sorry for the repeat email

[Ari Kotowitz]

Sorry if people get this email again I am trying to put the first
email in the archive of the google group. You also might get another
email becasue I wanted to send the link to accept the invitation to
the people I invited since the link was all the way at the bottom some
people didn't see it.

Sorry for the technical difficulties but after this week I will try to
send only one email a week

----

So I'm not sure were this email list will end up but I hope to be
emailing out
a story for after shabbos so that people will be able to follow the
custom to
say or hear a story of a Tzaddik during melaveh malkah (the fourth
meal of
Shabbos where we say goodbye to the Shabbos queen). Also since its
very hard
to get together with other people every motzei shabbos for a melaveh
malkah
when someone is not able to be with others for melaveh malka a certain
week,
people that are having melaveh malkah with freinds could have in mind
those
that are by themselves.

Reb Shlomo Carlebach (who's yurtziet is tonight) says that the
generation we
live in is searching for help everywhere but one of the things we
don't do
enough is looking for help from a tzaddik so Reb Shlomo says when we
are going
through a rough time we should say the names of tzaddikim specificly
Rebi
Nachman be Faiga and Rav Levi Yitzchak ben Sarah Zusha. At some point
I also
want to write up some of the introduction to the sefer Lamed Vav
(which is a
collection of Reb Shlomo's favorite stories) were Reb Shlomo explains
how a
story can have more of an impact on us than Torah.

One of the reasons I love stories so much was becasue I always
remember my
father David ben Levi A"H telling me Bubbamaisas (grandmother tales)
which I
loved very much. This email list I hope will also be an aliyah for his
Neshama
especially since hearing storeis about him all my life have always
been very
meaningful to me.

Rav Moshe Wienberger says (I believe in the name of Rebi Nachman) that
by the
goyim stories are for putting the children to sleep but by us yidden
stories
are for keeping us awake. I hope in the future to send out some of the
introduction to to Rebi Nachman's stories translated by Rav Aryeh
Kaplan where
it explains how stories help us get through the exile. Rav Wienberger
also
explains that the reason we need so many kumzits and fabrengins in our
time is
because we are so far from the times of the Bais Hamikdash. In the
times of
the Bais Hamikdash it was much easier to serve Hashem but after such a
long
Exhile gathering jews is very important. Another time Rav Wienberger
pointed
out that we have gained so much from the tzadikim we should give back
so
hopefully this email list will be a zchus for all teh tzaddikim that
have
given us so much.

Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook says that on Motzei Shabbos Eliyahu
Hanavi
sits and writes the merits of the jewish people to dwell in the maylos
of klal
yisroel. I will try and use a lot of stories from Eliyahu Hanavi,
Dovid
Hamelech, Eliyahu Hanavi, the Bal Shem Tov, Rebi Nachman, The Kedushas
Levi,
Rav Kook, Reb Shlomo and many other tzaddikim since Motzei Shabbos is
when
mashiach is supposed to come. There is als a custom that during the
Motzei
Shabbos stories about the tzaddikim whos yurtziets arein the coming
week are
told so I will try to incorporate that.
I hope in the future to write more about what is going on Motzei
Shabbos
especially why the food we eat during the Melaveh Malkeh feeds the Luz
bone
which revives us during tchiyas hameitim and also about how Moshiach
will come
on motzei shabbos.

I first thought about this idea after a great melaveh malkah I had
with some
chevra and a friend of mine kept saying that every jew needs to have a
mezonos
for melaveh malkeh. So we started talking about how it would be very
funny if
the same way lubavichers go around giving people shabbos candles to
encourage
them to keep shabbos if we would go out motzei shabbos giving people
mezonos
in that type way.

For the first of hopefully many many more weeks to come a story from
chabad.
org:

From terrifying cherubim with fiery swords, to angels in the form of
simple
wayfarers sent to visit the sick or deliver good tidings--like those
we read
about in this week's Torah portion--the Torah is full of examples of G-
d
sending angels on all sorts of tasks.

The story is told of a student of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov who,
after much
preparation, felt himself deserving of a vision of the prophet-turned-
angel,
Elijah. His master instructed him to journey to a certain town and ask
to be
hosted at the home of a specific family. "Make sure to bring food,"
the Baal
Shem Tov added. The student eagerly packed a wagonful of food and set
off.
Upon arriving, he was directed to an old, dilapidated house, home of a
poor
widow with many young children.

The student spent Shabbat with them, and was only too happy to share
his
mountains of food. But Elijah never showed up.

The Baal Shem Tov instructed the dejected student to try again the
next week.
As he approached the door, he heard a child's plaintive voice, "But
what will
we eat on Shabbat?" A reassuring voice replied, "Don't worry. Just
like Elijah
came last week, he will come this week again!"

You and I can be angels as well. All we need to do is act the part.

Yehuda Shurpin,
Responder for the Ask the Rabbi team @ Chabad.org

2 awesome videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxtvEzfF7AQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT1cRdfZp_U

Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to thank the many family
members,
friends, and rebbeim who have been a huge source of support and
inspiration. I
am in so much debt to all those who have helped. So I would like to
thank
everybody for helping me become the person I am today and I hope to
thank
people in person in the near future.

We should be walking in the streets of Yerushalayim, Moshiach now.
Ari