Parshas Chayei Sarah
Alef - R"CH Kislev 5766
Volume 2
Issue 5
The Connections people
Chinuch Yaldei Hashluchim:
Rabbi & Mrs.
Mendel & Sara Shemtov Rabbi & Mrs.
Kasriel & Chana E. Shemtov
Connections:
Mr. & Mrs.
Yochanan & Peri Brook
Mr. Mrs.
Zalman & Raizy Cousin
Chinuch Yaldei Hashluchim:
Rabbi M. Shemtov
Rivky Lokshin
Dabrushy Pink
Aydla Vechter
Connections
Proof-Readers:
Rabbi A. Lipsey
Mrs. G. Junik
Rabbi L. Zirkind
Va’ad Hashluchim:
Rabbi Y. Deren
Rabbi O. Goldman
Rabbi Y. Greenberg
Rabbi B. Levertov
Rabbi Y. Shemtov
A project of
CHINUCH YALDEI HASHLUCHIM
cyh@shluchim.org
a division of
THE SHLUCHIM OFFICE
PARSHAS TOLDOS
Once a week, the fifth grade has library hour. Every student is allowed to check out books.
"Mrs. Katz," Miriam asked the librarian. "May I take out books for my friend Chani? She isn't in school today, but I know what she likes to read."
"Yes, Miriam," replied Mrs. Katz. "I'm glad to see that Chani has such a good friend as you."
Soon Miriam came back to the librarian's desk with two books. "This one is for me, and this is for Chani," she pointed out.
"Miriam, fifth graders are allowed two books a week," Mrs. Katz reminded her. "Wouldn't you like to check out another book each for you and for Chani?"
"Yes," explained Miriam, slightly embarrassed. "But last week I spent more time reading than doing homework and helping out at home, so this week I decided to take out only one book."
"You are doing the right thing, Miriam. But what about Chani? Perhaps she would like two books. I know she loves to read."
"Chani and I are good friends. We often do the same things. Since I'm taking out one for myself, I'll take out just one for her, as well."
"Miriam, I'm not your Chumash teacher, but I would like to share an idea from the parshah with you. When Yitzchak reached the age of 123 he said, 'I don't know how much longer I will live.' At this point in his life, why would Yitzchak be concerned about how long he would live?"
"We learned that in class," answered Miriam. "Our Morah taught us that when a person reaches within five years of the number of years his parents lived, he should be concerned with the length of time he himself will live. Since Yitzchak had reached the age of 123, and his mother Sarah had passed away at the age of 127, he started thinking about this question."
"That's good, Miriam," said Mrs. Katz. "But still, Yitzchak's father Avraham had lived till 175. And Hashem had blessed Yitzchak. Surely, His blessing would grant Yitzchak long life. Why was Yitzchak concerned?
"You see, Miriam, Yitzchak wasn't sure whether or not he was worthy of Hashem's blessing. That's why he started to show concern at the earliest time the Torah recommends. In general, Yitzchak was strict with himself. He knew that from the Akeidah onward, he was compared to a sacrifice, and he tried to see to it that everything he did was befitting this holiness.
"But being strict with himself didn't stop him from being generous with others. We see that when Yitzchak blessed Yaakov, he said, 'May Hashem give you the dew of the heaven and the richness of the earth.' Our Rabbis say that Yitzchak's blessing to Yaakov was even more generous than Yaakov's blessing to his own sons, or Moshe's blessing to Bnei Yisrael.
"You see, Miriam, with ourselves we can be strict. But we don't have to demand from others all that we expect from ourselves."
‘Please Tell Me What the Rebbe Said’ (Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV)
|
I am ketchup color ___ ___ ___ Please send your answers to connections@shluchim.org Last weeks’ brain buster: Ha Ha Ha! My middle two letters are 98. Who am I? Answer: יצחק
|
Congratulations to Mendel and Chaim Piekarski from Bogotá, Columbia for solving the brain buster . |
|
Hi Boys and Girls all around the world,
How is it going at your Shlichus posts? I am always happy, mind you, although it is not always easy. You see, when I was your age, I learned how to smile. Learned? you ask, why everyone knows how to smile. Do you think it is always easy?
I once bumped my knee very hard when I was riding my bicycle down a hill and had to make a short stop so I wouldn’t hit an elderly person. It wasn’t just a bump, I fell hard on the pavement and I was badly bruised and in pain for many days. It was hard for me to smile then, but my Zeideh told me that everything that happens to us is really for a good reason. So I sat in my room and moaned, “Ouch, ouch, ooh, ooh, this bump on my knee looks so cute, but be careful not to touch it or else I will TOOT!”
So I learned to smile.
I smiled even though I missed my best friend’s birthday party at the new cholov-yisroel pizza place. I smiled even though I had to rest in bed for two days. I smiled because everything that Hashem does for me is all for the best!
Did you ever try to smile when it was hard? Well I told you the recipe, now you got to do it! Just mix together a heaping spoon of simcha, a dose of trust in Hashem, a band-aid if you need it, some ahavas yisroel towards your family and friends and a call (it can be an e-mail) to Dr. Getzel.
If you had a tough day in school – smile, because tomorrow will be a better day. If you didn’t do well on a test– smile, and ask the teacher how you could improve your grade. And if someone said something to upset you– smile, it was probably a mistake and not meant to hurt your feelings.
Remember to always serve Hashem with joy! Oops! I tripped on my untied shoelace– now let me put on my nicest smile for Mrs. Getzel…where did I leave that smile…oh here it is. It dropped when I fell down.
Here is a story of Reb Shmuel Munkis a chossid of the Alter Rebbe who was always happy and served Hashem with joy:One שבת afternoon, the חסידים had gathered for a קידוש in honor of שבת מברכים . Everyone was sitting around a table stocked with a variety of cakes and pies, listening intently to a מאמר .
Suddenly the local butcher arrived with a hot pie made from flour, oil, and meat. He handed to Reb Shmuel Munkes and asked him to give out portions to everyone. Much to the surprise of the חסידים , Reb Shmuel did not give out any of the food. Instead he started to dance and jump around while holding the pie. The חסידים , who wanted some of this appetizing food, begged him to stop, but he would not listen. Suddenly he ran outside and threw the pie into the garbage!
The חסידים began yelling at Reb Shmuel for being so wasteful when the butcher ran into the hall.
" Listen, everyone!" he cried. "You must not eat the pie because it is not kosher!" The butcher explained that he had just found out that his wife had sold some non-kosher liver to the בית מדרש by mistake. He had put the meat to one side to be sold to a גוי , and his wife had then sold it, not realizing that there was anything wrong with it.
" I only found out now," he apologized. "I just hope that I was not too late and that I didn't cause any of you to eat something that is forbidden."
" Don't worry," the חסידים reassured him, and they explained that they did not even taste it because Reb Shmuel Munkes had thrown it away.
The חסידים now asked Reb Shmuel how he had known that the pie was not kosher.
" I am neither a נביא nor the son of a נביא ," replied Reb Shmuel. "The truth is that I also did not know that the pie was made from non-kosher meat. But when I saw how much everybody wanted it and that I also couldn't wait to have some, I remembered my first יחידות with the Rebbe. The Rebbe said that if a חסיד really wants something, this is surely a sign that the יצר הרע is behind it. When this happens, it is best not to have the desired object. This is what our Rebbe believes when it comes to serving ה ‘ , and because I am trying to follow the teachings of our Rebbe, I threw the pie into the garbage. This action protected us from committing the עבירה of eating treif."
Dr. Getzel
Yossi Feller, age 9
West St. Paul, Minnesota
Hi, my name is Yossi Feller. I am 9 years old and I live in West St. Paul, Minnesota.
Here in Minnesota the winter is pretty cold. Sometimes it could get down to 45 below zero, but in the summer I can reach up to 90 degrees! My Tatty and Mommy run a Chabad House in Minnesota. Last year we started to remodel our Chabad House. Every Friday I clean up the sefarim of the Shul. My father is also the principal of my Cheder that I go to. I help my father go shopping on Friday to buy things for Shabbos. In Minnesota I have some other friends that are Shluchim. Two of them live in St. Paul, one of them lives in Rochester and the other lives in Mennetonka. I am proud that I am a Shliach of the Rebbe.
ראש חודש כסלו
Friday א ‘ כסלו
I remembered to say יעלה ויבא in שמונה עשרה and in bentching.
I remembered to say הלל after שמונה עשרה .
I remembered to daven מוסף .
I remembered to say ברכי נפשי after the שיר של יום .
(For Girls) I didn’t sew or do any laundry .
כסלו—א חסידישע חודש
The month of כסלו is known as a חסידישע חודש because there are many important dates on our חב “ ד calendar that take place in the moth of כסלו . כסלו is the month of גאולה . It is a חסידישע month filled with celebration and פארבריינגען s . In this month, in addition to celebrating חנוכה , we celebrate the birthday and יארצייט of the מיטעלער רבי on ט ‘ כסלו , the חג הגאולה of the מיטעלער רבי on י ‘ כסלו , the Rebbe and רבצין חי ‘ מושקא ’s wedding anniversary on י “ ד כסלו and the חג הגאולה of the אלטער רבי on י “ ט כסלו .
" ויעתר לו ה ‘ ותהר רבקה אשתו "רש “ י explains that ה ‘ answered the תפילות of יצחק and not of רבקה because the תפילה of a צדיק the son of a צדיק ( יצחק ) is better than the תפילה of a צדיק the son of a רשע
( רבקה ). This seems to be the opposite of what the Gemara tells us, that a בעל תשובה is greater than a צדיק . So what does רש “ י mean?יצחק and רבקה both davened to ה ‘ for a child. רבקה 's תפילה was, "Please ה ‘ , my husband is such a great צדיק and the son of a צדיק ; he definitely deserves a child." יצחק davened and said, "Please ה ‘ , my wife grew up in the home of such wicked people as בתואל and לבן , yet she is such a צדקת . She certainly deserves to be blessed with a child."
ה ‘ accepted יצחק 's תפילה and argument and blessed רבקה because she was such a great בעלת תשובה .
Adapted from ‘Vedibarta Bam’
ראש חודש כסלו
In this week’s calendar we have the חסידישע יום טוב of ראש חודש כסלו .
On the night of the happy יום טוב of שמיני עצרת in the year תשל “ ח (1977), the Rebbe suffered a massive heart attack, while dancing with thousands of his חסידים in 770. The Rebbe had to stay in his office for five weeks until he was finally well enough to go home on ראש חודש כסלו . חסידים were so happy and thankful to ה ‘ that the Rebbe was better that they danced and sang in the streets. They decided that this day would be a חסידישע יום טוב an d even made up a ניגון which is known as the ‘ ראש חודש כסלו ניגון ’.
The Doctors warned the Rebbe that if continued working so hard, there would be a 60% chance of this ח “ ו happening again. But the Rebbe, who always teaches us to be positive and to ‘ טראכט גוט ועט זיין גוט ’ heard good news. He heard that the doctors thought that there is a 40% chance of nothing to worry about and he continued the same schedule as before: farbrengens, dollars, answering thousands of letters.
Let us daven that משיח will come now and we will have our Rebbe back to lead us again!
One time, at a farbrengen where the חסידים were sitting and drinking mead (a sweet honey wine that used to be very popular), a חסיד named ר ‘ משה told the following story:
"Many years ago," he began, "while I was visiting Vienna, I sent my servant to a nearby Jewish inn to buy a bottle of mead. When he came back I discovered that it was the most delicious mead that I had ever tasted. In fact, it was so good that I immediately sent him back to buy some more. I gave him enough money for ten bottles, thinking that my family and I would enjoy it for a long time.
"But my servant came back empty-handed. I took out a few more coins from my pocket, but he shook his head. 'It isn't the money,' he told me. 'There just isn't any more to buy.'
"I decided to go see for myself. When I came to the inn, I saw a large crowd of people who looked like they had just finished eating a סעודה . I went to the innkeeper and asked him to sell me some of his delicious honey wine.
" 'I'm sorry, but there isn't even a drop left of that particular type,' he said. 'Well, when do you expect to get more?' I asked him. To be honest, never!' " The innkeeper then told me the following story:
Many years before, he had been a מוהל . From the very beginning of his holy work he decided one rule: that he would never refuse to make a ברית מילה , no matter how hard it might be.
One year on the day before יום כיפור , a Jewish farmer had knocked on his door and asked him to make a ברית for his eight-day-old son. The farmer lived quite far away and it was the day before יום כיפור . Nonetheless, the מוהל agreed to do the ברית .
When they stepped outside the מוהל realized that the farmer was too poor to hire a carriage; neither did the מוהל himself have much money. There was no choice but to walk the whole way. The farmer started out in the direction of his house, but he was walking so quickly that he soon was far ahead of the מוהל . Eventually the farmer disappeared around a bend in the road.
Hours later the מוהל arrived in town and asked some neighbors where the family with the new baby lived. When he walked into the house he found the mother lying in bed with the baby. She was so weak that she could barely talk. The father, however, was nowhere to be seen. For some reason he didn’t think it was important for him to attend his own son's ברית .
The מוהל now had a serious problem: Who would be the sandek to hold the baby during the ברית ? Time was running out; it was the eighth day of the baby's life, and he needed to have a ברית right away. But without a sandek it would be very dangerous.
The מוהל walked outside hoping to find someone on the street he could ask. For a long time he waited, but the street was empty. Suddenly, he spotted an old beggar coming around the corner. "I'm in a big hurry," the man replied impatiently when the מוהל asked him to help. "Tonight is יום כיפור , and I can collect a whole rouble going door to door if I get to the city in time."
Desperate by then, the מוהל promised to pay him a rouble if he would be the sandek. The beggar agreed, and the ברית מילה was done. The מוהל then left for the long walk back to the city.
After davening מנחה , the מוהל went home to eat the סעודה המפסקת , and was astonished to see the very same beggar waiting on his doorstep. He quickly paid him the rouble he had promised, but the beggar also demanded a drink of mead. The מוהל was very tired by then and in no mood for guests. Nevertheless, he invited him inside and poured the drink. But even that wasn't enough for the strange old man: he insisted that the מוהל join him in and also drink a glass of mead, and that they wish each other a שנה טובה ומתוקה . With no choice, the מוהל did so.
"Tell me, is there any more of this wine left in the barrel?" the annoying stranger asked. "Very little," the מוהל answered, "only a few more drops." "There will always be mead in this barrel," the beggar then said, "until the last ברכה is said at your youngest son's חתונה ." The beggar then pointed to the מוהל 's son sleeping in his cradle.
"The ברכה came true," the innkeeper finished his story. "The only explanation is that the old man was אליהו הנביא . With my endless supply of mead I opened this inn, and completely forgot about the rest of his ברכה . That is, until today, when the barrel suddenly fell and broke into pieces as we were saying ברכת המזון at my youngest son's חתונה . And that is why I am telling you that there will never be any more of this particular kind of mead..."
See the printable version of Connections for incredible fun pages!
Last Week’s Winners:
Shterny Grossbaum, age 8 from Setauket, NY &
Levi Yitzchok Grossman, age 7 from Chicago, Illinois
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