Parshas Vayechi

 

Hi there Junior Shluchim!
Have you settled back down to school yet? I know it always takes me so much time after every Yom Tov or special day to settle back into my regular schedule again. And boy has it been busy this past month! I cant believe that Hei Teves was already ten days ago! And I really have to pull my socks up because before we turn around it will be Yud Shevat. It is so good to be a chossid and have so many things to celebrate!
In the meantime though, I’ve been trying to get back to my other job. Of course my main job is doing the Rebbe’s shlichus here in the snow-covered cornfields of Iowa, but sometimes I have to go into the Great and Old (fashioned - but don't tell them that I said, I mean wrote, that) University of Iowa to do my other job - invent lenses. Boruch Hashem I am very lucky that I get to choose the lenses I make - I mean I am the one who invents them after all - and so for some reason, all my lenses seem to be connected either to Chassidus or Yiddishkeit.
Actually, I recently almost got into trouble about that. It happened when the Head Professor of the University (he has some official title, but I can never remember it), dropped by my laboratory to see what I was doing. When I showed him all the different lenses I had made, and explained what they were all for, he asked me why I never make ‘normal’ lenses! At first I was quite surprised. Was the Head Professor calling my lenses ‘abnormal’? I wondered to myself. I was even a bit upset. But then I realised that this poor professor just didn’t appreciate the need for all the special lenses I had been making. In fact he didn’t even wear glasses himself!
So what does a chossid do when he has a problem? He writes to the Rebbe. So, of course, that is exactly what I did. I wrote to the Rebbe and I explained all the lenses that I have been making, and how I had been inspected by the Head Professor and that he wasn’t very impressed, and so I might not be able to make lenses for much longer.
The truth is, I wasn't too bothered by having to stop making lenses - I would have more time to do other types of shlichus! What really worried me was that if the Shluchim Office would find out that I was no longer the only Chassidic, Lens Making and Seeing Professor in the world, they might stop asking me to write a column for the Connections! Now that would really be bad!
Well like they say, ‘salvation from Hashem comes in a blink of an eye.’ I had only just sat down to finish off Rambam when there was a ring on the phone. Or in other words the phone rang. (Have you ever wondered why people call it a ring on the bell, but it is the phone that rings? I mean the bell is ringing too!) It was the Head Professor on the phone! Boy was I worried! But before I even managed to scream ‘Rebbe help me!’ I heard the professor talking about my SM.I.LE. lens. ‘An amazing idea’, he shouted down the phone, ‘ingenious’ (what does that mean?!?), ‘stupendous,’ (I never learnt that word in school either!).
Well, all’s well that ends well, I guess that means I’m still safe to carry on writing these columns then!

See you next week (BH)!
Dr. Getzel

 

 

ט"ו טבת

ט“ו טבת is the birthday of רביצין שטערנא שרה .  She was born 147 years ago, in the year תר“כ (1860) in the town of Lubavitch.  Her father was ר‘ יוסף יצחק , the son of the צמח צדק and her mother was רביצין חנה , the daughter of ר‘ יעקב ישראל of Tcherkes, who was the son-in-law of the מיטעלער רבי .  רביצין שטערנא שרה married the רבי רש“ב .

When the פריערדיקער רבי escaped to America at the start of World War II, his mother, רביצין שטערנא שרה escaped with him, and she lived on the second floor of 770 until her passing.

 

כ‘ טבת
כ‘ טבת is the יאהרצייט of the רמב“ם .

The רמב“ם was the first one to write down all the מצוות that are in the תורה in an organized way, so that אידן could see clearly what is allowed and what is not allowed. First the רמב“ם wrote the ספר המצוות , organizing the positive and negative מצוות and then he wrote the משנה תורה , writing down all the דינים , laws that are connected to each מצוה in an organized way. He started this 840 years ago, in the year ד‘ תתקכ“ח (1167) while he was living in Alexandria, Egypt.

The Rebbe introduced the cycle of learning the משנה תורה every year. This project was started by the Rebbe to unite all אידן , and for the benefit of studying all the דינים of all the מצוות , as compiled by the רמב“ם . The Rebbe wanted all אידן to learn רמב“ם every day, either 3 פרקים of משנה תורה , or 1 פרק , or even the ספר המצוות of the day. The first סיום הרמב“ם was in תשמ“ה - 1985.

The רמב“ם is accepted by ALL אידן , as it says on his מצבה , which is engraved with the words “From Moshe (Rabeinu) to Moshe (the רמב“ם ) there was none like Moshe.”

ממשה עד משה לא קם כמשה!!

 

רבינו משה בן מימון , known also as the רמב“ם , was one of the greatest Jews of all times. During his life, he wrote many books in which he explained the דינים and philosophy of the תורה . He was not only respected in the Jewish world, though. He was also known and well respected as a doctor, philosopher and scientist.

The רמב“ם was born in Cordova, Spain, and moved as a young man with his family to Egypt. Because he did not believe in accepting money for his work as a תלמיד חכם , he studied medicine in order to support himself and his family. The רמב“ם became such a good and well-known doctor that he was appointed to become the royal physician at the court of Saladin, the ruler of Egypt.

When the רמב“ם felt his end approaching, he instructed his family to bury him in ארץ ישראל . On כ‘ טבת , at the age of 69, the רמב“ם passed away. In Egypt, where he had been the Chief Rabbi, the רמב“ם was mourned by both אידן and Moslems alike for three days. In ארץ ישראל and the rest of the world, where the רמב“ם had acted as leader to world Jewry, he was remembered with special services and fasts.

People from all over gathered in Egypt to attend the levaya of the great רמב“ם . When the procession was over, there was an arguement about where to bury him. The רמב“ם 's request had only been to bury him in ארץ ישראל . He hadn’t mentioned which city or site should be his final resting place.

Because no solution to the problem at hand was in sight, everyone agreed to begin taking the coffin toward the borders of ארץ ישראל , hoping that along the way they might be guided as to where to bury him.

The coffin was placed on top of a sturdy camel and, with hundreds joining the caravan, made its way toward ארץ ישראל . One of the most difficult and dangerous parts of desert travel was not even the lack of water, nor sand storms. It was the constant fear of being overtaken by one of the many bands of highway robbers who attacked the innocent travelers.

As it began to get dark, the caravan moved a bit quicker. Everyone hoped that they would be able to find a relatively safe place to camp for the evening. After a short while though, the sound of hoof beats could be heard, coming closer and closer. "We're being attacked," cried out the leader of the caravan. Many of the people panicked and scattered in different directions. A few of the braver people remained with the coffin to guard it. But, they, too, were frightened away as the gang of vicious bandits came charging toward them.

The bandits approached the camel with the large box. It was obvious to them that this box must contain a huge treasure if so many people were guarding it. As much as they tried, though, the box could not be taken down from the camel.

"Grab the camel's reins," shouted the leader of the bandits. "We'll take it with us." Their efforts met with no success, though. They tried as much as possible to get the huge animal to move, but it would not budge.

"Open the box," commanded the leader.

One of the gangsters swaggered over to the box and began to pry off the lid. "There's a body in this box," he shrieked, as he ran away. The other bandits, too, became frightened at the thought of a dead body in a box in the middle of the dark desert and quickly ran away too.

The people from the caravan who had been accompanying the coffin slowly made their way back toward the camel. But, to their surprise, the camel began moving purposefully, by itself, as if it had a specific destination in mind.

The caravan leader warned the other people not to go near to the camel. "Let us see what direction it takes." After a little while, it was obvious that the camel was heading straight for the border of ארץ ישראל .

No one dared to go close to the camel. Instead, they followed from a distance behind. The people were amazed to watch how the camel kept on its course heading straight for ארץ ישראל . By now, everyone was certain that there would no longer be a problem of where to bury the רמב“ם .

After reaching the borders of ארץ ישראל , the camel continued to travel steadily. The camel came to the city of טברי‘ all the way in the northern part of the country. It continued on through the narrow streets of the city until, at a certain spot, it suddenly stopped and began to kneel down on the ground.

The people understood that this was the place where they should bury the רמב“ם . Carefully, they removed the coffin from the camel's back and placed it on the ground. Immediately, the people began digging the קבר . All who witnessed this strange event were amazed to see the wonderful miracle that had taken place right before their own eyes.

The people of the city of טברי‘ built a beautiful structure over the spot where the רמב“ם was buried. And every year, on his יאהרצייט , thousands of people from all parts of the world come to visit his holy קבר , because the גמרא tells us that "Someone who davens at the קבר of a צדיק is equal to one who has davened in the בית המקדש ."

 

We'd love to hear your feedback! Send us your comments, ideas and suggestions to: connections@shluchim.org
 

Click here for a printable version of Connections in PDF format