B"H LIVING WITH MOSHIACH Weekly Digest About Moshiach PARSHAT EIKEV, 5760 Menachem-Av 17, 5760 August 18, 2000 *************************************************** * Visit TruePeace.org * * "http://www.truepeace.org" * * Dedicated to educating the public regarding the * * current situation in Israel, based on Torah * * sources, with special emphasis on the opinion * * and teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe * *************************************************** Published Weekly By Lubavitch Shluchim Conferences On The Moshiach Campaign, Committee For The Blind * * * 5760 ********************************************* * VISIT US ON THE WEB, AT: * * http://www.moshiach.net/blind * *===========================================* * TO RECEIVE THIS PUBLICATION VIA INTERNET: * * E-Mail: yys@dorsai.org * *===========================================* * FOR CHABAD-LUBAVITCH IN CYBERSPACE: * * E-Mail: info@chabad.org * *===========================================* * OPERATION REFUAH * * http://www.operationrefuah.org * ********************************************* THIS PUBLICATION IS DEDICATED TO THE REBBE, RABBI MENACHEM M. SCHNEERSON OF LUBAVITCH "I BELIEVE WITH COMPLETE FAITH IN THE ARRIVAL OF THE MOSHIACH. "AND THOUGH HE MAY TARRY, I SHALL WAIT EACH DAY, ANTICIPATING HIS ARRIVAL." Maimonides, Principles of the Faith, No. 12 ********************* * TABLE OF CONTENTS * ********************* * Introduction * The Weekly Torah Portion * The Rebbe's Prophecy * Moshiach Matters * Tu B'Av * Increase In Torah Study * Winning Numbers * The Weekly Shabbat Calendar * Laws of Shabbat Candle Lighting for the Blind * Shabbat Candle Lighting Blessing **************** * INTRODUCTION * **************** We are pleased to present, to the visually impaired and the blind, our weekly publication, Living With Moshiach. * This week's issue focuses on Tu B'Av, the 15th day of Av. * It is with tremendous pain and sorrow that I dedicate this issue of Living With Moshiach to the loving memory of Horav Chaim Yehuda Kalman Ben Horav Avrohom Yehoshua Marlow, head of the Bet-Din (Rabbinical Court) of Crown Heights, who passed away, on Friday Morning, 20 Sivan, 5760 (June 23, 2000). * This Jewish year, is the year 5760 since Creation. The Hebrew letters are Hei-Tav-Shin-Samech. Over a decade ago, in the year 5742, the Rebbe stated that the Hebrew letters for that year were an acronym for "This should be the year of the coming of Moshiach." Since that time, the Rebbe has publicized a phrase describing the year according to the acrostic of its Hebrew letters. This year has been designated by the Rebbe's followers as "Hoyo T'hei Shnas Segulah," meaning "It will surely be an auspicious year." * Our sincere appreciation to L'Chaim weekly publication, published by the Lubavitch Youth Organization, for allowing us to use their material. Also, many thanks to our copy editor, Reb Mordechai Staiman, for his tireless efforts. * It is our fervent hope that our learning about Moshiach and the Redemption will hasten the coming of Moshiach, NOW! Rabbi Yosef Y. Shagalov Administrator Committee for the Blind E-Mail: yys@dorsai.org 13 Menachem-Av, 5760 Brooklyn, New York *************************************** * THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION * * Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe * *************************************** PARSHAT EIKEV About the mitzvah of mezuzah, which is found in this week's Torah portion, Eikev, the Talmud relates that Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi once sent a mezuzah as a gift to Artaban, king of Persia, explaining that the small scroll would protect him from harm. At first glance, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi's gesture seems odd. The commandment to affix a mezuzah upon one's doorposts was given only to the Jewish nation. A non-Jewish king, therefore, would not be fulfilling a religious precept by possessing a mezuzah. As such, he would also be ineligible for any reward resulting from the performance of a mitzvah. Why then did Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi promise the gentile king that the mezuzah would guard and protect him? A similar question may also be asked about the common practice, dating back to the time of the Mishnah, of inserting a mezuzah scroll into one's walking stick, also done for the sake of the protection it afforded. A walking stick is certainly not included in the commandment of mezuzah. If there is no commandment, there is certainly no reward. How, then, did the mezuzah afford protection? A distinction must be made between the reward a person receives for performing a mitzvah and the intrinsic attribute of the mitzvah itself. When a person obeys G-d's command by fulfilling a mitzvah, the reward he earns is a separate and distinct entity, additional to the essential nature of the mitzvah. For example, the Torah states that the reward for the mitzvah of mezuzah is long life: "That your days be increased and the days of your children." Yet besides the reward promised by the Torah, each mitzvah has its own special attributes and characteristics that have nothing to do with reward, but are integral parts of the mitzvah itself. The mezuzah's attribute is protection. Our Sages explained that when a kosher mezuzah is affixed to the door post, G-d Himself watches over the occupants of the house, even when they are not at home. A mezuzah is written solely for the purpose of protection, and, by its nature, it protects. With this in mind, it becomes clear that even when no fulfillment of a religious precept is involved, a mezuzah still possesses this attribute of protection, at least to some degree. It was for this reason that Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi sent the mezuzah as a gift to the Persian king and that Jews took mezuzot with them wherever they went inside their walking sticks. In a similar vein, speaking about and studying the laws of mezuzah afford similar protection. The Talmud relates that in the house of one Jewish king a special sign was made on those door posts that were exempt from having a mezuzah. From this we learn the crucial importance of having kosher mezuzot. The Jewish people, likened to "one sheep among seventy wolves," are always in need of special defense. Every additional mezuzah affixed to a Jewish home extends G-d's Divine protection to the entire Jewish nation, for all Jews are ultimately responsible for one another. * For more information about the mitzvah of mezuzah, contact your local rabbi, or Chabad-Lubavitch Center. For a listing of the Centers in your area: http://www.chabad.org/chabadir-access.html. In the USA, call: 1-800-Lubavitch (1-800-582-2848). ************************ * THE REBBE'S PROPHECY * ************************ The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of Lubavitch, issued a call that "THE TIME OF OUR REDEMPTION HAS ARRIVED!" and "MOSHIACH IS ON HIS WAY!" The Rebbe stressed that he is saying this AS A PROPHECY, and asks us all to prepare ourselves for the Redemption, through increasing acts of goodness and kindness. LET US ALL HEED THE REBBE'S CALL. _______________ See "Living With Moshiach" Vol 181: http://www.moshiach.net/blind/lwm-5759/181.htm ********************************************* * IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DEAR GRANDPARENTS, * * * * Reb Shmuel Pesach Ben Reb Yaakov Dovid * * Passed away on 3 Tishrei, 5755 * * * * Mrs. Fraidel Chedvah Bas Reb Zev Wolf * * Passed away on 4 Adar II, 5755 * * Pais * ********************************************* ******************** * MOSHIACH MATTERS * ******************** "The teachings of Chasidus," someone might argue, "are indeed likened to gems and pearls, but I'm not one to chase after pearls; I'm satisfied if my clothes aren't torn." There is an answer to this argument: "We are on the threshold of the Redemption, so we have to get ready for the coming of Moshiach, when we will be privileged to enter the marriage canopy together with the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. So we will need pearls, too." (The Rebbe) *************************************** * TU B'AV * * Adapted from the Works of the Rebbe * *************************************** Wednesday, August 16, is Tu B'Av, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av. "There were no greater festivals in Israel than the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur," the Mishnah tells us. What is so special about the 15th of Av that it is singled out together with Yom Kippur from all the other festivals? A number of special events throughout Jewish history took place on the 15th of Av. They were: 1) The tribe of Benjamin was permitted once again to marry the remainder of the Jewish people; 2) The Generation of the Desert ceased to die; they had previously been condemned to perish in the desert because of the sin of the spies; 3) Hoshea Ben Elah removed the blockades that the rebel Jeroboam had set up to prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem for the festivals; 4) The cutting of the wood for the Holy Altar was completed; 5) Permission was granted by the Romans to bury the slain of Betar. These five events in themselves do not seem adequate enough reason to make the 15th of Av a festival greater than any other. There is another, all-encompassing reason. There is another occasion of note in the month of Av, the ninth. Tisha B'Av is the day when the two Holy Temples were destroyed, signaling the start of the long and terrible exile we are still enduring--tragedies which were the result of the Jews' transgressions. Tisha B'Av is the nadir of Jewish physical and spiritual life. But these tragedies are not without purpose. "Descent is for the purpose of ascent," and the deeper the descent, correspondingly greater will be the ascent that follows. It is specifically after the awesome decline of Tisha B'Av that we can reach the loftiest heights, heights that would otherwise be inaccessible. The five festive events on the 15th of Av, then, are the counterpart to the five tragic events of Tisha B'Av. The 15th of Av transforms the evil of Tisha B'Av to the greatest good--"there were no greater festivals in Israel than the 15th of Av." The ultimate goal of the tragedies of the month of Av is that they should be transformed into a greater good--the supreme festival of the 15th of Av. Emphasizing Love The Second Holy Temple was destroyed because of causeless hatred between Jews. The events of the 15th of Av, which are the counterpart to Tisha B'Av, all express the concept of ahavat Yisrael--love of a Jew. "The tribe of Benjamin were permitted once again to marry the remainder of the Jewish people" is obviously an expression of ahavat Yisrael. Indeed, the very announcement that all Jewry was now united and allowed to come together is reason enough for a festival. "Permission was granted by the Romans to bury the slain of Betar" and "The Generation of the Desert ceased to die" likewise emphasize the love of Jews--G-d's love, which was expressed in these acts of kindness to His people. "Hoshea Ben Elah removed the blockades that the rebel Jeroboam had set up to prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem for the festivals" allowed the Ten Tribes of the kingdom of Israel to unite with the other Two Tribes when they went to Jerusalem; again, the idea of unity and ahavat Yisrael. The wood they finished cutting on the 15th was necessary for the offering of the sacrifices on the altar. And the altar, say our Sages, "removes and feeds, makes beloved, atones"; "removes" means "removes evil decrees from Israel," and "makes beloved" means "makes beloved to their Father"--again, the idea of fostering love. Charm And Beauty In addition to the above reasons enumerated by the Talmud for the importance of the 15th of Av--all of which we have seen are associated with ahavat Yisrael--the Mishnah itself gives a reason: "For on these days, the daughters of Jerusalem . . . came out and danced in the vineyards, saying, 'Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you are choosing for yourself. Do not set your eyes on beauty, but set your eyes on good family. Charm is deceptive and beauty is naught; a G-d-fearing woman is the one to be praised....'" The Talmud elaborates on this theme, and explains that "the daughters of Jerusalem went out [dressed] in borrowed white garments, so as not to embarrass those who had none." This is clearly the idea of ahavat Yisrael. The common theme behind all the reasons for the 15th of Av, then, is ahavat Yisrael, the practice of which eradicates the cause of the exile, and therefore automatically the exile itself. *************************** * INCREASE IN TORAH STUDY * *************************** On Wednesday, August 16, we celebrate the festive day of the Tu B'Av. On the 15th of Av the days begin to get shorter. In times gone by, the onset of evening meant that the workday was over. Our Sages, therefore, encourage us to use the longer evenings for increased study of Jewish subjects. The exile is often referred to as "night" and the Redemption, as "dawn." Though we are certainly in the last few moments of the long night of exile, it sometimes seems like the "night" is getting longer rather than shorter. Thus, the above teaching of our Sages is certainly appropriate. Maimonides explains that in the era of the Redemption, the sole occupation of the whole world will be to know G-d. The Rebbe suggested, therefore, that as a preparation for that time, we increase in our studies wherever possible. In addition, just eight years ago, the Rebbe expressed the following thoughts on studying matters specifically concerning Moshiach and the Redemption: "Since Moshiach is about to come, a final effort is required that will bring him. Every man, woman and child should increase his/her Torah study in subjects that concern the Redemption.... One should likewise upgrade one's meticulous observance of mitzvot, particularly charity, 'which brings the Redemption near.' "It would be proper for one to connect his additional charity with his additional study of subjects connected with the Redemption, by giving charity with the intent that it hasten the Redemption. This intention in itself becomes part of learning subjects connected with the Redemption--for this is a real and tangible study of the teaching of our Sages: 'Great is charity for it brings the Redemption near.' "The above-described study is not only a spiritual means of securing the speedy advent of Moshiach; it is a way of beginning to live one's life in the mood of Moshiach and the Redemption by having one's mind permeated with an understanding of the concepts of Moshiach and Redemption. From the mind, these concepts will then find their way into the emotions. Ultimately, they will find expression in one's actual conduct--in thought, word and deed--in a way befitting this unique era when we stand on the threshold of the Redemption." ******************* * WINNING NUMBERS * ******************* Nothing happens by chance. Whether you choose your own number for your lottery ticket or let the computer do it for you, the fact that you won (or most likely didn't win!) didn't happen by chance. It's all part of G-d's Divine plan. The idea that nothing happens by chance is a primary teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chasidism. He goes even further and says that everything that happens in the world is for a purpose. The Baal Shem Tov's most famous example of this precept is a leaf that falls from a tree in order to shade an ant from the beating sun. If this is true of a leaf falling from a tree, a blade of grass swaying in the wind, a bird flying through the air, how much more so is it true of the movement of the planets and stars in the constellations that affect the lives of hundreds of billions of people and an almost unlimited number of creatures on earth? The Jewish calendar is reckoned according to the lunar cycle. It is not by chance that 15 is a "winning number" in the Jewish calendar, i.e., the day on which many of our Jewish holidays fall. On the fifteenth day of the month, the moon is whole. It "shines" at its fullest potential. And for the Jewish people, who are likened to the moon that waxes and wanes, the wholeness of the moon is very significant: G-d has implanted a soul within each one of us. Chasidic philosophy defines the soul as "an actual part of G-d." We are expected to help our souls shine brightly, to their fullest potential, thereby lighting up our surroundings. The full moon on the fifteenth of the month teaches us that it's not enough if only a part of us, half or three-quarters, shines. We must illuminate fully and perfectly. And the light we give off must shine in every way possible-- through luminous thoughts, with bright words, and by way of shining actions. Our "moonshine" should light up our homes, offices, communities, until we light up the whole world. We are now in the Hebrew month of Av. From the fifteenth day of Av on, the nights become longer. Jewish teachings explain that the longer evenings should be used to delve into Torah. G-d even gives us an incentive to study more Torah beginning on the fifteenth of Av, saying that if we pursue Torah studies at night, G-d will "add on to our lives"; He will give us more energy and enthusiasm than we had before. Nothing happens by chance. The seasons change and the nights become longer for a reason: so that we can become more involved in Jewish pursuits; so that we can learn how to help our soul shine; so that we can get closer to G-d. Pick a winning number this month by participating in an evening Torah study class or lecture. *************************************** * In loving memory of * * HORAV CHAIM YEHUDA KALMAN * * Ben Horav Avrohom Yehoshua Marlow, * * head of the Bet-Din (Rabbinical * * Court) of Crown Heights, * * Passed away, on Friday Morning, * * 20 Sivan, 5760 (June 23, 2000) * *************************************** ******************************* * THE WEEKLY SHABBAT CALENDAR * ******************************* ** JEWISH WOMEN AND GIRLS LIGHT SHABBAT CANDLES ** ******************************************************* * FOR LOCAL CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES: * * consult your local Rabbi, Chabad-Lubavitch * * Center, or call: (718) 774-3000. * * or: * * http://www.chabad.org/shabbos * * * * FOR A FREE CANDLE LIGHTING KIT: * * contact your local Chabad-Lubavitch Center. * * * * FOR A LISTING OF THE CENTERS IN YOUR AREA: * * http://www.chabad.org/chabadir-access.html * * In the USA, call: 1-800-Lubavitch (1-800-582-2848). * ******************************************************* >>>> Times Shown Are for Metro NY - NJ <<<< FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, EREV SHABBAT PARSHAT EIKEV: * Light Shabbat Candles, [1] by 7:31 p.m. SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, SHABBAT PARSHAT EIKEV: * On Shabbat following the afternoon prayer, we read Chapter 4 of Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot). [2] * Shabbat ends at NIGHTFALL, at 8:33 p.m. _______________ 1. The Shabbat candles must be lit 18 minutes *BEFORE* sunset. IT IS PROHIBITED AND IS A DESECRATION OF THE SHABBAT TO LIGHT THE CANDLES *AFTER* SUNSET. 2. The weekly chapter of Pirkei Avot with the Rebbe's commentaries, are available electronically via the Internet, by sending your subscription request to: listserv@chabad.org - Subscribe "G-4." *********************************** * LAWS OF SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING * * FOR THE BLIND * *********************************** Edited by Rabbi Y. K. Marlow O.B.M.* * A blind woman who lives alone should light her Shabbat candle(s) with a blessing. * If she is married to a non-visually impaired person, HER HUSBAND SHOULD LIGHT THE SHABBAT CANDLES WITH THE BLESSING. * If she is eating and lighting in the company of others who are non-visually impaired, and they lit the Shabbat candles, she should light her own Shabbat candle(s), BUT WITHOUT SAYING THE BLESSING. * (If at all possible, she should not be the last one to light the Shabbat candle(s), so that she can be absolved by the latter's blessing.) _______________ *. Head of Bet-Din (Rabbinical Court) of Crown Heights. ************************************ * SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING BLESSING * ************************************ * First light the candles. Then spread your hands out around the candles, drawing your hands inward in a circular motion three times to indicate the acceptance of the sanctity of Shabbat. You then cover your eyes and recite the following blessing: BO-RUCH A-TOH ADO-NOI E-LO-HEI-NU ME-LECH HO-OLOM A-SHER KI-DE-SHO-NU BE-MITZ-VO-SOV VE-TZI-VO-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL SHA-BOS KO-DESH. Translation: Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the light of the holy Shabbat. * Uncover your eyes and behold the Shabbat lights. * The time of lighting is considered especially propitious for praying to G-d for health and happiness. The prayer is readily acceptable because it is offered during the performance of this great mitzvah of lighting Shabbat candles. CAUTION: The candles must be lit 18 minutes *BEFORE* sunset. IT IS PROHIBITED AND IS A DESECRATION OF THE SHABBAT TO LIGHT THE CANDLES *AFTER* SUNSET. ========================================================== = End of Text: Living With Moshiach, Parshat Eikev, 5760 = ==========================================================