Parshas Ki Sisa

 

Hi there little ones,
Well, as (sometimes) happens, I was running a bit late with my column this week, and the Shluchim Office was not too happy. I was sure that by now they would understand that Dr Getzel’s column is always ready on time, even if it is a few days late. I tried telling them that getting upset that the column is late doesn't help, but for some reason they still got upset! Go figure! It is a good thing there is no other Dr Getzel to write the column for them, otherwise I might be out of a job. And then I’d miss all those yummy mishloach monos fruit baskets that I got this Purim. Thank you to everyone who sent them in through the Shluchim Office!
So, there I was, having just hung up the phone with Ms Plonis Almonis from the Shluchim Office for the third time this week, and I knew that I really needed to come up with something quick otherwise I may be out of a job whether there was another Dr Getzel or not! Of course I hadn't told Ms Almonis the real reason that I hadn't sent in my column yet (I hope she isn't reading this!) - I didn't have any ideas about what to write about. My mind was a blank. Empty! Totally and absolutely bare! I mean if Ms Almonis would have known that, I’d be out of a job quicker than you can say, ‘next week’s column is going to be written by Dr Pretzel!’ Which actually takes a few seconds to say, but still, it is a lot shorter than the three years that I’ve been writing for Connections.
 It was at this moment that my Super-duper Extra-large Automatically Updating Yiddishe Sun/Moon Calendar caught my eye. I think I’ve told you about my calendar before. I invented it a few years ago in the Chassidishe Scientist Summer Camp. You see, as you might remember, I’ve always had problems remembering things. I think it is partly because I am a scientist, partly because the name Getzel rhymes with forgetful (although of course there are plenty of non-forgetful Getzels too), and partly just because that’s the way the Aibeshter made me. So after forgetting some really important things, which I’m not going to tell you because I don't want to embarrass myself, I came up with the idea of making a Super-duper Extra-large Automatically Updating Yiddishe Sun/Moon Calendar. So now instead of remembering lots of different things, all I need to do is remember this calendar.
Anyway, like I was saying, my calendar caught my eye. And a light went on in my head. It was that special flash that I get before I start my column every week. My good, reliable friend Chochmah was back! This week is the Rebbetzin’s birthday! But I am out of time already. I promised Ms Almonis to have the column in within an hour. Never mind, knowing the great job that the Shluchim Office do, they for sure wrote lots of interesting things about the Rebbetzin in this weeks Connections anyway.
Have a great Shabbos and see you next week!

Dr Getzel

 

כ“ה אדר

רביצין חי“ה מושקא was born on שבת ,כ“ה אדר , in the year תרס“א (1901).  She was born in the town of Babinovitch which is near the town of Lubavitch.

In a שיחה that the Rebbe said on כ“ה אדר תשמ“ח , on the רביצין ’s 87th birthday which was just about one month after she passed away, the Rebbe began מבצע יום הולדת . The Rebbe asked that people should celebrate their birthdays and use the day to make a חשבון הנפש and make החלטות to add in מצוות .

‘Please Tell Me What the Rebbe Said’

 

The שמן המשחה , the special oil that was used to anoint the כהנים גדולים and the Kings of the House of דוד was prepared in this week’s פרשה . משה רבינו prepared only 12 Lug (about 2 gallons - equivalent to about 8 bottles of soda) of this oil. Miraculously it was enough for all past generations and all future generations. It was still used in the second בית המקדש , and was hidden when the בית המקדש was destroyed. When משיח is revealed, it will be returned to us.

*  *  *  *  *

In this week's פרשה , משה asked to see ה‘ 's full glory. But ה‘ answered, "No human can see me and still live!" But in תהילים , דוד המלך said he will be able to see ה‘ ! How could this be?

The answer is that until the גאולה comes, people can not see ה‘ and still live. But later, when there is תחית המיתים and the dead come back to life, we will see ה‘ , so to speak. We are told that we will see ה‘ with our eyes (although now we don’t know what this means) and we will say, “This is our G-d".

 

In the small town of Tschortkow in Poland there lived a תלמיד חכם and צדיק called ר‘ הרשלע Tchortkover.

He was busy night and day, for he never refused to help those who needed him. Some people asked for his advice; others his ברכה . And then there were the poor widows, orphans, sick people, and old people who needed money for their daily bread. He was always collecting money for those who were unable to help themselves.

One day ר‘ הרשלע Tchortkover decided that he needed an assistant, for there was too much work for him to do alone. So he hired a שמש to help him with his responsibilities. אנשל משה Rothschild, who was then a poor young man, was happy to accept this job. The Rabbi and the שמש became very close friends.

But, after a few years, אנשל משה decided to get married. He went to live in the nearby town of Sniatyn, where his father-in-law opened a store for him. The Rabbi was happy about the marriage, but he was sad to see his שמש leave, for he had been a good and devoted assistant.

Several months later, on the night before פסח when בדיקת חמץ is done in all Jewish homes, a terrible thing happened. ר‘ הרשלע Tchortkover was checking the drawers in his desk, when he discovered that his purse with five hundred gold coins was missing! That was money that had been collected to help orphans, widows and others in need.

The Rabbi pulled out the entire drawer and checked the desk more carefully. Then he pulled out the rest of the drawers to search them again. He looked under the desk and behind the desk, but the purse was not to be found. The Rabbi's heart was filled with pain. It took a long time to collect all that money, and now he had no way of helping unfortunate, helpless poor people.

Then he began to feel even more sad, for he suddenly realized that the only one who had known about the purse was אנשל משה . The Rabbi had always trusted him; but who else could have taken the money? There was no other explanation.

Yet the Rabbi found it hard to believe that אנשל משה might be a thief. Perhaps, thought the Rabbi, there was an explanation for the whole thing. Maybe אנשל משה had borrowed the money when he went to Sniatyn to get married. Maybe he was already planning to return it? The Rabbi decided not to tell anyone about the missing money. He did not want to embarrass אנשל משה , or let people know that he even suspected him. He decided to travel to Sniatyn to discuss the matter with אנשל משה and give him an opportunity to explain what happened.

Immediately after the יום טוב , the Rabbi hired a wagon and went to visit אנשל משה . אנשל משה was very pleased to have such an honored visitor. Then the Rabbi told him the reason for his visit. The Rabbi said that he was sure אנשל משה had only meant to borrow the money, and he was sure would return it now. ה‘ would forgive him for his עבירה , and no one would ever know about it. If it had been his own money, the Rabbi said, he would not have been so concerned, but this was money collected for people who otherwise might starve חס ושלום . And he himself had little money, so the stolen money had to be found immediately.

As the Rabbi spoke, אנשל משה grew pale and frightened, and his eyes filled with tears. He went to his money-box, emptied it, and without a word gave all the money to the Rabbi. The money was counted, but it was only half of the total sum. With deep regret, אנשל משה promised to give the rest of the money to the Rabbi as quickly as possible.

The Rabbi was both relieved and saddened. אנשל משה had not said word about why he had done such a thing. He had offered no excuses for his behaviour. The tears in his eyes were proof of his shame and guilt. That made the Rabbi sad. He was happy, however, that אנשל משה had realized his mistake and was returning the money.

The Rabbi thanked אנשל משה . They shook hands and embraced, and the Rabbi said that everything was forgiven and forgotten.

During the next few months, אנשל משה worked longer hours than ever and saved his money carefully to repay the Rabbi. The Rabbi realized that אנשל משה was an honest and fine young man who had indeed deserved his trust and respect. אנשל משה had made a mistake, but he was eager to fix it.

(To be continued)

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