Parshas Devarim
Zayin Av 5765
Volume 1
Issue 45
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PARSHAS DEVARIM
"Here" said the father as he handed his son a package. "I made it just for you." The son opened the parcel to find a beautifully tailored coat. Its size, color and design were perfect. The son was very happy with the present and he wore it proudly. It always reminded him of how much his father cared for him.
Then, one day, the son ruined the coat; it could not be fixed. With eyes full of tears, and a sorrowful heart, he turned to his father.
The loving father forgave him. Soon, he presented his son with a new coat which was just as beautiful as the first. The son was very grateful and careful. He did not want to ruin this coat like the first.
But time passed, and the second coat became dirty as well. The son was very troubled when he saw that it could no longer be worn. "How many times will my father forgive me?" he wondered.
"I do have a third coat for you" the father told him after he saw what happened. "But this time, I will wait. I will not give it to you until you are ready for it. In the meantime, although you may not wear the coat, I will show it to you every so often so that you can see what I have waiting for you."
This story is a moshel. What does the coat stand for? Who is the father? Who is the son?
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev told this moshel about Shabbos Chazon, the Shabbos before Tishah BeAv. Chazon means vision. He said that every Jew is shown a vision on that Shabbos. Hashem, our Father, allows His son, the Jewish people, to catch a glimpse of the third coat, the Third Beis HaMikdash.
Like the father, Hashem is waiting to see that we are ready to receive this gift. We are preparing ourselves and the world around us, and we do not want to wait any longer for Moshiach to come and to rebuild the Third Beis Hamikdash. We must try very hard to show Hashem that we are ready.
‘Please Tell Me What The Rebbe Said’
(Adapted from L ikkutei Sichos, Vol IV)
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A Long Speech of Many Words ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Please send your answers to connections@shluchim.org Last weeks’ brain buster: Jewish heroes, A stop in history. Answer: חשמנה
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Congratulations to Menucha Rochel, 8 & Levi, 7 Cohen from Charlotte, NC for solving the Brain Buster. |
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Hey there Young Shluchim!
How is your summer going? Mine has been quite busy! After Gimmel Tammuz it was time to get ready for Yud Beis and Yud Gimmel Tammuz and then before I had time to even hiccup it was Shiva Asar BeTammuz and the Three Weeks. And of course the Three Weeks are an especially busy time. First of all, like the Rebbe told us, I have an extra shiur in the halochos of the Beis Hamikdash. Then there is all the extra time that I spend dreaming and thinking about the Beis Hamikdash. And then there is all the time I spend on my nameless massive, mammoth, pool-size telescope. And in between all that, I still have to find time to do extra acts of extra goodness and kindness because I really want to make sure that these Three Weeks are the last Three Weeks that I ever have to keep. Because we know that when Moshiach comes the Three Weeks will become a time to celebrate.
Now, we all know that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of sinas chinam, so I decided that there is no better way to make Moshiach come than by pure, simple, undiluted, concentrated ahavas chinam. So in between working on all the other things that I’ve been busy doing I have been going out and doing nice things to people. I especially try to find people who I wouldn't normally help and make a special effort to do nice things for them. Anyway, I thought maybe I would tell you about something I did last week so that maybe it will help you come up with some ideas of extra kind things to do too - although obviously you should always check out any ideas you have with your parents just in case.
So there I was walking down the road looking for nice things to do for people when I heard BANG! and then SCREEEEEEEEEECH! and SMASH!! A boy had been riding his bicycle on the sidewalk and his front tire had suddenly hit something and popped. The poor boy had tried to brake but he’d lost control of his bike and hit the wall. Now this boy wasn't exactly small. In fact he was taller than me and probably a lot older than my ainekel Shlomie and maybe even older than my son Mendy. Such a big boy shouldn’t have been riding a bike on the sidewalk. Obviously little kinderlach should not ride on the road, but this yingel was way too big to be riding on the sidewalk. And ever since I almost got run over by a runaway teenager on a skateboard about ten years ago I have always been a little jumpy when walking down the street. So my first thought was to go and tell this boy just where he should be riding his bike and just how dangerous it was to be riding on the sidewalk. But of course I never did that. At least not straight away. First I ran over to where the poor boy was lying on the floor groaning. Using all the skills that I had learnt in the special Professors and Inventors Course for CPR I quickly checked that the poor boy was not too seriously hurt - in fact he had nothing worse than a few bumps and bruises - and I helped him to his feet and then together we carried his bike all the way home. While we were walking I learned that the boy’s name was Berel and that he rode his bike every day and he kept on getting flat tires. I kindly suggested to him that if he rode on the road instead of the sidewalk he might not get so many flat tires. I also promised to mail him my special puncture repair kit which had some extra special things in it such as a chitas (to help you make sure that you don't need the repair kit), sheva mitzvah bnei noach cards in case you hit a non-Jew when you fall off your bike, and mivtzoyim flyers in case you hit a not-yet-frum Jew and some ice packs in case you got bruises or bumps.
Of course Berel wanted to do an act of kindness for me, so he invited me inside his house to have a drink. One thing led to another and we were talking for quite a while. I told him all about my different inventions and telescopes until it was getting quite late and it was time for me to rush off home to make sure that I didn't miss the lovely supper that Mrs Getzel had made for me.
Anyway, lots of luck doing your own extra acts of goodness and kindness!
Dr. Getzel
Menucha Baila Matusof, 9
Madison, WIHello. My name is Menucha Baila Matusof, and I am 9 years old. I live in Madison, WI. Last year I started going to Chicago for school. It is about 3 hours away. I come home for Shabbos. It is hard to be away from home, but I know that it makes the Rebbe proud.
We meet so many people on our shlichus. Once we had a baby-sitter, and my parents did not even know she was Jewish. My older brothers were little then, and they taught her the aleph-bais. She became more and more interested in Yiddishkiet because of what they taught her. Today she is Boruch Hashem frum, and is married with 4 kids of her own. So we see that even though we are young, we can really help our parents out a lot on shlichus.
תשעה באב
On תשעה באב we:
Don’t wear leather shoes.
Sit on low chairs.
Go to Shul to hear איכה being read.
Wash our hands only until the knuckles.
Don’t say the ברכה of שעשה לי כל צרכי .
Add נחם in the ברכה of בונה ירושלים in שמונה עשרה of מנחה .
Boys - Make the ברכה on our ציצית only at מנחה .
When שבת חזון falls on the day before תשעה באב , the whole הבדלה is not said at the end of שבת , that is, we do not say the ברכה on wine or on spices. Rather, only the ברכה of בורא מאורי האש is made. At the end of תשעה באב , the ברכות on wine and המבדיל בין קודש לחול are said. Women who do not daven מעריב should say ברוך המבדיל בין קודש לחול on מוצאי שבת before doing any work.
פרק שלישי
אם אין קמח אין תורה, אם אין תורה אין קמח
QUESTION: What is the connection between flour and Torah?
ANSWER: According to מדרש רבה , when משה came up to שמים to receive the תורה , the מלאכים became very upset and wanted to kill him. ה‘ changed משה 's face so that he looked like אברהם and said to the מלאכים , "How dare you hurt this man! You ate in his house."
The מלאכים came to אברהם on פסח , and he took קמח סלת - fine flour - to make מצות in order to fulfil the מצוה of הכנסת אורחים .
So the משנה teaches, - " אם אין קמח " - were it not for the flour אברהם used to make מצות for the מלאכים - " אין תורה " - Moshe would not have been able to take the תורה away from the מלאכים . " אם אין תורה " - If not for the fact that אברהם observed all the מצוות of the תורה , and therefore baked מצה in order to perform the מצוה of הכנסת אורחים - " אין קמח " - he would not have had flour to bake מצות for the מלאכים .
(Adapted from ‘Vedibarta Bam’)
פרשת דברים is always read on the שבת before תשעה באב . This שבת is also called שבת חזון , because the הפטרה that we read begins with the words " חזון ישיעהו ." חזון means to have a vision. ר‘ לוי יצחק of Berdichev explained that on this שבת we can all see a vision of the בית המקדש in our mind's eye. Having this vision of the בית המקדש will encourage us to behave like the אידן in the desert. We will work to make the world ready for משיח when we will all go to ארץ ישראל .
In Petersburg, the highest officials in the land were drawing up evil decrees against the Jews of Russia. There was no time to waste, and so, ר‘ מנחם מענדל of Lubavitch (the צמח צדק ), sent his son ר‘ שמואל to Petersburg with orders to make sure the decree would not pass. ר‘ שמואל was the Rebbe's youngest son, yet it was ר‘ שמואל who was chosen for this important mission. But he did not travel alone. His older brother, ר‘ יהודה לייב , who was twenty years older than him came with him to the capital.
Before they set off on their journey ר‘ שמואל asked his brother one thing "I must insist upon one condition if we are to travel together. I must ask that you stop yourself from giving any ברכות along the journey. Our father is the Rebbe, and only he should be the one to give ברכות ."
ר‘ יהודה לייב was accustomed to giving ברכות to people; people always gathered around him wherever he went, asking for his help in serious matters of health, פרנסה or any of the other many problems that they had in those hard times. He was uncomfortable agreeing to his brother's wishes, but he had no choice. Keeping his word, however, wasn't so simple. People were used to receiving ר‘ יהודה לייב 's ברכות , and whenever people heard of his arrival, they gathered to meet him. Each person came with a different, very important need for רחמנות , and each sad story pierced ר‘ יהודה לייב 's kind, compassionate heart like an arrow.
In one village he met an especially persistent woman. Standing herself in front of ר‘ יהודה לייב , she begged him to give her a ברכה , crying, screaming and weeping. The heartbroken woman had no children, and she was determined not to move until ר‘ יהודה לייב blessed her with a child. ר‘ יהודה לייב was moved by her tears, but he had promised his brother, and so he refused to give a ברכה . He replied only, "Go to my father. He will surely give you a ברכה ." The woman refused to be put off, and her crying could be heard throughout the entire village. Finally, in utter desperation, he cried, "Go to my brother, perhaps he will give you a ברכה !"
Sure enough, she soon appeared before ר‘ שמואל . The same thing happened, but ר‘ שמואל insisted, "Go to my father, he will surely give you a ברכה ."
The woman continued her pitiful cries until, unable to listen any more, ר‘ שמואל turned to his brother and said, "Call the coachman so that we may leave this place!"
The driver jumped to his seat and urged the horses forward, but the wheels didn't budge. The woman had placed a stick in the wheel and the coach couldn’t move. Now ר‘ שמואל was fed up. He got down from the coach and told the woman, "Go eat a bagel!" - the equivalent of "Go fly a kite!". In a flash the annoying woman was gone and the two brothers continued in peace on their way to do their mission in Petersburg.
A year passed and the incident with the woman was long forgotten. In the mean time the צמח צדק had passed away, and ר‘ שמואל , the youngest of his seven sons, became Rebbe. One day a man arrived in Lubavitch and appeared before the new Rebbe holding two beautiful cakes.
"Last year you gave my wife a ברכה that she would have a child and she has just given birth. She has asked me to bring these cakes to the Rebbe to thank him for his ברכה ."
"Would you remind me of my meeting with your wife? I cannot remember that such an incident occurred last year."
"Well, my wife was in such and such a village and she begged you to give her a ברכה for a child. You told her, 'Go eat a bagel!' And Rebbe, my wife ran to do exactly what you told her."
"I am very happy to hear your good news. Tell me, though, why are you bringing me two cakes? Surely one would be thanks enough."
"Forgive me. I didn't tell you the whole story. You see, you told my wife to eat a bagel, but she was very anxious for your holy ברכה to be מקוים . And so, instead of one, she ate two bagels, just to be sure. And it worked, for she has just given birth to twins! And that is why she sent you two cakes," the happy father said.
Reb Shmuel was deeply moved by the man's words. "Know that there was a decree from שמים that you and your wife would never have children. Therefore, I was unable to promise her a child. It was just out of frustration that I told her to 'eat a bagel.' But because of her pure and simple faith in the ברכה of a צדיק the decree was annulled and you and your wife have been blessed with children."
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Mushka, 13; Chanie, 10; Rochel, 8; Mendel, 6; Zissie, 4 Ciment from Little Rock, Arkansas
Chavie Kahanov, 8.5; Jacksonville, Florida
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