"HaCHodesh Hazeh Lachem - הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם - This new month is for you..."[Bo 12:2]. Rashi tells us the pasuk uses the word Zeh because Moshe could not properly grasp Kiddush HaChodesh, so Hashem showed it to him, using the word Zeh. We find the words Zeh two other times where Chazal says the same thing. Moshe could not grasp the inner depth of the Shekalim or the Menorah.
The Vilna Gaon says that these three Mitzvot are hidden in the name Moshe twice. If you take the Roshei Teivot [first letters] of the words Menorah, Shekalim, and HaChodesh, it spells Moshe. "Also," says the Gra, "if you take the last letters of those same words they also spell Moshe."
Why, asked R' Elimelech of Lizhensk, would Pharoah ask Moshe to "provide a wonder for yourselves"? Since Pharoah was the one who wanted proof of Moshe's legitimacy, would it not have made more sense for him to say "Provide a wonder for me"?
The difference, answered the Rebbe, between a genuine wonder and one which is no more than an optical illusion is that the illusion amazes only those who witness it. However, the one who performs the feat is not impressed in the least, since he knows that it was no more than a delusion. A genuine wonder, on the other hand, amazes not only its spectators, but even the tzaddik who performs it.
This, then, was Pharoah's intention when he said: "Provide a wonder for yourselves" - Provide us with a true wonder, one that will not only dazzle us but will even make an impression upon yourselves."
''A Time Of Terrible Distress'' [originally published July 2009]
When Hillary Rodham Clinton lost the Democratic Nomination for President to Barack Hussein Obama, many thought that she would disappear from the world stage for years. But her name in Hebrew hinted that something different would happen. Our attention was gained by her unique name expressed in Hebrew letters. Never before did we see the following occur in anyone's name:
Hillary הילרי, Rodham רודהם, and Clinton קלינטון each have a gematria of 255. Imagine that a person's first name, middle name and last name all have the same exact value! When the value of the entire name is calculated, the total gematria is 765 [255x3], the same value as עת צרה [Time of terrible distress]. This finding indicated that Hillary would not disappear into the sunset so quickly. She would be (as she has become) an influential voice reprimanding the State of Israel.
The term עת צרה comes from the Book of Daniel [12:1] which describes the time when Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, will stand in defense of his people at this time of catastrophe. The atbash gematria of עת צרה is 106, the same value as the letter נ nun, spelled out נון.
No verse in the Ashrei prayer [Psalm 145] begins with the letter נ nun. There are 21 verses in this psalm and each verse (in order) begins with the remaining 21 letters of the Hebrew aleph bet. This is because in the verse that speaks of G-d supporting the fallen, the letter נ can be taken as an allusion to the word נפילה, Israel's future downfall, G-d forbid. King David refused to use a letter to begin a verse that could suggest such tragedy. But knowing that downfalls must take place as they have throughout our history, King David comforted Israel with the verse that begins with the letter ס samech [the letter that follows the nun in the Hebrew alphabet]. The full verse beginning with the samech states "Hashem supports all the fallen ones and straightens all those who are bent." With this verse, King David made a guarantee to the Jewish People that even when a dreaded downfall occurs, the people can count on Hashem's support.
Today, the leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahou בּנימין נתניהו, has not one, but four nuns in his name, representing the four exiles of the Jewish People. We have gone from one exile to another, falling down and then being lifted up by Hashem. We kept falling into galus because we would not learn from our mistakes and make adjustments in our lives. The purpose of falling is to arise and lift ourselves to a higher level, not to the same plane. When G-d tests us in our personal lives and we fall down through illness, financial setbacks or personal tragedy, we must pull ourselves not only back to where we were before the fall, but to greater heights.
The letter נ is the 14th letter in the aleph bet. This is the gematria of דוד [David] whose descendant will shortly be sent by G-d to redeem us. May we all dance with joy when that wonderful moment arises.
I'm not going to link to all the articles, but in the past week or so, Rabbi Mizrachi has been accused of saying various offensive things. The accusations were distortions of his words and taken out completely of context. Here he responds to those who have publicly attacked him. Comments are disabled, as I do not want to start another debate here.
The 24th of Tevet marks the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad. On this day, it is customary to gather for farbrengens, informal chassidic gatherings where Torah thoughts, inspiration and stirring melodies are shared around a festive table.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson—who was a direct descendant of Rabbi Schneur Zalman—wrote extensively about the greatness of his illustrious ancestor and pointed out how the details of various aspects of his life were in tune with the teachings of the Kabbalah. While the full teaching is beyond the scope of this article, let’s focus on Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s understanding of the name Schneur Zalman.
The name Schneur (שניאור) contains within it two Hebrew words, שני (two) and אור (light): “two lights.” This is a most appropriate name for a man whose life mission was to teach others the two illuminations of the Torah: the revealed portion of Torah, which is embodied in his Code of Jewish Law; and the hidden Kabbalah, which he espoused in his many chassidic teachings.
Taking it a step further, אור (light) has the numeric value of 207. Adding together “two lights” (207+207) brings us to a total of 414, the numerical value of ואהבת (“and you shall love”).
Indeed, Rabbi Schneur Zalman devoted his life to helping people live the values of “And you shall love the L‑rd your G‑d” and “And you shall love your fellow like yourself,” as well as a love for the Torah and a love for the Land of Israel, which he actively supported through the Colel Chabad charity he led.
Curiously, Abraham our forefather was also associated with these same qualities of love and light. Isaiah refers to him as “Abraham, my lover,” and the Midrash tells us how he brought light to the world, saying, “Until Abraham, the world functioned in darkness—Abraham came and began to shed light.”
If the two lights of Schneur are associated with Abraham, then the name Zalman must connect with Sarah, his wife.
Sarah is the only woman in the entire Torah whose age is recorded: 127 years, a number the Kabbalists explain denotes perfection and achievement. And you guessed it: Zalman (זלמן) has the numerical value of 127.
Now, the 127 years of Sarah’s life were not all identical. There were the first 90 years before G‑d blessed her with a child, and then there were the last 37 years, when she raised her son Isaac, fulfilling her essential role as a mother of our people.
The name Zalman (זלמן) can be divided neatly into these two halves: זל=37, and מן=90.
One last facet:
The 127 years of Sarah came into play a thousand years later, when Ahasuerus, who eventually married Esther, ruled over 127 countries. Why 127? The Midrash fills us in:
Why did Esther merit to rule over 127 countries? Said G‑d: “Let Esther, the descendant of Sarah who lived 127 years, come and rule over 127 lands.'' [Esther Rabbah 1:8]
Concerning Esther, the Megillah tells us that she was taken to the king’s palace to be queen in the month of Tevet. Quite appropriately, Rabbi Schneur Zalman (whose connection to Esther is expressed in the number 127) was taken to G‑d’s supernal palace on the 24th of Tevet.
Miraculous events are common at the Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. This one occurred last week.
A small crowd filled the entrance room of Ohel Chabad Lubavitch Center in Cambria Heights, Queens, on Motzoei Shabbos Shemos 5776 to watch videos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe that play in a constant loop.
Shown on the large screen was a farbrengen held on 10 Shevat 5732 in the main shul at Lubavitch Headquarters - 770 Eastern Parkway, and celebrating the anniversary of the Rebbe accepting the leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
In the video, in between delivering "sichos," the Rebbe was searching for someone.
Sitting and watching the clip were David Weisshaar of Atlanta, Georgia, and his fiancee Leah Ganz of Woodmere, New York, who came to pray before their wedding. He is a real estate broker in Atlanta and she works for the Orthodox Union (OU).
"We got engaged on December 13 and people have been encouraging me to go to the Rebbe and ask for his blessing," Weisshaar told COLlive.com in a phone conversation from New York on Sunday.
Weisshaar, 44, has grown close to Chassidus with the guidance of Shliach Rabbi Shmuel Posner of the Chabad House of Boston, MA. He later studied in the Yeshivos Ohr Temimim in Kfar Chabad, Tiferes Bachurim in New York and Ufaratzta in Katamon, Jerusalem.
So when he came to the Five Towns last week to visit his fiancee, he offered her to go with him to the Rebbe's holy gravesite at the Old Montefiore cemetery in Queens after Shabbos.
Upon arriving there, Weisshaar commented to Ganz that "everything here is Hashgacha protis - Divine Providence." The two, accompanied by a friend, wrote a personal 'pan' request, as customary, and walked into the Ohel to pray.
Sipping a warm drink, the two sat down in the "house" adjacent to the cemetery to draw further inspiration from watching a video of the Rebbe from the vast archive footage of JEM [Jewish Educational Media].
"The Rebbe was between talks and had a big bag of mail in front of him," Weisshaar told COLlive.com. "Then, all of a sudden, the Rebbe asked, 'is there a Jew here from Georgia?' I turned to Leah and asked if she saw that as well.
"Then the Rebbe spoke again and said, 'where's David from Georgia?' That is when I jumped up out of my seat. I said, 'wow! This is kind of wild!' I realized the Rebbe wasn't only looking for a Jew from Georgia, he's looking for 'David from Georgia!'"
"We noticed that it took a while for the people in 770 to find this David," Weisshaar related. When the Jew from the former Soviet country is finally found, the Rebbe instructs him to sing.
The person, who was a diamond dealer and an immigrant living in Kiryat Malachi, Israel, began singing a Georgian Jewish melody.
And the words? The blessing for a bride and groom traditionally sung at weddings: "kol sason v'kol simcha, kol chatan v'kol kallah..."
Weisshaar says he turned to some bochurim standing nearby and told them that his first name is David and that he lives in the state of Georgia as well, and that he came at this late hour to request a blessing for their wedding.
The friend that came with Weisshaar and Ganz even commented that David also resembles David from the video. Bochurim present were moved by the story and helped Weisshaar purchase the Farbrengen DVD from 10 Shevat 5732.
"I already knew this (engagement) was a solid thing and I was sure we had the Rebbe's bracha," Weisshaar said. "But this was like the icing on the cake. It was kind of crazy to see it on the screen."
The couple set their wedding date to Thursday, 24 Adar II, 5776 in Brooklyn, NY. Mazel Tov!
''There was hail and fire flaming amid the hail'' [Va'eira 9:24]
The Midrash states that the Plague of Hail was a miracle within a miracle: the hail did not extinguish the fire and the fire did not melt the hail. Rather, both elements joined forces in smiting the Egyptians.
R' Acha compared this to a king who had two very powerful legions of soldiers. To find greater favor in the king's eyes, each legion tried out-doing the other when they went out to war. The competition between the two legions escalated to the point that they hated one another.
This hatred continued for some time until a major war threatened to break out in the king's land. The king summoned both legions to appear before him, and he told them the following:
''I know'' said the king, ''that you are both very powerful and dedicated to my service. I usually send only one of you at a time to the battlefront. But now a major war looms on the horizon, and I need assistance from both of you. But what shall I do about your mutual hatred? You must make peace between yourselves and go out to war united. Then we will be victorious!''
So it was with the Plague of Hail. Hail and fire cannot co-exist because the nature of fire is to melt hail and the nature of hail is to extinguish fire. But in this instance, Hashem made peace between them and together they struck at the Egyptians.
A story is told, about the Lubavitcher Rebbe, how one year on the 1st of January he wished someone a "Happy New Year". Seeing the surprised reaction to this open acknowledgment of this secular juncture, the Rebbe went on and quoted a verse in Tehillim [Psalms 87], where King David writes how "G-d takes into account the demarcations of time of all the nations of the world".
As Jews we don't ignore New Year, we acknowledge the world around us.
The Apta Ruv – The Oheiv Yisrael - used to bless people on the secular New Year’s “From now on, there should be a good year for Klal Yisrael”
It is said that The Ropshitzer Ruv, used to wish people a happy new year’s in Polish “Szczęśliwego nowego roku” on the secular new year.
"Behold! the people, the Children of Israel, are more numerous and stronger than we" [Shemot 1:9]
The verse teaches us, said R'Yisrael of Rizhin, that when the Jews act as one people, free of discord and strife, then the nations of the world see them as ''more numerous and stronger'' than themselves and realize that they cannot dominate the Jews.
This can be compared to a father who invited all his children to his home.
When they arrived, they gathered around him.
The father held several thin twigs in his hand. He gave one to each of his children and then asked them to break them.
His children snapped the dry twigs with ease.
The father then passed around a bundle of several twigs. "Now" said the father "please try breaking this bundle." Each one tried to break the bundle but none succeeded.
"You see" said the father "as long as you remain united in the same way that these branches are united, nobody will ever be able to harm you! But if you act divisively and there is disharmony among you, then be aware that a lone individual is as feeble and easily broken as a thin twig."
Parts of the United Kingdom have been inundated with floods, and the rain continues to fall.
The cities of York and Leeds have been brought to their knees, in what the leader of one local authority described as “a catastrophe waiting to happen”.
The word "shemot'' means ''names'', as in the verse ''these are the name of the children of Israel who came to Egypt''[Shemot 1:1]
A person's name is an extremely personal matter. Whenever a person hears his name called out, the word resonates in his heart, and lifts his spirits. People feel so strongly for their names that they will pay fortunes to have their names written on buildings, as they yearn for their identity to be perpetuated in stone.
In fact, a name is such a deep-rooted entity that, if a person faints, whispering his name into his ear can actually bring him back to consciousness.
Rashi comments [1:1] that naming is the best sign of affection. Seemingly there are greater signs of affection than mere naming. A parent can show love to a child through giving a gift, or through words of affection, or through physical embracing. Why did G-d show His affection to the tribes through repeating their names?
However, these other signs of affection are all relative to the situation at hand. For example, what might be a generous gift for one child would be an insult to another. Similarly, words of affection must be specific for a particular child at his level. And while a hug may always seem appropriate, it requires the presence of the child and his conscious alertness. Only the calling of a name breaks through these barriers and is applicable in all circumstances.
Consequently, when the Jewish people were immersed in the idolatrous culture of Egypt, they had few merits and so the only possible sign of affection was to repeat their names. This teaches us that G-d's love for a Jew is unconditional.
God said to Moses: "Ehyeh asher ehyeh'' (I will be what I will be) [Shemot 3:14]
Rashi explains that G-d's reply to Moshe's question [about His Name] was ''I will be with them in their present time of need, just as I will be with them at the time of future persecutions.''
Obviously, Rashi does not agree with those commentators who suggest that G-d told Moshe to tell the Jews His true Name [Rashbam, Rambam and Abarbanel]. Rather, according to Rashi, G-d was responding with words of encouragement to tell the Jewish people. [In this respect, Rashi agrees with Ramban].
After the true and complete redemption through our righteous Moshiach '' all flesh will see together that the mouth of G-d [Havayeh] spoke.'' And then we will be permitted to pronounce the Tetragrammation exactly how it is written.
וְעֵינֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ כָּֽבְד֣וּ מִזֹּ֔קֶן לֹ֥א יוּכַ֖ל לִרְא֑וֹת Yaakov was no longer able to see." [VaYechi 48:10]
Chazal tell us various reasons why Yitzchok became blind. but why did Yaakov become blind?
Rav Shlomo Zalman Zelaznik Ztz"l. the Rosh Yeshiva of Eitz Chaim. explained with the principle that if someone suffers on your account, you are punished, even if you have done nothing wrong. In Yaakov's case we find two people whose eyes suffered on account of him. The first was Yitzchok. who Chazal say became blind so that Yaakov would be able to fool him and take the blessings. The second is Leah. whose eyes were swollen because she was destined to marry Eisav. while Rochel was supposed to marry Yaakov.
"Either of these two occurrences," says Rav Zelaznik, "were enough cause to warrant Yaakov losing his eyesight despite his complete innocence of any wrongdoing. If such is the Midas HaDin when we are completely innocent of any wrongdoing, certainly, if we actually play a part in the suffering of another person, we are in huge trouble."
Yarzheit: 11 Teves - In memory of two great teachers: Ze'ev Yosef ben Sholom a"h and Rochel bas Mordechai a"h who tragically left this world as the result of a surreal car crash on December 20, 2007 - we miss you and think of you every day.
Tzadikim never die, their light continues to shine forever.
"Teach them thoroughly to your children" [Devarim 6:7] - "your children" refers to your students. [Sifrei]
"Whoever teaches another man's son Torah is considered as if he had borne him." [Sanhedrin 19b]
A talmid once approached R' Chaim Shmulevitz to relate a chiddush (original Torah thought). R' Chaim listened to the student in amazed silence. The "chiddush" was, in fact, an idea which R' Chaim himself had offered in a shiur (lecture) which this student had attended.
R' Chaim was certain that the student was not trying to deceive him. There could only be one explanation. The student had absorbed R' Chaim's lecture well, but after a period of time, had forgotten having attended it. Later, when reviewing the relevant material, the student had thought of R' Chaim's chiddush, thinking that it was his own.
R' Chaim later remarked: "I then realized that here was a real talmid, assimilating my chiddushim in his thoughts as if they were his very own! It was the happiest day of my life!"
Ever Mindful
When still active as Rosh Yeshivah of Mesivta Torah Vodaath, R' Yaakov Kamenetzky once visited the home of his son R' Shmuel. Late at night, R' Shmuel heard his father leave his second-floor bedroom and go downstairs.
Concerned, R' Shmuel made his way downstairs, only to find his father jotting something down in a pocket notebook. R' Yaakov explained: "A certain bochur in yeshivah has been having some problems. I just thought of a way to help him. I jotted it down in my appointment book to make sure that I won't forget."
How Can I Leave?
The weddings of his talmidim were of particular importance to R' Moshe Feinstein. One Friday morning, someone met him in New York's Port Authority bus terminal, waiting to board a bus to the annual convention of Agudath Israel.
It seemed hard to believe that a car had not been provided to take R' Moshe to the convention. R' Moshe's companion explained: "Certainly a car was provided. The Rosh Yeshivah was to be driven to the convention last night, following the chuppah at a talmid's wedding. The car was waiting after the ceremony ended, but the Rosh Yeshivah said: "How can I leave without first dancing with the chassan?" He insisted that the car, which was to pick up other Roshei Yeshivah, not wait for him, and he would not trouble anyone to come for him a second time."
For a Student's Honour
R' Eliyahu Moshe Shisgal (late son-in-law of R' Moshe Feinstein) was a revered and beloved Rosh Yeshivah. Once, during a lecture, a student disputed a point that R' Shisgal had made. The student's remarks seemed so ludicrous that the rest of the class burst into laughter.
R' Shisgal chastised his students. "Why do you laugh? Is this the proper way? Besides, how can one be sure that what he suggested is wrong? Perhaps it is we who are in error?"
Having spoken, R' Shisgal excused himself and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a gemara that he had climbed two flights of stairs to get. He read aloud a passage from the commentary of Rashi and concluded "It is apparent from Rashi that our explanation is correct." The student who had posed the question no longer felt chagrined.
Source: Rabbi Shimon Finkelman "For Love of Torah"
In Parshas Vayechi, Rashi explains that Yaakov wished to reveal to his sons when the end of Israel's exile would finally take place (ha'keitz), but the prophetic vision was closed off from him.
Rabbeinu Bachye elaborated on Rashi's words: Yaakov observed that the letters ח and ט do not appear in any of the brother's names. These are the two main letters of the word חט- sin. Yaakov took the fact that the brothers' names did not contain this word as an indication that they were clean of sin and worthy of being told when the future redemption would occur.
But then Yaakov noticed that the letters ק and ץ, which together spell the word קץ (keitz - the end of the exiles) also do not appear in their names. At that point Yaakov thought that perhaps his sons were not worthy of knowing this secret after all.
Because of his hesitation, Yaakov kept the secret closed and did not reveal the information to his sons. Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein
Surely, if Yaakov would have indeed revealed the time of Moshiach's coming to his children they would have been totally devastated to hear that they had so long to wait.
When Yaakov's sons would hear that Moshiach was not scheduled to come for a long time, they would have realized that some considerable additional effort was needed to bring him sooner - as the Talmud states that through additional merit the Redemption comes earlier [Sanhedrin 98a].
Thus, Yaakov hoped that by revealing that ''the End of Days'' was a long way off it would motivate his children to add substantially in Divine Service, so as to bring Moshiach sooner.
Nevertheless, despite his good intentions ''the Shechinah departed from him'' and Yaakov found himself unable to reveal the ''End of Days''. For, ultimately, God wants us to bring Moshiach through our own efforts, and not through the assistance of ''revelations'' from above.
Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe vol 20 pp228
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"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
