Parshas Chukas

 

Hi there Young Shluchim!
Now I bet there aren’t too many kids out there who have seen a Parah Adumah before. And I bet there are even fewer kids out there who have seen a kosher Parah Adumah. And yet this week when I got my weekly Erev Shabbos calls from my little Getzel’ite and Getzel’nik aineklach, all they could take about was red cows!
Now as you may know, I live in the yellow cornfield State of Iowa, and I’ve seen a few things that maybe most people living out there in the busier cities don't get to see, but still, I’ve never seen a red cow. Certainly not a red cow that would be kosher to use for the Parah Adumah. I’ve seen lots of white cows, and some black cows, and a few brown cows. Mostly I’ve seen cows that are white and black or brown. But I’ve never seen a red cow.
Being that I am an expert Seeing and Lens Making Professor however, I often get lots of calls from kinderlach and Shluchim around the world to help them with their seeing problems. And one thing that I have learnt since I became a Seeing Professor is that things never seem the same to me as they do to anyone else. Like the speedometer on my car - it always seems to say a lower speed on it than the policeman who pulls me over says I was going. So when my aineklach got all excited about the Parah Adumah, I wondered if maybe it was time for me to get my eyes checked again, or, at the very least to clean the lenses on my glasses.
You see I really couldn't understand why my little Getzel’ites and Getzel’niks were getting so excited about something that didn’t really seem too practical, and certainly was not too well understood - at least to me anyway.
So there I was, sitting in my office, looking at the phone in my hand and wondering who had gone mad. A friend of mine once told me that as long as I didn’t think that I was the only normal person left in this world I was okay, but as soon as I thought that the rest of the world had gone crazy and I was the only normal person left, it would be time to start worrying.

Well, with no solution at hand, I turned to my trusty mini-volume of Lekutei Sichos to see what the Rebbe would say. It did not take too long until I realized that I had the answer. Of course, I should have known it straight away, but I was too busy worrying if I was still normal enough to be counted as normal, or if now that I thought the whole world was crazy, it was a sign that I was the crazy one.

You see my aineklach were totally right. The Rebbe says it is easy to do a mitzvah besimcha if we understand what we are doing, but with chukim - like the Parah Adumah - it is much more difficult. My aineklach were sure that they would serve Hashem besimcha whatever the mitzvah was. Even if they had never seen a Parah Adumah before.

Have a Good Shabbos kinderlach,

Dr Getzel

 

י“ב תמוז

רביצין שטערנא שרה , the mother of the פריערדיקער רבי was married to the רבי רש“ב for quite a few years and they still didn’t have any children. One שמחת תורה a ברכה was made for all the women in the רבי מהר“ש ’s family but by mistakeרביצין שטערנא שרה  was left out. She returned to her room very upset and started crying and then fell asleep. While she was sleeping, she had a dream.

A man came into her room and asked her “My daughter, why are you crying?” She told him about everything that was upsetting her and he said “Don’t cry my daughter. I promise you that within a year you will have a son. There is just one condition. After יום טוב make sure to give 18 rubles from your own money to צדקה .” Then the man disappeared and came back a few minutes later with two other men to whom he told what he had promised רביצין שטערנא שרה and they agreed. 

רביצין שטערנא שרה told her husband about the dream and he told his father the רבי מהר“ש about it. The רבי מהר“ש said that the first man was his father, the צמח צדק and the other two were the מיטעלער רבי and the אלטער רבי .

In order to give 18 rubles of her own money to צדקה , רביצין שטערנא שרה sold one of her dresses and used the money to give צדקה .

The next year the פריערדיקער רבי , ר‘ יוסף יצחק was born.

(Adapted from ‘Days in Chabad’)

 

The Rebbe relates: The חודש of תמוז stands out because of an important date: The twelfth day of the month is the birthday of the Rebbe, my teacher and my father-in-law (the פריערדיקער רבי ).

The פריערדיקער רבי devoted his life to the חינוך of אידישע children. The Russian government was determined to destroy אידישקייט and to put an end to אידישע education for אידישע children. But the פריערדיקער רבי worked with the greatest מסירת נפש to keep אידישע education alive in Russia. He established חדרים and strengthened the education of אידישע children everywhere. No matter where a אידישע child lived, no matter what his background, the פריערדיקער רבי fought to give him the best possible תורה education.

In this way, the פריערדיקער רבי saved thousands of אידישע children. Actually, the פריערדיקער רבי saved not only them, but also their children and grandchildren.

Many of the parents of the children who are gathered here today were saved by the פריערדיקער רבי .

They are here today because the פריערדיקער רבי tried with all his might that the parents and grandparents should go in the ways of תורה and מצוות , and raise their children in the same way.

The Rebbe became an example to all the world of devotion to the education of אידישע children.

(Excerpted from ‘The Rebbe speaks to Children’)

 

The מצוה of פרה אדומה is a חוק , it is a מצוה that we cannot understand. Even שלמה המלך , who was the wisest of all men, didn’t understand it. ה‘ explained this מצוה only to משה רבינו . The גמרא tells us that שלמה wanted to be as wise as משה but a בת קול answered: “וכתוב ישר דברי אמת ” - “What is written in ספר דברים (which is known as ספר הישר ) are words of truth”. In ספר דברים it says, “ולא קם נביא עוד בישראל כמשה ” - “There was never again in ישראל a נביא like משה ”.

Why did שלמה think that he would be able to be like משה and understand the פרה אדומה ?

The פסוק in this week’s פרשה that talks about the פרה אדומה says “לטמא מעפר שרפת החטאת ”. If you take the first letter of each of these words, and mix them around, you get the word ‘שלמה ’. שלמה המלך thought that since a hint to his name can be found in the פסוקים about פרה אדומה , with enough learning, he would be able to understand this מצוה .
But, we can see the answer to this in the בת קול too. The words can be explained to mean - “וכתוב ישר ” - “That which is written in the proper order” -      “דברי אמת ” - “are words of truth”. If we take the first letters of the above פסוק about the פרה אדומה , in order, we get ‘למשה ’ - to משה . Meaning that the reason of the פרה אדומה was only explained to משה .

(Adapted from Vedibarta Bam)

 

The פריערדיקער רבי devoted his entire life to the גשמיות and רוחניות well-being of the אידן .

Living at a time when the main goal of the Communist government was to destroy אידישקייט , the פריערדיקער רבי tried very hard to oppose their decrees, to the point of being מוסר נפש many times. When the פריערדיקער רבי finally escaped from Europe in 1940, he was very ill because of the terrible tortures of the Communists. But, although he was in a wheelchair and was  בגשמיותvery weak, the פריערדיקער רבי 's רוחניות strength was completely intact. Declaring that "אמעריקא איז נישט אנדערש ," the פריערדיקער רבי set about fulfilling his goal of bringing a strong, burning flame of אידישקייט to America.

The פריערדיקער רבי wrote his memories and observations in many volumes of his memoirs and commentaries, and this has provided us a fascinating record of his childhood.

An only child, the פריערדיקער רבי had a very deep relationship with his father, the רבי רש“ב , who worked very hard to educate and prepare his son for the difficult task which lay ahead.

In his diary, the פריערדיקער רבי described a particularly emotional incident from his youth, which gives us a special insight into the awesome preparation of a Rebbe.

When the פריערדיקער רבי was fifteen years old, his father asked him to be his personal secretary. He was given responsibilities to fulfil, including frequent meetings with great רבנים from other parts of Russia and dealing with the Russian government.

In his diary, the פריערדיקער רבי wrote:

On Thursday, י“ב תמוז , it was my fifteenth birthday. My father took me to the אוהל , where my ancestors, the רבי מהר“ש and the צמח צדק , are buried.

When we arrived at the small שול next to the אוהל , we went in, and my father opened the ארון קודש and said, "Today I am bringing my son to fulfil Your עבודה . When a קרבן is given up to ה‘ , two sides are involved - the one who is giving it and the קרבן itself. Just as אברהם אבינו tied his son, יצחק , so that he would not have any imperfections, I also want to offer my son to You in the most fitting manner."

Suddenly, my father burst into tears. Even though I didn't really understand what was going on, I began to cry, too. Then we sat together next to the open ארון and learned half a פרק of תניא .

"I want to make an agreement in front of my ancestors," my father said. He told me to stand in front of him. Then he laid his hands upon my head. "Today I am giving over to you the task of devoting yourself to the אידן , בגשמיות and ברוחניות ," he said. My father then explained to me, at great length, the idea of dedicating oneself completely to this עבודה .

My father went into the אוהל while I waited inside the שול and said תהלים . I could hear my father also saying תהלים and sobbing. It made me very nervous, and I started to cry. My father opened the door of the אוהל and told me to come inside. "Come in, and my father, the רבי מהר“ש and my grandfather, the צמח צדק , will bless you." I was afraid. At first, I could only stand there, unable to move. Then I recovered a little and entered the אוהל . My father had lit seventy-two oil wicks. He led me close to my ancestors' קברים and put his hand upon my head. I could hear him crying with heartfelt sobs, and I was deeply moved to see the tears running down his face.

At this point in time, the רבי רש“ב began to pass on to his son, יוסף יצחק , as many of the responsibilities  as he could during his lifetime. It was around this time that there was an important meeting of leading רבנים scheduled to take place.

The רבי רש“ב was invited, but was unable to attend. Instead, he sent the fifteen-year old יוסף יצחק , but because of his youth, he sent ר‘ שמואל בצלאל with him.

The רבי רש“ב , however, instructed the older man, "Know that even though I am sending you to accompany my son, you should not interfere or even help him. He must take care of things himself."

(Adapted from ‘The Rebbes’)

 

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