Rabbi Chaim Yitzchok Sanowicz
is sitting shiva in NY until shabbos
on the passing of his father
Reb Sholom Dov Ber ben Reb Chaim Yitzchok ob"m
The Levaya is today in NY
Phone: 323-428-9963
Hamakom Yenachem Eschem B'soch Sheor Avalei Tzion V'yerushalayim.
Vehukeetzu Veranenu Shochnay Ufur vehu besochom!
Mrs. Ruchama Thaler
is sitting shiva until shabbos
on the passing of her brother ob"m
The Levaya is today in Florida
Phone: 323-646-7337
Note - She is on the east coast
Hamakom Yenachem Eschem B'soch Sheor Avalei Tzion V'yerushalayim.
Vehukeetzu Veranenu Shochnay Ufur vehu besochom!
MOTZEI SHABBOS:
Upcoming Birthdays
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The 2020 Elections in the Service of Hashem:
With Every Vote we tip the Scales to Geula
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
The Baal Shem Tov teaches that everything a Jew sees and hears is a lesson in avodas Hashem. What happened over the last few weeks during this election cycle clarifies a Sicha from the Rebbe (Kedoshim Likutei Sichos v. 27).
One of the big issues in this year’s election was about validating legitimate votes. There are allegations of suspicious behavior behind irregularities in the way the machines count votes, stuffing ballot boxes, mail-in voter fraud and changing votes. Where do we find a similar idea in the Torah and what is the lesson for us in our service of Hashem?
The Torah commands us to use honest weights and measures. Not only are we forbidden to falsely or inaccurately measure something for personal profit, but even to possess a false or inaccurate measuring device is forbidden. The Rambam writes that someone who denies the mitzvah of using exact weights and measures denies the exodus from Egypt.
The point is that whenever someone steals or cheats he's denying the existence of Hashem and that Hashem is watching over every action. Therefore why is the only denial that the Rambam mentions about false weights and measures and not every form of stealing or deceit? Why isn't every form of stealing and deceit tantamount to denying the exodus from Egypt?
The halacha that we are not allowed to possess a false measuring device is actually considered worse than stealing. The reason is because stealing is specific to one particular act. It’s worse when a person uses a false device to present themselves as honest and simultaneously use it to facilitate a theft. Having this kind of an intention to mislead and steal is far worse than just a particular random act of theft. It shows evil intent to deceive. Therefore Hashem does not just punish the person for the act of stealing but also the evil intent. This is the meaning of the Rambam. Just like Hashem punished Egyptians for their intentions as well as their actions so too renouncing the mitzvah of using accurate weights and measures is tantamount to denying the exodus from Egypt.
***
One of the great foundational principles in Judaism is the concept of free choice as is explained in the Rambam in the laws of Teshuva. This is the element of democracy found within Judaism. Every single person regardless of their station in life is important and has great impact when they utilize their freedom of choice properly. This is the concept of voting in the Torah. Everyone has free choice how to vote. Chassidus explains that we have two Souls, a good and a bad inclination all within our one body. Both inclinations are vying for the winning vote which is to control the body. It's a two party system.
The difference in avodas Hashem is that it's not just a campaign that occurs every 4 years rather we vote in each moment. Every thought speech or action equals one vote. The question is do we vote for Hashem or the opposite.
When are the votes tallied? At night as we recite the Shema. Krias Shema before we go to sleep is a time for a legitimate tally of what we accomplished throughout the day both positive and negative. We cannot just focus on the positive or the negative, stuffing the ballot box is forbidden! When we know the true tally we know our situation the way it really is and we can go forward with our lives either increasing evermore in good or correcting what is wrong.
The only issue is that we are biased. Therefore we need objective ‘poll observers’ to help us oversee our service of Hashem to make sure it is fair and unbiased. This is the role of the mashpia. The Rebbe demanded that each one of us appoint a mashpia and created the campaign of ‘Aseh lecha Rav’.
The true challenge of having a mashpia is that we tend to keep them at a distance. We don't reveal to them all the votes. We skew the results. We count in private where they cannot observe the actual tally. When the votes don't go the way we want we change the algorithm in the voting machine or we stuff the ballot box in the middle of the night.
In addition we fool ourselves saying that our vote doesn't really matter anyway. The Rambam says that with one act, word or thought we can tip the entire scale of the world to bring the geula. The Rebbe would quote this Rambam often. Unfortunately we do not value our own vote. Instead we convince ourselves that our vote doesn't really matter. We see this in the world today with how false poll numbers are portrayed in the media. They create a false impression that the result is forgone so why bother voting. The reality is that the results in many states showed that the races were very close and that indeed every vote was consequential.
The Alter Rebbe explains in the 25th chapter of the Tanya the bond of a Jew with Hashem when he does a mitzvah. This union of the soul and Hashem is eternal. It transcends time. Hashem has eternal pleasure from even one mitzvah. The Alter Rebbe writes in chapter 27 that when a person refrains from doing an aveira or even a bad thought he subdues the sitra achra. When the sitra achra is subdued here below, then the glory of the Hashem, rises above all, more than by any praise, and this ascent is greater than all else.
This is the power of each vote by everyone from the most simple to the most lofty.
By realizing the power of our vote, and exercising our vote in each moment by both pushing away the negative causing pleasure on high and the eternal connection with Hashem through the positive, we have the power of our vote to bring Moshiach!
A Good Shabbos
The new issue of the "Chabad Chodesh"
is now available online by clicking here
MOTZEI SHABBOS:
4:15 at the home of Mrs. Chana Weiss
411 N Martel
Speaker: Rabbi Yisroel Hecht
Upcoming Birthdays
Upcoming Anniversaries
Upcoming Yahrtzeits
Using Our Days to the Fullest to Bring Moshiach
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
The elections in the United States have been the world’s preoccupation over the last two weeks. People are spending their time, focus and imagination on what the outcome might be. Will any of this focus and time spent help improve the outcome? Definitely not! As tempting as it might be to spend our time surfing through all the information and conjecture, it has no lasting value.
The Rebbe has reminded us in many ways and on many occasions to focus on what we can get done in the present. We have only today in front of us; we haven’t yet reached tomorrow and yesterday is gone.
Reb Mendel Futerfas once quoted the Rebbe Rashab’s words to the Previous Rebbe. The Rebbe said this Wednesday (the day they were speaking) was never here before and will never be here again. Our focus is on today and the purpose for what we are here for.
This week we read the parsha of Chayei Sarah. Rashi quotes the words from the first pasuk; “The years of the life of Sarah” and comments that all of them were equally good. In other words our matriarch Sarah lived a complete and full life.
Later in the parsha Abraham Avinu wanted to send his servant Eliezer to make a marriage proposal for his son Yitzchok. Right before that section begins there is a verse that says;
“And Abraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem had blessed Abraham with everything.”
In Torah Ohr the Alter Rebbe asks what the words ‘advanced in days’ means. The Alter Rebbe brings the answer from the Zohar that says that these refer to Yomim Elayim, Exalted Days. What are exalted days? These refer to the garments of the Torah and the mitzvahs through which a neshama has pleasure absorbing the glory of the Shechina in the World to Come. (This is by way of example similar to a person who cannot stare directly in the sun without wearing special glasses)
What is the lesson of these pesukim for us in our service of Hashem? These pesukim teach us to strive that everyday should be complete, meaning full of the Torah and mitzvos. The Baal Shem Tov says not to leave one day without doing a mitzvah.
We are speaking here about mitzvos that are not bound by time and that can be done at any time. This does not apply to mitzvos such as the mitzvah of Tefillin or the reciting of the Shema. These are time-bound mitzvos and must be done within their specific time frame. One cannot say if I didn't have a chance to put on tefillin today I can do it twice tomorrow. Once today is lost it cannot be made up. Here we are speaking about non time-based mitzvos that are able to be done later.
The lesson here of living a complete and full life and being advanced in days means that although I am allowed to set aside for tomorrow something that could be done today, none-the-less it's best to instead take full advantage of today and live life to its utmost with as much Torah and mitzvos as possible.
We are also speaking about an individual who's pressed for time. He could squeeze in more learning but he has stress. When he comes to tell himself that it's okay and he could push it off for tomorrow he reminds himself to be advanced in days and to make an effort today.
But why is the time frame so important? Why can't we take it a little bit easy and chill out? After all, there's plenty of time. On Shabbos we can make up for all those things that we don't get done during the week. We can do half now and half later.
Each one of us has our daily minimum that we try to accomplish. Whether it's the basics of one chapter in the morning and one chapter in the evening, giving a little tzedakah or helping out our neighbor. For others it's about going far beyond what's required and delving into our learning on a higher level. These become our minimums. It's easy to draw a line and say that the main thing is that the basic time restricted mitzvos get accomplished because the mitzvos are the garments of the soul and our job is to make sure that the soul shouldn't be missing. Isn't it sufficient to do the non time restricted mitzvos what we can and make up whatever is missing later?
The Rebbe answers this question explaining that our purpose in coming into this world is to elevate ourselves and our surroundings and create a home for Hashem in this world. To elevate our bodies the vessel of our soul is by using our mouths for the words of the Torah and our minds to think the Torah and our body to do the mitzvahs. This doesn't just apply to ourselves but also to utilize the things in the world around us so that everything we do should be for the sake of Heaven.
When we speak of the world we're not just speaking about the physical world but also time. The soul can come down into this world to elevate it and make it into a home for Hashem not just in the physical sense but also that time itself needs to be connected and become a home for Hashem
By transforming regular time into holy time by using our time to its utmost everyday we fulfill the purpose for which we came in this world. This is the meaning of; “And Abraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem had blessed Abraham with everything.” This is also the meaning of what the Baal Shem Tov said not to leave one day missing without doing a mitzvah.
The question still remains, how is it possible to be so focused? We live in a world of distractions. In Igeres HaKodesh 21 the Alter Rebbe says that the greatness of the Akeida was not just that Avraham Avinu did the act but how he did it with great zeal. Avraham Avinu got up right away with a feeling of great joy having been given an opportunity to do something for Hashem. He did the mitzvah with great zeal and great joy even though it went completely against his nature. This is the merit of the Akeida which is with us until this very day.
In the 26th chapter of the Tanya the Alter Rebbe discusses being victorious over our yetzer hara in our service of Hashem. The Alter Rebbe says that the principle of success that must be known is analogous to a wrestling match. In a wrestling match one cannot be victorious over one’s opponent with laziness. So too in our service of Hashem in order to be victorious over the yetzer hara one needs to get out of any laziness, sluggishness or sadness to serve with the zeal which comes from the joy of being able to serve Hashem.
May we all merit to use all our days to their fullest and serve Hashem with great zeal and joy to bring Moshiach today.
A Good Shabbos
(Adapted from the Rebbe’s Sichos and Mamarim)
