B"H
Thursday, Nissan 6, 5782 / April 7, 2022
We begin the Passover Seder, as well as other holiday meals, by reciting Kiddush over a cup of wine, blessing and thanking G-d for giving us the holidays, which are called, "festivals of joy."
There are two kinds of joy – spiritual and physical. Each holiday has a unique spiritual message which causes every Jew to feel a spiritual joy. We are also commanded to have physical joy. To wear nice clothes, enjoy a sumptuous meal and create a festive and joyous atmosphere in our home.
Q. Our rabbis ask: Why does the Torah command us to eat and drink as part of the festivities associated with our holidays? Are earthly pleasures really so important? Wouldn't it be better to concentrate only on the spiritual aspects of the holidays - the elevation of our soul?
A. Rabbi Yaakov Krantz, known as the Magid of Dubna, explains this with the following parable: There was once a man who was lame, who had a friend who was healthy and fit, except that he was deaf.
One day the lame man decided that between him and his deaf friend they can manage to do many of the things which each of them could not do on their own. He could get around by riding on the shoulders of his friend, while he would be the listening ears for his deaf friend. This way, they managed to accomplish many things together.
One day they passed a place from where wonderful joyous music was coming. The lame one loved the music and wanted his friend to stop walking so he could enjoy the beautiful music. But the deaf one, who didn't hear a sound, didn't want to stop.
The lame one sitting on top of his friend’s shoulders remembered that he had a bottle of liquor in his pocket. He motioned to his friend to stop and filled him a glass of the liquor. He then filled him another glass and another until the deaf man began dancing.
While the deaf one danced as a result of his drinking, the lame person riding on his shoulders also danced as best he could to the tune of the music which he was hearing. Although they were both dancing for two different reasons, they were both happy and content!
The same says the Magid is with each of us. We are composed of a body and soul. True, the main purpose and pleasure of the holidays should be the spiritual high and pleasure derived by the soul. However, the physical part of the person - the body, cannot derive its enjoyment from spirituality and thus becomes an obstacle to the spiritual enjoyment of the soul.
Thus, the Torah commands us that we should have physical enjoyment, such as delicious food and drinks on the holidays. As a result, there is a partnership between body and soul. With our physical body being happy and content, it will not distract our Nesahama (soul) from enjoying the spiritual aspect of the holiday. When body and soul work together, things get done much better.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Friday, Nissan 7, 5782 / April 8, 2022
This Shabbat, we read from the Torah, Parshat Metzora, in the book of Leviticus. This Shabbat, being the last Shabbat before the holiday of Pesach, which begins Friday night, April 15, is called, Shabbat HaGadol. – The Great Shabbat.
One reason is that on the Shabbat before the Exodus, G-d performed a great miracle for the Jewish people in Egypt. The Exodus from Egypt took place on a Thursday. On the Shabbat before each family had to take a sheep for the Passover sacrifice. The sheep was the idol of the Egyptians, and this would have caused great danger for the Jewish people as they were going to sacrifice the Egyptian idol. G-d performed a great miracle on that day and the Egyptians couldn’t harm them.
In the Torah, the months are referred to by numbers, not by name. The month of Nissan is called the "first month". Pesach (Passover) is on the fifteenth day of the first month. Rosh Hashana is on the first day of the seventh month and Yom Kippur on the tenth day of the seventh month.
Q. Why are the months called by numbers in the Torah?
A. The reason for this is connected with the holiday of Pesach and the Exodus. The Torah commands us, “Remember the Exodus all the days of our life.” In the Hagadah, which we will recite at the Seder, we say, "In every generation one is obligated to view himself as if he has gone out from Egypt."
One way to remember and integrate the Exodus into our daily activities is by referring to the months by numbers. This way, each month is in relation to the first month, Nissan. For example, Tishrei is the seventh month from Nissan. Thus, we always remember the month of Nissan and, by implication, the miracle of the Exodus.
The name of this month, "Nissan," comes from the Hebrew word "Nes" which means "miracle". Nissan is a special month in which the greatest miracles took place for the Jewish people – the miracle of the Exodus and the miracle of the splitting of the sea.
G-d designated Nissan as the first month for the Jewish people, to teach us that the existence and future of the Jewish people is not a natural phenomenon but is essentially a miracle.
On the lighter side:Before Pesach, a poor man came to the wealthy banker Rothchild and said, "Mr. Rothchild, I would like to bet you 100 rubles that there is something which I can get and you cannot!
“Impossible,” said Rothchild. But Mr. Rothchild was very curious. He put down a crisp 100 ruble note on the table. The poor man picked up the 100 ruble note, put it safely into his pocket, and said, "Mr. Rothchild, I can get a letter from the rabbi attesting to the fact that I need help, so that I can beg for alms. Canyou get such a letter?"
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 7:13 / Shabbat ends: 8:19
B"H
Monday, Nissan 10, 5782 / April 11, 2022
Q.At the time of the Exodus, the Jewish people came out of Egypt with great wealth, as G-d promised Abraham many years earlier. At the Seder we make all kinds of symbolic gestures to remember the Exodus. Why don’t we make any symbol for the great wealth we took from Egypt?
A.On the lighter side.. because there was nothing left of that wealth.. it is long gone…
On a serious note: The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory, who was born on the 11th on Nissan 120 years ago, writes, “Jewish wealth is not houses and gold. Everlasting Jewish wealth is, being Jews who keep Torah and mitzvot and bringing into the world children and grandchildren who keep Torah and mitzvot."
This is a powerful understanding of what our true wealth is. In this context the answer is simple. The fact that we sit at the Seder together with family members, surrounded by our children and grandchildren, who participate in the customs and traditions of the Seder and the great Nachas we derive this night. This is our greatest wealth!
In the Talmud we find the following story: When Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East, the Egyptians came before him and demanded that the Jews return the gold and silver which they "borrowed" from the Egyptians a thousand years earlier, at the time of the Exodus.
Alexander called the sages and told them to appear before his court to answer the Egyptian claim that they return all the gold and silver they took with them out of Egypt. It was an enormous amount, as 600,000 plus came out of Egypt. The sages were very worried. A simple man by the name of Geviha ben Pesisa volunteered to argue the case and the Rabbis agreed. They had nothing to lose.
At the trial, the Egyptians presented their claim before Alexander, requesting that the Jews return the value of what they they took from the Egyptians. Geviha asked the Egyptians, "Do you have proof to substantiate your claim?"
"Yes we do, from your Torah," they replied. They quoted the passage from the Torah: "The children of Israel did as Moshe told them and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold. And G-d gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians and they lent them".
"In that case," Geviha replied, "I will also repudiate your claim from our Torah. The Torah states that over 600,000 Jews left Egypt at the time of Exodus. This means that 600,000 labored for you over 100 years without any pay. If you will pay us the wages owed to 600,000 Jews for over one hundred years of hard labor, we will return the gold and silver we borrowed!"
Alexander told the Egyptians to reply to Geviha's suggestion. The Egyptians requested three days to respond. In the end, after much calculation, they realized that having to pay for the labor of 600,000 people for all those years would be a much greater amount.. and they dropped the case.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
B"H
Tuesday, Nissan 11, 5782 / April 12, 2022
Today, the 11th day in the month of Nissan, is the 120th birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, who was born on this day in the year, 1902.
The Rebbe became the leader of Chabad-Lubavitch in the year 1950, after the passing of his father-in law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson. The Rebbe took the movement to another level.
More than anyone else in the last century and many centuries before, did a Jewish leader affect the lives of so many in such a positive way. His advice, his teachings, his dedication to Jewish education, his concern for Jewish youth and the elderly, as exhibited by the thousands of emissaries (Shluchim) he sent throughout the world, has no comparison in Jewish history. The Rebbe cared for every Jew wherever they may live. For that purpose, he sent emissaries to the farthest corners of the world.
One can find a Chabad House wherever a Jew is found. The saying goes, “Wherever a Jew travels in the world they will find Coca Cola and Chabad.”
The holiday of Pesach begins this Friday night April 15, with the Seder. At the Seder the children play a very important role. We speak about the four sons: the wise son; The wicked son; The simple son; The one who doesn’t know what to ask. The Torah tells us to involve them all in this important celebration.
The question is, “Why is the wicked son placed right next to the wise son? Shouldn’t he be the last one, after all, he is the wicked son?
The Rebbe explains it as follows: The reason we bring together the above-mentioned children to the Seder is to include them in the beauty of our traditions and teach them the Jewish way of life. Even the one who is wicked and will barrage us with disturbing questions, he too, must be included in the Seder ceremony. We cannot give up on any Jew. We include everyone and try to answer their questions, so they too, will share in the beauty of our sacred traditions.
Thus, we place the wicked son next to the wise one, because the wise son is the one who can answer his questions and influence the wicked one. None of the other children at the Seder can answer his questions. The Rebbe says, “It is the duty and responsibility of the wise son to make a conscious effort to teach the wicked son. No Jew should be left behind.
The Rebbe taught by example. He felt responsible for every Jew and made his followers aware of that too. The Rebbe’s emissaries to the Ukraine, who have been there to save Jews spiritually are now selflessly saving Jews physically as the bombs rain in on Ukraine. The fact that the Rebbe’s holy work continues, close to 30 years after his passing, attests to the fact that the Rebbe lives on in spirit and continues to influence us all.
May the Rebbe’s merit bring peace and blessings to all, with the coming of Moshiach. Amen.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
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