Parshas Bo
Hei Shevat 5766
Volume 2
Issue 14
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 BO
As the recess bell rang, Bassie and Shifra approached their teacher, Mrs. Kramer. "These are our plans for the program," they said, handing her some papers.
Mrs. Kramer glanced at the papers briefly. "I can see you've put work into this," she said.
"Yes!" exclaimed the girls. "We're so excited."
"That's exactly why I had given the class until next Monday to hand in plans," said their teacher, giving them back the papers.
A bit disappointed, Bassie and Shifra looked at each other. "But Mrs. Kramer, aren't you happy that we have it all planned already?"
"Let me explain, girls. It was only yesterday that we spoke about having a Mother-Daughter Luncheon in the school. The principal said that it would be O.K. as long as two eighth graders took responsibility for the program. Taking responsibility for this program is no small task, and that's on top of homework, tests, and the history report that's due soon.
"I was glad that the class got all excited. But I didn't want anyone to present plans right away. I gave the class until Monday because I want to be sure that everything will be considered seriously. A person who makes a quick decision when he is excited has not taken the time to sit down and think clearly about all the details."
Mrs. Kramer paused. "Can you think of an example of this from the Torah?" she added with a smile. "I'll give you a hint. The person had three days to think things over."
"Do you mean Avraham?" suggested Bassie. "From the time Hashem commanded him to do Akeidas Yitzchak until he got to the mountain, three days passed."
"That's right, Bassie. Hashem planned it this way so that no one would say that Avraham went to the Akeidah overwhelmed and overly excited without giving the matter much thought. He had time to consider it seriously, and the decision came from clear-headed thinking.
"We have an example in this week's parshah, as well. When Hashem commanded every Jewish family to take a sheep for the Korban Pesach, tie it to their bed for four days, and then shecht and eat it, He was giving the Jews a big decision to make. You see, the Egyptians worshipped sheep and, unfortunately, there were many Jews who were also idol worshipers."Fulfilling this mitzvah was no simple task. It meant that a Jew, who until this time had worshipped the sheep, now had to take the animal and shecht it. The Jews had to seriously decide that they were not going to worship idols any more and that they would serve only Hashem. Hashem didn't want this to be a hurried decision made because of their excitement over the great miracles they had seen. He wanted it to be a clear-headed decision that came from deep inside them. That way, it would be real and lasting.
"For four days the sheep were tied to the beds of the Jewish people. This gave them time to change their way of thinking and decide to serve only Hashem."
‘Please Tell Me What the Rebbe Said’
(Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXVI)
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Come = 3 Last weeks’ brain buster: 2 of 4 show how many I have. Answer: וארא |
Congratulations to Mendel Wineberg, age 11 from Salford, England for solving the brain buster. |
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Hey Kids,
Wow! We have a big week coming up! I'm getting dizzy just seeing the big date and how much it means to me. I'm the famous Dr. Getzel who is professional at seeing and teaching people how to see. I am in the process of inventing a new lens called the COL (Chassidic Outlook Lens) and the junior Shluchim, girls and boys, from all over the universe, are helping me form the clearest lens I've ever made. But now I'm a little discumboblled, and that means that I can't see straight. In fact, I'm only seeing funny stars and squiggles because Yud Shevat is such a special day and I don't know where to look.
I think I know. I need the INSIDE lens. With the INSIDE lens, you look deep inside your heart. This is very hard for grownups like me, because we confuse ourselves with many different unimportant things. But kids are expert at the INSIDE look. When Wednesday, Yud Shevat comes, close your eyes and look inside yourself. My research says that you are going to see something very wonderful and simple. You are going to see that: 1) You want very much, with all your heart, to be a Chossid. 2) You want very much to feel close to the Rebbe.
On Yud Shevat, the day we celebrate that the Rebbe became Rebbe, this is a very good thing to do. Some of you kids will see it right away, and some of you will have to look very hard and very long, but then you'll see how much you want to be close to the Rebbe.
Then after you look into the INSIDE lens, you can decide to make a small Hachlata (resolution) for something extra that will make you a better Chossid. I like little things (like saying Modeh Ani in the morning, being nice to younger brothers or sisters, or listening to Mommy), because Iowa is a little place with only cornfields, cows, and my office with the green roof and wooden door.
I know the INSIDE lens is a bit hard to use, but start practicing now. Like I said, grownups find this very hard, but kids are super good at using this lens. So please tell me how it went for you and I'll be back next week. Good luck, SEE WELL!
See Ya’,
Dr. Getzel
Menucha Rochel Cohen , age 9
Charlotte, NCMy name is Menucha Rochel Cohen. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina with my parents and my 4 brothers: Mendel, Levi, Yosef Yitzchok and Shneur Zalman and my little sister Chana.
There are five families of Shluchim here. We have a day school with a middle school in the same building. We also have a preschool that shares a building with the shul. Our community and our school do a lot of fun things. We have Chanukah performances, Rosh Chodesh assemblies, Sukkos barbecues and we had a Chanukah Menorah Parade with police escort. Our school organized a talent show for all the parents. I wrote two poems with my friend Sheina Groner who is also a shlucha in Charlotte. In the poems we teach people about how our Jewish day goes and about Shabbos candles.
We are so proud to be the Shluchim of the Rebbe here in Charlotte, North Carolina!
י' שבט
יאהרצייט ofרביצין רבקה
רביצין רבקה Schneerson was born in Lubavitch in תקצ“ג (1833). Her father was ר‘ אהרן and her mother was רביצין חי‘ה שרה , the daughter of the מיטעלער רבי . In תר“ט (1849) she married her first cousin, ר‘ שמואל , who later became the fourth Rebbe, the רבי מהר“ש .Once, as רביצין רבקה was leaving her husband’s study, the hem of her dress caught in the door. Out of respect for her husband, and not wanting to disturb him, she stood there for several hours, until her husband came out of his study.
When ישיבת תומכי תמימים was started by her son, the רבי רש“ב , רביצין רבקה took responsibility for the גשמיות by taking care of the food for the תלמידים . At meal times, she would make sure they were well, and that they had enough to eat.
רביצין רבקה knew many stories and it is from her that the פריערדיקער רבי heard a lot of the stories that were in his talks, letters and memoirs. She passed away on י‘ שבט תרע“ד (1914) and is buried in Lubavitch.
The בית רבקה girls' schools, founded by the פריערדיקער רבי in the 1940's, are named after her.
י' שבט
יארצייט of the פריערדיקער רבי
The פריערדיקער רבי , passed away on שבת morning, י‘ שבט תש“י (1950). The לווי‘ה took place on Sunday afternoon, י“א שבט . Here is a description from one of the bochurim:
‘At 12:30, the ארון was carried out onto the street, ... with the black שבת kapote spread out upon it. The crush was terrible, with everyone wanting at least to touch the ארון …
[After the לווי‘ה ] we hurried back to 770, davened מנחה , and started our mourning. Again, tears, sobbing, the saying of תהילים . We are standing in his room, all eyes turn to the chair...and still the heart refuses to believe..’
י' שבט
The Rebbe accepts the נשיאות
At a farbrengen on the first יאהרצייט of the פריערדיקער רבי , the Rebbe's son-in-law, ר‘ מנחם מענדל Schneerson, delivered a מאמר ‘באתי לגני ’, showing that he accepted the נשיאות .
One of the bochurim wrote in his diary:‘After מעריב it was announced that the farbrengen to be given by the Rebbe would start at 8 pm. Before long, there were over 800 people crowded into the בית מדרש ...
Later on in the farbrengen, one of the אלטער חסידים called out “...but we want to hear a מאמר !”
In the hall at that moment, total silence fell… and all eyes turned to the Rebbe.
At 10:40 the Rebbe began the first מאמר , ‘באתי לגני ’. When it was over, the Rebbe, crying as he spoke, explained the mission of our generation - the seventh - “to bring the שכינה down to this physical world.”’
ט' שבט
סיום of משיח’s ספר תורה
In תש“ב (1942) the פריערדיקער רבי asked that a ספר תורה should be written to ‘welcome משיח ’. The writing was started on ב‘ אייר but for various reasons, it wasn’t finished at that time. Then, almost 28 years later the Rebbe asked that the ספר תורה be finished before the פריערדיקער רבי ’s 20th יארצייט . The סיום ספר תורה was held on Friday afternoon, ט‘ שבט תש“ל (1972), because that year י‘ שבט fell on שבת .
Phone Rally for י' שבט
When?
Wednesday
י‘ שבט תשס“ו
What time?
11:30 am EST - Hebrew Rally
1:30 pm EST
6:30 pm EST
8:30 pm EST
What?
Join together with hundreds of fellow ילדי השלוחים from around the world in a giant י“ט כסלו farbrengen.
Say the פסוקים , hear a דבר תורה , Hear a great story. Sing ניגונים . Say a לחיים .
You should get an e-mail with all the information by Sunday. If you don’t, e-mail cyh@shluchim.org.
Don’t miss it!!
Hope to hear you there!!
Even at a very young age the פריערדיקער רבי , ר‘ יוסף יצחק had a fixed daily schedule, and he very much enjoyed being מסודר . At eight o'clock in the morning, little יוסף יצחק jumped out of bed, and half an hour later he was in the shul davening with the מנין . From 9:30 until 10:00 was breakfast. Then, for four hours יוסף יצחק studied in ישיבה . Then came lunch for an hour and another hour devoted to writing. From 4:00 until 8:00 there was ישיבה again, then supper and some free time to spend in his room, before going to bed. Quite a schedule for a little boy of five!
שבת , of course, was different. Most of the morning was spent davening in Shul. In addition, he had a special treat, a visit to his grandmother, רביצין רבקה . There he would find the older members of the community, white-bearded חסידים who came to pay their respects to the "Grand Old Rebbetzin." They would stay for a while and tell stories about the lives of older חסידים or even of the Rebbe, יוסף יצחק 's grandfather, himself.
When everybody went home to eat the שבת meal, יוסף יצחק went back to the Shul. There all the people had long since finished their davening and gone home—except his father. He sat with his head near the ארון קודש . He was still davening. יוסף יצחק came close to his father quietly in order to listen to his תפילות . His father davened very slowly, as if he were counting the words. Sometimes he paused, and then would slowly continue.
יוסף יצחק wondered why it took his father so long to say the תפילות , which even he, a boy of five, knew so well and could read so fluently. But his heart pounded as he listened to the moving ניגון which his father hummed now and again, and the singsong of the words. Once, יוסף יצחק asked his uncle, ר‘ זלמן אהרן , his father's brother. "Why does Father daven so slowly?"
His uncle smiled as he answered with a twinkle in his eyes, "Your father finds it difficult to read the words from the סידור very quickly. He has to say each word separately, and can't daven very fast. That's why it takes him so long."
יוסף יצחק turned away without saying another word. But he felt a deep pain and a burning shame that his father couldn't daven more fluently.
The following שבת , יוסף יצחק silently approached his father and listened carefully. His father was saying the שמע . "שמע ישראל... " His father said slowly, then he paused. יוסף יצחק was startled to hear his father sobbing. His father said another couple of words, and sobbed again, and when he said "ה‘ אחד - ה‘ is One" the words seemed to burst from his heart, with a flood of tears.
יוסף יצחק couldn't listen any more. His heart was bursting with pity for his father. He went home, and with tears in his eyes, asked his mother, "Mother, Father is crying in the shul. Why does he daven so slowly, and why is he crying? Come, see for yourself. I can't bear it."
"There is nothing to be worried about," יוסף יצחק 's mother comforted her little son. "Go to your grandmother and tell her about it. She is a very wise lady, maybe she will be able to explain it to you."
יוסף יצחק didn’t waste any time and went to his grand-mother, certain that the wise, old רביצין would find a way to help his father learn to read the תפילות more quickly, perhaps even as quickly as all the other אידן in the Shul.
When he came to his grandmother, יוסף יצחק told her about his poor father's difficulty saying the תפילות . "Mother said that you could do something about it," he concluded hopefully.
Grandmother looked at him seriously and said, "Your father is a great חסיד and a צדיק . Before he reads any word from the סידור , he thinks about it carefully. What it means and to Whom he is saying it. And when he thinks about the holy words of the תפילות , his heart is filled with love for ה‘ . Just as a son loves his dear father who is near and yet far away, so your father longs to be closer to Him and the tears just come. I cannot tell you more now, but when you grow older you will understand this better, and you will know how it feels."
With his grandmother's explanation, יוסף יצחק felt as if a tremendous weight came off his heart. So it wasn't that his father couldn't read the תפילות quickly. It was because his father was such a great person that he davened differently. Yes, he realized that his father was different, in the way he spoke, the way he acted, the way he studied, the way he davened. That very day, יוסף יצחק resolved that as the only child of such a great person, he too must act differently, to merit being his child.
יוסף יצחק 's father, ר‘ שלום דובער , became the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe. When he passed away, ר‘ יוסף יצחק became the sixth Rebbe.
See the printable version of Connections for incredible fun pages!
Last Week’s Winners:
Level 1:
Levi Vorst, age 6 from Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Level 2:
Yankel Bergstien, age 9 from Buffalo Grove, IL
We'd love to hear your feedback! Send us your comments, ideas and suggestions to: connections@shluchim.org
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