the mind? The mind
needs a filter, not the computer!
Of course, a computer needs
a filter too. Even non-Jews put
filters on computers, but the
children nowadays can bypass
the filter because they are more
skilled than us when it comes
to technology. And if an adult

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really wants to see something,

nobody can really stop him.
There are wise guys who have
two computers, one is filtered
and one is not. The filtered one
is for the kids and the other one
is for himself. Filters are not the
ultimate solution.
The real solution is in Tanya.
The Alter Rebbe writes in his
introduction that he is writing a
book which has all the solutions
to all the problems. When we
encounter some difficulty or
problem, we can find the solution
in Tanya. The question is, where
in Tanya is the solution to the
problem of technology? How do
we deal with the problem?
The truth is that when a
person learns Chassidus and
Tanya, he reveals his essence,
who he is. Who is the real me.
The real me of a Jew is that which
is one with Hashem. A Jew who
learns Torah and does mitzvos
unites with Hashem and reveals
hidden powers within himself.
When we live with this point,
all of life is an altogether different
story. The Tanya provides us
with a whole different set of
powers. Learning it, chapter after

chapter, increases ones simcha,

ones strength, and many other
things. We are Chassidim and
we have merited that the Rebbe
has provided us with fantastic
kochos.

THE PAINFUL DROPPING

OUT PROBLEM
The dropping out of Chabad,
and the dropping out of other
places, are two different kinds
of dropping out. I spoke with
someone who is the principal of
a non-Chabad school of former
dropouts. He told me that the
main problem with their dropouts
is their lack of emuna. He said,
if only our chevra sitting in
yeshivos had the same emuna as
a Lubavitcher dropout.
By us, boruch Hashem,
emuna is strong. Even a bachur
who falls still believes in G-d.
Its just that his yetzer hara
overcomes him and in an absence
of kabbalas ol, he throws off the
yoke. In the end, most of them
come back, but its a pity over the
wasted years.
I spoke with an educator
who works with dropouts of
all backgrounds. He defined

for me the difference between

a Lubavitcher bachur who falls
and a non-Lubavitcher bachur.
One of his methods in bringing
back dropouts is by locating
their breaking point. Everyone
has a certain weakness which
can cause him to fall and when
you locate it, you can more easily
work to rectify the problem.
Usually, the bachurs current
friends, who all dropped out,
know better than anyone else
what is really troubling him.
When its Lubavitchers, although
they themselves have dropped
out, they happily cooperate
and want to get their friend
back into yeshiva, because
when it comes down to it, they
believe in everything. In other
groups, however, the friends
dont cooperate because they
lost their basic emuna and in
their corrupted state they think
everyone should drop out!
The holy Rabbi Pinchas of
Koretz, one of the disciples of the
Baal Shem Tov (the Besht even
took on three customs from him)
said that it is forbidden to send a
child to a melamed who does not
learn pnimius haTorah. Why?
Why would this be important
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Chinuch
when a melamed needs to teach
reading,
siddur,
Chumash,
Mishnayos and Gemara?
The explanation is that the
whole point in teaching talmidim
is in order to educate a youth
according to his way and even
when he grows old he wont
veer from it, so that it gets into
his neshama. How can we be
sure that a boy who learns alefbeis, siddur, Chumash, Mishna,
Gemara, and Tanya will have it
enter his neshama and remain
with him for life? He has the
knowledge; many people are
knowledgeable, but they do as
they please. How can we ensure
that this doesnt happen to our
child?
Says R Pinchas of Koretz,

accessible to the general class

of Chassidim (since few sifrei
Chassidus were printed), in our
generation, when the Rebbe had
the maamarim of all the Rebbeim
printed, this great wealth is
available and we must use it!
The Rebbe once asked, why
do we say educate a youth
according to his way and even
when he grows old he wont veer
from it do we want a child
who grows older to remain with
his childish ideas?
The Rebbe explains that
this is not talking about details
in chinuch but the roots, the
foundation of chinuch. We
need to teach a child that when
Hashem says, I am Hashem
your G-d in the singular, He

Little children have the garment of tmimus

(simple sincerity) and in their adulthood they
take off the garment of tmimus and put on the garment
of adulthood. The problem is in the transition stage, when
the garment of childhood is removed and the garment of
adulthood has not yet been donned. Thats a dangerous
time.

when a melamed learns pnimius

haTorah, the Torah penetrates
his pnimius. When he learns
alef-beis with the child or
Chumash or Mishnayos, he puts
his essence, his pnimius into the
child. Although he is learning
Nigleh of Torah, the external part
of Torah with the child, he puts
his essence, his pnimius, into the
childs soul.
The same is true for us. When
a father who learns Tanya and
Chassidus talks to his child, he
has the pnimius. In Chassidus
there is an endless inner wealth
and
although
in
previous
generations, this wealth was not

means him, as in the Chassidic

explanation of your G-d that
He is your strength and lifeforce.
So too, when teaching the
verse, and you shall be to Me
a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation, we need to make it clear
that Hashem is speaking to him
and Hashem wants him, the
Jewish child, to be a kingdom
of priests in all aspects of Torah
and mitzvos and a holy nation
also in those material things
which need to be sanctified.
These fundamental principles,
says the Rebbe, need to remain
with a Jew all his life, even when

he grows old, just as when he was

taught in his youth.
I once had a very challenging
student in whom I had to put
tremendous kochos in order to
make it through the year with
him. At the end of the year,
his father told me something
profound. The Gemara says
that when Dovid entered the
bathhouse and was standing there
naked he said, oy that I should
stand here bare of mitzvos. When
he recalled the mila in his flesh,
he calmed down. What can we
learn from this? That all of us
have clothing and the clothing
change as time goes on. Little
children have the garment of
tmimus (simple sincerity) and in
their adulthood they take off the
garment of tmimus and put on
the garment of adulthood. The
problem is in the transition stage,
when the garment of childhood
is removed and the garment
of adulthood has not yet been
donned. Thats a dangerous time.
What helps? Bris mila, which
alludes to the foundations of
chinuch, the essential connection
that a Jew has with Hashem.
These foundations help us get
through this time.

THE POWER WE DERIVE

FROM THE REBBE
Nowadays, people get excited
over the novelty of a pirsum
rishon (i.e. something never
before published). In Likkutei
Sichos there are many pirsum
rishons. For someone who
did not learn a given sicha, its
definitely a pirsum rishon. To
learn the series of the Rebbes
farbrengens is simply the spiritual
experience of participating in the
Rebbes farbrengen and it has a
special impact.
Take a sicha of any year
and feel that you are sitting at a
farbrengen with the Rebbe and

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you live it! When you sit at home

and review it with your neshama,
it enters the neshamos of the
children.
We have the power of that
elder, the power of the Rebbe!
We dont need anything; we have
the greatest possible kochos.
The Gemara in tractate
Megilla says that the wicked
Haman threw a lottery and it
landed on the month of Adar.
Haman rejoiced because this is
the month that Moshe Rabbeinu
passed. The Meor Einayim, the
holy R Nachum of Chernobyl,
asks: The Gemara tells us that
Haman did not know that on this
same day Moshe was born. True,
a persons mazal begins to shine
when he is born, but it ends when
he dies, so how does it help that
Moshe was born in this month
when, at the moment he passed
away, the mazal expired?
Another question: If Haman
knew the history of the Jewish
people and he knew that Moshe

died, how did he not know when

Moshe was born?
The Meor Einayims answer is
fundamental and relates to us. He
says that before 7 Adar, there was
one man who was named Moshe,
Moshe the man of G-d. After
7 Adar, that Moshe Rabbeinu
became the extension of Moshe
in every generation a spark of
Moshe within every one of us.
Says the Alter Rebbe in
Tanya that it says in the verse,
What does Hashem your G-d
ask of you except to fear... The
Gemara asks, is fear a minor
thing? Answers the Gemara, yes,
for Moshe its simple. What is
meant by for Moshe? The verse
is talking to us! The Alter Rebbe
explains that every Jew contains a
spark of Moshe Rabbeinu. Every
Jew has the power of Moshe
Rabbeinu which needs to be
revealed, and then it becomes a
minor thing.
This is what the Gemara
means when it says that Haman

did not know that Moshe was

born in that month. Its not
referring to Moshes birth 120
years before his passing, but his
not knowing that Moshe was
born on 7 Adar, on the day of
his passing, within every Jew.
We contain the Rebbe within
us. The Rebbe is with every one of
us. We see this openly. A Jew who
does the Rebbes inyanim, a Jew
who does the Rebbes mivtzaim,
learns the Rebbes teachings, and
fulfills the Rebbes horaos, has
the Rebbe within him.
Such a person sees divine
assistance with his children
and divine assistance within
everything he does. Shluchim
have doubled and tripled their
work. There were periods when
donors sustained losses, their
businesses closed, and the
shluchim feared for their future.
There was fear that half of the
mosdos in Russia would close,
but not one shliach had to close
a mosad. There are kochos! The

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Chinuch
Rebbe is with every Chassid,
with each of us. The Rebbe is
with every mother and father
who need to be mechanech their
children and are mekusharim to
the Rebbe.
In order for children to
experience that sense of the
Rebbe, we parents need to live
with the Rebbes inyanim in
every aspect of running our
homes. At the Shabbos table,
when reviewing a sicha of the
Rebbe, the length is not that
important. Sometimes a short
vort of the Rebbe is enough,
especially considering the chayus
with which it is said. When the
father comes home from shul on
Motzaei Shabbos after seeing
the video of the Rebbe, and he
enthusiastically tells his wife and
children a point that he heard
from the sicha or dollars, it
connects the entire family to the
Rebbe.

AVOIDING A CHINUCH
OVERDRAFT
Although the Rebbe is within
each and every one of us, that
does not absolve us from taking
action. When we act with
sincerity, we reach the goal
which the Rebbe Rayatz writes
about in one of his letters. What
conditions are necessary to build
a Jewish home? First, farshtandt
(understanding),
energy,
ibergegebenkait
(devotion),
geduld (patience), gut hartzikait
(good
heartedness)
reinkait
(cleanliness),
gelassenkait
(calmness), orderung (order),
freilichin shtimung mit a gutte
panim un a chevrayishe batziung
(a joyful attitude with a good face
and a gregarious manner).
Chinuch is the foundation of
all Torah and mitzvos. The Rebbe
Rashab said that just as its an
obligation to put on tfillin each
day, its an obligation to think

about the Torah education of

children for half an hour a day.
What is there to think about for
half an hour?
Throughout 24 hours, I need
to know that I am a role model
for chinuch. My actions, my
behavior, and how the children
see me, thats all chinuch. But
thinking about a specific child,
that takes at least half an hour of
contemplation a day and that is
an obligation, just like putting on
tfillin.
The Rebbe asks, why is the
obligation to think about chinuch
compared to tfillin and not to
other mitzvos like Torah study,
for example? The Rebbe answers,
there are mitzvos that can be
apportioned. When a Jew wants
to do acts of kindness, he can do
less today and more tomorrow.
When it comes to tfillin though,
there is no making up for it.
You cannot say today I wont
put on tfillin but tomorrow I will
leave the tfillin on for two hours
instead of an hour. Tfillin must
be donned every day.
I once heard that Chassidim
said: The enactment is for half
an hour a day. In the event that
someone did not do this, the half
an hour that he missed enters his
bank account as an overdraft of
half an hour. If it happens again
that he missed the half hour,
thats another half hour added to
his overdraft, and it accumulates.
Afterward, there are problems
and sleep is lost or one cannot
sleep altogether. The hours of
sleep that are lost are the missed
half hours; this is how he pays the
overdraft.
Someone who thinks about
the chinuch of his children every
day has no overdraft at the bank.
He doesnt have problems and he
can sleep soundly.
Someone who invests in
chinuch will be successful. At the

same time, there are things one

needs to consult about because
we are subjective and we love our
children.

STOP A MOMENT
AND PAY ATTENTION!
Heres a story that happened
with a student of mine, years ago,
from which we can learn what to
watch out for.
I had a student and I did not
know what would be with him.
Five times a day he would lie on
the floor and scream and curse
his classmates. I felt very bad for
him. There was once a test and
the boy was very nervous. I told
him that his father is a talmid
chacham and he should ask to
learn with him.
The boy said, My father? He
hates me the most!
I was taken aback and I said
that I knew his father as a nice
man, how could he hate him? But
the boy insisted and repeated: He
hates me. I asked him how he
knew this and he said because his
father did not talk to him.
I realized something was
amiss. I called the father and
said that without getting into the
details there was a situation that
needed correcting and his son
claimed that the father hated him.
The father was shocked and he
said: I hate him? G-d forbid! I
continued the conversation and
asked whether he, the father, ever
spoke to his son. He replied that
of course he spoke to his son.
I asked whether he spoke
to his son at the Shabbos table.
The father thought and thought
and said, R Twersky, thats a
good point. I dont really talk to
him at the Shabbos table. Why?
Because he has older brothers
and younger brothers. We have
ten children and this boy is in
the middle. The older ones come

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from 770 with news and things

to say. The little ones come with
their parsha sheets and I need
to test them. This son is 14. He
doesnt have news from 770 and
he doesnt have parsha sheets so I
dont end up talking to him.
As a result, the child had
constructed an entire edifice
in his mind and arrived at the
mistaken conclusion that his
father hates him. This led to
his poor behavior, lying on the
classroom floor five times a day.
He became crazy from it, to a
certain extent, and even cursed
his classmates.
The father committed to
fostering a relationship with his
son and although he worked hard
and only arrived home at eight
oclock at night, he set aside time
at night in which he learned with
his son four times a week, in
order to pay back the year or two
that the child felt his father hated
him.
Today, this talmid is a fine
young man who is married.
If the father would not have
taken matters into his hands,
who knows what would have
happened. And this was without
the father realizing that anything
was wrong.
This is what is meant by
thinking about the chinuch of
children. Thinking about what is
going on with every single child
and giving individual attention to
each one.

TIMELY INTERVENTION
Here is another story about
a father and son. There was a
boy that was suspended from
the mesivta. The boy was
actually a good learner but was
a troublemaker. I was in Yagdil
Torah that night and the boy
was there learning. I was making
myself a cup of tea when I saw
the father walk in looking furious.
He came for his son, feeling his
son was embarrassing him.
I stopped the father and said
I wanted to talk to him before he
went over to his son. I said: Dont
forget he is your son. It makes no
difference right now what he did
or didnt do. Dont forget hes
your son! Listen to what he has
to say. Even if he did what they
said he did he remains your son.
There is a saying that there is no
making up for one unnecessary
slap and one unnecessary kiss
never hurts!
I calmed down the father and
said that if the boy was guilty, the
most the yeshiva would do would
be to give him a fine. But as far as
he was concerned, he could not
forget that he was his father. He
had to stand by him and not let
his anger take control.
The man went over to his son
calmly and asked him to come
home and talk to him about what
happened. The boy claimed he
was not guilty and he did not
do what he had been accused of
doing, someone else did it. The

In Crown Heights area: 1640/1700AM

USA phone: 347 990 1136

next day, when the matter was

investigated, it turned out that
the other boy was at fault and
admitted it.
If the father would have
slapped his son or vented his
anger at him, how would the
father have forgiven himself? The
father told me I saved him.
Thats just an example
that teaches us to listen to the
child. True, the child may have
embarrassed us, but our position
is of lesser importance here. We
need to listen to the child, to hear
what he has to say. The story I
just told is extreme but we always
need to speak nicely. We can help
him and save him. If we act in
a positive manner and he feels
that we are on his side and think
about him, he will feel secure,
confident and stable.
Before
the
Giving
of
the Torah, we had to bring
guarantors and these were our
children. Only then did we hear
I am Hashem your G-d. This is
the foundation of the Torah: our
children.
May Hashem help that our
guarantors areivim, be sweet
(from the same Hebrew root) and
our reward will be that they will
educate their children in this way,
and the verse they [the words of
Torah] will not move from your
mouth and your childrens mouth
and your childrens childrens
mouth, says Hashem, will be
fulfilled in us.

worldwide, online: www.RadioMoshiach.org

In Israel (Nechayeg Venishmah): 08-9493-770 (press 1 # / 9 # / 3 #)

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PROFILE

DEDICATED
SOLDIER IN THE
SERVICE OF THE
JEWISH PEOPLE
R Yaakov Elishevitz was moser nefesh in Russia to
circumcise Jewish babies and to train mohalim. After
moving to Eretz Yisroel, he enabled thousands of people
to put on tfillin at the Chabad tfillin stand at the Kosel. *
Profile of a Chassid to mark his passing on 20 Shvat 5753.
By Dov Levanon

he Chassid, R Yaakov
Elishevitz was born on
Simchas Torah 5673 in
Dnepropetrovsk, formerly
Yekaterinoslav, in the Ukraine.
This was the city where the
Rebbes father, R Levi Yitzchok
Schneersohn, was the rav. In his
early childhood he learned in a
regular Chassidic school. This
was before the communists closed
down the chadarim.
When he was only eight years
old his mother died in a typhus
epidemic, leaving behind three
young orphans and a husband
who did not recover from the
tragedy. Yaakov and his brothers

moved to live with his uncle.

When R Yaakov was bar
mitzva, his uncle sent him
to learn in Yeshivas Tomchei
Tmimim in Kremenchug and
this was the beginning of the
childs many travels and travails.
After the Dnieper overflowed
its banks and nearly destroyed
Kremenchug, the talmidim of the
yeshiva dispersed. Yaakov went to
the branch in Vitebsk, but not for
long. The communists watchful
eye forced the boys to flee to
Odessa. After a short period they
were arrested and upon being
released they fled to Charkov.
The final stop in his

wandering among underground

yeshivos was in Dnepropetrovsk
where he forged a relationship
with the rav, R Levi Yitzchok.
When the ravs oldest son, later
to be the Rebbe, was married,
Yaakov attended the farbrengen
which was held that night in
the ravs home. All his life he
remembered that moving event.
During those harsh days, R
Yaakov began to study shchita.
When he went to the rav to
receive kabbala (certification), R
Levik took a volume of Tzemach
Tzedek from his bookcase and
showed him the Halacha that a
shochet ought to have a beard. R

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It was one of the usual days

of heavy bombing as German
warplanes targeted the city
beyond the Volga River. The
Jewish soldier found himself a
hiding place in a little trench that
sufficed for one soldier when he
heard a voice shout, Zhid, get
out of here right now! There was
no purpose in arguing with the
burly soldier who was making his
way to the relatively safe ditch.
R Yaakov began running
among the soldiers who were
lying there, in the attempt to find
himself someplace where he could
hide himself. Seconds later they
heard the explosion which meant
a bomb had landed not far away.
R Yaakov glanced backward and
saw that his refuge had been
targeted and the gentile soldier
had been killed.

DECISION ON BEHALF
OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

Yaakov, who at that time shaved

because of fear of the authorities,
understood that the rav could
not give him the necessary
certification and he went to get it
from another rav. Upon receiving
kabbala, R Levik allowed some
of those who were close to him
to eat from R Yaakovs shchita,
knowing that he was G-d fearing.

THE BEST HIDING PLACE

During World War II, R
Yaakov, who was considered
highly fit for military service,
was drafted and sent to the front
in Stalingrad, where one of the
most famous battles of the war

took place. Stalin could not allow

himself to lose the city named for
himself, and the Germans, who
were well aware of this, put in
supreme efforts to conquer the
city.
The two armies bombed
one another every day as the
number of bodies strewn around
the outskirts of the city grew.
According to estimates, out of
a little more than two million
soldiers sent to that battle, nearly
1,800,000 soldiers were either
killed or wounded. One of the
few who survived was Yaakov.
He saw, throughout the months
of battle, how G-d protected him
time after time.

When R Yaakov returned

from the war, he discovered
that he had no family left. They
had all been killed by the cursed
Nazis. Despite his pain over his
terrible loss, he did not despair.
He decided that his revenge
would be to learn mila and bring
Jewish children into the covenant
of Avrohom Avinu.
With the last of his money he
traveled to Moscow where there
were a few elderly mohalim from
whom he hoped to learn the craft.
Since he had no money even to
buy clothes he arrived in Moscow
while still in uniform.
He then encountered an
unexpected problem. The veteran
mohalim, who were afraid for
their livelihood, were unwilling
to teach young mohalim who
would be their competition. After
he pleaded with them, he found
two mohalim who were willing
to train him. However, before

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Profile

Receiving the Torah that the Rebbe sent in 5729, a gift for the Tzemach Tzedek
shul in the Old City of Yerushalayim. From right to left: R Zushe Partisan, R Yaakov
Yehuda Majeski (father of R Shloma) the one given the shlichus to bring the Torah,
R Yaakov Elishevitz, R Avrohom Zaltzman

returning to Dnepropetrovsk,
after completing his training,
they refused to give him a written
certification that he had mastered
the craft. They were afraid that
the authorities would find the
paper and they would be sent to
Siberia.
When
he
arrived
in
Dnepropetrovsk, he found his
work cut out for him in more
ways than one. For one thing,
there were no mohalim left at
all and anyone who wanted to
circumcise his son had to use the
young mohel. He soon became
known as an expert mohel.
Second, since the Russian
government wanted to eradicate
bris mila, they taxed mohalim
heavily so that working legally
was out of the question.
However, in Russia of those days,
anyone who did not work at an
official job was labeled a parasite
and could be sent to a labor camp
for being a burden on the regime.
R Yaakov had to find various

odd jobs so that he wouldnt be

designated a parasite.
After
some
time
in
Dnepropetrovsk, during which
he taught the first of his students,
R Chaim Ber Zoldin, a quarrel
broke out in the community.
When
R
Yaakov
refused
to support those who had
connections with the government,
they decided to get rid of him
by doing something commonly
done to get rid of Jews who did
holy work they reported that he
earned a fortune as a mohel. The
government would do the rest.
After the case miraculously
ended in R Yaakovs favor he
realized he could no longer stay
in the city. He and his family
moved to Moscow.

KOSO, KISO, AND KAASO

The move to Moscow was a
salvation for the Jews of Moscow
where there was no mohel under
the age of sixty and people

who did not want to use older

mohalim stopped circumcising
their sons. At the same time, the
elderly mohalim sought to protect
their livelihoods and did not train
any young men.
When the Chassidim in
Moscow saw that R Yaakov
was G-d fearing, and also saw
him when he was bkoso, in his
cups, they decided he ought to
have an official position in the
shul. This was tremendously
dangerous. The KGB, who were
inclined to look away from the
crimes of those too old to
change, were very much on top
of younger people.
It only remained to convince
Rabbi Shleifer, rav of the shul,
to allow him to accept an official
position. However, R Shleifer
was apprehensive. He finally
agreed to allow R Yaakov to serve
as shochet, but not as mohel.
R Yaakov, who was new in
Moscow, made do with shchita
but was unable to do brissin.
People were afraid to allow an
unfamiliar mohel to circumcise
their babies. But the Chassidim
got together and made sure that
a few people gave him their sons
and from then on, he became
known as a mohel.
Here is where R Yaakov
also became known bkiso (his
pocket). He wasnt satisfied with
the brissin he did; he began to
secretly teach mila to all kinds
of youth who were dangerous
to the regime, such as those
sentenced to decades in Siberia
and were pardoned following the
death of the evil Stalin. When
R Shleifer opened a yeshiva in
the shul, R Yaakov also taught
shchita and mila to the bachurim.
Fear of what tomorrow
would bring had an effect on
the learning. Nobody knew
what tomorrow would bring or
when and if they would arrest R

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Yaakov. He taught the talmidim

quickly. The problem was that no
one wanted to sacrifice his son to
a student who had just finished
a crash course in mila. What did
R Yaakov do? He arranged with
the babys father that he would be
the mohel and during the bris he
would recite the brachos. Before
the babys father had time to
react, R Yaakov would give the
knife to one of his students who
quickly did the circumcision.
Having to deal with the
father and the risks involved
did not deter him. Obviously,
if something had happened to
one of the babies and the father
would have reported him, R
Yaakov would have ended his life
in the icy wilderness of Siberia.
But before him was the holy goal,
to train more and more mohalim
and shochtim so that Russian
Jewry would not remain without
klei kodesh who were trained
to perform these mitzvos upon
which Judaism stands. He did not
earn a cent and did not concern
himself with his livelihood being
encroached upon as the elders
did. Before his eyes was only the
future of Russian Jewry, nothing
else.
His reputation as an expert
shochet and mohel grew and he
could have earned a lot of money.
Despite this, poverty reigned
in his house. First, he was not
called upon for every bris. He
made sure his students could do
circumcisions, and nothing made
him happier than when he heard
that one of his students had
enabled a Jew to do the mitzva of
mila.
When he was called upon to
do a bris, he made sure to tell
those who were hard up that
there was no obligation to pay
him and that everyone gave him
what they were able to give. In
Russia of those days, nearly every

R Yaakov Elishevitz (right) at his son Shmuels wedding. On the left is R Blau.

Jew fell into the category of being

hard up. The little bit that he
earned he generously dispersed
to the poor.

WHO SET
THE SHUL ON FIRE?
It was a summer day in
5725/1965, in the afternoon.
All the minyanim in the shul had
finished and only R Yaakov and
the shul accountant, a man by
the name of Shmuel, were there.
Suddenly there were cries of,
Fire! Fire!
The two men ran outside and
were horrified to discover fire
rising from the room of the shul
guard who had disappeared. R
Yaakov quickly called the fire
department and ran inside, trying
to contain the huge fire with
the help of a fire extinguisher.
When he had to give up and he
ran outside after a few minutes,
he found the firemen moving
sluggishly as a crowd of gentiles
urged them to leave and let the
shul go up in flames.
Why arent you extinguishing

the fire? R Yaakov screamed.

Water!
The firemen seemed to wake
up and they connected the hoses
to faucets and began dousing
the flames which had spread
throughout the shul and had
reached the Aron Kodesh. The
shul was saved in the end but
the fire singed some of the sifrei
Torah.
After a few minutes, the
gabbaim of the shul came. They,
of course, had been appointed
by the KGB, along with the
guard. There were also several
other grim looking men who
clearly belonged to the dreaded
initials. After a short look
around, they left.
The next day, they returned
in force, and this time R Yaakov
was called for questioning for the
purpose of discovering who had
ignited the fire. R Yaakov knew
that if he revealed the truth that
the fire had been set from inside,
it would cause an altogether
unnecessary investigation of
people in the Jewish community.

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Profile
So he said that a few hooligans
who would go up on the roof of
the shul were probably the ones
who did it. The story wasnt that
convincing and one of the KGB
agents decided to take him in for
further questioning.
One of the men stepped out
of the group. No, I will not
allow that, he said in Russian.
Apparently the man had a senior
position, for the others accepted
what he said, but not for long.
Four months later, R Yaakov was
called for further questioning and
it was only because he stuck to
his version that he was released.
After this incident, R Yaakov
realized that he wasnt safe,
even in Moscow, but he was
afraid to submit a request to

in Eretz Yisroel and settled in

Yerushalayim, he no longer
had his reputation. As Chazal
say, Traveling reduces your
reputation. Nor could he find
work as a shochet because he
suffered from asthma which had
gotten worse. R Yaakov did not
complain. He went to the Rebbe
four times in his life, the first
time for Rosh HaShana 5732,
when the Rebbe invited and paid
for the Chassidim who had come
out of Russia.
He did not have material
parnasa but he had spiritual
parnasa in abundance. For nearly
twenty years, R Yaakov manned
the tfillin stand at the Kosel. He
once explained the particulars
of this holy work. It was when

All day I run about the Kosel plaza, from morning

until sunset, and put tfillin on people. Many of
them dont know what tfillin are and are afraid to put
them on. I need to convince them that its not an injection
and that it doesnt hurt
be allowed to emigrate. It was
only after a visa was sent to
him from Eretz Yisroel by R
Shmuel Pruss and several of his
students also received visas that
he agreed to submit a request. A
miracle occurred and he received
permission to emigrate.
Mr. A Cohen, of the Israeli
consulate in Moscow, related:
I was witness to this on
February 20, 1967. That night,
he [R Yaakov] left Moscow
on his way to Eretz Yisroel, by
train, with a stop in Vienna.
When I went to the train to see
off the olim I was amazed to
find hundreds of people who
had come to escort R Yaakov
and his family. At the time it was
unbelievable, unheard of.
When R Yaakov arrived

his old friend, Emanuel Michlin,

the son-in-law of R Shleifer
of Moscow, invited him to
come vacation for a few days in
Nahariya.
R Yaakov
responded:
If only I
could do so.
All day I run
about the Kosel
plaza,
from
morning until
sunset,
and
put tfillin on
people. Many
of them dont
know
what
tfillin are and
are afraid to
put them on. I

need to convince them that

its not an injection and that it
doesnt hurt Many have not
put on tfillin in 20 and even 30
years. Many dont know how to
make a bracha or to read. They
forgot how to put them on and
are embarrassed and they have all
kinds of excuses: I put them on
already, I have tfillin at home,
Ill come back tomorrow, I dont
have time, etc. The Russian
immigrants have an additional
excuse: they already did a bris
mila for me, etc. My fellow
Chassidim and I put tfillin on
hundreds of Jews every day from
around seven in the morning
until sunset. It is called Mivtza
Tfillin.
Additionally,
R
Yaakov
explained that he was also
involved in Mivtza Chinuch with
children who visited the Kosel
with whom he said Shma etc. He
concluded as follows:
In the evening, when I go
home, I am already exhausted
and my feet refuse to move. Now
tell me, when can I go to you?
R Yaakov passed away on 20
Shvat 5753 when he was over 80.
Source: articles published about him
in Kfar Chabad, Tishrei 5755

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960_bm_eng.indd 27

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PARSHA THOUGHT

THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS
OF THE FUTURE
By Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

FULFILLING THE
PURPOSE OF CREATION
In his classic work Tanya,
the Alter Rebbe expounds on
the revelation at Mount Sinai.
What happened there was more
than just the giving of a set of
Ten Commandments, most of
which were already known.
Far more significantly, it was
an unprecedented revelation of
G-ds presence in our physical
world. No longer were the
physical and the spiritual realms
disparate entities.
The Alter Rebbe cites the
famous words of the Midrash as
to the raison dtre of Creation:
G-d desired a dwelling place
in the lowest of realms. G-ds
reason for creating a physical
existence for the world was
to have the People make it a
receptive place for His presence
by fulfilling His commandments.
With the giving of the Torah at
Mount Sinai, one who performs
a Mitzvah with his physical
body, or with a physical object,
introduces Divine energy into the
physical world and helps make it
a dwelling place for G-d.
However, the Alter Rebbe
adds, the revelation at Mount

Sinai was a one-time event.

What happened at Sinai was
the beginning of a process that
will come full circle with the
Messianic Age. At that time,
G-ds presence in our world will
become a permanent reality.
It may be suggested that
if the revelation at Sinai was
the beginning of the road to
Redemption it should be reflected
in the initial communication, the
so-called Ten Commandments.
And, in fact, it is.

THE PROMISE
The First Commandment is:
I am the L-rd your G-d, Who
took you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of Bondage.
The scholarly medieval work
known as the Semak states that
the commandment contains a
fundamental promise: just as G-d
liberated us from the Egyptian
bondage, so too will He liberate
us from the present exile.

IN G-DS PRESENCE
The Second Commandment
is: You shall not have the gods of
others in My presence.
The words My presence

imply that idolatry and G-ds

presence are mutually exclusive.
For idolatry to exist, in any form,
the idolaters cannot be aware of
G-ds presence; otherwise, they
would worship Him instead of
their idols. In the Messianic Age,
when the veil that obscures the
truth of G-ds presence is finally
removed, no vestige of idolatry,
even in its most subtle form, will
be able to survive.
We can now rephrase the
Second Commandment to read
as a declaration rather than a
mandate:
You will not have the gods
of others, because you will
all be in My presence... This
construction reflects the many
Biblical prophecies that all
foreign deities will be eliminated.
The Aleinu prayer, recited thrice
daily at the end of our services,
demonstrates our yearning for
fulfillment of this prophecy.

RESTORING STABILITY
The Third Commandment is:
You shall not take the name of
the L-rd your G-d in vain, for
the L-rd will not hold blameless
anyone who takes His name in
vain.

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energy into his falsehood, it

returns the world to its pre-Sinai
instability and reverses the very
mechanism for Redemption.

THE SABBATH OF
EXISTENCE

This
commandment
is
unique. It is the only one which
G-d says He will not forgive.
The Talmud states that the entire
world shook when G-d uttered
this commandment. Why is this
transgression singled out from
among all the others?
The answer is that all
the other transgressions are
committed in spite of G-d. Either
one forgets G-ds presence or,
heaven forbid, even rebels against
Him. This specific transgression
can only be committed by making
G-ds name an accomplice
to the crime. We can see in this
transgression the ultimate state
of exile, where not only is G-ds
presence veiled, it is actually
transformed into an agent of evil,
G-d forbid.
Hence
the
Third
Commandment warns us how
low one can go as a result of
Galus conditions. The first level
of degradation, represented by
the Second Commandment,
is the concealment of G-ds
presence. From there, it degrades
even further into the perversion
of using G-d for evil.
These two characteristics
of Galus have come to the fore
in recent times. The world

today, including its academics

and journalists, is plagued with
a secular tyranny that denies
G-d and repudiates the very
notion of absolute standards
of morality and righteousness.
Simultaneously, we are witness
to the appalling evil of terrorism
in the name of G-d, as was
tragically evidenced in the terrible
massacres in Paris a few weeks
ago.
The final Redemption will
end these distortions of reality.
The Third Commandment thus
declares that You will not take
the name of the L-rd your G-d
in vain This phenomenon can
only occur in a Galus-oriented
world that is inherently unstable.
This present instability, which
enables G-ds power to be so
sullied, echoes the instability of
the world before Sinai. It was
only when the worlds purpose
for existence was validated by the
giving of the Torah that the world
stopped trembling, according to
the Talmud. Thus, with G-ds
declaration that I am the L-rd
your G-d G-ds presence
and a concomitant stability
were introduced to the world.
However, whenever a person
swears falsely and diverts G-ds

The Fourth Commandment

is: Remember the Sabbath and
sanctify it.
This commandment alludes
literally to the seventh day. But
its deeper reference is to the
seventh millennium, the ultimate
Sabbath of creation. By telling
us to remember it, the Torah
is also hinting that when we
observe Shabbos today we should
remember that it is an allusion
to the Messianic Era which we
know is the Shabbos of creation.
It is the time when we will enjoy
true stability and tranquility.

THE LENGTH OF DAYS OF

THE FUTURE
The Fifth Commandment
is: Honor your father and
mother, in order that your days
be lengthened on the land that
the L-rd, your G-d, is giving
you. Our Sages state that long
life here refers to long life in the
future Messianic Age, particularly
in the period after Tchiyas
HaMeisim, when the dead are
restored to life.
In summation, the first five
commandments tell the following
story:
G-d will redeem us. We will
bask in His presence. The world
will become a stable and tranquil
dwelling place as the prelude to
the time when we live forever.

THE DIVINITY OF THE BODY

The Sixth Commandment is
You shall not commit murder.
Many have asked why the Torah
had to command us to avoid such
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Parsha Thought

The seriousness of this crime derives from its

denial of the belief that every individual body is
created in G-ds image. This is a repudiation of the G-dly
value of the physical body. Many non-Torah spiritual
ideologies regard the body as lacking intrinsic holiness.
At best, the body is seen as a temporary Temple of
the soul. In Judaism, however, the body is rooted in
G-ds essence. The Torah is in effect declaring: Do not
underestimate the G-dly nature of the body.
a heinous crime? Isnt its evil
nature self-evident?
One answer is that the
focus here is not on the moral
degradation of the murderer; that
needs no special mention. Rather,
the seriousness of this crime
derives from its denial of the
belief that every individual body
is created in G-ds image. This is

a repudiation of the G-dly value

of the physical body. Many nonTorah spiritual ideologies regard
the body as lacking intrinsic
holiness. At best, the body is seen
as a temporary Temple of the
soul. In Judaism, however, the
body is rooted in G-ds essence
and it was the body that G-d
chose at Mount Sinai.

Chassidic philosophy reveals

that this unique status of the
body will be fully revealed in the
Messianic Age, especially after
the Resurrection of the Dead. At
that time, the full extent of the
bodys intrinsic G-dly nature will
not only be revealed but the body
will be viewed even as superior to
the soul! The root of this notion
is the commandment against
murder. The Torah is in effect
declaring: Do not underestimate
the G-dly nature of the body.

THE ULTIMATE MARRIAGE

The Seventh Commandment
is You shall not commit
adultery.
Here too, the Torah wishes
to go beyond the conventional
wisdom that adultery is a crime
against morality. While certainly
true, there was no need for the
fanfare of Sinai to teach such

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an elementary law. Many other

cultures honor this command
without having been made aware
of the Ten Commandments.
Rather, this law is about
appreciating and respecting the
awesome G-dly nature of the
physical relationship between
husband and wife. In some other
religious ideologies, marriage and
intimacy are seen as a necessary
evil to control and curb our
animalistic desires. In Judaism,
it is the source for introducing
the most sublime Divine energies
into our world.
Indeed, marriage of a man
and a woman is a micro version
of the ultimate marriage between
G-d and the Jewish people.
Fidelity in marriage as the holiest
institution in existence is a
precursor to that future marriage
that occurred at Sinai and will be
consummated in the Messianic
Age.
This
commandment
alludes to the exclusivity of our
relationship with G-d.

THE G-DLINESS WITHIN

THE PHYSICAL
The Eighth Commandment is
You shall not steal.
Although our Sages teach us
that the principle meaning of this
commandment is not to kidnap,
it also alludes to the general law

against theft of property. This

too reflects the sophisticated way
Judaism views physical objects
and property. If it were merely
a command against stealing
anothers property it would not
have necessitated the imposing
accompaniment
of
thunder
and lightning. Rather, it is a
testament to the way we ought
to view the physical world. G-ds
purpose in creationwhich will
be fully realized in the Messianic
Ageis not for the spiritual
realms, but for our physical
world. By respecting the integrity
of property we demonstrate that
we respect the integrity of the
physical world and the role that
each person is given to cultivate
and elevate his or her personal
property by revealing its true
G-dly essence.

WE ARE G-DS WITNESSES

The Ninth Commandment is:
You shall not bear false witness
against your fellow.
We are created as witnesses
to G-ds existence and presence
in our world. When we are in
exile we are unable to serve
G-d adequately; many of His
commandments cannot presently
be fulfilled. Furthermore, we no
longer have the Holy Temple,
where G-ds presence was
revealed. We are thus incapable of

Continued from page 7

to leave, and the hour is packed
and fascinating. Its been 19 years
already that the shiur is in existence
and so far, we have rarely ever
repeated a sicha.
Another amazing thing about
our shiur is the achdus. We all sit
down together for the purpose
of learning the Rebbes sichos on
inyanei Moshiach and Geula. Every
week, someone else gives the shiur,
and with all our different opinions

testifying fully to G-ds presence.

That lack will be remedied in the
Messianic Age.

NO MORE JEALOUSY
The
Tenth
and
final
Commandment is: You shall not
covet
The very last redemptive
change
to
humanity
that
will occur is spelled out in
Maimonides conclusion to his
Mishneh Torah: In that age there
will be no more jealousy and
rivalry... The deeply embedded
human failing of envy, cause
of the very first crime against
another human when Cain killed
Abel, will finally be rectified in the
Messianic Age.
To summarize the last five
commandments:
In the Messianic Age we will
appreciate the Divine character
of the physical body, experience
the ultimate marriage, value the
physical world, be empowered
to be complete witnesses of G-d
and to overcome the last of our
human frailties.
Today our challenge is to
anticipate these changes and
attempt to implement them in
our daily lives. This will prepare
us for the imminent coming of
Moshiach and the unfolding of
the Final Redemption!

we unite around the Rebbes words.

Decades of nonstop work. What
motivates you?
First is what the Rebbe said to
the shluchim of Migdal HaEmek
(which appears in Likkutei Sichos
vol. 14, p. 338), that by going
out of the constrictions of Migdal
HaEmek, the entire land will go out
of its constrictions toward the true
and complete Geula. In a footnote,
the Rebbe points out what it says in
the Zohar that Melech HaMoshiach

will be revealed in the land of the

Galil. In other words, from here,
from Migdal HaEmek, the light of
Moshiach will go forth.
Then, its the brachos that I
received from the Rebbe personally,
when I submitted the album and the
bottle of mashke that I was given.
From that bottle I pour lchaim at
every shiur, for twenty years now,
and from it I derive the strength
to continue until we succeed in
the mission and bring about the
hisgalus.
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TZIVOS HASHEM

THE M YSTERY
OF THE

STORERO OM
By D Chaim
what
hear
you
Did
happened? It was portly Berel
who always walked around as
tensely as a coiled spring.

No, I said.
Dont ask! Old Zev did not
feel well and he is staying in the
Senior Home to recuperate.
So? Why are you so excited
about that?
Berels lips pursed and he
concluded, Okay, fine
I remained quiet and Berel
waddled away.
The game is starting. Do
you want to join? Redheaded
Yitzi did not wait for my
response. As he dribbled the
ball, he drew me into the court
and the game began. When
recess was over I went upstairs
to class, but something niggled
in my mind. I felt that I had
forgotten something important,
but could not remember what
it was.
I reviewed the previous hours
and I suddenly remembered.
Zev! Zev did not feel well and
he was not at home. This

was a great opportunity. An

opportunity for what, you
want to know? It isnt right
for me to tell you before I tell
Shmuli, my best friend. So be
patient please, until I meet up
with Shmuli.
As soon as the next recess
bell rang, I leaped from my seat
and went to our regular spot in
the yard. Shmuli came a second
later. What happened? he
curiously asked.
my
In
ask!
Dont
same
the
used
excitement, I
words that Berel had used. Old
Zev did not feel well and he is
staying in the Senior Home to
recuperate.
Whats so exciting about
that? Shmuel asked.
Yeah, I asked Berel the
same question, I said as I
thought, one-zero, Berel. But
why dont you understand?
Now we can organize Zevs
dusty storeroom.
Wow, how come I didnt
think of that myself? Youre
a genius, said Shmuli with

unusual generosity.
The story of the storeroom
follows. One day, when
as
is
who is a second
father,
my
visited his house,
Zev,
to
cousin
thats when I
and
him
I joined
treasure. In
the
about
out
found
house is
Zevs
in
om
storero
the
ities
antiqu
Jewish
of
re
a treasu
I
When
e.
fortun
a
worth
the
visit
me
let
to
Zev
begged
storeroom, he sweetly said,
Why are you begging so much?
I am happy to let you go in. I
think I can rely on you.
He took down an old key
that was hanging on the wall
in the kitchen and went to
the storeroom while I followed
closely behind him. The old
door squeaked a bit when it
was opened by Zevs trembling
hands and my eyes widened in
amazement at the sight of the
great treasure before me. There
were antiques of all kinds, old
silver and copper menorahs
of all sizes, silver candlesticks,
rings, old Torah crowns, and
many other Judaica items,
more than I can enumerate

32 17 Shvat 5775
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You know, said Shmuli.

off by the mess,
in being scared
one thing
But

we
. I believe
place
,
organi
will be able
start

Now
zing the
we

particular caught my attention,

."
storeroom
the
If
it.
ze
organi
to
the storeroom will
the chaos. The storeroom was a and slowly
begin

to
orderly
,was
I moved
then
said, as
I "

with,

"?
e , shape
"
someon
up,

huge mess, as though
. ely
"
"
. ,"
.
zed
ht
organi
be
, the
definit
can
it
around and the
flashlig
had worked hard to make sure
, ,"
"
."
...
again.
once
the
light beam moved around

it was disorganized.
, ,""
"

i got
Shmul
," walls.
of
"
me
work.
to
remind
down
This

...

have
Its a pity thatI dont
.
said Shmuli.

I picked up a carved
"
," else,
"
. ing
someth
silver
the strength to "make
.
order
I began

, why
now
see
, ," I
heard
ly
sudden
and
ah
menor
out of this chaos,
Zev
. said
er. I never

maam
the
ing
. review
LGani
, Basi
Over
voice,
,a low

behind me and he sighed.
we can be
how
unders
. tood
' dikar Shchina
,'
, "kalla
time, I visited Zev some more." achosi
e the world

prepar
to
ed
: expect

"
"

," haysa.
tonim
,batach
a
"
and discovered that
is
, . he
ch. In the

. . e Moshia
welcom
to
a
." in
"
?"is that?

I?"asked
,""
Who
,. His
"
truly fascinating person
be revealed

" . will
," Hashem
Geula,
,'
fright.
could
fill

memories of his youth
:

"

?
physica
l world but now
."!
in the

i, .
' Shmul
Shmuli say
a thick book. My friend
I heard
Its me,
the world is
"

,"how
, see
"
not
do
we
.
.
my
heart.
who began joining me on ."my
rolled off
and a stone
see wicked

that.
We
for
... ready
,"
me
with
visits to Zev, agreed
You
you?
with
up
s
What

succeed
ing and one can
people
". ' -
,'
more
that there was nobody
me!

scared
world runs on
"
," the
that
. ,
, There
" , think
fascinating than him.
g
makin

up

given
withou
t Hashem, G-d
. , Ive
its own,
Sorry
."
.
was another thing we agreed .


forbid.

upon, that we had
The truth is, I
to find the time to
intently, that I
said
help Zev organize the
t that way.
though
also
storeroom. We knew
have an
you
do
So,
that this would please
?
answer
him and we waited for
Yes, said Shmuli
the opportunity.
enthusiastically. The
I knew that Zev left
maamer of Yud Shvat
a key to his house with
begins with a quote
neighbors across the
from the Midrash that
way. When I knocked on
at the beginning of
g
the door in the evenin
Creation, the Shchina
with Shmuli and asked
was openly revealed
for the key, they gave
in the world. The
it to me without asking
world was created
much of anything.
in such a way that it
~ 773 '
After I opened 75the
order here. This storeroom was
was suitable for the revelation
door to the storeroom, I flicked never organized and it looks like
11:20:59 storeroom
17/01/2011
this
Like
272.indd 3but
the light it will never be organized. So I of Hashem.
the light switch
which was organized at first.
did not turn on. What shall began reviewing the Yud Shvat
Right. Then came wicked
we do? Shmuli whispered maamer that I had learned by
people who sinned and caused
worriedly.
heart.
G-dliness to be concealed, but
Dont worry, I reassured
Ill tell you something,
we just need to restore the
him. I brought along a I said. Zev told me that he
world to the way it was at first,
flashlight in case of emergency. inherited this storeroom from
its true state, the way it will be
You thought of everything, his father. The storeroom was in the time of the Geula when
but
organized
Shmuli said in that flattering wonderfully
hing will be good and
, everyt
nature
by
get
to
ing
messy
is
beginn
who
was
I
Zev,
that
way
complete. Even this storeroom
more
and
more
collected
used to.
will be organized then and will
the
What a mess, Shmuli treasures and that is how
be even more perfect than it
storeroom turned into what we
murmured.
was at first.
now.
see
of
instead
that
e
I propos

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