Parshas Mishpatim

 

Hi there Young Shluchim!
How are ya’ll? I bet it’s been a real busy time for all you Young Shluchos! Did you go into Crown Heights for Chof Beis Shevat? Were you by the Kinus? Of course this Kinus was especially for the Shluchos and even a famous Lens Making and Seeing Professor like me couldn't manage to slip in. I tried convincing the Vaad HaKinus that the Shluchos needed to have a special workshop on Lens Making, but I think they remembered all the reasons that I gave them just a few months ago by the Kinus Hashluchim why I couldn’t give a workshop, so this time they turned me down.

Workshop or no workshop though, I wasn't going to miss reporting back on this most amazing Kinus, so I sent in a secret, undercover reporter. Nope, it wasn't my goldfish Genendal, and it wasn't even my regular and dependable, ever friendly Mendel the Mouse - I really did try convincing him to go visit his cousins in Crown Heights, but he wasn't interested. It was my most secret weapon - Mrs Getzel.

Being a Shlucha of course, and the wife of a Shliach who works for the Shluchim Office, CYH department, Mrs Getzel was able to get into all those places that I wanted to but couldn't. Of course it came at a price though. It meant that for almost a whole week I had to live off peanut butter and chocolate spread and jelly sandwiches. Not that Mrs Getzel didn't leave a freezer packed full of food that just needed to be popped into the microwave, but between me and you, nothing beats a chocolate spread and jelly sandwich, especially when you add green olives too.

Before Mrs Getzel left, we made a plan of action. The easiest thing would have been if Mrs Getzel would have written her own report on the Kinus, but ever since Mrs Getzel heard that computers can catch bugs and that one of the main parts of the computer is a mouse, she wont even go into the same room as our computer. Which meant that I would have to do the writing while Mrs Getzel did the reporting. So we had to make a plan about what exactly Mrs Getzel would report on.

The two big events of course were the Banquet and the special Day of Celebration that the Shluchim Office, Online School Department was making for the first time ever. Now unfortunately Mrs Getzel is too nervous to go near my computer, so she can’t teach in the Online School, but through my connections in the Shluchim Office, I had heard all about the Day of Celebration and I wanted to make sure that Mrs Getzel wouldn't miss that.

Well I’m pleased to report that the Kinus lived up to all our expectations. Mrs Getzel told me she was so excited to see so many of the Young Shluchos running around. She even recognised a lot of you from your pictures in the Kids Speak Column in the Connections and from the Kids Connect that you make from time to time. And it was really fun introducing herself in the Shluchim Office as Mrs Getzel! Of course most of the time Mrs Getzel went around with a different badge saying that she was a Shlucha from Iceland (hey, it starts with the same letter as Iowa!), because she didn’t want people to realise who she was, but when she went to the Shluchim Office she just had to introduce herself properly so she could get to meet all the those people that she speaks to every week on the phone when she has to explain why my column is late yet again.

Did you enjoy the Kinus maidalach? Mrs Getzel is still bouncing off the walls she is so full of chayus. That is why I couldn't even get a proper report out of her. For a while I couldn't even understand what she was saying. ‘Day of Blancation,’ ‘Banquet of Celekinus,’ ‘Kinus of Celebration,’ ‘Banquet of Chayus.’ But I soon worked out that she was just super excited about everything she saw, and it was all amazingly fantastic! I guess next year I’ll have to figure out a way to sneak into the Kinus myself, and give you a real report...

Until then, keep up the good work!

Dr Getzel

 

שבת מברכים חודש אדר

• שבת morning I made sure to say תהילים .  (Remember to say your quota for the World Wide Tehillim club)  
  
  
• I went to Shul and made the special ברכה for the new month of אדר . (The ברכה can be found in the סידור after שחרית for שבת )

ראש חודש אדר
Sunday ל‘ שבט -
Monday א‘ אדר -

• I remembered to say יעלה ויבא in שמונה עשרה and in bentching.
• I remembered to say הלל after שמונה עשרה .
• I remembered to daven  מוסף .
• I remembered to say ברכי נפשי after the שיר של יום
• (For Girls) I didn’t sew or do any laundry.
  

 

"שש שנים יעבד ובשבעת יצא לחפשי " - "For six years he shall serve and in the seventh year he shall be set free".

These six years hint to the six kingdoms in which בני ישראל were in גלות : מצרים , אשור , בבל , מדי , יון , and אדום . After גלות אדום , we will be set free by משיח who will redeem us from our גלות .

*  *   *   *   *   *  

When ה‘ heard בני ישראל proclaiming,   "נעשה ונשמע ” (saying “we will do” before “we will hear") He commanded 600,000 מלאכים to bring two crowns for each איד . Each angel placed one crown on the head of a איד for having said נעשה , and a second one for נשמע .

When the בני ישראל made the עגל הזהב , ה‘ commanded His מלאכים to take back the crowns from בני ישראל .

In the time of משיח , ה‘ will return to us those heavenly crowns and we will be happy again!

 

One beautiful summer day, a fancy carriage stopped in front of the שול of the בעל שם טוב . The driver opened the door and a wealthy-looking frum איד stepped out of the carriage, entered the simple building and asked if he could have a private יחידות with the צדיק .

A meeting was arranged and when they were sitting face to face the rich man looked at the בעל שם טוב and wasn’t very impressed. The only reason he came was to see who is this Holy Man that everyone was talking about, and, frankly, he looked like every other איד . It was obvious that he had come all the way to Mezibuz for nothing.

“Well,” said the בעל שם טוב . “ Would like to hear a story? I have a very good story to tell you.”

“Alright,” said the visitor looking at his pocket watch, “but I do have a long ride ahead of me.”

“Good!” the בעל שם טוב said “I’ll make it short.”

“Once, in the city of Warsaw, in Poland, there were two close friends, who were both frum אידן . They had grown up together, bought houses next to each other, went into business together and, when their business succeeded, become extremely rich together. Their friendship was so strong that they were like brothers.”

He paused, looked up and asked his guest, “Are you listening?” When he nodded ‘yes’, the בעל שם טוב continued.

“After several years they decided to open a branch in Paris with the idea that one of them would move there to take care of the new branch.

“Everything went smoothly. They traveled to Paris together, made the necessary connections, opened the business, bought merchandise and only after being sure that everything was running smoothly they parted.

“At first they wrote to each other twice a week, but as time went by they corresponded less and less frequently until ten years later they were writing only to wish each other גוט יום טוב .

“Then one year, the partner in Poland ran into some bad luck, suffered some major losses, and suddenly found himself without a penny, in fact he was deeply in debt. With no other choice he used his last money to buy a train ticket to France with the hope that his friend would help with a loan.

“However when he arrived at his friend’s home and suggested the idea, his friend replied in amazement. ‘What! A loan? I should give you a loan!? Why that is ridiculous!!! I’m not giving you any loan! We are brothers!! Half of what I own is yours! Take a million francs!!! Here!!’

“They embraced and wept on one another’s shoulders, renewed their friendship and a week later the poor partner returned to Warsaw, a new man with renewed hope, reinvested the money that he got and within a year he had regained his wealth.

“But, just as before, in a few years time they had both returned to their busy schedules and remembered to write only occasionally.

“The years passed and about ten years later the wheel of fortune again took a bad turn, but this time for the partner in Paris. He too lost all his money and with no alternative he decided to visit his partner in Warsaw. He wasn’t a young man anymore, and he was a bit broken from the strain of his financial problems, but he had no other choice and he was sure that could always depend on his friend in a time of need. But he was in for a nasty surprise.

(To be continued next week)

 

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