Parshas Chayei Sarah
Cheshvan 23 5765
Volume 2
Issue 5
The Connections people
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Mendel & Sara Shemtov Rabbi & Mrs.
Kasriel & Chana E. Shemtov
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Yochanan & Peri Brook
Mr. Mrs.
Zalman & Raizy Cousin
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Rivky Lokshin
Dabrushy Pink
Aydla Vechter
Connections
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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
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THE SHLUCHIM OFFICE
PARSHAS CHAYEI SARAH
Chayim was looking out the window of the waiting room at the clinic. He could see the stores on the other side of the street and the people and the cars passing by.
After awhile he turned to his mother, who had accompanied him the doctor. "Mommy," he said, "you know Mr. Rosenthal, the man who owns the toy store across the street?"
Chayim's mother nodded.
" Well, if he would open his store for more hours each day, he would probably have much more business. I've seen plenty of people walk up to the door, and then turn away when they see that it's closed."
" You may be right," Chayim's mother replied. "Mr. Rosenthal might have more business if his store were open for longer hours. But perhaps that's not what he really wants."
" What do you mean, Mommy?" Chayim asked. "People who own a store want to do business and make lots of money."
" Not everyone feels that way. The Torah teaches us that our goal is to make a living, not to make lots of money. It says: 'And HaShem will bless you in everything you do.' This means that everyone must do their best to have a job, an occupation. Then HaShem will send down His blessings through that job, and the person will have what he needs in order to raise his family.
" Although the Torah teaches us that we should work to make a living, that doesn't mean that we should spend all our time making money.
" I know Mr. Rosenthal. He takes very good care of his family. And he spends many hours studying and doing chessed in the community. He keeps his store open just long enough to make the money he needs. Then he turns his attention to what he's really interested in doing: studying Torah and performing deeds of kindness for others."
The lesson Chayim's mother taught him is connected to this week's parshah . The Torah tells us, "Avraham gave Yitzchak all he had." We know that Avraham had other children. Certainly, he provided for them and gave them many things, too. Yet Yitzchak was the one to whom he gave "all he had," the things that meant the most to him.
In this passuk, the word 'Yitzchak' is talking about something deeper than just the name of Avraham's son. 'Yitzchak' is a symbol of kedushah - holiness. After the Akeidah , he was as holy as a sacrifice. It was to 'Yitzchak' - to holiness - that Avraham gave "all he had" - all his energies and efforts.
We put our energy into many different things. We put effort into making a living, but it should take up only a part of our time. Like Mr. Rosenthal, we should devote most of our time and strength to kedushah - to holiness. That's where we should give "all we have."
( Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V, p. 344)
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HA HA! MY MIDDLE 2
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Please send your answers to connections@shluchim.org Last weeks’ brain buster: Peace and an animal that lives in the desert. Answer: שלום דובער
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Congratulations to Mendel and Mushka Goldman from Gainsville, Florida for solving the Brain Buster! |
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Hi, Boys and Grls!
It's me Dr. Getzel reporting live from OSKA airlines! If you are wondering was OSKA stands for… I'll tell you… Only Shluchim's Kids Airlines. You see, it's not just a regular airline. All the food is Kosher - yes! They serve bissli and pretzels all with a reliable hechsher. They also serve milk that is Chalav Yisroel! I don't have to worry about waking up for Shacharis because at 8 am the pilot announces a minyan! How cool is that?
And now, the biggest question of the day... Where are we going? Only grown-ups ask silly questions like that! 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 mustache. 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. OK, 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! The plane is about to take off!
"Ha! Ha! Giggle, laugh. He he he!" I can’t wait to go on another plane trip. I almost forgot to pack my special chassidish vision glasses. That would be really bad since seeing things is my profession. I’m Dr. Geztel, official seeing expert and inventor. The take off went by smoothly, but as the plane was in position.. all off a sudden there was a loud noise! The electricity blew out! Oy vey! Oh no! "I won't be able to read the tefilas haderech" was the first thought that came to my head! But then, a magical thing happened. A volt of electricity went on! No, it wasn't that the light bulbs on the plane that went on. It was some sort of light that was glowing. It was shining and radiating to the entire plane. Yankele, Mirel and I all of a sudden became light bulbs! We lit up the entire plane without having to turn on any electricity. It was the most awesome sight you ever saw!
Boys and girls, the Rebbe Rashab taught us that a Chossid is a lamplighter. Each one of us can light up the world. Our job as lamplighters is to spread the light of Yiddishkeit to the entire world and bring Moshiach Now!
I am so excited to see all of you in Crown Heights for the Kinus Hashluchim! Let’s see who will be able to spot me!
Dr. Getzel
P.S. Make sure my desk doesn’t get too neat. I love when it’s piled high with mail. Send me your stories, reports, pictures or just about ANYTHING! Can't wait to hear from you!
Levi Kazilsky, age 9,
Johannesburg, South AfricaHi, my brothers sisters and I are on shlichus in South Africa. There are 2 languages spoken, English and Afrikaans. During Tishrei the weather can get very hot and humid. Our Chabad House is quiet big. There is a shul, library, rooms for people to stay in and an office. My parents try to make rallies for different yomim tovim. They also try and make shiurim for a lot of people. My schools name is Torah Academy. I am in 3 rd grade. We learn a lot of things like Chumash, tanach (nevim) and a lot of other subjects. My hobby is playing football. I am proud to be a shliach of the rebbe here in South Africa because I get to meet all different kinds of people and bring them back to Yiddishkeit. Its lots of fun seeing people and meeting people knowing that they are our brothers and sisters. We are all part of one big family and we are all united in some kind of a way.
The First שליחות
The concept of שליחות is learned from this week's פרשה , when אברהם אבינו sent אליעזר as a שליח to arrange the marriage between יצחק and רבקה .
The תורה describes אליעזר as "The elder of ( אברהם ’s ) house, who controls everything he owns." Our חכמים explain that this refers to אברהם ’s רוחניות possessions- his תורה , and also to his גשמיות possessions.אליעזר served as אברהם ’s שליח , he was dedicated to אברהם entirely and did not have a separate identity from אברהם . Accordingly, אברהם was able to entrust him with everything that he owned.
Even though אברהם did not actually go to חרן , he made אליעזר his שליח , and thus, it was considered as if he had actually carried out the activity himself. From here we learn “ שלוחו של אדם כמותו“ - A messenger of a person is like him (the sender).When the Rebbe sent out שלוחים , he entrusted them with the mission of spreading תורה around the globe. A שליח has a great זכות and אחריות , since he is one with his sender, the Rebbe. Every action that he does represents the Rebbe.
שבת מברכים כסלו is when the שלוחים from around the world come back home to 770 for a special כינוס to share ideas and to
receive new חיות in their heilikeh עבודה . The Rebbe would give a special talk to the שלוחים in honor of this occasion.
- שבת morning I made sure to say תהילים . (Remember to say your quota for the World-Wide Tehillim club)
- I went to S hul and made the special ברכה for the new month of כסלו . (The ברכה can be found in the סידור after שחרית for שבת )
Question:
Why is the name of this week’s פרשה called “ חיי שרה ” – “the life of שרה ” if the beginning of the פרשה talks about her passing away? Why should the פרשה ’s name be associated with "her life"?
Answer:
With this name, the תורה is teaching us that even after a person passes away, he still has an affect in עולם הזה , in this physical world.
To explain: פרשת חיי שרה focuses on three events:
אברהם אבינו buys מערת המכפלה in חברון to bury his wife שרה אמנו , he acquires a portion of ארץ ישרא-ל for the first time.
אברהם אבינו sending אליעזר to find a wife for his son יצחק .
אברהם אבינו ’s granting his son יצחק his inheritance.
All of these events reflect שרה אמנו ’s lifework. ה‘ promised אברהם אבינו that ארץ ישרא-ל belongs to בנ“י . When אברהם אבינו bought מערת המכפלה to bury שרה אמנו , it was the first time that the Jewish nation owned a part of ארץ ישראל and from that point on, the ownership was recognized by all the nations of the world.
שרה אמנו wanted that her son יצחק should get married and continue her family. This is reflected in the choice of רבקה as a wife for יצחק . The חכמים explains that it was when יצחק saw that רבקה possessed the spiritual qualities of his mother שרה אמנו , that he decided that she was the one for him.
And when אברהם אבינו distributed his inheritance, his ירושה , he gave "everything he had to יצחק ," giving his other children mere "presents." This reflects the influence of שרה אמנו who told אברהם that "the son of the הגר will not inherit with my son, with יצחק ."
This is the reason why the פרשה is called “ חיי שרה ” – “the life of שרה ”. The events that it describes in the פרשה is a reflection of her ongoing influence, how the manner in which she affected her family and her friends was spread even after she passed away.
A long ago in בלל there were two wise men— שמואל , a famous תלמוד חכם who knew the entire תורה , and אבלט , a wise גוי who could tell what was going to happen in the future by looking at the stars. He knew what would happen the next day, the next week, or even the next year.
One day, שמואל and אבלט sat by a roadside near a lake. As they were talking, a group of workers walked towards the lake. They came to cut the reeds that grew in the shallow waters and along the shore. They sold them to the townspeople for carving musical instruments, weaving mats and making baskets.
As the workers were passing, אבלט pointed to one of them and said to שמואל , "Do you see that man? He is going to the lake but I know that he will not return alive. I saw in the stars that he will be in a serious accident."
"If he is Jewish," answered שמואל , "He will return in peace. He will daven to ה‘ , or do some other מצות , and ה‘ will protect him from trouble."
Meanwhile, the workers reached the lake and began to cut and tie the reeds. They worked for several hours. When they were hungry and tired, they stopped to eat their lunch in the shade of a tree. Now these workers had a wonderful מנהג . They put all their food into one basket and divided it evenly among themselves so that everyone had an equal portion, and no one would go hungry or be jealous of each other.
That day, the worker whom אבלט had pointed to noticed that one of his friends was sad and depressed. He saw that the man's lunch bag was empty. Obviously, he had no money to buy bread and he would be embarrassed to ask the others for some of their food. The worker wanted to help his friend.
So he took the bread basket and said, "Today is my turn to collect the bread and divide it." His friends agreed, and he went around to each of them, collecting their food as he passed. When he came to the poor man with no bread, the worker put his own food in the basket, pretending to take it from the poor fellow. Then he divided the portions equally among the workers, but he took a very small portion for himself so that there was enough for everyone. This way, no one realized that the poor man had nothing to give.
When they finished their meal, the men continued their work. In the evening, they bundled up the reeds and carried them to town on their backs.
Meanwhile, שמואל and אבנט came back to the roadside to watch the workmen on their way home. They wanted to see if the worker אבלט had pointed to was missing. They saw that all the men who had left town in the morning were coming back. They all seemed well and happy; אבלט 's prophecy had not come true.
אבלט was surprised. Had he made a mistake? He went to the workman and said, "Please let me see the reeds you cut today."
The worker was surprised, but set down his bundle and opened it. אבלט checked the reeds and found a poisonous snake which the workman had apparently killed by mistake and put in the bag without realizing!
אבלט turned proudly to שמואל and said, "You see, my prophecy was correct. If the snake had bitten the workman, he would not have returned alive, just as I predicted. But I do not understand how his life was saved."
שמואל turned to the worker and asked, "Did you do something special today? Try to remember."
The worker told שמואל how he had divided the bread without embarrassing his poor friend.
"You have fulfilled the מצוה from the תורה of ' ואהבת לרעך כמוך ' " said שמואל . "Because of this מצוה you were saved from death."
See the printable version of Connections for incredible fun pages!
Last Week’s Winners:
Level 1:
Chanie Harlig, age 8 from Las Vegas, Nevada
Level 2:
Mendel Chein, age 9 from Chesire, England
We'd love to hear your feedback! Send us your comments, ideas and suggestions to: connections@shluchim.org
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