***************************************************************** L'CHAIM ISSUE No. 10 ***************************************************************** 4 Sivan, 5748 Parshat Bemidbar May 20, 1988 ***************************************************************** THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION FOR EVERY JEWISH PERSON Dedicated to the memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson N.E. ***************************************************************** A 3,300 YEAR GUARANTEE If you're like most people when buying an expensive item, you ask about its serviceability, reliability, quality, and even the reputation of the company manufacturing the product. If you're satisfied with what you hear, you ask about a warranty. Ninety days on an electrical contraption is not too exciting, but better than nothing. On the other hand, a transmission that's guaranteed for the life of the car is certainly comforting. An educated consumer wants to be assured verbally and in writing that he's getting something which will last when he gives away his hard-earned money. With this in mind, it shouldn't seem a bit unusual to learn that G-d did a similar thing when "giving away" His Torah to the Jewish people. When, 3,300 years ago on the holiday of Shavuot, the Jews agreed to accept and follow the Torah, G-d asked what guarantee they had to offer that they intended to keep their word. "Our Holy Ancestors!" replied the people. "No," answered G-d. "I must ask you for a better guarantee than that." After some consideration the Jewish people answered, "Will You accept our children as our guarantors, to assure you that we intend to keep Your Torah? We will study Torah and teach it to our children, who will then in turn teach it to their children, and so on, forever." G-d immediately agreed. On every holiday, we relive and experience anew the special qualities associated with that particular festival. On Shavuot, we again receive the Torah. Our children, therefore, must once more be our guarantors. For this reason, it is especially important to bring them to the synagogue to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments on Shavuot. After all, would you buy expensive merchandise without seeing the warranty? ***************************************************************** LIVING WITH THE TIMES ***************************************************************** THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION ***************************************************************** The Torah portion of Bemidbar is always read prior to the festival of Shavuot, which takes place this year on Sunday, May 22. Bemidbar recounts the preparations the Jews made before receiving the Torah. It also describes the census that was taken of the Jews during their second year in the desert. This event was, in fact, so important that the whole fourth book of the Torah is known as the "Book of Counting." What purpose did the counting serve? The Almighty, of course, did not need a count; He knew the number of the Jewish nation. His command to take a census proclaimed to the world the preciousness of the Jewish people. One interesting aspect of counting is that the qualities or characteristics of the person or thing counted is entirely irrelevant to the number. Thus, in the census of the Jews at that time, the greatest and simplest were each reckoned as one--no more, no less. In intellectual capabilities, in emotional disposition, in all traits of character and personality, there are great individual differences amongst people. No Jew is the same as the next. Yet, there is one aspect present within every Jew that is the same--the soul--our true essence. At the time of the Giving of the Torah--commemorated by the approaching holiday of Shavuot--if but one of the six hundred thousand Jews present had been missing, the Torah would not have been given. From Moses to the simplest Jew, each one had to be present. Every year, when it is time to celebrate the Giving of the Torah, all for the Jewish people must once again stand up and be counted; for every Jew is a "one," a complete entity. Each soul--which is equal to every other Jewish soul--must be present in order for the Torah to be given again. From "A Thought For The Week,"--Detroit. Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. ***************************************************************** SLICE OF LIFE ***************************************************************** WHAT A PARADE! In public addresses during the week preceding Lag B'Omer, the Lubavitcher Rebbe stressed that the organizing of the Lag B'Omer parades should be in a joyous manner and encouraging every man, woman and child to participate in the parades. Additionally, we should learn two lessons from the life of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, whose yahrtzeit is celebrated on Lag B'Omer. The first is that Rabbi Shimon always performed mitzvahs in a manner which was more than what was required. Secondly, Rabbi Shimon taught that in everything a person does, even the most common activities, he must sanctify himself and connect with G-dliness. *** Children from schools as far away as Albany, New Jersey and even Chicago marched in the parade. Despite inclement weather, a crowd of over 20,000 people attended this year's Lag B'Omer parade in Brooklyn. Floats on 20 foot flat-bed trucks, such as this one designed by the Beth Rivkah Girls School, added color and excitement to the day. Yosef Begun (shown here with his wife) was one of the prominent guests at the parade. ***************************************************************** WHAT'S NEW? ***************************************************************** F.R.E.E. SUMMER CAMP Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe is working hard to keep Russian Jewish immigrant children from registering at Christian Missionary summer camps. It's not an easy job as the camps offer reduced rates as low as $5 per week to attract the children. In previous summers, F.R.E.E. actually took Jewish children from the camps just days before they were to be baptized. HEAVEN AND EARTH Chabad of Albany, New York, is sponsoring a weekend retreat on June 3-5. The retreat, entitled "Heaven and Earth Meet," will take place at the Blkue Water Manor on Lake George and is open to sin- gles, couples, and families. Featured will be Dr. David Lazerson, award-winning educator, lecturer and musician. For more information, call (518) 458-9329. CHABAD RABBI OPENS CONGRESS Rabbi Moshe Feller, Director of the Upper Midwest Regional Office of Chabad, delivered the opening prayer at the Second Session of Congress this year. Most outstanding were the comments by Senators Byrd, Simpson and Proxmire, who all complimented and thanked Rabbi Feller for his inspiring prayer. SELL-OUT CROWD IN MANCHESTER Rabbi Manis Friedman, Dean of the Bais Chana Women's Institute in St. Paul, Minnesota, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at the Lubavitch Yeshiva in Manchester, England this past week. Rabbi Friedman speaks worldwide on topics such as "Do Bad Things Happen to Good People," "The Feminine Mystique," and "Talking to Children about G-d." Many of his lectures are available in tapes. ***************************************************************** INSIGHTS ***************************************************************** SPIRITUAL ACOUSTICS The giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai was the single most important event in the history of the Jewish people was. Virtually everyone is aware that the Ten Commandments were given at that time but are unaware of the specific details relating to the event. However, the Torah relates a curious and apparently minor detail; the voice of G-d, which came forth at that time, produced no echo. This requires some explanation. G-d's voice was so loud, the Torah says, that it was heard by several million people. For such a sound to exist without an echo is clearly not a natural occurrence. Why shouldn't the voice have produced an echo? The explanation indicates a major aspect of exactly what the giving of the Torah accomplished. Let us first examine the idea of an echo. An echo occurs when a sound encounters an obstacle. Should the sound bounce off the object, an echo is created. On the other hand, should the object absorb the sound, no echo results. HOLY THROUGH AND THROUGH The sound heard at Mount Sinai was not just a voice as we know it. It was a G-dly revelation which dramatically and permanently transformed the very nature of the physical universe. Before this time, mitzvot were also performed: Avraham ate matza, Yaakov put on tefilin, and so on. But, these actions did not change the nature of the physical world. The actions were holy, but the world was not yet sensitive to them; they could not infuse the physical with the spiritual. When the Torah was given, G-dly revelation permeated the physical world. The physical universe now became connected to the spiritual realm. This is why there was no echo. An echo occurs only when sound bounces off an object. At Mount Sinai, G-dliness penetrated and transformed the entire world. There was no echo because the G-dly revelation was totally absorbed by each object which it encountered. PREPARING THE WAY In the days of Moshiach, "All flesh together will see" G-dly revelation. This is meant quite literally. Presently, only our eyes are capable of vision, not our flesh. Furthermore, our sense of vision is limited, encompassing only certain physical objects; our eyes are incapable of experiencing sound, and more spiritual phenomena are certainly not visible. In Messianic times, our flesh itself will be able to see: not only the physical objects we are familiar with, but even the most sublime forms of revelation. This transformation will be the completion of what began at Mount Sinai, when G-dliness first began to be felt in physical objects. By performing mitzvot, we advance this process, furthering the unification of physical and spiritual. In the days of Moshiach this process will be completed and even the coarsest part of the world will be a vehicle for G-dliness. The concept of permeating the physical world with spirituality teaches us a few lessons in how to conduct our daily lives. One lesson is that we should increase our enthusiasm in performing mitzvot: as each action effects a permanent transformation in the physical realm making it a vehicle for G-dliness. We should also learn to utilize all physical objects for holy purposes. Even should they not directly involve a mitzva, we must use them for holy purposes. We should eat in a holy manner: not only must the food be kosher, but our intentions kosher as well. We do not eat just to satisfy our appetites but also so that we may be healthy, strong, and able to serve G-d. So, too, all our daily actions must be performed with holy intentions. In this way, every movement contributes significantly to spreading holiness in the world. Thus, we further disseminate G-dliness through and within all portions of the physical universe, preparing the way for--and hastening--the arrival of Moshiach. ***************************************************************** WHAT'S IN A NAME? ***************************************************************** RUTH is from the Hebrew meaning "friendship." Megilat Ruth tells the story of the Moabitess who embraced Judaism and was the great-grandmother of King David, from whom Moshiach will be descended. REUVEN means "Behold, a son." He was Jacob's first-born son by his wife Leah. First mentioned in Genesis 29:32. ***************************************************************** A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR ***************************************************************** We are all familiar with the Midrash telling of how the Jewish people designated their children as the guarantors of the Torah. It is perhaps in this vein that the Rebbe stresses each year that all Jewish children must be present in shul on Shavuos to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments. We bring the children so that they can become familiar with the "terms" of the guarantee. The children's presence in shul actually confirms our guarantee. In Hebrew, the word guarantor is "Orev." Orev can also mean pleasant or sweet. What sweeter guarantors can we have than our children, who can help influence our own deeds to be pleasing. One of many beautiful concepts in Judaism is that the Jewish soul can comprehend long before the mind does. With this in mind, we see how imperative it is to bring even babies to shul; though their minds might not yet comprehend where they are, their souls certainly do. This Shavuos, on Sunday, May 22, let us all bring our guarantors to shul to hear the reading of the Torah. To the guarantees and guarantors, A very happy Shavuos. Rabbi Shmuel Butman ***************************************************************** IT HAPPENED ONCE ***************************************************************** Matzliach "the Antique Dealer," as he was known, lived long ago in Tunisia. He was a great lover of Torah, though not an outstanding scholar. And, though he was not very rich, he gave charity generously. He was particularly known in the Jewish community for his special custom in connection with Shavuot, the festival of the Giving of the Torah. Every year he invited ten scholars to his home on the first night of Shavuot. He prepared a fine feast for them, and after the meal they would recite the special "Tikun" prayers and study Torah the entire night. Matzliach started this tradition when, years earlier, he learned of the custom to stay awake on the first night of Shavuot. At the time, he was greatly surprised to hear that the night before G-d was to give the Torah to the Jews at Mount Sinai, they did not stay awake! Indeed, they slept soundly, so that when G-d descended on the mountain early in the morning, His chosen people were not there! It wasn't that the people were not eager to receive the Torah, but rather that they wanted to be well rested and refreshed for the great moment of Divine Revelation. And so it became the custom of Jews everywhere to make up for this by staying awake the night of Shavuot, in this way "correcting" what had happened. In fact, this is what "Tikun" means--correction. One year when Shavuot approached, Matzliach found himself in a difficult situation. Business hadn't been good and not only didn't he have money for his usual feast, but he didn't even have the funds for food and wine for the holiday. Sadly he told his wife Mazal about his predicament. "I still have my precious earrings," Mazal said, taking them off and giving them to him. "Take them to the pawnbroker to get a loan until things improve." Matzliach took the earrings to the pawnbroker and received a tidy sum. As he was walking home, Matzliach met the chief rabbi of Tunisia, Rabbi Hai Tayeb. "You saved me a trip," the Rabbi said. "I'm going around collecting for our poor, so they can celebrate Shavuot with joy." Without hesitation, Matzliach gave the Rabbi the money he had just received from the pawnbroker. On his way home, as Matzliach wondered what he would tell his wife, he heard his name called. "His Majesty sent me out to buy a set of antique coffee-cups. I have no idea where to get them," said one of the servants of the ruler. "But you are an antique dealer. Get them for me, and you will be amply rewarded." "I will try my best," Matzliach promised. The dealer he went to had such a set and was happy to sell them off cheaply to Matzliach. Matzliach went to the Royal court and was introduced to the King. "Just what I wanted," he said. Then he asked how much he owed for the cups. After hearing the price, the surprised king asked, "That's all you paid for these precious cups? The ruler of Tunisia is not looking for bargains. You shall be paid their full value!" Matzliach left the king's palace with a large sum of money. Walking home, he met the Chief Rabbi again. "I can now afford to double my donation," Matzliach said happily. "Thank G-d, we both did well today," the Rabbi said. "Have a happy Shavuot." Indeed, it was a happy holiday for Matzliach and his wife Mazal. And what made them happiest was that this year, too, they could observe their custom of celebrating Tikun-night as before. ***************************************************************** THOUGHTS THAT COUNT ***************************************************************** "Count (literally, Raise) the heads of the congregation..." (1:2). When Moses was commanded to arrange a census of the Jewish people, the word used was "Se-oo" more literally meaning "raise" count. This indicates that the counting was actually an elevation for the Jews. The census brought about the resting of the Divine presence on the Jewish nation because it indicated that each individual could affect the destiny of the entire people. Similarly, Maimonides writes: "Each person should consider the entire world as balanced between good and evil deeds. His one action could sway the world to the side of good, bringing salvation to the whole world. (Shaloh) *** "Each person to his flag with signs for the house of their ancestors" (2:2). Every individual must ask himself, "When will my deeds reach the level of those of my ancestors?" Our goal should be that our forefathers' achievements will act as a "signpost" for our own actions. (Sefat Emet) *****************************************************************