Parshas Terumah

Gimmel Adar 5766

 

Volume 2
Issue 18

Past Connections     
Printable Version
English Connections
Printable Version
Yiddish Connections

The Connections people
 

With many thanks to our generous sponsors:
 
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 TERUMAH

"So what did my teacher say about me?" Gila asked her mother eagerly the morning after the parent-teacher meeting.
"Your teacher said you were doing pretty well," her mother replied, as she helped her to prepare her lunch. "But..."
"But I could do better, right?" Gila concluded her sentence frowning. "Everyone keeps telling me that. You say it all the time, Tatty says it, and my teacher does too. Even Bubbie keeps telling me that I'm bright and talented and can do better."
"Well, Gila," replied her mother encouragingly, "perhaps everyone is right. Baruch Hashem, you have a lot going for you."
"But Mommy, I do better than many of the other girls in my class."
"That may be true, Gila. But you know, some of us can do more than just a bit better than others. We can learn about this from the parshah.
"In Parshas Terumah, the Yidden are commanded to contribute to the building of the Mishkan. The word terumah means donations, and the Torah tells us of three different types of donations the Jews gave. For example, there was the donation for the adonim, the money that was given for the silver sockets that supported the wooden walls of the Mishkan. Then there were the money and materials that were donated for the building of the Mishkan. Then there was ---"
"But, Mommy," Gila interrupted her, "why do you say that there was a separate donation for the adonim? Aren't they part of the building of the Mishkan, too?
"Good question, Gila," continued her mother. "And you know, the parshah tells us something even more interesting about the building of the Mishkan. The donation for the adonim was a fixed amount - everyone had to give half a shekel, no more and no less. But for the rest of the building, everyone brought as much as they could.
"You see, the adonim are the base of the entire Mishkan. In our service of Hashem today, the base is bittul - kabbalas ol. Because Kabbalas ol is the foundation of our avodah, we start our day with it. We begin every morning by saying modeh ani and reminding ourselves that Hashem rules over everything.
"When it comes to kabbalas ol, everyone is equal because every Jew's avodah must have the same base. So the amount donated for the adonim was half a shekel - equal for all.
"The other parts of the Mishkan building symbolize the many ways a Jew serves Hashem - different mitzvos, different styles, different abilities, different situations and conditions. To build those parts, not everyone's donation was the same. Every Jew donated the most he could give. And that's how each and every Jew should serve Hashem today - without comparing himself to others. We each serve Hashem only according to our own abilities, doing the very best we can with what we have."

‘Please Tell Me What the Rebbe Said’
(Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XI)


 

Silver Foundations
   ___  ___  ___  ___  ___
Please send your answers to connections@shluchim.org

Last weeks’ brain buster: My outside is 80 and I have a judge in me.

Answer: משפטים

Congratulations to Menucha, Chedva & Hadassah Banayan from Panama for solving the brain buster.



Hi, everyone!
Welcome back to Iowa. You arrived just in time. But we’d better hurry up or we’ll be late. Put on your COL (Chassidic Outlook) goggles and helmet and . . . What did you ask? Where are we going? Only grown-ups decide where they are going before they leave! I never know where I’m going until I get there. Now, where did I put those directions, my Tefilas Haderech card, my lunch, toothbrush, Chitas and pushka? Oh, here they are; in my shirt pocket, right where I left them. (I’m always losing things. My mother says that I take after Elter Zaide Zelig. One time he misplaced his moustache. He sat on his rocking chair, scratching his head trying to remember where he put it until Alte Bubbe Baila reminded him that it was right under his nose.) O.K. Are you ready? Close your eyes, open your ears, pinch your nose and bite your tongue. OUCH! I mean roll your tongue like a hotdog. Here we go. Hold on tight!
“Ha! Ha! Giggle, laugh. He he he!” He, hoo hoo. Hello ho ho ho! We’ve arrived!  Wanna know where?  We’re in the month of Adar. Ever since I arrived here I just can’t stop, he-he, l-laughing. I’ve been trying my best to be ha-ha-happy all the time because I’m a Chassid and Chassidim are always happy. Whenever I catch myself starting to frown, I do some (giggle) Adar magic. I chant ‘abracadabra-vinahapochu’ and I turn that frown upside down . . . into a smile! Yesterday, I stubbed my toe and I wanted to shout and yell at it.  Then I remembered that I was in the month of Adar, hee-hee, and so I gave it a gigantic smile instead and we both ended up laughing, ha-ha-giggle, until our funny bones hurt!
Zzzzziiiiip. BANG! We’re back here in Iowa in my green-roofed office with the purple window shades. Keep making the Rebbe proud of his Junior Shluchim by practicing that Adar magic to turn your frowns upside-down into bright, chasidishe smiles.


Bye ‘till next week,
Dr. Getzel


P.S. Make sure my desk doesn’t get too neat. I love when it’s piled high with mail. Send me pictures of your biggest Adar smiles or write to tell me how you used the Adar magic to turn a frown into a ... clown (oops, I mean smile!)



Esther Bechor, age 6
Randolph, New Jersey

My name is Esther Bechor and I’m on Shlichus in Randolph, NJ. I feel so lucky to have been able to be a part of the Kinus. It felt so good to be around other Lubavitch girls from all over. I made new friends. We sang a lot of songs. We davened all tighter and went on fun trips. The Bais Rivka Production was amazing! I went to the Kinus not knowing anyone else, but as soon as I joined my bunk, we all felt like family because we had so  much in common—we are all on Shlichus. Thank you to my Head Counselors, my counsellors, and those that organized the Kinus. I know a lot of hard work went into all the preparations. It was such a pleasure to be able to eat what everyone else is eating and not to have to worry about kashrus! Next year’s Kinus should be in Eretz Yisroel with Moshiach!


ז' אדר

Why did המן think that אדר would be a good time to kill the אידן ?

המן searched through our calendar, looking for a time when the אידן would be the weakest.  He saw that our leader משה רבינו had passed away on ז‘ אדר .  המן thought that ה‘ did not protect the אידן as much during אדר , because ה‘ took away our leader then.

המן made a mistake.  He did not realize that משה was also born on ז‘ אדר .  On this day, the man who would eventually take the אידן out of מצרים was born.  This is a great זכות for the אידן , and המן was not able to harm the אידן because of it.

משה was born and died on the same date.  He lived for exactly one hundred and twenty years. ה‘ gives certain great צדיקים exact, complete years. משה ’s life was complete; he lived an exact number of years. משה passed away shortly before the אידן entered ארץ ישראל , and he himself never went into the land.

ט' אדר - אמעריקא איז נישט אנדערש

After a 12-day sea journey, S.S. Drottningholm, the ship carrying the פריערדיקער רבי , arrived at the New York harbor on Tuesday, the ט‘ אדר ת“ש .  The פריערדיקער רבי was rescued with many ניסים , from Poland which was occupied by the Nazis.                
Thousands of אידן came to greet the Rebbe.  When the פריערדיקער רבי appeared, the crowd shouted out “שלום אליכם ” together.  A lot people said the ברכה of שהחינו .

At the welcoming banquet, the פריערדיקער רבי gave thanks to ה‘ for rescuing him and remembered all the אידן who were suffering at that time.  He said that their cries worry him by day and by night.

That very day, the Rebbe established the American branch of ישיבת תומכי תמימים .


ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם

(כ“ה:ח‘ )

When ה‘ told משה to build a משכן , He said ‘ושכנתי בתוכם - I will live in them’.  It would had made more sense if the פסוק had said “בתוכו - in it”.

The תורה is telling us that not only does ה‘ want us to make Him a גשמיות‘דיקע משכן , but also that we should make OURSELVES into a משכן , so He can live in us.

How can we do this?

We can learn how to do this if we look at the כלים that were in the משכן and see what they represent. Then we can see how we should live in order to make ourselves into a משכן for ה‘ .

The משכן had the ארון , the מנורה , the שולחן and the מזבח .  The ארון represents learning תורה , the מנורה stands for מצוות , the שולחן corresponds to הכנסת אורחים and the מזבח signifies מסירות נפש .

So too, our homes should be full of ספרים and learning תורה , doing מצוות , a table of כשר food and guests and we must also have מסירת נפש which today is to make sure that we have the highest standards of אידישקייט .

If we do this, we can be sure, that just like ה‘ lived in the משכן , He will live in us too.



Every יום טוב is a time of joy for the אידן .  The joy of פורים , however, is greater than the joy of any other יום טוב . שמחת פוריםis even greater than the joy of סוכות , which is called ‘זמן שמחתינו ’. In fact, the happiness of פורים is so great that חז“ל tell us,                         ‘חייב אינש לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע ’ - ‘the happiness we feel on פורים is unlimited and has no end’.

As the joy of פורים is so great, even the preparations for פורים must be filled with the greatest שמחה . And the more energy, חיות and joy we put into the preparations, the greater the light and happiness of פורים itself will be.

A אידישע child who is bursting with happiness on פורים must not keep his joy to himself.  He must share his joy and light with all the children around him.  He must tell them about the great joy and how the אידן were saved with great ניסים in the days of פורים , when they had ‘light and joy’ - ‘אורה ושמחה ’.

חז“ל explain these words from the מגילה as follows: ‘אורה ’ is תורה and ‘שמחה ’ is יום טוב . In our own time too, we have the light and happiness of תורה and יום טוב .

From the rejoicing of פורים we will quickly begin rejoicing with משיח צדקינו , in the joy of the גאולה האמיתית והשלימה , swiftly in our days, right now.

‘The Rebbe Speaks to Children’




דבורה לאה was the aunt of the אלטער רבי . Her mother, רחל , was a very unusual woman for her time.

Educated secretly by her father, רחל knew not only the חומש , but the גמרא and the writings of the רמב“ם , and was especially expert in the שולחן ערוך .

The following story shows how much she knew. One שבת , soon after her wedding, her husband and father were walking. Suddenly, someone came running to tell them that the city's "עירוב " had broken. The two rabbis stood still, they couldn’t remember the דין under such circumstances. רחל 's father asked her what they should do with the ספרים in their hands.

At first she didn't want to reply, in those days it was unusual for a woman to be learned and she didn't want to upset her new husband.  But when her father asked her again her, she answered and everyone followed her instructions.  When they got home they checked in the שולחן ערוך and saw that רחל 's instructions had been correct.

When רחל had her own daughter, she taught her what she had learned from her father.  Over some time, דבורה לאה also became quite knowledgeable.

She grew up with the wonderful מידות of her mother: true אהבת ישראל , always interested in her neighbors, and ready to help everyone.

Unfortunately, דבורה לאה ’s mother passed away when she was only sixteen years old.  Soon after that, her father passed away too.

דבורה לאה , now an orphan, went to live with her aunt and uncle.

One day, דבורה לאה 's aunt and uncle announced that they had located a suitable שידוך for her - a young תלמוד חכם named יוסף יצחק .

The young girl immediately ran to the קברים of her parents and poured out her heart, asking for their ברכות , and that if the שידוך was the right one for her, that it should be successful. Afterward, she agreed to meet the young man.

דבורה לאה was very honest with him, explaining that she wanted to follow the ways of her mother's family, who followed the teaching of קבלה and חסידות . The young man listened carefully, and then, to דבורה לאה 's happy surprise, he told her that he had long ago become friendly with a certain חסיד of the בעל שם טוב and knew a great deal about his teachings. In fact, he totally agreed with the בעל שם טוב 's way of עבודת ה‘ . Even more astonishing, ר‘ יוסף יצחק told her that he had himself met the בעל שם טוב . The tzadik had told him that he would meet his bashert in Vitebsk - an orphan girl from a fine family.

דבורה לאה was very excited with all he told her and saw השגחה פרטית in their meeting. She had no doubt that this fine young man was her bashert.

The two went together to דבורה לאה 's parents' קברים and secretly agreed to marry on the following conditions: יוסף יצחק would learn תורה with her two or three times a week; he would allow her to continue with her sewing and let her contribute to their household expenses; they would share equally in all they did relating to תורה and מצוות ; they would keep the fact that she was studying תורה a secret; they would live as חסידים of the בעל שם טוב ; from all their earnings they would put aside מעשר for צדקה ; they would raise their children in the חסידישע way; if they had daughters they would teach them תורה .

After their marriage, ר‘ יוסף יצחק was appointed as head of the Vitebsk ישיבה , and דבורה לאה was very happy with the life she and her husband were living.


See the printable version of Connections for incredible fun pages!


Last Week’s Winners:

Level 1:
Miriam Polter, age 7 from Acton, Massachusetts &
Meir Shimon Moskowitz, age 7 from Chicago, IL


Level 2:
Nechama Bell, age 10 from Montreal, Canada &
Raizel Schapiro, age 9 from Sydney, Australia


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