(1) LIVING WITH MOSHIACH, Parshat Mishpatim
Yshagalov
LIVING WITH MOSHIACH
Weekly Digest About Moshiach
PARSHAT MISHPATIM, 5762
Shevat 26, 5762 * Feb. 8, 2002
SPECIAL FEATURE:
Chof Beis Shevat
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THIS PUBLICATION IS DEDICATED TO THE REBBE,
RABBI MENACHEM M. SCHNEERSON
OF LUBAVITCH
"I BELIEVE WITH COMPLETE FAITH IN THE ARRIVAL OF THE MOSHIACH.
"AND THOUGH HE MAY TARRY, I SHALL WAIT EACH DAY, ANTICIPATING
HIS ARRIVAL." Maimonides, Principles of the Faith, No. 12
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* TABLE OF CONTENTS *
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* Introduction.
* The Weekly Torah Portion.
* The Rebbe's Prophecy.
* Moshiach Matters.
* An Actual Part of G-d.
* Chof Beis Shevat.
* Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka.
* Take To Heart.
* It's Very Modern to Be Different.
* What Am I Doing Here?
* When Adar begins, we increase in Joy.
* Parshat Shekolim.
* A Call To Action.
* The Weekly Shabbat Calendar.
* Laws of Shabbat Candle Lighting for the Blind.
* Shabbat Candle Lighting Blessing.
* Moshiach Information Hotlines.
* Moshiach In The Air - Electronic Media.
* Subscription Information for this Weekly Magazine:
Living With Moshiach.
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* INTRODUCTION *
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We are pleased to present, to the visually impaired and the
blind, our weekly publication, Living With Moshiach.
*
In this week's issue, we focus on:
1) Chof Beis (the 22nd day of) Shevat, (Monday, Feb. 4),
commemorating the 14h yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka
Schneerson, wife of the Rebbe.
2) This Shabbat we bless the new Hebrew month of Adar, [1]
therefore in this week's issue we begin our focus on the Hebrew
month of Adar.
Also, this Shabbat is Shabbat Parshat Shekolim. Parshat Shekolim
is the first of four special Torah readings read on the Sabbaths
before the month of Nissan -- Shekolim, Zachor, Parah and
HaChodesh.
*
Our sincere appreciation to L'Chaim weekly publication,
published by the Lubavitch Youth Organization, for allowing us to
use their material.
Also, many thanks to our copy editor, Reb Mordechai Staiman, for
his tireless efforts.
*
It is our fervent hope that our learning about Moshiach and the
Redemption will hasten the coming of Moshiach, NOW!
Rabbi Yosef Y. Shagalov
Administrator
Committee for the Blind
E-Mail: y...@dorsai.org
21 Shevat, 5762
Year of Hakhel
Brooklyn, New York
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1. Rosh Chodesh Adar is on Tuesday, Feb. 12, and Wednesday, Feb.
13.
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* THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION *
* Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe *
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PARSHAT MISHPATIM
Last week we read about the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
This week, in the Torah portion of Parshat Mishpatim, we begin
learning the specific commandments the Torah contains.
There are three categories of mitzvot in the Torah: Chukim
(statutes) are commandments that are above our understanding. Eidot
(testimonies) are mitzvot that we would not have arrived at without
the Torah. However, once G-d commanded us to obey them, we are able
to understand their rationale. Mishpatim (judgments) are simple
commandments that are compelled by human logic, laws that society
would keep even if the Torah had not commanded their observance.
Most of the Torah portion of Mishpatim deals with these
seemingly self-evident laws. Which leads to the following question:
After the extraordinary spectacle at Mount Sinai, why does the
Torah stress the rational category of mitzvot, as opposed to the
others? Furthermore, why was a supernatural revelation necessary
for rules and regulations we would have figured out on our own?
The answer is that the Torah is teaching us how to relate to the
whole concept of rational mitzvot. The natural inclination is to
base these mitzvot on our intellectual understanding. It hardly
seems even necessary to believe in G-d to arrive at the conclusion
that it is wrong to harm others, or that we must compensate someone
we have injured. These principles are patently obvious.
However, by enumerating the "logical" judgments first, the Torah
emphasizes that even these mitzvot must be observed out of faith in
G-d. We obey the Torah's rational laws not because they are
logical, but because G-d has commanded us to obey them. Indeed, the
only basis and source of all mitzvot, regardless of whether or not
we understand them, is our Divinely-given Torah.
This is important for several reasons:
A truly ethical life cannot be based on the human intellect, as
it is simply too flexible and open to manipulation by the will. If
a person really wants to do something, not only will he develop a
philosophy by which such action is justified, but he will even turn
it into a "mitzvah"! The human mind can also devise logical
"proofs" for contradictory theorems. It is thus too unreliable a
foundation for a moral existence.
Moreover, just as G-d is Infinite and without end, so too is His
holy Torah. Even the simplest and most logical mitzvot are
endlessly deep. If a Jew observes a mitzvah only because he
understands it, he misses out on all its inner significance.
By basing our observance on faith, we ensure that our moral
system will be stable and unwavering. We also connect ourselves to
G-d through even the most "logical" of mitzvot.
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* THE REBBE'S PROPHECY *
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The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of Lubavitch, issued
a call that "THE TIME OF OUR REDEMPTION HAS ARRIVED!" and
"MOSHIACH IS ON HIS WAY!"
The Rebbe stressed that he is saying this AS A PROPHECY, and
asks us all to prepare ourselves for the Redemption, through
increasing acts of goodness and kindness.
LET US ALL HEED THE REBBE'S CALL.
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See "Living With Moshiach" Vol 259:
http://www.moshiach.net/blind/lwm-5761/259.htm
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* IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DEAR GRANDPARENTS, *
* *
* Reb Shmuel Pesach Ben Reb Yaakov Dovid *
* Passed away on 3 Tishrei, 5755 *
* *
* Mrs. Fraidel Chedvah Bas Reb Zev Wolf *
* Passed away on 4 Adar II, 5755 *
* Pais *
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* MOSHIACH MATTERS *
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The righteous women who left Egypt were so confident that G-d
would perform miracles for the Jewish people that they took
tambourines with them into the desert. So, too, with the final
Redemption. The righteous women must, and certainly do trust so
completely in the immediate Redemption, that they will begin
immediately -- in these last moments of exile -- to play music and
dance for the coming of the complete Redemption.
(The Rebbe)
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* AN ACTUAL PART OF G-D *
* Adapted from a Talk of the Rebbe *
* (on the 22nd of Shevat, 5752/1992, *
* forth yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka) *
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The number twenty-two, written in Hebrew letters, is chof-beis.
These are the same letters making up the word "bach" that is found
in the verse, "Through you (bach), Israel will be blessed." This
verse indicates that "through you," blessing will be drawn down to
each and every Jew, generating positive activities, which, in turn,
will lead to further activities of blessing in a pattern that will
continue endlessly.
Ultimately, these activities will lead to the fulfillment of
the prophecy "And G-d will wipe tears away from every face."
"Tears" in Hebrew is numerically equivalent to 119. G-d's positive
activity of wiping away tears represents an increase, causing the
sum to reach 120, the complete sum of human life. Therefore, when
Moses reached 120 years old, he stated, "Today, my days and my
years are completed."
The above relates to every Jew, for every Jew possesses a spark
of Moses within him. This spark of Moses generates positive
activity, which, as explained above, initiates a pattern that
continues to generate further positive activity forever.
The Hebrew word for "forever," olam, also means "world." Olam is
related to the Hebrew word helem, meaning concealment. Our world is
characterized by hiddenness, the concealment of G-dliness. This
concealment allows for a soul -- an actual part of G-d -- to be
concealed, that is, to depart from this world after its "days and
years are completed" -- after they have been endowed with fullness
and completion through good deeds. In this context as well, the
pattern mentioned above applies, as each good deed leads to more
good deeds, in a never-ending sequence.
The above also shares a connection to the Torah reading of this
Shabbat [Parshat Yitro], which describes the Giving of the Torah.
Our Sages relate that after each of the Ten Commandments, "the
souls of the Jews departed," a phenomenon parallel to death, and
G-d revived them with the dew that He will use to resurrect the
dead in the era of the Redemption.
Similarly, in the present context, four years ago today, [2] an
"actual part of G-d," a Jewish soul, ascended from this world. Each
year, on the day of the yahrtzeit, that soul ascends to a higher
level, indeed, a level immeasurably higher than the peaks the soul
had reached previously. This is reflected in the recitation of
Kaddish [3] on that day. Its recitation again on the day of the
yahrtzeit, after not being recited on a daily basis, indicates a
new ascent.
May the soul reach the ultimate level of ascent, the level to be
reached at the time of the Resurrection. And may this take place in
the immediate future. For ours is the last generation of the exile
and the first generation of the Redemption.
Together with all the Jews of the present generation who will
proceed to the Holy Land amidst health and joy, they will be joined
by "those who lie in the dust," the souls of the previous
generations, who "will arise and sing."
In particular, this applies to a soul who has merited that many
Jewish girls be named after her, and educated in the spirit in
which she lived, which, in turn, came as a result of the education
she was given by her father, the Previous Rebbe.
This will be hastened by the distribution of money to be
given -- with each person making an addition from his own funds --
to tzedakah. This will speed the coming of the Redemption when "the
Holy One, blessed be He, will make a dance for the righteous," a
dance that will be joined by each member of the Jewish people, man,
woman, and child. And they will point to G-d and say, "Behold this
is the G-d in whom we put our trust."
And this will take place in the immediate future. "With our
youth and our elders... with our sons and our daughters," we will
proceed to the Holy Land "on the clouds of heaven." And "those that
lie in the dust will arise and sing," with the righteous ones
mentioned previously, at our head.
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2. This was said on the fourth yahrtzeit of the Rebbetzin. This
year marks the Rebbetzin's 14th yahrtzeit. Ed.
3. The Kaddish is recited each day for eleven months only in the
year after the person's death. Ed.
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* CHOF BEIS SHEVAT *
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Monday, Chof Beis (the 22nd day of) Shevat, (Feb. 4), is the
14th yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, of blessed
memory, wife of the Rebbe and daughter of the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi
Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn.
Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka was born in the Russian village of
Babinovitch (a small shtetl near Lubavitch) on 25 Adar II,
5661/1901; she played an integral role in both her father's and
husband's affairs throughout her life. And yet, she deliberately
chose to function out of the limelight. Extremely modest, royal in
bearing, and, above all, kindly, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka was the
embodiment of Jewish womanhood and an exceptional role model for
Jewish women and girls.
On the anniversary of her passing several years ago, the Rebbe
spoke about the special mission all Jewish woman have been
entrusted with. The function of every Jew -- man, woman and child
-- is to "make a dwelling place for G-d" on earth. But the goal of
the Jewish woman is to take this one step further, and adorn G-d's
abode on the physical plane so that it is "lovely" and appointed
with "fine furnishings."
In particular, the Jewish woman fulfills her role of "spiritual
decorator" through the three special mitzvot G-d has given her to
implement in her private home: maintaining the kashrut [4] of her
kitchen, keeping the laws of Family Purity, [5] and lighting
candles for Shabbat and Yom Tov, [6] together with her daughters.
(The Rebbe specified that young girls should light first, so that
their mothers can assist them if necessary.)
The Rebbe also called on women to renew their commitment to the
Jewish education of their children, from the earliest age on. When
a Jewish mother sings a lullaby to her baby about how the Torah is
"the best, the sweetest, and the most beautiful" thing in the
world, it instills a deep love and appreciation for Torah that
lasts a lifetime.
The main point during these last few moments of exile, the Rebbe
stressed, is to recognize the great merit and power Jewish women
and girls have to bring about the Final Redemption.
May it happen at once!
_______________
4. See Living With Moshiach, Vol. 244.
"http://www.moshiach.net/blind/lwm-5761/244.htm#Keeping Kosher"
5. See Living With Moshiach, Vol. 245.
"http://www.moshiach.net/blind/lwm-5761/245.htm"
6. See Living With Moshiach, Vol. 270.
"http://www.moshiach.net/blind/lwm-5762/270.htm"
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* REBBETZIN CHAYA MUSHKA *
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A Brief Biography
Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka led a life which was remarkable in many
ways, not the least in its utter selflessness and extreme privacy.
She was born on 25 Adar II, 1901, the daughter of the sixth
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok. Her remarkable abilities
and keen intellect brought her father to entrust her with great
responsibilities. In fact, she was actively involved in many of his
activities to keep Judaism alive during the explosive years
following the Russian Revolution and establishment of the Soviet
state.
In 1927, when her father, the Previous Rebbe was arrested, it
was Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka who made sure that all possibly
incriminating documents were destroyed. Indeed, during his
imprisonment, she was in the forefront of those seeking to commute
the death sentence to one of exile, and then, finally to release.
A unique relationship existed between Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka and
her father, and he wrote many deep, philosophical letters to her,
in which he expounded his concepts of Chasidic thought and Divine
service. Those who were privileged to know the Rebbetzin described
her as a refined, erudite woman of very extensive knowledge and
great intelligence and wit.
On the 14th of Kislev, 1929, Warsaw was at the peak of its
glory, the "Jerusalem of Poland." On that day, Rebbes of numerous
Chasidic dynasties, world-renowned rabbis and heads of yeshivas,
illustrious Jews of many walks of life gathered to celebrate the
wedding of the daughter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the son of the
brilliant scholar and kabbalist, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson.
The marriage of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka to Rabbi Menachem M.
Schneerson opened a new chapter in her life. Twenty-five years
later, the Rebbe described the union as a marriage which bound him
to the Chasidim.
The early days of their marriage were ones of onerous hardship
and great personal danger. First settling in Berlin, they were
forced to flee to Paris after the Nazis came to power. They fled
Paris in 1940 and through the strenuous efforts of the Previous
Rebbe they succeeded in boarding the last ship to leave Europe.
From the day they arrived in the United States, for the next 47
years, the Rebbetzin's life was dedicated to only one thing -- the
well-being of her husband and the success of his mission in life.
It was Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka who urged her husband to assume
the leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch after the passing of her
illustrious father in 1950. From that moment on, the Rebbetzin
embarked on perhaps the most difficult mission of her life, for she
spent the next four decades supporting every action and move the
Rebbe took on behalf of the Jewish people.
Although she was entirely absent from the public eye, she took
an avid interest in the work of the many thousands of emissaries,
keeping abreast of their activities. The Rebbetzin took deep
personal satisfaction in their accomplishments, and commiserated in
their hardships.
For the Rebbetzin, her husband's will became her own. She was
his greatest Chasid. And yet, she had the wifely wisdom to look out
for his health. Knowing that the Rebbe usually refused to see a
doctor, she would make her own medical treatment contingent on his
agreeing to a check-up. In order to assure her well-being, he
would, of course, comply.
In her last years, when the Rebbetzin was ill, she suffered in
silence, and to her last day, no complaint escaped her lips. Even
to her husband she did not reveal all her suffering, in order to
spare him distress.
On the unanimous advice of several doctors the Rebbetzin was
hospitalized. Soon after she arrived at the hospital she suddenly
requested a glass of water. Shortly after midnight of Wednesday,
the 22nd day of Shevat 1988, the pure neshama of Rebbetzin Chaya
Mushka left this world. The Rebbetzin's forebearers, Rebbetzin
Rivka and Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, her great-grandmother and
grandmother, had asked for a glass of water minutes before their
passing.
It is recorded in many holy books that tzaddikim often ask for
water before their passing. One explanation that is given is that
their souls thereby leave this world after reciting the proper
blessing before drinking water, "...and everything is created
through His word" and the blessing afterward "...He who creates
many souls." This same blessing will be said at the time of the
resurrection of the dead in the Messianic Era.
In the merit of the Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, may we follow the
Rebbe's injunction to take her life's accomplishments to heart, and
with our many deeds of goodness and kindness, may we see the coming
of Moshiach now.
Amigocabal
Joel Rosenberg
> Don't you have a site for this bullshit, some place?
>
>
Yeah, how dare he post on Jewish matters to scj. After all, Roscoe,
everybody knows that the only purpose of it is for you to post
jewhating bullshit, and further demonstrate that your mother should
have insisted that that dog use a condom, right?
--
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There's a widow in sleepy Chester
Who weeps for her only son;
There's a grave on the Pabeng River,
A grave that the Burmans shun,
And there's Subadar Prag Tewarri
Who tells how the work was done.
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