keeping in touch vol 3

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KeepingIn TouchT O R A H T H O U G H T S

I N S P I R E D B Y T H E W O R K S O FT H E L U B A V I T C H E R R E B B E ,

R A B B I M E N A C H E M M . S C H N E E R S O N

Volume I l l

Adapted by El iyahu Touger

Published and Copyrighted bySichos In English

In Touch. A Division of Fax A Sicha788 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn, N .Y. 11213

5767 2007

www.hebrewbooks.org
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/http://www.hebrewbooks.org/


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Keeping In TouchVolume I I I

Published and Copyrighted bySichos In EnglishI n Touch. A Division of Fax A Sicha

78 8 Eas te rn Parkway Brooklyn , N . Y . 1 1 21 3T e l . ( 7 1 8 ) 7 7 8 - 5 4 3 6

A l l rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced in any f o r m or by any means,

including photo-copying, without permission inw r i t i n g f r o m the copyright holder or the publisher.

I S B N 1 - 8 8 1 4 - 0 0 9 2 - 1

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Table of Contents

I n t r o d u c t i o n v

Publ i sher ' s Fo re wor d v i i

E d i t o r ' s Preface xBereishis 1

Shmos 43V a y i k r a 83Bamidbar 113D e v a r i m 1 4 7

Festivals 187


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IntroductionA s I was t h i n k i n g what to w r i t e fo r th i s i n t r od uc t i on , I opened myi n b o x and saw a message chain . A member o f the I n T o u c h f a m i l y wassen di ng me an e-mai l th at he received f r o m a relat ive wh o had received i tf r o m a f r i en d . A t the bo t t o m was a s to ry f r o m t he I n T o u c h w h i c h ateacher was us in g i n his address t o s t u d e n t s i n a Jewish c o mmu n i t yt h ousands o f mile s away.

T h e i n f o r m a l i t y o f the f l o w o f i n f o r m a t i o n was exc i t i ng . N o t somany years ago, such ideas were fou nd i n book s o n l y fo r scholars t oop en. To d ay , they are bei ng spread th r o u g h man y warmer , mo re user-f r i en d l y media .

I celebrate our readers fo r mak in g the I n T o u c h pa r t o f th i sexplo sio n o f kn owl ed ge . Years ago, Reb Do vbe r , the second ChabadRebb e, was asked wh at he expec ted o f hi s fo l lowers . H e rep l i ed that hewan te d that wh en tw o o f his chassi di m meet, they sho ul d discuss G-d ' soneness.

W h a t was the Rebbe asking for? H i s in te n t was s imple . W h e n t wostock-brokers meet, what do they speak about? T h e m ar k e t . W h e n t w orealtors meet, they speak abou t the pr ices o f homes and when teachersmeet, they speak about s tudents .

People speak about what 's on the ir m i n d . W h a t t h e Rebbe w a n t e dwas that his fol low ers sh ou ld have sp i r i tu a l concep ts o n the i r min ds andso wh en they r u n i n t o a f r iend , t ha t ' s what they w o u l d t a lk about . I nmo d e r n day te rms , wh e n on e faxes or e-mails a f r i en d a T o r a h t ho u g h t ,tha t same goal is being accomplished. A reader sees an idea that he likesand co mmun ica t es i t .

A s readers have c i r cu la t ed the bi -week ly I n T o u c h fax sheets, t herequests came i n : Ca n y o u add me to the su bsc r i pt io n l ists? W o u l d y o um i n d th is bei ng translated? Ca n I mass ma i l t hi s? T h r o u g h o u r readers 'efforts , the I n T o u c h has blossomed i n t o a f a m i l y o f t h ousands w h oshare To r ah concep t s w i t h f r iends , business associates, relatives, andsomet imes , w i t h people they barely know.

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T h e pr op het s teach that in the era o f Mashiach, " T h e k n o w l e d g e o fG - d w i l l f i l l t he w o r l d as th e wate rs cover th e ocean bed ." By spr ead in g" the knowled ge o f G- d " th r ou g h a l l poss ibl e means at presen t , we canb o t h anti c ipat e and prec ipi tat e the c o mi n g o f that fu tu re era.

In ThanksT o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h others, a per son mu st g o bey on d his ow nsub jec t iv i ty . For tha t reason, the I n T o u c h is a team effo r t , invo lv ingt he con t r ibu t i on s o f many d i f fe r en t i nd iv i dua l s . War r an t i n g specialr e c o g n i t i o n are my mot her , Ros aly nn Ma la mu d , for her co n t in uo ushe lp in ed i t i ng a p r od uc t wo r t hy o f t ak in g p r i de in . O f cour se, m y w i f eK a y l i , who has made t h e I n T o u c h f a m i l y par t o f ou r f a m i l y , sac r i f i c ingher t i me and bear in g w i t h my late ho u r s t o mak e sure t ha t eachperso n on ou r l i s t receives the ir bi- wee kl y fax o n ti me. A specialmeasure o f thanks goes ou t to my chi ld ren . They 've g r o wn up w i t h t heI n T o u c h . F r o m the t i me they were babies, they shared o ur ni gh tsto ge th er as the y wat c h me w o r k o n th e cover lett ers, go over pr oo fs , a ndfax o u t t he b i - w e e k l y I n T o u c h T o r a h sheets.

Also , I w o u l d l i k e t o than k yo u , ou r readers. Y o u r encouragement ,quest ions, and occasional correc t ions makes the I n T o u c h an in te rac t ivedynamic , where your response prompts us to deeper u n d e r s t a n d i n g .

W i t h i n th e chassidic c o mmu n i t y , i t is n o t accepted f or a chassid t ot han k his Rebbe. Never theless, i t is impo ssi ble t o co nc lud e w i t h o u tm e n t i o n i n g h i s c o n t i n u o u s c o n t r i bu t i o n . T h e I n T o u c h i s n o t m e r e ly"establ ished i n his mem o r y " or "a per pet uat io n o f his teachings. "Ins tead , i t i s ou r way o f s tay i ng I n T o u c h w i t h h i m and the mis s i on hegave us: to prepare ourselves and the w o r l d at large fo r the co mi n g o fMashiach, n o t as a dr eam o f the futu re , bu t N o w .

Y o s s i M a l a m u dCrown Heights, NY28 Sivan, 5767

P.s. Th e mis s i on o f the I n T o u c h was ou t l i ne d i n the Publ isher ' sF o r e w o r d a n d Ed i t o r ' s Preface t o V o l . I I o f Keeping In Touch. Because o fthei r co n ti nu ed relevance, excerpts f r o m t h em are re pr in te d here.

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Publishers ForewordT h i s book was w r i t t e n fo r people wh o w i l l p r o ba b l y n o t l o o k fo r i t .There 's Brad, a lawyer i n Man ha t t an , Joan, a consu l tan t w i t h a compu t e rn e t w o r k i n g f i r m i n Cal i forn ia , P h i l , an adver t i s in g executive i nCon nec t i cu t , and count less o thers .

W e k n o w t he m a l l t o o w e l l . A t one po i n t in the ir l ives, almost al l o ft h e m sough t con tac t w i t h some sor t o f Jewish invol vement , and Jud aismd i d no t come t hr o ug h for th em. I t wasn ' t meaning ful , exc i t ing , andj o y f u l en ou gh t o mai nt ai n the ir int erest . Th ey can ' t be bla med fo r no tc o n t i n u i n g t o i d e n t i f y as Jews; they ' re be ing h one s t . H a d Ju d a i s mpresented a message that they f e l t was viable, they w o u l d have l i s t ened .

Brad, Joan, an d P h i l have n o t c losed the i r door s . A l t h o u g h they maybe i n vo lved w i t h other pursui ts , they are s t i l l w i l l i n g t o l i s t en . I fJ u d a i s m presents a message th at the y can relate to , the y w i l l r e spond . I tis fo r t he m that t his bo o k was w r i t t e n .

B u t we sh o u ld n o t set up differen ces betwee n "we " and "t hey ."F i r s t o f all , n o one sh o u ld ever dr aw lines o f de marc at io n separatin g oneJew f r o m another . Bu t mor e imp or ta n t , to insp i re th em, we have t oin sp i r e ourselves. H a d they seen mor e vibr an t , purp osefu l , happy Jews,the i r fee l ings o f d i s i l lu s i on ment and a l iena t i on w o u l d never have arisen.Reaching ou t to them, therefore , must involve reachi ng i n t o ourselves.W e m u s t l o o k in sid e i n t o ou r core bei ng and in t o the core o f ou rTo r ah her i tage. W e hope the bo o k serves th is pu rp os e as w e l l .

The Book's StructureT h e bo o k centers o n the week ly T o r ah readings, f or they convey lessonso f timeless relevance. Year after year, century after century, a five-year-o l d c h i l d an d a vener able sage have s tud ied the same T o r a h passages,and year after year they have bo t h d iscovered de p t h and meaning . Thi sis a n o n g o i n g process . Th e t r u t hs tha t have generated happiness, dep th ,and pur pos e fo r ou r people fo r centu r ies c on ti nu e t o do so at presen t .

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The very w o r d "T o r ah " re lates to the He br ew w o r d horaah, mean ing" i n s t r u c t i o n " or "gui danc e." G - d gave us the T o r ah t o gu id e us i n ou rday- to-day lives. I n tha t vein, every weekly p o r t i o n can be seen as ab u l l e t i n o f immed iat e relevance co nt ain in g new ins ig hts to help usadvance in our D i v i n e service.

W e have prefaced these lessons w i t h stories , i l l u s t r a t i ng ho w theideas are no t merely theo ret ic al con stru cts , b u t t ru th s that are expressedi n actu al experience. Mor eo ve r , in te ll ec tu al con cepts are meant t o begrasped and un der s to od , to f i t i n t o the pock ets o f ou r min ds , as i t were.A s to ry , by con t ras t , conveys a mul t i -d ime ns io nal message tha tembraces us and all ows us t o experienc e t he con ce pt i n heart as w e l l asi n m i n d .

A f t e r each o f th e lessons f r o m the To r a h reading s, we dr aw ac o n n ec t i o n t o Mashiach and the Redemption that he w i l l in i t ia te , for thec o m i n g o f Mashiach is the fu nd amen ta l goal o f ou r existence.

O u r w o r l d is essent ially go od . I t is at least i n p o t e n t i al G-d 'sd w e l l i n g . I n the era o f the Rede mpt io n , th i s po te n t ia l w i l l b l o s s o m i n t oac tual i ty and G-d's presence w i l l permeate every di men si on o f ou renv i ronmen t .

A s is exp lai ne d i n several places i n the bo o k , th e era o f theRe d emp t i on is n o t a dr eam o f a f a r - o f f fut ur e, bu t a real i t y th at isbe c omi ng manifes t i n ou r lives at present . T o he igh t en ou r awareness t othe s h i f t i ng par adi gms that characterize ou r society , we h i g h l i g h tMashiach's c o mi n g i n each o f the reading s.

S i m i l a r l y , we i nc lu de d reading s th at focus on the Jewish festivalsand fast days, for these are far mo r e t ha n mer e dates o n th e calendar.Each one o f t he m pr o mpt s a di ffer ent mod e o f sp i r i tual ac t iv i ty ,bec ko ni ng us to explore and experience inne r g r o w t h and developmenti n a un iqu e way.

What is the In TouchH o w sho ul d we resp on d to loss? I t ' s almost natural to d r i f t i n t o apowerless state o f grief . A f t e r all , the ang ui sh is great an d ha r d t oover come. A pr oac ti ve per son , however, endeavors to t r ansf or m the pa ini n t o a pos i t ive force leadi ng to g r o w t h and development .

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O n the 3rd o f T a mm u z 57 5 4 (June 12, 19 94 ) , the L u b a v i t c hc o m m u n i t y , w o r l d Jewry, and indeed , ma n k i n d as a wh ol e f e l t pangs o fpa in as i t heard o f the passing o f the L ub avi tc her Rebbe, Ra bb iMen ach em M . Schneerson . A l l o f t he m i l l i o n s whose l ives very t ou ch edby the Rebbe f e l t the mag ni tu de o f the loss .

Bu t t hose who had assimilated the Rebbe 's teaching s refused t or emain m i r e d i n sadness. Rat he r th an be moan the darkness, the y w o u l dcreate l i g h t . In stead , o f la men ti ng the loss o f the Rebbe, t hey w o u l dspread his ins ights outward.

T h i s s p i r i t mot iv at ed a small gr ou p o f peopl e t o begin a bi- week lyfax service sharing the Rebbe 's teachings w i t h a cross-sect ion o fbusiness, legi slators, and pro fessio nals i n the legal, medi cal , anden t e r t a i nmen t fields. T h e o v e r wh e l m i n g majo r i t y o f the reci pient s d i dn o t i d e n t i f y as L ub avi tc her chas sid im. By and large, the y were Jewish,bu t they were also contemporary Americans and they wanted to hear amessage o f ideals and values that bo t h di mensi on s o f the ir person ali t iesc o u l d accept w i t h i n t e g r i t y . So me o f the rec ip ien ts were non- Jews, b u tthey un de rs t oo d tha t mor a l pr i nc i ples and s p i r i t u a l t ru ths werei m p o r t a n t i n m o l d i n g the face o f o ur soc iety . Th e y became the core o ft h e I n T o u c h Family .

Every ot her week, t hey received by facsimile, a message sharing theRebbe 's teaching s o n the wee kl y T o r ah readi ngs and the Jewis hhol idays , w r i t t e n by the celebr ated aut ho r and tr anslat or , El i y ahuTou ge r and ed i t ed by Yoss i Ma la mu d .

T h e I n T o u c h f a m i l y has grown rap id ly s ince i t s in ce pt io n in 19 94and is cu rr en t l y ci rc ulat ed i n 15 co unt r i es and over 180 ci t iesw o r l d w i d e w i t h o u t cost or o b l i g a t i o n to anyone who desires t o bei n c l u d e d amo ng the rec ipi ent s. T o keep I n T o u c h and receive thi s freeT o r a h fax, send us a fax (o n co mpan y let ter head i f applic able) w i t hy o u r name, address, t e lephone and fax nu mber to (7 18 ) 95 3- 30 00 .

S i chos I n Eng l i s hCrown Heights, NY28 Sivan, 5767

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Editors PrefacePerhaps today more than ever before, each one o f us feels a ce nt ri fu g alforce scat ter ing our energies o u t war d amo ng many diverse types o fco mmit men ts . O u r workplaces , ou r famil ies , ou r inves tments , and ourdiver sion s al l make t hei r de mands u p o n us. By an d large, we are ha pp yw i t h what we are do in g; i f we weren ' t , we wo u ld n ' t co n t in ue d o i ng i t .W e ' d s i m p l y choose ot her op t io ns . Bu t desp i te these d i f f e r e n tinvolvements , we ' re l o o k i n g fo r some th i ng more .

W e ' r e n o t l o o k i n g for just another ac t iv i ty o r possess ion. W ha t w ewan t is so meth in g in te r nal , so meth in g tha t gives de p t h and meani ng towhat we ' re do in g , so meth in g tha t p r omp t s the sa t i s fac t ion andhappiness tha t w e l l u p f r o m w i t h i n wh en we kn o w tha t l i f e has valueand purpose .

Fo r centur ies, our people have fo u n d tha t sa t i s fac t ion i n the To ra h.I n ou r mater ial en vi ro nme nt there are cer t ain i mmu t ab le laws,

pri nc ip les th at are embed de d i n th e fabri c o f nat ur e. A s k any farmer andhe w i l l exp lai n t o y o u th at ther e are cert ain "laws o f the fa rm" that hecann ot vi olat e . I f he want s a viable cro p, he mus t c o n fo r m t o t he m.

Th er e are also laws o f the so ul, pr in ci pl es equally v a l i d and equallyembed ded i n t o the fabr ic o f ou r l ives. These laws go vern ou rr e l a t i onsh ips w i t h G-d and our re la t ionships w i t h o u r fe l low man.T h e se are the T o r ah insi ght s that we sh ou ld reach for .

A Story and Its AnalogueOnce R. Shmuel , the f o u r t h Lu bavi tc her Rebbe, emerged f r o m hi ss tu dy afte r hol d i n g p r iva te meet ings w i t h hi s fo l lowers . Hi s a t t endan twas su rp ri sed t o see th e Rebbe d r i p p i n g w i t h sweat. The Rebbe had satw i t h abou t f i f t y i nd iv id ua l s i n a l i t t l e b i t less th an t wo hou rs, so thea t tend ant co ul d und ers t and tha t the Rebbe w o u l d be exhausted , bu twhy the r ivers o f perspi rat i on?

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W h e n he quest ioned the Rebbe abou t i t , R. Shmu el explain ed:" W h e n a person comes i n t o m y r o o m w i t h a d i f f i c u l t y , I reali ze th at heis l o o k i n g at the w o r l d d i f fe r en t l y th an I do. T o und ers tan d the way hefaces his pr o bl em, I can't si t back and abstract ly con sid er the issue; Ihave t o p u t my s e l f i n his clot hes. Bu t after I p u t my s e l f i n hi s clot hes, Iw o n ' t be able t o foc us o n the issues objec t ivel y. T o do that , I mus tre t ur n t o my o wn clot hes and f i n d appro pr i ate advice. A n d th en t oconvey the message t o th e l ist ener, I mu st enter i n t o his clo thes again. I fy o u swi t c hed c l o th in g 150 t imes i n less t han t wo hou r s , yo u w o u l d alsobe sweating."

I n th is book, we have t r i e d t o f o l l o w a similar process, t ak ing theinn er d i mens io n o f the To rah 's i ns ig hts and c lo th in g t he m to f i t thei n t e l l ec t ua l and emot iona l tastes o f con tempora r y A mer i ca . 1

A Man and a MissionA l t h o u g h the readin gs i n th is bo o k are o r i g i n a l co mposi t i on s , they area l l based o n the ins i ghts o f the Lubavi t cher Rebbe , Ra bb i M . M .Schneer son . T he r e are man y peo ple wh o describe the Rebbe i nsuperlat ives: a T o r a h geni us, a vi si on ary leader, a mir acl e wo r k er , ors imply a car i ng and sympath eti c l is tener and counselo r . W h a t draws usmo st is th e qu ali t y th at can o n l y be desc ri bed by the t e r m "Re bb e" al imit less , unique energy and v i t a l i t y t ha t comes f r o m the G-dl inessw h i c h we all possess an d w h i c h t he Rebbe revealed i n a di s t in c t iv e way.

T h e Rebbe w o u l d c ry and laugh. W h a t made h i m special, however,was what he c r i ed and laughed about . C o mi n g in to his presence, y o ubecame aware that he l i v e d for a goal bey on d himsel f . A n d mo re

1 . We have also tried to have the text appear as "easy reading," even in its externalf o r m . For that reason, although the text makes copious references to B i b l i ca l versesand Talmudic passages, those sources were not cited, lest the text appear totechnical in nature.

Similarly, when referring to Rabbinic leaders, rather than enter the quagmire oftrying to determine what is the proper t i t l e Rav, Rebbe, Reb, or Rabbi, we haveemployed a uniform R. We hope that single abbreviation w i l l save our readers thed i f f i c u l t y of questioning why a particular sage was described as Rebbe, this as Rav,and the t h i r d as Reb.

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i m p o r t a n t l y , he was able to awaken the spark inside each o f us w h i c hl ikewise seeks t o l i v e fo r goals be y o n d ourselves.

W h i l e f u l l y i n t o u c h w i t h t he present , he also gave us a pr o mi se anda p i c t ur e o f a deeper and mor e mean in gfu l fu tu r e . W h i l e in con tac t w i t hthe Rebbe, the peace, love , and sp i r i tu a l awareness t ha t w i l l character izethe era o f the Re d emp t i o n are n o t ju st abstrac t goals . Y o u un der st andthem, because y o u relate t o a per so n wh o had anti ci pat ed an d foreseent he m in his day- to-day l i f e .

H e gives ot hers t oo ls t o share i n th i s awareness, and i n th at way,endows them w i t h a sense o f mi ss io n and pur pose . For , havi ng sampledthese qual i t ies , a perso n wants no t hi n g mor e than to co mmuni ca t e t he mfu rt her an d in th at way, hel p b r i n g t he w o r l d t o i t s u l t ima te f u l f i l l m e n t .

Th a t i s ou r i n t en t i n pub l i sh i ng th i s vo l ume : t o a l low th e waves o fi n s i g h t t he Rebbe generated to r i pp le fur ther th ro u g ho ut ou r soc ie tyand by d o i n g so, empo wer us all t o dr aw o n the self-g ener atin g spark o fG - d l y f i r e f o u n d w i t h i n o u r hearts an d w i t h i n t h e T o r a h .

Y o s s i M a l a m u dFax A Si ch a

Crown Heights, NY28 Sivan, 5767

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Once the Tzemach Tzedek, the t h i r d Lubavitch Rebbe,had to journey to Moscow to intercede w i t h the Czaristgo ver nmen t o n behalf o f the Jewish people. Because themis si o n was cru ci al and ther e was danger involved, on hisway , he stop ped i n L i a d i t o pr ay at the gravesite o f hismother, Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, and l e f t a noteo u t l i n i n g hi s requests there.

After the Rebbe departed, w i t h some wel l - in ten t ionedimpertinence, some o f the chassidim t o o k the Rebbe's noteand read i t . After describing the difficulties he was facing,the Rebbe concluded w i t h the f o l l o w i n g request: " I k n o wthat G-d w i l l f i n d a way to save H i s people. Ma y i t be Hi sw i l l that I merit to have a han d i n their deliverance."

T h e Rebbe's request sheds l i g h t o n the conceptsdiscu ssed be lo w. G - d has created the w o r l d and investedH i s i n t e n t w i t h i n i t . M a n has been gran ted the privi legeo f cho osi ng to make th at i nt en t his o wn and use i t toguide his l i f e .

Parshas BereishisA s the To r ah relates, s ho rt ly after his creat io n: " A d am gave namest o all the animals, the f o w l o f the heavens, and the beasts o f theearth." As the Midrash indicates, choosing these names was n o t acasual mat te r. Before having A d am name the animals, G - d askedthe angels t o do so, bu t they de murr ed, s tat in g th at i t was n o tw i t h i n thei r capacity. G - d then p r o u d l y gave the task to Adam,te l l ing the angels: " H i s wi sd o m surpasses your s . "

I f nami ng the ani mals was merely a matt er o f f ind ing a catchyt e rm and associating i t w i t h them, why couldn ' t the angels dothis? Also, what was so special abo ut A d a m that he co uld?

G iv in g names was not just an arbitrary choice. As the AlterRebbe writes in Tanya, the name o f an en t i t y reflects it s in ner l i f e -force. G - d created the w o r l d t h r o u g h speech and through a serieso f myst ic per mut ati on s, the letters o f the te n D i v i n e utterances o f

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2 KEEPING I N TOUCH

creat ion became altered so that can serve as the l ife-force fo r eachi nd iv idua l created being. H a v i n g the wi sd om to name an ent i tyimplies the abi l i ty t o see w i t h i n an entity's material f o r m andrecognize the sp i r i tua l energy that maintains it .

Moreover , naming the animals was not intended merely todemon str ate Ad am's wi sd o m; instead, i t was part o f his D i v i n eservice. For by naming the animals, he called f o r t h th i s G-d lypoten t ia l , b r i n g i n g i t t o the surface. G i v i n g t h e m names associatedthe i r inner sp i r i tua l po t e n t i a l w i t h th ei r actu al existence,empower ing th em t o f i l l their purpose i n creat ion .

T h i s concept relates t o the rol e gi ven A d am an d all o f hisdescendants i n the pur pose o f creat ion . O u r Sages explain thatu p o n be ing b rough t i n t o existence, he addressed all o f creati on,t e l l ing t he m: "C o me, let us bo w d o wn ; let us be nd the kn ee beforeG - d ou r M ake r . " N o t on ly d i d A d a m himself recognize G-d, heb r o u g h t all existence t o the awareness o f H i s u n i t y .

Before Adam's creation, the wor ld fo l lowed G-d's w i l l byforce, as i t were. G- d cr eated t he w o r l d and implan ted w i t h i n i tthe laws o f natu re. Th u s t he existence o f the w o r l d expressesG-d's desire, but the w o r l d does n o t iden t i fy w i t h that desire.Ins tead, G- d con t ro ls i t arbi trar i ly; there is no con cep t o fcho osi ng t o acknowledge G- d.

G - d created man t o reveal a di ffer en t mot i f : t ha t H i s onenessbe ack no wled g ed by a created bei n g o n his o wn in i t ia t ive . H ewan t ed man , even t ho u g h he has an i nd iv idua l i d en t i t y and seesthe w o r l d i n te rms o f his o w n self, to develop an awareness o fH i m .

T h i s mis si o n however, in volves free choi ce. Fo r by sayin g th atman has the resp on si bil it y t o ackn owledg e G - d o n his o wn impli esthat there is the poss ib i l i ty that he w i l l f a i l t o do so an d perhaps,l ike A d am his ancestor, stumble and sin.

Nevertheless, t he un der stan di ng t hat the po ten t i al for choicewas gi ven t o us by G- d , i tse l f indicates that any d o wn t u r n that sin


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w i l l b r i n g is on ly temporary . For G-d w o u l d n o t give man apo ten t i a l tha t w o u l d cause harm or misfo r t un e .

W h y does G - d allow man to sin? " T o provid e an op po r t u ni tyf o r teshuvah" repentance and return to G-d, for this enables mant o attain a higher level o f conne c t i on w i t h G - d th an he sharedbefore his si n. I n th is , we can dr aw o n the st re n g th gen erated byAdam, for the overwhelming major i ty o f Adam's l i f e was spenta t o n i n g for sin and s t r i v ing for such a renewed c on nec t i on .

Looking to th e HorizonO n the verse: " A n d the sp i r i t o f G - d hov ered over the waters, " o urSages co mment : " Th i s refers to the sp i r i t o f Mashiach." What theyare imp l y ing is that Mashiach's c o mi n g is par t o f G-d's i n i t i a li n t e n t for creat ion . In deed , another source says: " T h e w o r l d wascreated so lely fo r Mashiach."

T h e imp l i ca t ion is th at the wo rl d' s marc h t o per fec ti on is no ta casual, haphazard process i n i t i a ted by man, bu t a pre dest in edpa t h ch ar te d by G- d . As st ated above, man has free choi ce, b u t i nthe l o n g run , that means that he has the r i g h t and the privilege tobecome an active part ner i n G-d 's p lan or to let the mis si o nin tended fo r h im pass h i m by and be f u l f i l l e d by others.

T h e very fact th at G - d created the wor l d f r om absolutenothi ngn ess implies that H e d i d so w i t h a pu rpo se and a go al. Ou rSages expl ain th at H i s goal was to create a dwel l ing fo r Himse l f ,t o br ing in to be in g a place where H e w o u l d feel at home just l ikew e feel at ho me i n ou r o wn dwell in gs . Since H e cr eated the w o r l df r o m absolute nothingn ess, there is n o t hi n g preven ti ng H i spurpose f r o m being carr ied out . The on ly que st io n is wheth er wew i l l take an active role or not.


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I n the 1950's, Rabbi Yi t zchak Groner, the Rebbe'sshliach (emissary) i n Aus tr alia, once came t o the Rebbew i t h good news. After several years o f effort, he hadsucceeded i n b r i ng ing the enr ol lment i n the Lubavi tchGir l s School, to 250. Happy w i t h hi s success, he had apic ture taken w i t h all 2 5 0 girls n o t an easy task i nthose days when wide-lens cameras were not so common had i t enlarged, and bro ug ht i t t o the Rebbe.

W h i l e pleased, the Rebbe d i d n o t share the f u l l extento f Rabbi Groner's joy. Explain ing his lack o f ent husiasm,the Rebbe asked Rabbi Gron er : " H o w many Jewish girlsare there i n Mel bo ur ne ?"

"Several thousand," Rabbi Groner replied."Tha t' s why I ' m n o t so impressed w i t h yo ur 25 0, " the

Rebbe answered. " W h at abo ut all the rest?"

Parshas NoahNo ac h is a pro blemati c spiri tual f igure. O n one hand, he is o b v i ously unique and praiseworthy. After all , he was t he individualG- d rescued f r o m t he f l o o d and all hu man i t y descends f r o m h i m .O n the other hand, when the Torah seeks t o praise h i m, i t says hewas "a ri ght eou s man i n his gene rati ons. " O u r Sages not e that thewo rd s " i n his gen erati ons " are seeming ly unnecessary. Someun de rs tan d i t as wo rd s o f praise. No ach 's g ener ati on was popu lated w i t h depraved men, idolat ers wh o d i d n o t respect the no rmso f moral i ty or business ethics. Even though he l i v e d among suchpeople, No ac h was ri ght eou s.

Ot her s, however, un de rs tan d i t as an imp l ied censure. I n hiso wn generatio n, No ac h was consid ered ri ght eou s. Bu t had he l i v e di n the t i me o f Abr aham, Mos es, or David, his Divine service wo u ldno t have attract ed att en ti on at all.

W h a t was the difference between Noach and these spi r i tua lgiants? Each one o f t he m st o o d o u t in his effort s t o reach o u t t oot hers. A br aha m spread the awareness o f G- d in a w o r l d o fidola t rous pagans. Moses pr ayed for the worshi pers o f the G o ld en

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Calf. A n d Dav id was the k i n g o f the entir e nat io n, sacri fici ng hispersonal l i f e for the sake o f his peo ple.

Noach, on the other hand, b u i l t his ark. Yes, i f someone camean d asked h i m wh y he was b u i l d i n g i t , he gave an exp lan ati on : G- dwas upset w i t h the state o f moral i ty in the w o r l d and was going tob r i n g a f lood . Bu t, alt ho ug h No ac h spoke, apparently, his heartwas no t i n his wo rd s. Fo r by an d large, his effor ts we n t un heeded .Yes, a list ener or t wo mi g h t have heard h i m ou t, bu t no more th anthat. Afterwards, they went on their way, i g n o r i n g whatever Noachhad said.

N o a c h d i d his du ty , bu t no more . What ever his feelings forhis fel lowmen were, when the f l ood began, on ly he and hisimmediate family were i n the ark. N o one else was wo r t hy o f beingsaved. H i s failu re t o in flue nc e ot hers t o j o i n h i m is what causedsome Sages speak negatively o f hi m.

O n the other hand, when Noach's Div ine service is consideredas par t o f the wo r ld 's overall sp i r i tua l hist or y, i t is obvio us that heplayed an i mpo r t an t role. W h y was his success l imi ted? Because i nthat generati on, n o t hi n g mor e was possible. T he sp i r i tua l cl imateo f his age was such that the people w o u l d no t l i s ten to h i m.

W h y then do the Sages speak negatively o f Noach? N o t t ocr i t ic ize h i m as an ind iv idual , bu t t o cau ti on us against emul ati ngthe l i m i t e d dimensi ons o f his co nd uc t . I n his t i me, he c o ul d no tdo mo re. No w , we can. T he sp i r i tua l cli mate o f the w o r l d haschang ed and i t is possible t o reach o u t t o ot hers an d mot iv at ethe m t o change i n bo t h t ho u g ht and act io n. I n such a cli mate, wecannot content ourselves w i t h Noach-l ike effor ts .

Every gen erat io n has its pur pos e an d it s f u n c t i o n i n b r i n g i n gthe w o r l d to i ts ul t imate state, th e era o f Mashiach. N o ac h was ablet o pu sh th at purpo se a l i t t l e bi t fur ther to co nsu mmatio n, b uton ly a l i t t l e bi t . T h e later generatio ns advanced th at goal evenfur ther and i n the near fu ture , w i t h the co min g o f Mashiach, i t w i l lblossom i n t o ful f i l lment .

O n the other hand, each one o f us has to reali ze t ha t there aretimes i n l i f e when we can on ly do so much. L i k e Noach, a person


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may have a greater go al, bu t i t may no t be dest in ed fo r h i m t oachieve i t . W h i l e co nt in ui ng to s t r ive for i t s fu lf i l lment , we shouldn o t beco me di sheart ened i f so metimes o u r achievements f a l l shor t .W e should realize that l ike No ac h, we are pa rt o f a far greaterpic tu re , a masterpiece th at G - d is co mpo si ng and we sh o u ld behappy to f u l f i l l the role w i t h i n th at pi ct ur e design ated for us.

Looking to th e HorizonI n No ah 's ark, there were all types o f animals, beasts o f prey anddocile types, and yet the predato rs d i d n o t co nsu me the or di nar yanimals.

N o w one o f the pro phec ies t hat descri be the era o f Mashiach is"a w o l f w i l l dwell w i t h a lamb," that the beasts o f prey w i l l losethe i r destr uct ive tendencies and dwel l peacefully w i t h other created beings. That , however, is a pro phec y o f the ul ti mate fut ur e.I n Noach 's t ime, i t had n o t been f u l f i l l e d as evi denc ed by thefact th at once let o u t o f the ark, the predat ors d i d in deed prey o nthe other animals. W h y then d i d t h ey n o t do so i n the ark?

I n res ol ut io n, chassidic th o u g ht explains th at Noac h's ar k wasa mic r oc os m o f the era o f Mashiach. T h e same env i ronment o fpeace and t r anqu i l i t y tha t w i l l pervade the w o r l d at large duringthe era o f Mashiach permeated Noach's ark.

T h i s pro vid es a lesson fo r all o f us. A l t h o u g h the w o r l d atlarge was n o t o n a Mess ian ic level o f awareness, No ac h was able t omot iva te his own immediate environment to reach that level.Similarly, i n ou r o wn lives, each o f us can live in the sp i r i t o f thered emptio n, ant i ci pat i ng the kn owled ge and harmo ny o f thatfu tu re era i n ou r present experience.

Fu rt her mor e, do i n g so is the most effective catalyst to havingthis awareness spread thr ou g ho ut the w o r l d at large. For as morepeople come i n t o contac t w i t h a Mashiachdikker person, one whoseprinciples and values reflect that ultimate age, they w i l l gravitatetowards h i m and seek t o emulate his co nd uc t and i n th at way, makeMashiach a mor e tangi ble con cept fo r each o f us an d fo r all o f us.


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On e o f the classic Talmudic stories relates that theRomans forbade the Jews f r o m s tudy i ng To rah . Despi tetheir decree, Rabbi A k i v a con t in ued teaching, explainingthat the Jews' relationship w i t h the To r ah is l i k e that o f af i s h i n water. A l t h o u g h there are some who try to catch af i s h while i t is i n water, i t is obvi ous that i t canno t f i n dsafety by leav in g the water, fo r the water is it s source o fl i f e .

u l t i m a t e l y , the Romans caught Rabbi A k i v a an dexecuted him, cruelly co mbin g his sk in w i t h i r o n combs.A l l the while, Rabbi A k i v a was rec i t ing the Shema.. W h e nhis stud ent s expressed amazement at the ext ent o f hisardor, he t o l d them: " I in t erpret the co mmand ment to' love G- d w i t h . . . all y ou r sou l,' as meanin g ' Even i f theytake your soul. '

O n one hand, this represents a very high level o fdedica t ion t o G- d. Ins tead o f seeking either mater ial orspir i tual sati sfact io n and achievement, Ra bb i A k i v a sawthe epi to me o f his l i f e as self-sacrifice. O n the ot herhand, the very fact that he was looking for self-sacrificeimplies that he s t i l l had a consciousness o f self.

Chassidic th ou g ht contrasts Rabbi Akiva's self-sacrifice w i t h that o f our patr iar ch Abr aham, explain ingthat Abrah am d i d n o t seek self-sacrifice. I f th at wasrequired o f h i m , he was prepared for that as w e l l . Indeed,we see t hat he was t h r o w n i n a bu rn in g furnace, b ut thatwas n o t his goal. H i s goal was to spread t he awareness o fG- d w i t h o u t t h i n k i n g o f his ow n spir i tual or materialwelfare.

Parshas Lech LechaT h i s week's To r ah readi ng begins w i t h the sto ry o f ou r Patr iarc hAbraham. T h e To r ah refers to A br aha m as Halvri, "the Hebrew."W h e n expl ain in g the meani ng o f that t er m, ou r Sages note that i tl i t e r a l l y means "the on e o n the side" and explai n: "A br aham was

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o n one side and the entire w o r l d o n the ot her." De sp it e thepaganism and i do la t ry o f his sur ro un di ng s, Ab ra ham held fast t othe connect ion w i t h G - d th at he had established. Mor eo ver , hewas not content w i t h merely main tai ni ng his o wn private beliefsystem. H e pr o u d ly shared his awareness w i t h others, i n f l uenc ingt he m t o ado pt the wo r sh i p o f one G - d .

Nu mbe r s were against hi m, bu t t r u t h was o n his side andwhen t r u t h is p i t t e d against numbers, t r u t h w i l l always w i n ou t.F o r there is n o t hi n g tha t can stan d against the ro ck -r ib bed powero f something t rue .

Abraham t r ansmi t t ed th i s sp i r i tua l heritage to hisdescendants. Ever y one o f t he m has the po wer to stan d u p againsta mu lt i t u d e whe n he kn ows that he is r i gh t . I t ' s no t chutzpah. I t ' sthe po wer o f t r u t h .

B u t how can we know that that we are being motivated byt r u t h and not by simple brashness? W h e n is ou r stubbornness anexpression o f the dedic at io n to t r u t h we inher i ted f r o m Abrahaman d wh en is i t perso nal bravado? A br ah am was a pr o ph et a n d hehad D i v i n e revelation s to gui de hi m, bu t wha t w i l l be ourbarometer?

Th er e are t w o answers. Th e obvi ou s one is th at we sh o u ldfo l low the Shulchan Aruch, the Co de o f Jewish Law. W h e n JewishL a w requires or fo rbi ds a behavior, we sh o ul d k n o w that theselines are d r awn i n st one.

B u t there is a deeper answer. Th er e are ti mes wh en T o r a h L aww o u l d te l l a perso n t o give i n and s u bmi t to the pressure appl iedt o h i m an d yet, his Jewish heart tells h i m n o t to lis te n. Forexample, despite the Co mmu n i s t persecu tio n, the Rebbe Rayatzr i sked his l i f e an d the lives o f his fol lowers to spread Jewisheduc atio n amon g yo u n g chil dr en i n Russia. I f he had asked anexpe rt i n Jewish La w i f he sho u l d have do ne so, the exper tprobably w o u l d have answer ed h i m i n the negative. After all,ch i l d ren are n o t obli g at ed t o keep Jewish L aw an d adult s are. W h y


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sacrifice the observance o f thos e wh o are r equ i re d t o keep JewishL a w for the sake o f those w h o are no t?

B u t the Rebbe Rayat z di d n o t make such a rec ko ni ng . H eknew t ha t i f ch i l d ren were n o t educated i n the ir Jewish heri tage,there w o u l d be no Jewish future. Hence no matter what the r i skinvolved, he sacrificed himself and others so that our people'spos te r i t y w o u l d be perpetuated.

W h a t mot ivat es a per so n t o take suc h a stance? Ins tead o ft h i n k i n g about his self an d his o w n per so nal goals, he ident if iesw i t h his peopl e an d pu ts th ei r welfare above his o wn . H e is no tconcerned w i t h his mat er i al welfar e or even his sp i r i tua l welfare,he is t h i n k i n g about his people and what is best for them. W h e n aperson ident if ies i n suc h a matte r, his gu t feelings w i l l reflectinner t r u t h .

Looking to th e HorizonSuch i den t i f i ca t ion end ows a per so n w i t h a singleness o f pur po setha t l i f t s h i m above the ascents an d descents th at usu ally make upo u r D i v i n e service. M o s t o f us have days o f i n s p i r a t i o n when weare more focused on our sp i r i tua l goals and other days, when weare mor e focu sed o n ou r mater ial concerns. T h e n we t u r n t o G-di n teshuvah, repentance, wher e we r et u r n and t r y t o reestablish theconne c t i on .

Teshuvah represents a deep bo nd , for to forge a co nn ect io nonce on e has been bro k en , i t is necessary to tap a source deeperthan one's ord i na ry tho ug h t and feel ing. (This is necessary, sinceafter a pe rs on si ns, on his level o f o rd i na ry tho ug h t and feeling,the co nn ect io n no longer exists .) He sho ul d t u rn inward and f i n da p o i n t w i t h i n his so ul where the co nn ec ti on is con stant . F r o mtha t i nner p o in t , he can then r ebu i l d his consc ious connec t ion .

Nevertheless, by de f in i t i on , teshuvah invo lves a give and take o fadvance an d ret reat . I n th e era o f Mashiach, t h i s w i l l change. TheJews' D i v i n e service w i l l be character ized by cont inuous g rowth ,g o i n g " f r o m s t rength to s t rength ." Our mindset w i l l be


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characterized by the si ng lemi nd ed ded ic ati on to the level o fG-dliness ment io ne d above. Mor eov er , i t w i l l have an advantageover the co mmi t me n t display ed by the right eous men o f thepreviou s generations. For they were sw i mmi n g against the tide,f i gh t i ng the pr evai li ng gestalt o f th ei r era. I n the era o f Mashiach,b y contrast , the w o r l d w i l l be refined and w i l l assist us i n car ry in gou t our D i v i n e service.


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On e day, while o n shlichus i n Bangkok, Rabbi ChezkiL i f s h i t z was r i d i n g i n a taxi stuck i n heavy Bangkokt r a f f i c . Calculat ing that i t w o u l d take less t ime t o walk t ohis dest inat ion, Chez ki paid t he fare and go t ou t . A s hewas walk ing d o w n the street, a well-dressed foreignerapproached hi m.

"Excuse me fo r s topping you o n the street l i k e th i s ,"the m a n began. " Bu t i f have thi s feeling that you cou ldadvise me. M y w i f e an d I are f r o m America, and we have abusiness here. We're expecting the b i r t h o f a baby bo yany day now. Wher e w o u l d we be able t o f i n d a mohel t ope r fo rm t he c i rcumcis ion?"

" I am a mohel," Rabbi L i f s h i t z repl ied w i t h a smile,"and I ' l l be happy t o be o f service."

T h e m a n later t o l d t he Rabbi that th e day before theyhad met, hi s w i f e had asked h i m i f he had done anythingmore t o f i n d a mohel. Anxious ly , she ha d quest ioned him:" W ha t d o y o u expect? D o y o u t h i n k y o u ' l l bump i n t o amohel o n the streets o f Bangkok?"

W h i c h is , o f course, exact ly wh at had happened.

Parshas VayeiraTh e co mmentar i es on th i s week ' s T o r a h read in g relate th at t herewas an arg ume nt betwe en A br aham' s t w o sons: Yi shm a e l thep r o g e n i t o r o f the Ar abs an d Isaac, f r o m w h o m the Jewsdescend . Yi shm a e l bragged to Isaac tha t he pe r fo rmed thec i r c u m c i s i o n when he was 13, wh i l e Isaac d i d so at the age o f 8days.

Yi shm a e l was p o i n t i n g ou t h i s po s i t i ve qua l i t y . H e had beenw i l l i n g to accept the c i r c u m c i s i o n at a mo r e advanc ed age w he nthe pa i n was gre ater an d he was aware o f w h at he was d o i n g .D e s p i t e t he pa in , he made a con scio us dec is io n t o carry o u t G-d 'sw i l l . Isaac, Yi shm a e l arg ued , had never made su ch a cho ic e. H e had

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been ci rc umc is ed as an in fan t wh en he was n o t aware o f wh at washappening to h im.

Seemingly, there is mer i t to Yis hmael 's arg ument .Nevertheless, the T o r ah co mmands us to cir cumci se ou r ch il dr enat the mor e tender age. W h y ? T h e ci rc umc is io n represents o u rcovenant w i t h G-d , a physical sign o f ou r bo n d w i t h H i m . W h y isthe ch i l d fo rc ed t o be a passive part ner i n th is act? W h y n o t waitu n t i l he is older and the act becomes a conscious affirmation o fG-d's will?

T h i s po i n t , however, reflects a fu nd ament al d i s t i n c t i o nbetween the manner i n w h i c h a Jew relates t o G - d and the manneri n w h i c h humanity at large relates to H i m . A sk a person i n thestr eet i f he is w i l l i n g to do something for G-d. He w i l l agree,provided , o f cou rse, he unders tands that G-d exists and he knowswhat G-d wants f r o m hi m. There ' s n o t h i ng wr o ng w i t h that; i t 'sno rma l and natural .

B u t a Jew's re la t ionship w i t h G - d goes above the normal andthe natu ral. T hi s difference is reflected i n ou r Sages' de sc r i p t i ono f the giv ing o f the T o r ah . T he y relate th at before G - d gave theT o r a h to the Jews, H e offer ed i t t o several o f the othe r nat io ns .Before accepting, however, each o f th em quest io ned G- d: " Wh at isstated w i t h i n i t ?" A n d wh en they received the answer th at one o fthe Tor ah's c ommand ment s ran co nt rary to their way o f l i f e , theygraciously decl ined.

W h e n G - d offered the T o r ah to the Jewish people, t heyanswered naaseh venishmah, " W e w i l l do and we w i l l l i s t en , " giv ingG - d a blank et promise o f acceptance before they even heard whatwas asked o f t he m. T h e emphasis is n o t th at the y tr u st ed t hatwhatever G-d w o u l d say w o u l d be t o th ei r benefi t, bu t rather th atthey c o mmi t t ed themselves bl indly , pr omis in g to do Hi s w i l lbecause He is G-d, no matter what He w o u l d ask.

Similarly, w i t h regard to establishing a covenant w i t h G - dt h r o u g h ci rc umci sio n, the ordi nary , hu man approach is t o waitu n t i l one un derst ands. W h e n the act is meani ng fu l and


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significant , a person w i l l c o m m i t him sel f. A Jew, by contr ast,makes his c om m i t m e nt above knowledg e; i t is no t depend ent onh i s unders tanding.

The ultimate example of this is a ch i l d who is circumcised ateight days. He is b ro u gh t i n t o a covenant w i t h G- d by his parentsw i t h o u t even real izing wha t is hap peni ng to hi m . Nevertheless, i tis this covenant that nurtures his relationship w i t h G- dt h r oughou t his l i f e .

Looking to th e HorizonTh e numb er eight is significant i n To r a h num ero logy . Sevenreflects the natural order and eight, G-d's i n f i n i t y that transcendsnat ure . I t is, however, em pha si ze d t ha t eig ht is seven pl us one, i.e.,G-d's transcendent oneness permeates the seven qual it ies o f thenatural ord er. For the Jewish conc ept o f transcendence is no tother -wor ld ly , forge t t ing abo ut our ma te ria l existence. Instea d,the concept is to fuse one w i t h seven t o have G-d'stranscendence reflect ed i n every di m en si on o f our mate ria lexistence.

T h i s conc ept relates t o the co m i ng o f Mashiach, for ," redempt ion , " shares the same letters as , "exile," except thatthere is an alef " ", standing for G-d's i n f i n i t y in the w o r d forr edempt ion . Fo r the concept o f re de m pt io n is no t to n u l l i f y thew o r l d as it exi ste d befor ehand, b u t t o infuse G-d's i n f i n i t y w i t h i ni t .

T h i s is al lu de d t o by th e fact th at th e harp t o be pl ay ed i n theT e m p l e i n the era o f Mashiach w i l l be o f eig ht strands. I n theprevious eras, the Temple's harp had only seven strands, for thew o r l d had not reached beyond the l im i t s o f natur e. I n the era o fMashiach, however, those restraints w i l l be ove rcome an d G-d'stranscendence w i l l be revealed.


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A Roman matron once asked Rabbi Yehoshua: "W ha thas your G - d been d o i n g since creation?"

" He makes marriages," th e sage answered." W e l l , anyone can do that," replied the matron ."Are y o u sure?" re tor ted the sage.The matron set about t o prove her p o i n t . She t o o k

1000 o f her slaves and 10 00 o f her maid-servants an dcoupled them, expecting t o have given t hem lasti nghappiness. By the next morn in g, however, everything wen thaywire. There were fights, shout ing , an d absolute havoc.

Apparent ly , there is something G-dly i n ge t t i ng acouple together.

Bu t keeping th em together is jus t as impor tan t an dperhaps, jus t as G-dly . I t is n o accident that thepercentage o f divorce i n T o r a h observant homes isdrastically less than t he national average. I t 's n o t becausedivorce is taboo. O n the contrary, t he Torah allows an d i n certain instances, encourages - divorce. I t ' s jus tthat i n T o r a h observant homes, t he foundat ions o fmarriage are different and the ongoing rou t ines o f thehome foster communicat ion an d commitment betweenspouses.

Parshas Chayei SarahT h i s week's T o r a h r e a d i n g elaborates o n the desc r ip t io n o f theengagement and marr iage o f Isaac an d Rebecca, r e c o u n t i n g t h emiracles th at showed t hat G - d had des t in ed her t o be Isaac's wife.I t concludes by s ta t in g : "Isaac b r o u g h t h e r i n t o th e ten t. . . an d shebecame his wife and he loved her."

W i t h the latter sentence, the T o r ah is teachi ng us thefun dament a l approach tha t we sho ul d have to war d love andmarr iage. Love comes after marriag e n o t before.

Fo r genu ine love has l i t t l e resemblance to the romant ic lovewe hear abou t i n tod ay's soc ie ty. M o s t o f tha t type o f love has

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C H A Y E I S A R A H 15

self-grat if icat ion as its goal. F r o m that stan dp oi nt , wh en l o o k i n gf o r a person to love, we seek out one who w i l l make us feel good.O u r mo t i va t i o n is selfish; we are l o o k i n g fo r what we wa n t andwhat we need.

Genu in e love, our Sages te l l us, is n o t dependent on anyparti cular factor. I t does n o t come because one's partner isattractive, interests are shared, or pleasant time is spent together .I t is not dependent o n wha t we can get o u t o f the rel ati on shi p.Instead, genuine love involves self-transcendence, go ing beyondone's o w n desires and needs and ded ic ati ng onesel f t o the ot herperson.

T h a t ' s wh y genuine love involves marriage, a c o mmi t me n t th athas n o l imi t s . Marriage is a three par tnered rela t ionship, a bondbetween a man, a wo man, and G - d . I f G - d is left ou t, the man andthe woman w i l l be ent eri ng a relat ion ship based on what each onecan get ou t o f it , w i t h each o f th em bar ter i ng w i t h the other,giv ing and tak i ng cond i t ion a l ly . I n the lo ng run , one'sc o mmi t men t is t o oneself and no t t o that other person.

O n the oth er hand , wh en a co upl e marries an d sees G - d as anint egr al part o f thei r marriage, their relati onsh ip rests o n af o u n d a t i o n o f self-transcendence. H o w can tw o people cometogether as one? Because they step beyond the i r i nd iv idua lidenti t ies and focus on the spiri tual core that they share. Everysoul is an actual part o f G- d. Wh e n we hi g hl ig ht the G-dl inessw i t h i n ou r souls and w i t h i n others, we w i l l be able t o look past thepe t t y concerns that create str ife and discord and connec t to thesp i r i tua l core w h i c h is c o mmo n to each o f us.

When love fol lows marriage, i t is an adu lt , matu recommitment . Each par tner cares for the other, not because o fwhat they can get, but because o f what t h ey can give. T h ey arededi cated t o a l i f e above their self-interest . Tha t ' s why they b u i l da home and a family, sho win g that their relat ion ship is n otconta ined to themselves, bu t serves as a source o f posi t iveinfluenc e to thei r chil dr en and to all wh o vis i t their home.


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Moreover , thi s typ e o f love is n o t less sat isfying than ro manti clove. Yes, i t w i l l lack the ro ller- co aster ups and do wn s t hatromance affords, but the commitment w i l l be deeper, moreinvolving, and more genuine. Consequently, i t w i l l also be mo ref u l f i l l i n g . W h e n two people b u i l d a ho me to get her i n thi s manner,they w i l l experience the t r anqu i l joy that comes f r o ms imul taneously be ing in touch w i t h one's self and t ranscendingone's self.

Looking to th e HorizonI n his commentary to the Torah, the great Jewish philosopher andmyst ic Nachmanid es wri t es that each o f the seven days o f creat ionis paralleled by a m i l l e n n i u m in the sp i r i tua l his t or y o f the wor l d .F o r example, the f irst day is associated w i t h the creat io n o f l igh t ,an un bo un de d source o f posi t ive energy. Similarly, in the f i rs tm i l l en n i u m o f existence, ani mals reached immen se sizes; men andwo m e n l ived for hundreds o f years and received manifo ldunearned G-dly blessings.

T h e con cep t o f love before marriag e and love after marriagehas parallels w i t h regard to our relat ionship w i t h G- d. I t i sexplained th at G - d an d the Jewish people are desc ri bed w i t h theanalogy o f man and wife. T h e giv ing o f the To r ah represents thestage o f bet ro thal and the wed di ng w i l l be i n the era o f theR e d e m p t i o n .

A t present, ou r observance o f the T o r ah and its mitzyos has acer ta in element o f self-conc ern. A perso n observes because hewants to connect to G-d; he wants to advance sp i r i tua l ly . W h i l ei t ' s t rue , these aren't the or di na ry types o f self-conc ern.Nevertheless, his love fo r G- d an d service o f H i m revolve ar o u n dhis self. H e is searc hin g t o f u l f i l l his sp i r i tua l desires and advancei n ref inement .I n the era o f Re d emp t i o n , the G-dliness i n the w o r l d andw i t h i n our souls w i l l be apparent an d we w i l l n o t have a t hi r st an da yearning for a bond w i t h H i m . Ins tead, the con nect ion w i l l be


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C H A Y E I S A R A H 1 7

felt as an on g oi n g fact o f ou r existence. I t wo n ' t be sou gh t after,because i t w i l l be the constant reality. I n that sp i r i tua l ly chargedenvironment, man w i l l d o mitzyos for G-d's sake and not his own.W e w i l l appreciate that every mitzyah is a means of d rawingG-dl iness i n t o the w o r l d an d i n th at way, b r i n g i n g the w o r l d to i tsconsummate fu lf i l lment .

N o r must we wait fo r Mashiach's co min g for thi s mind set toassert i tself. K n o w i n g that this is the t r u t h , that ul t imately , theconne c t i on between the w o r l d and G-dliness w i l l be revealed, wecan begin l i v i n g i n thi s manner at present, act ing i n an ou twa rdo r i en t ed manner, d oi ng thi ng s for others and for G-d , n o t onlyf o r ourselves.


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Each year. the In ter nat io nal Co nv en ti on o f Lubavi tchShluchim is he ld on or near the Shabbos o f th i s To r ahreading. Over 15 00 representatives post ed th ro ug ho utthe w o r l d meet at Lubavi tch W o r l d Headquarters i nC r o w n Heigh t s .

There are always some humorous moments , l i k e theRabbi who t o l d ho w he answered a per so n wh o pr ot est ed,"Rabbi, I have a strong sense o f my Jewishness, bu t I amreally not drawn to organized re l ig ion ."

" I n that case," shot back the Rabbi, "this is just theplace for yo u! A sk anyone; I am the most dis org aniz edperson y o u ' l l ever meet."

Bu t over all, one can' t hel p bu t co me away w i t htremend ous respect for their c ommi tme nt . On e o f theshluchim who does outreach w o r k at a major universityrelated that one night, at 1:00 a.m. to be exact, he called acertain student to invi te h i m fo r Shabbos. T o his dismay,he real ized t o o late th at he had acci den tally di aled th estu den t's ho me nu mbe r rath er th an his d o r m as he hadi n t ended .

H e apologized profusely."please d o n ' t wo r ry about i t , " the parents assured h i m .

"But we w o u l d l i k e to kn ow why yo u t r i ed t o call our soni n the mid dl e o f the nig ht. D o n ' t rabbis have hours?"

" I n my j o b, " the Rab bi explained , "we do what is mos teffective. Students are d i f f i c u l t to contact throughout theday, so I have no cho ic e bu t to call t he m at thi s hou r. It 'sthe best t ime t o reach the m."

I t pai d of f for the Ra bbi also. T h e parents later sharedthis i n c i den t w i t h an acquaint ance. H e was so i mpre ssedw i t h the Rabbi's ded ic ati on th at he con tact ed hi m andexpressed his desire to support his wo rk .

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TOLDOS 19

Parshas ToldosT h i s week's Torah reading begins: "These are the offspr ing o fIsaac," refe r r ing to Jacob and Esau whose b i r t h and early history isdescr ibed later i n the T o r a h readi ng . Th e narrative touches o n anissue w h i c h man y o f us have t o face. Isaac was a completelyri ght eou s man. Ear ly i n his l i f e , he was prepared to be offered as asacrifice t o G- d on M t . M o r i a h and even afterwards, when a ramwas of fe red i n hi s place, he was s t i l l considered holy, l ike asacrifice. For that reason, u n l i k e the other Patr iarchs, G- d d i d n o tlet h i m leave Is rae l. H e was holy and had to live i n a holy l and .

On e o f his sons, Jacob, emu la te d his hol in ess. He was "adweller o f tents," choo sin g to frequent the pr o mi n en t houses o fst udy o f the age. B u t his other so n, Esau, was a hu nt er , a man o fviolence and passion. A n d yet Isaac loved Esau.

Some say Esau was able t o deceive hi m. I n Isaac's presence, heappeared holy an d t hen afterwards, he d i d wh at he wan te d. Bu tthat makes our Pat r iarch l o o k somewhat shallow. Mo re ov er , i tru ns c on tr ary to one o f the basic themes o f Isaac's l i f e wo r k . Isaacwas a di gg er o f wells. What 's the secret o f a well-digg er? N o t toaccept wha t y o u see o n the surface, bu t to di g deep do wn , t o keepclearing away the d i r t u n t i l he fin ds the water o f l i f e .

Isaac d i d tha t no t on ly w i t h wells, bu t w i t h every experienc e i nhis l i f e . H e w o u l d probe to the depths an d appreciate the in nercore. N o w i f he d i d that w i t h everyth ing , wo u ld n ' t he do t hat w i t hhis own son?

So i f Esau wasn 't f oo l i ng h i m, wh y d i d he love him?Fo r precisely th at reason. W h e n d i g g i n g deeply, i t depends

ho w deep yo u d i g . I f yo u d i g past the surface, y o u w i l l be able t osee a person's passions an d dri ves n o t all o f th at is pleasant.Bu t i f y o u really love a person , y o u w o n ' t sto p t here. Y o u ' l l d i gdeeper u n t i l y o u f i n d the essential core o f G-d lin ess tha t p ers onhas. For every person 's so ul is an actu al par t o f G- d . I n some, i tshines open ly. I n others, i t 's hi d de n and i n cert ain people, i t 's very


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h i d d e n . Since Isaac lo ved Esau, he d i d n ' t l o o k at his less favorabledimensions; he focused on the good that was deep inside o f hi m.

That also enables us t o un der stan d w hy he want ed to co nveythe blessings t o h i m. Isaac was con stantly str ug gl in g to mot ivateEsau to live up to his spi r i tu al pot ent ial . H e felt tha t by pour ingso mu c h posi tive energy in t o hi m, he c o u ld arouse the good insideand enable i t to domin ate his personal i ty.

I n fact, however, the blessings were given t o Jacob. For thew o r k o f revealing the g o o d in Esau c o u ld n o t be accomplis hed i n abr ie f pe ri od o f ti me. Th at in deed is the purpo se o f ou r effortsth ro ug ho ut the spi r i tual h is t or y o f the wor l d , i n c l u d i n g th is finalexile, referr ed to as the "t he exile o f E d o m, " ano ther name o fEsau . W e are s t r i v ing t o reveal thi s sp ir i tu al energy, the "spark s"invested in wor l d l y experience w h i c h is associated w i t h Esau.

T h e final consummat i on o f these efforts w i l l co me i n the Er ao f the Redemption, when "deliverers w i l l go up t o M o u n t Z i o n t ojud ge the mo u n t ai n o f Esau, and the sovereign ty w i l l be G-d' s." A tthat t ime, the powerfu l sp i r i t ua l energies w h i c h Esau possessesw i l l surface and be gi ven appr op ri ate expres sio n.

Looking to th e HorizonIsaac's name is associated w i t h happiness, fo r as the T o r a h relates,he was given his name because " G - d has made laughter for me."A s ment ioned , Isaac's D i v i n e service involved penetr at in g t o thedepths o f natu ral ent i t ies and br in g in g their G-d ly core t o thesurface. A n d the t r ans for matio n o f darkness i n t o l i g h t that thisinvolves brings about the highest degree o f pleasure andsat isfact ion.

T h e yud w h i c h is the f irst le t ter o f Isaac's Hebrew nameindicates the future tense. For i t w i l l not be u n t i l t he u l t ima t eFuture that this happiness w i l l be manifest i n a co mplet e sense. A tpresent, although we are aware how our D i v i n e service refines thematerial realm, the f ru i t s o f those efforts are not visibly evident .I n the Future, "the g lo ry o f G- d w i l l be revealed an d al l flesh w i l l


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TOLDOS 21

see ; the posi t ive effects o f th e thousands o f years o f effor tm a n k i n d has ded ic ated t o the refi ne ment o f mater ial existence w i l lbe apparent.

Isaac, through his efforts to involve himself i n the materialwor l d , penetrate t o it s cor e an d reveal "t he water s o f l i f e , " servedas the exemplar fo r t hi s mode o f D i v i n e service. Hence, our Sagesrelate that i n the u l t i ma t e Fut ur e, our people w i l l give pr imac y t oIsaac, t e l l ing hi m: " Y o u are ou r ancestor ."

A l t h o u g h i t is i n the Fu tu re when thi s D i v i n e service w i l lreach co mplet e expression, we have the po t en t i al t o experience aforetaste o f th at Fut u r e era at present: t o l o o k at every en t i t y as i texists above the flu ct uat io ns o f t ime, i n it s tr ue and perfect state.T h i s pe rcep t ion serves as a g u i d i n g l igh t , i n sp i r ing and d i rec t ingus in ou r task o f refi nemen t and hastenin g the co mi n g o f the agewhen th is spir i tual real i ty w i l l be f u l l y manifest i n ou r materi alw o r l d w i t h the co ming o f Mashiach.


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T h i s T o r a h p o r t i o n is usu ally read o n the Shabbos eitherbefore or after the 9 t h day o f the Hebr ew mo n t h Kislev,the birthday and yahrzeit o f R. Do vBer , the second ChabadRebbe and the f o l l o w i n g day which commemorates theanniversary o f his release f r o m pr is on i n Czarist Russia.

W h e n R. Do vBer was i n pri son , he to o k i l l . Fearful o fthe consequences i f he wo u ld pass away while interned, theauthor i t ies immediat ely su mmoned a team o f doc tor s totreat hi m.

T h e do ct or s had one piece o f advice: "L et h i m teach hispeople for that is the only thing that w i l l spur his v i t a l i t y . "So every day, the Russian soldiers wo u ld escort a gr oup o fchassidim i n t o the quarters wher e R. Do vBer was beingheld. R. Do vBe r taug ht and his cond i t i on improved.

O n a different occasion, the Tzemach Tzedek, his son-in-law and successor, said: " I f they wo u ld p r i ck my father-in-law's fing er, chassidic teachings, no t blood, wo u ld oozef o r t h . "

Recalling such an elevated personality is important to us,even tho u g h we may be very involved i n w o r l d l y mattersand far removed f r o m such heights. For by focusing oursights higher and l o o k in g at a pi c tu re that is greater th anour immed ia te mater ial cir cumstances, we can over come t hechallenges which l i f e forces us to confront.

Parshas VayeitzeiT h i s week's T o r a h read ing describes how our Pat r ia rch Jacob lefthi s home and fled to Charan . I t was a l one ly j o u rn ey . N o oneaccompanied him. He was attacked, fo rced t o surrender all hispossessions, an d arr ived at his des t i na t i on empty -handed .

W h e n he arr ived at Charan, he stayed with his uncle Laban whod id no t welcome h i m warmly an d immedia te ly pu t Jacob t o w o r kt e n d i n g hi s sheep. As Jacob later pro tes ted : "By day, s co r ch ing heatc o n s u m ed me and frost , by n i g h t . M y sleep faded fr om my eyes."

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V A Y E I T Z E I 23

A t first, Jacob was single. He wanted to marry his cousin Racheland made an agreement w i t h Laban that he w o u l d w o r k seven yearsf o r her hand. Bu t wh en that t i me was comple ted , Laban t r i cked h i mand un der the darkness o f ni g ht subs ti tu ted his older daughterLeah. Jacob had to agree t o w o r k another seven years before hecou ld marry Rachel.

B u t Jacob d i d n o t despair and he placed his tr u st i n G- d . T hevery fact that he had no one else to rely o n bu t G- d made i t ever soclear t o hi m th at he c o u ld in deed rely o n G- d . Desp it e the t r y i n gs i tua t ion i n which he was fo und , he was cert ain that G - d w o u l d helph i m . As a result, each mo r n i n g , he began his day w i t h joy andconfidence.

u l t im a t e l y , his t ru st was rewarded, as the To r ah states: "Theman became exceeding ly prosperou s; acqui ri ng fertile flocks,maidservants, servants, camels, and donkeys."

W h a t is the key to the s pi ri t ua l dynamic? I t is nice to say: Havefaith in G-d and you w i l l be reward ed, bu t why is tha t so? O n thesurface, t here is no su bst it ut e fo r har d w o r k and skilled effort.W i t h o u t these, w i t h all the faith and trust man has, he w i l l neverachieve lasting prosperity.

Jewish thought does n o t argue the last po i n t . W e are t o l d : " G - dw i l l bless y o u in all that y o u do," imp l y ing that we should w o r k atcr eati ng a me d i u m fo r G-d' s blessings. Bu t we sh ou ld realize t hatou r efforts are no mor e than a med iu m. u lt i mat el y , ou r success isdependent o n G-d 's blessings.

A n y person involved i n business knows that he can develop aperfectly logical plan o f action, execute i t perfectly, and s t i l l comeo u t shor t. O n other occasions, in iti atives i n which he had faint hopew i l l succeed beyond his wildest expectations. A believer does n o t callthis luck . Inst ead, he recognizes i t as G-d 's pro vid ence.

T o att ain G-d's blessings, y o u can't ju st sit and wait, y o u havet o invest something. This means n o t only your own work , but alsospir i tual in pu t. That ' s where tr us t comes i n . Tr u st i n G- d is no t apassive, si t back and hope appro ach. Rather i t is an active effort i n


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which a pers on d igs deep w i t h i n himself and ident if ies w i t h G - d .H e places himself i n G-d's hands and rel ies o n H i m .

T h i s evokes a parall el pa t te r n Above. W h e n a person t r u l y t rus tsi n G - d f r o m the dept hs o f his soul , t o the exten t th at he has n oworry at all, his arousal o f t r u st i tself causes G-d to grant h imkindness, even when, he is not wo r th y o f suc h blessings o n his o wnaccor d. As ou r Rabbis have tau gh t: " I f a pers on w o u l d place hishop e i n G - d as is f i t t i n g , kindness w o u l d never be wi thhe ld f r o mh i m by G-d . "

Looking to th e HorizonAfter he achieves pr o sp er it y i n exile, Jacob receives a c o mma n d f r o mG - d : "Arise, leave this land and return to your native land." Impl i edis a fu nd ament al lesson. N o matt er ho w mu c h affluence a Jewachieves i n exile, even i f his parents, gr andparent s, an d ancestors fo rseveral generations have l ived i n a part ic ular land , th at is n o t hishome.

Every Jew's true home is Eretz^ Yisrael an d n o t Eretz^ Yisrael as i texists i n the presen t age, bu t as i t w i l l exist i n the era o f Mashiach.W e are n o t speaking abo ut a ho melan d merely i n the patr io ti c sense,n o r are we seeking a change o f geography. W e are speak ing abo utthe i n t r o d u c t i o n o f an ent ir ely different spiritual gestalt th at thew o r l d w i l l start l o o k i n g at things f r o m a different vantage p o in t .

O f course, at the t i me o f the re d empt io n, the Jews w i l l allr e tu rn t o Eretz^Yisrael. Bu t more impor tan t ly , at that t ime, Eretz^ Yisraelw i l l re tu rn to its tru e self. I t w i l l become ope nl y apparent t hat thi s isthe land "upon which the eyes o f G - d are focused... f r om thebeg inn ing o f the year u n t i l i ts end."

W e shou ld no t look forward to the red empt io n ou t o fdesperation, ho pi n g for i t t o happen because we have no other wayo f cop ing w i t h ou r immediate sit uat io n. Instead, after emulat in gJacob and achieving success and prosperi t y, we sho ul d seeksomething more, a deeper spir i tual fu lf i l lment that cann ot beachieved in the wor ld 's present state.


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Lazer Sho lo kov was twelve and a h a l f when heat tended the Chabad camp a t Nizhny Novgorod , Russia.T he camp dir ecto r, Rabb i Shi mo n Bergman, had alreadyno ti ced his innate sensitivi ty to Judaism d ur in g hisprevious par ti ci pat io n i n Chabad prog rams. So Rab biBerg man decided t o broach the subject o f his u pc omi ngbar mitzyah, offer ing to prepare h i m for the event.

"Lazer was a w i l l i n g s tudent , " recalls Rabbi Bergman." S t i l l , I wanted h i m to kn o w how f u l l y I apprec iated hisdedi cati on in c o mmit t i n g hi mself to learn ho w to readf r o m the T o r ah and deliver a chassidic discourse by heart.After all, thi s is no t what twelve-year-old Russian boys o fl i m i t e d Jewish a f f i l i a t i o n usually choose to do. I t o l d h i mthat gifts were also part o f the celebration and pro mise dh i m a g i f t o f his choic e for his dili genc e and perf or mance.

"Lazer d i d us all pr ou d, and f u l f i l l e d his rolebeautifully. H i s bar mitzyah was a mo vi n g experience fora l l those who a t tended ."

A few days afterward, Lazer paid the rabbi a v i s i t .Rabbi Berg man was expecting hi m.

"Lazer," he exclaimed warmly , "y ou d i d won de rfu ll y!Y o u certainly earned the g i f t I promised. Just t e l l mewhat you want." Rabbi Bergman was sure Lazer wouldask for some computer game or electronic gadget. H e wasto ta l ly unpr epared for what followed.

"Rabbi," Lazer began w i t h a sli gh t qui ver i n his voice,"y ou have been very k i n d an d generous t o me. Since y o upromised me a g i f t , I hope I w i l l not be asking too much.I have a sixteen-y ear-old br ot her who became interestedi n p u t t i n g o n tefillin when I began to . W e bo th have t oleave the house early i n the mo r n i n g to get to school, andoften there is n' t enou gh t ime for bo t h o f us to pu t o ntefillin. So for my g i f t , I would l i k e t o ask for a pai r o ftefillin for my brot her."

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ParshasVayishlach

Ou r Sages relate th at the con cep t o f a Bar-Mitzyah features i n th isT o r a h read in g. Shechem, the leader o f a Canaanit e village o f thatname, kidnapped Jacob's daughter D i n a h an d defi led her. I nr e t r i b u t i o n , t wo o f her bro ther s, S hi mo n and Levi , slew all themales o f th at village. N o w Shimo n and Lev i were 13 years old atthe t ime. T he To r ah refers t o the bro ther s as "men ," in d ic at in gth at they had come o f age. Fr o m th is , ou r Sages derive the c on ceptth at at 13, a y o u t h becomes Bar-Mitzyah.

The quest ion immediate ly arises: Co u ld n ' t the To r ah havef o u n d a nic er sto ry t o teach us the age wh en a y o u t h entersmanhood?

T o resolve thi s ques ti on , we have t o u nd er st an d t he natu re o fthe conc ept o f Bar-Mitzyah. W h y is a c h i l d considered to haveenter ed man ho o d at 13?

Ou r Rabbis exp lain that a lt ho u g h a y o u t h may have gain mu c hkn owledge before his th ir te en th bir t hday , i t is n o t u n t i l that agethat he is able to appreciate the seriousness o f his actio ns. I t ison ly then that he gains the mat u r i t y to un der stan d ho w i mpo r ta n ti t is to f u l f i l l a mitzyah. ( T o cit e a parallel i n wor l d l y matters, ay o u t h may be able to perform mathematical equations w i t hmoney , bu t may n o t have the mat u r i t y to co nd uc t himsel f i nfinancial dealings.)

By associating c o mi n g o f age w i t h the sto ry o f Shi mo n andLev i , the Torah is emphasiz ing that our connect ion w i t h theT o r a h and its mitzyos cannot be one that begins and ends w i t h them i n d . Shimon and Lev i p u t t hei r very lives at r i sk . There wasreason t o say t hat th ey sho u l d have r emai ned passive an d let thematte r go by. Nevertheless, the ir inn er sensi ti vit y t o mor al valuesw o u l d n o t le t t hem remain s t i l l . Seeing an outrage, they realizedthey had t o d o so met hi ng no matt er wha t the danger.

W h y is a per so n pr epar ed t o r i sk his l i fe fo r his values an dprinciples? Because th at is w h o he really is. H i s tru e " I " is n o t hisi nd iv idua l self w i t h his want s and desires, bu t his so ul w h i c h is an


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V A Y I S H L A C H 27

actual par t o f G- d . Since "Israel, G- d , and the To r a h are all on e,"when a Jew sees the Torah's values being flaunted, he should beto uc hed t o the core o f his soul.

A n d i t sh o ul d n o t be an issue that merely causes h i m pain. H es ho u ld be prep ared t o d o so met hi n g abou t i t , even i f i t involvesself-sacrifice. Th i s is a fun damen tal lesson th at every Bar Mitzyahb o y must learn.

Looking to th e HorizonThe Torah reading begins w i t h the meet in g between Esau( i n t e rp re t ed by ou r Rabbis as the pr og en it or o f Ro me) and Jacob(the ancestor o f the Jewish peo ple) and the Haftorah develops thattheme, focu sing o n the ul t i mate co nfr on tat io n between thesenations when: "Saviors w i l l ascend M o u n t Z i o n t o jud ge theM o u n t a i n o f E d o m and the sovereign ty w i l l be G-d's."

I n t r u t h , the conf l i c t between t he t wo is cos mic in natu re.Esau is i den t i f i ed w i t h the bo dy ; it s dri ves and it s cravin gs. He is ahu nt er an d a man o f viol enc e. Jacob is iden t i f ied w i t h the soul. Heis "a simple man, dwel l ing i n tents," "the ten ts o f s tudy," devot inghi s l i f e to the stud y o f the To r ah and str aig htfor ward, honestbusiness dealings.

One migh t t h i n k : W e l l , that 's perfect! There is no need forconf l i c t . Let Esau have the material realm and Jacob take thesp i r i tua l .

B u t f r o m the very beg in ni ng of their conc eptio n, thisco mpr o mis e was n o t accepted by either. I n her wo mb, theM a t r i a r c h Rebecca felt an awesome battle between the two. Theywere, i n the wor ds o f ou r Sages, " f i gh t i ng over the in heri tan ce o ft w o wor ld s . " For Jacob unders tands tha t the pur pos e o f cr eati on isn o t fo r sp i r i tua l i ty and phy sic alit y t o remain skew lines, bu t fo rthe physical to become subs umed t o the sp i r i tua l . A n d Esaukn ows about t he spi ri tu al and desires t o co r ru p t i t .

A n d so there is a conf l i c t between the t wo . Th i s conf l i c t isreflected on an i nd iv idua l level, as the Esau and Jacob w i t h i n each


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o f us seek d o mi n i o n . A n d i t is reflected on a nat i on al level in thestrug gles o f ou r people w i t h i n the sphere o f nat ions .

As stated above, the ult imat e res ol ut io n o f thi s strug gle w i l l bei n th e era o f Mashiach. That, however, is dependent o n the serviceo f each i nd iv idua l . As each one o f us defeats his i nd iv idua l Esau,achieving a perso nal experience o f re d empt io n, the pat h is pavedfor an experience o f re de mpt i on i n the w o r l d at large.


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T h i s T o r a h p o r t i o n is usu ally read o n the Shabbosf o l l o w i n g Yud-Tes Kislev, the date which commemoratesthe release o f R. Shneur Z al man o f L i a d i f r o m pr i son i nCzarist Russia. R. Shneur Zalman, k n o w n as the AlterRebbe, was the fou nd er o f the Chabad approach toChassid ism and his l ibera t ion is interpreted as markingthe Ro sh HaShanah o f Chassidism, because f r o m thatt ime onward, the in i t ia t ive to spread the wellsp ri ng s o fChassidism began a new phase o f expansion.

T o expl ain : On ce the Baal Shem To v, the foun der o fthe chassidic movement, ascended to the spir i tual realmsand encou ntered the soul o f Mashiach. H e asked h i m:" W h e n are you coming?" Mashiach answered: " W h e n thewellsprings o f yo ur teachings spread ou tw ar d. "

R. Shneur Zalman's release is considered as a t u r n i n gp o i n t i n thi s process, because th ro ug h his teachings,Chassidism was made understandable intel lectually an dthus accessible to every Jew.

Before Chassidism was revealed, the masses o f theJewish people were beginning to lose touch w i t h theirspir i tual heritage. Sure they remain ed p r o u d Jews, b u tprayer and study d i d n ot ho ld the same interest for themas before. A certain coldness had crept i n t o Jewishpractice and there was distance between certain sectors i nthe Jewish co mmuni ty .

T h e Baal Shem To v l i t the spark o f Div in e f i r e thatexist s i n every Jew. Fo r each o f us has a so ul tha t is anactual spark o f G- d and the Baal She m T o v showe d h o wthat spir i tual po ten t i a l cou ld be accessed and i n th at way,breathed l i f e an d v i t a l i t y i n t o Judaism.

R. Shneur Z al man gave us the in tel lec tu al to ols tounderstand and communicate the awareness o f theseconcepts. I n this manner, they were br ou g ht w i t h i n reacho f every Jew, even one whose p at h t o spiritual feelingbegan w i t h hi s m i n d .

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Parshas Vayeishev

O n the opening verse o f this week's Torah read ing : "And Jacobdwelled i n the l an d o f his father's so jou rn ing , " ou r Sagescomment : Jacob desired to dwel l i n pro speri ty . G- d saw this andexclaimed: "Is not what is prepared for the ri gh teo us i n the W o r l dto Come enough?" Immediately, thereafter Jacob was confrontedw i t h the ord eal o f Joseph.

T h e passage is d i f f i c u l t t o under s t and . W e all wan t to live i npro sper ity . W h y sho ul d that be deni ed to the righteous? W h yshou ld receiving a po r t i o n o f the W o r l d to Co me prevent th emf r o m l i v i n g a comfortable existence i n thi s world?

The reso lu t ion to these quest ions depends on anund erstan din g o f the process o f the in ter rel ati on o f material andsp i r i tua l existence. Every material entity has a spiritual life-forcethat maintains its existence. W i t h o u t tha t spi r i t ua l energy , i tc o u l d not be.

Nevertheless, there is a chasm separating the material f r o m thesp i r i tua l . A l t ho u g h we can in tel lec tu ally unde r s t a nd tha t spi r i tua ll i f e force exists, we cannot see, hear, or feel that l i f e force w i t h ou rphysical senses.

A r ighteous man l ike Jacob wants to live a l i f e o f in teg r i ty , tosee t he spir i t ual mi r r o re d i n the physical. H e does n o t desire merephysi cal pr osp eri ty . Instead , he wants t o have his bond w i t h H i mexpressed i n all di mensi on s o f his l i f e , exten di ng i n t o the materi alrealm. He seeks that the spir i t ual and the physical fu nc ti on inharmony l ike the body and the soul.

After his st ruggles and conf ron ta t ions w i t h Laban and Esau,Jacob thought he had reached a level o f awareness where such aconnection was possible. His trust and fai th i n G - d had beent es ted t hr o u g h variou s tr ib ul at io ns and he had learned to seeG-d's han d in all the diffe ren t experiences he had undergone .

un fo r t un at el y , however , muc h o f his l i f e had been f i l l e d w i t hhardship. N o w when one is und erg oi ng diff icul ty , i t is easier t ounde r s t a nd that all o f one's t r ials come f r o m G- d . Because when


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V A Y E I S H E V 3 1

l i f e is challeng ing , one is for ced to step back and co nt emplate.A n d wh en a ri gh teo us man l ike Jacob contemplates, he w i l lbecome con sciou s o f G-d' s hand .

W h e n , by con trast, t hin gs are g oi ng w e l l , there is a naturalten den cy t o enj oy th em fo r wha t the y are w i t h o u t t h i n k i n g o fany th ing mor e. I t is harder t o sense the sp i r i tua l when one is notcompel led t o l o o k fo r i t . Jacob thought he had got ten past tha tlevel. H e felt t ha t he was ready t o be able t o appreciate thesp i r i tua l even when he was enjoying success and well-being.

G - d th ou g ht o therwise . Therefore H e sent h i m another t r i a l ,perhaps the most serious he had faced, for his love for Joseph wasgreat and th r o u g h hi m, he remembered Joseph's mother, Rachel,w h o had passed away.

W h a t was the pur pos e o f th is anguish? T o b r i n g h i m to theprospe r i t y that he desired. As we see, ul t imately , when Joseph wasestablished as the viceroy o f Eg yp t, ph ar ao h sent fo r Jacob and hel ived 17 years i n l uxu ry , teaching Torah to his sons andgrandsons. Bu t for Jacob t o reach thi s har mon y between thephysical and the spir i tual , he needed th i s one last lesso n.

Looking to th e HorizonTh e u lt ima te expression o f the fus ion o f the mater ial an d thesp i r i tua l w i l l co me i n the era o f Mashiach. A t that t ime, "there beneither famine, nor war, nei ther envy, no r co mpe t i t i on for g o odth ings w i l l f low i n abundance and all the de li gh ts w i l l be freelyavailable l ike dust." Nevertheless, there w i l l be absolute ha rmo n ybetween t he mater ial an d the spir i tual , for "the occu pati on o f theent i re w o r l d w i l l be solely t o k n o w G - d " and "the eart h w i l l bef i l l e d w i t h the kn owle dg e o f G - d as the waters cover the oceanbed."

Jacob's experience serves as a paradigm for his descendants asa who le. H i s tri als and t ri bu lat io n s enabled h i m t o appreciateG-d 's han d i n every facto r o f his l i f e and thus prepared h i m t oappreciate the sp i r i tua l di mens io n o f the pro sper i t y he w o u l d later


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achieve. Similarly, t he t r ials w h i c h our people have undergone inthe exile have sharpened o u r pe rc ep t io n an d pre pare d us for thed i rec t appreci at io n o f G-dliness th at w i l l charact eri ze the era o fMashiach.


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W i t h the best in te nt io ns , a chassid once asked theTzemach Tzedek, the t h i r d Lu bavit che r Rebbe, for ablessing for his children's spir i tual development. " I f theRebb e gives t hem a bles sin g to gr ow u p as ch assi di m andremember what they see, they w i l l be G-d-fearing as amatter o f course."

T h e Tzemach Tzedek's l o o k turned sour. "For more thanf i f t y years, my grand father (R . Shneur Z al man o f L i a d i ) ,my father-in-law (R. Dovber) and I have been urgingchassid im to acquire a fear o f G- d th r o u g h the labors o ftheir o wn avodah, that i t shou ld not come automatically."

Avodah w o r k i n g o n onese lf is a hal lma r k o f theChabad t r ad i t i on . A t the heart o f thi s co nc ept is ther e c o g n i t i o n that for a change to be tr ue and lasting , i tcannot result f r o m outside influence. Just as i n ou rmaterial w o r l d , an y th in g o f real value costs; so, too , whe ni t comes to spir i tual awareness, no th in g comes w i t h o u tinvestment .

I t ' s a message we can learn f r o m a soda bo t t l e : N odeposit , no return.

Parshas MikeitzT h i s Torah reading begins w i t h pharaoh 's dreams, while tha t o fthe previous week focused on Joseph's dreams. D r ea ms aresignificant, for they often reflect a person's d i rec t i on andcharacter th ru st . Th u s the con trast between pharoah 's dreams andJoseph's can teach us fundamental differences between anapproach o f holiness and an o rd in ary w o r l d l y approach.

A m o n g the differences between them.a) Joseph's dreams begin w i t h work: " W e were i n the f i e l d

b i n d i n g together sheaves." pharaoh 's dreams, by con trast , do n o tinvolve any activity o n his par t. H e watches as the g rai n an d thecows emerge f r o m the N i l e . The contrast teaches; holiness isassociated w i t h activity and effort.

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W h e n a pe rso n receives a g i f t tha t is un ear ned, he feelsco mpr omi se d to a cert ain extent . W h y is that? Because we possessa so ul t hat is "an actu al par t o f G - d . " Th er efo re j us t as G- d is aGiver, n o t a rec ipi ent , we to o, feel the greatest sat isfact ion whenwe receive the f ru i t s o f ou r o wn effort s instead o f receivi ngsomethi ng gra t is . Th u s Joseph is active.

T h e w o r l d at large, by contrast, does n o t have the same degreeo f active D i v i n e influen ce. I t is merely a med i u m t hr o u g h w h i c hG - d and man acc ompli sh H i s in te nt . Ther efo re Pharaoh isno more than an observer. He does no t p lay a co nt r i bu to ry ro le i nb r i n g i n g the w o r l d to i ts perfect ion.

b ) Joseph's dreams fo l low the pat te r n o f "Always ascendhigher w i t h regard to holy matters. " I n the f irst dream, he beginsw i t h ears o f gr ain separate and di st in ct ent i t i es w h i c h arethen bound toge ther i n t o sheaves, i.e., d iv i s i on gives way to u n i t y .A n d th is pat te rn leads to the second dream, w h i c h proceeds to thecelestial plane, speaki ng abo ut t he sun, the mo o n , and the stars.

Even i n the mo st mater ial sense, this reflects an upwardprogress ion. Sheaves are more valuable than i nd iv idua l stalks o fgrain, and stars are far more higher than sheaves.

T h e dreams o f pharao h, by con trast, fo l low a do wnwar d t r end .T h e f i rs t dr eam concerns cows, members o f the ani mal k i n g d o m,and the second concerns ears o f gr ain, plants, w h i c h are o n a lo werlevel. Furthermore, even w i t h i n each dr eam, the pat te rn is one o fdecli ne. Fi r st ph ar ao h saw healt hy cows, an d the n lean ones. F i r s the saw " f u l l , g o o d " ears o f gr ain, and t hen " th in , scorched" ones.A n d the d o wn wa r d t r en d co nt in ue d, as the healthy cows and grai nwere swal lo wed u p by the lean ones.

Ho li ne ss is characteri zed by g rowth , fo l l o wi n g the pat tern:" T he y shall go f r o m strength to strength." Since G-dl iness isi n f in i t e , there is a co nt in uo us thr us t to wards advancement andprogress. The w o r l d at large, by contrast is f in i te and l im i t ed . I tcan no t become any mor e th an i t is. O n the co nt rar y, as ent it iesage, there is a tend ency t o war d weake ni ng and de te ri or ati on .


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M I K E I T Z 35

Joseph's dreams hence reflect the potential for advancement, whi lepharaoh's are character ized by wan i n g and decline.

Every one o f us have a d i men si o n o f Joseph w i t h i n us and ad im

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