"And they rushed him out of the dungeon" [Miketz 41:14]
In the Chofetz Chaim's later years, the Communist Revolution raged in Russia. One of the aims of the wicked Communists was to stamp out any trace of Judaism from the hearts of the Jewish people. They spared no effort at trying to achieve this goal. They mercilessly leveled harsh decrees against the Jews, and only thanks to the mercy of Heaven were Jews able to remain firm in their faith.
"Look at what the Torah states in Parshas Miketz", said the Chofetz Chaim to one of his students. "The verse says that 'Pharoah sent [messengers] and called Yosef, and they rushed him out of the dungeon.' For twelve years Yosef languished in prison and no one paid any attention to him.
'But when the moment that Hashem had designated for Yosef's salvation finally arrived, he was immediately rushed out of the dungeon.'
''We are in a similar situation. Our predicament appears to be hopeless: the Communist regime, in their cruelty, will stop at nothing to sever our ties with the holy Torah. Yet when Moshiach comes and our moment of redemption arrivesthere will be no delays and we, too, will be rushed to our Land.''
This is a true story, involving some friends of mine, and it's happening right now. [told with the permission of the couple]
Last Rosh Hashanah, Lizzi travelled to Uman to pray at the kever of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, to help her find her beshert [loosely translated as soul mate]. Lizzi knew the time was right, and she also knew she needed some help from Shamayim. Lizzi prayed very hard that Rosh Hashanah, and then travelled back to Israel.
A few weeks later, Lizzi's aunt Sonni who lives in the UK, had a dream. In the dream she saw her niece Lizzi, standing under a chuppah. She also recognised the choson [groom] - he was the son of her friend Susie, who lives in Melbourne Australia.
Sonny rang Susie to tell her about the dream. Susie immediately relayed this incredible dream to her son Moishe, who was a bit skeptical, but eventually agreed to ''meet'' Lizzi on Facebook.
Lizzi and Moishe became Facebook Friends, and almost instantly they knew they had met their perfect match.
After only a couple of weeks, Moishe got on a plane and flew to Israel, met Lizzi, and within a few days they were engaged.
Im yirtze Hashem, they will be married next week, in Israel.
An amazing class by Rabbi Alon Anava about The Power of Modesty and the great spiritual levels a woman can reach by being modest. Enlightening and highly recommended.
''In three days Pharoah will remove your head'' [Vayeishev 40:19]
The dreams of the chief baker and the chief wine butler, noted the Dubno Maggid, were very similar. Why, then, did Yosef interpret the dream of the chief wine butler favorably - that Pharoah would soon reinstate him to his post - but that of the chief baker unfavorably - that he was about to meet his end?
The answer, explained the Maggid, can be understood with a parable: An artist painted a magnificent portrait of a man balancing a basket full of bread on his head. Two men came to admire the painting. While they stood there, a bird landed atop it and began to peck away at the bread, which it thought was genuine.
''Such a marvellous artist!'' said one man to the other. ''This bird actually believes that the bread is real!''
''No'' responded the other, ''he is not much of an artist at all. For while the bread may be quite realistic, the man carrying it is not, for if it was, the bird would be afraid to approach the painting.''
We are now able to understand concluded the Dubno Maggid, why Yosef interpreted the dream of the chief baker unfavorably. When the chief baker related his dream to Yosef, he said ''And the birds were eating them from the basket above my head.'' Yosef understood that if the birds were unafraid to approach him, it was an indication that he was soon to be executed by Pharoah and was already considered a ''dead man''. For had he been ''alive''', the birds would have refrained from eating the food on his head!
This video explains the Vilna Gaon's concept of dividing up the 6000 years from Adam into six days/ 24 hour segments, and where we are right now ahead of the Geula.
There is a tradition brought down by the Chida that King David put the image of
Tehillim 67 למנצח “For the Conductor” in the form of a menorah on his shield and all
his enemies would fall before him. But what is the secret of the power of this prayer
that it gave King David such power and protection?
Image: המנורה כתובה by Ba'al haKokhav, converted to vector art by Andrew Meit (CC0)
The Torah teaches us that all the peoples of the world are blessed through Avraham
and his offspring the children of Israel. However, this blessing depends upon the
children of Avraham doing the will of Hashem.
The kabbalistic tradition explains that when Jewish people allow the soul to rule over
the body and the physical world is used to serve the higher will of Hashem and His
Torah, then this blessing flows properly to the nations of the world and the desire of the masses of people for a peaceful life is fulfilled; then the evil desires of the
powerful few are held in check.
However, when Jewish people do not follow Torah
and the bodily desires rule the soul, then the power is given to the evil ruling few who
desire war over peace.
Torah and Tefillah
Torah is the source of our power, tefilah
brings this power into manifestation. When we are involved in Torah and tefillah we
give power of soul to rule body and therefore to live like the tzaddik.
The Alter Rebbe - Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi author of The Tanya
The 18th of Kislev [today] marks the completion of the annual cycle of daily readings from the Tanya. The 19th and 20th of Kislev are the "Rosh HaShanah of Chassidus".
On Yud-Tes Kislev we re-commence the annual cycle of daily readings in Tanya, as divided by the Rebbe Rayatz.
It is the anniversary of the release of the Alter Rebbe - Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi [Hebrew: שניאור זלמן מליאדי], the first Rebbe of Chabad, who was informed upon by misnagdim in Russia and arrested on trumped-up charges of supporting the Ottoman Empire.
His informers pointed to the fact that he would urge his followers to send money to the Land of Israel as "evidence" of his alleged insurrectionist aspirations [in fact, the money was sent to support poor Jews]. At the time, the Land of Israel was a part of the Ottoman Empire, which was at war with Russia.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman was charged with treason, and released in the secular year 1798 on the Jewish date of Tuesday, 19 Kislev.
The 53 days of Rabbi Shneur Zalman's imprisonment are said to correspond to the 53 chapters of the first section of the Tanya.
19 Kislev is also considered to mark the day upon which Rabbi Shneur Zalman was conceived, for he was born exactly nine months later, on 18 Elul. [Shemu'os Vesippurim, Refoel Kahn, vol. 1, p. 39]
Rebbetzin Menuchah Rachel born [1798]
On the very day that Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi was liberated from prison, a granddaughter was born to him -- the daugher of his son Rabbi Dovber and his wife Rebbetzin Sheina. The girl was named Menuchah Rachel -- "Menuchah", meaning "tranquility" [Rachel was the name of a daughter of Rabbi Schneur Zalman who died in her youth].
In 1845, Rebbetzin Menuchah Rachel realized her lifelong desire to live in the Holy Land when she and her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Culi Slonim [d. 1857], led a contingent of Chassidim who settled in Hebron. Famed for her wisdom, piety and erudition, she served as the matriarch of the Chassidic community in Hebron until her passing in her 90th year in 1888.
The 19th of Kislev is also the yahrzeit of R. DovBer, the Maggid of Mezritch, who [as successor to the Baal Shem Tov] was the mentor of the second generation of the chassidic movement - from 5521 [1761] until his passing on the third day of the week of Parshas Vayeishev, Yud-Tes Kislev, 5533 [1772]. His resting place is in Anipoli.
Rabbi Dov Ber was born in Volhynia in 1710, according to the Jewish Encyclopedia, though other sources say his year of birth is unknown. Little is known about him before he became a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. A Hasidic legend states that, when he was five years old, his family home burst into flames. On hearing his mother weeping, he asked: "Mother, do we have to be so unhappy because we have lost a house?" She replied that she was mourning the family tree, which was destroyed, and had begun with Rabbi Yohanan, the sandal-maker and master in the Talmud. The boy replied: "And what does that matter! I shall get you a new family tree which begins with me!"
How aptly those words described the role he was later to play; for the boy was destined to become the successor to the Baal Shem Tov.
Rashi explains the simple reason why the Torah begins to speak of Yehudah in the middle of the story of Yosef. ''To teach us that [Yehudah's] brothers demoted him from his high position.''
However, Rashi does not explain why the entire account of Yehudah and Tamar was recorded here, leading up to the birth of Peretz and Zarach.
However, according to the explanation of the Midrash, we can understand that the account of Yehudah and Tamar was included here to explain the reason why Yosef was sold : because G-d was paving the way for Moshiach.
Thus, before we read of Yosef's enslavement, and the ensuing Egyptian exile, the Torah prefaces ''the cure before the disease'' informing us of G-d's inner intent.
Based on Sichos Shabbos Parshat Vayeishev 5751 Lubavitcher Rebbe
Bride Sarah Litman and groom Ariel Beigel sing during the wedding ceremony at the Jerusalem International Convention Center on November 26, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
An Orphan's Wedding in Jerusalem
Hours before a Wedding, a Conversation on Despair and Hope
By: Rabbi YY Jacobson
The Litman-Beigel Wedding
As these words are being written, I am watching a live webcast of the wedding of Techiya Litman with Ariel Beigel taking place tonight in Jerusalem. Like many in the audience, I shed a tear when the crowd under the chupah sung the melody “If I forget you Jerusalem…”
Their wedding was postponed after Palestinian terrorists murdered the bride’s father and brother less than two weeks ago. The bride’s father, Rabbi Yaakov Litman, and 18-year-old brother Netanel were shot dead in a November 13 terrorist attack while driving to a celebration in southern Israel to mark the imminent marriage. (Other family members in the car — the mother, a 16-year-old boy and three young girls aged 11, 9 and 5 — were lightly wounded, suffering mostly from bruises and shrapnel injuries.)
Sarah Techiya and Ariel were due to be married on November 16, just four days after the attack, but the celebration was postponed as the Litman family sat shiva (Jewish mourning period) for Ya’akov and Netanel. Now, the bride invited the “entire world” to her wedding. The public wedding invitation, which the couple posted on social media, begins with the biblical quote: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, for I have fallen but I have gotten up” [Micah 7:8].
And as I watched the wedding, I could not help but remember a story about another wedding, that took place some two millennia ago, in the same land.
Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Chaya Leah Bat Baila and Baila Rachel Bat Chaya Leah, a mother and baby - both are experiencing serious complications after giving birth a few days ago. May Hashem send them a complete healing among all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’mheira, b’rachamim, Amen.
In Parshat Toldot [25:28] the Torah describes Eisav: “… Eisav, for game was in his mouth.” The Torah teaches that one dominant character trait of Eisav’s was his deception. Though he shows one thing on the outside, he felt something else on the inside.
The United Nations corresponds to the modern day Eisav, as they predominantly emanate from his lineage. Although the UN voted and passed a right for the Jewish People to establish the State of Israel, it nevertheless continues to side with the Palestinian right to establish a state on the same ground. By funding Israel’s enemies and painting Israel as evil wrongdoers, the UN are contradicting their original pledge and acting with deception.
The Divine master plan is unraveling, leading the world to the Final Redemption. B’H. The war of Gog and Magog is the final stage which will bring the Redemption to completion. There are five main reasons for the war:
All evil must be removed from the world in order for redemption to occur.
The entire world must openly come to know and serve Hashem and proclaim, Ata Hu HaMelech.
Hashem must avenge the suffering and blood of the Jewish people.
The Jewish people must receive their riches back, just as they did in Yetziat Mitzraim.
The war will spiritually refine those souls who merit witnessing the Geulah.
According to Masechet Brachot, this war of Gog and Magog will be different from all previous wars. The wonders and miracles will be indescribable and incomparable to any of those in the past. But we need to act now. We need to prepare now. We need to wipe away the falsehood now. And we need to daven for all the lost souls so that they too can merit experiencing the Geula.
Be proactive. Talk Geula. Think Geula. Prepare for Geula.
When G-d shows His kindness to a person, it brings that person closer to G-d, causing his feeling of self-importance to diminish, since "everything is like nothing before G-d".
Therefore, it was precisely due to the fact that G-d had been so kind to Yaakov that he became small in his own eyes - for the kindness brought him closer to G-d, and so he felt that he was not worthy of G-d's promise to be saved.
Source: based on Tanya Igeres Hakodesh ch.2
How could Yaakov the patriarch fear that "perhaps... I have become soiled with sin" [Rashi v. 12] when surely he was aware that he had not sinned?
A tzadik is not static - he constantly grows spiritually from one level to the next. After reaching a higher level, his previous actions are spiritually deficient compared to his current standing. They are thus considered as "sins", metaphorically speaking. [The Hebrew word for sin - chet - can also mean ''deficiency'' [see Kings 11:21] Thus Yaakov was worried that perhaps due to such ''sins'' he was not worthy to be saved.
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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."
