Parshas Beshalach

 

Hi there my favourite young Shluchim!
BANG, SQUISH, CRUNCH! SPLASH, SMASH, CRASH!
Yup, I’m back to work again, doing what I do best. Well, what I am supposed to do best anyway. I mean what other people think I do best. Sometimes I wonder if that means that this is the best thing I do, or the thing I do best. Either way I don't really agree, because if we are talking about the thing I do best, then I would definitely be happier if it was something really important like writing my weekly column for Connections, or making potato latkes for Chanukah. And if we are talking about the best thing that I do, I would be much happier if people talked about the mivtzoyim I do or the shiurim I give.
But of course that is neither here nor there, because whenever anyone mentions the name ‘Dr Getzel’ they straight away think of the Expert Lens-Making and Seeing Professor Dr Getzel. And so that is what I have been busy doing this past week - making a new lens.
It has been quite a while since I have made any new lenses, and I think the University where I work had been starting to worry why they pay me so much money. Not that they pay me very much, but they thought they paid me a lot, and they wanted to see some value for their money.
So as I do whenever it is time to make a new lens, I sat down and opened a Chitas for some inspiration. It wasn't long before it hit me! This week is Parshas Beshalach! Kriyas Yam Suf! Did you know that at Kriyas Yam Suf the Yidden actually got to see Hashem! Yup they could actually point with their fingers and say ‘This is my G-d!’ In fact we are told that even the Nevi’im who Hashem spoke to, did not get to see Hashem in the same way that the lowest person at Kriyas Yam Suf did!
Now imagine if I could make a lens that would make me able to see Hashem in such an amazing way. It would be the best lens that I had ever made. Millions of people would start to believe in Hashem, the non-Jews would start to keep the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. Because right now unfortunately lots of people don't believe in Hashem yet. Actually that reminds me of a really funny story that my Feter Shmuel used to tell me from back when he used to live in Communist Russia.
My Feter Shmuel had to spend a few weeks in a Communist school until his parents managed to find a way to hide him from the Russians. One day when he was sitting in class, the teacher was trying to convince the children that they really were wasting their time believing in Hashem, and he didn’t really exist. ‘After all’, said the teacher, ‘can you see Hashem? If you can’t see Him, he can’t exist.’
Well my Feter Shmuel was quite a clever boy, and a bit chutzpadik too, and before you could say ‘Moshiach Now!’ he jumped up and said, ‘Can anyone see the teachers’ brain? Must be it doesn't exist!’ I’ll leave you to imagine what happened next...
Now just imagine if I could make a lens that everyone could see Hashem! It would be amazing! Moshiach Tzeiten!

Tune in next week to see how my lens turned out!

 Dr Getzel

 

שבת שירה

If you go to shul on שבת , you can watch the תורה being taken out. You would probably have a chance to go up to the תורה and give it a kiss. Every שבת , the תורה is taken out, and a part of it is read. Throughout the course of the year, the entire תורה is read.

After ה‘ took the Jewish people out of מצרים , פרעה regretted letting them go. He gathered his men and chased after them. The Jewish people reached the ים סוף , and they had nowhere to go; the water was in front of them and פרעה ’s army was behind them. ה‘ made a miracle and split the waters, giving them dry land to walk on.  As soon as the Jews got across, ה‘ made the waters go back, drowning the מצריים .

When the Jewish people got across and were safe, they sang a song to ה‘ thanking and praising Him for the miracles.  The song is written in the פרשה of בשלח , in the ספר of שמות . The שבת on which this פרשה is read always falls out during the month of שבט . This שבת is called שבת שירה – the שבת of song.

This is the most beautiful song ever sung to ה‘ , and so we are very happy when we read it on שבת שירה . The שירה (song) is read with a special tune, and some people stand up while it is read.

(1942) and is buried in the אוהל .

 

 

After קריאת ים סוף , and משה and the men finished singing praises to ה‘ , מרים and the women also sang praises. But the women added something over the men: they accompanied their singing with musical instruments. But where did they get musical instruments from in the middle of the desert?

רש“י explains that even before they left מצרים the women were sure that ה‘ would make miracles for them in the desert. They therefore brought the instruments with them. This is done by the truly righteous: their faith in ה‘ is so complete that they praise Him for His ניסים even before He does them!

From this we see the greatness of the Jewish women in מצרים , and can understand why it was, "בזכות נשים צדקניות נגאלו אבותינו ממצרים " - "In the merit of the righteous women our fathers were redeemed from מצרים ." So too when we are told that משיח is coming any minute, we should praise ה‘ for the ניסים He will make!

 

This story begins with a פארברענגען of the חסידים of the פריערדיקער רבי in France shortly before WWII. The פריערדיקער רבי ’s son-in-law (who in another ten years would become the next Rebbe) was also there and he was the main speaker, but some of the other חסידים also spoke.

One of them told of an amazing נס that happened to him two years earlier. After almost being killed the פריערדיקער רבי had to leave Russia and move to Poland and many חסידים moved there to be with him. But while he was there the פריערדיקער רבי told many of them to leave Poland and settle in other countries, for instance the חסיד telling the story was one of a group of five people that the פריערדיקער רבי told to go to France.

Now back in those days this was not easy at all; they had several borders to cross through, including Germany which was already known to be evil, and to make matters worse one of them had an non-valid passport and there was no time to get a new one; the פריערדיקער רבי told them to leave immediately.

On the trains, one of them would lie on the bench and the other four would sit on him, covering him with their long winter coats to avoid the passport checks. And they even managed somehow to pass all the other borders. But the check post at the German border was especially dangerous, especially for אידן , and for אידן with no passports it was almost suicide.

They decided on a plan, but as they got near to the front of the line they heard shouting and screaming from inside the inspection center, then a pistol shot followed by a moan and silence. They tried to look as confident as possible but were really trembling inside, if it wasn’t for the פריערדיקער רבי ’s ברכה they would all have turned back and returned to Poland on the spot.

But to their amazement when the first חסיד got to the window, the official snatched his passport from his hand and stamped it without asking questions! And so he did to the second. Then he began talking on the phone and stamped the remaining three passports without even looking at them! But their problems were far from over; the place was full of mean policemen and soldiers checking and rechecking everything and everyone that moved but strangely the police paid no attention to them! They walked through the station unnoticed, as though they were invisible, caught a taxi, and left. Half an hour later they were in a telegraph office sending a message back to the פריערדיקער רבי … they were free! It was a נס !!

The פריערדיקער רבי ’s son-in-law listened carefully to the story. When it was finished he asked for the exact date and time of the נס and when he heard the answer he smiled and said, “Now I understand something that was a mystery to me these last two years.

“The Rebbe, my father-in-law, had to have a nurse come in every day and give him an injection because of his health.

"One day the nurse came in and saw a frightening sight: the Rebbe was sitting rigidly in his chair, eyes slightly open and completely unresponsive. She was sure that he was having an attack of some sort, and immediately called someone from the Rebbe’s family and then before they called a doctor they called for me.

“When I entered I also was shocked at first, but then I noticed something that made me realize that there was noting to worry about; it was almost unnoticeable but the Rebbe’s lips were moving, he was saying or reciting something!

“I bent down and listened and then straightened up and announced that there was, in fact, nothing to worry about …the Rebbe was saying “אז ישיר משה .” After ten minutes the Rebbe opened his eyes and returned to normal.

“I never asked the Rebbe for an explanation but now I have it. It was the exact same time that your נס was occurring. The Rebbe was passing you all through the German inspection like משה passed the אידן through the ים סוף !

That is the job of a Rebbe; to help free אידן .

 

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